"Long Time Coming"
"I've been waiting for you sister." I heard Mileena hiss behind me.
I gasped and quickly turned around. Mileena was sitting in the opposite corner of my chamber. She looked as though she was waiting for me, which caught me by surprise. "Mileena?! What are you doing in here?" I asked.
She didn't answer. Instead she slowly rose from the corner and started walking around my chamber, looking at all my possessions. In my long life, I've acquired an absurd amount of jewelry and other trinkets. I almost never wore any of it. She stared at all of it and started "He always liked you best. He always gave you everything. It was always about you."
The last thing I needed was another rant about how Shao Kahn always "loved" me more than her, but then I noticed Mileena had both her sais drawn. "Why are you armed, Mileena?" I asked quietly.
"He gives you everything, but he gives me nothing." she started again.
I didn't know what she was talking about or where she was going with it but she sounded angry. I figured I'd try to keep it calm and asked "Mileena, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense..."
"Always about you! Always about perfect little Kitana!" she suddenly snapped, pointing one of her sais at me. I could already tell this was going to be bad. "Gives you everything and you throw it all aside you selfish bitch!"
She let out a crazed scream and lunged at me. I was caught off guard so we both tumbled out the door of my chamber into the hallway outside. I managed to kick her off me and get to my feet. I drew my fans and yelled "Mileena! Have you lost your damn mind?!"
"Don't play stupid with me sister! I know what you've been doing with the humans from Earth!" she yelled back. I wasn't sure what to say to that. If she knew for certain there was nothing I could do, and I had a feeling even if I denied it she wouldn't believe me anyway. She laughed a little and said "Honestly, after all these years, I'd have never thought you of all people would go soft."
Mileena charged at me again and began attacking. I tried to fight her off as best I could, but I had never seen her fight like that before. She was fighting more fiercely and viscously than I had ever seen in my whole life. Not to mention I was still weak from my fight with Liu and my beating from Kahn. She managed to push me to the end of the hallway which led to the stairs that went down the tower. I tried to keep my balance but she kicked me in my stomach and I went tumbling down the stairs.
I landed hard on the floor at the foot of the stairs. My left knee and right shoulder were throbbing in pain and even worse I lost my fans in the fall. I heard Mileena coming down the stairs, dragging her sais along the wall.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this day." she said eagerly. I tried to pull myself up, but my leg was too badly hurt and I collapsed back down to the floor. She could have killed me right there. I was already weakened, and now injured and unarmed. I had no way of defending myself. But instead she stopped and said "I've waited far too long to not enjoy this. I'm going to kill you slow sister. I'm going to open up your belly and feed your insides to the mutants." As she talked, I tried to pull myself up but she kicked my leg and I collapsed to the floor again. She then grabbed some of my hair and pulled me close and said "Then, after I bring your hollowed out corpse to father, he'll finally realize that I'm the best. He finally accept me."
It was then I realized this wasn't just Mileena attacking me for betraying Kahn. This was building for years. She had been dreaming of this moment for centuries. Possibly her whole life. She could have easily done whatever she wanted to me right there. I figured if I was to die that night I may as well die in defiance.
I stared her straight in the eye and said "He'll never accept you Mileena. He'll never accept you because of what you really are."
She screamed "No!" and threw me down to the floor. "You're lying! Once you're dead and he knows I'm the best, he'll...he'll cure my face and make me perfect!"
Seeing how she kept reacting to whenever I called her a clone, I figured if I couldn't beat her physically, I could beat her verbally. I pulled myself to my feet and continued "No, he won't Mileena. He won't cure you because he can't. Or won't."
"SHUT-UP!"
"He'll never accept you because he knows that you're just a clone."
Mileena turned away and covered her ears and began screaming "NO I'M NOT! YOU'RE A DAMN LIAR!"
She sank to her knees and I could hear her start to cry. As I watched her, I again started to wonder if she could be turned. Maybe she could turn against Kahn like I did. Maybe I wouldn't have to go through this alone.
"Mileena, please listen to me." I began, "He'll never accept you as his daughter. He's just using you, just like he used me."
"Stop it." Mileena whimpered. "He loves me. I know he does. It's just my face. He'll cure my face..."
I realize now Mileena really was more like me than I believed. For as long as I can remember, everything I ever did came from my belief my father loved me and was proud of me. I see now Mileena was the same way. But she was looking for something he would never give her and she blamed me for that. For so long, I hated Mileena. But that night, for the first time...I felt pity.
"Mileena, it doesn't have to be this way." I continued. "You don't have to be his slave any longer. You can change like I have. There's still a chance for you."
I extended my hand out to Mileena. She slowly turned around and started staring at me, tears were pouring down her face. "You really believe that?" she asked quietly.
"I have to." I answered. There is a part of Mileena that is me. I have to believe that part of her is good.
She slowly started to reach for my hand and for that brief moment I thought I got through to her. But the look in her eyes suddenly turned from sadness to hatred and she screamed and punched me in my face. I stumbled backwards outside onto the bridge that connected two towers of the fortress. I tried to shake off the blow but Mileena was already up and she kicked me in the stomach before I could get up.
"You don't know anything sister. People don't change overnight." Mileena said coldly before she kicked me again. "Tell me sister, how much about yourself have you told your new friends from Earth?" she sneered as she kicked me again. "Did you tell them how many people you've killed?" And she kicked me again. "Did you tell them the nickname the peasants gave you?" Kicked me again. "What was it again? Oh yes..." One last kick and she finished "'Kitana the Bloody.'"
I clutched my stomach and started coughing. After Liu's Flying Kick and Kahn nearly choking me to death, I had trouble breathing the whole day. Mileena kicking me in the gut six times didn't help me much.
Mileena stood over me and drew one of her sais and started twirling it. "People don't change Kitana. You're a killer. Always have, always will be."
She then sat on top of me and thrust her sai down. I barely managed to catch her arm before it plunged into my heart. I struggled to push her away from me, but I was too weak from the beatings I'd been getting all day. The sai slowly inched closer and closer to my heart. Using what strength I had left I managed to steer the sai away from my heart.
Not far enough, however, as the point of the blade started to dig into my left shoulder. A thin stream of blood started to seep out of the wound as the blade dug deeper. My right shoulder was almost useless from the fall down the stairs. If I lost my left shoulder I'd be helpless to stop Mileena from doing whatever she wanted.
I figured I'd try to reason with Mileena one last time. "Mileena, stop this! Please!" I screamed.
"Everyone gets what they deserve!" Mileena answered, coldly. "And I deserve this!" I could see from the look in her eyes that she had no intention of stopping for anything. I realized then it was either going to be her or me. As the sai continued to dig into my shoulder, I grabbed Mileena's mask and tore it off her face.
"NO!" she screamed as she tried to grab it as it drifted off the bridge. I took a gamble and figured if Mileena really was as sensitive about her face as she sounded, pulling her mask off would throw her off. Lucky for me, I was right. "NO NO NO!" she continued to scream as the mask fell out of her reach.
I pulled the sai out of my shoulder and threw it off the bridge. I clutched my shoulder and then I saw Mileena's face. It was the first time I had ever seen Mileena's face without the mask. I read in Shang Tsung's journal that her mouth deformed into a Tarkatan...but that still didn't prepare me for what I saw. The top half of her face, from the nose up, looked exactly like me. But just below her nose was a large mouth packed with razor sharp teeth. Nothing could have prepared me for that.
"oh my God..." I whispered to myself.
Mileena glared at me, her eyes now burning in a frenzy. "SEE?! SEE?!" She then lunged at me and wrapped her hands around my throat and screamed "I HATE YOU!!!! I HATE YOU! YOU LYING, SPOILED BITCH!!!"
I tried to pry Mileena's hands from my neck, but I probably wouldn't have accomplished that even if I wasn't exhausted. She was insane with rage. I was too weak and too hurt to force her off of me so I had to think of something else. I noticed we were near the edge of the bridge which was suspended hundreds of feet above the ground.
Out of desperation, I grabbed Mileena and using her weight against her, rolled us both backwards off the bridge. I managed to get a good grip on the edge of the bridge, but Mileena was caught off guard and was only hanging on by her fingertips. I managed to pull myself up to safety and I collapsed on the floor completely exhausted.
"Kitana, help me." Mileena said quietly, struggling to hold on. "Please..?
I looked at Mileena as she desperately clung to the bridge. I looked at this thing that I once believed was my sister. Just a few moments ago, I believed she could change and turn against Kahn with me only for her to try to kill me. A few seconds ago she was trying to crush my throat believing her life would be better if I was gone. And now she was asking for me to save her life. I wanted to believe there was a part of Mileena that was still me and was good. But as I looked at her....maybe it was seeing her face...seeing what she truly is...but I realized....I was wrong.
"I'm sorry, Mileena."
Mileena's expression quickly changed from fear to seething hate and she snarled "You bitch." Her grip continued to loosen and she started to yell "You won't get away with this. You're going to die for this!" Just before she fell she screamed out "I'll see you in Hell!"
Mileena let out a blood-curdling shriek as she fell hundreds of feet to the concrete below. I didn't watch her fall, but I heard her screaming suddenly and abruptly cut off as she hit the ground. I looked over the side of the bridge and saw Mileena's shattered body and quietly said "You probably will, Mileena. You probably will."
I managed to stand up and slowly limped back to my chamber. As I made my way back, Mileena's words sank into me. Maybe she was right. Maybe I haven't changed, and I'm only deluding myself. I wanted to believe that part of Mileena that was me was good, but what if I was wrong about that, too. Maybe I truly am a terrible person. I started to think back on all the things I've done in my life and I wondered how much of it was because Kahn raised me to be a killer and how much of it was just me. Maybe Mileena was right. Maybe I am just a killer and I can never change.
I returned to my chamber and stumbled around a bit. I was going to meet Liu and the others and we were going to go to Earth. But I was so exhausted. My fight with Liu left me pretty sore. That was followed by a beating from Shao Kahn. And on top of that my fight with Mileena. Liu's Flying Kick knocked the wind out of me and I'd been nearly strangled to death twice in one day so I could barely breathe. Not to mention my shoulder was also bleeding from Mileena's sai.
I needed to get myself together and meet with Liu and the others. But instead I ended up passing out in my chamber from exhaustion. Before everything faded away, I had a terrible thought that killing Mileena would be the final straw with Shao Kahn. Ready or not, my life was about to change yet again.
End of Chapter XIV