They fell out of the portal, shaking off the discomfort it caused, and looked around. Kitana sighed dejectedly while the Earth warriors gaped openly. The Underealm was far worse that Outworld had been. Buildings were crumbled, old, and covered in muck, while the creatures that roamed the streets were no better off.

"Oh my God," Sonya gasped in disgust. "Where the hell are we?"

"Welcome to the Underealm," Kitana said disdainfully. Jax held his nose as a pod of humanoids covered in waste trudged by.

"Jesus! Haven't these people heard of a bath?" he exclaimed. Liu glanced at Kitana.

"Where is Yowan from here?" Kitana turned to them.

"There is a temple, deep in the wooded lands of the Underealm. There, warriors guard the portal to Yowan. I warn you now; the warriors are not normal flesh and blood, but souls. We will each have to overcome our own demons before we are allowed into Yowan."

"Why does everyone wait till we're stuck to mention the important parts?" Jax yelled.

"Let's go," Kitana interrupted, "We will need to begin our journey now if we wish to reach the temple by tomorrow."

"Why are we in such a rush?" Jax demanded. Kitana whirled on him.

"Because," she answered roughly, "we only have 10 days from the time of his death to reclaim his soul. That leaves us 2 days." Sonya stepped up.

"Then why did we waste a full day in your world!"

"Enough!" a voice boomed. The wind picked up and thunder rolled across the streets. "You stand here arguing like school children when you should be on your way to the temple!" Rayden stormed up to the group and stared down at them disapprovingly.

"But –"

"No! Sonya, you cannot let this tear you apart. You have all been through too much together, especially you and Liu, to let this come between you. That is the ability of the Underealm, to bring out the negativity in everyone. You wonder why everyone here is so down-trod and disgusting? It's because no one cares about anyone, including themselves, anymore."

"How do we keep that from happening to us?" Liu asked, gesturing to a rather sickening looking being shambling by.

"Stay together, watch out for each other. Now, get going. It's a long hike to the temple. There will be another to guide you along the way in the forest." With a whisper of wind and flash of lightning, he was gone. Sonya turned back to Kitana, who merely gave a small smile and began to lead the way.

The four companions stuck close to each other, avoiding contact with the vile creatures skittering about. Sonya and Jax had flanked Liu and Kitana, and as they made their way out of the bustling city, they drew closer together.

"Who's not ready for this?" Jax asked, looking at his friends. They all nodded, and set off into the woods, following Kitana and looking for and kind of sign. As they entered the forest, voices filled each of their minds.

He fled the temple; turned his back on us!

What reason was there to love?

My son is a weakling. He'll never be anything!

Do I look like your travel agent?

A cry from the trees shook them from the entrapment, and they all looked around wildly.

"Why have you entered the sacred forest of the Geni? Who dares trespass?" a deep feminine voice commanded. As one, they all turned to see a rather Amazon-looking woman standing in the tree. She had what looked like bear skin draped over her flatteringly, and a large spear in her hand. She jumped and flipped from the branch, landing softly and skillfully on the forest floor. Liu stepped forward.

"We are journeying to the temple," he said confidently. The woman was not impressed.

"And what makes you worthy of this journey? What is your quest?" she demanded.

"We are going to Yowan to reclaim the soul of one of Earth realm's warriors," Kitana offered proudly.

"You are the warriors who defeated Shao Kahn?" Liu nodded once. "Then I thank you," she bowed intricately, "Come, your road is long and perilous." She turned and began walking down the path, and the warriors looked among them. Sonya shrugged and followed, joined soon by her companions.

"My name is Delsah," she said, not looking at them at all.

"Right. So how long is it to the temple?" Sonya asked impatiently.

"Patience would serve you well, young one." Sonya scoffed at the name; she was at least as old as this wild woman!

"Just who are you –" Liu laid a hand on her shoulder in silent warning.

"We're in sort of a hurry here. We only have two days now," he said, he hoped, diplomatically. Sonya shrugged Liu's arm off her shoulder and sulked as they walked. Delsah nodded curtly at the champion.

"We will reach our camp by nightfall, and set out again in the morning." Before Sonya could protest, she added, "Not even I travel through this forest after dark falls. There are things lurking you have only seen in your nightmares." Silence encompassed them as they made their way to the camp. After several more hours, they came upon a clearing. As they entered the clearing, a wave of warmth spread over them.

"This area is protected by the gods. Nothing enters or leaves without my command," she looked pointedly at Sonya. "So no wandering off. There are coverings over there for you; I suggest you sleep well. Tomorrow, the real journey begins." She moved to the fire as the warriors found spots to rest. Jax and Sonya grabbed blankets, and Jax leaned up against a tree.

"No use in both of us sleeping uncomfortably. Come on," he opened an arm, and Sonya looked wary. Sure, he was her best friend, for almost six years now. What's the matter with you, Sonya, it's just Jax. She shook off her warrior paranoia and laid down next to him.

"What's going to happen Jax?" she asked softly. Jax held his breath for a moment; this wasn't the Sonya he knew. His Sonya was sure of herself, a hard-nose who didn't trust anyone, not even him. Of course, his Sonya wouldn't have laid next to him like she did, using him as a pillow. He could only wonder how this whole scene would play if Johnny were here.

"Don't know, Sons. We'll just have to play it by ear and kick some ass." He felt her chuckle, jolting his body.

"You talked to Liu." It wasn't a question, but rather an opening for him. Now he knew something was up.

"Yeah, he told me everything. Well, just about. There are still some things unclear. Like why in the hell we're on this journey for a guy I don't know, and you've only known for a few weeks! You're different than when you left, Sons. What the hell happened?" She took a deep breath, and began plunging into the story.

"After I followed Kano, I found myself on this old rickety boat, alone. I realized at once I was the only female, so my guard doubled. That's when I ran into Johnny. At first, I thought he was an arrogant, egotistical jerk who wanted nothing more than to impress everyone. Well, it only took me a few more encounters to prove me right. But something happened, Jax. Something changed everyone. I killed Kano, and suddenly, my purpose for being there vanished."

"That's when everything went to hell?" Sonya laughed dryly.

"Yeah, hell. Shang Tsung unleashed Goro, and soon, it was just me, Johnny, and Liu. I was scheduled to fight him next. Of course, Johnny, being the arrogant jerk that he was," she took a shuddering breath, "is, challenged him in my place."

"So you just let him? What was he trying to do, show off or something?"

"No," Sonya replied quietly, "he was trying to protect me."

"I'm sure you gave him an ass kicking for that one!" Jax laughed softly.

"He told me what he was going to do, and I was furious. He said he had a plan! Then he had the nerve to walk away. I followed him, all the way to his hut. Without even knocking, I threw the door open."

"Did you kick his ass?"

"I began shouting, yelling at him, trying to make him understand I didn't need protecting." Jax ignored the "didn't" part and waited. But nothing came.

"Sonya?" he asked softly, but she didn't answer. After a few moments, he realized she was asleep, and he'd have to wait for another time to hear the story.

Or not, a familiar voice filled his head. He looked around, but the only sound was the wind rustling through the trees. Dismissing it, he slipped into slumber, and Rayden smiled down at them all. He inclined his head to Jax's form, and then disappeared.

"How dare you! What gives you the right to decide who I fight? Who appointed you my big protector?" She screamed at him, hoping to engrave it onto his skull somehow that she was not a little child.

"What is it with you?" he yelled back with just as much fervor. "Ever since I met you you've done nothing but look down on me and belittle me!"

"So it's once again about your ego, is it! Poor Johnny Cage being outdone by a girl; he's gotta fight the big monster to win back some self-righteousness!"

"No!" he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Jesus, can't you accept that people might care for you? Or are you so shut off from the world that you can't recognize love when it slaps you in the face." She froze, looking at him in shock. He didn't seem to have realized what he said, because he kept rambling. "Sonya, ever since Goro started killing humans, the only thing I've dreamed about at night is your lifeless body being lifted for Shang Tsung to suck dry!" She took a step closer. "Last night at Art's fight, all I could see was you fighting Goro, you falling under his blows, and you losing your soul to a maniac!" He sighed in frustration, looking at the hardness on her face. He continued in a defeated tone, "If you want to fight him, I'm not going to stop you." He looked up at her defiantly, "But I will not be there to watch, one way or another." He sank down on the bed, head in hands. Sonya didn't move for the longest time, and both just stayed still and silent, wondering who was going to move first.

"I hope you have one hell of a plan, Johnny, because I am not prepared to watch you die." And with that, she strode out, leaving the actor baffled.

Jax awoke with a start. "Damn," he whispered. Again the voice filled his head.

Now you see

"Rayden?" Sonya asked softly, wakening from her sleep.

"Just your imagination, Sons," he lied, "Night." A muffled "hmm" was her response as he, too, fell back into Morpheus' grasp.