Chapter 11
House of the Rising Sun
MANY YEARS AGO…
"Again." The booming voice of Shao Kahn rang out over the courtyard.
The panting child struck a set of wooden planks that had her fist imprinted on its surface and smears of blood. Her fists were wrapped tight and bloodied, and despite being in visible pain she continued to strike the wood.
"Again." Shao Kahn commanded her as she punched at the wood until a loud crunch forced her to pull her hand back in pain.
The courtyard was vast around Kahn's fortress. In this particular area, there was a large enclosure with a great statue of angels climbing hand over fist over one another to each a sun symbol high above them. At certain times of day, it focused the light of the sun and moon down on a particular part of the courtyard where Shao Kahn's statue stood proudly.
This time of day, the sun was still rising, but all of Kahn's worthy children had been allowed to sleep.
"Did I make a mistake of taking you in, child?"
"No, Shao Kahn." The young Skarlet wept as she favored her broken fist close to her chest. "I will work hard. I will be a worthy daughter. I promise."
"The promises of a gambler's daughter mean nothing." Kahn spoke firmly. He took a knee before the child and held his hand out. His massive palm fit her small hand without issue. "Your father owed me a great debt. You are the collection on that. It is my dream that one day I raise you to be a true royal, and for you to pass your father on the street…and spit on him."
"I will do my best to get better, Shao Kahn." Skarlet bowed weakly and looked away, as if gazing into the large man's eyes would turn her to stone. "Kitana and the others, they do not even play with me. They do not even remember my name."
"Make them remember. In fact, you will do better than that. You still have one arm. Train. Or it's back to the dungeons." Kahn stood again and was illuminated by the powerful light shining through the statue's opening. He cast a shadow so grant that young Skarlet was swallowed entirely by the darkness. "When your time comes, my daughter. You must win. You have something Kitana never will have. You understand what it is like to be at the bottom. Now rise."
PRESENT DAY – After Shang Tsung's Meeting with Noob Saibot
"Mortal Kombat!"
The mighty cry came from a rowdy crowd of Outworld warriors in Noob Saibot's courtyard. There were around 20 spectators surrounding an enclosed area to make a Kombat arena for two fighters. The first being a masked Outworld raider, and the second being the crimson clad Skarlet.
"This fight has got no rules, girl." The man said with a throaty laugh. "I can do anything I want. I'll enjoy takin' your rank and a few trinkets with me. Hard to use blood magic when ya gotta cut me first, so I'll make quick work of ya!"
"Yeah! Kick her ass, Sea Bass!" One of the warriors in the crowd shouted.
Skarlet tilted her head as the jeers from the rowdy crowd flung her way. All eyes were on her, and she seemed to want to be anywhere but in this situation.
Sea Bass threw a left hook, a right hook, and performed a spin-kick in the air. There were several meters of space between them, so he posed no immediate threat. He kept hyping himself up and got his blood pumping.
Skarlet's ears twitched as she focused on the sound of his heart. Her eyes narrowed and her head straightened again. The crowd called for the fight to begin, but as soon as it did, Skarlet's right hand thrust forward. Red tendrils ripped through the air and cracked through Bass's sternum like a bullet through wood. Each tendril attached to valves in his heart and his eyes bulged behind his mask. His body was flooded with pumping blood to the point his heart doubled in size and exploded outward from the front and back like a bomb.
The body fell twitching on the ground and Skarlet retracted her tendrils back to her palm. The entire crowd fell silent as she turned to face them next. For the most part, the crowd dispersed and traded coins among one another from their bets placed. Anyone left was petrified at the sight of the Blood Mage.
"His blood is no matter of concern," she said as she faced the statue of angels, "clean it up." She demanded. The sun's light had long since passed the perfect alignment, and she stared longingly at the statue's sun opening to have its light shine down upon her.
As the raiders did as she commanded, an elderly slave shambled to her side holding a scroll. He spoke in old Outworld tongue, which sounded like a mix of gasping and mumbling. Even so, Skarlet understood him perfectly.
"I am to attend this 'party' to recruit?" She said as she viewed the scroll. After a moment's consideration she smiled to the elderly man and handed him a pouch of gold coins at her side. "Feed your family with this. Our secret, yes?" She said with a gentle touch to his shoulder as she sent him on his way.
"Bedlam and Ataxia, Chaosrealm twins." Skarlet said to herself as she reviewed the scroll. They were attending or hosting some sort of 'event' in Outworld. It wasn't exactly clear, as typical Chaosrealm parties went.
The Chaosrealm Party
The carriage Sheeva afforded to Liu, Mileena, Ferra, and Torr was left behind about a quarter mile away from the loud and rowdy party grounds. Mileena and Liu Kang were visible walking over the hill on route to the massive but poorly constructed wooden building the party was taking place in. It appeared to be built over an abandoned training ground with a large hole the roof.
"They are going to expect us to be gracious guests," Liu Kang said as he walked at Mileena's side. "Your senses are keen enough to pick up on Kenshi, yes?"
"This is an accurate assumption, husband." Mileena said in Kitana's voice. "There is likely to be altercations on route to securing his safety. There may be blood spilled."
"There needn't be any loss of life that can be avoided," Liu grasped Mileena's wrist lightly to stop her. Once face to face, he stared into her very soul to instill his seriousness. "This must be done quietly as possible. Bloodshed here will only bring more trouble."
"Are you this rough with my sister?"
"I am simply making sure we are on the same page, I am sorry."
"We are on the same page. I am not some rabid dog that needs a leash." Mileena pulled her limb from his grasp and continued forward. "Ferra and Torr are rounding the parameter to secure our escape route as we planned. Going out the back is our best bet as you said. There are only twelve armed guards I could count."
"With poor weapon posture," Liu added, "they are likely untrained. Seems accurate for a Chaosrealm party."
"Liu Kang, I do have one request." Mileena said in her normal voice. "If things go sideways, I will kill whoever I must for us to escape. I will not leave you behind because of your noble will to die in service of others. If we die, we die together."
"I hadn't any idea our bond was that strong, Mileena."
"I could die saving you or be electrocuted to death by my sister. Either way." Mileena snickered beneath her mask. She was wearing altered garbs, draped in blue much like her sibling was. Even if she had no electric powers to boast, all she had to do was look the part.
As Liu and Mileena entered through the front of the party, they were welcomed as former Edenian Princess Kitana and her consort. They were able to skip the lines to get inside and were led along by one of the wenches within. However, in the back of the party, someone else was attending.
Twelve armed guards were patrolling he back in various capacity. One furthest out, overlooking the land held his bow firmly in hand as he scanned the horizon. Others lingered near the back door, and the rest were inside to guard the exit path.
A single dart broke the calm of the air and stuck in the bow-carrying guard's shoulder. The sudden prick startled him and he immediately yanked the dart away and aimed at the direction the dart came from. Panicked, he scanned left and right and called out to alarm the others. Blood trickled from his tiny wound, but that was more than enough for the figure that appeared behind him.
Skarlet spun his head around 180 degrees and sapped the blood from his dart wound to form a trio of daggers. She threw them as she turned and embedded them into the skull of three more guards. She walked with purpose, and by the time her first victim hit the floor, she was drawing blood from the trio and passed them by.
Four more emerged with kunai on chains, maces, and axes. Skarlet immediately backed up to draw them out into the open. The axe nearly claimed her head but she snuck beneath it to instead engage the two individuals with chained blades.
From the prior collected blood, she formed two whips and clashed with the incoming strikes with a bloody fury. She kept at pace and skill with the chain battlers, all while avoiding contact with her mace-wielding foe who swung and broke through the side of a large buggy of freshly cut meat, still red with blood as it spilled to the sandy ground.
From the pile of meat, Skarlet called the blood from it o form miniature spikes that struck each chain-wielder in the back of the skull and out of each eye.
The axe wielder threw his weapon, and Skarlet vanished into a pool of blood. The bladed weapon split is remaining ally's skull in half. The crimson assassin stood behind the axe wielder with a murderous and calm gaze. He turned to strike her, but she blocked the attempt only to disappear again, and re-appear with he blade stuck into the base of his skull.
"Bleed."Skarlet growled out as she absorbed the vitality of the rapidly dying guard. Once he was a mere husk, she kicked him away and to the ground. She claimed the stairs in the back of the establishment and yanked the door open. To her immediate left the guard met a swift strike to the throat and was pulled in close to her. As he coughed, arrows struck him in the back and Skarlet pushed him forward.
In her journey, she locked eyes with her victim. He had brown eyes a similar color to a great oak and green hair like the tops of towering trees. His face chiseled as stone and his screams of panic and pain gave a sampling of his deep voice. She turned him away from the line of sight of the arrows and dispatched of his allies with rapid strikes and eventually a graceful dagger to their throats.
The sole survivor was left crawling on the ground, bleeding from wounds in his back and arrows.
"Please!" He pleaded.
Skarlet followed him slowly and savored every moment of it. "Do not move." She warned him as she reached in and brutally yanked each arrow from his back. Whichever ones she couldn't, she simply broke off. Her call to the blood code pushed out the remaining arrowheads with his own blood, much to his own intense pain.
Once free of the arrows, Skarlet gave him a pat on the upper shoulder. "I am letting you go. Do not make me regret it."
"What? Why?"
"You are cute." She said as she stood fully and kicked the man on his backside gently. "Go. Run as far away from here as you can. Do not look back. Tell any who ask what you saw here this day. That you narrowly escaped Skarlet, lost daughter of Shao Kahn."
"Yes!" The man sat on his knees and held his hands up in prayer. "The great lady Skarlet! I shall tell all!" He was not of the Chaosrealm, but a mere outworlder taking on a security gig, it seemed. He sped off – with a limp – and hurried away into Outworld.
With the problem handled, Skarlet turned to make her way inside from the back entrance. She was right on time for the festivities to begin.
The party was truly chaotic. Some bodies lay dead on the floor, others were brawling near the tavern area. The music was deafening, and played by a live band. However, for all of the chaos, everything stopped when an announcer introduced Liu Kang and Princess Kitana to the party.
The man behind the microphone was a tall, heavily tattooed Chaosrealm fighter with blazing red eyes, leather pants, and for some reason—a yellow hardhat on. He screamed their names out over and over into his microphone..and tapped it to his chest when it gave bad feedback.
"Welcome, Kitana and Liu Kang! I am your host, Bedlam!" The man screamed out as one of the stagehands came over to give him a new microphone. The person was thanked with a shoving kick to the face to get them off stage.
Kollector, who was doing business near the tavern, quickly ducked out of sight when he heard 'Kitana' was there.
'Kitana' and Liu Kang waved at their silent, adoring masses as they approached the stage. It was here they saw a caged-up Kenshi, who seemed unharmed for the most part, seated on stage with Bedlam.
"Ohh!" Bedlam called out. "Liu Kang-Chan, it is so wonderful to see you in the flesh! You too, Mileena-chan! Nice try, but no chicken dinner for you!"
Bedlam cackled, as the entire party burst into laughter with him – and eventually brawls broke out again.
Uneasy, Mileena approached Bedlam with her fist tightened. "Bedlam, we come to retrieve Kenshi. What do you want in return for his safety? Why do you have him?"
Bedlam paused his wild laughter. He then turned and looked over at the caged warrior and…shrugged. "I really don't remember, toots. Good costume, though! As for what we want? We want a good time! A party! It's so boring with all of these rulers and rules…but!" Bedlam adjusted his hardhat and stepped back deeper onto his stage. "What say you to a little bar fight? If you can get past me and my sister's guys, then I'll do whatever the hell ya want?"
"Two against how many?" Liu Kang narrowed his eyes. The thought of a challenge was quite stimulating.
"I donno, how many of you feel like dyin'?" Bedlam asked over his distorted mic.
The party went quiet again, until someone shouted 'I don't wanna die'.
"Well, we have at least one coward." Bedlam sighed. "Well, my sister is a bit busy. We had to march this samurai out here for a hopeful brawl but you two? I like how this is turnin' out! Keep fightin' til the party's over, jack! Maybe I'll cut you a slice of cake, if you don't cut the cheese in this performance! Don't die on me, will ya? And don't kill my friends! Hard enough gaslightin' them this far."
Mileena slumped her shoulders and agreed. "Very well. Liu Kang and I will take on your challengers. This has proven to be a waste of time!"
"Or is it?" The voice of Skarlet emerged from the back of the party. The nearby bar fight split apart as she walked through. She kept her gaze on Mileena, and then shifted to Liu Kan once she got closer. "I've arrived just in time. I seek an audience with you, Bedlam. Perhaps if I aid these two in…entertaining, you will grant such a request?"
"Creepy redheads, creepy princeses, and stoic monks?" Bedlam said thoughtfully. "This is either going to be the best birthday party ever, or the absolute worst! Give me a moment to prepare the riot, and whatever the hell you guys want is yours! Now…" He stepped back behind the stage's curtain. "First one to kill one of them gets ten million Koins."
The entire party went quiet again.
All eyes turned to Mileena, Skarlet, and Liu Kang who were surrounded on all sides.
The Kollector stayed tucked in the back. He was in a near panicked state as he had no clear escape to get back to the kid – but also…her mother was there….