It was chaos.

No, that wasn't the right word. Johnny had seen chaos - the kind sown by Havik of the very realm of chaos with the Gem of Tetsurri - but this was something... as cliché as it may sound coming from him, out of a movie.

He'd just gotten Cassie to medbay to get her minor injuries from her mission earlier that day healed up, when the room was assaulted by a localised sandstorm of some kind that not only totally erased Raiden from this plane of existence, but also produced what appeared to be Sonya, Jax and even Johnny himself, only about three decades younger, seemingly from around the time of Shao Kahn's invasion, based on Jax's metal arms.

Johnny had barely had time to think about the death of his wife mere hours ago, and the heartbreak their daughter was going through after being forced to leave her mother to die in the Netherrealm. How the hell was he going to break the news to Erica? How the hell was he going to tell Jax?

For now, he had the three young doppelgangers in the brig. The last thing they needed right now was for him to let his emotions lower his guard so some Shang Tsung-esque shapeshifters could steal valuable Earthrealm intel right after he took command from his late wife. Technically, Cassie should have taken the role after her promotion to Commander right before the mission, but Johnny had assumed command in her place. After all, Cassie's current emotional vulnerability was plain to see, and Johnny had spent enough time serving under Sonya to be able to keep things stable until Cassie was ready to assume command, barring any complications. And Cassie needed talking to this Sonya lookalike would probably not go very well. Johnny wasn't entirely convinced the damage wasn't already done the second she laid eyes on her.

"M-Mom?" she'd uttered from Johnny's side, finally allowing him to break eye contact with his own double.

"Mom?" Sonya parroted back, her tone unemotional, but no less confused.

"This can't be real," Jacqui said, quickly at Cassie's side, hand on her friend's shoulder and eyes never leaving her alleged father.

"Look, man," the younger Johnny said, his voice unmistakeably his, "you gotta tell me this is some reality TV prank and you're just a really convincing lookalike. I can't deal with more of this Outworld crap right now." That did seem like something Johnny would have said back then. While he looked to Johnny for answers and 'Sonya' looked over the two girls cautiously, 'Jax' took in the sight of the medbay.

"This can't really be the future," he muttered to himself.

"The future?" 'Sonya' parroted back with clear interest, seemingly still thinking about Cassie's earlier outburst.

"More advanced instruments, an older Cage, a blonde girl calling you 'mom' and her black comrade right by her side? What else are we supposed to conclude if not that we've time-travelled into the future?"

"You're taking this... strangely well," Johnny admitted.

'Jax' shrugged. "I didn't even know other realms existed until a few days ago. And Raiden talked an awful lot about his visions of the future. Who's to say physical time travel ain't real?"

"Who's to say this isn't an Outworld trick?" Johnny countered.

"I don't think any of us can rule out that possibility," 'Jax' agreed.

"Then, for now, I'm putting you three in the brig until we know one way or the other."

"On whose authority?" Sonya demanded.

"Commander Cage's, that's whose," he said, more forcefully than he'd intended, but it was either that or respond too softly and risk giving an enemy an opening. Fortunately, the three went along with Johnny's decision and he was freed up to try and work this all out.

But it wasn't just them. Plenty of other SF operatives from back in the day were suddenly back. Johnny even recognised a few without having to look up their files. He'd seen them die, after all - that was the kind of thing you never forgot. Johnny needed to know if this was happening anywhere else. Past SF was one thing, but past Black Dragon or Lin Kuei was a whole other matter.

"Any luck?" he asked as he approached Jacqui, referring to her earlier comment about trying to get in touch with the real Jax.

"None," she sighed. "If he'd answered, we could at least rule out him actually being my dad."

"It was a good plan," Johnny assured her with a hand on her shoulder. He always made sure to squeeze Jacqui's shoulder a little harder than he did Cassie's, in a bid to better emulate Jax's grip and make the second-generation Briggs feel more at-ease. He didn't know if she realised he did this, but she did and she appreciated it.

"How are you holding up, Cass?" he asked as he stepped closer to his daughter, who was sitting in a chair, practically catatonic.

"She really looks like her," she mumbled, not bothering to lift her head up. Johnny wheeled his own chair over and sat by her side. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead.

"I know, Cass. I know. God, where's Raiden when you need him?"

As if on cue, the room rumbled again, but this was a different kind of rumbling from that caused by the sandstorm - one they were all intimately familiar with. The trio rushed outside to find, to their amazement, a portal of blue lightning sparking not a hundred yards from where they stood, scorching the desert sand and turning it to glass as the Thunder God's power often did. Through the portal emerged four figures. The first was Kung Jin, another of Cassie's teammates, who had returned to the White Lotus since the war with Shinnok, but had vowed to return and rejoin the team in times of crisis - such as now. His presence wasn't at all surprising. It was the three that followed him that were: the very much human Liu Kang and Kung Lao, followed by Raiden, back in his traditional white and blue.

"Jin, I hope you've got an explanation for us, cuz we're stumped."

"We have," the younger Shaolin replied as Jacqui broke off her hug. "Well, Lord Raiden has."

"It appears that time has been kinder to you than most, Johnny Cage," Raiden said as he stepped past his three companions to speak with Johnny. "Are you the one in charge here?"

Johnny hesitated for a moment before steeling himself and answering with conviction. "As of this afternoon, yeah."

"Where's General Blade?" Jin asked before noticing the way Cassie averted her eyes. "No way..."

"I see," Raiden said solemnly. "You have my condolences."

"I don't mean to dismiss your good intentions, Raiden, but right now, we need answers more than sympathy." Everyone was taken aback by Johnny's sudden curtness, but Raiden seemed to take it in stride.

"Of course. Put simply, our present and yours are colliding. From what we have learned from your Kotal Kahn, ours is a time thirty years in your past. Kung Lao had just defeated Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in Shao Kahn's Outworld tournament when the three of us, along with Princess Kitana, Jade and Shao Kahn and a selection of his followers were brought to your time. Who is responsible, and for what purpose, I have yet to discern. Once we have a firmer grasp on the scope of this incident, I will consult the Elder Gods and hope that they know more."

Jacqui leaned in and whispered to Jin, "Are those two really...?"

"Kung Lao and Liu Kang? Seems like it. They definitely look like them." It was only now that Jin realised none of his teammates had actually seen either of his cousins in person before their transformation into revenants. After all, that had been before they were even born. "Can't imagine there are many who could replicate their exact looks from thirty years ago. The White Lotus aren't exactly big on flash photography."

"Yeah, I'll bet. How are you holding up? Can't imagine it was anything less than a shock to see them human again."

"It was about what you'd expect. What about you, Cassie. How are you doing?" Two years ago, Jin showing concern for Cassie, whom he had originally pegged as a spoiled rich girl put in charge of the team due to nepotism, would have been an alien sight. Of course, after this time merger thing, Jacqui was doubtful anything could seem more alien than seeing her father at around her age, in the flesh.

Cassie tried to respond, but words escaped her. As such, Jacqui chose to answer for her. "Her mom is here too. My dad and Mr. Cage as well."

"You mean the past versions."

"Yeah. Sonya's only been gone for a few hours, so you can imagine how shocking it was to see her again."

"Definitely. Where are they now?"

"The brig, until we know what their deal is. But, I guess with you guys showing up, we know they're legit."

"They could still be impersonators using the confusion to infiltrate the SF. I'm sure Raiden can tell if they're real or fake, though."


And, indeed, he could. He was quickly taken to the brig to ascertain the truth behind the three and confirmed that, yes, they were the genuine time-displaced incarnations of Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade and Jackson Briggs from around the time of the Outworld tournament. The three were quickly released from their cells. Although Young Johnny grumbled about the mistreatment, the other two took it in stride.

It was the latter two that were the most surreal to behold. As a lifelong actor, there was more than enough footage of Johnny from his younger years for those around him to know how he looked, how he sounded, how he moved and acted. But for the other two, there was very little in the way of video footage of them from the past. There was some, of course - Johnny having taken it upon himself to film many birthdays, Christmases and other holidays and get-togethers in the Cage-Briggs family history as practice for his directorial debut. But there was so little that, to Cassie and Jacqui, it almost felt like these younger versions only existed in faded memories and those handfuls of home movies. Seeing and hearing them now was almost a brand new experience that both struggled to properly put into words, but both knew instinctively that they were not alone in this feeling. For Jin, it was more surreal, as no such recordings existed of his cousins, whom he had seen but once in the last three decades: at the Sky Temple in their corrupted forms.

And, of course, those from the past found this all no less surreal than those native to this time. Liu Kang and Kung Lao were quickly caught off-guard by Jax's metal arms, which they bore no knowledge of at the time. A slight discrepancy in the timeframe was brought to light here, as Jax had had his arms for a little while; enough so that he was confident he could be an asset in the inevitable fighting to come. But Raiden and his group were instead from the same day Jax lost his arms at the Soul Chamber. This did go some way to explain why Johnny would be with Sonya and Jax and not with the koliseum group. But this revelation was concerning, as it meant those pulled through time could theoretically be from any time, not just from the same moment.

Johnny led the past selves up to the Command Centre to get them caught up on the last three decades. Although there was concern about the implications of them learning what was to come and how that might affect the present, Raiden insisted that they receive the briefing so as to better navigate this strange future they had found themselves in and help put a stop to whatever or whomever was causing it. There was, perhaps, a little bias on Raiden's part, given that he was currently in the middle of his own quest to rewrite the past, and now learned of the grim fates of himself and his warriors that were to result from his own future-past actions which he, no doubt, desired to see upturned.

Johnny took on the task of filling them in. It should arguably have been Cassie's job, being the official C.O., but Johnny wanted to remove as much of the burden from his little girl's shoulders as possible, and given his age, there was precious little else he could handle on her behalf.

Jax spoke up, having spent most of his time looking around, as if searching for something. "I can't help but notice that Cage is the only one of us with two versions here. Are the rest of us on missions, or...?" The distinct possibility of something less savoury was clearly on his mind, which Johnny felt somehow responsible for.

"A lot's changed in the last thirty years, Jax. It started right after you guys got pulled out of your own time, actually." His gaze passed over Kung Lao, the first of Earth's champions to fall, mere minutes after the moment he was pulled from. "Shit hit the fan pretty quick after Kung Lao beat Kintaro in Outworld. Kahn snuck up and broke his neck."

Kung Lao's hand moved up to massage the skin over the phantom snap he could practically feel as all eyes were on him.

"Lu beat Kahn right after, but he pulled through and used a loophole to invade Earthrealm. Everyone but me, Sonya and Raiden died there and got turned into Quan Chi's revenant puppets. Raiden used the rules to force the Elder Gods to intervene and kill Kahn, ending the invasion. It was Raiden's decision to let Kahn win to force their hand that led to Lu turning on him. And Raiden accidentally killed him."

Raiden and Liu Kang looked predictably mortified by the revelation of their relationship breaking down to such an extreme degree. No doubt, they were able to believe such a claim after, only a few hours earlier for them, the beginning of this fracture had begun with Liu Kang's frustration over Raiden's interference leading to the imprisonment of Princess Kitana.

"Two years after that, Shinnok made his move. There weren't many of us left, but we managed to take him down. Raiden sealed him in his amulet and we thought that would be the last we'd see of him. After that..." Johnny became uneasy at the prospect of having to discuss this next part, his eyes lingering on Sonya long enough for her to notice. "After that, Sonya and I... got together."

"Nice!" Past Johnny exclaimed.

"Excuse me, what?" Sonya's incredulity was anticipated, but that didn't make it sting any less.

Johnny had changed a lot in the last three decades - anyone who'd known him throughout that span would attest to his personal growth. But they weren't here. Sonya was gone, Jax was retired, Kenshi was on a mission with his son, and Raiden was erased. Even if Cassie, Jacqui or Jin backed up this claim to make the others understand, it was doubtful they'd be taken at their word. So, Johnny would have to show Sonya how much he'd changed and make her see how hurtful her disbelief truly was to him.

"It's true. You- She saw the man I was capable of being. We were good together for a while there, and we had this wonderful daughter here." Johnny reached out and took Cassie by the hand. She squeezed his like she hadn't done since she was a teenager. "This is Cassie. Cassandra Erica Cage. She's the one who beat Shinnok when he came back two years ago."

"A Cage bested an Elder God?" Kung Lao whispered to Liu Kang, who was no less stunned by Johnny's claim than his cousin was.

"Yep, she's a Blade alright," Jax whispered to Sonya.

"Turns out our green glow thing is some sorta God-killer power. Gave us an edge that we needed without Lu on our side. Shinnok corrupted the Jinsei - Earthrealm's lifeblood," he added for Jax and Sonya's benefit, "before Cassie's team got to him, but Raiden purified it by absorbing the corruption into himself. He went on an edgy crusade against the revenants after that, and then got wiped when you guys got brought to our time."

"And that's why I'm not here?" Jax spoke up. "Because I'm part of this undead army?"

"Not you. After Shinnok's first invasion failed, we got you and Sub-Zero back - Scorpion too - but the rest've been stuck like that since Scorpion killed Quan Chi two years ago."

"Then, the two of us remain threats to Earthrealm," Liu Kang commented.

"Sorry, yeah. Raiden killed Smoke and Stryker's revenants and made sure they couldn't be brought back again to reduce their numbers, but you two, Kitana, Jade, Sindel, Nightwolf and Kabal are still down there."

"And probably a part of this..." Jacqui said, struggling to find the right word, "whatever this is that's going on right now."

"Timequake," Past Johnny suggested.

"That's a lot, but it doesn't really explain where Jax and I are," Sonya noted.

"My dad retired after we beat Shinnok," Jacqui explained. "He's been on the farm ever since." Although not as well as his own daughter, Johnny had gotten pretty good at reading Jacqui's subtle expressions over the years, their families being as close as they were. Her reluctance to bring up her own mother's recent death was clear to Johnny, but Jax didn't seem to notice.

"A farm, huh? I always did see myself startin' somethin' like that after retirement."

"And me?" Sonya asked, her growing concern over the lack of an answer making her uncharacteristically impatient.

Johnny looked at Cassie and she looked at him. He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "I'll handle this." He looked back at Sonya, but Cassie grabbed his arm to stop him.

"No," she said uneasily, in spite of her determination. "I should be the one to tell her." She stood from her seat and faced Sonya, her resolve dissolving immediately. "So, uh... Mom- Sonya! Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Sonya said in a comforting manner that, while not particularly common from her future self, was undoubtedly Sonya. But that gave her tone the opposite effect from what was intended, even if it did indicate that she accepted Cassie as her daughter. "Please, continue."

"W-Well... We went on a mission this morning: me, Jacqui and... Mom. We went with Raiden- Future Raiden to the revenants' temple in the Netherrealm and... She was the one planting the C4 on the support pillars to take down the spire. But Liu- a cave-in caught us off-guard and she got buried under the rubble. She... She gave her life to finish the mission."

A Special Forces Command Centre hadn't been this quiet since Johnny and Sonya's final, marriage-ending argument years ago. Even if they weren't a part of the conversation, the rest of the present SF personnel were naturally drawn into it - especially those pulled from the past.

Sonya, understandably, simply gaped in shock at the revelation. Johnny put an arm around his daughter's shoulder. He inwardly worried about the possibility that the spire could have been replaced by its past incarnation in this time merger, but there was no way in hell he was going to bring that up in front of Cassie, especially not now.

"You did everything you could, Cass. She knew that. Right, Sonya?"

Taken aback by the sudden shift of attention toward her, Sonya stumbled out a surprised, "Uh, yeah. Sounds like an unenviable position to be put in. I'm... sure you did your best."

Johnny had hoped Sonya would be able to relate to Cassie and relay some comforting words, but he then realised that this Sonya hadn't lost her father in the Black Dragon bombings yet. That was still a year off for her.

For the second time that day, slipping out of her father's grasp, Cassie fell to her knees and wept.

Sonya, almost instinctually, moved in and wrapped her arms around Cassie, but her future daughter suddenly grew tense and shoved her onto her rear end, falling back onto her own as she did so. Her pain was clear as she quickly stood up, muttered a half apology and quickly marched out of the room.

Johnny quickly looked to Jacqui, who nodded her approval for him to go after her. She could field most of the chronal refugees' questions without him.

"Sorry," he said quickly as he headed for the door himself. "Jacqui can fill you in on the rest!" And with that, he was gone.

Sonya remained on the floor until the Johnny of her own time stepped closer and offered her a hand, which she took, bringing to mind their first encounter when he'd beaten down Kano on the first night of the island tournament. "Don't take it personal," he advised.

Sonya gave him a quizzical look.

"Her mom just died a few hours ago. Can't be easy to have any progress made in coming to terms with that upturned by someone who looks just like her showing up so soon. Give her time. If she really is a Blade, she'll get through it."

Sonya was taken aback by Johnny's wisdom. Then, she had a hunch, at which she couldn't stop herself from grinning slightly. "You get that from one of your movies? What was it, Time Smashers? Fatal Infinity?"

Johnny smirked. "I knew you were a fan."

Somehow, seeing Johnny as he was right now, she had to wonder if there really was something to this whole her and him thing. If nothing else, his future self showed how much more mature and responsible he could one day become. Of course, for the two of them, that day may be a long way off.


But for the other Johnny, that time was now. Cassie had gotten a good lead on him and no one Johnny passed in the hallways had seen which way she'd gone, leaving him to guess where she was. Fortunately, he was her father and he knew her better than even Jacqui did. When she was younger Cassie, had often gotten upset at her mother's regular absence due to work. It was common for Johnny to find her crying in either his and Sonya's bedroom or Sonya's home office. One time, she had even gotten into Sonya's private armoury. Sonya only had one room in the base that could be considered hers.

SF operations had moved to this base two years prior, after the last one was compromised by Shinnok's revival, and the later Black Dragon raid that freed the captured Kano. As the commander of the base, Sonya had been given free reign over room assignments. Sonya being Sonya, she had chosen an office very close to the Command Centre to make her own. This office also had a small side room with a cot for her to sleep in during ongoing operations. Until the revenants had become the clear next threat, Sonya had actually spent more nights at home with Johnny and Cassie than she had here, but things had since changed. Johnny thought about the empty bed at home that he'd never wake up to find Sonya lying next to him in again, that radiant loving smile backed by the rising sun, but he pushed those thoughts aside. Cassie needed him to be strong.

As expected, Johnny found Cassie curled up in a ball on her side, lying on Sonya's cot with her back to the doorway. Johnny entered the small room, brushed a few stray hairs away from Cassie's ear, kissed her on the side of her head and sat down next to her.

"Hey, Cass," he said softly.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"I'm here for you. Let me know what you need and I'll do everything I can to make it happen."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Of course, kiddo." Johnny reached his hand down to Cassie's and she again squeezed his.

"Why didn't she fight it?" she asked in a tone that made Johnny flash back to her childhood, when she'd ask why her mother was never around, or why she didn't love her. "She just gave up and told me to go without her. Why didn't she try to escape?"

"Because she knew you were ready to succeed her. You took down Shinnok and some of the toughest revenants on his side. She watched you lead your troops on that op this morning, holding your own against Lu's revenant. That's no easy feat."

"Only because my green glow thing activated to help me get to Mom."

"The green glow is just protection. It doesn't make us better fighters. All it does it level the playing field and force our opponents to go hand-to-hand. I had to beat Shinnok with my martial arts prowess. And so did you. And you beat Lu Kang too. Sonya knew you were ready to take command of Earth's defences. She knew she could leave this in your more-than-capable hands. She believed in you. Always did. And so do I. You're strong, you're capable... You're a Blade.

"Herman entrusted this world's protection to her, and she entrusted it to you. Herman knew what he was talking about and so did she. Herman and Erica didn't raise no fool. And neither did she. I mean, I'm just rambling and repeating myself right now and how often do you tell me I need to work on my brevity in my scripts?"

"Every week," she said, her reluctant smile clear in her voice.

"More like every other day. I still have a thing to two to learn from you and I'm hoping you'll teach me... Commander."

"Heh. Nice dramatic pause."

"Won me an Oscar."

"A Blueberry, more like."

"Ouch. Yep, only a Blade could have a tongue that sharp."

"And only a Cage could have a heart as big as yours."

"And you say my lines are bad."

"Where do you think I learned them from?"

"Touché."

After a moment, Cassie spoke again. "You're a lot stronger than people give you credit for."

"I know. That's another reason Sonya's able to rest in peace. She knows I'll still be looking out for ya."

Cassie rolled onto her back and sat up to look her father in the eyes. Only now did she see that he had also been crying. She hadn't seen him cry since his own mother died. But now, he was trying to be strong for Cassie. She reached out and wiped his tears away with her thumbs. "I wanna look out for you too, Dad. You don't have to take on this burden all by yourself. We both know Mom wouldn't want that."

Johnny was taken aback by Cassie's words, but he appreciated them more than he could ever convey.

"I can share the burden with you. I know you still think of me as your little princess that you need to protect but, you said it yourself: I'm a Blade. And I'm also a Cage. Half the strength I have came from you. And not just the green glow thing."

"Still need a name for that."

"We do. You were always there for me. While Mom was busy saving the world, you were always saving mine. I wouldn't be half the woman I am today without you guiding me, protecting me, doing everything you could to make sure I was having the best life possible. And I wanna do the same for you, Dad. I wanna be the person you know you can come to when you have a problem, or when you're feeling lonely without Mom around. I want her to rest easy knowing I'll be looking out for you too."

Johnny pulled Cassie in and hugged her, which she emphatically returned. "She knows, Cass. And so do I."


"Not to be a downer," Kung Lao spoke up, "but if your Sonya Blade died in the Netherrealm, is there not the risk that the revenants could bring her back as one of them?"

"Luckily, no," Jacqui replied. "Raiden- Our Raiden demanded his warriors be given protection by the Elder Gods after Quan Chi got a hold of the first batch.

"And they actually listened?"

"Kung Lao!" Liu Kang said sternly.

"It may have been thirty years ago in this time, but the massacre of our brothers was days ago for us. Or did the princess' deep brown eyes make you forget?"

"Hey, can we not get into this right now?" Jacqui requested, hoping to keep things civil.

"Why not? Fuck the Elder Gods."

"Jin!"

"No. What right did Quan Chi and Shao Kahn have to dictate the fates of Raiden's champions? Far as I'm concerned, the Elder Gods are directly responsible for what happened to my cousins and your dad."

"I'm only alive because of what happened to my dad!"

"You don't know that. Who's to say he wouldn't've come back anyway, even without becoming a revenant? Didn't Mr. Cage say he was supposed to die in the invasion until Raiden intervened, but still would've come back later to fight Shinnok?"

"My visions of the future did seem to suggest that Johnny Cage would have returned from the dead some time after," Raiden acknowledged, oddly nonplussed about the Elder Gods being insulted. He was probably used to hearing it from Kung Lao, or had perhaps built up his own resentment towards them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Jax said, raising a hand slightly, "but you said you're only alive because I became a revenant?"

Jacqui sighed in frustration. "Great. Thanks, Jin. Totally wanted to have this conversation right now. While my dad was in the hospital recovering after being brought back, that's when he and my mom first met."

"And you think that means you can't exist unless I become a revenant?" Jax asked.

"If you don't become a revenant, you don't end up in that hospital, you never meet Mom, I'm never born. It's a pretty linear sequence of events."

"Jacqui, I live a dangerous life. And it's only gotten more dangerous since all this Outworld stuff came into it. It's hardly out-of-the-question that I could end up in that same hospital from simple wounds received on a mission."

"Jackson Briggs' words bear wisdom," Raiden said suddenly. "My visions suggest he was always to have some form of mechanical arms. Yet, in this timeline, he lost his arms while investigating the arrival of Sub-Zero and Smoke in Outworld. That investigation occurred because Sonya Blade's wrist device detected their arrival. Their reunion occurred because he, Johnny Cage an I tracked her down after I received a vision of her imprisonment. Presumably, without that vision leading to that sequence of events, Jackson Briggs would not have lost his arms to Ermac in that place and time. And yet, with or without that sequence of events, the final outcome appears to be the same. There are many roads to the same destination, Jacqueline Briggs. Do not be so quick to assume your existence is predicated on the suffering of those you hold dear."

Jacqui was stunned into silence. She had met Raiden only a handful of times before, and most of those had been after his corruption. As such, she had had precious little exposure to the sheer wisdom in his words. And that he came off so caring for the emotional states of the mortals in his care was a far cry from the distant dark god that had prioritised Earthrealm's safety from its enemies over the individual mortals. In fact, the last thing she'd heard from him was his heartless comment about Sonya having 'died a warrior's death', as if that was ever going to help ease Cass' suffering. If this Raiden had been there, he could probably have made Cass' tears dry up on the spot.

"Thanks, Raiden. I didn't realise how much I needed to hear that."

"It's a shame we weren't pulled from before the Outworld tournament," Jax said, looking his arms over and flexing his mechanical fingers. "You won't've had a hug with my real arms, huh?"

"Heh. No, I haven't. I appreciate the thought, though. That's very... you."

"So even after everything, I've still got a heart, huh?"

"The biggest."

"And I'll bet I have you and your mom to thank for that."

"Hm. Maybe a little."

While his arms weren't flesh and blood, Jax held them out and Jacqui gave him a hug. Despite the difference in age and the vastly different arms, the warmth of Jax was still the same. If she'd had any doubts about his identity before now, they'd have been instantly alleviated.

The door to the Command Centre opened once again and Johnny and Cassie entered. "Ladies and gentlemen," Johnny announced, "I give you, Commander Cassandra Cage." Jacqui stood and saluted as a sign of solidarity. The younger Johnny then did the same, followed by Jax and Sonya.

"At ease," Cassie dismissed, smiling appreciatively. "I'm sorry about that outburst earlier. I'm ready to assume command now."

"Damn right you are," Sonya beamed. She maintained her salute longer than the others.

"Thanks, Lieutenant. Dad, can you get these five situated? We're likely gonna be in this for the long haul. I need to consult with Raiden."

"On it, Commander," Johnny replied with a salute before leading himself, Sonya, Jax and the two monks out of the Command Centre.

"What do you want us to do, Cas- Commander?"

"Keep trying to get in touch with your dad and the Takahashis. And anyone else unaccounted for. We need all hands on deck for this."

"Wilco." Jacqui slid her chair across the floor to a nearby workstation.

"Jin, what's the situation with the White Lotus?"

"A lot of dead Shaolin are back, so they're just trying to take stock of their numbers for now. Could be a problem, given how many key locations they have to guard."

"Alright, I'll spare you a few squads. Get back over there and do what you can to help. I'll give you an update once we know what's going on."

"On it."

After watching Jin leave to gather a squad, Raiden turned his attention back towards Cassie, who had stepped toward the main command terminal. "When Kung Jin informed me what had become of myself and Liu Kang, I worried about the future of Earthrealm's defences. It appears that my concern was misplaced. Against all expectation, Johnny Cage has produced a fine successor to lead Earthrealm's defenders though this crisis."

Cassie shook her head. "Not all of Earthrealm. Just the SF. We're still gonna need your guidance on all this timey-wimey stuff. If anyone can be considered an expert, it's you."

"I will do what I can, but I am afraid I lack my predecessor's decades of experience. I have only had these visions for a short time and my understanding of my amulet is still limited."

"Um, speaking of amulets... your future self was using one too before he disappeared. Shinnok's."

"...Where is the amulet now?"

"In one of our vaults. Though, I'm sure it's not as safe there as it would be at the Sky Temple. I can have Jin take it with him when he-"

"I fear that no single place will be safe enough for such a powerful artefact. I feel it will be safer on my person, that I might protect it myself."

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea. I'll have Hoffman take you down there after we're done here."

"Very well. First, I will need as complete a history of the last thirty years as you can provide."

"Already compiling it. Should be ready in a few. Do you have any idea who or what might be causing all this?"

"There is one name that comes to mind, but why an Elder God would interfere in mortal affairs now and not at any other key moment eludes me."

"Another Elder God? I take it non-fallen EGs are more powerful?"

"Considerably. But I was able to defeat Shinnok at the height of his power, and I have Liu Kang, Kung Lao and your family to assist me this time. I have faith that we can overcome this crisis together, even if Kronika is indeed the one pulling the strings."


While working on my Angry-Joe-4-HOUR-long kritique of MK11, I observed that we don't actually see Cassie properly react to Past Sonya, her eyes focusing entirely on Past Johnny, and then she's just already used to Sonya's presence by the time we pick up with her in the transition into Chapter 3. So, it fell to me to present this kind of scenario, along with some of Jacqui's issues, and the inclusion of Jin. I might write Jin's reaction to seeing Lao again some time, if I have a good enough take on it. Until then, I do have some more stories featuring the Cage Family taking place quite a while before this. They're always fun to write.