MASTERS OF THE OUTWORLD
by
Aidan Cross
PART 1: THE RETURN OF SHANG TSUNG
In the depths of the Outworld, in the dark,
deserted regions where no-one dared venture alone, the emperor Shao Khan sat alone in the
chamber of the Black tower. He was grieving with defeat. After so many years of being seen
as a virtually invincible warrior, he had now undergone another defeat, and his reputation
was suffering. He even risked losing his position as emperor of Outworld if he continued
to lose. He may never be able to rule the Earth, and Outworld could even end up being
ruled by good.
Another Mortal Kombat tournament had just ended
with his defeat. And again, it was the warrior monk, Liu Kang, who had defeated him. This
warrior may not look more powerful than Khan, but obviously he was. Khan had only just
escaped death in his last battle with Kang. Before that, Khan had erased the world of all
human life, making it a part of the Outworld itself, sparing only those who deserved to
compete in Mortal Kombat- but after Liu Kangs victory, a former assassin, Sub-Zero,
had reprogrammed two robots to destroy the Shao Khan tower. One of them, Sektor, had gone
into self-destruct mode and blown the tower up just as Kang escaped. Princess Kitana had
then closed the Outworld portal, sending Khan and his minions back into the Outworld and
returning the Earth to normal.
Kitana had once been his favourite assassin, and
adopted daughter. But he had always known she was good at heart, and even the magic of the
great sorcerer Shang Tsung had failed to stop her from joining forces with the Earth
warriors, two tournaments ago. Now she was permanently on their side. Khan had hired
further assassins to bring her back- Mileena, Jade and Reptile- but Kitana had defeated
all three of these with ease. Her power was greater than theirs all put together. Now it
looked as though there may be no way of getting her back.
And it wasnt just Kitana that Khan had lost
to the Earth warriors. In the last tournament, he had hired the Shokan warrior Sheeva as
an assassin, but she was displeased with his choice of electing Motaro as champion. Motaro
was a centaur- and the centaurs were the main enemies of the Shokan. Sheeva had defeated
Motaro, then turned against Khan and helped Liu Kang to break into the tower and defeat
him before returning to her home world.
And an even worse loss was his queen, Sindel. He
had resurrected his long dead queen, wiping her memory of her good past and using her to
try to recapture her daughter, Kitana. But the Earth warriors had foiled his plans, and
restored Sindels memory, and she had helped in driving Khans assassins from
the Outworld. Now she was permanently on the side of the Earth warriors.
There had been two further losses in the last
tournament. The bumbling idiot Kano, who was finally defeated by his enemy Sonya Blade,
was no great loss- but the sorcerer Shang Tsung, who had been granted more power than
ever, perished at Liu Kangs hands in the tower. Could Khan ever hope to win a
tournament again? But he had to remember- he was still a strong and powerful fighter, and
there were still many great warriors in Outworld. He would have to train them further, and
train himself further, so they may stand a chance of victory over Liu Kang and the Earth
Warriors.
All of a sudden, the door of Khans chamber
burst open, and in ran Baraka, one of Khans most trusted henchmen. Baraka was a
strange creature with long, sharp nails which could shred an enemy to pieces. He spent
most of his time feeding on the flesh of victims in Khans dungeons, and rarely
entered the chamber.
"What brings you into my chamber,
Baraka?" said Khan, in his deep, booming voice. "I am deep in thought. You had
better have a good reason for interrupting me."
"I have a good reason indeed, sire."
hissed Baraka. "There is a visitor to see you, my Lord. And hes more than just
any old visitor- hes the great sorcerer, Shang Tsung."
"You have mis-seen, you fool!" growled
Khan. "Tsung was killed in the last tournament."
"Maybe so, sire." replied Baraka,
"But Im telling you- the mans here."
"Bring him in!" Khan shouted. But
Baraka didnt need to bring him in- the sorcerer materialised out of thin air before
Khans throne.
"Greetings, Shao Khan." spoke the
sorcerer.
"How did you get to be here? Liu Kang killed
you, in the last tournament!"
"Maybe so, my Lord." replied Tsung.
"But one of the many secrets of my magic powers is that I can never stay dead for
long. I was impaled on a spike in your tower- but my powers had me resurrected, as
powerful as before. And I am here at your services again, my Lord."
"Do you really think I would need your
services again now?" growled Khan angrily. "It is thrice that you have failed me
now, you fool. I think you would be better off staying dead!"
Khans eyes blazed an angry red, and glared
threateningly at Tsung. But the great sorcerer did not even flinch. He had absolutely no
fear of Khan.
"My Lord, do you not realise that we two are
in the same position? Yes, I have failed you thrice, but you have failed twice in your
attempts to defeat the Earth warriors. We should be working together. We are in the same
boat, my Lord."
Khan pondered for a few seconds. Then he
admitted: "Yes. You are right, Shang Tsung. Both of us have failed to defeat the
Earth warriors, and we both are likely to fail again, even if I admit it myself. We must
train our Outworld warriors at once. We must make ourselves as powerful as possible for
the next tournament!"
"But that is just what we did last
time!" replied Tsung. "Even with the powerful Queen Sindel, and the centaur
Motaro on our side we failed. Now we have even lost more warriors to the humans of the
Earth. We need to recruit new warriors. Warriors from
.. elsewhere in the
universe."
"Like where?" sneered Khan.
"My Lord, there are many battles between
evil and good throughout the universe. There are many planets we do not know of, on which
great warriors live with skills we could never dream of. We need to find some of these to
help us."
"And how would we go about that?" Khan
sneered sceptically.
"Easy, my Lord." replied Tsung.
"We must speak to the Emperor of all evil."
"I am the Emperor of all evil!" growled
Khan, and shot up from his throne, glaring angrily at Tsung.
"I am afraid you are not so, my Lord."
said Tsung. "The Emperor of all evil in the entire universe is a being named Horde
Prime. You may not know of him- but he will know of you, as he is aware of all evil forces
in the entire universe. I must say that his power is probably greater than yours and mine
put together. Rarely does he take part in battles himself, but he knows many evil
warriors, throughout the universe. If we speak to him, he could easily find us the very
fighters we need to win the next Mortal Kombat tournament."
Khan considered the idea. He did not like the
thought of an evil being who considered himself to be superior to Khan- but then, this may
be Khans only chance at winning the next tournament. So he decided on going ahead.
"Yes." he replied. "I will speak
to this Horde Prime."
"Then we visit him now." said Tsung,
and raised his arms. "I shall take us to him."
PART 2: A VISIT TO HORDE PRIME
Shang Tsungs magic teleported him and Shao
Khan into a large room, full of electronic equipment and computers. There were several
robots working away on the computers, and large windows looking out into space. Several
great planets and bright stars shone away in the distance.
"Where are we?" asked Khan.
"This is Horde Primes ship."
replied Tsung. "It is this ship in which he patrols the universe, watching over
evil."
"Then where is this Horde Prime?"
"I AM HERE!" came a loud, booming voice
from around a corner. The voice was so loud and terrifying that even Khan froze for a
second. Khan and Tsung turned around the corner- and were greeted with what looked like a
huge space, with black mist swirling around.
"I see nothing." said Khan. "Where
did that voice come from?"
"FROM HERE!" came the spine-chilling
voice again. "YOU FACE HORDE PRIME!"
So Horde Prime was meant to be amongst all that
smoke! How could he be? Khan saw nothing. How could a living being be concealed in that
huge, vast space amongst all that smoke?
"I am not fooled." laughed Khan.
"Horde Prime? It looks to me as though this Horde Prime is nothing but a
trick! I cant even see anything! Lots of black mist and someone talking through a
microphone. Thats what Horde Prime is!"
Suddenly, an absolutely huge metal hand emerged
from the smoke and seized Khan by the waist. It lifted him high above ground! The hand was
so strong and large that it could easily crush the life out of Khan. The strong, fearless
warlord was almost scared for the first time in his life. The hand was three times as big
as his gigantic body!
"SO!" came the voice again. "YOU
THINK ME A HOAX! THEN YOU HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF HORDE PRIME! DO I LOOK LIKE A HOAX
NOW?"
"No!" screamed Khan, only just managing
to speak with the huge hand clamped so tightly around him. "I admit- I was wrong! Now
please let me down!"
"AS YOU SAY!" said Horde Prime, and
dropped Shao Khan to the ground. His super-strong body meant that the force of the fall
barely even hurt him, but he was severely shaken by what had just happened. So how big,
then, was Horde Prime? Khan had always thought he was of gigantic stature- but this being
must be at least 30 feet tall! And how could he fit inside this ship? The ship must be
massive!
Bolts of electric lightning crackled through the
mist, and Khan saw a pair of blazing red eyes shining through. This being was amazing. He
was surely what Khan needed to defeat the Earth warriors- but would he agree? Boldly, Khan
stepped forward and looked up into the red eyes.
"We
.. have come for your help."
he said.
"AND WHAT HELP DO YOU NEED, MORTAL?"
Mortal! That was the first time anyone had dared
call Shao Khan anything like that! If any normal being had said that, Khan would have
slaughtered them- but Horde Prime was way to powerful for Khan to even dare oppose.
"We
.. would like you to help us to
find warriors." he said. "We need more powerful warriors to help us in our
struggle against the fighters of planet Earth- in the tournament called Mortal
Kombat."
"THE MORTAL KOMBAT TOURNAMENT! YOU NEED TELL
ME NO MORE. I KNOW THAT YOU ARE SHAO KHAN- AND YOU FAILED IN YOUR LAST TWO TOURNAMENTS! NO
WONDER YOU NEED NEW WARRIORS AFTER FOOLISHLY LOSING ALL THOSE FIGHTERS TO THE CRETINS OF
EARTH!"
"Yes
.. can you help us?" Khan
felt like a feeble idiot asking Horde Prime this.
"I CAN INDEED PROVIDE YOU WITH HELP,
WARRIOR." said Horde Prime, his eyes blazing brighter as the electric energy
crackled. "ON PLANET ETERNIA THERE IS A VICIOUS STRUGGLE GOING ON BETWEEN GOOD AND
EVIL. THE SORCERER SKELETOR HAS TRIED IN VAIN TO TAKE OVER THE PLANET BUT HAS ALWAYS BEEN
STOPPED BY THE PLANETS GUARDIANS. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO USE MEMBERS OF HIS ARMY!
PERHAPS SKELETOR HIMSELF WOULD BE READY TO HELP YOU!"
"Of course," said Shang Tsung,
seemingly unshaken by the sight of the tremendous being. "I know of Skeletor. The
Universal council of magic have mentioned him in the past."
"THEN LEAVE AND RETURN TO OUTWORLD!"
boomed Horde Prime.
"Wha
.. arent you doing
anything?" stammered Khan.
"JUST DO AS I SAY AND RETURN TO OUTWORLD! I
WILL CONTACT SKELETOR AND HE SHALL JOIN YOU WITH HIS SELECTED WARRIORS! NOW LEAVE!"
"Okay
.." Khan stammered.
"Thank you for your help, Horde Prime."
said Tsung, and he raised his arms, and the two warriors vanished in a puff of smoke.
Horde Prime sent a mind signal to one of his
robots. The robot went over to the computer radio and switched on.
"Skeletor
.." it said in its
mechanical voice, "We have orders for you to join the dark regions of
Outworld
.."
PART 3: SKELETOR GETS THE MESSAGE
Blade was enjoying himself. There was nothing he
loved more than slaughtering innocent people. He laughed to himself as the man he had
found trembled at his feet.
"Please
.. dont do anything! I
beg you!"
"You beg me? Well, beggars cant be
choosers, Im afraid. Im the chooser round here. And I choose that you give me
all your money! Skeletor just hasnt been paying me enough lately."
"Then Ill give you all my money! If
you promise not to hurt me!"
"Yeah, I promise alright. Hand it
over!"
Terrified, the man fumbled through his pockets
and took out his wallet, handing it to Blade. "There!" he said,
"Thats all the money Ive got. Now please leave me alone!"
"Thanks very much." said Blade, taking
the wallet and shoving it into his belt. "You dont know how grateful I am for
that. In fact, you deserve a good
.. >slashing!"
Blade took out his swords and slit the mans
chest open with them both, drawing gallons of blood. The man screamed and fell to the
ground, clutching his chest.
"You
.. you promised not to hurt
me!" screamed the man.
"I never speak the truth to weaklings like
you!" hissed Blade. "From people like you- I can claim your money- and your
life!" with that he slashed one sword right through the mans neck. The
mans head flew off and hit the ground, a pool of blood spilling from the gash where
the head had been severed.
Blade admired the short work hed made of
the man, and then raised the sword to his mouth and licked off the blood. Then he examined
the money in the wallet.
"Im stinkin rich." he said
to himself. "Even with Skeletors low rates of pay!"
He made his way back to the Fright Fighter, so he
could fly back to Snake Mountain. He entered the cockpit, and started up the engine,
rising the vehicle up into the sky.
Just then, the radio began to crackle, and a
voice could be heard through the crackles. Blade slowed down the Fright Fighter and
listened to the voice. It was a striking, metallic voice, like a robots.
"Skeletor
.." it was saying,
"We have orders for you to join the dark regions of Outworld
.. orders from
Horde Prime
.. to join the emperor Shao Khan in the tournament called Mortal
Kombat
.. defeat warriors from Earth
.. select warriors to compete
.. to
the Outworld Skeletor
.. by command of Horde Prime."
Now this sounded interesting. Blade had never
heard of Outworld, or this Mortal Kombat tournament, but it really did look as though
Skeletor was being asked to compete in this tournament himself with several selected
warriors. With the order coming from the super-powerful Horde Prime, there was no way
Skeletor could refuse. If Blade were to enter this tournament, it could mean extra
slashing, extra killing! He would have to persuade Skeletor to let him take part. Messages
that came through to the Fright Fighter were usually automatically recorded, so Blade made
sure of this by pressing the replay button under the radio, and playing the message again.
Then he switched the Fright Fighter into its
fastest mode, and zoomed back to Snake Mountain.
Once Blade had landed the Fright Fighter in the
landing bay of Snake Mountain, he played the message one last time to make sure he had
heard it correctly, then he made his way into the ancient base of evil to speak with his
maniacal master.
He always hated approaching Skeletor. What he
didnt like was the way that Skeletor was always so sceptical with his warriors, as
if they couldnt be trusted to get anything right. Blade was at least glad that he
wasnt Beast Man, as Skeletors tortured wild henchman got a beating almost
every time he dared approach his master. Blade was one of Skeletors most trusted
warriors, so he didnt have to suffer as much as half the rest of the army. And then,
if Skeletor ever really annoyed him, he could always use his swords on his master
..
Blade approached Skeletors chamber, where
Skeletor was constantly sitting alone thinking of ways to defeat the heroic warriors. He
hated people interrupting him- but Blade was sure that this time Skeletor would be glad in
the long term. In a tournament, he could quite easily prove his skills.
Blade tapped on the door of Skeletors
chamber.
"Who dares interrupt Skeletor?" came
the skull-faced warlords voice.
"Blade does," he replied, "with
something very important to tell you."
"Then enter!"
Blade entered the chamber. Skeletor was seated on
his bone throne, with his havoc staff at his side. His trusted sorceress and
second-in-command, Evil-Lyn, sat in the corner, practising her magic.
"What do you have to tell me?" asked
Skeletor, in his deep, gruff voice.
"Horde Prime has ordered you to enter a
tournament in some region called Outworld- to help some evil emperor defeat warriors from
Earth. He has asked for you and some selected warriors to go to Outworld at once." he
did not mention anything about how eager he was to enter this tournament, but he knew that
he had offered great services to Skeletor with his sword skill and agility, and was more
than likely to be entered.
"Where did you hear of this?" Skeletor
demanded.
"Some robot sent a message through and the
Fright Fighter picked it up. I have it recorded on the Fright Fighter radio."
"Then show me!" ordered Skeletor, his
eyes lighting up bright red. "Lead me to the Fright Fighter!" He rose to his
feet, and Blade turned to lead him to the landing bay. Skeletor followed behind, his long
cape gliding over the ground as he banged his havoc staff heavily with each stride he
took.
In the landing bay, Blade entered the cockpit of
the Fright Fighter and pressed the replay button. The message played again, and Skeletor
listened with great insight.
"Now this does sound interesting." he
said lowly, in his rarely heard calmer tones. "Yes, I shall obey this command. I
shall leave Eternia with several of my warriors- and enter this Mortal Kombat
tournament."
"Leave Eternia for good?" asked Blade.
"No, Blade- not for good- but I have a plan.
Come, Blade- we shall return to my chamber and call a meeting of my warriors."
Skeletor and Blade journeyed back to
Skeletors chamber. Skeletor approached Evil-Lyn, and said "Quit that magic
practice and call a meeting of my warriors. We two- and Blade- are leaving Eternia to take
part in a tournament."
So Skeletor was entering Blade! That was one huge
relief for the swordsman. He didnt even need to ask! Skeletor was obviously already
impressed by Blades skills.
"Were leaving?" asked Evil-Lyn.
"For good?"
"Not for good," hissed Skeletor,
"but I shall explain my plans once you call a meeting. So do it now!"
Evil-Lyn lifted her voice beam projector and held
it to her mouth.
"All warriors present to Skeletors
chamber" she called, "there is important news. I repeat- all warriors present to
Skeletors chamber, there is important news."
Within the next few moments, warrior after
warrior began appearing in the large, dark chamber. More and more of Skeletors
dastardly henchmen made their way into the chamber, eager to hear their masters
announcement. The warriors muttered amongst themselves as they gathered, presumably
wondering about what such an important announcement could be.
Once Skeletor was satisfied that enough of his
warriors were present, he banged his havoc staff loudly and heavily on the ground. The
muttering stopped as each warrior fell silent, turning to face their master.
"I have received an important message."
began Skeletor. "I shall be leaving Eternia temporarily with a select few warriors-
to travel to a place called Outworld. There we shall take part in a tournament called
Mortal Kombat. Our aim there is to defeat warriors from the planet Earth. You are to keep
He-Man busy back on Eternia while I am away- and destroy him if you can." he spoke
the last part with a touch of sarcasm. "I shall be fighting alongside an emperor
called Shao Khan. Earth is not a planet known for its warriors- the Earth warriors will
pose no threat to Skeletor. But once we are through with them- I turn on Shao Khan, and
rule Outworld myself. No doubt that Horde Prime will grant me more power after I conquer
Outworld- then I will return to Eternia- and He-Man will be shocked to the death as he
perishes at my hands." Skeletor raised his right hand, as if to show it as the hand
that will crush He-Man.
More mutters ran through the crowd of evil
warriors, excited at the thought, and no doubt all hoping that they would be entered for
the tournament.
"Silence!" shouted Skeletor, and banged
his staff. "I am not finished. Evil-Lyn shall accompany me- I may have use for her
magic. Blade is also coming- his swords will shred the Earth warriors to pieces."
Blade bristled with pride at the mention of his skill. How the other warriors must be
envying him now!
Skeletor scanned the sea of warriors faces, to
make the choice of who else to enter in the tournament.
"Saurod
.. Ninjor
.. you come too.
You have shown me powerful skills since you joined this army. You are most suited to this
tournament."
The two warriors stepped forward at the mention
of their names- the masked reptile in his gleaming black armour, hissing with evil
pleasure, followed by the black-hooded shadow ninja with his sharp sword.
Skeletor then called out Karg. The hook-handed
henchman stepped forth.
"Karg- you are to take charge of the army
while I am away. I do not expect you to beat He-Man but at least keep him occupied. If you
manage to destroy him I will promote you."
"Yes, Skeletor." hissed Karg, "I
will destroy He-Man for you."
"And I do not want a word of this tournament
breathed to anyone else in Eternia!" Skeletor shouted, his voice becoming louder as
he gave these strict commands. "If He-Man finds out, he may follow us.
Understand?"
"Yes, master." said the warriors, all
together.
"Then we leave!" boomed Skeletor. He
called to his scientist, Comtech- "Set the portal to take us to Outworld. Our
destination- Mortal Kombat!"
PART 4: EVIL WARRIORS UNITE
Over the desolate landscape of Outworld, inches
away from the Black tower, a huge, white portal began to open. A strong wind blew from the
portal. Ermac, one of Shao Khans ninjas, caught sight of the portal through one of
the windows of the Black tower. A hooded figure stepped out from the portal, with a large
staff, and a ghastly, fleshless face. He was followed by an attractive, but evil-looking
woman, dressed in elegant clothes with a spiked helmet. Behind them came a shaven-headed
swordsman, with a patch covering his left eye, a ninja warrior dressed all in black,
looking not too dissimilar from Ermac himself, and a strange, reptile like creature
wearing a metal mask and armour.
These must be the warriors from Eternia, whom
Shao Khan had said earlier would be joining him for the next Mortal Kombat tournament. And
Ermac had to admit, they sure looked powerful. Ermac made his way to the chamber, and
bowed before his master.
"The warriors from Eternia have arrived, my
Lord." he said. "They look
.. very powerful."
"All the better!" laughed Khan, and
shot to his feet. "I will give them a warm welcome
.. if they prove themselves
worthy!"
Khan made his way outside, accompanied by Ermac,
Baraka and Shang Tsung. The warriors of Eternia stood before Khan, as the portal closed
behind them.
Skeletor stepped forward. "Shao Khan?"
he said, approaching Khan.
"I am Shao Khan." replied the giant
armoured warrior. "And judging by your appearance I would imagine you are
Skeletor."
"Yes, I am Skeletor- Lord of destruction.
These are my warriors- Evil-Lyn, Blade, Ninjor and Saurod. The new entrants in your
tournament."
"Excellent." replied Khan. "Enter
the Black tower and prove your skill."
Khan led the warriors into the Black tower, and
quickly explained the history of the Mortal Kombat tournament, and their current state.
"We think you could be the warriors we need
to defeat the interfering Earthlings." he told Skeletor. "But first- you must
prove yourselves. You may fight my warriors- but no fatalities allowed, as every warrior
is valuable on our side. Save your killing power for the Earth warriors."
Shang Tsung gave orders: "Skeletor- fight
me. Blade- fight Ermac. Saurod- fight Chameleon. Ninjor- you fight Scorpion, and Evil-Lyn
fight Reptile."
The three ninjas entered- the transparent
Chameleon- the resurrected and deadly Scorpion, and Reptile, who was eager to prove
himself after failing to recapture Princess Kitana in the last tournament. Each warrior
stood opposite their opponents, and Shang Tsung ordered "Fight!"
The warriors sprung into battle. Skeletor and
Tsung proved to be of almost equal skill as they fought one another with their great
powers of evil magic. Blades superb sword skill caused several deep wounds to Ermac,
and Saurod amazed Shao Khan as he almost set Chameleon on fire with the sparks from his
mouth. Ninjor and Scorpion proved worthy opponents of one another with their splendid
high-kicks and karate chops, while Evil-Lyns magic bewildered the powerful Reptile
as she called upon the powers of the ancient demons to fire super energy blasts from her
fingertips.
"STOP!" called Khan. "I have seen
enough. Warriors of Eternia, you impress me with your skills. You are all entered for the
tournament. Skeletor, you are my chosen champion for the tournament. Once we have won, I
will give you the earth to rule!"
"Once we win," hissed Skeletor under
his breath, "I kill you and rule not just the Earth but the Outworld."
Baraka approached Blade from the shadows, and
slashed him across the chest with his long nails. For a second Blade drew back in pain,
but then he licked blood from the gash in his chest, and said "Thank you very much. I
havent had a decent cut in ages."
"Ive never seen such skill with
swords!" hissed Baraka. "We two should fight alongside one another. We can slash
those Earth fighters to pieces."
"And slashing humans to pieces is my main
reason for existence." laughed Blade, and he and Baraka licked the blood that dripped
to the ground.
"Now we can let Mortal Kombat begin!"
said Khan. "The next step is to deliver news to the Earth warriors of the
tournament!"
Unknown to the evil warriors, their every move
was being watched through a viewscreen by Zodac, the cosmic enforcer of the universe, and
Rayden, the thunder God. Zodacs computer had detected that the Evil forces of
Eternia had travelled to Outworld, and Zodac had called his close friend Rayden to his
space station to watch them. Zodac and Rayden knew each other through their patrol of many
realms, and had shared several adventures together.
"You have told me much about the evil
warriors of Eternia, Zodac," said Rayden grimly, "and now it appears as though I
will actually be meeting them. And even if I say it myself- they look powerful. They are a
possible threat to the safety of the Earth. Thank you for calling me here, Zodac, or they
would have sprung a surprise on us."
"I had to warn you of this danger."
said the masked cosmic enforcer, in his low, monotone voice. "I am not permitted to
act in the battle between good and evil unless the cosmic balance is severely threatened,
so I will not enter the tournament- but I knew you had to know about this."
"And I will take immediate action."
said Rayden. "These evildoers do not know that we know their plan- so that means that
I can spring a surprise on them."
"Will you warn the Earth warriors?"
asked Zodac.
"I will warn the Earth warriors,"
replied Rayden, "and I will try to do so before they receive news of the tournament-
but first, I must recruit new warriors. One question, Zodac- is Skeletor close to
conquering Eternia? Does he ever win battles?"
"Skeletor has tried hard, but is still not
even on the verge of conquering Eternia. The Guardians of Grayskull prove too powerful for
him."
"Then the Guardians of Grayskull are the
very people I need. I will call for the help of He-Man, and his trusted warriors.
Well soon show Khan and Skeletor that theyve no chance."
"Then you must act quickly, Rayden. Take
action before you are too late."
"I shall act right away! I will teleport
myself to Eternia. Goodbye for now, Zodac- and thank you for the warning."
The thunder God spread out his arms, and was
surrounded by bolts of electrical energy, which concealed his entire body, which then
vanished as the great Rayden teleported to Eternia.
PART 5: HE-MAN MEETS RAYDEN
Prince Adam sat on the balcony of the Royal
Palace of Eternia, looking over the busy city of Eternos below. The tall, elegant towers
of Eternos gleamed in the bright sunlight. As Adam watched and admired the great city, he
recited his favourite Eternian poems in his head. Hed heard them so often that he
did not have to sit and read them. He knew the words off by heart. And he loved to spend
time alone on the balcony, his own place of peace and luxury, and a break from the many
times he had to save Eternia from danger as He-Man.
Suddenly Adams peace was interrupted by a
noise from behind. Adam spun round on his heel. Was this an attack? There came a sudden
burst of crackling electricity from out of nowhere. Crackling bolts circled through the
air, before joining together and forming a human shape. Then the bolts died down, and the
human shape formed colour and features, taking on the form of a man with long, flowing
hair, wearing a strange pointed straw hat.
"Who are you?" Adam asked.
The strange man stepped forward, and shook
Adams hand. "Greetings, Eternian." he said, "I am Rayden, God of
thunder. I have come to you seeking help."
"Erm
.. how can I help you?" Adam
asked, confused.
"I spend my time patrolling realms- and one
such realm has led me to become involved in a tournament called Mortal Kombat. Most of the
warriors in the tournament come from the evil realm of Outworld- or from planet
Earth."
"Earth!" exclaimed Adam. "The
planet my mother comes from!"
"Indeed. In charge of the tournament is the
evil emperor Shao Khan- but in recent years Khan has undergone defeat by the Earth
warriors, and his rule of Outworld seems threatened. But, to help him win the next
tournament, he has recruited some new fighters. And these new fighters, I believe, are
familiar to you."
"Familiar?" said Adam. "Who are
they?"
"Their names are Evil-Lyn, Ninjor, Saurod,
Blade and
.. Skeletor."
"Skeletor! So hes been entered for the
tournament!"
"Indeed so. The extra power added by the
Eternian warriors is a possible threat to the Earth warriors safety. Not that I
dont think we could defeat them- theyre all very powerful- but we could do
with some extra help. And I feel that you are just the person to provide that help!"
This is strange, thought Adam- why was Rayden
talking to him as though he was He-Man? He must be mistaken, Adam thought. But he knew he
could still provide help- he could change to He-Man after Rayden had gone.
"Im sorry, my friend, but I think
youre mistaken. Much as I wish I could help, Im no warrior. There are many
good warriors on Eternia, but I am not one of them. Im afraid I cannot help
you."
"Ah, but if you change into He-Man you
can!"
"But
.. how do you know? Who told you I
was He-Man?"
"When you patrol the universe, and watch so
many people, you pick things up!" replied Rayden. "And I, together with my close
friend Zodac, often watch the universe together. We both know your great secret- as do
several other watchers of the universe- as we basically know everything. But dont
worry- we wont reveal it to anyone. Now you must change- as we must get to the
tournament before its too late!"
"Then Im most glad to help." Adam
said, and raised his sword of power.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL
..
I HAVE THE POWER!"
A flash of light emerged from the sword,
surrounding the prince completely. Once the light and energy died down, he was transformed
into He-Man, mightiest man in the universe.
"Just one thing before we leave,
Rayden." He-Man said. "I must make sure youre telling me the truth."
"Youre not saying you suspect me of
trying to trick you?" asked Rayden.
"No," replied He-Man, "but I must
make sure. The evil warriors on this planet can play many cunning tricks- so for all I
know, you could be an evil warrior trying to trick me into leaving this planet. I will use
my sword to ensure you speak the truth."
He-Man held his sword in front of Rayden, and the
sword glowed bright white.
"If the glow turns red, it means you are
trying to trick me." said He-Man, "so just repeat what you told me."
Rayden repeated what he had said about the
tournament. The sword did not flash once.
"The sword tells me you are not evil. I will
accompany you at once! But first we must go to Grayskull, to let the Sorceress know
were leaving!"
He-Man quickly sought out Man-At-Arms, and
informed him that he was leaving. Man-At-Arms said he would tell the other warriors.
He-Man then called Extendar to his side, and then Rayden teleported himself and the two
warriors to Grayskull, leaving Man-At-Arms in charge of the citys defence.
They materialised inside Grayskull, where they
were quickly greeted by the Sorceress.
"Greetings, my friends." she said. Then
she turned to Rayden, and said "Please introduce yourself, stranger."
Stunned by her beauty, Rayden explained that he
was the thunder God and had sought out He-Man to help him in Mortal Kombat, and that Shao
Khan was using Skeletor as his champion.
"Then I wish you luck in the
tournament." said the Sorceress. "And remember, if you need any extra help, I
will be here."
"Well remember, Sorceress." said
He-Man. "Now lets make our way to Outworld. We have no time to waste."
"Not yet, my friend." replied Rayden.
"I think it would be better if we went first to Earth. There you can meet the Earth
warriors, whom you will be battling alongside. It will also give you time to prepare for
battle."
"Then you may use the dimensional portal to
reach Earth." said the Sorceress.
"We dont need to-" said Rayden,
"I can teleport us!" He spread his arms and the three of them were engulfed by
electrical energy.
"Once more, I wish you luck!" said the
Sorceress, and the two warriors and the thunder God were gone in a flash.