Chapter 5

Reflection

"So, let me get this straight." Frost narrowed her eyes and leaned forward in her chair. She was sitting at a table in her master's private Dojo just across from him. "Someone infiltrated us, beat your wife, and kidnapped your child? And the first person you come to for ideas is me? I figured you'd make me a suspect."

"I am old, not a fool." Sub-Zero clarified.

"Most the times those go hand-in-hand, master."

"If you will not help me, I will find another."

"No, no. This is just something to bask in." Frost grinned and straightened her posture. "A pint of trust goes a long way. If I am to lead the Lin Kuei one day, I must be ready at all times to learn from you."

"If you were to attack the temple, Frost. How would you do it?"

Frost gave it some consideration. "Do I have wisdom of its defenses like I do now, or am I approaching this as an outsider looking in?"

"Outsider."

Frost tilted her head back and tapped her nails on the surface of the table. "It's a lost cause. It would have to be a suicide mission unless you could walk through walls."

"I know one individual who theoretically could." Sub-Zero stood and placed his fists together at the small of his back. "Noob Saibot truly wants my attention. I should not disappoint him. Do you think so, Frost?"

"I think it's a trap, master." The student stood as well. "He sends a messenger and suddenly your daughter is kidnapped. We should not leave that to coincidence. We need to find some means of advantage and strike mercilessly. What would a ninja do, since you've been keen on our alliance with Shirai Ryu?"

"Gather intelligence." Sub-Zero replied after a moment. "I cannot ask Scorpion to retrieve my child for me. I must do this personally."

"Then gather all the firepower you can muster." As the words left Frost's lips, thunder crackled outside of the cold temple.

Sub-Zero looked to the ceiling as the lights flickered from the sudden surge of electricity. "I believe firepower has come to us."

Thunder struck the grounds of the temple and in the wake of the strike stood the Thunder Goddess Kitana, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Johnny Cage. The group stood together and were immediately greeted by various Lin Kuei warriors who knelt before Kitana and bowed their heads.

"It's been a long time." Kitana said as she faced the front of the temple. "Six years since…" She paused as her fingers laced with Liu Kang's. It quelled the burning of rage in her heart. "I should not have become distant after she died."

"You are sisters, yes?" Kung Lao said after bowing to the various warriors. "Hopefully Mileena is as forgiving and merciful as our Lady Kitana."

"Ol' Butterface is doing well for herself these days," Johnny said while rolling his shoulders. "Special Forces works close with the Lin Kuei. You should let me talk to Snow Miser, I've become a pro at this. Be careful though, everything he touches turns to snow in his clutch. He's too much."

"What?" Liu Kang squinted.

"Did any of you have a childhood?!" Johnny scoffed. "Anyway, I'll do all the talkin'. Keep Silk the Shocker on standby."

From the upper regions of the temple, a magenta and black blur dropped down and landed crouched in front of the group. The Lin Kuei scattered out and made room as the figure stood. Kitana tensed up and watched her sister until she stood fully. Mileena's yellow eyes were puffy and reddened. Her eyes had runny black lines that dipped behind her mask. Her chilled breath came out in white plumes as she watched her elder sibling.

"Mileena." Kitana said quietly. "It is important that we talk. There is-."

"Defender of Earthrealm." Mileena growled. "You allowed this to happen! How could this happen under your watch, Kitana?!"

"Oh shit." Johnny Cage swiftly stepped back.

"Mileena," Liu Kang spoke calmly. "Whatever this is, please. We can all talk about this."

Despite the words, Mileena screamed behind her mask and charged her surprised sibling. Kitana protested, but the impact of Sai and war fan created a bolt of thunder that transported them elsewhere.

They appeared closer to the palace, where a statue of a Lin Kuei Monk sat in the center between two coffins. In each hand, the monk had eternally burning flames that lit the general area in shades of orange to mix with the dreary whites and blues.

Kitana and Mileena slid away from one another, with the Elder going on the defensive. "Mileena what are you talking about? What happened?"

"Ooh, are you not the defender of the realm? Oh no, dear sister…" Mileena elevated her eyebrows and spoke in a whining, mocking tone until her ferocity returned. "The fact you do not know tells Mileena everything she needs to know about you, witch!" She drew both sai and charged her sister head on.

The two avoided one another's strikes as if it were routine. They knew eachother's movements so well that it looked like a violent dance that was bound to end in bloodshed. Sparks flew from clashing weapons. Shouts of anger came from Mileena when Kitana countered her and made an effortless strike that knocked Mileena to the floor. On the other hand, Kitana let out surprised shouts when Mileena's speed blindsided her and left her on the receiving end of violent onslaughts.

"Mileena-!" Kitana shouted. "Please, talk to me!" She grappled with her sister. Neither of them gained an inch in their test of strength against one another. All she saw was fire and anger in her sister's eyes. Her moment of mercy got Mileena's knee driven into her stomach repeatedly until their hold on one another was broken.

"When it is your child, the entire realm must mourn!" Mileena snarled. "What of mine?! Why do you not know?! You are supposed to protect this realm and all in it, especially your own kin! Mo Chou was taken from me. You were not there. You weren't there for Mileena! Where were you?!"

Kitana was stunned in the moment. Her eyes softened as she dropped her war fans and left herself defenseless. Mileena acted on this off of instinct and pounced her sibling to the ground. Her sai drew back. Her slit eyes were wide with bloodlust as her left hand held Kitana down by the throat. A rage-filled Tarkatan scream ripped through Mileena's throat as she drove the sai into the ground beside Kitana's head.

"Where were you…?" Mileena choked up. Her rage settled and morphed rapidly into sadness. Her sobs broke through her defenses.

"I'm sorry." Kitana said with her voice cracking. She placed her hands on either side of her sister's face. "Mileena, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm so sorry, sister." As Mileena allowed her to sit up, Kitana wrapped her arms tightly around her twin. They embraced in the chill of the palace grounds. Their emotion amplified due to their connection, and the tears rolled freely and away from the eyes of those rushing to the scene in hopes the confrontation didn't end in bloodshed.

Through Kitana's tears was a crackle of electricity. Her patience with recent events ran thin.

Later in the evening.

"The Black Dragon." Sub-Zero said as he settled down at a round table with a fresh batch of tea. "If this kidnapper works for them, then I suppose I must take my brother up on his invitation to Outworld."

"The attacker said things," Mileena added quietly. "She said it was just an illusion, or something. She said to find her in Outworld. Accept what is given, or my fate would be shared with Mo Chou."

Kitana placed her hand on Mileena's shoulder gently and added in. "Shang Tsung told me that there are many powerful factions in Outworld now. Noob Saibot is but one of them. He looks to claim this realm from me."

"So from what I'm hearing from you guys and Mister White Christmas over here, I'm starting to think someone's trying to revive Mortal Kombat or at the very least a big-ass war. From what I hear from Sonya, yeah, there are factions popping up all over Outworld for supremacy. We get a lot of refugees with Bo Rai Cho's help. Reiko and Rain or whatever are another alliance that popped up. They call themselves the, get this, 'Deadly Alliance'. As if Fatal Friends wasn't a way more catchy name."

"Deadly Alliance, huh?" Kitana said in a deadpanned voice and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Gods I hope this is not going the way I think it is."

"You and I both." Mileena added, much to the confusion of those with them at the table. Mileena cleared her throat and reiterated. "We hope that this does not end up being a multi-part or multi-realm war. We will have to talk to our allies to fortify our strength."

"I will consult with the Elder Gods," Kitana nodded. "But we should reach out to Jade in Edenia as soon as we have more information on what is going on."

"I'll give Sonya a call." Johnny stood up and brushed himself off. "Finding a babysitter is going to be killer. I'm sure she's not gonna let Cass spend a few nights with the Shaolin. She's got school in a couple days."

Sub-Zero stood as well and bowed before his guests. "Frost will join us. We will venture to Outworld to see what Noob Saibot wants. However, we do need someone to break away and pay Jade a visit. Time is of the essence."

"Then I will go," Kitana volunteered. "I will be able to move the quickest between realms. Though my power will be dampened in Outworld."

"Then it is decided." Liu Kang stood with Kung Lao. "We will join the Outworld party. Let's get this over with as quickly as possible."

When the group dispersed, Kitana teleported herself to the realm of the Elder Gods to make an easy journey to Edenia. She paused when her medallion trembled. She pulled it from her shoulder and examined it. The smooth surface suddenly formed cracks on it. Kitana's eyes widened as electricity surged through them. Her mind wen blank. She was zapped through wormholes venturing through time and space. Voices rushed by her like boiling water until she was dumped out into a black void surrounded by floating ethereal hour glasses.

High above her was a massive red moon. It illuminated her in red with a feminine figure floating high above in its light. She could not make out any distinguishing features of the woman. She just felt and endless sense of dread and sadness pooling in her stomach. Her body crumpled as she fell to her knees. Overcome by emotion from the moon's pull.

A pedestal appeared before her. It was golden and lined with coiling dragon statues. At the top of the waist-high pedestal were three mirrors. One showed the symbol which spelled 'Liu Kang', the middle one spelled 'self' and the third spelled 'Shen'.

"Choose who dies." The unknown voice echoed from every direction.

Once Kitana realized her options she immediately selected 'self'. She slapped the mirror relentlessly until it disappeared into wisps of smoke.

"A likely choice." Another woman with Kitana's voice rang out from the darkness. The undead revenant of herself stepped into the light. The Empress of the Dead looked entirely disgusted with her other self. "Does your shame know no limits? The girl is dead because of you. Because you are an incompetent mother who did not measure the risks. You brought her into this world to die, because you thought it would bring your lover closer to you. But it just drove a wedge deeper between."

"No!" Kitana shouted as she fell to her hands and knees. "That is not true!"

"You chose death. I did not!" The undead Kitana screamed. "I was killed by my own mother in cold blood! I had my eyes opened by Quan Chi and I do not regret a single person I've killed, or soul that I have broken ever since. I am the daughter of Shao Kahn. I am royalty. I am home." She stretched her arms out at either side of herself while stepping back. "Where is my redemption, Kitana? Where is it? I do not need it. I made the best out of what I was given and in the end, Liu Kang joined my side. Murdered by his own mentor, the man who you hold the mantle of. Are you going to do it too? Are you going to kill Liu Kang?"

"I would never!"

"You would." The other challenged. "You thought about it. It would be an innocent accident. Electricity can be unpredictable, after all." She laughed at her other self, but still offered a hand. "Leave that timeline behind. Come, let's start a new one from the beginning. You know you want to try. You know you want to figure it out. I know someone who knows how. Shen could live. But what cost are you willing to pay?"

Kitana pushed herself to stand. Her eyes remained shut to drown out her revenant self. "If it means I become you, I would avoid such a fate. You are nothing but ego. A security blanket given life. I will not bend to your words, snake!"

As Kitana went to strike, the world restored itself. She was in Edenia with her war fan raised. Though no one was around to attack – thank goodness. With a cold sweat on her brow, she looked toward the paradise-like realms roads and fields. The palace was far in the distance. Her medallion still had cracks in it, but at the moment all she could do was press on.

-

A/N

Thanks for all the reviews, hope everyone is being safe! Thank you for all the love and support in these weird times. I'm kind of glad I waited for a couple of games to come out before I continued, since now I have a better idea of what direction I want to go in and things I can callback to such as Revenant Kitana and such. Is there any character you guys would like to see going forward to catch up on from Redemption 1, or anything? Thanks!