Redemption: Mortal Kombat

Round One

"FIGHT!" Shang Tsung Shouted. Baraka and Johnny circled around each other. Baraka sheaths his blades.

"You have got to show me how you did that once I win this match," Johnny taunted.

"An Earthrealmer such as yourself can't withstand these blades," Baraka stated.

"Is something stuck in your throat?" he asked jokingly. Baraka was angered. He rushed towards Johnny and swung his arm towards Johnny's head. Johnny ducks the attack and performs a roundhouse kick, knocking him back a little. Baraka shakes it off and uses a straight kick to Johnny's abdomen. However, Johnny grabs his leg and counters by punching Baraka in the face.

"He's doing pretty well," Raiden commented.

"Well, he is the special effects after all," Chan responded.

Johnny Cage taunts Baraka to attack once more, which he does. Baraka performs some slow swings, which Johnny Cage blocks effortlessly. He then uses a two-hit combo combined with an uppercut. At the end of the uppercut, Johnny tosses a force ball at Baraka. This causes Baraka to be knocked on his back.

"Dang I'm good," Johnny states as he points his fingers at the crowd. The monks begin cheering while everyone else just seems impressed. "Who's next?" he asked.

"That was only the first round Mr. Cage. You need two rounds to win," Shang Tsung stated.

"Then ring the bell Granddad!" Johnny said as he grinned. Baraka rose to his feet and prepared to fight Johnny. He unsheathed his blades.

"Round Two...FIGHT!"

Baraka takes a quick swipe toward Johnny Cage, who barely dodges. However, the blade does strike his shades, causing them to fall apart. Johnny waves his index finger as Baraka had made him angry.

"Ok, no more games," Johnny stated as his body began to glow green. He used a Shadow Kick, but Baraka surprisingly dodges it.

"You will die!" Baraka threatened. Baraka attempted to use a crossing slice to Johnny's head. However, Johnny ducks using a split and proceeds to do a nut punch.

"Heh, not so tough now are you?" Johnny said. However, Baraka was not affected. Johnny was confused as he looked up to a smiling Baraka. Baraka places his fist between Johnny's eyes and proceeded to release his arm blade, which pierces Johnny in his forehead.

"Johnny, No!" Chan shouted. He reached out towards the empty courtyard. Everyone stares at him in silence. He looked around and saw that everyone was still standing where they were before the first match began.

"The kid blacked out again; just like he did on the cruise ship," Frost stated.

"Choking already? This will be too easy," Tesla chuckled.

"So, we have two jokers fighting for Earthrealm," Tanya stated jokingly. Kitana and Jade also laughed at Chan.

"So, this is who you have defending Earthrealm, Raiden? You've humored me tremendously," Shang Tsung mocked. Raiden ignored his words. Shang Tsung started to give his speech.

"Another dream?" Raiden whispered.

"It felt just as real. This time, I saw Johnny die in his match against Baraka," Chan whispered back.

"I need you to pull it together, Hornbuckle. Earthrealm needs you," Raiden responded. They then focused their attention on Johnny Cage.

"He's the final challenge? They should just give me my medal right now," Johnny Cage boasted. Sonya closed her eyes and sarcastically smiled.

"Then why don't you ask him for one," Sonya chuckled as she pointed to the right of Johnny. He looks to his right and is startled by the appearance of Shang Tsung.

"What the—"

"Outworld has the finest crafters of Silver and Gold. If you survive, I'll make sure that Li Mei makes you plenty of medals when we win this tournament," Shang Tsung states as he floats back to his seat.

"Somebody's in trouble now," Sonya remarked.

"For our first match, we will have Mr. Johnny Cage!" Shang Tsung announced. The monks cheered for Johnny Cage.

"Raiden...I think those weren't dreams," Chan stated.

"Your opponent will be Baraka!" The Outworld warriors began to loudly cheer on Baraka as he hops onto the courtyard.

"Raiden?" Hornbuckle stated in worry. Raiden shares his worry.

"So those dreams...they're actually visions," Raiden responded. Chan focused on Johnny.

"Johnny, you need to listen to me," Chan said. Johnny brushed off his words. "You need to use your green powers to win!"

"Look kid, I know you love my films and all, but you have to separate fact from fiction. My victory is a fact," Johnny confirmed.

"Round One..."

"Raiden, I think there's nothing I can do," Chan stated.

"Giving up so easy? That's not you," Raiden said. They looked at the fight and saw Baraka standing back up.

"Round Two..."

"He won't believe anything I say," Chan stated. "He's the same guy who killed me and didn't apologize for it. If it wasn't for you and Fujin, I'd probably be serving Quan Chi in the NetherRealm."

"You just need to tell him something that doesn't include his Seido powers," Raiden responded. Chan tries to remember everything Johnny had done in his vision. Then he replayed Johnny's death in his head.

"Got it." Chan looks at Johnny, who was using a split to duck Baraka's attack. "Baraka is castrated!" Chan shouted. Baraka was angered by his response while Johnny was slightly confused. Sonya was disgusted and turned away from the fight. Rain, Tesla, and Raskal begin to slightly chuckle.

"Why you little...who told you that?!" Baraka yelled as he looked towards Chan. He returned his attention to Johnny and prepared to attack. However, he realized that his vision was spinning vertically. It eventually stops spinning as Baraka's head was laying on the ground. He was viewing a red glowing Johnny Cage who had just used a powerful uppercut to behead him. Chan was slightly startled.

"Remember, you've returned from it," Raiden stated. Chan nodded as he began to calm down. Everyone congratulated Johnny Cage with applause. During the applause, Johnny performs another uppercut which causes a second head to appear. Chan believes he might be becoming delusional as he is the only person who saw it happen. However, Kitana seemed to realize what happened too. She looked towards Chan and whispered to Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung then stood up.

"Johnny Cage Wins. FATALITY!"

"How did you see that coming, Earthrealmer?" Kitana asked. Chan was slightly startled by her presence.

"Do all of you teleport without notice?" Chan asked. Kitana then pointed towards one of her fans which were lying beside Chan and Raiden.

"We have our ways. Now, speak Earthrealmer," Kitana responded.

"Does it matter?" Raiden asked. "Johnny still won fairly."

"Raiden, even you didn't know of Baraka's condition. It was a last-minute thing that occurred two weeks ago after an attack in Outworld. There is no way that Kang knew of this," Kitana stated. She picked up her fan and opened it. She used it to cover her mouth. "I will ask you one last time, Shaolin."

"I've had a similar vision earlier today that evil forces took over Earthrealm and Outworld," Chan responded.

"How do you use those visions?" Kitana asked with a grim voice.

"It just comes and goes."