Like a Stone
By Sunrose22
Prologue: Legends Divided
I don't remember much from the battle at Armageddon. That's a consequence of dying early.
I do remember the look on Johnny Cage's face when he shoved me off the pyramid. He looked me in the eyes and proclaimed how sorry he was. It hurts when someone's words contradict their actions. He said he didn't want to harm me, yet he pushed me to my death.
I hit the ground hard, but I didn't die. I felt pain and I heard cracking of various bones, but I still opened my eyes. My legs were broken. My right tibia jutted out of the skin, and I couldn't move from the waist down. It hurt like hell.
I reached for Kitana's ankle as she threw one of her signature fans at an opponent. She looked down at me for a second. I saw the realization and regret in her doe eyes before she moved on. My ally ignored me. No matter what the legends claim, the forces of good reverted to "every man for himself." Johnny and now Kitana betrayed me. What had we become?
It's irrelevant. It was only a matter of time before I was trampled, or worse, discovered. I had many enemies on the battlefield. I didn't know how I'd die, but I just hoped he wouldn't be the one to do it. I could take anyone else. Anyone. Just not Kano.
I lost consciousness for a while. I don't know how long. I awoke to his boot tapping me. My stomach lurched at the sight of him. His lips curled in a hideous smile and his red eye glinted. I knew how he wanted to kill me, and I was one hundred percent right. I looked into his eyes as the laser activated.
It hurt. Oh God, it hurt. He fried me like a southern chicken leg. I screamed and sobbed as the heat engulfed me. The acrid smell of every hair on my body burning at once filled me with nausea. I felt the elastic in my pants warp. The burning fabric became lava, embedding itself in my blackening skin. It became clear that I was finally meeting my maker. He had officially won our rivalry. He had beaten me.
And I begged. I wanted it to stop so badly that I pleaded with him to stop. Jesus, I had never begged for anything in my life. I stayed tough while I faced a firing squad or being tortured in Shao Kahn's dungeon. "'Just say please and we'll stop.'" they sneered. I always had a quick comeback for them. I even flipped them the bird a few times. Now, there I lie, begging the man I absolutely despised for mercy. I can honestly say I would have done almost anything for it.
He stopped once I had third and fourth degree burns over most of my body. I felt the wind against the parts of me that still had nerve endings, and I screamed some more. I looked up at him and suddenly felt like begging again. This time I begged for a merciful death. He smirked, wagged a finger at me and kicked my leg. I felt the bone shift more and groaned hoarsely. My throat burned from all the crying I had done. I couldn't scream anymore.
He watched me in bemusement for seconds, or was it hours? I couldn't tell. After those painful moments, he showed mercy for the first time in his existence. He grabbed me, lifted me over his head and pulled...
They say he ripped me in half. Once I stopped kicking, he dropped me in the dirt and moved on. What did I expect? He certainly wouldn't mourn me. I guess nobody really would. All my friends and allies were scattered across the battlefield.
I wish I could say that I went to a blissful afterlife. I wanted heaven, where every soul received an opulent mansion and lived in paradise free from worry or pain for eternity. Instead, I drifted in confusion and fear. The pain never left. I don't remember the end of the battle. I don't remember Johnny defeating Blaze and Earth returning to normal. All I remember is waking up in that Edenian medic camp. My burns were gone and my body was intact. All was right with the world.
Or at least it was supposed to be...