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It had been a bloodbath.
Bodies littered the ground, as blood soaked deep into the earth; Sindel's Kwan Do clattered to the dirt and the Queen fell to her knees – in relief. Jade knelt beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder; the Edenian Royal Guard, now fully restored and free from Onaga's control, routed the last of the Seidon guard and Tarkatans. Sindel clasped Jade's hand in gratitude and reclaimed her Kwan Do, rising to her full height once more.
"Let's put an end to this."
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Scorpion slammed into the cracked wall and green skull projectile drilled his chest, crushing him into the mortar. The spectre growled and teleported, driving a punch into Quan Chi's jaw. The sorcerer retaliated with a vicious knee to Scorpion's gut; he slammed the spectre to the broken floor with an axe-handle blow, then stamped on Scorpion's chest and rained down several vicious stomps; numerous ribs cracked and broke from the violent attack and the floor gave away beneath the spectre, dropping him into the room below.
Quan Chi drove his knees into Scorpion's chest when they landed; with a sadistic grin, he grabbed Scorpion by the front of his armour, hauled him up and plunged a fist into the spectre's chest, breaking another rib – Scorpion responded in kind with a belch of hellfire. The sorcerer howled, stumbling back as he clutched at his burnt face – Scorpion closed the gap and drove his hellfire-coated fist into Quan Chi's torso, returning the pain as he heard the satisfying sound of broken bones. The sorcerer swung, but Scorpion parried the move - and delivered a powerful kick to Quan Chi's groin.
The sorcerer fell to his knees in agony, clutching at his groin. Showing no mercy, Scorpion slammed him with an uppercut and booted him in the chest. Quan Chi tumbled across the floor, landed on his hands and knees and hurled a green skull at the leaping Scorpion. Seizing the opportunity, Quan Chi quickly used Shinnok's amulet to heal himself, returning his strength. He then slammed Scorpion with a barrage of green skulls, pulverising the spectre; Scorpion knew he was at a disadvantage, worn from the gruelling battle against the Dragon King, while his hated nemesis was refreshed and full of power. Quan Chi laughed as he used his magic to levitate Scorpion and drive him into the floor, repeating the action numerously and brutalising his opponent, showing his strength with a final slam into the floor.
"After all the suffering you put me through in the Netherrealm, it is a relief to finally have the roles reversed," Quan Chi crowed. "Once I am done with you, Scorpion, I'll make sure you'll never return to life ever again…soon, all the realms will be united under my rule and there is not a single thing you can do about it."
Scorpion painfully stood and threw his kunai; Quan Chi snatched the weapon and yanked the spectre through the air, catching him in the throat with a deadly throat. He then violently stomped on the spectre's sternum, eliciting a scream of pain, and he unclipped Shinnok's amulet from his belt, raising it above the spectre in a show of deadly intention.
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Kitana looked over her shoulder, surprise etching her face when she discovered that Scorpion wasn't with them. She stopped, unsure if he'd gone his own way out of the crumbling fortress…or if he'd been held up by something else. She couldn't help the feeling that something felt wrong…fear and concern gripped her in regards with the spectre and she just wanted to make sure that everything was okay…what if it wasn't and he needed her help?
The others continued without noticing her departure; she hurried back towards the throne room…she needed to know that he was okay…returning to the ruins of the throne room, Kitana carefully stepped along the broken floor, noticing the cave-in; with her fans in hand, she dropped through the hole and saw her fears confirmed – Quan Chi was using the power of Shinnok's amulet to torture Scorpion, slowing stripping the flesh from his body.
Memories flashed through her mind of her last encounter with the sorcerer – the fight that had ended with her death. Nonetheless, Scorpion's life was in grave danger and she hurled her fans like daggers, impaling Quan Chi in the back. He howled, releasing Scorpion from his magic – Kitana teleported to retrieve her fans and stab the sorcerer again, this time in the kidneys. Quan Chi released a blast of magic from the amulet, blowing Kitana away, and he healed his wounds. As he faced the princess, he summoned a broadsword in both hands and crossed the blades over each other as he got into his stance.
"You took me on and lost last time, princess," the sorcerer sneered. "It'll be the same here again."
"No, it's going to be different this time, Quan Chi," Kitana retorted.
"How so?"
"I've got him."
With a feral roar, Scorpion impaled Quan Chi from behind. The sorcerer grunted in pain and threw his elbow back, connecting with Scorpion's skull. Kitana moved and she kicked Scorpion's sword out of Quan Chi's torso, swinging her fans in a flurry of steel. Quan Chi defended against the deadly strikes, but the wound impaired him and he faltered – Kitana slashed, cutting a line across the sorcerer's face – he countered with a green skull that blasted her across the collapsing room. Scorpion retrieved his sword and took over for the princess; hellfire and steel clashed together with a display of sparks, both warriors terribly injured from one another – Scorpion backhanded the sorcerer and breathed a tongue of hellfire; Quan Chi stopped the flames with a wall of green skulls and drove the wall forward, dropping the spectre with the collision.
Kitana teleported and slashed – Quan Chi dropped onto her from above and stomped on her stomach, driving the air out of her – she choked for oxygen and Quan Chi raised his swords, aiming them at her head – a kunai pierced his chest and hauled him away from the princess, allowing her to regain her breath; Scorpion ripped the fiery Mugai Ryu across Quan Chi's torso, cauterising the wound as the sorcerer yelled in pain. He quickly created a portal that the spectre ran in, opening the exit in the ceiling – as Scorpion fell, Quan Chi struck him with his broadswords, followed by a green skull that proceeded to chomp on Scorpion's body. A fan shattered the skull and Quan Chi faced Kitana, defending against her vengeful strikes.
"Edenia will fall, princess," the sorcerer snarled when he locked his blades against hers.
"I can promise that you will fall before that ever becomes a reality," Kitana retorted.
"You keep telling yourself that."
He shoved her back and went on the offensive; he utilised brutal attacks to find the chink in her armour, just like last time – Scorpion appeared beside Kitana in a flash of hellfire, his sword intercepting Quan Chi's blades. She smiled and together, they turned the tide against the sorcerer, exploiting the openings they showed one another. Quan Chi faltered against the pair, his body streaked with injuries – Scorpion and Kitana delivered a kick together that dropped the sorcerer to the floor. He spat blood and impaled the floor in frustration.
"Very well! I've had enough! If I can't kill you in combat, then I'll have to kill you with sorcery!"
He raised his hands and the room began to quake once more. While the stronghold hadn't collapsed yet, Quan Chi was making that happen. Pieces of mortar crumbled around them, as the walls started to collapse. The floor was breaking up and falling away, cracks running through the surface as holes opened up. Quan Chi laughed, as Scorpion threw his kunai, impaling the sorcerer's left arm. With a vicious tug, he tore the limb off; blood sprayed everywhere like a fountain. Quan Chi howled as he clutched at the stump, trying to stem the flow – Scorpion hurled the kunai into the sorcerer's right leg and repeated the process. Quan Chi screamed, hopping around on one leg as blood flowed from his body. Scorpion approached the sorcerer, Mugai Ryu in hand, and he impaled Quan Chi through the mouth, cutting off his screams. Then, the spectre decapitated the sorcerer, palming his severed head.
"Blood for blood, your debt is paid and my vengeance is done."
At that moment, a large piece of ceiling above Kitana broke away, hurtling towards the unknowing princess. She noticed, but by then, it was almost too late - at the last second, Scorpion covered her body with his, as the ceiling crashed upon the pair. Kitana was curled up in Scorpion's arms; her eyes squeezed shut, a shield of hellfire protecting them from the potentially fatal collapse. Once the debris stopped, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at her saviour, realising that she was staring at his human face – his vengeance had been quelled by the death of Quan Chi, granting him this visage.
She gave him a small smile, still curled up in his arms, delighting in the feel of them around her; they were powerful and strong, yet gentle at the same time.
"Thank you," she whispered to him.
She was so close to him, her body pressed up against him, her face just inches from his and her arms around his neck. Something sparked inside Scorpion at the close contact and he found himself wondering…did he feel something for the princess in his arms? There was something there, he knew it; he'd be lying if he said he didn't, but it was only platonic, right? Normally, he felt nothing but the drive for vengeance, but with Quan Chi dispatched and his clan avenged, the vengeance had withered, leaving him with this strange, but not unknown feeling towards the Edenian. Could he really have other emotions, long since thought forgotten? If his jealousy towards Liu Kang was any indicator, then the answer was yes. Could he bring out that same joy Kitana had shown towards the Shaolin monk? Could he ever have her show that display of emotions towards him? Could a spectre of vengeance even be capable of such a feat? Did he even want her to? He wasn't sure; hell, he wasn't even sure if she felt the same towards him. She couldn't, seeing as she was now engaged to the Champion of Mortal Kombat.
Was he really leaning down towards her? Was she really leaning up towards him?
At that moment, he heard footsteps and he reluctantly broke away from Kitana. She looked at him in confusion, but then she heard the footsteps as well; she got to her feet, confusion running rampant through her mind.
Was Scorpion really intending to kiss her? And was she really intending to reciprocate?
The pair adopted a defensive stance, Scorpion dropping his human visage for his flaming skull…and Sub Zero entered the demolished room, Kung Lao alongside him.
"There you guys are," Sub Zero cried in relief. "We thought we lost you."
"No, just finishing up some business," Scorpion stated. He began to leave, but then he stopped by Quan Chi's mutilated body and retrieved Shinnok's amulet, slapping the relic against Sub Zero's chest. "Here, look after that. Make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."
And with that, Scorpion stormed from the stronghold, as Kitana watched him leave, unable to help the feeling of disappointment that he didn't kiss her, wondering what that meant for the both of them.
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A/N: More to come!
