Chapter Forty-Five: For Heaven's Sake

Again, Raiden stood in the realm of the Elder Gods surrounded by the six deities. Kitana stood close to him in silence and stared at the gods in amazement. To be in the presence of the Elder Gods was an honor she never thought she would have. Even if she wanted to talk, her shock prevented her from doing so, so she let Raiden do the talking.

"Elder Gods, I have come seeking an audience with a soul that resides here."

"For what purpose, Raiden?"

"This soul may very well be in grave danger. We believe that the sorcerer Quan Chi plans to take the soul from this realm."

"And whose soul does the sorcerer intend to take?"

Raiden motioned to Kitana.

"The woman who has accompanied is the daughter of this soul. She is…"

"Princess Kitana. We know of this mortal."

"Then you know of the soul I speak of."

"Indeed. What exactly do you plan to do with Sindel?"

"At the moment, I only wish to speak to her about our current situation."

"Are you speaking of Shao Kahn?"

His face did not portray it, but Raiden was shocked at what the Elder Gods had asked. If they had already known that Shao Kahn was alive, then why was Raiden not informed? Then the thunder god thought back to his amulet when more cracks had appeared after Shao Kahn's defeat. He had ignored it at the time thinking that it was a mistake, but maybe the Elder Gods had tried to warn him before. Whatever the reason, Raiden still needed to talk to Sindel and he was not going to be able to do that if he started questioning the gods' actions.

"...Yes."

"Hmm…very well. If it shall help you in the future, you may speak to Sindel. However…"

The Elder Gods' eyes fell on Kitana.

"She is your responsibility, Raiden. We do not usually allow mortals to speak to the souls here, but seeing as you brought her here by choice and she is Sindel's daughter, we will make an exception."

Raiden nodded and soon, a blinding light engulfed him and Kitana. The two had to close their eyes to shield them from the light, but when they opened them again, Raiden and Kitana had been transported to a field filled with flowers. Flowers of all colors surrounded them along with a beautiful blue sky devoid of clouds. Raiden had witnessed this scene many times, but Kitana was absolutely mesmerized by the sight. A true paradise in her eyes.

The princess turned a full circle to take in her surroundings and as she did, she spotted someone nearby. Raiden was already walking towards the stranger, who was kneeling in the grass to admire a few flowers. Violets. She had her back turned to the thunder god and did not know of his presence until he tapped her on her shoulder. Watching from a distance, Kitana saw Raiden and the woman exchange some words before turned to look at her. The princess took that as her cue to join the conversation. Kitana moved towards Raiden as he helped the stranger to her feet. This gave Kitana a clear view of the woman's features. She had long gray hair with a black streak that ran down the middle of it and her eyes were all white. She also wore a purple robe that covered her bare feet and she had placed a violet behind her left ear. Whoever this person was, Kitana thought she was quite beautiful.

When she was close enough, Kitana and the woman stared at each other in curiosity. Raiden watched as the two women silently and waited for one of them to speak. Fortunately, Kitana soon broke the silence.

"Are you…Sindel?"

Kitana felt stupid for asking that question, but she had no idea how her mother looked like. Sindel had died when Kitana was still just a baby, so she could not recall any memories of that time. She did not even have a picture of the queen to hang on to.

"Ki…Kitana?"

The grey-haired woman reached up and cupped Kitana's cheek with her hand. Hesistantly, Kitana laid her hand on top of the woman's, who had tears in her eyes.

"I will leave you two to get reacquainted."

Raiden excused himself and walked a good distance away to give the women some privacy. It had been many years the two have seen each other and there must a lot that they wanted to discuss. But their time was limited. Their were other important they needed to attend to after all. Once he was away, Kitana repeated her earlier question.

"Are you really Sindel?"

"...I did not expect for you to remember me. You were but an infant when I…Oh gods, I am so sorry."

Kitana had not expected to be pulled into such a tight embrace by the other woman, who she now knew had to be her mother. The woman, Sindel, sobbed into Kitana's shoulder and her daughter slowly wrapped her own arms around the Sindel. That only made her mother cry harder.

"There is no excuse for me leaving you there with Shao Kahn, but…I thought it was the only way to save you, as well as another realm from suffering the same fate as Edenia. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Sind…Mother…you did do the right thing. I am not angry with you for sacrificing yourself. In fact, I admire you for that. And for what you did to protect me."

Kitana gently pulled Sindel away so she could look at her mother.

"You do not know how happy I am to see you after all these years. It pained me that I could not even remember your face. Jade was the one who kept your memory alive, for her and me."

"She was always a fighter, just like her father. I had asked her to watch over you and you know what she told me?"

Kitana shook her head.

"Jade was crying when I told her I was…leaving…but even as tears streaked down her face, she gave me a big smile and said, "I will protect Kitana with my life, your highness. That is my duty as a soldier." Her parents would be proud and I am relieved to know that you and Jade are alright."

"Yes, and I can assure you, she has done an incredible job protecting me. Even when I turned against Shao Kahn, Jade never left my side."

Sindel was glad to hear that. She knew she had made the right decision to place her trust in Jade. If Edenia had not merged with Outworld, the former queen would have been happy to accept Jade into the Royal Guard. Or even as her or Kitana's personal bodyguard.

"I see that Jade did not accompany you and Raiden. Where is she?"

"She thought it would be good if I were to speak with you alone, so she stayed behind to help the other Earthrealmers that took us in. But to be honest, I believe she has found a certain…person of interest."

"You mean a man has caught her eye? Fascinating."

Kitana has not spoken to her friend about it yet, but the princess believed that a certain silver-haired man had become Jade's love interest. This was the perfect thing she felt that a mother and daughter should talk about and apparently Sindel was interested in the subject.

"Well, whoever this man is, I hope he treats her well."

"As do I, Mother."

Feeling that their conversation has gone on long enough, Raiden walked back to the Edenians and looked directly at Sindel.

"I truly apologize, Sindel, but we must tell you the reason for our visit. It concerns Shao Kahn."

"What about him? He did not win the last tournament, did he?"

"No, but that is not stopping him from invading Earthrealm."

"Invasion? That cannot be so, I…"

"We know of your spell. That is exactly why we are here. We have reason to believe that someone is will attempt to abduct you from the Heavens."

Sindel was not sure what to say about that. She did not think that such a feat was even possible.

"Who is this person you speak of?"

"A sorcerer from the Netherrealm. Quan Chi. Using necromancy, he plans to revive you so that the barrier you placed to on Earthrealm will be no more."

"Necromancy…a terrible fate. If he successfully resurrects me, I will become a slave to his will."

"We will not allow that to happen."

Kitana held on to her mother's hand with both of hers as she assured Sindel of her safety.

"I promise you, Mother, I will not let anyone take you."

"Kitana, please, I do not want you to risk your life for me."

Before Kitana could say something else, Raiden spoke.

"It is not just your life that is at stake here, Sindel. Earthrealm's fate depends on your resurrection."

"Yes, I know. So, what shall we do about that? There is not much I can do here even after hearing your warning."

Raiden nodded. If Quan Chi casts his spell, there was no way she could counter it. They can hope that when that moment comes, Sindel may be able to fight his control, but that was a slim possibility. As powerful as she was, Quan Chi's magic is something that even a god would have trouble fighting against.

"Raiden?"

The thunder god glanced at Kitana.

"What do we do? There must be something we can do to protect my mother."

"...Maybe…."

A thought occurred to Raiden, but he doubt it would do him any good. The idea he had was a long-shot and he did not think that the Elder Gods would agree to his demands. But if it was to save Earthrealm, why would they disapprove? Shao Kahn had lost the tournament fairly and now he was retaliating by invading Earthrealm after they had won their freedom? Raiden could not allow this to stand.

"Sindel…would you agree to accompanying Kitana and I back to Earthrealm?"