Disclaimer: Don't own MK. Midway does.

A note from Fenice E...I shall now curse John Tobias for leaving Midway... and John Vogel for saying that Reiko is lame. And even though I'm completely ruining this fic because of how much I forgot, I am going to continue... to finish this blatantly unpopular fic.

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The Allegiance

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After High Noon, we set out again. I had cooled off slightly during the long hour with the others, keeping my distance to think. The tension was still there, however, and it was still on my mind. I enjoyed the silence behind me as I led the warriors through the wasteland. The sun was still beating on us, but not as hot as it would have been had we been venturing during High Noon.

Mavado was still out there somewhere. And I was pretty sure Reptile was on his tracks. I knew how much of a smooth-talker Nitara was, and it seemed like she purred her way into him quite easily. It would probably be a long while before we ran into either one. I wasn't sure... though it did seem pretty boring without any inhabitants lurking around for us to fight.

In the distance was a cliff and beyond that looked like it transformed slowly into the Netherealm. I caught my breath and jogged towards the cliff, the others reluctantly following. I reached the cliff and stood transfixed.

It was where Kahn's Tower used to be. Around the pillars of the ruins, fog swirled and reached into the sky where frequent bolts of intense lightning dragged to the ground, making the air unstable. The sky was a blood red with atmosphere that hid the Light and made Outworld darker than usual. There was nothing that showed it was where my previous employer inhabited. I could feel emotions running through me I couldn't have felt before.

"I hold no sympathy for him," Sony said bluntly. Slowly half of the others agreed.

"It used to be Edenia, you remember. We have to find Kitana and her forces before the sorcerers do."

"Why do you care?" Jax mumbled. I turned and glared at him.

"It used to MY home as well." And... that was as much as I could remember. I slid down the steep Cliffside and walked through the ruins of the tower.

-

I guessed it was destroyed after I left.

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Lightning struck near me as I found where the throne room used to be. The pillars that once stood tall were now broken in pieces all over the ground. I treaded carefully around the half-standing pillars and looked around. The statues of fallen warriors were gone; destroyed entirely by the carnage that was when the sorcerers murdered Kahn. I felt a hatred I could never fathom for the sorcerers...

I looked to the end of the throne room. The giant seat was still there... partially. A broadsword it seemed sliced off the back of the seat. Too clean to be blown off... As I was heading to the throne itself, my foot nudged something on the ground. Looking down I saw that it was Shao Kahn's mask. I recalled that it fell off when he was killed.

I felt a surge of pain run through my body as soon as I picked it up, the ominous face staring back. A flash of something appeared in my mind. Shao Kahn was standing in front of Shinnok at the apex of his pyramid in the Netherealm. A small boy was standing next the Kahn, his eyes unreadable and yet I could feel a small familiarity with him. The image faded and I found myself among the debris again. I looked at the skull mask again. There was something about it...

"Oniisan!" I heard behind me and felt suddenly heavy as Li Mei ran into my backside. The force that she smacked me with made me fall over, her on top. I landed on a piece of what was once a pillar and felt a rib snap. Old injury from the zephyrs portal.

"Damnit!" I snapped and threw her off me. "Stop calling me that!" I stood diligently and glared at the girl who sat transfixed. While placing Kahn's mask in my trench coat, I turned my head to see the allied forces I brought myself into staring at me in discontent. I brushed myself off and walked off. "We need to move on if we want to stop the sorcerers before they reawaken the Dragon King's Army."

---

We passed the ruins silently. My side pulsated with a slight pain I could only describe as "a minor wound".

"I wonder if Kahn's forces also fled when he was annihilated," Sub-Zero pondered, breaking the tense silence. "And what of Kitana's forces?"

"I'm sure Kahn's forces went down hard before the sorcerers killed the emperor himself. As for Kitana's forces; since her mother would be queen again, I'm pretty sure they're still alive somewhere," I replied. I hoped. If the sorcerers somehow destroyed Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana as well...

I stopped abruptly as I saw a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. There was no time to react as more than a dozen men emerged from the shadows and lunged at us. I felt no threat, but they still attacked us.

An ambush, but by who's men?

It only took a few seconds for all of us to be constrained by two men each. They meant us no harm, really, but what confused me was why they were donned with the color of Rain's suit. I soon learned why as the man, himself, stepped into view. His mask was off, a sign that he was the leader of the independent force. Black eyes stared at each of the warriors then locked with mine.

"Rain," I began but he cut me off.

"You have no business being here. Go back to where you came from."

"Listen Rain, we're looking for Kitana. As one of her most respected warriors, you should know where she is– "

He glared at me. "You shall go back to where you came from. As you see, the sorcerers completely decimated Outworld. None of you are safe, even if you're Earth's warriors... with the exception of Nitara and Li Mei... please, take my advice and leave."

I broke free from the men holding me back.

"You listen to me, Rain. If they allow Chi and Tsung to continue, the Dragon King's Army will be revived and there will be no stopping them. We have to put an end to their reign of terror once and for all."

"Gee," Sonya began sarcastically, "For an enemy of ours, you seem pretty hell-bent of doing 'the good deed', Reikou."

"Reikou?"

"... Hai..." I responded slowly. Rain seemed pretty skeptical still.

"So you wish to find Kitana to help these warriors?"

"Hai. Tell me where she is. She'll understand that it's for the good of her world. If we defeat the sorcerers she can restore Edenia and her and the Queen can rule in peace."

Somebody stop me. I think I'm stuck in 'goody-two-shoes'. Rain still looked skeptical. I continued.

"Does she know what has happened?"

"No. No she doesn't."

"Rain, if you will not allow us to see her, you must have one of your men give her this message: 'Liu Kang has fallen'. Have him tell her it's from Rayden. We need her help. We need your help."

"I... cannot do that."

"Why not?"

Rain looked saddened. "It would devastate her."

I scoffed and replied, "Call me insensitive, but we need that kind of hurt to get rid of the demon sorcerers."

"You are so insensitive!" Johnny cried out. I scratched the back of my head.

"Besides, we have to stay here in case they return. I do not want her ending up like Emperor Kahn," Rain responded. What did I have to do to get him to tell me where the damned princess was?

The mask... I wondered if it would help. He did mention Kahn.

"I found something when I was exploring the ruins, Rain. If you won't help the Earth warriors... at least help me," I said as I reached into my trench coat and took out Kahn's mask. One by one the Earth's forces stared in shock then glared daggers at me. I leaned in closer to Rain and whispered, "you knew him better than I did, tell me why when I stare into the eyes, visions flood my mind?"

"I cannot answer that now. Come, you warriors must be tired. Allow us to lead you to shelter and nourishment for your bodies," Rain spoke up and began to walk away. Rain's forces unhanded the others and followed their leader. Slowly they passed by me, each glaring. Unaffected by the stares I got, I placed the mask back in my trench coat and followed them all to a nearby shelter.

---

The Earth's forces talked amongst one another and with Li Mei as I sat in seclusion as usual. Nitara was on a hunt for something else she could feast on. At my spot on the top of the shelter, I heard the others chatting constantly about what were to happen once they got to their final destination. Would it take all of them to get past the creatures Chi and Tsung have unleashed and then to the sorcerers themselves? I wished I knew. It would have been easier to have more of a precognition than what was to happen a moment before it actually did. I looked to the dark sky, watching as bolts of lightning struck inside the clouds.

"Not much to look at anymore, is it, Rei?" I heard as Rain sat down next to me.

"Not that it used to be beautiful when Kahn was reigning," I replied bluntly. "What happened after Kahn was killed?"

Rain sighed and shrugged. "I suppose it was brutal. There's nothing left. Li Mei's the only survivor of her people. The rest were enslaved to make a temple for Shang Tsung to hold the souls he collects. Most all of them died. She told me once that Quan Chi promised to bring back her people if she..."

"If she what?"

"If she survived the Trials of Blood. It's a false promise, but she seems so determined. Her parents died when Chi and Shang attacked and enslaved the natives to Outworld. She was all alone until you showed up again." Rain looked at me. What was he trying to say?

"Rain, I'm going to tell you honestly that the past is a mystery to me. And I'm going to again ask you why I saw images flash through my head of a little boy next to Kahn as they were in front of Shinnok." The image wasn't quite clear, but it stuck in my head like a reoccurring dream.

"I only know bits and pieces from what Ermac told me, but Kahn's father, Shinnok, wanted more than his Netherealm home. He wanted Outworld as well. And in order for Kahn to keep Outworld, he had to barter with someone that had a close connection to the Emperor. The little boy you mentioned was the trade for Outworld's safety, so-to-speak. The boy you mention is yourself."

"Me?" I repeated doubtfully. Rain nodded and continued.

"Quan Chi had three assassins, Kia, Jataaka and Sareena. Sareena also has a deep connection to you. When she got wind of what happened, she became worried that something might happen to you. She set out that night to take you from the Pyramid in the Netherealm and placed you with Li Mei's family back in Outworld, regardless of the price she paid had she been caught. Li Mei was about a year old, then."

"That's why she calls me Oniisan..." I pondered. Rain drummed his fingers on the outside of the shelter.

"And... for her sake, I want Kitana safe."

"You're going to tell me where she is?"

"Yes. Listen, Reikou. I trust you, I want her to survive... all of you to survive."

I said nothing, but a small smile played upon my lips as he continued. "You head due east for a few days where you come across a cave. Enter said cave and at the first fork, take a left. There's an underground spring about a mile after the fork; wade through that and take a right at the next fork. You'll soon come upon an underground fortress, where the refugee Edenians and the Princess and Queen are."

I nodded. "I guess we should get some rest, then. We have a long few days ahead of us."

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Authoress' endnote: Wow... am I killing this fic or what? I have this thought out until the beginning of Chapter 8. Seven will be a fun one, and you know what? It might take more time if I don't get enough reviewers.