Chapter Sixty-Four
The Next Morning…
Cave
An hour after the break of dawn, most of the fighters in the cave were up and getting themselves ready for their departure. Many were looking forward to finally going home after staying in this realm for over a month.
In the lounge room, a majority of the items there were packed away. There, Rose looked around the area to make sure that everything was packed and that nothing in the room was missed. The items were to be left here and Raiden would take care of them once everyone was on the ships that would return them home.
Rose sighed to herself a little after realizing that everything was ready to go. Seems like only yesterday when we all arrived here, she thought.
At that moment, she heard someone walking into the room. Rose turned her head and wasn't surprised to see Raiden enter the room.
"I've informed the mortals about the meeting," the Thunder God told her. "I've told a few to be ready at the campfire in two hours and they will be passing the message to each other."
"Good," Rose said with a single nod. "So from there, we will be able to talk with them about possible plans from this point on."
"Indeed," Raiden agreed. "Just to note, I haven't told anyone what the meeting will be about, only that it's important.
"It's for the best," Rose said. "I want them all to be in a relaxed state of mind before the meeting." She then sighed a little. "Out of curiosity… what do you think will happen at the meeting?"
Raiden shrugged. "We won't know until it happens. I do suspect, however, that one of two things could happen. Depending on the circumstances, the mortals could either be infiltrating the fortress tonight… or take another few days of planning, which would be mean, of course, that they will be going home this afternoon."
Another sigh escaped from Rose's lips. "Well… I hope that whatever happens that we will be able to destroy the medallion in the end."
"I hope for that as well," Raiden agreed. "Now… do we still have those Outworld fruit?"
"I threw everything out this morning," Rose said.
"Damn," Raiden uttered.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "I told everyone last night."
"Well someone failed to inform me," Raiden said. "To think I'm a Thunder God too."
"I heated up some tea if you want some," Rose offered.
Raiden couldn't help but smirk. "Well… I must admit, I'll miss our tea time."
"You could always visit me in Italy you know."
"That's true."
From there, the two enjoyed one last tea together in Outworld.
Outside the lounge, the curtain to Sonya Blade's room opened as she was packing her belongings. The blond agent turned her head and saw Delta Red's Matthew McCoy walk in. In his hands were a few pieces of paper.
"Sorry to interrupt," McCoy began. "But Guile wanted me to hand you these papers concerning the investigation here."
Sonya nodded a bit as she took the paper in her hands. "Thanks McCoy," she said with a small sigh.
McCoy noted the fact that Sonya wasn't exactly happy-go-lucky this morning. "Can't wait to go home, mate?" he asked her.
"At this point, yes," Sonya replied. "I don't know if you heard this morning, but some of us infiltrated the main palace this morning to find our fugitive Kira. We had intended to capture her and bring back to the States to charge her for all of her crimes. When we got into her room, it was completely empty…"
"So Guile told me," McCoy said. "Sorry it didn't work out, but I'm sure you'll find her again soon."
"I hope so too," Sonya nodded. She then stared up at him. "Are you looking forward to going home too?"
McCoy shrugged a little. "I am, but I'm expecting a new mission to be thrown at my desk the minute I return." A chuckled escaped his throat after this statement. "Oh yes, and just to let you know that Lita and Ginzu are at the main palace right now doing last minute checks… just in case."
"I don't think we'll come up with anything, but at least looking around one last time doesn't hurt," Sonya said.
"That's what Lita said," McCoy mentioned. "It was her idea after all. She was going to have Cammy go with her, but she couldn't find her this morning, most likely at breakfast with Jin."
"You're probably right," Sonya said. "Speaking of breakfast, I'm going to go out and pick some fruit for a little bit. I'll try to be back in ten to twenty minutes so if anyone asks, let them know."
"All right… are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" McCoy asked.
"Don't worry, I can manage," Sonya said. "If I'm not back in a half hour, come find me."
"All right," McCoy said. From there, they both left the room with McCoy heading to the lounge and Sonya heading outside.
A few rooms down, Yang was going through his own stuff to make sure that everything was ready to go. With him, Maki was helping him out as she had already finished her packing last night.
"I think everything is ready to go," Yang said as he zipped up the only luggage he had with him. He then chuckled in his mind a little as he remembered his sudden decision to come to this tournament. His brother Yun had already packed a luggage for him, hoping that Yang would change his mind by the time they reached the ships that had taken them here.
The reason for his sudden decision was because he spotted the blonde beauty that was now here with him.
"Good," said Maki with a small smile. "At least we're completely sure that you won't leave anything behind."
"True," Yang said with a small laugh. "I have to admit… I'm actually very glad that the end is finally here. Mainly, I just want Yun to stop seeing that Anna girl, but more importantly, I want to know how my grandfather's doing." He then sighed a little as he looked over at Maki. "Then again, at the same time, I didn't want this stay to end, knowing that it means that I'll be separating from you."
Maki tried to smile in reply. "I know. Things will be a bit hard once we return to Earth. But you know I'll visit you in two weeks once I get my flight arrangements ready."
Yang slowly brushed his fingers over her cheek in reply. "And you know I look forward to that day."
The two were just beginning to lean in to share a kiss when they heard coughing just a couple of feet away. Yang and Maki were both expecting Yun to be next to them, but upon turning their heads to see who it was, they were a bit surprised to see Cody standing there.
"Hey Cody," Maki said.
"Hey," Cody sighed. "Listen… can I have a word with you… preferably now?"
"Sure," Maki said. She then turned her head to Yang. "I'll be back."
"Take your time," Yang encouraged. "I'm expecting Yin to swing back in a bit to discuss breakfast." He then briefly kissed Maki before she departed from the room.
Once she was outside, Cody spoke. "Have you seen Guy at all this morning?"
Maki shook her head. "No, I haven't."
"Neither has anyone else it seems," Cody said grimly. "Last time I saw him, he was heading to the hot springs. I'm starting to get a feeling that he hasn't returned at all last night."
Upon hearing this, Maki's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean… he went alone?" Cody nodded, which was the answer Maki didn't want to know. "I hope nothing happened to him…"
"That's what I'm hoping," Cody said. "But it's unlikely for him to be gone for this long without informing anyone. Listen… I need your help… we should go and look for him."
"Where do we even start?"
"Let's go towards the springs," Cody suggested. "Perhaps we could find clues around and towards that area. We'll look around until we're due for the meeting."
Maki nodded, feeling a bit confident in Cody's words. "All right. Let me get my batons and we'll head out."
"All right," Cody said. From there, the two began departing in order to start their search in finding their long-time friend.
Not too far, Kitana was one of the few still in bed. Unlike the others however, she happened to be fully awake…
With a blanket covering most of her body, Kitana thought about her days here in Outworld, going back to the beginning of this tournament. She had expected to just come here to represent her home world of Edenia and hoped to emerge the victor of the tournament as she wanted the medallion to make her world a better place.
Instead, it became much more the moment she met Siegfried… she ended up developing deep feelings for the Keisei native. However, last night, he pushed her away after spending some passionate time together. Now as she though through this, the Edenian Princess was beginning to realize that perhaps the both of them were never meant to be together.
Besides, she thought. He's from Keisei and I'm from Edenia…
As she continued with her thoughts, she never noticed her mother Sindel entering her room. In the older woman's hand was a bowl of soup with the spoon inside and hot steam floating upward from the bowl.
"Kitana?" Sindel called out, breaking the silence.
The Princess of Edenia sighed to herself a little upon hearing her mother's voice. Soon after, she moved the blanket down a bit and slowly sat herself up from her bed. As she did, Sindel walked over to her and sat down next to her.
"I thought you might be hungry," Sindel guessed as she began handing the bowl to her.
Briefly, Kitana looked in the bowl. It was a simple soup with a few vegetables. She then took it into her hand and took a moment to eat the soup.
"Thank you mother," she finally said after a few minutes.
Sindel nodded as she took the bowl of soup back upon realizing that her daughter was finished with her meal. "You're welcome." The Queen sighed a little before continuing. "I'm sorry that this whole thing with Siegfried didn't work out."
Kitana looked over at her mother. She knew that the Queen knew nothing about her sneaking to his room last night, but she guessed that Sindel knew how she was feeling anyway, especially with the recent events these past few days.
"I was just hoping that things would work out," the Princess said. "Perhaps it wasn't meant to be."
"Things will get better," Sindel mentioned. "And you will be able to move on. It'll be easier upon our return home."
Kitana nodded, unsure of what to say. Although she really did wish that things worked out between her and Siegfried, she knew that things would get better. If she managed to go on with her life after years of servitude of Shao Kahn, then she could easily move on from this…
Forest, Near The Cave
For some time during the early morning, Sonya Blade walked through the forest, mainly to collect some fruit. She had wanted to eat some of them for breakfast and later during the trip back to Earth.
Sonya only intended to be gone for a half hour and was only able to find a large berry-like fruit by the time the half hour was up. She knew that if she didn't get back soon that her allies would start looking for her.
Last thing I want is for them to be worried while I'm actually fine, she thought as she began heading to the direction towards the cave, eating the single fruit along the way.
As she did, Sonya viewed her surroundings. For a place like Outworld, the day seemed quite bright and cheerful. Despite that, she was definitely looking forward to returning to Earth later this afternoon.
Eventually during her walk back, Sonya came across a spot she hasn't seen for quite some time… the resting place of Ibuki, one of the Chosen Ones who was killed at the end of the second round of the tournament.
Sonya had finished up her fruit by then and threw it on the opposite end. She then decided to take a brief moment to remove some of the weeds that were beginning to develop around the boulder that bared Ibuki's name. A frown came over the blonde woman's face as thoughts came to her…
She imagined that this spot was only Ibuki's temporarily resting place and that Raiden and Rose would somehow arrange for her body to be transported back to Earth…
Back to her family…
I can't imagine how her parents will feel upon learning of her death… Sonya thought sadly.
Just as she began getting up, Sonya suddenly heard footsteps not too far from her. Sonya's head immediately turned towards that direction and she tried to get a better look at the area. However, she couldn't see anything, but she had no doubt that someone was nearby.
Don't tell me they've started looking for me already, she thought to herself.
Sonya began walking over to the area where she heard the footsteps. It only took her a minute to get there and by the time she did, a perplexed look came over her face… no one was there.
"Strange," she said to herself. "I thought that-"
She then suddenly heard someone behind her step on a twig, causing it to snap. Sonya quickly whirled around just in time to see a familiar woman stop herself from walking. Sonya narrowed her eyes at her.
"Kira."
Kira smirked upon hearing Sonya say her name. Since this morning, she and another guard were sent out by Shao Kahn on a morning lookout to make sure that all was ready for their main plan. After spending nearly all morning out here, Kira believed that things will get interesting now.
"Looking for me I assume," she said.
"Of course," Sonya replied. "I've been looking for you ever since the day you escaped me during our last encounter."
Sonya knew that the next thing she was going to say wasn't going to sway Kira. However, as a Special Forces agent, it was part of her job.
"Kira, under Special Forces authority, you are under arrest for various crimes which include robbery, larceny, smuggling, weapon possession-"
"Save it!" Kira called out. "You honestly think it'll be that easy to arrest me?"
Sonya narrowed her eyes at the red-haired woman. "Of course not."
Kira smirked a little. "If you really want to arrest me…" she then slowly got into a fighting stance. "You'll have to fight me first."
Sonya sighed a little before getting into her own fighting stance as well. "Just as I expected. If that's what you want, then that's fine by me."
After making that statement, Kira didn't waste any more time as she jumped forward towards Sonya. As soon as the red-haired woman was able to reach her, the two began their combat. For a while, the two women mostly exchanged moves, both of them switching between offense and defense.
Two minutes passed before Sonya was able to get the upper hand. She first performed a high kick, forcing Kira to maneuver herself sideways. Before Kira could regain herself, Sonya quickly jabbed her elbow and connected it at Kira's face. The younger woman let out a quick cry in surprise and just as she was beginning to feel the pain on her face, Sonya quickly performed a back kick forcing Kira to stumble back a few feet.
After a quick recovery, Kira growled under her breath and narrowed her eyes at Sonya with anger. "You bitch!" she yelled out before shooting her hands out. Upon extending her hands, a pink projectile emerged and began speeding towards her opponent.
In retaliation, Sonya shot out her own pink projectile which came out as four oval rings. Not long after, the two projectiles collided with each other, causing a small explosion before completely dispersing.
Afterward, Sonya and Kira ran over to each other and began battling again. They exchange of punches and kicks lasted a shorter time before Kira was able to get herself on the offense. She quickly performed a double punch before spinning herself halfway before smacking her elbow into Sonya's face. The force of the blow was hard enough to knock Sonya to the ground.
Kira smirked with satisfaction. Seems that I'll win this fight sooner than I thought.
However, before she could make another move, Sonya managed to get herself in a hand stand and quickly wrap her legs around Kira's neck. Kira was caught by surprise for a moment, but soon regained herself and she attempted to pry Sonya's legs off of her. Before she could, Sonya quickly began to bring her legs behind her and back towards the ground. Halfway through, Sonya let her grip on Kira go, sending her flying a few yards away. Upon landing on the ground, Kira slid on the ground a couple of more feet before coming to a stop, leaving behind dirt on her clothes and scratches on her skin. Some of the scratches began to slightly bleed almost immediately.
Sonya stood herself up at this point and stayed in her fighting stance as she waited for Kira to get herself back up. A smirk came over the blonde's face.
Perhaps my win will be inevitable, she thought.
Main Palace Grounds
Sitting on a bench, Lita Luwanda looked around the area with boredom. She had been on a last minute watch along with George Ginzu since this morning. Their team had hoped that they could receive any last minute clues on their investigation. However, as Lita had expected, nothing came up.
As a matter of fact, she hardly saw anyone walking the palace grounds, assuming that many of them were inside getting ready for their trip home.
"I think it's time to go back to the cave," Lita suddenly said out loud.
Ginzu nodded a little as he was looking through some files on his laptop. "I think so too. We've been here for a few hours and at this point, I don't think there's anything left for us."
Lita got herself on her feet and stretched herself out. "I'm glad you agree with me then."
After another few seconds, Ginzu closed the flap of the computer and placed it in a bag before getting up. "All right, let's go."
They began heading back to the cave. Neither one of them spoke a word during the first five minutes of their walk. Eventually, Lita decided that she didn't like the silence and began chatting.
"I'm so glad we're going back to Earth today," she said. "I was really getting sick of being here. It's really dark and dank here."
"I mainly can't wait to go back because I want my internet connection back," Ginzu mentioned.
Lita laughed a little at the comment. "Why am I not surprised?"
Once again, silence fell between the two as they ran out of things to say for now. This time however, it only lasted two minutes before Lita found herself chuckling a bit as a thought came to her.
Ginzu looked over at her with a perplexed look on his face. "What's so funny?" he asked.
Lita managed to stop chuckling and she looked up at the sky. "Well it's not really that funny to be honest," she said. "Knowing how much I hate this realm… knowing my luck, we'll somehow end up being stuck here longer."
After the comment, Lita glanced over at her side where Ginzu was walking next to her. She then became a little bit perplexed upon realizing that he wasn't there.
"Ginzu?" she asked out loud.
Not even a second passed when Lita suddenly heard what sounded like a weapon being unsheathed from it's scabbard before a sound as though a sponge was being squeezed was heard. Lita's heart froze upon realizing what may have happened.
Please, she began thinking. Don't tell me it's true…
Slowly, Lita turned behind her and she soon got a view of a man dressed in guard clothes. She noted the gleam in his eyes as though he was satisfied. She then saw the long sword in his hand… and she gasped in horror as she saw Ginzu's now lifeless body at the end of his sword with blood dripping down from his chest.
"GINZU!"
Cave
"Say, have you seen Sonya around?" said a voice that belonged to McCoy.
The following voice that replied belonged to Guile. "No, I haven't seen her since we returned to the cave this morning after our mission."
"Damn," McCoy said. "She had said that she was going to go get some berries and that she would be back in ten minutes. It's been almost an hour now."
These were the words Wagner was listening to just as he was approaching the lounge room to look for breakfast. Upon learning that neither McCoy or Guile have seen Sonya within the last hour, Wagner began to grow slightly concern. He knew that Sonya was a strong woman and felt confident that she was completely fine.
But still, he thought.One could never know…
After thinking that, Wagner decided that he should go out and look for Sonya. He walked down the hallway and briefly stopped by her room, just in case. He slightly pulled the curtain aside and peaked inside. The young man found himself frowning a bit upon seeing that she wasn't in her room.
Damn, he thought just before he began heading out of the cave.
For a while, Wagner searched the cave grounds before he dared himself to leave the grounds by himself. I hope she didn't go too far,he thought again with a small sigh escaped his lips.
Wagner wasn't sure how long he was walking before he noted Ibuki's grave a few yards away. He walked another few feet before he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to get a better look and sighed of relief upon seeing Sonya sitting down on the ground, leaning against a tree.
"Oh good," Wagner said as he quickly approached her.
Sonya heard his footsteps and turned her head to face him. She smirked a little. "Hey Scott," she said.
"Hey. McCoy and Guile were looking for you."
Sonya sighed. "Rats. I thought I was gone from the cave for too long."
At that moment, Wagner noticed the multiple beads of sweat pouring down her face. The young man couldn't help but to grin. "You look like you just got into a cat fight."
The blonde-haired woman chuckled a little. "Well, I can kind of say it's the true. I actually ran into Kira a moment ago. As you can see, I tried to arrest her, but unfortunately, she managed to escape."
"Bummer," Wagner said as he sat down next to her. "So what now?"
Sonya only shrugged in reply. A few moments of silence passed between the two. During that time, Wagner noted that Sonya seemed to be looking up at the sky with her mouth partly opened. He felt a bit grim upon seeing a slightly hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Is… everything okay?" Wagner asked, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.
Sonya smiled a little, which gave Wagner some relief. "Yeah… I'm okay," she said a bit quietly. "I was just kind of thinking… do you believe in fate?"
Wagner exhaled a little upon hearing the question. "I'm not sure to be honest. I mean... if it is true… then why is it that my sister has the fate she has? A cruel one at that?"
Sonya blinked a couple of times. "I guess only the Elder Gods know…"
Wagner looked up at the sky. "Yeah… I guess."
He only looked up at the sky for a few seconds before looking back at Sonya, noting that her eyes were closed. Wagner smirked a little.
"Well don't go to sleep now," he said. "We still have a few more hours before we leave."
He stared at Sonya for a moment, expecting her to at least speak, but no reply came.
"Sonya?"
A sudden chilling feeling came over Wagner at that moment, a feeling that he couldn't explain. Slowly, he reached his hand over and touched shoulder. He had barely placed his fingers on her when she suddenly fell over towards him. Wagner sat up a bit from his sitting position and quickly caught Sonya in his arms.
"Sonya, what's wrong?" he asked as he turned her a bit. Soon, however, he found his answer, an answer that caused him to gasp in horror.
Sonya's own blood seeped through her shirt from her upper abdomen. He then noted a tear in her shirt and he was able to see the deep wound through it…
Upon this realization, Wagner felt his own breath shorten in shock. He looked back down at Sonya before slowly reaching over to her neck. He placed two fingers on the side in hopes to feel for a pulse.
…There was none…
No… Wagner thought sadly. Damn it! Why didn't you tell me you were…
Wagner's mind suddenly seem to freeze as he cradled Sonya's lifeless body in his arms, at only point placing a hand over her head which laid under his chin. He found himself gritting his teeth from underneath his closed lips.
For quite some time after, silent tears fell from his face…
Shao Kahn's Fortress
In the Emperor's throne room, nearly every member of Shao Kahn's army had gathered around in the large area. They all softly chattered amongst themselves…at least until the heavy doors leading into the room opened and a heavy set of footsteps were heard. Everyone quickly fell silent upon realizing exactly who was coming into the room.
Shao Kahn paced himself through the room, walking down the long red rug which lead to his throne. His crimson colored caped, slightly charred and ripped at the ends after enduring many years in battle, swayed slightly behind him. Everyone in the room watched him until he finally reached the throne. He then turned himself around to face everyone.
The room was dead silent as everyone awaited for the Emperor's orders.
Soon, his deep, booming voice echoed around the room…
"The time has come! Go! Go to the tournament grounds! Annihilate the warriors and collect their souls! Do not fail!"
The entire room cheered for a moment before they began departing the room. The Emperor sat at his throne and watched as everyone left through the large doors.
Soon, he thought. The souls will make their way to this fortress… and I will become more powerful than ever!