Choose your Destiny (Raiden x OC) Part 2 : Where It all collides

Chapter 8 : Redemption

At Pura Bratan, a young hooded man was walking on the pontoon bridge leading to Bo' Rai Cho's temple. The noon sun was heating the entire place and the weather was wet but the man did not mind at all. He was here for one specific reason, and once it would be done, so would be his time here.
He finally noticed two silhouettes at the entrance of the temple : one who was the master he was looking for and the other one whom he hardened to recognize. As he was leading towards them, Bo' Rai Cho finally noticed the hooded man and greeted him with a surprised expression on his face.
"You returned so quickly, boy !"
To these words, the other person turned at the new arrivant as well, and the young man finally identified him as Sub-Zero. Once he stopped before them, he showed them a sealed letter he was holding. "It's all here." 
"And your theft was not discovered ?" Bo' Rai Cho asked.
"That's what you pay me for." the hooded man replied as he handed him the letter.
Bo' Rai Cho accepted it, then glanced at Sub-Zero who was staring at it. The master then opened it and he found a red USB flash drive with a yellow skull on it inside. "This is it ?"
"This is it." Sub-Zero confirmed as he grabbed it. 
Bo' Rai Cho then took a sack filled with coins out of his pocket and handed it to the hooded man. He then could not help but add : "I knew your uncle, trained him once upon a time. I could recommend you to the Shaolin Temple..."
"Hmph. Let's just say I'd be a square peg at the Shaolin Temple." the thief responded.
"You have a warrior's heart, Kung Jin." Bo' Rai Cho called him. "Why do you deny it ?"
A bit annoyed, Kung Jin replied : "With all due respect, mister Rai Cho, you knew Kung Lao. You don't know me, or my heart."
At that exact moment, the trio heard the sound of a thunder coming from not too far and, soon enough, they could see Sakuya and Raiden who were heading towards them together. Kung Jin frowned at them, then gave to the two men a quick nod before he started to leave. As he did so, he walked past the two gods and ignored them, while Sakuya and Raiden both glanced at him with a questioning look. But none of them stopped, and the gods eventually met Bo' Rai Cho and Sub-Zero where they were still standing.
Sakuya gave Sub-Zero a polite smile, trying to hide how tensed she was feeling at this exact moment, after what had happened earlier, and since Raiden was also present now.
"Raiden !" Bo' Rai Cho welcomed him with a great smile. "You finally returned !"
"It is great to see you, Bo' Rai Cho." the Thunder God responded. When his eyes met Sub-Zero's, he became more serious. "I heard what happened to you, Kuai Liang. Know that I am terribly sorry. None of this was meant to happen."
The Lin Kuei master kept a severe expression as he was staring at Raiden. "You better be. You of all people should know that poor decisions have terrible consequences."
Sakuya knew that Kuai Liang had all reasons to be mad at Raiden, but she was unsure about whether this biterness of his was only about the Kamidogu daggers.
"I hope I will make it up to all of you in the future." the Thunder God added with a rather sad tone Sakuya was not used to hear from him. She could feel that he had been affected by the recent events — as he should, but she did not know if, this time, things were going to be different. Raiden rarely questioned his own decisions, except when it was too late to change them.
As she was staring at him, she felt Kuai Liang's gaze on her and it instantly brought her back to reality. Once their eyes met, Sub-Zero sighed and showed them the USB flash drive that he was holding. "For now, all that matters to me is that I have the key to shut down the Cyber Lin Kuei once and for all, and restore my clan."
Sakuya raised her eyebrows as she stared at the tool. "Where did you find this ?"
"Kung Jin's doing." Bo' Rai Cho replied.
"King Jin ?" she echoed.
"Kung Lao's nephew." Raiden explained to her. "The young boy who just left."
"He is a talented but troubled young thief." the master added. "I've tried to convince him to join the Shaolin Monks but he's quite reticent — especially after what happened to his uncle."
Sakuya nodded as she felt for the boy, mostly because she still had not managed to deal with the guilt that she was implied in Kung Lao's death.
"I will keep an eye on him." Raiden said. "Worry not. But we came here for a different matter."
To these words, Sakuya showed Shinnok's amulet to Bo' Rai Cho who instantly frowned, and so did Sub-Zero. "We recovered Shinnok's amulet, but we need a place safe enough to keep it and prevent its theft."
After a short silence, Bo' Rai Cho spoke up : "And you think that this safe place is in Earthrealm ?"
"We believe that it will be much more prudent to keep it here, where we can keep a close eye on it than in another realm." Raiden replied. "Do you think that Shaolin Monks could be entrusted with this task ?"
"I don't know." Bo' Rai Cho said. "They've barely recovered from Shinnok's first release."
"We can ask for the Special Forces to put a guard on it as well, once Sonya Blade will be back on her feet."
"Once I'll have my clan back, the Lin Kuei may also help to keep it safe." Sub-Zero finally broke his silence.
As everyone was looking at him, Bo' Rai Cho thought quietly for a moment before he finally answered : "Alright, I'll be watching it too." As the master grabbed the amulet, he analyzed it carefully before he glanced at the gods. "I hope this time, things will be different."