Having been in hiding since the first Mortal kombat, neither the Earth nor the Outworld has recognized this elusive ninja. Ermac uses his victory in the tournament to prove his existence... As well as a warning that he will return as an unstoppable force in the fourth Mortal Kombat. When Kahn finally eliminates his opposition, he finds a new and surprising foe in Ermac. The Outworld souls that give life to the warrior did not trust their tyrannical leader who planned to consume the powerful life for his own power. Even Shao Kahn's power was no match for the overwhelming strength of legions of deceased Outworld warriors. They destroyed their master in a battle that devastated the entire realm. Ermac was left behind to rule it with his own brand of opression.

Jade makes the decision to assist her longtime friend, Kitana. She thwarts an assassination attempt by Reptile against the princess and fends off their other Outworld enemies. This clears the path for Kitana to turn Sindel against the Emperor Shao Kahn. With Sindel remoed as an enemy Jade finds herself facing the Emperor in Kombat. She defeats him and both Earth and her former homeland of Edenia are transformed to their original states. Jade has earned herself a place alongside the great heroes of Mortal Kombat.

Kitana evades the evil clutches of Shao Kahn and escapes into the unknown regions of Earth. She survives an assassination attempt by the vile creature Reptile, and allies herself with her onetime comrade - Jade. Together with the help of Earth's Warriors, Kitana reaches Sindel and turns the Queen against her Emperor. With Shao Kahn defeated the Earth is changed back to its original state, as is Kitana's realm of Edenia. She will be forever in debt to her friends from Earth as she rules the new realm of Edenia at Queen Sindel's side.

Winning the third tournament enables Mileena to reclaim her role as the Outworld Queen. With the help of Baraka she then takes both Sindel and her daughter Kitana hostage. Together they threaten Shao Kahn with their lives unless he lures the Earth-born warrior. Into a fourth Mortal Kombat where Baraka can return regain his title as the Ultimate Mortal Kombat Champion When Mileena is murdered, she finds her soul reborn in an evil place called the Netherealm. Here she accepts servitude to an all mighty god known as Shinnok. It is Shinnok who allows her soul to be reborn on the outworld. Her loyalty to Shao Kahn is replaced by her fear of Shinnok. Mileena plots to overthrow her own father. The ability to read Kitana's mind and predict the Earth warriors motives, enables Mileena to set up her father's downfall. When Kahn is weakened by the onslaught of attacks, Mileena takes the opportunity to destroy her father and allow Shinnok to step forward and take both realms for his own sinister purposes.

At first a passive observer, Noob Saibot would soon receive orders to side with the evil Emperor Shao Kahn. Saibot's leaders in the Netherrealm want him to join kahn's battle to gain his trust and to gain entrance into the Earth Realm. When Kahn drops his guard, Noob Saibot is ordered to attack. With both the Earth Realm and the Outworld's Emperor defeated, the fallen Elder God known as Shinnok can take both realms and gain the power he needs to strike back at the Elder God who banished him into the Netherrealm. This Ending appears only in MKTrilogy and UMK3 for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. * These finishers can't be performed in the arcade and Sega Saturn versions of UMK3 - In the arcade and Sega Saturn versions of UMK3, Noob Saibot is playable with external cheats.

Rain fights valiantly for the Emperor Shao Kahn. But it would be Kahn's own step daughter, the Princess Kitana who turns Rain against him. Like Kitana, Rain's origins also come from their former realm of Edenia. He learns that his father was once a general in Edenia's army and died at the hands of Shao Kahn himself. Enraged at the truth about his history, he joins Kitana in aligning with the Earth Realm Warriors. But his allegiance comes under question when he mysteriosly disappears during an extermination squad attack. To prove his loyalty he embarked on a suicide mission to destroy Shao Kahn and end the menace once and for all. This Ending appears only in MKTrilogy and UMK3 for Sega Genesis.

Reptile is ordered by Shao Kahn to find and kill Kitana. He is successful in completing his task, but upon returning, finds himself shunned by the Emperor. Shao Kahn promised Reptile that if he was successful that he would resurrect Reptile's race. Shao Kahn never had any intentions of fulfilling his promise. Enraged, Reptile turns against his master and defeats him in battle but by killing his master, Reptile destroys the one chance to ever know his true race.

Scorpion is inadvertently released from his damnation in hell when Kahn's Plan to overtake that realm goes awry. Free to roam Earth, Scorpion is enlisted by the Emperor to aid him in his quest to destroy the chosen warriors. But, his allegiance to Shao Kahn falters when he discovers one of the chosen warriors to be Sub-Zero. Scorpion has vowed to protect the former ninja as restitution for killing his brother. Shao Kahn finds himself the victim of his own scheme as Scorpion is forced to turn against him, he destroys the Emperor and the Earth is returned to normal. Scorpion finds himself once again roaming the pits of Hell, only to one day rise again.

Winning the tournament enables Smoke to escape his artificial body. He then devotes his life to study the fighting skills of his counter part ninjas: Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Reptile. Withouth Warning Smoke once again vanishes... He retreats into the hidden forest to continue his study, and will remain there until he has perfected the skills of the remaining ninjas and can compete in Mortal Kombat 4. Before his transformation into a cybernetic ninja, Smoke was one of the Lin Kuei's finest ninjas. It was during this time that he came to know his greatest ally - Sub-Zero. When the Lin Kuei decided to automate their warriors, the two attempted to escape. While Sub-Zero successfully eluded capture, Smoke did not. He would become a robotic nightmare, his soul trapped inside a living machine. In his human form Smoke was a fierce warrior. In his mechanical body he is even more lethal. But his true form is that of a human, one he'll know again only in dreams. * These finishers can't be performed in the arcade version of UMK3.

Having been killed in the first tournament, Sub-Zero somehow seems to have emerged to win the third tournament. However, upon removing his mask both the Outworld and the Earth-born warriors... Are shocked to discover the true identity of this warrior. A warrior who has long been missing from a previous Mortal Kombat, and one who will return in the fourth tournament.