These are the events that took place during the timeframe of Mortal Kombat 4,
the fourth MK fighting game, as well as the Dreamcast-exclusive upgrade of the
game: MK Gold (which, as UMK3 and MKT did for MK3, elaborates on the latter
part of the MK4 storyline.) While the majority of it is from the game itself,
as well as the tied-in prequel MKM:Sub-Zero, some of it was contributed by
elaborations in other games.
4-1-1. Tanya, the daughter of Edenia's ambassador to new realms, invited
refugees who are fleeing their own world into the safety of Edenia. The fallen
elder god, Shinnok, saw his opportunity to both escape his confines in the
Netherealm and exact his revenge on those who were responsible for him being
sent there in the first place. Queen Sindel initially welcomed all of the
refugees into her realm, but she soon realized that one of them was actually
Shinnok, accompanied by his Army of Darkness, led by Quan Chi. The portal he
came through originated from the Netherealm.
4-1-1a. Quan Chi took Princess Kitana captive. When Liu Kang heard of this, he
ventured into Edenia in hopes of rescuing her.
4-1-1b. Quan Chi made Scorpion an offer he could not refuse: his continued
existence, in exchange for his services as a warrior against the elder gods.
4-1-1c. To give himself an advantage, Quan Chi had managed to keep one secret
from everyone else involved: he was in possession of the real amulet. Even
Shinnok and Raiden were unaware of this.
4-1-2. Shinnok was ready to confront the elder gods once again. From Edenia,
Shinnok waged a war on the true elder gods. Quan Chi lead Shinnok's Army of
Darkness in this attack on the heavens. Raiden had returned home to celebrate
the Earth warriors' victory over Shao Kahn, only to find his elders under
attack from his old nemesis, Shinnok. Raiden soon became one of the last
surviving gods of Earth realm. Liu Kang, having failed in his mission to free
Kitana in Edenia (4-1-1a), and returned home to Earth realm. He then reunited
with an old friend he had met in America a few years back, named Kai. Kai was a
former fellow member of the White Lotus Society, trained by great masters
throughout Asia. Together, they mount an effort to bring together warriors from
their home realm to assist Raiden in the new war against Shinnok.
4-1-2a. Fujin, one of the few other surviving gods of Earth, joined Raiden.
Fujin is also known as the god of wind, and was once one of the four Elemental
Gods appointed by Raiden to guard the sacred amulet (0-2-3a).
4-1-2b. With the heavens in disarray, Johnny Cage observed these recent events
from above. He asked Raiden to resurrect his deceased soul so he could fight
alongside Liu Kang again, this time against Shinnok's forces.
4-1-2c. Sonya continued to chase Jarek (3-3-3d) and eventually found herself in
the middle of the new inter-realm war against Shinnok. She had to survive long
enough to warn the American government. Jarek agreed to fight with her against
Shinnok's forces, although it was difficult to trust him even in this
situation. Jax headed after Sonya but soon found out the greater danger Sonya's
mission had led her into.
4-1-2d. Sub-Zero again donned the old uniform to join the fight against
Shinnok's Army of Darkness. His late brother had defeated Shinnok years ago in
the Netherealm (0-6-4b). The secrets from his brother were passed down to him,
possibly including the ones that may hold the key to Shinnok's destruction.
4-1-2e. One of Shinnok's generals, Reiko, was initially believed to have been
killed during this battle, but he soon resurfaced to return to his position in
Shinnok's army.
4-2-1. The destructive battles between Raiden and Shinnok were fought once
again. This time, however, it was possible for mortals to participate, so both
deities recruited as many to fight on their respective sides as they could.
4-2-1a. When Quan Chi and his forces gradually moved out of Edenia in their war
effort, Kitana saw her chance to escape capture (4-1-1a). Her escape seemed
surprisingly easy to her. She quickly joined the battles against Shinnok and
Quan Chi.
4-2-1b. Kung Lao, previously thought to have been killed during the final
battles between the Earth warriors and Shao Kahn, had merely turned to a new
life without violence, in reverence to his ancestral beliefs. Rumors of Goro's
return, however, soon reached him, and he could not resist joining in on the
battles if it meant he may finally be able to avenge his great ancestor, the
original Kung Lao (0-6-3).
4-2-1c. Cyrax was soon recovered by Sonya and Jax. Using their Outerworld
Investigation Agency's facilities (0-5-5a), they were able to restore his soul.
In return, Cyrax joined their agency and became their Outworld scout,
periodically entering the Outworld using their facilities and reporting back to
them. Sonya then led a team out on a mission to destroy all other inter-realm
portals they could find. Jax began spending most of his time in the underground
facilities.
4-2-1d. Mileena, who had been Shinnok's servant in the Netherealm for some time
now (2-1-2a), saw this war as her opportunity to both escape her servitude to
the fallen elder god, as well as exact her revenge on Kitana. Knowing that
Kitana would fight for Edenia against Shinnok (4-2-1a), Mileena predicted that
when Kitana moves into battle, it should provide her with an easy escape route.
4-2-1e. Baraka, as always, is eager to return to battle for any cause. When he
travelled back through Edenia, Quan Chi offered to allow Baraka to serve at his
side. Baraka easily accepted.
4-2-2. Raiden defeated Shinnok once again, as his forces eventually overpowered
those of the fallen elder god. Raiden was then given a position among the elder
gods (0-1-2). Shinnok's arch-sorcerer, Quan Chi, began pursuing his own goals
for the first time after so many centuries of subservience to Shinnok.
