Author's Note: Hello, all, I know it's been a minute since I've posted an update. I kind of got stricken with writer's block as it happens from time to time, so I've been working on proofreading and revising my earlier stories. I've finished tweaking Sub-Zero: Origins and I've gotten up to Chapter 20 in Frostbitten, if you're so inclined to go revisit them. And I've been going back and forth between this chapter and the next one, trying to decide what order they should go in, and then finally deciding it didn't matter one way or the other. So you got this one. It's a little bit fluff, little bit filler, not gonna lie.
Also, I was revisiting the reviews I'd gotten because I honestly kind of forgot where I was for a minute, and I was reminded how seriously you all took Ashrah's appearance. Guys, don't read too much into it LOL I just included her for a moment because I thought it'd be fun to give her a cameo. That's really all there is to that. :) Anyway, hope you enjoy this update. I'll try to get the other one finished before Christmas.
"Aunt Miyuki, are you alright?" Jamie called to her as the group took a few minutes to rest alongside the path. She stood by herself, leaning against the tree several feet from the others.
"I'm okay, kiddo," she replied, flashing a fake, albeit warm, smile at her nephew as she quickly rolled down her sleeve to hide her arm. "Just catching my breath. I'm not as young as I used to be."
The young Hydromancer cast her a wayward, uncertain glance, but then finally shrugged and said, "Okay. Well, we're leaving in a minute."
"I'll be right there," she said and then watched him return to the others.
Now she turned her back on them and rolled up her coat sleeve once again to look at the wound on her forearm where the branch had stabbed her the night before. Gray shades mottled her porcelain skin like a corpse, and even that wasn't the most disturbing thing she saw. In the middle of her forearm, a small puncture wound trickling black puss marred her skin. Black blood surged through her veins and capillaries, branching outward like a spider web as whatever this poison was spread throughout her body. It ached badly, just a steady, dull thud of pain radiating through her arm and into her shoulder, and she was certain it was just going to fall off any minute now. Miyuki cringed and sucked down a pained breath through clenched teeth as she applied an ice pack to it.
"Hey, Freeze Frame," Cassie's voice now called, "we're leaving. Take the lead."
The Cryomancer winced and then pulled down her sleeve before facing the others and saying, "I'm coming." She would not tell the others, she decided. They needed to focus on the task at hand, and not on her. She would get help in Z'Unkarah from one of the Hydromancers in Kotal Kahn's court.
She took point, which had been her place since she'd proven she could track Olivia better than anyone else in the rescue party, and once more found her niece's trail. The tracks had been strange to her for a while since the top of the mountain. The blizzard had ruined most of the tracks up there, and she'd thought the trail went cold until she and the others had stumbled upon a small igloo that could only have been built by a Cryomancer's hand. From there, the trail had started once again, but this time, Olivia was not forced to walk in front of her captor. Rather, she had taken up the rear. Her gait and the way her boots pressed into the dirt further suggested that she was no longer bound, which hinted at her voluntary cooperation. When Miyuki came to this realization, her heart lurched at the thought. Had her young niece's will to resist her kidnapper been broken?
She almost said as much to her traveling companions, but the mountains opened up suddenly upon a vista of gray-green fields, dirty orange skies, and a distant red sea stretched far beyond her sight. The landscape bathed in the hellish evening light. She paused for a moment to soak up the sight, amazed at the scenery. When she'd thought of Hell, she certainly couldn't imagine anything more than lakes of fire and chains of ice. She'd been to the Netherrealm before, Quan Chi's guest many years ago when he'd recruited her to kill the Earthrealm Champions' families, and the places he'd led her to definitely fit her ideas better. But this place, though horrid and hot and ugly, wasn't as bad as the places in her memories. The realization astonished her.
When Erron saw that she had stopped in her tracks, he stepped around the others and pointed to the sea - the shore was hidden from view by the swell of the mountain slope. "There's a portal to Outworld somewhere down there," he told her. "I'll bet you dollars to navy beans that's where the damned fool is taking her." He patted her on the shoulder. "We can be there by midnight, and then we'll be able to make better time chasin' them. Nothing but flatlands for days on the other side."
I don't know if I've got another few days left, she thought to herself in response. At the thought, she grimaced as a sudden stabbing pain shot right through her muscles. But still she said nothing.
"What do you see in their tracks?" he now asked.
"I think he broke her spirit," Miyuki softly replied. "She's not fighting him anymore. And he's letting her walk behind him, unrestrained."
"Hmm," he thoughtfully replied, stroking his chin. "That is weird. That girl was always a willful wild filly who'd be offended at the mere thought of being tamed."
"I don't know what to say to that," the Cryomancer told him. "But she's never lost a literal body part before. For all we know, he got deep in her head when he cut off her ear, and now she's afraid he'll do it again, or worse."
"Maybe," he agreed.
Without another word, Miyuki stepped forward again. Erron walked behind her as they began their sharpest descent to the valley floor. Behind them came Cassie, Jin, Takeda, Jacqui, and the twins, with Kabal taking up the rear. Nobody spoke.
But the Cryomancer's arm shrieked with pain.
The sun was well to the west by the time the slope began to flatten beneath Olivia and Jay's feet. The road had widened and grew straight, and for the first time the Elite heard the rhythmic crash of bloody waves on the sandy shoreline. Once they made the valley floor, the going was faster and they made good time, briskly walking through more spacious deadwoods and ancient ruins until they reached the beach and the Sea of Blood. Even so, the sun was almost gone by the time they found the portal swirling in the space above the sand.
When the two finally stepped through it, and found themselves on the other side in Outworld, Jiayi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We made it."
"And not a moment too soon," Olivia replied. "Netherrealm was...it was...well, it was Hell," she finally said after failing to think of a better adjective.
He chuffed and looked down on her. "Indeed," he replied as he gently smiled at her.
Now Olivia looked around from her vantage point on top of the rolling sand dunes. The scenery here hadn't changed much from the Netherrealm. Once more, she found herself on a sandy shoreline overlooking a vast expanse of bloody sea. But here, on this side of the portal, numerous man-o-wars had run aground, dashed and impaled on the jagged rocks and the stony reefs. Barnacles and mussels infested the rotting hulls now, feasting on wood and blood.
On a cliff overlooking the sea only a mile from where they stood was a dark, sprawling castle not unlike the Black Palace. Like the old ships wrecked upon the reefs, the castle was ruined and decaying. What were undoubtedly magnificent spires at one time were now gnarled fingers scratching at the sky as if in desperate prayer. Olivia saw entire walls toppled to the ground. The drawbridge was missing but the portcullis was still there, calling to mind the mouth of a vicious ghost whose lips were sewn together with twine. As she stared at it, a chill zipped down her spine.
"That was Shao Kahn's fortress," Jiayi explained, answering the question hovering on her tongue. "There is little left inside. The poor people he spent years plundering for tribute broke down the gates when he died and reclaimed all he had stolen." He furiously shook his head. "I am glad that they did," he declared. "Everything he had, he gained through treachery, tyranny, and deceit." Every word the Crown Prince spoke dripped with disdain, and while he stared at the old monument, his eyes grew dark with hatred.
"He hurt you quite a bit," she deduced. She looked up at him, and noted the distant expression on his face. It spoke of memories best left forgotten. Without realizing she did it, she curled her hand around his hand and squeezed.
Jiayi nodded. "He and Sindel, his cur of a wife, orchestrated the Cryomancers' near extinction," he hissed. "And we who survived fled to the farthest reaches of Outworld." He then shook his head furiously. "Shao Kahn's adoptive children are scarcely better than he was," he now growled. "His bastard son, Reiko, murdered my father and slaughtered many of our people."
"I thought you admired him for being such a proficient warrior," she bitterly huffed, thinking of their conversation in Arctika.
"I said his tactics were flawless and should be studied," he argued. "But that does not change the fact that he brutally killed my father on the field of battle and took his soul. I loved my father, Olivia. Therefore, I will always hate Reiko for taking him from me."
"You and I have that in common at least," she murmured, now reminded of her own father.
"I admire his skill as a General," Jiayi told her. "But as a man, he is despicable. His adoptive sister, Kitana, had started to see the error of her ways before she died, I believe, but she, too, is equally as depraved. She slaughtered many Cryomancers as well in those days, calling us all traitors for Xing's role in King Jerrod's death, so I will never feel love or loyalty for her as long as I shall live. I curse their entire family and pray that their line is broken forever."
"You have more right than anyone to feel that way," she told him as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
He shook his head. "No, Olivia," he argued. "I don't. Their wretched family took much from me. But I was one of the lucky ones. I escaped to the Bīnglěng Dì Dìyù where we have been relatively safe since we were first driven there centuries ago. The ones who've earned the right to hate them to their very souls are the poor peasants they pillaged and plundered and continued to torture for generations. Next to their suffering, I have no right to complain."
She smiled, suddenly quite moved by his humility. "And here I was, thinking that all princes are spoiled and self-centered."
He chuckled softly at that as the two began to walk again, slowly meandering down the beach. "Most are," he replied. "But I was fortunate enough to be raised by two good men: my father and Tsai Bing." He looked at her, meeting her stunned gaze, and he said, "Yes, Tsai Bing. He has many faults, I agree, and he and I frequently clash on affairs of the state. But beneath the gruff, cold exterior is a good man, Olivia. I hope that someday, you will get to see the Tsai Bing that I know."
"He doesn't like me," she told him matter-of-factly.
"He doesn't like anyone," he chuffed and waved his hand dismissively at her. "He barely tolerates me most days, and in less than a year, I will be his King." He shook his head in amusement. "He is just old and set in his ways." Now he cocked his head and gazed into her eyes, a question forming in them. "But since we have been speaking of Reiko, Olivia, I have to confess to you that I don't understand why you don't hate him more than you do for what he's done."
She scoffed. "I hate him plenty," she replied. "But I will get my dad back-"
"That is not what I meant," he interrupted her. "I meant because he laid with you," he said bluntly.
Olivia frowned and pulled her hand away from Jay before she crossed both of her arms across her chest. "Why would I hate him for that?" she defensively replied. "I can't really blame him for doing exactly what I needed him to do so that Takeda and I could escape." She suddenly found she couldn't bear to look at the Crown Prince.
"True, but he took advantage of you and shouldn't have," he argued. "You were quite young and equally vulnerable."
"I was strong enough," she hissed as her cheeks now burned. A hard ball of barbed wire began to grow in her throat. "And this is something I don't ever want to speak of again. It's bad enough Reiko's back and picking up where he left off. I don't need to think about the very worst thing I've ever done in my life on top of everything else going on right now."
"Forgive me, Olivia," he sincerely apologized. He tentatively hooked his arm through her bent elbow and pulled her close again. "I did not mean to upset you."
When she refused to answer him, he threaded the fingers of his free hand around her trapped ones and squeezed. "I would like to say one more thing on the matter, and then I will speak of it no more." He didn't wait for her to give her permission before he said, "I know you must loathe yourself for what happened between you. But very rarely in my life have I seen such an act of valor. Sacrificing yourself like that to save yourself and your friend was incredibly courageous, and when I first heard your story from Tsai Bing, long before I even met you, I truly admired you for your bravery and your cleverness."
Olivia still couldn't bear to look at him, but she shrugged and softly said, "Thanks."
She gazed out at the ocean, and the slowly setting sun, as the cool sea breeze gently lifted her hair like white ribbons. She thought about the Prince's proclamation concerning her dalliance with Reiko. She still felt ashamed of her actions and humiliation that people found out. But, she quickly realized, Jay's words were exactly what she'd needed to hear from Alex when she'd finally reunited with her family. The tiny flutter of butterfly wings suddenly tickled her heart when she thought of Jay giving her the reassurance Alex could not.
As her arms broke out in pleasant goosebumps, her eyes gazed down the beach and found something - or someone, rather - unexpected. The familiar, elderly man, she saw, was standing over a charcoal barbecue grill, singing to himself and sipping a bottle of beer as plumes of aromatic smoke carried the heavenly smell of roasting meat to her nostrils. The gentleman caught her staring in disbelief, and he beamed at her before waving her over with a pair of tongs.
"Come here, young ones!" he happily cried. "It's such a pleasant evening for a cookout!"
"Oh, my God," Olivia muttered under her breath as she smacked her face with her palm. Then she jogged towards him with Jiayi in tow.
"Himavat?" she incredulously asked when they reached him. Immediately, the Crown Prince fell to his knees, yanking her to the sand with him, before bowing his head in respect.
"Allfather," he reverently murmured, never lifting his head to meet the Elder God's sky blue eyes. "You honor us with your presence, my Lord."
"You're welcome," he warmly replied. "But get up, both of you. You know how standing on ceremony embarrasses me."
"I was raised to respect the Gods," he demurely replied.
Himavat grinned and patted the crown of his head affectionately before hooking a finger beneath his chin and forcing him to look at him. "I know," he said. "And you're such a good lad. That is why, to reward you for your tireless devotion, I'm trying hard to answer all of your prayers." He winked at the Prince, baffling Olivia. It was like they had just exchanged an inside joke, and clearly an embarrassing one at that judging by the way it prompted Jiayi to chuff, smile, and blush. She knit her eyebrows together in puzzlement as she looked at him for an explanation, but he said nothing further as he pulled her to her feet with him.
Olivia sighed in mild annoyance, feeling more than a little left out, but she said nothing as she looked to the Elder God again. "Himavat, what are you doing here?" she wondered as she now read his chef's hat. It said: KISS THE COOK.
"Do I really need a reason to drop in on my very distant great-grandchildren?" he replied.
She lifted an eyebrow. "Well...yeah."
"No, I don't," he argued before he turned back to his grill. "Now, tell me, would you like cheese on your hamburgers? Maybe some bacon? A little bit of barbecue sauce? Don't be shy, I have it all."
Olivia couldn't deny that she was starving. She'd been sniffing the fragrant smoke for the last five minutes, encouraging her hunger pains to twist up her stomach in stitches. "All of the above, please," she hungrily begged. "With all the veggies too."
The Elder God obliged her and happily plated her food on a tray made from polished abalone shell. "Oh, I almost forgot!" he suddenly cried and then snapped his fingers. Immediately, a huge, steaming pile of onion rings sat beside her burger alongside a scoop of mustard potato salad. He handed her a fork with her plate and said, "There you go, young lady. You can't have a cheeseburger without some tasty sides to go with it."
"You and me?" she said with a smirk. "Totally same page."
"I know, you have excellent taste just like your dear old granddad," he said with a smile of satisfaction. "You're a good kid too," he praised as he winked at Jiayi again and then clapped him on the back. "Now, my boy, what would you like on your cheeseburger?"
The prince's eyes went wide in surprise, and he looked from Himavat to Olivia in mild alarm. He clearly had no idea what the Elder God meant, and he said as much.
"Oh, I'm sorry, young Prince," Himavat apologized. "I forgot you know nothing of Earthrealm's cuisine."
"I do not understand any of this, my Lord," Jay hopelessly replied. "Why do you put your meat on bread with vegetables? Should they not be kept separate?"
"Welcome to the wonderful world of sandwiches and other convenience foods," he cheerfully replied. "You're going to love it." He now built a cheeseburger for the prince. "Here you go," he said as he handed a plate to him. "I gave you what's called 'the works'. And don't forget the onion rings and potato salad." Once again, he snapped his fingers. Immediately, his plate was piled high with both. The Elder God then handed him a fork before making his own plate and finally escorting them to a soft blue blanket surrounded by driftwood where they could eat their picnic dinner.
Jay studied his meal uncertainly and then watched how Olivia and Himavat ate the strange food before he hesitantly imitated them. But as soon as he took a bite of his juicy cheeseburger, Olivia saw his face light up while he happily chewed it. He nodded his head adamantly in approval. "My Lord, this is quite good," he complimented the Elder God.
"Thank you, lad," Himavat replied. "I have improved my recipe over the years," he then explained. "I think I've finally perfected it."
"Try an onion ring," Olivia urged the prince as she pointed to his pile, smiling in amusement.
There was something sweetly endearing about him shoveling food into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in ages. No, that wasn't it, she decided. It was endearing because she enjoyed being part of one of his firsts in life - his first cheeseburger. But there was another first as well, she realized. It was the first time since she'd met him that he'd completely let his guard down. And once again, he seemed like just a normal guy rather than royalty. Once more, her heart skipped a beat just thinking of him like this.
Meanwhile, Jay had taken her advice and cautiously bit into one of the golden fried rings. Again, a bright smile lit up his face. "I like these more than this," he declared, pointing to his burger. He hungrily shoved a couple more into his mouth. "Thank you, Lord Himavat, for introducing me to all these Earthrealm delicacies."
Olivia couldn't help but giggle at the thought of a cheeseburger being a delicacy, but she, too, looked at Himavat and said, "Yes, Himavat, thank you for feeding us."
"You're very welcome," he beamed. "You know, I find that cheeseburgers are such a versatile food. They're good for so many occasions - holidays, family gatherings, first dates…" He casually lifted his eyebrow at her and then he added, "I know you both have had a very trying week, and I wanted to help how I could."
Olivia's mood suddenly soured, and she felt pangs of guilt for forgetting her father and Reiko and all her problems for five minutes.
Himavat clearly recognized the shift in her mood, so he gently asked, "What's wrong, Little One?"
"Is there a way I can save my dad?" she blurted out.
He solemnly nodded. "Oh, yes, Child," he answered. "But it will be very difficult."
"I don't care," she said. "Tell me. Please. I'll move Heaven and Earth to save him from Reiko."
He softly chuffed at that. "I know, dear," he sympathetically replied. "Your bond with your father is very special. Always has been." He wistfully smiled and said, "To undo the spell, you'll have to destroy the kamidogu he was stabbed with."
"But Reiko will undoubtedly keep them on his person," Jay now interjected. "He will not let them out of his sight."
"Now you know why it will be so difficult," he said.
"I don't suppose you could help me?" she hopefully asked.
"Now, Olivia, you know I can't interfere to that degree."
"Yeah, but it's Shinnok we're talking about," she protested. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but we don't want Reiko stealing his power."
Himavat chuckled in amusement at that. "Don't you worry about that, my dear girl," he playfully admonished. "Like I told your sister just yesterday, Shinnok will not willingly share his power with anyone, but especially a lowly mortal as he perceives them." The Elder God paused. "Do not fear, Child," he reassured her. "My sisters and I are watching this entire situation very carefully."
"And what of your mother, my Lord?" Jay now asked.
Himavat winced at the mention of her. "Yes, well, she could make things difficult for us all," he agreed. "She has never forgiven me or my sisters for imprisoning Shinnok in the bowels of the Netherrealm. Toci and I don't particularly care, if I'm being truthful, but Cetrion has always felt a thorn of guilt over it, a point which my mother ruthlessly exploits. I foresee a day when she coerces my sister into doing something foolish."
"You have a mother?" Olivia incredulously asked.
"Don't be silly," he admonished. "Of course I do."
"But I thought the Elder Gods were, you know...the eldest gods," she retorted, quirking an eyebrow.
He chortled. "Good Heavens, no!" he yelped with a smile. "There are the Titans, who are older than we, and then older than they are my grandparents, Ouranos and Gaia, the Lord of the Sky and the Lady of the Earth. They were created by the One Being, who was a god so ancient he had no name, and also one whom I personally liken to a parasite."
"Why?" she wondered.
"Because he began to covet and crave our divine essences, starving to death for our power, so in order to sate his hunger, he fed off the very gods he'd sired," he explained. "Eventually, the Elder Gods rebelled against him and defeated him, and broke him into six pieces that we used to craft the Realms and the corresponding kamidogu."
Himavat sighed and then patted her on the knee. "But I do not want to bore you with my family history," he said before he winked at her. "The Titans are eldritch gods who command the most fundamental forces in the universe. My mother, specifically, is the Keeper of Time and a royal pain in my neck. Our relationship is quite strained, you see. She's terribly controlling."
Olivia frowned. "So why would she get involved in this mess?" she asked.
The Elder God shrugged. "I don't know if she will," he replied. "But she loves to pull people's strings. I wouldn't be particularly surprised if she engineers Shinnok's escape. He always was her favorite child."
She shook her head in disbelief and then set her plate on the blanket, no longer hungry. It was a point not lost on Jiayi, who cleared his throat and said, "Thank you again for this meal, my Lord. But we must be on our way. We must regroup with the Earthrealmers in Seido."
"Oh, they can wait a night," Himavat waved his hand dismissively. "There is a search party looking for Olivia. You need to stay here and wait for them. They're only a few hours behind you two and should be here by midnight or so. So stay here and rest. You both look like you need it."
As he said it, Olivia suddenly realized just how tired she felt after their long hike down the mountain and their battle with that squid monster. Grudgingly, she shrugged and said, "Yeah," at the same time Jay said, "I suppose I am quite tired."
The Elder God looked from him to her and back again. Then he grinned. "I am so happy you two finally met each other," he told them. "I think this will be the start of a fabulous, long-lasting friendship."
Olivia smirked and then mischievously glanced at the Crown Prince. "I don't know, Himavat," she said. "After a few hours of hanging around me, I'm pretty sure Jay wants to strangle me." She meant for the prince to laugh at her self-deprecating joke, but instead, he got to his feet and silently wandered to the water's edge with arms crossed. She frowned and looked at Himavat. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked him quietly.
He shook his head no. "No, Livy, do not take it personally. He just has a lot on his mind."
"Such as?"
"His brother, for one," he answered. "When they were both studying in Seido, he took Xinyi to a beach there. In Jiayi's mind, it was the last time that he can remember their relationship being a good one. Being here on this beach reminds him of that day."
"So he was telling the truth, then?" she replied. "He's not in cahoots with Xinyi and trying to trick me?"
"Why do you doubt him, Little One, when he's done so much for you in a single day? When he's risked so much for you?" His voice snapped at her like a whip.
Olivia shrugged. "Because, Himavat, I've learned the hard way that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
The Elder God nodded his head in understanding and smiled before he patted her leg. "I know that you've been hurting too," he told her. "And with regards to trusting men, you'd just as soon trust a yurei to guide you through Hell as you would a man who's not your father. I know you feel utterly betrayed by Alex, even now, three years after the fact, especially since he's moved on and you haven't. Not really, anyway. And I know you also feel betrayed by Xinyi for tricking you in order to help Reiko. And of course, the emotional and physical abuse he inflicted on you during your little jaunt up the mountain."
His words felt like a slap in the face and drew tears to her eyes. She looked down at her hands. "I'm a good person," she mumbled, her voice quivering. "At least I try to be. I think I deserve better than that."
"Well, I agree. You are better than that. No one should suffer like that, woman or man. But my child, you're never going to find a man capable of proving that to you if you shut them all out," he told her. "And I will have you know that Jiayi is a very different man than Alex or Xinyi." He pushed her hair over her shoulder and glanced at her scabbing ear. "Don't punish him for their mistakes. You'll live to sorely regret it if you do."
She scoffed. "Why does it matter to you what I think of him?" she shot back before she glanced over her shoulder at the Crown Prince.
"It matters because I want to see you feel joy like you did before your reckoning in the Red Desert," he said with a smile. "And I think that Jiayi and you could become very good friends someday. The best of friends, even. I think if there's anyone in all the Realms who can pull you out of your shell again, it's him."
She scoffed and wiped her eyes. "But it's so hard," she protested as she now watched Jay again. He had taken to skipping rocks across the bloody waves. "I want to believe everything he's told me, but…" she hopelessly trailed off.
"Do you trust me, Livy?" he asked her.
"What?" she asked, now looking at him with her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Do you trust me?"
Olivia shrugged and looked at her hands. "I guess."
"Then trust me when I tell you that you can trust him," he told her. "He is a good man. It is rare to see such goodness from anyone in any royal family in any Realm. Usually, their wealth and power corrupt them to some degree. But that lad?" Now he glanced at Jay too. "Whenever he feels the slightest bit of temptation, he prays to his gods that much harder for the strength to resist it." He looked at her again. "Jiayi is quite devoted to his faith."
"I've noticed," she drily remarked, though she was smiling now.
"Does that bother you?" he wondered. "That he is as religious as he is?"
She thought about it. "No," she finally said. "But I do think it's weird he gets up so early in the morning on purpose."
Himavat laughed at her joke. "Go, talk to him," he commanded. "Be there for him as a friend. He doesn't have very many. True friends, that is."
"But I don't know what to say to him about Xinyi," she argued.
"Don't say anything," he advised her. "Let him do the talking. He needs to vent to someone, and it might as well be you. And while you're doing that, I'll get rid of this mess and build a fire so you two can sleep more comfortably tonight."
Olivia shrugged. "Okay," she grumbled before she got to her feet and trudged towards the Crown Prince. "Hey," she called to him. "Would you like some company?"
"If that is what you wish," he replied as she joined his side.
The two stood in silence for a long moment, just gazing at the purple and pink sunset, and watched as the last ribbons of golden sunlight sparkled off the bloody water before them. Behind them, the brilliant Outworld moon was rising high.
Finally, he spoke again. "If the ocean was strictly water," he began, "I think I would like to swim."
"That would be fun," she agreed. "Anywhere else, that is."
"The ocean soothes me," he told her. "At least it used to. The last time I visited the seashore, Xinyi was with me. We swam in the water until we could barely walk. And we ate a feast on the beach like the ancient kings, and we had no cares in the world. It wasn't like what Himavat just prepared for you and me, but it was good and we ate far too much. It hurt to breathe for hours."
Olivia chuckled, thinking of similar times with her own brothers and sister. "That sounds like a good day, Jay," she told him, once again admiring him for being so painfully normal.
"It was the last day that I can recall Xinyi behaving like a brother who sincerely loved me," he confessed.
She didn't really know what to say to that, so she threaded her fingers through his and squeezed them to reassure him. "Maybe there's still hope for him," she told him as she patted his arm with her free hand, though it was hard to imagine, especially for her. "Maybe you can help him get his act together."
"Perhaps," he agreed. "But I think the brother I knew and loved is gone." He shook his head angrily then. "Reiko took nearly everything I cared about from me," he told her. "And in the end, he took what was left too."
"I'm sorry," she apologized, now feeling as if it was her fault because she hadn't killed Reiko well enough.
But he didn't seem to hear her. He said, "I would never hurt you, you know."
She recoiled slightly, bewildered by his statement. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You told Himavat that I wanted to strangle you," he explained.
"Oh, that," she chuffed. "That was just a joke, Jay. I was trying to make you laugh."
"I know," he nodded. "But after what my brother did to your ear, I want you to know I wouldn't do that. Men who do that are cowards." He furiously shook his head and looked back to the sea. "How can men like that possibly expect to earn the love and trust of a woman through violence? How can anyone?"
Olivia's heart skipped a beat at his words, stunned by what she'd heard, certain she'd heard wrong - or, if she'd heard correctly - uncertain how to take it, uncertain if he was referring to Xinyi or himself. Was he...suggesting he wanted to earn her love? She thoughtfully bit her lip, pondering it, weighing all the possibilities. In the end, though, she dismissed it and silently admonished herself for overthinking. He was the Crown Prince of Mòhé, and probably had his pick of women for that reason alone. There was no reason to think he'd ever feel anything for her beyond friendship.
She was surprised to find that the thought made her sad.
She abruptly shook her head and cleared her throat. "It doesn't make much sense, does it?" she finally replied.
"None at all," he agreed.
Olivia chuffed and then glanced over her shoulder to look at Himavat. Already, a huge and lovely campfire burned close to the dunes. She tugged on Jiayi's hand. "Come on," she said. "Let's go sit by the fire."
The Crown Prince looked over his shoulder at it as well and then smiled. "Yes," he agreed. "Let us rest. It has been a long day."
"Understatement," she replied as they walked towards it.
When they huddled together by the fire, Himavat said, "Sleep soundly tonight, young ones. I'll keep watch so you both can actually get some rest. I expect the coming days will be exhausting and trying. So you need to get what you can."
The search party's path led them through a forest of man-eating trees that stood in foggy gloom beneath a thick canopy of broad leaves. A ghostly green light shimmered beyond them, casting eerie shadows and long silhouettes of trees towards his feet. At the back of the group, Kabal stopped for a moment to study the trees on either side of him, and he couldn't help but note that the one to his left still chewed on the half-rotted corpse of some Netherrealm denizen; it made obscene groans of pleasure as it drooled and gnawed on the body, which hung halfway out of its mouth. The booted feet bobbed in time to the cadence with which the tree chewed.
The last leg of their journey through Netherrealm was gray and shadowy as twilight and then night fell on the land. A salty smell hung in the air and blended with the scent of trees and earth, carried by a strengthening ocean breeze in the distance. The path down now was straight and quickly flattening, and it was covered by rotten leaves, but it vanished into thick fog, obscuring the detective's vision and concealing any potential obstacles.
Kabal inhaled deeply, reluctant to press forward, his heart still trapped in the beautiful hallucination the djinn had weaved for him. Though he knew that this world was the real one, and that here Anya did not love him and he was horrifically scarred by Kintaro, he still found that his soul ached in much the same way a deep cut did even after it had been stitched up and bandaged because it refused to believe this was where he belonged. The mere thought of having and losing everything he ever wanted stabbed at him, and suicidal thoughts raced through his mind. More often than not, he gazed longingly at the carnivorous trees, imagining throwing himself into a wooden maw, but then brushed that notion aside as being completely impractical. So his hand kept drifting to the Glock .40 he had holstered on his waist, and he visualized what a hollow point bullet would do to the inside of his head. Maybe he should jump off a nearby cliff and let his body splatter like jelly on the rocks below. These thoughts and more raced through his head on repeat like they were trapped in a revolving door, but always he told himself that his companions would stop him before he could succeed, so if he really wanted to die, he needed privacy. So, for now, he abandoned all thoughts of suicide and focused on making it down the mountain.
Kabal finally started to take a step forward again, but a loud caw followed by the steady flap of wings beating the air stopped him. Malphas! He narrowed his eyes, curling his fists around his hookswords, waiting for the appearance of the crow-demon who wanted to destroy him to punish him for his failures years ago. But nothing appeared as he scanned the trees. There was only the ocean wind through the trees, whispering his name. Trembling, fighting back defeated tears, the detective put his hookswords away before the others noticed. The last thing he needed was for them to think he was cracking up. They already looked at him like he had.
Nothing gave any hint of the passage of time except the growing ache in his legs, feet, and back. It had to have been hours since they last stopped, he was sure, but only the air touching the back of his neck gave him any indication that he was actually moving. When the dark finally settled in too deeply to see, Erron made a torch from a bone on the ground wrapped in cloth like a drumstick, and Kabal and the Kombat Kids pulled out their various flashlights to illuminate the way.
At long last, the land abruptly flattened and the path gave way to rolling sand dunes that hugged the bloody water. The beach here was mostly unremarkable, but the blood in the sand had gone tacky with age so it was like walking through tar. A wet slurp cut through the air with every step they took. Stealth - should they have needed it - would have been impossible here.
"This is so gross," Cassie remarked with a disgusted grimace.
"This isn't even the worst I've ever seen," Takeda told her. "There's a part of the Red Desert that's like walking through someone's sinuses. Now that was gross. There were these little pockets of snot and pus that just bubbled up and exploded everywhere."
"Nasty," Jacqui cringed.
"What's the worst thing you old-timers have ever seen in the Realms?" Jin now asked Erron, Kabal, and Miyuki.
"Rats," Kabal pointedly said as he cast a hateful stare at Frost. She glowered back at him in response.
"Rats?" he repeated. "That's it?"
"Yup. Just big, slimy rats."
"That's a common misconception," the young Shaolin told him. "Rats aren't slimy."
"They are after they chew through someone's intestinal tract," he flatly replied.
"Ugh, you saw someone legit perform rat torture?" Jacqui now asked.
"Shit, sweetheart, not just 'someone'," he began and cast another hateful glare at Frost. "Did you know that I was almost a victim of rat torture myself?"
"But you weren't, were you?" the Cryomancer finally snapped. "If memory serves, Scorpion saved you like the cute little damsel in distress that you are."
"It shouldn't have even happened," he fired back.
"A lot of things shouldn't have happened, but they did," she hissed. "So let it go."
"Let it go?" he now yelled as he stopped in his tracks and faced her. "You butchered our families for fun! You tortured me, and Anya, and even your own brother just because Daddy didn't hug you enough as a child. Shit, you damn near succeeded in killing Anya, which led her right into Rain's hands and every awful thing he did to her. Not to mention what losing her did to those of us who cared about her. And now you walk around here like you're one of the good guys, like nothing ever happened back then, like you're not a raging psychopath who deserves to burn in Hell for what you did. So fuck you, bitch, I'm not letting anything go."
"You forgave Tomas and Bi-han," she shot back as tears welled up in her eyes. "They were right there with me-"
"Yeah, but they didn't have the luxury of free will to stop them," he cut her off. "But you did and you still chose to kill innocent people. That's the difference." He swallowed hard. "You're a monster, Frost. Don't pretend like you'll ever be anything but a monster."
"Go to Hell," she snarled as tears streaked down her cheeks.
"You first," he coldly replied.
"Are you two idjits done bickerin'?" Erron now asked as he stepped between them. "Because there's the portal."
He pointed down the beach, and everyone's eyes followed his finger. About a half a mile away, it spun a vortex through the air, just a purple rift roughly six feet tall and equally as wide. It impressed Kabal no more than the beach had; as far as he was concerned, if he'd seen one, he'd seen them all, and the novelty of such strange things had long since worn off.
"Let's go," he grunted before he followed Frost once more.
When they crossed through, the portal deposited them on dunes overlooking a familiar scene. Kabal instantly recognized the wrecked man o' wars dashed upon the treacherous reefs, and the dilapidated lighthouse perched on a tall island close to the shore. Low cliffs shot up abruptly from the beach, and above them, he saw Shao Kahn's palace for the first time in nearly twenty-five years. This was where the Earthrealm Champions, along with the Edenian rebels, had camped while they tried to figure out a good way to attack the Deadly Alliance. That was right after Frost, Smoke, and Noob had killed their families, when Anya went missing and was presumed dead, and Kuai Liang had recruited the detective to help him chase down Quan Chi and Shang Tsung for revenge. The memory stabbed Kabal in the heart, mainly because back then, he'd counted the prickly and cold-hearted Cryomancer as his friend. But not anymore. Not after he married Anya and stole her away to Arctika, and then nearly killed her for her trouble. Fuck him.
It's no different than what Malphas did to you, his conscience quickly reminded him. You nearly dropped Anya and her sister off a cliff when you were possessed.
Don't fucking remind me, he inwardly admonished himself. And why are you taking Icicle Dick's side? he snapped at himself a moment later.
As Kabal trudged alongside Frost now, stewing in hatred and jealousy, arguing with himself about why he should or shouldn't cut Kuai Liang some slack, a brilliant campfire came into view. Roaring flames licked the black sky with forked orange tongues, burning like a beacon to all of Outworld. And sitting beside it in the sand was Olivia and a young man he'd never seen before. But it certainly wasn't Xinyi like he'd expected.
"Erron, look," he said before he darted like a lightning bolt towards them to save her. He barely gave any thought to his sleuthing error - clearly, Xinyi was innocent after all - before he looped his hookswords through the young man's collar and yanked him around like a windmill until he crashed face-first in the sand. Stunned, he could only groan as the detective now tackled him and punched the back of his skull to punish him for cutting off Livy's ear. Then he wrenched the man's hands behind his back to slap his handcuffs on him.
"Kabal, stop!" Liv screamed at him as he wrestled with the kidnapper. "You're hurting him!"
"Get back, kid," Kabal vaguely heard Erron's voice drawl behind him.
"No!" she yelped and now shoved the detective off the man. Together, both he and she toppled to the sand. She was a hair quicker to recover, though, and when he pushed himself up, she was already standing, interposed between Kabal and the kidnapper, holding a kori sword with the business end pointed at him.
"What the fuck are you doing, Liv?" he demanded to know.
"This man is Prince Jiayi, Special K," she told him.
"I don't care if he's the motherfucking Pope after what he did to you," he snarled.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," she said. "He's not the bad guy, here." She looked over her shoulder at the others. Erron, Cassie, and Jacqui all trained their pistols on the Crown Prince, ready to fire, and Takeda and Jin stood ready to attack with their whips and bow, respectively. Even the twins stood in fighting stances with storm swords poised to run him through. "Put that shit away," she barked at them all.
"Livy, he kidnapped you," Tommy argued.
"No, he didn't," she snapped. "Xinyi is the one who kidnapped me, and Jiayi saved me. We stopped here to wait for you to catch up."
As she spoke, the prince slowly got to his feet with one cuff snapped tightly around his wrist, the other one dangling down loosely. He looked at it and then shook his head in disgust before he promptly froze them and broke them off.
"Did you honestly believe such crude restraints could hold me?" he said in his haughtiest tone as he crumbled the metal in one hand like it was no stronger than a slice of bread.
Kabal narrowed his eyes at him behind his mask. "Then next time, I won't bother with showing mercy."
"I look forward to it," he retorted.
"Oh, stop it, both of you," Liv now hissed. "We're all on the same side."
"Livy, I was so worried about you," Jamie said as he stepped to his sister and wrapped his arms around her, inspiring Tommy to join in and hug them too. It was funny, Kabal thought. The Hydromancers were younger than her, yet both of them were a good head taller, making her look like their little sister.
"Yeah, fish-face," Tommy agreed a moment later as they pulled apart. "Don't you ever do that to us again."
"Oh, I'm sure you really missed me," she snapped back as she threw her kori sword into the sand.
"Not really," he shrugged. "It was quiet for once."
Liv shoved him slightly in response, but she was smiling as Jacqui now hugged her, and then Cassie locked arms with her in a warrior's greeting. "My uncles really must have been worried if they sent your team to find me," the Cryomancer said to her old friend and partner in crime.
The Sergeant patted her on the arm. "They didn't send us," she said. "And by the way, your uncle? He's a dick."
That prompted Liv to laugh. "Bi-han? Nah, he's a big ol' softie once you get to know him."
"He thought you were dead and that it'd be pointless to come after you," she said. "But I leave no man behind. Ever." She winked and then patted her on the arm again. Now she turned and looked at Frost. "But we would never have found you without your aunt following your tracks."
The two Cryomancers looked at each other, and Kabal couldn't help but note that Liv looked less than thrilled at her aunt's presence. But politely, she said, "Thank you."
"Good, I'm glad that's settled," Himavat now said as he seemingly appeared from nowhere, clapping Jiayi on the back, prompting Liv to whirl on him and scowl.
"Where the hell did you go?" she demanded to know. "You said you were going to watch out for us! My family and friends were ready to kill him!" she pointed at the Crown Prince.
"Oh, I heard a noise over the dunes and thought I'd investigate," he explained.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"No," he replied. "But it sounded as if someone were walking towards the campfire."
"Someone like us?" Cassie drily remarked.
The Elder God frowned as he thought about it, and then nodded his head while stroking his chin. "Well, actually, it could have been." His statement prompted Liv to facepalm.
Now Jiayi spoke. "Tell them your story, Olivia," he now commanded her, "and then we must all rest. We won't get much sleep in the coming days."
"Yeah, kid," Erron agreed, "I wanna hear this tale of yours. How you come to be in this arctic narwhal's care and whatnot." He pointed to the Crown Prince, who bristled at the comparison.
"Make it quick, darling girl," Himavat told her. "At daybreak, I will take you all to Seido."
alwaysdoubted, well, Olivia is a little gunshy, and who can blame her? But yeah, she's starting to warm up to him, which I hoped to convey in this chapter as well.
Reptaliator, yeah, Jiayi was kind of rude in the beginning, but he was probably feeling more than a little stressed out by life. Also, he's a Prince, soon to be a King, and can't afford to be seen as a wallflower - he's probably got to be very direct and blunt. And he's probably also just a bit socially awkward being isolated in a frozen wasteland. So all of these elements combined to make him an unpleasant guy at first. But he's definitely not a jerk.
Praxus84, I'm glad you enjoyed the fight scene with the Teuthos, and I agree, Olivia's starting to get her groove back.
MKDemigodzilla-Warrior, thanks. Yeah, like I said above, Ashrah was just there for the cameo. I'm not sure why NRS didn't include her in the games, but I'm lukewarm to that character anyway so it doesn't really matter.
DinoLord00, oh, thank you for the praise :) I'm glad you found it more intriguing. I thought it would be fun to have him let her call him "Jay," and let him delude himself that it was just to pay his debt to her. And the softer side of him was to show readers he's not a complete jerk. As for Ashrah, I'm not really planning to do anything with her beyond a simple cameo because, as you said, she's a pretty vanilla character and hardly anything about her interests me. I always say, "never say never," but it's highly unlikely you all will see her again.
ROCuevas, thank you!
FloweryNamesLover, thank you so much! Your sweet review made me blush :D I'm glad I'm repeatedly hitting you in the feels :D Hmm...should I kill Kuai Liang, or should I kill Anya? *evilly strokes my villain mustache* As for the brothers, Xinyi and Jiayi, I'm glad it was hard to tell who was the bad guy and who was the good guy, but if I had tricked you into thinking Jiayi would be the bad guy, I would've been happy because that was what I was trying to do LOL Xinyi is definitely something else, but I'm shocked you think he's worse than Rain! Rain physically and sexually abused women, tortured people for sport, betrayed everyone who did him wrong. I've actually been thinking about Rain lately, and how I need to turn his character up again because he's a lot more vanilla than he's been in previous stories. I want to make him a bit more extra. But yes, all three of our male antagonists are perfectly despicable, therefore they have their own comeuppance in store. I'm glad you like Havik since I'm making him a lot more subtle than those other three dynamic personalities. I don't want them to suspect that he's twisting them around his little finger. Anyway, thank you again for the incredibly kind review XD