Chapter XIX
Hero
Scorpion groaned as Harumi's claws sank deeper into his chest. The blades dug beneath his sternum and reached for his heart. She moved slowly, ensuring he felt every agonizing moment, and never stopped looking him in the eye. Coldness told hold—the rage and fire that had driven him for so long faded, and he found no strength to resist.
"Is this it?" she hissed. "Is this the end of the proud Scorpion? After all this time, the vengeful spectre meets his end with a whimper?"
He looked upon her, his vision blurred and dark, leaving only her face in an empty void. Despite her ghastly complexion, dead eyes, and smeared make-up, she was still his beloved wife. And as much as he hated letting Quan Chi win, he wondered if she wasn't justified in her wrath?
"I won't fight you, Kana," he said. "I could never hurt you."
"Is that so?" she replied. "Even now … after I turn on you at Quan Chi's behest? You won't dare raise a hand to me?"
He closed his eyes and sighed, pushing away the pain and anger. "I'm a selfish man, Harumi. I brought you into my life when you deserved better. I endangered you by joining the Shirai Ryu. I failed to protect you and our son, and I'm lost without you." He looked her in the eye. "The only thing that's kept me going is vengeance. But it's yours, and it always should've been. Take it."
Her face softened. She removed the claws from his chest and caressed his face. "Hanzo," she whispered. "How did it come to this?"
A hush fell over the chamber. The torches dimmed slightly, and the hieroglyphics lining the walls began to glow. As before, a pulse of light flowed through the pyramid corridors, only this time in a bright shade of blue rather than red. The sound that echoed through the halls was less a roar and more a musical cry.
When the light passed, Quan Chi looked around suspiciously. He waited, as if expecting something, then sneered and said to Harumi, "Enough. Finish him."
She looked at Scorpion, and then stared at her claws. Her face, once fixed in bitter anger, softened to mournful sadness. Regret and longing filled her eyes as she removed the dying rose from her hair and placed it on his chest.
"We never had a chance, did we, Hanzo?" she said. "Why do you keep trying?"
"It's my nature."
What she planned to do next, he would never know. As if a bolt of lightning cracked, the chamber became engulfed in a blinding white glow. It was so intense Quan Chi shielded his eyes and backed away, as if it hurt to be in its presence. Harumi also covered her eyes and backed against the wall.
Scorpion turned over as the light faded, and he began to see the figure that appeared. He was tall and strongly built with long black hair tied in a tail. He wore a uniform similar to Scorpion's, though gold and white rather than yellow and black, giving the ninja an ethereal appearance.
"Come, Mother," the ninja said. "I will bring you peace."
Harumi and Scorpion stared at him in awestruck silence. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Even if it was him, how could he be there now?
"… Satoshi?"
Their son stepped forward, his face solemn and focused. His gaze softened slightly upon seeing his parents, and he offered the slightest nod. "Mother," he repeated. "Come with me. Let me help you."
"It's our son, Hanzo," she said, approaching him. "Our boy … our son lives …"
The light surrounding Satoshi grew brighter as she went to him. He held his hand out and took hers. He gave her a light smile before turning to his father, who struggled to get to his feet.
"Wait," Scorpion said, reaching out to them. "Jubei … let me go with you … please …"
"Your work isn't finished, Father. We will meet again. But not yet."
The light brightened to a blinding white, but Scorpion wouldn't look away. Despite his wounds, he got to his feet and dove at them. But the light disappeared, taking Satoshi and Harumi with it, leaving him grasping at nothing but empty air.
Not yet, his son's voice echoed one final time.
On his hands and knees, Scorpion let out an agonized howl. They had been right there, within his grasp. Somehow, some way, his son had been revived and become the man he always hoped he would be. He wanted to be with them but was denied again. How much longer must his family be just out of reach?
Catching his breath and recovering his strength, he stood once again and remembered why he was there. The realms were in danger. Onaga needed to be stopped. He turned and found Quan Chi staring at him with a look of disgust and dawning fear.
My work isn't finished …
"Do not fret, my child. You will not die here either."
Sindel's hair tightened, making Kitana wince in pain. Even if she had any remaining willpower, she wouldn't break free. A wretched sense of déjà vu came upon her. She was back on the Sea of Blood. Again, at the mercy of her cruel parent—broken, defeated, and without hope.
"You will be imprisoned," Sindel said. "As I intended until Shang Tsung ruined everything. You will live with the anguish and humiliation of your failures. And from there … we'll see. Perhaps I may one day tire of your suffering and grant you death. Or maybe … just maybe … you'll come to your senses and accept your true family."
Kitana looked at her mother—this woman she once believed to be a good and noble person. A woman she had vowed to avenge and honor without even knowing her. A woman she embraced and welcomed into her heart even if it was Shang Tsung's sorcery that made it possible.
A woman who was now gleefully reveling in her pain and misery.
She spit in her face.
Sindel hesitated and blinked, dumbstruck. As it sank in, she wiped the spittle away, and her face contorted into a hideous grin. Although she tried to make like Kitana's defiance amused her, the rage it sparked was transparent.
"I see," she growled, her voice shaking. "Still some fight in you. Good. That's good. I'll just have to beat some—"
The corridor shook, and the runes engraved on the walls came alive with light. They grew brighter and brighter until a flash of blue light coursed through the hall with a strange howl. When it passed, a hush came over the pyramid with a slight draft.
Though stalled, the pulse didn't abate Sindel's anger. She shook her head and returned her attention to her daughter. "As I was saying," she said, gripping Kitana's neck. "I'll have to smother that last bit of fire in you once and for—"
Something snapped onto Sindel's wrist like a whip. Neither she, nor Kitana had a chance to see what it was before she was hurled away from her daughter and slammed into the opposite wall. Kitana collapsed to the floor, released from her mother's hair. She looked down the hall, and her eyes widened upon seeing the woman appear from the darkness.
It was another Sindel. She wore similar purple and black garb, but this Sindel's eyes were blank white and marked with dark make-up. A black streak went down the center of her hair, and her skin was pale as porcelain.
She stood before her counterpart and declared: "Don't touch my daughter!"
She let rip a banshee-like shriek that sent the evil Sindel crashing through the stone wall. Kitana could only watch in disbelief. It didn't make sense. How could there be two of them now? Was this one … could she be …?
As the dust settled and silence returned to the corridor, Sindel turned her attention to the fallen Jerrod. She knelt beside him, and a pained look came to her. "My love," she whispered, caressing his hair. "What have they done to you?"
She turned to her daughter, looking apologetic. "Kitana," she said. "Kitana, I—"
"No-no-no," she said, backing away. She didn't dare hope this was true or good. She'd been through too much to allow herself to believe this woman—this Sindel—was the mother she knew. "I can't … I can't keep doing this …"
"Kitana, listen. Please, look at me. Look at me."
She flinched and pressed her back against the wall. Her mother took her face in her hands, refusing to be pushed away. Her touch was gentle and her voice soothing. Despite her ghostly appearance, there was warmth and love in her white eyes. Kitana froze, not sure what to expect or believe.
"Shao Kahn," Sindel said. "Remember? He used me to invade Earthrealm. He twisted my mind to make me his loyal bride." She wiped tears from Kitana's cheeks and smiled. "And you saved me."
Her heart pounded as she looked at this Sindel, and faint memories she'd thought were dreams came to her. Memories of Outworld's invasion, a siege on Kahn's fortress … and her mother …
"You never gave up me. You saved me, and then we freed Edenia together."
A part of her still doubted. She remembered the sweet words and kind embrace she found in the Soul Chamber after Shang Tsung revived her mother with Fujin. She had doubts then but chose to believe, only for it to end in heartbreak.
But more memories returned. Memories of restoring Edenian by her mother's side. Of Sindel reclaiming her throne and vowing to never abandon her daughter again.
"… Mother? Is it … is it really …?"
They embraced, and in an instant, Kitana knew it was so. After everything that had happened … through rewritten timelines and altered realities … through the disaster caused by Raiden's interference … despite the hateful Sindel born of Kronika's meddling … at last, Kitana was reunited with her true mother once again.
"I don't understand," she said. "How … how are you …?"
"I wish I knew," Sindel said. "The last thing I remember was Armageddon. Everything after that … it feels like a nightmare."
From the darkness, a high-pitched scream wailed. Sindel looked to the hole left behind from her counterpart. Kitana knew, as did she, the evil Sindel wasn't finished.
"Kitana, you need to go. I'll deal with this."
She hesitated and quickly grabbed her mother when she began walking away. "No!" she said. "No, I won't leave you!"
"This is my fight. You're needed elsewhere."
"No! Mother, please! I just got you back … I just … first Father and …" Her emotions overwhelmed her. She clung to her mother as tears poured from her eyes. "Please. I can't do this anymore. I'm not strong enough."
Sindel's face was sympathetic, and her eyes loving. She caressed Kitana's hair and stood her up straight. "Listen to me: whatever happens … whatever's left when this is over … always remember there was a time … there was a world where you had a mother. And she loved you more than anything." She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. "And you're stronger than she ever was."
"How sweet," the other Sindel said with disgust in her voice and on her face. "So what is this trickery? Are you the mother dear Kitana wished she had? The weakling that killed herself?"
The two Sindels faced each other, not unlike one of Shang Tsung's Mirror Matches. Kitana's mother blocked her way and said, "Go. This fight is mine."
Still too drained from all that had happened, she could only moan, "Mother … I can't go on alone."
Sindel—the true Sindel—looked back at her and smiled. "You're not."
Suddenly, the pyramid rumbled, and the walls shifted. A passageway slid closed between them, leaving the two Sindels alone. Kitana pounded on the wall and screamed for her mother, desperately hoping it could open again, but the stone was locked in place.
She pressed her forehead against it and wept, wanting nothing more than to lie down on the floor and let it all end. Her heart ached and head throbbed from so much pain and tears. It was a cruel ordeal to have been returned her parents just for them to be taken away from her.
But she held onto her mother's words and controlled her breathing. Despite everything that happened, she held onto a single truth: regardless of timeline or reality, she did have a mother and father who loved her. No one could ever take that from her.
And she wasn't alone. Her sister needed her.
Johnny Cage tried to stand—more on instinct than conscious effort, as his head was still spinning. He barely made it to his knees before Motaro's hoof kicked him in the jaw and sent him sprawling back on the floor.
"Shao Kahn made me his General for a reason," Motaro said. "I leave no survivors. And you better believe that includes a ridiculous Earthrealm clown like you." He held the tip of his spear against Johnny's chest and smirked. "No Thunder God to save you this time, little man …"
He raised the spear to strike. Johnny cringed, anticipating its blade to tear through his chest. As he prepared for death, a strange thought came to him that didn't make sense to him then. In one life, he was a joke who died unceremoniously at the hands of a Centaur. In another, he saved the Earth from an Elder God.
Guess I'm a joke again …
Before the blade fell, the side of Motaro's head burst and sprayed brains and blood into the air. He was surely dead instantly, but another five shots fired—peppering his head and chest with bullets that left the Centaur to crumble to the floor in a heap.
Johnny turned to the source of the gunfire and found a strange thing: a blonde woman in her early twenties. At a glance, he might've thought it was Sonya, but her face was less harsh and her eyes warmer.
"Cassie?"
"Dad!"
She rushed to him and helped him to his feet. After making sure he was okay, she wrapped her arms around him in a crushing hug. For a moment he thought he was concussed. Wasn't his daughter seven years old?
"Cassie," he said. "You're … grown?"
"I don't know what the hell's going on!"
He didn't either. But it didn't matter for the moment. He turned to find Kano strangling Sonya in the other room, and all doubt and confusion disappeared. He escaped Cassie's grip and didn't even bother offering a snappy one-liner as he leveled Kano with a Shadow Kick that sent the thug crashing into the nearest wall.
Kano grunted and sank to the floor. As he unloaded blow after blow onto the bastard's face … thinking about what he did to Daniel … what he was doing to Sonya … what he might've done to Cassie … Johnny could have easily killed him right there. He definitely wanted to.
But he also knew if anyone deserved that, it should be Sonya. When he stopped himself, his knuckles were bloody and sore, but Kano's face was a mangled ruin. His red cybernetic eye was cracked, and even the metal surrounding it was dented. But he still lived, his breathing coming in a shallow wheeze through his broken nose.
Johnny and Cassie helped Sonya to her feet. She coughed and was bruised, but seemed otherwise unharmed. With no other attackers appearing to threaten them, he took the chance to embrace the two of them. He still didn't understand what had happened or why, but he was grateful to have his family still with him.
"I'm sorry," said Cassie. "But can someone please explain what planet I'm on?"
"Frost … what have you done to yourself?"
Beneath her mask, she smiled and stretched her back and arms, basking in her cyborg body. "I've done what you never allowed," she said. "Become what you resisted."
Sub-Zero got to his feet. He tried to regain his bearings, but so much had happened all at once. The sudden Tekunin attack, Smoke and his alternate entity, and now Frost … though he tried to maintain his composure, the chaos was overwhelming. It was as if someone turned a switch and flipped the world upside down.
"I only wanted what was best for you," he said. "This … this is not the answer."
"What do you know?" she said, chuckling. "Look around you! The Tekunin is my clan, and we've decimated the Lin Kuei! I've outgrown you!"
Without warning, she plowed into him with a running knee to his chest. The blow left him flat on his back and knocked the wind from him. Before he could recover, she followed with a kick to his head that made his vision flicker and blur.
Before he had a chance to recover his senses, a pair of cyborgs picked him up and held his arms behind his back. He tried to resist but was too weakened and caught off guard. They forced him to his knees in front of Frost who adjusted her wrist gauntlets with an eager grin.
"I've so waited for this," she said as a razor-sharp blade of ice formed in her hand. "For every time you pushed me down. For every time you criticized. Now, at last, I am the Master!"
"At what cost?" he asked. "Your gifts were natural. Now what are you?"
"More than human," she said. "More than flesh. Perfected."
His stomach churned. A memory of another time came to him—a time when the Lin Kuei tried to turn its warriors into soulless, interchangeable machines. He had thought it a foul, disgusting practice to take away one's humanity and soul. The worst violation.
And now his student, the one he valued above all others, not only went down that same path, she gleefully embraced it.
"Have I failed you so badly, Frost? Was I such a poor teacher?"
"You ask me that?!" she replied, laughing. "Look around you, Sub-Zero! Only a fool would look to you as a teacher or friend or ally. What is your life but a trail of corpses?"
"What are you talking about?"
"There are other timelines, Sifu. Kronika showed me. No matter which world we exist in, you always fail your poor friend Smoke. Bi-Han … me … the Lin Kuei … everything you touch suffers the same fate as all things that freeze. They wither, die, and shatter."
Kuai Liang felt as though he was adrift in a violent ocean with nothing but a meager piece of driftwood to cling to. Different memories clashed in his mind. He saw contradictory versions of his life, and with it came the horror of realizing how often time and reality had been changed around him.
But what truly chilled him to his core was the truth Frost's taunts. Whether turned to a cyborg or revenant, Smoke was always doomed. Regardless of timeline, Bi-Han becomes a cold-blooded wraith. And no matter how hard he tries, he can never save Frost from herself.
"Is it sinking in, Sifu?" she asked. "For all your efforts at greatness and honor, you're just another failure clinging to lost causes like all the rest. But fear not. I may remake you as one of my cyber-ninja. And then you can be my student."
She raised the ice-blade to cut his head off, when a chill blew through the main hall of the temple. Snow formed in the air, and Frost hesitated as her cyborg body froze. Her eyes turned angry as she tried to fight it, but a beam of ice engulfed her before she could strike.
From the shadows, a woman clad in white and black Lin Kuei garb appeared. She kicked at Frost's frozen legs, shattering them to tiny shards. Sub-Zero's former student screamed in rage as she hit the floor, and without wasting a moment, the woman froze the heads of the two cyborgs holding him. He tore free from their grasp and with a single swinging kick, broke both their heads off their shoulders.
He looked to his rescuer and recognized her pale skin and black hair streaked with blue. "Xue?"
Xue Tianshi nodded at her brother and said, "Come. We must go before more come."
He hesitated, again baffled by the events unfolding around him. His knew his sister, yes, but she wasn't trained to fight. When or how did she become a Lin Kuei warrior, too?
"Xue," he said. "I don't understand …"
"That makes two of us, brother," she said. "But let us worry about it later."
She led him to the nearest corridor, but he resisted. Frost writhed on the floor, screaming and shouting threats and promises of revenge. Smoke was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps worst: more Tekunin cyborgs poured in from the broken entrance of the temple. The Lin Kuei was lost.
"Kuai Liang!" Xue shouted. "Please! We must go!"
With a heavy heart, Sub-Zero joined his sister and escaped, but not without swearing he would learn who was responsible for this disaster and bring them to justice.
"Chow, listen to me! I'm your brother! Let me help you!"
Chow hesitated, the grin still fixed on his face, and tilted his head in curiosity. The scarred mess of flesh where his eyes had been took away his ability to make expressions, giving him an unsettling doll-like presence, as if he was a puppet directed by some unseen force.
"Help me?" he repeated. "But brother, it is I who has come to help you."
Liu tried to stand. The wound on his side wasn't severe, but it was deep enough to cause much bleeding. He shook his head and tried to make sense of what was happening. The sudden Tarkatan attack was enough, but why had his brother suddenly gone mad?
"Chow, please … talk to me. This can't be you …"
"Did you know there was a time I envied you, Liu? You were the Chosen One—destined to defend Earthrealm from the forces of evil. Whereas my destiny … went down a very different path."
"You're not making sense!" he shouted. "We both grew up here with the Shaolin! We've both competed in—"
Chow grimaced and kicked him in his injured rib. "Look past this ridiculous dream that's been conjured for you," he said. "Remember the world as it's supposed to be. Mortal Kombat is not some hallowed tournament of honor and skill. It is an unending sickness of pain and death inflicted by cruel gods who don't give a damn about us."
The blow made Liu's legs buckle. Clutching his side, he sank to his knees and tried to ignore his brother's ranting. Somehow, despite his missing eyes, Chow seemed aware of his surroundings. He would need to move carefully if he hoped to subdue him.
"We've both been marked by fate, brother," Chow continued. "As I said, I once thought yours was the great destiny, but now I wonder. I know a time when you were killed by the treachery of sorcerers, only to be revived as an undead abomination. There's another time where you meet your end by Raiden's hand, only to become Emperor of the damned." The vacant smile faltered slightly, becoming a genuine smirk. "And yet another where you fail your beloved princess when she needed you most."
A chill came to Liu's blood. Although he meant to ignore it as the ravings of madman, Chow's words sparked something. Memories he had thought were mere dreams … or nightmares. Different lifetimes that all end in death, misery, and shame no matter how many times he prevailed in Mortal Kombat.
"My destiny was one of pain, too," Chow said. "But unlike you … doomed to forever fight against the current … I emerged enlightened."
"What happened to you, Chow? Why are you doing this?"
"I am a herald," he said, holding up his bloody dagger. "I bring tidings from the abyss. They're coming, Liu. If we are the dream of One Being, they are its nightmare. Join us …"
His brother approached, and for all his training and experience as Earthrealm's Champion, Liu Kang found himself frozen. He couldn't fathom what Chow was talking about, and it wouldn't occur to him until later his brother might have intended to do worse than kill him with that dagger.
But Chow stopped in his tracks and frowned. He then ducked, narrowly avoiding the razor-tipped hat that whizzed over his head and embedded in the wall beside him. Though blind, he turned to face Kung Lao and hissed at the Shaolin warrior.
Lao's hat reappeared on his head, and he leapt at Chow with his Bullet Kick. Chow evaded the attack and backed to the window still grinning. Outside, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, signaling Kung Lao had not come alone.
"Another time, brother," Chow hissed before diving out the window to escape.
Liu's instinct was to give chase. Catch his brother and demand answers or appeal to his sanity. Or perhaps rush out to find Raiden and rejoin the battle for the Shaolin Temple. But his strength left him as the horror and more forgotten memories settled in. He sank to the floor, holding his bleeding side, and felt ill.
Kung Lao checked the body of his ancestor and shook his head. "I've long dreamed of meeting my namesake," he said. "This is not what I had in mind."
"What do you remember, Lao?" he asked. "Is it coming back to you, too?"
"Too much," he replied. "Like waking from a bad dream."
Raiden appeared at the door, his body pulsing with electricity. Upon seeing Liu, he rushed to his side. "Forgive me, my boy," he said, checking the wound. "I should've come sooner. The Tarkatans are fleeing."
Liu looked to his mentor, and a mix of emotions clashed within him. Part of him was grateful. Another felt suspicious and angry. But overall was the sense of confusion. "What's going on, Raiden? Why has this happened?"
"I don't know. But once we're finished here, I intend to find out."
The clone barely acknowledged the strange blue light that flashed through the Flesh Pit. She merely hesitated and shrugged before resuming her attempt to scar Mileena's face.
Mileena felt the tip of the blade enter her flesh. She screamed and howled, not just from the pain, but the horror of what was happening to her. She struggled, but despair robbed her of much of her strength. In her mind, she imagined a wretched future as her new "sister's" pet—a pathetic, tamed creature who heeled when she was told and took her abuse without question.
"No!" she shouted. "No! That's not me! Never!"
She tried to wrestle free, but the clone growled and drove her elbow into her jaw. "Now, now," the clone said, as if disciplining a disobedient animal. "If you keep squirming, dog, you're going to mess up my writing. And that would just be unseemly."
"I am Mileena!" she said. "I was Kahnum of Outworld! I am …"
She almost declared she was the daughter of Shao Kahn. But where was her father now? The clone struck her again, this time with the butt of her blade. The world seemed to spin, and her limbs felt like jelly as the last of her strength faded.
"You were those things," the clone said. "Now, I'm Mileena and you are my dog. And that's the way of—"
Her back suddenly arched and flesh paled. A strangled gurgle choked from her mouth as a look of confusion came to her face. Mileena couldn't see the closed fan that had been plunged into her back, but when she saw Kitana appear behind the clone, she almost thought she was hallucinating.
"No," said Kitana. "I'm happy with the Mileena I already have."
She rammed her other fan into the clone's mouth and snapped it open—bisecting her head at the jawline.
The clone collapsed in a heap, and Mileena scrambled to her feet, flailing and kicking as if expecting another clone or Kitana herself to attack her. When her sister made no moves, she sank to the floor and hugged her knees, trying to catch her breath.
Kitana, who looked like she'd been through her own personal hell, glanced around the Flesh Pit and the various dead clones that littered the floor. She sighed and shook her head. "You know," she said. "It gets lost under his other, worse characteristics, but something really needs to be said about Shao Kahn's bizarre fixation on me. Because all this … over me?"
Mileena said nothing, shaking off the nausea and chills her confrontations left her with, and put her mask back on. To be faced with one clone more deformed than her, then another that was "perfected," made her skin crawl in a way she'd never experienced. Throughout her life, she was always the one to intimidate and frighten others. Having it turned on her was something that made her ill.
More surreal was Kitana of all people coming to her aid. Thinking about it, she supposed her sister was fortunate she was the clone their father settled on. If the perfected one had ever been born, Kitana would've been killed centuries ago.
And what would've become of me?
"Mileena, I have no idea what Onaga's doing up there, but this is all probably—"
"Shao Kahn is here," she blurted out. "Our father lives. He's here, now."
Kitana paled, as if she saw a ghost.
"He's here," she repeated. "He's in this pyramid. He said he's going to return to Outworld and take what is his."
Kitana hesitated, taking it in. She held her chest and took deep breaths to stay calm. "Onaga," she said. "It must be him. I don't know why he would bring Kahn back but …" She closed her eyes and let out a pained sigh. "I have to stop him."
She shivered upon saying it, and Mileena knew, even if she really had defeated their father once before, that didn't mean she could do it again. But then Kitana looked at her, and silence fell between them. They stared at each other, and she saw the worry in her sister's eyes wasn't about Kahn.
She's wondering what I will do …
Maybe Kitana could defeat Kahn again. But she definitely couldn't do it if Mileena came to his aid. She gripped her fans and frowned. The silence was painful, as she seemed torn whether to go after Kahn right there or do something else.
Mileena hesitated, uncertain whether to expect an attack or a speech.
Finally, after what felt like a long time, she shook her head. "Mileena, there's nothing I can say that you haven't heard. That you don't already know. He must not be allowed to escape this pyramid. He can't get out there again." She sighed again, and a look of resignation came to her. "I must face him again, Mileena. Do what you will."
She offered a final, sad smile to her sister and left the Flesh Pit.
The light was blinding. Even with them shut, Shang Tsung's eyes stung. The air came alive with warmth, like electricity, and he felt a force of great power followed by Onaga's angered roar. And then he fell to the ground.
When the light faded, his head was ringing. He felt dizzy and disoriented, but was pleased to be able to breathe again. When he opened his eyes, he was startled to find the Dragon King's arm lying beside him—severed up to the elbow.
Onaga himself was nowhere to be seen, but his howls could be heard echoing in the distance. He wasn't gone, but whatever Sareena did with the Kamidogu, she also managed to wound and delay him.
Tsung looked to the altar and saw her lying on the ground near it. As he approached, he noticed steam coming from her body. Her flesh was almost white, and she looked like she was already dead. Her breathing was shallow as he cradled her in his arms. Her eyes were vacant and distant, as if she was in shock.
"Sareena?" he asked. "What … what did you do?"
Her voice was weak. He could barely hear her through her frail breaths. "… I … I don't know," she said. "… they … they were dying … I needed to do something … I just … I …" She drifted away a moment and blinked. "… they needed hope …"
He looked at the Amulet and couldn't guess what state reality was in now. He doubted Sareena could do much, but maybe enough to counter Onaga's efforts? Maybe at least give the fools out there a fighting chance?
She convulsed. When he felt her chest, her heart was weak, and he quickly saw this wasn't like Ashrah's sword. She wasn't being eaten away from the inside by some divine light or poisonous force. The strain of using the Kamidogu had pushed her beyond her limits.
"I can't heal you, Sareena," he said. "The damage is too severe. You're going to die."
She simply sighed. Her eyes were sad, but accepting. A strange thing happened to Shang Tsung then. He felt … something. Distressed was the word he would use. He didn't like it. It made him angry.
"You shouldn't have done that," he said. "I told you using the Kamidogu would kill anyone who tried. You fool. You're a fool."
"… someone had to …" she said. "… you said it yourself … I'm just a demon …" She managed a slight chuckle, but a tear dripped from her eye. "… expendable …"
He scowled. It disgusted him that this creature should die for the sake of ungrateful mortals would never even know her name. He didn't understand it.
She convulsed again, and her human form flickered. Closing his eyes, Tsung placed his hands on her head and stomach. He sensed no fear in her. Green energy engulfed her body, but she didn't react. When it faded, her human form was restored to its normal, healthy appearance.
She blinked and looked at him. "What did you do?"
"I can't heal you," he said. "But … I made it so you will retain your human form. When you die … you won't revert back to your true form. You will be remembered as you are."
"… thank you."
He hesitated. Had anyone ever thanked him for anything in his life?
"You're a fool," he repeated. "Throwing your life away for them. They're not worth it, and you owed them nothing."
"… Shang Tsung …"
Her breathing slowed, and her eyes glazed over, but her face was serene.
"… I'm not cold anymore …"
Sareena smiled and closed her eyes, her last breath like a gentle sigh.
End of Chapter XIX