Born to be a Goddess: Part Three
by Renee Langan (vengence)
Thanks to TygerLander for letting me use her character Shan Fa
As soon as darkness falls, the small group heads toward Medeva’s capitol city. Fujin has offered to teleport everyone there but both Jamara and Rai said that is was not such a good idea. Neither one of them gave a reason, they just said it was a very dangerous thing to do so they all have to go on foot. According to Jamara it should take no more than two hours to get there. Sub - Zero figures this is a good time to talk to Rai. He approaches her.
"So how are you doing?" he asks her.
"Actually, I feel great. I have never felt so good in my life. I feel like I am on a never ending adrenaline rush. I feel almost invincible. I can’t really explain it."
"How do you feel about your new found abilities? I know when I got mine it scared me a bit."
"I am not afraid of my powers. I welcome them. I can sense every weather pattern in Medeva. Every breeze. Every raindrop. It’s as if I am the weather. It is a very pleasant feeling."
"Aren’t you a bit worried about accidentally hurting someone?"
"Not at all. I am very much in control. Only thing is, I haven’t explored all that I am capable of and I have no experience in using these abilities. That could prove to be fatal in a fight," Rai explains.
"I doubt you have anything to worry about in that category. The only challenge you’ll have is Shinnok. I’m quite certain of that." Rai smiles at him.
"Rai, I want you to promise me something," says Shan Fa approaching them, "Promise me you won’t use your powers unless necessary. None of us knows just how much control you have over them." Rai’s smile fades and she just nods at Shan Fa.
Ahead, Jamara stops and starts looking around the ground for something. She then grabs some sort of chain and begins to pull it to reveal a well hidden passage way. There are no steps down into it and the drop is a good twenty feet.
"This is how we are going to get there?" asks Fujin.
"Yep," replies Jamara, jumping down into the dark passageway. Sub - Zero follows with out saying anything. Rai stops and looks at Fujin.
"I’ll catch you if you want me to," she says, jokingly and then jumps down with ease. "Just close your eyes and count to three." Shan Fa starts laughing at the expression on Fujin’s face.
"Oh, be quiet," answers Fujin, somewhat annoyed and amused at the same time. Shan Fa then jumps down followed by Fujin.
***************
Jamara stands at the bottom by the opening. Then pulls the top back over it. There is complete darkness. No one can see anything.
It’s Rai who finally gives off some light by surrounding her hand in lighting. Shan Fa looks at her a bit angry for ignoring the promise she had just made to her. Rai looks over at her.
"What do you want to walk around in the dark?" Rai says, defensively. Shan Fa sighs angrily.
"It’s probably a good idea she did that. There are no lights in this side of the tunnel. It’s used for escaping not entering," states Jamara, "This way." She walks off toward an almost invisible tunnel to the left. The group follows her.
"Where exactly will this take us?" asks Fujin.
"To the garden inside the palace walls." Jamara replies. Sub - Zero isn’t paying any mind to them. He is watching Rai, whose lightning has completely lighted up the dark tunnel. She is once again apart from everybody else. Sub - Zero uses the moment to go up to her again.
"Why did you seem to disappointed with Shan Fa?"
"She has no faith in me," Rai answers with no hesitation, "but that’s okay. I know she means well. It’s not her fault. If I were her I would be concerned too."
"Nice to here that but I must confess that I have the same worries as Shan Fa."
"I know."
"Quiet. We are almost there," commands Jamara, looking carefully around. Rai walks over to her.
"What’s wrong?"
"There is usually a guard posted here," she replies worried.
"Don’t you think with an invasion going on that protecting this tunnel will be the last of everyone’s concern?" states Fujin.
"No," says Rai, "Medevan guards never leave their post, no matter what the invasion. We believe that all points of a possible attack should be covered so that there are no surprises. Something must be wrong." Rai walks over to the side of the tunnel wall and lets loose bolts of lightning that fills the entire room with flashing lights, blinding everyone. Including some demons camouflaged against the wall and a ninja in a yellow and black uniform. There is a moments pause as everyone tries to recover their eyesight.
"Looks like they new we were coming," comments Fujin, turning to Jamara, "I thought you told us no one knew of this tunnel."
"Jamara, is clean," replies Rai, "It was someone else. There are a handful of guards that could have given away this place." Rai takes a fighting stance as the others still try and recover. She then lets loose another barrage of lightning bolts hitting and killing several of the demons but not all. The rest of the group recovers in time to see the others coming straight at them. The ninja in the yellow outfit targets Shan Fa.
The animal goddess side steps as Scorpion leaps at her. Then she performs a move that Rai had performed on her. She grabs him and slams him into the ground. He doesn’t get back up quickly but he does attempt to. Shan Fa kicks him in the head, sending him flying backwards into the tunnel wall.
Jamara uppercuts one of them in the head but is hit in the face by another. She reels back in pain only to take another shot in the stomach. Jamara grabs her stomach and falls to her knees. Just has the demon is about to deliver the death blow, Fujin hits him in the heart with an arrow from his crossbow. Fujin having finished with his opponents, goes over to help Jamara.
Meanwhile, Sub - Zero and Rai play a game of tag team. Each taking turns hitting the demons. Sub - Zero ducks as a knife grazes the top of his head and then Rai jumps over him, hitting the demon with a jumping kick. In return, Sub - Zero grabs Rai’s shoulder and uses her as a balance board, to give a thrusting kick to the demon’s neck, killing it.
Shan Fa is still fighting Scorpion. She duck down has she hears "Come over here!!" and grabs his spear. She jerks him forward sending him over toward her. Then just before his body hits hers, she side steps letting him fly face first into the wall. She turns to look at the others for a moment. They have finished off the demons and Fujin is helping out Jamara who appears to be injured. She turns back to Scorpion but he is gone.
"Well, there is someone else who can give away our where abouts," states Rai, "Oh, well maybe we can use that to our advantage somehow." Jamara points above her.
"See that chain. Pull it down." Fujin reaches up and pulls. A stairway comes crashing down almost on top of them. There is no need for Rai to keep using her lightning as the light for the garden’s lights is enough for them to see their way out.
******************
They look about at the bright lamps in the garden. There are several rain forest like trees in the area and a fountain of a woman dressed in robes.
"Who is that?" asks Shan Fa.
"That is the first ruler of Medeva, Sin Fou," replies Rai.
"Jamara, do you think you can go on?" says Sub - Zero.
"I’m fine. Just a bit dazed is all," she answers. Before anyone else can make a move Shang Tsung and Shinnok appear in front of them. Scorpion is at their side awaiting orders as is someone else that has gotten Rai’s completed and undivided attention. He is dressed entirely white with a red headband. His face is covered with a mast but Rai knows who it is. Every fiber in her body burns with hatred.
"So it was you who led him here," growls Rai, "I should have known you would betray your own home."
"I had heard that you survived but I shall take care of that, my daughter," He moves toward her.
Shan Fa sees a bright side to this fights. Shinnok and Shang are both battle worn. It’s looks like the Medevans have been giving them a run for their money. In the distance she can hear a battle going on. His entire army must be focused on the Medevan army. Shinnok hasn’t won anything yet. She is confident now that this battle this realm has won this battle against the fallen elder god already.
"KILL THEM ALL!!" bellows Shinnok. Scorpion attacks Jamara first kicking her in the chest, sending her to the ground. Shang waits patiently for Fujin to come to him. Shinnok wastes no time hitting Shan Fa and Sub - Zero with an energy blast. Rai hurls herself forward at the ninja, using Rayden’s torpedo attack. Her entire body engulfed with electrical energy and she plows right into him sending them both through the castle wall.
"Get over here!!" yells Scorpion hurling his spear at Jamara who is still lying on the ground. She roles over so that it just misses her and throws up a hand full of dirt at the dead ninja’s face. Jamara jumps to her feet while he is still stunned and gives him a roundhouse to the face. Scorpion falls to the ground and Jamara lifts of her foot, kicking him in the head while he is down.
Fujin is now facing off against Shang. He knows that the sorcerer is no match for him, even with all the souls he has taken. Fujin uses his wind power to lift Shang high into the air. Then the wind god jumps into the air and hits Shang with a diving kick. Fujin then turns to see if Shan Fa and Sub - Zero are okay.
Shan Fa was back onto her feet almost the instant she was down. She changes into a tiger and leaps at Shinnok. She shifts into the phoenix the instant Shinnok goes to grab her. With her claws, she strikes his face knocking him down. Sub - Zero is right behind her to kick Shinnok in the head as he tries to get back up. Shan Fa was right Shinnok is very battle worn, if he was in top form she would have never been able to pull of that stunt.
"Where’s Rai?" she asks Sub - Zero.
"Her and that other ninja went crashing into the castle," he replies.
"Go see if she’s okay. I can handle Shinnok." Shan Fa turns back to the fallen elder god as Sub - Zero heads into the castle.
*****************
As soon has Sub - Zero enters the castle through the large portion of the destroyed wall, he can hear the battle. They are moving around quite a bit but by the sounds of it, Rai isn’t having any problems.
When he enters what appears to be a throne room, he gets a good view of exactly what’s going on. Rai looks like a woman possessed kicking and beating her opponent who is clearly no match for her. As soon as the man in white gets up, she knocks him down again. Then she stands and waits for him to get up, just to viciously knock him down again.
The man’s clothes are now covered in his blood. He doesn’t seem to learn that Rai has already won this fight but keeps getting up to attack her. Rai seems to be getting some satisfaction out of it as she literally beats the life out of him. Finally, to a point where he can’t even stand anymore. He looks up at her with angry eyes.
"So kill me already," he says.
"What? So I can be no better than you," Rai sneers, "I am now above such things as petty vengeance. You are not even worth the effort to destroy."
"You were always too weak to do what needed to be done." Rai turns her back on him and takes a hidden weapon out of black sash. Sub - Zero can see that it is a throwing star. She places it in her hand, getting ready to throw it. Rai then turns and hurls it at the man and hits him in the arm. He screams in pain and drops the throwing star he had hidden in his hand.
"Perhaps," she says to him, kicking him in the forehead, knocking him out cold, "but you have a far worse fate ahead of you than death, father, for the rulers of this realm will make you pay for your crimes."
"That was you father?" Sub - Zero asks approaching her.
"He was never my father," she replies, "I only pretended he was. I have a different family now." She smiles at Sub - Zero and he returns the smile. "Now we have a fight to finish."
**************
Jamara keeps the advantage in her fight with Scorpion by using cheep shots until the dead ninja manages to finally get her with his teleport punch. She doesn’t fall to the ground though so he takes ahold of her from behind and tries to break her neck. Jamara brings her foot up and kicks him in the head. She then puts her arms on his shoulders and using him a leverage flips backwards, landing right behind him. Then she does the same move he did on her, only she succeeds in breaking his neck. Scorpion’s body falls to the ground and disappears.
Shan Fa’s fight with Shinnok has taken a turn for the worse. He is now hitting her with constant blasts of energy that she has no way of avoiding. She falls to the ground and Shinnok takes her head and slams into in the concrete. Shan Fa prepares for him to do it again but his attention suddenly changes to an area over his left. Shan Fa is able to look up in time to see Rai come out of the castle. She then sees Shinnok gather energy in his hand. Shan Fa looks over at Rai who’s attention is on keeping Shang from excaping.
"RAI!! LOOK OUT!!!" Shan Fa screams at the top of her voice. Rai looks over in time to see the blast coming at her but has no time to move. It hits her right in the chest area, sending her flying backwards into a tree. Rai’s body falls limply to the ground. Shan Fa can see her hands relax and remain still.
Sub - Zero rushes to Rai’s side to see if she is okay. He picks up her limp body in his arms and checks for a pulse. There is none. He looks up to see that Fujin has knocked out Shang by hitting him from behind as he tried to get away. He is now looking at Sub - Zero and Jamara is coming toward Rai to see if she can help. Sub - Zero can only shake is head. His sorrow so deep that he cannot say anything.
Shan Fa sees the look on Sub - Zero’s face and knows. A rush of anger flows through her body and is only made worse as Shinnok laughs at Rai’s death. Shan Fa hits Shinnok with an uppercut. She is not alone in the attack, Fujin has hit him from the side with an arrow from his crossbow. Jamara leaps at Shinnok, only to get hit by one of his energy blasts. She falls to the ground unconscious.
Fujin hits Shinnok again only this time with a diving kick. Shan Fa takes her turn by transforming into a tiger and slashing the fallen god’s throat. He is hardly effected by it but Shan Fa is once again back in human form and takes out her sais, plunging them into his stomach. Fujin hits him from behind with his crossbow and then Shan Fa nails him in the head with her bo. Shinnok is given no time to breathe.
Without warning a portal to the NeitherRealm opens up behind the fallen god. Shan Fa and Fujin both side kick Shinnok, sending him into the portal. Shan Fa looks back toward Rai, to see her husband now holding Rai’s dead body in his arms. There are tears rolling down his cheeks. Shan Fa can no longer hold hers back either.
Fujin without saying a word, tosses the unconscious Shang through the portal as well. Sub - Zero has gone back into the portal and comes out with the man in white. Sub - Zero throws him into the portal as well, thinking that his man's eternal damnation will bring some peace to Rai's soul. Then the portal closes.
Within moments after the battle, the entire group surrounds Rai’s body. Jamara who has now recovered is crying on Fujin’s shoulder. Shan Fa puts her arms around Rayden, who is still holding Rai.
"I sensed something was wrong," he says to her weakly, "I should have been here. I failed her." Shan Fa holds her husband tighter.
"You know there was nothing any of us could have done. You know that. No one is to blame." she says, with tears in her eyes.
"It was not suppose to end like this, not to her," he replies.
"It hasn’t ended," states a strange voice. Every one turns to see a man in a long black robe with images of the sun down the front. He has long golden hair and eyes as old as time itself. Rayden and Shan Fa know who it is. They know what he is but they have never actually seen one of the founder gods in person. Fujin kneels in respect.
"Forgive me for not...." begins Rayden.
"It is quite alright," he says, "I allowed Raiden’s creation so that she could be a goddess outside your pantheon. Not bound by their silly rules." He walks over and takes Rai from Rayden, who unwillingly lets her go. "She is incapable of ever permanently dying." He kisses her on the forehead. Rai then opens her eyes as if she had been sleeping. Rayden and Shan Fa get to their feet, wanting to go to her.
The founder god sets Rai onto her feet, gently. Rai stands wobbly for a moment, then takes her usual sturdy position. The founder walks around Rai, looking at her. He puts his hand on her shoulder and puts her into a kneeling position and touches her forehead with his finger.
"I now name you Raiden and give you the title Goddess of Weather. You can now control and command all aspects of the weather in any realm you visit." He pauses for a moment. "Now I shall allow you to pick your duties as a goddess."
"I want to stay here and protect my home," Rai replies without hesitation.
"Before you take on your duties you must learn how to use you powers. For that task I will allow you adopted parents to teach you." He turns to Rayden and Shan Fa. "She is now your daughter. The elders gods cannot prevent you from aiding her." Rayden puts his arm around his wife and smiles like a proud dad. Then the founder god disappears. The first thing Rayden and Shan Fa do is go up and hug Rai, tightly. Sub - Zero, Fujin, and Jamara stand aside and smile at the happy family.
"I thought I lost you," comments Rayden to his new daughter.
"Never," she says.
"Good, because I have some work that needs to be done around the temple," he answers, smiling, "You can help Shan Fa." They both reach over and hit him playfully. "Ouch, no fair. Double team." Rai looks over at Fujin who is getting ready to leave and go back to his duties.
"I hope to see you again," she says.
"Oh, you will," he answers, disappearing in a tornado.
"Time to go home," states Rayden.
"One last thing." Rai turns to Jamara. "What will you do now?"
"I think I might get things ready our weather goddess when she returns," replies Jamara with a smile. Rai returns the gesture. Rayden turns and opens a portal.
"Later," Rai states. "I need to get some sleep." Rai walks through first followed by Sub - Zero. Shan Fa and Rayden stay behind for a second. He kisses her.
"She has everything she needs now," he comments to her.
"Yes, and she has given us everything we need as well," she answers. They walk through the portal and it closes behind them.
Rai's story continues in the Medeva Series....