Mortal Kombat 12

Chapter 14: Bonding

(Teegan)

"Fujin, you're so warm..." I said upon waking up, feeling all rested and very warm.

All Fujin did was keep me lying on his chest, his head on my hand, gently rubbing my cranium as I snuggled close to him with a content smile.

"I wish it could be like this all the time... just you and me, lying together, side by side." Fujin admitted as I caressed his face.

"Me too... but it can't." I replied, growing a bit depressed as he tightened his grip on me.

Before he could say anything on the subject, Raiden and Rose appeared via Raiden's lightening looking all distressed

and smelt of earth and pine. Quickly standing up, Fujin, Briana, and a couple others joined me as we all stared at the object in Rose's hand.

"What is that?" I asked as Rose showed everyone the crown.

'Kronika's crown..." Rose answered, not taking her eyes off it. "We can use this to bring everyone back." she added as a glimmer of hope sparkled in Briana's eyes.

"Really? You're sure?" Briana asked, sounding very hopeful.

Rose finally took her eyes off the crown and looked straight at Briana, not showing any real emotion. "I don't want to lie to you, because I'm not entirely sure I can trust Shang Tsung with this sudden generosity." Rose said as my eyes narrowed.

"Shang Tsung?! He willingly gave that to you? Why?" I inquired as a bad feeling grew within my stomach. "Rose, get rid of it. He can't be trusted. How do you know that's the real crown and not some duplicate? Or if he's rigged it somehow?"

"You think I haven't thought of that?" Rose asked as Fujin eyed the crown with these tempted eyes.

"Its real." he claimed as I watch him take the crown from Rose. "I wore this crown twice – anyone who comes into contact with it gets these waves of temptations when near it."

Raiden, too, gave a tempted look before backing away and doing his best to ignore the temptations the crown has to offer. Only he was more aggressive with it. So aggressive that he excused himself, sitting off in a corner to meditate to relax and clear his mind.

"I still don't like it. Keep that thing away from me." I demanded as I backed away out of fear. "I'm telling you, we need to be careful. If Shang Tsung willingly gave you the crown and the whereabouts of the Hourglass, you know he'll have a trick up his sleeve."

"She's right. We should regroup, prepare for battle, go over any new details he gave you and see if they check out." Briana suggested as I agreed.

"Yes. Let's not waste anymore time." I said as we all got to work.

While devising a better plan, I saw Raiden was still in the background meditating, which made me wonder what he's really up to. I excused myself from the group to go check on him but as I grew closer, I began feeling this dark power coming from within him. It was strong darkness; the type to have a motivating factor in one's life choices, but when I went to touch his shoulder, Raiden surprised me.

"I'm alright, Teegan. I'm just reliving memories to help calm me down from the crown's temptations." Raiden told me with out even looking at me – he didn't even open his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you." I said, still feeling the heavy darkness from within him.

"It's quite alright. Sit. Perhaps you could help me."

"How can I help you?" I asked as I sat down in front of him, crossing my legs as I rested my hands on my laps.

"When you restored me to my lighter self, you consumed my darkness – unknowingly creating a bond in the process. You feel my darkness because you became part of me and I you." Raiden explained, grabbing my hands without warning. "Close your eyes and relax your mind. Let your energy flow within my mind and you'll see what I'm talking about." he added as I nodded my head and did as he told me.