The opening takes place at the Temple of Light where Liu Kang is practicing martial arts. In the background Raiden is talking abut the history of the tournament. As he finishes Liu sees Shang Tsung as he enters the room. They fight and Liu Kang begins to win the battle as a mysterious figure steps out of the shadows and knocks him down. Shang Tsung takes Liu Kang’s soul and then Liu wakes up from his nightmare.

In the US the Special Forces are fighting in the headquarters of the Red Dragon where we see Sonya and her team shooting at the enemy. Sonya watches as one of her men is hit by a hidden shooter and she chases after him and gets into a fight in a large garage. Above in a private room two men, Mavado and Hsu Hoa, prepare a bomb to go off.

Sonya takes out her opponent but she is nearly hit by Mavado and his men escaping while driving a truck. As they fly past they chuck the bomb out of the window and the timer has ten seconds left on it. Sonya runs for it and barely makes it out alive as the bomb causes a huge blast destroying the garage.

In the realm of Outworld the OIA, led by Major Jackson Briggs, are flying in a helicopter as they search for the surviving members of the Black Dragon who had managed to make it into Outworld through a portal. Tremor, a hulking ninja imposter, is leading them along with his comrades Jarek and Tasia. As gunfire continues between the two groups Jax gets a rocket launcher and blasts it into the enemy cave. They land and manage to arrest all the surviving Black Dragons.

Back on earth the Temple of Light are preparing for the next official tournament and they are already sending out the invitations to warriors all around the world. Liu Kang writes a personal letter to his friend, Kai, who is training in India. At this point of time the head of the temples, Liu Kang’s grandfather, is sick. As Liu Kang comforts him Raiden appears a few moments afterwards and he warns Liu Kang that something is wrong in Outworld for some reason he is unable to speak of. Raiden informs Liu Kang that this tournament must be cancelled or it could threaten the safety of earth realm.

Later on Liu Kang is meditating during sunset and he thinks about Raiden’s words and he remembers his nightmare and his dead brother. He has a second vision of Shang Tsung as he murders Princess Kitana.

Back at the Special Forces base Sonya and Jax are talking about the Red Dragon and how it was her fault they escaped from them. They make their way through the prison where it contains many criminals of the different realms and the Black Dragon. Sonya and Jax ask Jarek what he knows about the Red Dragon and all he can tell them is that they are doing business with a couple of mysterious people. When Sonya leaves she finds a letter inside her mailbox inviting her to compete in the next tournament.

Deep in the mountains of China a man sits on top of an icy cliff wearing only pants. He is in deep concentration and we can see that he has a scar on his eye, the mark of a traitor. A sense of anger flows through him and he has a vision of Scorpion and Shang Tsung. He is worried by the thoughts but then he stares down at an invitation to the newest tournament and he gives in. He will compete in Mortal Kombat as his brother did years ago.

The day of the tournament has arrived and many fighters have shown up. One warrior has his eyes set on the great construction of the temples as he gets off of a boat and removes a very strange hat from his head, this is Kung Lao. He makes his way up the stairs and then bows to the statues of his ancestors. He is greeted by his brother monk Liu Kang and they instantly get into an argument about their chosen paths of life but Kung Lao is jealous for he is one of the few that know Liu Kang’s heroism in the tournament. Liu Kang leaves as the last few guests arrive. Amongst them are Sonya and Jax and Kai follows behind them. Kung Lao watches from behind a pillar and he is confronted by Raiden who tells him not to be jealous because the same power flows in his blood too.

That evening at the dinner Liu Kang, Sonya, Jax and Kai are talking about how Raiden is worried about the future. They try and ignore the thoughts and that is when we see two of the warriors, Kung Lao being one of them, arguing. The man complains that Kung Lao is not welcome in the tournament and when he tries to slap him in the head he cuts his hand on Kung Lao’s bladed hat. Liu Kang breaks it up and they nearly get into another fight as Raiden appears and directs their attention towards the sky and he points out that someone has entered through a portal in the area from Outworld.

Later that night Liu Kang goes off into the woods alone searching for the person from the realm of Outworld. It turns out that it is Kitana and she says that Shang Tsung is back and he is launching a war on Edenia. Kitana asks him to come to Edenia to help her but Liu is determined to stay behind and fulfill his duties as the earth’s champion. Kitana is enraged by this and she attacks Liu Kang taunting him. Liu Kang doesn’t want to hurt her but then she changes into her true form, Shang Tsung and he clenches him by the throat. Since the sorcerer is too strong Liu Kang is helpless and Shang Tsung opens a portal and casts him through a portal back into the Outworld.

The next day when the tournament begins nobody knows where Liu Kang is. The rest are unable to find him so they attend the first match of the tournament. Right in the middle of the fight a portal opens in the middle of the arena, vaporizing the two fighters, suddenly a pale skinned man in black garbs appears. This is Quan-Chi and he means business. As his minions surround the temple Quan-Chi talks about how they are going to fight in another tournament back in his homeland of Outworld. When one of the fighters steps up to fight Quan-Chi he breaks his neck with ease. Using his black magic Quan-Chi opens a gigantic portal that surrounds the entire temple and transports it to Outworld for the tournament.

In the heavens the Elder Gods speak with Raiden about Quan-Chi and Shang Tsung and a debate on whether to help or not is fought. In the end Raiden gives up his Elder God rank and since the other warriors are trapped in Outworld he resurrects two warriors to help in saving the earth: Johnny Cage and Kabal.

Raiden, Cage and Kabal arrive at the base of the Special Forces, a place all too familiar to Kabal. They try and warn the generals of the unit but they don’t believe in the Elder Gods and he thinks they are spies. Suddenly the prison erupts into a disaster as a group of ninja warriors led by Shang Tsung open the gates releasing the criminals inside. Two criminals in particular that we already know, Baraka and Reptile, escape with Shang Tsung. After disposing of their enemies the three heroes discover that Jarek is the only one left to help so they enlist him into the group, not knowing of his true occupation.

After traveling into Outworld the four warriors meet up with the Lin Kuei and they attack them with Sektor leading the assault. Once they start to lose Sub-Zero arrives to fight the cyborg and then Frost appears and finishes him off. Together the six fighters join together and they head off to find the others.

The Temple of Light has become Quan-Chi’s new base of operations. With Shang-Tsung they discuss the plans for destroying the mortals and then opening a gate to hell in order to release Shinnok. The new evil members of the group are Baraka, Reptile, Mavado and Hsu Hoa. Scorpion appears and asks when he will be able to fight Sub-Zero. Below them the roars of two monsters, Drahmin and Moloch, can be heard.

In the wastelands the six heroes are confronted by two warriors Kenshi and Li Mei. They see each other as enemies and Kabal attacks Kenshi but Raiden breaks up the fight and he asks them to join them. From there on the eight warriors side together and while the other earth warriors compete in the tournament they fight to free them.

Who will win this new dark tournament??