A/N: Not sure if it's relevant anymore, but just incase, this story does provide minor spoilers for both Tanya and Mileena's arcade endings.
Worn down heels clicked emptily against the stone flooring as Tanya paced her cell for the fourth time that hour.
The cell was small, and she could only make it a few steps before she had to turn and walk back- which made for a less than interesting exercise. But after spending god knows how long sitting down, her legs had started to cramp and she needed to stretch them out. Not that the ten steps it took to get to the other side of the cell really made all that big of a difference. Still, it was better than nothing.
Reaching the other side, she turned around as usual and made sure to grind her heel into the stone as she did so. The irritating shriek echoed down the narrow corridor outside her cell, and vibrated in the adjacent cells around her. Every single one of them were empty. She wasn't even sure if there were any other prisoners aside from her- or if there had ever been any to start with.
The irritating grind of her heel was a small, needless thing to do, but it gave her some minor entertainment in doing so.
Especially if there was an Osh-Tekk guard standing at the end of the hallway.
Usually after three or four shrieks, the guard would yell for her to keep quiet- which she never did. And it wasn't like they could really do anything about it. After all, it wasn't like she was causing any real trouble.
Although she had started to wear through the bottoms of her heels, which was terribly annoying.
...
How many more days would she be trapped in this hellhole?
And more importantly, how many days had she already been in here?
The lack of a visible window meant she couldn't relay on the sun to tell her. And the occasional guard that passed through didn't appear to be on any set schedule, so she couldn't deduce anything from that either.
Sometimes it felt like she went days without seeing any of the Osh-Tekk, which wasn't a problem at first... But now, the isolation felt like it was catching up to her. It felt like cold needles running across her skin every time she lingered on it for too long.
It could've been weeks, maybe months since she had been locked up. She wasn't sure- and couldn't be sure.
And the very thought of it drove her mad.
Her pure Edenian bloodline ensured her a near endless lifetime- of which, she had no means of wasting in here.
Giving out a sigh, Tanya ran her fingers through her black hair and noted that the strands were longer now. The longest cut that had once been at the curve of her chin was almost touching her shoulders now, while the rest was slowly growing in behind it. She bet it looked horrible- but it also gave her some judgement of time. In which she declared she had been in this cell for too goddamn long.
She leaned back against the cold wall and crossed her arms- staring off at nothing in particular down the hallway.
... As far as she knew, she was the only one left from the resistance.
Which meant that no one was exactly jumping ship to come rescue her. Not that she didn't foresee herself eventually escaping this hellhole on her own. It would just be nicer if someone could break her out instead. At the very least, it would cut out the weeks of planning and preparation it would take for her to formulate and successfully execute an escape.
...
Rain was gone, after all.
But that was by her own hand; she had sold him out.
She had to though.
She knew that if she didn't sell him out first, than Rain would've tried to do the same to her- and then she would've been the one who as dead. She would've been the one tied up and set ablaze in a ceremonial execution. It would've been her flesh and meat that was burnt off of bone. It would've been her charred and unidentifiable remains that were left strung up and posed as a warning to those who opposed the Osh-Tekk.
In her heart of hearts, Tanya knew that she was a traitor.
She had managed to scrub Rain's screaming out of her head, but she couldn't get rid of the images- at least not yet.
She could still see him up there, strung open and burning.
She could still smell the horrifying reek of his burning flesh and charred organs.
... It was almost funny though; she used to love the sight and smell of someone burning alive.
She used to love using her magic to summon fire from her hands and use it to eat away at the skin and bodies of her enemies. It had been damn near entertaining to listen to the pained, pitched screams of men as they burned up in front of her; as they flailed about blindly under the fire that had consumed their legs.
She had cooked up a few Osh-Tekk warriors that way.
But now... now she didn't enjoy it anymore- and she wasn't certain if she ever could.
It didn't matter though.
She did exactly what she needed to do in order to survive. And seeing as how everyone else she had ever known was dead now... She was all that mattered. She had to do whatever was necessary to keep herself alive- no matter what.
Even if it was at the hands of Kotal Kahn, who did nothing to hide his absolute hatred for Edenians.
Perhaps it was out of mere jealousy though.
He would never be as perfect, or as strong as Edenians were. He would never reach the level of godliness, or worship, as they had once had. He would forever, and always, be nothing more than a disgusting man who dyed his skin to appear more beautiful. A man who drank diseases from split hearts, and yet bore luck from the Gods that he hadn't been poisoned by one. At least not yet.
If he ever attempted to drink from hers, she knew he would drop dead within seconds.
Sighing once more, Tanya pushed herself from the wall and made her way back to the wooden bench across from her- where she reluctantly sat back down. There was little comfort to be given in this godless cell, but she had gotten used to the lack of luxuries. Or at least, she had forced herself to.
Fingers curled against the bench underneath her, feeling the faint grooves of where her nails had begun to chip away at the wood- splintering it slightly. Ugh, her nails were in horrible shape too, even though she had gone out of her way to preserve them.
Slumping slightly against the wall, she propped one leg on the second bench and tried not to linger on the mind-numbing silence.
...
It was almost... a subconscious act as she slowly toyed with the hem of her wrapped top, before she slipped one hand underneath it. Fingers grasped at the soft fabric tucked inside, tangling it around, before she carefully pulled it out.
Almost immediately, she gently twisted the thin, pink material around in both hands, before she held it up to her face- brushing it against her cheeks.
It was a miracle no one had decided to search her when she and Rain had originally gotten capture.
Otherwise they might've found this and decided to burn her, and it, as well- out of defiance and loyalty to a blue-skinned imbecile.
...
Tanya still remembered barely regaining consciousness and stumbling her way into that tent- calling out for Mileena and expecting the worst. Unfortunately, her expectations of such was simply limited to Kotal Kahn locking her away again- just as he had done before.
It was foolish.
She should've known better than to think of that.
But to have found Mileena in the way that he had left her...
The memory of it still made the pit of her stomach churn over.
... After all of their hard work, after everything they had gone through and accomplished, it had all ended there, just like that. And there was nothing she could've done to prevent it.
She tried not to focus on the dull ache that still throbbed in her chest- tightening her lungs and making every breath a little harder to take than the last. She tried not to focus on the subtle shaking in her fingertips, or the slow waves of nausea that bubbled up in her throat.
She had cried tears far too many times now.
... All she wanted to focus on was the softness of her veil- the only thing she had left of her.
"And just who are you?"
She offered a smile at the spitted words- taking note of the woman's clear sense of apprehension and anger towards her. She had to admit that she also took note of the woman's elegant look, and... attraction; she was perfect in form and figure- a true Edenian.
"I am Tanya," she introduced, as she dug the hilt tip of her Kobu Justsu into the cell lock and twisted it until it came apart at the force. With a careful hand, she slid the door open and stepped back- allowing the woman to be freed. "And you are Mileena Kahnum, correct? Of course you are; I wouldn't be here if you weren't."
The woman sneered slightly at the remark- revealing the dangerous row of inner teeth that reside behind attractive lips. "And?"
"And I am here to pledge my loyalty to you- as both the Empress of Outworld, and as a fellow Edenian," Tanya spoke, watching carefully as the woman stepped out from the cell; narrow yellow eyes searched around her, as though disbelieving her intentions and claims.
"Edenian?" Mileena repeated, as though the word sounded foreign to her.
"You are the former Princess Kitana's sister; and considering that both she and the former Queen Sindel are gone... by rights, you are the next heir, and rightful leader of Edenia," Tanya continued, running the curve of her blade over her fingernails, before she slid it back into her belt. She could feel Mileena's eyes on her, and knew that the woman wasn't convinced by her words- not yet at least.
"I have no interest in Edenia," she started. "Outworld is the only realm I am destined to rule."
"Of course, Empress," Tanya nodded, before she reached back behind her and pulled loose the twin Sais she had stolen from one of the guards. She offered them to the woman who, once more, eyed her over. "Than I will help you regain your throne."
The half-Tarkatan woman seemed to think her offer over, before a twisted smile found its way to her lips. She moved her hands forward and placed them over Tanya's, fingers curling around her Sais without so much as lifting them from her palms. "You seek Edenia, is that so?"
"Yes," she answered, making sure not to move a muscle as the woman's hands partly grazed her own. "It has been many, many centuries since I have last seen my home realm. And rumor would have it that you know where it might be found."
"You would be right," Mileena nodded. "Pledge your loyalty to me, help me reclaim Outworld, and... I will ensure that Edenia is yours."
Tanya smiled, and watched as the woman retrieved her Sais and slipped them onto her back where they properly belonged. Something told her that she would... enjoy working with this woman- with the Empress.
"You have my loyalty, Mileena Kahnum."
She should've seen this coming.
This is what she deserved for allowing her emotions to slip, and losing sight of what really mattered. She should've been more focused on getting Edenia back first and turning it into its own realm; she should've stuck to her loyalty- if she had, she certainly wouldn't be here, wasting her lifetime.
But she... even she had to admit that she had never fallen so carelessly for someone before.
She kept Rain around as fodder, but Mileena... she was different.
Tanya had never seen herself truly ever staying with someone, or even settling down some place. Maybe once Edenia had been restored, and she finally had a place to call home again... No. It was too late for that now. There was no sense in shedding tears over the past. If she allowed herself to linger on it any longer, than she truly would go mad in this place- and that might be exactly what Kotal Kahn wanted.
... After all, he had lost his right hand; he had lost D'Vorah.
And oh, what Tanya would've given to see a betrayal like that play out in front of her eyes. The man deserved it. He deserved to have his pride and heart grinded down underneath an insectoid heel.
And every one of those sleazes who followed him deserved to be cross checked and constantly questioned by him. They deserved to have blood drawn to prove their regretful loyalty to him.
Maybe if she got lucky, one of them would snap and betray the false Emperor- maybe even kill him.
Wishful thinking perhaps.
The sound of screams echoing in the distant caught Tanya by surprise and had her scrambling to get to her feet; one hand quickly shoving the pink veil back between her breasts.
She listened intently and grimaced as every other pierced scream either ended abruptly through death, or lingered on through crude choking until lungs gave out. She swore she could hear the Osh-Tekk shouting out battle cries that only lasted mere seconds before they were cut down- ending what might've been a retaliation against these unknown attackers.
Tanya moved towards the cell door and tried to look out- trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was attacking the Osh-Tekk.
She couldn't see shit though.
She could only listen to their sputtered screams.
... Maybe this was her chance- what timing.
As far as she was concerned, if someone were to come down here, she was willing to say whatever they needed to hear to convince them to release her. She was willing to do whatever she had to- no matter the asking price. She had gotten herself into quite a few tangles before, and always managed to get out of them; so there was a long list of things she had already done- things that wouldn't surprise her if someone asked her of it.
Besides, she had played the clueless, helpless victim before, and she had no shame in doing it again.
It had always gotten her exactly what she wanted after all.
Freedom.
Tanya heard the sound of the prison door opening at the end of the hall and briefly stepped back- listening to the stumbling footsteps that came through. She prepared herself, ready to act however she needed to.
Instead though, she felt herself cringe and drew one hand to her neck as she watched one of the Osh-Tekk guards stumble into sight. His head was clearly missing, and there was nothing but torn shreds of skin and muscle hanging around his gaping neck. His body made it one or two more steps before it seized and collapsed onto the floor; a mess of blood and tissue chunks spewing out from his opened throat.
Disgusting, but appropriate.
She looked up as another noise resonated from down the hallway. She couldn't quite figure out what the hell it was, but... it was something sharp clanging against the metal doors. Like someone dragging their weapon along the iron bars- taunting whoever was on the other side.
Taunting her, perhaps.
Her heart was practically in her throat, but she refused to let it show.
After all, it was almost too easy for her to put on a strong, fearless front- it was what she had always done. A trait well learned from her childhood, and from growing up in the pits of Outworld. Some would call it her specialty.
The clicking of heels on the floor caught her attention next, before she watched as the person responsible stepped into sight.
... And it felt like her heart stopped altogether.
And that perfectly molded poker face of hers cracked almost immediately.
"Mileena?" Tanya started, unable to stop the name from spilling from her lips as she heard her own voice give her away.
The woman shot her a Tarkatan grin and gave a heavy flick of her wrist- discarding the severed, bleeding head that had been impaled on the end of her Sai. "How odd it is that the tables have turned," she spoke.
It took every bit of self-control to not go running towards the woman.
To not throw her arms around her and kiss her until they were both out of breath and exhausted.
By the Elder Gods, she wanted to- but she wasn't stupid.
She knew what she had seen in the tent that day.
This was the equivalent of seeing Rain on the other side of the door- acting like nothing was wrong, like he hadn't been burned to death in front of her. The woman looked real, acted real... even the way she licked the tip of her Sai was real, but this couldn't be.
"This isn't possible," Tanya hissed, as she stepped away from the woman, immediately guarding herself. She would not play into some kind of mind game orchestrated by Kotal Kahn, or whoever might've been behind this. She would not allow herself to be fooled so easily- to be hurt again. "I saw what happened to you- what they did to you. There's no way you could come back from that." her voice shivered in a mix of venom and disbelief.
"Dearest Tanya," Mileena mused, using the affectionate title she had always spoken around her. "Do you really believe Shang Tsung created only one of me in his Flesh Pits?"
... That was impossible to know.
The shapeshifter was... erratic, and considering that no one truly followed, nor kept track of his work, there was no telling what he had created in those pits. Or even where half of his creations were now. Or rather, more appropriately his victims.
Rumors would have it that the mad man had mixed Kitana's DNA with every form of creature in Outworld, before he eventually settled on Tarkatan- which had been the only successfully splice of his. Hence Mileena, who was his most successful, and most beautiful, creation to date. She was quite possibly the only reason that Shao Kahn had kept him alive and around for so long despite his previous failures.
And honestly, who could resist the half-Tarkatan clone?
She had won the hearts, and lusts, of most of Outworld with her beauty alone.
"Prove it."
The woman looked to her in question, before she seemed to settle on the two words.
Mileena stuck her bloodied Sai into the lock and broke it apart, before she threw the cell door open- mirroring an old scene that Tanya had once played over again in her head. It was hard not to read the similarities in it- hard not to realize how difficult it would've been for someone else to replicate. But it still didn't mean anything.
Tanya watched as the former Empress sheathed her Sais, before her hands reached for the spare blades at her side.
Upon pulling them free, Tanya realized that they were her weapons- her Kobu Justsu blades.
"You gave me my freedom, and pledged your loyalty to me, for Edenia's sake," Mileena started, "and eventually, for my own."
The itch to be free again and have her own weapons back in hand was too much to ignore. At the very least, with her blades she could defend herself if this was indeed a trap of some sort. Stepping forward, Tanya reached for the blades and half expected the woman to yank them away from her at the last minute. But she didn't.
Placing her hands on top of the Kobu Justsu pair, Tanya wrapped her fingers around the hilt and carefully lifted them.
The pair had seen better days; their blades were chipped, dull and partly rusting. But what did she expected when it came down to Kotal Kahn's men handling her Edenian weapons? The Osh-Tekk were idiots, and could barely handle their own dicks as far as she could tell.
Still... it felt good to have the blades sheathed at her side once more.
... Seeing the woman up close like this, Tanya could see every detail of her deformed teeth and Edenian face. It looked like nothing had even changed on her- like nothing was different. At first glance anyways.
But Tanya could see missing scars, and eventually noted missing details as well- like that one tooth Mileena had on the left side that had grown in the wrong direction. The woman had physically cut it out once, irritated by its appearance- only for it to grow back in the same way. And she would've cut it out again had Tanya not stopped her and convinced her that it was still a suitable look- and that she herself actually liked it.
Mileena had left it alone after that.
...
As much as Tanya wanted to believe, she couldn't.
If that was her, if this truly was Mileena... No, there was no way that her conscious and her memories were somehow transferred over to a new body seamlessly. It was impossible- even by Shang Tsung's standards... right?
"You want me to prove myself to you- to prove that I'm real," Mileena spoke. "So I should say, or ask something that only I would know of then, right? Or at least, something that only we would know of."
Tanya nodded at her question, and then frowned at the brief smirk that came to the woman.
"Do you remember what you said to me during the quarter moon? Just after our first victory over Kotal Kahn and his army?"
The question stirred up a memory that made Tanya cringe despite feeling flustered at the same time.
... Too many bottles of Outworld wine would loosen any tongue; she just didn't expect it to loosen hers. It was stronger than she had anticipated, especially when drinking large quantities in a short amount of time. And especially considering that since the two of them had wasted most of the first bottle by pouring it over one another, they made the most out of the second and third- not really caring for the after effects come sunrise.
It was the first time Tanya had come to terms with her feelings for Mileena- and had made the mistake of announcing them out loud.
The wine was a mix of bitter and honey on her tongue, and on her skin.
She could still feel it running out of her hair and down her back, making her feel sticky- causing her to ditch her wrapped top for a more natural look. It had caused the Empress to look at her with a somewhat startled expression, to which she laughed off.
"Let yourself go, Empress," Tanya teased, as she took another heavy drink from the bottle in hand and bounced around the large tent. "Tomorrow will be retaliation and anger, so let yourself get drunk on wine and power tonight. Get drunk on Outworld and it's love for you."
Mileena eventually gave and laughed with her- taking a swing from her own wine bottle. She swallowed it down, but the slightly twisted look on her face afterwards was an amusing one.
Perhaps she had accidentally given the Empress the more bitter of the two wines.
The evidence of the first bottle of wine was still on her skin, causing it to glisten slightly in the candlelight- bringing highlights to her strong physique, to her fitted shoulders and arms. It was hard not to stare, hard not to get lost in the beauty that was the Outworld Empress.
"Tell me, Dearest," Mileena started- the word alone making her weak at the knees. "Did you foresee something like this when you freed me from that dungeon?"
"I did," she mused, "and I see much, much more ahead of us- but come, no more talk about battles, or the future; we live for tonight- and we live for this wine."
Again, the Empress laughed.
And again, she felt herself melt.
"Yes, being drunk on power feels good," the woman replied, taking a second drink from her bottle.
Tanya smiled, before she took a drink for herself, for good measure, before she walked over to the seated woman. "Do you know what's better than being drunk on power, Empress?" she watched as Mileena shook her head, but looked amused for what her answer might be. "Being drunk on my love for you."
The mild confession seemed to only slightly stun her, before Mileena offered a brisk laugh. "Tell me, what do you mean?"
She laughed at what might've been the absurdity of the question, before she dropped herself into the woman's lap- landing rather hard on her knees, but never minding it. "I love you, Empress. And there's not a day that goes by where I don't thank the Elder Gods that I was the one who sprung you from that cell."
It was a delicate, intimate memory.
The detail of the quarter moon had been enough to give it away.
But the woman wouldn't stop there.
"Or how about that night you wished to propose to me?" Mileena pressed, seemingly amused by her silence so far.
Again.
Too much wine, and too many hours spent making love after a three-day long battle.
"I cannot tell if it was that desert hike back that has my legs so numb... or if it was you."
Mileena tiredly laughed at the remark as she rolled onto her back and brought her hands to her face- brushing aside her sweat-damp bangs. Pink sheets were half-bundled around her waist, and the open window over them casted the moonlight across her bare breasts and stomach; casting fingers pointed at the bruises and red marks left on the Empress's body by her hands and lips.
The Empress's body was littered with cuts and wounds from battle; each one having been gingerly cleaned and tended to hours beforehand.
But it was also covered in bruises and scratches that Tanya's hands were guilty of.
"I'm betting that it was you," Tanya spoke, as she pulled her aching, satisfied body into a stretch- arching her back upwards and off the soft bed.
"Is that so?" Mileena questioned; her words dancing in an amused tone. "I suppose there is a chance you might not be wrong."
It was her turn to laugh, before she slowly rolled towards the woman- resting on her side so that she might face her. And Tanya watched as the woman's hands briefly skimmed down her chest and abdomen; her fingers touching at the different marks and bruises she had left in her wake- like an Edenian storm in the heat of the moment.
"We should marry."
"Marry?" Mileena repeated, words light and laughter heavy on her tongue, before she rolled over to greet her as well. Fingers moved forward to brush her dark hair from her face, gently tucking it behind one ear. "Where do you get these crazy ideas, Dearest?"
"From looking at you."
"How?" Tanya interrupted, cutting off a potential third question that might've lingered on the woman's lips; a third question that she'd much rather not hear. She wasn't quite willing to admit, nor submit, to the heated flush of her cheeks- at least, not yet anyways. "You were dead. And even if there was a second one of you in the Flesh Pits, how is it that you came back with your memories intact?"
"Shang Tsung's magic evades him even in death," Mileena remarked. "I don't have a straight answer for you. I don't even have one for myself. All I can tell you is that I woke up there, surrounded by my own kind, with little knowledge of how I got there. This is my body, that much I know for certain, even though I lack the scars and markings I had before. But I remember everything. And somehow I knew that I had to come here. Somehow I knew that you would be here, and that you needed me- that I had to come rescue you. To return the favor you brought to me so many years before."
...
Tanya wanted to believe; she really did.
This whole story, it... it sounded crazy- hell it was, and yet the woman spoke through it without even blinking. There was no body language that suggested this was rehearsed, or that this was some kind of mind trick someone else was pulling on her. Her scars would've been a give away though.
She was just trying to protect herself, and yet... maybe the extended isolation had made her paranoid.
That was something to take into account though- all of this was just too crazy to be made up.
It wasn't like Kotal Kahn, or anyone here knew about the Flesh Pits. Hell, she bet the blue-skinned freak didn't even know who Shang Tsung was, let alone what it was he specialized in. All of that had been well before the false Emperor's time.
But Mileena... she knew everything.
She was created there; it was literally in her blood.
...
It had to be her- the real Mileena, the real Empress.
Tanya moved her hands to Mileena's jaw, holding it carefully in her palms, before she pulled the woman in and kissed her- mindful of her bloodied teeth. She could taste bitter copper on her lips, and tongue- tasting where blood and tissue had coated her warm mouth. But Tanya didn't care; she was all too used to the taste.
She felt Mileena's hands at her waist, before her arms wrapped around her- partly lifting her feet off of the ground.
Just as she always did after a well-earned victory.
It felt like a dream after months of nightmares.
"So you believe me now?" Mileena pressed, holding her steadily by the waist as warm breaths past between them.
"Of course," Tanya started, "the Empress would never lie to me." she watched as the woman grinned and heard her give a brief laugh, before she smiled in return. "Now then, how about you get me out of this hell pit- and perhaps I could reward you as greatly as you rewarded me so long ago."
"I believe that can be arranged."
She felt the woman set her down on the floor, and start to guide her down the corridor before she remembered something. Fingers slipped underneath her top once more, much to the amusement of the Empress.
"Eager for your reward, are we?" Mileena teased.
Tanya rolled her eyes before she tugged the pink veil out from between her breasts, and held it out in front of the woman. "I believe this belongs to you."
Mileena's eyes settled on the thin veil for a few seconds before she took it from her outstretched hand. "You kept this?"
"It was all I had to remember you by," Tanya spoke, watching as the woman seemed to toy with the veil- tangling it in her fingers like she had done before. "It kept the memories, and myself, alive."
"I see."
Those two words were all she spoke before she crumpled the veil in her hand and let it fall to the floor.
"I have no need for it- and now, neither do you," Mileena assured. "I will always be at your side, Dearest."