Born Into Kombat

Chapter One "Long Lost Friend"

"It's been "It's been sixteen years," I choked out.

Silence rang out in my ears like a deafening alarm. Seeing Johnny's face after so long felt so unreal. I felt like I was staring at a hologram. This couldn't possibly be the Johnny I went to high school with, or trained with in Edenia, or fought off countless blood thirsty fighters. This couldn't be the Johnny that said he would be there for my first child's birth, or the one who promised he would come back to visit me. No, that Johnny never contacted me once, nor gave me an excuse for leaving me and my unborn child. That Johnny died long ago in my eyes.

Yet here he is, sitting right in front of me. He stared down at the table while I studied every feature of his body. He had wrinkles by his eyes, like Liu and I did now. His rough skin was a deep mocha color from spending countless hours in the sunlight. There was a tan line from his favorite sunglasses. On his arms I could see scars and burns. They had settled from time, but you could definitely see them. He was still fighting, that much was obvious.

His blonde hair was beginning to gray here and there. He looked great, but...older. Having not seen him in so many years, and not watching him age little by little, he looked like a total stranger. Who was he? I knew nothing about him.

"I know, Zak. I'm so sorry I haven't been there." He finally looked up. His blue-green eyes twinkling, trying to woo me. My face was stone cold, even though I wanted nothing more than to cry.

His eyes shifted to Sira, sitting quietly in her stroller beside me. She was chewing happily on a teething ring, looking around at everyone in the restaurant. She paid no mind to the stranger that kept staring at her like she was some magical being. I did, though. It bothered me. I wish I had kept her home with Kent while I went shopping. He could have kept her, my two children rotting their brains with Netflix, while I just grabbed a shirt that didn't have spit up on it, had my quiet lunch, and went home. At least, that would have been the plan. Now Johnny was here. How did he know I was here? Has he been watching me? Has he been waiting for the right moment to ambush me? He probably made sure I had Sira with me. I wouldn't kill him if my baby was here.

"She looks just like you, Zak," he said sadly.

"I know." I snapped. Stop looking at my baby.

He looked back at me and smiled. "I've missed you. I've even missed Liu...kind of. I've wanted to come find you, especially when...your first baby..."

"His name is Kent." I jut out my chin defiantly. "You would know that if you had even tried to keep in touch with me."

"A boy? Wow. I bet he's a good fighter."

Suddenly I stood up. I had finally had enough. Sira looked at me and shot me a smile. She was always so happy; she had no idea what was going on around her, but she knew it was exciting. Life is exciting.

"Johnny, I'm glad you're not dead, but I really wish you had just stayed gone. Leave my family alone." I grabbed the stroller handles and began pushing us away from Johnny. All I wanted to do was go home and maybe suck down a glass of wine, tell Liu, maybe beat the literal stuffing out of a punching bag, and go to sleep at a decent time tonight.

"Zak, no, wait," Johnny caught up with me and grabbed my shoulder to stop me. Part of me knew I could set him on fire right here, right now. No one would be able to blame me because I wouldn't even make a move. I knew I could give him unbearable frost bite. He could lose all of the fingers on that hand. Or I could send torturing images into his mind. All of these things would make him go away.

But I couldn't do it.

"Zak, please listen to me. I'm sorry I said that, I shouldn't even... I know you want to forget all about Mortal Kombat and I know you probably don't even want to hear me say the name." He shrugged as if to say 'sorry'. "But I also know that Mortal Kombat has brought you the things you love most in life. If you hadn't gone you wouldn't have met Liu, which then you wouldn't have your beautiful babies."

I looked down. Countless times I've thought these things. I know it's true. I hate everything Mortal Kombat put me through, but I love what it's given me. And the fact I can heat my food without using the microwave at three in the morning, while Sira is sleeping, is the best thing ever.

"I also know," he began smiling now. I glared at him. "That you haven't stopped fighting, and that you've been learning more elements."

My eyes widened.

"Yeah, I know. Keanu told me."

I'm going to kill him later.

"I need you, Zak. I need you one last time."

There we go. That's why he's back. That's the only reason he gives a flying fuck about me or my kids. That's why he stalked me to this restaurant. He doesn't really miss me; he doesn't want to be a part of my children's lives. He wants me to fight for him, for whatever bullshit he got into this time.

I lowered my voice to where only he could hear me. "If you come near me again...I will kill you."

I began storming away, promising myself I would make good on my promise if he tried to follow me, when I heard, "Alright, I'll see you later then!"

I'm going to have to kill my best friend. Well...the asshole that used to be my best friend. I swear, I just wanted a clean shirt.

(Authors note: total reboot of born into Kombat. First chapter. Super short. I know these things. I hope you guys will like this though - I will be introducing new characters into the mix and have a whole new plot. You guys will appreciate some of the older characters being brought back!! So anyway, I'm gonna try and keep up with it. Vote and comment ok???? I need to know what you think<3 love you guys!!)