*backdated to Febuary 26-Lipton and eventually Scorpion*

[lt_blade]

The first thing Sonya noticed when she woke up was that the other side of the bed was cold. She wasn't really into snuggling, but some mornings she just found herself curled up close to Hanzo when she woke up. That wasn't the case now, and her heart nearly leapt out of her throat when he wasn't there. It was only when she fully opened her eyes that she saw the real reason why she was alone in bed.

She was home. Back in her room at her parent's house, in the room she hadn't actually slept in for so long. It was all there: the pictures, the certificates she earned from school, the medals from athletics, and right on her dresser was her army fatigues, set up like she always had them.

Sonya reached over to get out of bed when the sight of her wedding ring brought her back to reality, along with the shorts and t-shirt that she'd slept in. This couldn't be real then, she thought. This was an island trick, or it could be. Besides, she hadn't been home in so long, and if the island were to send her back, it would send her back to the Outworld dungeon.

The phone on her desk rang and she hurriedly rushed over to answer it. When she heard Jax's voice on the other line, it was only her officer training that kept her voice steady as she listened to what he was saying-that he, Liu and Cage would be coming over soon.

She nodded stiffly and hung up, looking at the calender on the wall: if this meeting was for what she thought it was, she'd better get dressed quickly.

Comments

[get-over-here.livejournal.com]

The only reason Scorpion had any care whatsoever if Carwood Lipton lived or died was because Carwood was aiding Sonya Blade. Scorpion fully understood that the World War II veteran had lived with them on Tabula Rasa and that he was currently not in his own time, but he was nothing to Scorpion now. He honored the past commitment he had forged with Sonya, but most importantly, Sonya was smart as well as strong. She could help Scorpion uncover who he must avenge himself upon, and THAT was one of the few things that mattered anymore.

Two Tarkata against one warrior who had not experienced the Mortal Kombat Tournament was too many. Scorpion appeared in another flash of flame right behind the two enemy troops, and was already spinning to deliver a viscous kick to the back of it's neck. The beast convulsed and gagged with the whiplash while Scorpion punched the other one between its eyes, sending it back a few steps.

For a fleeting moment, Scorpion's clouded pupiless eyes met Liptons'. It was uninteresting. His attention was consumed by making his enemies suffer. He resumed fighting the one he had kicked.

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya normally prided herself on close quarters combat, but in this case, it was a lot trickier when the enemy is literally 'armed' with three foot blades. Thankfully, while 'death matches' weren't that common on the island, she had been training with Scorpion for months now and if there was one thing you had to be when up against such a fighter, it was fast-speed and a good deal of bluffing.

She somehow found herself up against two tarkaten warriors who rushed at her. Ducking, Sonya grabbed a pike from a dead warrior and launched it at the 'faster' Outworld mutant. It struck him in the shoulder, leaving him paralized in one arm and staggering. The other mutant grabbed at him, intending to throw him forward so he could take out the Earth woman-actually, Sonya was hoping they would move closer.

Quickly, Sonya stuck out her right arm, activiating the wrist band again, but this time sending out several pink rings of energy. The energy blast was not as noisy as a rifle attack, but just as affective: it stunned the two warriors on contact, causing them to sieze up before collapsing to the ground. She didn't waste time in waiting for them to recover, instead grabbing the disgarded rifle and gripping it by the nuzzle. Sonya then proceeded to bash their two heads in, not stopping until their heads were all but turned inside out. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have agreed to such 'over the top' means of combat, but her experience in Outworld was telling-these things would not stop until their death or the death of her allies.

She finally stopped and looked around. The the tarkaten warriors that came after them had finally been killed, with Jax finishing off the last by breaking its spine and neck, but she felt as far from cheerful as possible.

The squad that came after them, they were just a small group and while not much of a challenge-she had a feeling things would only get tougher from now on. They had to regroup with the other Chosen warriors.

Looking at the others with her, her gaze fell to Scorpion, but the 'reality' of his sitaution seemed almost secondary to the mission at hand. It combined with the adrenaline from the battle and left a sort of blessed numbness from the physical and emotional bruises.

[niceofyoutoask.livejournal.com]

He could get behind this spontaneous transportation, Liption decided, as Scorpion finished off the blade-man that he'd kicked and Lipton lunged in (very reminiscently of the sort of drills they'd run after the order to affix bayonets, really) to stab the man he'd punched in the throat. He pulled the knife loose, blood bubbling out to the surface, and then had to back away as the thing flailed as it crumpled to the floor.

He was absolutely certain, when he caught Scorpion's eye, that this wasn't quite the Hanzo that he'd seen marry Sonya on the island. He seemed to recognize him, but if the pupil-less eyes hadn't given the difference away, the apathy would have. "Thanks again," an edge of dry humour to his words, more for himself than for Scorpion.

Eyes sweeping their surroundings, Lipton moved to stand beside Sonya as the Major broke the neck of one of the bladed things. He kept his face impassive, but that sound wasn't one he was particularly fond of. Better than the alternative, of course, but his wartime experience was with planes, tanks, guns, foxholes, and artillery. He was acclimatized to violence, gruesome wounds, and death, but it still struck him.

[get-over-here.livejournal.com]

Scorpion surveyed the area. The enemies were dead. The surrounding merging of the realms was not disturbing to him, though he was serving the Earthrealm warriors.

Then there was a sensation. As a specter, he was more attuned to sorcerous energies than the humans around him. He turned to meet Sonya's gaze.

"More of Shao Khan's forces are being sent here. We must go. Now."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

It was Jax that spoke up first, not really liking how Scorpion was looking at his partner like that.

"How're we to be sure you won't lead us to a trap?" He had a feeling the Hellspawn wasn't lying about Kahn's forces, but how were they to know he wasn't leading them to a bigger trap. "It's well known you don't play sides."

"Jax, we don't have time for this." Sonya urged, though she kept her gaze on Scorpion. "If Kahn wanted him to kill us, he would've started already. Right now we need to get moving."

Her explanation drew in looks from the remaining Earth warriors. To bring in Lipton was one thing, the man was military and Sonya lent her trust more easily to fellow military men than civilians, but Scorpion? If anything, it should've been her questioning his motives, not Jax.

Either way, she was right-they didn't have time to ponder over why he was fighting with them.

Jax tossed Sonya her rifle before motioning for them to get moving.