Chapter Forty-Four: Trust in the Spirits

Miles of woodland covered the outskirts of the Special Forces and a beautiful lake was right in the middle of it all. Sitting near this very lake, a lone Native American sat cross-legged in the grass with his eyes closed. His focus was on the wind that flowed through his long, black hair and the birds that chirped within the trees and sky. He always felt a strong connection with nature and felt empowered by the various creatures and plant-life that surrounded him. As well as the spirits that watched over day after day. Being a shaman came with such perks.

One spirit in particular, a wolf, crept up to the Native American and nudged the man's knee with his snout. The wolf's form was blue and translucent and his eyes were all white. As his human companion opened their eyes, the wolf stared into them as if he was trying to tell the shaman something. The shaman seemed to understand what the spirit was saying seeing that he nodded his head and started to pet the wolf on his head.

"Greetings, my friends. I see that Hoakah is in need of my assistance."

Walking towards the Native American, Liu Kang and Kung Lao made their presence known and sat next to their comrade by the lake. The wolf walked around the two monks and watched them closely, even though he has seen them plenty of times before. Even so, the spirit was very protective of his master and though the shaman deemed Liu Kang and Kung Lao as friends, the wolf was not going to let his guard down.

"It is good to see you, Nightwolf. We were wondering where you went off to after the tournament on Shang Tsung's island."

Nightwolf kept a stoic expression on his face, which was not unusual to anyone who knew the shaman.

"I was using the time to speak and connect more with the spirits, Kung Lao. Recently, they have become a bit restless."

"Why is that?"

"I believe it has something to do with Shao Kahn."

Neither Liu Kang or Kung Lao said anything, but Nightwolf already knew what they wanted to say. It was the reason they were here in the first place.

"Shao Kahn is alive."

That was not a question. The monks nodded to confirm that Nightwolf was right. Not that they needed to.

"I see. This is why the spirits have been so uneasy. Especially Kiva."

When the wolf heard his name, Kiva trotted back to his owner. Although Liu Kang and Kung Lao could not see the spirit, they could tell it was somewhere nearby.

"And that is also why you are here. Where is Hoakah?"

Nightwolf was referring to Raiden. His people, the Lakota-Sioux, have always called the thunder god "Hoakah." Raiden did not seem to mind the name, so Nightwolf continues to refer to him as such in honor of his tribe.

"Lord Raiden has gone to consult with the Elder Gods along with Kitana."

"Shao Kahn's daughter? I heard about her rebelling against her father. Is she the reason for your silence, Liu Kang? You have not spoken a word since you arrived here."

Nightwolf was not teasing Liu Kang, he was only stating the obvious. Kung Lao, however, burst into laughter.

"You are worried about your girlfriend, aren't you?"

"She is not my girlfriend."

"Ah, he speaks!"

As he started laughing again, Liu Kang caught his cousin off guard and pushed Kung Lao into the lake. The hat-wearing monk only had time to let out a yelp before he crashed into the cool water. A few seconds later, Kung Lao reemerged from the water with his hair sticking to his face. He pulled the hair that had fallen over his eyes away and soon realized his razor-rimmed hat was no longer on his head.

"Looking for this?"

Kung Lao looked back at Liu Kang, who was waving his hat in the air. Liu Kang thought that would tick his cousin off, but instead, Kung Lao laughed even harder than before.

"There is no need to be so defensive, Liu Kang."

Looking away from Kung Lao, Liu Kang faced Nightwolf and frowned at the shaman.

"I am not getting defensive."

"Hmm."

Kung Lao made it back to shore and shook his head to shake some of the water out of it. The action reminding Liu Kang of a wet dog trying to dry itself and he did not appreciate the water that flew in his face.

"Would you stop that!?"

"You are the one who pushed me into the water! Now you must deal with the consequences."

As the monks continued to argue, Nightwolf could not help but shake his head. They were in the middle of a crisis and Liu Kang and Kung Lao were bickering like children. Now was not the time for this.

"Enough."

Nightwolf raised his voice just enough for his two comrades to hear him. They froze in place and looked at the Native American as he stood up from his spot in the grass.

"Kitana is not the only thing on your mind, now is she? The spirits tell me that you are in doubt, Liu Kang."

"Well, tell the spirits not worry about me."

"So you admit that that the spirits are corrrect?"

"I admit nothing, Nightwolf. Now are you coming with us or not?"

Liu Kang began to walk away and dropped his cousin's hat on the ground as he did. Kung Lao quickly scooped up the hat and caught up Liu Kang to grab his arm.

"Kung Lao, what are you…?"

"You know Nightwolf is right."

"Let go of me."

"Is this about Lord Raiden?"

Liu Kang snatched his arm away from Kung Lao and glared at his friend.

"Fine, you are right. But can you blame me for doubting his judgement!?"

"I should have known something was wrong after what happened in Outworld. You have never raised your voice to Raiden until that moment. I know, I was against leaving Kitana to die as well, but you have to understand, Raiden was trying to do what was best for us and Earthrealm. That is his duty."

"It is not only that, Kung Lao. You could have been killed by Shao Kahn! If Raiden had not allowed you to participate in the tournament…"

"You cannot blame that on Raiden! I wanted to fight just like everyone else. To protect Earthrealm."

"I know, but he could have stopped you!"

"Why? You do not think I can handle myself?"

"No, it is not that! I am just worried about you. You are my family, Kung Lao."

"Yes, and I chose to enter the tournament and fight for Earthrealm just as you did. Honestly, Liu Kang, what is this really about?"

Liu Kang shook his head and placed his hands on his hips while turning away from Kung Lao. After a minute of silence, Nightwolf decided to step in to diffuse the situation.

"I recall when Hoakah spoke to me about his first vision. "He must win." That phrase has him baffled for he is not sure who his future self was referring to. Yet, he believes that "He must win" refers to you, Liu Kang. But…you are starting to think that maybe Hoakah is wrong about you. Am I correct?"

He was not sure if it was the spirits' fault or not, but Liu Kang sometimes hated whenever Nightwolf just knew things that he had no business knowing. Liu Kang sighed.

"...I thought I had defeated Shao Kahn and saved Earthrealm from being merged with Earthrealm. I thought we were all safe and that I had done something that made me worthy of being called a champion. And now we find out Shao Kahn is alive and planning to invade Earthrealm in two days. I am not a hero. I am not a champion. I am NOT "He who must win." There. I said it."

Feeling even more frustrated, Liu Kang walked to a nearby tree and leaned against. The back of his head hit the bark with a small thud and he looked up into the sky watching as the clouds rolled by and birds flew past him. The monk felt so pathetic in that moment. Defeated. How could he let Raiden make him believe that he was special? That he was the one that would bring this war to an end?

Kung Lao could practically feel the stress and gloominess that radiated off his cousin. It was enough to make him feel depressed. The monk had not realized how much of a weight Liu Kang had been carrying on his shoulders. Or the weight that Liu Kang believed he had to carry. Kung Lao sighed and shook his head.

"Okay. Maybe "He must win" has nothing to do with you. Fine. So what?"

Liu Kang continued to look at the sky, but he had heard Kung Lao.

"If I am not Earthrealm's savior, then…what am I?"

"What are…what do you mean? You are a Shaolin monk! You are a fighter, Liu Kang, one of the best I know! When the other monks chose you to represent them the Shaolin in Mortal Kombat, I admit that I was jealous. I sometimes felt that I would always be second to you ."

"Kung Lao, you are just as a good a warrior as I am."

"You know that, and I know that. That is good enough for me. I know of my worth, Liu Kang. Do you know of yours?"

Liu Kang finally looked at Kung Lao and he smirked. That made Kung Lao feel proud of himself for getting his cousin out of his funk.

"I do, Kung Lao. Thank you. For once, the words that came out of your mouth actually meant something."

"Hey, I take offense to that!"

The Shaolin monks laughed and Nightwolf actually smiled at the two. That was a rare sighting, yet Liu Kang and Kung Lao were too busy enjoying the moment to notice. Once they were done, the shaman asked his comrades about what they planned to do about Shao Kahn. Liu Kang was the one who answered this time.

"There is no definite plan for this at the moment, but we have recently been able to acquire important information from Shao Kahn's fortress. The others are viewing it as we speak."

"You infiltrated Shao Kahn's fortress?"

"Not us. It was another warrior named Smoke. He is a former member of the Lin Kuei and his unique abilities allowed him to enter the fortress and get out without being seen."

"Impressive."

Something warm and fuzzy brushed his hand and Nightwolf looked down to see Kiva had nuzzled his hand. It would seem that the wolf was just as eager to get going as everyone else.

"Let us go. We should not waste anymore time."

Liu Kang and Kung Lao nodded and they led the way back to the base. Luckily, Nightwolf had been staying close to the base as suggested by Raiden in case of an emergency, so it would not be such a long journey back. And both of the monks were glad that they had come to look for Nightwolf. Their conversation has really been an eye-opener and it was better that they had it now instead of later on. Who knows what would have happened if any of them were to snap in the middle of a battle due to being so stressed.

I know in MK11 that the wolf's name is spelled Kiba, but I am sticking to the way it was spelled in Defenders of the Realms with a "V" instead of a "B." I do not know if that is the correct spelling or if it was a mistake, so if anyone knows, please tell me because I am confused! I probably will not change it anyway, but I am just curious. And I know that Nightwolf now belongs to the Matoka tribe instead of the Lakota-Sioux, but I just kept him as the latter tribe. I did not know about this change until later on and honestly, I did not think it would make much of a difference. So if anyone has a problem with that, I am sorry.