I've been having a bit of writers block with my other story so I decided to try something new, and here it is.

This story is just that; a story. It doesn't follow everything perfectly so if you're expecting that, nows the time to press the back arrow. It is slightly A/U but only to tie everything in and to make sense.

Also Middlerealm was just an idea and if it so happens that there is one already in the games then whoops my bad, my mistake - but from what I know there isn't. Enjoy!

No Beta - any and all mistakes are my own.

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Marina rolled onto her side keeping her eyes shut trying to get at least another hour of sleep in before having to get up. It was her day off and she hated waking early on those days though generally she was a champ at sleeping in.

Today however her mind apparently was having none of it as her consciousness constantly tried to break through the yolk of subconscious. With an irritated groan Marina sat up drawing her knees up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Stretching her arms in front of her she finally opened her eyes squinting against the bright sunlight silently cursing her idiocy for leaving her curtains open. But opening them fully she was met with a sight that was not at all familiar.

Ahead of her was an expanse of green broken only by a spattering of trees or the odd burst of colour from wild flowers. The sky was a bright blue, wispy white clouds hung above as if a child had messily painted them there.

The first thing to hit her was panic. Pure and utter panic with confusion swiftly following on its heels. She craned her neck about looking for her familiar pale green walls, the gauzy white curtains she had purchased the month before from Target.

Scrambling to her feet she turned two full circles looking for something that struck a chord of memory somewhere. This had to be a joke. Someone had to of taken her out of her room and brought her to the middle of nowhere, for some reason she couldn't explain.

Her brother, it had to of been him - he had used his emergency key to her apartment and pulled this stunt, possibly for getting back at her for shaving his eyebrow that one time while he slept.

"Tony!" she yelled out continuing to move in her small circle desperate to see her sibling. "Tony this isn't funny!" there was no response, only a couple birds flying away from the noise she was making. "Antonio!"

Again no one responded and the panic rose from her gut and into her chest. She was going to have an anxiety attack, or a heart attack. Sure there were tons of parks in their part of town but none of this seemed familiar. Also this seemed slightly extreme for Tony.

Sitting down heavily she drew her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around them looking about her wide eyed. Maybe if she sat here and waited a bit he'd pop up from behind a tree, laugh it off and take her home. She silently pleaded with God for Tony to hurry and promised never to pull any pranks again and to go to church every Sunday from now on and not just for weddings, funerals and Christmas.

It must have been well over an hour by the time Marina's bum had gone numb and she had risen to her sock clad feet. She had looked around where she had woken up to see if maybe he had left her her phone but no luck.

She was tired of waiting and was growing impatient now with this stupid game. So she decided to start walking, she had no idea where she was going but it would serve Tony right if she got lost. He'd feel horrible and want to make it up to her and she would definitely take advantage of his guilt.

Gone were her earlier fears as she moved towards a thick grove of trees ahead. This seemed like the logical choice as all around her was open space and nothing else. With some trepidation she entered between the tall trunks, all of them stretching out to meet the sky and moved forward.

It was quiet and calm here, the trees not bunched too close together allowing the sun to filter through and to see further ahead. The sounds of nature surrounded her; birds sang to one another above her head, the odd snap and crunch in the distance from some small animal skittering by, the soft rustle of leaves as the breeze blew. It was peaceful and though she was unable to forget her anxiety altogether it certainly helped.

Another hour passed and she was beginning to feel irritation, she was sweaty, tired, didn't have shoes and hadn't had a coffee yet. She was ready to give up and sit down like a stubborn child, arms crossed and pouting. Leaning against a tree she bent down to adjust her sock the irritation growing when she had seen the bottoms had become a dark brown and heavy with some of the moisture they had absorbed along the way.

Tony was going to pay big time.

Just as this thought passed through her mind something shifted and she turned her head towards it. A dark figure stood farther ahead and she could only make out his shadowed outlined that was distorted from the shadows of the trees.

Marina moved forward quickly a smile spread across her face as relief flooded her body warming her from the inside out. She moved noisily her feet landing heavily over twigs and fallen branches, crunching over fallen, dead leaves unaware of anything amiss.

It was only when she had gotten closer that she faltered. Tony was wearing something on his head, a wide, pointed hat that had the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Something was wrong.

The longer she studied the figure the more she knew that this was not Tony. He was too tall, too broad and wide. Even though Tony worked out she would know him anywhere and too much didn't add up.

Alarm bells went off in her mind and she took a slow step backwards keeping quiet as she tried to get away from the stranger. She was torn between asking him for help to trying to get away from the possible serial killer.

She must not have been quiet enough as she saw the figure turn his head slightly and then loom before her in an instant. Taken by surprise by his speed Marina had fallen back landing on the soft earth, twigs and small rocks pressing painfully into the palms of her hands as she stared at the man in semi shock and horror.

He was big, broad and intimidating. His clothing was mainly white, a blue strip of cloth going over each shoulder to meet down the center of his chest, gold buttons glimmering in the sunlight. This was all she managed to take in along with what she remembered as a Chinese straw hat on his head. What distracted her was his eyes.

They were terrifying.

All white to the point they seemed to glow, they dominated his face and drew all the attention away from his other features. He stared down at her not saying a word and it felt as if she had been sucker punched, all air had left her lungs and her heart rate had kicked up.

What the hell was going on?

They continued their stare down until sense made its way back into Marina's brain and she began to scrambled backwards, using her heels to help propel herself away from him.

"Who are you?" he asked in a deep, calm voice as if every word had been carefully measured before speaking.

Marina didn't reply, only continued to move back too scared to tear her eyes away from him. He knelt down on one knee, his forearm resting over his raised knee continuing to stare at her.

"There is no need to be afraid. I will not hurt you, you are not in danger."

Disagreements ran rampant through her mind, yes, there was a need to be afraid the Terminator dressed as a China man was standing before her and pretending that it was alright. None of this was alright.

"I am Raiden, what may I call you?" again his voice betrayed nothing remaining neutral.

Marina finally had the sense to pick herself up and try to run but the man had quickly grabbed hold of her forearm, moving her so she was back to facing him.

"Let me go! I'll scream!" and true to her word and without waiting for a response she let out a loud howl all the while trying to jerk away from the man's iron grip.

The man, Raiden, grabbed hold of her other arm trying to keep her in place as she resembled a wild animal desperate to get away.

"Calm yourself. I will not hurt you."

"Please let me go! I don't have anything! Please!"

Raiden gave her arms a quick shake causing her body to follow suit making her quiet though she could feel tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

"Be still, good." he crooned calmly loosening his grip slightly on her arms but not letting go. "Now calm yourself. Take a deep breath and release it." she did as she was told only because it seemed to keep him calm as well, her exhale shook with the bundle of nerves that now resided within in her.

"Good, good. As I said I am Raiden who are you?"

"Marina," the name fell from her lips almost as a whisper, she wanted to get away from whatever the hell he was.

"Marina it is a pleasure to meet you. Are you hurt at all?" she shook her head no and he seemed pleased with her answer. "How did you come to be here?"

"I woke up here, in a field somewhere back there. I don't know how but I'm pretty sure my brother and his friends did this as a sick way to get back at me for all the crap I've done to them." belatedly she realized she was babbling and smacked her lips closed.

He continued to watch her, if he could even do that with his eyes the way they were.

"Now I will release you but you must promise not to run away. I will help you and may I remind you that there is no one else here. I am your only chance at leaving this place."

Marina looked about her as if to confirm that this statement was true and stared back at the man in front of her weighing her options. There was no one else around and if he had wanted to hurt her he would of done so by now.

"My home is not too far from here. There is food, water, clean clothing."

She didn't want to trust him, didn't want his help but didn't have much choice at this point. It was either go with him or stay behind in bum fuck nowhere.

"Okay. But I want to hold onto that stick while I'm with you."

Raiden's eyes went to the thick branch on the ground that must have fallen during some storm. It was roughly the size of a baseball bat and he assumed that she wanted it in the case that he decided to attack her. Little did she know a mere branch wouldn't be able to help her. But he agreed nonetheless if it made her feel more at ease so be it.

Marina cautiously moved over to it, never turning her back to him and then holding onto her new found weapon in front of her like a shield she nodded for him to lead the way. She saw him hesitate for a moment as if he was about to ask her a question but decided against it, Marina gripped her stick tighter.

"We will walk then." and he turned and began moving away from her and she briefly wondered at his tone, there was no other option but to walk so why did it sound as if he had made a choice in the matter?

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Raiden didn't try to speak to her and she was grateful for it yet uncomfortable with the silence at the same time. She had never been in this situation before and it seemed every option she had there were four others she had to consider.

He didn't walk too fast but at a steady pace that allowed her shorter legs to keep up with, being 5',3" hadn't gifted her with sexy long legs unfortunately. Then again it was the curse of European women and she had a double whammy as her father was Greek and her mother Italian.

Being such she had the common Mediterranean colouring; her hair was a dark chestnut colour, thick and wavy reaching about an inch from her elbows. She had also inherited her grandmothers pale green eyes which many of her cousins had as well.

At the moment her hair was up in a messy bun at the very top of her head, which she could feel had began to slip sideways. She had fallen asleep with her makeup on last night, too tired from a birthday party she had attended the night before, and could feel her dried mascara grain like under her lower lids. Her brother's dark grey sweat pants had served as pajamas along with one of his baggy long sleeves.

Being short had made her the butt of many jokes but thankfully she had just enough curves as to not be mistaken for a ten year old boy. She liked to think of her body as kardashian-esque, even though she thought that they were personally a bunch of idiots she had to give it to them for at least breaking the skinny mini mold out in society today.

She hated exercise and didn't diet, hell she didn't even own a scale. She judged her weight by the fit of her jeans - if she couldn't button them then there was a problem and it was time to cut back on the Ben and Jerry's. Last time she weighed herself had been roughly two years ago and she was a healthy 110...Okay, 128 but no one really needed to know.

However in this case going for regular walks would of at least helped keep the stitch in her side and the burning in her calves at bay longer. But Raiden never faltered, his steps were sure as he stepped over rocks, logs and other small obstacles.

Finally they reached a moss covered stone wall, tendrils of purple Morning Glory grew in patches clinging to anything it reached. As the wall game into view she saw that it served as a fence of sorts a heavy iron gate broke the stone to reveal a decent sized house that looked more like a cottage.

Raiden opened the gate passing through and leading her through a well maintained and beautiful garden. She found herself gazing about her in awe taking in all the colours, did he do all of this? Live alone in the middle of no where and garden all day? It made sense in a weird, twisted kind of way especially with eyes like that...

Marina came back to the present when he neared the door and she felt the familiar panic rise - she was about to enter his home and there would be no way out. He stepped in first, moving further into the room and Marina hesitantly followed leaving the door behind her open.

She was surprised to see the difference inside. Outside the house was old stone and was nothing really special to look at but inside the space was open and bright with neat, comfortable looking furniture. They had stepped into a sitting room, sofas and cushions filling the space while bookshelves lined the far wall. It definitely was not what she had been expecting.

"Do you have a phone I could use?" she sounded timid even to her own ears but she feared that if she sounded forceful it would trigger him to morph into another person and not be so accommodating.

"There is something that I need to speak with you about Marina, it is of great importance." Marina gripped the stick tighter.

But before he could speak a loud whoop filled the air before a loud slam, like that of a door smacking against a wall, sounded from the back of the house. Soon after an all too familiar face filled the room and Marina's mouth dropped open with her shock.

There to her right strode in Johnny Cage, millionaire A-list actor his trademark sunglasses on his face. He was shirtless, his 'Johnny' tattoo clear across his chest and he acted as if he wasn't out of place to be in this house, in the same room as her.

"Well look what Raiden's dragged in. How's it going sweetheart? Johnny Cage," he reached his hand out and she stupidly stared at it.

Johnny however seemed amused. "I don't bite. Much," his grin spread across his face and Marina slowly slipped her own hand into his not believing what was happening despite the firmness and realness of his grip.

"And your name sugar cakes?"

"Marina." it was like someone else had taken over her body and she was going along for the ride, watching as someone else controlled her mouth.

"Nice to meet you Marina." he stood back crossing his arms over his chest waiting for someone to pick up the conversation.

Raiden remained as he was and it was beginning to irritate her how emotionless he seemed to be, it unnerved her and mixing it with her sudden star struck-edness it was beginning to feel too overwhelming.

"Do you know where you are Marina?" he finally spoke and once again she was unsettled by his eyes.

"No, if I did I wouldn't feel this freaked out!"

"You are in Middlerealm, " he paused again as if this explained everything.

"Where? I've heard of Bay Crest Park and Ledgeview but I've never been to Middlerealm."

"Middlerealm isn't a park," Johnny cut in a slight smirk on his face, apparently he was familiar with those places as well. "Your eyes are gunna stay stuck that way if you keep staring like that, Bambi."

Belatedly she realized she was gaping at him again, eyes wide and all so she forced her face to relax.

"Middlerealm is the realm between all realms. It is a safe place for us to meet, train and if need be hide and stay protected. It is unknown to outsiders which is why it is odd for you to be here."

"Realms?" she said stupidly briefly thinking of the Science Channel.

"Yes. Between your world and others." Raiden was paitient, waiting for her to make sense of eveything.

"So I'm in another world that I just magically traveled to and there is a Johnny Cage lookalike walking around. Is Elvis here too?" she tossed her stick to the side no longer liking this game.

"Whats going on? Did Tony put you up to this? Tony!" she craned her head to look down a hallway. "Tony jokes over!" she marched up to Johnny no longer wide eyed and babbling.

"And who're you? One of Tony's friend?" she reached up a hand to his chest forcefully trying to rub away the "Johnny" tattoo expecting it to be no more than magic marker.

When none of it even smudged she took a step back looking confused.

"Alright now Bambi just take a deep breath," but it was too late she was stepping away from him a series of different emotions moving across her face.

"This doesn't make sense! Different realms? Freakin' glowing eyes?! Where am I?! Get me out of here now! Tony!"

She moved past the pair and down into the hallway desperately trying to find where her sibling was hiding hopefully listening to the conversation and laughing away. Instead the hallway remained empty and her pace increased.

"Tony!" the tightness in her chest had returned and the want to cry was strong but she bit it back concentrating on her one task.

A door at the end opened to reveal a tall, blonde haired woman in fitted cargo's and a cropped off shirt. She stared at Marina so hard, the warning so clear on her face that she took a step back only to bump into something. Turning she saw it was a someone and not a something; a man in mainly black clothing with a bit of blue, a mask on the lower part of his face only showing his blue eyes and black eyebrows.

She stepped around him thrown off by what she could only describe as a ninja get up, and went back into the main sitting room where Raiden and Johnny still stood along with another man.

This one was tall and dark skinned and seemed older. His hair was worn long and only a dark brown, open vest covered his bare chest. Now Marina had had it. There was an actor, a native guy, a ninja and Lara Croft cozied up together in a house in the middle of no where. No, sorry 'Middlerealm,' and she was supposed to go along with it.

"Okay," she said forcefully seeing from her peripheral vision the two people she had bumped into in the hallway. "What is going on." she could feel anger coursing throughout her body fueling her on.

"Be calm," the native man told her his voice smooth and resonating deeply.

"I want to know the truth right now." she could feel that her bun had slipped further, pieces of hair had fallen free and she was pretty sure she looked slightly insane.

"We are a group of protectors who are called together to keep the realms safe and in order." Raiden spoke. "it is through us that there is balance in your world along with the others."

"Okay,"

"The other realms do not know that Middlerealm exists, which is why we are curious how you came to be here."

Marina was beginning to feel exasperated. "I don't know. I told you I went to bed last night and woke up back there!" her hand flung towards the open door where the day continued shining on unaware of her foul mood. "I don't know why I'm here, how I got here, how to get back or anything!"

Raiden seemed to consider this for a moment. "Perhaps you were sent here by the Elder Gods to aid us."

"Excuse me? Aid you to do what?"

"Fight in Mortal Kombat."

"Fight?" she took a moment to look around the semi circle that had formed around her. "Fight? My idea of fighting is to throw a rock and run. I can't fight, why would I even have to?"

"To keep the balance. And I believe that you serve a purpose to us here." No one else spoke but she sensed that each were listening carefully, judging her silently.

"Take me home."

"I cannot."

"Please! I don't belong here, I just want to go home. Fine. I believe you and this crazy story, you're protectors on a mission that's great, thanks so much for keeping my world safe, now let me go back."

"No."

The word was not said unkindly but it filled Marina with despair. She sunk down onto the ottoman behind her burying her face in her hands, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes until colours burst in front of her vision.

"You will stay with us and train. Live among us until it is clear to me why you have been sent to us."

Marina lifted her head, not ready to accept any of this.

"I'll leave on my own then." she stood ready to prove her point and show that she was serious.

"Go then," the native man made a sweeping motion with his hand towards the door, just as she had done moments earlier. "But there is danger, and if you do not know how to fight as you say you do not, then you will die."

The last words sent a cold lump to settle into her stomach and her hand found her temple where she began to rub gently, a headache forming. Things like this happened only in movies, not to people like her. Even then her life was fine - she had both her parents who were still from what she knew happily married. She had her own place, paid her bills on time, had good credit, her life was fine.

There was no dramatic death in the family, no mysterious debts to be paid or even long lost relatives. These kind of things weren't supposed to happen to her.

"Sonya, please show Marina to a room." and with that Raiden turned to go, the darker man following behind him. They seemed the unspoken leaders.

The blonde from earlier moved forward gesturing with her hand to follow which she did. At this point what else could she do? She had seen for herself that there was nowhere to go and she was tired from the hours she had walked today anyway.

Sonya led her down the hall to a set of curved stairs she had briefly noticed earlier. They were made of a deep red wood and the spokes were intricately carved, looking up she noticed that it led up to a large space on the upper floor that was also lined with a railing in the same design.

Up here was also bright and lightly coloured, forcing a calm into you - or maybe it was just the fatigue from the day that had finally gotten to her. Sonya continued to lead, not speaking even as she stopped in front of a simple door, a replica of all the others that she had passed so far before turning the handle and stepping into the room.

The walls were a cream colour, a good sized bed was off to the right a thick, fluffy white quilt on the bed with two matching pillows was the only thing that adorned it. A tall dresser stood in a corner the panels of it also carved with a series of vines, leaves and small birds. In the opposite corner was a smell desk with what appeared to be an antique armchair. A small, plain fireplace stood across from the bed, void of any flames but the soot gave indication that it was actually used.

Directly in front of her were two floor length windows allowing sunlight to filter in. Sonya watched as Marina looked around her slowly. Usually she would of been excited to see such a pretty, fresh looking room but she wanted to be back in her own.

"It's a bit small but its one of the nicer rooms. Most of them are dark, but this one has great light."

Sonya tried to keep her voice light moving to the windows which with a slight pull actually revealed them to be doors leading to a small balcony.

"It's fine, thanks."

Sonya looked back at Marina and she was forced to take in the woman. Sonya was tall, with the long legs she envied on a dozen other woman. Her short top revealed a set of abs along with perfectly toned arms. The dark cargo pants had belts strapped onto the legs and again she was reminded of Lara Croft.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you." the apology made her look back to Sonya's face. She was a very pretty woman but looked like she spent a lot of her time being serious. "Once they figure out whats going on I'm sure everything will go back to normal."

Marina eyed her, noting that out of all of the people below with the exception of Johnny, she was the most normal looking of them all. "Did it for you?"

Sonya didn't reply.

"There's a bathroom through that door there. Its your own so you don't have to worry about anyone walking in on you. I'll try and see if I have any spare clothes for you."

Marina's gazed flicked over the woman's body once more and she seriously doubted it. Sonya was fit and tall. Marina was short and her hips seriously did not lie. She nodded despite her thoughts and moved into the bathroom where it was also white and bright.

She played with the handles of the shower opting for this instead of the large tub that sat in the middle of the space. With all this grime on her she didn't feel like swimming in it. She pulled off her socks, bunching them up to throw them away since they were well beyond saving and moved onto her bottoms. Her large, once white shirt went next as well as her undergarments.

The hot spray of the shower instantly eased some of the tension in her shoulders and she closed her eyes trying to clear her mind. She must've of stood there for well over fifteen minutes before she found it in her to move to wash herself.

There were series of oils and soaps on a ledge and she selected on working it into her skin, concentrating on getting clean and not the people downstairs.

An hour came and went before she had moved from the shower to wrap herself up in a towel and back into the bedroom. Neatly on the bed was some folded clothes and a hair brush. Hesitantly she pulled open the door of the dresser the inside of it revealing a tall mirror.

There she stood staring back at herself, her face unsmiling, hair damp and eyes red. She closed her eyes lightly breathing in deeply and releasing just as slowly, feeling the chill on her legs and shoulders from the water that still clung to her. Opening them again she still could see herself reflected in the mirror, still wrapped in a towel and in a bedroom that was not her own.

How was she supposed to get back?

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So hoped you liked it. I love trying to get odd events and try to make them as believable as possible - ex. Sub-Zero's ability to freeze things. I love the challenge it presents.

Anyways, I figured since MK has Kitana, Sonya, Mileena and Jade who are all very fit smexy women, I would like to put someone in who was different. Sorry for the Kardashian reference - I personally am not a fan but you can't deny the fact that they do promote a healthier body outlook so I need to give brownie points for that.

Please tell me what you think! Love CC and am open to inserting idea's of snippets of what people would like to see.

Toodles!

-Spoony.