*If Raiden ends up in any way OOC, then I sincerely apologise. I am writing him in situations that I have never seen him in in-game, so I am going off of how he speaks, and his demeanor here*

Little Girl, Big World

Kara scurried back when she spotted the thunder God, and her eyes were blown wide with fear.

"Stay...stay away from me!"

Raiden was confused, but chose to stay where he stood. Kara was not in her right mind, and did not need anyone else approaching her, even if it were someone trying to comfort her.

"Why are your eyes red? They look demonic. Please, just go away".

The Elder God walked away and went to his chambers. Looking into his bathroom mirror confirmed that is eyes were indeed red, and not their usual, serene blue.

No wonder I frightened her.

He sighed. His anger at Smoke had gotten the better of him, and now, his dark Raiden eyes, demeanor and posture were all too apparent. His powers were amplified, his senses heightened.

So when he heard running, and then a series of loud thumping sounds outside of his spare room, he cursed internally and left his room.

Kara had tried to run away, but she stumbled over a futon, which was to the left of the staircase. She went hurtling down the stairs, and landed awkwardly on the wooden floor of the living room. She groaned and held her ribcage. The skin dipped in, and felt squishy. She couldn't feel the ribs on her right side.

Raiden stood, at the top of the staircase, and was about to descend, when Kara's Mother, Tiama, and her Father, Jakal burst into his home and ran over to their daughter. Jakal took one look at Raiden and put two and two together.

Unfortunately, he got three. He read the situation wrong.

"Raiden? Did you do this? Oh Gods, KARA!"

Kara couldn't move at all. Her fingers started to feel numb, and stabbing pains filled her chest and stomach.

Tiama chided her husband.

"How dare you accuse Lord Raiden of harming our daughter! Honestly Jin, behave. We need to heal Kara. She has four broken ribs, her nose is fractured, and she is bruised all over. We cannot wait any longer".

Tiama picked Kara up, not without her screeching, and her skin became a deathly pale shade. She walked upstairs and lay her down in the bedroom that she so desperately tried to escape only moments ago.

Jakal approached Raiden, and felt ashamed.

"Lord Raiden, I should never have assumed that you would hurt Kara".

Raiden shook his head.

"I would not do that. She ran because she was scared of my eyes".

Jakal was a little unsure of what the thunder God meant. Raiden picked up on this.

"My eyes are usually blue. They are affected by situations, and, Kara should be the one to tell you this but, I had to murder Smoke. He was beating her, and I had to stop it. I could not stand by and do nothing".

The Lin Quei general was stunned. Anger flooded his veins, making him punch the nearest wall to him.

All of his knuckles clicked, and his hand throbbed with pain, but he was not focused on that.

"Gods, I should have seen that coming. Smoke always had a temper, but it never flared up around Kara. He behaved around her. I was wrong to ever trust him around her. So Tomas is dead, good. My wife won't approve of me saying that, but it would be much worse if I had killed him, and not you. I must go, tend to Kara. Thank you though, Lord Raiden. Despite Kara's wanting to get out of here, her raucous behavior, she gets that from me". He laughed. "I cannot thank you enough".

Raiden nodded and let Jakal past him.

Raiden walked outside, onto his room's balcony and breathed in the cool autumn air. He scanned his garden to see all of the carnelian, ruby and brown leaves scattered about it. He was worried for Kara's safety.

Cyrax, Sektor, Sub-Zero missing, Smoke dead. Kara may have her parents, but they are always away.

If Kara is to survive, I must help her to hone her abilities, her telepathy, and telekinesis are invaluable skills.

I don't think you know of the danger, do you. Kara?

The God returned to his bathroom and a small smile quirked his mouth when he saw that his eyes were back to their crackling, dazzling blue, and he no longer felt irascible. With his age came wisdom, but also frustration. No matter what he did, for the good of humanity, something, or someone would always ruin everything and make it seem like he had not bothered, not given his full attention to the problems. Earthrealm had just about won the last tournament, but suffered heavy losses. Many fighters, and innocent, unarmed people were slaughtered, and Raiden couldn't help but feel responsible.

If he could save just one person, then he would.

He would fight for, and with the demi-Goddess in his home right now with everything he had.

Tiama had finished healing her daughter, and called upon Raiden. But the look in her eyes, and the tone of her voice implied something that he did not wish to see, nor hear.

"Kara will be okay, but, she will need to rest for at least a few days. She has suffered terribly. Jin told me about what happened, and I feel embittered, powerless. Please, take care of her. It seems that neither of us are good enough to, and we are her parents, for Gods sake. No doubt when she is able to walk again she will be out of you hair. I know she can be a bit overbearing, she gets that from Jin. But she is also compassionate and affectionate, she just doesn't show that. After being herself with Smoke, I fear, after what had happened, she may become somewhat of a burden on you. No one wants that to happen. So when she is fully recovered, I shall take her home".

She looked to Kara, who was fast asleep.

"She may wake up, but she will be fine. When she wakes, if she needs to move, she can, but only if it is completely necessary. If not, then do not let her. Kara, don't be stubborn with Lord Raiden. He, like your Father and I only has your best interests at heart. I will see you tomorrow. Goodbye Lord Raiden".

Raiden bowed his head.

"Farewell, Lady Tiama".

Tiama left his home, with Jakal in tow.

Sleep did not come easy for Raiden, all he could sense was the imbalance in Kara's aura, and it disturbed him. He chose to get up, and go back onto the balcony.

Whimpers alerted him, and they came from the spare room. He walked in there as quietly as possible, and saw Kara flinching, her eyelids were flickering rather violently and her whimpering grew louder. She shot up, making the God panic. But it seemed that she was still asleep. All she did was grab one of his hands with hers, drop it and then lay back down. Raiden shook his head of the confusion he felt and moved the covers that had been mussed up, so they were covering her again.

He left the room and managed to fall asleep, when, he did not know.

A cloud of smoke surrounded him, and he turned in a circle, unable to see anyone. The air grew thick, heavy, and it made his chest heave. He coughed a few times. Something out of the corner of his eyes was coming towards him, and he tried to move out of the way.

But he was rooted to the spot on the ground, and his powers did not work.

A grey mass flew at him, and...

Raiden woke up with a start, and cursed. The sun hadn't risen yet, it was far too early to be even thinking of getting up, but he entertained the thought.

He turned over and felt a bead of sweat roll off his forehead and onto the pillow beneath him. He rubbed his eyes and scrunched them up.

Looking after Kara, nightmares, no sleep.

This won't be easy.

Then again, is anything easy anymore?

Raiden just lay there and hoped that sleep would come soon.