I do not own Mortal Kombat or any of the characters. Enjoy your read!
Chapter 20: One Day You Will Understand
The battle at Kahn's gates was just minutes away. Raiden was gathering the individuals who intended on fighting for Earthrealm as well as situating those who sought asylum in Edenia until the battle was concluded. Among those individuals, Wei-Yan, the American adoptive sibling of Kuai Liang was standing quietly on the upper levels of Raiden's temple.
She overlooked the now vacant and soulless Earth beyond the balcony, and could not help but feel a deep sadness and compassion deep in her soul that she never felt before. To see and know that every soul outside of Raiden's Temple and Kahn's fortress was no longer among the living was a tragic thought. It gave her a connection with the entire human race never before felt.
Her hands clasped over her heart, hoping her prayers for the lost lives would bring them some peace or some hope of ever being restored. These selfless thoughts were not without their personal touch either. She had no idea where her lover, Krad was. If he was alive or dead was a mystery to her, as it had been a while since they'd last seen one another.
Approaching silently from behind her was Kuai Liang. He was geared up for combat, but he wanted to make sure that Wei-Yan got to Edenia before the brawling started.
"Sister," Sub-Zero said to the young woman who, like him, was taken in by the Lin Kuei years ago. He placed his fist over his chest and bent forward slightly at his waist. "I hope I am not disturbing you."
Wei-Yan turned and returned the gesture. After the respectful bow was completed, she stood with a half-hearted smile that failed to melt the freezing exterior of her emotional state. "Brother, you do not disturb me ever. Is something the matter?"
"We have to move you to Edenia where you will be safe." He folded his arms firmly over his chest as he was about to scold her, but he maintained his calm tone for the endurance of his words. "There is always hope, do not allow your fears to put doubt in your mind. Say it and it will be; so always say that things will work out in your favor…"
Wei-Yan nodded her head and placed her hands together and lanced her fingers. Her thumbs brushed over one another nervously as she spoke. "I worry about Krad. Do you think he is safe?"
"There was a young man named Krad in our Edenian tournament…" Sub-Zero now allowed his hands to drop while he approached his sibling. "He is still here and in good health. This is quite fortunate!" Excitement filled his tone as he now knew without a shadow of a doubt that his sister would be both safe and happy with Krad near.
"He is alive?!" Wei-Yan cupped a gasp in front of her mouth with both hands. The tears of excitement beaded at the corners of her eyes just before she threw her arms around Kuai Liang and embraced him tightly. "I will go immediately! But please, be safe, Kuai…"
"I will," The elder sibling stated with a gentle hug in return. "I will make everything right. Trust me." He did no mention his sighting of Bi Han just yet…he did not want to raise her expectations and fail to deliver.
"Where do I go to reach…Edenia?" The younger sibling asked while releasing her brother.
Sub-Zero stepped back and pointed back inside of the temple. "Downstairs. Lord Raiden is sending those who do not wish to fight there in a few moments. The rest of us will make up Earthrealm's defenses. I am staying, if you have not guessed already."
At first Wei-Yan was afraid for her brother's safety once he confirmed he was staying in Earthrealm, but something inside of her told her that he was destined for further greatness. She knew he would survive, especially in the company of the finest warriors the Earth could produce. She knew he would bring Kahn to his knees and restore the Earth to its former glory.
"I thought so…" Wei-Yan stepped away from her brother and gave him a parting bow. "Be stealthful as the night…"
Kuai returned the gesture. "And deadly as the dawn."
Side Event #29: Knaives and Sable
"M-mister Satoshi!" The young Edenian female guard clad in orange and black called as she ran through the halls of the Edenian palace. Her heels clicked frantically over the floors as she opened every door she came across in a hurry. "Mister Satoshi, this is not funny!"
"Funny, this is not Mister Satoshi!" A young male Edenian guard called from down the hall as he too was opening every door he could access. "Where are you?!"
"Are you here, I wonder?" The woman said as she finally came face to face with her partner and…well…boyfriend. "He's lost!"
"Lost he is!" The male responded with his arms flailing overhead.
"We'll never find him!" The woman now was freaking out and rapidly stomping each foot in place as if she had an urgent meeting with the restroom any moment now.
"Fine him, we never will!" The male held either side of his head as he looked around frantically. "Hide and seek was a bad…BAD idea, Sable!"
"Naves!" Sable, the female Edenian stomped hard on the male's foot. His name was pronounced 'Knives', but Sable still mispronounced it off and on. "It was your idea!"
While the male hopped on one foot for a moment, he pointed an accusing finger toward his girlfriend. "Kitana is going to kill us! Your idea was to entertain him! My name is Knaives, for the last time, Sable!"
"Well, your name is stupid!"
"Stupid, your name is!"
Just as the bickering was going to kick into high gear, they heard the chuckle of a small boy right above them. Satoshi was sitting in the rafters high above with both his legs dangling over the support beam bridging from one wall to the other.
"Mister Satoshi!" Sable and Knaives shouted out as they started rushing down the hall to try and access the higher floors of the massive Edenian palace. "He's going to fall!" They both said in unison as they feared the boy would plummet several floors down to his death.
However, Satoshi was safe and sound. He was agile enough to pick himself up and run across the network of bridging supports to jump down onto the twentieth-floor balconies which was two floors above where the two dim-witted guards were formerly.
He moved quickly and quietly through the palace, doing well to avoid any other patrolling guards.
He took the exterior stairs down the palace as his pursuers took the interior steps to try and reach the top quicker.
Once Satoshi reached the eighteenth floor, Sable and Knaives reached the twentieth floor and were dumbfounded by the fact the boy wasn't there! They looked down, fearing they would see a bloody splat on the ground…but instead they saw Satoshi running down the steps at an even pace with no sign of slowing.
"Blasted ninjas!" Knaives shouted.
"Ninjas, blast it!" Sable hissed afterwards. "Stop that child! He is a danger to himself and his environment!"
"All hands! Stop the kid!" Despite their shouting, many of the guards took it as a game between them and the boy and simply let Satoshi go by with a small laugh. He wasn't heading anywhere dangerous where he needed to be held back, so many of them gave no second thought.
As he progressed down to the ground level, he rushed down the front palace steps and paused his fleeing to stand in awe at the gathering of Edenians out in front of the marvelous palace. There was a great portal opened, and several people were stepping through and welcomed with open arms by the Edenians. There was even a woman who ran right into a man's arms and embraced tightly. He remembered seeing the man, Krad, participate in the tournament.
He wondered if his mother was returning and if all the conflicts back on Earth were taken care of.
"Satoshi." The voice of a woman came from the side of the steps to the Edenian palace.
The young boy spun around with wide eyes as he witnessed the sight of his heavily wrapped mother. She was dressed as 'Fukushu' again, but he ran right to her arms as she stood in front of a deeper red colored portal.
"Mother, mother!" Satoshi called out as he squeezed his mom tightly.
Knaives and Sable rushed down the front steps when they heard Satoshi's voice.
However, as they turned the corner, they witnessed the boy get pulled right into the dark gateway by the mysterious woman.
When they reached the rift, it was already shut and completely out of sight.
"Oh no!" The two guards said in unison as they realized that young Satoshi was out of reach…and in the possession of a shadowy figure that had infiltrated Edenia!
Meanwhile…in Earthrealm…
The shadowy woman appeared once again, however this time 'she' was in Shao Kahn's throne room. 'She' threw Satoshi to the ground right at Kahn's feet.
"We have our leverage." The woman's voice became very deep and masculine. Her image faded away to reveal the pale features of the notorious sorcerer Quan Chi.
Satoshi looked up in absolute terror as he viewed the grinning expression on the seated Emperor.
"Ah…" Shao Kahn leaned forward with one hand on his large knee, and the other clutching the skull shaped end of his throne's arm rest in his massive palm. "This will be interesting…"
(Side Event Ended)
The time for waiting had come to an end.
Scorpion's assault on Shao Kahn's fortress brought out a small army of Tarkatans out from the fortress to attack the yellow clad spectre. It seemed he was going to be outnumbered in a matter of seconds, but rather than wait for his opposition to arrive, Hanzo started running head-on into the approaching Tarkatans with one katana drawn and held low to the ground. Sometimes the blade scraped on the concrete and left long trails on the hard surface and sent sparks flying.
Fear had no home in his heart, and rationality had left his mind. All enemies had to die, no matter the cost to his current physical form.
As Scorpion clashed with the Tarkatans, he moved swiftly and violently. His muscles twitched as they tried to keep up with his eyes and mind. A blade was blocked at his hip, another blade was ducked in the process. He gave a sharp elbow to a Tarktan that swung over his head and shoved back another in front of him with his foot. As the pack crowded in, he began to push forward with retreat being the last thought in his mind. His katana swung more, meeting every blade that dared think it could spill his blood.
Though Scorpion outmatched many of these Tarkatan grunts in technique, the numbers game was catching up with him quickly. One kick to the sternum was all it took for the rabid animals to pounce him.
Scorpion fell on one knee, but kept his katana up to defend himself even as the vicious creatures began to pile on. A cloud of black smoke burst from beneath them as Scorpion appeared on top of an abandoned Semi-Truck that had been overturned. The ninja tossed out his Spear and latched it in the back of a single Tarkatan. He yanked the creature back to him as the others began to rush to their fellow soldier's aid.
Before they reached him, Scorpion struck the Tarkatan behind his head and forced him to his knees on top of the Semi with his back facing him. Scorpion grabbed each of his wrists and yanked his arms backwards, not caring that each blade protruded out with intentions to impale his flesh. His foot pressed into the Tarkatan's back as the others were leaping onto the Semi, and he ripped the Tarkatan's arms off at the elbows with a grand spray of blood across his yellow attire.
The Tarkatans had Scorpion now.
A vicious slice ripped across Hanzo's torso that send him reeling to the edge of the truck's back. His foot nearly slipped and cast him into a pit of blood thirsty Tarkatans, but he threw his weight forward and jammed his fist right into the throat of the creature that attacked him. Another slice caught him near his hip and took a nice chunk out of his body. The agony it caused made him call out in pain and realize his plan of action was not panning out.
Scorpion cast his spear upward and latched onto a higher floor of Kahn's Fortress. As he tried to yank himself toward it, he was weighed down by several Tarkatans who grabbed onto his waist and legs, preventing him from accelerating toward the building.
There was a loud crash of thunder in the background…and Scorpion's Spear lost its grip on the wall and caused him to fall into the waiting Tarkatans below.
Toppled, pinned, and outnumbered, surely a return to the Netherrealm was imminent.
"I WILL RETURN!" Scorpion shouted, protesting his vengeance with such authority that it seemed death was his ultimate plan and a minor setback to his ultimate goals.
Just as the death stroke was to be delivered, several Tarkatans were being pulled away and pummeled to the ground by various warriors. One of which was a woman clad in red cloth – Fukushu, who delivered a deadly palm strike through the sternum of the Tarkatan who was about to behead Scorpion.
After removing her palm, her left hand struck the beast over the jaw with enough force to send it spinning toward the concrete.
"Hanzo?!" Fukushu said as she dropped to one knee and offered her hand to him amidst the chaotic battle.
"Harumi?!" Scorpion's voice was partially hushed with shock, but his senses quickly returned as he took her hand and yanked her toward him. In that motion he placed one foot on the pavement and pivoted his body to swap positions with Harumi. His foot lifted up and slashed across the jaw of a wayward Tarkatan who was going to take advantage of the woman's distraction.
While still locked hand in hand with Hanzo, Harumi swung the back of her fist across the jaw of another enemy that had been unfortunate enough to stagger her way after getting a hard strike from Mileena's foot.
Scorpion looked to his wife, while still staying alert in combat. "Satoshi…?" He questioned while noticing the likes of Sub-Zero, Raiden, Liu Kang, and many others rushing in to his aid. He turned and drove his fist into the chest the same time as his wife, which put their shoulders and backs together.
Harumi responded, only after catching the forearm-blade of a Tarkatan between her palms, and providing the distraction for Kung Lao to cleave straight through it with his hat from behind. "Safe in Edenia!"
"I did not wish for you to see me in this manner…" Scropion felt the heat from a ball of fire ripping across the ground from Liu Kang nearby. The Earthrealm and Edenian warriors were pushing the Tarkatan's backward with every step they took. "I am…an abomination."
"Till the day comes my soul fades I will never leave your side!" Harumi side stepped an opponent and jabbed the sole of her foot into the side of their knee to break them down to the ground just as one of Jade's bladed boomerangs struck the Tarkatan through the skull.
The entire encounter, Jade remained closer to the back of the group than closer to Kitana and Mileena. She did her share of combat, but it was more 'clean up' than 'clear through' on her end. She got the stragglers and covered anyone's weak points she could identify.
Within the next ten minutes of combat, the entire first wave of the Tarkatans were slaughtered and the path to the fortress was clean. Jade's mind wasn't even on the fight, however. Something was pulling her to the fortress mentally; something was calling for her, yearning for her presence. She could feel the answers to all of her questions on the tips of her fingers.
As they entered the large construction as a group, Jade caught up with Kitana and Mileena. Everyone was silent for the first few moments inside…but everyone stopped moving when Raiden suddenly stopped and held his forehead in agony.
"Lord Raiden?" Jade spoke up as she quickly came to the Elder God's side. "Are you alright?"
Raiden shook off the painful throbbing in his mind. "Time is not on our side." He spoke the bleak truth his visions brought to him in those short words. "We have to move quickly…" Raiden suddenly paused and glanced up as the upper floors were shaking. Small bits of dust fell from the high stone ceiling as they all started to move along the long red carpet leading through the first floor's massive hall. "…Shokan are coming."
Sheeva cracked all of her knuckles in anticipation. "I will lead the charge." She vowed as she moved before Raiden. "I know how to combat my people; do not dishonor yourself and think you will emerge victorious with ease."
"Perhaps…" Kenshi began speaking up. "Perhaps we should allow the Elder God to-."
"Consider it done." Sheeva stepped down before the man even finished. "I suppose it would be dishonorable to disagree with the dealings of your realm's fate. I ask for your forgiveness."
"Uh…" If Kenshi's eyes were visible, Sheeva may have seen his confused expression more clearly. "Right, I suppose?"
Jade's mind was blanking out as she stared off into the distance. She felt something drawing her away from the group, but she could not simply leave them all behind. As she glanced over her shoulder, Jade gave a glance to Kitana. "I am going to investigate something." She did not wait for permission from Kitana and proceeded away from the group.
"Jade! Wait a moment!" Kitana reached out for her, but she was stopped when Raiden held his staff out in front of her. "What are you doing? She may be harmed alone!"
Raiden watched Jade as she trailed off into the large hall as if following breadcrumbs or a golden trail paved for her. His insight was telling him so many things, but he was certain one of his alternate selves saw this very act before. "She knows what she is doing. She will catch up to us soon." He held his staff for support once more as he trailed forward down the carpeted area toward the stairs at the end of the grand hall. He knew a war was awaiting them.
"Lord Raiden," Liu Kang spoke up on Kitana's behalf now. "Do you think it is wise that we allow one of our own to travel alone? Not only is she vulnerable to enemy attack, but we are down one major asset to our team."
Kung Lao added to Liu's argument with his hands crossed behind his back. "The more we argue the closer the Shokan get. We should just push on and get this over with."
Kitana could no longer see Jade. She vanished into one of the other halls branching from the large room they traveled. Her worry started to press down on her shoulders with the weight of a thousand boulders. Her burden as 'leader' was starting to wither away her plans to make the perfect reality for herself, Jade, and Mileena. Her stubbornness led her to begin walking after Jade…but one quizzical look from her younger sister made her pause.
Kitana realized the error in the action no matter what positive result it could have. If she left Mileena there with the others, she would be abandoning her after all of the progress their relationship made, but if she let Jade go off alone she would be risking the friendship they had maintained for so long. Something clicked in Kitana's mind telling her that something wasn't right with Jade, something hostile was brewing in her heart and it made her experience a version of fear many never experienced until a loved one was faced with death.
Her choice was made once she began moving quicker with the main party they'd established. She chose to remain in Mileena's presence to support her sister, but to also display strength and trust on her end for Jade.
Meanwhile, Jade was traveling the fortress with wisdom of its entire architecture revived in her mind. She remembered every turn, every corner, every door and what lay behind them from the time in the original timeline. Anything that had changed was miniscule on the grand scale of her memory.
She walked like a woman possessed; stumbling on occasion as her vision became blurry. She could hear herself breathing deeply but slowly. All other sound was muffled and echoed in the distance. Her stomach began to feel sharp pains, she felt like vomiting at any given moment as she walked.
Her hand smacked a stone wall as she traveled. Her brain felt like it was being split open by a pair of super-heated prongs, expanding her memory beyond her several thousand-year lifespan. All the doors began to melt away like ice cream in a skillet, the walls began to fade to blue dust and floated through the air like dust mites caught in a beam of dull light in an attic. The tiny particles danced slowly through the air around Jade.
The ground no longer existed, and instead formed into blue rocks with every step she took. Her posture became slouched and her arms draped over her throbbing abdomen. She walked until she collapsed onto her knees.
She fell forward on her face and lay in the darkness while the blue dust flung out in all directions of the dark abyss.
Some of the particles clung to abstract stone shapes in the distance, creating 'outlines' of mountainous rock formations several meters away from her. The black and blue lined rocks created a new path before Jade as the seconds rolled on. It created a stone floor filled with deep fissures and cracks, high rising jagged mountain walls covered in crystalline blue lining, and one large oak door sitting at the end of the short road.
Jade felt her heart beat slowing down…
…and soon it came to a complete stop.
As her heart beat stopped pumping in her head, she saw in her blurred vision a set of tiny bare feet of a brown skinned girl moving in her line of sight.
"Don't worry." The little girl said. "One day, you will understand. You're better off without those evil people in your life. I promise…you will be taken care of from this day forward."
Jade's vision completely faded to black as the girl's words echoed through her mind softly.
The next thing Jade knew, she was jolting awake on the stone floor of an odd looking room. There were dissected bodies of Tarkatans, humans, and other creatures all around. There was a lab table with a skin-less male laying on top of it, there were large tanks and tubes filled with malformed and grotesque looking hybrid creatures between Shokan, Tarkatan, Humanoid, and even Centaurian.
Jade stood slowly and examined her surroundings. Soon, she realized she was in…
"Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits." Tanya spoke out as she walked from one of the darker regions of the labs. "Rest his soul…" She hung her head down in slight despair of her master's husband's death. "Jade…, I am here to help you." Tanya held a large book against her chest as she maintained about twenty feet before herself and Jade.
Jade froze. Tanya in this timeline was less…vicious than the one she left behind. She wasn't sure what changed for her, but her true 'time' hadn't come just yet. Her betrayal of Edenia was still pending…but Skarlet told her to seek the yellow clad traitor out.
The pain Jade was in was starting to subside…and if whatever led her here did so for a reason, she was going to pull as much information as she could from this woman.
"Is Edenia a lie?" Jade spoke up. "Who ruled Edenia before Queen Sindel and King Jerrod? Who?!" Her frustration came across in her voice. She pulled her facial mask down to show her gritting teeth as she approached Tanya.
"I'll tell you everything you need to know, Jade." Tanya spoke calmly as she lowered the book. "But I need you to promise me something…okay?"
Jade stopped in her tracks. "What is it?"
Tanya shut her eyes and exhaled a shaking breath. "I need you to forgive me for what I did to you before. I need you to promise me that you will allow me to go free. I've learned my lesson, I've seen my error, and I will not repeat those errors in this life."
Jade was astonished. "What are you talking about?"
Tanya's white eyes were now trained on Jade. "I know what happens. I've seen it with my own eyes. I know what I did, what I caused, how I remained in servitude despite my best efforts for survival. I saw my life end during Armageddon…and it is not a fate I wish to possess."
"Who showed you this?" Jade pointed her finger toward Tanya. "Who gives you these visions?" Now she was starting to become suspicious about her 'mother'. Was she playing tricks on other Edenians or warriors? Tanya was long gone before Jade, Kitana, and Mileena were sent back…
"I cannot tell you." Tanya spoke weakly as she once again held the book to her chest. "It is something I should not say-…"
Before Tanya could squeak those words out of her mouth, Jade was on her. She had the woman by the neck in one hand with her other fist drawn back in a threatening manner. "Who gives you these visions, Tanya?! Speak now, or I will rip this book from your cold, dead hands!"
Tanya dropped the book and drew a dagger immediately to Jade's throat. Despite her regretful nature, she was in no way helpless. "If you strike me, you will die before the blow lands. Now listen to reason, Jade…listen or else both of our chances at redemption will be forever lost!"
Jade wanted to punch straight through Tanya's skull…, but somewhere in her soul she knew she had to let go of her past resentment for this woman. She had Nido back, she just needed to know what her true past was. "…Just tell me this." Jade said as she backed away a bit reluctantly. "Was it a shimmering woman that showed you these things?"
"No." Tanya shook her head as she lowered her dagger. "The book is yours upon your promise…"
"I promise that I will allow you to go free. I forgive you, Tanya. Do not give me reason to regret this." Jade said as she reached down and grabbed the book all while keeping her green eyes trained on her former rival.
After she picked the book up, she glanced down to it. By the time her eyes were rising to face Tanya, she saw the woman fleeing back upstairs to get to safety, she presumed. While left alone with her thoughts, Jade placed the book down on one of the work tables and cracked it open to the very first page.
All of the words were written in Ancient Edenian, or 'Dialect One' as they sometimes called it, and it was a language that was best read through touch rather than with one's eyes alone. As Jade's finger tips brushed over the golden painted calligraphic letters, she began to experience vivid images of the past as explained by the words bound by Edenian history.
She saw the image of Edenia in its infancy, and the beautiful Queen Edenia and her husband King Theopolis building the realm from the ground up once the Kamidogu was created from the One Being that existed long before life as anyone knew it did. When Jade saw Queen Edenia, she looked exactly like the sparkling woman in her dreams that claimed to be her mother. She saw not only one child, but dozens of children that looked similar to her helping build and protect the realm of Edenia.
Jade was among the youngest children there, and often in her visions she saw herself working with her older brothers and sisters to help organize the ever expanding palace they created. It was amazing how close the palace looked to the one Queen Sindel stayed in…
She felt a tear come to her right eye as the words went on and the mental portrait continued. She knew for a fact this was her mother now, and the memories that joined the words became stronger than ever before. She remembered being only eight years old when she began martial arts training with her father. She remembered getting taught by the best and brightest scholars Edenia had to offer thanks to her mother. She was a true princess among the people, and she was still very young.
However, not all of Edenia was in support of their first Queen. There was a war for territory, resources, and leadership among their ranks. The knight named Jerrod led a battle with his wife Sindel to overthrow Queen Edenia . The war continued for a full Edenian year and left many casualties.
Jade suddenly remembered losing her brothers and sisters one by one to each battle. She remembered running scared and being barefoot after fleeing from the palace to escape the constant attacks.
She remembered the final battle, the final confrontation that led to Sindel beheading Queen Edenia and holding her severed head over the edge of the palace for all of the insurgent Edenians to see.
She saw Queen Sindel in her visions coming to her.
The woman kneeled down in front of the barefoot, scared, and crying child and spoke the familiar words to her…
"Don't worry." Queen Sindel said with a sincere smile. "One day, you will understand. You're better off without those evil people in your life. I promise…you will be taken care of from this day forward."
Her memory brought back visions of the Kamidogu being taken out of the Palace. She recalled Shao Kahn's invasion not long after that, she recalled Kitana being born, and Mileena following not too long after thanks to Shang Tsung's magic. Jade was only about nine years old at the time…but she was assigned by Sindel to watch over her daughters. It was her job. It was her life's purpose now. From Princess to protector, from noble to servant. Queen Sindel had rendered the last of Edenia's true heirs to absolutely nothing.
"Please forgive me." She heard Sindel's voice echo in her mind. "Protect Kitana, please. Be a friend to her where I cannot. I take from you your painful past…I give to you a fresh start. When you awaken, you will have a better life. I promise."
Jade tossed the book from the desk in rage. She pounded her fists down on the table and hovered over it as her heart began to accelerate its pace.
"Edenia is a lie." The voice of her mother echoed through her mind. "Take back what belongs to you! What belongs to us!"
Her eyes started to glow even brighter than they did naturally. "Shao Kahn…, Sindel…, all of them must pay for the life and world they stole from me…!"
As Jade's words left her lips…Denise was smiling in the darkness as she watched silently. She watched Jade make her way back up the stairs in anger…and once left alone, Denise spoke softly. "It seems the perfect reality is guaranteed for me now…"