Disclaimer: I do NOT own Mortal Kombat or anything related to it.

"I was a queen, and you took away my crown; a wife, and you killed my husband; a mother, and you deprived me of my children. My blood alone remains: take it, but do not make me suffer long."
— Marie Antoinette

Chapter 9:Sindel

"Jerrod?"

Sindel never expected to utter that name again. There had been no reason to. Edenia was gone, the royal family was gone, replaced by literal and figurative corpses. Reflecting on what couldn't be undone was pointless, a source of eternal sorrow, a reminder of being a powerless victim. These things weren't forgotten, but rather shoved far into the back of her mind, crossing her memory once in a blue moon for a second before fading and allowing her to continue existing sans burden. But when the reminders came they were strong, and his voice was no exception.

Not even Shang Tsung could replicate that voice. It was as clear as the last time she heard it right before he was murdered. His final declaration of love, their eyes locking, his lips forming a comforting smile to ask her not to blame herself for his death and to protect their daughter. It felt like time froze...until Shao Kahn's war hammer crashed down on his skull and his blood splattered upon her and the infant daughter in her arms. She'd fallen to her knees, wailing alongside the baby, helpless and weak.

She was frozen in place, brain unable to form a reaction other than the widening of her eyes and stuttering out his name. She was torn between wanting to flee and rush forward.

Ermac, controlled by Jerrod's soul, gazed back at her, relief and exhaustion obvious on his visage. His recent battles had weakened him; the urgency and abruptness in his cry seemed to have doubled it. His soul was trapped inside Ermac; she could imagine how much of a struggle that was, especially when Shao Kahn was another trapped soul there.

This revelation meant that...Jerrod had been close by for a long time. Jerrod was there when she was revived and brainwashed so Shao Kahn could invade Earthrealm, he was there during the time of Kitana's discovery of her true heritage, he was forced to watch his family be used as tools and die.

Shao Kahn never told her what he did with Jerrod's soul, and she could not bring herself to ask. Shang Tsung must have been given his soul and was later ordered to use it as one of the base souls for the construct. Then Shao Kahn was added to that collection and even in death she was certain that the emperor continued demanding dominance.

He shakily lifted his hand and a gesture from Sindel prevented the undead cops from intervening. Jerrod stilled before bringing his hand to her cheek, running his thumb over the glowing cracks in her skin. The hand technically wasn't his, but it was enough to invite an outburst of memories. Every time they held hands, every time they embraced, every time they kissed. She grasped his wrist and leaned into his touch.

She mentally relived their life together, from their first meeting to his murder. Now he was here, not the same as before, but she was also far from the same. That king and queen were mere memories that maintained the bond between what that couple had become.

Remembering that they were not alone, she stood up with a sigh. Kotal Kahn's group was extremely interested in the interaction, hope lighting up their visages. She scoffed, unimpressed with their naive prayers that this new development would grant them what they sought.

Crossing her arms, she addressed her comrades."Kabal, Stryker, escort our uninvited guests to the palace. Explain what happened to Kitana and tell her to come here. Until she and I decide what to do about this," she flicked her head at Ermac/Jerrod,", it is best to postpone these fools' punishment." She gave Kotal a smirk, making it clear that he would die regardless of what they did, and that he should try to enjoy his final hours.

The former cops yanked Kotal, Reptile, and Black to their feet and started dragging them at hooksword-point and gunpoint in the direction of the palace. Kotal sent Ermac/Jerrod a pleading look, no doubt begging him to ensure an alliance with Netherrealm. Again Sindel scoffed. Leave it to weaklings to cling to delusions. As if Jerrod had reason to help the realm that was responsible for his fate. It didn't matter that Shao Kahn was dead, that wretched realm was not worth plucking a single strand of hair out for. Let them rot, it might be merciful to kill them. The same applied to Earthrealm.

Arms encircled her, drawing her back against his chest. His chin rested on her shoulder. Her hands instinctively rose to grip his arms, a wordless plea for him to never let go. His embrace tightened, a promise that he intended precisely what she pleaded for. Shao Kahn had attempted to hold her this way, as much to mock her dead beloved as to try to make her love him. She hoped he was screaming inside his new prison, one whose creation he'd ordered, and that he was in anguish over having lost his precious prizes who had become superior to him in every way.

She shivered when she heard Jerrod's voice at her ear."Sindel, my love, my queen, forgive me." He choked."This is all my fault."

"No," she murmured, shaking her head. It was not his fault the world was filled with monsters like Shao Kahn that victimized their weaker counterparts, not his fault the weaklings had to become monsters themselves in order to survive and avenge. Those original monsters were vanquished, having been proven more weak and pathetic than their victims, and she, one of those victims, stood strong and fierce and unable to ever again be victimized. Strong enough to get revenge, to keep what was hers, the weakness was erased.

He nuzzled her."No one shall separate us again." It was spoken like a fact, a universal truth no one could deny."I will never leave you and Kitana behind."

She chuckled."We won't give you a choice." Also spoken like an undeniable fact. He stiffened at her statement, but further tightened his embrace before she could ponder this.

"Shao Kahn is...in there," she said.

"Indeed." He chortled."He is furious. He thought he could gain one final victory over me here, but he has been disappointed. He wanted control, I won. He is now merely an annoying voice in the back of Ermac's head."

"Good," she hissed."He deserves worse." Maybe they would take his soul and sentence it to eternity in the fifth plane of Netherrealm. First they needed to focus on Jerrod. They would find a way to extract his soul from Ermac's body, then make him a revenant so he could stay with them forever. It would be better than the original state of weakness that cost them everything.

"Sindel," he said firmly."I know what you plan for me. We cannot do that."

She frowned, her grip on his arms faltering. Surely she'd misheard, but her firm knowledge that she could never mishear his voice brushed aside that possibility. He was actually rejecting her plans.

More confused than anything else, she made him loosen his embrace and she turned to face him with a frown. She took his face in her hands."Why not?"

Stepping back, he motioned around the general area with his arms."This is not where we belong. We deserve better than an eternity as undead slaves of Hell."

So that was the problem. Smile returning, she shook her head. He'd just managed to gain control after years stuck as a prisoner alongside thousands of other souls and thought Netherrealm was another prison. Understandable, given his situation.

She laughed."Oh, no, it seems bad at first, but after growing used to it, you can see its benefits." She placed a hand over her heart."We are already dead, in a place with others that have suffered like we have, and we are so much stronger than we were in life. We are together in death, safe and happy and strong. Better than anything we could have hoped for in the old days."

His hand covered the one resting over her heart."You didn't always believe that."

She bit her lip to stifle an annoyed reply. She expected it to not be easy to convince him of her way of thinking, but she was not certain she possessed the patience for a complete argument. In his defense, she understood that words alone were often insufficient in proving a serious point like this one. But if he actually listened, then he could recieve the necessary proof to agree with her.

She smiled brightly, a strange contrast given her hellish appearance, and ignored how he grimaced in response to her smile."I told you, it seems bad at first-"

"Sindel, this is no different to the life Shao Kahn made you live," he yelled, grabbing her shoulders. She gasped, and before she could think of a reply, he cupped her cheeks and pulled her closer. Their foreheads pressed together. His facial features twisted with anguish."He made Kitana his assassin, kept her ignorant of the truth through lies and he had you revived to suffer the same fate through magik. He made you kill innocents, including our daughter. Then he gave Quan Chi your souls. For Quan Chi and Shinnok, you both remembered everything, but your grief and regret were twisted and stolen. Because of them, you and Kitana have been reduced to monstrous puppets! How is existing as husks of your former selves an improvement? You are as trapped as I am!"

Yanking herself out of his grip, she shook her head vehemently. No, no, no! Stop forcing her to recall those times of weakness! Focus on the present, where they were practically invincible. She crossed her arms as the desire to protect herself from the horrible memories consumed her. She would drown and burn in the lava before she let this emotional agony break her. When he reached for her, she gave another smile, albeit more wan this time due to her mental struggle.

"Shao Kahn is gone, Quan Chi is gone, Shinnok is merely a living head. My controllers are gone, I am free. I chose to take advantage of the pains they caused to make myself happy, and Kitana, along with our fellow revenants, agrees. We simply needed some rough lessons to figure this out."

"Rough lessons," he echoed quietly, staring at her like she was a stranger."That is what you call your sufferings?"

She laughed mirthlessly."The world is filled with monsters, and the only way to avenge what they do to us and avoid becoming victims is to become monsters ourselves. You think my mind has been darkened, but ironic as this may sound, my experiences have enlightened me. You may think no one should have to suffer that and in a better world you would be right, but that's not the one we exist in. This is our harsh reality."

He grasped her hands, trying to give a hopeful smile."We can make reality better. It needn't be so horrible. We control the world, not the other way around."

She gave a bitter smile. He sounded like...Jade. That same hope, same refusal to accept reality, same determination to improve what couldn't and shouldn't be fixed. It got Jade killed and broke their will, especially Kitana's. The mere idea of that happening to Jerrod was unpleasant, but if he did not realize he was wrong soon, they would have to make him understand and better it be them than Quan Chi or Shao Kahn.

Sindel sighed."One of us once thought as you do now, Jerrod, and she paid the price for it."

"And I was forced to watch," a familiar voice bitterly added. The couple turned to see Kitana approaching. Kitana had one hand on the staff strapped to her side and she kept her head down. Sindel felt anger at Sareena for reminding Kitana of Jade's fate, as if the memory of their lost comrade didn't cause the revenants sufficient pain.

"Kitana," Jerrod murmured. He hesitantly reached out, as if terrified of rejection from the daughter he cherished but was not allowed to know in life. Lifting her head to reveal her somber unmasked countenance, Kitana took a step closer to her father. He grasped her chin, studying her cracked and glowing skin like he'd done for Sindel. Kitana gave no reaction other than a blink, but both of her parents noticed the slightest hint of a tear in her eye, and Jerrod did not hesitate this time. Pulling Kitana close, he cradled and stroked the back of her head. Her face was buried in his shoulder, and she gave no extreme emotional reaction, but after a moment she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him.

"Father," Kitana simply whispered."I never thought I would meet you."

"Kitana," he repeated, as if unable to believe that she was here in fromt of him and his arms, a feeling Sindel and Kitana shared regarding him."My little girl is all grown up, fierce, beautiful, and strong."

Kitana pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself."Not always," she said icily."I was weak, helpless, ignorant..." She trailed off with a scowl of self-loathing for her former self.

He shook his head."You were a child, an infant, you could not have anything."

She snorted."But I was pathetic even as an adult!"

Having lost her patience, Sindel took a loud and large step forward. She gave Jerrod a stony look."You call our daughter these great things now, yet you reject an existence with her and myself." Kitana nodded curtly in agreement with her mother's words, moving away from her father and moving closer to her mother. The two women joined hands.

"You do not need Netherrealm to be great-"

"We were hapless puppets of fate!" They both snapped in unison.

Frustrated, he threw his arms up."You are still puppets here!"

Sindel stamped her foot."I told you, we started out that way but we utilized it to our advantage, which is more than can be said for you! You are just another soul imprisoned in a construct! What right have you to judge us?!" It hurt to yell such negativity at him, but she could not, would not listen to him speak ill of the existence that had improved and protected them from further victimization.

"You hope too much, father," Kitana spat.."It will only lead to more suffering, the unnecessary kind. We tried to hope in the beginning, we truly did, but that hope died with Jade." After a moment, she scowled and pointed at him."For all we know, Ermac is forcing you to convince us to ally with Kotal Kahn!" Sindel could tell that Kitana disliked that possibility as much as she did, but regardless of Jerrod's true reasons, they would not do what he preferred, and if he continued rejecting their truth, they would have to resort to harsher methods.

He shook his head frantically."Sindel, Kitana, you do not understand how drastic the situation with Raiden is. He will not stop at Outworld and Earthrealm. No one will be safe! He will target Netherrealm as well. You may not care about Outworld and Earthrealm, but you must worry for this Hell you call come!"

"When he comes we will be ready," Kitana stated without hesitation."And we will make him pay."

Sighing deeply, Sindel stepped forward in a threatening manner."I tire of this back and forth." She shrieked slightly into her palm to form a purple fireball and sneered at him."Much as I would prefer to talk you into this, I will do what I must since that approach has failed."

Kitana drew Jade's staff."So will I."

Eyes widening, he backed away."You would murder me to get what you want? How is that remotely better than Sh-"

Sindel tittered, the sound bittersweet."Oh, we'll just destroy that construct's body and locate your soul afterwards. It would be easier to find a spell or ritual to just extract your soul, but you're too resistant to the idea. Kitana and I have learned the hard way how resistance to reality is best handled." She tilted her head."As we said, one of us paid the price for thinking like you do now."

Kitana tightened her grip on the staff."Take comfort in the fact that this is a mercy compared to what she went through, as well as what mother and I endured."

Smirking, Sindel nodded."You'll have us there to always remind you that this is better, as opposed to learning in the same slow, agonizing fashion as us."

He stared, mouth opening and closing. Then, right before they would have attacked him, he spoke."Why risk yourselves alone when you can use those you do not care for as pawns to help protect yourselves?" He asked, forcefully spitting out each word.

Taken aback, mother and daughter froze. He did have a point.

He stepped forward."When this conflict is over, I shall stay with you." He stepped forward again, arms spread wide."Do what you prefer, make me into one of you, I would rather exist that way than lose you both again. If there is no other way, then so be it." He exhaled heavily in resignation, something Sindel had never seen him do, not even before Shao Kahn killed him.

He was serious. He hated this option, hated himself for having to resort to this, but he meant his promise. He would stay with them as a family, even if this version was the last thing he desired.

Sindel looked to Kitana, letting her know that this was her choice to make. Either way, they would ensure they got what they wanted from him. Kitana lowered her gaze and bit her lip in contemplation. Just as she was opening her mouth to answer, she froze and looked around. Sindel tensed, realizing her daughter had sensed the presence of yet another uninvited guest. Ermac/Jerrod seemed to share their realization.

Rushing toward the gate, Kitana shouted,"Show yourself, intruder, and perhaps I shall consider granting you a swift death!"

Silence, then footsteps as the visitors revealed themselves. Rain had his hands up in a gesture of peace/surrender while the three Edenian soldiers behind him had their heads bowed and were restraining a chained prisoner.

Rain dropped to one knee."Princess Kitana, Queen Sindel...and King Jerrod." His voice lowered as he said the third royal name.

"Rain," Kitana said icily, raising an eyebrow."Come to grovel for my aid?" She snorted."You would not be the first today."

Rain gestured for his soldiers to give him the prisoner, who was then shoved forward and landly roughly on their knees. Rain clamped one hand onto the back of the prisoner's neck and used his other hand to take the sack off their head, revealing none other than Tanya.

"A gift," Rain explained, pushing Tanya's head downwards until she was kissing the ground near Kitana's boots. When the white-eyed Edenian grunted and tried to resist, he sent a surge of purple lightning through her body and she yelped before he forced her face back into the ground.

The three Edenians Rain brought with him hurried to the family of three and each knelt before one of them, muttering pleas for help. In the past, Sindel and Kitana had met Rain's rebuilt Edenian Resistance in a...far from peaceful manner. They were as pathetic as Sindel remembered, it seemed.

"I am desperate, with nowhere else to turn," Rain said, irritation with his plight clear in his voice."I sent a messenger to the Black Dragon Clan requesting aid, but other than that-"

"What?" Sindel scoffed."You fool, they are allied with the Thunder God! Kabal and Stryker confirmed that in their latest recon mission in Earthrealm. You sent that pitiful messenger to his death!"

Rain froze, his eyes widening and face paling. Tanya snickered at her former ally's plight being expanded, which prompted Kitana, out of sheer annoyance, to kick her in the face, knocking Tanya flat on her back and rendering her unconscious.

"Another target for Raiden," Jerrod said, pointing at Rain."I told you, no one is safe from his wrath."

"Get up, all of you," Kitana said, pulling Rain and the Edenian in front of her to their feet. Stomping over to Tanya, she grabbed the traitorous woman's leg and dragged her unconscious body behind her."Let's go to the palace. We have much to discuss."

As they began making their way toward the palace, Sindel grabbed Jerrod's arm and hissed at him,"Do not dare think of trying to break your promise...or else Kitana and I will do what must be done to ensure that you keep your word."

Without waiting for his response, Sindel flew up and moved ahead of him.

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Next up: Chapter 10:Fujin