The ceremonial crimson candles burned low in their cast-iron nests, the charred wicks sparkling less than the embers of dying stars, but that was for mere effect, to elicit a sense of fear and foreboding in the miserable whelps called called upon by their masters. In a room with multiple doorways, there was no need for any open windows; in the Netherealm, there was a certain expectancy for the grim and oppressively bleak, so entire tiers of stagnance were not unheard of. Seated at his designated place at the head of the oblong table, passing along the orders of another, completely unaware of just how absolutely demolished his daughter was, Quan Chi could feel in the back of his mind that something was amiss - however, being as preoccupied as he was, the necromancer did not dwell upon it.

Glaring down upon one of the countless and nameless faces of the Brotherhood of Shadow, a male clad in a shiny apple red leather-like suit from head-to-toe, the sorcerer was just about to bark down the sap's orders when the commander of the condemned caught sight of a silhouette that was hastily becoming more commonplace with each passing day, so instead he spoke to it first, "What tidings have you, Saibot?"

Not just the shadow clone but the actual man himself, Noob addressed the other man nonchalantly as he reabsorbed his messenger, speaking as if his news was not something of great urgency, but really, after acquiring total domination of his bride-to-be, he wasn't overtly worried, "Evren is gone." He couldn't be sure from his position and the dim lighting, but Bi-Han could have sworn that a blood vessel or two had burst in the sorcerer at the information, "And she's nowhere in the Netherealm."

-Earthrealm-

Unsure of why she found herself here in this place, let alone after everything that had transpired, all Evren knew was that aside from this being the last place anyone would look for her, the manual labor would be a good thing to keep her mind off of Scorpion. Scorpion, the man that the demoness had given everything up for in order to keep him safe, that her breaking heart could not lie to but her lips could not give the truth to, that she had to watch from afar, dying every day that he was near... The man that she loved more than anything, that she thought loved her, that was... No! She mentally slapped herself for thinking of him, of what had brought her to this lonely and desolate scrap of earth, of what he had done by giving in to the likes of Mileena... Shaking her head, face still baring the blood from her beat-down, Evren knew with absolute clarity that more than anything right now, she needed the mind-numbing monotony, but even still it was no secret that this place she had gone to wouldn't be as perfect as it originally seemed in her mind...

Six feet underground and only just able to crawl her way out of the grave, Evren scrambled to the murky surface, body coated in sloshing mud that was only just beginning to dry at it's zenith, burdensome hair weighed down by a depressing night rain that soaked to the bone, chilling below that. Granted, it was stupid to dig when the previously salty island water was rapidly filling up all of the hellion's hard work, but in her frazzled condition logic was completely unknown to her, if not a bitter enemy. Panting as she sat for a moment, she looked round at all of the graves she had already dug, hazarding that only a few more would be needed before she could move on to the next part. Getting up once more after the respite, she grabbed the shovel she had found in a nearby tool shed and went on to the next outlined plot, going straight to work. Pain was a great motivator...

What her magic could have accomplished in seconds, she did by hand in hours, taking solace in the bleeding blisters that were forming a protective mitt over her hands, as blood-stained as they were. Honestly, she wished that this had been done sooner, that the proper dues could be paid by the right person, but she figured that they had waited long enough, that in time he would come back for them and perform the proper rights... She knew that he would, but it was a matter of time now, her mind unwilling to even think his name, code or otherwise...

Exhausted by her drudgery, Evren pushed herself even further past the brink, placing each decayed body gingerly in the over-sized graves, zipping between this world and her garden as needed, leaving an appropriate floral marker over the top of each fresh mound. At last, just before the very end, she reached the final two markers to be memorialized, placing the most meaningful blooms upon them, whispering an extra prayer to both, leaving the truest wish for peace. Combing through the smoldering remains of buildings, it was not hard to guess who these last two were, the objects in their home quite telling all on their own.

As much as she longed to look around, to see who he was before death, Evren felt wrong doing so, that it was in intrusion, so she refrained, taking a pause in hauling out the corpses only long enough to see a half-charred photograph. In the simple wooden frame was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in all of her many years; a family, a handsome man - no, the most exquisite man that could have been the envy of the Elder Gods themselves - with his gaze torn between a woman with such long sable hair it was almost unreal, and the newborn dozing in her arms. How could she possibly ever hope to compare to that sort of happiness?

Once she had finished her final prayer, to Scorpion's late wife no less, she fell to her knees at the foot of the grave, tears in her eyes, the photograph seared into more than just her heart, "There are no words to express how sorry I am. I know that it's wrong, for me to be sitting here, speaking to you, but more than the man that I have corrupted, I long to tell you all just how badly I feel as the daughter of the man that brought you all so unjustly to your ends... First and foremost, I beg of you all to pass on peacefully, to attain what you may in the best of places. You all deserve no less for your suffering. And to you and your son, I wish that I knew your names, that I could properly pay you all you are owed. I don't know if you know me, or what I have done, but you do not, I want you to know first that though he does not speak of it, I know that your Hanzo has never once forgotten you. But you should know that I have made him stray, that he so soon has accepted your fates. I am sorry." She had to take a moment to collect herself, the tears too much during her monologue, "Hanzo Hasashi is a good man, but he was tainted by the lies of my father, and I corrupted him even further. I'm sure that someday soon, he will come here and tell you his own side of things, and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive him... I know that I have..."

It was true - as hurt as Evren was, disappointed even, she had already forgiven him, because she knew that it truly wasn't his fault...

-Scorpion-

Summoned to Quan Chi's side, Scorpion arrived in a spire of searing flames, arriving on the scene to find the two men in the midst of a coded yet increasingly heated debate, one unflustered and the other quickly reaching the peak opposite, "Your orders?" Cut only so much less than Evren, he kept it brief, arms crossed over his chest as if that would stop the internal bleeding.

Craning his neck for a look at the new arrival, Quan Chi only hesitantly tore his sour glare from the other wraith, although his fury was just as equally distributed, as it should have been the former Shirai Ryu's job to prevent this sort of occurrence, "Evren has disappeared. On your watch, Scorpion."

Muttering under his breath his own two-sense, Noob chimed in for his rival to hear, "And who could blame her after having her heart ripped out of her chest and shoved in her face? After all she's done for you, that is how you repay her." He shrugged, speaking a little more audibly now, "But knowing our missing flower, she probably only has two objectives as it is - to repent, and to do it in secret." Noob would have said other things about her, but he was still mindful of the plan, that she was Quan Chi's daughter, so he lied, using this opportunity to get one last slide remark in, "A man is lucky to find a woman with such a heart, wouldn't you agree, Scorpion?"

As much as the shinobi loathed the former Lin Kuei warrior, desiring almost nothing more than to pummel him on principal for his comments, Scorpion was grateful to the man just this once, because he gave him his first lead on where exactly to start his search - Earthrealm. Being native to the Netherrealm, it would have made sense to repent to Shinnok, but if that had been the case, she would have been found with ease, so obvously she was elsewhere; While there were undoubtedly scared figures in all the realms, only the Elder Gods were universal, and who better to turn to than the one deity that was closet to them? True, Hanzo did not know the exact location she would be - but surely with the Thunder God's help she would be found - but at the very least he knew what realm to find her in, and that was all that mattered. He had to find her, and he had to do whatever it took to make it right...

A/N: I'm not sure if stagnace is an actual word, but for my purpose it is. And finally, Quan Chi makes his grand appearance! Seriously though, I think to a degree he would tolerate the way that Evren has been treated by Noob, since he's using him to eliminate Shinnok, but I do think that Quan Chi would take and attitude inside that would be more like 'no one hurts her but me'. But that's just speculation on my part, which I impart here, just in cause I don't get around to explaining that in the story itself.

Anyways, I hope you're eagerly awaiting the next chapter! *whisper voice* Review, review, review! (Sorry, I was watching Adventure Time when I wrote this part.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Evren, Blaanid, Serik, and all the other minor nameless characters, and I do.