Everyone then hears Sonya screaming. Shang has taken her hostage, and leads her towards a gate. Liu tells him to stop, but Shang says he exercises his right to challenge, and he challenges Sonya. Rayden calls him a coward, and tells him to stand and fight. Shang reminds him of their deal, and Mortal Kombat continues.

He's simply changing the place, as they agreed. A portal opens up behind him, and he and Sonya then disappear into it. Johnny comes back, and asks where Shang has taken Sonya. Rayden says they have gone to the emperor's castle, in the wastelands of Outworld, where he cannot follow. Liu says he and Johnny can, but Johnny asks Rayden if Sonya can beat Shang Tsung.

Rayden says she can't. There is one last rule, which Shang neglected to mention. Liu knows what it is: Sonya must accept Shang's challenge, or there can be no final combat. Rayden tells Liu has has nothing further to teach him. He has the knowledge, all he is lacking now is the will. He tells them that if they look hard enough on Outworld, they'll find another guide. Liu and Johnny then step up to the portal, which takes them to Outworld. They step outside, and Johnny thinks this is not good.

They see the tower up ahead, and Liu be lives that's where Shang has taken Sonya. As they head on, Johnny starts going on about how much he hates this place. Liu says there's something else here, and walks towards a wall.

He suddenly makes a move, grabbing the invisible Reptile! He throws Reptile into the remains of a creature, which comes to life and merges with him. Reptile is given a new body, and he gets up...

...then smashes Liu through a wall. The two start fighting each other.

Both fighters land several hits on each other, and Reptile sends Liu flying with a big kick.

Liu gets up and returns the favor, knocking Reptile into a wall. After kicking Reptile several more times, Liu uses his bicycle kick technique, striking Reptile several times in a couple of seconds. Reptile is sent flying back outside, and Liu rushes back out.

He sees that Reptile has returned to his original form, but he stomps on his head and kills him. Kitana appears, and tells him well done. She thinks he's finally learning, and tells them to come with her. As they walk, Liu asks what happened here. Kitana says this is the same thing that will happen to Earth , unless they prevent it. Her father was the rightful ruler of Outworld, but then his best warriors lost 10 Mortal Kombats, and the emperor entered the realm, killed her parents and adopted her to lay claim to the throne. This place was beautiful once, before Shang Tsung engineered its destruction. Liu asks how he can stop this from happening in his world. Kitana says that if she didn't believe in him, she wouldn't have helped him. She then tells him that in the black tower, he will face three challenges: he must face his enemy, face himself, and he must face his worst fear.

Sonya has been chained up, and then Shang Tsung and his shadow priests enter the room. Sonya says she won't fight him, and won't play his game. Shang tells her there's no one else, so if she doesn't fight, the realm of Earth will forfeit the tournament.

The realm of Earth's portals shall open to their great emperor. She thinks he's lying, and then says her friends will come for her. Shang tells her she's hoping against hope, but it's such an endearing human trait -he's touched, really. He gives her one last chance to fight him in Mortal Kombat, but she tells him to go to hell. He tells the shadow priests to take her away. Sonya repeats that her friends will come, but one of the priests says they're already here. He pulls down his hood, revealing he's Johnny, and Liu and Kitana are also present.

Shang orders his priests to seize them, but Sonya tells them to stay where they are. She accuses Shang of daring to interfere with the tournament, and says he is betraying their emperor. The emperor knows that Mortal Kombat cannot be won by treachery. His ignorance will lose for all time the keys to the realm of Earth. Shang says he will challenge Johnny Cage.

But Liu tells him he'll be fighting him. He says he is Liu Kang, descendant of Kung Lao, and he challenges Shang to Mortal Kombat. He asks Shang if he accepts or yields, and Shang says he accepts. He tells his priests to leave them, as he will take care of this impudent mortal himself. As the priests leave, Johnny tells Sonya that's a nice dress.

Liu and Shang bow before each other, and then the fight begins. After exchanging several blows...

...Liu lands a hit which knocks Shang down. Shang gets up, and calls his opponent a fool. He raises his arms, and everyone hears a strange sound. Kitana says it's the source of all Shang Tsung's power: the souls of a thousand dead warriors.

Shang summons some of these warriors, who burst out of the ground.

They start to attack Liu, but he takes them all on by himself.

He defeats them all, but then sees that Shang has moved up above him. Shang tells him he can see into his soul, and tells him he will die! Kitana says that Liu must face himself.

Liu tells Shang he can look into his soul, but he doesn't own it. He goes up to where Shang is, and tells him he isn't afraid of his destiny. He tells Shang to face him, but Shang morphs into Chan. He tells Liu that Rayden sent him to help him. Liu knows he isn't really Chan, but Chan tells him to remember when their parents died -he'd promised to always take care of him. Chan then says now it's his turn to take care of his brother.

As he's saying this, some spikes shoot out of the floor below. Chan tells Liu to come with him, as he forgives him for letting him die. Liu says no -it wasn't his fault. He says that Chan chose his own path, and every man is responsible for his own destiny.

He says that Shang Tsung killed his brother! Chan morphs back into Shang, and his battle with Liu resumes. This time, Shang manages to knock Liu down.

He mocks Liu for being the "chosen one". Liu gets up, and says he is the chosen one. Shang goes to punch him, but has his attack stopped.

He gets Shang into a hold, and a couple of souls are released. Liu says Shang has lost his power over them, and they have risen up against him. He wants Shang to free them, but Shang says the souls are his forever! Liu hits Shang aside.

Liu says Shang may have all of those souls, yet he still doesn't have one of his own -he pities him. Shang tells him to save his pity for the weak. The two resume fighting, but Liu hits Shang with another powerful punch.

Shang makes one last charge, but Liu kicks him, then follows it up with several more punches. As Shang staggers back, Liu finishes him off with a fireball. Shang is knocked off the ledge, and falls onto some of the spikes.

As he dies, his body melts away. A bright light emits from it, which lights up the entire tower.

Liu sees that the souls of those Shang had taken are released, including Chan's. Chan materializes in front of Liu, and tells him he knew he'd come. He says that one day, they will be reunited. But until then, his spirit will always be with his brother. He tells his brother to go in peace.

Chan then steps back into the light, and disappears. The light then vanishes, and as Johnny, Sonya and Kitana look up, Liu tells them they can go home.

Having won Mortal Kombat, Liu and the others return to the Earth realm. They find Rayden, who was wondering what took them so long. Liu asks if he already knew it would end this way, but Raiden has to admit that he didn't have a clue, as humans can be so unpredictable! But he tells them that they did great.

Suddenly the skies go very dark, and a voice calls out, telling everyone to bow to him. Liu asks what it is, and Rayden says it's the emperor.

" You weak, pathetic fools! I've come for your souls!"



" I don't think so!"



To be continued...