Disclaimer: Don't own Mortal Kombat or any of the characters or places you recognize. The plot and a couple of made up OC's are though.
Author's Note: After some deliberation and research, I have come to the conclusion that there's a slight continuity error of timing in the games regarding how old the new generation might be. With that said, I have Cassie's birthday coming up in the next couple of chapters.
The Cage family spends Sunday brunch with the Briggs' sharing food, drinks, and stories. "So," Vera Briggs continues her story, "the young lady finally decided to get back to me just to tell me she just sold the last muffler to the young man who was after me." Shaking her head, she sips her peach sangria. "I don't understand you kids. What ever happened to 'good customer service'?"
"He's probably gonna get laid," Cassie says off handedly, making everyone at her table choke on their food. While Jacqui, Johnny, and Vera burst into laughter, Sonya and Jax glare at her. "What?"
"Could you be any more crude, kid?" Jax asks Cassie in disbelief. She shrugs, sipping on her mimosa. "Real charmer you got there, Sonya."
Throwing her hands up in defense, Sonya says, "I blame you, John." Johnny gives her a cocky grin in response.
"No, seriously," Cassie back tracks, "she didn't say whether the guy was there first and just returning, or…?" Vera shakes her head. "Did you ask to speak to the manager?"
"Her 'manager' is her daddy. Entitled little brat," she says in disgust. The adults nod their heads in agreement. "Oh, Cass! What are you doing for your birthday?"
Cassie blinks. "Uh…" she answers. She stabs at her Cobb salad. "I don't know. I guess I'm not really feeling the need to celebrate this year." Forks drop to the table in shock. "Really guys?" she asks, deadpan.
"But Princess," Johnny starts to say, waving his hands grandly and narrowly missing Sonya's face. "We always do something huge and spectacular for your birthday."
She shakes her head. "Yeah, I don't know. I'm not really feeling it this year."
"Well, I think we can understand that," Jax tells her, patting her hand gently from across the table. Cassie smiles sadly at her honorary uncle. "You've had it rough these past few months, kid. Plus, being 23 is one of those weird ages, you know?"
"How?" Jacqui asks her dad.
"Well, when I was 23, I'd just become in charge of a bunch of new faces in the army. Lots of them tested my patience," he explains. "I'm looking right at you, Blade," he adds as an afterthought towards Sonya. She guiltily sips at her rum and coke. Cassie and Jacqui stare at their respective parents.
Amused, Johnny asks, "What did she do?"
Sonya groans. "Jax, no!" she pleads with him, covering her face.
Cassie laughs and leans closer. "Well," Jax begins, staring straight at Sonya, "I can't tell you how many times I had to drag her away from one of the wild base parties."
"I was such an irresponsible sack of shit," Sonya mutters through her hands.
"Now you've really got my attention," Johnny tells Jax.
Laughing at the memories, Jax continues his story. "This woman here was a party animal. The amount of times she has challenged grown men to drinking contests. And she managed to drink them under the table each and every time."
Cassie giggles as Jacqui gapes. "Oh, my God," she begins, "like, doing keg stands and shit?" Jax nods. Everyone else laughs while it's Johnny's turn to gape. "Mom!" she scolds. "What a party animal!"
Folding her arms, Sonya stares at Jax. "Listen here, Jackson Briggs. If I can recall—"
"If being the key and operative word," Jax teases.
Sonya glares at him. "I saved your ass from doing naked latrine duty because of my keg stand contests," she tells him. It was Jacqui's turn to laugh while Cassie and Vera gape. "That's if I hadn't stepped in on a dare for you, Briggs. So you shut your mouth." They all laugh at the memories and images. "Hmm, what happened to me when I was 23," Sonya thinks out loud. The memory of her partner being shot in front of her face crosses her mind. Biting her lip, Sonya tries to bury the hurt through a smile, though forced. "Well," she starts and only Jax notices her hesitation. He pats her hand. She sighs. "Well, we discovered a huge mercenary faction," she finally says with a nonchalant shrug. "And then that's when I became a commissioned officer. I skipped a bunch of ranks to get to Lieutenant."
"Wow," Cassie says through another sip of her drink, "that's pretty impressive, Mom." Turning to Johnny, she asks, "And what about you, dear old Daddy?"
Johnny scratches the back of his neck. "Uh," he says, instantly causing Cassie to burst into another fit of giggles. "Well, I had just finished college—"
"You went to college?!" Jax asks in disbelief.
Johnny frowns and pushes his sunglasses above his head. "Why is that so hard to believe?!" They all look at him. Making a disapproving noise, he says, "You guys are assholes. Yes, I went to college. I have a degree in Film Studies, thank you very much."
"I'm impressed, honey," Sonya tells him honestly.
"Thank you, babe," he tells her, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Anyways, I had just finished college and my movie Citizen Cage when I uh…" He takes a swig of beer and mumbles, "Met my ex-wife."
"I'm sorry," Vera teases, "we didn't catch that last bit."
Sonya laughs at Johnny's horrified expression. "Met my ex-wife," he grits through his teeth.
"You didn't have any kids with this woman, right Dad?" Cassie asks him apprehensively.
"Oh, God no!" he says. "Sorry, but I'm pretty sure I dodged a bullet there."
"Good answer, Cage," Sonya tells him, pecking him on the lips. "And you, Vera?" she says and turns to Vera, already knowing the answer.
Vera sips on her water with a smile. "I was a waitress at a diner," she replies. "And I got lucky that day. I had the pleasure of servicing these two hung over kids here," she finishes, gesturing to Sonya and Jax. Sonya covers her face again.
"Jesus, I was such a bitch to you," she laughs.
Jacqui shakes her head. "Why am I not surprised?" she asks her mother. "Mom's got the patience of a saint."
"She sure does," Jax agrees, looking at his wife adoringly.
"Ew, you guys are so cute, it's disgusting," Cassie teases.
"You know who else is so cute it's disgusting?" Jacqui teases, looking straight at Cassie. Green eyes go wide and she shakes her head subtly. "So, Cassie's new boyfriend, guys!" Cassie throws her napkin across the table at Jacqui. "They're so—" A cherry tomato hits Jacqui on the cheek. "I'm going to hurt you, Cass."
"Shut it, you," Cassie scolds her.
"I guess you can say she's a regular Casanova," Johnny quips with a wink. Everyone turns to stare at him incredulously. "What?" he questions them with a smirk on his face.
With an emotionless, deadpan voice, Sonya says, "Get out." This causes everyone else to laugh at Johnny's hurt expression.
"So mean," he grumbles.
Monday afternoon, Sonya's Interrealm Studies class covers the topic of the very first tournament. She doesn't know much about it, so she pays attention in class, taking notes wherever she thought necessary.
"So the condition became that one particular realm would have to win ten tournaments in a row in order to be allowed to invade other realms," Professor Valdez explains to the class. Ahh, this is what Sonya remembers about her conditions of participating. Placing her pen gently on her notebook, Sonya leans back folds her hands across her stomach. "And Outworld has managed to win nine out of ten of those tournaments. Their champion—"
"Goro," Sonya says.
"Mmm hmm, Goro was their champion up until—"
"Twenty-five years ago baby!" a female student by the name of Roxanne shouts triumphantly behind Sonya. She laughs lightly at the girl's enthusiasm. "What? Liu freaking Kang kicked ass, man!"
The memory of seeing Liu Kang's electrocuted and charred body creeps its way through Sonya's mind and she tries to fight it off. "He did," Sonya decides to tell her instead.
The professor chuckled. "Yeah, but Shao Kahn was selfish. He wanted a new tournament," he continues just as his phone beeps. He takes a quick look at it before turning back to the class. "That's all we have time for today," he announces. The class let out a collective groan of disappointment, which makes Professor Valdez chuckle again. "Do your own research on what happened to Liu Kang after the tournament. I want to see what you guys come up with."
Rolling her eyes, Sonya packs up her stuff and throws her bag over her shoulder. As she's leaving the classroom, she hears her name being called out. "Sonya! Hi!" She turns around to see Roxanne waving at her.
She smiles politely. "Hello," she greets.
"So," Roxanne starts, "you seem to know a lot about what happened with all that stuff. It's cool."
"Yeah," she reluctantly agrees with a nod of her head.
Roxanne steps in line with Sonya, walking in the same direction as the older woman, something the latter raises an eyebrow at. "I have Sociology after this, but I was wondering…" Roxanne pauses in front of the English Composition room, the class Sonya has next. "I dunno, but… would you want to possibly grab lunch together?" Sonya bites her lip. She and Johnny had already planned to grab lunch together and it would seem rude to blow him off. "I mean, it's okay if you can't. I was just wondering."
Another thought passes through her mind. "Um. I was actually gonna grab lunch with my husband," Sonya tells Roxanne. The young girl's face falls. "But he likes to be everyone's best friend, so I can talk to him. He won't mind coming along, that is, if you don't mind of course."
"Not at all!" she chirps. "The more, the merrier! Cool. I'll come get you from your class."
"Will do," Sonya agrees before entering the classroom.
Secretary Blake is organizing the files on his desk when a few knocks startle him. Regaining his composure, he clears his throat and says, "Enter."
Needless to say, he's shocked when he sees Cassie enter his office. Closing the door behind her, Cassie walks over to his desk and sits in a chair across from him. "There's something I need to give you," she tells him, going into her knapsack and digging around for her piece of paper.
"Does your mother know you're here?" he asks her, remembering the last time anything involving Cassie occurred in his office. Flagg's jaw needed to be wired shut from Sonya's flying fists a couple of weeks ago.
She stops digging in her bag to scowl at him. "No," she mutters. Blake makes a disapproving sound and she snaps, "Look, I'm a big girl. Since she's not my superior officer anymore, I don't need her permission."
He holds both hands up in defeat. "It was just a question, Sergeant."
With a satisfied growl, she continues her search. She hands him a letter and he apprehensively takes it from her. Eyeing her, he opens the letter and briefly reads the contents. "So," he starts, folding the letter back up after a few moments of silence. "You're cleared to come back?" She nods. "Again I must ask, does your mother—"
"I would've been back earlier had you and Flagg just respected my mother's wishes in the first place," she gripes at him. He snaps his mouth shut and nods in agreement. "I'm starting my first session on Friday, so I will report back to duty on Sunday at 0600 hours. Is that cool with you, Blake?"
Raising an eyebrow at her lax behavior, he says, "Yes, that's fine."
"Mmm hmm," she says, standing up. "You know, I have to ask… what did you two do to her?"
Taken aback by the question, Blake balks. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not stupid, Blake. My mom had a lot of respect for both you and Flagg and all of a sudden…" she doesn't finish her thoughts and lets the sentence hang in the air. "Anyway, I've only just found out she retired, meanwhile her whole life was dedicated to Special Forces. So if you don't tell me eventually and I find out her retirement was a sham, I will do everything in my power to restore her back as general."
Folding his arms, Blake stares incredulously at Cassie. She sure has her mother's attitude, he thinks to himself miserably. "It would be unwise of you to threaten me, Sergeant Cage," he reminds her.
She snorts indignantly. "Yeah, you're totes right," she says as she moves towards the door. "That's why it's more of a promise." With a conspiratorial pop of her bubble gum, she leaves Blake's office.
Just outside Blake's office stood Jacqui, Jin, and Takeda staring at her like she'd just grown three extra heads. "Ballsy move, Cass," Jacqui tells her with wide eyes.
"Ugh, you have no idea. I wanted to rip him a new one. But, since I don't have all of the facts yet, I'll let him pass. For now," she responds. Turning to the boys, she says, "We're probably gonna have to take orders from Lieutenant Colonel Herman until Flagg gets better. Apparently, Mom broke his jaw." Cassie snorts out a fit of laughter before composing herself. "So, be back at 8 am Sunday," she finalizes seriously.
"Yes, ma'am," the three of them tell her before going their separate ways.
"Yeah, sure, that sounds fine, Honey. I'll be there," Johnny tells Sonya over the phone in his trailer. When he hangs up, he lets out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. After all the times over the years Sonya has canceled lunch on him because of work at the base, he was more than relieved that she gave him a courtesy call on the slight change of plans. He grabs his keys from the table and prepares to lock up his trailer.
When he spots her on campus, Johnny sneaks behind Sonya and grabs her waist, hoisting her high above his shoulder. She squeals and kicks around. "What the—" she starts when she realizes that 1) it's most likely Johnny and 2) Roxanne and her friends are cheering him on. "Put me down, Cage," she demands as he throws her over his shoulder.
"Or what?" he teases.
"Or else you're getting one in the 'nads," she says. To emphasize her point, she starts kicking again.
"Okay, okay," he coos as he lowers her to the ground. He turns her around and leans in for a kiss. She grabs his lips with her hand instead and twists. "That's quite painful, baby," he informs her as she releases her grip.
She gives him a death glare. "What did I tell you—?"
"I know, I know," he jokes. Finally turning his attention to her group of friends, he holds out a hand and says, "Johnny Cage."
Roxanne laughs. "Oh, my gosh," she says, blinking at him, "I can already tell how awesome you are! I'm Roxy. These are my friends Andrew, India, Elmo, and Nicole," she says as she points to each person. They give him a small wave. Turning to Sonya, she states, "We're actually gonna go to that pub and grill Nicki likes to go to."
Sonya turns to Johnny and raises both eyebrows at him, her look silently begging him to think of something. Unfortunately, Johnny doesn't mind, so his response is, "How far is it from here?"
"Eh," Elmo starts, "it's just up the block or so." He begins to lead them away from campus and to the spot. When they get there, Nicole immediately flags down a waiter and gets the group of seven a table by the karaoke juke box. "Ooh! We should come back and do karaoke!"
"Ugh, yes please," Roxanne agrees.
Johnny and Sonya squeeze themselves between India and Andrew. When the waiter comes to their table to fill their glasses with water, Johnny takes a sip of his and asks, "So, how long have you guys known each other?"
Turning her body slightly to face Johnny, India answers him. "Well, Nicki and I grew up together and the two of us plus Roxy have been rooming since last semester. I met Andrew last year and he's been a thorn on my side since."
"Liar," he coughs unnecessarily into his water, causing Nicole to giggle.
"And Elmo's my cousin," India finishes as though uninterrupted.
"Sounds cool," Johnny tells them, genuinely interested in their lives. Sonya just sits and observes quietly as she notices Johnny turn on his 'Caged Charm' as she called it. The waitress comes back to their table and asks everyone for their order. When she gets to Sonya, she blanks out. "Hon," Johnny draws her attention with a soft nudge.
"Hmm? Oh. Uh, I'll just get a grilled chicken Caesar salad if you have that, thanks," she finally answers.
"What kind of dressing would you like with that?" the waitress asks her politely.
"Italian is fine," she says with a smile.
"What about you, Johnny?" India asks him.
With a dismissive wave of a hand, he says, "I've done my six year bid of school already. Been working since."
"What'd you get?" Roxanne inquires in regards to his degree.
"Film," he responds. "I was actually in a dual program where I got my Bachelor's and Master's degree."
This catches Sonya's attention. "Really? Damn, and here I am slacking," she says.
"Oh babe," he says, shaking his head at her, "you chose to serve your country instead. I hardly call that 'slacking'."
"What? You were military?" Andrew asks Sonya. She nods. "No wonder. You carry yourself like you're in charge." She frowns at this. "Hey, hey, I mean that as a compliment." Her face softens.
"Well, thank you," she tells him with a small smile. "I had to be after a while." She lets the conversations around her continue as her mind wanders off. It's only when Johnny taps her again to receive her food that she comes back down to earth. "Thank you."
"You okay?" he questions, concerned at her lack of attention. She nods, but he's not convinced. "We'll talk later if you need to," he tells her.
"I'm okay, I promise," she responds.
When Cassie gets back to the house later that evening, she plops herself on the couch, mentally exhausted from dealing with Blake. She wasn't sure she was ready to go back but she had to fight through it. Her dad didn't call her his 'warrior princess' for nothing. But even still, she feels the last bit of apprehension creeping through her mind, especially considering that she'd be going back without her mother as The General. Rubbing at her eyes with her fingers tiredly, she mumbles to herself. "God, this is a nightmare."
"What's a nightmare, Princess?" Johnny asks her from the door. She looks up, startled by his entrance. "Didn't mean to scare ya. What's on your mind?"
"Eh, it's nothing to worry about," she tells her dad. He frowns, disbelieving her. He walks over to sit next to her on the couch. One long look from him gets her to spill her guts. "I know I bitched and complained about Mom being 'General Hard Ass', but… it's going to be bizarre knowing she isn't there anymore. And I just find it so weird that she all of a sudden decided to 'retire'. I dunno. I don't trust Flagg anymore, Dad." Cassie sighs and stares at her father with unshed tears in her eyes. "Do you know why she retired?"
Johnny scratches the back of his neck guiltily. "Uh…" he starts. She narrows her eyes at him. "Well, I think that's something your mother should talk to you about herself."
Knowing her father, it was his way of admitting he knew but wasn't supposed to say anything. With a resigned huff, Cassie accepts her father's answer. "All right, I'll just ask her myself." After a few minutes of awkward silence, Cassie blurts, "I'm going back on Sunday."
Sonya, having just walked in the house, says, "You're going back to duty?" Cassie nods and rubs her forehead. "Is Blake making you go back?" she demands, throwing her keys on the end table by the door and putting her hands on her hips. "I swear to God—"
"Mom, it's fine. It's my choice," Cassie reassures her.
Sonya gives Cassie a look. "All right… You know if you don't want to talk to a therapist—"
"I have my first appointment this week," she informs her mother. Sonya opens her mouth to say something else but Johnny's look dries up her concerns in her throat. "I'll be fine, Mom."
Sonya hangs up her jacket with a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. You'll be fine. I trust you."
Sonya goes upstairs to their bedroom, slamming the door shut. Alarmed, Cassie and Johnny share a look of confusion and concern. "Is… is she mad at me or something, Daddy?" Cassie asks him.
He shakes his head. "She isn't. She's been a little," he starts as he does the unsure gesture with his hand. "She's been distracted lately, but she'll be fine." As an afterthought, he adds, "I hope."
In the bathroom upstairs in their bedroom, Sonya splashes water on her face again. She looks at herself through the mirror and her bloodshot eyes show pain, regret, longing, and remorse. Pain, because even though it's been over thirty years, she still feels the loss of her partner. Regret over not being able to save her partner as his life ended right before her eyes. Longing, because part of her believes that had she not been stuck on the memories of her old flame, she might have opened up to Johnny a little more. And remorse because for years Johnny believed she didn't love him when she did; she just had a hard time loving him the same way she loved James. In his defense, it was an unfair thought to have, but she thought about it a lot more than anyone could ever stand to know.
Soft knocks on the door interrupts her thoughts. "You okay in there, Sonya?" his voice creeps in.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she answers back thinly. She splashes water on her face once more as she tries to rinse tears away.
"You sure? You've been in there for almost two hours now," he informs her.
Oh. She hadn't realized the time. She clears her throat and tries to sound unaffected. "I'm okay, baby," she says.
"Okay," Johnny says slowly, "now I'm worried."
She exhales sharply, trying to force her unreasonable anger back down. "Why?"
Johnny chuckles humorlessly. "When have you ever called me baby?"
Sonya bites her lips and realizes he's right. She never calls him baby; she'd call him anything but because that was something she reserved for her old partner. Shaking her head, she sighs. "Sorry," she says more to herself than anything.
"Sunny… baby," he begins to say with an exasperated sigh, "please come out of the bathroom so we can talk."
"Give me ten," she reasons with him. "Then I'll be out, I promise." She hears him sigh again and she tears up again, biting her lip painfully. She sniffs, grabs a tissue from the sink, and blows her nose as quietly as she can muster. She turns on the tap and splashes water on her face for the last time before patting her face dry. Convincing herself that she looked better, she finally unlocks the bathroom and steps out, almost running into Johnny. "Oh, shit," she says as she grabs onto his arms for support.
"I've got you, hon," he tells her as he wraps his arms around her waist. He lifts her up and drops her onto their bed softly. She turns to face him and caresses his face tenderly. He brings her closer to him and he rubs his nose against hers. "Don't forget I'm here for you, babe," he reminds her as he grabs her hand and entwines their fingers together.
"I know, honey," she responds. She watches as he falls asleep, trying to will herself to do the same and forget what the next day means to her.
A/N: I feel bad for what's going to happen to Sonya. If you're curious too, keep reading to find out. And review/alert/favorite as always.