*Dated to Halloween morning*
It was the stench that hit her first, right after she and Max found themselves surrounded by fog: the smell of the dungeon, of death, of Outworld. It had been over a year since she'd arrived from there, but it was still in her memory, in her nightmares. Only this time, it wasn't only the stench that had returned, Sonya could also feel the pangs and her skin itched and her wrists bleed from being chained for so long. Looking at herself, her clothing was replaced with her army pants and tanktop, though of course they didn't fit her after loosing so much weight. Her engagement ring was also gone, but somehow it didn't surprise her. It was as though she had never left, even the screams of the other prisoners hadn't changed-not that she expected otherwise.
This couldn't be happening, she thought, looking around, fighting against the lethargy that was so familiar to her in Outworld. Maybe the island sent her back after all, or maybe the whole thing was some sorcery induced dream after all.
She felt something nudge her waist and felt relieved when she saw Max still at her side. The direwolf's heckles were raised as he sensed along with her that something wasn't right, and he nudged her to the cell door. In the small cell, it was only a few paces before she reached, giving it a gentle nudge, and was surprised when it not only opened, but instead of the dungeon corridor, it revealed the Outworld wasteland: hot, barren and littered with impaled corpses. Her feet felt heavy as she continued onward, unable to explain why, but knowing she had to walk.
It's when she gets closer that she recognizes that the screams are coming from the corpses-they weren't dead, they were still suffering. Sonya felt herself sicken when she recognized their faces, some from home, some from the island-she had to help them. Her footsteps kept getting heavier as she tried to go over to them-she had to save them. Why was it so hard to move? Sonya heard laughter and chatting behind her, and her stomach clenched as the wind changed and she could smell food. Max started to growl and when she followed his line of sight, she could see why. Ten feet away was the Emperor Shao Kahn and his warriors, sitting at a long banquet table as though the sight of her friends' suffering was a sort of dinner theater.
The Emperor stood from where he sat. "Ms. Blade, so glad you could join us."
Sonya opened her mouth to refuse, but nothing came out and her throat felt hollow. She then turned to make a run for it, but a chain shot out from nowhere and wrapped itself around her right leg, causing her to fall onto the ground. Sonya struggled against it, and even Max tried to pull her free, when another chain grabbed at her other leg and started pulling her towards the table. She tried to claw at the ground, but the ground was slick and soaked in blood.
Blood?
She looked up. The tree stumps that her friends were impaled on had blood streaming from them and soaking into the ground, even as they were crying out. Sonya struggled harder to gain purchase, even as more chains pulled her arms back.
This time, Shang Tsung granted her a spot with them at the table.
Sonya could only cry out as she futilely struggled against her bonds.