Ceremony

Nine Years Later…

Along the coast of Japan's shores lied an abandoned warehouse disguised as a production facility for producing specialized Dye. Their work is done mostly at night as that was when the most eyes were on them. They've been struggling to keep both the FBI and Special Forces at bay, offering some of their other warehouses to the Black Dragon whenever they expected an attack. They can thank Hsu Hao for that. Working as a triple agent for the Special Forces and Black Dragon allowed him to kill two birds with one stone, assisting in the Red Dragon's domination over Earthrealm. Raiden's temporary death placed a heavy burden onto Fujin and the other Lords, an opportunity the Red Dragon took throughout the years.

At this facility, the Red Dragon held many slaves. Some posing as employees amongst the real employees, and other being victims of their horrendous experiments in creating real life Red Dragon Hybrids. Among their victims was Suchin, though not a victim of the Red Dragon experiments. Not anymore. When she was first taken, they had expected her to be a great test subject after she killed one of their own. However, her resolve during the initial experimentation was not what they expected and thus she was taken away from the experiments. Her husband Kenshi, however, was much more viable and very easy to attract to become the ultimate Hybrid warrior. Time was not an enemy, but an ally as the longer he remained untouched, the more time they had to perfect their formula and pipeline.

Suchin was visibly broken from her time with the Red Dragon. The physical abuse wasn't as bad as the verbal and mental abuse the assassins had put her through. She had been assisting with the inhumane experiments against her will for years, unbeknownst to many of her trafficked colleagues.

As the men continued to monitor the test subjects, they start to drop one by one without alerting one another. The loud crackle of their bones being cut through sent fear into the men as they died. Their enemy made sure to be quick enough to prevent them from sending any signals to one another. Their throats were cut to ensure they could not yell either. The speed at which they were being killed indicated that it was not one, but two, no three individuals taking them out.

Suchin caught wind of her falling oppressors. She made out a faint smile as the memories of her husband began to overwhelm her. She still held hope that one day he would return. A notion that always led to disappointment. This had not been the first time she witnessed someone assault the Red Dragon in her presence. They had many enemies from many parts of the world with their most prominent being the Black Dragon Clan. Each time they were attacked, their enemies were easily taken care off. They'd start the attack the same way their current attacker would and then fall short when they face the Red Dragon head on.

A few of the assassins start to notice that their allies were disappearing at a rapid rate. The men surround the test subjects. Their weapons drawn; they observe the surrounding area prepared to take on their enemies. One of the members senses someone running their way. He failed to warn the others as a pulse blade slid across his throat. The other members turned their attention toward him and found Takeda standing amongst them. He held his pulse blade firmly as he looked into his mother's eyes for the first time in nearly a decade.

"Isn't that—" The assassin's words were cut off along with his head. Takeda wasted no time cutting the men down with his pulse blade. The armor along his body enhanced his speed and agility beyond what was possible for a normal man. It gave him the edge he needed to take the assassins out. One of them started to unleash their experimental Dragon-Hybrids on the boy.

"You came to the wrong place kid. Your father will be ours, but we can kill you on sight," the man said. The hybrids zipped along the room moving at speeds only seen natural amongst the Saurian people. Takeda closed his eyes and focused on the surrounding area. His mind could still only travel so far, but it was enough to give him an edge against the speed of the hybrids should they come within range. One of the terrifying creatures rushes towards Takeda. The boy steps to the side, narrowly dodging it. The roar of the dragon spooks the boy causing him to lose his focus. He opened his eyes and saw another dragon come within range. He swings his pulse blade only to have it knocked away from his hand.

"Duck!" Forrest shouted. Takeda followed his order and immediately, Forrest's blade swiped across the hybrid's snout. Takeda uses that as an opportunity to pull out his other pulse blade and thrust it into the hybrid's chin. Its blood dropped along Takeda's fist as it sizzled along his blade. He pulls the blade out quickly and the hybrid's body slumps to the ground. The loud thud attracts the others to their position. They immediately try to gang up on the boys, but are instead held off by Yami, Usagi, Ankoku, and Kurai.

The six of them proceed to hold off the hybrids while staying around the workers. The remaining members of the Red Dragon rushed out of the warehouse. Their voices could be heard, yelling at someone outside. Suddenly, their blades could be heard clashing with another. Bodies falling and cries of pain traveled into the warehouse. The hostages were clearly frightened by the attack. One of the hybrids comes near them and takes a bite of one of their arms. The man yells in agony, catching the attention of the Shirai Ryu members. Yami breaks off from the group and takes on the hybrid with his kunai. The two of them engage in hand-to-hand combat before he slams the kunai through the hybrid's skull. Fire exits the hybrid's mouth and burns the man. Usagi sees thick blankets nearby and breaks off from the group to grab them. Another hybrid immediately comes across her and breathes his fire in her face. She stumbles back, covering her face as Forrest comes around her and cuts the hybrid down. He grabs the blanket and throws it towards Kurai to put out the flames surrounding Yami's body. Usagi spins herself around at unnatural speeds, fanning the fire off her face. She started to blister, moaning in pain. The last hybrid appeared near Suchin, clearly prepared to kill her.

"No!" Takeda yelled. He unleashes a whip from the wrist of his armor and latches onto the hybrid. He pulls it away from his mother and unleashes a fury of slashes against it. Upon finishing his assault, he pulls the whip back into his armor and depowers his pulse blade. The boy leans over exhausted from the battle. He looks around to check on the state of his allies and the hostages. He also tries to ensure no other enemies were hiding in the area. Ankoku had already surveyed the area, unbeknownst to him.

"That was all of them," he said.

"Escort everyone outside of the warehouse," Takeda said. They did as he asked and signaled everyone to follow them out, which they wasted no time doing. The injured man was carried out by Kurai along with Yami. Suchin handed Usagi a lukewarm wet towel. The girl thanked her and placed it along her face, sucking the air between her teeth as it touched the blisters. Takeda escorted his own mother outside of the building. Forrest made a final walk through ensuring the building was cleared before following behind them.

Upon reaching the outside of the warehouse,Takeda embraces his mother and they both cry with a mixture of emotions coursing through their bodies. Hanzo smiles as he stands over the bodies of the now deceased warriors.

"I promise you mom," Takeda cried, "I'll never hide from those who try to harm you ever again."

"I know baby," she said. "I know." Forrest walks up to Hanzo.

"The building is clear," he said.

"I will call this in to the Special Forces. You have all done well!" he exclaimed. Everyone focused on Hanzo. "I cannot say how proud I am of you all. This is not an easy task, especially not easy to keep everyone alive." He looks at Yami and Usagi. "You two have proven to understand the importance of selflessness. You put your lives on the line for those who you do not know. You did not care about the consequences only thinking of others. You should be proud!"

"Being selfless is painful," Usagi moaned. Everyone started snickering.

*Later that evening*

Takeda, Suchin, and the rest of the Shirai Ryu members arrive at the port of a harbor. Hanzo points to Kenshi, standing next to the small cruise ship in the distance. Kenshi called out to his son, waving at him. Takeda doesn't respond in kind, instead mugging his father. Hanzo escorts the boy to his father, holding onto his shoulder. Kenshi could sense his disappointment. It has been years since he last saw his son. No communication. No sense of care. He felt he would get scolded by his son. Instead, he was surprised as Suchin walked from behind the boy. Kenshi rested his arms as he sensed the heart of the woman. Suchin runs to him. The two engage in a long, tight embrace. Kenshi pondered to himself about why he was unable to detect his wife's presence. He looked at Takeda who smiles when he realizes that his father understood what he did.

"You spent so much time away from us so long your abilities have been eclipsed by your own son," Takeda chuckled. Kenshi nudges his fist against Takeda's shoulder laughing along with him. His laugh soon faded as he reflected on Takeda's words.

"Son…" Kenshi struggled to find the correct words.

"We know dad," he said. "Hanzo taught me a lot. Things happen. Besides, mom's back with us and she's safe."

"She should've never been taken in the first place. I could've done…so much more to find her. She could've been…" Suchin clutches him tighter, smiling widely.

"It is ok. We are still alive. That's all that matters."

"I had given up on them keeping you alive. I didn't believe that all this time…you'd still be waiting for me."

"It is understandable that the heart conflicts with the mind. Your son here felt the same way, until I showed him the path. I knew where she would be, but you were nowhere to be found nor was anyone of my people prepared to face the Red Dragon Clan."

"Hanzo taught me so much throughout that time. We already knew where to find her. We struggled to find you. Some of my colleagues kept track of the Red Dragon for years. I simply wasn't ready. If they did harm her, I would've made my move much sooner."

"That you would," Hanzo commented.

"Master Hanzo taught me patience and finding a better way to take care of my enemies. We played our strategy well, stopped the Red Dragon experiments, and rescued the hostages. We saved more than just mom. We saved other families from the same fate."

Kenshi backs away from his wife and looks at Hanzo reaching his hand forward. Hanzo grasps it firmly and shakes it. "Thank you, Hanzo. Thank you for all that you've done."

"If you ever need anything…" Hanzo said.

"He'll definitely remind me," Kenshi chuckled. "I almost forgot," he said. He pulls out a card and hands it to Takeda, who reads it and recognizes the company name attached to the card. "When you finish the second part of your training with the Special Forces, we'll be going there." Takeda contemplated on if it would be a good idea for him to join his father, especially after what he saw in that warehouse. He was able to hold back his feelings then for the sake of his mother. But his mother was safe again. The Red Dragon no longer were.

Hanzo smiles and walks away, heading back towards his kin. Takeda, Suchin, and Kenshi go onto their ship. The members of the Shirai Ryu rushed to the edge of the harbor to send their farewells to Takeda as he and his family sail away. Yami, Usagi, Kurai, Ankoku, Forrest, and everyone else were waving and shouting their salutations. Hanzo smiles and nods while Takeda does the same.

"Do you think he's ready to be off on his own again?" Yami asked. "I'm not going to fault you if you decide to change the rule about leaving the Shirai Ryu."

"He will be ok," Hanzo responded. "He is back in the hands of his original family. He is old enough to fight for himself. His journey will bring a new Era of Warriors to Earthrealm."

"Takeda!" Forrest yells. Takeda looks back at his former allies. He waves at Forrest who does the same in return. "Next time we meet, I hope you will be strong enough to beat me." Takeda clenched his fist and nodded.

End of Rebirth: Shirai Ryu

I hope you all enjoyed this short story. It took a while to finish, but not as long as I'd normally take. This is my last [major] story for a while until next year in which my final Mortal Kombat story will be released. However, in between that time I will be releasing standalone stories under an anthology called "Lost Files: Mortal Kombat" which will consist of non-canon, semi-canon, and parody stories along with stories or chapters I've cut from Redemption, Reklaim, and Anomaly. Since it's not going to be anything serious or important to the overall story, those will be released at random whenever I decide to release something. An example would be the cut version of Chapter 12 of Anomaly: MK which was originally going to be a one-shot origin story for Sonya for people to discover why she was so determined to kill Kano in Redemption. Another example is the original version of the "Loose Lips, Sink Ships" chapter. I can't wait to show you all what will be in store in the future.