Chapter 1

Prison

He was silently cursing himself as he walked towards where the prisoners from Earthrealm were being held. Never in his life did he do things like this. Never did it even cross his mind. He never held much regard for other people, none at all really. It had always been about doing the job he had been paid to do, then moving on. But, this, this was different. He knew why. It was because of her. That young woman in the Earthrealm military, the young blonde woman with an attitude like no other. Damn. What was the name again...? Cassandra. That was the name. Cassandra Cage, if he was not mistaken, and he was fairly sure that he wasn't. Her companions interested him little if any. They were typical Earthrealmers, like all the others he'd seen before. But, her, she was anything but typical. In all of his very long life, he had never come across anyone like her, and he somehow felt that he had to know more about her. She was pretty, there was no denying that. But, that wasn't the sole reason she fascinated him so much. He had seen many pretty women before in his long life. But, none like her. She had an attitude like no other, and she could fight better than many of the men he'd come across over the years. She was braver, too. She had this no-nonsense attitude, and was determined to get her job done no matter what. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this, but he had to see her again.

She sat against the wall blowing the occasional bubble with her chewing gum. Some moonlight streamed in through the barred window. Her three friends were asleep in their respective cells and she knew that she should probably be doing the same, but she just couldn't manage to sleep. Surprisingly, it wasn't the imminent danger that had her concerned. It was the strange thoughts that were swirling around in her head. There was one person in particular that plagued her thoughts. It was an Outworlder, though he was human, a mysterious man, seemingly even to his allies. He was quiet most of the time, usually saying no more than he needed to, which added to his mystery. When he did speak, though, he had a low, deep voice, a voice seemingly void of emotion. Though, he did have an attitude, something Cassie could relate to, and even somewhat respect. She wasn't quite sure what was going on with her. This was something she had never quite experienced before. At a time when she should be thinking about her family or finding a way to escape, all she could think of was him, the mysterious cowboy working for Kotal Khan. Fuck, what was the name...? Erron. That was it. Erron Black. The Outworld Cowboy. She could still see his eyes, still hear his deep voice. 'Damn it, Cassie. Get a grip.' she thought to herself. Suddenly, she heard footsteps on the floor above, then coming down the stairs.

She looked to the direction of the footsteps, and she could see someone coming down the stairs. She could only see a shadow at first, but the closer he came to her cell, the more she could make out details. When she saw the man clearly, she could hardly believe it. It was him, the very man she had been thinking about, Erron Black. What could he possibly be doing there? Had the Emperor sent him to kill her and her friends? She instantly got to her feet and looked him in the eyes, scowling on the outside, though, on the inside, her heart was beating so fast that she swore it would beat right out of her chest. He looked at her there, behind bars, and, for a moment, he was tempted to let her out. He studied her face for a moment and he could see that fire in her eyes that had first caught her attention.

"I take it you're not here to let me out." she said.

"I think you know I can't do that." he said. That low, deep voice was just how she remembered it.

"Then why the hell are you here? Did Kotal Kahn send you to kill us? Well, just do it, then. I'm not afraid of you." Cassie told him. He answered her with one word.

"No." he said.

"What? What do you mean no?" Cassie said. His answer had taken her by surprise, and she was definitely confused. He wasn't there to let her out. He wasn't there to kill her. The look on her face amused him and he almost snickered a little.

"Then why are you here?" Cassie asked. Erron held out his hand, and Cassie realized that he was holding a cup.

"What's with the cup?" she asked.

"What do you think? It's for you." he answered, his deep voice still with that emotionless sound to it.

"O-kay..." she said, still somewhat confused as she took the cup from his hand. The cup was filled with water. She looked inside the cup, then at Erron again.

"Are you trying to poison me?" she said raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why would I poison you? If I wanted you dead, I'd have just shot you." he said matter-of-factory. That was true. Poison wasn't his style. He would have just killed her outright. But, Cassie wondered why then he would bring her water.

"I just thought you might be thirsty." he said. Though it was true that the Outworld jungle that they were in was humid and hot and the lower level of the ship where they were being held was stuffy, and she was thirsty, Cassie found it hard to believe that Erron Black had gone all humanitarian all of a sudden. She could see no sign of aggression in his eyes and she was thirsty, so she put the cup to her lips and began drinking the water. It felt good on her dry throat and though confused as to why Erron Black had given it to her, she was grateful for the drink. She drank it dry and handed the cup back to him. After a moment of hesitation, she said quietly, "Thank you."

"See? Now, is that so hard?" he said. He couldn't help but grin behind his mask. He never thought that she would actually thank him. Even considering the situation, Cassie couldn't help but smile at his comment. That was the first time he had ever seen her smile. He began to walk away, then turned around to look at her again.

"Just so you know, I didn't know anything about this." he said.

"What?" Cassie asked.

"I didn't know Kotal Kahn was going to take you prisoner. He doesn't tell me anything. I just do what I'm paid to do. I don't ask questions. Not sure if he'd tell me if I did. D'Vorah's the only one he trusts with information like that. So, I didn't know anything about this." he said. Then he continued to walk away. Cassie watched him as he disappeared up the stairs. 'What was that about?' she wondered. Was that Erron Black's way of apologizing for what Kotal Kahn was doing? He obviously wanted her to know that he had nothing to do with it. But, why? Even more confused about Erron Black than she was before, Cassie sighed and slumped back down against the wall again. It was then that she remembered something.

-Flashback-

She stood in the jungle looking over a map, trying to plan the best route for she and D'Vorah to take to get into Mileena's camp without being discovered. She thought that everyone else was inside Kotal Kahn's palace discussing tactics and things. That was when she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see the Outworld Cowboy, Erron Black, watching her from a short distance away.

"What are you looking at, fugly?" she said. The truth was, he didn't look ugly at all, but she was angry that he was looking at her, and she couldn't think of any other insults for him, which was a rarity for Cassie. Usually, she was always able to come up with something witty to say about someone. He didn't seem offended, only amused as he snickered to himself and continued cleaning his gun. Cassie scowled as she went back to what she was doing.

-End Flashback-

Cassie sighed again as exhaustion finally overtook her and she fell asleep leaning against the wooden wall of the cell.