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Tweak says, "AZKABAIT = Hudson's Problem"

Lord Raiden (meekthundergod) wrote in madisonvalley,
@ 2019-09-28 23:19:00

Entry tags:

!closed, !log, ~10 points, ~2019 september, ~25 points, ~~raiden (meekthundergod), ~~~sonya blade (sonya_blade)

Who: Raiden and Sonya
Where: Sonya's house
When: Saturday, September 28.
What: Raiden meets Sonya
Warnings: None
Status: Closed/in progress

Raiden could sense Sonya's connection to Earthrealm and, being the only one aside from her child, they were easy to locate. There was a brief flash of light, but it lacked any sound of thunder as he arrived just on the inside of the front door. It would likely cause the lights to flicker, as he was still trying to get used to his effect upon all the electricity around, but shouldn't damage anything.

"Sonya?" The name was new to him, but he calls it out almost like he knows her.

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sonya_blade
2019-09-29 01:14 pm UTC (link)

Three years, she'd been in this damn place for three years, and now when it looked like an ally from home finally arrived-they didn't even know who she was. Sonya was well aware she should be grateful this was an ally and not an enemy, but she wasn't sure this was better.

He was right though, they did need to talk and she would've rather done so in the privacy of her own home.

For the past year, with Cassie getting older and at the time living with a ward, Sonya had saved enough to move from the starter apartment to her own home. Single story, and in the 1920s style, she'd put some pride in making it cozy for herself and her family. To anyone sensitive on such matters, they would also pick up traces of magic within the home, as well as a constant watchful energy around.

As it turned out, there were three beings inhabiting the home (four if one included the cat)-but only two of them were living.

Sonya knew he arrived when the lights flickered, something 'her' Raiden managed to do all the time when he teleported inside a building (and why he always did so outside as of late). She'd thrown a robe over her pajamas and headed to the front room to meet him.

"I suppose I should be lucky you're not an enemy," She said, in way of a greeting.

Even to him, she would've had the look of more than a warrior; a professional. Three years being in town didn't erase her time in the military; didn't erase the memories of the Outworld invasion, of the Nether realm war. To look at her would see that she was more than just a tournament fighter; if she hadn't been the actual Champion, she was a survivor.

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meekthundergod
2019-09-29 05:49 pm UTC (link)

While the sense of something else present is surprising, he has to trust that a Champion with a child wouldn't live somewhere with an unsavory guest. He can ask about it later, but first he has to meet this person who knew him first, which was unusual in itself.

When she turns the corner he casts his gaze over her, focusing intensely on her face as he does. His eyes narrow, he can tell she's more than just a fighter like Kung Lao, she holds herself differently, almost like Siro but stronger. Speaking of, he narrows his eyes at her, sensing faint threads to Kung Lao's two friends in her before he finally breaks the silence that had come over him. He takes a cleansing breath.

"So should I. Small favors, I'll take what I can get around here."

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sonya_blade
2019-09-30 02:51 am UTC (link)

"That seems to be the general consensus in this place." Perhaps it wasn't perfect, but hell, for the most part things weren't terrible that no one couldn't make do.

Part of her wants to scream, to cry out, make some sort of racket. As it was, it was the combination of techniques learned in therapy as well as her own pragmatism that kept her from doing either.

"First thing's first" She could offer hospitality when she had some answers. "Who was the last tournament champion you remember?"

That would answer so much: if it was Kung Lao, that would've placed him earlier than five hundred years ago. Even she knew that much of Mortal Kombat's history; after him there was Goro, and then Liu Kang.

Before all of them, she was aware that Shang was Champion before Kung Lao ruined their plans.

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meekthundergod
2019-09-30 03:13 am UTC (link)

Last Tournament Champion has a rather foreboding ring to it. He doesn't say or indicate as much, but he'd hoped Kung Lao might be able to win enough tournaments, and teach enough pupils, that the games would eventually end. It's clear, at least for this Sonya, that isn't what had happened.

"Kung Lao." He responds calmly, but adds nothing else as he watches for her reaction to his answer.

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sonya_blade
2019-09-30 12:28 pm UTC (link)

"Jesus," Whatever shock she had early had worn off, leaving her with little energy to say anything stronger. She knew he wasn't referring to the Kung Lao she knew; he didn't win, and even though he defeated Kintaro in the Outworld tourney, he didn't make it afterwards.

"So that puts you roughly five hundred years or so from my past." Kung Lao won that tournament, lost the next one. "Give or take twenty five years."

This, was going to be fun. "Come into the kitchen. Do god's drink tea? This is going to be a long night."

Atleast tomorrow was Sunday and she wouldn't have to worry about waking up early for work.

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meekthundergod
2019-09-30 11:05 pm UTC (link)

Raiden lets out an exasperated sigh when she says that it puts him 500 years in her past. That is a lot of catching up to do.

"Tea would be great, thank you." His tone is resigned frustration as he motions for her to lead the way to the kitchen.

"500 years..." He raises his eyes to the sky briefly. "Elder gods..." It sounds more like her unhappy oath earlier than any attempt to implore them.

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sonya_blade
2019-10-01 01:26 pm UTC (link)

She led him into the kitchen, not large by all accounts, but she was able to set up a small kitchen island and that seemed to make the place easier to stay around in. Preparing tea would've been an easy task, but it was also a distraction and that was exactly what she needed at the moment.

"After Shang lost to Kung Lao, either he or Shao Kahn made a deal with Prince Goro of the Shokan, to fight in the tournament. I was told all this from you and another tournament survivor, by the way," She couldn't call them 'champions' not after what she's witnessed.

"Shang, being his usual bastard self, managed to gain mastery of the tournament in Shao's name, and told Kung Lao that before facing him, he'd have to face Goro off in Kombat."

Even this Raiden should've known of the Shokan and how dangerous they were. Liu Kang only won his match because he expected Goro and because of his skills as a fire mage; but to be caught off guard like that.

"Fast forward another five centuries, and Goro was still the tournament champion." She said that last one with a biting edge; could anyone really be champion if the odds were already in their favor.

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meekthundergod
2019-10-02 02:37 am UTC (link)

He leans against the counter, arms crossed as he lets her go about preparing the tea and staying out of her way. He stays completely silent as she talks, his face stern even as she delivers the news of his potential future. In his time, the Shokan are still at odds with Shao Kahn, but with all the political groundwork the Emperor had been doing, Raiden can't say he's surprised the Shokan would eventually agree to whatever it was he would have offered them. Him, or Shang Tsung.

When she says that the Shokan Prince was still champion 500 years later, Raiden sighs, looking down at his shoes as he exhales. He closes his eyes, setting his palm over them as he shakes his head. All that work to prepare Kung Lao, and he would have never seen the Shokan Prince coming. Kung Lao would have been taken by surprise.

"500 years. Which leaves you as the last generation standing between Shao Kahn and Earth......again." This was not how the Tournament was supposed to go. He hadn't wanted to create eternal conflict, but now it sounds like Earth may face the same fate as Edenia.

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sonya_blade
2019-10-03 12:49 pm UTC (link)

"Actually, no." Sonya was just relieved enough to say. "There was another Shaolin monk in our group, Liu Kang. He was able to defeat both Goro and Shang Tsung. At the time, we thought that was the end of it."

Showed what they knew.."There was another one, also named Kung Lao. He was a more direct descendant if the one you knew, and if memory served, I think he and Liu Kang were cousins, however the monks chose the other to represent them at the tournament. He joined in by disguising himself as a palace guard."

Thinking back, Sonya wondered if the reason he got away with it was because Shang Tsung. The man was more cunning than a snake and knowing another ancestor of his enemy was around, there was no way he'd be tricked by a simple disguise, not if he planned it.

A blast of cold hit her suddenly, so sudden it could've been thought of as a draft, except that the air conditioning wasn't on and the weather was too mild for even a breeze. Movement caught Sonya in the corner of her eye, towards the stairs in likely were her daughter's room would be.

"Maude," She called out. "Raiden's a..former mentor..nothing more."

There was nothing, but Sonya had a feeling there'd be evidence if she turned on Cassie's baby monitor.

She went back to her story. "Shang was defeated, not killed however..I don't think I need to tell you how pissed Shao was."

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meekthundergod
2019-10-05 12:15 am UTC (link)

Raiden visibly perks up at her comment about this Liu Kang, and his mood turns from defeat to intrigue. So they had won, but there was more to the story.

Just as he was waiting for her to continue he felt his nerves tingle and he glances around sharply at the sense of another presence in the space. His hands drop to his sides and his entire posture is alert. This had to be the presence he felt when he'd arrived.

His eyes narrow as Sonya calls out to this presence, this Maude, as he glances toward the stairs as well. Raiden bristles a little, but finds himself trusting Sonya. Her soul was that of a champion, after all. Still, he had half a mind to drive out the presence being what he was. He takes a breath, turning back to the box of tea and opening the lid briefly, as if there was a need to inspect the leaves while Sonya continues.

"It doesn't take much to piss of Shao Kahn. If he didn't kill Shang Tsung after a second failure, then he had to be doing something very impressive outside the tournament."

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sonya_blade
2019-10-06 03:58 am UTC (link)

Sonya normally stuck with tea bags, but she did keep loose in the rare event she had company. They weren't high quality, to be sure, but she thought the tea made from them was nice.

Her own posture bristled when she felt the saw the lights in the room flicker just a twitch; a side effect she grew used to whenever her Raiden became agitated. "Easy on the charges, Raiden."

She wondered if that had to do with the presence in the house, but it wasn't aggressive so she couldn't see how he'd respond in that manner.

"He didn't. Shang however covered his ass.." She frowned, if what she told him was painful before, this was going to be a down right sucker punch. "Tsung claimed any realm had the right to challenge, and so he challenged us all to a tournament in Outworld, a 'Final' tournament that would determine it all. By recollection, you refused at first, but..Shang opened a portal to the Whu Shi academy and allowed hordes of tarkatan warriors to attack. Monks that weren't killed or were unable to hide were captured for the slave trade."

And she herself, she was taken, meant as a 'prize' for Shao Kahn and as bait. She decided to leave that part out. "The message was clear, Shao Kahn may've not been allowed to invade, but if we didn't accept the challenge, he would've made it clear no place was safe for us or anyone."

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meekthundergod
2019-10-07 02:59 am UTC (link)

He doesn't mind the source or quality of the tea, he would have taken instant coffee if that had been the only thing she kept in the house. When she tells him 'easy', there's an unimpressed glance from him as he closes the box and lets out an audible sigh through his nose. He doesn't have a good history with the dead or undead, and is by nature protective of souls he recognizes as champions, or to-be champions. He has always been on alert in case something threatens him, or his fighters.

Raiden huffs in dry amusement as he hears Shang Tsung trying to turn the tables by challenging Earthrealm to a 'Final' tournament. That sorcerer would do anything to stay alive, as he had proven over and over again. Raiden's posture freezes again though when she says the Tarkatan hordes then attacked the academy.

".....What?" He turns toward her, hand leaving the tea box as he looks incredulous. "But..."

The Elder gods shouldn't have permitted such an affront! It was so very much Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn's practice to bend the rules in their favor, but that seemed like a step too far, even if it wasn't an exact invasion.

Raiden's words fail him as he tries to reconcile her story, and finds himself at a loss. He can only lower his gaze to an empty corner of the kitchen as he leans against the counter, almost looking defeated.

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sonya_blade
2019-10-07 01:25 pm UTC (link)

The water on the stove started boiling. Much as she could've used a microwave, for more than one person, this was easier. She was pulling out two mugs and a few strainers when she saw his reaction.

And she didn't need to be a telepath like Kenshi to know what he's thinking, and the question on his mind. "I think you're giving both of them too much credit. Shao Kahn's as much a military leader as he is Emperor, if he sees a chance at something, you could damn well bet he's going to take it."

A preemptive strike, when they were just celebrating their victory and thinking themselves safe; she may've done the same if she knew they could afford it.

She busied herself with making the actual tea, pouring in water before filling the strainers and setting one in each. "This entire time, you kept talking about getting visions from the future, and the phrase 'he must win'. You kept searching for 'him' while the rest of us fought."

"Well, Liu and the others fought. My commanding officer, Major Briggs and I went to search for someone who might be an ally. In the process, Jax was severely wounded and it was go back to the tournament and leave him for dead, or carry him through a portal back."

And the first wasn't even an option.

The sound of footsteps caught her attention; footsteps too soft to be an any adult (supernatural or otherwise). She turned her head to see Cassie shuffle over to her, a blanket draped over her 'shimmer and shine' pajamas, and dragging her stuffed wolf.

"Mommy," Her voice was sluggish from sleep and she was rubbing her eyes with the hand holding her stuffed friend. "Can I have water?" She looked at Raiden. "Who're you?"

The corner of her mouth twitched up. "You can have a little." At four years old, she was pretty good about using the bathroom, but Sonya didn't want to press her luck either.

"This is a friend of momma's," She handed Raiden one of the mugs. "He just arrived. Only reason both of us are up this late."

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meekthundergod
2019-10-10 03:15 am UTC (link)

Raiden wouldn't put it past Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung, but surely they knew sending Outworlders meant he could step in with all his strength and stop it. But if they attacked more than the Academy, he couldn't be everywhere at once....it was a hard thought to take in.

Sonya talks of visions, not completely unlike those Kung Lao had just experienced, but getting visions from the future? They had to be pretty convincing if he would abandon his fighters to pursue them. He can only shake his head quietly as the tea is prepared and she moves on to talk about a Major Briggs. Someone he also didn't know, but was clearly another protector of the realm.

His eyes raise up when he hears soft footsteps and he tries to draw his defeated posture up into something less sad and more friendly. He hadn't intended to wake her daughter, as it had been her request to let the girl sleep. He could see, however, that this little girl was certainly someone special, in a way not unlike Kung Lao had been identified early as a champion.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Raiden speaks softly as he accepts the mug from Sonya. "I'm very thankful your mother was willing to talk with me."

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sonya_blade
2019-10-12 02:20 am UTC (link)

The four year old shook her head, having long since grown used to strange people talking to her momma; she trusted her to beat them up if they were dangerous. "Aunt Maude said I could be up."

Sonya rolled her eyes, immediately figuring out why the ghost went towards her little girl's room in the first place. A small child was hardly a chaperon, but it was unlikely any of them would do something 'improper' infront of her either. "Aunt Maude's a ghost, and they don't get cranky like little girls if they don't get enough sleep."

Cassie's only responce was to walk over and lean against her leg, her eyes on Raiden. "Who you?"

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