A/N: Seasons Greetings guys. Or, I hope the rest of your 2016 is a great one. I say this, as I find out we lost Carrie Fisher. Still in shock. So many will grieve over her, but remember her fondly always. Contains fluff, because Christmas, romance and all that jazz. The penultimate chapter. :)

In The Stillness Of The Night

Kara slipped in and out of a dream state, believing she was awake, but aware that she wasn't. She could shift, but not do much else. It was as if something prevented her leaving, escaping.

Her dream showed her Outworld, Ermac, souls billowing free from his form.

The past?

No. Things felt different here. This wasn't how she remembered it. A pungent smell hit her, Ermac the source. His skin was rotting. Chunks of flesh fell off, like an animal moulting. Bandages covered a portion of the skin, but not enough. She looked away, trying not to breathe. Her chest heaved as her lungs gasped for air. The souls she had freed were all around her, rising gracefully into the sky.

One did not wish to leave however. It began weaving its way around her body, trying to invade her mind. She repelled it, focusing on casting it away. It fought back, casting off a ring of energy. In a flurry, it whipped Kara into a torrent, causing the guard she had on her mind to drop momentarily.

And, in that moment, it took a hold of her body.

She screamed, but not in her voice...

The last she saw as 'her' was flashes of white fury as her conscious mind faded out, her hold on it whisked away...

Raiden appeared before her, gravely concerned. He ran over and knelt down. Kara sat before him on a broken rock, motionless, face expressionless.

"Kara? I know you can hear me. You must fight this".

Two voices came from her, her own and another, much quieter, monotone voice, gender indistinguishable.

Is this a dream, reality, or a vision?

"Why are you here?"

She shivered, spine arching.

If you're here then...

Confusion flitted about her face, a millisecond of humanity that died upon the next tick...

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

The clock stopped. Kara's eyes shifted, swirling from varying shades of honey to green and back again.

We are sharing a vision?

A sudden fit took Kara's body, throwing her forward. Her body shook violently as she struggled to regain control of her body and her mind. She found she couldn't. When she used her magic, purple lines flashed in front of her, before emerald wrapped around them, dragging them away from her. She cried in frustration, letting out squeals in quick succession. Trembling hands reached out for the God. He took them, their freezing numbness a worrying sign.

"This isn't a vision. It's a dream. It isn't real Kara. You'll wake up soon, unharmed".

The woman in front of him looked to acknowledge that.

I get it.

"I don't UNDERSTAND".

"You must leave this realm, move on from this plain. You're harming Kara".

The soul couldn't comprehend what the God spoke.

"Harming? I was the one who was HARMED!"

Raiden lowered his tone.

"I do not doubt that. However, she and I can help heal you. You needn't suffer anymore. If you'll just let her go"...

Kara piped in.

Lord Raiden right. I can end your sorrow, stop whatever it is that prevents you leaving.

The spirit made her scoff.

"Lord? A God?" Three voices merged. "Where were you whilst we prayed? Whilst we were slashed to pieces, our blood spilling across the stone, drenching it with our essence?"

Raiden had no answer, none he could provide to satisfy or sooth the spirits.

"That's what we thought. You cannot pacify us. We shall remain here, keep this 'Kara' here. Our host being. You shall not touch us".

Kara teared up.

They...they're telling me what happened to them, and Gods. Raiden, they were split up from their friends and family, and cut down by Shao Kahn's armies as they fled. There's kids here too, Raiden. Kids!

Raiden squatted, placed his forehead against Kara's and closed his eyes upon seeing the ones he was looking into were not those of Kara's.

You. Affection?

Kara managed a nod.

Yes. Please. Let me go.

Tears started, falling, awful wails left her mouth. Childlike. Raiden shivered, feeling his body recoil.

Mommy?

Kara blanched.

Woah. No. No, no no kid.

She looked around, seeing three souls circling behind Raiden's head. She pointed. The God turned, giving the spirits his full attention.

"Your family?"

'Kara' nodded.

"Okay. Kara, I need you to do something for me. Create a soul orb".

Kara tugged on his collar. He looked back, seeing her as he knew her, hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears. His own softened with that look, He took her hand, her skin freezing. She gave a slight upward jolt as he linked his fingers, interlocking them with hers.

Okay. I think I can do that.

She smiled. The God returned the smile graciously, the faith he had in her had lost a few bricks during the nightmare began reforming and strengthening itself. The building blocks were then taken by Kara, and she used them to rebuild her own faith in herself.

A palm sized lilac jewel materialized in the woman's lap. She used it to siphon the souls inside her, placing them inside the orb. She looked at the remaining souls, their dark forms peering curiously at the ball.

"I can place all of your souls inside this, and, once you enter the afterlife, my Mother will do the rest, freeing them. She is a God too".

Nothing needed to be said. The spirits nodded eagerly, the female thrusting out a hand, awaiting the orb with outstretched fingers. One by one, three souls erupted from Kara's form, alighting her eyes and mouth white. Black forms shifted into humans before her, and the two began crying. Kara fell forward, limp like a ragdoll. Raiden caught her, placing her head over his shoulder.

"See?" Kara said, laughing weakly. "I told you I could do it".

Raiden sighed in relief, a huge weight lifted from his chest.

I didn't doubt it...

The two decided to give the family some privacy. Kara lent against Raiden, eyes unfocused, watery.

"I'll wake up soon". She let out a short cough. "Thank you. I must like putting you through hell, huh", she mumbled, "I do it a lot".

The God knew what was coming. He shushed her upon her head moving up, eyes meeting his apologetically. This made her drop her head in shame and exhaustion, but he wouldn't let it drop. He placed hand under her chin, his thumb under her chin, and his eyes met hers.

He feared he'd almost lost her again. Years he had spent, guilt-ridden, wanting to apologize himself. For he was the one who needed too. Not her.

In the solitude he'd placed himself in, reflection happened often. And, all he could reflect on for some time was his failure to protect the woman standing beside him. He;d been unable to care for her in the way she need at the time, though, as he reminisced, he came to the realization that he had come to care for her, in the way he thought she may have needed. May. He did not wish to assume.

Judging by how she was looking at him right then and there however? It seemed like she didn't realise how much he cared, and how much she returned that in kind.

The truth hit both at the same time, an anomaly no longer...

Kara opened her eyes, blearily scanning the space around her. Two am beckoned as she checked her phone, the bright screen causing her to swear as it hurt her eyes. She dropped the article onto the pillow beside her. Without want to stay here, she got up, leaving the sheets to fall haphazardly onto the floor. They threatened to trip her as she walked to the door. She didn't give the fabric or her safety any care. She simply wanted an answer from the man whom she shared a, vision with? She wasn't sure what to call it.

Grabbing her phone, she ran downstairs, slipped on some shoes, buckled up a coat, and grabbed her keys, before leaving the house, destination clear.

A swift wind blew the fabric of her coat around her, as she hurried to Raiden's home. Fraught with agitation, that eradicated any want to teleport. One hand tucked hair behind her ear, the other pulled her collar close to her.

Upon reaching the door, Kara let herself in, brusquely shutting the door. The woman shrugged off her coat, placing it over the back of a chair. A quick jog up the stairs brought her to a stand still on the landing. She went to speak, knock, but found she couldn't. Opening her mouth accomplished only leaving her jaw agape. She shut it and looked away, directing her frustration on a spot in the floor. A quivering lip was bitten as she fought back tears.

She slunk towards Raiden's bedroom door, considering turning around and either leaving, or entering the room she'd slept in many moons ago.

What the hell am I doing?

Logical thought finally chimed in, late to the party, but, it made an appearance.

No. Come on now. It isn't like you're here for something other than...

Another thought cut that one off...

Wait. What am I here for?

Comfort...and warmth. It's bloody freezing. Besides, he understands you, and how you feel.

Kara couldn't help but agree with logic. Raiden did, indeed know and grasp what she had been through. What her mind chose to show her.

Must be all my thoughts jumbled up into one dark, painful, shifting entity. I plunged into darkness, but, he followed me, pulled me from the abyss I thought was endless...

I...

She knocked...

As the door opened, Kara blurted.

"I'm sor...".

She didn't get it out before he shushed her, with a shake of the head. Kara chuckled, covering her mouth.

"You did that, in my, vision?"

"Of the past? Yes. I had it too".

Kara raised a brow.

"More like a nightmare". She sighed. "So, you had it too? We share dreams now?"

"It was a dreamlike state, one in-between wake and rest. That's why we were aware and could act there. Unlike a dream, or vision, where we couldn't".

The woman nodded, before throwing herself at the God, clutching onto him as if he would disappear if she didn't. Raiden set about unfurling the balled hands that lay upon his chest, and calming Kara down, rubbing her back rhythmically.

Kara looked away and sniffed.

"I just need reassurance".

"And rest".

She laughed, cracking an eye open at him.

"That too". His slightly disheveled appearance had a hand work its way up and into the mass of white locks. It acted as a comb, working out little knots and smoothing down the edges. She peeked curiously at his bed.

"May I?" A tiny part of herself snickered at the situation. She quickly stamped it out. She meant this innocently. Nothing lay behind her words or actions.

Thud, thud.

She could hear his heartbeat. Powerful, a majestic sound. It lulled her into security. She cradled into the crook of his elbow as she was brought inside the room.

Kara lay down, and a little afterward ended up the 'big spoon'. She only slept on her right and, coincidentally, so did Raiden. Awkwardly, the woman put her arm around her companion's chest. She wished to take his hand, but thought it was too personal a move.

Raiden however? He was on the same page as her, and took her hand, placing it on his heart. Kara sucked in a breath as her stomach twisted. She couldn't decide if it was the result of unease, or something else. She sniffled, shaking her head and swallowing the blasted lump in her throat. She looked upon the dozing God, mixed emotions flitting about inside her.

Closing her eyes was a task in and of itself. She did so, but it wasn't to sleep. It was to think, and she needed to think long and hard on the next course of action.

She had to face the facts. The man beside her meant much more than she'd ever anticipated...