Chapter Text
Silence falls over the three once Liu leaves, before being broken by Stiles, "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"When were you gonna tell me—?"
"I wasn't," Sheriff Stilinski cuts Stiles off. "I didn't even tell your mother."
"Wh– Why not?" He glares at his father.
"She didn't have to know, and you didn't either. It was the past. It was gone. I thought it was gone." Sheriff Stilinski sighs and sits back down at the kitchen table, pinching the bridge of his nose and clenching his eyes closed as if he was trying to wake up and believe it was all just a bad dream. "I never told her any of it. I lied to her about my past because I didn't want to have to explain... that, I'd just sound crazy." The room falls back into silence.
A thought occurs to Scott, and he looks to the Sheriff, "So, you knew about the supernatural before any of us?"
"I mean... yeah, in a way? I didn't know a damn thing about werewolves or werecoyotes or hellhounds or whatever, no. But I knew that there were things out there that couldn't be explained rationally."
Stiles replies, "Like realms?" His father nods in response. "What else?"
"I beat this big guy with 4 arms. That's not something you can explain rationally," Stilinski answers.
"Wh– 4 arms???"
"Yes, 4 arms. 4 of 'em. He was called Goro and he was this prince and champion of all those other tournaments. Undefeated. Not to blow smoke up my own ass but, you know, your old man can fight," he grins, rather smugly.
"Did you do that split punch on him?" Stiles jokes, and Scott snorts.
Stilinski's face goes red and he sighs. "Yeah."
"What?!" The two boys cackle.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he scoffs in response. "But hey, I won that tournament. Well, we did; me, Liu, Kitana, Sonya." He sighs softly.
Stiles mumbles, "What is it with this Sonya? What, was she your ex-girlfriend?"
"Yeah, she was," the Sheriff replies, slightly frustrated. "I haven't seen her in a long time."
"Ah. Yikes. Hey, Liu says you'll see her again eventually...?" Stiles replies awkwardly. "Anyway, why won't you help Liu now?"
"I already told him, I'm not risking my life again. You lost your mom, I don't want you to lose me too," he clenches his jaw.
Scott chimes in, "But it could save people."
"I don't even know what the issue is! He just showed up at my door for the first time since the '90s!" He snaps, then sighs and calms himself down. "I just... I'm past that. I'm not who I used to be. I can't fight like that anymore." He pauses and takes a breather, thinking to himself about his past as "Johnny Cage", what he left behind and what he found after leaving; his dear Claudia and Stiles. "Isn't it a school day for you both?"
Stiles and Scott look between each other nervously and shrug. "Go!" The Sheriff ushers them out of the house.
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The boys walk through the hallways of Beacon Hills High School, and Stiles practically bounces off of the walls. "Holy shit, my dad was an actor!" He yells, and Scott jabs his shoulder. "It's just— realms! Monsters!"
"We already knew about that last part, dude," Scott reminds him.
"Oh yeah."
Suddenly, the ground shakes and students panic, rushing in clusters out of the school building. Scott and Stilles rush out too, looking for their friends. Stiles finds Lydia first, clutching her tightly as they look up. A large figure wearing a helmet, the shape of a skull covering ths top half of his face, and wielding a large hammer stands before the students and townsfolk nearby. His voice booms, "You weak, pathetic souls! I, Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld, have come for your souls!"
The students and townsfolk cower down in fear as Shao Kahn's henchmen, which had been surrounding him, move forth intimidatingly, only for Stiles to hear the familiar voice of his father, "Get down!" Everyone crouches and bolts away as the police and what look like Special Forces open fire on Shao Kahn and his henchmen. The bullets hit a few but don't seem to kill anyone. Shao Kahn and his forces retreat into a portal, leaving the front of the school a bullet-riddled mess.
"Dad!" Stiles rushes to his dad with Scott and Lydia, and clutches onto him desperately.
"I know why Liu wanted me back in the game now," Stilinski mutters, patting his son's back. The two move away from each other and a stern-looking blonde approaches Stilinski, Stiles, and their friends. She stands before them, glaringly unimpressed with the two Stilinski. "Sonya," Sheriff Stilinski smiles awkwardly, "this is my son, Stiles."
She nods. "Your son, huh? I thought he'd be less... scrawny."
"No need for snark, General," the Sheriff hits back.
"Good to know you haven't changed, Cage," Sonya scoffs.
"Hey, nobody's called me that in 20 odd years. And I've changed plenty," he huffs bitterly.