Chapter VI
"The Dreams"
Growing up, I always had this strange feeling something wasn't right. That somehow, in some way I couldn't put my finger on, something was out of place in my life. I never put much thought into it until Mileena was found. Her presence only added to it. I tried to compensate for this feeling of unease by devoting myself to my work as father's assassin. But no matter how hard I tried, no matter how accepted I became within father's ranks, I was always haunted by this indescribable feeling that I didn't belong.
I was able to ignore it for several hundred years, but then the dreams started. The dreams were never exactly the same, but that all shared the same elements. Me in a graveyard, staring at a gravestone, but unable to read the inscription. I then see my mother and she stares at me with tears streaming down her face.
She looks at me and says "Why have you betrayed us?"
I sneer at her and snap "You betrayed me! You left me!"
My mother disappears then suddenly I see a man I don't recognize. He is tall and is wearing blue and black robes. He is very regal looking and he stares at me, visibly upset about something. I don't know who he is but something about him seems very familiar.
The man looks at me and repeats "Why have you betrayed us?" I don't answer him. He walks towards me, wrings his hands around my throat, and says "You are damned." Suddenly his face turn into a skull and I wake up.
I had this dream for the first time while I was still young. It happened one night and I shrugged it off as a weird dream, nothing more. A few years later I had it again. And again a few years later. I started having the dreams more and more. As the years passed, I started having the dreams almost every night.
I asked my father's Shadow Priests if the dreams were the product of a sorcerer's spell. Like maybe someone from the Outworld resistance had a spell put on and was trying to attack me through my dreams. The Priests did some magic tricks, like a mystical check-up, and found nothing. They had no idea where my dreams were coming from.
I was always reluctant to tell anyone else about them. I never understood what they were supposed to mean or why I kept having them, but every dream was followed by a terrible feeling of dread.
In spite of my sleepless nights, I continued serving as my father's personal assassin. Several thousand years passed after Zansatsu. The people of Outworld still feared me as "Kitana the Bloody" and I maintained my reputation, personally rooting many potential uprisings and assassinations of my father. I'd made a lot of martyrs out of a lot of people in my time.
Shortly after Zansatsu, Mileena managed to garner her own nickname. Although she earned her title in a different way then I did. She quickly earned a reputation as being needlessly brutal and barbaric in battle and during missions. She eventually came to be known throughout Outworld as "Mileena the Cruel." Being as smug as I was back then, I was always content to know Mileena's efforts simply proved that she was jealous of me.
Jade did not earn her own nickname. Father kept her as his secret assassin and she wasn't allowed to be as brutal and vicious as Mileena and I. At the time, I felt bad for her and even teased her about it at times.
I was about 9,950 years old when my life changed forever. It all started with the coming 9th Mortal Kombat tournament on Earthrealm. Several hundred years earlier Shang Tsung was sent to Earth with the Shokan prince Goro to represent Outworld in the tournament. I often asked father why I couldn't represent Outworld on Earth and he'd always assure me I was too needed in Outworld and it would be beneath me to compete anyway.
But Goro proved to be a worthy champion, besting Earth's mightiest warrior and winning eight consecutive tournaments. He would need only to win the coming tournament then one more and my father would be allowed to conquer Earth.
Whenever a Mortal Kombat tournament came around, the Outworld rebels would come out of hiding and try to weaken us or help the Earth warriors in some way or another. It was usually Mileena and I who dealt with the rebels and their schemes. It was like clockwork.
Sure enough, with the tournament on Earth just a few days away, I was summoned to my father. I entered his thrown room and bowed before him saying "What is thy bidding, father?"
"I have a mission that requires your skill Kitana." my father answered.
"I am at my lord's service."
"As you know the 9th Mortal Kombat is about to be held on Earth. If Goro should win again we will only need one more victory to take the Earth. However, Jade has discovered that the Outworld rebels are planning on helping the Earth warriors."
"What are they planning father?" I asked.
"They are being led by a sorcerer named Ikarus. Very soon, he and the rebels are planning on opening a portal to Earth and giving one of the Earth fighters an Urn of Strength. The Urn will increase it's user's strength tenfold and therefore could pose a serious threat to our champion. I want you to find Ikarus, kill him and retrieve their Urn before it is sent to Earth."
"A simple assassination father? Does this really require my skill? Surely even Mileena could do it alone..."
"This is no time for foolish pride!" My father interrupted. "We are too close to risk defeat now. I will not wait another 450 years for a chance to take the Earth, do you understand me?"
"Yes father. Forgive my arrogance. I will bring you the sorcerer's head."
"Good. You are dismissed, my daughter."
I left the thrown room and decided to meet with Jade first and see if she had any idea where to find Ikarus. She was in the sparring chamber with five Elite Guards. I noticed each guard looked sweaty and beat up and Jade looked perfectly calm, almost eager. The five guards all attacked her at once and she easily avoided them and fought back. Within six seconds they were all on the floor writing in pain.
I laughed and said "'Elite' guards? I'll have to tell my father to be more careful with who he gives that title to."
Jade also laughed and said "Well, in their defense they never give up."
"Tenacity will only get you so far." I sighed and told the guards to leave us. They all bowed and limped out of the chamber leaving Jade and me alone. "I want to talk to you about the sorcerer Ikarus."
"Oh, so you got that job." Jade answered.
"Yeah. What did you find out about him?"
"Not much to be honest. Supposedly Ikarus is very old and he's been with the rebellion since it started. Beyond that there wasn't really anything else I could find on him."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Last I heard he's hiding out in the southern regions. That's where he's going to open the portal."
"How long?"
"Couple of days. A week tops."
I sighed and said "Damn. Doesn't give me much time."
"You should be careful on this one Kitana." Jade said. "I heard this Ikarus is very powerful. They say he can get into your head and make you see things and really screw you up."
"Nothing I haven't dealt with already."
"No, it's worse. I heard that many of Ikarus' followers are old soldiers and assassins he converted to his cause. Be careful on this one, okay?"
"Relax Jade. I'll be fine. No one's converting me to anything." I answered leaving the chamber.
It was late so I decided I would leave to find Ikarus first thing in the morning. I returned to my chamber and decided to get some sleep, but instead I had another dream. Same pattern as all the others. Graveyard, my mother and the man don't know. They all blame me for betraying them and I wake up in a cold sweat. One would think because I was having these dreams so often I would eventually get used to them, but I wasn't. Actually, they were getting worse.
The next morning I left the fortress and traveled south to where Jade said Ikarus was supposed to be hiding out. I took a Dragonfly which got me down there by nightfall and immediately started searching the villages in the area. I checked bars and inns but information on Ikarus was minimal. My reputation proceeded me so very few people lied. Anyone who did, I started cutting off their fingers until they talked. Any information I received pointed further south to some old abandoned ruins near the mountains in the area.
After a few days I reached the old ruins. According the villagers, the ruins were what was left of the last realm my father conquered. I started looking around and only found broken statues and turned over pillars. As I walked through the ruins, I couldn't shake this horrible feeling in my gut. There was this terrible, ominous feeling plaguing me the further into the ruins I went. There was a light breeze which made some of the trees in the area sound like whispering. I felt so tense the whole time, but the place seemed very familiar. As if I had been there before.
"Hello, Kitana." a voice suddenly said behind me, very calm. I turned sharply and drew my fans expecting an attack, but instead found a man standing by an old statue with his hands behind his back. He looked very old, with white hair and a beard, but he still looked healthy. He was wearing bright blue and white robes and he was staring at me with piercing blue eyes.
"Who are you?" I demanded. I tensed, prepared for anything. It's best to try to catch sorcerer off guard before he has a chance to cast a spell or an illusion. Fighting a sorcerer face to face could be dangerous. He could cast an illusion in front of you while he attacks from behind.
"I am Ikarus. And I've been expecting you." he answered.
"I bet you have. My reputation travels faster than I do."
"Yes...the exploits of 'Kitana the Bloody' indeed travel fast." he paused a moment and repeated "'Kitana the Bloody......'" He then sighed and said "You've changed so much since I last saw you, Kitana. If only your father could see you now."
"My father..? Shao Kahn is my father, you fool." I sneered.
He stared at me for a moment than said "You really don't know do you?"
I stared at him confused about what he meant then realized he was just playing mind games with me and said "Shut up! I came for your head in Shao Kahn's name. And I intend to claim it." I cautiously started to approach him, expecting him to attack me with some sorcerer spell, but instead he just stood there.
As I got closer he suddenly said "Have you been sleeping well Kitana?"
I stopped dead in my tracks. How could he know about my dreams? He couldn't have been the one giving me them. They started a long time ago and the Shadow Priests tested to see if I was under a spell. He couldn't be more powerful than all the Priests combined.
"How do you know about that?" I asked coldly.
"I have not been giving you those dreams if that is what you are wondering. I merely sensed you were having them. The dreams are coming from yourself."
"What are you talking about?"
"I know all about you Kitana." he began. "I know who you really are and where you really come from. More importantly I know why you've always felt like you didn't belong. Why something always felt out of place. Why you hardly ever sleep and why you lie awake every night and wonder what it all means."
I just stared at him, baffled. "How do you know all that..?"
"I have the answers you seek Kitana." he answered. "I can show you what it all means."
"No." I interrupted. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to trick me into joining your little cause and trying to turn me against my father. How do I know anything you tell me isn't bullshit?"
"I give you my word everything I will tell you is genuine. And I will provide proof. I will not ask you to join me, nor will I ask for anything in return. I only give you this warning: all I am offering you is the truth. I make no guarantees besides that. The truth, nothing more."
I thought about Ikarus' offer and decided to play along.
"All right. Tell me the truth."
End of Chapter VI
"The Dreams"
Growing up, I always had this strange feeling something wasn't right. That somehow, in some way I couldn't put my finger on, something was out of place in my life. I never put much thought into it until Mileena was found. Her presence only added to it. I tried to compensate for this feeling of unease by devoting myself to my work as father's assassin. But no matter how hard I tried, no matter how accepted I became within father's ranks, I was always haunted by this indescribable feeling that I didn't belong.
I was able to ignore it for several hundred years, but then the dreams started. The dreams were never exactly the same, but that all shared the same elements. Me in a graveyard, staring at a gravestone, but unable to read the inscription. I then see my mother and she stares at me with tears streaming down her face.
She looks at me and says "Why have you betrayed us?"
I sneer at her and snap "You betrayed me! You left me!"
My mother disappears then suddenly I see a man I don't recognize. He is tall and is wearing blue and black robes. He is very regal looking and he stares at me, visibly upset about something. I don't know who he is but something about him seems very familiar.
The man looks at me and repeats "Why have you betrayed us?" I don't answer him. He walks towards me, wrings his hands around my throat, and says "You are damned." Suddenly his face turn into a skull and I wake up.
I had this dream for the first time while I was still young. It happened one night and I shrugged it off as a weird dream, nothing more. A few years later I had it again. And again a few years later. I started having the dreams more and more. As the years passed, I started having the dreams almost every night.
I asked my father's Shadow Priests if the dreams were the product of a sorcerer's spell. Like maybe someone from the Outworld resistance had a spell put on and was trying to attack me through my dreams. The Priests did some magic tricks, like a mystical check-up, and found nothing. They had no idea where my dreams were coming from.
I was always reluctant to tell anyone else about them. I never understood what they were supposed to mean or why I kept having them, but every dream was followed by a terrible feeling of dread.
In spite of my sleepless nights, I continued serving as my father's personal assassin. Several thousand years passed after Zansatsu. The people of Outworld still feared me as "Kitana the Bloody" and I maintained my reputation, personally rooting many potential uprisings and assassinations of my father. I'd made a lot of martyrs out of a lot of people in my time.
Shortly after Zansatsu, Mileena managed to garner her own nickname. Although she earned her title in a different way then I did. She quickly earned a reputation as being needlessly brutal and barbaric in battle and during missions. She eventually came to be known throughout Outworld as "Mileena the Cruel." Being as smug as I was back then, I was always content to know Mileena's efforts simply proved that she was jealous of me.
Jade did not earn her own nickname. Father kept her as his secret assassin and she wasn't allowed to be as brutal and vicious as Mileena and I. At the time, I felt bad for her and even teased her about it at times.
I was about 9,950 years old when my life changed forever. It all started with the coming 9th Mortal Kombat tournament on Earthrealm. Several hundred years earlier Shang Tsung was sent to Earth with the Shokan prince Goro to represent Outworld in the tournament. I often asked father why I couldn't represent Outworld on Earth and he'd always assure me I was too needed in Outworld and it would be beneath me to compete anyway.
But Goro proved to be a worthy champion, besting Earth's mightiest warrior and winning eight consecutive tournaments. He would need only to win the coming tournament then one more and my father would be allowed to conquer Earth.
Whenever a Mortal Kombat tournament came around, the Outworld rebels would come out of hiding and try to weaken us or help the Earth warriors in some way or another. It was usually Mileena and I who dealt with the rebels and their schemes. It was like clockwork.
Sure enough, with the tournament on Earth just a few days away, I was summoned to my father. I entered his thrown room and bowed before him saying "What is thy bidding, father?"
"I have a mission that requires your skill Kitana." my father answered.
"I am at my lord's service."
"As you know the 9th Mortal Kombat is about to be held on Earth. If Goro should win again we will only need one more victory to take the Earth. However, Jade has discovered that the Outworld rebels are planning on helping the Earth warriors."
"What are they planning father?" I asked.
"They are being led by a sorcerer named Ikarus. Very soon, he and the rebels are planning on opening a portal to Earth and giving one of the Earth fighters an Urn of Strength. The Urn will increase it's user's strength tenfold and therefore could pose a serious threat to our champion. I want you to find Ikarus, kill him and retrieve their Urn before it is sent to Earth."
"A simple assassination father? Does this really require my skill? Surely even Mileena could do it alone..."
"This is no time for foolish pride!" My father interrupted. "We are too close to risk defeat now. I will not wait another 450 years for a chance to take the Earth, do you understand me?"
"Yes father. Forgive my arrogance. I will bring you the sorcerer's head."
"Good. You are dismissed, my daughter."
I left the thrown room and decided to meet with Jade first and see if she had any idea where to find Ikarus. She was in the sparring chamber with five Elite Guards. I noticed each guard looked sweaty and beat up and Jade looked perfectly calm, almost eager. The five guards all attacked her at once and she easily avoided them and fought back. Within six seconds they were all on the floor writing in pain.
I laughed and said "'Elite' guards? I'll have to tell my father to be more careful with who he gives that title to."
Jade also laughed and said "Well, in their defense they never give up."
"Tenacity will only get you so far." I sighed and told the guards to leave us. They all bowed and limped out of the chamber leaving Jade and me alone. "I want to talk to you about the sorcerer Ikarus."
"Oh, so you got that job." Jade answered.
"Yeah. What did you find out about him?"
"Not much to be honest. Supposedly Ikarus is very old and he's been with the rebellion since it started. Beyond that there wasn't really anything else I could find on him."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Last I heard he's hiding out in the southern regions. That's where he's going to open the portal."
"How long?"
"Couple of days. A week tops."
I sighed and said "Damn. Doesn't give me much time."
"You should be careful on this one Kitana." Jade said. "I heard this Ikarus is very powerful. They say he can get into your head and make you see things and really screw you up."
"Nothing I haven't dealt with already."
"No, it's worse. I heard that many of Ikarus' followers are old soldiers and assassins he converted to his cause. Be careful on this one, okay?"
"Relax Jade. I'll be fine. No one's converting me to anything." I answered leaving the chamber.
It was late so I decided I would leave to find Ikarus first thing in the morning. I returned to my chamber and decided to get some sleep, but instead I had another dream. Same pattern as all the others. Graveyard, my mother and the man don't know. They all blame me for betraying them and I wake up in a cold sweat. One would think because I was having these dreams so often I would eventually get used to them, but I wasn't. Actually, they were getting worse.
The next morning I left the fortress and traveled south to where Jade said Ikarus was supposed to be hiding out. I took a Dragonfly which got me down there by nightfall and immediately started searching the villages in the area. I checked bars and inns but information on Ikarus was minimal. My reputation proceeded me so very few people lied. Anyone who did, I started cutting off their fingers until they talked. Any information I received pointed further south to some old abandoned ruins near the mountains in the area.
After a few days I reached the old ruins. According the villagers, the ruins were what was left of the last realm my father conquered. I started looking around and only found broken statues and turned over pillars. As I walked through the ruins, I couldn't shake this horrible feeling in my gut. There was this terrible, ominous feeling plaguing me the further into the ruins I went. There was a light breeze which made some of the trees in the area sound like whispering. I felt so tense the whole time, but the place seemed very familiar. As if I had been there before.
"Hello, Kitana." a voice suddenly said behind me, very calm. I turned sharply and drew my fans expecting an attack, but instead found a man standing by an old statue with his hands behind his back. He looked very old, with white hair and a beard, but he still looked healthy. He was wearing bright blue and white robes and he was staring at me with piercing blue eyes.
"Who are you?" I demanded. I tensed, prepared for anything. It's best to try to catch sorcerer off guard before he has a chance to cast a spell or an illusion. Fighting a sorcerer face to face could be dangerous. He could cast an illusion in front of you while he attacks from behind.
"I am Ikarus. And I've been expecting you." he answered.
"I bet you have. My reputation travels faster than I do."
"Yes...the exploits of 'Kitana the Bloody' indeed travel fast." he paused a moment and repeated "'Kitana the Bloody......'" He then sighed and said "You've changed so much since I last saw you, Kitana. If only your father could see you now."
"My father..? Shao Kahn is my father, you fool." I sneered.
He stared at me for a moment than said "You really don't know do you?"
I stared at him confused about what he meant then realized he was just playing mind games with me and said "Shut up! I came for your head in Shao Kahn's name. And I intend to claim it." I cautiously started to approach him, expecting him to attack me with some sorcerer spell, but instead he just stood there.
As I got closer he suddenly said "Have you been sleeping well Kitana?"
I stopped dead in my tracks. How could he know about my dreams? He couldn't have been the one giving me them. They started a long time ago and the Shadow Priests tested to see if I was under a spell. He couldn't be more powerful than all the Priests combined.
"How do you know about that?" I asked coldly.
"I have not been giving you those dreams if that is what you are wondering. I merely sensed you were having them. The dreams are coming from yourself."
"What are you talking about?"
"I know all about you Kitana." he began. "I know who you really are and where you really come from. More importantly I know why you've always felt like you didn't belong. Why something always felt out of place. Why you hardly ever sleep and why you lie awake every night and wonder what it all means."
I just stared at him, baffled. "How do you know all that..?"
"I have the answers you seek Kitana." he answered. "I can show you what it all means."
"No." I interrupted. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to trick me into joining your little cause and trying to turn me against my father. How do I know anything you tell me isn't bullshit?"
"I give you my word everything I will tell you is genuine. And I will provide proof. I will not ask you to join me, nor will I ask for anything in return. I only give you this warning: all I am offering you is the truth. I make no guarantees besides that. The truth, nothing more."
I thought about Ikarus' offer and decided to play along.
"All right. Tell me the truth."
End of Chapter VI