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Title of Chapter: An Unlikely Alliance
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!
Warning: Kano. That's the warning. Kano.
For the next few days, Sub-Zero and I didn't speak to one another. In my eyes, there was no more to be said, and apparently he felt the same way. We acted civilized at each meal, and we didn't try to kill each other every other hour. We found that by not speaking to each other, we could sit together and nothing violent came of it. But it wasn't peaceful, like it should've been. It was more of a heart stopping silence; there was something hanging in the air around us, but we didn't know what to make of it.
On the seventh day of our "silence" we came downstairs for dinner, walking side by side. Scorpion glanced at us and then looked back to Luna, who stopped mid sentence to stare at us as we passed. Sub-Zero pushed open the door for me and I just nodded, taking my seat. This was pretty much the usual routine now. Raiden seemed suspicious of us, but we reassured him that nothing was wrong.
After dinner on that seventh night, Raiden called us all into the living room. Everyone crammed into chairs and onto the couches, and Johnny Cage even sat down on the coffee table, next to Stryker. Raiden looked at all of us, giving each one of us the once over. Finally, he began by saying, "I have been monitoring the situation with Mavado, attacking numerous villages, leaving rubble behind. It seems that a village close by would be his next target – that is, if he's following a pattern."
"What're we supposed to do?" Li Mei snorted. "Mavado is a fruitcake in case you haven't noticed."
"Well, I'm going to send a group of you out to stop him before he destroys this village. I have a feeling that he's after something more than just the destruction of villages, as he's working for Shang Tsung. So Sonya and I will try to find his ulterior motives, while this group goes to track and stop him," Raiden explained. Murmurs sounded throughout the group of people.
"Who all is in this group?" Kung Lao asked curiously. The people fell silent as we all awaited Raiden's answer.
"Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Li Mei, Lucipher, Kung Lao, and Jade," Raiden replied. To me, this was no surprise. Well, it was a surprise that Kung Lao and Jade were in the group, but I suppose it wasn't that bad. Li Mei yelled out the word "crap" angrily, while Jade and Kung Lao traded glances. Kenshi looked over at Sub-Zero and me, quirking his eyebrows. "Sub-Zero, Luci, try not to kill each other." We both just nodded. As I said, there was nothing left to be said. Raiden dismissed us and told us to get a good night's rest.
So on that seventh night, I walked upstairs to my room with Li Mei, and we talked for a little while about what we were going to do to stop Mavado. I was a little relieved to have her there with us, and it helped me sleep a little easier. "G'night, Luci," Li Mei whisper-called out to me. I whisper-called my goodnight back and the lamp was turned off. Sleep came quickly after that.
Next Day
I met with our little group downstairs the next morning, and we set off towards the next village. The sky was cloudy and gray, and it was drizzling slightly. The meadow stretched out before us, and then a forest was after that. After the forest, we would reach a dirt path that led to the village. Kung Lao and Jade charged ahead, while Kenshi and Li Mei took up residence in the middle. I would've preferred to be in the middle, but since we seemed to be walking in pairs and since Sub-Zero was in the back, I ended up walking with him at the back.
We didn't talk, and that heart stopping silence ensued. That something hanging in the air mixed with the little raindrops and made the silence not only heart stopping, but awkward. I listened to Kenshi and Li Mei talk. To my great surprise, Sub-Zero spoke up, "Those two seem to get along quite well." I glanced at him before nodding my head once. Now that Subs mentioned it, they did seem to get along really well. I laughed once, a smirk crossing my face. Sub-Zero looked down at me as we continued walking.
"You're right," I agreed quietly, still smirking. For a moment, it seemed like everything was alright now. Even though Mavado had attacked my village and a village close by that one, thing seemed like they were OK. Just the contact from Sub-Zero made everything seem a little better for once. I wondered if I wanted to get revenge on my former master now. Did I? I was not sure… Li Mei's laughter startled me out of my reverie, and so I looked up at her, averting my eyes from the ground.
"Aww, you're so sweet, Kenshi!" she exclaimed.
I smiled slightly; a cold heart warming up again. I could feel it beating in my chest, but not because I was scared. Mainly just because I was able to see some form of goodness in this world. It may sound cheesy, but it really did make me feel a little better. "Grandmaster?" I asked, looking over at Subs. I had gotten used to calling him that now, so it was a habit now.
"Sub-Zero," he corrected. I paused for a moment, staring at him. He only offered me a glance.
"Sub-Zero," I began again. "Something about Luna…just seems different. I keep thinking back on it, but I can't figure out what it is. Got any ideas?" I quirked my eyebrows as he looked thoughtful. The grass of the meadow swayed with the slight breeze as I waited for an answer somewhat impatiently.
"A year and a half after you left," Sub-Zero started in, "Scorpion took Luna as his wife. Raiden wasn't happy about it, and I wasn't there to see the event. But I do know that after that, they left and went to live in the little village where we fought Daegon, Mavado, and Hsu Hao." I was surprised that they were married, of all things. "I honestly didn't think the two would end up married, but apparently I was proven wrong." I nodded and looked back down at the grass.
"When Luna and I first met, we made a bet, to see who would get married first. Apparently, I owe her two Twinkies and half of a Hershey's," I explained, blinking. Sub-Zero chuckled under his breath as I said this. "Hopefully, she won't remember that she won the bet." Scorpion and Luna did make quite the couple. "I think Jade and Kung Lao will be next," I added, a little out of the blue. "And then Li Mei and Kenshi." As I said this, the rain picked up. Kung Lao began to jog, and Jade stopped and looked back at us.
"Pick up the pace!" she called back to us. Kenshi did just that; Li Mei called Jade a harpy. Sub-Zero quickened his pace ever so slightly, but since his strides were so much more drawn out than my own, I had to jog to catch up to him. Satisfied, Jade followed after Kung Lao. I managed to catch up to Sub-Zero; the rain began to fall a lot harder. The forest was lot closer, but we still had a good bit of meadow to cross through. I finally realized that Hadoken was trotting along besides us.
Sub-Zero watched the wolf dog curiously, before looking down at me. I gave him a questioning glance. "How did he get the scar?" Subs asked, glancing at the black wolf dog before looking back at me.
"Oh. See, when I lived in that little village, there was an incident with another pack of wolves. The alpha of that pack had found Hadoken, so they started fighting for territorial reasons – the village was basically Hadoken's territory – and so that's how he got that scar. From that particular fight; technically he's not mine. He just followed me this far," I explained. "Probably for food – in the village, the people would feed him table scraps and whenever the other dogs brought in anything they caught, he'd steal some and eat it."
Something must have occurred to Subs, because he gained a thoughtful expression. "Mavado saw him, correct?" he asked. I nodded once; what did that have to do with anything? "Would you call me crazy if I suggested that Mavado may have gotten his own wolf?" I thought about it for a moment and looked over at Hadoken. "The reason I say so is because maybe we can track Mavado with Hadoken." That was a very good idea, I had to admit. I snapped my fingers and the wolf came to my side.
"Can you sniff out Mavado?" I asked, kneeling down next to him. Sub-Zero did the same and Hadoken sat down as well, cocking his head to the side. His right ear cocked to the side and his left one titled forward as if he was thinking hard. Hadoken put his paw on Sub-Zero's knee for a moment before drawing it back. "Oh, try petting him," I advised. Sub-Zero reached out and laid a hand on the wolf's head. Hadoken barked and backed away, sniffing the air curiously. He turned and ran across the clearing.
"Does that answer your question?" Sub-Zero asked, as we both stood up. The other four stopped as they saw Hadoken run by, and we caught up to them quickly. "The wolf is tracking Mavado," explained Sub-Zero. Kung Lao nodded and jumped over a fallen log and ran after him. Jade and Li Mei followed next, and Kenshi, Subs, and I ran after them.
Hadoken led us through the gray hued forest, leaving paw prints behind in the mud. We lost him a few times, but he always stopped and waited until we came back into view. He slowed down, so we did the same. Kenshi became restless and uneasy. "What's wrong?" Li Mei asked, looking up at him curiously. We stopped and waited for him to answer.
"Someone is coming," he warned us. Just a few moments later, the bushes rustled. Li Mei drew out her weapons, Kung Lao smoothed two fingers across his hat, and Jade crouched in the fighting position. Kenshi's hand went to the hilt of his blade, and Sub-Zero did the same as Jade. I drew out my water sword and stepped back, among our small, six-warrior line.
To our great surprise, four people stepped out and surrounded us, seemingly trapping us in a square. I nudged Sub-Zero, who leaned over and whispered, "Kano, Kira, Kobra, and Jarek." I eyed him curiously for a moment, shifting my gaze between them and Sub-Zero. "The Black Dragon clan." My eyes widened for just a moment, before I glared at them. Again, this stupid failing MK knowledge thing was setting me back a great deal.
"What do you want, Kano?" Kung Lao spat, glaring equally as hard as Kano was.
"I wanted to speak to you on diplomatic terms," Kano said, voice husky and dangerous. "Surrender your weapons." At first I thought he was talking to us, but instead, he, Kira, Kobra, and Jarek all dropped their weapons. "Now then, we have no problem with you keeping your weapons at hand." Not one of us relaxed. "Tasia was recently banished from the Black Dragon clan – and now she had joined forces with Mavado and the Red Dragon clan. We have received word of your conquest to destroy Mavado. We wanted to strike up an alliance with the six of you."
"No way!" Jade snorted, shaking her head.
"Now, now, beautiful, just listen," Jarek cooed, eyeing Jade with a look of slight lust in his eyes. She looked like she was about to jump forward and strangle him, or even maybe claw his eyes out. This was the reaction Jarek had wanted, so he folded his arms across his chest and smirked. "Kano's proposal involves the defeat of Mavado, so why wouldn't you listen?"
"Because you're dirty little liars!" Li Mei shouted back.
"Ah," Kano chuckled darkly. "Feisty women, are you? Besides the dormant, weakling over there." He gestured to me. I glared at him in annoyance. "She couldn't even defeat Tasia."
"Hey, I could've beaten her!" I said, as Sub-Zero clamped a cold hand down on my shoulder. I shrugged his hand away. It was obviously the reaction Kano had wanted, and I had given it to him. For him, it was like taking candy from a baby. I stomped my foot furiously and backed off, my weapon still clenched firmly in my hands.
Kano continued by saying, "Now then, would you like to take us up on our offer?"
"Why should we trust you?" Kenshi asked, finally speaking up. "You cannot be trusted."
"Yes we can," Kira snorted from her side of the square-like formation. Her red ponytail flicked back and forth as she shook her head with a smirk planted firmly on her lips. "We want Mavado dead. Just like you want him dead. So, if we form this alliance, it can be done in half of the time. Plus, I can take that little brat Tasia out!" A vicious smirk spread across her face now. Kung Lao looked at each one of us. I didn't want to put in any opinion, so I just shrugged my shoulders.
"Sub-Zero?" Kung Lao asked, looking to the Grandmaster for support. The man in question stood to his full height and looked at each of the four Black Dragon members, scrutinizing them, as it seemed. He folded his arms across his chest and turned back to Kung Lao.
"I cannot say if they're trustworthy or not," Subs replied. Kung Lao took a deep breath and eyed the rest of us wearily.
"What do you say?" Kano asked, maliciousness seeping into his already vicious, dangerous, and husky voice.
"We'll take you up on your offer," Kung Lao replied, seeming a little uncertain of his decision.
"Good, very good," Kano replied, voice soft but deadly. "Do you know where Mavado is?"
"The wolf is tracking him," Li Mei said, anger clear in her voice. "You stay in front of us where we can watch you, got it, scum bags?" The four of them nodded and retrieved their weapons. "Good, and if you try anything, we won't hesitate to take your heads off."
"We understand to the fullest extent," Jarek responded, smirking lightly.
And so, we continued on our journey…with the Black Dragon clan in tow.
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