"What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"
This is not the story of Kitana, the Princess of Edenia destined to rule with grace and poise. Nor is it the story of Mileena, the Empress of Outworld fated to bring her kingdom to ruin and death.
This is the story of failure, the rejection of perfection and the strength to shape the realms in ways unknown to man or god.
Outworld. A brutal realm where the strong reign supreme over the weak. All who live in this cursed place serve the will of its ruler, the mighty Shao Kahn, by choice or by force. Resistance is met with swift and cruel death. For the fortunate, that death comes at the hands of Shao Kahn's enforcers; the bladed Baraka, the four-armed Shokan executioner Kintaro, the centaur hunter Motaro, and hundreds more.
No Outworld denizen is spared the wrath of Shao Kahn. Every race sends groups of their kind as tribute to the Mad Emperor, and their fate is determined entirely at his whim. Some become his personal slaves, others soldiers for his armies.
And other still are sent to the various torture chambers of his palace, but none are so dreaded as the Flesh Pits. No one knows what transpires within except Shao Kahn himself and the black-hearted sorcerer Shang Tsung. All that is certain is that in the years leading up to Outworld's final Mortal Kombat tournament against Earthrealm, more Tarkatans were sent to the Flesh Pits than anywhere else...
"Sorcerer!" bellowed the Emperor, stomping his way through the bloody halls of the Flesh Pits. "I demand a report. What is the progress of your little pet project?"
Shang Tsung had long ago mastered the art of self-control, and so he did not bristle at the command nor the degradation of his work. He simply smiled behind his white mustache and bowed. "My Emperor, I believe you will be pleased."
"We shall see." Shao Kahn ended his march at the base of a vat filled to the brim with a foul-smelling blue-green fluid. Inside was a beautiful woman who for all intents and purposes was sound asleep. "Is it aware?"
"Not yet, but she will soon awaken."
"How soon?"
As if on cue, the woman's eyes shot open. One eye was a lovely brown color, but the other... was inside out. Her hands pressed against the glass, staring desperately at her observers. She screamed, her voice escaping in bubbles from her mouth, and slammed a fist against her prison. The glass cracked but held strong.
"It has spirit," said Shao Kahn, sounding mildly impressed.
'It' punched again and successfully breached the vat, spilling the fluid and herself onto the floor. She hissed and snarled at them and lunged.
Her skull caved easily under the weight of Shao Kahn's hammer. "A failure," he said, "but this shows potential."
Shang looked down at the woman with distaste. "Yes, I have made significant strides. With enough time and resources, I shall have the perfect clone of your 'daughter'."
"Well done." Shao Kahn wiped his hammer on the test subject and addressed Shang directly. "Do not limit yourself to an imitation of Kitana. My true daughter must be loyal and vicious to a fault. I will not tolerate any less. Use more Tarkatan blood if you must, so long as I am granted a fierce warrior and worthy heir."
"As you command, Emperor."
That was the first of Shang Tsung's experiments, but not the last. Each failure taught him something new, what went wrong and what went right. Little by little, he closed the gap between mindless animal and sentient life. Those who stayed alive long enough were sent up to the Koliseum, the rest were recycled back into the Flesh Pits.
Years passed. Wars rose and fell, and the Mortal Kombat tournament drew near. Fortunately for the sorcerer, his presence was not required for the duration of the experiments. All he really needed to do was begin the process and be there when the subjects were fully formed. In his own words, it was perfect clockwork.
As it stood, he had two experiments remaining until he needed to brew another batch. One had yet to fully develop, but the other had progressed enough to be examined before Shang returned to Earthrealm to oversee the tournament. He did not summon the Emperor, however, as failures thinned Shao Kahn's patience rather quickly.
This subject was not a beautiful Edenian like Princess Kitana; her mouth bore the brutal fangs and maw of a Tarkatan warrior. She would only be able to pose as Kitana if she covered the lower half of her face, but that was secondary to her greater purpose: The perfect warrior-daughter of Shao Kahn.
Well, she had another purpose, but for now warrior-daughter would do.
The bottom of the vat opened, spilling her to the floor amid the fluid that sustained and nourished her from the very beginning. She drew the first breath of air in her life and hacked up the remaining amniotic fluid in her lungs.
Shang Tsung knelt down—what he would not give for a bout of fresh souls for his poor knees—and lifted the subject's chin to face him. Her sclera were mildly discolored, her irises the same shade of brown as Kitana but with thin slits for pupils.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked.
Slowly, the subject focused on him. Her eyes narrowed and she looked him up and down. Her jaw opened and closed as she tried to formulate words. "Shhhang Tsssung..."
"I would have preferred 'Master'," he said, smirking, "but that will do."
"Who... am I?"
"Ah." Shang stood and clasped his arms behind his back. "How rude of me not to give you a name. For now, I shall call you... Shibai. If you are worth my time, I may give you a kinder name."
'Shibai' gawked at him. "Why is it unkind?" For some reason unknown to her, she felt a dark anger at the idea of being insulted. She had only lived a few moments but she already had the need to inflict violence.
Shang chuckled and said, "It means 'failure'."
That set fire to her heart. She lurched to her feet, fists clenched tightly at her sides. "I am not a failure!"
"Prove it," he replied with a snap of his fingers. A trio of Tarkatans barged into the chamber, their fangs dripping with hunger. "This woman attacked me, kill her!"
Shibai had no chance to protest her innocence. One of the warriors lunged at her, and everything went red.
When it cleared, she woke up to the taste and smell of fresh blood. How delicious it was! She licked her palm with delight, but froze at the sound of clapping.
Shang Tsung smiled coldly at her and stopped clapping. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant." He raised an eyebrow and looked past her. "Now finish it."
Shibai followed his gaze and spotted one of the three Tarkatan warriors. One of his arms was ripped right from its socket and both his legs were broken. Despite his injuries, he was still alive. "I..." The bloodlust faded from her mind. Did she really do that? She looked down at the Tarkatan she had been chewing on. His eyes were plucked from his head and his throat was gnawed open. Nearby, Shibai saw what became of the last warrior. He had been disemboweled, his organs strewn messily in front of him. "I didn't..."
"Finish him!"
Shibai looked the Tarkatan in the eye. Her appetite gone, she approached him with equal feelings of guilt, horror, and pity. But why? She had no recollection of even doing anything! That was not her!
But it was her. Her hands were red with blood and she still had the taste of flesh on her fangs. The Tarkatan matched her expression with one of terror. He was afraid of her? Of course he was, she was a monster!
How could she be a monster? She did not even know what a monster was! Why would she be feeling guilt at such a natural display of ferocity?
Kill him! Kill him and eat him!
Spare him! He is beaten!
Kill!
Spare!
KILL!
SPARE!
Shibai clenched her eyes shut and lashed out. Her fist collided with the Tarkatan's jaw and swung his head sharply to the side. There was a loud CRACK! and he slumped over, his head tilted at an odd angle.
"How disappointing," said Shang. He reached out with a glowing green hand and enveloped the three Tarkatans in green flames. In moments, their muscles shriveled up until only desiccated skeletons remained. "I had such high hopes for you. Such strength, such brutality, such a failure."
"I..." Shibai turned and faced the sorcerer, angry tears in her eyes. "I am not a failure!"
Shang hummed to himself and said, "I would truly enjoy watching you die, but I am needed elsewhere." With a flick of his wrist, a flaming skull blasted Shibai through a nearby window. She fell, fell, fell, and suddenly stopped.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline of the battle and Shang Tsung's treachery, but Shibai barely felt the spike pierce her. Her body slid down the spike until she touched the floor, and a wave of warmth washed over her.
Her vision blurred as she looked at the bloody spike poking out of her abdomen. "I am a failure?" she whispered, and then she giggled hoarsely. "You... are a failure as well... sorcerer..."
Oh how she wanted to drift into the blissful eternal sleep, but that would validate Shang Tsung's belief that she truly was a failure. She was not what she was meant to be, but that did not make her a failure!
With the strength she had left, Shibai tensed her limbs and lifted herself up. Now she felt the pain of her injuries! The surge of clarity woke her up enough for her to whimper, but she had to keep going. She had to rise above her situation!
"Literally," she hissed through clenched teeth, but her cheeks lifted in a bitter smile. She reached the tip of the spike and was so very relieved to find that it was short enough for her to remove herself relatively easily.
Clutching her wound, Shibai giggled once more. For a failure, she sure survived that ordeal well enough.
She knew her original purpose was to kill and replace Kitana, but now she had a new one. She would pervert Shang Tsung's machinations, find and join Kitana, and then end the soul-stealing sorcerer.
This is not the story of Kitana, nor the story of Mileena. This is the story of Shibai, the failed experiment who grew beyond her creators and forged a new life with her own two hands.
Author's Note: I've had this itch for a while now, and with the recent DLC for Mortal Kombat 11, that itch got so bad that I had to scratch it. Please rest assured that for those of you waiting for The End of All Things updates, they're coming. And for those of you worried that this will be a Mary Sue story where a new kharacter takes front and center, rest assured that that will not be the case. While the majority of this story focuses on Shibai, she does not replace any major character plots: she does not become Kahnum of Outworld or Protector God of Earthrealm or anything like that, unless specifically noted where her "arcade endings" would happen. Essentially, assume that scenes without her transpire exactly as in the games. I just wanted to write about a morally good clone of Kitana without losing Mileena's uniqueness. May or may not go to Mortal Kombat 11's story, depending on feedback and general willingness to deal with MK11's plots.
For extra clarification, she looks exactly like Mileena as portrayed in MK11.