"My dad?" Takeda wanted relief to rush through him but it simply refused to blossom. He searched desperately within his heart to find it. He wanted her to say that everything was fine, that Kenshi was safe, and that she only hid the information from them for the sake of formality. Given the circumstances, the only thing she called up in his heart was fear.

"Yeah," General Blade affirmed flatly.

"What kinda mission do you want? Combat Support? Extraction?" S & R? Body retrieval? "He's not . . . he's not dead, is he?" His heart nose-dived into his stomach as soon as he said it. "Oh my god, he's probably dead," shot across his mind like a bullet, and his thoughts went into a frenzy. He started picturing horrific and gory scenes of his father in varying degrees of 'dead'. Eviscerated. Bleeding out. Throat slashed open. Choked out. Face locked open in a scream forever silent. Dread pressed down on his shoulders like weights. "No, no, no! Oh my god, a-are you sure? There's no body, right? Right?" he babbled. "He could still be alive, General-"

"Takeda!" He paused, waiting for her confirmation. Waited. Stared into her eyes. Waited. His stomach crushed his heart like a fist and twisted, dripping a cold numbness through his whole body. She was taking too long. Too long, too long - she didn't want to tell him. That was it. It was over. Kenshi was dead. Hooking her thumbs into her belt loops, she shifted her weight. "We don't know," she finally admonished.

" . . . You don't know," he repeated. "What the heck does that mean? Is he dead, or isn't he?!"

"It means we lost contact with him. And we don't know if he's dead or alive."

Unsatisfactory. Unacceptable. He wanted a yes, or a no. Why couldn't she tell him? "And what about Hanzo? Didn't you send him too?" Hanzo was his father as much as Kenshi. "Please tell me Hanzo's safe at least."

"We don't know that either."

His heart started to ache at the thought of Master Hasashi being cut away from his life forever. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, but none of it seemed appropriate enough to do his pain justice. All he managed was a clenched-jawed, "No . . . " Jacqui was his next thought. He imagined a wet scream, pictured her sobbing uncontrollably. "And Jax? Is Jax alright? What about Kung Lao? You mean to tell me you don't know if Liu Kang, the Grand Champion of Mortal Kombat, is dead or not? You don't know if MY FATHER is dead or not?"

"I'm sorry, Takeda! But I don't have any answers!" She walked around behind him, and he heard her knife snick free of its case. General Blade sawed through the ropes around his wrists in a few easy strokes and he plummeted to the ground, landing in a heap. He rolled his shoulders, massaging the huge knot that bulged near his neck. She continued, "If it's any consolation, I don't think they're dead. M.I.A. would be more appropriate. You wanted details about Jax and Kenshi's mission. Well, here they are: about a week and a half ago I sent Jax and Kenshi on a reconnaissance mission to a deep, uncharted part of the Netherrealm. I mean a deep part of the Netherrealm."

"Uncharted?" he snarled bitterly. "I thought Raiden and Hanzo helped you map out the whole realm a few months ago after Shinnok's return."

"They did. But they missed a spot. Hanzo probably never knew it existed, and knowing what I know now, I suspect Raiden missed it on purpose."

"Why?" Kenshi and Master Hasashi were lost in such a place? A place Raiden didn't even dare go?

General Blade shifted her hands as if cupping an invisible globe. "It's like a pocket on the farthest corner of the map. Dead zone. Like, completely dead. No life, communication, power, no nothing. Even our drones malfunction and crash. I tried several times to get teams out there, but every squad I sent never came back."

"And you sent my DAD there?" he yelled. "Why? Didn't throw enough red flags for you, or something?" A rage bubbled in his heart to replace his unease. "'Oh! Gee! This place is really dangerous and everyone I send there DIES so why don't I just keep throwing people out there until, hey! MAYBE someone will come back!' That sounds logical!"

"Go ahead and criticize me!" she spat, crossing her arms. "I take my job very seriously, alright? I have to weigh every situation, and every option available to me, and every consequence of every option. And I'm gonna send the people best suited for each option and consequence. That includes Kenshi and Jax. And you know what?" she continued, jabbing her finger in his direction. "If there's even a speck on the ground in the Netherrealm that can reach Earthrealm, I wanna know about it! Okay?" She sighed tiredly, rubbing her face. "Why am I even explaining myself?" she grumbled. "Look, I sent Kenshi and Jax because I wanted people stronger than the average team. People who I could depend on, you know? People smart enough to watch their own backs despite our lack of communication. They were only supposed to go and scope the place out. Make maps, record enemy data, the works. Low-intensity conflict, if any. They were the best we had-"

"Don't say 'were'. Don't say it yet!" he snapped.

"They are the best we have. They geared up and left immediately. And just as we suspected, I lost contact. I was prepared for it. I just trusted them enough to know what they were doing without the communication. I waited a few days, on alert about Jax's calling habits, like you said, then called Master Hasashi. Nobody knows the Netherrealm like he does. He was willing to go look. Lost contact with him. I don't even know if he made it to them. I talked to Raiden next, and he recruited Liu Kang and Kung Lao. The three of them left about two days ago."

"Raiden has no power in the Netherrealm. Why'd you call Raiden?"

"Just to alert him of the situation. And tell him there was a spot he missed. He said he'd look into it. I lost contact with them. As a last resort, I called the Lin Kuei and Grandmaster Sub-Zero. Lost contact."

"And so you want the last guinea pigs you have to go in there," he offered sarcastically. "We're your last resorts." General Blade nodded quickly.

"That's exactly what I want."

"So you can lose contact with us, too? Fill out another M.I.A. report? I can't believe you're okay with sending Cassie somewhere like this!"

General Blade leveled a tired glare in his direction on the floor, but chose to ignore his comment. "I wouldn't call you guys a last resort. More like . . . I was going to have a regular old S & R team do this, but I can't keep wasting soldiers when I have a team more than capable of this."

Takeda snorted. "You said you already sent 'the best you have.' What makes you think-"

"You guys took out Shinnok, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"You and Jacqui fought off four revenants, didn't you? While wounded."

"Five! Wait - this is different-"

"I don't see how. It's a mission, that's it."

"You're asking us to go somewhere where you know we'll have no contact and search for our own parents who may or may not be dead! It's very different, General!"

"And Cass had to deal, knowing her father was Shinnok's prisoner! I'm not totally apathetic to your concerns!"

"You're being a little apathetic."

"I know what I'm asking of you. I know the emotional impacts. But you guys are strong, and you're all I have now that everyone else has been sent. There's no way any normal team can do this. I know it's tough. But I need you."

Takeda sighed. Of course he'd accept. He knew he'd accept the mission before he argued with her. He just wanted to know how high she thought the stakes were.

"Pretty high," he muttered under his breath.

"Huh?"

"How could I refuse?" he said, throwing his hands out. "This is my dad we're talking about - both of them. Hanzo, too. No way am I going to just abandon them or anyone else to their deaths when there's a chance I could help."

General Blade nodded. "Thanks, Takeda. I already unofficially debriefed Cass, Jin, and Jacqui, but we need to do a formal session, and then I need to file your mission into the computer. After that, all you guys have to do is gear up and leave whenever you're ready. I'm not giving you a time frame for this."

"Okay." General Blade stared at him a second longer than he would have liked before turning to leave. "How are we supposed to get there if we can't teleport?" Takeda asked.

General Blade paused. "You ever meet Fujin?"

"Fujin? No."

"Another god. God of the wind. Gonna take you there when you're ready. Come with me."

Takeda hopped up, angrily rubbing away the twinge in his knee. As General Blade turned back once more he glared at her.

"Don't give me that look," she said, casually tossing her braid over her shoulder. "I didn't give you anything you didn't deserve." She started walking, the usual purpose back in her steps. "You guys are really smart, the four of you. How much time did you take to plan your little operation?"

"Uuuum, if you count our waiting time, about 3 hours."

"Impressive!" she said, nodding her approval. "Really!"

"Heh! Oh, so now you approve?" Takeda asked.

"I don't ever approve of breaking the chain of command. But on the plus side, you reinforced why we put your team together. The four of you in tandem could be unstoppable. You know, Jin was this close to getting my door open." She held up her thumb and pointer finger with a small amount of space between them. "If I woulda been two more minutes late he woulda had it. Punk ass kids," she muttered as she strutted down the hall. Though, if Takeda was honest he swore he heard a smile in her tone. "I'm not sorry I punished you, with what little it was."

"Didn't think you were," he assured her.

"I would've thought Master Hasashi'd be twice as bad as that."

"Hanzo was fair with me," Takeda said. "He kicked my ass when I needed it." He sighed, "Can't believe he's lost."

"You will find him. I know you will." General Blade was only trying to be encouraging, Takeda knew, but her words just weren't doing it for him. There was something wrong with this whole mission. There was something wrong with Hanzo, Kenshi, Jax, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, and Raiden all not rescuing each other. He was afraid they were lost forever.

He was scared of whatever place could swallow them up like that.

He was afraid of being swallowed up himself.

And what about Jacqui? What would she do if Jax was gone?

He didn't want to think about it anymore - scratch that, he didn't want to think anymore. He let General Blade lead him through the barracks' maze until they ended up outside. As soon as the door opened his hair and headband tails whipped around in a rogue wind. Warm and strong, but odd. Like it could toss them around if it wanted to, but was restraining itself, if that was at all possible. With gods in the mix, Takeda decided not to question it. He turned away from it, blinking away the tears that burned his eyes, but General Blade didn't seem at all bothered by it. She maintained her stride and led him to the mission tent.

Takeda ducked under the wildly flapping tent behind her, and met eyes with all three of his team. "Heeeey! You're alive!" Cassie yelled.

"Well! Nice to see you guys again!" He went and stood next to Jacqui. "You alright? General Blade didn't hurt you, did she?"

"Hm!" she shrugged. "One or two swings. I'm alright. Was expecting a lot worse, to be honest."

"And you would've gotten it, if I didn't need you right away," General Blade said, punching a few keys on the computer's control panel.

"I know, Aunt Sonya," Jacqui said, shaking her head.

"Ouch," Jin muttered. "Nice to know where we stand on your ladder of concern."

"You okay, Takeda? Did she hit your jaw?" Jacqui reached up and rubbed her hand along a tender spot on his face - he guessed it bruised. Momentary pain flared through his whole face down to his chin and he jerked away.

"Yeah. But I'm good."

They sat in silence while General Blade typed away on the computer. Entering names, coordinates, various data. In the meantime, Takeda reached out to Jacqui, sending her a thought. "She tell you what's going on?"

Jacqui looked up at him and nodded. "Said that your dad and my dad are lost. And everyone else she sent to go rescue them hasn't come back either."

"I got the same thing. You think that's the whole truth?"

Jacqui nodded again. "If she's sending us on the mission she's got nothing to lie about."

"True," he agreed. "Still, something doesn't sit right with me. We need a god to get us there, but Raiden can't get back? Also, what kind of place is it that Jax, my dad, Master Hasashi, all of them need rescuing?"

"Yeah . . . " She trailed off, and Takeda grew afraid that he scared her. He reached down and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers in hers.

"I don't mean to scare you," he said, gently stroking her hand with his thumb. "I'm sure everything's fine, and it's just some malfunctions in tech. And it's just some fluke of the Netherrealm for Raiden."

"Yeah," Jacqui agreed. She squeezed his hand. "I'm sure they're fine, too."

". . . Okay!" General Blade said, gently slapping her palms on the table. She turned around and faced the four of them. "Database has been updated."

The words left her mouth, then the energy in the tent shifted around Takeda - he felt the air and pressure in the room drop to the floor and gather in a single spot in the tent. His limbs felt heavy, the change made him a bit light-headed, but he followed the energy's path as it swirled in a circle on the floor. Around and around, over and over, rising up into a tornado. The dust and particles gathered, making the whirlwind cloudy before dissipating. The wind died, everything quieted down, and in the tornado's place was a man.

Tall, definitely godlike in how he carried himself. Back ram-rod straight, shoulders back, chin up. And with the inexplicable white aura around him that made him taller, prouder than regular humans. White hair that gave him a timeless wisdom, but in a young man's face. Long, gathered in a braid behind his head, headband of circlets around his forehead. Striking white eyes to match. They had a life of their own, the pure color swirling in and around itself like a tornado was already in there, it was just waiting to be unleashed. Definitely like Raiden's blue, only, if you asked Takeda, the white looked more powerful. More intimidating, more deep, more everything. Brown leather vest, engraved with a scale-like pattern, matching straps around his biceps and brown leather gauntlets. Black pants and brown leather greaves.

"Everyone, meet Fujin." General Blade squared her shoulders to him, covering her fist with her other hand. She bowed, telling him, "Thank you for coming."

"Of course," he nodded, glancing at Cassie's team. "Raiden has told me much about you," he said. "I am Fujin, god of the wind."

"Nice to meet you. Aren't you supposed to be green or something?" Jin asked. Ever tactful. Takeda's shock spread across his whole spine like ice. "I mean, I'm Chinese, not Japanese. But I thought in the Shinto religion you were like a lizard thing-"

"Jin!" Takeda yelled. "Shut up!" Don't get on the god's bad side, don't get on the god's bad side, don't get-

"I prefer this form," Fujin said without missing a beat. "My true form is not . . . conducive to speaking to humans."

Jin's mouth opened, and Takeda prayed that nothing stupid came out of it.

"Can't imagine why-"

"Anyway!" Takeda yelled, desperate to change the subject. "How about that debriefing, General?"

"Yes, and tell me about Raiden," Fujin said. He stared at Jin a second longer than he had to, but Takeda couldn't figure out what it meant. "I share your concerns about his disappearance," he admitted, white eyes squinting at the thought of it. "I would go and look for him myself, but like Raiden, my powers are naught in the Netherrealm. I was more than elated when you told me you had put this team together."

"Yes," she nodded. "I wanted you here for their debriefing so you know all the details, too. After Raiden and Hanzo Hasashi helped us map out the Netherrealm, I found a spot they both missed. I found it on accident, really. I sent a drone out on patrol and it crashed once it hit that pocket. I sent three more out on three separate occasions and they all crashed, too. I sent Jax and Kenshi first, then Hanzo to go find them. Then Raiden to go find him, who took Liu Kang and Kung Lao along. Then Sub-Zero to go find them. It's kind of a mess."

Fujin nodded. "And you have not heard from him since?"

"No. Not from any of them. So now we get to the good stuff. Their mission. Typical Seven Level debriefing, alright guys? I'll go through each, starting with mission and purpose. Your mission is ultimately an S & R. Good ol' Search and Rescue. You're gonna investigate the region of the Netherrealm where I sent Raiden, Hanzo, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, and Kenshi - and where I lost contact with them. You are to search the area, locate them, evaluate their status, and whether they are in danger or not, you are to return them home safely. Your secondary purpose will be to gather any and all information you can on this uncharted region.

"Context and environment, it's operational. Potentially hostile environment, so suit up for the worst, understand?" She received solemn nods from the four of them while Fujin crossed his arms. "Your location and time is the geo-spatial and spiritual plane of the Netherrealm. Coordinates are Underground South, negative 49 degrees, 28.996 minutes. Underground West, 119 degrees, 36.441 minutes. The name of your area is unknown, so we designated it 'Area X'. I don't know the terrain. I don't know if there are mountains, marshlands, plains, but we're assuming that because the areas around it are the same arid deserts you find in the NetherRealm, prepare for that climate and environment. Time: you have as much time as you want to get ready for this mission, but from the moment you deploy you will have a week to report in before you go M.I.A., and a week after that before we assume you are K.I.A. I'm sorry, but as I told all of you already, we just don't have the manpower to send another team after you. If you can't do it, nobody can."

"It's tricky, because we don't have any IPB - Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield," she explained to Fujin. At his nod, she continued. "Your available assets are basically each other, and each others' skill. Your constraints are the lack of technology. I assume your devices won't work. I expect it. I also assume there will be enemies there, and that it won't be a completely dead zone like we think Area X is. I suggest the first thing you do is a sweep, and find a place where your devices work, if there is one. Okay?"

"Yeah," Cassie said.

"Your orders are coming straight from me, so I will do all the paperwork. The write-ups of the restated mission, the commander's intents, all that jazz. You have your analysis and approval from me. Functions and capabilities of this mission are to move through the area, sense the environment, the dangers, anticipate any hostile situations, or the condition of your targets. Investigate anything that seems suspicious, search for your targets, communicate with them and each other, potentially engage any hostiles, and evacuate yourselves, and your targets. It will require your full range of cognitive decision making as well. Be fast and be efficient, but be thorough. Understand?

"Sergeant Cage, you and your team will carry out this mission: Sergeant Cassandra Cage, Specialist Jacqueline Briggs, Chujin Takahashi Takeda, and Shaolin Kung Jin. Your targets are Raiden, Hanzo Hasashi, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jackson Briggs, and Takahashi Kenshi. Your predicted risk level is high. Especially so because our highest-ranking soldiers were unable to complete it.

"Effects . . . Two levels. You've got personal effects and the effects of your success on your surroundings. I have to say it: you could find them dead. You could find them mortally wounded. You could find them physically fine, but mentally incapacitated. Okay? The margin of variables is a large one. No matter what, you must be prepared to deal with whatever you see. Because the safety of our best, and the world's best, and two of your fathers hangs in the balance. As for the overall effects, we'll have lost all of our best to that hell-hole should you fail, or if they're already dead."

She turned to Fujin. "And that's your Seven Level debriefing. Any questions? From anybody?"

Takeda shook his head, waiting for anybody to ask something. The think silence that answered him was answer enough to any question. They all felt the weight of their task. They all felt the pressure of success.

"To think that Raiden is lost there . . . " Fujin began. The utter disbelief coming from a god sank Takeda's own heart, even more than it was already sunk.

"I know," General Blade said, lowering her eyes. "But they'll find him. Everybody take your time, gear up, and lemme know when you're ready. I'll call Fujin back, and you'll be off."

A/N: So this semester kicked my ass. I took 24 credits. That's 7 over the full-time limit. And I took a nose-dive off the deep end because of it. I was so stressed out with so many projects due at once that I ended up having a grade so low I have to retake a class. That sucks. But it's summer now and I'm getting a job and I'll still have time to update - way more time than I had this past semester. Thanks to all who have stayed with this for this long, and leave a review if you have time!

-Keyblader