Disclaimer - No, I still don't own anything of Mortal Kombat.


She sat on the cold, marble bench in the courtyard, her burgundy hair softly drifting in the midday breeze. She kept her golden eyes focused on a tiny pink flower, observing the way it danced back and forth as she awaited her summoning. Though she was surrounded by serene beauty, she was not comforted in the least. She knew if her predictions came to pass, it would all soon be coming to an end.

"His Majesty and his Queen will now see you," a masculine voice boomed through the air.

Gold eyes flickered from the flower to the two palace guards standing shoulder-to-shoulder. The men kept straight faces while regarding her, but she knew both were secretly admiring her, as many others often did. A couple of millennia ago and she would have been somewhat flustered, but as it stood now, it had gotten very old. With a tiny smirk spreading on her red-painted lips from the thought, she carefully stood to her feet then walked to the guards. After nodding her greeting, the men turned away and ushered her from the courtyard to the throne room.

Outside of the huge mahogany doors to the throne room stood two other guards, who opened the doors for the King's expected guest. The woman gracefully strode through the doors, her flowing, orange dress trailing behind her. Once at the foot of the stairs leading to the thrones, she knelt before her sovereigns.

"Lady Panedere, you may rise and speak," the King commanded with his deep baritone. Panedere stood then addressed the royalty.

"King Jerrod and Queen Sindel, I first thank you for accepting my request for an audience, but I am afraid that what I have to say will not bring joy," the woman frowned.

"What is it that you must share with us, lady sorcerer?" Sindel asked, her black irises meeting gold ones.

"A great evil lurks on the horizon and threatens to destroy our ways of peace. I have foreseen a war between our Edenian forces and an army led by a man who calls himself Shao Kahn," the sorceress explained while keeping her hands folded in front of her. The Edenian monarchs eyed the woman with grief-stricken faces.

"Are you certain, Panedere?" Jerrod questioned.

"I am, my king," was her solemn reply as she watched Sindel wrap her arms protectively around her enlarged stomach.

The sorceress knew the monarchs were reflecting on the news by the expressions on their faces. Enough had been said about Shao Kahn to know the man was an arrogant brute who currently ruled Outworld, which he expanded by merging lesser realms with his. Since she, and now her sovereigns, knew Edenia was his next target, there was no disputing that he would very well destroy their land and livelihood should he succeed.

"Might you know when this will occur?" Sindel's voice interrupted Panedere's train of though.

"I do not know, but I can estimate it to be at least three months from now, as you conceived nearly six months ago and your infant daughter appeared in my vision," she replied.

"Daughter? We are to have a girl?" the queen asked with momentary mirth, gazing upon and gently stroking her belly. Panedere couldn't help but to smile at the tender scene, though it caused her mind to wander to another issue, but she quickly set the thought aside. She would think over it after this audience.

"Yes, and I can assure you that no harm comes to her, yet I must strongly urge you to prepare for Shao Kahn. He is not to be taken lightly, although I am sure you both are aware of this fact," the sorceress remarked, gazing forward.

"We shall prepare at once. You have our gratitude, Lady Panedere. You are dismissed," Jerrod announced. He and Sindel nodded to Panedere, who bowed once more before leaving.

The sorceress walked back through the mahogany doors, hearing the King call for his general as the door shut behind her. She continued on, retracing her steps through the palace until she was back in the courtyard. She walked to a marble bench and took a seat then allowed her mind to return to her earlier stray thought.

In conjunction with the visions Panedere had of Edenia's impending demise, there were others, but they were focused solely on her. She foresaw that she as well would soon be in danger, though it was a single man seemingly bringing her to her end rather than an army. Despite not yet knowing the man's name, she knew that while he was not of Edenian blood, he too wielded magic, but a much darker form than her own. This was the part she understood well, yet there was another piece to the puzzle, and she did not know where it fit. This piece was a female child.

It was not the one that currently grew in Sindel, but her own. She was not currently with child and she had not been with any man in quite some time, but the girl was certainly hers. She had her fair skin, her round eyes, her high cheekbones, and her overall delicate appearance. Though she yet knew this girl's fate, Panedere's intuition told her that the girl would be important to Edenia's future, somehow.

Even if she did not understand things completely, she knew that she needed to act soon and get something in order at least. She could not let time slip away. The fate of Edenia lay in the balance.


Green eyes popped open to see the ivory ceiling overhead. After a couple of blinks, Celeste sat up on the bed.

What was all of that about?

Celeste was used to dreaming up strange things before, usually as consequence to her ability, but never something like this. She had been Panedere. Sure, by now she should be used to this type of thing, only that it typically happened after she drained someone, and she was pretty sure that she never touched Panedere. Then it hit her. The amulet.

The brunette brought the charm to eye-level and glared at it. Nothing seemed to be different about it. It wasn't glowing and it felt the same as it always had, but she knew something was up.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm about to find out," she muttered to the amulet before letting it drop to its original position.

With haste, the girl threw her legs over the side of the bed, put on her boots, and left her room. She knew someone that could answer her questions, and she was about to pay them a visit, whether they wanted it or not.


The queen and the brunette sat opposite in each other at a small, mahogany table with cups of tea in front of them. They were in another of the common rooms of the palace. Like everywhere else inside palace walls, the furniture was made of mahogany. Yet this particular room was painted a pastel purple and accented with silver, rather than the typical gold.

"Explain what is on your mind, girl," Sindel requested, her black eyes focused on the brunette across from her who almost took a sip of her tea but instead set the cup on the table.

"So, as you suggested, I wore the amulet, but I fell asleep wearing it. I had a dream of Panedere. I guess it has something to with the amulet," Celeste said, though a bit uncertain.

"Yes. It would appear this is how Panedere chose to communicate with you, but it is nothing to be frightened of," Sindel assured before taking a sip of her tea.

"I'm going to have these strange dreams every night now, aren't I?" Celeste asked the Edenian queen, even though she already had an answer in mind.

"I do not know for certain. I can only advise you to continue wearing the amulet if you truly wish to have your questions answered," Sindel replied with a hint of a smile.

Celeste could only sigh and sip her tea. She was annoyed that everything was coming at such a slow rate, but she apparently had no other choice but to grin and bear it. However, she was far from patient and decided to poke a different opening.

"You know, you were also in the dream, as well as someone named Jerrod. Panedere told the two of you about someone named Shao Kahn. What was that about?" the brunette questioned then noticed a flicker of pain in Sindel's eyes as the woman adverted her eyes to her teacup. Celeste could tell that Sindel was uncomfortable, but she answered her nonetheless.

"Jerrod was my husband. Shao Kahn invaded this realm many millennia ago and merged it with Outworld. Jerrod died on the battlefield at the hands of Shao Kahn while trying to prevent such from happening," she explained with her eyes still focused on the cup.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have asked!" Celeste gasped, instantly regretting her question.

"It is okay, child. That it is now the distant past. Shao Kahn has been long defeated and Edenia thrives as it did before him," Sindel said with a wave of her hand.

"But still, I shouldn't have," the brunette sighed before drinking a little more of her tea.

For a couple of moments Celeste sat there quietly, as did Sindel, though the brunette was sure that the woman was remembering her beloved. She, however, focused on Panedere. Now, there was little doubt in her mind that the woman was her mother. It was still strange in a way.

They looked so much alike since they shared the same facial structure and height but differed in a few ways. Whereas Panedere had lengthy burgundy hair, golden-amber eyes, and more of an hourglass shape, Celeste had wavy chestnut hair, forest green eyes, and a pear-shaped frame. Likewise, Panedere carried herself with a ripe mentality and extreme poise while Celeste acknowledged her moments of immaturity and was only graceful when she tried. Of course, Celeste readily admitted that Panedere was definitely the more elegant of the two.

And the girl mentioned at the end had to be me, right?

She pondered, staring at her cup of tea with furrowed brows, unbeknown that she caught Sindel's eye.

"Is there something ailing you?" the woman asked, her voice breaking through the brunette's current thoughts. Celeste blinked then focused her eyes on the queen.

"Oh, I was only deciphering the last part of my dream, where Pane… my mother, referenced a girl. She apparently felt the girl was important to Edenia. Since she claimed the girl was hers, then it must be me, right? Unless I have a sister somewhere that I know nothing about," Celeste almost spat with a raised brow.

"You were Panedere's only child, so she was in fact referring to you. Though I know not what the future holds for you, I am certain that you will somehow be of great service to this realm as your mother was, but only time will tell," Sindel commented before standing.

"Let me guess, I have to find out my own," the brunette muttered, also standing.

"I am afraid so, but Raiden and I will help you as much as we are allowed to," the queen smiled and winked at her and left the room before she had the chance to ask anything else.

Celeste inwardly groaned as she watched Sindel leave. She'd come to the conclusion that everyone seemed to love making this a lot more agonizing than it needed to be. Once she finished the remainder of her tea, Celeste too left the room. She figured that she would check up on a friend. At least that would be less frustrating than her current dilemmas, or so she hoped.


A/N: Another chapter in the books, no pun intended. I hope everyone enjoyed having a little insight with Pandere. By the way, it's pronounced Pan-eh-dare, and in regard to how she interacted with Jerrod and Sindel, she had a high status in Edenia despite not being of royal blood. Well that and the fact of her being extremely confident and slightly arrogant.

Also, I promise that the rest of the story is not just going to be focused on Celeste learning her origins. There's a lot that is soon going to occur. I just hope you're all ready for it.

Until next time,

~Torion