Kill them all...Kill them all...KILL THEM A-
"Uncle?" Livy's weak voice cut through Bi-han's murderous thoughts. The sudden sound jarred him from his trance, and he started as he looked at his young niece who was gazing at him with a look of concern from her hospital bed.
"What?" he asked more than a little gruffly.
"You look really pale," she said.
Bi-han merely grunted at that. Then he got to his feet and stretched his dully aching back. These uncomfortable hospital chairs were much harder to sit on now than in his youth, but at the thought, he admonished himself for his weakness. Pain was the mark of a weak mind. In the back of his mind, Noob Saibot admonished him too. Ever since he'd used the wraith's dark powers, the demon scritched and scratched to be set free.
"How are you feeling?" he now asked her as he shoved that persistent gnawing away.
She shrugged. "Better, I guess."
"Samantha didn't heal you completely?" he wondered as he now glanced at her recently broken leg, which was still propped up on a stack of pillows.
"No, she did just fine," Livy answered. She said no more on the subject, but it wasn't hard for Bi-han to infer that she was really talking about the wounds on her soul. Losing friends at the Temple and losing her home paled in comparison to her heartache over losing her father.
"Master Bi-han," a new voice said to his right, and when he turned his head towards the sound, he saw Alex standing in the doorway, dressed in tactical gear from head to toe. He was, the older Cryomancer saw, heavily accessorized with a wide assortment of guns and knives. "Olivia," the Elite then said, nodding at her like an afterthought.
"What is it?" Bi-han barked while his niece remained silent and became incredibly engrossed in studying her hands on her lap.
"General Blade requests your presence," he reported. "She's gathering all of the Earthrealm Champions in the situation room to discuss a response to today's attacks."
KILL THEM ALL! the demon's voice shrieked.
Bi-han fought down Noob's overpowering personality. "It's about time," he flippantly remarked. "I'll be there shortly."
"I'm coming too," Livy now said as she threw aside her blankets.
"No, you're not," her uncle argued with her. "You're still very weak."
"Like hell I am," she snapped. "Sammie healed me. I'm fine."
"You're going to stay in bed and rest like I told you unless you want your other leg broken," he threatened.
"My father is the reason there were attacks today," she hissed. "I should know. I fought to stop him."
"Be that as it may, until he returns or your mother wakes up, I am in charge of you, and I am telling you to stay here," he growled.
"I am an adult, and I am my own boss."
"Olivia, maybe you should do what your uncle says," Alex told her as Bi-han now took a threatening step towards her. "Sam may have healed you, but you still look pretty exhausted. I'll come and tell you what they decided."
She narrowed her eyes at him and then glared at her uncle. "Fine," she reluctantly agreed. "But I want to know the moment you do what the plan to get my dad and stop Reiko is."
"Duly noted," Bi-han gruffly told her, slightly shaking his head in annoyance. Then he turned and followed Alex into the hallway.
It didn't take long to traverse the maze of hallways from the hospital to the situation room on the other side of the base. The room itself was large and dimly lit in spite of the low hanging fluorescent lights only a few feet above the oval-shaped conference table. He recognized Raiden, Sonya, Johnny, Kenshi, Kabal, Stryker, Tomas, Kailyn, and Cyrax, but the Cryomancer prince, Xinyi, was all but a stranger to him, and he found him dislikable immediately. He refused to believe it had anything to do with the young man's interest in Olivia.
"How is the Grandmaster?" Tomas opened when everyone but Raiden had found their seats.
"He's in surgery," Kenshi reported. "Kuai...Kuai Liang almost killed him. I honestly don't know how he didn't succeed, but it wasn't for his lack of trying."
Tomas cringed at that, but before he could respond, Raiden said, "I believe I know what Reiko is trying to accomplish. Once again, it appears as if he's trying to get his hands on Shinnok's amulet."
"Oh, not this bullshit again," Kabal muttered as he buried his mask in his hands.
"How does attacking the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu help him get his hands on the amulet?" Johnny wanted to know.
"I believe there are three reasons for the attack on the Lin Kuei," Raiden answered. "There is the obvious reason of wanting revenge on Grandmaster Sub-Zero and Olivia for their role in his defeat and subsequent death. What better way to hurt them both than to turn Kuai Liang into a mindless slave hellbent on destroying anything Reiko sets his sights upon?" The Thunder God paced around the table. "The second reason is borne of logic. He knows that the Lin Kuei are sworn to defend Earthrealm and will not sit idly by while he attacks it, so he preemptively attacked them to ensure their non-interference in the days to come."
"Is that why he attacked the Shirai Ryu as well?" Stryker now asked.
"No, the Shirai Ryu were his real target in Earthrealm," he explained. "Grandmaster Hasashi was guarding Earthrealm's kamidogu in his Temple, and Reiko came to steal it."
Bi-han leaned back in his chair, thoughtfully pressing his fingertips together. "He's going to perform the Ritual of the Dark Blade, isn't he?"
"Yes," the Thunder God somberly replied.
"The Blade of what?" Kabal asked.
"It is the only way that he can break through my failsafes and claim Shinnok's amulet for my own," Raiden told him.
"He's gathering all of the Realms' kamidogu, one by one," Bi-han added. "This spell is ancient. And foolish."
"And how would you know?" Sonya asked him pointedly.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "I learned about it during my time in Netherrealm," he replied in his most deadpan voice. "Quan Chi was studying it and had plans to perform it before he and Shang Tsung accidentally raised Onaga. He said it was a challenging spell and wasn't completely certain what the outcome would be."
"What's it supposed to do?" Tomas wondered.
"It's supposed to bring Shinnok's amulet to him," he shrugged. "But Quan Chi's research kept mentioning something about a blood sacrifice to make a blood god. I don't know exactly what that meant, but I do know that it gave him pause to think."
"And what's the third reason for the attack, Raiden?" Sonya now asked.
He crossed his arms. "As I'm sure you're all aware after the resurrection of the Dragon King that Sub-Zero's Dragon Medallion was crafted from the essences of all the kamidogu. Reiko needs what was given to it in order to claim the amulet, and with it, Shinnok's power. Again, what better way to ensure that Sub-Zero would willingly give it to him than to enslave his mind and his will?"
His gaze fluttered over his Champions. "We know he has claimed Outworld's kamidogu as well as Earthrealm's. We must also assume he has Edenia's and Chaosrealm's. That leaves Netherrealm and Seido. I have not felt his presence since shortly after the attack on the Shirai Ryu, which leads me to believe he has left Earthrealm and has traveled to one of the others. I must send emissaries to both in order to prevent him from taking their kamidogu."
"You want us to go strike up a conversation with those Netherrealm creeps?" Kabal asked. "I mean, assuming they don't try to kill us on the spot."
"Please understand, Kadeem Kabal, that we cannot allow Reiko to claim the other kamidogu," the god sternly replied. "He will unmake all the Realms and all life as we know it will die."
He chuffed. "Well, okay, then," he said. "I'm in."
"So who's going where?" Johnny now wondered.
"I think it's prudent to send a delegation to Outworld to treat with the Emperor," Xinyi declared. "If it's true what you say about Reiko destroying the Realms, then we should ask him for an alliance. Perhaps he can send his Champions as well as his armies."
Raiden peered at him and thoughtfully stroked his chin. "I concur," he finally replied. "Kadeem Kabal, I would like you to accompany Prince Xinyi to Z'Unkarah to ask for Kotal Kahn's assistance."
"I'm not really the diplomatic sort, Raiden," the detective replied. "Just ask Stryker."
His partner nodded in agreement. "It's true," he said. "He's got his own filing cabinet just for complaints over his unorthodox methods."
"Be that as it may, you have an old acquaintance there, and I would like you to enlist his help," the god responded. "I will speak with you shortly."
"I'll lead a team to Netherrealm," Sonya announced.
"Yes," Raiden agreed. "Because you will face the most adversity there, your team will be the largest, and I will accompany you. We will take your daughter's team as well as Kurtis Stryker, Smoke, Bi-han, Kailyn, and Alexander. Bring a team of your best soldiers with you, General. If we meet Reiko's army there, we will need to be prepared." Now he faced Kenshi. "I will summon Fujin, and he will join you, Johnny Cage, Cyrax, and Morgan in your mission to Seido. Be prepared: they have rigid laws and are hard of head."
"I met Hotaru, remember?" Kenshi raised an eyebrow beneath his red blindfold. "He tried to kill us because he was after Sub-Zero, and he thought we were his accomplices-"
"He is the most understanding one," the god said pointedly as he cut the other off. Once more, his eyes, tinged with light blue sadness, looked over his Champions. "This will be the most important mission of your lifetimes, more than the Tournament, more than the Dragon King. You cannot fail."
"Then we won't," Bi-han said as he got up from the table.
XXXXX
Drowsily, Olivia sat on the edge of her bed with her head between her knees in an effort to fight off the wave of dizziness from the morphine coursing through her veins. She'd ripped the IV from her arms and it sat on the bed behind her, dripping saline and medicine onto her rumpled hospital sheets. A thin stream of blood trickled down her arm, and she watched it in interest as she seethed at the thought of everyone going to fight Reiko except her. And she would be damned before she allowed that to happen. When her lightheadedness finally passed, she wiped her skin clean with the corner of the sheet and then slowly got to her feet, a woman on a mission.
But when she shuffled to the half-closet built into the wall, she found nothing inside. The story was the same with the dresser drawers beside it. Goddammit! she swore to herself. They'd probably cut away all her clothes when they wheeled her into surgery, and all she had left was this stupid hospital gown with her butt hanging out the back and rubber-bottomed socks. But if she was going to go find and fight her dad, she needed to change.
Olivia cautiously peeked around the door jamb of her hospital room door, searching for anyone who'd drag her back to bed kicking and screaming, and let out an inaudible sigh of relief when she saw only a lone nurse walking between the dead bodies on guernies. The woman was, the Cryomancer couldn't help but notice, roughly the same height and build as she: tall with a slender frame. The nurse disappeared into a room labeled CLEAN LINEN, and when she did, Olivia sprang into action, resolving to escape from the hospital with some dignity. It wasn't hard to subdue her. Before she even knew what hit her, the Cryomancer had slid into the room as silently as an adder on the hunt and gripped her shoulder where it met her neck, pumping cryogenic energy into her body. The nurse immediately collapsed, unconscious, but Olivia caught her from behind and gently escorted her to the ground.
"Sorry," she whispered.
It only took a few uninterrupted minutes for Olivia to steal her clothes and replace them with her own gown, so when she snuck out of the linen closet, she now donned purple scrubs and a laminated ID badge that belonged to one Madge Lucero, RN. It had an electronic barcode on it that might help the Cryomancer sneak through locked doors on the base.
Fully clothed and armed with the badge, Olivia then crept down the hospital hallways in search of her mother. Also infuriating, she thought as she searched, was how her family had refused to give her updates regarding Anya's condition. They all had feared that the news would upset her in her "frail" condition, and so they refused to tell her anything except that she was alive. It had annoyed her. She was not a fragile flower easily broken, and she did not appreciate being treated as such. But more importantly, this was her mother. She had a right to know everything. It took her a few minutes of creeping around corners like a cat burglar, but eventually, at the end of a corridor adjacent from her own room, she found her siblings sitting with her Aunt Miyuki in a circle around Anya's bed.
"Livy, what are you doing out of bed?" Sammie immediately cried as she jumped to her feet. "You're supposed to be resting."
"Yeah, yeah," Olivia grumbled as she waved the teenager off.
She looked past her brothers, who were now standing between her and her mother, and then approached Anya's bedside in silent reverie. Tears sprang to her eyes as the image of her mother, wrapped in bandages and tubes, was forever burned into her mind. It pulled her heart into two different directions. On the one hand, she knew that her father was a victim in this nightmare the same as her mother. But on the other hand, Olivia's body, all the way from her toes to the top of her head, burned with molten fury for him for doing this to her. For doing this to them. And she was angry at herself too.
"What are we gonna do, Livy?" Tommy asked in an uncharacteristically somber tone.
"I'm going to get Dad," she replied. "And if I have to, I'm gonna beat Reiko's spell out of him."
"Livy, no!" Sam protested at the same time Miyuki cried, "Are you insane?"
The younger Cryomancer peered coldly at her aunt. "Did you really just ask me if I'm insane?" she growled.
The other woman bristled. "Yes, I did," she replied as she haughtily tilted her chin up.
"Hello, Kettle?" she started. "This is Pot. Um, you're black."
"You may hate me," she answered, now crossing her arms, "but it's insane to go after Kuai Liang on your own. He nearly killed you already. Think about your family."
Olivia bitterly chuffed at that. "Oh, that is rich coming from you, Frost," she hissed.
"Olivia," Sam began, "maybe you should-"
"She won't be on her own," Tommy interrupted his little sister. "I'm going with her. For Mom."
"Absolutely not," Jamie said as he looked at his twin. "You are absolutely not going without me." Tommy nodded and they both bumped knuckles.
"You can't go," Miyuki argued. "It's not safe! You don't know the last thing about traveling to the other Realms, and-"
"I managed just fine in Outworld," Livy reminded her.
"If by 'fine' you mean dying."
"My mom saved me," she countered. "And it's for my mom that I'm doing this."
"Your mom wouldn't want you putting yourself in harm's way for her, and especially when it's not going to do an ounce of good," she said, frowning. "You're going to endanger your lives on this foolish mission, and it's not going to make her wake up from her coma or heal her wounds or anything like that. She'd want you to stay here where you're safe."
"If Reiko wins, then nobody is safe!" Olivia yelled, and finally, Miyuki backed down. "And this discussion is pointless," the young Cryomancer added, her voice calm now. "I'm going. You don't get to tell us what to do just because you got sprung from the nuthouse."
Miyuki glared at her. "I'll tell your uncles, then," she threatened.
"They already left," a new voice chimed in behind them, and when everyone turned around to see who it belonged to, they spotted Kabal standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. "So tell me, kid," he began as he looked at Olivia, "how exactly do you plan on getting past all the guards and through the portal before they sound the alarm?"
The Cryomancer frowned and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "I, uh, I haven't really got to that part yet."
"No shit." It was a statement, not a question.
"I just wanted to see my mom first before I plotted how to get away," she confessed.
He gazed at her intently from behind his eerie mask. "You know, kids, I'm dying a little inside to admit this, but I have to agree with the shrieking harpy, here," he rasped. "Your mother wouldn't want you to die in a madcap search for your possessed father."
"Who says we're gonna die?" Jamie indignantly challenged him.
"Who says you're not?" he shot back.
"I'm responsible for him," Olivia now blurted out, though she wasn't really sure why or where her statement came from.
Though he was masked, it was now Kabal's turn to shift his weight from foot to foot as he somehow managed to convey surprise. "What do you mean, Liv?" he asked her. "How are you responsible for your old man?"
"I failed," she confessed, her voice beginning to waver. "I failed everyone. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. I just...I just couldn't." Tears now began to well in her eyes as her chin sunk to her chest. "He destroyed the Temple and he killed so many of my friends and mentors, and it's all my fault." At that, she began to cry.
"Aw, Livy, no it's not," Tommy gently told her as he side-hugged her. A moment later, they were joined by Jamie and Sam.
"It is," she argued. "If I had stopped him, maybe they'd still be alive and Mom wouldn't be like this right now." She allowed herself a moment to cry on Jamie's shoulder before she pulled away from all of them and looked at Kabal once more. "Because I didn't stop him, everything my dad does now is my fault. I'm responsible for him. So I have to find him and make this right, one way or another." She sniffed and then hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
The detective took a moment to answer, but finally he noisily sighed and looked at her. "I have two thoughts about that," he began. "The first? Your ego is huge, kid. You should probably get that in check pretty quick for your own good."
"I don't have a huge ego!" she indignantly replied, more than just a little annoyed that he was making a joke out of her anguish.
"You lost a fight to your old man and actually think that you should've won?" he scoffed. "Girlie, long before you were even a gleam in his eye, I saw him fight baddies every bit as evil and capable as Reiko and somehow manage to win. For God's sake, he fought Fujin once. True, he didn't win that fight, but he didn't die either, so that's somewhat of a victory considering he took on a god and lived. Sweetheart, no offense, but you're not likely to beat your dad in a serious fight. Especially when he's not bogged down by things like guilt and conscience."
While Olivia scowled and stewed at his words, Tommy now turned to him and asked, "What's your second thought?"
"That I understand how you feel, kid," Kabal replied, never taking his eyes off the Cryomancer's. "You want vengeance for what was done to your mother. And you want to save your father too, if you can." He paused, sighed, and then said, "But your mother would still want you to be safe. So that puts me in a bit of a pickle, you see, because I know if I leave you behind, you'll just figure out a way to land face-first in all the drama anyway. So here's a compromise: you can come with me to Outworld. You know Kotal Kahn. I've heard that he likes you. Maybe you can help me talk him into joining us."
"I'm going after my father, Kabal," she snapped. "I don't have time for political gymnastics and ass-kissing."
"Either take it or leave it, kid," he shrugged. "I'm meeting up with the others after my mission in Outworld is done, and this is the only way you're tagging along. Otherwise, I'll arrest you right now and have you locked in a cell until we come home."
"As if a jail cell can hold me," she challenged him.
"Perhaps, but you'd have to kill or maim a lot of people to escape, and I damn sure know your mom wouldn't want you to do that," he retorted.
"Livy, I think you should listen to him," Tommy told her. "At least this way, we get to help find Dad."
"Yeah, Sis," Jamie agreed. "It's better than nothing."
"I'll even sweeten the pot for you, Girlie," Kabal now smirked behind his mask. "I'm taking Xinyi with me. I hear he's your new boy-toy."
That prompted Olivia to scowl again, but the promise of traveling through the Realms with the Prince softened her heart a little. It would be useful having a second Cryomancer on this trip. The last time she had visited Outworld, her powers had come in handy more than she'd ever have guessed. And two Cryomancers were better than one. Finally, her stubborn streak - the one that Anya insisted was so like her father's - calmed itself and she grudgingly nodded.
"Fine," she agreed.
"I'm going too!" Sam now yelped, which prompted Olivia to turn around and grab her.
"No, Sam," she told her.
"But you're going," the teenager argued. "You're letting the twins go."
"They're Elites now, just like me," she said. "You're still not old enough."
"So what?" the other cried. "This isn't fair! Stop treating me like a baby!"
"I have an important job for you here," she said. "You need to stay with Mom, Sammie. Please," she begged.
"But-"
"But nothing, Sammie," she replied. "Mom's in bad shape. You can see that, can't you? I know you have eyes." She rested her hands on her younger sister's shoulders. "I don't trust these doctors to take care of her as well as you will. I want you to stay with her and keep trying to heal her."
"Livy," the Hydromancer whined.
"Please, Sammie," she said. "Please do it for me."
A long moment passed that threatened to turn into an even longer minute, but finally, Sam nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, I'll do it," she grudgingly said. "But bring Daddy home, Livy. You promise me."
"I promise," she said as she pressed her forehead to hers.
"And promise me you'll come home, and you'll bring the twins home too...Or, just you."
Livy wistfully chuckled at that, not knowing if she should promise such a thing when she knew full well the dangers they'd face along the way. But she lied anyway, and promised her, and kissed her on the forehead for good luck.
"Come on, Madge," Kabal now joked as he gripped Olivia's arm and tugged her towards the door. "We need to get going. Xinyi's waiting."
Within a half an hour, Olivia, Tommy, and Jamie had kissed their mother their somber goodbyes and promises to return, and joined Kabal and Xinyi in the portal control hangar. Once more, the Cryomancer had changed her clothes, this time to black tactical gear like Sonya's soldiers wore, but this time, her brothers had changed their clothes as well. Sammie stood with them as the controllers opened the gateway to Outworld, silently sobbing as the vortex whooshed open. Olivia couldn't be certain what her baby sister was crying about - was it the prospect of losing her siblings or of being left alone in Earthrealm to care for their comatose mother?
"Hey," she whispered to her as she lifted her chin with her finger. "There's no crying in baseball."
It prompted Sam to bitterly chuckle through her tears; A League of Their Own was her favorite movie. "I wish I could go," she sniffed. "You might need a Hydromancer Healer."
"I hope that we don't," she replied. "Mom needs you right now more than we do. I'm counting on you, Sammie."
"I won't let you down," the other said. Then she looked up and met her gaze. "Please don't die this time."
"Oh, Sammie, if we can't stop Reiko, it's not gonna matter much either way," she told her. She carefully tucked a lock of short, brown hair behind the teenager's ear. "I'm gonna miss you. I'll be thinking about you every day."
Fresh tears bubbled over Sam's eyes. "I'll be thinking about you every minute!" she cried as she threw herself into Olivia's arms. She wrapped her arms around her waist in an iron grip and squeezed her so hard the Cryomancer struggled to breathe.
"Hey, you big baby," Tommy admonished with a mischievous grin as he pulled her ear, "don't you worry about a thing. We'll be there to protect her."
"That's what I'm worried about," Sam moaned as she finally let her big sister go. But then she hugged him and Jamie too.
"She'll also have me, Sam," a new voice said, and they turned and saw Miyuki dressed in the same tactical clothing as them.
"Oh, hell no," Kabal groaned as the elder Cryomancer joined her nieces and nephews.
"I'm going with you," Miyuki announced, her face frowning. "This isn't up for debate."
"You couldn't even chase down Reiko when you had the chance," Olivia scoffed, now scowling. "And you think you're gonna do it now? When he has a whole army behind him?"
Her aunt scowled back and crossed her arms. "Your father - my brother - never gave up on me once, even when I had done unspeakably horrible things to him. I'll be damned before I give up on him when he needs me."
"He doesn't need you, you piece of-"
"Shut up, Olivia," she snapped with such ferocity that it actually made Olivia take a step back in surprise. "Your father would want me to take care of you. So that's what I'm going to do. And if you don't like it, that's just tough. I may not be able to fight, but I can do other things. So get your stuff together and move it."
With that, she clutched her backpack straps tighter and marched towards the now-open portal to Outworld. Tommy shrugged at Olivia before he tousled Sam's hair and then followed his aunt with Jamie in tow. Xinyi also walked with them, leaving Kabal and her standing alone with Sam.
"I don't like this," Olivia grumbled as she watched the Cryomancer disappear through the vortex.
Kabal inhaled loudly. "Neither do I, kid. Neither do I." He patted her on the shoulder. "Come on. Time to go."
XXXXX
alwaysdoubted, I'm glad you enjoyed the depiction of the battle sequence. You're right, I don't ever cut my characters a break. But it definitely helps me to keep them from getting overpowered. The key to good storytelling is conflict. You have to let your characters get a bloody nose. That way, when they finally win, the victory is sweeter for the reader. If I always gave them their way all the time, what would I leave for you to root for? ;) And don't worry about Frost. She'll get her groove back eventually ;)
ROCuevas, thanks!
caroccio66, I'm sorry things are so bad in France right now. But I'm inspired by stories of your Yellow Vests standing up to Big Government. The US is in a similar boat with the government stripping more and more of our rights and money away from us. I wish more young people saw the folly in such policies, but that is a different conversation for a different day. Try to keep hope. And if hope fails, there's always Revolution ;)
en-lumine, aw, I'm glad that scene almost moved you to tears. MK11 has rekindled my love for our favorite speedster, hence his inclusion in this story. Another familiar face will be making an appearance soon ;) Reiko is up to some na'er-do-wells, but you already knew that LOL P.S. What song was playing today as you got the email notification for this update?