The sun chased the moon in hot pursuit to the edge of the world. Everyone turned their backs on it as the harsh light of day held them tight in its warm hands. It did not seek death, it sought destruction.
For the first morning in many since she returned the world of the living, Skarlet fit snug into her old leather attire. Black and red leather and linen fit her snug with insect-like points at her leather shoulder pads and the wraps tight across her chest that connected with a metal ring to a sash of linen hung down to her knees. The belt held her vials, no longer needing to hide them and clipped to a coattail of soft deer leather, etched in black and blood red. She felt good, almost whole again to look as she did before she was torn from the living.
No matter how much she looked the same, however, she was very much a different person and the mirror never lied.
Today, she'd train with Lord Raiden and the others. In her chambers in the mid point of the palace tower, she had carved a strange niche for herself, but even here she hid who she really was. Even to herself.
The vial of Kitana's blood tucked in a box sealed away with blood magic. She wasn't sure why she took it, but the impulse was too much and convinced herself at some point the blood of a Queen, of someone that once flowed with the power of the Gods would be needed.
She convinced herself that everyone had their secrets.
The training grounds were nothing like Outworld. That realm was built for war and centered around it, Edenia was lush and rich in life and society. Here in Edenia, the rich sent the poor to war for them. There wasn't much difference between this place an Earth, she thought. Still, it wasn't her place to judge, considering what she had done, but when she arrived at the fenced in sparring arena, she was disappointed in the minimal effort.
She stood with Raiden and Fujin. On Fujin's side was Rain, who had not spent as much time as Fujin would have liked with him, and too much time in her presence than she would have liked. Once Kai and Darrius had wrapped with Mileena, who had paid for their enlistment via Raiden's request, it was her turn with the Thunder God.
"Perhaps you should fight someone different today." He didn't move when she entered the circle.
Rain approached, having volunteered himself to train with her.
"Fujin's always on my back, but I'm a changed man, Skarlet." He assured. "Let's just train?"
He wore a linen sleeveless, hooded shirt of black and purple. Black belt and breeches covered from the knee down by his royal purple boots that he had marched along side Sindel and Kitana with many, many years ago. Without a desire to cause a scene, she reluctantly consented.
"I have changed as well, you'll find." She warned, and pulled back in to a defensive stance, her fists up at her face and body ready to move.
Quick to judge, he came in first with a strike too slow and too high to truly hit her.
"Don't play games!" Raiden hissed.
She eyed him, narrow and disgusted. What was his intentions?
"Come at me with all you have, you fool." She gritted her teeth and took a step drag back into stance.
"I'm still a fool, yeah?" He smiled until she quickly washed it away with a hard right.
Scarlet tapped the flat top of her boot hard against his inner thigh to bring him down to a knee. With the momentum of her punch and kick, she went for an elbow inward, but he fell back into a roll, coiled up and struck her with a jab of his own across the face.
She liked that. It's what she knew best. As long as they fought, she could concentrate on the technique and forget who struck her, and as long as she hit him, she'd let her inner self enjoy the vendetta.
Back and forth they struggled with one another. Raiden would critique Skarlet and Fujin guide Rain. Together they moved like blood and water, a fixed and steady stream too good to be one, but different enough to go with the flow.
After ten minutes, bruised and worn, Raiden called the fight. No winner, no need.
"Good fight." She smiled and shook his hand.
"Always." He held it tight and returned the gesture.
At a glance, Raiden looked displeased with their training. Rain watched her close as she left with the Thunder God.
"What was wrong?" She pondered as he looked deep in thought, troubled by her.
"I think it's better to train you with someone that is a style clash."
"What do you mean?"
"When we fight at the pyramid, we should not be fighting each other, but our enemy. Try to find someone that clashes with your style, like Sonya, or Kung Lao, Liu Kang even."
She nodded and checked that into the back of her mind.
"You know him too well." He repeated, and she wasn't sure if this was about the fight any longer.
She parted with Raiden, as Liu Kang himself waited for his turn with the Protector of Earthrealm. That was another thing she would never be part of. Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Sonya, Jacqui, all of them had a home to go to and a place to protect that made them all one and with one singular goal.
After Onaga, Shao Kahn was Outworld's protector, but having fallen to corruption, Kitana took the throne, but not his mantle. It was Shao Kahn that took Skarlet under his violent wing. A child beaten in the streets like a scared red, only to be beaten into subjugation beneath the towering monster that was Outworld's protector. Then it was Rain.
She glanced back at the field, Fujin and Rain had begun to spar and for one split second, like it was months ago, she hoped he had changed.
That night, her door locked, and the great carving of a window she couldn't close, Skarlet waited for the sun to chase the moon overhead. Most nights were sleepless and she wanted all of this to end desperately. Everyone did.
Should she ask Raiden, he would tell her that they were not ready, or that they had to wait for the perfect time. Perhaps so they could understand the role Daegon and Taven played at the top of the Pyramid, should one of them defeat Blaze. Raiden was a stickler for details, but the execution? Wasn't always lightning.
A knock on the door rocked her from her concentration. It sounded familiar, the rhythm, but she answered, unsure.
Rain looked back at her, towered over her almost, still in the same clothes and reeked of sweat and manhood.
"I don't have time for you tonight." She pushed away, ready to close the door.
He put his hand in the way, should the door close, she'd crush his fingers, and he warned as such, which she'd have enjoyed, but stopped the door midway.
"Don't want to hurt me do you?" He jested at first, then took her eyes into his, "not here to stay, just wanted to say something."
It felt like the moon scraped at her back. The adrenaline that rushed through her body dragged her down even as she stood firm against him. She just stood blankly, no expression, no movement, even as she wanted to close the door on this chapter of her life, she was stuck between the need to work with him, and the desire to kill him.
Could she just turn away? Could he?
"I want you know I really have changed. It took a lot of years, and a lot of hard work on my part, but I'm a different man."
"Smells the same." She cut into him.
He finally moved from the doorway and snickered at what he thought was a jest.
"I hurt you, I know."
So many I's, so much about him. Did he think of her?
"Not saying let's get together, just that I know for you all of this feels pretty recent still." His expression changed, he looked down at her now in lighter, more breathable clothing, then back up at her. "I was an asshole, and there's nothing I can do to make that better."
"Then why are you here?"
"Can't help but try. That's what Fujin told me. Make peace, try, that sort of thing." He backed from the door and held his hands together, flat, and gestured to her. "I'm not asking forgiveness, just, know I'm not going to hurt you again."
Her heart beat. It beat so much her blood could have burst right out of her. Not a good beat, not a good burst, but part of her hoped in some way it could be. Finally.
Having closed the door on him, she hoped once and for all, she let out a deep breath and cursed him for having done this. Kotal Kahn ignored her and stared daggers into her when he had to look at her. Why couldn't Rain do the same?
With that chapter closed for once, she rushed to the box and unsealed the magic that tucked Kitana's last remnant of essence away. She couldn't wear this vial, Mileena would sniff it out, and she couldn't do anything but hide it.
Caught in a constant state of always running to the edge of the world, Skarlet clenched that vial to near shatter point and climbed into the stone window, ready to throw it all away. To throw who she was and all impulse of her former self down into the cliffs of Edenia.
Sometimes hate was not enough to turn this all to ashes.
Lucifer broke his wings to make sure he crashed. She wasn't sure if she was ready, hell, she wasn't sure if the world would still be there the next day.
Unable to erase the dead, or forget those hateful lips of dynamite, she knew Kitana's blood had fallen into the wrong hands.
We don't seek death, we seek destruction.
She could see a new beginning rise behind the sun, but could never catch up to it as fast as she'd run.