Disclaimer: I only own the games. Midway owns the rights.
A note from Fenice E… Does anyone even read this anymore? OH! And another thing. I liked the whole "family" thing in MK: Annihilation. If you get confused about what I just said… read on
-
The Allegiance
-
Kitai was close. That, I could feel, as the group slept in silence. I was awake, watching… waiting. I kept check outside, watching the crimson skies; even though it was close to midnight. When the Light came again, we would set out to the Queen and Princess. I shivered involuntarily; the coolness of the Outworld setting in, and wrapped my trench coat tighter around my form. The pain in my side grew weak, but I knew it was still there. It throbbed every once in a while.
"You should have that checked out."
I glanced behind me to see the Thunder God. Ever the Deity. "It's fine." He tapped my left side with his lightning staff. Pain shot through me and I winced slightly.
"It's cracked."
"It's fine."
Rayden sighed. "Whatever you say." He then kept himself behind me for a few minutes until I broke the silence. "Why are you bothering me?"
"Shouldn't you be sleeping? We have a watch, you know."
"I trust Rain, but not his men," I replied. "For them to be watching over your warriors…"
Rayden chuckled and said, "You worry about my warriors, Reikou?"
-
Well that shut me up.
-
The Thunder God left after a minute of silence on my part. I refused to answer that question. I clenched my teeth and kept all thoughts out of my head except for the ones focusing on the kitai. My silence was shattered, however, by a couple of soft voices. I kept to my perch and tried to ignore, but I heard the words, "I despise him" and my name mentioned. Despise… me? And the voice was female, so that could leave only one person.
"Sonya, what if he's awake?"
The voice was remarkably recognized as Cage's. I sighed and continued my ignoring.
"I don't care if he's awake or not; he's scum and he should hear it."
Okay, that hurt a bit. And that was the last thing they said and the last thing I heard as I drifted off.
-
I couldn't remember what I dreamed, or if I'd dreamed during the night, waking from a marvelously… uncomfortable slumber. I glanced down at the Earth Warriors. Still asleep.
I've always wondered why I'm the first awake.
I stretched my sore muscles and casually jumped from my perch, landing on the ground… unfortunately further irritating my cracked ribs. I stumbled forward a couple steps and regained my ground.
"Shit…" The soft curse rang though the quiet shelter and the watch looked up at me. After a few seconds of staring at each other, he glanced back down at the floor; always at the ready. I rubbed my side tenderly and walked to the entrance of the shelter. Just in time to see Nitara return. "Well, Good Morning, sunshine."
Nitara smiled at me, towing behind her a large bird-like creature. "How are you feeling?"
How should I be feeling? "Like shit, but that's beside the point. We head to find Kitana today. It will take a few days to reach our destination but…" I stopped short of finishing my sentence and placed my right hand at my forehead. Quick flashes of red entered my mind and I leaned on the doorframe.
"… Reikou?"
"Kitai… he's close… has a small army with him…" The flashes became longer and I saw a few bodies lying on the ground. "It's… inevitable…"
"Come on, Reikou," Nitara began as she took my left arm lightly, shifting the creature slightly as she pulled me, "let's get you something to eat."
"Eat… right…" I was lightheaded as my premonition was fiercer than any of my others. Nitara sat me next to the watch and glared at him. As the watch looked up at her, Nitara held out the bird-creature and told him to prepare the human breakfast while the others slept. She gave him the creature and he ran off with it. She then brought out a bottle from her pack and placed it in my hand.
"There must have been Earth morsels here some time ago. I found this."
I glanced at the bottle in my hand. "Sake…"
"It might do until you get to Princess Kitana."
"I…" I thought about taking a sip of the sake, if only to soothe some of the pain in my side, but I thought against it; Earth's warriors didn't need an inebriated guide. "I'll keep it for later. I have a feeling I might need it," I finished while putting the bottle away. Nitara nodded and took off after the watch.
I sat in the stillness, frowning; trying to pinpoint the kitai when I heard a small sound behind me. Someone was waking. I kept silent until I heard the soft footsteps behind me.
"Oniisan?"
A moment passed, then, "You sleep okay, Li Mei?"
The girl sat down beside me, sleep still in her eyes. "I slept better than usual," she rubbed her eyes wearily and leaned her head on my shoulder. "So what happens now?"
I thought for another moment. "As soon as we're all ready, we head out to Kitana and the other refugees." My head suddenly began throbbing again and my right arm twitched slightly. Li Mei bolted upright.
"Oniisan?"
"It's okay." I watched her for a couple seconds, her face contorted in an emotional mask. I smiled softly and continued, "The others are probably waking as we speak. I'm going to find Nitara and the watchperson."
"Why?"
"He has the breakfast." I stood diligently; as the pain in my side weakened when I was sitting, and took one step before I heard a soft moan behind me. Someone else was waking; and whoever it was, it was female. I shrugged and continued on my way to the Vampyre and the Ninja.
It was apparent that breakfast played an important role in the Earthrealm life. I decided to try it.
I found Nitara standing outside a doorway; probably where the Ninja was cooking.
"It'll take a few more minutes. Are they waking?" she asked as she looked back at me. I nodded.
"We should probably head out soon, though. I'm not sure where Mavado is," I began, "but I know he's close." The Ninja opened the door in front of us and instructed us to gather the warriors for breakfast. We complied, and as we headed back to the campsite, I began feeling a slight tremble in my body. Fortunately, it was slight enough for me to shake it off. By the time we reached the site, everyone was up and compacting their belongings. Johnny looked up from rolling his sleeping bag.
"I smell chicken."
I shrugged and replied, "Something like that. As soon as you finish," I pointed to where the food was, "there's where your food lies."
"Good," Jax said, "I'm starved." He walked past, followed by Sonya, Sub-Zero and Frost. Johnny finished compacting his belongings and looked at me. "You made breakfast?"
"Iie," I replied. "Nitara found an Uccello somewhere… your watch cooked it."
-
-
It was a few hours before we headed out. I never knew people on Earth had such huge appetites… of course, I never really ate well anyways. Jax and Johnny hounded me for my small helping of the Uccello, when they themselves ate half the bird.
Guess I'll never understand Earth beings and their habits.
-
I took the lead to where Kitana and her people were stationed, Rain beside me and the rest a few steps behind us.
"It's a waste to see this place so desolate. Even the Light refuses to shine sometimes," Rain mumbled to me. I nodded in agreement. Even when Kahn ruled, Outworld was bustling with Demons and the occasional defiant Edenian. I looked to the sky to find the Light near the center of the darkened sky.
"We can continue our trek. Because of the major atmosphere instability, High Noon won't be much of a problem," I responded. Rain nodded and replied, "But there could still be some considerable damage if we don't take precautions, Reikou."
And he was right. I glanced behind me, watching the warriors follow. Li Mei and I caught each other's eyes and she ran up beside me as well.
"Oniisan, is something wrong?" she asked. She placed her hands behind her back. I shook my head. "You seem tense."
"Just a bit. I'm just thinking about…" my mind froze as a sharp chill ran up my spine, causing me to stop. The other warriors stopped as well. Nitara looked toward the horizon and hissed, baring her fangs. I found it hard to concentrate as a piercing sound entered my head. I strained to see Earth's warriors slip into a fighting stance as the horde showed itself.
-
Decaying, deformed figures ran toward us from all sides; some having two heads, some with long claws for arms, and some were deformed beyond recognition. But at the head of the army were two humans; one was large and bulky with a giant, mechanical implant where a heart would be, and the other was smaller with a black attire and familiar weapons in his hands. Hookswords.
Kitai.
I glared at Mavado from my spot as he rushed at me; his arms back for more speed. By the time he reached me, the others were battling with the Demons and the other human. He swung down with his hookswords, which I blocked with my shuriken.
"So, we meet at last," Mavado sneered as he pushed back, separating us from the lock. I chuckled softly.
"Likewise," I replied, gripping my shuriken with my right hand as my left hand headed for a small pouch in my trench coat that housed my stars. He took a step forward and I whipped my left hand across, launching stars in his direction. As soon as my airborne weapons left my grip, I sidestepped to the left, but the kitai matched my move, only being grazed by my stars. But he had just started as, while he was sidestepping, he spun around; both hookswords in front of him to attempt to slide across my torso. I dodged, widening the distance between the two of us. I was playing the defensive to find his pattern; to study to find a weak spot kitai might have had. Mavado lunged again and I had little time to swing my shuriken, ascetically slicing into his right arm as he attempted another hooksword attack. He bit back a small cry and continued his close-range attacks with the hookswords; most I could block and some I couldn't. I attacked as fierce as he; stunning with my stars and slicing with my shuriken every chance I could. We eventually knocked each other's weapons away and Mavado managed a clean roundhouse kick to my left side; the dull throbbing from my earlier wounds quickly became a full-blown fire as his foot connected to my ribs with a sickening crack. I gritted my teeth as to not scream and stumbled back a bit, lessening the weight on my left side.
"I felt something break there, mate," Kitai replied with a lopsided grin as he gripped my right arm and kicked me down. Breathing became slightly difficult for me as every time I tried to, my left side would throb and I could feel my broken ribs move against my lungs. But as we were resting (I wouldn't call what I was doing resting; more like being held at the point of him breaking my arm) I was able to see the damage done to the Earth's warriors.
And no, they weren't faring as well as I'd hoped.
The Demons had been destroyed maliciously by the Earth's defenders (most of whom were resting because of their wounds), but one was left standing. The bulky human, whom I later learned was named Hsu Hao, was defending himself against both Li Mei and Johnny Cage. The movie star attempted a Shadow Kick as Li Mei struck with her Sais, but the large man dodged against both attacks, striking Cage down and punching Li Mei back with an open palm.
"Li Mei..." I whispered, wanting to struggle away from kitai. The high-pitched noise penetrated my head again and I moved my right arm in such a way to release myself from Mavado's grasp. However, as I was about to extract more stars from my trench coat, the kitai performed a fierce kick, this time to my right side, catching my arm. The blow slammed my elbow into my ribs, doing three things: breaking my arm, pulling it out of socket, and bruising my ribs. I went down hard on my left side; sharp exhale bringing out a bloody cough.
"Next time you won't try to run, eh?" Mavado's grin widened as he forcefully pulled me up by my left arm and a handful of hair. "Now watch."
I couldn't focus my attention to much of anything. I knew I was bleeding internally and the torturous pain I was enduring was draining my stamina immensely. But through my blurry vision I could still see the fight. The giant human was holding his ground steadily and I watched as he slammed one of the Earth warriors down hard. Another warrior, I assume it was Kung Lao, threw a circular device at the man. It caught him at the left side, taking the man's arm with it. I heard Mavado behind me; I was pretty sure he was gritting his teeth as he was watching the same scene as I… only in clearer vision. Mavado began to speak again as he watched the large man pick up a small figure by the head.
"I have to hand it to you. The side you were once fighting against' you're now on… I know your father wouldn't be happy…"
I blinked as I remembered Kahn's mask. And I wondered how Mavado would know about… unless the sorcerers told him.
"I thought you'd put up much more of a fight than this, Little Kahn."
"How…" I managed to say without coughing more blood up. Mavado reached into my trench coat, picking out the now broken mask.
"You know, only a fool would ask how…" He lifted the mask up into the air and swung down, striking me in the back of my head. I heard a crack and the world turned black, but I was still conscious. Still conscious; but the pain numbed quite a bit. I was about to say something when I heard a woman's scream.
"Johnny! No!"
"Finally!" Mavado exclaimed. And Sonya screamed again. "Hn, that had to hurt."
"You're a coward, and a bastard," I spat. Still blinded by the previous attack, I still somehow managed to pull out of his grip and found the strength to stand. I stood my ground with most of my weight on my left side, and, with my good arm, took a lucky swing and connected. But I couldn't block what I couldn't see as something hard connected just underneath my ribcage, knocking my breath away… not that I wasn't struggling to breathe before.
"You're the bastard. It seems that your allegiance took down my best man," Mavado sounded calm, but by the way he yanked me up with my good arm, he was pissed. "Listen here, warriors! Your 'guide' is not who he seems!"
"Oniisan!" I heard Li Mei cry. Mavado continued unaffected by the girl.
"For he is hiding a crucial secret! Why else would he hold Shao Kahn's mask!" He suddenly made a strangled sound and let go of my wrist. I slumped to the dead ground and the pain resumed in full force. But my sight returned… if only back to how it was before. I sat on my knees and popped my arm back into its socket, gritting my teeth. As I stood to my full height and began wiping the blood off my face, the Earth's warriors stepped in front of me. And Jax was carrying Sonya.
"I…" I began but Jax cut me off.
"What are you hiding!" he bellowed. I glanced at the faces of the party and took a step back. Easing around I started limping off.
"Why don't you ask Rayden if it's so important?" I spat back at them and picked up my lost weapon, not looking back.
"Oniisan…"
-
I was sure they'd care that I was Kahn's son. They'd care very much that I was Shinnok's grandchild… that that kind of evil flows through my veins. Not like I cared much. Despite the family matters, I was still their loyal general. Something that was my downfall in the beginning and why they still don't trust me. But again, why did I care?
I'd assumed Nitara went after Mavado and that would be the last time we saw him.
I limped for what seemed like minutes but felt like hours before I fell forward and couldn't move anymore. But I still managed to find the night's shelter. Everybody walked past me to set up camp. Everybody but Rayden.
"He is right. You're a very foolish person."
"Damatte, I don't want to speak to you."
Rayden replied sternly, "and neither do my warriors. I was forced to let out your secret when you backed me into that corner."
"I said I didn't want to speak to you," I managed to muster up strength to stand again.
"You shouldn't stand; being so wounded and all, Kahn."
I sucker-punched Rayden with my last bit of strength before collapsing again.
"I don't need to hear it from you!" I yelled at him. He rubbed his jaw and walked away. "Gods just kill me now," I muttered before coughing. Li Mei ran over and kneeled by my side.
"Oniisan," she began before waving Kung Lao over. "He's hurt worse than he let on." Lao sighed.
"Even though you're his son, I cannot help but keep my trust for you," he said while hoisting me on his shoulders. "Try not to bleed too much on me as I take you to the first aid campfire."
"Funny," I mumbled into his shoulder.
"Li Mei and I will address your wounds before heading out to forage. You have any idea where we are?" he asked as he gently lay me onto the ground to splint my side. Li Mei already had the bandages out for him.
"There's… sake in my pack. Get it for me… please, Mei." Li Mei complied and brought my sake. I sat up after being bandaged on my side and sipped the drink from the bottle.
"Mavado did some damage on you, eh?" Lao continued as he secured my right arm in a cast.
"What of everyone else?"
"Bumps, scrapes and bruises. Nothing too serious, except for you and Sonya. That hulk of a human fractured her leg in plenteous places. She's resting now. Johnny –"
"I know," I whispered. "I heard her. They were… close?"
Kung Lao nodded and stood up. "All done."
"I guess that means I'm at watch while you all go find… dinner?" I asked. Glares from all of the warriors except three greeted me.
"You? Watch?" Jax sputtered. "You were waiting for this, huh? Waiting until we're injured to strike?"
"Do I look like I can hurt anyone now?"
"We can't trust you, knowing the truth." Sub-Zero replied.
"I'm nothing like him!"
"I can't believe we let you –"
"Enough!" I hollered, stood, and felt balls of energy escape my hand as I swung my left arm to emphasize my anger. I was breathing raggedly, but I got their attention. "I'm not like them… you have to trust me! Kung Lao does; and to the rest of you people, I might as well have been the one to fell Liu Kang. But I'm not! So let's expel our differences and get through this without killing each other!"
Uneasy silence filled the dead air; the only sound was that of my hard breathing. I sat down on the log again and took a sip of my sake.
"There's a valley just south of here. It's near a river; there should be some fish in the river or even greenery. That's all I can remember." And I said no more until they left. I stared at where Sonya was and scoffed. "You're awake, I can hear your pathetic crying whimpers." I placed the cork back on my sake and set it down. She eventually sat up and sat on the log next to me.
"… Are you okay?" she asked as she spotted my bandaged side and cast arm.
"I'll live. What about you?"
"It just… it feels like a bad dream. I just want to wake up and see him there." She sighed, wiping her red-rimmed eyes. "It all happened so fast. First he was there and then that Hsu Hao picked him up by his neck and…"
"You knew those two…?"
"Mavado and Hsu Hao were supposedly working for us at the Special Forces. But it must have all been a lie… … … where are the others?"
"Finding food. I'm on watch right now."
"…"
"…" I stared silently at the fire. There was nothing to say.
"At least it was quick."
"Ore?"
"When Hsu Hao grabbed onto Johnny by his neck, it was just a simple flick of the wrist and he was gone. But Hao fell afterwards. Loss of blood I surmise. But… my god, Johnny."
And then it happened. "Ah, don't worry your pretty little head about it. Rayden's probably cooking up a plan to resurrect your movie star like he did last time." I couldn't stop my mouth from moving. And it cost me. First her hand raised and knocked me over the log as she slapped me, then she got up and left me alone.
-
All hope of her trust was lost with one stupid reply.
-
I shook my head and stared at the fire again until they returned.
- Uccello – Italian word for "bird". Unoriginal, I know ;;
-Damatte - I've heard somehwere that it's Japanese for "shut up" I could be wrong.