A/N: A small girl, in a very big world, with nothing to tether herself too? There's trouble on the horizon...

Royal Blood

Shang and Quan walked slowly through the darkened halls of Shao's temple complex, their boots clicking on the stone floor. They barely concealed smirks. Their plans were coming to fruition, and the Emperor was clueless to them. He wanted his wife Sindel brought back from the dead. That task had been completed, though it was not the only one that the sorcerer's had in mind.

Someone had stepped into the fight against them that concerned them, and they needed to be dealt with...

The large vaulted ceiling of the throne room, supported by thick solid stone pillars, elegant braided patterns swirled around them, as the men walked into it. They greeted Shao Kahn with a graceful bow, before he motioned for them to speak. Shang spoke first.

"Emperor". He continued.

"Sindel has been resurrected Emperor, as per your request".

He looked at Quan, silently requesting he speak now. The pallor skin man coughed before adding.

"Tiama has decided to join the Earthrealm warriors plight. This could prove troubling. Any damage we inflict can be rectified by her in an instant".

Shao raised a brow. This usually would not be seen, due to his skull mask. He was not wearing it at the moment.

"Tiama?"

Quan's fist clenched.

"The goddess of telepathy, healing and telekinesis".

Shang gave the Emperor an option, to deal with this new 'thorn in their side'.

"We could use her abilities for our gain. They would benefit us greatly".

Quan shook his head. "Raiden, nor Jakal wouldn't let us near her, to use her for our gains".

Shao's expression darkened, the grip on his war hammer tightened. Shang tried to reason with the large, imposing man, lest he get the weapon smashed against his face.

"She has a daughter. We could use her to bolster our defenses, and your power Emperor".

Quan's eyes glinted, though Shao did not know what that glint meant.

"If we use the Queen as a distraction, lure the kombatants out, to the chapel, she will kill them all. I have no doubt about that, with her strength increased. With them out of the way, it will be no trouble to find Tiama's daughter, and bring her here. Against one of us, she could resist. But, against the two of us? She would have no choice but to desist, and hand herself over, willing or unwilling".

Shao's carnelian eyes gleamed, malicious intent the cause.

"Find her. Bring her to me", he leaned forward, "Alive".

Both sorcerers nodded, acknowledging the order. They bowed, and left the throne room.

They had somewhere to be, and prey to catch...

Three months later

Kara wiped sweat from her brow with a rag. She had been training with her Father, and despite being his daughter, he wasn't going easy on her. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Knowing what was out there meant he had to be strict, and a little rough at times. Kara knew it wasn't to hurt her though, he was training her to be more able to protect herself, lest she be on her own, which happened regularly nowadays. Tiama had been whisked away to the arena in Outworld, as kombatant after Earthrealm kombatant fell to Shao Kahn's warriors. Her power wasn't unlimited.

She was tiring...

Jakal stopped the fight, and waved his hand.

"Better", he tried to control his erratic breathing, "much better. You are getting good".

Kara chuckled breathlessly.

"Eh, not really. But I feel good, I feel useful". She was getting at something, her Father knew it. "I could help with the fight".

Her sing-song tone wasn't appreciated.

"Kara. Whilst you have a nice singing voice, you need more time. You're only twenty-five. You have time Kara".

She squinted her eyes at him. "I know", she sighed, "I know".

Jakal offered her a hand, and she took it. He brought her inside Raiden's home, and made a pitcher of ice water. He cut up some lemons too, and put the wedges in it.

Kara grabbed some glasses, and brought them to the table. They were filled with the cool beverage, and the pair sat down.

"How's things in Outworld?"

Jakal shifted. "Mileena has been defeated. Shao's pissed. Kitana finally had her revenge".

Kara was told all about the cloning of the princess. It created a being, of half human-half tarkatan blood. A fiend, bloodthirsty, hellbent on murder, causing menace and devastation all around her.

From what she had been told about Shao, she wanted to kick his large hide, hard. Multiple times. Slap it into his thick skull, both of them.

She chuckled again. Feeling positive since Sub-Zero perished had been a hard feat, a tough uphill struggle. It took her while of contemplation and reflection for the young woman to fully come to terms with it, that her mentor, her friend was gone...

Her Father looked confused at her sudden change in mood.

"Hmm?"

Kara's cheeks flared red, and she felt embarrassed.

"I honestly don't know how I feel right now. It's a mix of happy, upset and terrified. The whole situation in Outworld is fu...", she stopped herself from swearing.

Jakal knew how she felt. He felt a similar way. He too, wished to swear, shout harsh words, piercing the still air with his inner turmoil.

"Hey", he put a hand on her shoulder, "You can let it out you know. I won't be angry at you. To tell you the truth, I wish to drop the General for just a short time, and let out my frustrations".

Kara perked up. "I have my punching bag here, Mom brought it from my house. Use it if you need to". She smiled, feeling much better. "As for me?" She sniffed herself and grimaced. "I need a bath", she snorted, "Are you going back to Outworld later?"

He nodded. Kara's smile faltered. "Dad...", she reverted back to his timid little girl, "Stay here. Please? I hate being alone I've lost my independence". She looked away, ashamed. "Since when do I rely off other people? I should deal with things on my own".

Jakal nodded, pulling her into a hug. "You never lost it. Sometimes we all need help, to admit that we need it isn't ever weakness Kara". He looked her in the eyes, the green softening when he saw her tearing up. "You don't need to ask. If you want me to stay here, I will".

Kara clutched at him. "I'm scared. Mom isn't okay, is she?"

Kara had a link with her Mother since the day she was born. A constant, almost umbilical cord like link between them, their minds. When Tiama struggled, Kara felt it, and vice-versa. Kara could feel it, feel her strain to heal ever increasingly fatal wounds on the kombatants.

Concern wasn't strong enough word for what she felt. She felt frozen in terror.

With her Father here? She had a tether, someone to lean on.

He brought her up feeling like she could conquer the world, that she could give it everything she had.

Right now? She felt she couldn't even conquer her emotions...

The next morning

Outworld

Quan and Shang stood before a portal, that would take them to Raiden's home, where Kara resided. She was alone right now, her parents and the Elder God's attention was taken up by Queen Sindel. Little did they know just what she could do, how much damage she was about to inflict.

Little did the sorcerers know that Raiden had seen the devastation, and had forewarned the kombatants. He did not see a positive outcome. He could only hope they found a way to stop the deranged, 'undead' banshee queen.

What he hadn't seen was the strike. The serpent Shang Tsung was about to strike, on his consecrated ground too, the ultimate insult...

Shang had found a spell, to sever the tie, between the young woman and her Mother. The tie put up little resistance, prompting dark laughter from the snake. Kara wasn't at full power, neither was Tiama it seemed...

He walked through the portal, and motioned for Quan to follow, but wait, until he had found their quarry...

Raiden's home

The Heavens

Kara was listening to music, the small red earphones blocking out any and all noises. A thunderstorm had broken down the Summer heatwave, and was greatly appreciated by the woman. The heat damn near killed her. She couldn't well stroll around naked, in case Raiden came back unannounced. She'd thought about it though, quite a few times, eventually deciding to leave them on, but strip when sleeping. It was too hot for bed sheets, even without those, she would sweat.

So, the storm? It cooled the air, the humidity had been dampened down. Thanks to that, she hadn't been driven insane, just extreme thirst. If you could drink someone out of house and home, she had done that with Raiden.

Shang had been spying on the Lin Kuei acolyte, learning her daily routines. He took this too far, when he observed her walking out of the onsen room. She had a towel around her, but that did not give him the right to leer at her. He'd had created a husk, from memory of her form in the dungeon of the palace. The husk needed a soul to animate it. He must do a better job of the process. Mileena had failed. Her mental state had corrupted within days of her creation. A potentially beautiful creature turned into a deranged murderer. This could not be allowed to happen with Kara's clone.

He had nicknamed her 'Viper', combining human and snake DNA.

A sound crept into his ears, and peeked his interest.

Kara had started singing, and had grabbed the vacuum. She was making this easy for him, and part of him disliked that. She wouldn't fight, or struggle. She'd just give in. Princess Kitana fought, and fought hard, injured him a few times in the process. She only acquiesced when so weak, she couldn't stand any more pain.

Kara? She was feeble, meek, it wasn't her that he required. Her body was useless. Her power and soul were not. They were what he needed. He would cast her body to the wild-lands of Outworld, to be devoured by his own dark creatures. They'd feast on her flesh, her blood their beverage. When they were done, only bones would remain.

Shang walked to the entrance of the house, and slipped inside, unnoticed. Quan followed him then, and waited outside, blocking the woman's only exit. Both sorcerer's calm masks slipped and Shang pounced...

Kara felt hands on her shoulder, and, something did not feel right in her mind. She grabbed one of the hands, and twisted it, and the person's arm, throwing them over her shoulder. A flurry of black hair and green magic flew around her, and she jumped back, breathing heavily.

"Who are you?!"

She spat at this intruder, before backing up, to the entrance-way of the home.

"Look, I don't know what you want, or who you want, but"...she stopped speaking abruptly, upon feeling more hands on her spine. She shivered with how cold they were.

Shang stood, and straightened his robes. He wiped his mouth, and found blood on it when he was done. He smirked, and looked behind the young woman. She flinched, and squirmed. Quan merely wrapped black tendrils of magic around her, and tightened them, not so much that she could not breathe, but just enough pressure to increase her panic. She tried to read their minds, but they had them closely and fiercely guarded. She tried to contact her Mother, before the realization hit her.

There was no longer a link. She used her mind's eye to see it, the thin purple line that was her only hope in this situation.

It wasn't there.

"FUCK!"

She turned her head, as much as the binds would allow her.

"What did you do?! Who are"...A bind wormed it's way around her throat.

The grey skinned man moved closer to her, still behind her, and he chuckled wickedly, when his breath on Kara's ear made her squeal.

"What do we want?"

Shang's smirked deepened, it caused anxiety to flood the young woman's form. She felt physically sick, violated.

"Foolish girl".

The black haired man taunted her, berated her. Quan spun her around, and yanked her towards him.

"You".

A fist flashed in front of her face. Sudden pain was cut short by blacking out. Kara began fading into unconsciousness. Darkness engulfed her, and she was powerless to defend herself...

Sometime afterwards, Kara woke up. Her vision swam, but she knew, felt, that she was being pulled somewhere. Hazy grey walls? Grey floors? She couldn't see details, only swirling shades of grey merging, blurring. She felt pain surge up an arm, and yelped. Shang had hold of one arm, and Quan the other. If they tugged any harder, Kara, as she was regaining her sight realised they could wrench them free of their sockets. She made a peep of a noise, and was backhanded in response by Quan.

After what felt like an age, the three arrived at a large set of doors. When they were opened, and Kara saw the large man sitting on a throne, at the far end of the room, she gasped.

That's Shao Kahn?

We're in HIS palace?

She had a revelation.

Wait. That's in Outworld, right?

She cursed. Her brain was scrambling around for answers that she knew she had...

But all that came was questions. If she could scream, she would.

Mom? You're here, aren't you?

Mo...

The sorcerer's stopped walking abruptly, and threw her onto the stone. The young woman just about braced herself before she hit the ground. She twisted an ankle, and saw her wrist twist too due to the impact. She whimpered, and her uninjured hand flew to her wrist. She couldn't be sure, but from the shooting pains emanating from it, it could've been broken.

A tall, slender woman, with two toned hair walked into the room, hips swaying suggestively. Kara assumed that was Shao's queen, Sindel.

She walked to her husband's side, bowing gracefully.

"It's done".

Kara blinked, a confused mind made eyes cloud with tears.

"What's done?"

Shao cackled. "Nothing", he sneered as he looked her up and down, "You need to know". He gestured to a guard.

"Take her to the dungeon".

The guard bowed, forcibly hauled Kara up, and took her down a dimly lit corridor. She looked back, and regretted it. She saw Sindel, all over the Emperor.

She coughed and looked back, as the guard pulled her down some stairs.

When she almost tripped, he grabbed her, and put the point of his spear to her throat. His hand grabbed her possibly broken wrist and she howled. No matter how much she wanted to fight, her ankle kept giving out, and her dominant hand was no good at that time. She had no choice but to follow the man...

The cries of prisoners, likely being tortured and maimed made her blood run cold. As she was put into a cell, thrown against a wall of it, all she could manage was crawling into the corner of the tiny space, uncaring of the chill that bit at her bones and licked at her skin.

If ever she felt like a scared child, who needed her Mother, it was now. But, the young woman knew calling out would accomplish nothing. There were no nightlights or covers to hide or protect her from the monsters here.

And unlike her vivid childhood imagination? These were real...