A/N: Decided to play with an AU idea and see what I could get from it.
The prospect of victory wasn't looking to be in their favor.
The Empress was losing fighters in droves.
The number of causalities from the past month alone outnumbered their losses from the first two years of the war. It was difficult to comprehend the numbers on paper, but the bodies that littered the battlefield, the firsthand experience of war made the numbers easy to prove.
Even with the naturally high population that had always given Tarkatans the advantage in war, their numbers were dwindling- and they were dwindling fast.
Every new battle against the Osh-Tekk was getting worse.
The hours were getting longer, the fighting more brutal, more intense each time.
It was getting bad enough that the stench from their recent battle had been strong enough to attract a few members of the Vampire clan out.
And that had been a horrific scene to walk in on.
Tanya still had the image burned into her memory; she knew that it was an image that she would take with her to her grave.
She had been groggy and still sore from the battle, but had walked out of her tent and gone to the field to assess the damages done regardless. She still needed to take a proper body count, and inform her orderlies if there was armor from the dead that could be refurbished and reassigned. The battlefield had been a massacre enough after the fighting was done, but it had been further desecrated by the remaining Tarkatan warriors who had then feasted on the still-warm Osh-Tekk corpses.
Tanya had been around their feeding grounds long enough that she had gotten used to it- but the scene could still make her stomach turn from time to time.
[No one could say that their armies were starving after all.]
Seeing Tarkatans eat was one thing.
But walking in on Vampires eating was another.
Tanya could still visualize the four sets of red eyes that looked up to greet her, surprised by her unwanted appearance. There had been four Vampires crouched over the same body, a different limb to each mouth as they drained what was left underneath the skin.
There had only been a few seconds of contact, of awkward stillness between them, before Tanya had turned away and headed back to their camp- wordlessly.
Elusive creatures they were.
But the rarity of a Vampire sighting, even in a place like Outworld, had made them out to be like harbingers.
And Tanya didn't like that she had been the one to stumble across them.
[Urban legend maybe, but one sighting of multiple Vampires couldn't be a good sign for anyone.]
She ended up staying in her tent until morning, waiting for the Empress to wake, before she followed the woman back to the battlefield under the security of guards.
It gave them something to use to gauge just how large the war was turning out to be- for everyone at that.
It was two factions going head-to-head over the throne.
Two different species fighting for the right to the crown.
And in their bloodlust wake, they were feeding the other inhabitants of Outworld- allowing them to make feast on the dead that laid in their path.
As of late, the Shinnok Amulet seemed to be the only thing giving them an advantage over Kotal Kahn; they had slaughtered more Osh-Tekk with it than they had with their Tarkatan army. But the extended use of the amulet was beginning to take a heavy toll on the Empress. The last time Mileena had used it, it took almost two weeks for the burns on her arm to heal- and that was even with the best of Tanya's healing medicine.
Despite its necessity in the war, the Empress was refusing to use it more and more.
In lack of better words, things were looking bleak for their survival.
It was a bitter thought, one that Tanya tried to deny more and more often, but she knew that they had a better chance at prospering in this war if they had the remains of the Edenian army on their side, fighting with them.
The Elders were reluctant to join however- if not outright opposed to doing so.
And Tanya couldn't blame them.
They weren't exactly happy with the idea of working with the daughter of the late Shao Kahn, destroyer of Edenia.
Tanya herself had even been somewhat ousted by the Elders because of her close work with the Empress.
[They had called her a traitor.]
It didn't help that the grievous injuries that Rain had suffered from at Kotal Kahn's hand had also been blamed on her as well- as though she had had any part in anything to do with that battle. But the Elders acted as though she had forced Rain to betray them with her, and that she had forced him out into a battle she knew that he would lose in.
All of that had been Reiko's fault, but the Elders never listened; they only wanted to hear what they believed.
Tanya had been the one to bring Rain to the Empress's aid, yes.
She had been the one who initially aligned herself with Mileena, yes- but Rain had joined the cause on his own will. As arrogant as the man was at times, he wasn't the innocent, perfect, Demi-God Edenian that the Elders all saw him as. False son of the Edenian General, Rain was a symbol to the Elders, and to the remaining Edenian people, those few who survived still; it was a label and a show forced upon him, but it wasn't like Rain would voluntarily step out of the spotlight. No, he enjoyed the attention- which was why he was playing nice with the Elders now, and remaining with them instead.
At the very least, he still maintained a good word with Tanya, and insisted that the Elders look beyond what they foresaw as betrayal.
It hurt, but Tanya worked to push the Elders' words and accusations aside, and tried to focus instead on the survival that laid ahead of them.
The Elders were just scared, and desperate to keep what little remained of them alive.
They thought that if they continued to live in solitude, in isolation, than that alone would keep them safe.
But Tanya wasn't blinded enough by fear to believe that.
She knew that being here, working alongside the Empress, would do more good than hiding in the burnt temples of their former Gods.
Besides, it went without saying that the Edenians had been safer as of late with the Empress's knowledge of them.
Kotal Kahn's men had once stumbled across an Edenian patrol on lookout, and had brought upon a fight with them. Of course, their Edenian fighters held them off and forced them to retreat- but the Osh-Tekk warriors promised to be back with more numbers to hunt them down.
And perhaps they would've hunted them down- either to kill, or to keep as trophies.
And the Osh-Tekk might have done so, had the Empress's Tarkatan warriors not hunted, killed, and eaten the raiding party before any of them could make it back to Kotal Kahn with the revealing information.
Mileena was far from being directly involved with the Edenians; she treated the situation as more of a purposeful blind eye to their existence.
Tanya was certain the Empress only offered the low-key protection to the Elders for her sake, knowing that it would further cement the working relationship between the two of them. If she wanted to succeed in this war, Mileena needed Tanya on her side- and the woman proved that she would go to great lengths to ensure that Tanya had no reason to leave.
She was grateful for the Empress's work, for Mileena's open consideration at a potential treaty between Outworld and the Edenians.
It was just another reason that Tanya was still here, still fighting alongside the woman.
She had always been one to stay on the winning side of things; her main priority had always been her own survival first.
[But for once in her life, it wasn't just herself that she was trying to keep alive.]
Tanya had been so engrossed in her work, looking over maps, different strategies, letters from other Generals, that she almost didn't hear the irritated huff somewhere behind her. She brushed it off, chastised herself for getting distracted, and tried once more to focus on the mess in front of her.
She was a decent strategist at best, but her strength lied in political suits- and political assassinations at that.
That wasn't to say that she couldn't hold her own on the battlefield, but she was certainly used to someone else doing her dirty work.
The sound of their tent being opened made her more angry than it did surprise her.
Everyone was informed that under no circumstances, unless absolutely dire, were they to be disturbed.
So why the hell was someone walking in here?!
She didn't hear the warning bells go off outside, so they weren't under chance of attack- which was the only excusable reason.
"Empress, there's a guest here who wishes to speak with you."
Breaking away from her fractured concentration now, Tanya looked up from her papers to see one of the Tarkatan guards standing at the opening of the tent. She shot a quick glance towards Mileena, who seemed just as irritated by the interruption as she was; there wasn't even a hint of concern on the woman's face, let alone even a hint of questioning, just irritation that someone would be bothering them.
But the guard didn't seem to notice, or at least, he went out of his way to not show his nerves at the hornet's nest he had just kicked.
"You'll want to speak with her."
Her?
Just who exactly would want to speak with them?
Especially right now of all times.
It must've been someone important enough to rile the guard into speaking his mind about the interruption- enough so that he would come here directly to give them the message.
"Fine," Mileena barked, as she gave a dismissive wave to the guard. "Send her in-"
"I'll bring them in," Tanya interrupted, as she set her things aside- unfortunately breaking herself completely free of her focus now. She stepped around the table she had been working at, and caught the Empress's eyes as she started to depart. And the narrow look of the woman's expression pressed her to elaborate on her insistence. "Just in case," she assured.
At this point in time, guests were not to be trusted- no matter who they were, or where they stood.
Bringing someone into the Empress's quarters, without fully evaluating them ahead of time, would put everyone and everything at risk. And while she fought alongside the beasts, Tanya couldn't trust a Tarkatan to judge a guest on her own life- let alone the Empress's. And she wasn't about to let someone else's error ruin what they still had- as little as it seemed at this moment.
Tanya was good at reading people, almost too good for her own use.
If a visitor had any hidden intentions, she would find it.
And she would do whatever she had to to keep the Empress alive and well.
Mileena, knowing well of her intentions, and knowing better than to push for the opposite, gave her an approving nod to go ahead. The Empress, as bloodthirsty and mixed blood as she was, had a habit of coddling Tanya; the Tarkatan woman rarely let Tanya out of her sight if they were out in the open- even though knowing that she could protect herself well enough.
Tanya would do whatever was necessary to keep Mileena alive, and unfortunately, the Empress would gladly do the same given the opportunity.
[It almost made her job harder.]
"Perhaps it's the Vampire Queen, coming to pay her respects," Tanya remarked, using the words to thinly break the unsettled silence in the tent.
"Perhaps she's here to ask why you have not joined them for dinner a second time," Mileena retorted, to her own amusement- and to Tanya's disdain.
Tanya rolled her eyes and continued towards the tent opening, only to watch as it was pushed open once more.
This time, however, there was no Tarkatan guard coming back through to give them more details about their unannounced guest.
No.
This time, the guest herself came through, rather hastily at that.
And Tanya found herself staring at the Earthrealm General.
[To say that she was surprised was an understatement.]
"You?" Mileena hissed, at the intrusion- rows of interior and exterior teeth bared when she pushed the word out.
The Empress wasn't the best in regards to political encounters, at least not without being prepped and informed about them ahead of time. And to say that this seemed more like an ambush would have explained the Tarkatan woman's mild outburst.
"Sonya Blade," Tanya addressed, ensuring that her stoic expression had washed over her once more- hiding any take that she had been caught off-guard by the surprise intrusion. "I can't say that I could have anticipated this... visit."
"What are you doing here?" Mileena pressed.
The Empress was defensive, yet ready to attack if need be.
The blonde-haired woman barely even batted an eye at either of them, and kept the same stoic, almost cold expression on her face as well- save for a mild frown that twitched at the corner of her lips.
"Look, I'm not happy about this cold call either, but we need to talk, and I can't be fucked to waste time being bureaucratic about it."
Tanya watched as the woman moved her eyes from Mileena, to her, and then back to the Empress again.
She had limited experience with the woman, having only caught glimpses of her during the Tournament- and it was worth noting that the woman's expression still seemed to have remained the same.
Persistent then and persistent now.
But Tanya knew well enough about the General due to the woman's prior activities in Outworld years before- namely her direct action against Kotal Kahn in the Golden Desert. General Blade had gone so far as to shoot the false Emperor in an ambush, and then had him and his men arrested in their own territory.
She was ruthless, and just barely seemed to play by the rules.
Which made this encounter all the more intriguing.
"I'm here on my own. I don't have any snipers in the trees; I don't have back-up waiting around the corner for a signal. For all anyone back in Earthrealm knows, I just 'stepped out to get some fresh air'," Sonya continued, laying out answers that had no questions to go with them. "But don't think that if something happens to me while I'm here, that Hell won't reign down on your little camp, so let's keep that in mind."
A borderline threat almost, but understandable given the situation.
Although it was worth reminding that the woman had come here, to them first.
But then again, the General was no stranger to getting what she wanted.
"So why are you here?" Tanya questioned, hoping to twist the conversation back to what it came here to be- about bureaucracy. "What is there for us to talk about? And so urgently at that."
"I want to make a deal with you," the General replied, as she moved to cross her arms now.
The shifting of her weight onto her back heel seemed to imply that this was going to be a lengthy conversation- or that she was determined to stay here for however long was necessary to get what she wanted.
"With the way things are looking right now, both of our realms are looking to get fucked over, and since no one else seems to be taking that threat seriously, we need to do something about it. If we're fast, and lucky about this, we can change the tides before shit really hits the fan."
An interesting proposal, but what exactly did this woman have up her sleeve?
She certainly wouldn't have come all the way out here with no safety net just to throw out a simple offer.
To throw caution to the wind.
Tanya wanted to be more cautious about the conversation, about the woman's intentions- but something about the General's no-bullshit, and straightforward attitude had the Edenian willing to hear her out.
After all, it wasn't like they really had any other options here.
And it wasn't like they had any other allies either.
Tanya looked back to the Empress, and noted the tight pull of her jaw, and the tight pinch of the muscles in her neck.
"What are you proposing?" Mileena questioned, looking equally intrigued by the Earthrealm woman's offer. The Empress might not have been as politically strong, but the woman was far from being naive. She was willing to hear people out- if they had something good to say.
"I can help you get rid of Kotal Kahn, but I'm going to need you to help me in return."
Tanya managed to hide the look of surprise at the sudden offer, but knew well enough that her disguise just barely cut it; it was probably a pathetic attempt at best to say the least.
She could see the muscles in Mileena's jaw tighten once more, causing her outer teeth to interlock- which was something they rarely did without knowing force pushed on them.
For a few quiet moments, Tanya could barely think, let alone say something in response.
"Why?" Mileena pressed, the single word almost hissed through clenched teeth.
The Empress was just as equally blunt as the Earthrealm General.
"Several reasons," Sonya answered, almost nonchalantly. "First being that, with the track record of every previous Outworld leader, with each of them wanting to take over and merge the realms, I can only hypothesize that the thought process sticks with the men who neglect to wear pants- which is a category that Kotal Kahn would fall into. I have information that gives evidence to this, as well as Kotal Kahn's plans to break the Reiko Archives at the first given chance."
The General had done her homework- quite thoroughly at that.
Tanya had had her suspicions that Kotal Kahn was only playing nice with Earthrealm for the moment, but that as soon as he was given the proper lift, he would destroy all those beneath him.
"You, on the other hand," the woman pointedly remarked towards the Empress, "don't fit the bill. I know you don't give much of a shit about the other realms either; all you care about is Outworld. So, if I don't want to risk Earthrealm's sovereignty in the long run, you're the best option I have in terms of an alliance."
As much mocking as there was about Earthrealm, no one could say that the Earthrealm General wasn't a firecracker.
She came in unannounced with a full plan of action under her belt.
And she had no problem listing out every answer and reasoning she had for what she wanted done.
[No wonder the men of Earthrealm saw her as a threat.]
"Second, as much as no one wants to admit it, myself included," Sonya continued, "you are the legal heir of Shao Kahn. By law, upon his death, you inherited the throne of Outworld. For anyone else to oppose that, especially so openly, would imply anarchy."
And no one could say that the woman didn't know how to sweeten up her opponents- politically speaking, of course.
"So you want to get rid of Kotal Kahn for the greater good of Outworld?" Tanya questioned, unsure if she could even take her own words seriously. It sounded like a ridiculous statement, especially considering who the words were essentially taken from.
"It would also keep me in the good peace with Orderrealm," Sonya admitted, "- and I worked hard to maintain that relationship with them, to the help of no one."
Hotaru of Orderrealm was no easy creature to play with, but to be in his good grace opened a world of opportunities.
"So what do you want from us then?" Mileena queried, still looking unconvinced by the offers.
"Two things," Sonya started. "I want you to leave Earthrealm alone."
A fairly easy task, given that Earthrealm had yet to actually cross their minds.
"That big on protecting your realm?" Mileena scoffed, a hint of disdain in her voice. It did not take long before the woman narrowed her eyes as another thought seemingly crossed her mind. "Or is there something bigger going on?"
"This will be a bad idea, and will probably get me killed in the long run, but I'll offer you total transparency," the General spoke. "We have issues stirring up in the Netherrealm, and as of now, it looks like it's only going to end in one way. At this time, I can't handle, let alone attempt to fight a war on two fronts- which I know is exactly what Kotal Kahn plans to do as soon as he thinks to defeat you. So, the plan is, when Kotal Kahn goes down, and you're back on your throne, I need to know that you will be the least of my concerns."
Interesting perspective.
Tanya could only assume that the Netherream issue that the General was referring to was in connection with the Revenant.
Were they planning on starting some kind of Hell war themselves?
Where they threatening to rain fire and ash onto Earthrealm for all those years before? To make the survivors regret having walked away from the Tournament alive?
It was worth remembering that the former Edenian Queen, Sindel, and the rightful Princess, Kitana, were both Revenants themselves. It was a long shot, but should the Empress fulfill her promise and restore Edenian, it would provide more stability to have both of the former Royal members back.
Of course, pulling them out of their Revenant states would be a challenge in of itself- unless Earthrealm wished to do the dirty work for them.
As good of an offer as this was, currently, it was a lot to offer for almost nothing.
"What about that Thunder God of yours? Is he okay with you doing this?" Tanya questioned, wondering if the woman had even bothered to run the idea past the Earthrealm God. After all, had this been a plan of his own, the man would've shown himself here instead.
"Raiden had his chance to fix this, and he didn't- and I'm tired of listening to weak Gods."
Tanya felt the fire in the woman's words.
The Earthrealm General was certainly full of tricks, and with every sentence, question and answer, the woman was surprising her again and again.
Even though she was good at reading people, Tanya had to admit that she was having a hard time figuring out if this meeting was out of desperation, or cold-blooded planning.
"You don't think you'll get any political ramifications over this?" Tanya questioned. "It's a big step into something that is, otherwise, none of Earthrealm's business."
"Who's going to get mad about it that has the power to get mad about it?" Sonya quipped easily enough. "The closest people who would have even a chance of pushing the matter against me, would be the two of you."
She covered every base Tanya had so far.
She had answered every question.
And she had no problem proving the weight she was throwing around.
Tanya shot another glance towards the Empress, who gave her a nod to continue on. Political business was her strong point, but she wasn't going to overstep or attempt to overshadow the Empress.
Thankfully, Mileena knew how to play her strong cards, and right now, Tanya was her strongest card.
"I must admit, General Blade, you offer an interesting proposition," Tanya started, "but what about the Osh-Tekk themselves? There will be heavy backlash from them once Kotal Kahn is eliminated. They worship the man like a God."
"And Gods die with the men who conceive them," Sonya replied. The woman paused for a moment, as though thinking her blanket statement over, before she elaborated. "They'll fight back, sure, but they'll be nothing without Kotal Kahn. That's not to say that there won't be panic and anger amongst the survivors though. I can provide back-up for the repercussions, whatever gets them off of your back, and gets them back into their places."
Strong statement.
Good follow-up.
Tanya had to admit that she was thoroughly impressed, and entertained by the woman's suit.
No wonder she had no qualms marching through a Tarkatan camp and demanding access to the Empress's quarters.
"You're sticking your neck out, and biting off more than you can chew," Mileena chuffed. "It's not a smart move."
"Yeah well, I've done a lot of things that weren't smart- believe me, this isn't the stupidest of them," Sonya remarked, before she looked between the two of them once more. "So? Do we have a deal or not?"
"You said you had two demands," Mileena reminded. "Your second demand will answer your question."
"I want the Shinnok Amulet back."
Between the offer of killing Kotal Kahn and eradicating the Osh-Tekk, and wanting the amulet back, the amulet was the bigger of the demands here. The amulet had saved their asses one too many times before- not to mention all the trouble they had gone through with obtaining it in the first place. Kano was an eager seller, but the man was a hardass of a dealer to deal with.
"I don't care for your use or attachment to it, but that's my ultimatum here," the General continued. "You give me back the amulet, or I walk. I don't know how much you paid Kano to steal it for you, and I don't care to. I can match his price easy- or double it if you want to fight for it."
With Kotal Kahn gone, there would be no personal need for it- at least, not for the Empress.
Tanya had had her ties to Shinnok before, but... her ties were complicated.
They were with the Empress now.
That Kytinn-bitch, D'Vorah, had aligned herself with Kotal Kahn after being rejected by Mileena- and the Kytinn was no doubt playing the man for a fool, and doing whatever was necessary for the sake of Quan Chi. The Osh-Tekk leader practically fawned over the bug, treating her like royalty alongside him- perhaps seeing them as having something of a future together, however way that might work.
But Tanya supposed the Kytinn was thinking the same with her and her alignment with the Empress.
Despite the amulet being within grasp every day, Tanya felt her focus on the corrupted God getting hazier; she had almost forgotten about his existence inside of the amulet entirely.
[Although, in her defense, the Empress made for the perfect distraction.]
"So, in exchange for the Shinnok Amulet, and immunity for Earthrealm post-war, you will kill Kotal Kahn," Mileena spoke, stating the only points here that were important to them.
"I'll take him out of the picture, yeah," Sonya nodded. "I'd rather keep my hands clean of it, and let you do what you want with him, but it doesn't really matter how we do it either. Sniper round, Sandman kill, ambush, battle set-up- I don't care. I want to be discreet about this, but if I have to drop a tactical nuke on his ass, then so be it. I just need to know that we have a deal here- because if we don't, than we're all just wasting our time."
It couldn't be denied that what the General was offering was a tempting proposition.
And given their current predicament, it almost seemed too good to be true- and quite frankly, it was an offer they really couldn't risk turning down right now.
This didn't feel like a pity offer either.
If the Earthrealm General was willing to come out this far, with no one else's acknowledgement, and make a rather gracious offer, it meant that she was in the same dire situation that they were- or at least, she was about to find herself in one. Fighting a war with both Outworld and Netherrealm was not something Earthrealm could handle- especially given the fighters they had lost at the Tournament, and had failed to ever recover.
So right now, they both had to be willing to set aside their pride and make a choice.
"Normally I'd give you more time to decide, but we're all on a schedule here," Sonya continued.
"And what if we refuse your offer?" Mileena questioned- much to Tanya's dismay.
"Then we all die in a blood bath and no one wins," the woman answered. "Which I guess at that point, the war would be neither of our problems."
The Empress gave a throaty sort of chuckle. "There is no need to wait on this decision, Blade- as long as we are both benefiting one another here, it would be stupid to turn the offer down."
"Glad to hear it."
"You bring a lot to the table here, and it is... unprecedented, but I think we can make it work," Tanya added. "There's a lot of detail that needs to be worked out however, and we need to ensure that you will not betray us."
"Understandably," Sonya nodded. "I can offer you my word, but it's only good in Earthrealm and Orderrealm- which I'm sure the same would go for you. There's not exactly any paperwork we can sign either, especially if we want this to be under the table. The best I can offer at this moment, is this-"
The General moved a hand to the dog-tags that were tucked into her jacket and yanked them off in one motion, before she held them out.
"I'm sure it'll get you a good trade-in bonus with the Black Dragons."
"Your friend Kano does have a lot of nice weapons for sell," Tanya mused.
"Yeah well, who do you think he stole them from?" Sonya replied. "If you know where his weapons stache is, I wouldn't mind getting some of my shit back."
Mileena took apart the belt around her waist and removed the silver replica of Shao Kahn's helmet from it, something that caught Tanya by surprise. The woman had carried the replica with her ever since the former Emperor's passing; she never went anywhere without it. But now the Empress held the replica in the palm of her hands for a brief moment before she offered it in trade for the dog-tags.
"Turn the tides of this war, Blade, and I'll gladly give you Kano's head myself," Mileena spoke, as the two traded their possessions.
Physical objects that served as dried ink on paper.
"See? I always knew I liked you."