Kitana was sitting quietly in the strategy room of the military outpost, and had been alone with her thoughts for several hours. Her head was resting in her hands as they supported it on the surface of the table.

Her mind was racing from her conversation with Mileena. Long before the war upon earthrealm began, she had known Mileena to be this vicious and ruthless killer, offering no sympathy or shame for her actions. She clearly expressed her Tarkatan instincts whenever she had been in combat, to the point that Kitana would disregard the Edenian attributes that Mileena received from her.

But now, with her trapped in a box and unable to cause harm of any sort, Mileena had become much more benign. She has shown to hate her Tarkatan features and how they, from her views, are responsible for how everyone despises her. She has shown grief and regret for her actions, and perhaps even pity for the people that she may have killed in the past.

She hates herself, her attributes, and her vicious instincts, everything that had been used with the intention of replacing Kitana. Behind the monstrous teeth and reptilian eyes, Kitana couldn't help but see herself in Mileena's personality. It seemed to unfair that a person that was capable of the same good will as herself had garnered so much disgust and detest from what would have been her loyal subjects.

It wasn't Mileena's fault.

Kitana sighed deflatedly as her hands left her cheekbones and collapsed outstretched against the table. She had absolutely no idea what to do about this problem, whether she should have anything to do about or if she should just distance herself as Mileena had suggested. Kitana felt as if she was her younger and equally confusable self, willing to rely on the instructions of others. How she ever thought she could be a leader was absent.

During these thoughts, she was suddenly interrupted by the opening of the automatic entrance, and diverted her attention to it in response. Stepping through it was exactly who she expected, Sonya Blade alongside her beloved Nicholas and their friend Jackson. However, following alongside them was a pair that she had not expected, as her eyes widened with joy from their arrival.

Liu Kang, her lover for many years since Shao Khan's defeat, had arrived in a stylish yet casual business suit. Next to him was her long time bodyguard Jade, maintaining her Edenian maiden garb in its befitting shade of emerald green.

The lot of them approached the princess as she rose from her seat, "Liu… It's wonderful to see you again" she greeted genuinely. Liu and Kitana came together and embraced, Liu stating "We've heard about Mileena's capture and the interrogations".

They left their embrace as Jade added "We came here to decide alongside the humans on what we should do next". Sonya approached a chair at the end of the table and sat comfortably, announcing "With that said, let's not waste any time". The rest of the consultants agreed and found their own seats.

"Well first off…" Sonya began, "I want everyone to keep in mind that the prisoner has two confirmed murders on her hands, and there could possibly have been more". Kitana was disheartened to acknowledge that as much as she had begun to care for Mileena, her crimes remained.

Liu Kang turned to Kitana and asked "Kitana, did she ever tell you why she had murdered those two people?"

Kitana shook her head and answered "She didn't need to. I saw why when I captured her. She made facemasks from their skin". Sonya questioned "Why didn't you tell us that?!" with a shocked expression on her face. Kitana shrugged and answered "Following her attempted suicide and capture, it didn't seem relevant at the time".

"It's disgusting. Making a mockery of the lives of innocence by masquerading as them… She really is a product of Shao Khan" Jade sneered with repulse. "She wasn't…" Kitana objected impulsively, before setting and muttering "She was pretending to be me".

All eyes studied her with awe and confusion.

"What? Why?" Jade asked with a raised eyebrow. Kitana sighed as her eyes drained of all life, "She said that she felt jealous of me… that everyone hated her because I was the beautiful one". Kitana's guilt was evident in her voice, though her friends felt that it was unwarranted.

"She really hates herself… for what she is. She would even kill herself for it…" Kitana continued, "She's not the monster I had once thought she was". Her friends were becoming ever more confused by Kitana's sudden devotion towards what was once her rival, and until recent evidence has contradicted, as much a conceited tyrant as Shao khan himself.

"She is based on me… and I can see it… she is just a confused and broken product of her teachings. Manipulated and brainwashed into a monster that anyone could be" Kitana explained. She looked away and continued "And her eyes… I could see no Tarkatan instinct behind them… She has lost her will to hunt…".

Kitana's eyes were shut from her own words, too fearful of the concerned and confused gazes her friends must've had at that moment. She had just exposed her sympathy for a killer and now her friends would likely question her intentions, as well as her sanity to a degree.

"We have seen the footage from the security cameras, Kitana" Jax informed the princess, "We already can tell that you've developed feelings for Mileena". Kitana growled under her breath and burying her head into the palms of her hands, further expressing her embarrassment for disregarding her common sense.

"No need for that, Kitana. We all agree with you" Jade informed, immediately inviting a confused glance from her childhood friend. "But that doesn't make a difference in the long run" Sonya added, "Were we in a position to take this to a court, I doubt we could give her anything less than a prison sentence".

"Could we find a loophole?" Kitana asked, before immediately realising how misconstrued her question could be. Before her companions could respond, she corrected her statement with "What I meant is… Is there some kind of detail to Mileena's crimes we could use to our advantage?"

The room was silent. Everyone, including Kitana herself, was pondering Mileena's history from what information they had gathered and compared it to the laws that had been related to Mileena's history. Sonya had stood up from her chair and begun her typical pacing, before she finally stopped to signify her concoction of a plot.

"Kitana…" she requested the princess's attention, "You met Mileena when she was freshly cloned, right?" The princess simply nodded in confirmation, prompting the general to then ask "Can you confirm Mileena's age, then?"

Kitana thought to herself, thinking all the way back to the dark days of the Outworld monarchy. "Well, since she's based on me, she is technically my age" she stated before adding "But as she is… she can't be much older than a year".

Sonya smiled smugly as she snapped her fingers, "In that case… perhaps her parent and guardian could be held responsible for the manipulation of a minor". Sonya turned to her colleague, practically seeing the wheels turn in their heads as she formulated a plan, "It's ironic that among everything else, Shao Khan can be blamed for this too".

"Wait, let me get this straight" Liu stood up from his seat, "We are gonna commend Mileena's murders with the defence that 'she just didn't know any better'?" Kitana stood up and answered "We are… and she certainly didn't".

Kitana looked into Sonya's eyes with a hopeful glance, "Do you think this will work, general?" Sonya simply sigh as she seated herself sighed.

"I dunno… but it's the best we have".


Kitana had made her way into the prison ward, followed by her colleagues Jade, Sonya and Liu, and managed to obtain access to Mileena's cell. She marched swiftly through the opening chamber door and entered the room, her friends following her inside.

Both the observation room and the yonder containment room had remained as obnoxiously white as before; but in context to the furniture within the latter room, there had been a single distinguishable difference.

The mirror, just as she had promised to her sister and requested to Sonya, had been removed from the wall. She smiled at this as she turned to face the opposite end of the room, spotting a familiar figure sitting comfortably on her bed.

Mileena had her legs crossed and was still bound within her straitjacket, her head bowed in a sorrowful display. From what the princess could tell, the muzzle on her clone's face remained the same, exposing the terrifying maw that Mileena had expressed her hatred for.

"Mileena" Kitana greeted to gain her attention, the latter immediately leaving her tranced state and turning to face her. From all outward appearances, Mileena would have been thought to be smiling, a permanent expression of a grin due to her malformed jaws. But for Kitana, Mileena's true emotions were expressed through her eyes.

She could the sorrow in them, but unlike the other meetings, there was a sense of tire that Kitana could feel. She seemed world-weary, an expression unbefitting of such a young person. Mileena's depression from her stay in this prison had taken a toll on her appearance.

"You removed the mirror for me, sister…" Mileena mentioned in a soft tone, "Thank you". Kitana was slightly taken aback by her sister's final phrase. Mileena had shown to be docile and benign, but never genuinely kind until this moment.

"It was my pleasure" Kitana answered to her, a smile forming beneath her facemask, "We have made plans for you… I have a feeling you will like this". Kitana could practically see the light blooming in Mileena's eyes as she rose from her bed and approached the glass, "I'm listening" she stated curiously.

Kitana cleared her throat and stated "We are prepared to take your case to court and weigh the penalties of your crimes". Mileena immediately became worried and wondered how this was supposed to delight her, until Kitana interrupted her thought process with "However… we are using Shao Khan's responsibility as leverage for your case".

Though this should have brought relief, it had instead left Mileena confused. Those murders, from her perspective, had been entirely her fault; so how could they possibly blame her father for the things that he didn't have anything to do with? This felt like cheating.

"Also… we have agreed that I shall represent your case, Mileena. So you don't have to worry about being seen by the public" Kitana informed. Mileena's mind was spiralling with confusion and curiosity. Two what extent was her beautiful sister willing to perform these generous deeds for her?

Sonya stepped beside Kitana and concluded "On top of that, due to your Edenian bloodline, Kitana has offered to continue the case under Edenian law if it becomes necessary". Mileena felt herself sit roughly against the edge of her bed as she felt unable to form a response for the mercy she had been offered for her evil acts.

"You are all working hard to do this for me… I don't deserve it" the dismayed captive objected, "It would be easier to just have me killed and get it ove-".

"STOP SAYING THINGS LIKE- like that…" Kitana shouted before immediately dropping her booming tone in shock of her own outburst, but it had been for naught. Her friends were surprised by the outburst itself, but not her intentions. Kitana lay her head against the glass and relieved a distressed sigh.

"You have a chance, Mileena. A chance to make up for what you and Shao Khan tried to do to Earthrealm" Kitana explained, "You can be better than him, sister! I want you to be better than him!" Kitana lowered her head as these final words left her lips; she had finally shown her deepest concerns and her true devotion to Mileena, and Mileena would surely be astounded by-

"Thank you so much for this…" Mileena huffed as she raised her head to face her family, "I'll do anything you need". "That won't be necessary, Mileena" Sonya intervened as she pulled Kitana back from the glass, "The plan is set and everything is just about taken care of".

"Perhaps afterwards, in that case" Mileena offered, "I'll be in your service, Kitana. I promise, I'll do anything you ask". Kitana was no less than flattered, but could not pay to have these hopes when the future for her clone remained unconfirmed.

Soon enough, the visitors had all decided to take their leave, eager and prepared to set their plans in motion. Johnny had been preoccupied with discussing the matter with Sonya and Liu Kang and Jade had been sharing their own conversation as they made their way out of the containment chamber.

Kitana was the last to leave, but was stopped when Mileena stepped towards the glass and spoke. "Kitana?" she inquired, and the princess turned to face her with intrigue. "Did you mean it?" she asked, "When you confessed, you called m-". Mileena was silenced when Kitana nodded, the captive noticing a stray tear falling from the latter's left eye.

"Yes… I called you my sister".


Well, the story is just beginning to wrap up. The next chapter will be the final one.

This was definitely my favourite chapter to write out of all of them, and I really had fun writing the dialogue for this chapter.