As imposing a figure as the previous Emperor was - discounting the deranged and deposed Kahnum that ruled between the two - Kotal Kahn easily towered over the blonde that stood in earnest penitence before her lover in the empty throne room; partly respect and partially on demand, the mammoth of a decorated hall had been promptly evacuated so that they could converse in confidence. Secondary entrance taken care of, Ferra and Torr stood just outside the main sealed double-doors to ensure that the big boss was alone with blondie, but the Sargent knew that both her father and best friend were just outside for her if she needed them, hovering as close as the symbiote duo would allow. While that moment might come, Cassie was determined that she wouldn't need to lean on them as this was her business. It wasn't that she was ungrateful, she just had to prove that she could handle herself out there.

Not that it even registered on her radar at that moment, but the blonde also was aware of the personal protector covering their exposed flank. More timing than an initial interest in having to listen to the couple get hot and heavy yet again, Erron Black was tasked to guard the side door before he even caught what the hullabaloo was, raising a sly brow at Cage when she stalked passed with her eyes on the floor. Submissive was a state that the cowboy never expected to see the General's daughter in, but there was a sliver of him that kind of liked the sight. If Emren caught me thinking that, the merc thought with a mental cringe, she'd probably never let me hear the end of it. Good thing that she was no where near to this location.

Stoic as the tan granite statues that surrounded the palace at regular intervals, the Osh-Tekk merely watched her with those strange staring pupil-less eyes that seemed able to peer beyond the surface to the soul within, his expression growing steadily more bereaved as the woman explained her side of the story. With all the might as she had ever seen in one man, Cassie knew that Ko'atal could crush her up like an empty can without breaking a sweat if he had the mind to - what made this confession so hard on her was seeing that none of that strength was in him now as he got caught up on current events. Just one good bear hug from him and her head could have been popping off like a nasty little zit, a la Tight Squeeze or Flick Trick, and yet her words seemed to be having the opposite effect on him...

Evren, name half a curse and half an apathetic reminder, Ko'atal thought of the hellion, envisioning how the demoness must look on her deathbed surrounded by family and loved ones, seeing not the woman she was now, but the warrior he had married so many years ago when they were both in Shao Kahn's service, even as you yourself lay dying, you set me up for another heartache. Problems abound previously, it was only natural that they would annul their marriage after losing their son the way they did, just as it was inevitable that there would be unsettled feelings between them now.

Not just counting Cassandra, Ko'atal had moved on since Evren, and obviously the succubus was married so it wasn't as if there was any lingering thoughts about what was or what could have been, however that didn't mean that it was so easy to forget the time they shared together, all the loss, the war, the blood and the lust. For just a moment we had agreed to share in love and family, but loss and hate had torn us asunder, the fallen pieces too damaged and too burned to be repaired. But it was more than that for the Osh-Tekk, it was a lack of face-to-face closure. He knew that if the opportunity arose for them to reignite the long-dead fossil of their short-lived romance, he would refuse it without any shred of doubt because neither of them were the same people that wed during that bloodstorm in Chaosrealm. Still though, closure would have been nice.

But how could he just go to her now and demand to have their final say? After their son had been murdered by his political enemies, he could not face her for the shame and responsibility he bore, nor could the man that he was at that time endure the hurt and contempt she personified. Leaving for Seido to try to learn to cope with the grief, he never would have dreamed that the hellion's path would have lead her through the Netherrealm to her past and future, yet it did, and time just made it impossible from there.

And then in her irrational panic she returned to Outworld, frightened of every passing shadow, alone, and pregnant with a child of dubious parentage. Before the mere retainer even realized what he was getting himself into, his own sufferings manifested themselves into the hopes that the child would be born male; there was no replacing what had been lost of course, but just maybe that faith could have been rewarded. It was, to a degree: In Zyanyo he could almost see the son that they had lost, but in Hitomi... Ko'atal could see the only man the succubus had ever or could ever truly love, unconditional and eternal. He tried to get passed it, to see the girl for her own person and love her anyways, but the resent he carried at being replaced was too strong.

Mindful that the prisoner awaiting interrogation was the girl he had raised since infancy, the man gaped down at the young woman standing dejectedly before him, realizing not for the first time that the blonde human was just a child herself. Sometimes Cassie's spunk and sense of adventure made him forget for just a moment that she was so new to the world, yet it was only for a moment that her age didn't intervene in some way or another, and if not the number of years she had been alive, then it was usually when she would open her mouth and speak her next vulgarity. The girl had been entertaining and possessed her share of perks, but as an Emperor it was not his place to seek happiness in such a romance. I must not be selfish, I must put my people first.

"Why did you not resist, Cassandra?" Ko'atal inquired of the kiss the blonde had shared with the girl he helped raise for the first half of her life. If it had not been this thing now (or a similar condition), it could have been something so much worse when timing was everything. He did not want to say it now, to end it at all, especially for something as simple as a demon of lust doing what their nature intended, yet if not now, when? It had to be done, for the good of the realm.

Silent, Cassie had no real answer for that. Kissing another girl wasn't exactly a new thing for her, but it wasn't commonplace either, so maybe it was just a nameless kind of curiosity that had swept her into the moment and prevented her from thinking rationally - after all, that charming little stunt had been enacted to scramble the blonde's mind so that the victory wasn't clean. Well congratu-fucking-lations Hasashi, you pulled it off. I'm royally screwed and as single as... Oh, that cleaver fucking bitch! She didn't even want to Takeda anymore, did she?! When they got out of this, Cassie swore that she'd have a few words for the ex.

A/N:

Man, is it just me, or is this chapter really longer than what it seems? I guess maybe it just might appear so much extended because I had to revise so much of it as I went, or maybe a lot just happened within the approximately 1,500 words? Actually, I wanted to go all out for this, the twentieth chapter, but this is what I wrote so this is what is. I mean as a chapter I like it, so that's the important thing. Also, Erron wasn't originally going to show up in this chapter, but since it was initially too short, and I figured that the throne room would have multiple exits, it made sense to have him assisting Ferra/Torr. Do keep in mind that this was Cassie's conclusion, and not necessarily the truth. Also, when Kotal brings up being replaced by Scorpion, it was less of a romantic inclination for his ex-spouse and more just general male competition. Again this is assuming on my part (I know, I know, that's never good to do), but being a warring culture, I can see any Osh-Tekk being possessive about what was once his, even if he no longer cared about it.

And see, I might not have put in the Testi-Kill, but I did bring up some other moves. OK, so maybe the two I mentioned were fatalities, but point.