She... loved him? After Kana, the widower honestly thought that he would never hear those words again, but hearing the glass rainflower say it so softly, as if the words themselves would become the most terrible weapon, the key to Armageddon itself, it felt as of something broke apart inside of his chest, the heavy chains of oppression and hate falling away with a chinking rattle, the oxygen returning to a dead planet once more. Losing everything in a single agonizing instant that could never be measured, he swore to himself in those final dark moments of his life that he would never feel anything again but the blood of the bastards responsible for the destruction of the Shirai Ryu, but now, he realized that some part of him had always been waiting for this moment... For her...
Holding the hell flower tight to his breast, the wraith wanted to never let her go ever again, to die right there in that moment so that they could never be parted again, the demoness' name the sweetest promise on his lips, "Evren... I'm so sorry. I know that there's nothing I can say or do to make you see that that night was the biggest mistake in my life, but I can promise you that I won't rest until I've made it up to you."
It couldn't have been easy for him to say, for the mountain to have to bend in the breeze, and even though the succubus already understood exactly why the arachnid had done what he had done - who was she to condemn the actions of the lonely and the desperate - it helped Evren a great deal to hear the words, to know that she truly did mean something more than a mere idea, that her own feelings and place was not taken for granted. But not even the purest of intentions could change the situation she had found herself in. Looking at him in defeat, there was no fight left in her spirit, no resistance, only pain, voice trembling as she breathed, "Dammit, didn't I already tell you to just forget about me? That I was no good for you?" She sighed, allowing her head to roll alongside his chest, "You just don't realize how much I-"
"Despise me?" He cut her off, assuming the worst, even as she told him that she had loved him. "You could not abhor my very being more than I already loath myself for thinking that you could be replaced, even for a second. I wronged you in the worst of ways, and I can never make it up to you enough."
Perhaps it had been hypocritical of Scorpion to hold off on his apology, to almost demand to hear Evren's confession all the way through to the end, but it wasn't like her answer would have changed what he had to say in any way; no matter what the hellion felt, no matter how much she might have grown to detest him, the undead ninja warrior was still intending to apologize, to grovel if necessary. He had told her once that she would never see him on his knees, but under the circumstances, he sincerely doubted that that claim would hold up... But foolish pride aside, Hanzo did not care, because Evren was worth everything to him...
Why did he have to make it so damn hard to love him?! Evren had learned from various texts in her studies that doing the right thing was often the hardest path to take, often well worth the effort once all was said and done, but the demoness had no clue that it would be this impossible! Fuck it, the assassin knew herself well enough to know that she just wasn't strong enough to try to protect him on her own - she cherished him above all else and would do anything for him, but she had reached the edge of her purlieu, and she knew that if she tried to keep it all in anymore, she would either kill herself from the stress, or worse, have to lie to him. Sleeper or not, Evren had made up her mind what felt like an eternity ago to not lie to this man, and that was one resolution she would keep!
Yielding at long last, her body crumbling against his in every possible aspect of the word, the demoness gave in, but first she had to clarify one last thing, her voice quivering as as she said, "You don't have to atone for anything, because I already forgave you. After all, when you love someone, you show it by giving up your life, isn't that right?" She cocked her head or anemic gold, reusing his own words. " I understand that you're not the first person to make a mistake - I know that I've been stupid and acted for what I thought to be the best, all while sinking in a dismal abyss." Which lead her to her next point. Looking into his eyes, lost in the depths that anyone else might have called shallow in their monotonic hue, Evren gave up what little she had left, leaving herself completely exposed before the man she loved. "There's something that I've been keeping from you, and I think that it's killing me to conceal it... Hanzo Hasashi," The little monster slid out of his arms, reluctantly leaving the warmth, taking his hands in hers. "I love you with all of my heart, and I think I have from the very first time I saw you - I just wish that I had told you sooner... But I couldn't..." She cringed. "When you left me there in the garden, I was visited by Noob Saibot, a man you might know better as Bi-Han, and he... " She was loath to revisit what exactly the man had shown her, and as much as Evren would have loved to gloss over those details, she knew that there could be no secrets between them, not anymore. "He black-mailed me into protecting you. Taking me to the pits, he took your mask from me, and he..." Gulping, it was hard to recount aloud this particular memory. "He made it clear what he would do to you in the event that I should not do as he wanted." It felt marvelous to be able to share that, the mere act of simply saying the words freeing up some of the horror that lurked in the darker corners of her mind. "Everything I've done these past months has all been for you..." Reassuringly, she flashed him a small, somewhat sad smile which quickly faded. "More than the beatings, what really made me bleed was watching you, knowing that I was going to die without being able to tell you how much I love you... Noob keeping us dichotomized yet almost whole was the lowest!"
For him...? The skin-deep marring pained the eyes to behold, so Scorpion could only imagine the internal damage the fragile female had sustained; envisioning the last two times he had seen her, Hanzo indignantly, vividly, recalled bruises and blood, all brought on by a man he already thought that he could possibly have no more reason to hate - Bi-Han, the original Sub-Zero... The shinobi had already killed that sleaze unbefitting of a proper name once, and he was going to do it again! No one should treat any woman the way that Evren had been treated, but the fact that he loved this particular woman... No, he wasn't going to stand by and watch that bastard walk around, unpunished for his crimes... But getting back to happier thoughts, Hanzo realized that she had always loved him, that she was willing to go even further than her limit to protect him. He always knew that there was something good about Evren, but until know, he never knew what it was, or to what extent it would reach, but he did know that there was something...
But Scorpion realized something that quickly complicated matters, worse than her technically being engaged to marry another man, his voice falling flat as his insides froze over in chilling apprehension, "I still have to keep my first promise and avenge my fallen comrades."
Honestly, in everything else that had been keeping her consumed as of late, that was something that had slipped the demoness' mind, even though she had just spent hours in the company of the nameless victims, apologizing for what her father had done to the Shirai Ryu, "My father... That's right, you have to kill him."
Ordinarily Scorpion would have gone straight for Quan Chi the minute he had learned the truth, but the way that things had happened, he had been instead subjected to waiting, watching as the woman he loved prepared to give her life to another man, which inadvertently lead to being the one thing keeping him from slaying the necromancer and taking his revenge. "You might hate me for it, but I have to kill him. Noob Saibot next."
Quan Chi had done so many unspeakable things in just her lifetime alone, and Scorpion was not the first to promise vengeance, nor was he actually the first she thought should be able to take it, but he was the first one she thought would actually stand a chance in succeeding. Some part of the tiny devil always knew that her father would pay, someday, but she never imagined that she would be facing this, that the man she loved was going to be the one to kill him. "I can't say that I like that fact, but you're right - you do have to kill him. You deserve it, and so do they." She glanced around at all of the numerous graves. "And..." The sorcerer's daughter shook her head, truly saddened by the words she was about to utter, "I probably won't stop you when that time comes. As for Bi-Han, I doubt there will be many to mourn."
Scorpion gawked at her - aware that there would be one who would, had he not been captured by the Lin Kuei, but that was another matter entirely - stunned almost speechless to hear that she would be so quick to accept what he had to do, "And you're ok with that...?"
Evren mutely disagreed, verbally expressing in earnest, "Don't misunderstand - I love my father no matter what, and if you were anyone else, I might try to hinder you somehow, but if I'm honest with myself, he has it coming. Yours wasn't the first family he tore asunder, and I doubt that it will be last... It has to stop somewhere, and quite frankly, as much as it kills me, I know that you're the only one that can do it." There was no hiding the anguish in her voice as she said that, no masking the personal torment raging in conflict inside at the very thought of playing any part in that sad affair. "I won't stop you, but I won't help you either..." She shook her head again. "I love you both, and I won't pick sides."
He understood. And even though she might not have specified as much, Hanzo had the distinct feeling that if a line had to be drawn, he knew on precisely which side she would stand, but he said no more on that matter, not right now, when there were more immediate problems to deal with. "What about the wedding?"
That was a damn good question... What about the wedding? How was she going to go home and tell everyone, her father in specific, that she wasn't going to go through with this lie anymore, that she was choosing her own happiness for the first time in her life? Noob could go fuck himself for all she cared, but her father... Quan Chi had spent his entire existence striving for a chance like this, to achieve the end game, so how could she possibly deny him this chance, especially given that she was on the verge of screwing him over five different ways to Sunday?
Mulling it over for an extended time spent in pensive silence, the wilting flower in bloom thought that she had come up with the perfect plan, but first, "You trust me, right?" After everything it was kind of ludicrous to ask, but it was one of those questions that had to be worded, no matter how redundant it seemed. "Hanzo, I need to know that you trust me completely, that I'm not alone."
He nodded slowly, having the instinctual feeling that this wasn't going to end well, but he gave her the answer that she needed to hear. "With my life. Why?"
Doing the opposite of nodding, even in spite of the sorrow all around, Evren broke into a wide beam, voice considerably lighter than he had heard it before, "I have a plan, but I need to know that I have your trust and cooperation so I can successfully see it through. I need to know that I can count on you for this..."
Slightly offended by her remark, Scorpion sincerely had hoped that the demoness had a good reason to doubt that he would have her back in any given setting, that she would even have to voice such an outrageous inquiry in the first place, "As my woman, you should already know I will do whatever it takes."
"Your...?!" She grinned wildly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her body against his once more. Again, this was one of life's more pleasant surprises that the hell flower had not been expecting to hear in her waking hours, but truthfully this entire crazy scenario was not something she would have known to anticipate, as wonderful as these fleeting moments were. "I'm your woman?!"
"Aren't you?" He looked sideways at Evren, wondering if maybe he had assumed too much.
Blushing a soft rose, the colors a tiny bit darker in the scarlet marks on her cheeks, there was an unmistakable gleam of pride in her eyes as she spoke, "Well, I gave you my life already, so I don't think its much of stretch..."
A/N: So, was I the only one thinking of Star Wars when I used the line "assumed too much"? Anyways, finally one happy break for the couple... OMG I just made them a couple! Writing the chapter, I didn't even realize how far I made them go in thirty chapters, but now, writing this little note, it hit me! I can't believe that it finally happened... I guess now all that remains to be seen is how long it lasts... And what happens next, naturally.
Well my friends, you should tell me what you thought of the chapter - in other words, you should review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Kombat. That honor goes elsewhere. Like (but no limited) to Netherrealm Studios, the WB (or whatever they're calling themselves over at Warner Brothers), and Ed Boon. There might be more, but I'm no lawyer, and I'm certainly not versed in ownership rights, so I don't know exactly who owns what. I can, however, lay claim to Evren, Blaanid, Serik, and all the other minor nameless characters, and I do.