(DISCLAIMER:I don't own Mortal Kombat or it's characters in any way. )
Chapter ?: Everybody Dies
The Evil Forest; MILEENA
Not long after Sub-Zero left, Mileena made a decision. She could not simply throw away everything for the chance of being accepted by Baraka and Onaga. She rushed like the wind deeper into the wilderness until she arrived in an Evil Forest patch where she knew Baraka's forces were camped.
Though her sense of smell was not as keen as a full blooded Tarkatan, she could pick up on two Tarkatan scents in the area. The stench of death was ominous. The threatening gaze of the reaper burned at the back of her neck until her stomach tied itself in tight knots.
She stopped in her tracks.
Mileena whipped around and struck a Tarkatan with her heel and knocked his head against the warrior beside him. She assumed they were trying to ambush her, but an annoyed sigh left her when she realized who they were. "Kaizar! Raizar! I demand you deliver a message to Baraka!"
"Augh! I told you! She has some trickery about her! Some kind of magic!" Kaizar groaned. He and his brother dropped to a seat in the dirt and rubbed their heads.
Raizar growled in response. "No, she is still the same! My skull would be in fragments had she used a spell!"
"Spell? She doesn't need a spell! If she did it again, your head would pop!" Kai glared at his brother. "Look at her! She's a witch! Shang Tsung's abomination!"
As soon as Kaizar finished speaking, Mileena kicked him directly in the center of his face in anger. She drew her sai while the Tarkata rolled around holding his nose. "Listen, idiots! Does Baraka still live?"
"My tooth!" Kai whined.
"Silence, Kaizar!" Rai looked at Mileena, then her sai, then her breasts, then her face. "…What?"
"Idiots!" The bottom of her sai smacked Rai over the head immediately. "Does Baraka still live?!"
"My head!"
"Shut up, Raizar! I'll answer it!" Kai said, favoring his broken tooth along the front of his mouth. "Baraka lives. What is your message, witch?"
Rai groaned with both his hands on his forehead. "Never start with the head! The victim gets all…fuzzy!"
"Shut up! Both of you!" She pointed each sai beneath their chins. "Tell Baraka Mileena will meet him at Beetle Lair. He has half an hour to respond, or Mileena shall take her new army and take Kahn's fortress in the name of Edenia. We will negotiate further plans at the lair." She narrowed her eyes at them. "And tell him Mileena has a list of those to be spared should we reach an agreement. Should any of them be harmed or killed, Mileena will destroy the Tarkata as a race. Understood?!"
"Yes, it is understood, Tarana." Raizar shook his head. "I mean, Mileena."
"How dare you speak my girlfriend's name to such a woman!" Kai shoved his brother as they sat side by side.
"I thought she was your wife! Besides, I'm fuzzy in the head…"
"I challenge you to Mortal Kombat!"
"Both of you, shut up!!" Mileena shouted. "Time is ticking. Go!"
Evil Forest; BARAKA
( Minutes Later)
"So, Mileena desires to meet, then?" Baraka spoke as Raizar knelt before him. His brother was off with the medics to pull the rest of his broken tooth and tend to his busted nose as best they could. "It seems she thinks me to be a fool."
"General Baraka, " Raizar spoke up, "I do believe Mileena does not possess any special magic. Though I do not think it wise to meet with her in person. She said she wanted to 'discuss' who would be 'spared' should you reach an agreement."
Baraka stroked his chin in thought. "We need our finest negotiator on duty in my place. Did any of our espionage survivors bring any vital information on her camp?"
"Sir," Raizar nodded, "they come in great numbers. Though we out number them by a minor margin. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster has seemed to grow rather close with her. We have seen a number of visits to her tent. Though it could just be military related or something entirely reasonable."
"What?" Baraka leaned in and growled at Raizar. He grasped him by the throat and yanked him to his feet. "Has he been mating her? Has he touched Mileena?!" He tossed Rai down roughly. "Tell me everything!"
Coughing, Raizar tried to gather his wits as the clan gathered around. "No, chief! Nothing of the sort was reported! The survivors only reported visits. Though he seemed to be courting her, sir. She served him food along with the others in their camp. Though in hindsight it could be totally reasonable."
Baraka's blood boiled. For years he had despised the Lin Kuei warrior for leaving many of his people broken in shards of ice.
"Send Slauda. Kill Mileena. Send some men to attack the rest of Mileena's forces." He looked around at all of his Tarkatan soldiers. "Three Million Koin to the man who brings me the head of Sub-Zero. Ten Million alive."
"Yes, chief!" The Tarkatans all spoke in unison, saluting Baraka.
Baraka turned toward a younger warrior among them. "Slauda. You know your mission. Get my spare armor. Finish Mileena."
Beetle Lair
( Near the Deadline)
Mileena was impatient. The moon was large outside tonight. Its bright glow beamed through the windows of the Beetle Lair. There were no dark corners to hide in, at least not for long.
Baraka arrived on time. His echoing footsteps drew the impostor princess' attention.
Mileena spoke with haste. "Mileena has limited time. Let us discuss what needs to happen. Mileena desires Kuai Liang's life be spared should we agree on the ambush – ." Her words were cut by a pump-kick to her chest that forced her to stumble back.
"So, this is what it has come to? You will die…" Mileena thrust her palm to Baraka's plated armor. As he stumbled back and roared at her, she narrowed her eyes. "Baraka…"
With the great space between them, the two charged at each other. She saw his kick coming, and stepped aside of it with ease. Her retort came in form of a blocked backhand strike that was immediately answered with a brutal punch to her jaw.
Everything went red in Mileena's eyes as blood flew from her mouth and through her pink veil.
Mileena regained her senses and went back on the attack while her former mate had taunted her with laughter. She caught him with a jump-kick to the chest. While he was off balance, he managed to avoid her roundhouse and bound over her when she attempted to sweep him.
'Baraka' landed gracefully in a kneel some feet away from her. He was more agile than she recalled.
The mood of the battle intensified as Baraka drew his forearm blades to indicate the battle was to end soon.
Mileena's heart skipped a beat – she had to be extra careful here. When he rushed her, the first thing she became worried about was her neck. She ducked beneath a wild strike, but the next cut wasn't so easy to avoid. She got a deep slice running up her abdomen that gushed blood across the ground and her face. It could have been over right then and there.
'Baraka' didn't allow her to get any momentum and attempted a backhand blow with that sharp weapon, though Mileena now met his forearm with her own. She quickly used his momentum against him to throw him head first through one of the Beetle Lair glass prayer mirrors. As he lay on his back, Mileena stalked him like a predator. She timed him and watched his movements. Once Baraka was up, she met him with a trio of flying kicks that broke him through the stone wall of the temple and one floor down.
As he soared through, she hoped it would be the end. She glanced through the hole he created and saw the flesh-eating beetles were not there. Damn it. She had to finish him herself. She sprung through the opening and landed gracefully.
Baraka's blades collapsed back into his arms. He lay in the red glow of the Beetle Lair with a large spiked mace near his body. As he grasped it and kipped back to his feet ready for the next battle.
Mileena flicked her wrists and drew her sai in response.
The two charged each other once more. This would be the end of everything. This was the day she had to become Mileena. Not Baraka's object, not Shang Tsung's creation, not Kahn's daughter, and not Kitana's impersonator. She would free herself once she killed Baraka once and for all and he was the first in the line of murders she needed to commit to gain her independence.
She ducked the sluggish weapon and unleashed with a flurry of deep stabs into the armored gut of her enemy. The sai tore through armor's weak points like a they were paper. The deep punctures burst with blood that splattered across the floor and Mileena's arms. As Baraka dropped the weapon and doubled over, Mileena drove her knee into the side of his face and shattered his teeth. The impact created fissures through his cheekbone and skull and left a lingering throbbing pain.
Baraka staggered away from her until Mileena sent a final powerful thrust of her leg into his chest to break through another wall. As his blood pooled along the ground…the beetles began to appear. It was time for her to go. "At one time…, Mileena loved you, Baraka." She was nearly choked with anger and emotion. "Though now Mileena knows that love was misplaced. She understands that you, like Kahn, like Shang Tsung, only saw Mileena as a weapon." She stepped back slowly as the beetles crawled toward the blood stains and the freshly wounded Tarkatan. " But now Mileena knows that is not what she is. Kitana sees it, Kuai Liang sees it, even if he does not yet know who Mileena is. That will change."
"Finish it." 'Baraka' demanded as he lay broken and battered with flesh-eating beetles closing in.
"You deserve to die slow, Baraka." Mileena turned and jumped back through the hole she made one floor up.
As she emerged from the temple she held her hand over the healing wound over her torso. At least she knew she'd be recovered by the time she got to camp.
She stepped out into the brightness of the moonlight. She had to flee to camp as fast as possible before anyone truly realized she was gone.
"Mileena!" A loud, almost barking voice spoke out from behind her.
It was the voice of the real Baraka. She turned with her eyes wide.
Baraka's blade swung toward her torso.
She closed her eyes expecting the release of death, though instead, she heard a loud crackling and howl of cold winds. As her eyes opened, she found the frozen Baraka's blade just an inch away from cleaving through her torso. She stumbled back in shock and grasped her heart. Sub-Zero had arrived!
"Kitana!" Kuai Liang shouted as he rushed to her side. "We must run! We are fleeing from Outworld. We were ambushed! I received word that Earthrealm is also under similar attack. Kenshi has seen visions of this – I thank the gods that Kenshi was able to help me find you."
The blind swordsman, Kenshi had approached as well, though he slowed his progression, sensing that this was not Kitana.
"Kuai Liang…" Mileena quickly got away from the frozen Baraka. "I am proceeding to take Kahn's fortress with or without Raiden. It is my duty for Edenia." She paused and looked Sub-Zero in the eyes. "I must tell you something. I…ask that you please…understand."
"Kitana, here is not the place. We can go our separate ways, just away from danger:
She couldn't take it anymore. Each time he said Kitana, it made her heart sink. If she was getting rid of her past, she had to tell him. "Kuai Liang, I am not Kitana." She stammered and paused. "Kitana is dead. I was told the Deadly Alliance killed her. Kitana wanted me to take her place while she helped destroy the Deadly Alliance." She widened her mouth behind her veil. Her teeth slid down over her dull ones."I…am Mileena." She pulled her veil down to show her mouth to him. She looked down, expecting a shriek of horror.
Instead, Kuai Liang was silent. Her features, while some would say grotesque, still didn't take away the charm she had. "You are a marvelous impostor, Mileena." He simply said. "You had even me fooled."
"Kuai, Mileena swears to you, she wanted to tell you sooner! Mileena cares for you." A hand clasped over her chest in pain. Kuai Liang hated her, she knew it. "Mileena understands if you do not wish to see her again."
Though she felt his cool hand on her shoulder. "Mileena," He spoke, pausing for several moments. "I've been stabbed in the back by people I've trusted before. To have you lie to me has…caused my heart some pain." He drew his hand away. "Though if you wanted to kill me, you could have done so now. You have not yet broken my trust. I am not certain how I feel…, but if our prior talk was real, we've a greater deal in common."
"Mileena is sorry! She is sorry a thousand times over! Please, promise Mileena you will not hate her!" She fell to her knees and grasped Sub-Zero's hand. She groveled before him as if he were her god.
Kuai Liang panicked, feeling dreadful he inspired such a response from her. "Mileena, please." He crouched down with her, reaching in cautiously to lift her head by the chin. As they locked eyes, he searched them for truths. "Never bow before anyone." He stated, nodding his head. He started to rise, taking each of her hands to allow her to rise with him. "Kenshi and I must take a portion of our forces to Earthrealm, but I will return for you. , for you and help your fight. If you will not betray my trust, I will not betray yours."
Mileena hugged Sub-Zero tightly, must to Kenshi's blind discomfort. "Thank you, Kuai Liang…"
Sub-Zero returned the embrace just as snug. "Now, take Outworld for Edenia. Defeat the Tarkatan horde."
"Protect Earthrrealm." She stepped back and placed her fist across her heart. "Be stealthful as the night." She took a bow forward.
The gesture was returned to her. "And deadly as the dawn."
The Next Night; Free the Princess: Edenian Palace.
Under Queen Sindel's plan, Jade faked her defeat and surrender in battle. The Tarkatans dragged Jade inside the prison with Tanya gleefully waiting. This seemed to be the perfect end of a rivalry that Tanya had always wanted.
"Ah, so the little green rat is back for the real grand finale. How many times do I have to see you until you finally die?" Tanya signaled the Tarkatans to drop Jade onto the floor.
Jade bit into her lip looking up at Tanya. "Bitch." Jade spat at Tanya's feet.
In response, Tanya kicked Jade across her face and painted the floor with a spray of blood.
"You're damn right I am." Tanya chuckled. "Now, let's work those bones in your legs out shall we? Maybe you should give them one last look. I mean, you have been on your knees for ages! We'll find you a nice burial spot near wherever Kotal's remains are. Maybe Nido's bones as well?"
"Give this a closer look!" Grasping at her side, Jade flung a glass orb right into Tanya's face.
The Tarkatan essence released, splattering its chemical all across her facial features and shoulders.
"This is for Nido." Jade rolled out of the way as the Tarkatans began to become driven to insanity. "Ermac! Queen Sindel!"
It seemed they gained some help since her last visit to the palace. Ermac dropped down in the company of a humanoid green apparition.
"Guards! Kill them!" Tanya commanded.
The revenants of Johnny Cage, Jax, Sonya, Kung Lao, and Kitana all rushed into battle, though the Tarkatans violently rushed Tanya.
"What are you doing-?!" Tanya found herself taken to the ground by the horde of killers, and the sharp ripping of flesh could be heard in the pile, and the agonized screams of Tanya as the Tarkatans slashed at her. Jade drew the utmost satisfaction from this.
Ermac had taken down Johnny Cage among the several fighters and tossed him Jade's way. She rolled over him and pinned him to the floor. "Liu Kang!" She shouted, as the green spirit flew over, grasping Cage's head. In a matter of seconds, the green glow left his body, and life was restored.
"Whoa!" Cage said, looking up at Jade. "Hey, hey! Did someone slip something in my drink? What's going on?!"
"Focus!" Jade rolled off of him and aided Ermac as he took on Kitana, Jax, Kung Lao, and Sonya. Johnny Cage assisted Jade to isolate Kung Lao next.
"Queen Sindel! Have you located the scriptures?" Jade called out.
Sindel was searching the room for a set of ancient Edenian carvings. "I will have to check the throne room! I shall return!"
As Sindel left, the possession of Kung Lao was ended by Liu Kang's able hands. As life returned to the Shaolin Monk, he looked up at the glowing spirit of his dear friend and rival. "Liu?" Kung Lao was moved by the sight, though the sight of Johnny Cage and Jade – and particularly the battle happening before them caught his attention. The Tarkatans left nothing of Tanya and rushed out of the room.
"We have no time to speak," Jade said, "we focus on returning the others!"
Sonya and Jax were next, bust burst from the battle by Ermac's powerful magic. Kung Lao and Cage restrained the two, allowing Liu Kang to palm each of their skulls respectively, dispelling the darkness from their souls.
"Where…, what happened?" Sonya held her head and stumbled away from the group.
"Whatever happened…it hit me like a mac truck goin' downhill." Jax said while falling to a knee.
The last combatant was Kitana. She seemed to be doing very well on her own, matching up with Ermac. Though as soon as his psychic abilities pushed her off of her feet, Jade was there to catch her and restrain her. Though she thrashed like a fish out of water, Jade held on until Liu Kang arrived. He grasped her forehead, releasing the hold that Onaga had on her with a great cry of agony.
As Kitana was revived Jade released her. The princess stared up at the soul of Liu Kang with eyes as big as her fists. "Liu…?" She choked on her words and grasped the transparent hands of her past lover. " How?"
"It is…a complex story." The soul spoke. "A dark time approaches us. My body is still destroying all we have worked hard to build." He turned to his dearest friend soon after. "Kung Lao, I ask you, my friend. I ask you to lead us to victory where I cannot. I must find my body."
"Liu, come with me." Kitana pleaded. "I am sure…I am sure there is a way I can help restore you. There must be something I can do!"
Liu Kang's hand placed itself on her cheek. "Stay alive. I must handle this. I promise you, when this is over, I will never refuse to be at your side."
"Kitana." Jade spoke. She was thinking about Nido, seeing this. If only she could revive him so simply. "We all must move. Onaga grows stronger the longer we wait. Scorpion and a man named Shujinko are currently challenging him. Nightwolf was with us, but we were separated…"
"We have to assist." Kitana nodded, looking back to Liu Kang. "Be safe, my love."
"I do not believe anything worse can happen to me." He chuckled, still holding some of his humor.
"We will accompany Liu Kang." Ermac volunteered. "We will make sure there is no interference."
Kitana took a last look at Liu Kang and Ermac. She knew when she saw him alive again, she would kiss him as if she never had before.
Earlier, in Outworld; Armageddon
The Dragon King Onaga had been nearing his final stand, so Mileena and her forces heard. The army she had remaining was more than ready to fight this out for Edenia's grand objective. They still believed Mileena to be Kitana, so they followed her without question. Under her rule and teachings, the Edenian army took Shao Kahn's fortress with ease. They destroyed his remaining followers, and took the throne in a matter of a half hour.
The new Empress of Outworld had taken her throne in the name of Edenia. She had accomplished the impossible all on her own. Now, she could take Onaga down as well. Though Mileena's victory was short lived. She caught word they were being invaded, a matter of minutes of taking the throne. In a panic, Mileena sent her soldiers to attack, but by the masses they were destroyed by the large hammer of Shao Kahn.
Kahn, Shang Tsung, and Goro led the fight to take back the throne of Outworld…and there was nothing Mileena could do to stop it.
When Kahn reached the top, he swung his hammer into the door.
Each thunderous boom brought fear in Mileena's heart. She hid behind the throne to delay the inevitable. "Seal the door!" She commanded her mages who poured all of their energy into putting a barrier on the door.
BOOM.
Another thunderous bang sounded off.
Then another.
Then finally Kahn broke the door down completely. "Kitana! Surrender, or die!" Kahn yelled while storming in.
Mileena stepped out with her hands up, fearful of Kahn's mighty weapon. "I am not Kitana! I am Mileena!" She transformed her mouth and removed her veil, much to the surprise of the mages.
"Hah…my Mileena would kill these fools. My Mileena wouldn't be so pathetic and weak!" He challenged her. "Prove your worth. Slay these mages and I shall spare your worthless life!"
Mileena could only think of Kuai Liang. She wanted to see him again – and she couldn't do so if she died here. Drawing her Sai, she drove them into the hearts of the Mages that now faced her. "Mileena…is sorry." She whispered before stabbing each through their hearts much to Kahn's amusement.
"Very good, my child." Shao Kahn chuckled. "Now for your first assignment. There is a man named Shujinko, he should not be difficult to find. Bring him to me. He is needed for an important business proposition."
"Yes, Father…" The words tasted like a demon's posterior on her tongue. She had to once again revert to the life she thought she left behind. Where was her help? Where was Kitana? She needed someone to swoop in and save her from this…
- ARMAGEDDON -
Itwas hard to explain the complexity of events that led up to this final chaotic battle. All Mileena knew, was that it was her duty to partake in this fight. She had her own agenda…she would use the chaos to kill every last member of her living foes. She heard Baraka would be there…so she kept her distance. Two massive forces of Kombatants gathered, filling the battlefield with hundreds upon thousands of war-ready bodies. When the battle began in Edenia, Mileena ran full speed ahead, trailing just behind Quan Chi. As soon as she got the chance, she knew was that she would get him.
When the clash happened, Mileena clashed blades with the warrior Nightwolf. "Mileena doesn't wish to kill you!"
"Death is the only way I can prevent this event!" Nightwolf explained, forcefully thrusting his foot into her stomach to back her up, deeper into the chaotic, bloody battle.
Mileena staggered, already seeing Li Mei dying on the weapon of Hotaru. "Then have it your way!" Mileena snarled as she entered a feral state of bloodlust while fighting Nightwolf.
Kitana shouted while clashing blows with the criminal, Kano. She bested him in technique every step of the way, and eventually kicked Kano off to the side. In her moment of arrogance, Kitana taunted him. "Weak!"
"Kitana?!" Mileena called out once she saw her sister, though it cost her gravely. Several green arrows tore into her shoulders and dropped her to the ground.
"Mileena -?!" The moment of distraction also cost Kitana, as she was smacked aside rather forcefully by Goro. She screamed during her long trek across the battle field over the other kombatants. As she landed, she rolled about in the dust and pushed herself up. Havik approached her menacingly. She thrust her bladed fans up through his skull and severed his head entirely to dispatch of him as quickly as possible. She looked around to try and find Mileena again.
Mileena continued to fight. Nearby, the darker Raiden clashed with Shinnok. Mileena saw from the corner of her eye Sub-Zero engaged in Kombat. "Kuai Liang!" Quickly getting rid of Nightwolf with a sudden swing of her foot to the back of his head, she joined the side of the Lin Kuei Grandmaster.
"Mileena! You must leave!" He called, looking around in a panic for Scorpion. "Shang Tsung is among us! He was attacking Scorpion in my place!" A sudden spear pierced Kuai's shoulder with a bloody burst.
"GET OVER HERE!" Scorpion shouted. He yanked him from Mileena, who was ambushed by a Tarkatan.
Though before Scorpion could deal a blow to Kuai, Noob Saibot dropped down to battle him. "No one murders Kuai Liang but I!"
"Piss off!" A green orb soared through the air, smacking Saibot in the side of the head, allowing Scorpion's katana to pierce through his back, and rip through his black heart. As Noob Saibot fell to his death, Johnny Cage flicked his nose. "Rematch, Ghostface?" Johnny rolled his shoulders as he faced Scorpion. Though this was ended when Kintaro kicked him away and into the dirt.
Sub-Zero froze his wound as Scorpion stepped behind him. As Hanzo went to unmask himself, a frozen blade ripped through his chest from behind. The one holding the weapon was Frost…even though her dead body lay on the ground next to the supposed Frost. Reverting his form, Shang Tsung chuckled. "Suffer in every lifetime, Hanzo." He cackled.
Jade caught her bladearang after finishing off the fleshy abomination known as Meat. Though a sudden blade in her right shoulder caught her attention to a new battle. The bloodied, and wounded Tanya had been behind the weapon.
"The final act… ends with your suffering!" She ripped the blade downward, severing through the shoulder blade, causing Jade to scream in pain. As she fell to the ground, Tanya drew the knife back. "Say hello to your little boyfriend in hell, bitch."
Two purple sai ripped through the air and embedded into Tanya's chest. As she screamed out, Jade pounced at the chance. She extended her staff and jabbed it through the throat of her rival to finally watch her choke and bleed out until her last breath. Watching Tanya suffer brought a deep satisfaction to Jade, though she found it odd to get such an assist from Mileena.
"Come! We fight together! For Kitana!" Mileena offered her hand to the wounded Jade.
Rather than taking it, Jade stood on her own. "We find Kitana and report to the peaks in the Haven Mountains."
"Understood!" Mileena growled toward the opposition and, rushed back into kombat to seek her sister.
Though within moments of the two re-entering the war, the ground shook.
A great pyramid burst from the dust and sand.
There was a great feeling of unlimited power in the flames at the apex. Power that called every soul, light or dark, toward it like moths. If they could grasp that power, there was an intense feeling they could win the battle in one fell swoop.
As Mileena stood there marveling, she felt compelled to reach the top.
It felt like everything she'd waited her whole life for—
Then she was sucker punched by Stryker and nearly trampled by the approaching warriors. Even as she stood, Kabal was thrown down at her and the others. Mileena him off, and got a deep gash ripped across her back from the blades of Baraka.
She fell forward against the stairs and turned as Baraka lunged at her.
A blur of blue came across her vision, as Sub-Zero took both blades through his body in Mileena's place. He hovered over her, bleeding from his mask and the two wounds just inches away from Mileena's body.
Kuai Liang knew death was coming. Though all he could do to show his last affections was reach for her face. "Run…"He requested, before he was torn asunder by Baraka's blades right before Mileena's eyes. She was painted with the vitality with a look of absolute horror on her face.
As Baraka basked in his victory, Mileena was blinded by rage. She tackled Baraka and screamed at the top of her lungs. She drove Baraka spine first into a standing stone, and prepared to finish him off. As she backed away, she ducked as a hissing ran through the air. Kung Lao's buzzsaw of a had cleaved Baraka in half and stole away the satisfaction of her revenge.
Soon after, Mileena was captured in one of Cyrax's nets and fell to the ground. She was left to thrash about in her fury.
She spotted Kitana as soon as she was free. She raced to her sister's side to join her in combating Shang Tsung. Mileena teleported herself above them and came down with an impactful kick to the head of the sorcerer backing him off of Kitana.
Kitana drew her bladed fans and took stance at her sister's side. "Now, you meet your end, sorcerer! You have no support!"
Shang Tsung kept his cool. Everyone around them was engaged in combat – though the Shokan Sheeva had the pyramid's stairway under control currently. "I'm still more than enough to take you on." Suddenly, he took on the form of Ermac. "For we are many!"
Jade's staff struck Shang Tsung from behind and threw him off balance. "As are we! Meet the true Deadly Alliance!"
'Ermac' held the side of his head, looking around for space to escape. He saw Sindel engaged in combat with Shao Kahn amidst the chaos. "Well…you must choose. Kill me, or allow your precious queen to die!" He fired green flame across across the battle field to impact the spine of Queen Sindel as she had been constricting her hair around Shao Kahn's throat. Once she was thrown off of the attack, Kahn regained his advantage.
"Oh no…mother!" Kitana was the first to make the choice. She ran away from 'Ermac', and headed in the opposing direction to save Sindel. Mileena and Jade were in tow with their weapons ready to take down Kahn.
However, Sindel was grasped tightly by a single arm of Kahn. "Sing for me…one last time!" He cackled with his other hand against her face. He shoved her head back so that her spine snapped over his coiled limb. The scream that resulted cleared out a great deal of the battle field around them. It took Kitana, Jade, and Mileena off of their feet. The scream caused Smoke to explode, Dairou's skull was blown out the left side, and Motaru to collapsed with blood pouring from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
The three women were disoriented for several moments…though all were taken to anger by the death of the Edenian queen. Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn had been the source of Kitana's pain for ages. Now they dealt her deeper emotional harm.
Mileena rolled over in the dirt and pounded at it wildly in anger.
"Queen…Sindel…" Jade was once again struck by loss. She had failed as a guardian more times than she had desired. She lost Nido, she lost Kitana once, and now she had once again lost Sindel. She sat up, just watching the corpse of the queen lay.
"Mother…" Kitana remained on all fours. Blood and dirt covered her form and she looked as if she had finally accepted defeat. "Edenia…is lost." All hope started to leave her. Even the memory of Liu Kang no longer drew motivation. She observed the war around them, all in which were crowding the pyramid, leaving behind the dead. "They are destroying existence…more than Shao Kahn ever could."
Mileena let her feral side take her. "Shang Tsung!" She roared at the top of her lungs and dashed up the pyramid.
"Wait! Mileena!" Jade reached, though the woman was already well on her way. "We cannot give up, Kitana. We also cannot lose another Edenian on our side!"
Mileena cleared obstacles in her way and ducked down as the corpse of Liu Kang flew overhead. Shang Tsung was in her sights. "Shang Tsung!" She shouted again before she pounced him from behind. Her fangs showed themselves as she latched to his back and she bit down against his neck with all the power her jaws could muster.
Though it was not enough! Shang Tsung flung Mileena off, sending her flying off to the side. Screaming as she went, she landed on her head along the side of the stairs. Blacking out immediately.
…
…
…
The muffled sounds of war filled Mileena's ears as she slowly began to come to. Bodies were everywhere. It was silent all around the pyramid. She had dried blood on her face from her wound upon her head. She was confused on where she had been for a few moments, and started to crawl her way onto the stairs, out of the laying corpses.
She heard voices at the top…and felt an immense heat.
"Where are the elder gods, Raiden?"
She was able to make out those words, still crawling amongst the blood staining the stairs. As she passed Quan Chi's body lying on the stairs. She heard movement nearby…she saw Kitana laying near the corpse of the fallen Liu Kang. "Kitana…?" She spoke in a low voice.
"Their pathetic Mortal Kombat shackles me no longer…" The voice of Shao Kahn continued at the apex of the pyramid.
Kitana's head perked up. Her eyes were wide, but full of joy to find that Mileena had survived. She quickly motioned for Mileena to be silent. As the sisters grew closer, the wounded princess pulled her into a tight embrace. The gesture was returned, but Kitana quickly whispered to her sister. "Jade is watching in the shadows. We must lay among the dead until there is only one…"
"Stop…!"
The voice of Raiden was heard moments after. The conversation could hardly be made out.
"Why do we not assist Raiden…?" Mileena whispered, laying along the stairs as well to play dead.
Kitana's bruised face scrunched a bit in distaste. "He is not who he once was…"
"He must…win!"
Jade suddenly sprung from the darkness of the pyramid's railings, climbing onto the stairs. "Now!" Jade rushed in first, closely followed by Kitana and Mileena. The three women stood side by side to face off against Shao Kahn who had freshly smashed Raiden's skull.
The blaze surrounding Kahn gave off intense heat…and he was more confident than ever. "Ah…one last battle. Though I promise you, it will be enjoyable to ravage the three of you."
"This ends here!" Kitana took the lead, being as brave as she could possibly be. She had nothing more to lose other than her own life. As she came forward, she was smacked aside by Kahn's right fist.
Enraged by her sister's pain, Mileena was the next to spring herself at Kahn! She caught a hard swat to the other side by Kahn's same fist.
Next was Jade. Jade ducked under the swinging hammer and dashed behind him. She extending her staff so the back end smashed between Kahn's thighs. The impact forced him to groan out in pain and drop his hammer. She pulled her staff back and stabbed into the small of his back with enough force to send cracks up his tailbone and hips.
While Kahn fell forward, Mileena sprung back in to attack. Her sai rapidly rammed into his exposed abdomen. She stabbed him deeply, puncturing organs to double him over. Her knee shot up and cracked his jaw. Broken teeth burst from his mouth on impact.
Next, Kitana teleported herself behind Kahn as Mileena kneed him. Her fans stabbed through the back of his helm. Blood gushed from the harsh impact with his flesh. While he staggered back from the combined blow, Kitana appeared before him, yanking her fans from his skull only to jam each into his very eyes.
Kahn screamed in agony and staggered closer to the center of the pyramid. Jade threw a set of bladerangs toward the center of Kahn's back. Her staff extended between his legs in a sweeping motion in conjunction with Kitana spinning her fans to blow Kahn off balance.
As the tyrant fell, the bladerangs burst through his back and out from his solar plexus in a wild spray of crimson. Mileena sprang into action last, pouncing Kahn with her sai rammed into his throat. She screamed in his face the entire time, to show her fangs and express a lifetime of agony under him. She pushed the sai to the stone pavement beneath him. Her eyes reddened with strain as she watched Kahn die. The flame around him eventually burned out.
"You lose." Kitana said to Kahn as she stood beside Mileena. Jade stood on the other side as the trio looked down on the fallen emperor. After several moments, Kitana put her arms around her sister and her close friend, embracing them with all of her might. The tears started to stream from her eyes. The emotion, the release of revenge had come, but at the greatest of costs.
Jade, still feeling as a failure was not drawn to tears by the end of a long saga, but by her mistakes. She could never undo what was done. She could never redeem herself for such great losses in her life. Though she still had Kitana and now Mileena she presumed to protect, she did not feel adequate enough for such a task…especially in the state Edenia had now been in. Everyone was dead.
Mileena lost Kuai Liang. Though she avenged him, she knew she would never know an emotion quite like she felt with him. Her days of pretending were over. No longer would she pose as her sister, and now were the days she would finally be shed tears for her lost love…and the promise of her new life moving forward.
Though once the three were done sharing their moment of emotion, Mileena dried her eyes. She faced Raiden's body. "Mileena thinks…we should give the dead a proper grave. Except Kahn."
"Of course." Kitana stepped toward Raiden. "Jade and I will carry him by the torso area. Mileena, would you please hold the legs?" The trio began taking their places without question. "We'll carry the bodies down to the base before we begin plotting graves. Mother…will be buried near the palace."
"May they all rest in peace." Jade's tone was near a whisper. As the three grabbed the limbs of the thunder god – electricity surged through their bodies. With a short-lived scream in unison…everything went black.
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Mileena's eyes opened up to moonlight…and the sound of muffled voices. As the image became clear she saw several warriors gathered around. At her left stood Kitana and on the other side was Jade. Mileena held the side of her head. She remembered she was…supposed to keep an eye on her sister. Though she also remembered everything that happened up until she was shocked by Raiden. "Sister..? How did we…?"
Kitana seemed to experience the same thing. Her once disgusted gaze toward the warriors softened up near instantly. She remembered planning her revolt against Kahn and her feud with Mileena…though it all started to vanish as her memories from before gathered. To her sister she glanced. "I'm not sure, Mileena…I…"
"We are in the past?" Jade spoke softly.
"Liu Kang?" Kitana choked on her words as she spotted the Chinese warrior among those gathered. Though she had to restrain herself. If they were in the past, doing something out of place could cause…worse events.
"Our first Kombatant! Will be Mr. Cage!"
Mileena remembered this for certain. "Mileena must find Kuai Liang."
( A/N )
Alternate timeline, so Mileena exists in MK1. Originally that Mileena was created when Kitana was a child, and they grew up together with Jade. So I'm playing off of that, as if they've grown up together and now back at MK1. NOW...the story begins!