See Part One for Disclaimers
Chapter Five
Dark. Where was he? OutWorld. Of course. Escape was only in his dreams.
"Rayden."
He froze. Shao Kahn called his name.
"Come here."
Maybe the Emperor would give up if he didn't answer, didn't move, didn't breath.
Shadows moved, surrounding him, holding him, hailing him forth for Shao Kahn. They dragged him to a chamber. Threw him onto the bed. Stripped him of his robes. He fought back. No. Whatever Shao Kahn had in mind, he would not surrender. The shadow priests beat him down, knocking him half unconscious, holding him for Shao Kahn's pleasure.
Shao Kahn's pleasure. How could any being take pleasure in -- in -- Pain. Was this what women felt when they were unwilling? Was this what they suffered? He tried to take his mind away from what was done to him. He tried not to feel. Tried to bring his anger to bear. Tried -- until finally he screamed, he begged, he pleaded with Shao Kahn to kill him, to stop, to leave him in peace.
Laughter. Black laughter. Get used to it, little brother. Get used to it.
Darkness.
Retreat.
He could feel power -- searching -- searching -- reaching out --
~*~*~*~
The room crackled with energy. Grant looked into Cheri's sleepy frown and then at Rayden's face. It looked for all the world as though the thunder god was fighting without moving a muscle. Nightmares. What could cause someone like that nightmares? Then he thought about what they had discussed. Enough to give anyone nightmares. Rayden needed to wake up.
Shimmer. A slender silver hand touched the god. Rayden awoke, a startled exclamation on his lips, panic in his eyes. He felt the terror recede. He looked into Mother's silver eyes. He felt Cheri's arms go around him, and Grant's around them both. He trembled, shuddered, fought for control, cried. Great heaving sobs shook the god. Muttered incomprehensible mumbles were met with soothing words. It would take time.
~*~*~*~
Rayden awoke with a feeling of disorientation. Someone mumbled something sleep grumpy and cuddled against him. His left arm seemed to be entangled in someone's hair. Black hair. Lots of black hair. Gently, he untangled himself. He was about to ease out of bed when he realized there was someone behind him. He froze.
Grant Faulkner, reacting to the reaction, was immediately awake. He blinked. He wasn't in his quarters. Where the -- Rayden. Cheri. Rayden and Cheri. Grant blushed. Then he looked at the trying very hard not to be there thunder god between them.
"It's all right," he said softly.
Rayden relaxed at the sound of Grant's voice. He let go the breath he had been holding, as though he really needed to breathe at all. Dark eyes met blue. A rueful look passed between them and both made a solemn internal vow not to get that drunk again for a while. Something must have flitted across both faces, because they both laughed abruptly. The tension eased.
Grant slid out of bed, gathered up his scattered clothing -- how did that get there? -- checked his wrist chronometer and swore quietly. He and St. Peters were due at a briefing in five minutes. Oh, what this was going to do to his reputation -- he pulled on his clothes, made his excuses and a hasty exit.
By the time he reached the briefing room, there was no external indication that he had spent the night somewhere other than his own quarters, including a twinkling change of clothes into something suitably unwrinkled. He slowed his pace for a moment to check out the change, gave the thunder god a mental thank you and sped onward.
Rayden slid out of bed and into the bathroom. Hot showers were becoming a real treat. Cheri shifted, mumbled in her sleep and snoozed onward. She was still asleep when he came out, refreshed and dressed. He frowned at her. The green eyes popped open, slightly unfocused. A heartbeat and she was there. She looked around and found him standing by the bedside. She stretched, catlike, completely. Rayden found his thoughts straying to concealed curves and delights. She smiled up at him.
"You keep that up and we won't make it to whatever it is you have planned today."
She laughed. "Shower. Desperate need." She padded into the bathroom and indulged herself with a lengthy hot shower. She still had to get dressed when she padded out again. There were some things a god could do that mere mortals could not.
She dressed in black, long sleeved t-shirt, denims, and soft soled moccasin style boots. Then she led him to a room full of machinery he did not understand. She cornered an absent minded looking fellow with a shock of red hair and a pair of wire framed glasses that seemed permanently perched just short of disaster on the tip of his nose.
"Yancy."
He looked at her for a moment in the most bemused way, made a correct identification and smiled at her. "Cheri. I thought you were -"
"I was. I'm not."
"Ah. Well, that explains it. What impossible thing do you want this time?" It was a very matter of fact question for all its potential for sarcasm.
"I need to find his timeline."
"Ask him."
Cheri gave him a look. "Ah. Not that simple?"
"No. Alternate earth. We can give you a lot of information, but I wasn't carrying a portal when I was there, and I wasn't exactly there, if you know what I mean."
"No. But I'm certain you do. Well, record what you know and then I can take some -- measurements -- of some sort -- I'm sure."
"Thanks."
She took Rayden's arm and guided him out of the R & D center. He frowned. "What was all that?"
"R&D."
"Could we be a little more explicit?"
Cheri looked blank for a moment. It was explicit -- Oh. Well, not to him, of course. "Research and development. It's were the scientific types create stuff for us."
Rayden was trying very hard to follow this, but wasn't succeeding. He was frowning.
"OK -- Let's try this. You can open a portal between one realm and another by desiring to do so."
"Yes."
"Well, we can't, normally. So we have to invent machines to do it for us."
"Machines?"
"Uh -- yeah. O-K. This is gonna be a little tougher than I thought." She tried to give him a clear, uncomplicated definition of machine, which isn't easy when you know exactly what you're describing and you keep forgetting that a thousand years ago there weren't a lot of machines. Even clockwork wasn't well known.
Finally, Rayden held up a hand to stop the flow of ideas. "You have devices which can duplicate what a god does with innate power."
"Basically," she agreed.
"That is the most frightening thing I've heard so far."
"No, it's not."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"The most frightening thing you've heard, so far, is Shao Kahn bellowing your name." She slid her arms around him as she said it. She could feel him stiffen and then relax.
"All right," he admitted with a nod. "That is by far more frightening."
~*~*~*~
OutWorld shook with Shao Kahn's rage. He bellowed, he cussed, he killed people. He wanted his never to be sufficiently damned, goody two shoes, little brother back where he belonged. Unfortunately, the Shadow Priests could not locate Rayden, on any plane. They cowered and shriveled before their dread lord.
Shao Kahn stormed into his quarters, ripped the half skull mask from his face and threw himself into a sturdily built, well padded chair. He growled to himself. He did not look around as bare feet padded into the room. He did not want his attendants now. A touch of laughter, deep in a woman's throat, made him look around swiftly. He snarled at the woman who stood there.
Tanya Kropotkin looked bored. Tawny hair tumbled around her shoulders and down her back in a partially matted mass. Her pale golden skin was dirty. Strips of cloth concealed breasts and groin, and that was all. Still, she stood proudly, her slightly slanted aquamarine eyes meeting Shao Kahn's hot glower as though none of this mattered.
He stood, a smooth, feline motion, and was before her in the space of a thought. He ripped the cloth from her body, threw her on his bed and took her. There was no love making, no tenderness, no cries of passion. No cries at all, it occurred to him as he pulled his pants back into place. He frowned down at her. Even Vorpax had complained of his assault. Was that laughter in her eyes? What did she find to laugh about?
He reached down, twined his hand in her hair and pulled her up to him. Not a grimace. Just that damned almost smile curving her lips. "What do you smile about, woman?" he growled.
"I am no longer bored, -- Emperor." There was just that fraction of an insolent hesitation between the answer and the honorific. She could see the anger in his eyes. She reached out with slender arms and pulled him to her, his armor gouging into her, her mouth captured his, almost against his will.
She lazily invaded his mouth, pulling him into her web, his body responding to her demands while his mind was off balance. She coaxed him out of his armor, out of his leathers, out of the self imposed shell of arrogance and anger. She seduced him as he had not been seduced in -- eons. She reminded him that the Emperor of OutWorld was male, desirable, wanted -- not for what he could do, the fear he could induce, but for the physical beauty and ability that was his. It was almost as though only a god could satisfy the fires within. Perhaps that was so.
The Emperor awoke alone.
Down in the Cobalt Mines, Tanya Kropotkin pulled on a supple leather cat suit that molded itself to her curves. Not for her the melodramatic denial of the Emperor. No. She could use the Emperor -- for quite a number of things. OutWorld was -- intriguing. She smiled to herself. The Kropotkin had a plan.
Email the author!
[email protected]
Main MK/MKC Fanfic Index Index of MKC Fanfic by dragon
Back to Main Library Index
Back to Main Fanfiction Index
Adventures of Sinbad ~~~ Andromeda ~~~ Angel ~~~ Babylon5 ~~~ BeastMaster: The Series ~~~ Beauty & the Beast
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ~~~ Charmed ~~~
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven ~~~ Crusade ~~~
due South ~~~
Farscape
Gundam Wing ~~~ Highlander: The Series ~~~
Miscellaneous Fiction ~~~ Mortal Kombat ~~~ Mortal Kombat: Conquest
Poltergeist the Legacy ~~~
Raven ~~~
(TSAo) Jules Verne ~~~
The Sentinel ~~~ Stargate SG1 ~~~ Star Trek: Voyager
I can't fix it if I don't know it's broken, so if you see anything wrong, please let me know. Thank you and enjoy your stay!