Kano and Sonya

Kano sat restrained in the brig, silent after Sonya had questioned him relentlessly about his involvement in this conflict with Outworld. He had always been a man of anarchy. Yet Sonya stung him hard by telling him Alex was angry with him, damning him to the Netherrealm and demanding to confront him directly. Kano shamefully hung his head, realizing some of that anger Sonya gave him was Alex's.

Alex had always been a great kid. He had his moments, like that one time they attempted to give him the most normal childhood as a Black Dragon criminal could provide by sending him to public school. Really bad mistake as Alex sent a kid to the hospital for bullying him. Kano had been furious with the five-year-old at the time until a few days later the kid's father had slipped in one night and harmed Alex in his sleep. Kano had been awoken to screams that weren't any of his dragons or Alex. He had found the intruder pinned to the wall by his hand with one of Kano's knives. Alex was pale and shaking, his clothes disheveled. Kano ushered the kid to one of the other dragons and took care of the intruder.

Kano sighed as the memory faded and Sonya came up to him. Though her face was pissed, he could tell traces of the old Sonya he knew was coming back. She pulled a chair up to sit in front of him and said

"We need to talk, Kano. About a lot of things. Mostly about you and me, and Alex and Cassie."

Kano silently agreed, his eyes still glued to the floor. Alex meant everything to him now and he hadn't wanted to acknowledge it before. Sonya sighed and asked

"You really didn't kill Damiano out of malice did you?"

"No. I did it because he hurt you. Now whether he meant to or not is different but we won't know now, will we."

Kano said as he lifted his head to meet Sonya's eyes, watching Sonya carefully. He wasn't trying to criticize her or anything, just trying to talk. Sonya nodded before she said

"I heard your promise. Do you really, truly still love me? Even when I couldn't remember our childhood together? Think about your answer Kano."

Kano paused and thought about his answer. as the minutes ticked passed he arrived at his answer. His good eye softened as did his face, as he said

"Always have, always will. I stayed in shadow but helped you out when you needed it."

Sonya froze, every time things got rough for her, there would be support in some fashion for her. When pregnant with Cassie, she had gotten assistance from anonymous sources and could never figure out why. When she and Johnny divorced when Cassie was eight, despite not getting full custody due to her job, she got support.

"You...You have been there along?!"

"Yeah. Even when you got Cassie for middle school and high school."

Sonya was shocked. She had at first thought Johnny was being dutiful and paying the child support as she had for two years. But that had not been true as she learned. Now here was her answer, Kano was being supportive to her, despite her forgetting their shared childhood and how she was constantly after him for his criminal behavior. She let a smile hit and tears fall from her face as she did what she would normally never do, she let Kano go. Rather than strike her or walk away, he pulled her onto his lap and simply held her, let her vent her feelings. After a bit, she calmed down and said

"That was really unprofessional of me."

"So? You really need to let yourself be human luv."

She giggled at him. He smiled and said

"That's better luv. Look, I know this ain't no quick fix. But I swear to you I will fix the mistakes I made."

"I know. You should start with Alex."

Kano nodded sighing before saying

"I may have destroyed any trust he had in me."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can't work to regain his trust."

Sonya said in that familiar soft tone. Kano nodded before he noticed something was off. Sensing his anxiety, Sonya readied herself as well and the two were shocked to find SF soldiers being taken down by Shirai-Ryu shinobi. Kano in a low voice asked

"What the hell? I thought ol' ghosty was a good guy."

"I don't know why Grandmaster Hasashi's men are here. We need to find him before things go to hell."

Kano nodded. The two snuck through the halls avoiding the Shinobi when they reached where they held Quan Chi. Sonya was surprised as they began surrounding the holding cell. She looked at Kano and said

"Kano, go and try to warn the kids, I get the feeling they are on their way back."

"You sure you can handle Scorpion alone?"

"Yes, now please go!"

Kano hesitated, before reluctantly heading off. General Blade marched out to the outside amid the refugee camp. She looked around and saw Grandmaster Hasashi. Sonya walked over to confront the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster, who in turn noticed the Special Forces General

"General."

"Grandmaster Hasashi. I hadn't received word you were coming."

Behind Sonya, several of her soldiers walk closer to the two of them, guns idle in their hands.

"I will have Quan Chi."

"We have things under control. You can--"

"He must die."

"Raiden needs him. Without Quan Chi, we can't restore Liu Kang and the other revenants. You'd leave them trapped? Like you were?"

"Only Quan Chi concerns me."

He motions to walk past her. Sonya puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't do this, Hanzo. I'll put you down."

"Then we are at an impasse."

He holds up two fingers and calls out a command to attack in Japanese. The Shirai Ryu ninjas charge out from behind cover and engage the soldiers. Hanzo bats away Sonya's hand and punches her in the face. He blocks her attacks but takes a roundhouse kick to the face. He retaliates with a right cross that strikes her across the cheek.

"Quan Chi is mine."

They fight. Despite no longer being a wraith, Hanzo is still capable of tapping into his hellish powers, and he brings these to full bear against the General of the Special Forces. Combined with his own fighting skill and prowess, it isn't long before Sonya is overwhelmed and knocked unconscious.

"I wish you no harm, General Blade."