MARKUS X'S POV

The entire room filled with kombatants fell quiet as I broke the awkward silence.

"Well, now what?"

The entire population froze and looked at me, some with angry stares, and others with smirks.

"Oh yeah... MORTAL KOMBAT!"

I had made one update to my armor design: adding headphones in the helmet and an MP3 player plugin. Some sweet techno music started as the three-way brawl began, and I was right in the middle of it!

Mileena dashed towards Kitana, their weapons flashing as I turned to see Jade's staff plunging into Skarlet's chest. The blood ninja let out a cry as she turned to reddish slime, sliding off the staff and reforming herself.

I watched Makis engage Li Mei in kombat as Ermac threw Kenshi against a wall. Khameleon and Reptile were fighting Nitya and Lamia. Turning to see who needed my help, I was shocked as a deluge of water smacked me in the back. Turning around, I quickly spotted the offender.

Rain.

Rain looked absolutely ridiculous, clad in an almost ludicrous array of gold-embroidered purple clothes as he gave what appeared to be a smirk from behind his mask. "What can I say? I am quite the opportunist."

Activating my wrist blades, I dashed towards the water ninja, but before I could make contact, he disappeared into a vortex of water. My momentum caused me to run into Gemini, herself being pursued by a returned Tasia.

Ignoring the Special Forces' tool, I turned, only to be backhanded by the purple ninja. "None are superior to me! Bow to your new ruler, pathetic Earthrealmer!"

Hearing the loud and overdramatized words of Rain, the kombatants stopped fighting each other and turned on him. Kitana lifted him up with the waving of her fans before Ermac telekinetically threw the haughty imbecile through a window and out of the palace. Even for super-charged guys like him, he wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

As the fight continued, I spotted Tanya, who currently was brutally assailing Sonya. While I really could care less about whatever happened to the Major, I still had enough love for the US to jump onto the back of the bumblebee-outfitted woman and pull her away.

Tanya's already white eyes glowed even brighter as she looked at me, smiling. Without warning, she lept at me, pressing herself against me as her sharp fingernails tried to find an opening, something she could use to remove my faceplate and press her chocolate lips to my own. While I ordinarily would've let her do that, I was both in a relationship and already knew that she had done this many times to many men.

With my left arm holding her back, I put all my strength into my right hand, smacking Tanya as hard as I could across the face. Surprisingly, I swung hard enough to hear the crack of her jaw as she went flying.

That was two down... I notice that Reptile was on the ground, firmly unconscious at the hands of Nitya and Lamia's teamup before Khameleon appeared behind them and bashed their heads against one another. The Saurian woman had strength, yes she did...

Turning towards Mileena and Kitana, I watched as the two 'sisters' fought a seemingly unending conflict, the kombatants around them falling as they were knocked out by one another. Standing close, I stepped towards Mileena, only to get a fireball thrown at me by some guy with a white eye who I guessed was trying to dress like a Ninja Turtle.

"You will not interfere in Kitana's fight!"

I turned to the man, well-muscled and Oriental. If he had shorter hair, I would've said he looked like Bruce Lee. "If you want a fight, I'll be glad to give it to you."

Fire came from the man's hands as he took a stance. "Show me what you can do..."

MILEENA'S POV

My sister was matching my every move, and I hers. Neither of us were likely going to gain a victory in this fight any time soon.

Hearing some grunts, I saw out of the corner of my eye Markus X and Liu Kang fighting. Markus was mocking Liu by copying the sounds he made during a bicycle kick or fist punch. Some of the few standing kombatants left, I also spied Jade and Skarlet pairing off, the two of them fighting each other with immense skill.

Eventually, I began to falter, my sais blocking her fans less and less quickly, until she eventually kicked me back. Landing on the ground, I got on my knees to stand up and continue the fight, but was stopped by the blades of Kitana's fans.

"Do you have anything to say before I send you to the Netherrealm, where you and all the disgusting abominations like yourself belong?"

I thought for a moment, noticing Markus shove Liu Kang back as he came towards me.

"Pinch!"

To distract my 'sister,' Markus gave her a quick yell, and a hard pinch with his fingers on the backside as well. She turned to swing at him, but instead barely missed slashing Liu Kang with her fan. A hint of shock came across both of their faces as they peered into each others' eyes.

"Liu Kang..." Kitana made her fans disappear as she brought a hand to Liu's chest.

"Kitana..." I could tell what he wanted, but he would not get it. Not here.

Markus draped an arm over my shoulder as we two lovers stared down the enemies. Skarlet slid next to us at the same time Jade joined the two of them on the far side of the room. The other combatants, minus a woman with glowing white eyes and a bluish face, we all unconscious, on the floor in extreme pain, or in Johnny Cage's case, probably too lazy to get back up and fight.

The three us us quickly stepped into fighting stances, as well as the other three pathetic persons across from us, but before we could attack one another, the blue-faced woman came between us.

"It is most curious... The royals, the lovers, and the bodyguards. Here they are, being proxied against one another as pawns in a game of celestial chess. And yet, none of you realize who the true enemies here are."

I heard Kitana speaking with Liu Kang about what had happened to her.

"Oh Liu, it's so good to be back here with you! Shinnok and Quan Chi revived me, believing that Jade and I would serve them for the rest of our existence. I never intended to follow their orders, of course... At the first opportunity, myself and Jade offered ourselves to Sho Dai as his personal enforcers."

"You support the armies of Outworld again?"

"Earthrealm is no place for you, Liu Kang... You deserve a place of true power, a place with me on my throne. Raiden never gave you any true reward for your guardianship of Earthrealm... In fact, he attempted to kill you before you could finish Shao Kahn. Why support a realm whose protector betrayed your trust?"

Liu Kang seemed stunned by Kitana's words. "Why the sudden change of attitude?"

I interrupted. "Is it not obvious? She wants to use you to support her own agenda: taking the Outworld throne, which is rightfully mine!"

My 'sister' ignored me as she continued. "Join me, Liu... We can both feign our loyalty to Shinnok before betraying him. You can plunge your fist through the Elder God's chest, power unlike you have ever seen becoming yours!"

The Shaolin monk seemed most tempted by her offer as she pulled close to him, running a finger down his chest.

"And above all, you have the most wonderfully important thing in all the realms: me."

It was then that she kissed him, holding herself tightly around him as she attempted to seduce the poor Shaolin monk. I barely felt sorry for him, but couldn't help but laugh as Markus X pulled out his 'iPhone' and pointed it at the two.

"This is gonna make a great YouTube vid..."