The fortress that formerly belonged to Shao Kahn but now Mileena was currently under renovations. Within it stood Sindel and her pet TaiGore named Lia who stood right by her side with Sindel being the only person that Lia properly trusted after Shao Kahn's demise but her behaviour had been improving despite the loss of her longtime owner. They were located at the balcony in the mouth of the skull mask shaped face of the fortress which was planned to be taken down in the very near future.
"Enjoying the view?" Kitana asked as she joined her at the balcony with the newly replenished Ermac. As Kitana did so, the now much more calm and friendly Lia approached her new owner's daughter to be petted to which Kitana gladly gave.
"Kitana!" Sindel said with delight. "And Ermac!"
"We are grateful for you aiding Us." Ermac thanked.
"You protected me," Sindel reminded him. "Even though it was while I was in my brainwashed state I shall not forget your own aid to me."
"We apologize for our blind service to Shao Kahn," Ermac apologized as he felt a great deal of regret.
"You are forgiven, Ermac," Kitana assured him. "Most of Kahn's former followers are still here after all, so it'd be hypocritical for us to not accept you when you were created to serve Outworld's ruler."
"Kitana is right," Sindel backed her daughter's word. "Do not blame yourself, Ermac."
"We thank you both," Ermac was grateful for the surprising acceptance. "Whoever the new ruler is We wish to support them in benefiting Outworld for what's right."
"You do have a choice not to," Sindel informed him. "The decision to serve is all yours."
Ermac had never been given a choice before. The ability to refuse serving Outworld's ruler which made him contemplate for a brief moment but knew that his answer would not be to refuse said ruler, this treatment he was receiving was already a clear step up to Shao Kahn who now that he was dead it left Ermac with the freedom to make his own decisions.
"We still wish acceptance to serve the new ruler." Ermac confirmed.
"Then you must speak with her." Sindel pointed down the balcony to the fortress' gardens that stood below the platform that they stood on. In said garden Mileena was busy doing some flowering as her lover Baraka was using his arm blades as hedge trimmers.
"Mileena?" Ermac asked and received a nod of confirmation in response from Sindel. "We suppose that makes sense. We will speak to her right now."
"She'll be happy to speak with you." Sindel assured him.
"Thank you." Ermac once again stated his thanks as he climbed onto the balcony's railing and hovered down using his levitation to slow his fall to safely and quickly reach Mileena.
"And how are you, Kitana?" Sindel asked her beloved daughter.
"I'm happy, mother," Kitana answered positively. "I'm happy for Mileena."
"I can at the very least thank Shao Kahn for ordering her creation." Sindel stated.
"I'm surprised Lia is so much calmer now." Kitana acknowledged the TaiGore's improved behaviour.
"She just needed adapting to different faces and a different environment," Sindel figured. "I'm sure she'll grow to like this much more than however Shao was treating her."
"I don't understand how Shao Kahn cared for an animal," Kitana remarked. "It's baffling."
"I doubt he did," Sindel theorized. "That man's heart is too black to love."
"You're probably right," Kitana had to agree. "But enough about him."
"Of course," Sindel replied and wrapped her arm around Kitana's shoulder. "We must look to the future.
"With Mileena in charge I'm sure it'll be a great future." Kitana predicted as the two embraced in a warm hug.
Ermac softly landed on the grassy ground beside Mileena, his shadow immediately alerting the empress who turned away from her seed planting. She smiled at the sight of the Soul Construct, Ermac had never even seen Mileena unmasked until now.
"Nice to see you awake, Ermac," Mileena stated as she stood up. "How are you?"
"We are fine," Ermac replied. He was unused to this feeling of kindness and acceptance like he was family but he certainly liked it. "We are just here to pledge our services to the new empress."
Ermac kneeled as he was pledging his loyalty to Mileena to which the new ruler giggled in reaction to this gesture.
"Thank you, Ermac," Mileena said as she offered him her hand up. "But you do not need to be so formal."
"We understand, Mileena," Ermac confirmed and proved his understanding via referral to the Empress' name. "We shall leave you to your…"
"Flowering." Mileena informed him.
"We see," Ermac noted. "Do you have any demands for Us?"
"We're currently making renovations to the fortress, Ermac," Mileena explained to the construct. "Could you please use your telekinesis to remove that wretched skull mask from that balcony?"
"We shall." Ermac accepted the request and looked up at the currently intimidating balcony.
Ermac concentrated his powers as a green energy wrapped around specifically the material that everybody at the fortress just hoped was made of stone and not genuine bone which had been built to represent the iconic headgear of the tyrant who formerly ruled the realm. Ermac then carefully pulled out the skull mask and helmet sculpture where it cleanly detached from the rest of the armoured fortress. Mileena then signalled for him to hurl the what he was carrying down the seemingly bottomless mote that surrounded the fortress and Ermac disposed of it with ease.
"Anything else?" Ermac sought for further demands.
"I suppose you could help my servants with some heavy lifting." Mileena figured, impressed by Ermac's powers and how they were beneficial to moving objects.
"We shall," Ermac gladly accepted the task. "Farewell for now, Mileena."
Mileena waved goodbye as Ermac headed inside the fortress and as Ermac entered, the Saurian trio of Reptile, Chameleon and Khameleon approached the empress.
"The orb!" Khameleon yelled with both excitement and joy. "We found it in the storage room!"
"You found the orb?!" Mileena asked in shock.
"Look." Chameleon presented the green orb to the empress.
"How do we use it?" Reptile asked.
"You need to find Daahraan," Mileena instructed them. "He should know."
"C'mon let's look for him." Khameleon said eagerly to her brother and her boyfriend.
"I'm so happy for you!" Mileena shouted as the three Saurians began hurrying back into the fortress to find Daahraan.
"I hope their race can be restored," Baraka commented as he finished concentrating on his hedge cutting. "The feeling of having your race near extinction must be awful."
"It must be," Mileena agreed. "And I hope so too."
"This has been a great few days for Outworld," Baraka said, which was a statement that all in Outworld would agree with except for Kahn's remaining followers. "There are no two bonds greater than the bond with a lover and family."
"You've made these days even greater for me," Mileena told him lovingly. "And were it not for my talks with you I'd never have found the courage to turn against Shao Kahn."
Baraka responded to Mileena's affectionate words by hugging the empress to which Mileena returned the hug as well as a gentle kiss to Baraka on his teeth.
Meanwhile within the fortress' courtyard, Ermac approached Skarlet and Meat who were preparing carts with wood and tools.
"Do either of you need Our help?" Ermac offered.
"We're getting ready to take these down to the Crimson Fields," Skarlet explained. "We're going to build a village."
"For our fellow Flesh Pits creations," Meat added. "Such as yourself."
"You'd be welcome at the village," Skarlet gave her own offer to him. "It's the least I can give after you gave your position at the tournament to me."
"It wasn't by choice," Ermac confessed. "We were too injured to participate after I got in an altercation involving a woman who mistook Us for a Demon."
"Thank you still," Skarlet didn't care about how it transpired. "I'm just happy that I was given the chance to see… life."
"What's happening in the Flesh Pits?" Ermac questioned.
"They're being freed from that wretched place and joining us to help build a new village!" Meat said both joyously and enthusiastically.
"There's got to be some tests though," Skarlet elaborated. "Some of our kind just… aren't mentally capable of living in peace."
"What happens to those creations?" Ermac continued questioning.
"They're given freedom in another way: they're mercifully put down," Skarlet answered with sadness in her voice. "I would've come for the event but I just can't handle seeing it."
"It's the best option." Meat informed her as he placed a bloody hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her in some way.
"I know," Skarlet replied as she wiped a tear from her eye. "We're meeting up with the freed Constructs at the Crimson Fields and we'll then get to building."
"You in?" Meat asked Ermac. "We'd love to have you."
"We are." Ermac confirmed.
"Have any of you seen Daahraan?" Khameleon asked as she and her fellow Saurians walked by the Flesh Pit creations.
"I think he's in the living quarters," Skarlet suggested. "They're doing some quality of life changes to the rooms."
"We'll go there now," Khameleon decided. "Thank you."
"What's the rush?" Meat queried.
"We found the orb to restore Zaterra." Reptile revealed as Chameleon held it high above his head. "Daahraan apparently knows how to use it."
"That's great!" Skarlet said. "Good luck with rebuilding your society. It's something I myself am trying."
"Then good luck to you too." Khameleon wished as the three Saurians began heading to the living quarters, each showing a traditional gesture of respect before leaving their allies.
The Saurians found Daahraan in the third room they checked in and he was busy painting the previously old and unkempt wall with a new and fresh coat of white paint with Tanya aiding him. It was Tanya's first time painting. She never really had the chance considering most of her life had been spent trapped in the mines.
"Like this, Tanya," Daahraan said to gain her attention as he demonstrated his method of painting. "Like a 'W' motion."
"Oh I get it," Tanya understood as she rather precisely repeated Daahraan's methods with her own paint roller. "Am I doing good?"
"Yes," Daahraan positively confirmed. "Well done."
"Hello, Tanya and Daahraan." Khameleon kindly greeted the two.
Seeing that they had visitors, Daahraan placed his roller to one side as Tanya continued painting as she was focused on her work. Painting was oddly relaxing for her and she was hoping to do it more with art appealing to her especially.
"Hello!" Daahraan openly greeted them. "Do you folks need something?"
"Shao Kahn was hiding this." Reptile revealed as Chameleon offered Daahraan handling of the orb.
"An orb?" Tanya turned away from her work to take a curious peek at the item. "As in the ones that free realms?"
"Of course," Daahraan had finally processed something "Shao Kahn had to have seen one of the orbs before to know about them. That's why he was enslaving a lot of the people from the realms he had conquered into mines, to retrieve all the orbs!"
"I can't believe the thing needed to restore our race was hidden in the fortress that we've been living in for all this time." Chameleon remarked as Daahraan took the orb off of him.
"It doesn't matter," Khameleon replied. "We have it now."
"Once I do my work on this the orb will release an energy that shall transport all currently living natives to this realm," Daahraan detailed. "Do you wish to go there at this instant?"
"I do." Reptile confirmed.
"Absolutely." Khameleon gave her own confirmation.
"And I've waited long enough to experience this." Chameleon remarked, also confirming that he too shared his wish.
"Then trust me in what I'm about to perform." Daahraan requested.
"Of course." Khameleon said with her full trust in Daahraan.
"Hurry up!" Chameleon demanded bossily.
"Hey!" Tanya snapped at Chameleon though she was still facing the wall she was in the process of painting. "Show him some respect!"
"Oculto." Khameleon called out to his brother in a disappointed tone with an even more disappointed glare.
"Sorry," he quickly apologized as he recognized his rudeness. "I realize I'm being impatient."
"It is understandable," Daahraan forgave him. "We'll visit you as soon as a portal system to Zaterra is formed."
"Thank you, Daahraan," Khameleon said gratefully. "And farewell."
"See you soon." Reptile expressed his own farewells.
Chameleon also waved goodbye. The three Saurians all knew that it'd be some time before they could return to Outworld but that was okay as they would now have Zaterra.
Daahraan slammed the orb down onto the solid floor that was yet to be carpeted. The orb immediately shattered on impact and exploded a green burst of energy that travelled throughout the realms though became invisible to the naked eye after a few seconds of its energetic release. This energy did indeed detect all of the Saurians who previously inhabited Zaterra and suddenly transported them to the newly reformed realm. The Saurians saw only darkness as the energy affected them all across the realms. The darkness soon faded and the Saurians awoke to a beautiful sight: Zaterra.