A/N: Now, Part Two of the Trilogy of Prologues!

Seido: 9,975 years after Benjamin and Callie leave Edenia

Callie Ann's POV

You're probably not wondering about this until now. Escapism is the avoidance of unpleasant, tedious, arduous, scary, or banal aspects of daily life. I'm telling you this because Escapism is one of the many words I use to describe the Realm of Order.

When Benji and I settled here to spark change, I wasn't expecting the justice system of Seido to be so... discreet. Whenever a crime is committed, and the perpetrators found, the trial is almost always swift and to the point.

The keyword being almost.

There are times where certain incriminated criminals wait for what seems like an eternity, regardless of crime severity. This led to the conclusion that justice in Seido is strictly black and white in every sense of the word. Certain crimes aren't prioritized above others because none are prioritized at all. What makes the matter unsettling is that the denizens are aware of how cryptic and unjust the justice system is but openly choose to either avoid or embrace it.

Benji noticed it too, and we quickly discussed it as soon as we explained our 'situation' to the Seidan high ups. Obviously, we lied about why we left Edenia, telling them that we were refugees from Outworld who narrowly escaped from the Outworld wastes. When Edenia denied our pleas for help, we came here. Seido loved playing the role of hero to maintain its reputation, happily taking us in.

We settled in Green Town in a quaint townhome as the sectors of Seido are divided in colors before immediately discussing revolution tactics. But nothing really stuck until about a year passed by.

I remembered the conversation like it was yesterday.

"I got an idea."

"Since we're not really sticking with anything over our year here, I'll take anything at this point," Benji remarked.

"Yeah, we really hit a dead zone with ideas, huh? Kickstarting a rebellion isn't as easy as I thought. But enough of the negativity," I responded. "I noticed that crimes are punished the same way, regardless of how severe they are. It's unsettling how people don't do anything about it."

"Yes, it is depressing. It's like Escapism. Instead of happiness, the emotion is replaced with depression. The regular people of Seido are pretty apathetic to the flaws of having everything in order."

"Exactly. So, I suggest we make a move. I've been following the schedule of one of the higher-ups. He's currently asleep if my hunch is correct. Let's go kill him."

"Cal, if he's a High up in Seidan society, we can't just waltz in his home and kill him."

"Yes, we can."

"No, we can't."

"Benji, he doesn't have guards around his palace. Plus, you can summon a portal to his room."

He crossed his arms. "Portals aren't silent when initially summoned. It'll blow our cover."

"Then we can walk. No one does around this hour because it's curfew. The guards don't patrol because everyone knows the penalties of breaking curfew. Countering your point, we can actually waltz in his home and kill him with no one around to stop us."

"Okay, you got me there. But why are we targeting him?"

"Corruption. I mean, really corrupt. He's the reason as to why citizens don't do anything about the justice system. Apparently, he pays a lot of koins to shut people up when they could make good witnesses. Not to mention he has a hidden hit squad. They don't show themselves unless he calls them."

"We should kill them too," Benji suggested.

"Oh, we are. That comes later. I checked the area before pitching the plan. The way to his home, as well as the actual place, is clear."

"Want me to summon a Portal near his home to not give ourselves away?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea. He lives in Red Town."

Benji summoned a Portal, and when we passed through, we were in Red Town. He closed the opened as we survey the area, which was still clear as day.

"Good. Follow me." I said as we headed for the Judge's house.

I tried jiggling the handle, only to find that it wouldn't budge. "Damn. It's locked. Can you summon another portal?"

"On it. I'll make a smaller one, so you can pass your hand through and unlock it," my brother remarked as he summoned a portal the size of my hand next to the doorknob.

I passed my hand through and softly and slowly unlocked the door. "Got it."

We looked around once more. The coast was clear. Once inside, I slowly closed and locked the door. "He sleeps on the second floor. Follow me."

Silently, we traversed the house, passing by the many portraits of himself.

"This guy is really full of himself," Benji whispered.

"Sure is. I never heard a man talk about himself more than Jerrod, pre-paranoia. His room is up ahead."

Down the hall, we trekked toward his room before carefully opening the door without much sound, revealing our target fast asleep. This will make our objective easier than I anticipated.

"He's the one?"

"That's him. Now, how do we end his life?"

"Use the pillow and suffocate him."

"I was going to slit his throat while he slept."

"That works too, but it's best not to leave a mess."

"But I want to do something that involves making a mess."

"Then do so. It's your plan."

I nodded and silently approached his sleeping body while brandishing my dagger to leave a deep gash on his neck. Using his blood as a makeshift ink, I wrote "RESIST" on the walls.

Benji commented on the choice of word. "Resist?"

"Yes. I want people to talk and not just politicians or people in the Justice System. I want the regular populous to talk about this. Since he was a high up in the Justice System and being well-liked by the general populous, people are most likely speak out about him."

"Why don't we plant some evidence?"

"How are we going to do that?"

"Try to find something written in his handwriting. I have an idea."

I nodded before searching the room and found a letter he signed before giving it to Benji.

"This will do very nicely."

"What are you going to do?"

"You'll see. With my powers as a Warlock, I can do many things. Such as this..." His hand then becomes covered in a mysterious substance before reverting to its original state. "I copied his penmanship using a copy spell."

"Oh, that's very good." I glanced around. Let me see if I can find any paper."

Scouring the room, I found a stack of blank papers in a drawer and handed my brother a couple papers.

"Let's jot down some notes on his hush money victims."

"Here, let me tell you the exact names and amounts."

We spent half an hour writing down around half of the victims' information before planting them on the bedside table. The weird substance showed up around his hand before going away.

"Let's get out of here," Benji stated calmly as he opened a portal.

Passing through, we end back up at our house before the portal close, each of us taking a deep breath. What needed to be done was accomplished without a single slip up. I love it when a good plan goes right.

"Well, that's that. We work well together."

"We are siblings and have the chemistry to go with it."

"We would've never done stuff like this if we stayed in Edenia. Man, that was cool. Two heads are really better than one, huh?"

"So long as the backgrounds are different. You being a War General-"

"And you, a Warlock/Doctor."

"Makes for less clashing and more synergy. Us being siblings makes things more manageable."

"Wow. I never looked at it that way. Some War General am I."

"Speaking of Edenia... If we're going to fit in here, well, until I find us a better place, we have to shed any trace of Edenian from us both."

"How?"

"I mean, not talking, not acting, not walking. Anything that would be common in Edenia, we should probably stop. That way, people won't suspect us of anything."

"That's actually a good idea. In all honesty, I kinda hated Edenian dialect."

"So did I. We're not Edenians anymore, so we can afford to calm ourselves on how we talk and sound."

"Cool. I like that idea."

"Good. Let's head to bed. We can talk more about our next move in the morning."

"Okay. G'night."

"Adjusting already, huh?"

"I'm a quick learner."

"I see. Goodnight, Cal."

As predicted, the assassination of that Politician caused a lot of buzz in the Realm. The death of a popular political figure killed off the Escapism in Seido for a while. We got to see the result in a newspaper article.

"Cal, check this out."

"Let me see that. 'Senator Wilborne assassinated two nights ago in his home. The Seidan Guard have no leads but found very incriminating files involving paying citizens hush money listed on his bedside table.' Oh, they took the plant!"

"Keep reading."

"Above the Senator's corpse spoke the word: RESIST.' Since Seido's founding, the citizens are resisting the order that has been established for many millennia. The Seidan Guard has vowed to find the perpetrators of this Resistance and bring them to justice."

"Well, you knocked the talking part out of the park. Citizens have been talking about Wilborne's death nonstop since yesterday."

"You don't say? Well, I came up with an idea for how we organize our attacks."

"Do tell."

"We're only going to target high ups in the political and justice systems. If the Seidan Guard gets directly involved, we'll target them too. But only corrupt members of both, even all three, and only do it once a year. We leave "RESIST" somewhere at the scene. This is to eventually incite riots. When we do that, we'll start listing demands like changes to the justice and political systems, respectively. They'll start off small, but we'll get more and more demanding as the years go by."

"And if they refuse?"

"We attack sooner and harsher. More targets in one attempt, more important figures. Stuff like that."

"Okay. Does Wilborne mark number one?"

"It does. We'll search for targets during the day, review what we find, decide the next target, and stalk them until it's safe to take their lives. Lather, rinse, repeat."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I know. Now we just need a name for it."

"How about the Escapism Theory? Since we're trying to permanently kill this Escapism in Seido and we based the plan off it. Seems to fit."

"Agreed. Escapism Theory it is. I look forward to working with you some more, Benji."

"I feel the same, Cal. Let's revolutionize Seido."

"Luckily for the people of Seido, the Revolution will not be televised."

From then on, we stuck to the Escapism Theory for our entire stay in Seido. Our efforts eventually led to the recruitment of more members to our Resistance, one of which from our past.

I ran into him about 2,000 years ago while surveying the public for any information. A man came up to me as I sat on a bench in one of the public areas of rest. I had a feeling he was more than some Seidan citizen as most of Seido would rather be caught dead than be seen with Benji or me.

So I headed to a spot where no one traveled to; the edge of Seidan civilization. I knew he would follow me as I stopped and heard footsteps. I brandished my dagger and quickly tackled the man, pinning him to the ground before placing the blade up to his neck, easily overpowering him.

"Who are you? Why are you following me? Talk or hear the sound of steel meeting bone."

"I finally found you, General Maddox."

I faltered for an instant but regained my composure, placing my dagger closer to his neck with a dangerous look. "Where did you hear that?"

"You never remembered, but I was a member of the Edenian Freedom Fighters."

"You were a Freedom Fighter? Wait, now that I think about it..." I gave the guy a quick up and down. Then, it all clicked. "Ryuji?"

"General, you remembered! I'm so happy to see you again!"

Ryuji was a Scout for the Freedom Fighters and was the one who led the Outworld Voyage.

"It's good to see you too, Ryuji." I got up and helped him to his feet. "Sorry about tackling you and keeping you within an inch of your life."

"It's fine, General. It only means that you haven't lost your touch over the millennia."

"Please, I'm without equal when it comes to surviving on a foreign battlefield. But what are you doing in Seido? Last I recalled, you were in Edenia when Benji and I left."

"After we returned and King Jerrod learned of our capture, he laid us off. We were unemployed and couldn't find work. The others made an attempt at his life, but..."

"They failed."

"All involved were sentenced to death via public execution. The Edenian populous were forced to watch, including their families. I blew the execution off, and instead started searching Dr. Maddox's office. I found his notes on becoming a Warlock, and through them, I figured out why he took up Necromancy in the first place."

He knelt in respect. "I'm so sorry, General Maddox. had I known of his intentions, I would've never shunned him."

"Calm down and stop calling me that. I don't own that title anymore."

"You will always be General in my eyes, General Maddox."

"I appreciate the respect, Ryuji, but Benji and I are laying low. We don't need the Seidan Guard to hear you calling me that. So just call me Callie Ann. Also, how did you get here?"

"I learned the portal spell from Doc's notes. After I figured out his true motives, my family and I fled from Edenia ourselves. I couldn't figure out the specifics of location, so we landed in a random realm. Seido was where we ended up."

"So you left too? How long have you been here?"

"About 300 years, General. My daughter just turned 100 yesterday."

I see it's going to take some time for him to stop calling me General. "That's wonderful. So, why are you following me?"

"I heard that a Resistance was shaping in Seido and wanted to join, so I looked into it. You two are very hard to find, even for someone as good at scouting like myself."

"That's because we're the only two members of The Resistance."

"Let me join you and Dr. Maddox!"

"Shhh! Not so damn loud! You can join if you keep your mouth shut. And stop calling me General! Just Callie Ann! Understood, Ryuji?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Then come on. I have to acquaint you with Benji."

We met up with my brother, and after explaining who he was, he also accepted Ryuji into the Resistance. After heading back to our home, he told us of Edenia's fate.

"So Edenia lost ten in a row, eh? Knew it." Benji slyly remarked.

"We all knew it was inevitable. Some still persisted but, we still lost in the end. After the tenth defeat, Shao Kahn instantly invaded the land and murdered King Jerrod before Queen Sindel and their newborn daughter as his wife and daughter, respectively."

"Interesting... Ryuji, I sent you and the other top Scouts to Outworld on Jerrod's request. How in Argus' name did you get caught?" I asked.

Ryuji's face hardened. "We were backstabbed by half the team. Tanya and Rain intentionally revealed their location to the enemy and joined Shao Kahn as a result."

"Tanya and Rain, huh? I had a feeling they were going to turn on us at some point. Tanya was gunning for me and my spot since I beat her for it. I should've killed her then." One fact left me puzzled. "But why did Rain backstab Edenia?"

"He was always an entitled piece of garbage and also a demigod, Argus' son no less. Rain wanted to rule in Jerrod's place but couldn't fight for his life. So he made him a Scout instead," Benji interjected. "Who would've thought that he can hold a grudge for millennia?"

"He truly is a petty man, Doctor. After Edenia's seventh loss, I fled with my family and ended up here. Doctor, General. Please let me serve as a member of The Resistance."

"This is not a Hierarchy, Ryuji. We already agreed to let you join, so stop with the formalities."

"Thank you both."

Fast forward to today. The Resistance remained steadfast, but Benji found a new place for us to officially settle in as our time as co-founders of the Resistance came to an end.

Earthrealm.

Before departing, we said our goodbyes to Ryuji, who would become the new leader in our place.

"Are you two really going? It felt like it was yesterday where I became a member."

"Our time here is done. We've done a lot to combat the Escapism here in Seido. But with you taking the helm as the leader, you'll get more things done."

"We have the utmost faith in you, Ryuji. Best of luck," my brother said.

"Thank you, Ben. You too, Callie. The others are going to miss you being here."

"We'll miss you all, but we can't stay anymore. We felt like we've done all we can in our time here." Benji opened a portal to Earthrealm.

"This is it. Best of luck, Ryuji. Don't let us down after everything we did."

"I can't and won't."

"Great. Let's go, Cal."

"Uh, huh."

We both passed through and landed in Earthrealm. As much as I hated to admit it, the place resembled our old home, though not as bountiful. "Reminds me of Edenia."

"I can see the resemblance. But the less we acknowledge Edenia, the better."

"Noted."

We landed in front of a giant temple, which towered anything in Edenia and Seido, that's for sure. Our admiration for such a landmark was disrupted by a divine voice.

"It is known as the Sky Temple."

We both turned to see a man, but nothing about him was considered humane. He wore a Shade and intricate designs of white, grey and blue, his eyes a bright blue with no irises.

"Who are you?"

"I am Raiden, God of Thunder. Who are you two?"

"Uhm..."

"I'm the protector of Earthrealm and can sense you mean no harm. If you don't mind..."

"If you insist. I'm Benjamin, and this is Callie Ann." We both bowed in Raiden's presence.

"No formalities are needed. I know of you both and your heritage."

"Wait... so you know we're-"

"Edenian? Yes. While you do a brilliant job at hiding your background, I'm not so easily fooled by your elaborate disguises. Are you two runaways?"

"No, we left before Shao Kahn stole Edenia's freedom."

"I see. Well, if you're not here to cause Earthrealm any harm, I can offer you two a place to stay... Under one condition."

"What is it?" I asked Raiden.

"You two are very capable kombatants from what I've been told. I ask that you assist in defending Earthrealm from any threat should the need arise. That is all I ask."

I looked at Benji, and his face looked determined, which is all I needed to see.

We nodded in acceptance of his request. "We are in service to Earthrealm, Raiden."

"Words cannot express my gratitude to you both. It will be a welcome change by having a Battle Medic and the Head General of the Edenian Freedom Fighters as allies. Come, I will show you your new homes."

He led us to the Wu Shi Academy, where we would be introduced to the many Monks and Warriors being trained there. Benji landed a job there as a Professor of Medicine along with being a Basic Combat Instructor. Raiden, however, led me to another location.

After a few days, we settled in, and Raiden took me to the Special Forces HQ as he somehow enlisted me within their ranks. What started off as a Resistance hellbent to expose Seidan corruption and kill off the Escapism in Seido became a mission to ensure safety in Earthrealm. A job I would soon learn to love with all of my being.

This was our new home... until that fateful day.

A/N: And that concludes the second part of the Prologue!

What did you guys think? Did you like it? Did you not? Let me know with a Review or a PM. And while you're at it, check out my Profile Page and give my other stories a read.

Later!