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Following excruciating turmoil in his life, Kung Lao, joined by Taja and Siro, accepts his destiny to protect the Earth Realm from the forces of Outworld, while training a new generation of warriors for Mortal Kombat.

As Siro (series regular Daniel Bernhardt) is being led away from both Baron Reyland’s house and daughter, both of which he’s guarded for years, he warns Jen that something is not right with her new guard Takeda. Little does he know that Takeda has been possessed by Scorpion who has been sent by Shang Tsung (series regular Bruce Locke) to eliminate Kung Lao (series regular Paolo Montalban) and all that he holds dear.

Shang Tsung isn’t the only one who wants rid of Kung Lao. When Kung Lao was caught trying to sneak Jen away from the Baron’s house, he was caught and, true to his word, the Baron sentenced him to death. As the preparations for Kung Lao’s execution are being made, Taja (series regular Kristanna Loken), the captured bandit who was made a servant in the Baron’s household, is visited by Rayden (series regular Jeffrey Meek), disguised as a beggar, who convinces her that her best hope for escape lies in helping Kung Lao also escape. Later, still disguised as a beggar, Rayden happens upon the banished Siro and lets him know that Jen, may indeed, be in danger.

Taja, with the help of Jen, is able to overpower the executioners and free Kung Lao from the gallows. Taja and Kung Lao flee the Baron’s compound, leaving Jen to face her father’s wrath.

Fearing the worst, Kung Lao and Taja sneak back into the Baron’s compound to free Jen. Unbeknownst to them, Siro is there for the same reason. When the three run into each other, it becomes clear to Kung Lao that Rayden is behind their coming together and that it must have significance beyond mere coincidence. Unfortunately for the three, they don’t realize that they are walking into an ambush at the compound which, before it’s over, will cost the Baron his life.

Takeda, on behalf of Shang Tsung, traps Kung Lao and is about to capture his soul for Shang Tsung’s dark purpose, when he is outnumbered by the Baron’s guards. In a desperate attempt to maintain a bargaining position, Takeda kidnaps Jen and disappears into the night.

Exasperated in their search for Jen, Kung Lao, Taja and Siro are aided by Rayden, who instructs Kung Lao to follow the visions that have been plaguing him. These visions lead him back to the Temple of the Order of the Light–where he was trained to be a warrior and where Takeda is now holding Jen hostage. Rayden warns Kung Lao–until he fully commits to being a warrior, he is most vulnerable at the Temple and will not be able to defeat Takeda.

When he arrives at the Temple to rescue Jen, Kung Lao discovers that Takeda has fully transformed into Scorpion, a deadly Ninja with magical powers. In the ensuing battle, in which Kung Lao defeats Scorpion, Jen is killed, but before she dies she tells Kung Lao she will always be with him in his heart.

In light of the turmoil he’s seen in recent days, Kung Lao is filled with a new purpose and accepts his destiny to raise an army of warriors to defend the Earth Realm against the evil forces of Emperor Shao Kahn and Outworld. Looking for a higher purpose in their lives, Taja and Siro join Kung Lao in this quest.

Kung Lao, a reluctant warrior who has successfully defended the Earth Realm in Mortal Kombat, must now decide whether to follow his destiny or his heart.Episode opens with the ancient contest in which humans honorably protect their Earth–Mortal Kombat, a battle where defending warriors face off. If the Earth Realm warrior is victorious, the planet is saved from invasion; if the challenger wins, the Earth’s portals are weakened and the Emperor Shao Kahn, leader of Outworld, can cross over and begin wreaking havoc on the planet and its peoples.

 

In this particular battle, Kung Lao (series regular Paolo Montalban), the Earth warrior, crushes Shang Tsung (series regular Bruce Locke), the Outworld warrior. Instead of killing Shang Tsung, Kung Lao chooses mercy for his opponent and lets him live–a decision which he comes to deeply regret. The defeated Shang Tsung is banished to the Cobalt Mines of Shokan, where he spends his days plotting revenge against Kung Lao and all of the Earth Realm.

Following Kung Lao’s victory, Rayden, God of Thunder and Protector of the Earth Realm (series regular Jeffrey Meek) reveals to him that as the last defending warrior of Earth Realm, he is charged with training a new army of warriors to compete against Shao Kahn’s henchmen in future rounds of Mortal Kombat. Unfortunately for Kung Lao, this wasn’t what he had in mind–he figured after successfully defending the Earth Realm, he’d be able to go on with his life as it was before Mortal Kombat.

Two big parts of this life are the Temple of the Order of Light, which trained Kung Lao to be a warrior and Jen Reyland, a local Baron’s daughter. During the week that the Temple was celebrating the victory in Mortal Kombat, Jen, accompanied by her bodyguard Siro (series regular Daniel Bernhardt), went to make an offering to the temple and its fighters. On the road they were met by three monks who turned out to be highway bandits trying to rob them. Luckily for Jen, but not the bandits, Siro is a master martial artist, who not only defended Jen, but also took one of the bandits, Taja (series regular Kristanna Loken), prisoner. Taja would eventually become a servant in Baron Reyland’s household.

Turning his back on his destiny, Kung Lao asks for Jen’s hand in marriage, but is quickly rebuffed by the Baron who states that Kung Lao’s association with the Temple and the ‘Elder Gods’ and ‘Realms’ is not a suitable lifestyle for his only daughter. When Kung Lao protests, the Baron tells him that any further contact with his daughter would be considered a threat and he’d have no choice to but to have Kung Lao killed.

Meanwhile, in the Cobalt Mines, Shang Tsung has taken up with the vile she-prisoner Vorpax (series regular Tracy Douglas). While neither can be trusted, they need one another as Shang Tsung still has his powers of sorcery, but cannot leave the mines and Vorpax, although not as powerful as her partner, is able to cross through portals into other Realms to carry out his evil deeds. In his first strike against Kung Lao, Shang Tsung enlists the deadly warrior Scorpion to visit the Earth Realm and begin his revenge.

Through a series of malicious machinations involving Scorpion, Shang Tsung is able to thwart Jen and Kung Lao’s palnned elopement; have Kung Lao captured by the Baron’s guards and sentenced to death; and have the loyal Siro disgraced and banished from the Baron’s household–leaving his fate, as well as that of Jen and Kung Lao up in the air.