"No Turning Back"
Soreness wracked my body as I slowly awoke. I was in my chamber, which didn't surprise me, but I was in my bed and my shoulder was bandaged up. I could also see it was daylight outside and I cringed as I realized that I was out for so long.
"You're awake finally." I heard someone whisper. I turned and saw it was Jade who was sitting beside my bed. I painfully sat up, to which Jade said "Take it easy. From the looks of it you had a rough night."
"You could say that." I replied quietly. "What are you doing here?"
"Watching over a hurt friend." she answered as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Thanks." I answered with a slight laugh.
"I'm also guarding you." she then added. I stared at her puzzled by what she meant and she continued "They found Mileena's body. You're suspected of treason and your father's going to put you on trial. I'm here to make sure you don't try to escape." As she said that I couldn't help groan. Jade stared at me for a moment then asked "Is it true Kitana? You have been acting strange for while now. Are you a traitor?"
I looked at Jade and thought about telling her the truth. All of it. But I still had no way of knowing how she'd react. If she were to come with me, I'd have an advantage. If not, I could end up dead. I couldn't afford to do anything too risky until I figured out what I was going to do next so I decided I'd try to keep up my facade for as long as I could. "No Jade. Why would I betray my own father?"
"Then why kill Mileena?"
"Jade, I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm going to tell my father: Mileena attacked me and I defended myself. Why she attacked me, I have no idea."
Jade looked at me as if she wanted to tell me something, but only said "I hope your telling the truth."
Jade's always been good at keeping her emotions in check. Has been for centuries. She's almost impossible to read which is why I was so uncertain about telling her about my real parents and Edenia. She hoped I was telling the truth about killing Mileena. Was it because she was my friend and didn't want to see me die? Or was it because she's loyal to Kahn and didn't want him to be betrayed? I wanted to believe Jade would be on my side. But then...I also wanted to believe Mileena could turn against Kahn, too.
For the next few days I was stuck in my chamber waiting for my trial. I was able to find out Liu and the others managed to escape back to Earth, but beyond that I knew nothing of what was happening.
Finally the day of my trial came. I was brought before the High Courts of Outworld where the regional lords of the lands gathered. The High Court was structured like a senate. It created the illusion that Outworld wasn't just a tyranny, which it was. Kahn controlled everything. The Courts were for show.
I knew going in this "trial" was just a glorified interrogation. That I was being put on trial was proof that Kahn still wasn't sure if I was loyal to him or not. I knew Mileena was entered into the tournament to watch what I was doing and probably tell Kahn what it was. Mileena claimed she knew what I was doing with the Earth warriors but I must've killed her before she told Kahn.
"Lady Kitana, daughter of Lord Shao Kahn!" A guardsman yelled before the court, reading from a parchment. "You are charged with the crimes of murdering your sister, Lady Mileena; committing treason against your father the Emperor; and conspiracy with terrorists from Earthrealm. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty." I quickly answered.
The way a trial in Outworld is structured is a questioner would ask a series of questions to the defendant, demanding their motives and justification. Witnesses are called to confirm or disprove the defendant's answers. The High Court, made up of the "senate," would come to a decision over the defendants innocence or guilt. Then my step-father would make the final judgment. So really, all I had to do was convince Kahn I was innocent.
The questioner started "Lady Kitana, first question: did you kill your sister Mileena?"
Trick question out of the box. I already knew they knew I killed her. "Yes, I did."
"Why did you kill her?"
"She attacked me and I merely defended myself."
"Why would your sister attack you?"
"I am not certain."
"She didn't say anything to you?"
"She said many things, but they sounded like ravings."
"What did she say?"
"She claimed she wanted to take my place and she said she wanted everything I had."
"So you believe it was mere jealousy?"
"I have no idea. Mileena and I were admittedly, never that close."
The questioner then called a few witnesses, mainly other assassins and generals. He questioned them about my relationship with Mileena and they for the most part confirmed what I said. I was fortunate to have some credibility on my side. No one lied or stretched the truth because why would Kitana the Bloody turn against her own father? That and no one was ever really friends with Mileena. Looking at how the first set of questioning went, I knew the first charge would be dropped.
After the final witness, the questioner continued to me "Before her death, Mileena claimed she knew you were planning on betraying Lord Kahn. What have you to say about that?"
"I have no idea. Perhaps Mileena was spreading rumors about me so when she killed me it would look justified?" I answered.
"She claimed she specifically saw you speaking with the Earthrealm fighter Liu Kang in the Living Forest the day before the tournament started."
"Again, she was probably spreading rumors. To name a specific incident in such detail makes it sound true, does it not?"
"So you never spoke with anyone from Earthrealm?"
"Not unless you count my taunts to Liu Kang during my match with him."
"So you never spoke with Liu Kang?"
"No." I repeated. This trial was a farce. Besides whatever Mileena may have said, they had no evidence or proof against me.
The questioner nodded and then said "I would like to call the witness Jade."
Jade slowly entered the court and sat on the witness stand. That he would call Jade after asking that question made me very nervous. But I tried to keep my composure.
The questioner looked at Jade and asked "Lady Jade, you did not enter the Outworld tournament, did you?"
"No, I did not." she answered.
"Why?"
"Mileena was asked to enter to watch over Kitana. I was told to remain hidden and watch them both."
"Were you at any point in touch with Mileena during the tournament?"
"Just once..." Jade paused a moment, looking a little disappointed and finished "the day before the tournament."
I cringed as soon as she said that. I knew where this was going.
"And what did you see with Mileena that day?"
Jade was silent for several moments. She kept her head down, not once looking me in the eye and answered "We saw....Kitana...speaking with Liu Kang in the Living Forest."
Everyone in the court burst into collective discussion in shock. I looked at my step-father who sat in the center of the High Court. Despite his mask, I could tell he was seething. I cursed myself. I was just caught in a lie and that was all they needed. That was probably what Jade wanted to tell me in my chamber. That she saw me with Liu Kang.
"That'll be all." the questioner smugly said.
"Kitana," my step-father began, trying to contain his anger, "you will be confined in the dungeons until we reach a verdict."
A pair of guards suddenly swooped over me and escorted me out of the court. I took one last look at Jade who still couldn't look me in the face. I suppose should've been mad at her, but I wasn't. I actually felt bad. I could tell she wasn't thrilled to be the one to implicate me. I didn't want to force her to choose between Kahn and me, but it seems it couldn't be avoided.
I was brought down to the lower levels of the my step-father's fortress where I was to be locked away, until my verdict. No real point, since I already knew what it was going to be. More likely I was to be kept in the dungeon until they figured out my punishment.
As I was taken to my cell, I went over my situation and considered my options, which were very few. I ultimatley came to the realization that there was no point in pretending I was still loyal to Kahn any longer and therefore no point in being careful. My ruse was revealled and I was two steps away from being executed or worse so I decided it was time to start acting recklessly.
The guards tried to shove me in my cell, but I quickly turned around and gave one a sharp chop to the throat while I kicked the other in gut. I pulled out a dagger from one guard's belt and slit his throat before I plunged it into the other guard's chest. I dragged the dead guards into my intended cell and quietly made my way out of the dungeons. It was unwise of my step-father to assume two guards alone could get me into a cell. But he's either in disbelief about me betraying him or he doesn't believe I'd have the courage, (or be stupid enough) to try to escape.
I sneaked back into the upper levels to get my fans and anything else I'd need. After gathering some of my things, I started to make way through the fortress, which was all but deserted. That, I found odd. I saw no guards, soldiers, Shadow Priests....no one. I moved through the fortress easily enough...almost too easy.
I made my way to the portal chamber within the fortress which contained a portal that led to Earth. I hoped to use the portal to escape and from there I intended to find Liu and his allies and we could prepare for whatever my step-father was planning.
As I made my way to the portal chamber, I began to hear thunder brewing outside. Seemingly out of nowhere, the sky darkened and lightning began to flash everywhere. I felt a low rumbling move through the ground and as it did I got a terrible feeling that I may already be too late to stop my step-father's plans.
I reached the portal chamber and saw the portal itself. It was a sickly looking black hole that floated in the sky like a wound. It was usually guarded by several Shadow Priests, but strangely no one was around.
I felt very troubled. For one thing, my escape was way too easy. I was expecting some sort of trap. Another, I had never been to Earth before. I was hoping to find Liu and the others once I got to Earth, but the hard part of that would be finding my way around. But most of all, I realized that this was it for my allegiance to Shao Kahn. There would be no turning back after this. If the Earth warriors didn't succeed and help me, then that's it. For so long I was looking forward to leaving my life as Shao Kahn's assassin behind...and now that moment had suddenly come and I wasn't sure if I was ready.
Despite my nervousness, I knew it was time to embrace my new life. I took a deep breath and jumped into the vortex. The pain of traveling through the portal was indescribable. I felt like I was being ripped apart, atom by atom. As you travel between the realms, you're tossed and turned like a rag doll before you're spit out the other side.
I landed hard on the ground wracked with pain. I writhed on the ground for a few moments, and tried to regain my bearings. I looked around and found I was sitting on a stairway that was imbedded into a mountainside. To my side were some torn flags that had the dragon symbol of Mortal Komat on them. I looked down the stairs and in the distance, not far from the foot of the mountain, I saw what looked like a dilapidated palace.
I slowly walked down the stairs and cautiously made my way to the palace where Mortal Kombat symbols were everywhere. As I made my way around, I realized I was on Shang Tsung's island where he was hosting the Mortal Kombat tournament. Apparently after his defeat, his palace crumbled to pieces.
I took slight comfort in knowing that I was on Earth, but it quickly passed as I noticed the skies above slowly starting to look like the skies in Outworld. Thunder and lightning began to rumble around me and I could immediatly tell something was very wrong.
I ran to a palace balcony that looked over the shore and I noticed a black fog quickly forming around the island. I looked back to the portal and noticed it was glowing brightly and red lighting bolts were firing all around it. The ground shook beneath me and I had a terrible feeling I knew what this meant.
From the black fog, large ships began to appear, seemingly out of nowhere. Ships I recognized. It was the Outworld fleet. As I saw more and more ships appear I knew I was too late. I didn't know how, but the portal was open. Earth was merging with Outworld and the invasion was under way.
With no time to lose, I quickly made my way to shore and dove into the water. I had no idea where on Earth Shang Tsung's island was and I did not want to be trapped there. I quickly and quietly swam to the nearest ship and sneaked aboard. I hid myself in the lower decks and stowed away until we reached the mainland, wherever that was.
Hiding away in the lower decks was certainly a miserable experience. I was freezing, starving and extremely uncomfortable. Whenever I was sure it was safe to move I would sneak out and steal whatever food I could. None of the soldiers knew I was even on the ship the whole journey. Elite ninja training. We're not seen unless we want to be.
After about a week or so we finally reached shore and I quickly sneaked off the boat unseen. All the ships docked in some sort of large city. Walking through the city was an unnerving experience. It was dead quiet. As I made my way around, I could see my step-father's invasion was brutally swift. All around me, lying everywhere in the streets were human skeletons that looked a rotted green. They're souls had been stolen with my step-father's magic. The city itself was huge and I imagine before the invasion would have been packed with people. But now there was nothing but death.
According to Shang Tsung and spies we sent to Earth, much of Earth's defenses are based on electricity. So my step-father's Shadow Priests prepared a series of magic spells that would render any electrical technology useless. Tsung also said the vast majority of Earth didn't believe in magic and regarded stories of Outworld and my step-father as childish mythology. He said they would have no defense when Outworld invaded and would easily be subdued as the realms merged. From what I could see, he was exactly right.
I noticed all the soldiers from the ships were gathering in one area of the city I was in. I decided to follow and see what was happening. In the center of the city, my step-father's new fortress was planted, standing out like a wretched beast among the massive buildings all around. High above the new fortress, a massive red vortex swirled.
I found a place to hide and watch in one of the nearby buildings as the Outworld armies gathered in formation in front of the fortress. From the looks of it, it was the entire Outworld army. I saw many generals scattered around. Some I recognized, some I did not.
From a balcony high atop the fortress, I saw my step-father emerge to the cheers and applause of his armies. I still couldn't believe he was able to invade. I didn't understand how it was possible and why the Elder Gods would allow it. I decided to listen to my step-father's speech to see if I could learn anything.
"At long last my warriors! At long last we have achieved what we have waited centuries to accomplish!" Kahn bellowed. "EARTH IS OURS!!" The armies immediately began to cheer and yell in excitement. "Shortly, the realms will merge completely and true victory will be ours! In the meantime, you must go out and find any who would oppose us! Hunt them down! Destroy them! Make them suffer! Make them scream!" He paused a moment to let the armies cheer and scream in a frenzy then continued "Now, I present to you the one who made this possible. Behold, my bride.....your Queen!"
He then stepped aside and I heard a terrible screech echo through the area. It sounded almost like a banshee. It was followed by a woman who emerged next to Shao Kahn. She had long flowing white hair with a black streak down the middle. Her skin was pale as a ghost and her eyes were a blank white with black marks around them. She stood beside Shao Kahn with an evil grin on her face. As I stared at her I couldn't help but feel I'd seen her before. Then I realized who I was staring at.
"...oh God....please God no..."
"All hail QUEEN SINDEL!" Shao Kahn bellowed loudly.
The armies all cheered and bowed and I sank to my knees horrified at what I just witnessed. That was the "Revival" Kahn was planning. They resurrected my mother. But not only that...they twisted her mind and turned her into my step-father's loyal bride. Upon seeing her I almost wanted to scream out something right there, but I held myself back. I felt so sick. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. My mother was innocent and thought she escaped Shao Kahn's evil but he pulls her back in and turns her into something she isn't.
I looked back and saw the armies begin to go on their way. My mother stood beside Shao Kahn and watched from the balcony, pleased with what was happening. I looked towards my mother and my horror was slowly replaced by anger. How dare he do this? How dare he useher like this? How dare he violate my mother? I would not let this stand. I would not let him get away with it. I would not let that son of a bitch corrupt my mother the way he corrupted me. I whispered to myself "I'll save you, mother. I swear to you. Somehow...I'll find a way. I'll bring you back."
I quietly made my way out of the city, unnoticed by the armies. I needed to find Liu and the others now more than ever.
End of Chapter XV