A year.
A year has passed since Shao Kahn was defeated.
Liu Kang sighed to himself before shutting his eyes once more. After Shao Kahns defeat everyone pretty much returned to their respective realms. Kitana went to Edenia and would soon become its new queen, Jade(obviously) followed her. Sonya, Jax, and Johnny Cage all went back to Earth realm. Sub-Zero and Smoke returned to their clan. Liu Kang still had Kung Lao for company, but there were days where his best friend was almost asking to get mauled. Today, thankfully, was not one of those days.
The previous Mortal Kombat champion was sitting with his legs crossed, in the meditation garden. He'd been trying to clear his head for a while now when Kung Lao suddenly yelled out for Liu Kang, "Liu! Lord Raiden is here to see us!"
That quickly got the warrior monks attention.
Quickly he rose to his feet and within seconds was standing in front of Raiden, bowing to his friend and former mentor, "Lord Raiden, it is good to see you."
The thunder god gave a brief nod before admitting, "I wish I could say the same, Liu Kang. Something isn't right in the realms. The Elder Gods are troubled and have me looking into it, which is why I am here. Have either of you sensed anything as being 'off' lately?"
Both warrior monks stared at Raiden before quickly sparing a glance to each other. Finally Kung Lao spoke up, "Well, there was this strange rain the other day. We had tried to call for you, but you never came." Liu chimed in, saying, "That rain brought a young blond man out of nowhere. He seemed confused. I offered to let him stay with us, but he panicked and ran. We followed him but... Maybe he is what you are seeking?"
Raiden looked between both monks before nodding, "Well, I would say it's a good start. I need to track down this man and see what he knows." Raiden turned and was about to teleport out before he looked back to the monks, "I'm gathering the rest of the Earth realm warriors within the next few days. Please make yourselves ready. I will come get you when it is time."
Liu Kang and Kung Lao spared another glance to each other before looking back to Raiden. Both men bowed as the thunder god teleported out before Kung Lao sighed, "See? I told you it was a bad idea to let that guy go. He's probably working for Quan Chi or Shang Tsung!"
Kung Lao's sparring partner waived off his brothers statements saying, "Lord Raiden never confirmed anything like that. And to make those accusations without at least having given the man the benefit of the doubt could have made things worse. It was a good idea to let the man leave. You saw how panicked he had become when he first appeared."
Kung Lao's lips formed a flat line on his face as that memory came back to him:
The rain was somewhat eerie. First, it was bright with not a cloud in the sky, then the clouds began forming out of nowhere. The Wu Shi Academy was not usually fraught with rain but it did help from time to time. Only, this rain was peculiar
Liu Kang walked outside, standing next to Kung Lao as they watched the rain fall. A was about to make a comment to Kung Lao about his hat when the blond man ghosted- in from out of nowhere. Liu Kang had dealt with a lot. Like, a lot a lot. But there were still some things that surprised him. Like how the young man had looked confused, turning around and around as he slowly appeared. Instead of fading out, it was like someone had tuned him in.
Liu and Lao both approached the man carefully, unsure of what to say, and when they heard him speaking it was as if he was addressing someone else entirely.
"Where am I? How did I get here?! Shut the hell up a moment and let me think!" The blond rubbed his eyes before abruptly turning around to see both Liu Kang and Kung Lao. If Kung Lao hadn't adopted a fighting stance, things probably would have been different. Much different. Even Kung Lao himself wondered this(at a later point in time), however it was too little too late. The young man backed up accordingly, not going into a stance of his own, instead trying to put distance between himself and the two monks.
Liu Kang had only just begun to notice that the rain had stopped. It had rained lightly, aside from the intruders surprise entrance, and then Liu Kang got a good look at the young man. Or rather, that the young man didn't seem to have a drop of water on him at all. Intentional or not, Liu Kang also adopted a fighting stance.
The brief interim of silence had the blond wondering what was going to happen, and at the same as the man appeared to be about to say something is when Liu Kang went into his fighting stance.
This abruptly stopped the young man from speaking, even before he got started! However, the blond(and thankfully not naked) man knew when things were looking bad. His eyes swapped from one to the other, left to right before about-facing and dashing off from the duo. Liu and Lao both glanced at each other, briefly, before darting after the man. He had seemingly posed no threat, but at the same time there were questions that needed answering.
There was a surprisingly long chase, considering that the monks did not let up for some time. Then again, each time they tried cornering the blond he'd jump right over them, or one time slid right between Kung Lao's legs. This move apparently had Kung Lao flustered, and Liu Kang curious.
Finally, towards the end of the mad dash for freedom Liu Kang started calling out to the stranger, "Wait!" Though, it was obvious by this point that the man simply wanted out. However, where he'd finally been cornered wasn't exactly ideal.
Liu Kang nodded to Kung Lao, before turning his attention back to the man they(finally) cornered. On the roof. High above the ground. Okay, so it wasn't the best situation, but they were making due!
Kung Lao then spoke up, albeit a little harshly, "Who are you? What do you want? You better tell us now, or things won't be so promising ." A glance towards Liu Kang told Liu Kang all he needed to know. Kung Lao was just doing it as a ploy. Sadly, the ploy didn't work. It seemed there were other forces interested in the blond as well.
A portal opened up behind the blond. Liu Kang thought the no longer running man was going to use the portal to escape but the portal hadn't even been seen. Suddenly, a pair of masculine arms shot out of the portal and wrapped themselves around the blonds upper body, effectively pinning him and dragging him through the portal while Kung Lao and Liu Kang watched in surprise.
Liu Kang started to run forward but it was too late, and the look of surprise on the young man's face told Liu Kang that the blond was not expecting a surprise rescue.
Kang looked back to Kung Lao who summed up the situation with two words.
"Well...shit."
*A/N*: Editing and corrections are being made and new chapters should be coming up soon-ish. Sorry for the delay!