It was Friday. Cherin and Maria had made plans to hang out at Amilee's house, little did they know that they were about to run into their past...They found the apartment, number 143. Maria reached for the doorknob but Cherin stopped her.
"Wait," she said, "Listen."
Maria leaned closer to the door. Sure enough, someone was yelling.
"Are they fighting?" Maria asked.
Cherin shook her head, "Amilee and Sub-Zero never fight."
They both leaned closer to the door, trying to hear what all the yelling was about.
"You don't know what I've been going through for the last six years!"
"Yes I do! I went through the same thing! What you think this was my choice! I did it to save you!"
"I would rather have died!"
"Mother why are you yelling!"
"Be quiet Rhapsody."
Cherin looked at Maria, then shrugged and pulled the door open. The living room was crowded, and everyone turned toward them. Ashlynn didn't spare them a second glance, instead she turned to Quan Chi.
"Try the portal again," she said, "I can't take this."
Once again he tried to transport them back to Outworld...nothing.
"Dammit," Ashlynn sighed.
Cherin was eying the two little girls.
"They're mine," Ashlynn said, knowing the question on her mind.
"Mother I want leave," Rhapsody whined.
Ashlynn didn't look at her.
"Rhapsody we're trying," she replied impatiently.
Quan Chi shook his head and turned away when the thunder god appeared, smiling mischievously.
"The portal," Raiden said, "I was blocking it."
Again, Ashlynn foolishly tried to rush at him, only to be stopped by Amilee.
"Are you stupid or something Ash?" she laughed.
Ashlynn only glared at her.
"Why!" she screamed, still be restrained.
"I also sent your daughters here," he said, ignoring her expression of rage, "I was trying to help you."
"Well this isn't helping me Raiden! Come on, let's go."
The sorcerer tried one last time and they vanished in a flash. Maria, unable to believe anything she'd just seen, let herself fall onto the couch.
"Oh my God," she whispered.
"Quan Chi has plans," Raiden said, knowing that everyone in the room had been thinking the same thing.
"What is he planning?" Sub-Zero asked.
"I'm not sure yet," the thunder god replied, "It has something to do with those two little girls."
Amilee sighed. It had been so long since she'd seen Ashlynn, and she wished her friend would have stayed. She was different, not the same person they had all known. Amilee could tell she was miserable, and she had to do something about it.
Back in Outworld, Quan Chi had dragged the two girls, plus Ashlynn, into the Inner Sanctum. Both Arilayn and Rhapsody stood close to their mother, trembling.
"It is time," the sorcerer said, his back to them, staring at the waterfalls.
"Time for what Father?" Arilayn asked, her voice barely audible.
Quan Chi turned, a chilling smile on his face. Ashlynn winced, she'd seen it before.
"Time to put your powers to use," he said.
Ashlynn pushed both girls behind her, blocking them from view.
"No," she said, "They're too young."
The sorcerer had been expecting this.
"Silence," he hissed, "Do not contradict me."
Ashlynn swallowed. After all these years he still frightened her.
"I won't let you," she said, her tone a cover for the fear she felt. Without a word, he seized her wrist, twisting it roughly.
"And just how do you plan on stopping me?" he hissed.
"Let go of me," Ashlynn replied, trying not to sound afraid for the sake of her children. The sorcerer's dark eyes narrowed, and he flung her to the ground.
"Pay no mind to your mother," he said to the now terrified girls, "She knows nothing. Come."
Arilayn glanced at Rhapsody, but neither of them moved. More out of fear than wanting to oppose him.
"Come forward!" he bellowed.
Ashlynn tried her best to stand, but Quan chi's foot was pinning her to the ground.
"Soon," he said, "The realms will belong to me. All thanks to you."
He extended a hand, closing his eyes. Ashlynn, knowing exactly what he was trying to do, struggled to free herself. After a while he opened his eyes, which glimmered red.
"This should be working," he growled, then looked sharply at Ashlynn still on the ground, "What have you done!"
"I didn't do anything," she replied. It was true, she was just as surprised as him. The ritual should have worked...
"Do you really wish to know why it isn't working?"
The sorcerer spun around angrily to face Raiden. He finally removed his foot, and Ashlynn was able to stand.
"This is your work?" Quan Chi asked, more of an accusation than a question.
Raiden ignored him, instead he turned to Ashlynn.
"Ashlynn," he said, "I have news that will change your life."
"What?" Ashlynn asked.
The thunder god's smile broadened.
"Do you remember the night before you traveled to the Netherealm six years ago?"
Ashlynn nodded, she would never forget that night...
"Yes," she answered, "I was...with Jay...why?"
Raiden chuckled, unable to hide his excitement.
"You see sorcerer," he said, gesturing toward the girls, "The ritual failed, because these children are not yours."
To Ashlynn, time seemed to stop. It couldn't be true, could it?
"You are insane," Quan Chi said, though he didn't sound too sure of himself.
"Maybe," Raiden replied, "But I'm telling you the truth."
Ashlynn felt her heart lift. She felt...happy, something she hadn't felt for years. She started to laugh, unable to control herself.
"All this time," she said, still laughing.
Raiden smiled warmly, "Come."
Quickly, she seized her daughters and rushed to Raiden's side. The sorcerer said nothing. But just before they vanished, she saw a look in his eyes that promised death.
Ashlynn opened her eyes. It was almost eleven o'clock, but Arilayn and Rhapsody were still sound asleep. They had spent the night in Amilee's apartment. Amilee had called Jay, and he was supposed to be there around noon. Ashlynn was nervous, she didn't really know how to tell him, especially after their last encounter.
A while later, after she had woken the girls, she found Sub-Zero on the couch in the living room.
"Hey," she said.
He didn't look at her, he was busy reading the newspaper.
"Good morning," he said shortly.
Ashlynn sighed. She knew that like Amilee and probably everyone else, Sub-Zero had also been angry with her for the last six years. She sat down next to him uncomfortably.
"Jay should be here any time," he said from behind the newspaper.
She stared out the window for a few seconds, then looked back at him.
"Look," she said, "I'm sorry okay?"
He turned a page in the newspaper, but still didn't look at her.
"You shouldn't be apologizing to me," he said, "You should be apologizing to Amilee. You have no idea what it did to her when you left. You were her best friend and then you just...left. She said it felt like you were dead."
Ashlynn couldn't think of what to say, so she sat there until a knock sounded at the door. Amilee rushed from the kitchen to answer it, still in her sweat pants. Jay's smile vanished almost instantly upon seeing Ashlynn.
"Hi Jay," she said uncertainly.
He only stared at her.
"Um Jay," Amilee said, "Ashlynn has something to tell you."
He looked Ashlynn over, but didn't move. The two girls had stopped chasing eachother around the house, and were staring at him.
"Jay," Ashlynn said slowly, "Meet your daughters."
There, she'd said it.
Jay raised an eyebrow.
"Right," he said, "Ashlynn you have more problems than I thought so I'm going to leave now..."
"No," Amilee interrupted, "She's telling the truth."
Jay looked around the room, trying to figure out what was going on.
The next few hours Jay spent getting to know his daughters, but he never once looked at Ashlynn. Later that night, after the girls had gone to bed, Ashlynn stood in the kitchen, eating a brownie, thinking. Jay had been prepared to leave, but decided that he couldn't just go without saying anything to her.
"Ash," he said, opening the kitchen door.
She turned to look at him, finishing off her brownie.
"What?" she asked.
"I just..." he couldn't really think of what to say, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Ashlynn almost laughed, "Why didn't I tell you? I didn't know Jay."
"You didn't?"
He found it surprising that she couldn't tell by looking at the girls.
"No, I wish I would have."
She paused for a moment, "I'm so sorry Jay."
"No," he replied, "You did...what you thought was best..."
Ashlynn winced. She knew he had thought she was stupid to have done what she did.
"I really hope you can forgive me," she said.
He stared hard at her.
"I don't know Ashlynn," he said, "We'll see."
With that, he left her alone in the kitchen.
Quan Chi stood in his throne room, staring out of the window. His thoughts had not left Ashlynn since she'd escaped with the girls. He knew she would no longer help him, so the children were his last hope.
"Master?"
Rain stood close by, nervous as always.
"Hmmm?" he said, not taking his eyes from the window.
"You said you had a plan?" Rain asked, adjusting his mask. Quan Chi had yet to figure out why he insisted on wearing it indoors.
"Yes Rain," he said, "My plan...is to invade Earthrealm."
Rain felt his heart skip a beat. His master must really be desperate if he was willing to risk everything just to retrieve a pair of children.
"But Master we do not..."
He was cut off, "Silence Rain. Ashlynn will pay for what she has done to me. I will kill every living being in Earthrealm, saving her for last. She will watch her friends die one by one and by the end she will be begging for death!"
Rain had a feeling this plan had more to do with Ashlynn than the two girls, but he didn't dare voice his opinions.
"I want you to recruit every able bodied man and woman in Outworld," the sorcerer continued, "If they refuse...burn their houses and kill their families. Spare no one."
Rain nodded, unsure if his master was thinking clearly, and left. Quan Chi waited until he had gone before drawing up a large green orb. The fog cleared, and he could see Ashlynn. She was sitting on the couch in the small apartment, reading a book. Absently he reached out to touch the orb. Ashlynn looked up sharply, dropping her book. Angrily he pulled his hand back and the orb vanished.