Somewhere outside the arena, Fujin was able to deposit himself and the others, away from the contained chaos of the stadium. He, Johnny, Sonya and Raiden materialized next to a large rock structure bordering one of the few small villages dotting the otherwise barren Outworld landscape.
Having been transported without warning, Johnny and Sonya didn't have time to correct their course when they fell, causing Sonya to drop Raiden. Neither stopped to brush the dirt off of themselves; as soon as they reoriented their surroundings, Sonya lunged back for their friend.
"Raiden?" she cried, observing the damage, which was much more severe than she would have liked to admit. Shinnok's attack had left the skin on Raiden's chest searing, and worn down to the point where the tips of some of his ribs were exposed. Sonya gasped in shock.
"Raiden?" she asked again worriedly, physically turning his head to look at her. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be conscious. At this point Johnny had come over to help her try and snap Raiden out of his stupor, while Fujin watched over the three of them, disheartened.
"Ray?" Johnny prodded along with her. "Can you hear us?"
"Raiden?" Sonya asked yet again, her voice straining with concern. "Raiden, please say something."
Even though his eyes were only slightly open, Raiden didn't respond. Sonya's heart rate shot through the roof with alarm, causing her to look at Johnny, who seemed equally frightened.
Suddenly, and very briefly, their fears were slightly settled as Raiden managed to twitch his fingers, a small sign of hope in their dark situation.
"Yeah?" Johnny encouraged him. "Come on, Raiden. You can do this."
But Raiden, obviously straining with the effort, only managed to lift his hand enough to put it over Sonya's arm. The look he gave her was not comforting to either her or Johnny, and when he tried to speak both were startled by how weak his voice was as he struggled to talk through the incapacitating pain.
"…Sonya," came the unnervingly fragile voice that alerted her to his dire condition, and the fact that this was much more severe than when they had found him at the studio.
"Oh, God, no," Sonya whined upon hearing him speak, pulling Raiden closer so that his head rested more comfortably on her lap. Acknowledging that it would be easier for him to be heard, Raiden attempted to speak again, his voice even frailer, an obvious sign that he was running out of time.
"…I have tried to fix my mistakes," he commented flatly. It seemed this was all he could manage to spit out, stirring panic in Sonya and Johnny. Their fears were only stalled when Raiden managed to add one more thing.
"…I am sorry."
Sonya felt the arm he had on her hand go slack, causing her to panic again.
"Raiden, no!" she barked, startled, trying anything to get him to come back. "Don't be! Raiden!"
She continued to shout at him as Johnny joined in with her, both attempting to revive their ailing comrade.
"Raiden!"
"Raiden, come on!"
"Don't be sorry!"
"Come on, Ray!"
"Raiden!" Sonya cried out again, counter-intuitively placing a hand on his exposed skin in the vain hope that the pain would shock him awake. She could only watch with a heavy heart as her gesture had no effect, Raiden's eyes continuing to cloud over.
"Raiden!" she whimpered, trying one last ditch attempt to get a message to him. "Don't be sorry. This isn't your fault. Can you hear me?"
He registered no sign of response as he continued to slip away, his gaze still locked into dead space.
"None of this was your fault, Raiden. Okay?" Sonya implored, even though she knew it was unlikely he could hear her by this point. But she was desperate to hang on to the last shred of hope she had left.
"…Don't be sorry," she said again, with Johnny looking at her nervously. Her voice was breaking.
"…Raiden?"
There was silence. The stillness unnerved Johnny, spurring him to grab Raiden's shoulders in a frantic, last-ditch attempt.
"Raiden!" he barked angrily at their friend, trying to shake him before being stopped by a hysterical Sonya.
"No!" she cried out at him, pushing him back and holding Raiden more tightly. She breathed heavily, looking back at Fujin as tears started to brim in her eyes.
"Fujin," she said, in a voice that she could barely push above the tone of a whisper. She thought of how Raiden had been able to heal Jax back when she had busted him out of Goro's prison. "Please help him."
Fujin's face was stony, having witnessed her and Johnny's tries to bring Raiden back from the brink. The wind god walked solemnly over to where they were situated, kneeling down to observe his fallen friend.
"Please," Sonya repeated as she began to shake with nerves. "Do something. Anything."
Fujin looked gravely at Raiden's face. Finally, in a tone heavy with despair, he responded to her plea.
"…There is nothing I can do."
The statement hit both of them hard, especially Sonya, whose last bit of hope was shattered.
He was gone.
Raiden was dead.
Even though there were still shrieks of terror that could be heard from the arena hundreds of feet away, it couldn't reach Sonya and Johnny as they struggled to comprehend what had just happened in front of them. Sonya's grip tightened and loosened awkwardly on Raiden as Johnny shifted uncomfortably, turning his head away as he acknowledged that not only had he lost what he could honestly say was one of the only true friends he had in his life, but that his death majorly entailed everyone else's downfall as well. For the first time ever, it seemed he was struggling to blink back tears, while Sonya had given up her struggle to do the same. She pulled Raiden's body closer in a morbid sort of hug, waiting until her face was out of sight to begin sobbing softly into his collarbone. She thought of everything Raiden had struggled to do, and how this entire time he had done nothing but fight and continuously put himself in harm's way just to fix his mistakes and help others, only for it all to be in vain. Fujin watched wordlessly.
He allowed the two of them to mourn in relative silence before speaking up again.
"We must go," he urged softly, still looking at Raiden. "I need to help others out of the arena."
His command caused Sonya to pull her head back up, revealing her dirt and tear-stained visage. Her eyes, the bloated bags beneath them, and her nose were red and glistening underneath the dirt as she continued to snivel, making no effort to stop herself. On Johnny's face, too, was evidence of where he had tried to wipe tears away.
Fujin stood up and observed the lot of them, calculating what to do next.
"Come. Bring the body around here," he instructed, taking Raiden up in his arms with Johnny and Sonya's help and walking around to an inconspicuous side of the rock formation, where they collectively deposited Raiden's corpse.
They all stepped back to look at Raiden one more time. It gnawed at Sonya and Johnny that even in death, Raiden's expression still looked troubled at the fact that he would never be able to set things right.
Fujin noted both of their expressions. They were obviously dejected, visibly depressed and despairing over their loss. Under normal circumstances, Fujin would not force them back into a situation in which they clearly would not be able to fight properly, but they were running out of time.
He silently took them back to the arena. The brush of wind only barely managed to drown out Sonya's sobbing.
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