"Where the hell is that fucking keyhole!" Cassie screamed for the fourth time, kicking the rock wall that lay before her. She had been searching for over two hours and still she found nothing, not a hole or a key. Nothing. For the sixth time that day, Cassie walked over to Sub-Zero to ask for help. He meditating quietly on a rock nearby when Cassie walked up to him and yelled, "I can't find the key! Or a hole for that matter! Do you have any idea where it could be?" Sub-Zero gave her the same answer he gave her the last six times she asked him.
"Unlock your mind and you shall find the key," was all he said before he returned to meditating.
"You said that the last 6 fucking times I asked you! I don't know what you mean! Just tell me!" Cassie yelled as she flung her rod into the rock wall… again. Sub-Zero didn't even move. Cassie was now shaking with rage and she said, "Fine! Whatever! I'll find a way in without a key!" Cassie turned on her heel and stomped away.
"Cassandra Cage. You are making this far harder then it has to be," Sub-Zero said as he got up and joined Cassie at the rock wall. He pressed his hands firmly on the wall and mumbled something under his breath. The wall then began to change, taking on a new form. It had turned into an icy doorway. Cassie watched all of this with disbelief in her eyes. It had taken Sub-Zero thirty seconds to do something she had been trying to do in two hours.
"How'd you do that?" Cassie asked quietly as she picked up her rod.
Sub-Zero smiled and said, "I unlocked my mind." He then stepped through the icy door and into the rock wall as Cassie thought of what he just said. 'Sure,' She thought as she passed through the door. 'Answer my question with a riddle.'
The inside of the rock wall was very dark and there wasn't a lot of room to move down the hallway. As soon as Cassie stepped through the doorway, the ice caved in on itself, destroying the door. Cassie could feel the cold energy seeping off of Sub-Zero and onto her behind him. 'Of course it was a spell,' Cassie yelled in her head. 'The only thing I can't fucking do.' Eventually, they reached the end of the hallway and they were overcome by light. And Cassie saw them. The Earthrealm greats, at a table with the leader of it all sitting at the head. They seemed to be discussing something, so Cassie decided to stay back and let them talk. But they must have noticed her because as soon as they walked in, they all stopped talking and stared at her. Sub-Zero walked right up to the table and took his seat next to Jax, but Cassie didn't know where to go so she just stood there like an idiot. There was no sound for seven whole seconds until finally Sonya snapped her fingers and pointed to the seat next to her. Cassie took her time walking up to the table, the haughty spring back in her step. She jutted her chin out to Jacquinn, who smiled in return. Cassie slid into the seat and popped her gum loudly, telling everyone that she was no pushover. She was an ass kicking bitch. Raiden cleared his throat and continued.
"Earthrealmers. There is a reason I have called you here on the twenty-second of December. But before we discuss, I must thank the people in this room who have protected Earthrealm tirelessly for all these years." Cassie noticed something different about him. He almost looked… darker? She sat up a little straighter. " The Cages, the Briggs family, Kuai Liang, Kung-Jin, Sonya, and Takeda. You have all done great deeds for your realm and we thank you for it." The whole room erupted in claps and cheers. Cassie could feel her face growing warm. Raiden held his hand up to silence them. "Now to more pressing issues…" The conference room was then filled with the familiar smell of something burning. The entrance to the room was then erupted with hell fire. When it subsided, there stood Scorpion, a pissed off expression on his face.
"Why did you summon me here?" Scorpion snapped as he walked across the room to Raiden, his arms crossed.
Raiden stood from his seat and said, "I am in need of your aid. Please, sit." Raiden gestured to a chair next to him. Scorpion didn't move. Cassie almost laughed at how serious he was, but then remembered her means of getting here and closed her mouth. Raiden sat back down and said, "As you all know, Earthrealm and Outworld have never been allies in any crisis and has always posed as the greatest threat to Earthrealm. We all have been defending Earthrealm for years and there has been a great deal of slaughter because of it. With no Kahns in line for the throne, Outworld is weakened and this is our chance to merge Earth Realm with Outworld and stop the slaughter once and for all!"
There were murmurs of approval in the audience when Cassie raised her hand and asked, "Wouldn't that kill everyone on Outworld? Including you?" Sonya kicked her from under the table.
Raiden waved a hand in her direction and said, "We would evacuate Outworld first. And we need documentation from Kotal Kahn so that we may do this. Which is where you come in." Raiden pointed at Cassie as she popped her gum again. "Cassandra Cage, Sonya Blade, Jacquinn Briggs, Kuai Liang, Kitana,and Hanzo Hasashi will go to Outworld and get that signature for me," Raiden said as thunder boomed throughout the conference room.
"I have other business to attend to," Scorpion snarled as he turned on his heel and began to walk away. Raiden teleported in front of him and pushed him backwards, back into the the conference room.
"You will do as I ask," Raiden commended as he put a hand up to block the way out. Scorpion began to flame up and he curled his hands into fists. But almost as soon as he looked at Raiden's face, he let a sigh and fire went out almost immediately. Cassie watched all of this in astonishment. 'He could have roasted him alive,' Cassie thought as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Raiden walked back to the table and said, "Be still." Then, he blew a powder all over everyone at the table, causing them all to sneeze. When Cassie opened her eyes, she felt better then she ever felt in her life. She reached to the back of her neck and was shocked to see that all the burns she got earlier were gone. She looked at her mother and did a double take. Her mother looked like she was twenty-five again, with no blemishes or anything. She looked at her father and saw the same thing happened to him. In fact, everyone at the table looked like they were in their late twenties, early thirties. Everyone started talking at once, including herself. Raiden held up his hand and silenced everyone once again. "If I did not read your name, you are dismissed."
Almost everyone left except Cassie, Sonya, Jaquinn, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion. "How did you do this?" Jaquinn asked as she walked over to Raiden.
"It is a powder that can turn people back to the age they find the most appealing," Raiden said as he stood from his chair.
"How did you even make that? With unicorn hair?" Sonya snapped as she twisted her hair into a bun and shoved her chair into the table, causing the whole thing to shake.
"Mom. You're 20 years younger then you were 5 minutes ago, and you're complaining about it?" Cassie gaped in disbelief. "Well. I would rather not be the same age as my daughter, if you don't mind!" Sonya hissed as she took her position next to Raiden, glaring at her daughter all the while.
"You said it would be us AND Kitana. Kitana is dead, right?" Cassie asked as she spit out her gum on to the floor, trying to change the subject to something that would not involve a major grounding.
"That would the incorrect term, but yes. Perhaps I am dead," a voice mused from the entrance of the conference room. Everyone turned and saw a figure clad in her blue tournament emerge from the tunnel.
"Kitana," Sub-Zero breathed as she walked over to the group.
"Whoa," Cassie said while staring at Kitana. Other then the fact that Kitana had red glowing eyes and grey skin, she looked stunning.
Kitana smiled and said, "Raiden has recruited me from my kingdom to help you with this quest. I know the halls of Shao Kahn's palace better then anyone still alive. I can guide you in and out." Scorpion laughed. Everyone turned and stared at him.
"You think they will let us in willingly?" Scorpion snapped. "There will be guards around every corner and I believe they would not take kindly of the sister of the rebel!"
Kitana's smile melted into frown as she spat, "I am not my clone of a sister! She was made from my blood, nothing more!" Scorpion snorted.
"Alrighty then," Cassie said as she stepped in between the two greats. "Raiden, when are we leaving?"
Raiden turned his head to look at Cassie and said, "This moment." The lightning struck again, enveloping the group and sending them to Outworld