I'm still not Ed Boon or connected with Netherealm Studios in any capacity.
Syzoth returned to his desk hafter the applause died down from his altogether not too funny monologue. Fortunately, the heart of the show was his interviews with fellow kombatants, and he had two special guests tonight—guests who could help him with his true objective of restoring the Saurian species.
"Folks, there's no denying that things have been crazy ever since Kronika messed with the spacetime continuum. Alternate timelines keep spilling over into one another, and everything seems possible, but my guests tonight have dedicated themselves to cleaning up the timeline. Please welcome Fire God Liu Kang and Time Empress Kitana!"
Cheers erupted as the heroes of the Mortal Kombat Tournament arrived on stage. Syzoth rose to greet them and politely nodded to them. They returned the gesture as Syzoth motioned to the couch.
As the two heroes took their seats, Syzoth began speaking.
"Liu, Kitana, I must say you are looking much better than when I last saw you."
"Yes, it has been crazy, Reptile, going from being revenants to gods and having our past and present selves merge," Liu Kang said.
"What's that like?"
"It's like having two sets of memories in our heads, one where we are ourselves and another where we were under Quan Chi's control."
"For me its more like I get dreams of my life in every timeline that I've been part of," Kitana said.
"Have any favorites?"
"Yes, there was one that ended in Shao Khan killing everyone except me on top of a pyramid, and I would have killed him if Raiden hadn't reset the timeline."
"That one's your favorite?" Liu asked in surprise.
"For most of that one my mother was ruling a free Edenia."
"Oh, that's awesome!" Liu said.
"It sounds great and good for Edenia, but what about the other realms Shao Khan conquered?"
"I would have ruled them all in peace with Shao Khan gone."
"And when you say that Shao Khan killed everyone, did it include…"
"Yes, it included you, Reptile. All of the Kombatants except me and Raiden."
"Well that timeline sucks," Syzoth said.
"And it's your favorite Kitana, just because you get a few happy years with Sindel?" Liu Kang looked as confused as Reptile looked betrayed.
"I still lose her in the end, Liu. I lose you. But I lead all the realms in peace when Shao Khan is dead. It's sad for us, but we haven't been fighting for ourselves. This is the best ending for Earthrealm and Edenia."
"But not for Zaterra," Syzoth interjected.
"Reptile, there is no more Zaterra," Liu Kang said in a tone that tried to convey sorrow for the saurian's loss as well as a gentle nudge to accept that nothing could be done about it.
Syzoth sighed, threw up his hands, and said, "I know, I know. But there is no more Edenia either."
It was Kitana's turn to be confused. "There was an Edenia in that timeline. It was freed after Liu beat Shao Khan for the third time."
"I beat him three times instead of two? I'm starting to like this timeline," a smile spread on the monk's face.
"Wait," Syzoth held his hand up in a stop motion. "Is this the timeline where Sindel tries me for genocide?"
"Yes," Kitana said slowly, trying to peace together the Saurian's thinking. "You did work for Shao Khan, Reptile."
"I did what I needed to survive. Sindel should know all about that considering she married him."
"We didn't kill you, Reptile. We just sentenced you to hard labor in an unsafe environment. Then you joined Shinnok when he invaded Edenia."
Syzoth spoke loudly and slowly, "Did. What. I. Needed. To. Survive. Really. Rich. Coming. From. Shao. Khan's. wife."
"My mother was doing what she had to to survive. She never loved Shao Khan."
"I was doing what I had to convince him to restore my species. He just took your realm. He took my people!"
"Reptile?" Liu Kang asked. "Are you really saying that you had it worse than Kitana? She lost her father, her mother, her realm—
"When she was a baby! She never knew Jerrod or Sindel, or Edenia for that matter. Most Edenians did fairly well compared to the other groups Shao Khan conquered. Sindel was his empress, Kitana was his princess, Jade, Rain, and Tanya were top generals."
Kitana sprang to her feet and pulled out a steel fan.
"Are you saying we enjoyed it?"
"Until you learned you weren't his daughter. I grew up on Zaterra, saw it get absorbed, remembered my grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends, all dying in Shang Tsung's flesh pits."
Kitana threw the fan at Syzoth. The Raptor ducked out of the way, so instead of decapitating him it merely grazed his cheek. It would definitely leave a mark.
"How dare you compare what you went through personally to what Edeninans went through as a species! You are completely selfish, Reptile."
Syzoth walked to the place in the wall where Kitana's fan was now lodged. He picked it up and absentmindedly fanned himself as he glared at Kitana.
"I'm not selfish, just depressed that I'm the only Zaterran. You were never the only Edeninian."
"No, and I did not personally go through much, but what happens to an entire realm is always worse than what happens to an individual," Kitana said, not wanting to be seen as a self-indulgent spoiled princess.
"I wasn't talking about myself for special sympathy," Syzoth said, "I was using myself as an example of what all Zaterrans went through."
"You aren't the last Zaterran, Reptile. There's still Khameleon."
Syzoth's eyes glowed and he snapped the fan shut before handing it back to Kitana.
"Is Khameleon female?"
"I fought her, so yes," Kitana said.
"No, no, I fought him and he's male."
Reptile sighed and sat back down. "Empress, please forgive my outburst. I just don't want my species to die out in the new timeline."
"Reptile, we can't play favorites," Liu Kang said.
"I'm just asking that my species doesn't go extinct. If our roles were reversed, and I was the God of time, and you were the last human and last Edenian, would you be doing anything differently than what I'm doing now?"
Liu Kang, started to think, stared off into space for a minute, and brought his eyes back to Reptile. "No," he shook his head, "I would be doing exactly what you are doing now."
Syzoth's eyes met Liu Kang's. There was understanding until Liu Kang broke the gaze and said, "But we've just become gods, maybe titans. So I don't know if that means shape the timeline as we think best, or set things in motion and let events play out on their own. Until I'm certain what my role is, I just can't make you or anybody else any promises."
Syzoth breathed in deep and slowly exhaled. "I should've expected this."
"I'm afraid I disagree with Liu," Kitana said. "We cannot let anyone become as powerful as Shao Khan or Shinnok again."
"I can agree with that. No Khan in Outworld means no invasions of Zaterra, Edinia, or the Osh-tec," Syzoth heartily concurred.
"I could grant Kotal protection from Outworld. He was on our side in the end, and Jade can keep him in line."
Syzoth felt his mouth drop.
"You are giving him protection from Outworld just because he's Jade's boyfriend?"
"Jade has been like a sister to me, so yes."
"Where's the Kitana Khan who made peace between the Osh-tec and Tarkata and what have you done with her, you spoiled palace brat?"
"What did you just call me?"
Liu Kang spoke up, surprisingly on Reptile's side. "Kitana, he has a point. You can't give Kotal a free pass just because he and Jade are lovers."
"It's not that. I trust Kotal—he abdicated to me because he thought I could do a better job. Someone like that cares more about the results of something than what he gets out of it. He resisted Shao Khan. Even Baraka and Sheeva did in the end." She turned to face Reptile, "but you never did! You even spied on me all my life you perverted lizard!"
The audience gasped.
"I worked for Shang Tsung as a personal slave. It was all about creating Milleena."
"And you never said 'no,' to him?"
"I actually did a few times and got beaten for my trouble."
Kitana froze.
"I never knew that."
"I hated Shang Tsung and Shao Khan but was powerless to do anything against them. I just had to hope that if I pleased them, they would restore my species."
"Reptile, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"So, will you restore Zaterra in the new timeline?"
Liu Kang answered, "We will restore all the realms, but we can't make any promises about what happens to any of them."
"We just won't bring back Shao Khan or Shinnok," Kitana said. "Problem solved."
Liu Kang grimaced, "Then we would be doing just what Kronika did when she tried to erase Raiden."
"But Liu, you defeated Kronika. Her power and responsibilities are ours now. She only tried to erase Raiden after countless tries to reset the timeline with him in it failed."
"I'll second Kitana," Syzoth said. "Give things a go with no Shinnok or Shao Khan and see how that works. If things are screwed up too spectacularously, just reset the timeline and add them back. Although if you want my opinion, get rid of Onaga too."
"That name sounds familiar," Kitana said.
"It should. Khan of Outworld before Shao Khan, necromancer, fellow reptile, and reincarnation of Shinnok and Cetrion's dad, Norbert."
Liu Kang lost all composure and burst out laughing.
Kitana stared at him.
"Last night's show where Reptile interviewed Shinnok? He said 'All realms will cower before the wrath of Norbert.'"
"So?" Kitana asked.
"It's an Earthrealm name from English speaking countries. Hardly anyone names their kids that anymore, and just for that to be the name of the Super Titan whose the big bad behind everything is just…underwhelming. I think I'm going to stick to calling him the One Being."
"Liu, we can't erase him. All of the realms come from him."
Liu Kang nodded and looked back to Reptile, "Sorry. No can do on that one."
"No, not the One Being," Reptile clarified, "just his dragon reincarnation."
"With no Shinnok, Onaga, or Shao Khan—wait if there's no Shinnok, then there's no Raiden, and they never fight so Zaterra never gets separated from Earthrealm," Liu Kang said.
"If our species are neighbors, I'm totally ok with that. Outworld was very cosmopolitan."
"There's also the possibility that humans never evolve, in that timeline," Kitana said.
"I'm definitely not ok with that!" Liu Kang said emphatically.
"Maybe you could leave Shinnok and Raiden, and just get rid of the two Khans?" Reptile suggested.
"If the One Being cant reincarnate as Onaga it will just do so as someone else," Liu Kang said.
"And Shinnok would still be around to try to merge the realms by his own means," Kitana noted.
"We've got a lot of work cut out for us," Liu Kang said. "It will probably take several tries before we get everything stable."
"One more suggestion, never let Shinnok meet Quan Chi. He's totally useless without him."
"Is it just me or do sorcerers in general seem smarter than their bosses?" Liu Kang stroked his chin.
"I noticed it too. Shang Tsung was more of an intellectual than Shao Khan," Kitana remarked.
"Shao Khan still had the sense to get rid of Shang Tsung—happiest day of my life," Syzoth leaned back.
"I don't mother has gotten over it yet?"
"How is Sindel?"
"She seems to only care about power and claims Quan Chi killed her."
"Are you even sure she's our timeline's Sindel?"
"Are you saying that my mother really could be that evil?" An air of danger hung on Kitana's words.
"Not the one you know, but another Sindel, from another timeline…just speculating to why she's so different."
Kitana's stared menacingly at Reptile. Fortunately, Raptors had no sweat glands.
"As much as we'd like to state and speculate with you, Liu Kang and I have work to do."
"The timeline's not going to fix itself," The Fire God said.
"I completely understand. Thanks for your time."
Syzoth rose and politely bowed to both of them.
Elder Gods, why have you let spacetime fall into the hands of a spoiled Edenian princess?