Skarlet opened her eyes after what felt like an eternity. Ermac's forehead rested against her's, and his hood draped over his head made it harder for her to look away from him. The glow of his eyes were shut tight behind his eyelids, his hands still rested on her bare ribs, squeezing slightly. He was still inside her, she felt the aftershock in her thighs and tummy, even her toes and fingers tingled. She heard his heavy breathing trying to escape his mask. Without thinking her lips parted behind her own mask and she tilted her head slightly...
Ermac's eyes suddenly opened the moment she moved her head. He roughly pushed her face away with his hand and then pulled out of her. Skarlet gasped at this sudden sensation. She stayed leaning against the pillar for a few moments more while Ermac fixed his pants. Skarlet closed her mouth and blinked dumbly before she pulled her thong back over her womanhood. Ermac rubbed his eyes and then started walking towards the doors. Skarlet wasn't much for conversation before, she didn't have anything to talk about nor was she well versed in chit chat, but she was compelled to speak at this point.
"What now?" She asked after Ermac.
"We will make our rounds until the emperor summons us back." Ermac said.
Skarlet shrugged and quickly joined Ermac in the war torn street. They had walked only a few steps before Ermac turned to her curiously.
"What are you doing?" Ermac asked.
"Making our rounds, like you said."
"We will make our rounds..."
"I know, I'm doing as you said." Skarlet said with some confused frustration.
Ermac blinked her into further agitation.
"Why are you so confused?" Skarlet asked.
"We, are not the confused ones. We, will make our rounds back. You, can go back to doing whatever you were doing." Ermac turned away and started walking again.
Skarlet tried to wrap her head around his words. She remembered that Ermac always said we when others would say I, but she thought nothing of it until know. Skarlet jogged to catch up to him.
"I was finding you." She told him.
Ermac shot her a look but didn't slow his pace.
"That wasn't what you were instructed to do Skarlet."
"I know, but the emperor hasn't done anything to me about it, nothing bad has happened. I...liked it." Skarlet told him.
Ermac grunted lowly, he didn't sound pleased.
"Did you?" Skarlet asked.
Ermac didn't answer.
"Well, did you?" Skarlet pressed.
Ermac remained in strained silence.
"Hey, I asked..."
Ermac stopped in his tracks and turned a deathly look upon her. Skarlet's animalistic side instinctively told her to be slightly submissive but tense and prepared for a confrontation, maybe even inviting one. Her slowly developing humanity kept her curious above all.
"Yes." Ermac told her.
Ermac didn't sound particularly happy, but the knowledge that he had indeed enjoyed their meetings made Skarlet smile slightly.
"Good." Skarlet answered, sounding not quite as dispirited as Ermac, but somehwat sharing his characteristic impassiveness.
Skarlet silently followed Ermac for several blocks. She caught his prolonged glances at the wreckage around them. Skarlet followed his looks to cars ripped open, smashed windows, and crumbling buildings. She felt only her inborn desires for fighting and destruction being teased.
Suddenly, her skin started to tickle.
"Do you feel that?" She asked.
"Feel what?" Ermac responded.
Skarlet curled her fingers and toes in and out and fidgeted. This sudden tingling sensation invaded her whole super-humanly sensitive body; right down to the tips of her hair. Her pulse quickened, her blood flowed faster, and her hands went to her knives.
Just then within a thousandth of a second, she noticed a white light and her whole body jumped to attention. Lightning rained down around them on rooftops and on the ground obscured by buildings. A moment later when the light show had dimmed to nothing, Skarlet and Ermac both felt an overwhelming feeling come over them. Skarlet's instincts made her start running. She couldn't explain it, she just ran as fast as she could, which was really fast. Ermac had to hover after her to keep up, because he also had this same compulsion, but he knew where it came from. Shao Kahn.
Shao Kahn sat in his newly made throne staring intently with his eyes but almost bored with his body staring at the door of the rooftop access way. He tilted his helmeted head onto his fist, tapping the skull crown with his beefy finger. Sindel stood silently and obediently at his side.
Shao Kahn had acute hearing despite his helmet, and he heard the rapid creaks of the rickety steps behind the door as something move up them. His tapping upon his helmet got more forceful, and a thin grin spread across his lips. He had seen the lightning from minutes ago of course. He knew that Raiden and his warriors were making their final, desperate move. He also knew who was on their way up those stairs. Once that person arrived, this would longer just be the climatic end to an invasion. This would be his chance to avenge his defeat.
The door was suddenly kicked open, it's splinters slid across the rooftop. Shao Kahn now bared his teeth at the new arrival; Liu Kang. The monk approached Kahn and Sindel with masked killer intent. Sindel made a move to confront him, but Shao Kahn waved her down and stood up himself.
"I've been waiting for you little one. I was starting to get bored, so I had to entertain myself." Shao Kahn gestured to the destroyed city around him.
"I stopped you once Shao Kahn and I will do so again. Earthrealm will never be yours!"
"Fool, it is already mine. Like every other world that I have taken, it was mine the moment I desired it! Once the soulnado is fully powered I will have leashed every living on earth like the animals they are. Even your exalted thunder god Raiden will bow to me. But not you, do you know why?" Shao Kahn's voice suddenly turned very, very dangerous.
Liu Kang took a battle stance and fiery embers gathered around his fists.
"It is because I am going to crush your heart in my hand, and torture your soul for my own amusement for the millennia to come!"
"Big talk from a big wounded ego. Come and try it coward!"
Skarlet and Ermac had traversed a considerable distance in a short amount of time. The building that Shao Kahn stood atop of wasn't far now. The two of them hadn't said a word to each other since the compulsion to return to Shao Kahn overtook them; they were perfectly programmed. They only stopped when they came upon what looked to be the ending of a fight.
Standing in the middle of a street was the semi-cybernetic smuggled Kano, a man Skarlet had never met until today, and one which Ermac rarely had dealings with. A blond woman sat on her knees, beaten and bloody at his feet. Kano laughed heartily at his handiwork. He grinned widely when he noticed Ermac and Skarlet.
"Well hello there mates! We've got some visitors it would seem, and I was just making Sonya here feel welcome!" Kano said before he kicked Sonya onto all fours.
"You're, one hell of a host." Sonya said sarcastically.
"What can I say? Momma taught me my manners." Kano said while grabbing Sonya's ponytail and yanking her up.
"I also know how to treat a lady," Kano then pulled one of his knives from his boot, "and bitches!"
Skarlet anticipated Sonya's death. The thought of the knife cutting open her throat and her blood pouring down her neck and her barely covered breasts excited her; she could feel it herself just from the thought alone. Ermac on the other hand refused to take any enjoyment in this. He needed to get to Shao Kahn, that is what was going through his head; that, and he didn't find this sadism particularly enjoyable. Before Kano could finish Sonya off though, a large chunk of concrete went flying towards him from behind. Kano managed to dodge, though with little finesse. He had fallen down and before he could get up someone was lifting him by his leg.
"Your mother would be disgusted with you." Jax spat at him.
Jax smashed Kano around like he were a doll before throwing the smuggler at Skarlet and Ermac. It would have been a simple matter for them to catch him, but they had no such desire and merely moved out of the way, letting Kano collide with a van behind them. Kano cursed loudly and sounded like he was having issues getting up, but Skarlet and Ermac just prepared for battle.
"You okay?" Jax asked Sonya.
"I am now. Which one you want?" Sonya asked.
"I've got a score to settle with Ermac." Jax said.
"Fine, I've got the skimpy red head." Sonya said.
Skarlet titled her head at the comment. She inferred red head was addressed to her, but she didn't know what skimpy meant. She dismissed it and ran towards Sonya. Sonya leaned back and pushed off the ground with her hands, launching herself high into the air. Skarlet was taken by surprise by this quick attack and Sonya's heeled boot collided with her chest. The impact knocked her down, leaving her winded, and probably would have caved in the chest of a weaker being. Sonya jumped in the air and tried to land on Skarlet, but she rolled out of the way and got to her feet.
Skarlet dashed forward on a trail of blood. Sonya tackled into her midsection and they both fell down into the blood left behind, making it splash all over them. Sonya postured up and punched Skarlet several times in the face. Skarlet didn't expect this kind of brutality from this woman, and now it brought out her own. Skarlet placed one of her hands in the bloody mess left behind by her previous attack. She soaked the blood up like a sponge, and the power that the expelled blood usually spread across her whole body was now focused into her arm. Skarlet could feel the veins in her forearm and bicep expand with the sudden increase in blood pressure. Sonya's fist smashed into Skarlet's mouth once more, and she bared her teeth behind mask. She roared and smashed her empowered fist into Sonya's jaw.
The punch stunned Sonya momentarily, evident by her just sitting on top of Skarlet. Skarlet bucked her hips and was able to roll over onto Sonya now. Skarlet drew one of her knives and pulled it across Sonya's exposed belly, causing the blood to drip out. Sonya fought from underneath her but Skarlet planted one of her knees onto Sonya's stomach. This not only irritated Sonya's wound, but allowed Skarlet to absorb her blood through her skin. Skarlet raised her knife and tried to stab Sonya through her eye, and Sonya barely managed to use her forearm to stop it. Skarlet growled and applied more force, but Sonya was quite strong and was able to hold her back. The more Sonya bled however, the stronger Skarlet got and the closer the knife came.
Sonya gritted her teeth and couldn't help staring at the razor sharp knife that was dangerously close to blinding her, and then some. She desperately searched her pocket for the pellets she kept. She grabbed a handful of them and crashed them in her hand. She brought it to her mouth and blew the dust into Skarlet's face. The powder was a mixture of the extract from several species of hot peppers in addition to synthetic riot control substances. It would pain the eyes, skin, taste buds and sinuses of a normal person; it was pure agony for Skarlet's senses.
Skarlet clawed at her face, even dropping her knife. Her animalistic side drove her into a frenzy; she wanted Sonya dead.
"How'd that taste bitch!" Sonya taunted.
Skarlet pulled her mask down to make her breathing easier, but proceeded to tear off her mask and scarf completely to get rid of the lingering odour. Her whole body protested at the stinging sensation left on her lips and in her eyes.
"Your blood will wash the taste away." Skarlet replied.
Before she could make a move, her attention was shifted to the scent of burnt flesh, something she had smelt before. Her acute eyes noticed something approaching them extremely quickly. Anticipating what was coming, Skarlet melted into a pool of blood to avoid being decapitated by Kabal's sword speeding by. She rematerialized away from them. Kabal brandished both his swords and stood alongside Sonya. Before she could engage them, Skarlet noticed Ermac being beaten by Jax. Like how a cat focuses on it's prey before it's pounces, Skarlet's focus shifted completely to the large man. She teleported into the air, making blood rain down as she fell onto Jax's back, stabbing her knives into his back. She anchored herself onto him and once the blood fell onto her, she attacked him like rabid animal defending it's kin. Jax flailed around trying to shake her off.
"Die, die, die!" Skarlet yelled.
"Get the hell off of me!" Jax yelled.
Ermac recovered and gathered a massive amount of telekinetic energy in his palm.
"Skarlet!" Ermac signaled.
Skarlet planted her feet on Jax's shoulders and kicked off of him. She somersaulted gracefully through the air and landed next to Ermac while Jax was knocked forward towards Ermac's palm. Ermac thrusted his palm into Jax's midsection and the energy blasted him away into a wall. Skarlet was grinning without even realizing it; she revelled in her joint attack with Ermac. Fighting alongside Ermac made fighting better in every single way.
Jax picked himself up off the ground and joined Sonya and Kabal. Kano also finally managed to get to his feet, albeit he still cradled his back in pain.
"It's a good thing you showed up Kabal, these guys are tough." Sonya said.
"I've got bad news; something a lot tougher was following me."
Skarlet heard the sounds of jets first, but everyone present noticed it soon enough. A flying man zoomed through the air like a hawk circling a field mouse. Through his visor Sektor was able to identify three friendlies and three enemies. Sektor decreased his thruster output so that he was merely hovering, albeit thirty feet in the air.
"Enemies sighted, proceeding to terminate with extreme prejudice. Assessment of collateral damage deems risk of using heavy weaponry...acceptable."
The chest launcher opened and Sektor let lose a volley of missiles. They came screaming towards the ground. Friends and foes alike had to take cover from the explosions and shrapnel. The airbursts, when they hit her, made Skarlet feel all her blood, organs, and bones being shoved while the pieces of almost microscopic concrete poked at her like needles.
"Hey! Watch where you are shooting you big bucket of bolts!" Kano yelled from behind cover.
Sektor merely laughed in his deep and robotic voice, clearly retaining his penchant for destruction and explosions. The red cyborg launched another larger volley of rockets. Ermac created a green dome of protective energy around himself and Skarlet; and Kano because he dived underneath it in time. The explosions strained Ermac's focus, but he managed to keep the barrier up.
"Anyone got any ideas? Do it now before we're blown to bits!" Jax said.
"Just a crazy one..." Kabal said.
Kabal ran at super speed towards a building. He jumped and planted his feet on the wall and then ran at super speed again, scaling it. Once he reached roughly three stories, he backflipped off and soared through the air. He twisted and pulled both his hook swords from his back and used them to latch onto Sektor. The both of them dipped because Sektor's thrusters couldn't handle the extra weight. Sektor thrashed Kabal around but he managed to hold on.
"I could use an extra pair of hands up here!" Kabal shouted.
"And I could use a boost." Sonya told Jax.
Jax knodded and cupped his hands. Sonya placed her foot in them and Jax through her into the air, with Sonya jumping just before leaving his hands. This launched her high enough into the air grab onto Sektor as well. The cyborg came crashing to the ground with his two passengers. Sektor created a burst of air from his thrusters that blasted the two of them off of him.
"Back up required." Sektor stated.
Suddely a pair of yellow legs, a yellow torso, arm, and finally head came flying and assembled before them. Cyrax ran at Jax and jumped into the air. His second arm flew in attached to it's socket with his buzzaxe attachment spinning. Cyrax smashed his axe into Jax's raised arms. Sparks and a terrible screeching sound came from the clash.
"Your arms are made of a material too dense to cut through..." Cyrax stated.
"Damn right they are!" Jax boasted back.
"Alternative attack needed."
Cyrax's chest opened to reveal his glowing green core. Energy shot forth from it and wrapped around Jax in a net, immobilizing him. Kabal and Sonya tried to aid him but had to take cover from Sektor's dual flamethrowers. Sektor tilted his head to Skarlet, Ermac, and Kano.
"The situation is controlled here, revert back to your previous objectives." Sektor ordered them.
Skarlet wanted to finish off all three of the chosen warriors, but that compulsion to return to Shao Kahn still nagged at her, and the cyborgs did seem to have things taken care of here.
"Come Skarlet, Sektor is right." Ermac told her.
"If its all the same to you mate, I think I'll hang out with the tin men." Kano said, but Ermac and Skarlet ignored him.
They reached the base of Shao Kahn's building in minutes and could hear the sounds of fighting from above.
"We need to find the stairs..." Skarlet said.
"No time." Ermac interrupted.
Ermac grabbed her arm and started levitating the both of them upwards. They were rising quickly, but Skarlet could see things happening on the inside of the building. She saw Baraka pitting his strength against a large tribal looking man, and one floor above that was Reptile, who's agility was being outmatched by a grey ninja that vanished into smoke. If these were the chosen warriors fighting Shao Kahn's enforcer's, then who was facing the emperor himself?
"Get ready." Ermac told her in a strained voice.
Skarlet looked up to see the edge of the roof approaching. Ermac dropped her off and landed himself to find the roof very crowded. Skarlet saw Mileena fighting with a dark skinned woman dressed in green, Sindel was fighting a woman dressed in blue, and Shao Kahn was fighting a man in red pants with a red head band. Shao Kahn kicked Liu Kang away and noticed the two of them.
"Now 'champion', you will die. Skarlet, Ermac, destroy him!" Kahn ordered.
Liu Kang tried to attack Kahn again, but Ermac gripped him in his power and slammed him into the ground. Skarlet ran at him with one of her knives drawn.
"Hold Liu Kang!" Kitana shouted.
She threw one of her fans at Ermac. It hit him with enough force to knock him back, not to mention cut him deeply and make him lose his grip on Liu Kang. The shaolin monk rolled out of the way of Skarlet's downward strike and swept his leg out, knocking her down. Instead of attacking her, he let Skarlet get to her feet.
"And who might you be?" Liu Kang asked.
"Skarlet." She answered simply but intently.
"I see, you're the blood monster. I've heard about you."
"Then you should know what's going to happen next!"
Skarlet attempted a flurry of quick slashes with her knife. Liu Kang dodged all of them but was nicked on the arm. Skarlet wiped the blood from her knife and rubbed it on her lips. Her eyes flared at the power she felt from this man's blood. She wanted more. Her hairs stood on end when Ermac came to stand beside her.
"We will take him together." Ermac told her.
Before they could attack, Skarlet felt a sudden chill in the air. Looking back, she saw a layer of ice bridging the considerable gap between the this roof and the building across the street. A man dressed in blue came sliding across it and flipped onto the gravel covered roof.
"Sub Zero, I'm glad you could make it." Liu Kang greeted.
"Sorry I couldn't be here sooner. Which one is mine?"
Ermac shot a bolt of energy at Sub Zero, but he easily jumped over it.
"Alright then." Sub Zero stated calmly.
Ermac engaged Sub Zero and Skarlet pressed her attack on Liu Kang. Despite her belief that all Earthrealmers were weak, Liu Kang was faster, stronger, and tougher than anyone she had fought with the exception of the emperor. She felt the emperor's gaze upon her. Amidst all these fighters she didn't feel like an animal, she felt like a warrior, and she was losing! Enraged, she pulled all of her kunai from her thigh and threw them at Liu Kang, running fast enough to follow behind them with her knife poised to deliver a killing blow. Liu Kang expertly blocked the kunai with his gauntlets but left himself open to Skarlet's attack. Skarlet grinned in anticipation of her hand going hilt deep into Liu Kang's chest and spilling his blood, but instead he vanished in a fireball. He reappeared behind Skarlet to deliver a crippling blow to her back. Skarlet coughed up her own blood as she fell to her knees.
"You are beaten." Liu Kang stated.
"Don't touch her!" Ermac warned.
Before he could move to help, Sub Zero froze his feet in place. Sindel noticed the disadvantages piling up.
"Enough of this!" She said before taking a deep breath and letting loose a continuous, terribly loud scream.
The attack was indiscriminate and assaulted everyone present. Shao Kahn powered through it and created a green energy spear in his hand. He saw Ermac unable to struggle against his bonds due to the noise. He then looked at Skarlet, who was curled up in the fetal position, no doubt more tortured by the sound than anyone else. She looked at him almost pleadingly, begging for his forgiveness and pardon. Shao Kahn scowled at her, and her new expression was that of a shattered spirit. Finally, he looked to Liu Kang, also stunned by the noise. Kahn couldn't hear his growl over the noise, but he felt it. He tossed the spear at Liu Kang and it penetrated his chest.
Kitana's heart skipped a beat when she saw Liu Kang fall. She forced herself to ignore the sound wave and created an updraft that lifted Sindel into the air.
"Sorry mother." She whispered.
Kitana jumped, flipped in the air, and brought her outstretched leg down across Sindel's head. The former Edenian queen spun and hit the ground, unconscious. With the screaming over, everyone began to regain their composure.
"Now is that anyway to treat your mother?" Shao Kahn taunted.
"Shut up you bastard!" Kitana yelled.
She attempted to cut him open with one of her fans but he caught her hand and then grabbed her neck in his large hand.
"I think I've wanted to do this for a long time now." Shao Kahn told her.
"You're...going to have to keep on waiting!" Liu Kang proclaimed.
The shaolin monk came from behind and delivered a devastating punch into Shao Kahn's gut. He hadn't put as much power into it as when he had first fought Shao Kahn, but it still penetrated into him. Shao Kahn gasped and dropped Kitana. He didn't have a chance to retaliate because Liu Kang now got into a rhythm of putting him off balance before deliver devastating punches and kicks that rocked him every time. Skarlet saw Shao Kahn being mercilessly beaten and her instincts took over; protect the emperor. She ignored her injured back and limped towards the two of them. Kitana noticed and teleported behind Skarlet, and then kicked her in the back to knock her down. Skarlet screamed from the pain and frustration.
"You will stay out of this." Kitana ordered.
Ermac still struggled with being frozen in place. He too saw Shao Kahn being assaulted and every fragment of his being told him to protect the emperor. Even immobilized like this, he could still attack Liu Kang with his telekinesis. However, when Kitana had caused Skarlet that pain, and Skarlet had screamed, the voices in his head screamed at him to help her instead. While not as extreme as the time the tarkatans had attacked, this compulsion overrode Shao Kahn's influence. Ermac lashed out at Kitana with his power, he tried to pull her apart limb by limb, all the while Skarlet crawled towards Shao Kahn and Liu Kang.
Sub Zero grabbed Ermac's hand to make him release Kitana. Ermac swung on Sub Zero but the Lin Kuei blocked it and instantly flash froze Ermac's arm to his own. With his free hand, Sub Zero started to freeze Ermac solid. Ermac struggled against the painful cold but couldn't break free. He looked over to Skarlet, and found her looking back at him. He tried reading her, maybe she was going to help him? She had a look of dread and concern on her face, and then did something that initially horrified Ermac; she stabbed herself in the stomach.
Skarlet's breath hiked at the pain, and she willed a sizeable amount of her blood to flow from her body into her awaiting palm. She felt like she was being deflated, and felt weaker. Nevertheless, a ball of blood congealed in her hand. The red orb tickled at her senses, it was warm and gave off a powerful scent. Skarlet looked once more to Ermac, but instead of throwing the blood ball at Sub Zero, she turned and tossed it at Liu Kang. The ball of red smashed into the shaolin monk, creating a pause in his assault on Shao Kahn. Kahn, beaten and bloody, looked to Skarlet to find her blood stained mouth grinning at him.
"My emperor..." She muttered before Kitana knocked her unconscious.
Finished writing this late at night. Any major spelling or grammar errors will be addressed once I've had some sleep. I will admit that the dialogue and character interactions may not be the greatest in this one; with so many characters, I had to decide who to focus on. I was initially going to have a big fight between Sub Zero and Ermac, but I felt this was dragging on. I would like to thank piloromero, the mysterious guest, and nentone (I hope you enjoyed the action), cold recluse,yungq, and einhorn for their reviews of the previous chapter, along with everyone else who has taken the time to read this story and give me feedback. I would officially call this the end of act 1. Read, review, and enjoy.