Jade's Suspicions

I am Jade, an Edenian bodyguard for Princess Kitana. I've long been in her services, ever since we were both training to be Shao Kahn's personal assassins. We were always very close, even going so far as mastering similar fighting abilities and wearing matching outfits. In any case, I always held our friendship higher than my duty towards Shao Kahn. I proved that when I defended her against Reptile when Shao Kahn tried to merge Earthrealm with Outworld. Since then, Kitana has trusted me more than ever, and even her mother, Queen Sindel, held me in high-regard after she was rescued from Shao Kahn's magic. It didn't take me long before I became Kitana's official protector once Edenia was free.

After Shao Kahn was defeated by Liu Kang, Shinnok entered Edenia thanks to that treacherous bitch Tanya. I was captured by Reiko, who seemed really angry at me for no reason... Considering how brutally he beat me, it almost felt personal... In any case, I was trapped with Sindel throughout the war, and too badly hurt to make much use of myself anyway. I was freed along with Sindel once the massive hand scraped away all of Shinnok's men and destroyed the palace; since Sindel and I were not from the Netherealm, we were not taken in by the monstrous hand.

Because of how badly beaten I was by Reiko, I lost the feeling in my limbs, and I was paralysed. This was when Kitana took me to Sohcaro, a silver-haired Shokan healer, who was able to heal me better than any light priest could from Edenia; even my old scars and injuries vanished with his power.

Many years of fighting passed when Shao Kahn returned, and there were only a few weeks of peace once he had been assassinated; once his assassins tried to gain his former dominion in Outworld, more fighting started, this time against mummified soldiers who once served the Dragon King, the saviour of Outworld (perhaps the only thing that Kitana and I did not agree with, as she thought that Onaga was a corrupt dictator in his final years). How those poor souls had to obey the Deadly Alliance was a terrible thing, and I was glad that Kung Lao managed to cut Shang down to size, and at the same time, stop all the mummies... But within a few weeks, the mummies awoke and began attacking us once more (they had been locked in storage cells until they could be sent back to Sarna, but broke out when a brilliant flash of light appeared in the sky). There were rumours that it was Onaga himself who ordered his former soldiers to attack, and obviously, I wasn't go to sit by and let it happen.

I was there on the front lines when a massive portal between Outworld and Edenia opened, and a horde of monstrosities came out and attacked us. Sohcaro was at the front as well, keeping all of us in great spirits and granting us strength to continue fighting. He and I were separated and I could only see from a distance that he was given a powerful blow to his stomach from a blue Oni with a ball attached to a chain wrapped around its arm. The creature howled in triumph as Sohcaro fell to the floor, but in its excitement, it failed to realise that a whole lot of energy balls were coming. By the time it actually looked in the right place, he was hit half a dozen times and sent swirling back into Outworld.

The enemy forces were driven back thanks to a hail of energy blasts from the Centaurians, and that gave the Edenian priests a chance to create a barrier around our territory. The barrier's magical walls fell right in front of Sohcaro's weakening body, and an unusual power surge happened right in front of him; it only lasted a moment, but I knew that it wasn't normal. Some Shokan had already prepared a stretcher for Sohcaro, so I decided to help with moving any other bodies that were around me.

After all the wounded were brought to the healers, I went to visit Sohcaro, who had made a full recovery and was spending time with his children. They were happy and laughing, and everything seemed okay, but for some odd reason, the Shokan I knew as Sohcaro didn't seem to be standing in front of me... I'm not sure how I can explain it, but Sohcaro was different. His laugh wasn't the same, and he seemed distant from his kids, which wasn't right, since he had almost been killed.

I had worked under Shang Tsung for thousands of years, and by now, I knew what he was, and could almost sense his presence whenever he was nearby... But despite the fact that I saw his bloody remains, I feel that he's not rotting away in the Netherealm somewhere... I think that he is waiting for something, probably planning his own ``great return from beyond'' like Onaga had, and I'm starting to think that he is on his way back... But is Sohcaro involved? He is a warrior who uses light magic, so it doesn't make any sense that he could be linked to Shang Tsung... But I worry that the war is going to change us all, and that my dear friend will change sides.

I have no choice but to keep a close eye on my comrade; in the game of war, it's important to keep your friend's close and your enemies closer. In this situation, I have no idea how I should be watching Sohcaro, but in any case, I have to keep in mind that I owe him my life, and that no matter what, if he is going to betray Edenia, I have to keep my obligations to the crown. Please Sohcaro, don't be a traitor...

Author : Jerrod Therace

Creation date: 2006-7-17-12-23

Modification date: 2006-7-17-12-23