It is late at night and Kitana and I are in charge of assassinating a certain target for father. It is only one day before the tournament begins, and this will be the largest and most vital Mortal Kombat Outworld has had in centuries. Father has won nine times in a row against the Earthrealm forces, which means this is the last tournament win he needs in order to have full access to Earthrealm. Then we can invade, taking the realm for ourselves. The man we aim to murder apparently plans on betraying father and giving the Earth Realmers some vital information that we must keep secret, so he sent us to silence him. However, neither I nor Kitana knows what the information is.
We chase him, running at top speed until we finally catch up to him as he crosses the Living Forest. Kitana jumps in front of him, cutting him off. The man screams and tries to turn back and flee only to be met by me lurking behind him. He looks to my sister then back to me with fear written all over his face, most likely wondering what we were going to do and if he could escape.
The trees surround us, as does the sound of crickets and the scene somewhat horrific. Snakes and other wild creatures slither in the darkness. The forest is shadowed with a tint of teals and greens, and the leaves are so long and thick that the only source of light is the orange tinted moon that delivers to us patches light through the trees. This feels like something of a natural habitat to me. I draw my sais and stand straight, aiming one in his direction.
"You will not make it out of this forest alive," I promise.
Kitana follows my lead by pulling out her aqua plated fans that reflect the moonlight just as my sais do. He attempts to escape by sprinting to my right and I throw a sai at his foot out of natural reflex, a hazing light of magenta following it. The sai stabs through his shoes and toes, pinning him to the grassy plain of the woods. He lets out a screeching shout and continues to attempt escape as I let Kitana approach him with her weapon at the ready. He looks up at her in confusion.
"K-Kitana?" he manages to get out.
Her eyes widen and as do mine. Who the Nether Realm is this, and how does he know her? Is she a traitor after all? This could be my proof to father, as well as my reason for slaying her myself.
"How do you know me?" she asks after removing her mask, no longer needing to hide her identity, and her fan pointed at his throat.
"You are the princess of Edenia..." he says slowly.
I have had enough. I approach him and stomp on the sai, causing it to go further into his flesh as he screams in agony. Blood leaks from his shoes and onto the terrain, staining the patch of land beneath him.
"Edenia does not exist anymore!" I state with so much anger I practically hiss the words.
"What are you doing Mileena?" Kitana yells, trying to shift my attention towards her.
"Something you are too weak to even attempt, now remain silent!" I order. "Who are you!?" I demand as I pull him up by his neck so his eyes meet mine.
If he knows something about her, I want to be sure she will never find out. More importantly, if she is planning on betraying us I want to be sure I know exactly why.
"Mileena, stop this madness!" she shouts.
I face her and grin beneath my veil.
"As you wish," I reply sarcastically before removing my veil and biting into his neck furiously, taking only a small chunk of skin with me as he screams.
He cries and it echoes through the whole forest as Kitana gets into a stance, ready to attack me. I stop and hold him by his hair, being sure to keep him alive for now. He holds his head in the direction I sank my teeth into, trying to give it any kind of comfort he can. The blood drips down his shirt, and he looks as if he says one more word, he might explode.
"I w-was one o-of your f-fathers s-soldiers, y-your real f-father," he manages to get out.
I pause and drop him as he grunts in pain peering down at his foot.
"Shao Kahn has many traitors in his ranks I see!" I exclaim.
I have a feeling she knows our target and he obviously knows her, and father did warn me of her possible treachery.
"Who is he Kitana!?" I interrogate in a serious tone.
"I-I don't know-"
"Liar!" I do not even bother letting her finish.
I remove my sai from the man's foot and pick him up by his neck I had already sunk my teeth into. He twitches in pain at this.
"I speak the truth!"
"Then you won't mind him dying," I mutter darkly.
My eyes widen as I glance at a tree that is alive. A smile creeps to my blood covered lips as its 'mouth' opens, and I toss the man inside with one hand, allowing the forest to feast upon him. The agonizing yells do not fail to escape him at every bite the tree takes, crushing his bones as blood sprays onto the grass. As the forest devours him, Kitana gazes at me with sickening eyes.
"You are no better than Shang Tsung," she spits out her betraying mouth and then walks back to our palace, leaving me where I stand.
The forest finishes its feasting as I stand listening to my breaths against the winds of the silent forest, gathering my thoughts. I feel my heart beat slowly in my chest. He never spoke of me, only Kitana. He knew something about her, but I ended him so Kitana shall never know, and neither would I. But, that is fine with me. She does not deserve half of what I do.
I walk back to the palace without a word to anyone, subtly heading back to my quarters, and again wait for the sun to come, contemplating through my window.
THE NEXT DAY
Today is the day that we compete against all the warriors that defend Earthrealm. The first half of the tournament will be held in the inner city, where all the rubble such as thieves and bandits reside. The second part or semi-finals will be held in Earthrealm. The third and final battle of the tournament will be held in the dark tower, the tallest peak of Outworld. This is always the schedule for the final tournament of a realm's defense. I cannot wait to devour the fighters that are arriving here today.
Nor Kitana or I discussed what happened yesterday. It is as if we contain this invisible tension between us that no one else knows about. However, I know she wants to rip my throat out as much as I want to strangle hers. I walk out to the training area and search for a good spar with anyone besides my sister before the Earthrealm forces arrive and the real fighting begins.
The morning sky appears to differ this day. It is sunny but completely blocked by clouds, making it bright and mysterious all at once. As I walk to the arenas I see Rain waiting for me. His eyes look as if he knew I was coming as soon as I left my room. I approach him swiftly.
"Shall we dance?" I ask.
"Yes," he says while patting me on the back.
I give off a concealed smile. We enter the sandy ring together, peering at each other with playful eyes wondering who would attack first. I lunge toward him, kicking with my left foot. He dodges it and pushes my back, making me walk forward a few steps to catch my balance.
"That is how you're going to represent Outworld?" he laughs.
I cannot help but to giggle at this, for I could never take him fully serious. Afterall, he is my only ally now. Ever since the disappearance of...my dearest Tanya that is.
I walk up to him as if I am going to start a conversation; then I trick him by going into a handspring, wrapping my legs around his neck and flipping him to the ground. This technique has always been one of my favorite moves.
"No, that is how I represent Outworld," I mock his voice.
He stands quickly while rubbing his neck.
"Ah...I see," he says as if he just solved a puzzle, and enters his stance. "Well this is how I do," he says after brushing the sand off his clothing in a competitive voice.
I attempt to kick him and he swiftly paces left dodging it just before sending another kick my way. He strikes my stomach and sends me to the ground.
I lay here a moment, trying not to concentrate on what just happened, and the slight pain. As he attempts to stomp me I roll over and trip him, also getting him on the ground. I stand swiftly and as does as well only a split second later. Suddenly his left hand springs out which releases water with violet aura surrounding it that wraps around me in a circular shape, and throws me down onto the now soaked arena.
I let out a few coughs as the water fills my nose and his attack sends me into the now moist, dusty arena. I see Rain above me, his lengthy black hair tied but still falling behind his back, offering a hand up. I did not expect the fight to end so soon, but I do not mind. He is more my ally than some foe in an arena. I take it as he helps me get to my feet. We both lightly laugh at what just occurred.
"What in the Nether Realm...was that?" I ask over my giggles.
"A technique I learned some thousands of years ago," he explains with a slight smile.
I notice my hand is still wrapped in his and I grin, pulling it away calmly.
"That will be very effective in the tournament," I say before turning to walk away.
"You will too," he compliments.
"Thanks," I reply with my head turned, hiding my face from his view.
A horn sounds. The horn that lets everyone know kombat is at hand. I turn to face Rain again with dedicated eyes.
"Ready?" I say with slight enthusiasm.
"Indeed," he gazes at me with his stunning gray eyes.
I do not want to look away until I remember; he loves Kitana, like everyone else. She is always first. I refuse to feel inferior any longer.
"See you there," I end our conversation by hurriedly entering the palace, returning to my quarters.
I quickly travel up to my quarters and instantly start to change into my tournament gear. It is a revealing magenta bodysuit with sai holders that strap to my thighs. The bodysuit reveals my chest slightly, and is very tight on me, hugging my hips. This makes moving around feel light as a feather, which not only is very effective, but is important in any and every fight. As I look into the mirror, I tie my hair into a bun and pull a fresh veil over my lower face
"Time to take Earthrealm," I think out loud.
I exit my room, walking down the palace hall. It appears as much too elegant to be stationed in Outworld. Everyone meets at the bottom of the palace to board a ship that will take us to our destination, the inner city. This is Mortal Kombat tradition for our forces, almost like a mortal holiday. As I turn the corner, my right shoulder collides with none other than Kitana's. We stand in silence, not knowing how to handle the situation. My resolution would be my sais, but I am in no mood to deal with the likes of her. Father would not forgive me either. We stare at each other.
"Sister," she greets after not speaking a word for a moment.
I return the same gesture and she turns around facing the same direction as I, signaling she shall travel there with me. She wears a similar bodysuit, slightly less revealing than mine, and it is sapphire. Her fans are mounted on the sides of her knee high boots, at the ready for kombat. Her hair is laid into a long braid that travels down her back.
A mask hides her lower face rather than a veil, and the look in her eyes says she is ready to face anything and anyone at the tournament. However, I am more ready than she could ever be. This is my chance for recognition over her for once, and I am not going to let that surpass me.
I put the little grudge we have behind me for now, but I still don't trust her and my plan to kill her is on now more than ever. As we exit the palace, we walk past the waterfall. We see all our warriors boarding the ship down below. We walk together, eventually making our way down to the rest of our forces in front of the extensive ship.
Motaro, Sheeva, Reiko, Reptile, Ermac, and all the others are in front of us, all in their gear as well. The ship is rather large and black with long dragon carvings on each side. The sails are a beige like color and every warrior that is going to help Outworld claim Earthrealm is on the ship, or boarding it waiting for it to take off. Plenty of anticipation to meet our competitors lies in each of us, especially me. The ship sails on its own and for an old rickety Outworld ship, it travels through bodies of water speedily. It is most likely due to the sorcery Shang Tsung casts on it.
I watch one by one as our fighters board the ship in front of us. I spot Rain at the front of the ship talking to father. Kitana and I finally make our way to the ship, walking along a somewhat narrow board to get aboard. Our footsteps sound like we are somewhat tap dancing. We make our way to father, nodding to people we know to show we are just as ready to fight as them and soon we join father's conversation at his side. Shang Tsung stands on the other side of him and Rain is next to me. I cannot help but look at him as he stands there so calm, yet so prepared. He is probably more ready than anybody on this ship.
"This is the beginning of the end for them," Shang Tsung states with a devilish grin and crossed arms.
I stand here ignoring all his 'emperor praising' comments about the tournament and focus on the more important things ahead. Going into this tournament, I shall leave Kitana in the dust. If we take Earthrealm without her being here, I will get everything I ever wanted. As long as she is alive she stands in my way, because she will always be seen as superior in other's eyes.
The boat takes off causing the wind to flail everywhere. I turn and take the time to see everyone on this ship as we set sail for the largest tournament Outworld has seen for a number of centuries. Our forces cheer and rant, making the atmosphere fill up with racket. As I stand here staring into space, I happen to turn to catch Rain gazing down at me with intense eyes. Those gray eyes almost look silver as the light bounces off his pupils, sending it straight to my eyes.
When I gaze back he does not waver, instead he raises his eyebrows as if he is going to say something, but then changes his mind and turns his gaze to the floor at his feet. I wonder what he was getting at, but instead of pestering him I just turn away as well. It is not until I look away when I notice father and Shang Tsung are still talking, and Kitana is in her own little world just as I was.
"Time for your announcement emperor," Shang Tsung suggests in a low voice.
Father takes his advice. He walks to the end of the front deck, which overlooks the other warriors. We follow, watching our forces spar in the middle deck and cheering each other on.
"Warriors!" he yells so loud not only does everyone stop their actions and grow silent, but we may even earn a noise complaint from Chaos Realm.
"Today we face a great challenge...but we shall not waver!"
"Yeah!" the crowd of warriors shouts back in unison.
"Raiden and his mortals will not stand a chance before us!" father adds, getting an even louder shout back from the energetic crowd than before. "So fight bravely my warriors, and yet another realm will be ours!" father raises his hand in the air, signaling his speech is over and everyone breaks out into cheer again.
"Yeah!" the third shout back is the loudest, throwing everyone back into the state they were in before father's little speech.
As the others follow father back to the front of the ship in pointless conversation, I sneak off to the middle-deck. I spectate their little sparring with slight amusement. The cheering was a loud mixture of comments with things like, "Get him! Come on!" and, "You need more training weakling!" all of which cause me to somewhat grin.
In the arena created by fighters who are in a circular crowd, is a man named Hanzo I have seen around. He is an acquaintance to me. Hanzo is sparing with Baraka, or at least he was. I spot his fist rise, bringing the Tarkatan to the ground and several people drag Baraka out of the custom made ring.
The next thing I know I am shoved forward and I hear a bunch of people shouting, "Her next! She looks like a good one!" and I'm practically placed in front of Hanzo.
His right brow raises and his bright white eyes hold some sort of familiarity above his flaxen mask as though he was expecting me. I was not expecting me however. He is a few inches taller than me and has soft dark brown hair. He wears a flaxen battle outfit with skulls suspending from his waist tool belt and several kunai hanging from it as well. By the looks of how he did Baraka, he has speed. I hear several whistles and people shout for me to attack him. Instead I take my stance, waiting for him to throw the first punch.
As I expected, he swings first with quite a bit of fury behind it. I duck then come up strong with a knee to his stomach as he falls back recovering. I do not underestimate him, I fall into my stance again readying for his attack. He runs towards me then slides on his feet with amazing speed, tripping me. Then he backs away, going into a defensive posture. I hop to my feet quickly and then jump into the air, landing on his shoulders with so much swiftness I flip him to the ground and still have enough time to land on my feet. He looks up at me, meeting my eyes for a moment, and a vengeful expression shows through his mask. Then suddenly, he disappears and flames are left where he once was.
I quickly analyze my surroundings, but there is no sign of him. The crowd lets out loud roars, so I know hearing him is going to be impossible. I turn again to find Hanzo to my surprise as he kicks my chest, bringing me down instantly as I grunt.
Hanzo then comes and lifts me by my fighting gear collar and looks into my eyes just before he tosses me into the crowd. Goro catches me with his lower arms. I glare up at Hanzo as he glares at me. He battles with persistence, I give him that. I hear Goro let out a laugh, and then I sit up, getting out of his grip. I cross my arms as they place someone else in the little ring to face Hanzo. I guess he has a slight streak going on; he will undoubtedly be a key warrior in the tournament. I turn to leave before I am to get drafted again and go to the back of the ship, making my way through the crowds.
The ship has bars that make sure no one or nothing happens to slip off. I hop on to the tallest one, sitting calmly as I feel the wind hit my veil from behind. I watch as the ship advances in the water leaving rather large ripples behind it. Other fighters are back here as well, simply waiting until we arrive at our destination or engaging in conversation instead of pointlessly sparing with the wild warriors. Practically everywhere I go on the ship, there is a warrior I know, or a warrior I have at least heard about due to their skills in kombat or their tournament progression in the past.
As I look back to the front of the ship, I see land not too far. The sight of the little huts from far away and tall buildings father owns confirms that we are approaching the city. I dismount the bars and turn to go back to father's side. I walk a few steps and I bump into someone. I look up at Hanzo who has his arms are crossed and probably hiding smirk under that mask of his.
"What do you want?" I try intimidating him, but it does not work.
That just makes him slightly grin down at me as if I am puppet, this irritates me. He uncrosses his arms, looking at me with sincerity.
"You're an excellent fighter," he finally gets out.
I stand here slightly confused, for he defeated me. Why did he come all the way here? Just to inform me of that pathetic compliment? Probably to rub it in he won our little skirmish. He technically did not even win; I just got disqualified...somewhat.
"Tell me something I am not already aware of," I try to speed past him leaving it at that, but his hand stops me by gripping my arm somewhat gently.
I turn back looking at first my arm, then him, seeing what he has to say now. His somewhat curly brown hair blows lightly on the wind; his tan skin even seems to glow.
"I mean it Mileena. You're a huge asset in this tournament. If only you knew why," he explains with a tone and a look in his strong white orbs that lets me know he is far from joking. However it is just one move, nothing special. I already know why I am vital to the utterly pointless tournament anyway; because I am 'the emperor's daughter'.
"Appreciated, I have a feeling you shall do very well too," I return his shady kindness and start walking back to father, leaving it at that.
I look back to see him leaning ever so gracefully against the ship's weapon hold, watching me leave. I turn back and continue walking. After a moment, I join father at his side again as the ship approaches the city. The gray roads, the markets and the civilians all welcome our arrival. The time to fight is near.