A/N: Johnny's POV! I know this took forever to update. My laptop died, and then I had trouble with my internet. But enough excuses! Please read :) This chapter is mostly to move the story along...

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

I smiled as I reclined back on a large sofa in one of the many common rooms. The windows here were big and tall—letting plenty of sunshine into the place.

I missed my sunglasses…

And hotels, and paparazzi, and even my agent.

My agent…I wonder if he's telling people I'm dead. And how many movie roles I'm missing out on. How long has it been anyway?

This whole adventure is starting to blend together in my head.

Still, things could be a lot worse. I mean, there's nothing wrong about relaxing in a palace.

"Lazy ass," someone muttered behind me.

I craned my head back to see Sonya standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She was smiling, though. That's always a good sign.

"Well good morning, beautiful." I motioned for her to join me and she took a seat next to me on the sofa.

Man, she really did look beautiful. I might not be a fan of the way Edenian men dress—mainly with black pants and boots, and colorful shirts with high collars, or tunics, most of them ranging from the 'cool' side of the color spectrum. Or colorful robes for the older, more distinguished gents. No, thanks!

But Edenian women on the other hand… Well, let's just say the skimpier the dress the better. Especially if you were a warrior.

Today, Sonya was mostly covered up in a purple dress.

"Morning?" she said amused. "You do know it's sometime after noon."

I looked out the large window from my seat, trying to catch a glimpse of the sun. Some people can tell time by looking at the sun, right?

"Bah, who can tell here," I grumbled, turning my attention back to her. "They don't have clocks in this realm. Do they?"

Sonya shook her head.

I laughed out loud. Of course. All the magic and power in an ancient civilization—and no impressive technology.

I guess they didn't really need it though.

Not that I missed technology all that much, either. It was kinda nice just having things be simple.

Sonya smiled, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

She settled in against my side and I could feel my heart thump loudly in my chest.

Yes!

I wasn't exactly sure what we were to each other now. But I knew she liked me.

Ever since I helped rescue Scorpion she acted a lot more interested in me. She still won't admit that she was worried about me, though.

And our first day in the palace, while I was attempting to flirt with a particularly cute servant girl, she got really pissed off and threatened to kick my teeth in. Not to mention the death glare she gave that girl.

But I'm totally okay with that. As long as it meant she was jealous over little ol' me.

So, since that day we've come to a sort of understanding. I guess we're not officially together, but hey, it's a start.

I looked into Sonya's eyes and she gave me a questioning look, like she wanted to ask me something but decided against it.

"What is it?" I asked, a little more alert now.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "I just….ugh, I don't want to be that typical cliché girl."

I turned my body to face her completely. "Sonya, what are you talking about?"

She smiled a little sheepishly. "I was going to ask you what you were thinking about. You just seemed so lost in thought. Can you imagine that? That I'd actually care what a man was thinking?"

Ha. The Cage has drawn another one in.

"Well, my thoughts are pretty fascinating," I replied, relaxing against the sofa again.

She rolled her eyes. "I bet."

"Actually, I was thinking about you. All good things, of course."

"Really?" She sat up a little straighter, obviously pleased. "Thinking about what a strong, independent woman I am?"

I gave her a lopsided grin. "No, I was thinking about how sexy your legs look in that dress."

Sonya laughed and promptly elbowed me in my ribs.

"Aghh!" I let go of her shoulders and doubled over in pain. Whoever said girls couldn't hit was out of his damn mind.

"You big baby," Sonya said affectionately, patting me on the head.

"Lovebirds!" barked a deep voice. "Get a room!"

I looked up to see Jax, sitting with a grumpy expression on his face at a table at the other end of the room. He was eating – lunch, I guess – with an amused looking Smoke and Kung Lao. Liu Kang was there too, but he was ignoring us and continued on eating.

I almost forgot they were there.

"You get a room!" I shouted back at him. "My woman can beat me in public all she wants!"

"Hey!" Sonya protested. "I'm not your woman. And I don't beat you!"

"But you can," smirked Kung Lao. "All you want!"

"Shut up, Kung Lao," Sonya snapped. "Eat your food."

"Yes, mother," Smoke quipped.

I grinned while Sonya called them idiots under her breath.

This was the most relaxed I'd been in weeks.

A little while later Sub-Zero entered the room with a reluctant looking Scorpion.

I immediately jumped to my feet to greet them. I hadn't seen Scorpion since the saving, and I genuinely wanted to know how he was doing.

"Hey, buddy! How's it going? They finally let you out?" I noticed Scorpion was wearing his armor. "Why aren't you wearing regular clothes? Well, y'know, regular for this realm."

"Don't call me 'buddy'," he rasped, scowling.

I sighed internally. Talking to this guy could be tricky. But I could get almost anyone to lighten up. Eventually.

"Okay, pal," I told him.

Scorpion tensed up but didn't say any more about it.

"He's wearing his armor because he's stubborn," Sub-Zero explained, sounding just a tad annoyed. "He refused to put on the Edenian clothes that were provided for him."

Sub-Zero himself was wearing the expected black pants, and a blue shirt. Of course.

"They took my weapons," Scorpion muttered. He looked uncomfortable without them.

"Yeah," I replied. "They took all of ours. Not that I had any…but still."

Smoke came over to us then. I knew the others weren't big fans of Scorpion's. Yep, even as I looked back at Sonya real quick I could see that she had her arms folded across her chest, and she didn't have a happy expression on her face.

"How long have you been up and about?" asked the grey ninja. I always thought he acted indifferent towards Scorpion, but I also knew as Sub-Zero's friend he'd try to make an effort.

Because, I guess, Scorpion was Sub-Zero's friend now too. I don't know. The whole thing was weird. But I like to just go with the flow.

"Since this morning," answered Scorpion.

We waited a second for him to elaborate, but he never did.

"H'okay, well," I said turning to Smoke. "We were just talking about how the castle guards took all our weapons."

"Mm," was Smoke's noncommittal reply.

This conversation was dying, and fast. No! Not with me around! Never!

"What's with the long hair fellas?" I blurted out. It was the only thing I could think of. But seriously, I was curious about it.

Scorpion and Smoke blinked together in confusion, while Sub-Zero smacked a palm to his forehead.

"Really?" asked Sub-Zero, incredulous.

"Yeah!" I said. "I mean look at them. Two fierce warriors with long, gorgeous locks. What's that about?" I almost called them ladies, but quickly reminded myself that I didn't want to die.

Smoke snorted and ran a hand through his silver hair. "I like it this way. It wasn't always long, but it doesn't really get in my way or anything. It's shorter than his," he said, pointing to Scorpion.

The yellow ninja's eyes widened. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing, really." I gave him a thoughtful look, completely fucking with him. "Very…manly."

"What's this about long hair?" asked Liu. He walked up to us and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Your hair's not that long, Liu," I told him. "Shoulder length does wonders on you."

"But not on me?" Smoke said indignantly.

Haha. This was awesome.

Scorpion seemed confused. "This style of hair is common in my village."

"It suits you, and seems to be the norm in Edenia as well," Sub-Zero assured him. He glared at me, as if he was telling me to knock it off.

Fat chance. He should be happy we had Scorpion joining in the conversation at all now.

"Is this what men talk about?" Sonya cut in, looking at us from her seat. "Fascinating. And my mother tells me I need more female friends in my life…"

I made a face at her. "Harr harr."

Liu looked past us toward the door. "Speaking of female friends…"

I followed his gaze and saw Kitana sauntering in with Jade, and Master Rong scurrying close behind. It was a funny sight only because the old man was shorter than the women, and had a hard time keeping pace.

"My friends," Kitana greeted warmly. "I am glad to find you all here. I have some news to—"

"Honored guests!" Master Rong interrupted, a touch too enthusiastically. "On behalf of our beloved, returned Princess and the realm, it would be my pleasure to invite you all to her ceremonial coronation as heir to Edenia!"

"Coronation?" Sonya said, hopping over the couch to stand with the rest of us.

Kitana sighed softly, but smiled. "I am to be made Queen."

I gave a 'whoop!' of excitement. "That's great! Congrats, Kitana."

She would be a good queen. Everyone thought so.

After everybody was finished congratulating her, a very embarrassed Kitana spoke again.

"I want you all to be there," she said. "And afterward there is to be a celebration. I hadn't wanted it to be too extravagant, but my council seems insistent."

Master Rong smiled. "It's just been so long since Edenia has been whole. The people are happy."

I was pumped. A party sounded awesome right now.

"That's not all," Jade announced, a smug smile on her face.

"Oh, yes." Master Rong turned to address all of us. "It would be our honor and privilege to grant you all lordships in our kingdom."

My mouth hung open. I don't think I was the only one that was shocked.

Kitana nodded happily in approval.

"Is that necessary?" Sub-Zero said quietly.

"Of course!" Master Rong exclaimed.

"It's less than all of you deserve," Kitana agreed.

Well. Lord Cage did have a nice ring to it. It wasn't too big a deal anyway. Pretty much all of us would be leaving soon. Edenia wouldn't have to worry about being stuck with a bunch of new 'lords' to serve and feed. Unless that was what they wanted.

"So, when's all of this going down?" I asked.

"Tomorrow," Kitana answered simply.

"Tomorrow!" Sonya cried in surprise. "Don't you need more time to…get whatever ready?"

Master Rong shook his head, and looked as though he were dealing with impatient children. "We can prepare for the coronation easily enough, since my Princess is of modest tastes. And the castle has been preparing for a celebration since you all arrived."

That's right, I forgot all about that. Jeez, the last time I heard about it was probably a month ago.

We all turned to stare at Scorpion. His expression was priceless.

"You didn't have to wait for me!" he growled, clearly irritated with having all eyes on him.

Heh.

"Nonsense," tutted Master Rong. "We want everyone to attend. But uh…" He looked Scorpion up and down. "You'll have to change of course. Unless there's a battle, only the castle knights may wear armor."

Scorpion frowned. "And if I refuse?"

The old man's eyes twinkled dangerously. "There are other ways to make one cooperate."

My eyes widened a bit at the veiled threat. Creeeeepy.

"Please, Scorpion," Kitana said sweetly. "You need only make an appearance…"

"Fine," the yellow ninja muttered unhappily.

I would have bugged him to go, too. I mean I'd pay good money to see that guy drunk and doing crazy shit.

Master Rong clasped his hands together. "Excellent. My lady, if it please you…" He bowed to take his leave. Probably to make final preparations for tomorrow.

Kitana gave an elegant dip of the head and the creepy old man left.

It wasn't too long after but everyone settled into just hanging out and chatting. And soon after that we all started dispersing and going off to do different things.

Scorpion was the first to leave, or storm off, after Kitana told us the basics of what was expected of being a lord. And that we'd have a small ceremony for that after she was crowned. It was so cool.

I was actually kinda surprised to see Sub-Zero linger behind to socialize. He seemed to be loosening up more. Then I was less surprised when he excused himself to go look for Scorpion.

Sonya's eyes darkened as she watched him leave the room.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, a little worried by that look.

She made a disgusted sound. "How can he even want to be around that guy?"

"Huh? Who?" I was confused.

"Sub-Zero. He's been all buddy-buddy with Scorpion this whole time. I just don't get it."

Well, I didn't either. But it was none of our business, I figured.

"He killed his brother!" she continued. "Did he forget that or what?"

"Oh, I doubt he's forgotten…"

"Then what the hell is he thinking?"

"We're still talking about Sub-Zero, right?"

"Johnny!"

"I'm sorry! I guess I just don't care that much about it."

Sonya's eyes still glowered at the door that Sub-Zero left through.

"I have to say something," she declared as she started to step toward the door.

No!

I grabbed at her desperately and managed to get a hold of her arm. "C'mon, don't do that! It's none of your business…"

She wrenched her arm free from my grasp and kept on her way.

"Sonya! No! Bad!" I made grabs for her again but she swatted my hands away and stomped out of the room before I could really stop her.

Not that I really tried hard enough. But I didn't want to make her angry either.

"Why!" I shouted after her as I pulled on my hair in distress.

I only hoped my friends wouldn't kill each other. Something told me Sub-Zero's brother was a touchy subject.

A/N: Sonya's POV next up! She's going to bug the crap out of Sub-Zero, that's for sure. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers~

I'm sorry again for taking so long to update. Much love!