Chapter Text
Liu Kang would be lying if he said he never missed his old universe.
Now, that didn't mean he hated his new universe.
He adored his friends, he adored his universe, things he tried so hard to create. Sure, not everything worked out as he wanted. There were things he should have done better, things he should have changed. But that didn't mean he hated his universe.
He did hate a few things though.
Like how Kung Lao and Raiden would sit at the same table every day, laughing and eating and enjoying each others company. He never really sat with them. He never wanted to impose where he wasn't given permission to be. Even if he was the one who use to make Kung Lao have milk shoot out of his nose, or his mistake would make Raiden accidentally curse a storm before hesitantly turning around.
Or that this new Kitana would never be his Kitana. No matter how much he respected and praised her, his was gone. Timekeeper of another timeline. One he imagined, and yet could not see. It pained him sometimes when this Kitana was so nice to him, he never wanted to make her feel like she owed him something. She knew she didn't, but it dwelled on him at times.
Or how no matter how clear he tried to make to his friends that even though he was God, he never wanted to be treated as such. He never wanted the title anyways. He was their friend. Sure, he made the timeline, he did a lot of things. But his title and powers and the respect that came were something he wished they could fully see past.
He hated how he was alone for centuries.
He hated that his friends were gone.
And he hated how he felt replaced.
But he could never truly hate his new timeline.
He did hate regressing though.
He adored it, back when he was Earthrealm's Champion. He use to regress with Kung Lao, who made a great big brother or babysiter. It was mostly Lord Raiden that watched him. Kitana had just started learning how to help him when he was regressed too.
But now he was in his timeline, and he didn't have anyone to watch him. it wasn't until Geras came around that he had someone. And even Geras was too busy to fully watch him most times.
So he tried not to regress, because he hated it. He hated feeling alone and scared and vulnerable. And having no one there for him.
And no matter what, he wasn't going to make the others feel pressured into fitting into his old roles. That would be unfair to them, that wasn't what he wanted.
But it was unfair! It was so unfair! He had waited eons for his friends to return. He didn't want to be Lord Liu Kang. he wanted to train with Lord Raiden. Or skip classes with Kung Lao. Or go on that date with his Kitana.
But instead he got to watch all his old friends treat him like the God he was. Friendly, but still holding respect. Too much respect for his taste.
They knew nothing, he couldn't blame them. So much had changed from his old timeline. He did this, he changed everything.
But it still wasn't-
"Earth to Lord Liu Kaaaang," Johnny wave his hand in front of Liu Kang's face. "You there?"
"What?" Liu Kang looked confused, snapping back into reality. How long had he been deep in thought?
"You looked like you were dissociating," Kung Lao frowned.
"Do you want to speak about it, Lord Liu Kang?" Raiden asked.
He knew it was a bad idea to help them all with training this morning. He had been so close to slipping when he woke up. Feeling so fuzzy and small. He had to coax himself to be big so he could help his friends train.
"Ah, no, my apologize," Liu Kang forced a smile. "Is something the matter?"
The four men looked at each other, worried and concerned. Liu Kang tried not to feel small again, but he had been tipping since this morning. He could run to his room when he was done with this. Maybe he could even call Geras and he could watch him color or something.
". . . I can't land this move down," Kenshi decided to speak up. "It's like no matter what i do, my landing won't stick."
"Show me," Liu Kang said, walking over.
The other three backed away, letting Kenshi and Liu Kang have enough room. Kenshi tried sticking a hard kick, tripping slightly when he landed. He rolled, saving himself from face planting, and looked at Liu Kang for advice.
"Your trying to go too fast, you must get the technique before gaining speed," Liu Kang said. "And, you're not looking before kicking. It's destroying your balance and you can't see your target. Here, try it on me."
"I wanna say go!" Kung Lao shouted, putting his arm in the air.
Johnny whispered, "It's fight."
"Fight! . . . Also, I knew that."
"Yeah right, you wanted to say go, do you realize how stupid that sounds?" Johnny laughed, earning a harsh elbow from Kung Lao. "Ow! Hey!"
Raiden sighed, "Guys . . ."
So Kenshi tried his new move.
It took a few times, now looking before kicking. The block wasn't necessarily easy. Liu Kang had to create force so Kenshi could have a stirty thing to hit. And he had to move so Kenshi didn't run into him while his kick traveled.
But he did eventually land his kick correctly.
And he landed it hard.
Very, very hard.
And unfortunately, Liu Kang didn't block fast enough.
He fell, doing a spin similar to Kuai Liang when he fought Kung Lao at Madam Bo's.
He did the ground hard, groaning and holding his head.
He wasn't bleeding, luckily, but it hurt. Gods did it hurt.
"Lord Liu Kang!" Kenshi shouted, running to his side. "Can you sit up?"
Liu Kang wanted to nod, claiming he was fine and brush it off. But he couldn't, he just couldn't. His face ached, and his body hurt from falling. It wasn't Kenshi's fault, neccessarily.
But it was the final straw he needed to be small. And not in a nice way.
He began to cry- No, sob, holding his cheek.
Kenshi began to panic, gently putting a hand on Liu Kang's shoulder. In highsight, perhaps he should have asked, because it just made Liu Kang recoil and cry more, so he removed it. It helped Johnny and Tomas at times, but they weren't Liu Kang.
"Yo Kenshi! What did you do?" Johnny scoffed as him, Raiden, and Kung Lao ran over.
"I don't know!" Kenshi sighed. "I landed my kick and he started crying- Were you not watching?!"
Kung Lao and Johnny were in fact, not watching. They had almost started their own playful spar, messing around and teasing each other.
But Raiden had watched.
"Lord Liu Kang?" Raiden asked as the other three began to get in a fight.
"Lord Rai?" Liu Kang looked up from the ground.
Raiden looked confused, "Lord?"
"Dada!" Liu Kang gasped, making grabby hands for Raiden.
Liu Kang felt so small. Scared and hurt and achey.
Had he been in his old universe, Lord Raiden would have helped him up. Lord Raiden would have held him and shushed him as he cried. Then he'd offer to carry him to the medics, even if Liu Kang could walk. And then he'd get a band-aid and maybe even a kiss where ever he got hurt, if Liu Kang requested.
He knew that this wasn't his Raiden. His Lord Raiden was somewhere else. Anywhere, but not here.
Where was he? Where were his soft touches and attempted gentle words? Lord Raiden was never the best with kids, but always tried! He was always good!
He wanted Dada.
Why wasn't he here? He had been a good boy for so long.
"Who's Dada?" Raiden asked, gently grabbing Liu Kang's hands, Liu Kang held them tightly. "I can help you get Dada, but I need to know who he is, Liu."
Liu Kang watched many of his friends while they were regressed. But no one knew he regressed. It made sense now in hindsight. Had Raiden been God, he too would want a way to cope from all the stuff that came with it.
Liu Kang pointed to Raiden, "Dada."
"I'm Dada?" Raiden asked, looking confused. He wasn't Dada . . . Well, technically. It was the title he mostly used, perhaps Liu Kang was just trying to call for him in the only way his regressed mind knew.
Liu Kang nodded, choking slightly on his tears, "Dada!"
"Dada's here, Liu," Raiden whispered, letting Liu Kang tackle him with a hug. "Dada's here."