+++ Mortal Kombat: Echoes of the Past by LadyRaiden aka Raydiva +++

Note:  Someone mentioned that my story is a little complex especially since I don’t update very often.  So if you are interested I have included a recap at the end of this chapter.  If not interested or you are keeping up in spite of my slow updates just skip it.

Chapter Twenty-Six:  Betrayal

(Ranch House, Late Afternoon)

“Damn, Sonya, “said Jax as read over the electrician’s estimates and descriptions of damage, “What sort of party were you having here?”

”Don’t start with me, Jax, “answered Sonya leaning against the hummer, “Just tell me how long until we can move back in.”

”Well, depends…do you just want to replace the existing stuff or do you want to upgrade?” asked Jax.

”No guns, “interrupted Johnny as he handed both Jax and Sonya some colas.

”Look man if…”started Jax.

”No guns, “repeated Johnny forcefully, “Hand held stuff I don’t mind but automated is just asking for trouble with Sektor’s crew running around.  And don’t give me that look, if Liu was here he would say no even to hand guns.”

”I agree, “came an slightly echoing mechanical voice, “Computer controls should be kept to a minimum due to Sektor’s hacking abilities.  Even sensor and alarms would not be completely reliable if fully reliant on computers.”

”So everything old school, then, “said Jax with a thoughtful look.

”Not necessarily, “answered Cyrax.

The sound of a motorcycle driving up the driveway interrupted the conversation.  Everyone turned to see a familiar blue and black motorcycle drive up with not only the driver but a passenger riding. 

The motorcycled stopped behind the hummer and both riders stepped off, the larger one removing his helmet to reveal a familiar if older looking face.

”Sub-Zero?” asked Johnny not believing how much the ‘young’ fighter had aged in the few weeks he was gone.

The Lin Kuei nodded and then said, “This is Frost…my new student.”

At that moment the smaller person removed her helmet to reveal the ice blue eyes and Chinese features of the female warrior.  She placed the helmet under her arm and then bowed respectfully.

”Student?” Jax, Johnny and Sonya all asked at the same time.

”What of the Lin Kuei?” asked Cyrax.

“They’re no longer a problem, “answered Sub-Zero tiredly.

Frost frowned but remained quiet to study the group. Cyrax she knew or thought she did.  The other three she only knew from what Sub-Zero told her and from what she overheard at the Lin Kuei headquarters.  The one with metal arms was no doubt Jax and seemed to be a decent fighter by the look of him but nothing to worry about.  The other male must then be Johnny Cage nice looking but didn’t strike her as a true warrior.  It was the woman, Sonya Blade, which concerned her.  This was the one that caused the Lin Kuei to rethink their belief of female warriors and start their experiment with Frost herself.  Frost nearly smirked as she thought that if she could defeat this woman, she would prove that she was worthy to be a true Lin Kuei.

As if sensing Frost’s thoughts, Sonya glanced at the young woman with narrowing eyes and a look that said ‘don’t even think about it.’

”Brrrrrr! Did it suddenly get chilly out here?” said Johnny.

(Rayden’s Home)

Rayden appeared in a flash of light in the main room, and then nearly fell to his knees as he grabbed his head.  The searing headache was almost too much for him to bear.  He hasn’t felt this much physical pain in centuries.

Kronos helped the thundergod to his chair and said, “You might want to raise your mental shielding.  It will slow down repairing your link but…”

Rayden shook his head slightly and said, “They are up…What happened?”

The Elder God almost smiled but only sighed. “I gave Althea her first lesson in controlling her time gift, “he answered, “We agreed on doing it the fast way to get that seal removed sooner than originally planned.  The good news the headache is temporary and should be gone in a few hours.  The bad news is its going to return at least a few more times.  Althea’s gift is stronger than expected and must remain sealed until I am certain she is...” 

Kronos stopped and looked away from the thundergod as if hearing something.  The Elder God of Time then vanished.

(South American Jungle Ruins, Early Evening)

Arianna smiled when she felt the ring that Quan Chi had given her, heat up briefly.

“Arianna!” said Kuravan angrily, “Do you mind telling me what you were doing talking with the sorcerers?”

Arianna chuckled lightly as she turned. “No I don’t mind.  Actually I’m glad you brought it up.  They wanted me to cause a little distraction here on Earth when they sent me a sign,”said Arianna as lifted up her hand to reveal the faintly glowing ring, “This is the sign and you’re the distraction.”

With her other hand she threw a ball of blood red flame which crashed into Kuravan’s chest.  For a moment it seemed nothing happened, but the god stepped back as he felt his powers fade.  Fear crossed his face but then he heard the wings of his servant Lilith as she flew down.

“Take care of…”Kuravan said but Lilith grabbed the now mortal god by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“I no longer take orders from you, “the vampire growled, and her claws dug in just enough to draw blood.  Seeing this Lilith licked her lips.

“Why?” gasped Kuravan.

It was Arianna who answered, “Does it really matter?”

A blur knocked Lilith over causing her to lose her hold on Kuravan.  The blur then returned and stopped next to Kuravan to reveal the masked Kabal standing protectively between him and the two females.

“Why are Earth males so stupid, “said Arianna as she prepared to blast the idiot but then a gun shot cracked the air and a small hole appear in her upper chest, black blood spattering outward.  As Arianna fell to the ground another woman appeared from the jungle, her red hair appearing as blood in the night.  Kabal only nodded thanks to the woman and then put his full attention on Lilith.  The vampire just smirked as she walked slowly to the prone form on the ground.  “She was wrong…its not just Earth males that are stupid, “Lilith said as the ‘corpse’ started to move, “You can’t kill something that is already dead.”

Arianna sat up and slowly got up off the ground.  The gaping wound in her chest filled in and faded away leaving only a torn shirt and chain mail to show where the injury was.  Arianna and Lilith pulled out their kamas at the same time.  Arianna glared at the strange red headed woman as Lilith put her full concentration on the black dragon.

While this was happening, Kuravan sat up rubbing his throat and saw what was happening.  He was surprised by what he was seeing.  The one who he thought most loyal over the centuries had betrayed him, but one of the ones he was certain would someday prove traitor was risking all to protect him.  Even that woman, what was her name…Kira? Wasn’t going to back down in spite knowing they faced something that couldn’t be killed.  Lilith’s betrayal he could almost understand, all mortals had a price.  But what was it with these humans…what do they hope to gain?  The now mortal deity stood up, wiping the blood from his went to stand beside Kabal and went into a fighting stance.

Lilith growled and tightened her grip on her weapons considering her options.  She knew even mortal, Kuravan has centuries of experience.  Then the wind started to pick up, blinding everyone as dust and debris went flying. As the wind died down the familiar voice of the current Protector of the Realm filled the air, “As much as I hate the guy, I can’t allow the killing of another god.”

Arianna laughed with flashing eyes and then said, “One god or two…makes no difference to me.”   She crossed her kamas and they both became engulf in blood red flame but did not burn.

However, Lilith didn’t seem so confident.  The only reason why she went along with the attack was Arianna’s promise to aid her in releasing the Vampire’s home realm.  Unable to die and with shielding abilities, Arianna would be able to retrieve the orb from its volcanic prison.  The Vampire’s wings flexed as she considered her limited options.

As if sensing Lilith’s concerns, Fujin now appeared on stairs leading up the ruined pyramid and said in a commanding tone, “If you stand down now you will be given safe passage to another realm…never to return.”

Kabal and Kira just watched but still ready to fight if need be, while Kuravan considered the wind god’s actions.  What was the idiot up to?

Arianna ring flashed again and she smiled when she felt the heat.  “No matter, I completed my part of the bargain, “she said as she sheathed her weapons and pulled out a crystal, “As for safe passage, I’ll provide my own.”  A portal opened and Lilith was more than happy to take it without saying a word, but Arianna added, “It’s a shame that a god can’t be in two places at once, not even a Sworn Protector.”

At that second, Fujin bent over as if in pain.  The wind god’s eyes widen as he knew what had happened.  Arianna waved as she stepped through the portal and said, “Until next time.”

The portal closed with a hiss pop.  Kuravan turned to see what Fujin was going to do only to see him gone.

(Temple of Light, China)

Liu Kang took a deep breath and then started his morning Tai Chi routine.  As his body moved almost fluidly his mind wondered.  Tomorrow he would return to the States with Kung Lao.  They had finally gotten the proper Visas in order and permission from the Temple priests.  Even they had to admit that they had no one who could train Kung Lao’s gifts but with both Althea and hopefully Nightwolf teaching him there was a chance of getting it under control.  Never before has Kung Lao’s gift caused him so much trouble. Nightly he was having nightmares of what may or may not come and almost daily he was mentally pulled into the past by just touching something.

Liu continued his morning routine as he saw Kung Lao in the corner of his eye, thinking that his friend might join in the exercise.  He then turned when he heard a voice in the distance yell, “NO!”  The Champion of Mortal Kombat saw someone he never hoped to see again and then sent a kick in greeting followed by a pair of punches.  Shang Tsung blocks one punch but the second hits hard knocking him back a few steps.  Rushing back Shang sends in his own punch which Liu Kang blocks and counters with another kick to the lower rib cage.  Shang tries to back hand the monk but Liu blocks.  The champion sends a quick punch to the sorcerer’s face which is followed by a heavy over handed punch to the head knocking the sorcerer to the ground stunned.

From behind the other sorcerer Quan Chi send a green flaming skull into Liu Kang’s back.  The monk falls to his knees stunned and in pain. Recovered, Shang walks over the monk and grabs hold of Liu’s head and chin.  They struggle briefly but Shang then twists the monk’s head snapping his neck.  Liu Kang, the Champion of Mortal Kombat falls to the ground…dead.  The demon sorcerer Shang Tsang wasted no time taking the champion’s soul.  After all these years of defeat, he was about ready to roar in victory but a flying circular blade forced him to dodge.  The spinning blade lined hat returned to its owner who looked upon the pair with pure hatred in his eyes.

Quan Chi chuckled and prepared to return the favor in the form of one of his skulls but then turned his head as if sensing something else.  Shang growled and opened a portal.  “We’ll deal with you later boy, “snarled Shang.

“DAMN YOU!, “Kung Lao yelled as he ran to follow but the portal closed before he got to it.  He turned, walked towards Liu and fell to the ground in tears.

 

The End…

Next Time on MK: Echoes of the Past.

[Kung Lao] angrily said, “Where were you?”

 

Recap: For the past two years I have been working on a series of fanfics that have grown way past what I originally planned.  All I wanted was a good fan fiction of the Mortal Kombat: Conquest TV series.  I found a few one-shots but that’s about it. So I decided to try my hand at writing my own. This somehow grew to a 34 chapter fanfiction in itself, a prequel and now this story. (sigh)  Ok the following is not meant to provide any real spoilers of the stories in case if you haven’t read them but to give some insight on how everyone/thing is related to each other. Please ignore the grammar errors in the following. All I wanted to do was to list a few key elements of the stories and done this within a few minutes. 

Mortal Kombat: Mythos of Rayden

Raijin (Later known as Rayden) is the son of Shinnok, Elder God of Shadows, and Benten-San, a goddess of luck, who are ‘divorced’ at the start of the story.  Benten-San is remarried to the then Elder God of Air, Enlil, and eventually has a son named Fujin.  When Shinnok betrays the Elder Gods, Rayden and Fujin fight against him in defense of Earthrealm.  At that time there were Dragons created by the Elder Gods to also fight in this war.  Two, the Red Dragon of Flame and the Black Dragon of Shadows, were on Earth, both betrayed the Elder Gods and ended up serving Shinnok.   Later we find out that Shinnok had another son, Shao Kahn, whose mother was a she-demon of the Neatherrealm.

 

Final note: 

1.  Fujin and Rayden are half-brothers with the same mother.
2.  Rayden and Shao Kahn are also half-brothers but with the same father. 
3.  The Red and Black Dragons do not like Rayden and this is where their hatred of the Thundergod started. 

 

Mortal Kombat: Conquest

Rayden is allowed to ‘re-write’ history with the help of the mysterious white haired woman (Lady Tomorrow).  Althea first meets Rayden while she is a student of Kung Lao and we find out little bit about her history including the mutual dislike between her and Kuravan, her grandfather and a god of Calorna.  Among his followers, Kuravan considers Lilith (a winged Vampire) his most loyal and valuable in spite of her limitations of not being able to be out in the daylight.  We also meet Quan Chi’s new follower, Lupena, who is more than what she seems.  Drevane of the Red Dragon shows up and we see what the spirits of the two traitor Dragons are capable.  Arianna and Ragen were created by Quan Chi from the anger and guilt of Althea and Rayden.  Rayden’s and Althea’s growing attachment and soul-bond to each others causes some dissention among the Elder Gods since she is a godslayer and we find out that the Elder God of Time, Kronos, is Kuravan’s father and thus Althea’s Great-Grandfather.

Final Notes: 

1. Althea is the biological granddaughter of Kuravan, a god of Calorna (I have yet to figure out a god of what…any suggestions?) and great-granddaughter of Kronos, Elder God of Time. 
2. The spirits or souls of the Red and Black Dragons are imprisoned in their respective of medallions and can be controlled to a certain extent by certain bloodlines or extremely powerful magic-users. 
3.  The two dragon clans have always hated each other even if one clan may disappear for a while there was always both Red and Black Dragon clans. 
4.  Arianna is an evil ‘clone’ of Althea where Ragen is the same of Rayden. 
5.  Rayden and Althea more than care for each other they are literally bonded to each other. 

Mortal Kombat: Echoes of the Past

Johnny, Liu, and Sonya are in the process of creating a new school in L.A. with the advice of Rayden and the ‘help’ of Sub-Zero, Jax and others.  Scorpion is for some reason, watching over Sub-Zero instead of hunting him down.  Althea returns with the help of Fujin and the Elder God of Time.  Shinnok takes over Outworld and attempts another attack on the Elder Gods.  Arianna is revived and along side Lilith served Kuravan who has also recruited Kabal to be his guide on Earthrealm.  Scorpion has found an ally in the demon huntress called Ashra. Sub-Zero has just gotten a new student whether he wanted to or not and a strange dragon medallion of his own with some strange side effects.

Final Note:  No real final note since this story is still in progress.  I do hope this helps.


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