Family reunions can be very frightening.

From the Harvester's Journal

They raced towards the center of LA and stumbled to a halt, seeing the large, black, hole where hundreds of buildings used to be. The rim of the hole shimmered, sending shockwaves of evil and sickness out in radiating circles.

They turned, forming a protective circle as hundreds of demons and outland mutants surrounded them, forcing them closer to the hole.

"Hurry up Soralis!" Jack shouted, emptying his semi-automatic pistol at the horde, felling a half-dozen of the monsters.

"Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, I need your strength!" Soralis shouted, holding out her hands to them.

The two Jedi grabbed her hands, adding their spirits and strength to the task at hand. Blue, green and white energy surrounded the entire group, forming a crackling white shield, that contracted around them. With an audible pop of rushing air, the shield collapsed around the group, just as the foul army gathered the courage to rush them.

***

Outland a few hours later:

Soralis stared up at Shao Kahn's fortress. She had barely escaped with her sanity intact, and now she was going to send a fourteen year old boy and a scholar into that hell-hole.

"Neither of you have to do this," she said finally. "This is a job for an army not…"

"I know. But you're right. Out of all of us, Daniel and I have the best chance of finding the rift device and destroying it. Daniel doesn't really have the kind of combat experience needed in this kind of fight. I'm the only other force-sensitive who can be spared to search for it. He has the skills needed to defuse the damned thing. It's logical," Obi Wan said firmly, though his hands shook with fear and his face was pale with it.

They were all huddled in a small ruined building just on the edge of Shao Kahn's fortress. Rayden looked at his daughter. "You can't kill either Shinnok or Shao Kahn Soralis."

Soralis smiled grimly Rayden, knowing full well what was going through his head. "I am too old to throw away either my or Qui Gon's soul for revenge. My plan is to simply distract them long enough so that Obi Wan and Daniel can sneak into the castle and destroy Shao Kahn's focus. Between all of us, I think we can manage that."

"I think I should be with them," Kitana spoke up finally. "I know the castle better than anyone, I can get them inside easily enough."

Soralis nodded. "Good idea."

"So where does that leave us?" Jack asked quietly.

"Your job is to keep Shao Kahn's troopers away from us." Soralis replied.

"That sounds easy," Jack retorted sarcastically.

"Compared to dealing with hell gods, it is." Soralis replied. "Oh. Whatever happens, don't attack first and especially don't attack either Shao Kahn, Shinnok or Quan Chi."

"Why?" Sam asked curiously.

"If you loose, you'll loose both your life and soul," Lui told her.

"Let's get this over with," Daniel said softly. Together they snuck out of the building. As they neared the fortress, Kitana motioned for Obi Wan and Daniel to follow her. They split off from the main group and slipped inside the castle, while Rayden, Soralis and the rest moved towards the castle's courtyard. "This is really stupid." Jack muttered.

"Yeah. I know." Soralis murmured back. "But, this is the only way." Best behavior guys. That is, unless they decide to be naughty. She told them all mentally.

And you know they're going to be naughty. Qui Gon shot back, his face unreadable as they saw the welcoming party that was gathered in the once beautiful plaza.

Surrounding Shao Kahn was a host of powerful Outland mutants, his best warriors and the generals of his combined armies. Rayden recognized Goro, Scorpion, and the Elder Sub Zero offhand. Qui Gon stiffened as he recognized his former apprentice Xanatos. The now immortal Jedi smiled bitterly at the younger man. So you are finally realizing what it is to be a servant of evil Padawan. You will always be a slave now. He thought sadly.

Xanatos snarled, sensing the pity rise up out of the one person he hated most. Pity. He would have rather have felt hatred. Sanctimonious Jedi. He despised them all.

Shao Kahn smirked at the pitifully small group of warriors Rayden commanded. "Welcome home brother."

"This was never my home brother." Rayden snorted as he moved closer, flanked by Soralis and her mindmate, Qui Gon. "You will not destroy Earth!"

"I'm afraid that's not the issue." Shao Kahn snarled, raising his hand. A bolt of brilliant red light arched out, only to be met and deflected by a shimmering blue-white shield.

Soralis' eyes were utterly black as she lowered her own hand. Two pinpoints of boiling green light flickered in the center, where her pupils should have been. "Naughty, naughty uncle. Didn't grandfather teach you how to play nice?"

"No." he snapped. "Kill them! All of them except for these three!" he shouted.

Jack and the others took that as their cue to scatter, closely followed by Shao Kahn's warriors. From the shadows, Shinnok smirked and did nothing. Clever child. Clever, clever child. Keep his attention on you, while your friends destroy the rift device. He does not look above the obvious as you hoped.

Shinnok knew very well that Shao Kahn had come damningly close to breaking the covenant between heaven and hell by taking Soralis the first time. The only thing that had saved him from complete damnation was the fact that he did not know she was the Isisethren. Shinnok wondered if his youngest son was so dense as to not realize that. Or wondered if he cared.

***

Jack ducked under the wild swing of an Outland mutant and grabbed the thing's arm. He swung it into a rather hard rock wall and slammed a dagger into its heart killing it. The thing burst into stinging dust particles.

He dove behind a ruined colonnade, just as blaster fire erupted around him. "She gets me killed, I'm gonna haunt her for the rest of my afterlife!" he avowed.

***

 Daniel followed Obi Wan and Kitana through the castle. "Which way?" Kitana asked Obi Wan softly as they came across three tunnels.

The boy frowned, concentrating. He felt a rippling disturbance, different from the bleak despair and evil that pervaded the place. It felt like a dissonant wail that shivered through his bones in a perceptible wave. "That way," he said pointing to the central passageway.

Kitana nodded. "Figures. That leads directly to the center of the castle. To his rooms in fact."

Daniel smirked. "This guy has a real paranoia problem doesn't he?" he asked as they walked down the hallway.

"You have no idea." Kitana replied dryly.

***

Qui Gon and Rayden squared off against Quan Chi, while Soralis focused on Shao Kahn. The two of them circled, testing each other's defenses, waiting for the right moment to attack.

"I am curious, why haven't you lost your powers like your father?" Shao Kahn asked as he mentally pushed against her shields, finding them to be rock solid, far stronger than he had anticipated and far more flexible than he thought they should be. His mental "hands" slid against the suddenly "slippery" surface and he withdrew back into his own mind.

"Most of my powers and immortality come from mother," Soralis replied, grinning as he tried to blast her shields down with bolts of pure hatred.

Shao Kahn blinked as power swirled around the younger immortal, enveloping her in a softly glowing blue-white radiance. He snarled, swinging his body into a round-house kick. Soralis ducked under the attack, still grinning slightly, almost as if she were amused.

"Is that all you've got uncle? I guess we now know why you always send you're bully boys to do your dirty work," she sneered.

"You'll pay for that," he growled, his eyes glowing with a pale, leprous light. The air crackled with black lightening, only to be met by a whirling tornado of pure energy.

***

Obi Wan felt the disturbance in the force a split second before a blue lightsaber came hurtling out of the darkness. He deflected it with the force while Kitana and Daniel ducked behind the rift device.

Xanatos stepped out of an alcove, grinning slightly as he caught the lightsaber in his hand. "So you're my replacement huh?" he asked. "Qui Gon's tastes in Padawans has gone down hill in the past few decades,"

Obi Wan chuckled at the Sith's attempt to anger him. "It depends largely on your point of view I guess,"

Xanatos strode forward, dropping into a classic defense pose. "I'm supposed to bring you in alive," he grinned at the boy. "But they never said in what condition,"

Obi-Wan copied the Sith's defensive stance and mockingly saluted him with his raised lightsaber. "Come and get me," he laughed and unexpectedly darted out of the room.

Xanatos cursed and raced after him.