GONGGGGGG



LH’s body twitches in response to the sound, but he doesn’t move from his place laying on a hay bale.



GONGGGGGG



LH’s eyes flutter open. He looks straight ahead towards the ceiling of the barn in which he’s laid out in. He sits up and rubs his eyes. He blinks his eyes several times. He looks around the room developing a sense of concern. He doesn’t recognize the room. There are bales in this part of the barn, but nothing else is in the enormous



GONGGGGGG



But that gonging is getting on his nerves. Harrison stands up and takes a look at himself. His fists are taped up and he’s wearing what looks like tights, except a little baggier on his legs. He’s not wearing a shirt, but he does have a red headband on. He stretches and suddenly feels a little stronger. Harrison walks over to the edge of the upper level and raises his arms. He grabs on the ledge and instantly pulls himself up on top of it, landing on his feet. His eyes open wide as he surveys what he just accomplished. No way was that even possible yet he had done it emphatically.

What in the world…?



GONGGGGGGG



WILL THAT GONGING STOP!

"No it won’t, Harrison."

Harrison jumps back doing a complete flip. He goes into an unusual fighting stance at the sound of the booming voice. He’s crouched down a little with his left fist forward and his right held back. He scans the room looking for the source of the voice, but the barn is empty. Suddenly a bright blue ball of electricity appears before him. He goes into the stance once more. The orb of blue transforms into a red mist and an ominous presence enters the room. The man takes a step forward and the electricity crackles through the room. It sets a bale of hay on fire! The entire barn has begun to catch flame! The being is just staring at LH, who is still in his crouched stance. It steps forward revealing himself. It looks just like the character from the game that LH had been playing last night! The Thunder God! There’s just one difference. The face. It’s a crimson red mask just like…

Crim-

"Yes, yes the Crimson Face. And before you ask, yes I can read your thoughts. Now are we just going to stand here in this burning barn or are we going to leave?"

LH looks at the Crimson Face quizzically.

What is going on? Where am I? Who are you? Why are you dressed up like the Mortal Kombat guy? Rai-

"Do you really wish to know those things more than save your own life? Are you that daft?"

LH looks at him and jumps down. He sees the door to the barn not that far away. He darts towards it with amazing speed that shocks himself. He barrels through the door without any effort really. He catches himself and looks up. What he sees stuns him into not moving. Instead of being Hope, Arkansas or anywhere on Earth, he looks dead ahead to see nothing but an enormous mountain with a certain eerie presence attached to it. Face walks up behind him and stands beside him with his hands behind his back.

"I know you’re amazed. Didn’t know your imagination was this good, did you? No, no you didn’t. Well you see, this is the home of warriors from around the world. They have all converged here for one big tournament. While you are here, you will not be referred to as LH Harrison as I will not be called Crimson Face. You are to be called Liu Hung. And I… Crimden."

LH looks at him as he is taking in all of the information being presented to him.

A tournament? If this is in my head, then why bother with the tournament? What does it matter if I lose? I could just lose and then wake up.

Crimden looks at him as if he’s a moron.

"Did you expect to beat a monstrous force like Enigma with that attitude? Why does training matter? Why does breathing matter? Why does anything matter? You win this tournament for one reason… to prove it to yourself and your legions of fans. Also, if you don’t win… who’s to say you ever wake up? This is the battle for your body and soul as well as your mind, Liu Hung."

Wait…. Liu Hung that sounds like Low-

"I know what it sounds like but it’s your head and you came up with it… you bizarre creature. Now… the host of this tournament is Shane Tsung and his companion Enigma. In order to get the chance to face them… you must wage war and work your way through the tournament. I will be here to guide you through this fierce tournament. Also you will have friends fighting to aid you in this battle. Here they are now."

A group approaches them from the face of the mountain. The water splashes against the mountain coast as they make their way forward. They get close and LH examines the group before him.

“Here we have your squad, Liu Hung.” One guy snickers at the name. Crimden looks at him and he stops. “Well first we have that wisecracker, Vinnie Cage.”

Vinnie Cage: Hey Liu, it’s going to be a fucking blast kicking some ass with you in this tournament.

LH looks at Cage and thinks he bears a striking resemblance to Loverboy Vinnie Lane. He has the same pants that LH is wearing. On his chest, Cage has Vinnie tattooed. He doesn’t comment on similarities with Loverboy as Crimden points at a different individual.

“This madame is Sonya Blades. She’s one of the finest warriors around, and I don’t mean just her looks.”

Everyone looks at Crimden after the unusual comment. Sonya glares at him before speaking up.

Yes, I’m Sonya. It’s a pleasure meeting you now let’s get back to the action soon.

He recognizes her instantly as she looks identical to his wife except she’s wearing a shirt with a center cut going down past her cleavage. She also has tight black pants and boots on. But LH can’t get past the fact of seeing his wife in blonde hair. It just looks strange to him. Crimden clears his throat before moving on.

“This is probably the most lethal force on this team. Jeong Lao. He’s a highly trained combatant in many different martial arts and feeds on competition.”

Jeong Lao bows slightly and LH shakes his head as he recognizes him as Jonathan Heartsford a.k.a. The Aerial Knight. Jeong is wearing an extremely sharp round hat, a vest, and long blue pants that go into studded boots.

An honor, sir Hung.

Vinnie Cage snickers but softly to himself. Crimden shakes his head and turns to face LH.

“Liu. This tournament is now in the hands of you.” Crimden looks up into the dark night sky and seems to feel the air. “It’s time for the ceremony. We must depart.”

LH and the group depart on the long winding path up the mountain through the forest. The humidity has all of the competitors pulling at their shirts and drenched in sweat. They move up the hill and LH can’t help but feel as though he’s being watched. He turns around and sees something scurry up the face of the mountain. He follows the movement with his eyes but it seemingly vanished. He looks for a few moments before eventually turning back towards the path. In the place in which he was looking an invisible force scurries up the mountain face.

LH and the group march up the mountain for what seems like an eternity until they spot the doors to the main kingdom. They approach and the doors slowly open. It reveals a big open arena with several combatants standing around. They are all extremely large and fierce looking. Beyond what appears to be the dueling pad is a large pit of fire. Beyond that is a throne of sorts. Sitting at the top of that throne is an older man with a long white beard. To his right, standing is Noob Saiyot or Enigma as he is now referred. Enigma seems to watch LH from his place standing. Time seems to slow down as they stare each other down. Their glares are broken up by the ringing of a gong.

That gong again…

The old gentleman stands up and raises his hands out.

My name is Shane Tsung… and welcome. Welcome to MORTAL KOMBAT!