The crowd continued to celebrate their reclaimed freedom as several of the warriors on the ground made their ways to the stage. Many looked up in admiration at their impromptu savior, prompting those who recognized Raiden in his original form, such as Sub-Zero and Nightwolf, to drop to one knee and bow in respect. Many of the others, including Kitana and even Scorpion, followed suit.
Raiden surveyed the fighters on the ground briefly. He was searching for a particular pair of faces, which emerged from the crowd immediately as the blonde yanked the movie star behind her along. Sonya and Johnny looked up at Raiden in awe, prompting the latter to give them a warm smirk in return, despite himself. Soon, they too were on one knee each out of deference for their friend.
Deeming the sign unnecessary, Raiden signaled for everyone bowing to stand up.
"Rise, brethren," he commanded, giving the all-clear for those who had paid their respects to him to get on their feet. He could see Johnny and Sonya continuing to smile up at their friend, right before the latter came bounding up the steps towards him. It was hard to believe Sonya had a series of stitches in her torso impairing her by the way she threw herself arms open at Raiden. Despite what 'tradition' may have deemed respectful, Sonya enveloped Raiden in a rib-crushing hug that highlighted the comical contrast in their statures. Although many in the crowds were shocked by her blatant disregard for etiquette in the presence of a deity, they were even more surprised to see Raiden reciprocate the gesture with an assuring pat on the shoulder.
Next came Johnny, who followed Sonya's example and gave Raiden another hug as a sign of his appreciation.
"Oh, man, I swear," he said, drawing back to look at Raiden. "I'm so happy right now, I could kiss you!"
"Try not to get carried away," Fujin warned lightly as he walked up to join the three of them on stage, reminding Johnny that they were stretching the rules as it was. He wore a pleased expression on his face as he drew up to Raiden's side, dwarfing Johnny and Sonya between them.
"You do realize what must be done now, my brother?" Fujin asked Raiden. The thunder god nodded his head in confirmation.
"Excuse us," he said, nudging Johnny and Sonya back a short distance. "But there is one final matter to which we must attend."
Sonya and Johnny looked at him and each other in confusion but did as they were told, giving Raiden and Fujin space to do whatever it was that necessitated having them step back. There was a moment of silence before many could see the clouds parting above the deities, shining down a brilliant beam of light that engulfed Raiden and his ally and transported them to an unknown location. Within an instant they were gone.
Their absence ushered in an uncomfortable silence for everyone. Sonya looked around. She was comforted upon seeing Jax, Stryker, and many of their other allies back down on the ground, but there were still several concerns that tugged at the corner of her mind.
"Johnny," she whispered, catching his attention. "Where's Kano?"
Johnny looked around and tried to help Sonya spot a glimpse of the Black Dragon member, but Kano was nowhere to be found. He shrugged his shoulders. Another thought occurred to Sonya.
"What about Reptile?"
"I dunno," he answered bluntly. "I saw him run off with the rest of the lizard brigade."
"Johnny," she said quickly in alarm. "Quan Chi went back to the Netherrealm, right? What if he got his powers back?"
"I doubt it," Johnny tried to console her. "Raiden rattled him up pretty bad."
"And what about that guy that was fighting Raiden with the flies…"
"Sonya," Johnny interrupted her. "We're trying to keep track of, like, sixty people. Just let it go and enjoy the happy ending."
Sonya looked at him in irritation for cutting her off. However, instead of retorting back like she normally would, she settled down and looked back up at the stage in anticipation of Raiden's reappearance. Much to his surprise, Johnny felt a hand cling to and wrap around his own. He looked down and saw that Sonya had grabbed his hand, and was surprised even more as he felt a reassuring squeeze from the normally boisterous lieutenant. Under any other circumstances, Johnny most likely would have made some kind of smart comment, but things being as they were he let the impulse go and waited along with Sonya for Raiden's return.
This time he could see his superiors clearly. Raiden could feel their judgmental gaze bearing down on him and Fujin as the gargantuan busts of the Elder Gods looked down at them.
"You have come a long way, Raiden," they chanted in unison.
"Thank you," he responded, relishing in his restored ability to readdress his overseers when he so chose. He only addressed their direct statement, however, as he still held reservations about how much respect they truly deserved from him.
Sensing his spite for them, the Elder Gods spoke again.
"We are aware that you may still be apprehensive about our methods for keeping balance," they explained. "But we assure you that we do everything in the interest of preserving order between the realms, a cause to which, we have noticed, you too seem extremely dedicated."
Raiden narrowed his eyes at the Elder Gods, knowing that their true goal was simply to keep the One Being at bay and that they were twisting their words carefully to ensure he remained on their side. But he still wondered what they were insinuating.
"We have discussed the situation extensively and taken your deeds into consideration. We have agreed to offer you a position on the council as an Elder God. What do you say to this, Raiden?"
Needless to say, their offer stunned Raiden. He looked at Fujin, who nodded reassuringly. Raiden took a moment to think their proposal over before speaking again.
"…I thank you," he responded politely. "But I must decline your offer."
If the Elder Gods' visages functioned as realistic avatars, they no doubt would have registered surprise at Raiden's refusal. As it was, they only looked back blankly in response.
"My sole duty is to Earthrealm," Raiden explained, leaving out that he felt their code of conduct was too obstructive for him to do anything effective to help his home realm should any new threats arise. "I feel she is better protected if I am around to deal with her enemies directly."
The Elder Gods did not respond for a moment, doubtlessly consulting with each other about Raiden's reasoning in whatever plane it was in which they physically resided. Finally, however, they came back to deliver their verdict.
"As you wish," they responded. Raiden seemed relieved at their answer, before another thought popped into his head.
"However," he interrupted before they could send him and his ally off. "If there is a position on the council, may I recommend Fujin?"
The wind god looked at Raiden in mild surprise at the mention of his name, and the Elder Gods seemed to wait for Raiden to explain his case once more.
"He can also function as a representative for Earthrealm," Raiden defended. "And he is one of the most trustworthy people I know."
The Elder Gods seemed to mull his offer over.
"What do you say to this, Fujin?" they asked the wind god for permission.
Fujin looked back at Raiden and smiled at his friend.
"If Raiden deems it practical," Fujin responded. "Then I see no issue with the matter. His judgment has not failed us yet."
Fujin stepped forward.
"I would be glad to accept a position on the council."
"Very well, then," the Elder Gods conceded. "Fujin will establish himself in the Pantheon of the Elder Gods. Raiden is free to return to his position as Earthrealm's legal defender."
Raiden's figurative heart leaped at the prospect of returning to his old occupation. He bowed deeply as a sign of thanks for the Elder Gods' decision.
"You are free to go, Raiden," they dismissed him. Fujin looked back at his friend reassuringly.
A contented Raiden returned the gesture and exited from the pantheon in a burst of lightning.
In the meantime, Sonya and Johnny had been accompanied by Nightwolf and the rest of the Earthrealm warriors. Sonya saluted Jax, who returned the favor before smiling and stretching his cybernetic arms out as an invitation for a hug from his top lieutenant. Sonya grinned back wearily and took Jax's offer, during which briefly Johnny, who apparently still had some of the warm fuzzies, tried to get in on the action.
"Slow down, boy," Jax warned him, keeping a trained eye on Johnny as the actor stepped back with his hands up in the air. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
Jax let a still-smiling Sonya out of his grasp, looking her over. She was bruised, but not too badly battered, considering everything that had just transpired.
"This punk been giving you a hard time?" Jax inquired, giving Johnny another once over.
Sonya laughed, amused by the defiant expression on Johnny's face. "He's not too bad," she assured Jax, surprising Johnny as she slung a friendly arm over his shoulder.
Around them, many of the warriors began to acknowledge each other as they congregated at the top of the stage. Stryker and Kabal found each other, leading the former to slap the latter on the back as a sign of solidarity after everything through which they had been put.
Somebody tapped Kitana on the shoulder from behind. The Edenian princess whirled around to find her green-clad best friend beaming back at her.
"Jade!" Kitana cried, enthusiastically wrapping her childhood friend in a crushing hug. For a moment, it was almost like two sisters had been reunited. Then someone else called her name.
"…Kitana?"
Having scrunched her eyes in joy after seeing Jade, Kitana was forced to pull them open to see who was addressing her. The princess was shocked into silence upon seeing Sindel standing behind Jade.
"Mother?" Kitana asked incredulously, asking as if she wanted to make sure the figure wasn't the servant Quan Chi had sent to massacre everybody once before. But the tears brimming in the queen's eyes seemed to be evidence to the contrary.
"Oh, my child!" Sindel cried out as she ran to give her only daughter a loving embrace of which only a true mother was capable. She stroked her daughter's tangled hair as the latter tried hard not to start crying again.
"I am so sorry for what I have done," Sindel said, murmuring the same apology over and over as Jade joined their embrace.
Nightwolf and Kung Lao caught up with Sonya, Jax, and Johnny.
"Glad to see the gang's all here," Kung Lao commented dryly.
"Not quite," Sonya countered. "Where's your friend?"
Noticing just now that Liu Kang had abandoned him, Kung Lao scanned the crowd behind him quickly. He shrugged.
"I'm sure he'll pop up eventually," Johnny tried to assuage her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Right now I think Ray's our biggest problem. It's been a while. How do we know he's coming back?"
"He will be back," Nightwolf assured all of them. "Raiden wouldn't leave us here hanging. Just be patient."
Upon Nightwolf's insistence, the rest of them waited for Raiden to return once more. Another minute passed, and then another. Many in the stands had already begun filing out of the arena through the exits that had not been blocked or destroyed, and were clearly ready to go home. One by one they left, further indicating nothing special was happening anytime soon, prompting Johnny and Jax to take temporary seats on the stage steps as they waited for Raiden.
Finally, after several minutes of nothing, their patience seemed to pay off. They could all feel the air swell with static once more a split second before a group of lightning bolts struck down mere feet away from where they rested, depositing exactly one peaceful-looking thunder god.
Johnny sprung up to get a good look at Raiden. Although he was happy to see Raiden didn't look too troubled, curiosity still got the better of him, especially since Fujin was conspicuously absent.
"What happened?" he and Sonya ended up asking simultaneously. Raiden raised a hand as indication for both of them to calm down.
"I have just spoken with the Elder Gods," Raiden explained, dropping his hand. "They offered me a position as one of their own."
All of the Earthrealmers stared at him with eyes the sizes of saucers.
"I declined," Raiden said, dispelling their assumptions. "Fujin took my place. Earthrealm is under my watch once more."
His answer was met with a round of approval from his companions; Johnny couldn't resist pounding him on the back again, eliciting another unintentional smirk on Raiden's behalf.
Their jubilation, however, was short-lived. Someone else stepped up to where the Earthrealm crew had come together, forcing a break in their reunion as they all turned their heads to see who had interrupted them.
Scorpion stood a few steps below them, eyeing Raiden warily. He thunder god returned an equally apprehensive look, anticipating a sign of retaliation from the Netherrealm specter. Much to everyone's surprise, the latter only dropped down to one knee again and bowed his head in respect, touching one set of knuckles to the ground.
"Forgive me, Lord Raiden," Scorpion apologized flatly after looking back up. "My desire for revenge against Sub-Zero was so great that it blinded me to your warning. Now I see clearly the ramifications of my actions. Quan Chi manipulated me into following him in his ploy."
Scorpion stood back up, prompting many of the Earthrealmers to tense up in defense. Raiden signaled for them to keep calm and waited to hear Scorpion out.
"My deepest apologies," the yellow ninja said, crossing his right arm over his chest to enforce his sincerity.
The Earthrealm crew parted as Raiden stepped forward to address Scorpion.
"Now you recognize Quan Chi's true intent," Raiden said, catching Scorpion's attention. "Very well. It was only a matter of time."
What little was shown of Scorpion's face registered confusion.
"…I am sorry?" he asked for clarification.
"Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei did not kill your family, Scorpion," Raiden explained. "Quan Chi did."
Scorpion's blank eyes widened in shock, and he continued to look at Raiden as he tried to discern whether the thunder god was only one of many deities from before to lie to him about his family. Soon he recognized Raiden's seriousness, and was filled with dismay at the fact that he had been so blind as to not put it together before. His expression quickly melted into one of hatred for the Netherrealm sorcerer.
"Bastard," Scorpion muttered, looking away.
"Scorpion," Raiden commanded his attention again, drawing the Shirai Ryu clan member out of his rage-fueled stupor. "I believe it is sufficiently ironic for both of us for I to be the one to suggest this, but Quan Chi is back in the Netherrealm."
Scorpion continued to stare blankly at Raiden, not understanding the implication.
"Doubtless he will be waiting for you when you return."
Raiden tipped his head forward so that the brim of his hat only barely obscured the top of his gaze, as he had a tendency to do when he was trying to insinuate something. Needless to say, the allusion clicked for Scorpion immediately, and the eyes of the Netherrealm warrior crinkled slightly as a sign that he had understood.
"Thank you, Lord Raiden," was the last thing that came out of Scorpion's mouth before he vanished in a pillar of flame, without a doubt making a direct course for his home in the Netherrealm.
The others cheered Scorpion on as he vanished, but were soon shocked into silence upon seeing who had been standing behind Scorpion. Liu Kang trembled as he remained glued to his spot behind where the ninja had disappeared, looking like it took all of his nerve to look a stern Raiden in the eye. Everybody standing behind the two of them waited in dead silence to see how either would react; Sonya audibly drew her breath in.
His resolve breaking under the judging gaze of his mentor, Liu Kang fell to the ground in a bow not at all unlike the one Raiden had fallen into for him during their match. He continued to shake even as he spoke.
"Forgive me, Raiden," Liu Kang blubbered, keeping his face down in shame. "I disobeyed your orders. I was confused, and angry, but I had no right to think I knew more than you. I thought you addled and senile when your foresight turned out to be true. I do not deserve to be called your student."
Much to the others' confusion, Raiden did not attempt to stop Liu Kang's self-disparaging rant. Sonya and Johnny thought that maybe he was stretching Liu Kang' suffering out for all its worth as a form of retribution, but neither could see Raiden's face softening with sympathy for his pupil as Liu Kang went on.
"I would understand if you were to refuse my apology," Liu Kang continued to snivel as he pulled himself up to a kneeling position, still avoiding eye contact. "You would have all the right to have me face the judgment of the Elder Gods for my foolishness."
There was silence for a moment as everyone waited for Raiden's response. All they could see was Raiden's back blocking out their view of Liu Kang.
Liu Kang stayed on his knees, his head bent down in shame. Which was why he initially did not see Raiden offer his hand to him.
"Liu Kang," Raiden called him, snapping his student out of his angst-ridden trance. Liu Kang looked shakily back up at him, surprised to see Raiden's gesture when he had been expecting anger from his mentor. Stunned, Liu Kang did not know how to react. Raiden moved his empty hand as a sign of encouragement and finally moved a wary Liu Kang to grab it after the latter realized he would not be reprimanded. Raiden helped his student up and looked him in the eye now that he had the opportunity.
"I accept your apology, Liu Kang," Raiden replied, causing Liu Kang to smile in relief and bow his head as a sign of gratitude. Raiden returned the nod before continuing.
"Now I must ask you to accept my apology as well," Raiden continued, confusing Liu Kang and the rest of the Earthrealm crew listening. "I expected you to blindly follow my intuition when it was just that. I could not have expected you to understand what you did not know. I am also at fault, and you had every right to have your doubts."
Raiden held his hand out again for Liu Kang.
"Can you forgive me?"
Liu Kang looked at his teacher in wonder for bothering to apologize in the first place. Touched by the effort, Liu Kang declined Raiden's outstretched hand in favor of placing his fist in his palm and bowing.
"Of course, Lord Raiden."
Withdrawing his hand, Raiden returned the gesture. When they both stood up to look at each other once more, they received a round of approval from the team behind them. Turning around to look at his allies, Raiden looked with Liu Kang at the Earthrealm crew as they expressed their satisfaction with what they just witnessed. Liu Kang received a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Kitana at his side, with Jade and her mother in tow.
The blue-clad princess smiled at the Shaolin warrior and embraced him warmly, prompting Liu Kang to do the same.
"Well," Johnny commented, seeing all was well with their group. "Isn't this just peachy? Look, I know the day is saved, blah blah blah, but I think we've reached our hug quota for the week."
There were chuckles and sarcastic snorts in response to Johnny's comment, which the actor took in stride as Sonya wrapped her arm around his torso in a half-hug. Raiden looked back at Liu Kang, who in turn looked back upon the other members of their crew, and then at Kitana at his side. She beamed back at him.
"Let's go home," she responded, to unanimous agreement.
Longest chapter EVER. :P Sorry it was such an extensive read, but I just wanted to sum everything up into one last chapter before writing an epilogue (I didn't expect this thing to go past 20 chapters, but oh well. :P)