The shock of suddenly being in a completely different place overwhelmed Sarah, and she fell face first onto the hard ground.
"Welcome."
Startled, she scrambled to her feet.
"Wh...where...
She stammered. When she realized where she was however, she found herself unable to speak. She was obviously no longer in Edenia, because she was surrounded on all sides by smoke and deep lakes of lava...The Netherealm. Spinning around, she found herself staring into a pair of emerald eyes. The man before her strongly reminded her of Quan Chi, except that there was something...darker, about him. He was dressed in blood red robes, and a hat of the same color.
"Who-
He cut her off.
"My name is Shinnok," the man said, "Ruler of the Netherealm, Commander of the Army of Darkness."
That was when Sarah noticed the two women standing close by. Two women who'd been killed long ago. Mileena and Tanya.
"No need to be frightened mortal," Shinnok continued, "That is, unless you make the wrong decision. As you can see, Tanya and Mileena have already made the wise choice to join me. Now, the question is, will you make the wise choice?"
Sarah was trembling visibly now. What was she supposed to do? If she refused Shinnok would kill her, and her soul would be trapped in the Void forever. Realizing that there was no other possible choice, she nodded.
"Welcome," Shinnok said, "To the Army of Darkness."
The woman, who had finally remembered that her name was Maria, was making her way toward a distant structure. As she got closer, she realized that it must be the ruins of what had once been a town. All that remained was a crumbling stone wall, and the shells of a few burned out buildings. She walked through what had once been the main gate, and peered around. Seeing no signs of life, she walked froward. It was eerily quiet, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the people here. Ahead of her, she found that what she had thought was some sort of palace from a distance, was actually something resembling a boat. Only...it had large, leathery wings sprouting from either side. It was a simple round platform, with the head of a dragon forming the bow. There was no one around, it seemed to be abandoned. Carefully, Maria pulled herself up onto the platform. She'd heard of dragonflies before. They were used to travel quickly around Outworld. They were owned mostly by the rich and powerful, because they were not cheap. Near the front of the dragon fly, just behind the dragon's head, was a cloudy glass orb. She looked into it, but saw nothing but a bluish mist. Cautiously, she placed one hand on it, and then the other. Strangely, it felt warm under her fingers.
"How do I fly this thing?" she muttered. At the word fly, the ship tilted upward, soaring into the sky. Maria was taken by surprise, but managed to keep a hold of the orb. One it was high above the ground, the dragonfly straightened out and slowed down a little. She thought a moment...
"Um...find people," she commanded. It sounded stupid, but she didn't know what else to say. Suddenly, the ship turned hard to the right, toward the rising sun.
Meanwhile...
"I thought you said the fortress wasn't far from here?" Ashlynn said. Quan Chi ignored her, increasing his already fast pace.
"Maybe it is not," he said finally, "My sense of direction must have been thrown off..."
Suddenly he stopped and Ashlynn, who hadn't been paying attention, ran into him.
"Ow! What-
She stopped, following his outstretched arm toward the sky. High above them, something was floating.
"Is that...a boat?" Ashlynn asked, squinting.
"No," the sorcerer replied, "It is a dragonfly."
"What's that?"
"It is a ship used to traverse Outworld," he explained, "But what is it doing out here?"
Ashlynn smiled, "That means there's a person up there!"
"Yes but-
"We have to let them know we're down here!" Ashlynn said.
"Are you insane?" Quan Chi said, "You have no idea who it is."
"I don't care," Ashlynn replied, "You won't admit we're lost, and I'm tired of walking."
"We are not lost..." the sorcerer mumbled.
Ashlynn crossed her arms, "I don't see how we have a choice. We can't find the fortress, and we can't keep going like this."
"All right," he said, giving up, "Stand back."
In the Sky...
High in the sky, Maria jumped when a stream of emerald light passed by to her left. She glanced down below, and could barely make out two figures on the ground. There was another beam of light.
Are they signaling me? She thought.
She wanted to land, but realized she didn't know how.
"Land," she said...nothing happened, "Land! Land land land!"
Maria threw her hands up in frustration. By the time she realized her mistake, it was too late. The dragonfly tilted, pitching her forward. She managed to catch hold of the dragon's head as the ship spiraled to the ground...
On the Ground...
Ashlynn smile faded as the ship began to fall rapidly. She glared at Quan Chi.
"What did you do!" she screamed.
"I did nothing," he said.
"You hit it!"
"I did not hit it!"
The dragonfly hit the ground with a sickening thud, cracking the dragon's head. The head fell to the ground. Ashlynn rushed forward to see if the person who'd been flying was all right. At first she saw no one, then there was a groan, and a woman stood from behind the broken bow. She wobbled, steadying herself on the side of the ship. Ashlynn walked forward and froze. Maria only stared at her, unsure of what to do.
"Hi," she said stupidly.
"You died," was Ashlynn's reply, "You fell."
Maria shrugged, she couldn't remember much...Before she could say anything Ashlynn was hugging her, crying.
Edenia...
Jax had been pacing back and forth for almost an hour, staring helplessly at the portal. Desperately, he rushed through again, expecting to reappear on the other side...He stopped, smiling. He was standing in the middle of the nexus. Happily, he ran back through the Edenian portal to find the others staring at him in surprise. Confused, they followed him through.
"How did you do that?" Amilee asked.
Jax shrugged, "You know me girl, I can fix anything."
"Please," Sonya snorted, "You're ass can't fix a damn thing. You didn't do this."
"Oh yeah," Jax said, crossing his metallic arms, "Then why's it working huh?"
Before she could replay, Raiden was before them.
"Because I asked for the assistance of the Elder Gods," he told them.
Jax only lowered his eyes.
"So what now?" Amilee asked.
The thunder god turned to her.
"First," he said, "You must tell Jay Yung what has happened."
Amilee nodded, she'd been expecting that. She left through the Earthrealm portal without another word.
"You three," Raiden continued, gesturing to Sub-Zero, Cherin, and Stryker, "Stay here for a while, I may have need of you. The rest of you, travel to the Netherealm. Find out what Shinnok has planned but do not, I repeat, do not confront him, or you will be killed."
Outworld...
After changing their course slightly, they had finally made it to the fortress. Ashlynn rushed through the double doors, too exhausted to notice Rain, who had been standing guard. Quan Chi and Maria found her in the throne room...sitting on the throne. She payed no mind to the sorcerer's disdainful glances and folded her arms behind her head.
"So uh, what's the plan?" Maria asked finally, after waiting for Ashlynn to start the conversation.
"We will rest here," Quan Chi replied, not taking his eyes off of the woman in his seat, "And make our way to the Netherealm in a few days. Shinnok will undoubtably be waiting for us."
Ashlynn stood, signaling for Maria to follow and headed up the stairs, toward her old chamber. The room she had been in when...She stopped, forcing the memory from her mind. She led Maria to the room next to hers, that one had been Kobra's, before returning to her own. Everything was as she remembered it, nothing had been changed.
Earthrealm, New York City
It was early morning, Amilee had been knocking on the door for almost five minutes. Jay and the girls must have been asleep. Finally it opened, revealing a man who vaguely resembled Jay Yung. His hair was disheveled, and dark circles had formed under his eyes, signs that he hadn't slept well recently. He said nothing, just stared at her as if he couldn't believe she was standing there.
"Jay, let me explain-
"Ashlynn," he interrupted, his voice gruff, "Where is she?"
"She's fine," Amilee assured him.
She avoided telling him where she was, knowing how he reacted to the sorcerer's name, or any reference to him.
"Good," he said, "But that's not what I asked you. Where is she Amilee?"
She could tell he already knew, but she answered anyway.
"The last time Raiden saw her," Amilee said slowly, "She was traveling with Quan Chi, to the safety of his fortress."
Jay chuckled, an ugly sound. Amilee cringed, the last few days must have been hell for him.
"Safety?" he said, "She will never be safe with him, never."
"Dad?" came a voice from within the house. A blonde head squeezed its way past him, followed by a mane of flame colored hair.
"Why is she back at the fortress?" Rhapsody demanded, seeing Amilee.
"It's a long story," Amilee said, "I don't have time to tell you now."
"I have to get to her," Jay said.
Amilee nodded, "I thought you might say that. Come on, I have a feeling that won't be there for long."