Keep The Faith
"Evening, General." Kara saluted, bowing at the waist. "Johnny, Kenshi." She gave the men a nod. "Could I speak with you, Sonya"?
The three returned the gestures, exchanging glances.
"Good evening, General," the blond smiled, "Kara." The younger grinned. "Of course."
Johnny gave Kara a warm smile, patting her shoulder as he made his way around her. Kenshi sat by the portal pillars, awaiting his son's return. The two women made their way into the hub tent.
Li Mei perked up, face dour, as before.
"I'll go."
Kara shook her head.
"Not at all. Li Mei"? She clasped her hands together at her solar plexus. "Kara Amakura, General of the Lin Kuei. Pleasure to meet you."
Li stood, fluid grace in her limbs as she stood, bowing swiftly. Only three people needed to know of Hanzo's plan. Sonya, Johnny and Kenshi. Li Mei leaving would be the correct course of action. But the woman in purple wasn't about to kick her out.
She looked at Sonya.
This doesn't concern Li. However, I don't wish to throw her out. Any ideas?
Sonya paused, eyebrow raised.
Wait. What does this concern?
Well, you have Quan Chi here. Two guesses as to who wants to paste his ass on the floor?
The blond's eyes widened.
Shit. She sighed. Right.
"Li"?
"You need to talk? As I said, I can go."
Kara waved her hands.
"Sorry. It isn't you, its just, there are a few things going on. All need adequate attention, but picking an order means something/someone's needs will be put back. Not quite sure how to deal with that." Self-destructive tendencies began to resurface. "Told you I wasn't cut out for the job, Kuai..."
Li walked around the two.
"I recommend finding somewhere else to stay, just for tonight."
The blond shot the brunette a look that could have shattered even the thickest barrier the latter could create.
What? Was just trying to warn her...
The General frowned, braid swinging with shakes of her head.
"And why would you need to warn if Hanzo only means to attack Quan"?
"He's upset. We know what he can do, when he gets like that. Rightly so."
"Rightly so"? Stern aptitude won out over friendship. "Him, mowing down people, wading through their bodies, like through water? Kara," she held out her arms questioningly, "why are you standing up for him? Doesn't he despise the Lin Kuei"?
Kara equalled derision, matching the elder's, bearing it head-on.
"That's harsh, and you know it." Her lips formed a thin line, hand skimming through tatty locks. "He knows the truth now. He feels abysmal for what he did in retaliation, and knows full well the consequences of acting rashly. He has little want to be here, I know that from speaking with him. As soon as he saw the container holding Quan, he practically turned as green as the grass beneath us. Even speaking his name had my stomach wanting to spirit its way from my body. Look", she reasoned, courteous, "I wouldn't suggest any of this, were I in any way unsure of his motives. I can read minds, he let me into his. Despite it being for a few seconds, all I saw was grief, black splotches of it in his aura, lines of it framing thoughts. He hasn't acted on anything malicious, he holds little regard for violence. He was used to terrorise, and is as far from that as anyone could be. Raiden wouldn't have let him out of the Jinsei Chamber if, at any point, he felt doubt gnaw. He hasn't let himself", she rolled her eyes at the idiom, but used it regardless, "cliched as fuck, I know, but let himself feel the seven stages of grief. He is stuck between pain, guilt, anger and loneliness. He wants his family restored, Sonya", both ladies flinched, "skeletons. They'd be walking skeletons, devoid of anything other than scraps of clothing. Do you really think he wants that? Fuck no! He's remaining in the pain stage to punish himself, when he's been punished enough. Quan took everything from him. All he wants is to rid the world of such a menace."
She appealed to the blond's moral high-ground. "Hanzo does want to kill Quan. However, after speaking with him, he stayed his hand, for tonight. I promise I won't let him hurt anyone. If he tries, he'll answer to me." Her determination made Sonya simper. "They'll be a 'raid' tomorrow morning." Kara paced, arms folded. "We can't just give him up though. Hate to say it, but his presence here is necessary."
"No." Sonya stated, flatly. "We can't and won't. Sorry, Kara. Whilst I understand his frustration, his burden is great, we can't just let him attack the kamp."
The brunette's brows lowered.
"He wouldn't do that. Everyone is innocent here, he knows that. He only wants the sorcerer. We ought to..."
"We? You may be a General, Kara, and my friend, but I am the leader here."
"You trust me. We can trust him, Sonya."
"And how do you know this"?
Sonya had no idea why she uttered that, knowing full well the answer. Both said virtually the same thing at the same time.
Because he would have done it by now, were he dissolute...
"Quan made him that way, shaped him, removed his humanity. But he kept some of it. Somewhere, wrapped in tattered blankets made of his own skin, he managed to grasp onto who he was before the tragedy."
"He murdered the Grand-Master, his brother, before Quan did anything to him."
"He was deceived, a puppet, violently yanked about. Raiden severed the strings, gave him purpose."
"Purpose to kill"?
Kara floundered. Sonya, seeing an opening continued.
"Maim? He isn't about to show up here, only to smack Quan around a bit."
Kara made a comeback.
"If anything, he might drag his grey hide back to the fortress. Actually," she smacked herself, "why the fuck would he do that? Quan's blood on the ground of his home, his solace, running through the cracks? Netherrealm, Kara," dry throat sputters assisted in her idiocy, "why am I so dense sometimes"?
Sonya went to answer that, index finger in the air, as a child would, sitting in class, having been asked a question. Kara smirked.
"I want to help both of you. First off, I need healing and rest. Almost forgotten what rest is, decent rest anyway. I'll consult with Raiden. He'll know, his guidance will be of great help. Son, if you can't trust him, which I totally get, considering that yes, he can be quite the raging bull when he's pissed, but, I will do everything in my power to keep things civil. I'll join Cassie in Outworld, speak with Kotal, get him on side. My status might hold weight there, since he, himself is a God. Whatever I can do to help, I'll do it. Shit, I'll scrub the floor with a toothbrush if need be. You, Johnny, Kenshi and your kids. They mean a great deal to me. You are my family, my friends, my allies. Hanzo won't touch any of you, my life be it."
Sonya's face went from authoritarian to the look she gave Cassie when she'd hurt herself, disquiet.
"I trust you, Kara, what you say. I will try to organise refugees into groups. Women and children, with the elderly and disabled first. Johnny can help out, give him something to do, get him off my back."
Kara dared speak on delicate topics.
"At some point, you liked that." Kryptonite stare having her double over, she continued. "If it's ladies, he'll be just fine helping." She coughed, dry air a sonorous bane. "And he's great with kids. Goes all gooey, turns into 'Super Dad'."
Heaviness grew upon mentions of parenthood, the blond recalling times were she was less than 'perfect' as a Mother. Kara saw that, offering a pat on the shoulder, the former not one for hugs.
"Good job she looks like you, huh? Shame she acts like Johnny..."
The two laughed for some time after that...
Kara spotted Kenshi as she left the tent, making her way towards him.
"Takeda will be fine. He had you and Hanzo train him. Despite doubts, you did brilliantly. He's respectful, charming, mindful, as sharp as a tack."
Kenshi smiled.
"Thank you. I doubt circumstance, Quan Chi being here feels wrong, somehow. Despite age weakening him, he still stands defensive, impassive. His presence brings down a place meant to be safe, a peaceful haven for the refugees."
Kara didn't have to utter anything after that.
"Hanzo's coming here tomorrow. He is like a brother to me, I trust understanding will win out over instinct."
Kara tried to appease the man.
"He didn't attack Kuai. He had the opportunity, little resistance. Frost appeared too, attacked him. That could have pushed him over the edge, but he chose to listen, not fight. That meant more than I could know."
The telepath kept the smile, its warmth took away some of the night's chill.
"More than any could possibly know."
"If the Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei can come together, see past old grievances, we will all be the better for it. Also, Kotal. If we can get he and Raiden to speak, and The White Lotus onside, we stand much stronger together than alone. It will take time, time we may not have."
"Time is a luxury if you use it wisely. Otherwise, it can feel unbearable."
"Lonely, as if the world wants you to be downcast as it whirls by, others whizzing in a blur. If it was easy, would it be interesting"?
The woman trailing off peaked the man's curiosity.
"Lonely? In yourself"?
Kara snorted.
"Reading me is that easy, huh? Yeah, in myself. I have many around me, on the outside. On the inside, there's me, but there's something missing. Perhaps I'm getting nostalgic in my 'old age'. For times better in my life, without anonymity. I choose to be alone, but grow weary of it. Kinda sick of my own company."
"You needn't be alone."
"Nor you," Kara stretched out her arms, "not someone as kind, humble as you. However, our past somewhat prevent us from finding, reaching out beyond solitariness. As for me? I speak my mind, literally and figuratively." Kenshi laughed. "I take no prisoners, too old for childishness, fooling around, but too bitter for seriousness. I do not look, therefore I do not find. Do I know what I want? Sort of. How can a guy know if I am unsure? Needle in many haystacks, me."
"I disagree." Her friend took her hands, trademark compassionate tone forever soothing. "I see," he elaborated, "I know a woman of brevity for ill intent, you do not take prisoners, for knowledge that they are bad people. You have seen, sadly experienced the worst of the worst, you see through pretence, do not suffer fools gladly. That makes you courageous, a force in the world. You won't sit idly by whilst someone attempts to gain your attention by playing the joker. You hold your own, have your own place, made it yourself, sister. Do not allow yourself to be pulled into other's darkness. You pulled yourself out, fought tooth and nail to better yourself. If anything, men must better themselves. If they see you as a needle in many haystacks, they simply aren't willing to put on some gloves, take the time to search, find you. They find surface appealing, when you want internal appeal."
Kara grinned knowingly, a cheeky nod sent towards her friend.
"Does help if he is attractive. Outward appearance does matter, but so does the inside. If someone is caustic? Swallowing acerbic nonsense isn't for me. They ought to be warm, slightly vulnerable, able to speak their mind, be free with their emotions. I find men like that attractive, different to the norm. The norm spooks me. I don't like louts, aggression. Going against the grain, being them in a world of clones. Like, no. If I wanted to screw a Ken doll, I would. I'm no Barbie, no Princess that needs flinging over the shoulder of a Prince."
"An emphatic voice among the quiet, someone of immense heart, it reaches out beyond what you know. It's touched many, including myself. Things will work out tomorrow. We will be ready, we will shoulder the strain with Hanzo, if he needs us." Kenshi sighed, as if a great weight had been lifted. "Thank you. I needed to speak, though did not know what to say."
Kara graciously bowed.
"Need to vent, not vent, chat, not chat, be serious, but not too much? Its complicated, complex. However, we're good navigators, if nothing else. We can attempt to see where we need to go, find traps before we fall into them. Pitfalls and the like. Could always bring some string, just in case..."
She created a portal, using Raiden's Quartz.
"We need someone like you here, someone bright, astute, whist, a listener and contributor. Diffusing even the harshest situations. Takeda has excellent blood, he's going to be a force for good, wherever he goes. Right", she stretched, pained limbs cracking, "I am going to rest, ask Raiden if I can sleep in the Jinsei Chamber. Be restored, before tomorrow's events. Take care, my friend."
The two exchanged bows, as Kara strolled through the portal to The Heavens.
"Lord Raiden"?
The God himself walked out from the hallway to the chamber door.
"Kara." He greeted. "You wish to rest here tonight"?
Her bruises obvious, her body worn, lax limbs for all to see, the thunderer humbly accepted the woman's unspoken plea.
"There's something I ought to tell you, about Master Hasashi."
"He means an attempt on sorcerer Quan Chi's life. I know. Sub-Zero informed me, wanting my word on it. As long as he means no detriment to Earthrealm, I have no qualms with letting it happen. Ever since restoring him, that has been his prime directive. I see little issue in granting the request that he be allowed to step onto kamp grounds, do what he needs, then leave. Did you tell him of that"?
Kara shook her head.
"It isn't of any accord, Lord Raiden. That doesn't matter, in the grand scheme of things."
"I do not agree, however, I shall leave you be. Rest easy, rest well, Kara."
They bowed, Raiden turning on his heel and leaving her to it, after opening the chamber door.
Upon entering, Kara immediately felt better, life energy whisking off pain, stinging cuts no longer picking at her, temper abating effortlessly. Cool floor temperature ignored, she lay down, feeling lashes flutter as eyelids closed.
Rest was as important as anything, she need not forget that. Tiring herself out was not an option.
Not now, not ever.
