Transposition
by Nyohah

Epilogue:
Natural
Two Years After MK1

Kitana stood on the balcony overlooking the arena, watching as Centaurions disappeared through the portal to their homeworld. Outworld was slowly letting go of the planets that had constituted it, restoring them to their proper places in space. The process seemed to be progressing from newest addition to oldest, so Edenia had already been restored, but, as the closest thing left to a leader Outworld had, Kitana felt an obligation to ensure everyone got home safely.

She could see the young Mandalorian woman standing beside the portal, fidgeting nervously as each massive horse-man stepped through. Kitana, Mileena, and Sub-Zero had agreed that the monumental task of sorting out all of the different races of Outworld, finding their homeworlds, and sending them there could wait a few days. But the Shokans and the Centaurions were still surly toward each other and everyone else, and Kitana had decided it was best to treat them as an emergency and get them isolated as soon as possible. The young portal maker was itching to get back home, but she had agreed to stay long enough to do so, as long as there was someone around to protect her. Understandably, she wasn't comfortable with a nomad filling that role, but luckily, the surviving Edenian fighter had also decided to stay behind and help.

Even without her antlers, Mistral towered over the Mandalorian woman. With them, the Centaurions didn't seem to know what to make of her or her defiant stance. They were used to meaty little humanoids stepping lightly around them, not looking like they wanted to pick a fight. Kitana watched as Mistral bared her teeth back at a Centaurion who had snarled at her, and she made up her mind, climbing over the balcony's railing and lowering herself onto the seating below.

In a couple of minutes, she had wound her way around the queued Centaurions and reached the side of the portal. She faced Mistral, looking up at her, then started to speak but hesitated, her mouth hanging open. "I—I'm sorry your friend died," she finally managed.

Mistral looked down at her, her face distrustful. After a few seconds, she looked away. "I didn't know her very long. But for a while we were the only two people in our world."

Kitana nodded. "I had a friend. I worked with her for years, and she was always taking care of me. Rain killed her, too."

Mistral didn't answer, instead resuming her stare-down with the Centaurions galloping through the portal.

"I've read about the Kitsune guard," Kitana continued, feeling awkward. "They're very impressive."

Mistral still didn't speak, and Kitana began to wring her hands, withering. "I guess what I'm saying is—" Her voice trailed off, and she took another breath, steeling herself. "Perhaps we could be a team now."

Mistral finally looked back down at her. "You want me to be your bodyguard."

Kitana nodded.

"I accept," said Mistral. "My duty for now is to protect this girl." And she glared at a Centaurion who was slow going through the portal.

Kitana blinked but didn't argue. She heard laughter behind her and turned to see Djurash and the captain looking very amused.

"You can't even have a servant properly," said Djurash. "What a princess."

"Shut up," Kitana said, stepping away from Mistral. "I don't want to offend her."

"Because you're afraid she'll smash you?" asked the captain.

"Actually," said Djurash, "this makes me relieved. I was worried about how badly Edenia would fare with only the princess to run it, but it seems this antlered woman will actually be in charge, and she can't be as hopeless as the princess."

"Well, the princess has her mother," said the captain. "I hear she wasn't hopeless."

Djurash shrugged. "She was when I met her, but then—"

"You locked her in a closet!" Kitana shouted.

"I was going to say, 'she's obviously not well'," Djurash corrected, not looking the least bit ashamed.

Kitana glared. "You're making it hard for me to be grateful."

"You're not supposed to be grateful to people who lock your mother in a closet," said the captain.

Kitana closed her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"I think she's grateful to see the back of us," said Djurash.

She shook her head. "That's not what I meant either." She opened her eyes to see them looking at her curiously. "Thank you for all of your help," she said seriously. "You must know we couldn't have done it without you."

They looked genuinely flustered. "Oh," Djurash said, "well, I guess we couldn't have done it without you either."

Kitana smiled. "That's not true."

"No," Djurash agreed. "We don't owe you nearly as much as that friend of yours with the sword, but—we'll happily thank anyone who helped us torch that witch."

"I'm still jealous, though," said the captain.

Djurash crossed his arms and adopted a stance of long-suffering.

"Why?" asked Kitana, still smiling.

The captain jerked his thumb toward Djurash. "He got to kill the witch, and all I got was Motaro."

Kitana glanced nervously at the Centaurions, but none of them seemed to have heard. "Let's try not to talk about that in front of this crowd," she said.

Djurash looked back at her, serious. "How is your mother?"

Kitana forced herself to smile again. "I'm optimistic," she said.

"Right," said Djurash, unconvinced. "Well, if you bring her to visit us, make sure she's not going to attack first."

Kitana nodded and watched as the nomads walked away from her. They climbed the stands up to the balcony and jumped easily onto it, headed for what had been Kahn's throne room, where they were waiting for Outworld to relinquish its grip on their planet and give them a home.

"This feels strange."

Yuan turned his head to look at Ching as they continued their sunset stroll down Yanxubin's main street. "What?" he asked. "Not having a sacred destiny anymore?"

She gave him a look. "No, having that was strange."

"Not having to worry about the Demon Master?" he tried.

She shook her head. "No, leaving."

Yuan turned his head and looked at the shops they were walking past. None of them had reopened since the Lin Kuei had shut them down a couple of days before. The few people his age he saw wandering around looked shellshocked. He shrugged. "We'll adjust. Anyway, I think things will be less weird once all the older people go back to the lives they knew. Maybe things will change."

"But the population of an entire city just disappearing, leaving behind the stripped buildings? It's strange."

Yuan grinned. "I want to see the news reports, that's for sure. Conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day. They're such nutballs."

Ching raised an eyebrow at him. "So you have no belief in supernatural phenomenon."

Yuan scoffed. "There's always a rational explanation."

Ching stopped walking and covered her face with both hands.

"I mean it," said Yuan. "Take this soon-to-be ghost town for instance. Its inhabitants were really aliens in exile who took the opportunity to go home. Perfectly rational."

Ching, still shaking her head at him, hit him lightly in the chest with the back of her hand as they set off down the road again.

They had just reached the blast zone from Chat's dynamite when darkness suddenly fell, like the sunset had been cut short. Yuan looked up to see dark clouds rolling in over their heads. Lightning began to dance in the clouds, and thunder echoed off the buildings. Yuan and Ching exchanged a glance, then ran down the street toward the storm's center.

Kung Lao and Liu Kang reached it ahead of them, looking warily up at the storm.

"What demon is this?" demanded Liu Kang.

"Beats me," said Kung Lao. "Looks a bit like Shao Kahn, though."

"Impossible!" shouted Liu Kang.

"Maybe his cousin?" Kung Lao shrugged.

"That's not funny," said Sonya, arriving with Jax just as a flash of lightning hit the ground at their feet and coalesced into Raiden.

"Was that necessary?" Yuan asked, rubbing his eyes.

The thunder god ignored him. "I bring you congratulations," he said solemnly, looking around at them. "Shao Kahn has been defeated. Ennir has been defeated. Even the Demon Master has been defeated."

"We know," Yuan said, irritated. "We were there."

Raiden continued to ignore him. "The realms that Shao Kahn stole are even now being restored, ready for their survivors to return. You have all done well."

"Yeah, we were there," Yuan repeated.

Liu Kang shot him a glare before bowing deeply. "Thank you, Raiden," he said, nearly as solemn as the thunder god. "To gain your approval even once is more than any mere mortal could ever hope to achieve."

Yuan had to fight to keep himself from gagging.

"Are you prepared to depart?" asked Raiden. "I will teleport you to your homes."

"But you don't have to go yet," Yuan cut in quickly. "Mr. Yen is throwing this huge party before we leave for Mandalore."

"I will leave as soon as possible," said Liu Kang, and Ching laughed.

"And, sorry," said Sonya, "but we really have to get back to Fort Myer before our leave is over."

"This is your vacation?" Yuan asked, stunned.

Sonya nodded.

"Wow," said Kung Lao. "If this is what the U.S. military does on its vacations, no wonder it rules the Earth."

Sonya scowled. "We really had better get back before someone gets hurt," she said.

"It was a joke!" Kung Lao protested. "A joke!"

"I have to agree," said Ching, pulling on Yuan's arm. "It's probably best to keep you two separated."

Kung Lao adjusted his hat and began to walk backward toward Raiden. "I won't say it wasn't any fun," he said, "but we are all very, very crazy."

When Kung Lao got close enough, Raiden reached out his arms, and the four Earth warriors were hit by bolts of lightning, which zapped them all away. The sky cleared.

Ching turned to Yuan. "I don't recall Mr. Yen offering any party."

"Shh," he answered.

"Sorry, excuse me," said someone from behind them.

Yuan and Ching turned. Ching's sister had come up the street behind them, accompanied by her husband.

"Not you, too, Tungsten," Yuan lamented.

Her eyebrows creased together, but she ignored him, taking her sister's hand. For a moment she was silent. "I don't know what to say," she confessed. "Goodbye doesn't seem enough."

"You're sure you won't come?" asked Ching.

Tung shook her head. "Hong Kong is my home. And my husband's home."

"It's not goodbye forever," Yuan cut in. "Mulan can still make portals."

Tung smiled. "And we'll visit."

Ching smiled back and then, after a moment of hesitation, pulled her into a hug.

The revving of a motorcycle engine broke up the moment. Chat slid to a stop next to them, goggles over her eyes. "Don't say goodbye without me," she protested.

"Never," said Tung.

"So, goodbye, then," said Chat. "Where are you going?"

"Hong Kong," answered Tung.

"Mandalore," said Ching.

Chat cocked her head to one side. "I'm going to travel."

"Ah," said Tung. "Have fun." She waved to them then walked back to join her husband. Together they headed down the street, back toward Mr. Yen's house, where Inspector Lau had left his car.

"So," said Chat, drawing out the syllable, and lifting her goggles to look at Yuan. "I heard you were a prince."

Yuan blinked. "Uh, that's right."

Chat rubbed her fingers together. "This bike doesn't fuel itself."

"Think of me as a poor, deposed prince," Yuan answered. "Like Anastasia. If she were a prince."

"What?" Chat looked baffled. "Your parents aren't king and queen again?"

"No," Yuan answered shortly. "I don't think people want that."

Chat's brow furrowed. "Then who's running your planet?"

"I thought we might try this little thing called democracy."

"Huh," Chat mused. Then she pointed back and forth between Ching and Yuan. "You know, you two should be king and queen since you saved them all."

Yuan looked over at Ching, who just barely managed to meet his eyes before they both burst out laughing.

Chat watched them try to stop laughing for a few seconds then revved her engine again. "Well, if you change your minds..." She rubbed her fingers together again, then put one foot up on the pedal, preparing to kick off.

"Wait!" Yuan shouted. "You don't want to stay for the party?"

Chat gave him a wicked smile. "I have my own party."

A former Lin Kuei came out of nowhere and hopped onto the back of Chat's motorcycle. Yuan jumped, startled, as Chat revved the engine a few more times, her eyebrows dancing, then sped off.

"And there's that," Yuan said, waving his hand after her.

Ching laughed. "I bet her party's better than yours would be," she teased.

"Yeah," Yuan admitted.

"I guess you're just going to have to give up all your dreams of a party in disgrace."

"There's no party?" asked Yuan's father, suddenly behind them.

Yuan whirled to face him.

"That's a real shame," his father continued. "It's been a quarter of a century since I've been to good party, and then they tried to kill me at the end of it."

"That's great," said Yuan. "Where's Mom?"

Sub-Zero was headed down a side street away from Yanxubin's main street, not at all keen to run into Raiden, when someone caught him by the arm. He moved to jerk his arm away angrily, glancing over his shoulder to see who was bothering him, but the look on his mother's face made him stop and turn more gently.

"Nei Jen," she said. "Thank you."

"Oh," he answered, embarrassed. "It was nothing."

His mother shook her head. "The rest of us could have fought that shadow ninja for years while he remained impervious. If you hadn't figured out how to kill him..."

He shifted uncomfortably. "That was mostly luck."

"Honor offered to sacrifice himself to destroy the shadow ninja—and it may not even have worked." She clutched tightly at his hand. "You avenged one friend and saved the other."

"Oh," he said quickly, "I wasn't—"

"I know you didn't do it for me," she interrupted, "but it still means everything."

She was about to cry. He glanced to his left and right in alarm, then grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

She did cry then, into his shoulder. After about a minute, she pulled away, rubbing at her face and the wet spot on his shoulder. "Are you coming with us?" she asked, not looking up at him.

He had been torn about it until that moment. "I suppose so."

She finally looked back up at him, smiling. "That was a very kind thing you did for Tanya."

Sub-Zero shrugged. "She genuinely helped us. I couldn't leave her there to face the lynch mob."

"Yes," his mother answered knowingly, "she's very pretty."

"I'll probably have to start beating her away with a broomstick in a couple of weeks." He ran a hand through his hair. "Have you seen, her, though? I'm trying to find her."

His mother gave him another smile, pointed back past his ear, dropped her hand to pat him on the shoulder, and walked away.

Sub-Zero hadn't made it two steps before someone grabbed his arm again. He jumped, startled, and spun around, jerking his arm out of the person's grip and shouting, "What?"

Enmity stared at him, leaning slightly back.

"What?" he asked again, annoyed. "Were you lurking in the shadows, waiting for my mom to leave so you could jump me?"

"Obviously," she snapped.

"Well, don't!" He turned to leave.

"I was only wondering what your plans were," she said.

He turned back. "They don't involve you. Stop being nosy."

"Are you leaving, then?" She sounded almost hurt.

"Yes, I'm leaving," he said. "You're not?"

Enmity shook her head. "I can't quite stomach the thought of living with the people who killed my father."

Sub-Zero felt himself scowl. "Don't forget he murdered a huge number of them first."

She tossed her head and looked away.

"Well," he said, "if you change your mind, I'm sure you'll be welcome, and there's bound to be someone around who's still in contact with Yen Sa. He'll get you to Mandalore if you ask."

He turned to leave again, but Enmity shot her finger out toward the end of the street.

"What about that?" she spat.

She was pointing at Tanya, who stood in the shade of a shop awning about a block away, looking lost.

Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes, looking hard at Enmity's face. "Is that what you really want?" he asked quietly.

Enmity moved her hand up to her neck but didn't answer.

"If you can't even bear to be on the same planet as the people who killed your father," he asked, "how could you ever think of being in the same bed with the man who led him to his death?"

Enmity moved her hand up to cover her mouth, barely shaking her head. Then, without a word, she turned and walked away.

Sub-Zero watched her go for a few steps, then shouted after her, "They probably make pills for that now!"

Rolling his eyes, he continued down the street to rescue Tanya.

Yuan found his mother down a side street, talking to his brother. He started to head toward her, but Ching pulled at his arm, holding him back.

"That looks personal," she warned.

Yuan could see why she'd say that, but he didn't care that much. However, Ching came around him to subtly block his way down the street, so he sighed and leaned against a shop wall to wait.

While his mother and his brother talked, Mr. Yen came down the main street and saw them waiting just off the corner. He grinned and spread his hands wide.

"Let me shake your hands," he said, reaching first to Ching, then to Yuan.

Ching looked embarrassed. "I think we've been thanked by everyone in town now."

"You gave us back our home," said Mr. Yen. "Just imagine what that means to us."

"You must have loved Mandalore," said Yuan, "to give up your company to go there."

Mr. Yen gave Yuan a sly smile. "Who ever said I was giving it up?"

"But you're going to Mandalore."

"I'm moving my company, Yuan, not giving it up."

"Won't that cause a lot of problems?" asked Ching. "It's not like you're moving across town."

"Oh, I'll probably default on some contracts during the transition," said Mr. Yen, "but it's not like they'll be able to find me."

Yuan snorted.

"With your skills, of course," Mr. Yen addressed him, "you'll always be welcome to work for me."

Yuan grinned and looked at Ching. "I can imagine myself taking you up on that." Thinking over the offer again, Yuan snapped his head back to look at Mr. Yen. "Wait, you're not going to make me your PR rep or something, are you?"

"Not those skills," Mr. Yen answered wearily. "I had actually planned to ask for your help on a special project."

Yuan raised his eyebrows. "I'm listening."

Mr. Yen lowered his head. "I'm going to try to—hmm—cure Cyrax. Well, as much as possible," he added, looking up again. "I can't get him his body back, but if I can give him consciousness..."

"Will he even want it?" asked Ching.

Mr. Yen shrugged and sighed. "At least we'll be able to ask."

No one spoke for a few seconds. Yuan glanced back down the street toward his brother and saw only him and that Edenian bimbo he'd picked up. He frowned, then turned back to Mr. Yen. "Well, I'll definitely help go through any of your scientist's notes on the procedure," he said, trying to wrap up their conversation.

Mr. Yen seemed to notice his impatience and smiled wanly. "Just let me know when you want to start."

Yuan nodded hurriedly and then dodged between Ching and Mr. Yen.

"Where'd Mom go?" he demanded as soon as he had reached his brother. Ching was right behind him.

"How should I know?" his brother answered, looking annoyed at being interrupted.

Tanya stepped around his brother, fluttering her lashes above her large, dark eyes. She stepped very close to Yuan before practically whispering, "I don't believe we've met."

"I'm Yuan," he said, uncomfortable.

Tanya leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, but his brother grabbed her and yanked her backward.

"None of that," he said sternly, letting her go. "If you want me to be your boyfriend, there can't be any of that."

Yuan expected her to sulk or fight, but instead her face lit up like he had asked her to marry him.

"Okay," she said cheerily, beaming.

Sub-Zero gave Yuan a searching look, and Yuan stared back at him, confused. Finally, Sub-Zero took a step toward him. "Can we talk privately?" he asked.

"Hey, I didn't do anything," Yuan protested. "It was her." He started to point toward Tanya, but his brother caught his arm and forced it back down.

"It's not about that," he said, looking at Yuan intensely again.

Yuan backed away, then let his brother lead him a few yards down the street. Tanya turned her smile on Ching. Ching looked pained.

"I thought you might be interested in this," his brother said, pulling a black leather-bound book out of his pocket and handing it to Yuan. "It's the experiment diary of that witch, Ennir."

Intrigued, Yuan flipped it open, but it was all in some language he'd never seen. He tilted the pages toward his brother. "What's this?"

"Edenian. You can translate it if you want, but I won't help you."

"Thanks," Yuan said sarcastically.

His brother took a step away, then turned back and came closer than before. Yuan had to tilt his head back to look up at him.

"Listen," he said quietly, "don't tell our mother."

Yuan blinked. "Don't tell her what?"

His brother tugged on the pages of the journal, and Yuan let him flip them until he reached an entry at the back accompanied by an illustration of a ninja.

"This," he said, pointing at the title, "is Ermac." He moved his finger down the page and ran it across a line. "And this says, 'created from the souls of fallen Mandalorian Honor Guards Zhen Feng Qui, Tieh Chen Yi, and Rah Cai Yue'."

Yuan felt his eyes widen, and he tugged the journal away and closed it. He looked up, meeting his brother's eyes, and said, "I won't tell her."

His brother gave him a little smile and patted him on the head. Yuan scowled as he watched him return to where Tanya and Ching stood, looking awkward. He let Tanya take him by the arm and walked away down the street.

Ching came to Yuan. The sky was rapidly darkening, and the street lights had come on.

"So what about us?" she asked.

Yuan panicked briefly. "There's a question about us?"

"Are we going or are we staying?" she asked patiently.

"Oh, that," he said, crossing his arms against the chill in the air. "I've thought about staying. I think I'll miss this place." He shook his head. "But everyone I know is going."

"Yes," Ching answered, "though it might actually be a good idea to get you away from your family for a while. See if we can't cut those apron strings."

"Maybe we shouldn't do either," Yuan said, looking up into the sky.

"You mean we should do both."

"No," he answered. "Both and more." He looked down at Ching. "Let's go everywhere. Earth, Mandalore, Edenia, everywhere. Let's see all the worlds we saved."

Ching looked overwhelmed, widening her eyes and shaking her head. "Everywhere? Are we supposed to drag your friend around with us so we can get there?"

"The Vyrenchi will take us," he said. "It might take a bit longer, but I bet they know where everything is. A collective consciousness like that probably never forgets anything."

"And you want to visit everywhere."

Yuan put his hands on his hips. "Did we do all this for ourselves?"

Ching surprised him by considering that for a moment. "Maybe."

He took a moment to think, too. "You might be right," he admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't learn to appreciate everyone else now."

"I don't know, Yuan," Ching said, folding her arms. "I don't think everywhere is going to be happy to see us. The mutants for one were very cold to me when we visited Kitana."

"That's because you killed one of their heroes." Yuan looked back up at the sky.

"Yeah," Ching sighed. "I should do that less often."

"I think that's another noble goal for our future," he said. "Travel everything. No killing. And no conquering," he added quickly.

"Can we quit the manifesto?" Ching asked drily. "I just want to live."

Yuan looked back over at her, smiling. Then he grabbed her by the hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's get my telescope."