CHAPTER VIII

Homesick

"It mussssssst have been at least 15, 000 years ago. I wassss not far out of my childhood...mother would tell me ssstoriesss...ssstoriesss of another plasse, another time, before I was born, of a beautiful realm, lush and green."

They were heading up several floors, toward the roof, a preferred sparring ground for many of the Emperor's warriors. It was wide and spacious, and the gravelled floor made not only for good footing, but the dig of the sharp, tiny stones into a warrior's bare skin when he fell, kept one alert and on their toes. The many overhangs, pillars and stones were not only good cover, but useful obstacles as well.

"Although I have never sssseen it for myssself, I can picture it with my mind'sssss eye. The thick, denssssse foresssstssss, the sssssoft, calm lakessss...but, just asss you cannot remember your own true name, I cannot recall the label given to my homeland. If mother ever told me, I do not remember."

Rain nodded. He didn't have to tell Reptile that Rain was the name given to him by Kahn, after he had pledged his loyalty. He wondered whether he'd ever know just why the dark one had decided on the Humans' word for a type of weather.

"At any rate, those are some of the few happy memories I have of my childhood."

"What are the others, if you do not mind my asking?"

"Hmmm...well, I remember that I very much usssed to love watching a single moon rissse...but what isssss odd isssss that all of my memories are of living here, in Outworld. We have no single moon. We have two. I remember alsssso, a ssstrange rassse...one with dark, great wingsss....."

"Perhaps it was a vision? A dream?"

Reptile remained silent for a moment, as they walked up a narrow stairway. "I do not think ssssso. It ssseemsss too real for that."

"At any rate, I remember well the look on mother's fassse when sssshe told me about my birth. Six eggsssss, hatching all at onsssse...and five sssssiblingsss devoured by the one. She told me how proud she wassss to sssee that. Sssshe sssssaid she had witnessssed many sssspawnings in her lifetime, but never had she ssssseen one newborn devour all otherssss. Apparently, that isss a sign of a great warrior being born, and a rarity."

He looked over at his friend's incredulous expression, and grinned. "Sssssurprisssed? Yesss, apparently, the firssst insssstinct of newborn hatchlingssss of my rasssse - whatever that issss - isss to eat. Ssssso they turn to the nearessst living creature. And do jussst that. Although I can not ssssay for sssure whether or not there are other casssesss where more only one hatchling ssssurvivesssss, I imagine that it issss a rarity."

They reached the doors, and Rain pushed them open. The twin moons high in the sky shone their eerie light down upon the gravelled ground. About twenty meters or so away, two other warriors were sparring.

They walked forward, and Rain asked another question, at the same time tying his long hair into a queue. Reptile, on the other hand, had tossed away the empty bowl, slipped on his faceplate, and was now fitting his hood (which had attaching to it a layer of peach-coloured material that covered his exposed skin - the perfect thing for disguise) over his head.

"Where is your mother now?"

Reptile closed his eyes. "I do not know."

Rain's head tilted quizzically. "She...disappeared?"

"No...." He sighed. "Sssssome time during my adolessssscent years, on one fateful day, a man came into the village. Truly, I sssshould not sssssay 'came'. Rather, he barged in. He had othersssss with him, onessss on horssssseback, but they did not enter. Inssssstead, he came in alone...and began, through sssssorssssery, to burn the village, and itsssss inhabitantsssss to the ground.

"After I, with sssseveral otherssss, had helped the wounded to the outssskirtsss of the nearby foresssst, I went to confront the man, enraged at lossssing some of my closssssessst friendssss, and our home, and confident - overly ssssso - of my victory. By thissss time, I had esssstablished myssself assss the village'ssss ssssstrongessst fighter. It came naturally, asss my mother had predicted.

"I fought him, in a battle that lassssted a full three hourssss. But he wassss too much. Finally I fell, when jussst asss I thought I had the drop on him from behind, he brought his hand around, and with a sssssssweep of sssssearing flame, caught me full in the fasssse. I could not fight afterwardssssss - I could barely even ssssseeeee.

That wassss when he made hisss offer...the one that led me here, to the Emperor'ssss ssservisssse."

He closed his eyes, and recounted to his friend, in the most minute detail possible, the words of the man who had defeated him, and his acceptance, as he lay, unable to move, exhausted, on the warm ground...

"Never before have I seen such a warrior as yourself. Your speed, your powers, your agility are far greater than most of the warriors in my Emperor's court. You should come with us. Your skill is great, but...I would make it even greater. I have need for a bodyguard...and yes...you would do nicely. Nicely indeed...

"You...dessssstroyed my friendsssss...burned our housssssessss...you have ruined our lives. Kill me...for I will not do sssservisssse of any kind...to a butcher sssuch asssss yoursssself. Get...get it over with...finish me now.

"I think not." The man with flowing black robes and a dark goatee walked around him, taking him in from every angle, relishing his suffering. His eyes burned with an unholy fire. "You forget, little lizard, that I hold the cards. You must do as I say, or you will suffer."

He leaned in closer, and Reptile could make out the details of his face through his red-smeared vision. The cruel smile. The wicked gleam in the eyes, unshadowed by the sweat-matted black hair that flowed over them. Felt a chill as he heard the other's words. "Your soul is as open to me as a book upon a table. You want only for those of your tribe who have escaped to live on...including your mother."

"This can be made to pass. Come with me, and I will leave them be. They will not be harmed. I shall pursue them no further. However..."

He grinned sadistically. "If you do not obey me, I will continue my hunt, and have her forced to watch as the other ten or twenty who escaped are flayed and skinned alive before her, you being last. And then, so shall she be."

The tears flowed down Reptile's face, and his sadness blended with the horror of reality, and his shame at having been read so easily. He knew he had no choice.

"That isn't what you want, now is it?"

"N...no...pleasssse....you...you would not....sssimply...cannot..."

No response.

"You...would...wouldn't you...? Very...well...I...shall...join you...for my tribe'ss... sssake...whoever...you...are...."

"Some call me Shang Tsung. But from this day forth, Reptile, you shall call me master."

He was grabbed by rough, calloused hands, and tossed unceremoniously onto the back of a horse. They galloped off, and the last thing that Reptile saw before he lost consciousness was the small shape of his mother, on her knees in the smoking ruins of the center of the village, crying loudly her son's name, in utter anguish and despair.

He opened his eyes, in the present.

"I do not know why Shang Tsssssung hunted my tribe down. But I have my sssssusssspicions. I wonder if my own sssssssspessssiessss did not losssssse in Mortal Kombat to the Emperor'sss warriorsss, and that my tribe were the lasssst ssssurvivorsss...in any case, there isssss little I can do about it, without ssssolid proof. And though I have sssearched, I have found none. Asss everyone knowssss, all recordssss of Mortal Kombat are held by the monksssss, under Kahn'ssss care."

He turned to his friend. "You sssee now, why I sssaid we are sssimilar. You long for the passst you never knew...and I long for the home that wasss taken from me."

Rain could do nothing but shake his head. "By the gods...I am so sorry, my friend."

Reptile shrugged. "It isss the passst. One day, I will reunite with my losssst onessss. The Emperor hassss forssseen it, and promissssed it. Until that day, I fight proudly in hissss name, loyal assss long assss he keepssss hiss word. 'After the realm of Earth hassss been taken', he promisssed me. 'When we are victoriousssss, I will ressssssurect the fallen membersssss of your rasssse.' That issss why I fight. That, above all elssse."

«You don't think he's lying to you?»

«No. Kahn knowsss what is bessst for his soldiersssss. There is some amount of honor in him...unlike Tssssung.»

«How can you be so sure?»

«I don't have much of a choissssse, do I? At least he doesss not look down upon me, and inssssult me, like that filthy ssssorsssserer. Until the end...I will ssserve my lord Ssshao Kahn well.»

Rain nodded, understanding. "We are indeed alike...we have much to fight for. But come, let us do what we came here for. Perhaps in friendly battle, we can find temporary peace." He slipped his faceplate on, underneath the hood.

Reptile's eyes shimmered. "Indeed. Thisssss will do usssss both much good."

They faced each other, and bowed at the waist, their gaze never parting. The lizardman took a hunched over stance, his left arm extended before him, bent at the elbow, and his hand curled into a claw. So was his right, but that was tucked in closer to his chest. His knees were bent so that he was low to the ground.

Rain, on the other hand, stood on the balls of his feet, knees bent but only slightly, left before right. Both of his palms were extended, outright, before his chest, moving in small, almost imperceptible circles.

The two warriors in the distance had stopped fighting, and came in for a closer look. Low-rank soldiers, they took the opportunity to watch the two top brass warriors do battle, in hopes of learning something, or perhaps for some excitement. At any rate, the mutants sat a respectable distance away, and prepared for the spectacle.

The two began to circle each other. Rain spoke. "Rules as usual?"

"Indeed," Reptile nodded slowly. "No blowssss to the throat or groin. No intentional breaksssss or fracturesss...and of coursse...no intentional killsss..." His pace quickened slightly, and he drew the circle smaller, ever so gradually moving inward. "...ussse of potentially deadly sssspecial techniquesss or magickssss, must be done..."

"...In safe measure." Rain finished. "Don't worry...I won't use my electrostatic blasts on you. I don't feel like having fried lizard tonight." He abruptly lifted his right leg, and Reptile took a small leap backward. But it was only a feint, and Rain brought his leg down again, now right before left.

"Funny...I'm quite in the mood for ssssome fressssh red meat, myssself...."

With that, the green-skinned one leapt with a speed that caught Rain off guard. He grabbed the general by the wrists, tucked his knees into his chest, and swung over backwards in a double flip kick that hit Rain in the chin. He landed flawlessly and gracefully on his feet, and went back into his stance.

But Rain wasn't out of it yet. He moved with the impact of the blow, and flipped onto his hands. He maintained that pose for a second. Reptile began to move in again, thinking for sure the general's back would make an easy mark. But Rain pushed forward with his hands, and this time, both of his feet flew forward and caught Reptile in the stomach. His eyes went wide with the impact, and he couldn't respond immediately when Rain came back from his forward flip, and stuck out a half-hearted kick that got him in the elbow.

That hurt, but he knew there would be more. So he accepted the blow - and correctly deflected the next one, a jab at his chest. Another came immediately after the first, and he caught Rain's fist, and used the momentum to flip him over his shoulder, onto the ground. Rain rolled and got up, defending Reptile's offensive consisting of a quick one-two mid-air hop kick. The second the lizard landed, he brought his arm around in a backhand that Reptile ducked under. He tried a quick snap kick, which was blocked, and had to hop backwards to avoid the fist coming in fast, aimed at his stomach. After a moment of hesitation, he dashed in and spun, bringing his leg around in a sweep kick meant to take Reptile off of his feet. Reptile, however, was all too ready for it, and met Rain's sweep with a well-timed downward thrust kick that not only slammed Rain's shin down into the ground, but hurt like hell. An involuntary gasp of pain escaped his lips.

"You're lucky. I could have sssnapped that, if I'd put more forssse into it-"

He didn't get a chance to finish. Rain lifted himself up slightly, and spun 360 degrees, catching the distracted Reptile in the back of one knee. He lost balance, and quickly joined Rain on the ground, the back of his skull impacting with the gravel.

"You talk too much." He brought his still airborne leg around and down, headed for Reptile's chest. The lizardman was stunned, but not enough to let it connect. He caught the descending leg by the shin, allowing his bicep to take the brunt of the blow. He then wrapped his arm around it, and brought his elbow down with considerable force into Rain's thigh. The general then pulled back, rolled away, and got up, his right leg badly hurt in two places. His stance looked unsteady. Reptile, up as well, was shaken, and was seeing double. His neck felt unusually wet, and he surmised he might be bleeding.

Time to end this, he thought.

Rain moved in, preparing his attack. He brought his right elbow forward, and it was deflected. He then spun on his good leg, and came around in time to block Reptile's palm thrust. But he wasn't prepared for what happened next, as Reptile brought his head forward and a mist shot forth from the faceplate, high-pressure. It landed on his chest and arms.

He staggered back, feeling the bite of Reptile's acid. It burned, burned like mad. The exposed skin that had been hit felt like it was on fire, and his forearm guards were melting. Quickly, he ripped them off and tossed them away. He turned to his friend, amused malice in his eyes.

"I thought we were supposed to use our abilities at a safe level of strength?"

"I held back a great amount of assssidic content on that one. I am sssorry...would you like me to weaken the potency to its minimum? Or isss even that...too much for you?"

"Not at all. As long as we're passing out the proverbial sample...try this...."

Reptile hadn't even seen the glow from the ball of energy as Rain charged it within his fist. It flew through the air, and expanded as it went. He tried to dodge, but could not, not in time. It caught him in the stomach, and he felt like he was being sucked into a black hole. He looked forward, and found he could not control his own movements. Suddenly, he flew through the air toward his waiting opponent whose clenched fist beckoned him forward. He couldn't move his arms or legs, couldn't attack-

Rain's other fist, clenched at his side until the last moment, caught Reptile full in the face. With that, the lizardman dropped to the ground, groaning, able to move once again, hands over his faceplate. Blood seeped from between his fingers.

Rain smiled. "I could finish you off right now, if this were an actual fight...."

"Maybe you could...and then again...."

The air around Reptile shimmered, and he looked Rain in the eye before he disappeared from sight.

"No!"

Rain brought his fist down in a punch that hit nothing but ground. Reptile was already up, and completely invisible.

"How can you finisssh what you cannot ssssee?"

In the distance, the two other warriors looked, amazed, as General Rain was rocked back and forth by blows that came from thin air.

Finally, something connected hard, and Rain doubled over with a grunt of pain. He staggered back, clutching his stomach, and fell to his hands and knees.

One chance...

Rain closed his eyes, and shut everything off. His breath stopped. He felt no pain. He let his ears do the searching.

...where is he...?

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Just ahead, three feet. Rain smiled, and mentally thanked the gravel for being so noisy. Reptile was stepping lightly, just not light enough.

Crunch.

"Now," he whispered.

He focused all of his energy into his palms for a second, as he lifted his left arm and legs off of the ground. There was a crushing thunderclap, and Rain flew straight upward into the air, skyrocketed by his own power.

"Nisssse..." The voice came from nowhere, but was slightly surprised.

Rain stopped ascending for a brief second, and began to fall. He knew that Reptile would be waiting for him to land, and would strike then. Not if he had his way.

"If you think that was something...behold..."

Rain let loose the vast amount of energy stored in his left hand as he thrusted it downward. The energy took the form of a lightning bolt, and temporarily illuminated the night sky. Also, it illuminated the form of a living creature, who was so unfortunately in its path towards the ground it sought. Indeed, the skeleton of Reptile was visible for several brief seconds as the energy coursed through him.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"

He turned visible again, and fell to the floor smoking. He was joined several seconds later by Rain, who hadn't the energy to land. A loud crunch was quite audible as the general hit.

There was silence, and then the concerned voices of the two onlookers as they rushed over to the two fallen warriors, thinking them dead. But they were not, just exhausted.

"Well...how do you feel now...?" Reptile smiled as powerful arms slipped under his shoulders, lifting him up.

"Better...much...better....hahaha..." Rain's head lolled forwards as he was lifted over someone's shoulder.

They chuckled briefly, and both slipped into unconsciousness as they were rushed to the infirmary.