The Rusty Dagger was no less than what she expected of a place of lodging in Outworld. The building's exterior was made of brick and the interior consisted of finished wood, giving the place a homely but simultaneously dangerous air about it. Inside, the frankly dingy looking lanterns and aged lamps that dotted the walls were dinly lit, so it would be somewhat difficult to pick out faces from a distance. Something Mileena could appreciate at the moment.

But that isn't what she was referring to.

It was the building's occupants.

Scum. All of them, Mileena thought with disdain, glancing briefly at two men situated close to the center of the large tavern, who looked overly-muscled and probably looked as stupid as they seemed, prepared to arm wrestle, while every other occupant in the smoke filled building sans the Barkeeper were either trying their best to get intoxicated by assortments of alcoholic drinks or cheering on their favorite arm wrestler for the next few minutes. The environment seemed to be balancing on a thin line between the calm usually assoctated with a place of rest and an all out brawl, as if one small thing could set off a massive bar fight to interrupt the relative peace or likeness to it.

Although the building was probably entirely filled by criminals and other ne'er do wells that couldn't possibly care less about her background, coupled with the dim lighting, Mileena felt compelled however, to cover the lower half of her face. She did not want a repeat of her humiliation merely hours ago, effectively being evicted from her own palace by that excuse for a Khan. It would be best to simply not be recognized, especially in a place where you couldn't trust anyone as far as you could throw she'd gotten some rest, she would demand answers from her sister, wherever she was.

She would have to remember to find a mask or some cloth of a sort to veil her teeth, which seemed to have gotten her in trouble in the first place, she idly thought, absently picking at the wooden finished bar table with a finger nail. The place was obnoxiously loud, with background music of some foreign origin blaring and in turn making the chatter of the tavern's patrons speak much louder than necessary.

To either her left or right was an Outworld denizen of some sort, with physical attributes that earthrealmers often associated with demons or mythical creatures. She couldn't quite make out the facial features of any of them from her seated position, as most of them were quite tall. But there was one individual who looked non-descript save for a wide brim hat and two weapons that looked a lot like earthrealm guns. He was seated a small ways from her, legs propped up on a table, as he seemed to idly fiddle with one of his weapons.

He would have looked out of place in his surroundings, as he was undeniably mortal, but there was something about his demeanor that exuded a quiet confidence and authority, that no one paid any special attention to him. To Mileena, it was strange, as he seemed too comfortable in this building known as an asylum to outlaws even by Outworld standards.

Her curiosity at the sight was only temporary however, as her attention returned to the small spot of table she was picking at. So as not to draw attention to herself, she waved the bartender over, ordering a glass of water. Truthfully, she wanted wine, but she wasn't sure about her alcoholic tolerance having only been "alive" less than two weeks. While the bartender poured the glass of water, Mileena found herself staring at the strange man with the guns. She was once again having that strange feeling of deja vu, as though she should be aware of who the stranger was, but she was once again to her annoyance, drawing a blank.

Or at least, she would have, before an unexpected and very anticlimactic realization hit her, as if remembering some long lost detail. She blinked rapidly, refocusing her attention on the glass of water that now sat on the counter in front of her. Drinking it hadn't crossed her mind, the environment having made her lose any appetite or thirst she might have had. However, she was going to keep an eye on the gunslinger, it was no doubt that he had some answers that she was looking for.


Several hours had passed and the gunslinger had already retired for the night. Apparently, he had been renting a room out of the tavern, and seemed to had been doing it for a while, even though he was free to roam the Outworld Palace.

He must not have been very trusting of the new Emperor, which came to no surprise to her, but Mileena would have laughed if she wasn't focusing on keeping silent. If he had been in the palace tonight, or really anywhere but here, she never would have run into him. She wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by her. Once it reached the late night hours, foot traffic began to lessen, and she followed the cowboy into his room after patiently waiting at least an hour. It was easy enough to get in, by simply picking the lock with found objects around the building like a loose floorboard screw and a toothpick. She'd confiscated his guns from under his pillow and had placed them behind her on a dresser. Her arms crossed, she waited for the man to wake, so as not to alert anyone.

When he did awake, he didn't jump in surprise as one would expect to react to a home invader. Instead, his eyes rolled in what looked like annoyance above his partially masked face.

"I didn't know you slept with your mask on," Mileena ventured, arms still crossed.

"I do recall having given you the option to find out a long time ago," he retorted almost boredly as he slowly sat up from the bed.

"Don't bother," Mileena warned, noticing his arm snaking towards his pillow. "They're not there. And I could kill you easily."

"Well, shit."

He sighed, scratching his head and cracking his neck.

"You're supposed to be dead," he deadpanned. Both his hands rested at either side of him as he sat, and for all intent and purposes the two almost looked like old friends catching up.

"I ask the questions, filthy, traitorous beast."

A pregnant pause.

"You seem upset, Mileena."

"Yes, well, betrayal has that effect on me, Erron," she retorted almost conversationally.

"You're still sore about Kotal Khan, huh?"

Mileena resisted the compulsion to strangle him right then and there, and instead asked him a question.

"Where is D'Vorah?"

"Oh, I see what this is about," Erron nodded, leaning forward just so to rest his elbows on his knees. "What's in it for me if I tell you?"

"For starters, my teeth won't be found in your skull."

"Thanks for the mental image," the gunslinger said, shaking his head lightly in annoyance. To think anyone would get the drop on him this morning, and by a dead woman, to boot.

"I'll tell you on one condition," he added, standing up slowly.

Mileena did step forward this time, prepared to mutilate him. "If you don't tell me where she is, I will chew through your jugular!" she threatened with a low growl, her more bestial set of teeth having been on display the whole time. She grabbed him by the throat, managing to at least cause the man to flinch at her speedy movement.

"And then what, wandering around not knowing where she is?" he reasoned. To his credit, his voice hadn't wavered, and he only seemed to be caught unawares by Mileena gripping his neck. She curled her upper lip in distaste, pushing him backwards onto the bed, back into a seated position.

"What's this condition? It better be good enough to allow you to live," Mileena turned her back to him,

"The condition is, I'm coming with you."

"...What, why?"

Erron stood up again, lightly rubbing at his throat and none too discreetly ogling her while her back was turned.

"One, I wouldn't get paid. Two, you'd probably try to kill me after just giving away the information to you." Mileena turned back around, her head cocked to one side in confusion.

"Of course, money is more important to you than self preservation," the half Edenian critiqued, clearly unimpressed with his attitude. "Fine."

Erron shrugged, reaching for his armored vest and scarf. His armored vest he grabbed from the closet to his left behind the bed, the scarf already draped over it.

"I gotta ask, how'd you find me?" he queried, clicking the straps that held his grenades into place over and around his vest.

"Coincidence," she replied, not bothering to elaborate.

"Hm."

"You first," she ordered, opening the door. Erron gave her a tired look before stepping through.


A/N: I saw the reviews. I know I've annoyed some of you with the slow update. I've been getting documents prepared for a second job, so I haven't been able to schedule time to do any writing. I got that stuff out of the way now, though, so updates should be a bit more frequent now. Apologies for that.

Please read and review and I would love some constructive criticism, as I am still learning to write.