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“Grandpa, c’mon! We gotta go now!” Cassie yanked on Raiden’s arm, pulling him by the hand towards the hotel room’s front door.
He couldn’t help but laugh as she dragged him along, having to bend down quite far in order to follow the little hands wrapped around his wrist.
“Slow your roll, Cass, the park doesn’t open for another like ten minutes,” Johnny called from the adjoining room.
Cassie was about to protest until Raiden scooped her up into his arms, prompting shrill giggling from her instead. “Do not fault her for her enthusiasm, Johnny Cage,” Raiden began, joining him in the other room, which was connected by a pair of communicating doors that had both been left wide open. “I too am excited for today’s activities.”
Johnny and Sonya had invited him and Fujin out on their little family get-away for the weekend with Jax and Vera, mostly at Cassie and Jacqui’s persistent request, though the adults were more than happy to have them along as well, of course. They had all arrived at the hotel the day prior, late in the afternoon. It was a small, rustic place that prided itself on a homey, lake cabin aesthetic—more a fancy motel than a hotel proper—with many rooms, including the two they were all sharing, opening straight into the parking lot rather than a hallway within the building. Though the alternative was an option, just not one that Jax had opted for when he reserved their rooms. It was more convenient this way anyhow, being able to park right in front of their doors when lugging everything inside instead of having to navigate through the building to find them first.
And in this case, it made everything much easier for getting ready to head over to the nearby water park too.
Johnny was currently double checking that he had everything ready on his end; sunscreen, towels, his wallet, dry changes of clothes for if he or Cassie got sick of hanging out in their wet swimsuits, sunglasses for just about anyone that could need them, and a good half of the snacks they were bringing.
Looking up from checking that he still had one of the room keys stowed away in his wallet, Johnny did a double take at Raiden.
“Holy shi—“
Raiden instinctively covered Cassie’s ears, pressing one side of her head to his chest and using his free hand to cover the other.
“Sorry, sorry!” Johnny caught himself immediately, “It’s just… woah,” was all he could muster as he scanned Raiden head to toe.
“…What?” Raiden spoke up after a short few seconds of Johnny gawking at him, gaze focused around his torso, “…I haven’t managed to put on anything backwards or inside-out have I?” he asked in earnest, looking down at himself as well.
He had just finished changing for the park a minute prior, (thus why Cassie had been dragging him away to leave) and was now wearing a pair of dark blue swim trunks with white decals that ended just above his knees, a bright flowery hawaiian shirt left completely open in the front, along with a pair of flip-flops and a wide brimmed sun hat. His long, silvery white hair had also been loosely tied back for the day.
“No, no, you’re good,” Johnny assured, “but like… god, Rai-dude, I did not know you were this tatted up—I mean, I figured you just had a kanji on your shoulder like Spring Breeze, not all this.”
Raiden was mildly taken aback, “You’ve truly never seen the markings upon my arms and chest…?” he motioned to himself, and the flourishing lines of blue light that swirled and wrapped across his skin in the patterns of storm clouds, lightning, and stylized gusts of wind. They covered most of his torso and trailed all the way down to his wrists. Some even poked out from just under his swim trunks on the outermost sides of his thighs.
“Bro, your go-to outfits include a cowl, of course I’ve never seen you without a shirt on,” Johnny shook his head, “You cover up more than a nun in the winter.”
From her perch up in Raiden’s arms, Cassie interjected, “Daddy, I’ve told you Grandpa glows in the dark before.”
“I didn’t know you meant like this! Man, I don’t even think I’ve got a sweatshirt big enough for him to cover up…” Johnny mumbled, scratching his head at what to do. They couldn’t bring him to the park like this, not unless they wanted literally everyone there staring at him the whole time. And even if they had him change back into one of his usual get-ups, that would probably attract just as much attention, if not more.
“You’ve expressed no such qualms about my brother’s mark,” Raiden noted aloud. “Where is he now, by the by?” he added, realizing Fujin was not present in the second room either.
“He went with Jaxxy and mini J to help fill up the coolers at the ice machine—and also Windbag’s is easy to hide,” Johnny said in response to Raiden’s first point, “He just needs a dark t-shirt with some decent length sleeves and a pair of shades. Or maybe one of those arm sleeves Jax puts over his prosthetics sometimes. You? I don’t know what the hell we're gonna do about you…”
Raiden covered Cassie’s ears again.
“Are you seriously doing that over the word ‘hell’? Do you even know how many times she’s had me tell her about when I beat up Shinnok? She knows what the Netherrealm is by now.”
“That won’t stop me,” Raiden said bluntly.
“Oh man, you’re worse than my mother,” Johnny laughed. He then crossed the room a short ways to where his suitcase was laying on the floor, “C’mon, I gotta see if either of the hoodies I brought’ll fit ya.”
Cassie squirmed in Raiden’s arms to be let down, he obliged, and she went to join her father in rummaging around through his clothes.
“Thank you, Johnny Cage, but that will not be necessary,” Raiden insisted, though Cassie was already bounding back up to him with one of the jackets clumsily bundled in her arms. He thanked her as well all the same.
“Not an option, Thunder Cat. A big handsome guy like you is gonna draw eyes for days already, we don’t need the laser-light gun show on top of that.”
Raiden continued, “No, you misunderstand. I have the means to handle the issue myself, I was merely waiting until we were all ready to depart first.”
“What do you mean?” Johnny asked, retrieving the second jacket anyway. The way Raiden phrased that didn’t give him the impression that he had simply brought an ample coat for himself.
Motioning once more to the clouds along his shoulders and chest, Raiden explained, “These lights that decorate my skin are not simply such—they are a projection of my godhood. You see, when gods take physical form, our bodies are typically incapable of fully containing our essence—at least, not for long periods of time—thus some of it is expressed as the light that shines from my brother and I.” He looked to Cassie and Johnny to make sure they both still followed.
“So… you and Grandpa Fujin have to wear your magic like tattoos?” Cassie reiterated, wonder sparkling in her eyes, “That’s so cool!”
Raiden chuckled at her amusement, kneeling down to give her better vantage to marvel at his markings. She reached eagerly towards his offered forearm, studying its tapestry of swirls and how they shimmered faintly under close inspection.
“Yes, Cassandra, I suppose that is one way to explain it,” he smiled warmly as she looked up at him, and then continued, “Do you remember the times I've described to you the Elder Gods’ true forms? How they shine with an aethereal brilliance rivaling the Jinsei? I too am much the same—although it is not a form I often take—and my ‘tattoos’ as you have called them are the result of that form radiating out from my physical one.”
Cassie’s eyes went wide with further awe, “So you are your tattoos? That’s even cooler!” she beamed, hugging Raiden’s arm.
Johnny finally had an interjection of his own, “Ok, you’re ball lightning incarnated as a seven-foot tall beefcake, what does that have to do with hiding your stripes, Rai-dude?” he asked, idly swaying the coat back and forth by its hood.
“Well, as I said, my aethereal form cannot be fully contained within my body for long periods,” Raiden emphasized, “However, I would not consider a day spent with you all to be such—In fact, previously I’ve spent several days at a time suppressing my godhood with little strain.” He stood to his full height, and moved to close the rooms front blinds that gave view out into the parking lot, preparing for what he was soon to do. He spotted Fujin walking with Jacqui sitting on his shoulders as he did, as well as Jax wheeling a pair of coolers back from the hotel’s main office building, and proceeded in closing the curtains as they started loading them into the trunk of the car they would be taking.
Returning his attention to Johnny and Cassie, Raiden remarked, “It appears my brother and Jackson Briggs are nearly finished getting ready, so I shall do the same.” He readied himself in a firm stance, but after a second thought added, “Ah, but before that, you… may wish to shield your eyes for this.”
Johnny plucked up Cassie and retrieved a small pair of sunglasses for her matching the pair hanging from the neckline of his tank top, before donning those himself. “I don’t see how the god equivalent of sucking in your stomach for the day is gonna make you light up more than usual, but alright,” he shrugged, “Not like we haven’t seen weirder from you.”
“Grandpa, you’re not gonna get rid of your tattoos are you?” Cassie mumbled in clear cut disappointment, head resting forlorn on her father’s shoulder. The lenses of her sunglasses obscured her eyes completely, yet the sadness in her voice did all the implying it needed to.
“Do not fret, Cassandra,” he smiled at her once more, “I believe you will be pleasantly surprised to see how I appear once I am done.”
They watched as Raiden closed his eyes and began a series of slow, steady breaths, steepling his fingers. Lightning danced across his skin in time, dying back with each exhale. Though instead of growing dimmer, the lightning he exuded became brighter every breath he took—eventually turning into a slow blink of extreme light that engulfed the entire room before being followed by a complete absence of such.
Johnny stepped back as it became more intense, inevitably having to squint even behind his shades. He urged Cassie to look away as it went on, and she buried her face into his shoulder.
Raiden soon took an exceptionally long breath that left him brighter than all the previous, and held it. This maintained the lightning, surging in a safely contained radius all around him. After a long moment, he released it, agonizingly slow, dipping his head as he did. The light faded like a slow drip, near imperceptible in its decline until Johnny and Cassie could both finally bear to look once more. Raiden appeared silhouetted still, though they could just make out the markings on his arms pulsing rhythmically. Then the light that made them up withdrew as well, equally slow. Like water in a straw they flowed up his arms, and by the time they had reached his shoulders, Johnny and Cassie could now see that the same was happening with the marks along his chest. They coalesced just above his heart, before it too sank and faded alongside lingering electricity.
With the glow of Raiden’s markings having subsided, Johnny and Cassie were finally able to see for themselves what he had done.
Left in their wake were… tattoos; normal, dark tattoos matching the luminescence that preceded them. Although some were now more intricate and densely packed in places—namely his chest and shoulders—as Raiden’s essence was making up for its lack of usual expression by means of extra surface area.
“Wow,” Johnny managed with Cassie even more awestruck in his arms, “This is great—really great! Can your brother do this too?” he said in quick succession, looking Raiden over once more.
Raiden chuckled and lifted his head, revealing that his eyes had similarly darkened to a deep, nearly-black brown. “Of course. Although the manner in which he needs to suppress his own godhood is not quite as… flashy as mine, however it could still likely draw much unwanted attention if not done beforehand. He will likely follow suit seeing I have done so, but I suggest we check with him first before leaving in case he wishes not to.”
“Well we’ve got all our stuff ready, let’s go see what's up,” Johnny said, hoisting the bag he had everything in over his shoulder, then turned his attention to Cassie, “You ready for some summer fun in the sun, kiddo?”
“Park time! Park time!” Cassie cheered, much to both Johnny and Raiden’s delight.
They headed outside to join the others, where they had just finished loading everything into the trunk. Sonya was taking her car as well, given they were shuttling eight people—including two gods too tall for their own good—to the park and back, and was waiting leaned against the front passenger side door. She was the first to notice Raiden’s whole situation.
“Damn, that’s what you look like under your robes?” she perked up and stared. Vera similarly gawked at him from the driver’s seat of Jax’s car, leaning her head out the window to better look.
“I mean we had to unplug him first, but yeah,” Johnny quipped before Raiden could repeat his same drawn-out explanation.
“...Right,” Sonya continued, ignoring the joke and waving her hand vaguely in Raiden’s direction “I take it these usually light up like what Fujin’s got on his shoulder?”
Raiden nodded, briefly recounting what had just transpired a moment prior. In the time it took him to explain, Jax and Fujin had joined them all with the latter now holding Jacqui in his arms instead of letting her ride his shoulders.
“And here I thought you would have gone to the park in a turtleneck,” he teased, playfully elbowing his brother in the side.
“Little point in going to a water park if one is not prepared to get wet, no?” Raiden smirked back.
They shared a short laugh, although Vera eventually chimed in, “Uh, not to spoil the mood or nothing, but… you’re not actually planning to get in the water are you? she asked, the question laced with an apprehension now shared by Sonya, Jax, and Johnny as well.
Fujin answered first, “There is no need to be concerned, Mrs. Briggs, this altered form my brother has taken limits the use of his powers considerably.”
“That is true. As I am now, my ability to will forth lightning requires a far greater deal of intent in order to do so—nearly as much as what it would take to undo these alterations,” he gestured to his eyes and torso, “and even as I was before, I could enter bodies of water without electrifying them. This just makes it so it need not be a conscious effort.”
That prompted varied sighs of relief, knowing now they didn’t have to be on edge anytime Raiden so much as stood next to a pool. Though Jax deadpanned, “You’re still not gonna catch me in one with you,” to which they all laughed.
Sonya turned to him, having to shield her eyes from the sun (which prompted Johnny to pass her a pair of shades), “Are any of your arms actually, like, fully-waterproof? Or are you just gonna have to wade around hovering them out of the water all day?”
“The lightweight ones are, yeah,” he smacked one of his prosthetics at the bicep. They were made from plastic as opposed to the usual metal, and were even roughly matched in color to his own skin tone. Though with it being late in the summer, he was a bit darker from all the extra sun, and the difference was more obvious. Despite that however, with the shirt he had on obscuring the seams where his prosthetics attached to his shoulders, no one at the park would give anything more than a passing glance.
Jacqui finally pulled herself from the fascination at Raiden she’d been enraptured by, and poked Fujin in the arm to get his attention, “Mr. Fujin, are you gonna make your tattoo look like that too?” she then pointed at Raiden.
“Yeah, Wing Man, what’s your plan for today?” Johnny added.
Fujin thought for a moment, “Hm, is there any real reason I must?” he wondered aloud to himself, “I don’t believe most would mind a bit of extra cool breeze on a hot day like today, after all.”
“I mean if you’re chill with keeping a shirt on all day, sure, but I think most folks are banking on the water to cool off instead.”
Fujin hummed, “Fair enough. In that case—Jacqueline, may I set you down a moment? Altering my own form requires much of my power to do so, and even braided as it is, I fear my wind might ruin your hair,” he said, and Jacqui willingly agreed.
“Here, I’ll take her,” Jax insisted, and Fujin handed her over, gentle as can be.
He then readied himself similarly to how Raiden had done, moving a short distance away from the cars after taking his shirt off. But before he could begin, Sonya added, “You sure you want to do this out here where anyone could see you?” It was more a statement than a proper question.
“Not unless you want a literal, mini tornado blowing through our hotel rooms,” he shrugged, “Besides, who outside of our circles would believe someone saying they saw a glowing man conjuring wind around himself? And in a parking lot of all places?” he laughed at the very thought.
“Alright, but still, at least get out of view behind one of the cars or something. I don’t want to come up here again next year just to see they replaced everything with a bunch of wind-monster cryptid nonsense.”
“...Very well,” he floated just barely off the ground to a better spot and continued as planned. They all watched him begin the same breathing technique as Raiden, and near instantly the wind began to pick up, growing louder and stronger all around them. At first it seemed just like a standard burst of wind, whistling in the air above them, but it just as quickly spiraled inward towards Fujin. His braid fluttered against his back as the wind grew into visible gusts, and he allowed it to further spiral until it began obscuring him from view, leaving only the light from his shoulder to shine through.
Fujin spun in the developing tornado, fast enough that the shine of his mark became a smear amongst its gusts. Then, as if the twister itself decided it’d already had enough, it dissipated, leaving Fujin twirling in midair. He landed in a striking pose, tattooed arm displayed forward with new patterns expanding out from his kanji, giving him nearly a full sleeve of wind, clouds, and fluttering lotus petals.
“Ta-da!” he exclaimed, though the spectacle was partially sullied by the fact that his braid—having followed its inertia—was fully wrapped around his middle. He pouted and got it back into its usual place, smoothing down flyaway hairs that had come up in the process.
“That was quick,” Johnny remarked, then turned to Raiden, “Hey, how come it took you like twice as long to do that?”
“In terms of raw power, I am the stronger of us two,” he said simply, “that is why my godhood shines all over my body while Fujin’s is usually just from his shoulder. I suppose the best way to describe it is that I had more essence to… ‘put away’ than him.”
“Usually’? So wait, you got more of those you’ve been hiding, Spring Breeze?” he asked.
Fujin moved his braid again and turned, revealing another tattoo drawn across his shoulder blades, wrapping up over the shoulders and down around his collarbones; a bag of winds decorated with similar patterns as the ones on his arm. “Yep!” he beamed, “Although I wouldn’t exactly say I ‘hide’ them, it’s more that they only appear when I exert myself greatly.”
“Cool, well if you guys are all ready, let’s get this show on the road already—the good parking spots aren’t gonna wait around for us all day.”
And with that (and a last minute round of double checking that everything was in order) they all filed into the respective cars they’d be taking. Raiden rode shotgun with Sonya, Johnny and Cassie given he needed the extra leg room, and also because no one wanted him teleporting lest one of the employees at the park hear the resulting thunder and decide to shut down the water rides for an hour or more. Similarly, Fujin rode with Jax, Vera and Jacqui, though he was left to lounge out in the backseats.
The park was only a short drive away—less than five minutes from the hotel—however with the traffic of everyone else with plans to spend the day there, it took a while longer to actually get into the parking lot. Thankfully once there, they managed to get a pair of spaces decently close to the entrance. After that was smooth sailing, and they grabbed all the stuff they were bringing in and headed over to the entrance proper, where Johnny handed over the tickets he’d bought ahead of time.
Inside they gathered off to the side in front of a signboard with a large graphic of the park’s map, though the girls ran a short distance ahead. Raiden followed them while the others briefly hashed out where to set up for the day.
“...Well this was unexpected,” he said, staring up at the park’s… ‘greeter’ as Jacqui and Cassie were.
Before them was an enormous statue of a lumberjack with a thick, long beard wearing a checkered shirt and high waisted green pants. In each hand he wielded an axe and a log thick as a tree branch being used as a simple walking stick, which were both held at his sides in order to give the statue more structural support.
“Crazy, right?” Jax joined them, “He might almost be as tall as you are,” he ribbed.
“Funny, Jackson Briggs,” Raiden said dryly. The statue was nearly 20 feet tall. “Is this meant as a monument to someone? It seems so out of place to have a giant be one of the first things seen walking in,” he continued, watching the girls climb up onto the short, wide pedestal the large man was displayed on.
“It’s just Paul Bunyan,” Jax shrugged, “This place has got a whole collection of statues for different fairy tales, nursery rhymes and whatnot strewn about that way,” he pointed behind the lumberjack, and in the shade of nearby trees Raiden saw a cobblestone house with a spire at its front guarded by a knight. The whole thing had a similar painted quality as Mr. Bunyan, and its exterior—knight included—looked as if it were made entirely from smoothed plaster.
Jax continued, “It's mostly for the real little kids, but they’re some pretty good souvenir pic spots.” He grabbed the digital camera he had hanging from a lanyard around his neck, “Speaking of which, why don’t you grab the girls and I’ll snap a few of you three with ‘im?” he asked before calling for Jacqui and Cassie’s attention so he could take a few of just them first.
Raiden obliged, holding both girls in an arm each in front of the lumberjack. Some other park guests idled to stare, gawking as if he really were as tall as the statue behind him, but soon enough went on with their day.
The others rejoined the group, and after a few more pictures—Jax eventually handing his camera to Johnny so he could get in a few as well—they decided to find a spot near the back half of the park where a good amount of the water rides were. That side also had easy access to a lot of the park’s other attractions, so aside from a few niche cases, they wouldn’t have to go trekking back and forth from one side of the park to the other if the kids wanted to do anything in particular.
They took the way Jax had pointed out earlier, so the girls could check out more of the storybook set pieces and they could all get some more pictures. (Also it was mostly in the shade, which was a nice break from the heat until they actually got to the water). Most of them were simple buildings you could walk into featuring a diorama of their respective story behind a plexiglass pane. The knight-guarded spire for instance housed Sleeping Beauty, and another more realistically constructed home further ahead had Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Though some were more interactive, like a little crooked house with an equally crooked man out front where kids could walk in and check out its closet-sized interior. The giant dachshund statue not far behind got decent traffic too, being meant as a companion to the lumberjack at the park's main gate, and had a similar amount of people taking quick family photos with it.
They stopped here as well, and after a bit of egging them on, Johnny convinced Raiden and Fujin to both get on its back like a horse as others had done before them.
Deeper in were the more fantastical examples of what this section had to offer, namely an extravagant pumpkin carriage outside the diorama home of Cinderella with her step-mother, and a tall house made of candy decorated with huge pretzels, a chocolate tile roof with an ice cream cone awning that pointed its cone skyward, and m&m’s the size of softballs plastered on fudge-stripe cookie window shutters. For the former, they stopped for another round of photos, Fujin opting to sit up in the stagecoach driver’s seat while the rest took the carriage proper.
After the fact, as they walked over to the witch’s candy house from Hansel and Gretel, Jacqui ran up to Jax and pulled him by the wrist, “Daddy, look! They’ve got a petting zoo!” she pointed to a small, fenced-in clearing down the hill with an open barn.
“Baby girl, I thought we went on vacation to get away from the farm,” he teased, “Yet the first thing you want to do is go right back to one.”
“But look, they have a llama! We don’t have a llama back home,” she pouted, “Can we go, please?”
Jax chuckled, “I’m just pulling your leg, sweetheart, we can do whatever you want.”
She bounced on her heels in excitement and Jax addressed the group, “Any of you guys want to come with?”
Cassie was similarly excited and started off with Jacqui hand-in-hand, and Raiden and Fujin were content to go along as well, though Vera made a face at him, intent on keeping her vacation farm-free to the very end. “How about you guys do that while Sonya and I take the coolers and find us all a spot? Then you can meet up with us once you’re done.”
“It’s a pretty big park, V,” Johnny said, “Any idea where we’ll be looking for you gals?”
“You’ve got two whole gods with telepathic powers sticking with you and the kids, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Vera laughed.
“It’ll probably be somewhere around that ‘saw mill’ place we saw on the map if it's not too crowded over there yet,” Sonya added, and the two of them left to go secure a few lounge chairs for everyone.
With that they followed Jacqui and Cassie. The fence around the clearing had a two gate system to help prevent any of the animals from getting out. Basically, it was like an airlock, where there was a short, fenced-in distance between the two gates so the first would close behind you by the time you opened the second. They were weakly spring-loaded too, so they did in fact close on their own.
The girls immediately walked up to the llama Jacqui had spotted, though on closer inspection they couldn’t tell if it was actually a llama or an alpaca instead. Regardless, it was sheared down to help it tolerate the heat, and was ambling about like the several young goats and sheep it shared the clearing with. Inside the small barn (which was only big enough for three basic stalls plus storage) were a couple ponies in two, and a set of young pigs in the third. They had mesh grating replacing a low section of the stall’s outer walls too, so younger kids could look in without having to be held up, and the ponies were allowed to walk out into closed off areas outside where they could be brushed or hand fed.
Speaking of which, there were a few stations of gumball machine turnstyles filled with feed pellets that guests could throw a quarter in and get a handful from. Johnny had prepared accordingly and had a fair amount of loose change on hand, and got the girls some. They mostly just fed the llama and one of the sheep that was nearby, though Raiden found a pen of rabbits on the other side of the barn with another pellet station and they spent the rest there.
Once they had their fill they left back for the storybook walkway, quickly washing their hands at a convenient outdoor sink. Johnny had been poking fun at a lot of them along the way, and that hadn’t stopped now. Some of them just weren’t as well put together as others—you could really see it in their faces—and sometimes it was just plain fun to point and laugh at how weird they could be.
“Man, these guys are stacked,” he laughed at the Alice in Wonderland statues, as the Queen of Hearts and her nearby subjects were actual towering playing cards with human heads at the top, and spindly arms coming from their sides.
“Hey, J,” Jax called back to him with his own humorous air, “Look, they’ve got a cut-out of you, man.”
Johnny whipped his head around to see where he was pointing only to find Jax was referring to a painted wooden sign of a clown holding an arrow that read ‘circus’. He gaped in shock, but was quickly overtaken by his own laughter, “Hold up, take my picture with him,” he caught up and posed next to the sign so its arrow was pointing directly at him, and Jax happily snapped a shot.
The end of the road was marked by the start of the park’s dry ride area. They were mostly carnival-type attractions, including a ferris wheel, bumper cars, round up, and the obligatory carousel amongst other things. The girls stood in overwhelmed awe at what to do, until Cassie noticed a particular ride and went up to Johnny.
“Dad, can we go on the tilt-a-whirl?” she asked, bursting with excitement.
“Sure, but let’s go find your mom and aunt Vera first, then we can head right back over here, okay?”
“Alright,” she said, slightly disappointed they couldn’t go now, but still practically jumping with each step.
Raiden then interjected, “Shall I check in with Sonya Blade?” he offered, already reaching out to her mind to ask where she and Vera were.
“You might as well, no point in wandering around looking for ‘em if we don’t have to.”
Raiden nodded, and not a second later he picked her out from the vast amount of people in the park.
Sonya Blade, have you and Vera Briggs procured a location yet? he silently vocalized to her.
Oh god, he heard her jump in surprise, Uh, yeah… can you even hear me?
Yes, crystal clear.
Okay… man this is weird, I feel like I have to say everything out loud in order for it to come out right, she grumbled, catching herself from actually doing so, Anyway, the first spot was way too crowded, so we pivoted over to the wave pool.
Raiden raised a brow, …The ‘wave’ pool?
Just tell Jax, he’ll know where it is.
…Very well, he said, and ended their connection before relaying the news to the others.
“That’s not too much farther from where we were originally headed,” Jax explained, though it did mean they’d almost have to loop back the way they came to get there.
Cassie whined, “Can’t we at least go on one of the rides first?” she asked, dissatisfied with the idea of having to walk all that way just to double back around, and Jacqui joined in her plea.
“My brother and I could stay here with them,” Fujin readily offered before their fathers could respond, much to the girls’ relief.
Jax and Johnny looked to each other, then shrugged. “Sure, that works too,” Johnny said, “but don’t go giving your G-pas too much trouble while we’re gone dropping off the rest of our stuff, y’hear?” he teased, and Cassie replied with a saluted promise not to.
He tousled her hair before hurrying off with Jax, leaving Raiden and Fujin to supervise, and to avoid any issues, Raiden told Sonya of their plans well ahead of their arrival.
“So, where to first, dears?” he smiled, and they both led him and Fujin to the previously mentioned tilt-a-whirl. Thankfully, due to the assortment of rides being of the carnival variety, the lines were very short compared to more roller coaster-centric amusement parks. No two-hour lines through a linear maze of rope barriers to be found here, just simply walk up and wait for the ride operator to wave you in. Even the rides with more egregious queues didn’t stretch on for more than 20 to 30 people at most, the worst wait looking to be the one for bumper cars given that a single session of that typically went on longer than everything else.
As expected, they only needed to wait until the current run was finished to get on, and the line was so short that some of its previous riders were actually able to get right back on for another round with them. The girls took a godly companion each and quickly got settled into a pair of seats (as a single pod wasn't big enough to comfortably fit all four of them) and after the ride operator checked that all the lap bars were down, the ride soon began to move.
It started slow, crawling over artificial hills before dipping back down, causing the pods to spin around their anchor point. As the ride itself picked up speed, the rate at which the pods passively spun increased as well, and even faster still when compounded by riders encouraging them to spin at opportune moments with their weight.
Raiden and Fujin were both mindful of how they influenced their seats to spin so that the force pressed the girls to their hips rather than the other way round. Jacqui and Cassie both laughed and shouted in giddy elation, holding onto the lap bar to keep from being totally held back in their seats by centrifugal force.
The ride went on for several spiraling minutes until it eventually slowed and halted, and they waited a brief moment for the pods to settle before getting out. They decided to try the other rides despite the line still being short enough for them to stay on, and powered through remnant dizziness as they made their way elsewhere (though Fujin was seemingly unaffected).
Cassie urged Fujin to go on the round up with her—given he wasn’t prone to dizziness and she enjoyed the thrill—although Raiden and Jacqui opted out in favor of the carousel while they waited. She picked a horse that vaguely resembled one that they had on her family’s farm, and Raiden stood beside her holding onto the pole as other guests riding with a child were (and also because he was too tall to ride one himself).
The lines and ride times worked out well enough that both groups finished around the same time, and after that Raiden and Fujin were left to simply spectate any other rides the girls wanted to go on since they were both either too tall, or the ride itself was meant for a younger demographic. They sat on a nearby bench watching Jacqui and Cassie fly around in a helicopter ride—essentially another carousel, but the seats looked like simple helicopters each attached to a hydraulic arm connected to the rides epicenter. The riders could pull the lap bar closer to themselves to make their helicopter rise up some ten feet in the air as they briskly swung around, and the girls were doing just such in the seat they shared.
“You know, Fujin, I can watch the girls myself if you’d wish to go enjoy some of the park’s other rides yourself in the meantime,” Raiden offered.
His brother shook his head, “No, you play babysitter enough as is, if anything you should be the one to go off and relax a little.”
“I’m unable to fit on most of these rides anyway, I might as well be the one to chaperone,” he insisted.
Fujin huffed, “But that’s not fair to you—come on, you’ve been Earthrealm’s guardian for however long now and you hardly ever give yourself a break. We're on vacation, go live a little.”
Raiden wanted to continue, but could see it well enough in his face that Fujin was adamant on taking some responsibility off of his shoulders for a while. He sighed, “Are you certain you’ll be alright watching them?”
“I think I can handle a pair of eight-year-olds by myself,” Fujin chuckled, “Johnny and Jax should be back soon anyhow.” His eyes then moved elsewhere and he added, “Maybe I’ll see if the girls want to go try the bumper cars since the line looks pretty short right now.”
“Alright… though I haven’t a clue what I’m to do by myself…”
“Just go float on the lazy river or something, there’s one over that bridge where we were all originally going to go set up, see?” he pointed across the way, and Raiden could just barely see a snaking pool with an artificial flow lazily carrying around people on bright blue inner tubes.
“Hm, maybe I shall, but do remember to keep your eyes out for the others while I’m gone, okay?”
You know I always do, Fujin projected, tapping his temple.
By now the girls had finished their ride and ran over to them. They agreed to waiting in line for bumper cars while Raiden went off on his own, deciding they’d probably all go off looking for him once they were finished and Jax and Johnny were back. He walked a short ways and crossed the large, covered wooden bridge that passed over part of the lazy river Fujin had pointed out. Not much further were two breaks in the rope fence around the river where the ground slanted and the water pooled up onto the concrete; the entrance and the exit. Between them was a sizable stack of single and two-person inner tubes, and seeing that some people used one of the double tubes for just themselves, he grabbed one and got in, neatly leaving his flip-flops off to the side where others had done the same.
He floated slowly with an arm resting under his head and the other dipped into the water, and went around using the peaceful ride as an opportunity to meditate. The flow took him around to the ‘saw mill’ Sonya had mentioned earlier, it was a shallow pool with a tall structure of small water slides of various lengths stylized to look like a saw mill. It also had a giant bucket shaped like a hollowed out log that slowly filled with water at the top, and once it was full it would tip over and empty out, raining a deluge of water down the roof.
As he rounded behind the structure, he found the main source of the river’s flow; a small wave pool churning out wave after wave. Some riders were purposefully idling there, gliding up and down with the waves’ cycles, though Raiden went on behind the saw mill and around the other side. He continued on for a while, floating under bridges and past decorative statues, eventually getting to that one point all lazy rivers inevitably had where one of the statues sprayed a thin stream of water down into the pool on top of most that passed by, and not long after was back near the entrance/exit. Though given that there were still a lot of inner tubes stacked up for others to use, he stayed on for a few more laps around.
The gentle flow and his own silent meditation made a powerful concoction for dozing off. He fell into its lull, and was lying just so that the lifeguards stationed around the river’s edges didn’t pay him much mind, especially with the brim of his hat shielding his eyes. A foggy haze filled his mind, growing deep and syrupy in its pull. Then it gained a palpable familiarity, and reached out to him.
Your brother’s right, you know, you really should relax more, darling.
He opened his eyes, and looked to the source of the silent ‘voice’ now floating along the river with him. Clouds rolled upon the water’s surface, drifting like sea foam or sprays of bubble bath suds, and flood lights shined up from below, illuminating his figure, as the sun had been replaced by a tapestry of pin-point starlight shining dimly overhead.
I know he is, my dear Dreaming Star, Raiden silently vocalized, unsure if what he was seeing was reality, or merely an illusion projected like a vision by the other god before him. Are you truly here? Or have I found myself accidentally visiting your Realm once more?
The Dream God smiled, stirring his drink in hand with its straw. He had conjured for himself an additional pair of arms, glossy and velvet black twinkling with stars, Maybe I am here, maybe I’m not, he signed with them, winking behind a pair of dark, round lenses set in thick white frames. The stars in his eyes glittered with playful radiance.
Raiden quickly brought up his hand and managed to splash him, catching his legs and side. The other god recoiled mildly before laughing, but despite the telltale rise and fall of his shoulders and chest, he produced no noise. With that small bit of shock on the Dream God’s part, Raiden saw the edges of his vision waver, and from their distortion could see past the dream and into the sunny park that remained just beyond it.
I will take that as you having accompanied me, rather than I drifting to you, Raiden confirmed.
He splashed Raiden back with his foot, Yes, yes, I merely tease, my love, I have joined you here in Earthrealm. I can’t let you have all the fun to yourself, no? he smirked, wicking water away from the flowing, open shirt he had on—dark with subtle swirling patterns and an asymmetrical design of scattered white cherry blossom branches in bloom. His chest and stomach were left bare, displaying a soft dusting of dark hair matching the flowing black locks falling freely around him. Though the hair on his head was disrupted by prominent stripes of stark white, most notably at the very top where it wisped up and back into the air above him, trailing stars along anytime he moved.
Ah, but to have you here is a joy all its own, my darling Yumehoshi, Raiden hummed. He then paddled closer, and Yumehoshi laced one of his false hands through a handle on Raiden’s inner tube, holding it flush to the side of the more luxurious one he sat upright upon.
As is time spent with you, Yumehoshi smiled with his starry eyes and leaned in close—far enough that anyone else would have capsized and fallen into the water—and pressed a soft kiss to Raiden’s lips.
Raiden accepted it adoringly, craning his neck up into the full lips against his, and cradled Yumehoshi’s face with his free hand. They parted a moment later, leaving only a hair’s breadth of space between them as they settled into simply staring lovingly at the other for a short time—savoring the delight they found in each other’s company. Yumehoshi’s sunglasses had found their way up to the top of his head, having been displaced without movement nor reason as dreams were often one to do, giving Raiden an ample view. His hand roamed over exposed areas of rich, deep brown skin slightly darker than his own, and he sighed contentedly as one of Yumehoshi’s true hands began doing the same to him.
I like these, Yumehoshi signed, brilliant stars trailing down to where he was tracing the darkened marks decorating Raiden’s torso. His thumb was smoothing over the inner swirls of a cloud along his chest, before loosely following the jagged lightning bolts below.
The tattoos or my chest? Raiden teased.
Yumehoshi smirked, Both.
Raiden chuckled, running his knuckles along his dearest dream’s jaw before lightly brushing that hand through his hair. His eyes trailed upward from the stars gazing tenderly over his form to the ones shining overhead.
So, what is this illusion you have around us? A pocket of dream perhaps? he asked, feeling the hand that had been slowly running down his stomach with candid intimacy finally lift away.
Something like that, Yumehoshi righted his posture to better sign, though it was not entirely necessary, as the motion of his hands—dreamt up or otherwise—could be passed along telepathically just as any standard thought. It’s a daydream, one powerful enough to obscure our meeting from view. Any onlooker would simply see you floating along as you have been for the past half hour or so, he explained, then quickly added, In fact, you needn’t speak to me over telepathy, dear. I’m the very last person who would ever wish to make you look foolish—talking to yourself while lounging about—and this dream will hide your voice just as well.
Raiden shifted his weight into an almost sultry pose, “You can just say you like hearing my voice, darling,” he rumbled like distant thunder.
Yumehoshi silently chuckled, That too.
Raiden looked back up into the sky in thought, “You say this dream hides us from view, are you intending on hiding yourself away today entirely as well?” he asked, already knowing the answer but hoping against all odds that he was wrong.
I’m afraid so… he mirrored Raiden’s disappointment, similarly gazing upward. He mapped the patterns of the cosmos, finding meaning in their motion, The stars ordain it, I am still yet to make myself known. Too much risk remains upon the horizon, though its end draws ever near.
Raiden merely sighed. They’d had this conversation so many times before while filling in the gaps in each other’s clairvoyance, and instead of acknowledging what he already knew, he took the opportunity to air his grievances. “You deserve to meet them. I want you to meet them,” he said gloomily in reference to his champions and their families. “I don’t enjoy keeping you a secret, dearest…”
Yumehoshi leaned over him again, Fujin knows me. Bo Rai Cho and the White Lotus know me, he consoled, taking hold of Raiden’s hand before leading it up to his face to press fluttering kisses along his knuckles. The others will know me too in time, his eyes moved to a patch of sky; a static point of stars that had been there as long as he could remember, always showing him the same fuzzy outcome, and only informed by the cosmic dust coalescing around it. It had grown far clearer in recent decades, with the defeat of Shao Kahn and then shortly later Shinnok’s reimprisonment within his own amulet, and he could now just make out what was soon to come. He saw, like a poorly recalled dream where only the broader details allowed themselves to be retained, impossible adversities overcome one after the other. They included many faces, some familiar, though several yet unknown or notably aged. Regardless, he saw himself among them, sharing in their triumph against yet another world-ending disaster. Only this time it seemed truly conclusive, as if a tranquil peace could finally fall upon all the Realms.
The finer details are still unclear, but they will know me within their lifetimes, that I can assure you.
That brought Raiden some comfort, though he still asked, “Have you any idea when exactly that may be?”
Yumehoshi scratched his chin and squinted up at the stars, A decade maybe? Or at worst no more than two, he shrugged. Then he noticed something behind Raiden, and smiled before signing, Ah, but it seems I should be getting on my way now, you have a little friend here to see you, he peaked past the dream, Shall we meet again sometime later this night, my dear Raiden? In my Realm of Dreams proper, perhaps?
Raiden grinned, “I would love nothing more,” he said before they wished each other sweet love in parting along with another kiss, and his mind regained the cloudy haze that first overtook him. The stillness of his shared daydream was quickly interrupted by the general noise of the park around him, and he blinked his eyes open at one particular voice.
“Hi, Grandpa!” Cassie shouted a short ways behind him down the river, “Dad, I found him!” she yelled further back and swam ahead. She was floating through the hole of a single-person inner tube, holding onto the handles as she approached.
“Hello, Cassandra,” Raiden yawned once she was close enough. He looked up, squinting in the harsh sunlight. The sun was not too far displaced from when he first got on the river, and the sky itself was still relatively void of clouds.
Johnny trailed behind her, floating on top of a tube and simply opting to pull himself along with the side of the lazy river’s walls. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, I thought you were supposed to be up near the entrance,” he teased, seeing Raiden still rubbing the brief nap from his eyes.
Raiden shook his head and laughed, “It would seem I dozed off while meditating.”
“We’re gonna go on the big water slides, do you wanna come with us?” Cassie asked, bursting with excitement.
“And we’re gonna get lunch after,” Johnny added.
“What of the others?” Raiden asked.
“Your baby bro’s waiting where you get on or off the river in case we missed you while looking, and Jax and Jacqui went to meet up with Sons and V,” Johnny listed off.
Raiden shifted in order to stretch without falling into the water, “Very well, I’ll gladly accompany you three,” he said, content with the time he had spent floating about.
They made their way around to the exit to meet up with Fujin, where Raiden retrieved his flip-flops for the time being until they got to other rides. Cassie took his hand as they walked, and he inevitably just picked her up since it was easier than bending down for long periods.
They went on to enjoy the day, sauntering between rides before reconvening with everyone. They were positively drenched when they headed back to the wave pool to towel off before getting lunch at some of the nearby food stands. Raiden abstained from eating (though the girls both offered him some of their cheese fries), and he took to sky gazing in one of the lounge chairs Sonya and Vera had claimed earlier. A few extra clouds had filled the sky now, nowhere enough to warrant concern of rain, but he was fairly certain their arrival was due to his and Fujin’s presence drawing them in. A particular cloud shimmered on its side closest to the sun, and he spied a faint star hiding right where its silver lining was especially brilliant.
He smiled to himself, and heard Sonya ask the girls if they wanted to go check out the outdoor circus the park had once they were done eating.
It was still a shame Yumehoshi could not properly join them, but he figured he could have fun enough for them both until the day finally came when he could discover the joy Raiden had already found in time spent with his dear friends and champions.