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Fan Fiction
| Mortal Kombat: Afterlife |
| Chapter 4: Hollow |
By: Iced Guardian |
DISCLAIMER: You know the drill: the MK characters don't belong to me, they belong to Midway.
I'm just using them for the story, so don't sue. There.
BUT all the stuff from the alternate dimension is mine!! (As if there would be trouble with people
trying to steal it... "sigh")
Feedback: huh... Do I really need to say how great it is to get any??
Icedguardian666@yahoo.com or fanfiction.net
OK, there isn't any killing, violence or swearing in this part(??!!!). Ironically, it's the longest one.
This is sort of a setting of what's to come: new characters are introduced and
everything(well, not EVERYTHING, but a lot) will be explained.
New universe: Try to think of it as a mix of the world in MK:Conquest and the Renaissance, only
there is magic. A really freakin' lot. The important thing is that there's no advanced
technology since magic kinda makes up for it.
No cars, no guns, no PCs, etc... but they have old-fashioned printers, books and aqueducs (so
they have waters and don't have major problems in the sanitary department)
Don't worry, you're not supposed to understand at this point.
Anyway, rhe point is, if there's a battle to be fought, they have to do it the traditional/MK way.
New characters: Yeah, hum... I'm kinda lazy and I don't want to get into details for the
physical descriptions of new or old characters, so just picture them as known actors, OK?
Sorry for for not doing it before. Here are my suggestions:
Johnny: Any Cage can do since they all look pretty much the same... Your pick, though I'd
go for Linden Ashby...
Stryker: MK3, duh! Note: A couple of years younger and more friendly-looking, OK?
Nightwolf: Movie or games, no big difference. I'd go for the movie, though, cause he looks
youger and it fits better with the wise-cracking part IMHO...
Sonya: Pretty much any Sonya(Sandra Hess/Kerri hoskins(games)) except Bridgette Wilson
from the first movie. She doesn't even look like Sonya IMHO...
Kitana: Movies.
Yeah, yeah, I know Sonya and Kitana aren't supposed to be "there", but you'll soon understand.
Here we go for the new characters...
Elranel: Harisson Ford, 15-20 years younger, but with the actual haircut and grey hair.
Darla: Linda Fiorentino(Dogma/MIB).
Kyle: Tom Cruise, Top Gun/M:I style, you know, with the short spiky hair.
By the way, I just wanna say that the Nightwolf in my universe doesn't have the background from
the MK3 game(an historian... What the f...??), but the one from the movie. Yeah, I know
nothing is said about him in the movie, but that's the point! This way, I can do whatever the
hell I want with the character, eh, eh... : )
OK, I made up A LOT(namely everything) of stuff concerning what Nightwolf truly is, but I think it
doesn't mess up too much with the MK storyline or universe(the whole parallel dimension
thing kinda helps). Actually, it doesn't contradict much except Nightwolf's origins in MK3.
It just wasn't there. And it doesn't sound that bad. Really. Well, I think so anyway.
OK, I'm so sorry the disclaimer was that long, but it was necessary...
Looking forwards for your comments and opinions(all eight of you)!
Anyway, hope you'll enjoy!
Iced Guardian
Walk on fighting...
Don't look ever back...
Walk on fighting...
Don't you look back to your cries...
"Walk On Fighting", Edguy
Mortal Kombat: Afterlife
Chapter 3 : Enter The Realm
"Aaaahhh!!" Stryker and Johnny yelled before they both fell flat on their stomach.
Elranel appeared a second later and landed with great ease on his feet, the portal closing
behind him.
"God damnit, that hurt!" Johnny growled. "Isn't there another way to, you know, land?" he
growled as he looked up at Nightwolf and Elranel who were doing a pretty bad job hiding their
amusement. "Stop smiling! And why are we the only ones to..." he started protesting again
as he pushed himself up, but stopped as he took a good look at their surroundings.
They weren't alone. Not at all.
All around them were dozens if not hundreds of warriors fighting in pairs and wearing robes
similar to Elranel's, only the color was different. Another glance revealed that they were in the
courtyard of something that looked like a monastery. If they would've bothered to turn around,
Johnny and Stryker would've seen an impressive looking castle behind him.
"Stop whining and follow the guide." Nightwolf instructed as he turned his back on them
"Oh, and don't mind them." he said, waving at the group of nearby fighters who had stopped
their exercices and were staring curiously at Johnny and Stryker.
"Go back to your training!" Elranel ordered severely. "Now!"
They lowered their head sheepishly and immediately obeyed.
"Well?" he raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Stryker and Johnny.
They both groaned. Johnny got up first, helping Stryker in the process.
"Where are we?" Stryker asked with a wince as he finally got up.
"The dimension's Aerion and the Realm's Paramenia. These are our headquarters.
Let me help." Elranel said as he put an arm around Stryker's free shoulder.
"And don't worry about your injuries, son. We'll fix you up so you'll be able to walk on your
own in no time."
Stryker and Johnny just gave him sceptical looks.
"You'll be surprized to see what our healers can do." Elranel added with a smile. "Let's go, our
friend Nightwolf isn't exactly the king of patience." he concluded.
They quickly crossed the distance between them and the entrance of the monastery while
Nightwolf waited for them with his hands on his hips. As they got closer, Johnny realized it
was much bigger than he thought it was at first. They were greeted inside by two women,
including the one Johnny saw earlier. The other one looked exactly like...
"Kitana??!!" Johnny exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!" In front of him was Kitana's spitten
image. Well, maybe not exactly the same, but very close. The only obvious difference was that
she was wearing her hair down and that it was a light shade of brown and much longer.
Plus she wasn't wearing that sexy leather outfit of hers. Instead, she had one of these stupid
robes on that everyone in this place seemed to like so much. What a shame.
And, to Johnny's confusion and almost horror, she was... smiling. He shuddered inwardly.
"And what about the new look?" he raised an eyebrow as he looked her up and down.
The woman looked surprised at Johnny's remarks.
"You must be mistaken... Have we ever met?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah right, like that's gonna work." Johnny huffed in disbelief.
"What is he talking about?" she asked even more confused, looking at Nightwold and Elranel
for an answer.
"Cage, she's not..." Nightwolf started.
"Come on! Don't tell me you've already forgotten!" he smiled, opened his arms and stepped
forward. For a second, too happy to see a familiar face, he forgot about Stryker and if it wasn't
for Elranel, he would be lying on the floor and cursing right now. No, not really. He probably
wouldn't even have noticed since he was too busy drooling at the woman called Layna.
"From the Mortal Kombat?" Johnny coaxed. "The courageous, mighty, brilliant and handsome
warrior who defeated Scorpion and Goro?" he added. "Yeah, ok, I know I've never been your
favourite one, Liu has always been, but still..."
"Who's Liu?"
Johnny's face fell. It really looked like she didn't recognize him or remember anything at all.
"Cage, she doesn't know anything about..." Nightwolf tried to reason, but was interrupted again
by Johnny.
"What the hell's going on? What happened to her?" he turned around and gave Nightwolf an
accusating look. He looked at Elranel and Stryker for support, but Elranel seemed lost in his
own world while Stryker looked like his brain had been sucked out of his head. Johnny gave him
a funny look and briefly looked over his shoulder to see what or who Stryker was staring at.
Quickly putting one and one together, Johnny rolled his eyes and focused on Nightwolf.
Oh boy, here we go again, he thought. Good thing Liu isn't here...
"What did you do to her?"
"Will you just let me explain without interrupting?" Nightwolf sighed, exasperated.
"I'm all ears." Johnny crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, waiting for an explaination.
"Good. She isn't the Kitana you knew. She is Kitana's version in this dimension." he revealed.
"I thought Kitana came from another dimension." he countered immediately.
"Realm. Another Realm." Nightwolf corrected.
"And that's supposed to make a difference??"
"Actually, yes." Nightwolf sighed. "But now is not the time for explanations. Soon."
He silenced Johnny with a raised finger as he was about to protest.
"The fact is, she isn't Kitana, end of story." Nightwolf added with an almost commanding tone.
"Great..." Johnny grumbled in defeat. He turned back to the woman.
"Sorry I got carried away, I thought you were..." he began to apologize.
"It's OK. It's understandable." she said as she extended her hand. "Let's do the introduction
part again, but without all the confusion this time." she smiled warmly.
"I'm Layna."
"Cage. Johnny Cage." he said with a smile as he shook her hand.
"It's a pleasure."
"Likewise. And you are?" he asked, turning to the other woman.
"Darla." she answered, extending her hand.
"Thanks for what you did earlier."
She smiled back. "It was nothing, really."
"You never thanked me." Elranel said in mock indignation from where he was standing with
Stryker, who was still completely out of it.
Lucky for him the ladies are busy with me right now, Johnny thought.
"Well, no offense, but she's much more attractive than you are." Johnny joked.
Elranel shot him a nasty glare while Darla giggled. Again, Johnny's neurones worked real hard
and real fast. "Huh... oh.. oh!" he looked at Darla and then back at Elranel.
"You two are..." he winked at Elranel.
"Yes, we are." Elranel rolled his eyes. "A little help? He's getting heavy."
"Oh, sorry..." Johnny mumbled as he retreated and put an arm around Stryker's shoulder.
"Okay, that's enough." Nightwolf snapped his fingers. "You'll have plenty of time to introduce
yourselves properly. Darla, Layna, this is Stryker." he said, indicating at him.
At the mention of his name, Stryker seemed to pop back into existence and simply nodded,
incapable of thinking of something coherent to say and certainly not willing to try and look
like a complete idiot. Johnny had to use all his willpower to contain his laughter.
"Can you take him to the infirmary and treat his wounds while we raid the kitchen, I mean,
do something really important." Nightwolf quickly corrected himself.
"Yeah, whatever. Just go, we'll take it from here..." Darla shook her head as she took Elranel's
place and helped Johnny move Stryker.
"Geez, thanks, mom." Nightwolf stuck his tongue out before turning around and heading for
the exit.
"See you later." Elranel whispered as he kissed her on the cheek and walked away.
Nightwolf stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder, which resulted in Elranel cursing
lightly as he almost collided into him. "Cage, aren't you coming?"
"Huh, I'm not that hungry. I'll stay with Stryker and the ladies." he lied.
"Fine." Nightwolf shrugged and left, followed by Elranel.
Actually, Johnny was starving and he was positive he had heard his stomach growl earlier, but
he couldn't bring himself to leave Stryker alone and allow him to make a fool of himself.
Not that he wasn't somehow enjoying the hilarity of the situation, but he thought he could use
it as a blackmail option later. He and Darla started moving, following Layna's lead.
"Mom?" Johnny let out as he raised an eyebrow and stared at Darla. "He's kidding, right?"
"Of course. I'd be crazy by now if he was my son." Darla answered with a chuckle.
"I sooo agree. Nightwolf makes it an habit to drive everyone nuts." Layna added without turning
back. "It's a good thing he isn't always around. Even Elranel would run out of patience..." she
left her sentence hanging and chuckled. Darla laughed lightly too at the inside joke.
Whatever that's supposed to mean, Johnny thought.
He looked at Stryker who had been suspiciously silent the whole time and quickly noticed where
his gaze was wandering.
Thank God neither of the two women are paying attention to him right now, Johnny thought.
"Snap out of it, buddy!" he hissed in Stryker's hear.
"Huh?"
"Enough!" Johnny said through clenched teeths as he punched Stryker in the ribs.
"Ow!"
* * *
"Not bad..." Johnny smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. Good think Nightwolf and Co.
had thought about the clothing part, since he and Stryker were desperately in need of new ones.
He had chosen a black short-sleeved shirt and a matching pair of shorts. Stryker was still in
the dressing room, probably still undecided about what he was going to wear. He may even
had decided to make a smart move and take off that stupid cap.
Well, that's what he had advised anyway.
God, high school much, Johnny thought. His smile widened as he pictured Stryker pacing
around and trying to figure out what would make him look better. While he had shown
none interest whatsoever -thanks to a beautiful blonde named Sonya- towards the two very
attractive women who were with him, Stryker, on the other hand, seemed to have already
developed a major crush on Layna. Almost like Liu and the "real" Kitana.
Is that what they call love at first sight?, he wondered. The thought reminded him of his
first encounter with Sonya and the familiar feeling he had experienced. Well, it wasn't really
the same since Sonya had literally threatened to blow his head off and had been quite hostile,
which had been, well, a major turn-off. Not even close, on second thought.
He let out a chuckle, but quickly sobered up as he remembered what mess he was in.
He wasn't even sure if he was still technically alive and he had no idea as if he would ever find a
way back to Earth and to Sonya.
The thought of never seeing her again frightened him.
As if it wasn't enough, every single event since his arrival in this world-dimension-Realm,
whatever, looked as if it had been planned a long time ago. A pawn in some twisted game.
That's how he felt right now and he didn't like it. Not to mention the homicidal part of it all.
He had already tried to get Darla and Layna to tell him what was going on, but it only resulted
in making him even more confused. At this point, he knew they were in Paramenia, which was
in Aerion. Darla had explained to him that the Cosmos/Reality consisted of many parallel
dimensions/universes that were in their turn divided into Realms/worlds.
OK, that somehow made sense. He learned that gods and even mortals could easily travel
between Realms(he already knew that), but only in their home dimension(still makes sense).
Then how did he and Stryker end up here? Would they be able to go back home?
As expected, she gave a cryptical answer. She just had to, didn't she?
Was what I thinking anyway when I asked? Johnny thought.
She said something about the Sacred Rules(now what?) being broken, but didn't go any further.
Of course. Why didn't I think of it before?, Johnny thought.
She added that Nightwolf was the best to answer all of their questions and that they should keep
them for later this evening. Nightwolf. It seems it's always about him. Ugh.
Who was he anyway? Was he a god like Rayden? The wise-cracking part somehow reminded
him of the thunder god, only much worse. He hadn't seen any thunderbolt yet, but something
equivalent should come up soon. It just had to.
Johnny didn't really think he was a god, though. He would've just said so, right?
A crashing sound coming from Stryker's room broke his reverie. It was followed by a growl.
He shook his head and tried to forget about these negative thoughts as he left the room.
"Should I come back for you in an hour?" he asked sarcastically as he reached for the door.
No reply. He frowned. "Or maybe I should send someone else, namely..." he left his sentence
hanging, hoping for an explosive answer.
"Shut up, Cage!" came Stryker's muffled reply.
"Not at bad as I thought it would be..." Johnny chuckled as he closed the door behind and faced
Darla, who was reading a book. He was surprised at first to see her alone as he expected
Layla to be there too. He quickly looked around and saw her at the end of the hallway talking
with the man who previously took care of Stryker. They stopped chatting and Layna came back
while the man disappeared. Johnny had been startled when he first saw the "healer".
The guy looked younger than any of them, plus he had emerald green spiky hair, not to mention
the fact that his eyes were the exact same color. Probably lens. Or at least he hoped.
He cleared his throat, which caught Darla's attention and made her look up at him.
"First of all, thanks for the clothes. Then, could you please... What?" he asked startled as he
took in Darla's expression, as she was looking him up and down. She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, come on, what's wrong with the clothes?" he sighed as he looked down at himself.
"There's no way I'm putting on one of these robes!" he said firmly as he noticed Layna's similar
face as she came closer. "Not you too..." he groaned. She said nothing, but Johnny noticed a
hint of amusement in her face, even though she was trying to hide it.
"Anyway, I've got two questions about what happened earlier with... what was his name
again?" he started, turning back to Darla.
"Kyle."
"Kyle, right." he nodded. "One: what's up with the eyes and hair?"
"What do you mean?" Darla asked back.
"They're the same exact color. Please tell me he wears lens."
"No he doesn't, why?"
"Well, isn't that... unusual or something?"
"You're not the visual type, are you?" Layna commented sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Well, this rule applies to everyone here, in case you haven't noticed already."
"Huh? But your eyes aren't..."
"Is that so?"
Johnny shut his mouth and looked closely at her face. He hadn't noticed it before, but her eyes
were exactly the same shade of brown then her hair. It hadn't struck him at first, since, well,
brown hair and brown eyes were a common thing on Earth.
"Woah, it's..." he let out as he turned around and take a closer look at Darla's face. "...true."
"Of course it is, you dummy." Layna chuckled. "You know, people are gonna give you funny
looks because of that..."
"Because of what?"
"Your eyes, duh."
"Is there a reason? The matching colors, I mean..."
"How the hell should we know?" Layna shrugged. "That's the way things work around here..."
"OK, hum..." he stopped, collecting his thoughts. "Also, about Kyle and all his
mumbo-jumbo..." he paused "What the hell was that? We take Stryker to a small room,
this guy comes in, throws us out and two minutes later, -was it two?, I'm not even sure- Anyway,
the point is: Stryker walks out as good as new! God, he couldn't even walk by himself!"
"So?" Darla raised an eyebrow.
"Care to explain? I'm not exactly familiar with all this stuff!" Johnny asked frustrated.
"He's a healer. That's what he does." she replied very slowly in an extremely sarcastic tone.
"He used his powers to heal your friend." Layla added with a shrug.
"Powers?" Johnny raised an eyebrow as he repeated the word slowly.
"Yes, magical powers. Instead of using them to fight, he cures people." Darla explained.
"OK, I'm still confused. What exactly are your pow..." Johnny started.
"Not now." Layla interrupted him. "What's taking him so long?" she asked with a hint of
impatience in her voice.
"I don't know, I just..." he stopped as he heard the door open behind him. He looked over his
shoulder and glanced quickly at Stryker. Stryker was wearing black trousers and a long-sleeved
navy shirt. As predicted, he was bareheaded. His light-brown hair, which was a little longer
than Johnny's, was wet and he had obviously tried to manually combed them.
Johnny did as best as he could to not smile, but he groaned inwardly.
Great, now I have to add clothing and style to my "things to teach Stryker real fast before
something ugly happens" list that already includes acting and flirting, Johnny thought.
"Perfect, now we can give you a little tour around the place." Layla said as she clapped her
hands and took the lead with Darla. "Let's get going!"
"Hurray." Johnny mumbled sarcastically.
"What was that?" she asked without even turning back while Darla looked over her shoulder
and narrowed her eyes.
"I can't wait." Johnny flashed a bright smile as he corrected himself with fake enthusiasm.
Darla stopped in her tracks and waited for Stryker and Johnny to get past her.
Johnny groaned softly as he realized what she was doing. Babysitting him.
"Is that truly necessary? I'll be good, I promise..."
"Hey, you asked for it, buster." she teased.
Wonderful, Johnny thought. I'm getting bossed around by... ugh... I don't even want to think
about it. And Stryker's not gonna help me on this one, since, well, he doesn't seem to mind at
all, especially with that Layla around. God, the boy is already whipped. Pathetic.
Hey, wait a sec... Does Stryker know he should be... dead or something?
Oh crap... I really don't want to be the one to tell.
Nightwolf, Nightwolf, if you can hear my thoughts, please let someone else have to deal with
this issue. With me not being around if possible. I'm already have enough trouble dealing with
my own death. Damn. This is just great.
* * *
The dining room was empty when they got in, but there was still a lot of food on the table.
Probably left-overs. Layna took a seat next to Darla, while he and Stryker sat in front of them.
There was just the four of them, since, aside from a note, there was no sign of Elranel or
Nightwolf. Johnny had been a bit suspicious at first, but he quickly changed his mind as soon
as he tasted the exquisite food. He had no idea what it was, but it was damn good.
Actually, this was one of the finest meal he ever had. Those fancy and very expensive
restaurants he used to go to in Hollywood were nothing -literally- compared to this.
Of course, things were a bit awkward at first, but Johnny made it his duty to lighten the mood.
He actually succeeded and they were able to make small talk and feel comfortable around
each other in almost no time. Stryker was a bit shy at first, but he eventually followed Johnny's
example. There had been no progress with the crush thing, though, as it seemed he just
couldn't take his eyes off Layla.
Johnny had to kick him under the table several times to break his everlasting trance.
"Who cooked this? It's real good." Johnny asked between bites.
"Elranel, of course." Layla grinned and stared briefly at Darla, which resulted in her scowling.
"Is there something we should know?" he raised an eyebrow. Layna laughed.
"You see, the thing is that since Darla here can't cook at all. I'm not kidding, she really can't.
As a matter of fact, we are not allowing her to try anymore for medical reasons and..."
Darla smacked her behind the head before she could finish her sentence.
"Hey!" she protested childishly. "Anyway, because of this.. hum... deficiency, Elranel, our
fearless leader, had been forced over the years to develop a domestical side in order to not
starve to death." she giggled. Johnny chuckled while Stryker simply smiled.
Alas, Darla didn't appreciate the humor. Not at all. She shot daggers at Johnny, which only
made him laugh louder.
"Ow!" he cried as he felt something hard hit him behind the head. A thumping sound followed
a second later. He cursed silently as he rubbed the back of his head and turned his head
around to see what the hell just hit him.
There was a book lying on the floor. A recipe book. How ironic.
"Did you just..." Johnny's eyes widened.
"That was for laughing at her stupid joke." Darla justified herself with a sly grin.
Johnny didn't comment, obviously not too hot with the idea of repeating the experience.
There hadn't been a minute of silence by the time they were done eating.
To Johnny's delight, there was dessert, thanks to Elranel. Again, it was delicious.
He nearly choked, though, when Stryker started asking relevant and serious questions about
the Realm they were stuck in.
Great way to ruin the mood, he thought. But he knew it had to be done sooner or later.
Darla and Layla hesitated at first, but relented to answer some of their questions.
This resulted in Stryker and Johnny learning much more than what they had bargained for.
Well, actually more than what Stryker had bargained for.
Johnny was, to his own chagrin, getting somewhat used to all this crazy stuff.
Apparently, here, in Paramenia, there was no "technology" as they knew it on Earth, since
everything was infused with magic.
Johnny and Stryker couldn't believe that "cold" and "freeze" spells were supposed to explain
how worked the huge thing in the kitchen that looked like a refrigerator but wasn't plugged in to
anything. The same rule applied to the strange-looking globes that were on every wall and
seemed to have no purpose, only it was a "light" spell. Johnny and Stryker never even thought
that those were actually lamps. Lamps, for god's sake!
The sad part was that there were no electronics, no electricity, no motorized vehicules and no
advanced weaponry in this Realm.
Stryker seemed disappointed when he heard about the weapons while Johnny's face fell as
soon a he heard the non-technology part.
God, what do they have for entertainment?, he wondered silently.
He wanted to scream when Layla and Darla told him they had no idea what he was refering to
when he used the word "movie" in a sentence.
There was a good part, though, since there were no monstrous creatures like dragons, cyclops,
giants, etc, in this dimension. Johnny had been so relieved when they asked him whatever were
those thing. He knew Stryker must've thought it was a really dumb question, but since he met
that four-armed freak Goro, Johnny's system of beliefs had been seriously... annihilated and he
was much more open to the idea of superrnatural beings than he used to before.
Before the Mortal Kombat, that is.
Anyway, the magic part was seriously freaking Stryker and Johnny out. It didn't get any better
when Darla and Layna gave them accelerated physics and biology classes.
Magic was everywhere. Magic was everything.
The Cosmos was a result of the interaction between the Emptiness known as Chaos or
Darkness and the ever-present energy known as Magic or Light.
"How the hell do you know about all this stuff?" Johnny asked suspicious.
"Nightwolf told us." Darla simply replied.
"And he's a reliable source?"
"One of the best you could ever think of." she smiled. She must've thought it was a decent
explanation, or didn't want to go further, because she went on with her speech and didn't
seem to notice their surprised expressions.
According to her, the ever-present magic part was supposed to explain why everyone had
magical abilities at birth in this Realm. She added nonchalantly that this rule applied to each
and every Realm that was. Stryker and Johnny had an extremely hard time believing it at first
since there was no magic at all on Earth.
Well, almost none, Johnny corrected mentally.
Layna and Darla didn't seem to notice or care about their confused faces when they explained
that magic had been banned from many Realms and had almost disappeared in other ones after
the Great Darkness and the Second Birth.
"Great Darkness? Second birth? What the... How? Who?" Johnny asked.
"The Creators." Darla answered. "But I don't want to get into this. Nightwolf is the most
qualified to answer properly to that question."
"Why him? What's so special about him?" Johnny was getting mighty tired of the veil of
mystery that was surrounding Nightwolf.
"He's a Guardian. His kind is also known as the Watchers and the Cursed Ones" Darla replied
with an almost sinister tone that Johnny and Stryker did not fail to detect.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"He's been there since the beginning. He sees and knows everything that was, that is and that
will be. His duty is to set things right when there's a need to. You could describe him as a
more powerful version of a god, only he isn't assigned to any specific Realm." she answered
cryptically.
"What do you mean, set things right?"
"The Guardians were originally confined to a passive role, but their primary duty was to
make sure no one would ever break the Sacred Rules. They weren't to interfere in the
destiny of souled beings unless the Creators' Rules were broken. When such a thing happened,
they had to solve the crisis by any means."
"We're the crisis Nightwolf's dealing with, aren't we?" Stryker mused. She nodded.
"What?" Johnny gulped as he gave Stryker a surprised look.
Does he know or did he figure it out?, Johnny wondered silently.
"Why do you think you're here?" Layla asked back.
"How the hell should I know? You tell me!" Johnny snapped.
"It was meant to be. How do you think you were brought here anyway?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Nightwolf?" Johnny suggested.
"Well, not exactly, but he helped. A lot. If it wasn't for him, you'd be dead by now..."
"Again." Stryker muttered. The three others just looked at him. There was a silence.
"Setting things right... Is that what you meant earlier?" Stryker asked as he rubbed his chin.
"Saving souls is part of his job description." Layna shrugged. She set her eyes on Stryker for
a second and gave him a weird smile. Stryker answered back with a smile of his own.
"You used the past tense when you talked about Guardians' duties." Johnny remarked. "Why?"
"The rules have changed. You see, about five milleniums ago... Was it four or five... Layna?"
"I don't remember. I wasn't listening to Nightwolf when he told us." Layna shrugged.
"Anyway..." Darla rolled her eyes. "A rather large group of them turned rogue and decided to
use their powers for their own selfish desires, their hearts corrupted by greed, hate and lust for
power. Their betrayal led to a war between Guardians."
"Who won?" Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"It's not over yet."
"Oh... Nightwolf is one the good guys, right?" Johnny's voice betrayed his slight worry.
"Yes, he is." Darla smiled. "He actually is one of the key players."
"The betrayers... You said Guardians are not allowed to do anything unless..."
"Technically, they can do whatever they want to, as long as it doesn't involve killing mortals."
"I still don't get it." Johnny shook his head. "They can't kill mortals in Realms ruled and
populated by mortals. What's the point?"
"Mortals aren't the betrayers' primary target. Gods and Elder Gods are. In fact, their first step
to the Cosmos domination they're aiming for was to annihilate every god that would stand in
their way."
"I thought gods were immortal. Wait a second... Elder Gods?"
"There's a deference between living forever and being immortal. Gods can die all right.
The Elder gods are the strongest and wisest ones."
"Woah, hold it right there." Johnny raised his arms. "I met a god back in my Realm, the Earth,
and he never mentionned a thing about Elder gods or Guardians! Why?"
"Were you listening to everything he was saying?" Darla smiled playfully.
"Yeah... no... well... almost... Hey! That's not the point! I would've remembered!" Johnny
dismissed the last remark with a wave of his hand. "How's that?"
"How's what?"
"The not mentioning anything about Guardians part." Johnny sighed.
"Well, Elder gods like to think they're omniscient and made the rules, but it is totally
untrue. They are simply... running the dimension they're in. Administrators under the
surveillance of higher powers. They just don't know about it. And since minors gods are of a
lower rank than Elders..." she left her sentence hanging.
"I don't get the part about gods thinking they made the rules while they didn't." Johnny shot back.
"Well, at the beginning of time, when Elder gods... designed and built their Realms, they were
unknowingly controled by the Creators. Once the creation of the Cosmos was completed, the
Creators released the Elder gods from their invisible grip."
"Huh. Huh." Johnny shook his head slowly. "And what or who are these Creators?"
"Nobody knows for sure, not even the Guardians."
"I see..." Johnny nodded. "OK, let's go back to the part about the Elder gods not knowing
about Guardians. I still don't get it. How is that possible?"
"Since Elder gods think they are above everything, they can't know a thing about parallel
dimensions or Guardians until they meet one."
"Until? Aren't Guardians there since the beginning of time or something?"
"Yes. But you have to understand that Guardians aren't supposed to take care of each and
every dimension. If they'd have to, they'd probably go crazy."
"But isn't that their job?"
"Yes, but..." Darla sighed again. "You're not gonna stop, are you?" she groaned softly.
"I'll handle it." Layna said. "In many Realms, unlike yours and ours, Elder gods are doing a
decent job ruling their dimension and making sure there's no breaking of the Sacred Rules.
If the rules are being followed, there's no reason for a Guardian to even bother."
"Question." Stryker raised an inquisitive finger. "You said the Rules weren't broken, but never
said anything about peace. Please tell me it doesn't mean what I think it means."
"Sadly, it does. Guardians can't do anything if the bad guys play by the rules, even if it means
the annihilation of worlds and species." Layla lowered her head briefly.
"But there are peaceful Realms, right?" Johnny asked hopefully.
"None that we know of in this dimension." Layna replied. "But there must be some ones in
other dimensions. Ask Nightwolf." she shrugged.
"I see." Johnny winced. "So what happened when this Guardian war thing started?"
"Thousands of gods were hunted and killed all across the Cosmos. Well, not all, but almost."
"Why not? "
"There are some Realms and dimensions Guardians prefer not to touch..." she replied vaguely.
"Like ours." Johnny proposed.
"Maybe."
"You're not gonna tell us the whole story, huh?"
"I couldn't even if i'd want to. Nightwolf never explained the whole thing to anybody but Elranel.
and a few others."
"Anyway, back to the war, it was a pure massacre. Good and Evil gods were mercilessly
slaughtered. As a matter of fact, there only are a few ones left in this dimension." Darla added
before closing her eyes for a second.
"Evil gods?" Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"Let me guess. Either they surrendered to the rogue Guardians or they freely decided to join
them" Stryker mused loudly. Darla nodded.
"What about Nightwolf?" Johnny asked.
"If it wasn't for him, every Realm in this dimension would be controlled by the betrayers'
followers." Layla replied almost instantly. "He may be a serious pain in the ass at times -what
am I saying, he alway is-... but we'd be lost without him." she added with a surprising
respectful tone.
"I don't understand. How is he helping? He can't help you fight the ennemy, right?" Johnny
asked, obviously not processing or either ignoring the betrayers' followers part.
"Well, for starters, he killed many renegade gods and Guardians. He also..." Layla started.
"Wait a second, Guardians can die too?" Johnny interrupted again. "Aren't they supposed
to be above gods?"
"The difference is that a god cease to exist while a Guardian is simply... neutralized. When a
Guardian is defeated, his soul becomes the property of the winner." Layla explained.
"You mean the survivor receives his powers and becomes stronger?" Johnny proposed.
Like Shang Tsung, he thought. Or Highlanders. Whatever.
"No." Darla shook her head. "Guardians' powers can't be transfered in any way. Their
essence is freezed out of time until the one who killed them is defeated. Then and only then
the fallen Guardian can be restored to his original form."
"What the..." Johnny mumbled. "This war's never gonna end if they can always be resurrected!"
"Not necessarely. It is actually possible to lock and seal a Guardian's souls inside magic
crystals, stones or orbs. You should ask Nightwolf to show you his collection. Very impressive."
"But that still doesn't fix the instantly loosing every soul part." Johnny shot back.
"I was getting there. The crystals and orbs can be given to mortals..." Darla started
"So this way fallen Guardians can't be saved by their comrades." Stryker finished her sentence.
"Exactly." she smiled.
"Wait, you said Nightwolf keeps the crystals. Isn't that dangerous?" Johnny pointed out.
"He's old school and as stubborn as a mule." Darla chuckled while Layna snorted.
"Don't worry about him. No one's stupid enough to challenge him." Layna explained. "Nightwolf
is one of the strongest of his kind, if not the strongest. Nobody wants to mess with him."
"You mean no one ever tried to get at him?" Johnny asked surprised.
"He's usually the one doing the seek and destroy part." Darla replied with a grin.
"But there's this story about a human who challenged him a very very long time ago, though.
Hell, none of us were even born then. Anyway, from what I heard, the idiot thought he was a
mere minor god. Must've been funny to watch Nightwolf get rid of him..." she smiled wickedly.
Darla chuckled too at the image.
"Woah, woah, wait a sec!" Johnny raised his arms. "Human?? I thought mortals couldn't
harm gods or Guardians!"
"Untrue. They can challenge them to a mortal combat. Only then mortals are able to kill
a superior being." Layla shrugged. "But most humans are smart enough not to try since the
gods who are still around are the strongest and meanest ones." she added. "Most mortals don't
even know about this rule anyway. Even gods, for that matter..."
"Mortal combat..." Johnny repeated. "If there aren't any gods, who's supposed to defend
the Realm and prepare the fighters for the Mortal Kombat- wait, you do have one or something
equivalent, right?"
Both women glanced down and there was an uncomfortable silence before Layna answered.
"We've lost the Mortal Kombat a long time ago." sadness could be detected in her voice.
"Why do you think we need warriors so badly?"
Johnny's face fell while Stryker didn't know how to react since he didn't know what exactly they
were talking about. He was pretty sure it wasn't cheerful news, though.
Layna left it at that as she stood up, and headed for the exit. Darla did the same and
motionned Johnny and Stryker to follow them with a silent nod.
* * *
"How many of them are there?" Stryker asked, breaking the silence. Johnny immediately
popped back into reality. He glanced around to figure out what Stryker was talking about.
"I don't know, actually. Several hundreds. I'm not the one who keeps count, Elranel is. Just
ask him" Darla shrugged. "Why? Something you wanna know?"
"They're still training. Don't they have the night off or something?" Stryker raised an eyebrow.
"These aren't the same soldiers you saw earlier." Darla stated matter-of-factly.
"Why do they have to train at night?"
"To improve their night vision and capability to fight efficiently in the darkness. Duh." she
answered sarcastically.
"What she's saying is that we don't need good fighters. We need the best if we want
to destroy the Empire." Layna added.
"Empire? I don't recall you mentionning that before!" Johnny pointed out.
"You never asked." Layna replied slyly.
"Will you ever tell us something if we don't ask?" Johnny rolled his eyes.
"Probably not."
"That's what I thought." He sighed. "Can I ask you a silly question?"
"Shoot." Darla raised an eyebrow as she briefly glanced at him.
"Ok, it may sound stupid and, well, quite.. huh... extremely impolite, but I was wondering if..."
"Spit it out!"
"How old are you?" he asked shyly, after taking a deep breath.
"What?" The two women stopped in their tracks while Stryker's eyes grew wide as he gave
Johnny a warning look that implied that this was an extremely stupid and almost suicidal move.
"Well..." Johnny rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't seen anyone in here that looks old and
I think it's pretty odd. Look at Elranel. He has gray hair, but not a single wrinkle -well, maybe
one or two- but that's not the point. You see, from where we come from, well, gray hair is a
sign of ageing" he paused.
Neither of the two women responded immediately. He didn't know if he should feel secured or
alarmed. He had to say something else and fast.
"I'm asking because I've met some... people, back in my home Realm, that were thousands of
years old and it was impossible to tell, so I just wanted to know..." he left his sentence hanging.
Darla crossed her arms while Layna put her hands on her hips. They both narrowed their eyes.
Stryker bit his lip and tried to not laugh out loud as he looked at Johnny's horrified expression.
Oh crap, they're not a couple of thousand years old. Johnny thought. Quick, say something,
you idiot!, Why, why did you have to ask?
"Don't misunderstand my words, I am not implying at all that you look old. As a matter of fact,
you two are gorgeous!" he blurted as he raised his hands defensively. "You're not gonna get
mad, are you?" he asked desperately.
Both women erupted in laughter. Johnny and Stryker looked at each other, extremely confused
by such a reaction. They hadn't expected something like this.
What the... They didn't jump at my throat. That's a good sign, right?, Johnny thought.
After a moment, they stopped laughing and looked back at Johnny, all smiles.
"How old do you think we are?" Darla asked slyly. Johnny's face fell.
I knew there was a catch!!!, Johnny screamed inside his head. Damn, they both look like they're
in the late 20s or early 30s. And they do seem a little... touchy. Oh God...
Wait a second. They're playing with me, aren't they? Does that mean what I think it means?
"You do realize this isn't a fair a question..." he tried to reason.
"Don't even try, buster. Answer. Now." Darla commanded threateningly.
"OK, OK..." he sighed, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. A wicked smile
appeared briefly on his lips and he opened his eyes.
"Darla: 600." he said, staring at her. He did see Stryker looking at him as if he was crazy, but
he didn't process it and went on. He turned to Layla. "Layla: 400."
"Smart move, Cage!" Nightwolf's voice made everyone jump. They quickly turned around and
saw him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The huge smile on his face was
impossible to miss. He clapped as he stepped closer to the small group.
"There was only one way out of this mess and you found it. Bravo!" he congratulated.
"The numbers are all wrong, but it was a nice try nonetheless..." he added.
"I call that cheating." Darla frowned.
"Yeah, now we don't have a reason to beat him to a pulp..." Layla pouted.
"Now, ladies, there's no reason to get upset. Since the gentleman here outsmarted you..." he
made it a point to say the last part slower and louder. "you could at least answer his question."
Nightwolf chuckled. "Or maybe you want me to do it for you..." he threatened jokingly.
"OK, ok..." Darla sighed. "843"
"521." Layna revealed immediately after.
Stryker's jaw dropped and his eyes almost popped out of his head as he heard their answers.
Johnny allowed a smile to cross his lips, but quickly suppressed it. NIghtwolf didn't even bother
to hide his amusement. Being merciful with two of his favourite bickering partners would
seriously compromise his reputation around here and he just couldn't let that happen.
"Satisfied?" Darla scowled.
"Oh my God... It's...it's true." Stryker was still stunned. "I.. I thought this was just crazy talk!"
"Hey!" Johnny mock-protested.
"How...how is it possible?" he asked, looking at the two women and then at Nightwolf.
"Don't worry about it, son. You'll soon get used to it." he replied in an almost fatherly tone
as he tapped him on the back. "Remember this isn't Earth. The rules aren't the same."
"But..."
"We'll discuss it later. Now is not the time" he interrupted as he walked away and motioned
them to follow him with a wave of his hand. "Let's get going. The others are waiting for us.
Well, not all of them, but we'll manage without them."
Johnny and Stryker just stood there and looked at each other while Darla and Layna started
moving. Nightwolf stopped in his tracks without turning back and sighed.
"What exactly did you not understand when I said "let's get going?"".
To be continued...
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