MARKUS X'S POV

As I resided on the Empress's bed, relaxing as I waited for her to complete a meeting with Goro and Baraka, I heard the flap of the tent opening. Lazily opening my eyes, I expected to see my girlfriend in her delightfully scanty attire. However, this was not the case.

Instead, the woman who had just entered the tent was Skarlet! I sat up, eying the minimal attire the blood ninja wore, as she slinked into the bed with me, discarding her mask, weapons, and... Other items.

Snuggling next to me, the well-proportioned woman began to passionately kiss me, drawing our unclad bodies closer together as I struggled to resist. "What did I tell you about..."

Skarlet held a finger to my lips, her own curled into a devilishly seductive smile. "Say one more word, and your blood becomes my next meal."

Hearing that distinctively murderous threat, I froze in place, every single muscle in my body staying taut as the blood ninja began to have her way with me.

Before anything especially naughty occurred, though, Mileena returned. I saw a surprisingly amused look on her face as she watched her loyal assassin plunge her tongue between my teeth. I raised a hand, trying to indicate to my girlfriend that I was being forced into this against my will, but she merely stripped down and joined us in the bed.

"Now now... If I seduce people and you do not worry about it, why should I feel the same way? Besides, this threesome could do a little spicing up to our relationship."

The Tarkatan face reappeared on Mileena as she dove into the fray, starting a series of passionate love-makings that stretched on into the night...

Sitting up, I smiled. That was a pretty awesome dream, but why was I fantasizing about something so... So taboo? Eh, no matter, it was just a dream anyways...

Stretching my arms out, I felt two bodies next to me. Already guessing what I was about to see, my viewpoint shifted to show a naked Mileena and Skarlet, the sultry blood ninja to my left and my girlfriend to my right.

Both of them woke up and looked at me as I accidentally bumped them, Skarlet's red eyes penetrating into my left eye as Mileena's yellow ones peered into my right.

It was only obvious that I did the one thing most men would do in this sort of situation.

I facepalmed.

"Um... Wow... Er..." My mind was still trying to process the actions that had gone on last night. "Wait, so I slept with my girlfriend's bodyguard, and not only did my girlfriend have no problem with it, but she also joined in on the fun?"

Skarlet and Mileena both gave weak nods, evidently still tired from last evening as a newfound smile broke out on my face, my arms draped around their shoulders. "I love Outworld..."

REPTILE'S POV

Hearing a noise in the tent as I stood rigid at guard duty, I watched Markus open the tent flap, his worn and dulled armor showing his surprising skill as a veteran warrior. I had orders, and I would carry them out.

Stepping forward, I motioned to the Earthrealm warrior, getting his presence as he came over. "Yeah, Rep? What do you need?"

Focusing as hard as I could on creating comprehensible speech, I responded. "Empresssss Mileena hasssss ordered me and my mate, Khameleon, to be your bodyguardsssss during your ssssstay here." I attempted to make my speech clear, but could not help stressing my Ss. I blamed my reptilian form for that.

Markus seemed somewhat amused. "You two are my bodyguards? No offense, but I really don't need them... I've got all the heat I need right here." He pounded his chestplate to emphasize his feeling of self-protection.

Giving off a distinct pheromone, capable of being picked up solely by fellow Saurians, I stood, my arms crossed in surprise. "Are you sssssure that you do not need any bodyguardsssss?"

As Markus was about to respond, he fell flat on his face, his exposed face nose-diving into the sand. Getting up, coughing and rubbing at his eyes, he turned to see what had hit him before being smacked across the face by an invisible force he attempted to swing at before the attacker left her invisibility.

Dressed in the common female ninja attire, a grey variant of one of Mileena's old outfits, my mate shimmered like a see-through mirror before reverting to her Saurian form, which she found to be more to her liking.

"Markusssss, I would like for you to meet my mate."

That the attacker was another Saurian, and a female one no less, seemed to surprise Markus as he raised his hand to his face.

My mate, in proper Saurian fashion, held her hand out to Markus, who cautiously shook it. What he did not expect was the squeeze Khameleon gave him, an extremely firm handshake being an introductory sign of strength in the Saurian culture.

"Ow... Didn't expect that hard of a handshake. Nice to meet you, Miss..."

"Khameleon."

Markus nodded, the introductions now out of the way as I again asked him the question.

"Ssssso, consssssidering the fact that Khameleon ssssslipped through your defensssssesssss, and could have killed you had ssssshe wanted to, do you ssssstill doubt having need of bodyguardsssss?"

Markus shook his head. "You're hired. I'm just glad she's on my side," pointing to my mate, "otherwise I'd probably need to put that blasted freezing armor again. Stupid oversize..."

As I gave a humorous hiss in response, a Tarkatan leader stepped towards us. "Mileena stated last night that we were to prepare for the attack on the Outworld fortress soon. I felt that, as you were resting, you should be informed."

Markus nodded before following the Tarkatan to the meeting with us following. This would be a true test of our forces' might against the despicable usurping Shadow Priest...

MARKUS X'S POV

Surrounding the ash-filled firepit, I eyed the warriors who currently sat around the circle. From memory, I noticed Ermac, Goro, Sheeva, Baraka, and Makis. Unusually, Skarlet was already here, and Reptile and Khameleon had both followed me. Assumedly, the only one left was Mileena.

As my girlfriend arrived, I noticed she was wearing a new outfit, one similar to Khameleon's 'human' attire, but without any lacing up in the middle. Though a decent amount of undercleavage was shown, similar to the attire she wore before we first had relations, the outfit was still one-piece, the bottom half a lot larger and covering the midriff.

Sitting on a gilded chair, the Empress motioned for the meeting to begin as the fire was lit. Scooting a bit closer to Skarlet so the smoke didn't get in my face, we began to discuss ideas for how to assault Sho Dai's fortress.

"I believe that only a mass of all our warriors are capable of breaking their defenses." Goro's strategy appeared to be simple: brute force.

"I agree with Goro," concurred Baraka. "My blades have craved flesh for weeks now, and they cannot go unfulfilled forever!"

Seeing an opportunity for some discourse, I raised my hand, gaining the attention of the others. "While I really like the bloodlust you guys have, pounding away at their forces is a bad idea, especially since we're outnumbered. Why not send in a team of our finest warriors into the throne room to confront Sho Dai and his minions in Mortal Kombat?"

Makis raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps your plan and Goro's could be coalesced... What if the bulk of our army engaged Sho Dai's, while the lack of protection gave our elite assassins the opportunity to slip in undetected? Then we withdraw, and in the time it takes for the enemy to return to the fortress, Sho Dai is dead, and our forces are gone before they can be boxed in!"

I had to admit, Makis was quite the tactician, picking apart both of our ideas to make a better one. Mileena seemed to think so as well. "An excellent plan... Who volunteers to enter the fortress and end this conflict?"

My hand shot up, and I noticed Skarlet roll her eyes at me. "Very well, Markus... Who else?"

Ermac stood up. "I and the Others wish to commit to this fight."

Reptile and Khameleon were already standing. "We mussssst protect Markusssss on your ordersssss, Empresssss. We ssssshall go too."

Skarlet paused before standing up, a hand on her hip. "I'm game."

Unsurprisingly, Makis stood as well. "With your permission, mistress, I would like to be the one to fully draw out our strategy. Baraka, Goro, and Sheeva will all likely enjoy their bloody battle against the Tigrars and the Centaurs."

Mileena nodded. "Very well, but I insist that Markus accompany you. I believe that his knowledge of equipment may prove useful in devising the opening attack."

Though his excitement seemed to have worn off, Makis still nodded before leaving the circle, myself following him hopefully to cooperate on the planning. That is, if he wasn't one of those stuffy controlling types...