Disclaimer: Most ain't mine, so don't sue me for playing with the ones I
don't own. I promise to give'em back, as long as they do as I say.
Note: Sorry for the delay, hectic life, but it's ok now.
Dedication: To Tiffany: I'm sorry I didn't make the time to get to know you better, but aside from our differences, you will not be forgotten. Be happy and take comfort in the knowledge that you are always with every person you touched, because we were truly blessed with an angel.
Nise glared at him with all the love of a queen to a cockroach. Fire blazed in her eyes, reminding him sickeningly of that damned demon sorcerer Shang Tsung. Her hands reached out and clawed at his neck, her fingers sharp as the fangs of a wolf, and they tried digging into his skin, spilling blood, trying to reach his soul. He fought back, kicked, hissed, but nothing worked as his limbs grew heavy and fell slowly to the black surface they wrestled upon. His vision swimming, he looked up through his slit eyes to see Nise gone, and instead, a horrid skull staring back at him, the stench of death on its breath as it leaned down to his neck and began sucking at him. He tried to scream but without sound it came. Then it felt warm, and it changed to a burning intensity as his body was being ripped in two. With a final shriek of silent pain, his body went lax and he watched from dead eyes the skull take on a new face, the face that he knew so well…
His own…
And with a murderous gleam, a blade grew out of the creature's arm, and it slashed through the air. Where once there was nothing, there was a sudden SNIKT, and Kaoru's head rolled next to his…
And Johnny was screaming…
Thump. Groan. Ouch.
Johnny rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling that was farther away than when he had originally fallen asleep. Groggily, he pushed himself up from the floor and untangled the sheets from his sweat soaked body as he regained his breath.
"Well, that was interesting." He stood, stretched, and shivered as he remembered the dream. Weird. Still drowsy, he stumbled over the scattered books and walked into the bathroom, his hand sweeping the wall numerous times before it hit the light switch.
Johnny tumbled back into the bedroom with a silent gasp.
Blood. The room was covered in blood. It seeped from the walls, it dripped down the mirror, it rose from the bathtub.
And in the middle of the floor, two bodies lay drooped over each other.
"Oh my God…"
Kaoru's eyes stared up at a fixed point on the ceiling, her body laying three feet away in a pool of spreading crimson. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and her foot twitched spastically.
The shaking of the 10 year-old's body made the other slide slowly to the tile floor. With no appendages to hold it in place, Cindy's dismembered body moved through the blood, making it ripple and flow closer to Johnny.
He sat stunned and terrified, unsure of what to do, not knowing how such a thing was possible; his eyes stared at the gruesome sight before him while his jaw moved silently, unconsciously. Something warm ran over his feet, and he looked at the blood that stained him. He gasped and jumped away before a low, hollow moan passed his lips and he fell to his knees, panting, close to retching, close to crying.
He stopped breathing. Something was talking. Whispering. Chanting.
Join me. Join me. Join me. Join me.
It was coming from the bathroom, and his head turned to look, to slowly look.
Join. Me. Join. Me. Join. Me. Join. Me.
They were moving. God, they were dead, and they were moving! Swimming through their own fluids, the arms of his daughter and ex-wife were crawling toward him, their lifeless eyes staring, pleading, demanding…
JOIN ME. JOIN ME. JOIN ME. JOIN ME.
God, they were screaming, they were screaming at him, it's so loud, he couldn't breath, no air, no room, they were scaring him, marking him, tearing into his skin with their terrifying dead eyes, and they were screaming louder, hissing, and biting with their blood covered teeth, and I can't breath, I can't see, scared, paralyzed, I'm drowning, leave me alone, go away, help me, help me-
It screamed and fell on his back, ripped at his flesh, and Johnny watched his heart be torn from his chest as the burning eyes swallowed him whole…
Whatever brought him awake, it was just in time to keep him from going over the edge. He looked down through the sweat in his eyes, and over the mad rushing of his heart, he watched the waves crash into the wooden pillars with a force uncommon this close to shore. He pulled himself back and sank to the deck, just breathing, waiting for the vertigo to pass, waiting for the dreams to fade and the terror to sink away.
Some time later, Johnny got to his feet and tried to remember when he had come to the docks, as he had obviously fallen asleep while watching out for whatever. His eyes drifted over the police tape some yards down, and he thought again of Cindy's words.
"These ghosts were created by new state of the art technological enhancements. It was all fake…" Cindy's voice drifted in and out of his thoughts, and again his heart became heavy.
Was it all a trick? Was he really just making it up to be true, to soothe his own cracked heart?
Without a sound, he turned from the docks and walked away, his proud demeanor replaced by a defeated, melancholy tone.
The water rippled once, twice, a third time, before a thousand skitters burst into the air.
When. When. When.
Soon. Soon. Soon.
Bubbles popped on the surface for a fraction of a second, and then they were gone. The water became still, and the silent sea air was undisturbed once again.
Kaoru sat up with a sneeze. She rubbed her nose, looked at the clock, and rolled her eyes. 3:30. And she was hungry for breakfast. A sigh escaped her while she pulled back the sheets, climbed out of bed, and slipped quietly out into the hall. Her feet padded softly down the carpeted steps and she tiptoed into the kitchen with barely a sound. Her deft fingers were quickly opening a new bag of Cooler Ranch Doritos when she froze.
There were voices outside. She listened carefully, her breath held in place and her movements frozen. No. She was wrong.
They were inside. Quiet whispering between two people, both sounded male. Neither sounded like Johnny. The distance wasn't far, maybe a foot away from the kitchen. Kaoru placed the bag on the counter and reached for the closest weapon she could find. Moving as silently as the intruders, she pressed herself against the wall near the door, and waited.
"I can't believe you made us do this," someone whispered harshly, with the faintest of accents.
"He loves surprises," a second voice answered softly.
'And boy, are you going to love this,' Kaoru thought to herself. She counted down in her head the distance from the doorway to the intruder. Three steps. Two steps. One step. A shadow fell across the floor, and with a mighty high pitched karate cry, Kaoru swung the frying pan in a wide arc right into the trespasser's head.
BONG! THUD!
The first man fell to the floor without moving again. Kaoru ran into the hallway where she heard someone gasp and another man cry out as she brought the pan down upon a tall man in a long trench coat. He crashed to the floor. By this time, footsteps were pounding around upstairs, and a bright yellow light shone down from the lamp at the top of the stairs.
With her back to the light, this gave Kaoru the advantage of having her last opponent momentarily blinded, and she pushed it to the limit as she swung low, sweeping the last guy at the knees. As soon as his back hit the floor, she was standing over top of him, and brought the pan down right between the eyes.
"What the hell is going on down there?!" Susan screamed.
The front door opened, and a panicked Johnny came in.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a rush. His hand flicked on the living room lamps, which illuminated the room, and for the first time he noticed the first of the three intruders who lay dazed on the floor.
"Liu!"
Thirty minutes later…
Rayden and Kitana helped Liu into the kitchen, and Johnny began to follow when he felt a hand grip his arm.
"You know these people?" Susan asked softly.
"Yeah, they're close friends," Johnny replied with a shrug.
"Must be friends of the fight," Cindy muttered as she came from the bathroom with a cold compress.
"I don't trust them," Kaoru chimed in.
"Oh, you don't trust anyone," Johnny replied shortly as he walked after Cindy. "What are you doing here?"
"Susan let me stay the night because you were a bit too… distant… to offer yourself."
Susan came up behind her nephew. "Johnny, if they're friends, why did they break into the house?"
"I don't think they meant to break in…" Johnny looked at Kitana who set herself into a chair and took the hint from the actor.
"Well, we got your letter and Rayden brought us to your house. You weren't there, so he sensed you out and brought us here," Kitana said quietly, as she lowered the cold compress from her swelling forehead. "And figured we were allowed to come in without knocking."
"And then we ran into your bodyguard," Liu mumbled from behind an ice pack.
Kaoru huffed. "You shouldn't have been sneaking around the house," she said defensively.
"And you shouldn't have been using Aunt Susan's good frying pan," Johnny reprimanded with a chuckle. "I thought I made it clear that cooking utensils weren't good combat weapons." He twirled the bent pan in his hands before passing it to Susan, who groaned.
"Though it was quite a thrill seeing the Champion of the Tournament get beaten by a ten year old with a frying pan," Rayden said with a raspy laugh.
Both Kitana and Liu glared at him. "I'd like to beat you with a frying pan," Liu muttered. Suddenly, Kaoru was by his side.
"I can teach you how to hit properly, free of charge" she said with a smile.
"No," Johnny cut in immediately. Kaoru withered slightly under his stern glare.
"Well, John, are you going to introduce us to your friends, or am I going to have to have Kaoru smack you with the frying pan until you remember your manners?"
He smiled. "I'm sorry, I've kinda lost my head the last few days. Susan, this is Liu, Kitana, and Rayden. Friends I met at a, uh, karate tournament. Guys, this is Susan, my Aunt, my friend Cindy, and my step- daughter, Kaoru."
As if to emphasize her importance, the little girl stepped in front of Johnny in a slightly protective gesture.
"She's grown quite a bit," Kitana commented as she nodded in greeting.
"How would you know?" Kaoru replied with suspicion in her eyes.
The tall beauty smiled sadly. "I saw you at the funeral."
Kaoru was silent for a moment before nodding her own head slightly. "I think I remember you, and those two also," she said with a gesture towards the two strangers sitting quietly. "You knew Sonya?"
The three gave a silent affirmative.
Susan gave a dry chuckle. "And that's why you're here? To save a dead woman? Am I correct in guessing that Johnny sent you a letter about this… nonsense?" The elder woman shook her head and began walking out of the kitchen.
"Susan…" Johnny called after her.
"I don't want to hear it, John." She disappeared upstairs.
Kaoru tugged on his arm and gave him an inquisitive look. He shifted his look to Cindy who sighed in return.
"As if it wasn't enough to drag a ten year old into this, now you pull people from another country. No wonder Sue's so upset with you." She flicked her ponytail as she slid from the counter. "Well, I hope you enjoy explaining the news article to them. Maybe you can give them a free tour of the west coast," and with that she bid the guests a short goodnight and walked upstairs.
The kitchen was silent for a moment.
"Guess we came at a bad time," Rayden quipped.
"No, it's ok. I'm glad you came."
"Johnny, what article was she talking about?" Liu asked.
The actor looked down at the dark-haired angel standing by him and cleared his throat. "Kaoru, I'd like you to go back to bed, too."
"No!" she turned on him sharply. "No, I want to stay and hear about this article. And I want to know what you're going to do about Sonya."
"Not now."
"But I want to help!"
He shook his head. "We'll talk about this later. I need to talk with my friends right now, in private. Adult talk. Please go back to bed."
"But-"
"Now."
Kaoru's hands curled into fists and she resisted the urge to punch him, instead holding her head proudly and walking up the stairs without showing any emotion. When the door closed upstairs, Johnny plopped himself in a chair and rubbed his hands over his face.
"Bad day, Johnny?"
"Shut up, Rayden." There was a brief chuckle before the atmosphere turned serious again.
"We're sorry to intrude on you like this, but your letter concerned us," Kitana remarked. Her eyes flickered to Rayden for a moment before returning to Johnny. "Could you elaborate?"
"This is going to be a long story. Anybody want coffee?"
"So…" Johnny said with a sigh as his hands wrapped around the lukewarm mug. "I'm convinced she's there."
"That's a pretty wild story, Johnny," Liu said as he rubbed his hand over his face. "But I can see why you wanted Rayden. What do you think?" Liu asked to the white haired walking electricity rod.
He sat quietly with his hands folded under his chin. "This article that was mentioned," he finally spoke. "What was that about?"
"A psychotic killer that was using holographic images and killing those who came to see the so called ghosts. He killed two kids before the cops shot him dead. They think that's what was causing the hauntings." His eyebrows moved in a gesture of submission. "And Sue and Cindy agree with it. They think he was there the same night I was, and played a trick on me."
"You think differently?" Kitana asked.
"I don't think. I know."
Rayden stretched and stood as he went for another cup of coffee. He took a sip and looked out the window to the rising sun.
"Absolutely beautiful," he commented. "It's wonderful here. You're lucky Johnny."
"Lucky? Lucky!" he muttered in disbelief. "Rayden, have you been paying attention at all during this discussion?"
The nod was nearly undetectable. "I have. But there's nothing we can do right now."
"Why's that?" Liu asked.
He gestured to the sun, as if toasting the bright rays flowing through the window. "Because it's dawn. All we can do for now is enjoy the nice LA weather and spend some time catching up."
"And at dusk?" Kitana questioned.
Rayden turned to face them. "We prepare to find the truth of these happenings."
"Could she be there, Rayden? Would you be able to tell?" Johnny asked quietly, hopefully.
He gazed at the actor for a moment. "We'll see." He finished the coffee in a quick gulp, set the mug in the sink, and slapped his thighs. "So. How about that tour?"
Note: Sorry for the delay, hectic life, but it's ok now.
Dedication: To Tiffany: I'm sorry I didn't make the time to get to know you better, but aside from our differences, you will not be forgotten. Be happy and take comfort in the knowledge that you are always with every person you touched, because we were truly blessed with an angel.
Nise glared at him with all the love of a queen to a cockroach. Fire blazed in her eyes, reminding him sickeningly of that damned demon sorcerer Shang Tsung. Her hands reached out and clawed at his neck, her fingers sharp as the fangs of a wolf, and they tried digging into his skin, spilling blood, trying to reach his soul. He fought back, kicked, hissed, but nothing worked as his limbs grew heavy and fell slowly to the black surface they wrestled upon. His vision swimming, he looked up through his slit eyes to see Nise gone, and instead, a horrid skull staring back at him, the stench of death on its breath as it leaned down to his neck and began sucking at him. He tried to scream but without sound it came. Then it felt warm, and it changed to a burning intensity as his body was being ripped in two. With a final shriek of silent pain, his body went lax and he watched from dead eyes the skull take on a new face, the face that he knew so well…
His own…
And with a murderous gleam, a blade grew out of the creature's arm, and it slashed through the air. Where once there was nothing, there was a sudden SNIKT, and Kaoru's head rolled next to his…
And Johnny was screaming…
Thump. Groan. Ouch.
Johnny rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling that was farther away than when he had originally fallen asleep. Groggily, he pushed himself up from the floor and untangled the sheets from his sweat soaked body as he regained his breath.
"Well, that was interesting." He stood, stretched, and shivered as he remembered the dream. Weird. Still drowsy, he stumbled over the scattered books and walked into the bathroom, his hand sweeping the wall numerous times before it hit the light switch.
Johnny tumbled back into the bedroom with a silent gasp.
Blood. The room was covered in blood. It seeped from the walls, it dripped down the mirror, it rose from the bathtub.
And in the middle of the floor, two bodies lay drooped over each other.
"Oh my God…"
Kaoru's eyes stared up at a fixed point on the ceiling, her body laying three feet away in a pool of spreading crimson. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and her foot twitched spastically.
The shaking of the 10 year-old's body made the other slide slowly to the tile floor. With no appendages to hold it in place, Cindy's dismembered body moved through the blood, making it ripple and flow closer to Johnny.
He sat stunned and terrified, unsure of what to do, not knowing how such a thing was possible; his eyes stared at the gruesome sight before him while his jaw moved silently, unconsciously. Something warm ran over his feet, and he looked at the blood that stained him. He gasped and jumped away before a low, hollow moan passed his lips and he fell to his knees, panting, close to retching, close to crying.
He stopped breathing. Something was talking. Whispering. Chanting.
Join me. Join me. Join me. Join me.
It was coming from the bathroom, and his head turned to look, to slowly look.
Join. Me. Join. Me. Join. Me. Join. Me.
They were moving. God, they were dead, and they were moving! Swimming through their own fluids, the arms of his daughter and ex-wife were crawling toward him, their lifeless eyes staring, pleading, demanding…
JOIN ME. JOIN ME. JOIN ME. JOIN ME.
God, they were screaming, they were screaming at him, it's so loud, he couldn't breath, no air, no room, they were scaring him, marking him, tearing into his skin with their terrifying dead eyes, and they were screaming louder, hissing, and biting with their blood covered teeth, and I can't breath, I can't see, scared, paralyzed, I'm drowning, leave me alone, go away, help me, help me-
It screamed and fell on his back, ripped at his flesh, and Johnny watched his heart be torn from his chest as the burning eyes swallowed him whole…
Whatever brought him awake, it was just in time to keep him from going over the edge. He looked down through the sweat in his eyes, and over the mad rushing of his heart, he watched the waves crash into the wooden pillars with a force uncommon this close to shore. He pulled himself back and sank to the deck, just breathing, waiting for the vertigo to pass, waiting for the dreams to fade and the terror to sink away.
Some time later, Johnny got to his feet and tried to remember when he had come to the docks, as he had obviously fallen asleep while watching out for whatever. His eyes drifted over the police tape some yards down, and he thought again of Cindy's words.
"These ghosts were created by new state of the art technological enhancements. It was all fake…" Cindy's voice drifted in and out of his thoughts, and again his heart became heavy.
Was it all a trick? Was he really just making it up to be true, to soothe his own cracked heart?
Without a sound, he turned from the docks and walked away, his proud demeanor replaced by a defeated, melancholy tone.
The water rippled once, twice, a third time, before a thousand skitters burst into the air.
When. When. When.
Soon. Soon. Soon.
Bubbles popped on the surface for a fraction of a second, and then they were gone. The water became still, and the silent sea air was undisturbed once again.
Kaoru sat up with a sneeze. She rubbed her nose, looked at the clock, and rolled her eyes. 3:30. And she was hungry for breakfast. A sigh escaped her while she pulled back the sheets, climbed out of bed, and slipped quietly out into the hall. Her feet padded softly down the carpeted steps and she tiptoed into the kitchen with barely a sound. Her deft fingers were quickly opening a new bag of Cooler Ranch Doritos when she froze.
There were voices outside. She listened carefully, her breath held in place and her movements frozen. No. She was wrong.
They were inside. Quiet whispering between two people, both sounded male. Neither sounded like Johnny. The distance wasn't far, maybe a foot away from the kitchen. Kaoru placed the bag on the counter and reached for the closest weapon she could find. Moving as silently as the intruders, she pressed herself against the wall near the door, and waited.
"I can't believe you made us do this," someone whispered harshly, with the faintest of accents.
"He loves surprises," a second voice answered softly.
'And boy, are you going to love this,' Kaoru thought to herself. She counted down in her head the distance from the doorway to the intruder. Three steps. Two steps. One step. A shadow fell across the floor, and with a mighty high pitched karate cry, Kaoru swung the frying pan in a wide arc right into the trespasser's head.
BONG! THUD!
The first man fell to the floor without moving again. Kaoru ran into the hallway where she heard someone gasp and another man cry out as she brought the pan down upon a tall man in a long trench coat. He crashed to the floor. By this time, footsteps were pounding around upstairs, and a bright yellow light shone down from the lamp at the top of the stairs.
With her back to the light, this gave Kaoru the advantage of having her last opponent momentarily blinded, and she pushed it to the limit as she swung low, sweeping the last guy at the knees. As soon as his back hit the floor, she was standing over top of him, and brought the pan down right between the eyes.
"What the hell is going on down there?!" Susan screamed.
The front door opened, and a panicked Johnny came in.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a rush. His hand flicked on the living room lamps, which illuminated the room, and for the first time he noticed the first of the three intruders who lay dazed on the floor.
"Liu!"
Thirty minutes later…
Rayden and Kitana helped Liu into the kitchen, and Johnny began to follow when he felt a hand grip his arm.
"You know these people?" Susan asked softly.
"Yeah, they're close friends," Johnny replied with a shrug.
"Must be friends of the fight," Cindy muttered as she came from the bathroom with a cold compress.
"I don't trust them," Kaoru chimed in.
"Oh, you don't trust anyone," Johnny replied shortly as he walked after Cindy. "What are you doing here?"
"Susan let me stay the night because you were a bit too… distant… to offer yourself."
Susan came up behind her nephew. "Johnny, if they're friends, why did they break into the house?"
"I don't think they meant to break in…" Johnny looked at Kitana who set herself into a chair and took the hint from the actor.
"Well, we got your letter and Rayden brought us to your house. You weren't there, so he sensed you out and brought us here," Kitana said quietly, as she lowered the cold compress from her swelling forehead. "And figured we were allowed to come in without knocking."
"And then we ran into your bodyguard," Liu mumbled from behind an ice pack.
Kaoru huffed. "You shouldn't have been sneaking around the house," she said defensively.
"And you shouldn't have been using Aunt Susan's good frying pan," Johnny reprimanded with a chuckle. "I thought I made it clear that cooking utensils weren't good combat weapons." He twirled the bent pan in his hands before passing it to Susan, who groaned.
"Though it was quite a thrill seeing the Champion of the Tournament get beaten by a ten year old with a frying pan," Rayden said with a raspy laugh.
Both Kitana and Liu glared at him. "I'd like to beat you with a frying pan," Liu muttered. Suddenly, Kaoru was by his side.
"I can teach you how to hit properly, free of charge" she said with a smile.
"No," Johnny cut in immediately. Kaoru withered slightly under his stern glare.
"Well, John, are you going to introduce us to your friends, or am I going to have to have Kaoru smack you with the frying pan until you remember your manners?"
He smiled. "I'm sorry, I've kinda lost my head the last few days. Susan, this is Liu, Kitana, and Rayden. Friends I met at a, uh, karate tournament. Guys, this is Susan, my Aunt, my friend Cindy, and my step- daughter, Kaoru."
As if to emphasize her importance, the little girl stepped in front of Johnny in a slightly protective gesture.
"She's grown quite a bit," Kitana commented as she nodded in greeting.
"How would you know?" Kaoru replied with suspicion in her eyes.
The tall beauty smiled sadly. "I saw you at the funeral."
Kaoru was silent for a moment before nodding her own head slightly. "I think I remember you, and those two also," she said with a gesture towards the two strangers sitting quietly. "You knew Sonya?"
The three gave a silent affirmative.
Susan gave a dry chuckle. "And that's why you're here? To save a dead woman? Am I correct in guessing that Johnny sent you a letter about this… nonsense?" The elder woman shook her head and began walking out of the kitchen.
"Susan…" Johnny called after her.
"I don't want to hear it, John." She disappeared upstairs.
Kaoru tugged on his arm and gave him an inquisitive look. He shifted his look to Cindy who sighed in return.
"As if it wasn't enough to drag a ten year old into this, now you pull people from another country. No wonder Sue's so upset with you." She flicked her ponytail as she slid from the counter. "Well, I hope you enjoy explaining the news article to them. Maybe you can give them a free tour of the west coast," and with that she bid the guests a short goodnight and walked upstairs.
The kitchen was silent for a moment.
"Guess we came at a bad time," Rayden quipped.
"No, it's ok. I'm glad you came."
"Johnny, what article was she talking about?" Liu asked.
The actor looked down at the dark-haired angel standing by him and cleared his throat. "Kaoru, I'd like you to go back to bed, too."
"No!" she turned on him sharply. "No, I want to stay and hear about this article. And I want to know what you're going to do about Sonya."
"Not now."
"But I want to help!"
He shook his head. "We'll talk about this later. I need to talk with my friends right now, in private. Adult talk. Please go back to bed."
"But-"
"Now."
Kaoru's hands curled into fists and she resisted the urge to punch him, instead holding her head proudly and walking up the stairs without showing any emotion. When the door closed upstairs, Johnny plopped himself in a chair and rubbed his hands over his face.
"Bad day, Johnny?"
"Shut up, Rayden." There was a brief chuckle before the atmosphere turned serious again.
"We're sorry to intrude on you like this, but your letter concerned us," Kitana remarked. Her eyes flickered to Rayden for a moment before returning to Johnny. "Could you elaborate?"
"This is going to be a long story. Anybody want coffee?"
"So…" Johnny said with a sigh as his hands wrapped around the lukewarm mug. "I'm convinced she's there."
"That's a pretty wild story, Johnny," Liu said as he rubbed his hand over his face. "But I can see why you wanted Rayden. What do you think?" Liu asked to the white haired walking electricity rod.
He sat quietly with his hands folded under his chin. "This article that was mentioned," he finally spoke. "What was that about?"
"A psychotic killer that was using holographic images and killing those who came to see the so called ghosts. He killed two kids before the cops shot him dead. They think that's what was causing the hauntings." His eyebrows moved in a gesture of submission. "And Sue and Cindy agree with it. They think he was there the same night I was, and played a trick on me."
"You think differently?" Kitana asked.
"I don't think. I know."
Rayden stretched and stood as he went for another cup of coffee. He took a sip and looked out the window to the rising sun.
"Absolutely beautiful," he commented. "It's wonderful here. You're lucky Johnny."
"Lucky? Lucky!" he muttered in disbelief. "Rayden, have you been paying attention at all during this discussion?"
The nod was nearly undetectable. "I have. But there's nothing we can do right now."
"Why's that?" Liu asked.
He gestured to the sun, as if toasting the bright rays flowing through the window. "Because it's dawn. All we can do for now is enjoy the nice LA weather and spend some time catching up."
"And at dusk?" Kitana questioned.
Rayden turned to face them. "We prepare to find the truth of these happenings."
"Could she be there, Rayden? Would you be able to tell?" Johnny asked quietly, hopefully.
He gazed at the actor for a moment. "We'll see." He finished the coffee in a quick gulp, set the mug in the sink, and slapped his thighs. "So. How about that tour?"