Infrared
Keep The Peace
Hanzo found Kara meditating, in a small garden near her home on Earthrealm, spectrum kaleidoscope flowers around her, Spring's sweetness in the air. It was secluded, quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. Peaceful, tranquil, much needed after the days events.
"Good evening, Master Hasashi."
The woman's greeting startled the man. She chuckled silently, gesturing over her shoulder, using a swing of her arms as momentum to stand and turn. Much smaller than himself, the brunette's petite form stepped towards him. She bowed respectfully, the man returning it brought want to smile on the General's face. She stifled it, deeming the action inappropriate. She was glad for her robes, they made her look like a warrior.
In her civilian clothing? Not so much.
That, and the fact she had to look up, crane her neck just to meet his gaze...
"I trust the meeting with my leader went well? That's good." She sighed, letting her hair fall over her eyes. "I also trust he talked you out of swarming the kamp?"
Amusement played on her features, hair masking it. Trying to sound adult, she continued.
"You aren't in the right frame of mind, right now. Everything changed in the blink of an eye, your world thrown about. The attack would be fuelled by rage, chained, caged for many years. An affliction, predilection leaning towards the imminent death of Quan Chi."
"Lies" Hanzo began, startling Kara from stupor, "they", he snarled, "he burrowed under my skin, laying deceit, treachery in their wake. He is to die, pay for what he has done. Atone. Blood for blood, he will pay the debt."
"That's a heavy debt, its weight on you must be intolerable."
The leader smirking shot warning signs into the woman's mind. She readied it, guarded it, invisible shield manifesting over her form.
"You sound like Kuai."
His tone spoke beguilement, in several uses for the word...
"Speak your mind, I shall not attack you."
Kara froze.
"You might, if I do that. I have quite the mouth on me when feeling, under pressure."
"I would rather honesty than flowery words, hushed apologetic."
"Of course. I, too prefer honesty to, bull..."
Kara dropped the barrier, walking forward, meeting tense features, with worried eyes. Offering a hand, she let herself smile when he shook it.
"Kara", she kept the smile, "General Kara Amakura. Grateful to be meeting under circumstances in which you don't wish to kill me. Still too young to die." That went down like a lead balloon, Hanzo's face dropping faster than it. She changed tack quickly. "My Father, Jin held the post before I. He is an Earthrealmer. I am a Demi-Goddess, my Mother, Tiama is from The Heavens. I guess I had quite a lot of responsibilities placed upon my shoulders the day I was born. Only child, see. I was rambunctious, caused them no end of panic. They decided one was enough."
Telling her life story wasn't on her to-do-list upon this meeting. It needed to go smoothly, not down the drain, all because she waffled on about herself...
"I knew you were here for a few moments, before I spoke". She chose not to tap her temple. "Telepathic, telekinetic, I can heal minor, some major wounds too. Currently, I am between the temple and The Heavens, transferring portions of her power to myself".
Hanzo's next words threw her, not quite off balance, but kilter was off just a tad.
"I fail to see why Kuai chose you as his second-in-command. You do not strike me the leading type".
Defending herself, closing hazels in order to calm the red hot spike in her blood, she opened them, bold determination glittering.
"Not many people would see a slight, five-foot-one woman and think 'terrifying war-lady of doom!' I admit. Not exactly intimidating to look at. My strength lies within, my mind focused, protecting me and those around me, if need be. When the time comes, I can fight." She tilted her head, lifting a shoulder to meet it. "Didn't train for thirty years to be knocked over by a gust of wind. Never been the strong, silent type, such as yourself, my Father and Sub-Zero. I see, however that works, why it works. Wouldn't want a bellowing, charging, raging lunatic as a boss, that's for sure". Despite herself, she laughed. "Truth be told? I was pretty much the only one who was qualified to take on the role. Only child, my ex had his own family to take care of, all around me were acolytes, most only having years of training under their belts. I didn't have to take it, but I sorta had to, if that makes any sense".
Hanzo nodded, seriousness vanishing from his face, his gait no longer holding stress. He relaxed upon seeing Kara's true colours.
"Annnd", impishness let out, the floodgates opened, Kara grinned, "you don't see me as a half-Goddess either. Not seven-foot tall, with rippling biceps and a six -pack to rival an Adonis, huh"? She spun around, walking, sitting on a bench in profile. She gave the man 'side-eye', something he had witnessed younger Shirai Ryu acolytes doing. It, simultaneously spoke levity and derision in the much older male.
They were there to train, not snort and giggle like school children...
"Ahem." Chocolate eyes shot to her, scanning her over. "I will speak with Sonya and Johnny, see if I can get them on side. Give me time, a few hours, please".
Her silly nature, dumped to the side was replaced with plea, one that hit the leader in an odd way. Its cadence held more than she was letting on.
Pulling her on it would be harsh, unfair.
Not pulling her on it would further pull him towards flat-out asking. Something told him the woman before him was not okay. Her tone wasn't one of a General, it was one of an anxious, fretting human, title thrown aside, for the time being.
"You have it. The Grand-Master and I are allies. I granted him time to speak with me", darkened eyes closed, "eternally glad I did so. I will give you a day. Attacking at dawn would provoke fear among the men."
'Granted him time'? Facing away, Kara frowned, rolling her eyes. Well, that wasn't vain at all...
"And the refugees", a small voice added, "from Outworld. Mileena is causing chaos, fighting with their new Emperor, Kotal Kahn. Fortunately, Cassie and her team managed to get him on-side, and they are working together to defeat the clone."
"When will they be gone? If I attack, they will see it as Earthrealm threatening their safety, their exodus in vain."
"That's the main reason I must speak with her, to establish this isn't a coup, nor do you mean anyone other than Quan harm."
"I wish to murder him." Melting chocolate hardened immediately. Even in the deepest indigo skies, Kara saw venom, eyes venturing southward upon flecks of carnelian emanating from his hands.
"I know that," she retorted, swiftly getting up, "but, do you see why I do not use words like that around you? You've lost much, more than anyone deserves, no matter their actions. I..."
She faltered, gnawing her cheek incessantly.
"I wish for us to become allies. Not friends, not 'buds'", acrid laxness hit her limbs, "I've been around Johnny too long." Kara lamented. "What Quan did to you was abhorrent, beyond vile. He is a bastard, a venomous bastard who's head needs severing. I wish I didn't know of him, though, my experience pales in comparison to yours." She straightened up. "Quan's head is yours, I don't want to touch it. Use it as a damn soccer ball, frighten the poor kids half to death. Sonya won't be happy, nor will Raiden, as he still holds souls of our friends. He needs to be alive to retrieve them."
Another plea was coming, Hanzo knew it. He waved his hand at it, flinging it aside.
"Tell me. What did he do?"
Kara jumped, stomach in her throat, wanting to evacuate.
"Whatever, its fine. I ask that you keep him alive long enough for me to extract the souls..."
"What did he do"?
Her stomach did a reversal, southward, wanting to come out of her ass. No matter what she'd done in the past, any fuck-ups she made, Sub-Zero never used that voice with her. Stern, imposing. It was as if he were pushing needles under her skin, skin prickling, pricking stabs, flaring ivory skin carmine.
"Twenty-five years ago", bitterness felt like glue, sticking to her throat as she tried to swallow conniption, emotion, "Quan attempted to make Johnny a revenent. Sonya and Raiden stopped him, forcing him to flee. Three years later, he returned, bringing with him revenent's Noob Saibot and Nightwolf, both of which contained me in a perpetual state of flux. They threw my mind into chaos, Quan took me, at my most vulnerable. I remember his temple, it looked to be falling down, foundations weak, searing pain, red flashes burning my eyes. I squinted, vaguely registering me, in front of me. Fucking frightened me. I could barely breathe. That's", inhaling frustration was sucking up tears, "enough. I don't care about that anymore. What matters is now."
That was the biggest lie she had ever uttered. Though far past awards season, she wouldn't have won any for her performance.
For the most part, she couldn't have given a toss.
For the rest of it, she desperately wanted to vent, toss herself onto the floor, sob amongst the buds.
They were preparing to blossom whilst she withered away and died...
"I wasn't aware he had done this. I shouldn't have asked."
Kara halfheartedly shrugged, gesture of her youth, her past.
"We don't get to fall onto our knees, crawl into the fetal position, be vulnerable, give in to misery, loath everything. We have to be a pillar for many, our status dictating our personality, our actions. You and I, we are nothing alike. I wish to crumble, speak of the time I felt nothing, numb. The time I had no path, my life no direction, my mind and body were two different beings, unable to fuse together. You, on the other hand? You cannot crumble, too much is at stake. If you fall, let cracks appear in your visage, you'd be letting yourself down, the acolytes, everything you ever stood for. You can't get on your knees, scour the floor for pieces of stone, fix the mask you must wear. If that slips, we doom ourselves, when the world sees what it did to us. But, no. Smile and laugh, girl, for that's all you have. You're right, you know."
She didn't give him an opening to ask what she meant.
"I am not cut out for the job, Sub-Zero knows this, Dad knows this. Netherrealm, I think everyone knows this. However, they root for me, boost me up when I need leverage, help me off it, when my legs fail me. I can fail in front of them, they don't judge. I have an amazing support network, they've been there over half my life, and yet, I sound ungrateful, like they don't exist, don't matter. They do, more than anything. What I am saying is that I won't judge you, now, or your past, what you were made to do. You are your own person, no one's puppet, no macabre trophy animal. If you need a support network, people behind you? We can do that, the Lin Kuei and I. The others will get on board, I know they will. If you need us, we are there. If you don't, we will disperse. Also", the woman added, confusion flitting, "something about Frost Dragons? Oh! Sorry about her, by the way. She wasn't there on any order, strictly her own volition. She always was volatile, believing her cyromancer abilities to be superior to that of Sub-Zero's, so, in turn, she should have the Dragon Amulet. I should have known, seen her. Her aura, I mean. I saw yours, yours is Amber, by the way."
Hanzo stood stock-still, words flying at light-speed toward him processed not as efficiently as he would have hoped. He was sure that his jaw was hanging open however, as it hurt when he moved it...
"Sub-Zero's is Sapphire. Frost's is lighter, Aquamarine. That is your gem, the colour of your soul. Anyways. I was in bed, exhausted and in quite a lot of pain. That's my excuse", she rotated a shoulder, wince disrupting her monologue. "shouldn't have one, but I do. Was fighting Black Dragons after rumours Kano was 'training'", Kara's air quotes were vastly overly-dramatic, "his son to take his place. Poor guy looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. Gaunt, skin purple, blotchy, splotched black and blue. He's in the Jinsei Chamber as we speak. I ought to go there, heal my wounds. I will rest there tonight."
The woman let out breath in a huff, wondering what was going on inside the man's head.
She dared not read it.
Shaking his hand again, Kara bowed.
"Thank you for coming. Tonight could have gone entirely differently. You held back. That was the wisest course of action. Sonya will come around, after I retrieve the souls. I promised to do so".
"You can restore souls"?
Kara knew where that vein was travelling. She snuffed out the flame before it created an inferno.
"I can assist in that, yes. There are, limitations to my power, limits to how long a soul can exist, without a host body."
That was the kindest way she could think of saying she could not and would not be restoring his family and clan. Their bodies would have long since degraded down to bone, covered in dirty rags that were once robes. The thought caused shivers to wrack her.
"One more thing, before you go. I can see you're itching to leave, prepare for tomorrow."
Hanzo needed no answer to his question, for he already knew it. Voicing it was the issue, proverbial tongue caught by feline fiend...
"Do not ask that of me. It wouldn't be right, by any stretch of the imagination. Repeating what went down won't bring them back. I can't bring them back. Restoring the past will not restore them. Think about it."
Keeping her tone low, morose filled the air, space feeling tighter, hemming in, shrouding them in darkness.
"That is all I have done for the past twenty years, sought retribution for it." The leader understood Kara's words, their meaning, why she tread carefully around him. He wore his past like a noose, tightening it of his own accord. All the woman was trying to do was untie the knots. Loosen them, at least. Let him breathe, really breathe, deeply, allow him to feel human.
He was restored, after all. Raiden saved him, offering him salvation, a second chance at life. He seized it, light, the Jinsei's energy filling him with hope, vanquishing dark power, whisking it away into the ether.
Neither the thunder God nor Kara had any reason to deceive him. Only one did.
So then, why was he taking it out on an innocent woman? One, capable of helping him accomplish what he must, in order to move on?
Moving on. An alien concept to a man, searching for light in a pitch black abyss.
Kara saw toil, watched struggle play with the man's features. Reminiscing on tenebrous memories wasn't ever going to be easy on the mind. Ambiguity took over from poignant solitude.
"It doesn't always have to be so dark." Kara pointed to a street light, across the road from the garden. It felt stupid to do so, but it counted, in more ways than one. "Take heed in that you've accomplished much, fought all odds. I can't say if you'll find peace tomorrow, but I believe clarity will let itself be known. I ought to go. You'll need a portal, right? To the fortress"? In her ineptitude, she hadn't asked where the fortress actually was. "Um. Picture it. I'll link my mind with yours for a second, take that image, find it, and open a portal."
That couldn't have been the case, could it? It sounded utterly absurd to Hanzo. Kara saw indecision flicker, cheekily pulling on the collar of her robes.
"Who needs maps, and who said women are terrible with directions"?
Smiling, the leader of the Shirai Ryu let her into his mind, picturing the thick, sturdy outer walls of the fortress. Kara transferred the image from his mind into hers, and manifested it in front of them, in portal form. She then created another, leading to an unfamiliar sight.
"That's the kamp."
She had one foot in it, before jumping back.
"Oh! I'll need to talk with you, let you know how talks go. If that's alright with you"?
It wasn't like Hanzo had much say in this. He needed to know what was happening.
He nodded. The woman shoved a fist into a jacket pocket, pulling out a tiny cloth bag. Opening the drawstring, she took out an amethyst, handing it to the man. Purple was her favourite colour, that much was obvious.
"Mom," she paused, recalling she were forty-four, not four, "Mother taught me how to communicate through these stones. They hold a portion of my soul within them, thus, they are able to carry my voice. I have my Father's, Sub-Zero's, Mother's and Raiden's. Tiger's Eye, Sapphire, Amethyst and Quartz. I could create one for you..." she trailed off, realising that she (pretty much) was asking for the man, who's soul was forcibly removed from his body, to put a minute part of it into a gem, of which he would need to allow her the option of extracting it...
"Never mind. This should work on its own. You can hear me, but I can't hear you. Doesn't matter. You'll get the info you need. Right, now I'm leaving."
Hanzo curtly bowed, stepping through his portal, staring at this 'partial soul gem' rather than her. She sighed, stepped into her own portal, and made her way towards Sonya.
She prayed to Raiden that this went smoothly. She would offer to do whatever was asked of her, keep things relatively calm.
The two ladies had twenty years of friendship under their belts, for one. Far too much to risk throwing away on a whim. They knew each inside and out, but Kara's whim wasn't a pleasant one.
Her ask was grave. She could only hope she wouldn't have to dig her own.