Chapter 13
Jade's Deal
After Kenshi's safe return to Sheeva, the Shokan accompanied Liu Kang, Mileena, and the others back to the Tarkatan War Kamp. The caravan on the horizon gave hope to Kuai Liang who waited on the borders of the kamp for any signs of his wife and their allies.
"They are here." Kuai Liang spoke as he folded his arms behind his back.
"About damn time." Frost sighed. "Looks like we've got more help in this civil war thingy…and the coming tournament. If it were me, I would have consulted with everyone first before accepting that battle."
"You too would have gone in head-first." Kuai corrected.
"People change," Frost defended, "masters just don't." She walked away as Kuai remained on standby. The horses, carriages, and other creature-led vehicles pounded across the dust, dirt, and spare grasslands toward the kamp. Baraka had the gates opened for them, and upon their arrival, Kitana stood in their way.
Mileena hopped down with her daughter in her arms and approached her sister. She held Mo Chou close to her shoulder and supported the back of her head since she was falling asleep in her arms. "I got her back." Mileena said as Liu Kang followed her off of the carriage.
"We have the aid of Sheeva and the Shokan as well." Liu added. "Kenshi has been recovered. Our numbers and strength grows to aid in the liberation of Outworld."
Kitana's eyes widened. She looked between Liu and Mileena back and forth as if they had six heads each. The twitching reaction made her heart freeze and crack apart, as if destroyed by the most vile cryomancer. "Mo Chou is safe?" Kitana asked while grasping at her chest. "I was told she was in danger! That she was being held hostage in return for my accepting Mortal Kombat!"
"You accepted a challenge to Mortal Kombat?" Liu spoke up as he approached the thunder goddess.
"You did what?!" Mileena growled. "Mortal Kombat against who?! Outworld?!"
"We are to aid the War Realm. If they lose, Earthrealm will be consumed now due to my agreement." Kitana stepped away and placed both hands over her face. "I am such a fool!"
"You would pry me from my daughter?!" Mileena hissed. "How could you be so foolish as to not wait to speak with me?! With Jade?!"
At that very moment, the commotion led to Sub-Zero and Frost rushing over to see what the issue was.
"Mileena? Mo Chou?" Sub-Zero hurried over to gingerly take his daughter from his wife's arms and into his own. "How did you find her?"
"On accident." Mileena said, before fixating her fury on Kitana. "But my sister now puts us in even graver danger. She has accepted Mortal Kombat against Outworld!"
"This should be good." Frost said off to the side.
Liu Kang held his hands up as if to calm the building tension. "Alright, let us just breathe. Let's talk about this. Kitana had only the best of intentions. How was she supposed to know? She wanted to protect your child, Mileena. We are all in this together."
"Uh," Frost chimed in, "Kung Lao pulled the support of the White Lotus, so we're not in this together."
"He did what?" Liu said in shock.
Finally, Jade made her presence known. She stepped into the semi-circle of arguing individuals and stood closest to Kitana.
Jade cleared her throat before speaking, "I had my judgement compromised by an old friend. I should not have dragged the rest of you into this. Now we are in a bigger mess when I should have handled this myself. I was a fixer for Mileena and Kitana in our youth. This was my burden to bear. I could have enlisted the help of Hanzo and a small group to gain favor for Kotal."
"This is all because of that woman in black!" Mileena shouted. "We should have came hunted her down and killed her!"
"No, Mileena." Kitana defended with a quiet voice.
"Mileena has a point." Jade added.
"It is not that simple!" Kitana said with her heart drumming in her chest.
"You all are being unfair," Liu Kang said in defense of Kitana, "I understand everyone is angry. I am, too. But Mo Chou is safe because we all came here. Kitana did not fall for a trick, we all did as a group. This is all on us, all on fate. Now, we must see it through. See to it that our enemies, and the woman in black are stopped."
"She is our daughter, Liu." Kitana said with tears building in her eyes. Her voice cracked as she held her hand over her mouth and nose to try and contain her emotion. "She is Shen. From a different timeline. Our child lives."-
The news brought silence throughout the camp. Even those not in the know where treated to the immense feelings Liu Kang experienced in that moment. From his hushed and pained uttering of 'what' repeatedly, to the shuffle of his feet as he walked before Kitana. Liu Kang grabbed her by her shoulders firmly, yet somehow at the same time in his most feeble state.
"Are you certain? Is this not trickery?" Liu asked desperately. "Tell me!"
"It is her." Kitana said with trembling certainty. She put her hands on Liu Kang's chest and nearly fell apart right then and there. Her eyes and face reddened as tears dropped down her cheeks in a steady stream. "She survives a different timeline. Her loss was my fault, Liu. There was a chance and I—I – I did not see it. I could have saved her, this is proof!"
"No," Liu Kang put his forehead against hers, "that is not…this is not your fault nor mine. We need to talk about this. Privately."
"Shen works with our enemies." Jade said as she stepped closer to the couple. "There is not much we can do. We will likely not see her again until the tournament. The lines of battle will be drawn, not much by the way of conversation."
"She wanted our attention." Liu Kang said as he looked to Jade. "She did what she had to. Taking Mo Chou, setting up this tournament. If she is from another time, how? Why? What does she want?"
Mileena lowered her head. She clenched her fists tightly and recalled the words of Shen. "She told me to take what was given, or something of that sort. I assume it was accepting this challenge to Mortal Kombat. We are being positioned to be at an extreme disadvantage. If the War Realm cannot defend itself, it is solely on our shoulders, or eternal servitude to whoever becomes Kahn."
Finally, Sheeva climbed out of her carriage and landed with a powerful stomp on the dusty ground. "This dishonorable trickery will not stand. I am assuming you've an alliance with the Werebear-trap-mouthed Tarkatans." She said as she paused near a Tarkatan male. "No offense." She said as she gave him a pat on the head with her lower arm. "Combined with the might of the Shokan, this coming battle will be ours. I assume Kotal Kahn will be happy to aid as well."
"The four-armed freaks arrive." Baraka said as he stormed toward the gates. "Naturally, 'no offense' as you say, Queen Sheeva."
Sheeva scowled at Baraka's remarks. "General Baraka. There seems to be complications arising in the wake of our agreement. Lady Kitana is emotionally compromised, and our allies seem to be emotionally fractured. I've no suggestion at this given time, outside of Kenshi getting any medical attention he requires."
Baraka paused to think, while Liu Kang continued to console Kitana away from the crowd of warriors. "We need communications. A war ring where we can easily share intel between all factions. We cannot stay in Outworld and wait for slaughter. Shang Tsung will seek any advantage he can get."
"Come to Edenia." Jade offered. "We can set up a common area for each leader. Share intelligence and utilize what technology we have to traverse the realms as needed for preparations and recruitment. As Queen of Edenia, I have a great deal of reach to get supplies needed for aid and training for all of our people. It may take time to get the White Lotus back on our side, but with Earth's Special Forces, the Lin Kuei, the Tarkatans, the Shokan, Edenia, and Kotal Kahn's followers, we should be mighty against this united Outworld threat."
Later, in Earthrealm's Sky Temple
Many of their allies had returned to Edenia for shelter and preparations. The Lin Kuei returned to their lands with Mileena, Mo Chou, Frost, and Kuai Liang. The Sky Temple had been cleaned since its last attack. Many individuals were put to rest, mourned, and celebrated with floating lanterns that filled the skies like rising stars in the night.
Kitana and Liu Kang had not said much to one another since their return. Liu Kang put their son to bed and Kitana spent her evening gazing over one of the many temple balconies. She didn't wear her facial mask, but her regal garbs as the Goddess of Lightning was still worn. Her almond colored eyes watched the clouds and lanterns in the distance. She kept the skies cleared so that the souls of the lost could find their way to a peaceful afterlife. An afterlife where she could not fail them.
Long gone were the days Kitana had a firm hold on her destiny. Her grip was slipping with each choice. Her grip on both her sanity and her fate. The doubt in her choices that led her down her current path tasted like coals on the back of her tongue. She couldn't speak her apologies to herself; she'd already settled into hatred for her own thoughts. If Raiden was still around, none of this would have passed.
She heard the footsteps behind her.
Liu Kang had finally arrived.
Kitana's lips parted as if to speak, but those coals at the back of her tongue made even the thought of words make her want to wretch.
The shroud of darkness around her was more powerful than any threat she'd ever faced. It was darker than all of night, and more oppressive than Shao Kahn. Every step Liu Kang took made the darkness in her soul ripple like a lake the presence of a giant's steps.
There was a faint beacon of light. Streaks of illumination that broke through the darkness like sunbeams passing between fingers. The light brushed over her shoulders from behind as Liu settled his hands on her.
The light cut through the darkness and severed the rope carrying the anvil of guilt above her stomach. When the anvil crushed her stomach, she let out a trembling breath. The emotional dams she build up cracked at the seams and tears brimmed along her eyes.
Liu Kang's touch became an embrace from behind. Such warmth she was unworthy of, but sunk into it all the same. The pressure of the anvil was alleviated, even if the destruction remained. Though she was drowning in darkness, there was alas a lifeline to keep her head above water.
She had redeemed herself of her past failures, but the present was unforgiving.
"If Shen is truly alive," Liu Kang said after a long silence, "we have to bring her home. She may be…much older than she would be. But she is still our daughter."
"You visit her grave every day." Kitana said while a tear ran down her cheek. "You go without me. You sit and you talk to her gravestone. I blame myself for not taking the risk seriously. Fate would have had us remain worlds apart, but I defied it."
"We defied it." Liu corrected.
"What if I could fix it?" Kitana asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What if I could go back and cure her? Do it differently? Give our daughter a chance to live. Give her a chance to not endure what she has in this other world?"
Liu's embrace loosened and he set his hands on Kitana's sides as she turned to face him. "No."
"Liu, I can fix this." Kitana said with determination.
"That is running away. We have to see this through. Accept the hand we've been dealt." Liu argued. "We will take on this tournament one last time. We will win. This is the way it has to be."
Kitana's eyes softened. The burning sensation at the back of her tongue intensified. Even if her broken soul did not want to agree, Kitana had no strength to fight. "We need everyone, if we are going to survive this battle. Kung Lao and others are not happy with me."
The reminder led Liu to release Kitana and step to the balcony's railing. He put both hands on the stone rail and looked out over all of the floating lanterns in the sky. "I will speak with Kung Lao and the White Lotus society. If they will not help us, we must steel ourselves and our allies. But I know in my heart, Kung Lao will come around."
"I pray that you are right…" Kitana whispered as she stood beside Liu. The two of them watched the faint orange glow of lanterns in the distance together in silence.
Meanwhile, in Edenia…
The many halls of Edenia were silent. Guards were at their posts, large winged creatures patrolled the skies and rainforests for any looming threats. The Outworld refugees were given their own rooms—those who came with Kotal at least, and the leaders of each faction had their own rooms as well. The other Tarkatans and Shokan set up camps within the Edenian palace's secure walls. For the most part there was harmony, shelter, and peace for all in attendance.
A few hour after the start of second slumber, Jade sat up in bed. Nido was asleep next to her, sprawled out with their bed sheet draped across his scarred torso. Jade looked over her shoulder at him and gazed quietly in the darkness of their room. The moonbeams that passed through her silky curtains illuminated them both just enough that her green eyes seemed to glow in the dark.
She put her hand over Nido's chest and tried to feel his heartbeat. With her eyes closed, she focused in on the slightest vibration. Every thump was like the percussion of a war drum in her soul. Beating the sounds of war, love, and loss in her deepest memories and regrets. Another struggle threatened to tear Nido from her, or viceversa. Another war.
"There is never truly peace, is there?" Jade whispered. "No matter what we change, the past finds us. To rip our hearts from our chests." She removed her hand from Nido's chest and climbed out of bed. The Queen of Edenia was restless, but also quieter than the breeze. She escaped through the balcony window and climbed down until she was able to scale the side of the palace near its gargoyles. She always thought better in the courtyard and gardens. She needed to consider the best options going forward, or risk losing her realm all over again to Outworld in one fell swoop.
She stepped into the maze of shrubbery and trees. The scent of Edenian plants, purple flowers and large succulent fruit filled her nostrils like burning incense. Even when she passed the fragrance's origins, it lingered with her and kept her heart calm.
She arrived at a fountain at the center of the maze, and suddenly she was no longer alone.
"Jade," the deep voice of Kotal broke the silence of the night, "I hadn't been expecting company this night." He wore a smile full of more charm than a treasure chest. His aura was warm and welcoming, as if their moments of embracing hadn't ended for years and years. For lifetimes.
Jade stood still. She turned to leave. A pang in her stomach prevented her from taking a step away, however. "I was merely out for a walk, Kotal. I am no one's company this evening."
"Hostility is a poor way to hide the truth." Kotal said while remaining calm. "Distance, even less so. We can save time and effort on both of our sides if we are open and honest, Jade. If my presence here disturbs you…"
"It does not disturb."
"Perhaps my affections have expired?"
"Kotal…" Jade turned to face him fully. "I want to help you. I want you to achieve. But I cannot be part of your life beyond this aid."
Kotal was frozen in place for all but three seconds. With his arms folded behind his back he stepped closer to Jade. "Is it because of your loyalty to Edenia?"
Jade's lips pressed together tightly. "It is the loyalty to the man I love. A man who came into my life after I believed you to be dead. No matter how we felt before, my heart belongs elsewhere."
"Does it?" Kotal questioned quietly. "Can love simply be forgotten, Jade? I spent every waking moment trying to survive to see you again. The gods would not have made it so, if the woman who gives me strength is to be taken from me."
"Not everything goes our way, Kotal." Jade said with her eyes closed. "We cannot control time or fate. Everything will happen as it is meant to. I am helping you out of the kindness of my soul. I will always be your ally, your friend."
Her words moved him. His once constant smile sunk into a lingering frown. "The kindness of your soul is breaking my heart, Jade. I haven't a choice but to accept. Who is the man who now claims your heart?"
"Nido," Jade replied, "my royal guard."
Kotal took a moment to process this. Despite his bitterness at the news, he shut his eyes and took a step back away from Jade. "If he is the man you have chosen, then he must truly be a worthy warrior. I will always ask myself what could have been between us, but as a warrior, I know there are greater challenges ahead. We have time to prepare for Mortal Kombat. My finest warriors are yours to recruit, including myself."
"I cannot force it upon the to do battle." Jade shook her head. "I support Kitana until the end, but you and your people called upon us for shelter. If they wanted war, they would have remained active in Outworld. They need you to lead them. They need you to show them that their Kahn will support them as much as they support him. Be that in or out of battle."
Kotal narrowed his eyes for the moment. "You speak as if you request I stay on the sidelines."
"I speak this way, because I know you." Jade insisted. "You are willing to sacrifice everything. If your people do not have a proper Kahn…"
"I will gladly give up the chair if there is someone worthy." Kotal shot back. "This responsibility was thrust upon me. To lead my own is one thing, but to lead all of Outworld? There is no one I would cast my vote toward, so I had to step in until someone is more qualified. I am a warrior. I must lean on my future advisors. I need those with vision to help guide my hand…and until then? Outworld has me, and my wisdom only as a warrior. It is still better than Shao Kahn ever was…"
Jade grabbed at the side of her head. Images rushed past her mind's eye. A blood red moon. Blood on the grass and stone. A tree-like structure ripping through Edenia and all of the realms. The pain ripped through her very soul until screams clawed their way from her lungs. She fell forward with crimson tears falling from her eyes.
The panicked Kotal called for help. He picked Jade up and carried her immediately back inside of her palace to seek medical attention. Unknown to him, the screaming Jade wasn't fully there. She had been spiritually taken elsewhere.
Elsewhere…
Jade found herself awash on dark sands beneath a star-filled night sky. The chill of the air snapped her awake, as the scent of what seemed to be Edenian oceans filled her nose. Her eyes looked left and right to see where she was, or when she was.
"You have been called." The deep voice of Geras rumbled around her. "Jade, Queen of Edenia. Spawn of Queen Edenia. Vessel of a portion of the One Being. Do you answer the call of a Titan in need?"
"What is the meaning of this Geras?" Jade asked while rolling to her side. She watched as the man stepped from the darkness of the sands and into the pale blue starlight all around her. "Why has Kronika sent for me so violently?"
"It is time our charade ends." Geras said woefully. "Time's natural course has gone violently astray. As per our accord you made a decade ago, when your services are needed, you will answer."
"Is it because of Kitana's actions?" Jade asked as she pushed herself up on her hands and knees.
Geras icy-blue eyes merely gazed upon Jade as she eventually got to her feet. His arms crossed behind his back, as his mighty tone spoke a simply reply. "Yes."
The sands shifted. Jade and Geras both disappeared in a whirlwind of dust and sand until they reformed in the ivory chambers of time. While facing the front of the chamber, there was a massive hourglass and millions upon billions of turning spires and cogs branching through the ivory realm. Though the back of the room was a different story.
There was another shoreline. There were waters that rolled in and out with a reflection of endless possibilities in it. The birth and death of universes flashed in the waves. Cries of pain mingled with ghostly whisps of laughter and joy. The longer one listened to the chaos of the water, the more things they heard. The brain filtered out what it did not desire, and eventually all Jade heard…was peaceful sounds.
Whispers of her own voice and past conversations echoed from the water.
Geras stood by the hourglass while a feminine figure draped in white stood facing the shores. It was the Vessel; the woman who spoke on behalf of the Elder Gods in Kitana's alliance among realms.
Kitana approached reluctantly. She looked back at Geras a few times until she was a few meters away from the Vessel.
"He came to me when I was at my lowest." The Vessel said as she lifted her chin. Her ivory mask kept her face entirely concealed, save for the glowing blue eye-lenses over it. The cat-like cut almost seemed mischievous on the expressionless surface. "He had no name. His face, erased from my memory. He told me I was bound for greatness, and that in replacing him…I could stand atop of fate itself, and spare my child the most unfortunate fate. My husband joined me and everything for us changed in this era. We gave up our right to properly exist and be born in return for gifts. Though ill-fate sill arrived. I'd always thought it was time that needed correction to spare my child, and myself from the grim hands of destiny. Though, I fear it is only the dark nature of the unchanging man that keeps balance from ever being achievable."
Jade watched the woman with curious eyes. "Who is 'he'?"
The Vessel lowered her head and gazed at the water a little longer. "The One Being's true self. Flesh and bone…a being who was lost, lonely, angry. He attached to like-souls, like your own mother. Like Shao Kahn. In exchange for a fraction of his power, they gave him the faintest experience of interaction with other souls. A chance to feel mortal. For it is the greatest desire of a Titan to be in company of others, and to be loved and worshiped." He Vessel grasped at her mask and slowly pried it away. Her almost cybernetic blue eyes glowed as she gazed forward. It was Kronika, the Titan and Keeper of Time. "Ten years ago, you told me of your tale. You warned me of the mistakes of my design. Armageddon has been averted…at least, how my design foolishly led to it originally. But I have peered forward; I see that there is a worse fate on the horizon…and I alone cannot stop it."
"Geras told me it is related to Kitana's actions," Jade said quietly as she approached Kronika, "is it the tournament?"
"The tournament is the fulcrum in which the fate of this timeline and all timelines rests. If certain pieces were to turn to Kitana's side…things may continue to exist. Though should they sway out of her favor…I can only see one thing beyond the pivotal point of the blood moon."
"Which is?"
"Death." Kronika said while looking over her shoulder. "My son…from your prior universe…he traveled the multiverse, claiming souls, victims, and collapsed reality itself before he met his end here. Inside this universe's amulet. My son, Shinnok, in this universe…he may yet one day become a threat, but this outweighs even his most sinister motives. I see an egg of unknown origin. I see it cracking. Then I see nothing but darkness and death in the War Realm, starting with Liu Kang. Coming to pick the bones after such a decimation is what feels like The One Being returning. Then more death; Shang Tsung, Reiko, and Rain. They have been manipulated…but by whom, I do not know or why."
After considering Kronika's words, Jade approached her from the side. "Kitana's daughter, Shen, from another timeline. She has come and has asked of us that we take what is offered; that we take the challenge of Mortal Kombat. That if War Realm loses…"
"It honors the agreement that Earthrealm loses as well. Making it Outworld's right to merge the realms." Kronika's face contorted with anger as her tone filled with frustration. "Another timeline invading this one, on two fronts? The egg, the visitor, but to what end? Who does Shen serve? Whoever it is, they are not of this universe."
"Our agreement, Kronika?" Jade said after a moment of tense silence.
"I have kept your secrets, I am the one who warned you of the outcomes before you took needed action, after all. In addition, a cure of the children's condition is being sought through time itself." Kronika assured her. "As soon as Geras and I locate it, we shall honor our agreement. Though, I must add on to your duties."
"I am listening." Jade said with her chin held high.
"For a better chance at survival, there are a few Kombatants you must recruit." Kronika summoned the sands that took form of a few miniature warriors. "Kung Lao, Nitara, Reptile, Ashrah, Darrius, Skarlet. If you can get these warriors for the coming tournament, the sands of time may flow in your favor. Where to find them will be given to you via scroll. Geras will deliver it to you after you depart."
"Yes, of course, Kronika." Jade bowed before her. "I will investigate what is happening with Shen-."
"Do as you wish." Kronika interrupted. "I've called in a favor that I did not want to. Someone I've not spoken with for timelines. One individual I can never reset aside of myself and Geras."
"Who is that, exactly?"
As the sand figures disappeared, Kronika turned away from Jade and approached her hourglass. "The father of Cetrion and Shinnok, my mate, the Titan Uren." As she spoke, reality became distorted. Jade's head felt light as she was suddenly thrust forward in a twisting and flipping reality until she woke up in her palace's infirmary.
She was surrounded by her royal guard, as well as Nido at her side. Jade was draped in the best blanket Edenia could provide, with the highest ranked mages tending to her until her eyes opened. They were all elated to see her awake, and none more vocal that Nido himself who embraced her immediately.
"We thought something terrible had happened," Nido explained, "Sindel was just here. Kotal said he found you unconscious – what do you remember?"
Jade hesitated to speak, but she placed her hand on the side of Nido's face. "Exhaustion. I'd stepped out for a walk…perhaps my body is simply telling me I cannot put off rest any longer?"
"Should I cancel your meeting tomorrow?" Nido asked quietly.
"Meeting?" Whatever it was, it had entirely slipped Jade's mind.
"One of the tribe chiefs requested an audience. They have been insistent on it since the moment our visitors arrived. A hail was given, and we've been informed they will be at the palace at first light to request audience in person."
The weight of the crown was heavy, on top of her already hidden duties. "I will see them all the same. Thank you, Nido. Please, dismiss the others. I will do my best to get sleep."