As soon as the fortress had come into sight, Jay had taken off running. Amilee and the girls did their best to keep up with his unnaturally fast pace, but in no time at all they could barely make him out in the darkness. Once they did reach the doors however, they found him, face to face with Rain and another guard, a spear pointed at his throat.
"More of them," said the guard.
"Rain you idiot," Amilee said, sighing, "We're on your side!"
"Just because Ashlynn is here doesn't mean your on our side," Rain replied, "I don't trust you."
"Lower your weapon."
Hearing his master's voice, the guard obeyed immediately. The spear hit the marble floor with a clatter, echoing through the silent hall.
"He didn't say drop it..." Rhapsody muttered.
"Where is my wife!" Jay demanded, pushing past Rain. He had deliberately phrased his question that way, knowing that it bothered the sorcerer. If it did, Quan Chi showed no outward signs of it.
"There is no need for such a tone," he said, smiling.
"Answer me!"
The sorcerer shrugged, "Up the stairs, it is the third door on the left."
Within a split second, Jay had bolted past him, up the staircase. He found Ashlynn, sound asleep, but was unable to keep himself from shaking her. She opened her eyes, dazed, and then a smile lit up her face.
"Jay," she breathed, standing, "You're okay!"
She squeezed him tightly, then did the same to her daughters, cutting off their air supply.
"We have to go to the Netherealm," Amilee said, although she was sure Ashlynn was aware of it.
"I know," Ashlynn said, biting her lip, "Jay, take the girls back home."
Jay's mouth fell open in protest, but she stopped him.
"Listen to me," she said firmly, "I'm not leaving them alone, and I'm sure as hell not taking them to that place. Take them home Jay."
Jay nodded, reluctantly.
"All right," he agreed, he had no choice but to acquiesce, "But promise me you won't try to be a hero."
He knew it was pointless, she always did.
"I promise," she said, kissing him, "Now go."
Jay stared at her, a forlorn look on his face, not noticing that Quan Chi had entered the room behind them. His expression was blank, but his dark eyes shone with a sort of jealous fire, it was an emotion he rarely felt, and it was all he could do to suppress it. Still sulking, Jay led the girls from the room, but Amilee remained.
Three Days Later...
Ashlynn, Amilee, and Maria hardly had time to bathe and eat before they were being rushed toward the fortress's portal.
"Amilee stop it," Maria snapped suddenly.
"What?" Amilee asked, confused.
"Stop staring at me like I'm some kind of freak," Maria said, "You've been doing it for the last three days."
"Sorry," Amilee said, "It just...hard to believe this isn't a dream. You know what would be funny? If all of this, the realms and sorcerers and all that, was just a dream, and we woke up and we were all still nineteen..."
Ashlynn stopped watching her two friends, Amilee's voice trailed off as she walked away. Ashlynn sighed, she had wished it was all a dream on more than one occasion. She jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Quan Chi asked.
She nodded, the realization of what was happening hitting her all at once. The world as they knew it was probably doomed, and here he was trying to comfort her, in his own way. It was something he'd never done before.
"I'm fine," she said, then hurried to catch up with the others.
On the other side of the portal, in the Nexus, they were surprised to meet Cherin, Stryker, Sub-Zero, and the thunder god himself. By the time the commotion over Maria's strange return had settled, Jax, Sonya, and Noob Saibot had returned from their trip to the Netherealm.
"What have you learned?" Raiden asked.
"That Shinnok guy has this big ass army," Jax told him.
"The soldiers aren't human," Sonya added, "And they all wear black armor."
Suddenly, Ashlynn realized something.
"Where's Sarah?" she asked.
Silence.
"We don't know," Sonya replied finally, "We...lost her."
"Lost her?"
"She went through the portal," Cherin explained, "But she didn't come back."
Ashlynn noticed that Jax's eyes were glued to the ground, his metallic arms folded across his chest.
"I hate to say this," Raiden said, "But we have no time to worry about that now. We need to concentrate on Shinnok's army."
"We don't stand a chance," Cherin sighed.
At this, Ashlynn, Amilee, and Maria smiled.
"Yes we do," Amilee said.
Cherin and the others seemed perplexed.
"Long ago," Quan Chi began, "I recruited a group of soldiers, demons from the Netherealm. I knew that one day I might have need of them. I kept them hidden in the mountains during my time in the Netherealm. They are still there, asleep, awaiting my call."
Ashlynn's smile had broadened almost to the point of being maniacal.
The Netherealm...
Hidden deep within the fiery wastes of Hell, Shinnok's army waited. It was not gigantic at five hundred soldiers, but it was a force to be reckoned with. Each soldier, clad in black chainmail, stood nearly seven feet tall. Their eyes shone crimson, the color of blood. They stood still as statues, organized into rows, unblinking. Nearby, Shinnok himself stood talking to the largest of the soldiers, his general. His demonic face was concealed by an oversized helmet, crowned with uneven horns. Sarah rubbed her arms. Despite the heat of the Netherealm, a chill had crept into her bones.
"Soon," Tanya said, resting a hand on her shoulder, "Soon this will be over, and the realms will belong to Lord Shinnok."
Sarah said nothing, Shinnok was now speaking with Mileena. She had to strain to hear the conversation.
"She must fight for us," Shinnok said.
"But why her?"
"Because she has done something even I never could. She defeated Quan Chi, she would be a powerful ally. Find her. Obviously she will resist, so use this."
He placed a small glass bottle filled with a black liquid in her hand. Mileena nodded, then vanished. Suddenly Shinnok's eyes shone green.
"What is it my Lord?" Tanya asked.
"Our enemies have arrived."
Meanwhile...
They had gathered themselves, along with Quan Chi's army, in a small, sheltered inlet in the Netherealm, near the city of Nekros. Ashlynn had been pacing for the last twenty minutes, worried.
"Where is Shinnok now?" Amilee asked.
Quan Chi glanced toward the horizon, "Farther north."
Shinnok had been barking orders at his soldiers, trying to prepare them for the approaching battle. Mileena had been gone quite a while, and Sarah had been praying silently that she wouldn't succeed in her mission. Suddenly, from overhead, there came a horrible screeching sound. Shinnok glanced upward. High above them, soaring through the blood red sky, were four winged shapes. They were too far away to be seen clearly, but they were flying toward the south.
"Master..." Tanya breathed.
"Vampires," Shinnok spat, "No doubt they are here to aid our enemies. Disgusting creatures."
Sarah smiled, she knew he was probably right. During her time working with the OIA, she'd read a book on the nature of vampires. She knew their loyalty could be bought, for the right price.
Ashlynn glimpsed the dark figures first. She motioned to Quan Chi, who looked at the sky and grinned.
"Our reinforcements have arrived," he said, signaling for the army to halt. The four winged creatures landed gracefully a few paces away, each with silky black wings and dark eyes.
"I am glad you decided to come," Quan Chi said.
"Know this sorcerer," said a woman with dark hair, standing ahead of her three companions, "I do this for the benefit of my race, not for you."
"You never told me you enlisted vampires..." Ashlynn whispered.
"You never asked," the sorcerer whispered back.
"Do you have something to say girl?" the dark haired woman asked sharply. Ashlynn froze under her piercing stare.
"No," she replied quickly, "I mean I..."
"She wanted to thank you for your assistance," Quan Chi said, answering for her. The vampiress nodded to the other three, and they took off into the sky again. After they'd gone, Quan Chi glanced at Ashlynn, shaking his head.
"What? I've never talked to a vampire before," she said defensively.
The sorcerer smiled and walked back toward the waiting army. He turned just in time to see Ashlynn vanish...