Everything all right? You've been off the radar for a while now, even after summer's started. Faithfully awaiting your return.

Reading this got me excited about MK all over again. I loved the way you withheld the names but dropped enough hints for us to know who's who. Each of these scenes made me inexplicably pleased (especially Kuai's scene - I have a weakness). The flow of dialogue was great, and mischievous trickster Raiden is one of my favourite interpretations of him :) Definitely going to keep reading this!

Hey alike you historie we need more fanfic of mk of you stile
(i dont speakimg ingles )
¿Question ; we see oc ?

Ha! Now no one can claim your story isn't gender-equal! And prophylactics in this case refer to rubbers, don't they?

This chapter's so laid back and slice-of-lifey, I love it! But Raiden's got a spy eh? Can't wait to find out who that is.

Also, you planning on bringing in any guys from MKX?

At first, I didn't have much to say on this chapter besides the fact that it definitely passed the Bechdel Test, but after rereading it, I do have more to say.

With each chapter, I find myself unsure of what to think of Shao Kahn. We haven't even seen his point of view yet and already I'm fascinated by your characterization of him. He seems to care genuinely for Mileena, as he warned her about the danger she was now in and didn't harm Kitana despite her actions against him. I know you're not very familiar with the old timeline, but if I recall correctly, Shao Kahn did truly love Kitana and Sindel but Sindel hated him for completely understandable reasons (he did murder her husband, after all, so I don't blame the poor woman one bit) and he deliberately hid the truth from Kitana to prevent her form hating/betraying him as well. I think that as twisted as Shao Kahn has always been, the new timeline turned him into a complete brute that wasn't all that interesting, but here I can't stop pondering what kind of person he is. In your "Kidnapped" story, he showed seemingly real love for his "daughters" and was outraged by their capture, showing he isn't completely coldhearted.

And he's not wrong; there are people who will try to harm him through Mileena *cough*, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, etc *cough*.

Sleep with that dagger under your pillow, Mileena. You're likely gonna be needing it now more than ever. And even with Jade's protection, Kitana should do the same.

I always enjoy reading good Tournament-era fics, and this story's caught my attention. Your writing style is more brief than what I'm used to reading from the good authors on this site, and that's not a bad thing.

My favourite aspects of this story are the impeccable humour and great characterization of pretty much everyone. Your version of Kang is very likeable; his character develops just as the story's tone takes darker turns. Borrowing Raiden's movie characterization is an unusual move, but it's paid off wonderfully and makes an already lively story even more so.

I didn't expect Fujin's inclusion in these events at all, so I was internally screaming in joy and/or excitement whenever he showed up. I REALLY like how mysterious he's being so far, though him aiding Kuai and Tomas does raise a lot of questions for me. (Did the events of Mythologies happen prior to this Tournament? And if so, why does Fujin aid them so freely?) Regardless of my confusion, I hope to see more of Fujin.

I look forward to reading more of this story. Keep up the excellent work!

Okay *rubs hands together* time for a long review so buckle up, Owl.

Ever since the cliffhanger ending last chapter, I had been on the edge of my seat wondering if Smoke or Sub-Zero or both would be captured and turned into cyborgs, so I breathed a sigh of relief when that didn't happen.

Sheeva's response to Goro made me smile a bit. It just sounded so sassy.

Oh boy...Lao. Keeping his death at Shao Kahn's hands in mind from the game, I was worried he would die, but certainly not by Quan Chi's hands. I remember thinking to myself "Eh, Lao's got this" Imagine how aghast I was when well...*that* happened. I genuinely did not see that coming so I'm very impressed. One thing I like about your writing style is how simple yet complex it is. What I mean to say is that you describe everything in a way that sounds formal but not too formal. When someone in real life dies, it always very sudden in my opinion no matter what the circumstances are and that's why I like how you described Lao's death. It really reminds the reader of how truly dangerous Mortal Kombat is and also brings into one's mind the thought: "Well, what did you think was gonna happen, silly? This is Mortal Kombat we're talking about! People die every five seconds in this universe!"

Heheh, Quan Chi is definitely winning the "Who can be the most despicable?" Game. Intentional or not, I kinda like how you made him a little mysterious and look forward to seeing your portrayal of him in future chapters. It was very satisfying to watch Liu Kang beat the shit of Quan Chi, though. Bastard had it coming.

In hindsight, Jin was very young when Lao died in the games so it makes sense that this would happen. Poor kid. I just wanna hug him.

The moment between Kitana and Liu Kang was very bittersweet.

I recall how you mentioned something along the lines of how you felt platonic love was better than romantic love and after thinking about it as well reading the scene between Jade and Kitana, I agree. Romantic partners come and go, especially with divorce rates being what they are nowadays, but your family and friends will always be there for you.

At first, I agreed with Jade's belief regarding Mileena's safety, but after taking some time to ponder, I disagree. Shao Kahn isn't in good health right now, meaning he can't rule Outworld and with Kitana, his heir by all means, declared a traitor and fugitive, that puts Mileena in the spotlight. She's just a child whose friend and sister are now on the run and being hunted and her 'Father' is in bad condition to say the least. Although I can see Baraka, Ermac, Reptile, and even Sheeva looking out for her, I wouldn't past Shang Tsung or possibly Reiko to try to manipulate the princess. She is very naive and young. Affectionate hatred or not, I feel like Mileena is in more danger now than ever before, but that's just my opinion and its your story. You've done a good job so far and I'm never disappointed with your work. Keep it up.

I guess of a few critiques of the fight scenes are in order: hits to the throat and knee are very devastating. Blows to the throat can completely take away a fighter's ability to breathe for a couple of seconds, if not outright kill them by crushing the soft tissue. At any rate throat hits can end a fight, and should be used sparingly. Hits to the knee are also very damaging. A good can will easily kneecap a person, especially an old dude like Shang Tsung. How he managed to take 4 hits to his joint and maintain an ability to stand is beyond me.
Also, bones are not as resilient as you make them out to be. They will break when hit, especially when taking repeated trauma. Behemoths like Goro and the the wolf-beast Shang Tsung became should be able to crush a human's skeleton with their bare hands. I find it highly unlikely that Liu Kang can just take so many hits and fight on. He's not made out of diamond.

Having a good time with this story though. Is this going to cover all the events of MK9?

Yes, given how Chinese names work I suppose it would be correct to call him 'Kang'. I'm just used to people calling him 'Liu', so I was a bit put off. Four chapters in and one explanation later, I've really warmed up to this whole 'Kang' and 'Lao' thing.

One thing: sitting on a bench in whitest marble, was her, not she. This is the first time your non-native English is apparent, but I'm very impressed. I'm used to people who aren't native English speaker's stories to be absolutely horrendous to read. This only demonstrates how much work you've put in to learning the language.

I can't get enough of Johnny hitting on Sonya. That was part of MK9's story that I really liked, and I'm glad to see Johnny hasn't changed in that regard.

Still waiting on a good old fashioned Fatality though. I really don't think Scorpion would hold back on killing someone, but it would be a hassle to bring an important back to life, wouldn't it?

Wow, the Outworld girls. Just wow. I've gotten too used to original timeline if a bit normalcy throws me off.

But what's this? Guns being effective in Mortal Kombat? I've always found it funny how Stryker can just shoot some guy 5 times and deal five percent damage. Jax must be using some crazy hacks if he can end a match in one shot.

This is a very...happy universe you've set up. I guess I'm too used to the original timeline where Kitana is an assassin struggling to break free of Shao Kahn's grasp and where Liu Kang is completely devoted to the Shaolin temple and its teachings. I like it, it's refreshing.

Don't sell your fight scenes short. They're pretty good. The key is to have a good visualization of what you want to happen. Doesn't even have to be realistic; just have the sequence vividly in your mind and try your best to put to words what's happening. Of course, taking inspiration from other sources help a lot too.

Chill Raiden's the best Raiden. Too bad he only exists in the movie. Nightwolf being a professor though? And named Lawrence as well? Oh boy this is gonna be good. Excited to see how this story goes.

Mileena and Kitana's interactions with adorable. It's heartwarming to take a break from the fighting just to get a brief look into these two girls' relationship.

As for Shao Kahn, well who didn't see that one coming? I can imagine he'll want to have words with Kitana after this tournament fails too. If I were Kitana, I'd have Jade beside me 24/7 and learn to sleep with one eye open. I do still think that Shao Kahn loves his 'daughters' to an extent, but I wouldn't put it above or beneath him to hurt or speak cruelly to either of them. I also pity Reptile. Poor guy probably wet himself during that terrifying exchange with Shao Kahn.

Smoke is hilarious by the way. I can imagine Jade won't share that sentiment at first, though. I hope for his sake that he's good at dodging boomerangs.

Regarding Jax...crap. Can't believe I didn't see that one coming. Poor Vera. I also pity Ermac. I can imagine he's probably hanging his head in guilt right now. Jade should be careful around Shao Kahn too.

Oh and finally...a cliffhanger, hmm? You, my dear, are evil. Then again so am I and I couldn't be more proud. I can only wonder what the cyber Lin Kuei will do now...

Thanks for the shout out. Now for my review of this chapter...

I really like the way you write Vera and I'm interested to see your characterization of Kung Jin in the future. So young and already cursing. Kids grow up so fast.

Your interactions between Liu Kang and Kitana were adorable as ever. I'm curious as to whether Mileena or Kitana will ever start fighting themselves. Mileena may be a little too young but I am certainly be interested in seeing these two get in on the action. I like the write you portray Mileena. The reboot turned her into a big baby with zero character development but here she's a kid so of course she'll act like a child because she is one.

I love how discreetly you included D'Vorah and I could have sworn I detected a bit of Erron Black but I could be wrong. For the two men who were on either side of Shao Kahn. Hmm, I certainly recognized Reiko. The other guy gives me Moloch feelings but I'm pretty sure I'm wrong so we'll just have to see.

I'm glad Kitana is slowly but surely seeing Shao Kahn the conquerer he is. I think he does truly love his 'daughters' but that his lust for power and conquest is getting the better of him. I can imagine he won't be as pleased to see Raiden after this tourmenment fails too. I almost pity Shang Tsung.

I really liked the scene with Nightwolf and Liu Kang. I could literally feel Nightwolf's frustration and picture the fake smile on his face as I was reading it.

If your Liu Kang x Kitana scenes make me giggle, the scene between Jade and Smoke had me grinning like an idiot. How interesting of them to fight in the living forest of all places ;).

Keep up the good work.

Things just get more and more interesting