In the decade since I first wrote and then later rewrote Sister, Sister, Oh So Fair, I have grown substantially as a writer. Because of that, I considered returning to this story a few years ago, but I never went through with it. With the imminent release of the second Mortal Kombat video game reboot, I decided to return to this story and finally finish it for the people who have continued to read it through the years.
As always, constructive criticism is appreciated.
I do not own nor do I claim to own NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat, or the characters created by the former.
Kneeling beside her mother's grave, Mileena tenderly caressed the face of Sindel's effigy. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she briefly looked upward at the ceiling of the Imperial Tomb. No, not the ceiling, but the heavens above. She cannot help but wonder what her life would have been like if her mother had been in it. Would she have been any different? Would she have been kinder? Perhaps she would have been more gentle and loving?
Would she have felt completely and unconditionally loved?
"If only you were here."
Placing a bouquet of flowers in the stone hands of the effigy, Mileena stood up, but before she left, she looked emotionlessly at her father's grave. She said nothing nor did she make any gestures as she abruptly exited the Imperial Tomb.
After her visit to the Imperial Tomb, Mileena met for the first time in court with her royal advisers, who informed her of current affairs in Outworld. Many of her advisers are also members of the Outworld nobility, and some of the nobility are advocating avenging the death of Shao Kahn by invading Earthrealm and executing Liu Kang, the Champion of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. However, Chief Minister of Royal Affairs, Lord Yuze, reminded the vengeful faction of the nobility that Earthrealm is still protected by a magical barrier, which is impossible for any army to penetrate.
"It'd be an exercise in futility," Lord Yuze said.
"I agree," Mileena added. Amid the din of disagreeing voices, she continued, "We can't do anything with the barrier in place. For the time being, Earthrealm should be left alone. Revenge shouldn't be our priority."
Eventually, the advisers quieted down, but one of the noblemen muttered to the nobleman sitting next to him, "She is her mother's daughter."
Mileena's head snapped in the direction of the noblemen, and she spat at them, "Do not dare speak about my mother." Standing up from her Throne, she walks toward the nobleman, who was attempting to stammer an apology. She felt rage building up inside of her. Although she wished she did not, she liked it. She liked being full of rage. It felt good. Before the nobleman was able to stumble on another word, Mileena jumped on top of him.
What came next was a frenzied blur.
The nobility tried to pull Mileena off of the nobleman before she killed him, but they were unable to spare him from injury. With a primal cry of rage, Mileena was finally pulled off of the nobleman, who had fallen unconscious during the attack. Mileena was breathing heavily, her hands dripping blood and her fingernails filled with torn flesh, and she looked around to see the shocked faces of her advisers. Looking back at the seriously injured nobleman, Mileena began to process what she had done. She looked down at her bloody and gory hands, and the weight of what she did finally hit her. Horrified by her actions, Mileena abruptly ran from the room, sobbing.
Running into her bedchamber, she went to her bathroom, where she washed the blood off of her hands. What happened? How had the situation escalated to such a violent conclusion? Her mother. It started after he seemed to insult her mother. What did he mean? She was her "mother's daughter," but what did her mother have to do with Earthrealm? She contemplated this as the day journeyed into night. She rebuffed any attempts to coax her out of her room, including pleas from Kitana. As the clock struck midnight, Mileena heard a knock at her door. Before she was able to send whoever it was away, a note slipped underneath the door. Mileena opened her door, but no one was there. Shutting her door, she picked up the note, and she read it aloud.
You are your mother's daughter, but you do not know everything about her. Consult the sorceress Nimue on the border of Outworld and Earthrealm. She will tell you the truth.
Reaching into her wardrobe, Mileena donned her black cloak, and she slipped out of her window into the night. She was headed on foot toward the hut of Nimue, an Outworld sorceress, a practitioner of both black and white magic, who lived on the border between Outworld and Earthrealm. She was a pariah among both the people of Outworld and the people of Earthrealm, having fled to Outworld after she was accused of witchcraft in colonial America. However, the people of Outworld feared her use of black magic, so she was relegated to the margins of even their society.
After arriving at the sorceress' hut, Mileena entered without knocking, and Nimue greeted her as if she was expecting her, "Welcome, Mighty and Powerful Kahn. To what or whom do I owe the pleasure?"
"I have come to seek the truth," Mileena answered. "I received this note tonight. It told me to consult you about my mother. What do you know?"
Inviting Mileena to sit down at her cauldron, Nimue adds ingredients to a potion she is brewing, and she revealed, "Your mother was a friend of mine."
Although she was surprised, Mileena remained silent as Nimue continued speaking.
"That may surprise you. She was the one who made the deal that allowed me to live here in peace and quiet. I was greatly saddened by her death, but I respected her sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?" Mileena asked. "What do you mean?"
"You don't know," Nimue realized. "Sindel didn't die in childbirth. That was a lie Shao Kahn told you and your sister. In reality, she sacrificed herself to protect Earthrealm from his conquest."
"I don't understand. . . ." Mileena trailed off. After a beat of silence, she asked, "Why?"
"Shao Kahn wanted control of all realms. No one and nothing would stand in his way. Sindel knew this because of what he did to Edenia."
"Edenia?"
"It was a sovereign kingdom," Nimue answered. "A realm full of peace and love. It was where you were born."
"I was born in Outworld," Mileena rebutted, but she was interrupted by Nimue.
"That was another lie you were told by Shao Kahn."
"Why would my father lie to me?"
"'Why?'" Nimue said. "Because Shao Kahn was not your father."
Her mouth agape, Mileena felt the color drain from her face. What? Had she heard Nimue correctly? Shao Kahn was not her father? If not, who was? And who was the man she called Father for eighteen years?
"What?"
As she adds to her potion, the smoke of which illustrates the scenes she describes, Nimue tells a story.
"Once upon a time, there was a King and Queen, Jerrod and Sindel, who had twin daughters, Princesses, Mileena and Kitana. King Jerrod and Queen Sindel loved their daughters beyond measure. However, their peace was soon shattered by war, as General Shao of Outworld invaded their Kingdom, executed King Jerrod, usurped his Throne, and took his wife and daughters as his own," Nimue said. As the smoke shows a distraught woman standing above and looking at infant twins in a crib, Nimue continues, "Heartbroken by the loss of her husband, Queen Sindel resolved to protect their daughters with everything she had. Yet when she learned of Shao's plans to invade Earthrealm and conquer it as he had Edenia, Sindel realized she was being called to something even greater. With all of the magic she was able to muster, Queen Sindel cast a spell to create a barrier over Earthrealm, which Shao could not penetrate, foiling his plans to rule all realms with an iron fist. Although she could not be physically present for her daughters, Queen Sindel endowed both of them with a piece of her own soul to protect them for the rest of their lives. Her love, that of a mother for her children, cannot ever be broken. Not by Shao, not by themselves, not by anyone."
She did not notice them while Nimue told her story, but tears had started to flow from Mileena's eyes as she learned of her true origins. She muttered her thanks before she stumbled out of the hut and back to her bedchamber in the Royal Palace. She began to spiral as she processed the information Nimue told her. Shao Kahn was not her father? Her mother sacrificed herself to save Earthrealm from him? She had been lied to for her entire life. She felt a familiar feeling rise up within her. In a rage, she destroyed her bedchamber. The noise she made alarmed others in the Palace, who attempted to gain entry into her bedchamber, but she ordered them away. As she approached her mirror, she looked at herself—her face stained with tears, her hands bloodied and bruised, her nightdress soiled with blood and dirt—before she ripped her mask off.
Her mouth was now nothing more than a grotesque smile of sharpened teeth and a serpentine tongue.
She shattered her mirror.
Knocking on Mileena's door, Kitana pleaded with her sister to let her in.
"Mileena," Kitana said. "Please, let me in. Whatever it is, I want to be there for you."
Looking at her door, Mileena contemplated letting her sister in and telling her everything, but she quickly shook her head, and she sent Kitana away.
"Goodnight, Kitana," Mileena replied.
Disappointed, Kitana sent the attendants back to their rooms, and she looked sadly at her sister's door before she returned to her own bedchamber. On the other side of the door, Mileena collapsed to the floor as her body was racked with sobs. Why did her mother leave her in the hands of a monster like Shao? She wondered, but then she saw a glimpse of her disfigured face in a shard of glass from her broken mirror.
Was it because she was also a monster?
Feverishly writing and drawing on blank pieces of paper, Mileena started formulating plans to invade Earthrealm and execute Liu Kang.
If I am a monster, I will act like a monster.
I am my father's daughter.