Family Matters

Just outside the Seidan HQ, the Lin Kuei members found themselves standing in front of Kitana, former empress of Outworld. The woman opened her fans and hovered one of them over her face.

"Where do you think you're taking that?" she asked. The men remained silent, instead spreading themselves out. Kitana lowers the fan from her face, looking directly at the one holding onto Seido's Kamidogu. "Whether it be Kuai Liang, Shelia, or Enenra, they will not allow any of you to live if I were to take that from your grasp. So it's unfortunate that this must be your final hour."

The first warrior throws a dagger directly at Kitana's abdomen. She twirls once, knocking the blade away. Another warrior, blessed with the power of light, blinded Kitana with the rays emitting from his eyes. Kitana holds her fans over her eyes to block out the light. She is knocked down by one the of the men's shoulder charge as they slammed into her chest. The other attempted to escape to the rendezvous point as instructed by Shelia, which Kitana slightly notices as she continued to block out the light. She raises herself up once more, inching slowly towards the man. The other warrior attempts to charge at Kitana once more, this time with a katana in their hand. Kitana swings her left foot forward, causing the man to raise his blade higher to prevent her from kicking it away. However, she stopped her leg midway before doing a short hop in the air. With a swift right kick, she redirects the blade to swing right and turn the man's body around. As she lands on the ground, she grabs the back of the man's shoulders and pushes him toward the ray of light. As the light dimmed, she rushed towards the man and runs along his back and shoulders to reach the other side of the warriors. She takes the opportunity and pierces the neck of the man who blinded her. She pulls the weapon away before opening it and slitting the throat of the other man before he could lift himself back up.

As Kitana waves her fans to air out the blood stains on them, she sets her sights on the direction of the Lin Kuei warriors. Whispers plagued her ears, and she used he information to chase after the one warrior who had his grips on the Kamidogu. She starts walking his way before hearing the sound of a woman yelling in pain. The sound was closer than she expected as she thought no one was outside the building when she approached. She looked back in the direction of her target before deciding to take the detour to the back-left corner of the building. She stood behind a tree watching as Shelia lied on the floor beaten and bloodied with a green arrow pierced into her left shoulder blade. Kitana raised her eyes seeing Nightwolf standing above the girl.

"Your sister has failed herself. That is not on you," Nightwolf said to Shelia.

"Do not talk about my sister," Shelia growled as the pain of the arrow afflicted her. "I would give anything to have her back in this world. Yet, you push Knightwolf aside? For what?"

"And what do you know of Knightwolf?" Nightwolf said. "Do you think of us as blood?"

"She cared about you," Shelia said. "She lost her way the day we believed you died."

"I did die that day," Nightwolf said. "I relinquished my past life. In doing so, I've sworn my allegience to Eunomia."

"Yet, you ignore your sister's plea?" Kitana questioned as she walked next to Shelia. The girl smiled before passing out from the pain. Nightwolf frowns and stares at the Edenian.

"If you're here too, the state of Outworld must be dire," Nightwolf says.

"Outworld is not my home," Kitana said.

"Yet you ruled Outworld a year ago," Nightwolf said.

"A house is not a home, as Earthrealmers would say," Kitana said. "Home is where my family is. The realms have taken my family away, but you would take yours for granted?"

"Yet Knightwolf still lives on," he said. "She was without a family when we met."

"Aylin has a family," Kitana said. Nightwolf raised his brow while Kitana lowered hers. "You didn't know this, did you? Not about her family. Not even her name?"

"She said her name—"

"Was Nightwolf with a K?" Kitana said. "To think their was a time your people were a threat to Shao Kahn only to be dwindled down into one individual with a lack of comprehension."

"Do you come here to mock me?" Nightwolf asked.

"No," Kitana said. "I came to take Seido's Kamidogu. I was going to wait for you to kill Shelia for me, but I cannot stand by while you talk down on your sister like that." Kitana takes a few steps away from Shelia. "Nightwolf of Earthrealm. General of Seido. Brother...of Knightwolf. You are a traitor of the highest degree," Kitana closes her fan. "Your sentence...is death."

Nightwolf closes his eyes and nods as he circles around the girls. He conjures a spirit bow and aims it at Kitana. The woman sprints toward the shaman, allowing her arms to flow behind her. She maneuvers her trail left and right as an attempt to decrease the accuracy of his shot. He fires at her leg, but misses. Kitana performs a short hop and rotation before waving her fans forward. She slams her back against Nightwolf, dispersing the shamans weapon. His stern posture keeps him planted on his feet as he slides across the ground. He wraps his arms around her as he runs forward. He lifts the woman in the air and drops her flat on her back. A loud shriek from the former empress woke Shelia, who struggled to catch her breath. The arrow in her should had her pinned to the ground. She turned her head towards Kitana. It was not her presence that shocked the Shelia, but the arrow that was planted through the left side of the woman's waist. Nightwolf shakes his head as he begins to draw another arrow.

"How many of my kind have you slaughtered princess?" Nightwolf questioned. Kitana was still growling in pain as she tried to escape the arrow. "Our power is an extension of ourselves and the great spirit. Those who've died before me are now part of my being. Unlike the power of those like Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, and Knightwolf, who must dispose of the souls they use, our power returns to us. These arrows will never disperse as long as I live. They may only return to my own spirit."

"A soul that cannot die?" Shelia muttered.

"You may see it like that," Nightwolf said before kicking Kitana's fans away. He pulls back on the bow and releases. The arrow strikes the ground where Kitana once was. He looks at the woman's fans, but she wasn't near them. He looks around the area, but only sees Shelia still pinned onto the ground.

"What are you searching for?" Kitana questioned. She stood where Nightwolf initially tossed her and immediately forced her hands into his chest. The Shaman rubs his chest as he felt a sharp object slide across it. He observes the unfamiliar weapon she held.

"What new magic is this?" he questioned.

"My sister's weapon of choice, enchanted with fading magic." Kitana said as she held up Mileena's sai. She then points to the Sai lying beside Shelia's body. "It seems Eunomia truly does hide information from her generals for the sake of preventing chaos."

"Another sister?" Nightwolf said smiling. "Tell me, where is your sister now?" Nightwolf asked.

"I do not know," Kitana responded. She reaches into the pouch around her waist. Shelia looks at the pouch before gritting her teeth."

"Give it back!" Shelia shouted. Kitana ignored the girl and pulled out a short chain connected to a Kamidogu dagger. Kitana stares at the weapon in anger before looking at Shelia.

"Where is it?" Voices began to speak to Kitana.

"No, get out!" she blurts out. Nightwolf seemed confused by her outburst. Shelia also found herself dumbfounded. She looks at the dagger and chain before smiling.

"Something is corrupting your mind princess Kitana," Nightwolf says. "You fell into Chaos for far too long."

"Princess Kitana!" Shelia yelped. Kitana saw the girl staring at the chain. Both of them look into each other's eyes.

"The Kamidogu will be mine, ninja," Kitana said. She turns to Nightwolf as she drops the chain on the ground. She turns her attention to Nightwolf who nearly decapitates her as he swings his spirit hatchet toward her. Kitana ducks before swiftly uppercutting his chin. Nightwolf stumbles back a bit as his blurred vision slowly readjusted itself.

Kitana continuously swings her legs toward the shaman. He takes the brunt of one of her kicks before hugging between her crouch and shoulder. His arms phase through her body and he falls over. Kitana reappeared and looks down at the man. The man uses power to transform himself into a large bear. He roars, scaring Kitana into falling onto her butt. Nightwolf raises himself in the air and slams his claws onto the ground. He misses as Kitana finds herself lying next to Shelia. The Lin Kuei warrior grabs onto Kitana's wrist. Kitana grabs the spirit arrows and snaps them apart. The rest of the arrow disperses from Shelia's body and her blood begins rushing out quickly.

"Grab the red stone in this left boot and—ugh!" She yelps in pain. Kitana quickly proceeds with her request and presses the stone in the girl's hand. Shelia raises the stone in the air as best she could. Kitana grabs her hand.

"I think I remember?" Kitana says. She forces the girl's hand on the ground, and the stone shatters. A red aura enters the bloodstream of both girls, slowly closing their puncture wounds. They had no time to process the magic as Nightwolf charged toward them. Kitana leapt in the air and pulled Shelia up. She immediately drops the girl as the pain in her waist still afflicted her. She uses her other hand to lift her and they quickly dodge the Bear's attack.

"That was close," Shelia said.

"What. Is. That?" Kitana pointed toward Nightwolf.

"Trust me, Princess. You do not want to fight that thing." Shelia responded as the continued to move away from the bear. While Kitana finds herself able to teleport away from the Shaman, Shelia had to use her quick wits and flexibility to maneuver around the beasts claws. She grunts as the pain of her healed wounds continued to afflict her.

Kitana leap atop of Nightwolf and pieces her blades into the back of his neck. Nightwolf roars in pain to tries his best to shake the girl off. He charges toward the tower, preparing to ram head first into the wall. Kitana pulls her weapons from him and leaps away. Before he came into contact with the building, he transformed back into his human form. The wounds around his neck healed as well.

"You committed the Taboo of the Elder Lords?" Kitana gasped. Nightwolf frowned.

"The cost of the sin eater spell," Nightwolf responded as he raised his spirit axe in the air. Kitana took a step back.

"That means—" In an instant, a flash of light blinded the girls. A loud bang deafened them. Upon opening her eyes, Shelia saw Kitana still as a statue. Smoke emitted from the scorch marks on her skin. Parts of her clothing were burnt. Her hair was wildly waving in numerous directions. Within seconds, the princess fell on her knees. Shelia was shocked and looked back at Nightwolf.

The Shaman relaxed his arm. He was obviously exhausted from the use of his power. Shelia rushed toward the Shaman, but becomes startled when he uses his power to conjure a new hatchet. He chases after the girl as she runs away. She starts to run through the nearby trees, but trips over her own foot. She grunts in pain as she twists incorrectly and falls on her back. Nightwolf continues to walk toward the woman. Upon reaching her location, he towers above the girl with the hatchet raised high. Shelia smiles.

"Who's foolish now," she says as she raises her foot. The chain of light attached to the trees shoots forward like a bungie cord against the shaman's belly. On impact, the Shaman's weapons disappeared. He falls over, feeling a dark natured beast in his soul. He attempts to use his powers, but fails to. He raises himself from the ground. Suddenly, he hears yelling coming from behind. As he turns around, a sharp object pierces his heart. He looks down to see Kitana barely healed of her injuries.

"What…did you…"

"Mother's vile," Kitana said. "Like you, I also committed a Taboo. This vile is meant for Elder Lords, not for mortals." Kitana raises the blade up and a red spark appears from the wound. The souls inside Nightwolf began to escape, some going toward the sky and others going toward the ground. Nightwolf's body began to disentegrate into that of a rotted corpse. Kitana pulls away the blade—and in doing so, pulls Nightwolf's soul from his body. The soul is injected into the glowing Kamidogu dagger before the weapon stops. With his stiff body lying on the ground, both girls release a deep sigh of relief that they seemed to hold onto for a while. Kitana looks at Shelia with the blade still in her hand. The Lin Kuei warrior frowned before seeing Kitana reach out to her. She hesitated for a split second, pondering where it would be a good idea to trust the former empress. She did have something the woman needed after all. She pushed her hand away and raised herself up, dusting off her shorts.

"I appreciate the assistance, empress Kitana," Shelia said. Kitana smiled.

"You know there's a catch to this," Kitana said as she opened her fan. Frost lowers her mask and smiles as well before conjuring an ice dagger.

"You're after the Kamidogu aren't you?" Shelia asked. Kitana's brows arched inward, yet she remained smiling. "They've outsmarted you? How far you've fallen from grace indeed."

"I know where he is," Kitana said. "I'll purchase this from you for whatever your current employer offered."

"Employer?" Shelia questioned before laughing. "This was under the orders of the Grandmaster himself, not some contractor." Kitana's smile faded.

"He knows?" Kitana asked. The two of them looked toward the corner by the front entrance. Eunomia marched forward with a staff in her possession. Kitana spit blood on the ground as she stared at the woman.

"Is this Eunomia?" Shelia asked.

"Eunomia never leaves that top platform. This can't be her," Kitana confirmed.

"Right you are Kitana," she said. "This is a spectral form of myself, as I will rid my realm of pests like you."

"I thought we were friends, Eunomia," Kitana joked. Eunomia twirls her staff, positioning it upside down. She swings the staff upward, sending a near transparent wall of light toward the women. They split apart, attempting to dodge it. However, the wall splits apart to chase after the girls. On contact, the girls are immediately captured within the walls, as they continued to move. Kitana relaxed herself and cleared her mind in order to understand exactly what was happening to them. As the light heads closer to the edge of the platform, Kitana finally understood, however she knew it was certainly too late. The light released her as nothing but clouds existed below.

End of Chapter 14

As we enter the new year, I am excited to continue releasing new chapters this story. Initially, this chapter was suppose to cap off the new year, but as mentioned before I came into contact with covid and was unable to release it. With my schedule returning to normal, I now estimate that this arc should be completed by February 22nd. This would then be preceded by a longer than expected break in March before returning to the next arc in April. A two week break will occur afterwards and The fourth arc should begin in June and end on September 6th provided I take a one week break every two chapters. I will use the rest of the month for a break before releasing the final arc throughout the rest of the year. No matter the frequency at that point, the story WILL end before Christmas this year. The ending chapter is already done and the opening chapter for the next arc is half-way done. As long as nothing drastic happens, I am 100% certain the entire series will conclude by the end of the year.

(Upcoming—Rolling Star)