Love & War 4

Chapter 36: Watch The Throne

"Mileena! This is awkward..." Skarlet said.

"Why should it be awkward?"

"Reiko has lost faith in you and turned to me."

"Reiko is only loyal to himself. He'll betray you."

"HA! Betray me? Jealous creature!"

Skarlet launched a blood ball at Mileena.

"DEFEND THE EMPRESS!"

The Tarkatan tried to do so but Skarlet unleashed her blood pillars and killed them all.

"He empowered me!"

"He did not empower you. You're his puppet!"

Mileena threw her sais at Skarlet.

"I'm as much of Kahn's "daughter" as you are, half-breed. I will share my throne with Reiko, immortals bound in the blood code, bound by..."

Ermac ambushes Skarlet with his telekinesis.

"Bound indeed. The honor is yours, Mileena."

Mileena lands her patented Sky Kick on Skarlet.

"Brutality won't kill me."

"Then don't die. I'll torture you instead!"

"As Earthrealmers say, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," said Kotal.

"Soon they'll say it differently," said Reiko. He grabbed Kotal's head. "Hell hath no fury like the Blood God!" Reiko kneed him in the jaw. "The god you could never be!"

"Daddy's hammer." Mileena Shao Kahn' Wrath Hammer. "You have practiced with it?" Ermac asked.

"I don't need practice."

Mileena takes the hammer and swings it by Reiko's head.

"Only Shao Kahn's heir can kill a man with a first swing."

"Reiko is not dead. His soul still burns. The Blood Code sustains him. He will rise again."

"That's a problem. And here's another. You call me insane, Kotal? Unfit to rule? Be thankful I let you live for a few more hours. We must deal with Reiko. And after Reiko is dead, we'll deal with each other."

From the Lost Sea...

"The battle on the island is truly glorious," said Kintaro. "We'll crush Reiko and Mileena on the same day. Not sure what to make of Mileena saving Kotal's life."

"Maybe she wants to get stabbed by his Macuahuitl."

"The other Shokans laughed. Was that a dick joke he made?

"Or maybe Reiko has acquired a power so deadly it brings sworn enemies together."

"Queen Sheeva! The battle has begun..."

Sheeva is wearing a gold armor plate with black tights. She also has a crown, earning her the title of Queen. "And you are join it," she said. "But after the massacre of Z'unkahrah, we cannot afford to waste Shokan lives. Stay anchored, keep watch. We fight when there's a strategic opportunity. Rumor has it that the Earthrealmer known as Chris is said to be there and is facing war himself as we speak.

"May we wager?"

"Put my coin on Kotal."

"And Chris?"

"I know nothing of him, but considering his feats of survival, I have grown to respect him. We will honor our commitment to Kotal, but battle conditions are not in our of saving his life, we may avenge his death."