"Nice move Lei Mee," Johnny Cage says. She giggles.
"It is Li Mei," she corrects him with a smile.
We have been practicing for hours, so much so that the moon continues to become brighter. Smoke and I now sit to the side of the arena and talk while watching my true sister and Cage go at it in the ring. Usually the training grounds are filled with fighters that either spar together or utilize the training dummies, but since tomorrow is the final battle it seems like training became useless to others. It is useless to me as well, but it keeps me occupied.
Cage and I have been training Li Mei, and she is getting more and more skilled in the art of kombat. She now has her own signature moves; the training is really improving her fighting in a short amount of time. She truly had the spirit of a kombatan.
"Earthrealm is brighter than this realm as well," Smoke adds.
He is telling me the differences between both realms. Apparently, things are very different there. I never thought I would admit to this, but I truly wish to land eyes on it. If we are to take the realm, I at least want to lay eyes on it before the merger.
"Sounds like the exact opposite of this realm," I comment.
"Exactly," Smoke agrees as we watch Cage and Li Mei train.
"I thought I was the only one that came here at night," we hear all hear from behind us.
They stop training and turn, as do Smoke and I. The man who fought a few days back with the razor-rim hat and blue and black robes proceeds towards us. Li Mei told me about him, she was originally assigned to be his servant, but he refused to be served by an Outworld native. They apparently had an argument and she was switched to serve under me. He is also a formidable warrior from what I've seen. Though I am weary about his presence.
"Kung Lao, sup man," Johnny says with a smile while adjusting his sunglasses.
"Kung Lao," Smoke greets and nods his head.
"I should be asking you that Cage, who are these women? They do not appear to be from our realm," he stops, analyzing Li Mei and then me with a spiteful glare.
I turn to Li Mei and she is also glaring at Kung Lao. I know she is ready to attack him. I then turn back to him, for if she is going to fight him, so will I.
"We are not from your pathetic realm nor do we ever wish to be," I say.
Who does he think he is? The Thunder God? I think not. I fear no being throughout the realms, regardless of who it is.
"Easy Mileena," Smoke slightly lets out a laugh.
"These are decent people, from not-so decent Outworld," Cage explains.
"You are talking to Outworld women? They are here to take our realm, what if master Raiden found out about this?" he questions Smoke and Cage.
"You are worried about the God of Thunder? Is he no better than the emperor?" Li Mei inquires as she steps off the ring along with Cage and faces Kung Lao confrontationally.
Her eyes alone display her anger and her fists are clenched.
"Lord Raiden is our realm's protector, he does not rule over Earthrealm like that Shao Kahn peasant does Outworld. As one of his maids, you should just keep to yourself," he replies with attitude.
He is aiming to offend, however no one is better at spite than I.
"The same peasant that defeated your realm's superior fighters nine continuous times in mortal kombat? A mighty peasant he must be indeed," I taunt Kung Lao.
"Is that so?" he steps forward, and as does Li Mei and I. "You say that, but have yet to defeat me yourself."
If he wishes for a battle, we shall deliver to him one. Smoke holds his arm out in front of me in a gesture that says not to attack. Johnny also holds Kung Lao back with his arm.
"Hey, we were all just getting along, no need to get anyone down," Cage says to Kung Lao in an effort to calm him down and lighten the mood.
"This is all really unnecessary..." Smoke announces uneasily.
"We are on the brink of getting our realm merged with Outworld, and you two make friendly conversation with them; the servant and the emperor's daughter? This is not the Smoke nor Johnny Cage I know," he replies in a serious tone.
"Kung Lao..." Smoke starts but is interrupted by Li Mei.
"Yes and what is wrong with that exactly? We all live and die by our realms, and for what? Nothing? No, this is not how we will settle this," Li Mei steps closer to Kung Lao, facing him with stern eyes. "If you do not wish to associate with the likes of Outworld people, you are in the wrong realm. And just because you are of EarthRealm does not mean everyone in this realm is an enemy. The emperor is already enslaving my people, consider yourselves lucky. I'm doing everything I can every day to assist them, bringing them as much peace as I can, but it's not enough. It's never enough. This petty anger in which you distribute shows you will clearly not survive if Earthrealm is indeed taken and shares the same fate as my village and its people. May the Elder Gods spare you and the ones you cherish shall that day ever come," she finishes.
Kung Lao examines her with a look of remorse on his face, and then looks downward at the ground. Though I have never seen her this angry, Li Mei always knows what to say to everyone. It is one of the huge reasons why I consider her my true sister, unlike the wench that calls me sister, Kitana. Her choice of words seems to hit everyone no matter what the discussion at hand is, and in this discussion, her words hold the same effect. I face Li Mei, and the look on her face is sincere, she clearly meant every word. She most likely has more words for him, but kept her rant brief. There is a moment of silence as we all take this in. Smoke meets my eyes for a moment, then also looks down as Cage faces Kung Lao with an uneasy expression.
"Let us be on our way sister," Li Mei grabs my hand and we start to walk to the sliding door, brushing past the Earthrealm trio.
We venture a few feet away and I turn around to see Kung Lao holding his hand out as if he wishes to call to Li Mei, but then he lowers it in shame. He knows we are not going to stop and that there is nothing he could possibly say. We get to the door, Li Mei slides it open and we step inside, closing it behind us.
We walk down the now somewhat dark and empty corridor that is illuminated by light blue flames that linger on the walls. It is silent as we walk, but I know what she is thinking. She is quite angry and I can feel the tension releasing in her hand that tightly holds mine. We hit the staircase and I decide to speak.
"All is well sister, you proved to be the wiser warrior back there," I attempt to comfort her.
She does not reply, she continues walking without a word. We reach the third floor and turn right, heading to our room. We walk down the corridor and come to a stop in front of our door. She turns and faces me with a blank face, then opens the door and leads me inside. I close the door behind us and face Li Mei. She gazes at me with anger filled eyes.
"I should have gone to Earthrealm, the Thunder God could have freed my people. My servant infiltration has yet to make a difference," she states with regret in her voice.
As much as I want to protest, I know it would change nothing. Instead, I try and comfort her.
"Do not worry sister, I will talk to father about your people, I am most certain he will listen," I get closer to her and place my hands on her shoulders.
"Yes...I see..." she responds in a low tone that reveals all of her anger and sorrow.
"Do not allow anything that Earth Realmer says to get to you," I say in a serious voice. "I shall be sure to end his life."
The last thing anyone from Outworld needs is to be offended by someone from the realm we are going to invade; it is like a mere dog attacking Kintaro, pointless in the end. Especially Li Mei, for she is more sensitive than I, which also makes her more vulnerable. Instead of dragging on this meaningless discussion that obviously upsets my true sister the more she thinks about it, I merely change the subject.
"You should sleep, you have had a long day of training," I suggest.
The reality of the situation is, I want her to wake up the next day and forget about what just happened. When she gets angry, she seems to not be the one to let things go. I want her not to worry about that Earthrealm pest, for after he is eliminated from the tournament I shall hunt him down and destroy all he holds dear. If you offend my sister, you offend me. I walk over to the bed and sit down.
"I will even join, I went without sleep for far too long," I offer.
I know how it is to feel as if you have no one. Perhaps this is what she needs; a person to relate to. When it comes down to that, no one relates to me more than she and vice versa.
"Alright sister, there is just something else I must do, I shall return briefly," she states and walks to the door as I lie down.
"Take your time, I will be right here," I promise as she opens the door, exiting the room. Tomorrow is the day; that is all I keep thinking of and I wonder who I will be facing off with.
~Li Mei's POV~
I exit my sworn sister's room. A lot has stricken my mind as of late, especially that Kung Lao of Earthrealm. He has no idea how it is to have your people born into being enslaved. At least Earthrealm has a fighting chance, regardless of the emperor's determination to merge it with Outworld. Well, being a servant, I need to replace one last room's sheets and blankets. I am in charge of the last two rooms in this corridor, which would be my sister's along with the room directly across from hers. The clean sheets are down this hall.
I walk to the end of the empty, strangely quiet hall, analyzing the beauty of this palace that is so out of place in Outworld. The silver really shines bright, as well as the odd orange full moon and the blue flames that illuminate each floor. I come to the closet in which the clean sheets and blankets reside and open it. They are each evenly folded and the same colors; blue and silver. I take a set off the top into my hands, close the blue closet door and proceed back down the hall.
The blankets and sheets are so thick I cannot manage to see directly in front of me. I tilt my head to make sure I do not happen to run into a wall and proceed forward balancing as decent as I can. I finally get to the end of the hall, starting first with the room right across from my sworn sister's. I open it quickly so I do not drop the bed covers. I walk in, leaving the door open, set the new bed covers on the drawer and turn towards the bed. No one is in here surprisingly, but I know someone resides in this room due to the blanket's shape on the bed.
I quickly strip the bed of the old, but still luxurious covers and throw them in a pile to the right. I turn back and grip the new covers. I start first with the sheets, spreading them evenly across the cot with my hands. I smooth the surface before reaching for the blanket. Doing this gives me a feeling of remembrance.
I knock on the door, bowing swiftly before the man behind can open it. I hear the door open and see the light from within the room hit the floor in front of me, as well as his shadow.
"What is this?" Kung Lao, the man I have been ordered to serve, inquires.
"Here is your new gear Mr. Lao," I say, holding out his new, freshly cleaned clothing.
Being a servant of anyone is low, but I would do anything to buy enough time to train, assist my village and assist my people. I look upward from my bowing stance. The look on his face says enough already.
"Why are you here? I need no services," he instructs me.
I stand meeting his eyes. He gazes upon me as if I were an insect.
"My apologies...I have been instructed by the emperor to bring-"
"The emperor?" he interrupts with anger in his voice.
"Yes...I have been assigned to serve whoever resides in this room," I explain trying not to get angry back.
"Well, you can finish whatever you must do and leave, I have no use for an Outworld maid," he snaps and then exits the room swiftly brushing past me.
This fills me with rage,, but I proceed to exchange the covers on his bed.
I snap out of it and turn my attention back to my task. I spread the blanket, making sure it is nicely and evenly distributed around the bed. I decide not to go back to the storage closet and get a new pillow for this room, I merely fluff out the old one by slapping it a few times, making it look larger and even more soft. I leave it at the top of the bed; whoever resides here must be elsewhere at the moment.
Content with its appearance, I turn and take the old covers and sheets in my hands. I walk right out the room, using my left hand to grip the covers as my right hand shuts the door behind me. I walk to the opposite end of the blue-lit hall slowly; listening to the sound of my feet hit the floors softly. I hear the covers moving against each other making a somewhat swishing sound with each step I take.
As I arrive at the end of the corridor, I dispose of the old covers. There's a large waste basket for us servants to dispose of anything that is no longer needed for the time being or unsanitary that I toss them in. With that ending all my chores for the day I turn and head back down the corridor to the room I share with my sworn sister. I walk until I arrive at the entrance to our room.
I feel someone's hand touch my shoulder. I immediately turn around to face them, and it is Kung Lao, the blue flames shining off his razor rim hat. He has this certain look in his eye that informs me that he must feel bad about his earlier actions.
"Smoke told me I might find you here...there is something I must say to you," his voice is very profound, so I decide to listen.
"Why exactly? I thought you hate every fiber belonging to Outworld," I reply facing him with an angry expression.
"That is not what I meant back there, I just do not understand why our closest allies would befriend the enemy. However, now I see you are not the threat, and neither are your allies," Kung Lao looks deep into my eyes. "It's Shao Kahn," he finishes with angry eyes.
"Maybe it is...but you cannot stop him," I say coldly.
Yet, it is true; all the emperor has to do is win mortal kombat once more, their realm will merge with this one and their people will most likely be enslaved as mine are now.
"We will not fail Earthrealm. And what you said, how Shao Kahn enslaves your people, it made me realize we are not yet finished," he explains.
I do not reply. I merely stand here for a moment wondering what he is trying to get at. He steps closer.
"I apologize for my actions. Though, I know there is no way to truly make up for what I have said..." he pauses and tips his hat.
I watch on as he peers in another direction, turning to leave.
"Wait," I say hastily so he does not venture too far.
Kung Lao turns and faces me. The shadows from his hat conceal most of his face. I now understand why he resents everything about Outworld. Should it be Earthrealm who were the invaders, I would feel the exact same way. Surely he had not considered people work under the emperor that do not trust not truly support him. That is, until now.
"There is something you can do to make up for it," I continue, stepping closer.
"I do not understa-" I plant my lips onto his, placing my hands on his shoulders and angle my head so it does not hit his hat's blade.
He lets out a sound in shock, then falls into the kiss a moment later. I feel his soft lips press against mine and I keep at my sudden assault. He places his hands on my hips, pulling me deeper into our kiss. I have no idea where this sudden urge to do such came from, but I enjoy the thrill very much so. Kung Lao then pulls away, slowly parting from my lips and glances at me with confusion.
"Why?" he speaks softly.
I place my hand on his cheek.
"The determination you have for your realm's safety...it...it reminds me of myself," I try to explain as best as I can as to why I felt a random attraction to an Earthrealm monk, but my words probably leave him more confused than the kiss.
He stands motionless, gazing at me with a slightly less confused expression than before. Kung Lao releases my hips from his grip and peers downward at me.
"I could not have been more wrong about you," he admits.
I smile a bit, peering back into his eyes.
"And I could not have been more right about you," I cleverly remark and turn slowly, walking to my door.
"I see...well my new ally...I will not keep you from rest any longer. Goodnight...Li Mei," he says so gently the words seem to float in the atmosphere.
I have never heard him call me by my name until now and for the first time; he actually smiles and considers me an ally. Strange how quickly things can change.
"Goodnight to you as well...my ally," I reply just as soft as he and then I watch as he turns and begins to walk down the corridor.
I wait until he advances onto the staircase and escapes my sight to twist the doorknob and head inside. I close the door slowly behind me, entering the somewhat dark room and turn to my sworn sister. She is just as I left her, lying on the bed, but with her eyes closed. This brings a smile to my face as I go and lie next to her, placing my arm around her. This is the first time I have seen her get rest, which she needs for her battle tomorrow. I become lost in thought as I allow my eyes to close.
I have no idea what I just did and I have no idea what my goal was from my encounter with Kung Lao. All I know is...he is one shaolin monk I would not mind being allied with now, even if for short time.