She'd never been the type to have a relationship, and the fact that she now literally had a kept man — a man she was trying to keep hidden from Shang Tsung in the sorcerer's own quarters — was not an irony lost on her. It was like picking up jogging and signing up to run a marathon.
Just another way Outworld was fucking up everything she thought she knew.
Sonya looked across the thin bundle of padding and blanket that constituted sleeping pallet, and stared at the man with the scarlet blindfold. Her throat hurt from the hoarse half-whispers of their extended conversation; he swore there was no one near to eavesdrop, but it was hard to believe in telepathy, even after everything else that had happened. She didn't trust the sudden appearance of a telepath in her world, not when everything else was going to shit. Relying on him to be honest was an impossibility.
At that thought, Kenshi grinned. Though he did not sheathe his blade, he seemed to rest a bit easier, his armor sooty black and midnight blue helping him blend into the shadows of the night. Everything seemed easier at night. She'd never been much of a fan of it — she liked it when things were clear and crisp, easily defined. Bad guys, good guys, wrong and right. Now everything was made of shadows and half-truths.
"I do not blame you, Lieutenant. I have little I can offer as evidence in exchange, but for any chance to take out that sorcerer, I will do my best."
"Good. You any good at stealth infiltration?" She could see his eyebrow arch over the red of the blindfold, the smile there-and-gone on his lips. "Yeah, all right, fine. There's a bunch of people in the dungeons — my people. Soldiers. My…" She hung up on how to describe them, what words would capture Cassie and Johnny. Family? Friends? She didn't know either of them well enough to call them friend, but anyone with eyes to see would be able to tell Cassie was Sonya's daughter. Or maybe sister.
Then again, she was asking a blind telepath to do this, so…
"My people," she said again, sighing slightly. "I need to know they're all right. I can't get down there, and it's messy as fuck to try, but Shang Tsung has a space down there as well. You might be able to corner him unexpectedly anyway."
"Music to my ears." Kenshi rose up onto his feet smoothly, sheathing the straight blade on his back.
"How will I find you, if I get intel - something worth passing along anyway?"
"Don't worry." He gave her a dangerous smile, bright and flashing teeth. "I'll find you when I need to. Sweet dreams, Lieutenant Blade."
Sleep, it turned out, was damn near impossible, refusing to come to her no matter how hard she tried.
Takahashi on the other hand was like a bad penny, returning unpredictably and with a knack for appearances at the worst possible time. This was no different. After vanishing as abruptly as he'd arrived, he'd reappeared periodically, this last time only handful of minutes ago — and now there was someone rapping on the door. She gave the swordsman a dark look.
Shit. Sonya glared at Kenshi, pointing a finger at him. "You, stay here and keep your goddamned mouth shut. Hide." She strode to the door and opened it carefully, taking in a sharp breath through her teeth. Mileena. The woman in perpetually fluctuating favor proffered a smile with too many teeth in it.
"Earthrealmer. I need to see your master."
"My jailer, you mean?" Sonya crossed her arms, attempting to fill as much space in the door as she possibly could. She glanced down at her attire, then back up at Mileena, trying not to let the flush of embarrassment at the skimpy summer wear show. "He's not here. Last I knew he was sucking up to your father in some meeting."
"Excellent." Another smile crossed her face, but this one seemed more genuine, the corners of Mileena's eyes crinkling. "Because I have a proposition for you."
Surprise shot down Sonya's spine, but she said nothing, made no move to invite the woman into Shang Tsung's chambers. The last thing she wanted was to be accused by the sorcerer of letting anyone in — or for the swordsman to somehow stumble over something and alert Mileena to his presence. That would be the feather in the cap of this shitstorm.
The conversation that followed was going to take up place in Sonya's nightmares, she knew it. She had to keep Mileena from scenting Kenshi, or seeing him, whatever it was. They bickered and bantered across the barrier of the doorway, Sonya even taking a blow from the woman. She seethed with rage, but it wasn't the first sacrifice she was making. The longer she could keep Mileena talking, maybe Kenshi would be smart enough to figure out what she was scheming, what her ulterior motive was. There was no reason Mileena genuinely wanted Sonya's help — even disgraced as she was, she was in a better position than Kitana.
So when Mileena asked Sonya to spy on Shang Tsung for her, it took every ounce of willpower to keep her expression neutral and disbelieving. Maybe Mileena was Sindel's daughter, in more ways than just Kitana's cloned side. Scheming, trying to get Sonya to work the same angle for her? If the two of them crossed wires — but then, if she was giving them the same intel, it was on them to sort it out. She had the Cages protected… Mileena couldn't do much there. But there was one person who desperately needed help, and Mileena might be able to swing it. Relying on Mileena for this would be as close to a deal with a devil as she'd ever come.
Fuck it. She might as well start high.
"Get Liu Kang medical treatment and I'll think about it."
Mileena had bargained, even going so far as to threaten to tell Shao Kahn that Sonya and the sorcerer were scheming; Sindel probably would have laughed her high-class ass off at that. Maybe she'd tell her about it the next time they spoke, see how she responded. Sonya had laughed at that, but had agreed to Mileena's two-day request to sort the matter out.
Sonya nodded once, short and sharp. "I'll be waiting. Now if you'll excuse me — I have duties to return to." She shut the door icily in Mileena's face, then closed her eyes and slumped against the wall beside it.
Dealing with her was like poking a caged lion; who the hell knew what would happen. She let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes to see the blind swordsman standing in front of her.
"Jesus, fuck, what the hell—"
"So you really are attempting to oppose him." He sounded vaguely surprised, and she rolled her eyes.
"You didn't goddamned believe me? The fuck." She swung lightly towards his armored shoulder, but the swordsman raised his hands up and blocked her easily. "After everything? Days, if not weeks of this, you thought I was bullshitting you?"
"Easy, Lieutenant. I have not survived this long — and blind, at that — by believing everyone and everything at face value."
Adrenaline still raced through her body, a kind of relief at escaping a predator that had cornered her unexpectedly. "Great. Get anything good out of that? I assume you were going through her head like a filing cabinet." She felt like hers had been upended and thrown out all over the room.
"She is genuine. She has motives — a desperate desire to see Shang Tsung thwarted for his attempt to manipulate her, though she still holds parental affection for him. And wants to use him like a tool." Kenshi tipped his head towards the side chamber where Sonya's sleeping pallet was kept. "I believe she will be genuine in her attempts with you, only because she seeks so desperately to get back her beloved, and to do whatever it takes. She believes she is owed by Outworld — and that she wants to prove her capability."
"In here." Kenshi's finger poked unerringly at her stomach, there-and-gone so quickly she couldn't block it. "There is a fire there, if you open yourself up to it."
"You've done this before?"
"No, but something similar. I'm a telepath and a telekinetic, and not all of it came innately to me." His smooth voice caught a little, as though slightly perturbed with the admission. "And relearning my skills after Shang Tsung had me blinded required more introspection and reflection than I'd like to think of. If you can quell the anger you feel now, and convert it to focus and determination… I think you will be able to burn through the blockage."
Exasperation tinging her face, she tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear and folded herself down onto the ground. He leaned against the wall opposite her, inside and on the closer wall to keep better out of sight. "Focus, and I will remind you when your mind goes astray."
"Why are you invested in this?" She tipped her head back, rolling her shoulders and straightening her spine. "Why do you even care, Takahashi?"
The corner of his mouth tucked in, chin dipping in a small smile. "As a telepath, when someone gets distracted, it is I who suffer. And you will be better equipped to help me destroy Shang Tsung. Take the weapons you are given, train with them, wield them. The skill you do not understand can be turned against you and destroy you. Allies with trained skills are better than untrained fools apt to get you killed — as I'm sure you know, being a soldier."
She threw him an acid look but settled down anyway, closing her eyes and trying to focus on her body, the strange sensation in her belly, and on nothing else.
It was a little odd; every time her mind wandered, there was a needle-sharp poke in it, goading her back onto the path she should have been on. But she focused, feeling the heat of her breath circulate in her body, the inhalations fueling the little fire somewhere behind her belly button. Every time she drifted, the needle-sharp mental prod was there, until it became easier, steps down a well-worn path.
Unexpectedly, heat flared to life in her, and not the sort of sexual innuendo-filled way she'd thought of it. It burned brightly as a little woodstove low in her body, somewhere back behind her navel, sending threads of heat flashing through her body, heat-pain arcing along every nerve pathway, and then fading back to a warm, comfortable glow. She opened her eyes, looking across at the telepath's blindfold, feeling a painfully large smile break across her face.
"Bingo. Now… what the hell do I do with it?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" One shoulder rose and fell in a casual shrug. "That's something only you can decide. I would do everything I could to learn the extent of my abilities and improve them in the circumstances I had."
"Even considering who my teacher would have to be?" Sonya shook her head, annoyance and confusion warring in her at the burst of new power, the absolute potential now coursing through her body with every breath. This was… this wasn't magic, like sword-and-sorcery bullshit. This was power she didn't understand, but at least it came from inside her. It wasn't a pact with a demon or some kind of bullshit gift from someone; this was her work, her own efforts, that gave it to her. Improving herself and her own body, her own skills, to be all that she could be.
It was just a hell of a lot more than the Army recruitment slogan had ever thought she'd be. "I've got to deal with the books. I can't take the risk of him finding out, how he would use me. I would become a tool. I'm here to try to get everyone out of this bullshit, not deeper into it!"
"It will make you valuable to them. You do not discard valuable tools. I speak from experience in dealing with Shang Tsung." Kenshi straightened in a single, enviably smooth movement. "Be ready, Sonya. There is no turning back from this."
Two days later, Sonya found herself grudgingly admiring Mileena, horror flitting through her at the realization. It was the kind of thing she felt obligated to renounce until her dying breath, but the woman had made an agreement, and was seeing it through. And perhaps more pertinently, and more terrifyingly, she was doing it because she had a goal. She wasn't the madwoman that so many people called her. She wasn't doing it out of some megalomaniacal need — or at least if it was, it was well-hidden. More like passionate pursuit of a goal she had, and would see through by any means necessary.
It was a trait she shared with Sonya.
The realization flashed hot and then cold through her, shoved aside in a rapid flurry of denial. She was not like Mileena, she wasn't. She was doing what she had to out of obligation to protect her people, because it was the right thing to do. She didn't want to rule a world, seizing power by the throat and knocking people to the ground to make them bend knee to her. Mileena was doing what she did for love, as depraved as it was. And because she felt she was owed respect.
She had ruled as a queen, once. Sonya had seen soldiers suffer demotions, claw their way back up to their old rank with utter determination. Mileena smacked of the same thing.
And she couldn't deny that even though she hated the idea of being anything like Mileena, she admired the woman too.
God. What a fucking mess.
"Your hair is wrong." Acid rose in Sonya's throat as she spoke, Mileena adjusting one of Kitana's masks over her face.
"What?" The half-Tarkatan spun around sharply, eyes flaring hard and bright.
"Your hair. To be Kitana's, your hair is wrong. Liu Kang will know it. You need to do something with it. Come here, I'll fuck around with it enough to hide it from close inspection. Not like he's going to be running his hands through it, anyway." She hated offering, but Mileena was doing her damndest for this. She was fulfilling her part of the bargain. And if she was going to find a way to make this less terrible for Liu Kang, if she was going to be even more complicit in this…
Her hands ran through Mileena's shoulder-length jagged-edged locks, and she muttered to herself. She'd never kept her hair short, and rarely anything fancier than a French braid, but she would have to find a way to make this work. She tucked and twisted, pulling hair around, until she'd managed a facsimile of one of Kitana's hairstyles. It wouldn't pass close inspection, there wasn't nearly enough ink-dark hair, the braids weren't looping the way they should, but it should pass enough.
If only she could cast a fucking illusion, but that was the kind of sorcery that she'd have to get lessons from Shang Tsung over — and that was a thing she was entirely unwilling to do. One step too far. As it was, over two days she'd learned that her emotions brought a pink-purple energy up to her skin, and the stronger the emotion, the brighter the color. It was a flashing magical neon sign of uncontrolled qi.
"It'll do." Sonya forced the emotion away before the guilt brought the qi to the surface. Mileena turned to face her.
"You're a strange one, Earthrealmer."
"Feeling's mutual." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, just — fake it, if he needs it. If he's unconscious, if he's out of it, just keep quiet."
Every time Sonya set foot in Liu Kang's room, the smell made her want to gag, and the sight made her want to murder someone. Neither was particularly conducive to being helpful. With Mileena at her side, no matter the promises made, she felt like it was more like leading a fox into a henhouse. Not fox — more like a snake. Without supervision, Sonya was damn sure Liu would be swallowed whole and not a hint of him left behind.
After several days without seeing him, this time she definitely did gag. No one had been in — for better or worse — and he was in a hell of a state. But there was a healer coming, whatever the local equivalent of medical care was, and this would be the last time he was stuck like this if she had anything to say about it.
She could barely focus on Mileena's words, the way she feigned her identity as Kitana, while she gave Liu Kang's battered body all the attention she could. There was no price she could pay that would be high enough to fix the damage done to him, the sacrifices he'd made for everyone else, but this would be a start. And Mileena was willing to do this, as much for her own ends as to prove to Sonya that she was serious. And if Mileena could be serious, then so could Sonya. With the healer oblivious to the deception, it gave Sonya time to look over Liu Kang's injuries and to watch Mileena carefully.
"We will have to begin with the legs." The healer's voice cut through Sonya's thoughts. "I think we shall have to rebreak them, to ensure they set properly when the magic begins."
"Rebreak them?" Mileena sounded surprised and stepped back; Liu's hand fell from her face with a thud to the cot.
"It is probably not something you want to be around for, Princess." The healer's eyes flicked to the door. Sonya watched with narrowed eyes as Mileena touched the pads of her fingers to Liu's cheek.
"I'll come back tomorrow," she said, then pushed past Sonya on her way out.
"Are we ready to begin?" The healer looked to Sonya, and down at Liu Kang. "This is going to hurt."
"It cannot hurt more than it already does."
"It'll get better," Sonya said, folding a small piece of leather up and sliding it into his mouth with a wince. "But I'll be here. Every day, until this you're fixed." She took one of his hands in both of hers, meeting his eyes, and let him dig his fingers into her hand. No matter the Shaolin training, there would be no way to block this pain out.
The healer looked at them both, shrugged once with professional disinterest, and began the process of rebreaking Liu Kang's mangled legs.
Sonya would never be able to shake the sounds..
Sindel's robe dropped from her shoulders to puddle around her feet. The onetime Edenian queen didn't deign to meet Sonya's eyes while she settled herself face-down on her bed. It had been spread with towels earlier, and now the Empress stretched out, tipping her head to one side as a pair of slaves ready with massage oils and ointments readied to work the tension out of their Empress.
Sonya bitterly wondered what kind of tension this woman could have to work out.
Then again, she helped rule Outworld… there was probably a reason she had a head full of white hair, and it wasn't merely a biological quirk.
"Shang Tsung schemes with Rain, and Mileena opposes him and seeks you as her own eyes." Sindel spoke lazily, her eyes closing as warm oil drizzled along the length of her spine. "Nothing entirely surprising. Rain has always hunted for the greatest prospect he could find and how he could twist it to his own ends. Did you know we had once arranged a betrothal between him and Kitana?"
"I wasn't."
"It was broken, obviously, once he showed more of his true colors. It would have been a fine thing, a properly fullblooded Edenian child to eventually sit the throne, but Rain did not have the patience needed." Sindel let out a low moan of satisfaction as one of the slaves began working out a tight knot of muscle in her shoulder. "But I am not surprised that he has come to try and ally himself with the sorcerer. Mileena set against them… Well. Perhaps there is hope for her yet." Sindel reached out a hand, making a small gesture. "What else?"
"Nothing of note. Shang Tsung keeps his hands off me, and I haven't murdered him in his sleep. He keeps trying to convince me to his side. I've resisted."
"Good girl," and it was so like a person talking to a pet that Sonya was sure she would have spit fire if she could. As it was, the sudden burst of anger in her made a faint pink-purple light fill the skin of one hand. She forced the emotion and the anger down and away. Her covert reading had taught her that only with cool, collected emotion would she be able to learn how to wield the qi energy she'd woken in her body and spirit now. The pink-purple sank back down into her hand after a brief internal struggle.
She would swear a tiny smile graced Sindel's lips that hadn't been there before.
"Would you like to have a little bit of a… family reunion?" The sentence broke apart as one of the two masseuse-slaves found a particular knot and worked at it. "You've been doing well, and I wouldn't have it said that I don't know how to bargain. Or provide adequate incentive." She cracked open one eye and for a brief moment, Sonya wondered if the woman was going to proposition her. "I'll get your lover up here, how does that sound? A nice reprieve, some quality time for the two of you."
"He isn't my lover."
One perfectly maintained eyebrow arched.
"Which is really a shame. You should be enjoying what's on offer. Even as a Revenant, I know precisely what happened between the two of you. I've thought of bringing him up myself, getting him scrubbed clean properly, and seeing just how much fun he is." The smile and tone were calculated to a microscopic degree of perfection. Then it cracked, just a little, forehead furrowing in a way that seemed remarkably un-Sindel-like — and leaving Sonya confused. "But then I look at that darling little girl of yours, and I don't want to stand in the way of a happy family." The words were accompanied by a malign smile.
Steel slid up Sonya's spine and she locked her eyes with Sindel's. "I'll take a visit with them both. Let them have baths, and food. Not gruel. And a private room."
"Demanding, aren't you. Good to see you spirited. I'll consider it."
She was surprised by the way Cassie almost flung herself at her, lithe muscle wrapping Sonya in a tight embrace. The one they'd shared after killing Geras had been difficult for Sonya, realizing as she did that it meant accepting what her future self had done. No small amount of her had wondered, with the desperation Cassie had given in that embrace, how often her future self had hugged her daughter.
Not enough. Not nearly enough. And if she ever did have a kid, she was sure as hell going to change that. She let this hug go on until Cassie was ready, a shift in her stance and the muscles of her arms saying it was done. Sonya stepped back, looking into the almost-mirror of Cassie's face.
"We didn't see — all we heard was rumors, and then the Koliseum, we didn't know what was happening!"
"I'm fine, Cass." Sonya exhaled slowly, and took another step back, giving them both air and space. She gave a covert glance at her hands; all normal. "Sindel wants something from me, so they've been treating me all right. Things are… messy right now. Complicated."
"That why we get the clean up and some quality time?" Johnny arched a dark brow, and she found herself turning towards him and into a casual hug, his arms settling around her with an easy strength. She was the one to break this, even though part of her didn't want to. She forced herself back after a few seconds, even though part of her wanted to leach some of the strength out of him. She wondered if she could, now — but that was a thought saved for later.
"In part, yeah. Sindel's trying to get me on their side. They want Earthrealm, as desperately as they always have, and she thinks she can use me to get it. Tempt me to their side. She's treating me like a lapdog, making me work and giving me treats and rewards." Sonya jerked her chin at the pair of them, and gestured with a hand at the tray of food. "But she thinks if she can get me to side with them — like Shang Tsung did — it'll make their invasion easier."
"But you're not helping them, are you?" Cassie squinted, her shoulders drawing back, spine stiffening. "Are you?"
"I'm keeping myself — and you two, and Kitana, and Liu Kang, alive." She met Cassie's eyes, knowing that what she'd said was little more than a token protest. Was she actually helping Sindel? Was she falling into Sindel's trap? Fuck if she knew, and her stomach twisted at the prevarication. "I don't like it, but I'm working on a way to get us all out of here. But my good behavior makes sure you two live through this, so it's worth the price."
"Oh, moved up in your books, have I?" Johnny flashed a cocky smile; it only faded a little when she rolled her eyes.
Only a little.
She pushed the amusement away and tried for seriousness. "Can it, Johnny. If I have to sacrifice my dignity, my pride, everything, to get more people out of here… that's what I do."
"I'm not losing you again," Cassie said sharply, voice high and tight in her throat. "Not as a collaborator, and not at the hands of Outworlders."
"Cass, this is…" Sonya sighed, and poured a cup of the cold fruit juice from one of the pitchers on the tray. "I'm not your mom. Not exactly. And this isn't the timeline you knew — none of it is changing. The Hourglass is busted, it's not going to work again. We're all stuck here. Your existence isn't reliant on him and I hooking up." She bit back a bitter laugh. "Sindel still wants that to happen—"
"She what?" Cassie's eyes went wide, reeling back like she'd taken a punch to the gut.
"Yeah, she mentioned something like that." Rubbing at the back of his head, Johnny gave both women a shrug, then a bitter smile. "After she kicked my ass, after Shao took you both down. I don't like thinking about it."
"Surprised you could keep your mouth shut about getting laid," Sonya muttered, half under her breath. Johnny's eyes flicked to hers, the warmth in them suddenly cool.
"You're hot, Sonya. You and I both know I haven't made it a secret, at all, about wanting to hook up with you. But I'm not doing it while you're coerced, if you're made to. Guaranteed mood killer."
"That's… strangely unexpected, coming from you."
"I may be an asshole, but I've had some time to think about things." He shrugged, dropping into a chair. "So aside from Sindel's plans to build a Cage-Blade army, what's shaking?"
Sonya tipped her head in his direction and gave him an acid look before sipping from her glass. "We need to get out of here. As soon as possible. Things upstairs are… Shit. We need to get you two, and Kitana, and Liu Kang, out."
"Plus Raiden and Fujin," Cassie added. She bit down on her lip in a gesture Sonya recognized from herself. "I can hear them, sometimes. Shang Tsung comes, drains their soul energy. We need to get them out of here or he's just going to have a battery, and eventually he'll kill them both."
Drumming a hand on her thigh, Sonya hummed thoughtfully. "Great. Gotta get eight of us out of here. Liu Kang not being able to walk much I could take into account, but if Raiden and Fujin are hurt too badly, then… I don't know."
"… is this a blonde bad at math thing?" Johnny cocked his head. "Two gods, two Cages, that's four. Kitana and Liu, that's six. You, seven."
"There's one other ally I haven't talked about." Sonya looked at her cup, downing the fruit juice in a series of swallows as she tried to wrap her head around explaining the newest figure in her life. "Some telepathic, telekinetic guy with a sword, sworn to murder Shang Tsung. He's agreed to help me — help us — in exchange for taking out the sorcerer."
"Kenshi?" Cassie pinned Sonya with her eyes. "Kenshi's here?"
"You know him? What, you guys grow up together or something?"
"Shit. No, it must be the younger one then. I know — I know the old Kenshi. He's been Dad's friend, and your friend, for years. Since before I was born. His son Takeda is Jacqui's fiancé."
Sonya watched from the corner of her eye as Johnny tensed, eyes sweeping the room for the intruder. He stretched his legs out, grimacing a little with the movement. Her eyes flicked to his, caught his gaze. She arched a brow: is it bad? He shrugged, corner of his mouth tipping down in what she thought was an I'll survive kind of look. She frowned slightly, turning back to the other woman.
Cassie looked at the tray of food longingly. "I'm so tempted to dig into that."
"Go for it."
"Not poisoned?"
"Cass, if it's poisoned, I'm dying along with you." Sonya poured more juice, and proffered Cassie a glass. The other woman took it with slow consideration. "I don't want to leave this guy here if we can help it. He might not come, though — he's pretty fucking intent on Shang, and also thinks something's up with Sindel, so…" She trailed off again, shrugging. "I don't know if he'll come with us, but I want to make sure we're ready for it." She poured a second glass, handing it to Johnny, and tried not to think about the little electric jolt that passed from him to her as their fingers connected. She took a pair of steps away, as if to distance herself so she could think more clearly. "But we need to make plans, and soon."
"It's been — I don't know exactly how long it's been, given how there's no light here. But I hope we'll have some people coming soon," Cassie ventured as she looked at the juice in the glass hesitantly. "We should, anyway."
"Just because we're Army?"
"Because after the last time Dad got kidnapped by Shinnok, Jacqui had all our gear chipped. She would have had us chipped except Mom pitched a fit about being treated like a dog." Her mouth arched in a small, sad smile. "I had to tag the Black Dragon jet because you didn't have your new gear, and neither did he. As long as Jacqui's okay — or anyone at SF is, like maybe Dad — they'll be able to track the chips. They're in my gear, and in your gauntlets," she added with a nod to Sonya. The small smile turned to a frown. "Where are they? Your gauntlets, I mean?"
"Taken, along with all my clothes. I'm Sindel's Army Barbie. Any tracking in my gear is a waste. If someone shows up down here… They're going to have to find their way up to Shang Tsung's quarters. I can get to Kitana and Liu Kang from there. But otherwise — if it's too risky… Get yourselves out first."
"I'm not leaving without you. Still owe you dinner, and this doesn't count." Johnny reached towards Sonya, brushing his fingertips across the back of her hand. "And I don't think Commander Cage over here is going to abandon you, either."
"Absolutely not." Cassie's eyes sparked fiercely with constrained emotion. "Do you think you can draw a map up to where you are?"
"I can try. Be a hell of a lot easier if I knew when this was going to happen, and could get ready. As it is, we need to plan to get out of here. I know there's something going on. There's some kind of resistance army forming up in a place called Lei Chen, with Kitana's friend Jade." Sonya glanced to Johnny, then Cassie, seeking recognition. Cassie nodded. "And the Tarkatans are waiting outside, apparently to help Kitana, too. Not in the same direction, unfortunately."
"Great, so we've got a couple armies ready to march! This sounds like it's going to be easier than we thought." Johnny grinned, and the tension in him seemed to ease.
"If half the fortress weren't on guard against both of those, I bet." Cassie downed the juice in several swallows, scowling. "No, Nineties Dad, this is not going to be some internal rebellion happening here, as much as I wish it was. You can draft the what-if script in your head, but don't get attached to it."
Johnny made a dismissive sound and flipped his fingers. "C'mon, you know it'll be a massive moneymaker. After Timequake."
"I really do not want to think about how Hollywood is going to handle two of you." Cassie shook her head. "I'm terrified. God. The social media sites, the gossip sites, are going to lose their shit."
"You keep saying that, and I keep looking forward to it. Cages are gonna make bank."
Sonya took a piece of fruit, peeling the thick bumpy rind off it with practiced fingers. Envy dug a little into the back of her mind and she didn't want to think about how close these two had become, forced as they were into their shitty living conditions. Compared to where she was, in relative luxury, but feeling more and more isolated. It was easier than she expected to stop talking and start listening as the two of them bantered.
"You gonna eat that, or just destroy it?" Johnny pointed at the fruit in her hands. She'd removed the peel, most of the pith, and had started to peel apart the smaller segments of the citrus-like fruit.
"Have at." She dropped half the fruit into his waiting hand, and handed Cassie the other half.
"Something's on your mind." Cassie looked up at her, frowning slightly. "And don't give me the whole I'm fine thing — I had future you as my mom, I know that look, and I know the excuses. What's eating at you?"
"This. All of this. I'm a soldier, close ops, covert ops when I have to be, but I wasn't meant for this type of infiltration. I hate being up there instead of down with my people, but this is the best I can do to keep you all safe."
Their conversation lapsed into an awkward small talk, conscious of the limited time they had. Sonya kept pacing slightly, full of nervous energy, until Johnny touched her on the hip. "You're making me feel like I'm waiting for the results from auditions. Relax, Mama Bear."
Cassie made a noise of choked laughter as Sonya stared at his hand, and then his face, and then at Cassie. The laugh faded into a hopeful, almost fond smile, and for a moment, Sonya thought that she might be able to manage this.
Then the door opened, a Shokan guard pushing her way in and towards Cassie.
"Visiting hours are over."
"Like hell they are," Sonya snapped. "I decide when it's over."
The Shokan kept moving implacably. "Orders," she said with a tone that Sonya recognized. Unless she wanted to start a fight here and now—
Cassie shook her head once, bangs flopping into her eyes with the movement, and closed the distance to Sonya with a few quick steps. "Don't let 'em break you," Cassie said into her ear, hands gripping tight. "We'll get you out of there. I swear. I'm not giving up. Just remember what you're fighting for."
"Who's the kid now, right?" Sonya tried for a laugh. "I do, Cass." She squeezed Cassie's shoulders. "I'm doing everything I can. Keep your chin up, Commander. You're doing us all proud." She stepped back, watching as the Shokan guard clasped the chains back around Cassie's wrists, hating the rough way the guard shoved her out the door. Sonya turned to Johnny, standing awkwardly. "Take care of yourself, all right, Cage?"
"She's made me offers." Johnny's face was serious, expressive mouth gone flat and even his eyes cool, without the usual mischievous gleam they had, in the few moments they were alone. "Sindel, I mean. I didn't want to talk about it in front of Cass. But Sindel's offered me things, if I agree to what she wants. The whole…" He gestured with a hand between the two of them. "I keep telling her no, but if I say yes and can get up there, then we can talk. I know how to fake a sex scene, I've filmed a couple. We can— "
"Save yourself, Johnny. Don't worry about me." Sonya shook her head, touching him on the shoulder lightly. "And knowing Sindel, she'd want to sit in and offer advice, observe. Critique your performance, make sure we did the deed. I'm not into that at all. Just keep your mouth shut — I know it's hard, but try — and keep yourselves alive. If you can escape on your own, you and Cassie should take it. I hate this angle I'm working, but it's keeping you two safe, and Liu Kang too. I've got to keep at it while I can."
He reached his hand to cover hers on his shoulder, meeting her eyes. Her stomach wobbled, lungs not wanting to fully expand. "I'm serious, Sonya. If I get up there and we can plan, we can maybe find a way out of this thing."
"I need you to keep an eye out for Cass." Her eyes flicked to the door and she tipped her head in its direction as another Shokan stepped in. Johnny flipped the guard a middle finger, only for one of the Shokan's hands to snap out and brutally seize his wrist.
"Fuck off, man," Johnny snapped, trying to pull away. "Your bitch-queen wants —"
"Visit is over." The Shokan grabbed his other wrist in an abrupt movement, wrenching his arm behind his back.
Sonya pivoted and took a step around Johnny to the Shokan, hating the click of the heels on the stone floor, and met the guard's eyes. "I decide when it's over. Sindel told me that. So keep your damn hands off of him until I say we're done." Energy rushed through her, boiling outward from her belly through her body. She looked at her hands, the pink energy beginning to bloom around her wrists. Johnny's eyes drifted down, eyes going wide.
"Not anymore. She said they were to be returned to their cells. And Shang Tsung calls for you." The Shokan gave Sonya a cruel smile, fastening the other manacle around Cage's wrist. Johnny's jaw tightened, eyes flashing, as he pulled one hand away, but was caught short by the chains.
"What the hell is that?" He met her eyes, and she shook her head sharply. "Jesus, Sonya, what have you been—"
"Later." She touched his shoulder again with her other hand, feeling the heat of his skin and the hard muscle of his body through the thin shirt, hot as a brand against her palm. "Take care of yourself. You and Cassie both. I know you're not a parent — neither am I — and you're not a soldier, but you've got good self-preservation instincts. Just… include her in those."
"I'm not going to make the kid lose a Sonya twice. Her mom, and you? No. Shit like that doesn't fly for me. This is the closest thing to a family right now — this is my family — and I'm not giving up on it." He shook his head as one of the Shokan jabbed him in the small of the back with a weapon, prodding him towards the door. "Holding you to that explanation — and that dinner date, Lieutenant. More time she gives me, the bigger the plans I'm making."
She watched the Shokan push him out the door, closed her eyes, and tried to gather her thoughts and calm her hammering heart. She reminded herself what she'd told him. She was keeping them safe, and Liu Kang and Kitana besides. She hated working hand-in-glove with the Outworlders, but right now, it was the best out of a remarkably poor list of choices.
The pink energy flared around her hands again in response to her frustration. She inhaled, exhaled, trying to focus on a clear mind, clear thoughts, draw the impulsive energy away. It clung to her skin like another pair of gloves, or like her gauntlets. Another inhalation, steadying her mind, and it slowly began to fade into her skin.
Applause cracked through the air like gunfire, startling her from her focus. The qi energy flared bright and high again up her arms at the sound as surprise rushed through her.
Shang Tsung stood in the door, lips closed together and curving upwards in a smile. She froze at the unctuous look on his face. The sound of his last clap died away with her breath as he took another step into the room. He looked nothing more than a beatific, proud father.
"Well, well. It looks like you certainly have been learning, haven't you? You truly will make a wonderful student."