Near the End

The family continued to act bravely along with the Locust Clan as they continued to battle the vampires. Knightwolf never imagined that her family would be able to hold their own against foes as quick as them. It is almost just as surprising that they were not able to defeat the unnamed assailants who killed them years ago. Mileena was also impressed by them, especially Aylin who stood her ground unlike when she was shook in Mileena's presence back in Outworld.

"Mileena!" Knightwolf shouted once more.

"Do not make demands with me, Shaman," she snapped. She rushed to the family, only to be immediately intercepted by Ciero. As the vampire swipes towards Mileena, a portal appeared with her hand passing through it. She remembered what happened to one of her fellow sisters in that moment and quickly moved her hand out of the portal before it closed completely.

"Cheap trick kid," she stated bluntly.

One of the other vampires grabbed ahold of Chan and rushed to the sky above. Fujin noticed and aimed his crossbow towards the assailant. Nitara takes the chance to tackle Fujin into the ground before returning her attention to Khameleon. Fujin accidently fires the arrow, miraculously striking Ciero instead. An explosion occurred in the skies between Chan and the vampire. The sound and appearance was like that of a firecracker. Smoke continued to rise from Chan's arm as he descended towards the ground below. The Vampire also descended, albeit at a much slower pace due to her wings. Chan channels his Yin energies and directs his arms towards the ground and a nearby tree. He opens a portal in which he falls through and appears from another portal by the tree before falling to the ground.

Mileena continues to run towards the family as the other vampires notice as well. One of them takes their attention away from the family and charges towards Mileena. Much to her dismay, Mileena was more than a match for the woman as she counters her attacks with a quick stab to the neck with her sai. Mileena quickly removes it from her neck as she walks towards the beach. The woman raises her head as she resurrects only to be struck in the head by a sai thrown by Mileena.

"You bastard!" Nitara shouted. She turns her attention to Mileena and darted towards her. Unlike her sisters, she was far faster and stronger. Before Mileena could react, a portal appeared behind her. Nitara flew into the portal and slammed face first into a tree. Chan's arm was raised towards Mileena, who simply nodded and continued to walk seductively.

"Who is that boy?" Khameleon asked.

"You truly know nothing of Earthrealm's warriors, do you?" Knightwolf joked. "All I can tell you is that everyone here has been unknown to you for a reason. Under normal circumstances, we would kill you for even being here."

"That is not out of the realm of possibility for them...and especially not for you," Shujinko stated. Khameleon mugged him before returning her attention to the recovering Nitara.

Mileena came near the family with a sadistic smile on her face. One of the vampires attempts to strike her. Mileena dodges her and wraps her arms around her neck. She proceeds to sink her teeth into the back of the vampire's neck. The curdling of blood combined with the brutality and savagery of Mileena's continuous gnawing of her body sparked fear into the hearts of the other vampires, the Saurians, and the family on the beach. Her eyes were locked with Aylin's as she gazed onto her. The blood of the lifeless vampire dripped from her lips. She released her grip from the woman and proceeded to grab Aylin's hand. She could feel the warmth and the quivering movement as she rubbed the back of her hand.

"It is time that we depart, child," she stated bluntly.

She looked at Aylin's parents who were still in a state of shock. They both nodded and began to follow a trail created by the Saurians to aid in the family's escape. Nitara grits her teeth as she watches Mileena escape with Knightwolf's family. She looks around as her fellow vampires were getting defeated fairly quickly with the arrival of Knightwolf's backup. Her chances of defeating them all was much slimmer the moment Fujin arrived. The addition of Chan and Shujinko made the task impossible—especially without the ability to use Knightwolf's family as hostages.

"A retreat is in order, sisters," Nitara announced as she rises to the air along with the others. She peers onto the heroes of Earthrealm. "We shall return, Earthrealmers. I bid you farewell."

As Nitara turned around to leave, a powerful tornado surrounds the entire town. The locust clan and Earthrealm warriors are pulled away from the Tornado by Shujinko, who uses his telekinesis learned by a warrior in the NetherRealm. All them except Knightwolf who's feet were planted into the ground.

"Knightwolf!" Shujinko shouted.

Nitara and her vampires struggled to regain control in the sky. The houses started to tear apart and fly around it. Many of the vampires were struck by some of the rubble either injuring them, killing them, or knocking them out. A few of the vampires get the idea of using the rubble as a foothold and attempt to use them to escape the tornado. However, they are forced into staying in the tornado by Kenshi, who just arrived in the nick of time.

"This is the end of the line for you, Nitara!" Knightwolf shouted. She creates a spirit chain from the ground to grab Nitara and plant her feet directly on the surface. Knightwolf then slammed the palms of her hands together. She began to glow green. It had seemed that time was frozen in place for them both.

"What are you doing, Shaman?" Nitara questions as she noticed they were the only ones able to move and talk.

"For years I've wandered the realms not knowing where my life would end. It seems like today might be that day."

"You have us right where you want us. Fujin could rip everyone here apart in a moment's notice and you would survive. How could you…" Nitara's eyes flare up. "So, that was your plan all along."

"I did not plan to fight any of you. This would've happened no matter what," she responded.

"That girl does not know the ways of a Shaman, nor does she know the taboo of consuming souls. She will die."

"She will be fine," Knightwolf smiled. Nitara spit a ball of blood towards Knightwolf. However, Nightwolf moved to the side dodging it.

"My princess Kitana wondered how we transferred an entire village from the other side to here. Now she may never know."

"Your…princess…" Nitara whispered.

"Chan! Protect her at all cost!" Knightwolf yelled. The ground around them began to glow green. Many of the vampires began to disintegrate as well as the rest of the village surrounded in the tornado.

*Throne Room in Outworld*

Kitana opens her eyes. She feels a sharp sting on her right shoulder. She instinctively rubs the area feeling nothing out of the ordinary. She rolls up her sleeves to inspect it and notices that Nitara's bite mark was gone. The Tarkatan guards were confused as they knew nothing of her encounter with Nitara. They tried their best to pretend that they were not paying attention. Kitana began to chuckle quietly, which did not help the situation at all. She starts to get louder, prompting them to stare at her as the laughs started to become hysterical.

"It seems that Nitara and Daegon are no longer a threat to us." Kitana placed her hand onto her shoulder as she remembers the moment Nitara sunk her teeth into it. "It seems there truly was no consequence associated with it."

"Is there something you need us to do?" one of the Tarkatans asked.

"Rest, my people! For tomorrow, we shall execute the final stages of Operation Reklaim!" The Tarkatans did not respond. Instead they looked to one another cautiously. Kitana noticed the lack of bloodlust. "What is it?"

"It is…nothing, your highness."

"Do you all wish to do this sooner? I would not mind."

"It is not that…"

"We shall rest tonight and perform our duties tomorrow, Empress Kitana," Zero responded. The other Tarkatan looks to him.

"Have the Tarkatans gone soft, Zero?" she questioned.

"None of us were prepared to execute your orders this early."

"We have no time to waste. The realm must be reminded of who is in charge. We cannot have another situation like what occurred years ago with Shang Tsung nor what has occurred months ago with my sister," she stated. The Tarkatans agreed and preceded to leave. Kitana arose from her throne and stared onto the Courtyard with glee. The time had finally come.

End of Chapter 18

There are a few things I need to include in the Author's note for this chapter. First, I apologize for the late release. I haven't been feeling well enough to focus on finishing the chapter as early as originally planned. I still plan to finish releasing the last two chapter of this arc before June so no worries there.

As for the 4th and Final Arc of this story, which will be ten chapters long, I plan to start releasing those chapters in Mid-July as I have a lot of other things that will be occurring during June (state being reopened, Birthday Month, ect.), so I won't have as much time or consistency during that Month. More Information on the Final Arc will be revealed with the Release of Chapter 20.

If all goes According to plan, Resurrection (the next and Final Story) will begin and hopefully end Next Year Starting January 1st and Ending on December 31st depending on if I'm 100% consistent and whether or not it will still be 52 Chapters long.

(Upcoming—End of the Civil War)