Chapter 6

Exile

Near the Northern Border of China

Genji had been running for nearly 2 days now, he didn't know where he was going, or how much longer he could keep up this pace. But one thing he did know, was that he had to leave the country. His father said it himself, he wasn't welcome there. There were a lot of things he didn't know at the moment, like why he couldn't remember what happened to himself before the incident. The last thing he recalled was him sitting down next to the Moon Pool in the Hall of Heroes, after that, his memory seemed clouded, almost like something was hidden from him. He didn't know how or why his sister had been so mortally injured, the only explanation he had was that of his father, that he had done it himself. There was evidence for that explanation, for Genji's claws and his black vest had trace bits of blood stains on them.

As Genji kept running on all fours through the thick bamboo forests, he began to tire, he hadn't eaten or rested for nearly 2 days, and his body was taking a tole for this. He slowed his pace so that he could lower his heart rate and also conserve energy. And it worked, but only a little. He still needed to eat, and to also rest, but at the same time, he also needed to get out of the country.

A Few Hours Later

It was mid day now, Genji had covered a lot of ground, he was nearly at the northern border of China, though he did not know this. In fact, he had no idea really where he was, he had long past the thick bamboo forests, and had since been walking through what he thought to be the outskirts of a desert. There wasn't a tree in his sight, only small bushes far and few in between, no signs of any food source for miles, and more importantly, no sign of water…

'What was I thinking!? Where am I ever going to find something to replenish my energy!?' Genji thought harshly to himself as he kept walking through the plains.

As far as he could tell, he was completely alone in this barren wasteland. 'Just me myself and I it seems…'

~"Not quite so..."~

Genji heard a voice speak to him, he immediately raised his guard and looked in all directions to find the owner of the voice. It sounded very close, almost like it was right next to him. "Who is that!? Where are you!?" Genji tried to call to whoever it was that had just spoken with him.

~"Do not be alarmed Genji Ping, I am Akuma, I merely wish to help you to accomplish your destiny."~

The voice said again. Genji still looked around, clearly trying to find where this voice was coming from. But he saw no one, 'Who is this Akuma person!? And where are they!? Why can't I see them?"

~"The reason you cannot see me is because I am not a physical being, unlike you."

"What do you mean?" Genji asked, still looking around to try and find the voice's owner.

~"I am a part of your very conscious, I hear your thoughts, I connect with them, and I can even influence them if you so desire…"~

"What the hell!? How is this possible!?" Genji asked, now looking up at the desert sky above.

~"You are incredibly strong Genji Ping, I have great use for your talents. And you have now pledged your soul to me for eternity, you will do as I ask, in exchange for power beyond comprehension."~

As the voice said this, Genji began to receive flashes back to several days prior, to the lost memory of that day.

'Did I really pledge my soul to him?' Genji asked himself in thought, recalling all the events of that fateful day.

~"Indeed, and I must say, I was astonished by how easily you defeated your petty sister. Though I was disappointed that you didn't finish the job…"~

"What do you mean?"

~"You refused to kill her… In order to reach your full potential Genji Ping, you must focus solely on defeating and eliminating anyone who stands in your way to power!"~

Genji had been taught all his life not to kill, and not to cause suffering towards others. This was what his parents had tried to instill in his mind. But now he was realizing how powerful he could be if he let go of his compassion and refuse to hold back against anyone.

But with all of this commotion, Genji had almost completely forgotten that he was still smack in the middle of the outskirts of a desert. And unfortunately for him, he didn't know which way to go to find any sort of settlement. He was still hungry, and still thirsty, but there was still no water or any food source in sight.

So he began to keep moving onward, to find something that might aid him. Using the sun as his guide, he continued to travel north, and unbeknownst to him… Deeper into the hot, dry desert.

Meanwhile, in the Valley of Peace

The Jade Palace infirmary lay quiet, as it had for several days now. But the sound of a groan quickly changed that.

"Wha… What happened?" Asked a confused female voice, who's head rose slightly from a cot that they had been resting on.

"Sweetheart! Your awake!" Cried another voice from the infirmary.

Mariko opened her eyes as she heard the voice of her mother next to her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that her Mother was standing at her side looking down at her from above with a very emotional expression. She then felt herself get enveloped in a hug, one which she returned immediately to her Mother. The hug was not brief, and lasted for a good minute, before Tigress released her daugher and looked at her in the eyes.

"How do you feel?" The female Tiger simply asked her daughter.

"I feel weird, as if my body has fallen off a cliff, but is completely fine. What happened?" Mariko answered, but asked the same question as before.

"You were out cold Mariko, its a miracle you're still alive after all the punishment your body took…" Said a familiar voice from the other side of her cot.

Mariko looked over and saw the rest of the former Furious Five Masters. Crane, Viper, Monkey, and even Master Mantis who was perched on his pal Monkey's left shoulder.

Mariko had not seen the Masters in some time, and so her initial response was that of surprise. "Wow! You guys are all here!" She exclaimed as looked at each of them.

They all smiled in return, obviously cherishing seeing their friend once again. Viper spoke for the team, "You sure do know how to worry your Mother, kiddo."

Mariko blushed at this, she knew it was true, but seeing the Furious Five here, she wondered something, "Wait, what are you guys all doing here? I thought you all left the valley to train the future Kung Fu students at the Lee Da Academy?"

This time, Crane spoke on behalf of the five, "We got word from Master Tigress that something terrible had happened to you, so naturally we came to help in any way we could, though our timing could have been better… We only arrived this morning, we apologize for our delay Mariko."

"Apology accepted Master Crane, but I still want to know what happened. Why was I out for several days?" Mariko asked, whilst trying to bring herself into a sitting position, to which she felt small discomfort and groaned in slight pain.

Tigress immediately placed her paw on her daughter's shoulder and attempted to return Mariko to lying on the cot of the infirmary. "Rest easy Sweetheart, you're lucky to be alive. Please don't push your body too hard, it needs time to recover." Tigress ordered as she set Mariko into a more comfortable position.

"But Mom, what happened to me? Why have I been out for two days?" Mariko asked, now feeling much better in this position.

Tigress took a long pause and sighed before answering to her daughter, "You really don't remember Sweetheart?" To which Mariko shook her head, signifying that she had no recollection of the event.

Tigress looked down at the ground, possibly contemplating how to word whatever she was going to say next. Then she answered, "You were nearly beaten to death by your own brother…"

Mariko's eyes immediately expanded upon hearing this news, as she could not believe what she was hearing. "…That… That can't be true…" She said as she looked up at the wooden ceiling of the infirmary.

"I'm afraid it's true Mariko, and it's a good thing your father found you when he did, or else…" Monkey said before he stopped abruptly, realizing what he was about to say.

Mariko didn't want to believe what her friends and her Mother were telling her, but at this revelation, she began to recall the events of that day. She remembered that she had been training in the training hall when her Brother had entered all of a sudden. And after that, all she remembered was being held in Genji's grasp before being dropped hard and hearing a loud cracking noise followed by a menacing and savage roar, and then blacking out completely.

"I… Genji…" She trailed off as she kept staring at the ceiling.

Tigress frowned and looked down, "This is all my fault… I knew of Genji's jealousy for years… But I could never expect him to act so… So violently…"

At this Tigress looked like she was about to start crying, that was before Mariko snapped her out, "Mother, this isn't your fault. Please pull yourself together."

Tigress looked up and weakly smiled at her daughter, trying to hide the obvious amount of sorrow she had on the subject.

"Speaking of Genji, where is he? Is he alright?" Mariko asked, which came as a surprise to all the others, especially considering her current predicament.

"It seems you missed that part too… Well, you see Sweetheart, after Genji had mortally injured you, your father quickly came to your aid and healed your most serious injuries with his Chi…" Tigress paused for a second, contemplating what to say next. After giving it a moments thought, she continued, "And after that, your father banished Genji from the country forever. And I went along with it…"

Mariko's mouth lay agape, had her father really exiled her own brother from the entire country!?

"And with that, Genji left, to where I do not know. But if he knew the wrath that his father had that day, he would have left the country as quickly as he could…" Tigress finished, now looking back down at the floor.

"Where is Daddy?" Mariko asked, having not seen her father in the room like everyone else.

Crane answered on behalf of the group again, "You're father hasn't been the same since the incident Mariko. Ever since we arrived, he has been distancing himself from everyone else. I know we haven't been here long, but it's easy to tell that something isn't right. When we do see him, he never acknowledges any of us, all he does is talk to himself…"

Mariko was worried by this, her she hadn't ever heard of this kind of behavior being made by her father. In fact, it was completely out of character for him. It couldn't be a good sign…

"Where is he now? Do any of you know?" She asked, now beginning to sit up again.

Monkey answered with a sad tone, "It seems he's been spending a lot of time at the Pool of Sacred Tears… I don't know if he's left that spot since we got here. I wonder what he's doing there."

Tigress finished the primate's sentence with a sad tone of her own, "Your father has spent nearly all his time there for the last two days since the incident. I don't know if he's even eaten anything in all that time, or slept…"

Upon hearing her Mother's response, Mariko got up from the cot, to everyone's surprise she was able to actually stand. Though she wobbled at first, feeling slight pain in her abdomen, she managed to stay standing and began to walk past the former Furious Five out of the infirmary.

Viper worriedly protested, "Wait Mariko! Your body hasn't fully healed yet! You have to rest!"

Mariko, however, did not reply, and instead kept on her way towards her destination. To have a talk with her father.

Meanwhile, in the Middle of the Gobi Desert…

The rolling hills of course sand and dust seemed endless, the only vague sign that this desert had any end to it was the line on the horizon which Genji could barely see since it was so far away. He had now been stuck in this desert for half a day, and he certainly looked like he had. From all the travel he had done in the last 2 and a half days, Genji's hair was disheveled, and looked like he hadn't bathed in days. Along with this, his body was covered in certain areas with sand and dust which had blown onto him from the small winds in the desert. And not only did he look bad, but he also felt bad. Having not eaten in several days, along with having not drank any water, his body was beginning to take a toll on his condition.

His pace had slowed down to mere steps every other second, barely having the strength left to put one foot in front of the other. And to make things worse, if the hunger and thirst didn't kill him, the heat certainly would. It was the peak of the day now and the sun was directly overhead of him, its heat baked the sands and the air of the barren desert. Each step he took felt like walking on fire, and the air he breathed was just as unforgiving. He had to find shelter soon, he knew this much, but unfortunately for him there was no such shelter in sight. The only things that gave him any hope, were the few Cacti that he saw scattered here and there throughout the desert. Normally Cacti, like many other plants would produce fruit which were edible, but Genji's luck was about as good as his condition right now, not good. For none of these plants had the even slightest bud of fruit, they clearly hadn't gone to seed yet.

With that option routed out, Genji forced himself to carry on. Still using the sun as a guide, he continued traveling north where he hoped to find some sort of civilization or any type of refuge.

Meanwhile, within his head Genji was beginning to feel the solitude and dire situation he was in get to his mind. He was internally talking to himself, constantly trying to promise himself that he would find what he was looking for. But after hours of walking, and seeing no results, it was taking a tole on his mind. Coupled by the fact that he had a new voice which guided him the same way, he was beginning to fall into a pool of insanity.

~"I see you are beginning to question my own ideas Genji Ping?"~

Genji cringed and adopted a face of anger and frustration. He had been listening to the new voice in his head guide him for the last few hours, and in his eyes, it was getting him nowhere. He decided to ignore the voice, and kept pushing on, trying to shut it out as best he could.

The voice evilly chuckled a bit at its hosts reaction,

~"I take it you wish for me to stop and leave you to navigate through this seemingly endless desert?"~

Genji was becoming more and more frustrated with every time the voice taunted him, it seemed to know what he was thinking at all times, and also knowing what got under his skin. Genji scrunched his fists and began to growl lowly. As a clear sign he was feeling irate.

The voice chuckled again and continued,

~"There it is, you see? Your anger makes you powerful, much more powerful than your pathetic s-"~

Just then, the voice was interrupted by Genji who mustered some remaining strength and roared at the top of his lungs. He then proceeded to yell out just as loud,

"CURSE THIS ENDLESS DESERT! CURSE THIS CRUEL WORLD! CURSE MY LIFE! AND CURSE MY WORTHLESS FATHER!"

The clamor rippled through the desert, probably being the only noise that could be heard for miles aside from the faint sounds of the sand blowing in the wind.

After his outburst, he dropped to his knees with his front paws falling to the sand floor as well. He had managed to vent his anger, though it still didn't change the fact that he was stranded in a desert with no food or water. Genji looked toward the horizon, he could see how the effect of the heat was distorting the air, making it look like it was a wave. But beyond that wave, Genji's eyes picked up something that caught his attention. It looked like a figure, it was so far away that he could not describe it in any detail, it looked black, but in the form of… Another animal?

There was no mistaking it, it had to be someone, his instincts told him he had to get to that figure. So mustering the last of his energy, Genji began to walk towards where the figure stood. Not caring about the scorching sands on his feet, or the hunger and thirst that consumed him.

After nearly 30 minutes of non-stop walking, Genji noticed that he still hadn't reached the figure, and to his displeasure, it didn't seem any closer. He kept on walking, but no matter how far he walked, the figure always seemed to keep the same distance between them. He began to growl out of frustration, he couldn't keep this up for much longer, even now, he could feel his body trying to shut down to avoid using the last of his energy. He was so dehydrated at this point that his head had begun to ache, and his throat and tongue were drying up fast.

"Water…" He said to himself as he carried on. Though nobody could hear the young Tiger's pleas, he was hopelessly doomed if he did not drink something fast.

Genji closed his eyes as gusts of wind began to pick up in velocity, blowing sand directly at him. He held his arm up to shield his face from the dust and sand. But before he knew it, the winds began to pick up even more blowing sand in all directions. When he opened his eyes, he could no longer see the figure on the horizon, all he could see now was sand and dust flying everywhere, as he had been engulfed in a sudden sand storm.

But before he could do anything more, Genji's body gave into the heat, and he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, losing consciousness. The desert had finally claimed its latest victim.

Or so it seemed.

Hours Later…

Genji's unconscious body lay motionless on the desert floor. As it had for the last two hours since it collapsed. The sand storm had long since passed, but now the problem was the setting of the sun. During the day, the desert baked from the light of the sun, but during the night, that temperature would plummet, becoming just as inhospitable as the scorching day. Right now, as the sun was setting in the west, it was becoming darker, and like usual the temperature was quickly dropping.

Unbeknownst to him however, Genji wasn't alone in this desert anymore. Multiple footsteps could be heard approaching him. Within a couple seconds, the footsteps stopped.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" A male voice said, from the sound, it sounded at the very least to be a middle aged male.

One of the figures crouched down and felt the carcass of the male tiger who lay on the sand floor with its arms splayed out. The figure placed its paw on Genji's back and gasped, "Impossible… This male Tiger is still alive!" This voice was that of a female, it sounded younger quite unlike the other voice.

"Interesting… No ordinary person could travel this far through the desert on their own… Just who are you my friend?" The male voice remarked as it looked at the unconscious Tiger's body in curiosity.

"What shall we do with him my Lord?" The young female asked, while still feeling the male Tiger's pulse.

"I want to hear his story, if he's an enemy of China then he's an ally of mine. We bring him with us." The male replied.

"As you wish." The female answered, along with the other three female figures who accompanied them. And with that, they adhered to their master's command.

A/N: There's chapter 6! And what a cliffhanger! But don't worry, we'll find out who these mysterious figures are in the next chapter. Tune in for the next chapter coming soon! As always, be sure to Favorite, Follow and leave a Review! It helps me to give you guys what you want out of the story!

Peace out

-Ace_Risk