Shao Kahn's Palace
"The maps you requested sir." A sweating servant said meekly.
"Lay them out and leave us. Be quick about it." Rain ordered.
The servant, as quickly as he could started unrolling the large maps of the Outworld landscape on the war room table. He dared not to look at any of the five people that were standing around the table, lest he somehow invite pain to himself. When he got to the other end of the table, despite his best efforts, for a second he peered at the person next to him. Her body was jaw dropping, even more so because of her attire. Her face was masked by a veil, and he noticed her grin or do something underneath it, but the range to which her mouth widened wasn't possible for any mere human. When her orange and golden cat like eyes snapped on him, it took all of his willpower not to fidget or almost rip the end of the map. He hurried out of the room quickly once he was done.
"Why have you assembled us here Rain? Is it to look at these boring pictures?" Mileena asked with a wisecracking tone.
"I've called you all here because we have pressing matters to attend to, pertaining to our enemies." Rain answered.
"Oh really? Well I had pressing matters pertaining to our enemies as well down in the tortue chambers. Until you interrupted me…"
"Show some respect Mileena!" Baraka barked.
"You are telling me to show respect worm? Even with my father gone, I still hold a higher position then you, so why don't you be a good dog and sit quietly while the masters talk?" Mileena mocked.
Baraka snarled and slid one blade out of his forearm. Mileena drew both her sais and snarled herself. Before either one of them could make a move, a powerful jet of water slammed into Mileena and slammed her against the wall.
"Enough!" Rain shouted angrily.
Baraka stopped dead in his tracks and retracted his blade. Mileena got to her feet, drenched head to toe. It was a sight to behold.
"I have no patience for petty bickering, from anyone. Is that clear?" Rain asked everyone present.
"Yes sir, forgive me." Baraka said while bowing his head.
"Always so eager to please, Baraka…" Mileena said.
Suddenly, a ball of water gathered around her head.
"And Mileena…" Rain began.
Mileena thrashed around and clawed at the water bubble, but the liquid simply let her hands pass through and moved with her head.
"There is only one master here, me. Is that understood?" Rain asked.
Mileena couldn't respond because the bubble still threatened to drown her.
"I can not hear you Mileena…" Rain said cruelly.
Mileena fell to her knees, she was panicking as the water started to get into her mouth and nose and her air was gone.
"Due speak up my dear!" Rain snickered slightly.
The bubble burst and Mileena choked as water left her lungs and throat. She took deep breaths of air and coughed out some more water before replying.
"Yes Rain, you are the only master. My master."
In her mind, she wanted to kill him, to take her place as Outworld's ruler being Kahn's only 'child'. However, she was no match for Rain, and she knew it. Dripping with water, she took her place at the table. Kano stole glances at her wet figure and outfit, almost impossibly hugging her body more now.
"Good. Now then, I have these maps here because we have located the main base of the rebels led by Princess Kitana."
He pointed to a spot in the mountain ranges, a very remote area.
"If we know we're they are, why don't we slaughter them and focus our efforts on fighting Reiko and the traitors?" Baraka asked.
"It won't work." Reptile, in his human form, told him.
"What do you mean it won't work? With Kahn's… I mean Rain's armies and my Tarkatan hordes the rebels will be dealt with easily." Baraka insisted.
Reptile looked at Rain and he nodded to the Saurian, giving him permission to explain.
"A sizable amount of soldiers were dispatched to assault the base, with Kintaro leading them. Only of handful of them returned and several of them were grievously injured. Kintaro was killed during the battle." Reptile recounted.
This was surprising news to Kano, Mileena and Baraka. Kintaro's prowess in battle was well known.
"The rebels, in addition to a number of dangerous fighters, also have the advantage in terrain. The base is situated on the higher ground, and the route to it is narrow, making it impossible to send large amounts of troops or heavy weapons in at once. Also, the mountains make archers and catapults almost useless. Catapults may actually be hazardous if the munitions roll back down the hills."
"Why don't we leave them be for now? The rebels attack us and Reiko without discrimination." Mileena suggested.
"Fighting Reiko's forces is hard enough without the rebels using guerrilla tactics against us. It doesn't matter if they attack each other; our location is the center point between both of theirs, so we are constantly at risk of being caught in the crossfire. I want the rebels dead or at least flushed out of their natural fortress. And I would prefer not rushing in blindly with reckless abandon again or just leaving it to sort it self out." Rain while looking at Baraka and Mileena.
"Perhaps we should assassinate their leaders. If I kill Princess Kitana, they will be left leaderless." Reptile offered.
"There is no guarantee that you can get it done alone, and I don't have enough assassins as skilled as you in infiltration." Rain said.
"Aw hell, forget all that sneaky stuff, I've got a solution to your rat problem." Kano stated with a smile.
"No amount of guns you bring me will help this situation Kano, my soldiers have plenty of weapons." Rain said.
"I'm not talking about a weapon….hmm. actually you might as well just call it a weapon, but this will help you I promise."
"A promise from someone like you doesn't inspire confidence." Rain said.
"Come on, haven't I come through for you before?" Kano asked rhetorically.
Rain sneered beneath his mask. Kano was insufferable, but he was a good tactician.
"You are sure this weapon will root out the rebels?" Rain asked.
"For a price, I can make anything happen mate." Kano said.
"A price…" Rain said after sighing.
He pulled a sack form his belt and tossed it onto Kano's side of the table. It crumpled up the map where it landed and made a loud sound from the impact. Kano picked it up and found that it had weight to it. Inside he found emeralds, ruby, sapphires, and diamonds. Five of each and all of them of the highest quality even from just a glance.
"That is half. You can have the rest when you bring me this, weapon." Rain said.
Kano stared greedily at the gems, glittering under the red light of his cybernetic eye.
"You've got a deal mate. I just gotta pay a visit to Earthrtealm."
Noob walked unsteadily as blood dripped from his wound. He had gotten out of the living forest and started heading towards the area where he sensed an open portal back to the Netherrealm. The sun had already come up slightly as night turned to day.
She really did a number on you.
"On us."
Well I don't bleed.
"She would've been killed if Kuai hadn't intervened. Next time, things will be different."
Will they?
"What is that supposed to mean?"
This is the second time that he has beaten you. Albeit you were wounded badly, but your heart didn't seem to be in it.
"I was exhausted and hurt, I still am. That's it."
Is that it?
"I said that is it!"
I suppose we will find out, next time.
Noob noticed a small group of huts, not even enough to be called a village up ahead. He also felt the sensation of the portal coming from that direction.
"It would be in an inhabited area." Noob griped aloud.
Upon approaching the small encampment, he could hear the cries of people, fearful and panicking. The sound of pottery being smashed also mixed with it. He entered more and found twelve people, ten adults and two children were standing well away from the portal. He brushed past them and they gave fearful shrieks at his appearance as well. Noob saw what they were initially afraid of; an oni from had come through the open portal from the Netherrealm and into the camp. He was also holding a little girl in his claws, his jaws dripping with putrid saliva.
Noob had grown accustomed to seeing oni; they were a common sight in the Netherealm. That is why he didn't know what possessed him to stop and stare at the creature, making it turn to him and snarl. When he didn't move the oni, sensing a challenge or hostility, dropped the girl and charged Noob. Ignoring his painful injury, Noob maneuvered around the oni and grabbed on of the horns jutting out of his head, ripping it out. He then impaled the oni through the mouth and into it's head with the horn, killing it. Noob let the oni drop to the ground and noticed that utter silence had befallen all the people who were panicking not even a minute ago. They focused on him and on the dead oni. Noob decided that it was best he leave now. Before could however, something wrapped around his leg. It was tight.
"Thank you!" The formerly captive little girl said.
Noob didn't know what to do. The child was hugging him. She was warm, or rather he was cold, deathly cold. He noticed the difference in body temperatures during fights, such as when he fought Jade. But this little girl, her warmth, it was kind and gentle, and he felt….
Look out!
"Monster!" Someone was screaming.
Noob turned to see a man, one of the men who merely watched as the oni held the little girl, charge him with a pitchfork. Saibot materialized only half way out of him, enough so that he could grab the pitchfork and stop it just short of impaling Noob. Noob's killer instinct took over and he tore the pitchfork from the man's hands and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air. The scared man whimpered and squirmed as Noon held him in the air, slowly chocking him and threatening to crush his neck. It was too easy; to able to have this kind of absolute power over someone. On a whim, he could end this man's life and he couldn't do a thing about it. The power was intoxicating…..
A little gasp, a tiny whimper of fear and shock and worry was all it took. Noob heard it and looked down at the little girl that was embracing him as her savior before. Now she had her hands over her mouth, tears pouring down her cheeks from her big eyes. A broken mirror, still mostly intact, showed a reflection of the entire scene. Noob could see the afraid girl, the man suffering in his grasp, and him. His black clothing, once blue, his even blacker skin, once white, his oil like blood, once red as is proper for a real person, and his dead white eyes, once lively and blue.
What are you waiting for?
Noob let the man dropped to the ground, still alive. He didn't wait to see the reactions off the others; he just stepped through the portal. It closed behind him and he felt the warmth again, but this time it was the hateful, angry, corrupting, burning heat of the netherrealm fires. He felt something like derision inside him, but it came from Saibot instead of him.
Next time indeed.
Using the hacking abilities of his cybernetic eye, Kano made the large metal doors slide open. He had snuck into the Special Forces base with relative ease, though he did need to kill at least five guards so far. He wiped his knives against the uniform of the most recently killed guard to clean off the blood and then slid them into the sheaths on his boots. The room he entered didn't have any guards; they weren't necessary. The only asset in here was no threat, at least in its current state. Dominating the view of the room was a glass tank filled with water. A hose came in through the top and into a breathing mask. It was a mixture of oxygen for breathing and sleeping gas. Breathing through the mask was a very large man. He was 6'10 with enough muscle to fit his height and he had numerous scars, some small and others stretching across large portions of his body.
"I think you've had a long enough bath my friend." Kano said aloud.
He used his eye laser to melt a hole in the glass tank, and the water started to pour out.
"Rise and shine Tremor."
I haven't updated this story or any others for a long time. My laptop is dead and I'm currently working off of a USB stick and whatever computer I can get a hold of. I'm bringing in Tremor because he hasn't gotten a lot of characterization so I want to make him a major player here. Also, he is a ninja, and you can never have enough ninjas. Read, review, and suggest.