I'm so sorry for the super late chapter update. Somehow, I just couldn't find the words to finish this chapter. And the length isn't quite where I'd want it to be.
-Rachel
"I shall go." Kitana spoke up, surprising the other revenants. How could she dare to volunteer for such a mission after the results of their last endeavor? The foolish girl had even turned against her own mother, and, most important of all- their master Quan Chi. Sindel instantly stepped forward, opening her mouth and preparing to volunteer in place of her daughter, however, Quan Chi lifted his hand to silence her.
"Elaborate." the sorcerer semi-demanded of Kitana, "Why do you wish to go and do this? I wouldn't want to see one of my prime enforcers come to betray me." Quan Chi's tone of voice was semi-mocking, but he was fully entertaining the idea of sending the Princess to finish what she and Sindel had started.
"Those who stand before the Netherrealm shall be destroyed. There is no companionship to be found within the living; we are the dead and we exist only to serve." Kitana was quick to give away her reasoning, if only to not bring his wrath down upon her head.
"I see." Quan Chi seemed pleased, "It seems our dearest Mileena Kahnum has somehow allied herself with Earthrealm..." he remembered seeing her altercation with Sindel and Kitana, and the very next day fighting with Kotal Kahn. "be a dear and kill her for me, won't you? I want that soul of hers, most certainly a worthy servant. I'll make this family of yours whole." he smirked devilishly at Kitana, willing her or Sindel to say anything of the contrary about Mileena. He knew fully well that they had nothing but a bitter taste for the hybrid, Quan Chi just wanted to see how deeply rooted that hatred could be.
"For the glory of the Netherrealm." Kitana vowed, upon seeing the portal open behind her the Princess ran through, inspecting the area within the army base. Every mortal from within was most definitely asleep, and it would be far too easy. Provoking a fight between Mileena would be the easiest thing in the world to achieve, and, if Kuai Liang, Johnny Cage or Sonya Blade drew themselves into the konflict; all the better. More powerful servants for the Netherrealm and she most likely would be rewarded for completing such a task. The first thing was first; how to draw out her prey. Entering within a bunker, Kitana quickly slaughtered the men and women from within, only allowing one to live with a flesh wound.
Upon him sounding the alarm, she grinned wickedly from beneath her mask, and quickly slew the man before her. Standing out in the open, she dared all of those that could face her to do so.
"And here I was hoping it would be a false alarm." Sonya muttered bitterly, rolling her shoulders and looking even more pissed off than usual. "You know- I could have forgiven the whole 'woken up in the middle of the night' thing, if you hadn't gone into a room filled with sleeping soldiers and killed defenseless people." the blonde stared down Kitana, daring the revenant to make any sort of movement.
"How else was I supposed to garner your attention, Colonel?" Kitana asked coyly with a hint of 'innocence', tilting her head to the side, "You are a very busy woman, afterall." the revenant slowly began to progress forward, stopping upon hearing the clicks of many guns and seeing laser sights all over her body. "How disappointing." she shook her head, mocking Sonya even further.
"Not living up to your expectations? Well, sorry to disappoint, but your opinion matters to me about as much as Cage and his stupid antics." Sonya saw Kitana go for another step, and this time, drew her own pistol. "You take one more step and I will unload a full clip into you. See- we know about the whole 'healing factor' you undead have, but how fun will it be, prying slugs out of your torso for days?" Kitana still didn't bother to listen, and defiantly stepped forward.
"Hey, don't bring me into this." Johnny said defensively, "Don't mind me, ladies- just came to see the cat fight." he raised his hands in an 'I mean no harm' mock gesture.
"If it isn't the one who drools over Tanya." Kitana said smoothly, looking back to Sonya, "Your Earthrealm weapons cannot harm me. However, I cannot promise that mine will do the same."
"No? Well, tell that to the .50 cal snipers you have aimed at you. Last I checked, I could kill several buildings with just one bullet. Even if you somehow managed to survive that- how would your so called 'immortal' life go, if you were in pieces?" Sonya mocked her, annoyed at the comment about Tanya. She glanced out the corner of her eye at Johnny, her furrowed brows making it clear they were going to address this later.
"In other words, she's saying; only I get to do snide comments and mock my former husband." Johnny chimed in, grinning stupidly at both Kitana and Sonya, he found it entertaining that Kitana could push Sonya's buttons so easily. And, Sonya seemed to be even more cranky just because of the whole Tanya comment by Kitana.
"Sweet sister." Mileena said in a low voice, stepping forward with her sai drawn. "Are you here to play once more?" she cooed with delight, preparing herself once more for kombat against the fallen Princess. The thought of fighting Kitana brought her a great amount of joy, to rip into her throat and show her just how far she had come.
"Kombat- is not play." Kitana's gaze fixated immediately upon Mileena, ignoring the others as if they hadn't even been there to begin with. Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage and Kuai Liang were not of her concern. She had come to kill Mileena and Quan Chi would not appreciate anything less of her. How easy it had been to get all of them within her grasp at the same time. Would the Earthrealmers be foolish enough to fight her in 'fair kombat' when they had the advantage? It seemed more than likely, they had their 'principals' and delusions of morality to hide behind. At the end of the day, they'd think themselves heroes. Were she to be accompanied by another revenant, they would not show such kindness to their victims.
"Not if you lose." Mileena taunted her, laughing as she mocked the fallen Princess. Had Kitana only come for an exchange of words? It seemed like a major waste of the Netherrealms time, perhaps it was all a trick to occupy their time while some other onslaught began. If it was, then all the better. She didn't mind being 'used' so long as it gave her the opportunity to do what she wanted; fight and humiliate Kitana.
"You talk big for someone who thinks she has an advantage." Kitana mused, "But, really, you don't." she drew her fans, and just as the gunfire rang out, used her affinity for wind to force all of the reinforcements Sonya had spoken of to shoot each other. "Now that the idle threat is out of the way...can we finally get on to business."
"Haven't lost your touch at all, Princess." Kuai Liang commented, catching her attention for a brief moment.
"Now that you have your boyfriend by your side, do you stand taller? Will he give you the drive to finally have a chance to fight with me?" Kitana mocked Mileena, not at all acknowledging Kuai Liang past her glance. "You still won't win, in either case. And what's worse; he gets to watch you die, sister."
Everyone prepared for kombat, despite their standings on Mileena, they were asked by Raiden personally to protect the hybrid, and his will be done. "Get out of my way!" Mileena hissed, her sai materializing within her hands, and just to prove how serious she was, she tossed one at any of them who tried to come forward. "Where is your tasty little appetizer, dear sister? Has he finally lost interest in your farce that you call 'nobility'? Is that why you're so bored and have to try and take that which does not belong to you? This mortal is mine; and I will tear you apart until you understand that you may stake no claim on him."
"How bold." Kitana wasn't at all surprised or interested in what Mileena had to say, "The cryromancer is not the object of my affections." she stated plainly, "And what makes you think I could not simply take him if I wanted Kuai Liang?" the revenant was picking a fight, and most certainly didn't care if it only kickstarted their battle.
"Never thought I'd see the day." Sonya shook her head, "I mean, you have two 'sisters' fighting over you, Subzero. Mileena and Kitana." somehow, not even saying it aloud had her believing what she had heard.
"I know, right?" Johnny asked, "You basically have twins fighting over you- I mean, they're not 'twins' but clone and original, but they're basically the same person, well, supposedly, and that makes them 'twins'. So, it's like the ultimate guy fantasy come true. Always thought it'd happen to me, but it doesn't mean that I can't be happy for you." he grinned, clapping Kuai Liang on the shoulder.
Before Kuai Liang could respond, Sonya smacked Johnny on the back of the head, "Pig." she muttered under her breath.
Kuai Liang folded his arms and stared at what was bound to happen; Kitana and Mileena in kombat. Both of them had exchanged a show of words that were certainly to provoke the other into fighting, and he wasn't sure who would come out the victor. Kitana had been so callous that she thought to challenge all of them at once, what made her think that she could win? Four on one weren't very good odds, especially since all of them could perform devastating juggles if given the opportunity. He drowned out all of Johnny and Sonya's bickering, just because he wanted to catch every single moment of what was to come.
Kitana stepped forward, and Mileena didn't dare to shrink back or show any sign that she would cower, in fact, the hybrid matched her step. "I will finish what my mother did not."
"Did not, or could not?" Mileena mocked Kitana in a haughty tone, "Just because you can't die; doesn't mean I won't kill you over and over again. Fun, that will never truly end. The Elder Gods must have smiled upon me on this very day, giving me what I want most in all the realms. Shao Kahn would be proud on what I am to do on this very day."
"It seems your mouth runs far more than your skill can last." Kitana mused, producing her cyclone thrower and tossing it at Mileena.
"You are not worthy to wield those weapons." Mileena did the splits and tossed a sai at Kitana, teleporting behind her sister just as she went to side step it. Kicking her in the face, she knocked Kitana on the ground and leapt at her with a sai impale.
Kitana rolled out of the way and knocked Mileena onto the ground with a low sweep kick, a leaping spinning back kick and launched her into the air with her fan lift. Tossing her fans at Mileena, she used an enhanced version of her cyclone throw, it hit her backward and forward, giving just enough time for her to reuse her fan lift. Using an overhead smash with her glaive, she 'bounced' Mileena from the ground and hit her with enhanced spinning back kicks. "Get up!" the revenant ordered, "I am not finished with you, mutt!"
"What makes you think I would ever do as you asked of me!?" Mileena hit Kitana with her rolling thunder ability, three backhands, her enhanced sai toss and enhanced rolling thunder to relaunch her sister. Using her overhead kick, she bounced Kitana off the ground and somersaulted Kitana across the battlefield between them.
"Ouch." Johnny flinched a bit, "Looks like you've been teaching her a thing, or two."
"Cage-" Sonya began scolding him, but Johnny shook his head at her.
"I wasn't talking about something like that. She's using some of his moves, I mean, watch her fighting style- it's totally not the way that Mileena used to go about doing things. She's fighting really technical, smart, and most important of all- kicking some sorry revenant ass." Johnny sounded almost proud of the hybrid, grinning as he watched her once more knock down Kitana.
"Oh." Sonya blinked in surprise, when she noticed the fact that Johnny had been telling the truth. Mileena fought with Kuai Liang's style.
"She wanted to improve upon her fighting style, I could only oblige. Mileena is far more capable than even she thought herself to be." Kuai Liang explained, "Her Edenian might mixed with the skills of a Tarkatan prove only to make her far more adaptable and ravenous when it comes to kombat, no matter what happens- she will continually go on. Considering her opponent in Kitana, and this is a one on one fight, I have no doubt that she will pull out all of the stops."
"Seems like a solid plan. Keep on attacking, let your opponent know you mean business." Johnny nodded, "Especially since Kitana seems to be doing just about the same thing."
"Well, this scenario could be completely different. Think of if they had the exact same fighting style. Symmetrical violence wouldn't help anything. It's a good thing that Mileena's her own person, fighting with different weapon choices and a polar opposite in martial arts. Still, can't help but wonder if we're putting all our eggs in the wrong basket. Don't get me wrong, Subzero, I'm not rooting for her to lose, but I'm not too sure if she can pull off a victory."
"I have every confidence that Mileena will be the victor." Kuai Liang said, focusing on the battle at hand.
"Stealing the tactics of others- and adding them into your own will not be enough to save you." Kitana tutted, "You will eventually run out of stamina- not even my blood will be enough to sustain you forever. When your body fails you, you should hope that I oblige your quick death. Kotal was a fool to not kill you in the first place."
"Aren't we acting all high and mighty, doing the very same thing?" Mileena asked, glancing accusingly at the cyclone thrower/glaive upon Kitana's waist.
"I honor the bravery of the fallen; Jade sacrificed her life in the heat of battle for what she believed in. And in death I shall honor her will." Kitana grabbed her glaive, twirling it almost as expertly as Jade would have done. "Your fight is over, mongrel!" she dashed forward and leapt into the air, going for yet another overhead smash on Mileena.
Mileena tossed her sai behind Kitana and disappeared, upon Kitana landing on the ground, Mileena rolled back and grabbed her arms, jerking them to the point of almost breaking. "My fight is never over, sweet sister." Mileena mocked Kitana, stepping just out of the Princess' reach, "I won't let you defeat me!"
"Is that a vow of courage, or just an empty boast to keep your suitor happy?" Kitana cocked her head to the side, "Quan Chi wants your blood to be spilled; you are to die on this very day, Mileena. Make no mistake of this fact-" she drew her fans, "I will also kill anyone who comes to your aid. If the cryromancer thinks he can intervene as with my mother, then he too will fall victim to my weapons." her icy gaze made it very clear that she meant every single word of what she had just said. It also almost dared them to try and step into kombat with her, she had no qualms about fighting a multitude of enemies- Quan Chi would likely reward her greatly if she were to slay all of them and build up his army even more.
"You think to kill me!?" Mileena laughed outright at Kitana's statement, "Serve Quan Chi? I'd rather bow to Kotal and beg forgiveness and amnesty for my 'crimes' against Outworld. If anyone is to die on this day- it shall be you!" she twirled her sai, narrowing her eyes, removing the veil that covered her Tarkatan features, she prepared to step up her game and show Kitana just what the hybrid could do. "You fight for Jade; a forgotten nobody Edenian who got just what she deserved at the hands of my servants. I fight for the glory of Shao Kahn; konquerer or realms- you wish to take my soul? Father knew very well how to manipulate such things..." she began to babble more for herself, walking in the circumference of 'battlefield' they had left. "perhaps, I will save your soul, sweet sister."
"Do not flatter yourself, mongrel!" Kitana scoffed, "You think that you have any chance, at all, to defeat me? That any or all of your allies by your side would make a difference? I will kill Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade- or Subzero, no matter the champion that comes to your aid." she made it very clear that no matter who stepped in, she would not lose the coming battle. Mileena was to die, her master ordered it, and every fiber of her being would make it so.
"My my, don't we think far too highly of ourselves?" Mileena outright mocked the revenant Princess and laughed at her sisters obvious annoyance on the matter at hand. "I have to wonder if you are not simply jealous of what I have that you no longer possess. Once upon a time, you stood amongst the champions of Earthrealm that brought about the death and execution of my beloved father, Shao Kahn. But in this passing moment, your former allies are mine." the hybrid grinned ear to ear as she mocked the undead Princess. "How does it feel- knowing that you stand on the losing side of things, fighting a battle among the 'evil' types, destined to lose? The 'king' of your creed has fallen so easily, his next in line shall soon be nothing but a distant memory, and once one of you, his faithful of undead servants takes up the crown, do you think yourselves to be unified? Would your mother so easily pass up the throne?" ducking a tossed sai/cyclone thrower, she continued to verbally attack Kitana. "You are more of an unfit heir than I!"
Johnny Cage's mouth gaped open, Sonya blinked in surprise and Kuai Liang stared at the spectacle. All of them glanced at one another to see if they had in fact heard right; Mileena declared herself unfit of an heir to Shao Kahn? She always claimed that the throne was hers, destined by her birthright at the order of her father. It didn't seem even remotely feasible for her to declare otherwise.
"Okay- I think..I knocked one too many back when we were drinking, Sub. Cause I think I just heard Mileena call herself 'unfit'." Johnny said, ignoring the battle temporarily to look at the others.
"No, I heard it too." Sonya agreed, "Just...never thought I'd hear it being said, is all."
Kuai Liang paused briefly before finally finding the resolve to speak. "It is the last step in her progression forward." he began to explain, "For a very long time, she grasped onto the concept of Shao Kahn, his throne, defeating her 'sister' as a contender to ever being her superior. Her hatred burned harder than any pyromancers flame, even the hellfires of the specter Scorpion seem to dim in comparison. In order for her to grow as an individual, she couldn't hold onto the concept of hatred for Kitana, forever. To the fleeting dreams of being aristocracy in Outworld. It's a gray area to Mileena, one that she is trying so hard to move forward and press on through, I wonder if she'll be able to see it through to the end."
"Ah, you think it somehow gives you an 'edge' to stand beside the aging former allies of myself? They don't possess the vitality of Edenians- look at how old they are, now. Do you think Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage or Subzero will live forever? Mortals live and die in the blink of an eye, I have lived for over 10,000 years, and they can barely pass five consecutive decades. I've killed more of their kind in Mortal Kombat tournaments under the orders of my former Emperor Shao Kahn than the amount of years they've been alive. Shinnok cannot die; he is an Elder God even if his status is 'fallen' he cannot die the true death. True immortals surpass passages of time, unlike your piteous 'father' Shao Kahn, he will konquer all that exists. Quan Chi won't fall victim to you and your 'friends'. Oh, wait, they aren't your friends, are they, Mileena? Were it not for Kuai Liang's urging, they would never have sided by you. Look at the fact that none of them rushed into battle by your side, even when it seemed you may lose. My mother is none of your concern." she didn't even so much as flinch when hearing the part of being an 'unfit heir'. "You were nothing but a foolish child grasping at straws. Your kingdom was destined to fail, because it had nothing but an incompetent mutt for a 'leader'. Without guidance, proven leadership and the intelligence to know when alliances are to be made to spare yourself the same fate as the former ruler, then you deserve nothing but a swift death! Kotal should have just finished you a long time ago, but no, he played the merciful fool. Allowing Tanya and Rain to release you and bring about a rebellion that was needless. If anyone is 'unfit' it is all of you who 'succeeded' Shao Kahn. You who do not have the capacity to act as a true royal should, you who were callous in your conceit to think an iron fist without proven skill could actually rule. I'll say this clearly, before I kill you; You. Are. Not. Shao. Kahn."
Kitana clearly had very much to say, looking everybit the fallen royal she had previously been. She didn't look upon Mileena with pity, contempt or any visible emotion her undead eyes could muster. Instead, her gaze was cold and uncaring, just as her tone of voice and words.
Mileena knew every word she had said was the absolute truth, and it somewhat stung. "I've said it before- and I'll say it right now!" she hissed, removing her veil, she exposed her Tarkatan features just for the added effect as she spoke. "I don't care if any of them accept me for who I am; I stay in this realm because I have found someone to share my fleeting existence with. Someone who'd dare not to betray me- not because of fear, or my status, but because he's somehow come to care for me." her hands tightly gripped her sai, clenching so tight that her own blood was drawn, even cutting through the fabric of her pink battle suit. "If I am to die on this day- or any day- it will be because I chose to stand by his side and forfeit my life for that of a mortal! I don't care if Shao Kahn would approve or not- it is my choice to do so!" getting tired of speaking alone, Mileena did the splits and tossed a sai at Kitana, the pink aura augmented by her crimson blood. Teleporting, Mileena knocked Kitana up high enough to continue her juggle, a leaping kick to 'bounce' the revenant, backhands and a leaping neckbite.
"How touching." Kitana grunted, attempting to recover off the ground, but Mileena was being relentless in her assault. Each time Kitana went for a counter, or to block, she was immediately punished by a grab or hit that defeated Kitana's defensive tactics. Finding herself repeatedly launched, she needed to figure out a way to get out of the infinite juggles Mileena had clearly been plotting to use.
"Wow, she's really laying into her." Johnny was still blown away by the speeches Mileena and Kitana had given. "You must'a really given off some kind of impression. Never thought I'd hear Mileena spout off about saving someone else rather than her own skin, let alone uncaring about Shao Kahn's opinion on something." he clapped Kuai Liang on the shoulder, "Maybe we should send all of the villains to you for rehabilitation. I mean, you can't sleep with all of them, because I think Mileena would probably kill you, and half of them are guys. I'm not saying you're into that kinda thing, or, maybe you are, but-"
"Cage. You started off all sweet and nice, then you had to go and ruin it by being an asshole. So, how about you quit while you're ahead and shut up before the heel of my boot connects with your jaw and you'll think you're back with Jax getting beaten to a bloody pulp." Sonya was getting annoyed with the fact that Johnny was joking about Kuai Liang sleeping around, and mocking his sexuality. She didn't know if he had those kinds of...inclinations and she found absolutely no interest in finding out. Well, it was obvious that he didn't have a thing for other males, considering the fact that he was with Mileena. Plus it was probably just Johnny stroking his own ego in some way. He'd probably follow up with something about if he was that way he'd have crushed on Johnny. The thought made her stomach lurch.
"It's perfectly alright, Sonya." Kuai Liang couldn't help but smile, shake his head and let out a little laugh. "I think one is my limit, Johnny Cage. And I am not searching for male suitors. You can see the gravity of the situation with Mileena and myself; it isn't some passing 'fling' as you would put it." he glanced to the sai stained with Mileena's blood by her own hands, fighting Kitana in kombat. "I can't explain how it happened, even if you ask me. I can only retell events as they had come to pass, though I don't think any answer I give will satisfy your curiosity on the matter. All I can assure you, is that Mileena has changed, not only herself, but I think I as well have been altered by our meeting. No, in fact, I'm sure of it. Every single person we meet on this Earth alters us for the better or worse. Many people pass through our lives, and there is a saying in my culture; there is no such thing as coincidence, only the inevitable."
"I believe ya, bud." Johnny nodded, not bothering to say anything else on the matter. Watching the fight, he withdrew from Sonya and Subzero, cupping his hands around his mouth, he began to shout "Come on, Mileena! Show me my koins on the right gal!" everyone all at once stared at him, even Mileena and Kitana stopped fighting for a brief moment. Seeing the puzzled looks, he shrugged, grinning dumbly at everyone and no one at the same time, speaking loud enough for all of them to hear. "She said we weren't friends, but when have I ever taken orders from the bad guy? Besides, skimpy and pink seems to beating the crap out of blue thunder over there."
"So close." Sonya literally face palmed, sighing heavily. "You know what, I'm not gonna push it. From you, that's a gold mine of sincerity." a part of her wanted to let loose and cheer with him, but she needed to put her form of authority above childish antics. Johnny had the right sentiment, but she couldn't follow his lead.
Kuai Liang couldn't help but to smile, "Thank you very much." he hadn't meant to, but he had whispered the gratuity.
"Pathetic!" Mileena panted, her clothing ripped, missing a sai and holding one of her sisters fans, she was declaring victory over the revenant.
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Kitana shrugged, "You think you've won? My fight is not yet over."
"You will not get up again!" Mileena snarled, tossing Kitana's fan at her, and her remaining sai into the Princess' foot, teleporting through the ground to kick her down. Her missing sai materialized within her hand, and she went for a coupe de grace, intending very much to end the existence of Kitana.
Kitana barely had time to knock away what would have been the killing blow, and to shove off Mileena. Ripping the sai out of her foot, she was forced to retreat just as a Netherrealm portal opened for her. It seemed she once more failed her master and would be punish dearly for her mistake. What would happen to her, who could say?
Mileena stood completely still, panting hard until her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. Covered in the blood of the revenant and her own, her clothes tattered and weapons worn by the fearsome battle. It was too much strain, her vision went fuzzy, and she completely lost consciousness.
"That must've been one hell of a struggle to make her pass out." Johnny was the first to speak, as the trio ran over.
"Kitana never ran out of endurance or stamina. She only fled when Mileena was about to kill her. Maybe the plan wasn't for Kitana to actually physically kill Mileena, but to make her exert enough force that she'd kill herself with a heart attack. Think about it, the two of them in a battle? Mileena wouldn't hold back and she'd pull all of the stops just to say that she took down Kitana- it's a feat she's always wanted to have. She's not human, so I can't say if we can diagnose this kind of thing.." Sonya seemed to only stop talking when she saw Kuai Liang step forward and pick up Mileena.
"She will need rest." Kuai Liang said almost robotically, taking her away from the scene and back to a room where he knew they could be alone. He didn't care how long it would take for her to wake up, all he knew was that he'd stay by her side until she did. Part of him wanted to wipe away the blood on her body, to change the tattered clothing adorning her torso, but he knew that she would like to do such things herself. For now, he could only treat the open wounds that she had, and dress the ones that were self-inflicted by her sai during the struggle with Kitana earlier.