Chapter 11: Raised Stakes
AN: New chapter! I'm a bit sick atm, so I was able to find the time to push out this chapter. Hope you all enjoy!
Wastelands of Outworld, Minutes Earlier
"Do we know where she is?" Mileena asked. Kitana nodded.
"The amulet will lead us to wherever Jade is being held. We must hurry!"
Izuku shook his head. "Wait! You can't just wander into the lion's den alone! You need backup! Let me and Liu Kang come with you!"
Liu Kang nodded. "You have no idea what you're going to face. It would be a wise idea if you allowed us to accompany you on your mission."
At that moment, a horde of Tarkatans appeared on the shore.
"There's the Earthrealmers! Just like the red one promised!" One shrieked, his blades shifting out of his arms.
"Red one?" Izuku asked.
Mileena snarled. "Skarlet! I should've known!"
Mileena and Kitana made the motion of bringing out their weapons, only to be stopped by Izuku.
"They're stalling for time. You need to go and rescue Jade. Me and Liu Kang can handle things here."
Kitana looked at the horde of Tarkatans, before turning back to look at Liu Kang. She nodded, putting her fans away. Mileena also made the motion of putting her sais away. She turned to face Izuku.
In the heat of the moment, Mileena grabbed Izuku's cheek with her left hand.
"Be careful." she whispered. Izuku smiled, grabbing her hand and bringing it down.
"Don't worry about me. Go. Get Jade out of whatever situation she's landed up in, and give your former coworkers a kick in the teeth from me, alright? And before I forget, take these."
He handed Mileena three small discs.
"What are these?" she asked.
"Me and the guys just settled on calling them teleporters. Sonya gave them to us before she left. One use only, but they should be useful in a situation like this. We set the destination to your hideout in the caves. Now go. We'll hold the fort here."
Mileena nodded shakily. She turned and began to run after her sister. In the distance, she could hear the sound of bones cracking and a gun firing.
As they reached the Living Forest, the two sisters had to stop and take a breath.
"Where...where is the amulet taking us?" Mileena asked.
Kitana took another glance at the amulet, before looking in the direction it pulsed towards.
"It seems it is taking us to the Flesh Pits, Mileena."
Mileena frowned. "The Flesh Pits? The very place Shao Khan forbade us from exploring centuries ago? The same place that we planned on investigating, but never got around to doing so?"
Kitana nodded. "Seems like it." she remarked. "I cannot help but wonder what else we will find there apart from Jade."
"Nothing good." Mileena couldn't help but think.
At the edge of the forest, the amulet pulsed around a small rock formation. Kitana frowned.
"Secret entrance?" She asked Mileena.
Mileena shrugged. "Most likely." she replied.
The sisters were proven correct when the rocks began to rumble and slide apart, revealing a large opening. Beyond the opening lay stairs made out of rock.
"I have a very bad feeling about this, Kitana." Mileena remarked.
"I'd be surprised if you didn't. We are most likely walking into a trap, after all." Kitana replied. She turned to face her sister.
"Mileena, please keep a lookout for me. If things get dire... I want you to use the teleporter and escape to safety.."
Mileena shook her head. "What are you saying?! You can't ask me to just abandon you!"
"Please, Mileena. I need to know that you will do what is necessary should the worst happen." Kitana pleaded.
Mileena shook her head, a few tears leaking out of her eyes. After a few moments, she nodded.
"Thank you." Kitana whispered. She turned to face the opening. After a few moments of hesitation, Kitana began to walk down the staircase.
As she slowly walked down the stairs, Kitana found her nose assaulted by the scent of rotting flesh and stale blood. Mortified but unwilling to give up, Kitana continued to walk forwards. A few moments later, the stairs ended and Kitana was greeted by the horrific sights of cadavers carelessly strewn across the pit. Even more horrifying were all the pods that contained what looked like deformed women suspended in a mysterious blue liquid. Mileena, now extremely disturbed, continued on. However, as she had her attention stolen by the sight of all the creatures that were in the pods, she failed to notice that she was walking into a pod until she hit it face-first. Rubbing her head, Kitana slowly looked upwards. She froze in shock.
Suspended in the pod was a carbon copy of her sister, complete with the ugly yellow teeth that Mileena once used to sport until the aftermath of their conversation in Earthrealm.
"It can't be!" Kitana whispered. While she knew that Mileena wasn't her born sister, she had always felt that Mileena had always been her own person, something completely and utterly unique. To see her sister as some kind of...laboratory monstrosity felt wrong and vile.
"And now you know the truth." a familiar voice called out.
Kitana quickly turned around, only to be confronted by the sight of green.
"Jade?" she whispered. "What….What happened? I thought you were in danger."
"I apologize for the deception, old friend, but it was necessary. I needed you to see the truth."
Kitana stiffened. "What truth? I don't understand!"
"Mileena is not your sister. No matter how much you have convinced yourself of it, or how much she believes in that lie, it is simply a lie. Mileena is simply a vicious monster, one who is clearly mentally unstable and desires only power. And now, she has you conspiring with your greatest enemies to take down your Father so she can claim the throne for herself! I cannot allow you to be fooled by her lies anymore!" Jade exclaimed.
Kitana bristled in anger. "Lies?! You fool, Mileena isn't the one who convinced me to turn against Shao Khan! I did, of my own free will! He murdered my father, and drove my mother to suicide! I will not let their deaths go unavenged!"
"Tarkatans are nothing but liars, Kitana! How do you know that Mileena didn't plant that evidence so that she can make a play for the throne when both you and Shao Khan are dead?!"
"Come off your high horse, Jade! Mileena may be a half-Tarkatan, and she may be a creation of Shang Tsung, but she has never lied to me! She is my sister, by bond if not by blood, and we both care for each other!"
"Listen to yourself! Did you not tell me once that you were uncertain how your Father could ever have you try and be friendly with a vicious animal that only knew rage and Kombat? That was only a few months ago, Kitana! Don't tell me you have changed your mind that quickly!"
Kitana flinched, ashamed. It was true. Before Mileena's confession to her on Earthrealm, Kitana truly did not think of the pink-clad assassin as family. It was only after Mileena confessed to her that she was afraid of the fact that they might not be family. It was in that moment that Kitana remembered all the moments Mileena had viewed her as her own sister, standing by her side through thick and thin. In that moment, she had felt ashamed she had ever thought so lowly of Mileena.
She thought that Jade had accepted their new dynamic, that they would now be a proper triumvirate that could handle whatever was thrown at them.
But it seems that Jade could never let go of her prejudice, her hatred, of anyone and anything even remotely Tarkatan.
And Kitana had the horrible feeling she knew why.
"Are you doing this for my sake, or for Ko'tal?" Kitana asked.
Jade flinched, as if she had been struck by one of Kitana's bladed fans. "Don't you dare bring him into this!" she whispered harshly.
Kitana shook her head. What had happened to Ko'tal was a tragedy, but Jade had taken it especially hard. She should've known that Jade would carry hatred of the race that had slaughtered him.
"Jade, I understand that hatred, I do. I once carried it as well, but that doesn't mean it applies to everyone! Mileena…."
Jade waved her hand dismissively. "Enough talk! If I have to beat some sense into you, Kitana, then I will."
She jumped down from her position, whipping out her staff. Kitana, in return, unsheathed her bladed fans. The two glared at each other, circling slowly around the area.
Kitana attacked first, striking at Jade's stomach with the bladed end of her fan. Jade blocked the attack, before kicking Kitana's knee.
Unceremoniously dropping to the floor, Kitana counter attacked with a spinning kick that forced Jade to block instead of following through with her own attack. Having gained a small window of time, Kitana took advantage of it by manipulating the energy in her fans to rocket up from the floor and knee Jade's jaw.
Flying backwards, Jade was able to stop hee momentum by rematerializing her staff and digging it into the ground. Flipping off of her staff, Jade landed behind Kitana, before kicking her in the chest. Kitana, dazed, was unprepared for Jade to kick her again in the head and force her to hit the staff. Her head ringing, Kitana couldn't defend herself from the vicious blows that Jade rained on her.
As she lay on the ground, Kitana desperately reached out for her fans. Materializing in her hands, Kitana threw a Vortex at Jade. With her opponent hovering in the air, Kitana was able to take a few moments to recover. Thinking of a plan, Kitana bought out her fans.
As Jade fell down to earth, Kitana threw her fans at Jade's abdomen. Burying themselves into her stomach, Kitana kicked them further in with all her might. As the force of the throw threw them backwards and bounced them off the floor, Kitana buried the blades into Jade's shoulder. After that, Kitana threw Jade to the ground, and proceeded to stab her in the back of her shoulders.
Teleporting back a small distance, Kitana slid down against a wall. Breathing heavily, Kitana slowly began to get up and approach Jade. While she had tried to aim for as many non lethal spots as she could, Jade was still bleeding heavily. Kitana stared at the many wounds she had created in apprehension and horror.
"Oh gods, I am so sorry, Jade. I didn't…."
"Shhh. It's alright, Kitana. I….I am a failure. Forgive me."
Kitana shook her head. "You aren't a failure, just a very foolish woman. Now hush, I'm going to get us out of here."
A dark laughter echoed throughout the Flesh Chambers.
"How sweet! Unfortunately for you Jade. I never intended to honor our deal."
Out of the shadows, a crimson garbed woman stepped out, adorned in fresh blood.
"Skarlet?" Kitana whispered. Skarlet had always carried a horrific reputation, one that was well earned, if the rumors were anything to go by.
Jade shook her head. "You promised that if I bought you Mileena, you would let Kitana go!" she protested weakly.
Skarlet laughed again. "Oh, you poor, deluded fool. Our Emperor ordered me to eliminate both Kitana and Mileena!" She laughed again. "Oh, I like you, Jade. I really do. It's why I killed Ko'tal after all. The brutish man really didn't deserve you. Well, that and our Emperor didn't seem to like him very much."
"What?" Jade whispered.
Skarlet continued on. "Unfortunately, my master's orders supersede all else. I'm afraid both you and Kitana will have to be eliminated. A shame. Ah well, I suppose I could always convince Shao Khan to give me a cloned version of you. Shang Tsung can truly work wonders when he's not being an incompetent fool. I'm afraid this is goodbye, my friends."
At that moment, Skarlet held out her hands, and to Kitana's horror, Jade's blood began to flow rapidly out of her body towards the red garbed assassin. Kitana, enraged, threw herself at the assassin, only to be forcibly frozen by some mysterious magic.
"What...what is this?" Kitana whispered.
Skarlet chuckled. "An upgrade to my powers, courtesy of Shang Tsung! Our master knew you were disloyal the moment you arrived, and he has specifically prepared me to destroy all of Outworld's enemies!"
Skarlet stopped draining Jade's blood, leaving the green garbed woman shivering, but alive. She turned to face Kitana.
"I'll be honest, Kitana. From the moment I have learned of your treachery, I have despised you deeply. You and your half breed "sister" never realized how privileged you were, compared to a simple creation like me. I had to fight and claw my way to every bit of acknowledgement that Shao Khan threw my way. But now...once I have eliminated you and that Tarkatan half breed, I will be the uncontested champion of Outworld! I will rule by Shao Khan's side, and you will be nothing but a footnote in history!"
Skarlet made a motion with her hand, and blinding pain hit Kitana.
It was like a drill had opened up every pore of her body, as needles stabbed every nerve she had. It was horrifically painful, and Kitana could hear herself screaming through the red haze that had surrounded her
Suddenly, she heard a roar of rage, and the haze began to clear. Kitana breathed heavily, trying to get up from the cold ground. As she stood up, she was greeted to the sight of a whirling tornado of pink.
"Mileena?" Kitana whispered, taken aback by the sudden appearance of her sister.
"GO!" Mileena roared, driving one of her sais into Skarlet's shoulder. As the red clad assassin was distracted, Mileena threw the disks at Jade and Kitana. In a flash of light, Jade and Kitana found themselves in a heap, as water and other peaceful sounds ambushed their ears.
A pair of footsteps began to hastily approach them. Kitana slowly got up, only to be greeted by the confused expression of Izuku Midoriya.
"Where's Mileena?" he asked.
AN: Oh shit.
So, Jade's betrayal. It might seem a bit sudden, and to be honest, it kinda was a last minute idea I thought of, but when I thought of it, I just couldn't let it go. It would make a lot of sense, since her love interest, Kotal Khan, has a fervent hatred of Tarkatans. Plus, Mileena's change of heart would seem very sudden to everyone except Kitana, the very person that Mileena confessed to.
So, with that said, who's gonna tell our green bean that his sort-of-not-really-girlfriend has been captured by Skarlet, of all people?
How's he gonna react?
All these questions and more will be answered in the next chapter!