Johnny paced slowly but nervously in the waiting room in the ER unit. It had been two hours since he had brought Sonya in, immediately relaying the alibi he had formulated in the car ride over; she was a stunt double in a private movie project of his, and had gotten into an accident. Johnny had said he would also be willing to cover any insurance expense on the damage, and even though he had received odd looks from the hospital staff, he felt safe in sending Sonya away in capable hands.
Now he stood impatiently in the center of the room, his hand on his chin. He brought up to himself the question of how he would deal with Raiden when he got home, if Raiden was there at all. Not like Johnny expected him to run away like a fourteen year-old girl, but then again, he hadn't expected a lot of things to happen in the last twenty four hours.
Suddenly he heard the doors to the waiting room open. He whirled his head around to see one of the surgeons that had taken care of Sonya stroll into the room with him.
"Well," the doctor lamented, taking off her gloves. "I can't say you folks aren't dedicated to your art," she joked darkly.
"Is she gonna be okay, doc?" Johnny asked worriedly. She raised a hand to stop him, but Johnny couldn't read her expression behind her surgical mask.
Luckily, she took it off immediately and put Johnny slightly more at ease when he could see she didn't look concerned in the least.
"She'll be fine, now," the doctor told him, causing Johnny to breathe a sigh of relief. "She lost quite a bit of blood, but you did a good job getting here her when you did. She needed stitches, so if you would like you can visit her in about an hour and check on her."
Johnny's shoulders drooped in a mixture of relief and dejection. He was hoping he would be able to talk to her sooner, but he wasn't about to tell the doctor how to do her job.
"Thank you," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"No problem," the doctor responded, heading out the door. Before she left, however, she turned around and gave the movie star a quick once-over.
"I recommend you stop by the cafeteria in the meantime," she commented. "You look like you could use a cup of joe."
She walked out without another word, leaving Johnny to his own thoughts in the waiting room. Luckily, he wasn't one to dwell on things too long when food was an option, and he decided to follow the good doctor's advice. He headed out and made his way to the cafeteria, deciding that what he really needed was some coffee and pancakes.
Pancakes made almost everything better.
Raiden sat on the edge of his bed, hanging his head in depression. Unbelievably, things had actually managed to get even worse. There had to be some kind of record for that.
He had been in the exact same position ever since Johnny took Sonya to the hospital. He hadn't even left the room.
He did, however, take one quick glance at the bloody tachi that lay on the ground. He lamented over his foolishness. It briefly occurred to him that there was nothing stopping him now from trying again, but he restrained himself out of fear that somehow Johnny would find a way to make good on his promise.
Before he could continue to wallow in his own self-pity, however, he began to feel a draft pick up within the room. Quickly picking up on the bizarre phenomenon, Raiden lunged for the sword and switched to a defensive position, feeling a presence begin to make itself known in the room.
"At ease, Raiden," came the voice that startled the addressed into stepping back. A gust of wind spiraled and grew more heavily concentrated in front of him until a figure emerged from the miniature cyclone.
As Fujin took a step towards Raiden, the latter dropped his sword to his side. Panicking due to the fact that he did not know what to do, Raiden thought of how others would act when he used to make his presence known to them. He quickly dropped down on one knee and avoided eye contact with his new superior. Fujin, on the other hand, evidently felt the gesture was unnecessary.
"Rise, thunder god," Fujin instructed him, surprising Raiden. He had not heard the title in quite a while, and definitely didn't think he would be addressed by it now, of all times. However, he did as Fujin told him and stood up to look at the god of wind. He was amazed at how tall Fujin was in comparison to himself, wondering if he had managed to look as commanding when he had had the same status.
"Fujin," Raiden stammered out, looking the deity in the eye. "Thank the…"
He was about to say Elder Gods out of habit, but stopped himself, deciding not to give them too much credit for the situation.
"…heavens… you have arrived. I am at my wit's end. I have tried to decipher your message, but I still do not understand. Sonya, she is wounded, by my hand! Fujin, I simply cannot continue to live like this…"
The wind god put up a hand for Raiden to stop, immediately silencing the latter. But Raiden felt he needed to make one more fact clear before Fujin spoke.
"Earthrealm is nothing like I envisioned it," Raiden lamented, dropping his gaze to the ground. He could not see it, but Fujin's expression indicated that he sympathized with his former fellow god.
"It is true that Earthrealm has changed much over the years, Raiden," Fujin concurred. "But I have come here to discuss far more important matters."
Raiden's head snapped up, fearful to hear what threat they faced now.
"Quan Chi came to me some time ago to inform me of another tournament," Fujin began to explain, watching Raiden's eyes grow large in horror.
"Surely you turned him down?" Raiden asked frantically. "Fujin, Earthrealm is in no shape now to handle another Mortal Kombat…"
Fujin raised his hand again, silencing Raiden briefly.
"I am aware of this," Fujin answered. "And rest assured I took that into consideration when I made my decision."
Raiden sighed in relief, thinking that Fujin had managed to buy them some time. Then the wind god spoke again.
"…Which is why I accepted his offer."
Raiden snapped his head up in the utmost alarm.
"What?" he shouted indignantly, giving Fujin the same look Liu Kang had given him when he had suggested that Shao Kahn must emerge the victor only so many days ago.
Fujin tried to calm his friend down again.
"Now, Raiden, you must hear me out…" was all Fujin could say before Raiden impulsively made a quick right hook for the wind deity's head; luckily, Fujin saw it coming in time to dissipate into the air, leaving Raiden swinging foolishly until he regained his footing. He swirled around, his fury and disbelief evident in his expression, to face Fujin as he rematerialized in another corner of the room.
"How could you be so foolish, Fujin?" Raiden cried hysterically. "Have you gone mad?"
"Enough!" Fujin bellowed, sending an already fatigued Raiden into silence one more time. He saw the emotional strain this was taking on Raiden written on his face, however, so when he spoke again, Fujin tried to keep his voice low.
"I know Earthrealm's state dearly, my old friend," Fujin stated calmly. "Which is why I had to accept the terms. If I did not, the retaliation would most likely have been too much for Earthrealm's forces to bear. Do you understand now, Raiden?" he finished, waiting for a response from his panting colleague.
"What were the terms?" Raiden demanded in one raspy breath, not bothering to make eye contact.
"If Outworld wins, Earthrealm will be merged. If Earthrealm wins, Outworld will cease to instigate the merging of the realms altogether."
So it was the same as last time. Raiden glared at Fujin, but pondered his friend's words carefully as he attempted to calm himself down. Unfortunately, Fujin was right; Raiden cast his gaze down as he grudgingly acknowledged that Fujin had made a fair judgment call (which was more than he could say for himself, lately).
"…I apologize," Raiden muttered quietly, putting his hand to his forehead. When he dropped it to his side, he stood up and looked Fujin in the eye again.
"But now I must ask you, Fujin," Raiden stated, catching the god's attention. "Whom exactly do you intend to fight in this tournament?"
Fujin surprised him by smiling slightly in amusement.
"Well," the wind god responded casually. "I had intended to bring Cage and Blade to Outworld, obviously. But seeing as they are not present, I guess that leaves me with only one other option."
He took a step towards Raiden and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in a show of camaraderie. Raiden, however, was in nowhere near as friendly a mood, and looked away unsurely.
"…I cannot," he declined. "I am too weak. Not to mention what I did to Sonya. They will never forgive me for that, and when Johnny gets back…"
"You are not too weak, Raiden," Fujin cut him off, dropping his hand. "And as for your friends, I can assure you they will be fine. True companions know when you have made an honest mistake, and they will forgive you in time. But Earthrealm needs a defender now."
Raiden looked pensive at his statement. He glanced briefly at the tachi again.
Evidently, Fujin caught this gesture and immediately tried to detract Raiden's attention from the thought.
"Now is your opportunity to help Earthrealm, Raiden," Fujin told him, earning a timid look from a nerve-stricken Raiden. "This is your chance. No sword can cleanse the ramifications of your efforts; only action will."
He could see his words begin to get to Raiden as the latter's expression solidified into a more determined one.
"Are you with me?" Fujin asked finally, observing his friend's reaction.
Raiden glanced around the room one last time. He knew now that if he was going to do this, he couldn't rely on his instincts alone. He needed resources, and as he scanned the room one last time, he picked them out immediately, formulating a plan quickly. Raiden finally responded to Fujin's request.
"…Let's go."
I promise things begin to pick up from here. :)