Another long wait, another battle between souls.


16th century Earthrealm.

Stampeding her way through the forest Mileena closed in on the injured warrior who defeated her ally. Mileena and Baraka respected each other's skill and abilities, but they never got along in fact they hated each other. Baraka consider the half Tarkatan clone to be a monstrosity and insult to his people while Mileena would always point out Barak's tendency to place his pride over his loyalty to their emperor and master Shao Khan.

Baraka was defeated and killed by a mysterious warrior who had unnatural flexibility and an unpredictable fighting style with no tells or hints at how he was going to move making him a deadly foe to any seasoned warrior. Normally Mileena would be cautious of such an unusual enemy, but to her joy Baraka managed to gravely injure his opponent before dying leaving him weakened enough for Mileena to finish off and the scent of the mysterious warrior's blood was like ecstasy to the half Tarkatan clone.

Unbeknownst to Mileena however she was being followed by another even more dangerous enemy. An enemy that stealthily jumped from one tree branch to the next giggling with each jump as she continued to stalk the unsuspecting prey. The hidden enemy suddenly stopped however when the prey below began laughing.

Mileena began laughing triumphantly the scent of blood becoming stronger as she entered a large clearing in the forest and found the strange warrior that defeated Baraka. The warrior was stumbling as it continued to retreat swaying and dropping to the side barely able to catch its footing before falling. Large amounts of blood becoming a trail behind it as it stumbled into a tree and slid down to its knees as its pursuer began laughing at it.

"Did you really think to escape me?" Mileena taunted as she approached her target, "You are indeed strong to defeat Baraka and I commend you. Of course my duty to my emperor demands I eliminate any threat to my mission so with that I will give you a final dance".

Mileena raised her long, toned leg up in a circular motion ready to bring it down on her weakened foe, but stopped and jumped back as a flock of crows appeared and began attacking her all of them flapping and pecking furiously. Mileena swore as she waved her arms trying to defend against the violent birds as they swarmed around her and through their flapping black wings and evil red eyes she could see the weakened warrior retreat into the woods again.

Again Mileena swore with a snarl and finally kneeled down and ran out of the crowded flock to once again chase her target, but she was stopped when someone else jumped down in front of her.

A really young looking, short girl standing just over five feet pale skin, dark brown lopsided pigtails and purple eyes. A stripped red rather revealing outfit topped by a thick golden band around her neck accompanied by a white feathered collar. What caught Mileena's eye most though was the weapon the girl was carrying over her shoulder a large bladed ring easily big enough to fit around both of them an unusual weapon, but Baraka's death had taught her to be cautious around the unusual.

"I have no time for you child" Mileena snarled, "Get out of my way".

The girl laughed began giggling in a really amused, child-like manner, "You're funny I can't wait to see you in pieces".

Tira that was the girl's name where she came from exactly no one knows, but at some point in her early life she was raised in a secretive organization called the Bird of Passage. An assassin organization established in the year 1300 and operating under a strict code of silence this group was responsible for the murders of many prestigious figures. From a young age she had been taught to kill and due to her upbringing she felt no remorse of conflicting emotions over the lives she took being so inured to the killings that the stimulation it provided became an addiction. That addiction is what led to her becoming such an amazing killer, by the time she was nine years old she was already considered a top ranked assassin feared even by the people who raised and trained her.

Mother Bird, probably the only person Tira ever felt any emotion toward the woman who trained her. When Tira became older she was forced to fight and kill Mother Bird as a rite of passage and her death was to be followed by what was referred to as a Sky Burial, the scarring and disfiguration of a body the signature of the assassin organization. Killing Mother Bird wasn't going to be an issue or at least that's what she thought. The murder of what was basically her mother figure set off the first emotions she had felt since she was first kidnapped and forced into the organization the trauma scarring her and causing her to develop two personalities.

Her mental issues proved to be a hindrance for many of the missions she was sent on as she became unpredictable causing many accidents in the field that led to the deaths or serious injury of fellow members. Her skills however made her too valuable to be simply discarded regardless of the amount of scorn many of the other members had toward her. However one day her freedom did come, her group's leader's mind was burned and dissolved when the Evil Seed pervaded through the sky causing the chain of command to fall into chaos and allowing Tira to leave without being hunted. Eventually she came into the care of an adoptive family who presented her with her current name and as she struggled to adapt to what would be a normal life she found it impossible. One day her adoptive parents scolded her for releasing the youngest daughter's pet bird and in a blind rage Tira murdered her entire family discovering in the process that she simply could not live without the primal satisfaction of inflicting pain and death upon others.

Since then she has roamed and heartlessly killed whoever she crossed paths with until she heard about Nightmare and Soul Edge. Believing she had finally found someone just like her she became ecstatic and vowed to serve the cursed sword's every whim. With that new purpose in her life Tira eagerly sought out souls for Soul Edge to devour and in the process sated her desire to inflict pain and death on others.

Even though she was young many fallen warriors would caution anyone to not underestimate her as her constantly changing personality and unusual fighting style made her a dangerous threat, that's what they would say…if any of them survived.

Mileena reached down to her thighs and drew out her weapons of choice a pair of sais, "Last chance child" she warned, "Get out of my way or I'll make you my first victim".

Again Tira began laughing bringing Mileena's rage to a quick apex and the half Tarkatan clone suddenly vanished appearing again above Tira and swiftly flying down toward her with an extended leg kicking the laughing girl in the head. Stumbling back Tira backed into a tree and began gasping almost as if she was crying.

"I gave you a chance to run" Mileena growled, "Crying will not save you now".

Still gasping Tira slowly looked up to her, "How sad" she said in an angry, raspy voice, "You've come all this way just to die".

Pushing off the tree Tira quickly sprinted toward Mileena swinging her large bladed ring out attempting to slash at her opponent. Mileena merely smirked under her veil as she evaded the attack and retaliated with a spinning kick to the gut, but her leg was caught within her enemy's ring leaving her open for Tira to strike back. Raising her ring up and twisting it Tira forced Mileena off balance causing her to fall and quickly bringing the ring back down as Mileena rolled away. Dodging what could have been a fatal blow Mileena did not escape unharmed as the ring's blade slashed across her back leaving a long cut across her fair skin.

Mileena snarled and quickly got back to her feet making a short sprint back toward Tira and ducking down as the bladed ring was raised. Tucking her body into a ball Mileena began rolling toward her opponent hitting her in the legs knocking her off her feet and then jumping on top of her. Pinning the girl to the ground Mileena grabbed her enemy's shoulders and reared back her head ready to bite the trapped girl. A glint from the corner of her eye set off her instinct and Mileena jumped off and back half a second before Tira swung her ring up to attack her.

Back on her feet Tira placed her ring over her body and glared at her snarling enemy, "I'm going to keep you company, until your destroyed".

"Enough" Mileena roared charging toward her opponent Sais tightly held in her hands.

Her arm curved and snapped forward again throwing her sai quickly followed by its twin the two weapons glowing with a purple energy as they flew through the air. Raising her ring Tira spun it around her wrist deflecting the dual weapons and then taunting her opponent.

"Is that the best you can do? How boring".

With the otherworldly magic used in her creation Mileena summoned her sais back to her and once again vanished from sight appearing instantly above Tira and landing a heavy kick into her chest before she could defend. The force of the kick sent Tira stumbling back leaving her open for Mileena's follow up attack. After kicking her Mileena quickly chased after her stumbling opponent closing the gap while her opponent's guard was down landing two quick straight palm strikes into Tira's throat stunning her and then dropping down to sweep her legs. As Tira fell Mileena continued her spinning momentum and landed a hooked kick on Tira's chest as she fell knocking her back. Falling on her back Tira growled and rolled away avoiding the pointed heel of her enemies foot coming down on her getting back up she grabbed her ring weapon and made a long slash forcing Mileena to back away.

As her opponent jumped back Tira dropped her ring to the ground and vaulted forward her legs extended. Locking her legs around Mileena's neck Tira twisted her body into a corkscrew motion causing Mileena's body to twist with her and be thrown to the side. Landing on top of her downed opponent Tira lifted her ring and once again planted it into the ground behind Mileena's head and diving through the ring using her flexibility to spin and slam her knees on her opponent's chest before jumping off. Rolling onto her side Mileena clenched at her chest coughing as she got up to her knees and glared at the girl in front of her who had begun smiling again.

Irritation turned to a furious rage as Tira's smile continued to mock the half tarkatan. Quickly drawing one of her sais and throwing it as a distraction Mileena rushed in behind it pivoting on her heel and throwing a high kick aimed at Tira's head. Tira raised her ring again deflecting he thrown weapon stopping her weapon in mid spin and bringing it down to capture Mileena's leg twisting it and throwing her to the ground once again.

"You're fun to play with" Tira cheered as Mileena landed on her back and rolled away scrambling back to her feet.

Mileena's face became red as her anger boiled from her opponent's taunts the arrogance of the child before her made her furious. Her enemy's fighting style was definitely exotic completely unlike anything she had seen before, but such a large weapon would take time to maneuver and that was Mileena's advantage. Her flexibility was the key to winning this fight although her preferred fighting style gave her a very short range of attack as long as she allowed this girl to make the first move she could easily counter.

"What's wrong?" Tira asked dropping her head to the side, "Do you not want to play anymore?" she kicked her ring and raised it high over her head before letting it fall lopsided onto her shoulder, "Alright then I'll just kill you now".

Running forward with the ring held over her shoulder Tira ducked down spinning her weapon over her head as she crouched. There was Mileena's opening once Tira crouched down and spun Mileena dropped as well holding her leg out sweeping at her opponent's legs. Her legs taken out from under her Tira fell on her rear and her weapon fell harmlessly to the ground next to her. Following up her counter Mileena stood up in mid swing raising her leg high and bringing her heel down on Tira's chest knocking the wind out of her. Shifting her weight Mileena stood on the foot she planted on Tira's chest and pivoted drilling the heel of her boot into the girl's gut as she spun and brought her other heel down on Tira's shoulder. A yell of pain escaped Tira's mouth as Mileena's heel dropped onto her shoulder before she stepped off her weight forcing the heel further into Tira's shoulder. Tira rolled onto her side clenching at her shoulder after Mileena stepped off her gasping in pain as she curled up in a fetal position.

"What's wrong little girl?" Mileena mocked, "No more fun remarks? No more taunts?" she kicked Tira in the back as she curled up even more, "Yes that's right cry like the child you are".

Rearing her leg back ready to kick her cowering opponent again Mileena's concealed mouth twisted into an evil smile that quickly vanished as Tira rolled over and grabbed her leg before it struck her. Grappling Mileena's leg Tira pushed her knee to the side causing Mileena to fall quickly pushing away from her Tira rolled back to her feet claiming her weapon. Not giving Mileena any time to fight back Tira swung her weapon in a full circle motion bringing it down on the spot where Mileena laid the blade slicing through the clothes on her back leaving a long cut as the half tarkatan just barely managed to avoid a much worse injury.

Quickly rising to her knees Mileena threw another sai at Tira tucking her body into a ball Mileena rolled forward as Tira deflected the sai. Pivoting her foot into a spin Tira managed to avoid Mileena's rolling attack and spun her ring behind her back hooking it around Mileena's neck as she stood up. Setting her foot in the center of Mileena's back Tira turned around and pulled her ring forward at the same time pushing her foot harder against her opponent's back violently flinging her over her head slamming her into the ground.

"You deserve the most painful death imaginable".

Swinging her weapon around to continue her attack Tira spun the weapon around her wrist and swung her arm down. Mileena raised her arms through reflex to block the weapon being swung at her the blade slicing her arms, but protecting her neck. Recoiling from the pain of her arms being cut Mileena turned onto her side and stabbed her sai into Tira's calf quickly pulling the weapon out and rolling back stabbing the other leg as the first buckled. As Tira's legs buckled from the pain and Mileena took advantage swinging her weapon upward the tip of the sai slicing across Tira's cheek. Sliding away from the insane child Mileena returned to her feet stepped forward and kicked the back of Tira's leg dropping her to one knee the joint closing around Mileena's shin. With her shin trapped under Tira's buckled leg Mileena whipped around slamming her other leg across the girl's chest causing her to fall back.

Pulling her leg free Mileena dropped down on top of Tira sai in hand and drove it into her arm. Tira screamed as the weapon was stabbed into her arm, but Mileena covered her mouth muffling her cries of pain as she pulled the sai from her arm and held the tip against her neck. Raising her arm preparing to finish her opponent off Mileena paused when she noticed the change of expression in the girl's eyes what was just pain and fear was now fury. The pause in Mileena's attack allowed Tira to escape, pushing away the hand covering her mouth Tira turned onto her side and swiped at Mileena's face the claws on her gloves tearing into her enemy's flesh and ripping off the veil covering her mouth.

One of the claws catching Mileena close to her eyes caused her to recoil and withdraw allowing Tira to free herself. Quickly reclaiming her weapon Tira crouched on one knee putting all her strength into her leg before lunging forward swinging the bladed ring striking her enemy in the back following up with a kick to her knee before turning back around landing a second diagonal strike across Mileena's back. Placing the ring around her body Tira waved her hips in a circle causing the ring to spin around striking Mileena several more times. Mileena was knocked to the ground falling on her side and Tira finally laid eyes on the hideous mouth that used to be hidden.

Snarling Mileena vanished appearing above Tira who quickly guarded herself from the flying kick. The first move failed, but Mileena quickly dropped down and kicked at Tira's leg hitting the same spot she stabbed her sai earlier. As Tira buckled Mileena landed a trio of strikes on her neck stunning her and then jumping onto her chest her heels planted against Tira's hips and her hands violently gripping her shoulders. Rearing her head back Mileena snarled as she opened her mouth lunging forward again and tearing into Tira's neck. With the first bite Mileena's teeth sank deep into Tira's neck drawing a pool of blood as she reared back for a second bite, but Tira turned to the side and dropped down slamming Mileena's back into the ground forcing her to release her hold on Tira.

"What are we going to do?" a cheery voice asked in her head.

A growling aggravated answered, "Isn't it obvious? We kill her before she kills us so stop cowering or we'll die".

Covering the wound on her neck Tira reclaimed her ring weapon and began running, but the cramping pain in her calf muscles caused her to fall. Her legs had all, but given out she struggled just to stand now. Hearing her enemy snarl Tira turned around with just barely enough time to dodge as another sai was thrown at her the first missing her head while the second found its intended target impaling itself into her upper leg. Mileena hummed seductively as she stared at her injured foe before she erupted into a triumphant laugh. Tira stood frozen as Mileena suddenly broke into a run charging toward her bearing her teeth that were still dripping with her enemy's blood.

"No if we die here then he'll be left all alone"

"We won't die, not here not to someone like her"

"Then what are we going to do?"

"Heh just leave it to me".

After closing in on Tira, Mileena leapt toward her weakened opponent ready to finish her off, but Tira in a last desperate attack swung her ring upward intercepting the blood thirsty monster in mid air knocking her back. Pulling the sai from her leg Tira used her good leg to jump forward tackling Mileena to the ground and stabbing the sai into her arm pinning it to the ground so she couldn't fight back.

"Now you die" Tira growled as she cradled Mileena's head leaning over her.

A primal sense of fear suddenly overcame Mileena and she began struggling. An animalistic instinct told her death was near sending the half tarkatan clone into a desperate frenzy, but with her own sai impaled in her arm pinning it to the ground and her opponent sitting on top of her she couldn't move.

Tira's lips met Mileena's blood covered fangs and the monstrous woman's limbs began flailing around as her very soul was sucked out of her.

Standing up Tira wiped the blood off of her lips and panted, "Hmph...You don't interest me".

Picking her weapon up again Tira walked away using the large ring as a crutch before falling to her knees and crawling toward a nearby tree.

"We're not going to die are we?"

"No we'll survive we…just need rest"

A crow flew down to the injured warrior and landed on her outstretched leg looking up to her with its crimson eyes. Slowly reaching out her hand Tira gently ran the knuckle of her index finger across the bird's hand petting it before exhaling an exhausted breath and closing her eyes.


And there it is part 7 done. Mileena and Tira duke it out to a bloody finish, but Tira emerges victorious. Tira's childish side manages to irritate Mileena enough for her to gain an early edge, but the monster clone of Kitana soon makes a comeback scoring several devastating hits, but Tira's ever changing personality and fighting style proves to be too much for her. Mileena's bloodlust ultimately proves to be her undoing as she recklessly rushes her opponent leaving herself open to a fatal final attack. The winner is Tira.

I'm still open to suggestions and recommendations for the next battle.