Mortal Kombat: Titans

(Hybrid12)

WARNING: This story contains violent crushing scenes, lots of blood, and crude language that may not be suitable for people aged 17 and under.

Outworld. A world previously unknown to the great majority of the inhabitants of the realm known as Earth. However, through many successive generations, Earth would field its champions to fight the chosen warriors of Outworld in order to prevent the absorption of the realms, melding Earth into the empire of the tyrant Shao Kahn. In the late 1990s, Liu Kang would successfully defend the Earth in Mortal Kombat, defeating Goro of the Shokan race and forcing Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn's general to flee to Outworld. Despite this failure, Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn have formulated an almost perfect scheme to attack Earth against the rules of Mortal Kombat set forth by the Elder Gods: arranging the resurrection on Earth of the long dead Queen of Edenia, Sindel, whom Shao Kahn would take as his wife. This act would force the portals between Earth and Outworld open indefinitely. To distract Earth's guardian Raiden and it's strongest warriors, Shang Tsung lured them to Outworld to compete in another tournament. This however was an elaborate deception: winning the tournament would have no repercussions for the Outworld invasion, once Sindel lives again. Or so Shao Kahn believed...

“Silence!” The deep, hollow voice of the Emperor of the Outworld echoed through the large, darkened chamber. The Skulls which adorned the walls vibrated almost in kind, and the pillars surrounding the elaborate throne in which Shao Kahn sat almost shook to represent his discontentment. “I have no need for your pathetic excuses, Mileena. It is because of you that we have lost Kitana to Earth. I can accept the loss of face of Kintaro's death, making the mortals think they have beaten us, but in taking Kitana, they secured a victory that they were not supposed to have, and all because you failed in your duty.” His eyes seethed through his mask, a mask that resembled a skull. Before him held in chains by his warriors was the one who failed to carry out her part of the plan: she had to prevent his daughter, Kitana, from escaping to Earth.

“I... have nothing to say, no excuses to give, my Lord,” Mileena stated through her veil, “Do with me as you must. I failed you.” Kahn stepped down the steps of his throne and looked straight into the ninja's eyes, all that was uncovered of her face.

“Yes. Yes you have. For the last time. Men, take her away. Her execution will take place in two days. It can be a part of the festivities, for when Earth is at our mercy.” Mileena stood between two grilles which emanated red light into the chamber. She had failed her master, that was true, but that did not mean she intended to fail herself. She knew to defy Shao Kahn in front of him was to guarantee one's death, but the fact that she wasn't to be executed on the spot was all she needed. She did not try to struggle as black clad soldiers of the Outworld army hauled her up and dragged her by the chains wrapped around her wrists. She eyed them hungrily through her eyes, breathing heavily through her pink veil. Her attire was an elaborate leather leotard, matching the colour of her veil, and showing much her her torso: it didn't leave too much to the imagination. It was complimented by matching gauntlets and high heeled boots. In many ways her appearance was an expression of her predatory nature. She was bold, but at the same time cunning. She would wait for the time to strike, to make good her escape. She followed the guards, walking willingly out of the great imperial chamber. One day, her dreams of seeing Shao Kahn fall and taking his power would see reality, of that she was sure.

With that business taken care of, Shao Kahn sat back on his throne, and watched as his generals entered the chamber. Inwardly he was somewhat concerned of what Kitana might do if she discovers his plans, but ultimately it will not matter. He would make sure it won't, as would his generals, or they would face the same fate as Mileena. He had made that clear to them. His generals were a bundled assortment of the most heinous, despicable and cruel examples of their race... people who did appeal to him. From Rain, an Edenian nobleman who was quick to betray his race, to Kano, a human mortal who didn't care one bit happened to his own planet as long as he could keep his own pathetic life, all were useful fighters. All were expendable too. The generals stood in a line, waiting patiently to be addressed.
“Motaro, step forward.” Motaro was a centaur, and his considerable height and girth made him stand out among the rest.

“Yes, my lord,” Motaro bowed his front legs, his red eyes showing servitude, and a certain eagerness which wasn't there among the other Generals.

“The Shokan, Goro and Kintaro have failed me, and those two have died for their ineptitude. I have yet to given the Centaur's a chance to prove themselves, but I do believe you can do no worse than those fools...”

“Wait, Emperor!” There was incredibly uncomfortable silence that followed the interruption. However Shao Kahn was not completely surprised by the insolence of his surviving shokan general, Sheeva.

“Silence.” She didn't dare say anything else. Shao Kahn stared a hole into her, and she felt his cold eyes, hoping for their mercy. “Be glad that I do not simply sentence your entire race to death, Sheeva. It would only take one word from me.” The four armed, seven foot tall shokan bowed her head.

“O-of course, great Emperor.” Shao Kahn once again stood up and pointed towards the central arch, a large stone circle which would soon come to house the portal to Earth. “Soon you will all lead your own extermination squads to the pathetic Planet Earth, and you will seize it's souls for me. Motaro, you will co-ordinate the rest, ensuring their work is efficient and worthy of the armies of Outworld.

“It will be done, Emperor.” Motaro bowed again, and Sheeva though afraid to say anything, could not hide the disgust on her face. Motaro turned to her and grinned.

“Soon your race will serve us Centaurs, at the rate you're all falling out of favour,” he growled happily. Sheeva hissed at him and walked away, shoving the human Kano out the way roughly.

“Oi, watch it four arms!” He readjusted his red and black uniform. He smiled at Motaro.

“Hey, I'm fine with following you, co-ordination, that shit's hard work, I'd much rather get on with, ya know, killin'.” Motaro strode past him, nodding.

“That is one thing we can agree on, the fun of killing, human. But I expect you to do as your told or I'll rip your guts out myself,” the centaur rose to his full height, intimidating the human criminal.

“Hey, hey, no worries, no worries. Just save enough of them for old Kano, especially that pretty blonde Sonya Blade and her idiot partner.” Kano took out his dagger and caressed it gently. “Yep, those two have a date with my knife, I'll make 'em smile from ear to ear.” As he said it, another general brushed past him, Ermac. The orange ninja never spoke, so didn't apologise. “Goddamnit, no one here has any manners, none at all. Well I'm going, see you out there in the killing fields,” Kano's red eye glowed as he walked off to make his own preparations. This left Baraka, the Tarkatan general. His mutant fanged face belied the fact he was quite intelligent, and he knew one thing about Mileena no one else but Shao Kahn did: she was a Tarkatan. He didn't want to see one of his kind executed, but could not help her directly. However, he had arranged a “package” for her that should make her escape easier. He stared at the closed portal to Earth. He looked forward to all the blood his Tarkatan armies were going to spill, it always made him smile; even more than normal.

As she walked through the stone corridors of Shao Kahns fortress, Sheeva could not help her growing frustration, which expressed itself as her slamming all four of her fists against the wall. Her once proud race, dominated and taken over by Shao Kahn like many before and after them, were naught but helpless pawns in the Emperor's power games and wars. Goro had, for but nine generations brought some pride to the Shokan race, standing as the Mortal Kombat champion, until his defeat by a human. Conventional wisdom would have her hate these humans who destroyed what little pride the Shokan had left, but this was short sighted. She knew deep down that the only way her race could restore to it's former glory is through the death of Shao Kahn and the end of the Outworld Empire. That was why she needed now to do it, before Shao Kahn absorbs another world and becomes too powerful for anybody to stop. She was unsure about how she would accomplish such an impossible task, but there lay hope in the ancient legends of her race. As they believed themselves to be descended from dragons, and Earth from what she had learned about it also had legends about the legendary divine creatures. Somehow she believed that there was something in Earthrealm that could maybe help her on her quest. Just as she was thinking harder, trying to remember the old stories she noticed a masked Tarkatan who seemed to be skulking in the outer grounds of the Fortress from the great window she stood at. He left something wrapped in cloth just underneath a nondescript rock, and then left, melting into the background. She wondered what she was witness to, and continued to observe. To her surprise, Mileena and her “escort” appeared on the scene. At first she walked with them absolutely nonchalantly, but then all of a sudden, near to the rock she collapsed, causing her captors to stop for a moment. Sheeva quickly realised that packaged cloth was for none other than Mileena, who as soon as she managed to lay hands on the package, was before the guards could even react free of her chains. She brandished what had been left for her, her weapons, two deadly sharp sai.

“Now you two will die!” Mileena directed at her captors, and shot energy blasts from the weapons which knocked them off their feet. Before the masked warriors could even stand up Mileena leapt upon them, sinking her blades deep into their hearts. Sheeva, by habit almost of obedience to Khan, leapt out the window and dropped twenty feet to the ground, landing effortlessly and flexing her multiple muscles.

“Mileena, I will not allow you to defy our Emperor and escape!” Mileena quickly assumed a combat stance but didn't attack. She had something else in mind.

“Shokan, surely you realise you are nothing but a pawn to Kahn as I was. When you fail or show any weakness he will simply have you killed. I would rather take my chances on Earth, where I may be able to find something to defy him, or take my chances siding with the Earthlings. I suggest you think about doing the same before your head adorns the castle walls.” Sheeva stayed her hand, realising that Mileena had a point.

“Tell me, ninja, do you know of a way to Earth?” She may not have been able to see Mileena's mouth through her veil but it was plain to see she was smiling.

“I might, and if you help me get past Kahn's guards I'll take you there.” Sheeva knew she had to make a choice and quick, but also knew Mileena was a treacherous, fiendish creature who could not be trusted. Still, she had been waiting for a chance like this...

“Alright, but do not deceive me Mileena or I will kill you.” Mileena nodded in acknowledgment.

“Come then Shokan, we must leave these grounds and travel to a buried temple out in the wastes, rumour has it that it can open a portal to the other realms for a short period of time when enough energy has been collected.

In Earthrealm, it had begun. From out of nowhere the sky opened up, a massive whirlpool of mist. It could be seen from every corner of the globe, and before long the massacres started. Freaks of nature with horrific smiles and multi-limbed creatures that defied imagination, masked warriors and ruthless killers, the streets of Earth became killing grounds as souls were absorbed into the portal above. The Earth's Governments were slow to react and form any kind of military strategy, despite the urgings of Major Jackson Briggs and Sonya Blade that an event like this was just waiting to happen. Only Raiden, lightning God and protector of the realm of Earth had a plan of action. He had summoned the great warriors of Earthrealm, among them Liu Kang, victor of the previous Mortal Kombat tournament, Kung Lao, descendant of Earth's previous champion, Johnny Cage, actor and famed martial artist, Nightwolf, a tech savvy and powerful spiritual shaman of a Native American tribe and Kitana, an Edenian princess and Outworld assassin, defected to Earthrealm. They stood in the courtyard of a Shaolin temple, the monolithic whirlpool hanging above them. Liu Kang was the first to ask the obvious question, How?

“I do not know,” Raiden's solemn reply, “Somehow Shao Kahn has subverted the rules of the Elder Gods. We only have a matter of days before Kahn himself comes through the portal, and by then, it will be too late. Earth's military cannot fight this. They can bravely try, but your technology, is simply no match for the kind of power Kahn and his warriors possess.”

“Then what can we do,” the cybernetic-ally enhanced “Jax” Briggs asked desperately, “we can't lay down and die, we have to fight this.” Raiden looked towards the portal and again at his protectorate, the realm he cherished so much.

“Shao Kahn's armies cannot be beaten, we lack the numbers of accomplished warriors. Either we find a way to seal that portal, or Shao Kahn must be killed in Mortal Kombat and his reign of terror ended. This is the final fight for humanity.”

“You are correct about that, Thunder God.” The voice emanated from across the courtyard, a voice all recognised and despised. Standing there was Shang Tsung, Outworld sorcerer, and with him, Shao Kahn's servant Reptile. There was also a woman only one of them recognised, a strange woman in a purple dress, her hair shining white with black stripes running through it.

“...Mother! How? How can this be!” Kitana gasped, which shocked the other Earth warriors. Raiden tensed.

“I see, this is how you've done it. Resurrected Sindel, the queen of Edenia, here in Earthrealm.” Shang Tsung, laughed, his ponytail bobbing.

“Exactly Thunder God, through my efforts I have allowed for this to happen. I am here now for one thing and one thing only... Liu Kang's soul!”

It was enough for Cage, who darted forward to attack the sorcerer with his patented shadow kick. However, Sindel got in the way, and screamed at him. No ordinary scream, the intense shock-wave it formed through the air sent the actor flying, crumpling among his comrades.

“Johnny!” Sonya shouted, but she was held back by Kitana.

“We can't win this fight, I cannot kill my mother. Raiden, please, I know your ability to interfere is limited, but get us out of here, teleport us to safety!”

The Thunder God complied, and they all vanished as Shang Tsung tried to frustratingly attack Liu Kang as he dissipated.

“We will finish them next time,” he growled, “for now, Shao Kahn I'm sure wishes to see his beautiful wife,” he directed at Sindel, who nodded delicately.  

It was a living nightmare that the younger Sub Zero found himself in, dodging his robot pursuers, automatons created out of mortals by his former clan. He no longer wore the distinctive uniform of the Lin Keui and on his a face glowed a red scar marking him for death. He had refused to undergo the process that would turn him into one of those soulless things. Their pursuit was relentless; he had little choice but to keep struggling on, hopping borders, entering new countries. He knew right now he was in Greece, nearby it's most famous ancient landmarks. The chase had come all the way from the clan's base in Tibet. Cyrax, Sektor and Smoke. Those were his pursuers, the latter a man he once knew as a friend. In every close confrontation he had been unable to match the co-ordinated assault of the cyborgs and had to flee. He convinced himself that there was no dishonour in fleeing from a battle that was unwinnable, but his will to continue was shakey, it had took so much out of him. Above him in the sky the hungry portal continued to propagate; that had appeared in the sky half a day ago and he had seen the consequences, inhuman warriors from Outworld had attacked Earthrealm. On his own, with his own problems there was little he could do. He had no idea either what his brother's undead killer, Scorpion was doing. He was an enigma to be sure. As he reached a grand marble monument he knew as the Parthenon, the pillars jutting towards the sky created ominous shadows over him. He smelt an ambush. Almost at all times those damned robots managed to get ahead of him somehow. Sure enough, a spinning red object flew threw the air and landed upon the grand steps before him. Sektor. Sub Zero let off an ice blast, freezing a missile the red cyborg had unleashed from it's torso, and leapt, tumbling through the air himself to attempt to land a kick to it's emotionless mask of a face. But Sektor vanished before it could connect. However Sub Zero knew this trick and rolled as soon as he landed, dodging the robot's teleporting strike. From deeper within the monument he heard a slight noise, enough of a warning for him to dodge a harpoon which flashed towards him. It was generally like this, every time he avoided or countered one move by the assassins, another one would attack. His once ally, now roboticised enemy leapt into clear view. The red and grey machines circled him, boxing him within the ancient ruins. Sub Zero knew he had made a grievous error, he was trapped with little room for maneuver. And there was one unaccounted for, that could attack from any angle at any time. Like a caged animal rushing for it's bars, he viciously pummelled both robots with strikes, punches, roundhouse kicks, everything he had in order to make some room. He knocked back Smoke, and had Sektor where he wanted him. Ready to throw an ice blast, he let it fly, only for it to hit something in midair well before it could reach it's intended target.

“NO!” Cyrax attacked from above, the frozen object that smashed on the ground one of its elecro-nets. Cyrax's head span, creating a rotor effect. Sub Zero had witnessed another young Lin Kuei who tried to escape with him ruthlessly dispatched by this, cut into pieces. He let the ice energy within him direct his actions, falling back, leaving a statue of ice in his wake which Cyrax cut through. He did not know what to do, he could not win against the three of them. As they regrouped, he prepared for his last stand...

Then all of a sudden people appeared, a whole crowd of people around him. There had been a flash of blue silhouettes and then suddenly they appeared solid.

“What is this? What kind of sorcery!” Then he recognised the members of the group, most of whom he knew from the Mortal Kombat tournament he had competed in Outworld the year before.

“Sub Zero? Why are you here?” asked Liu Kang.

“Duck!” was Sub Zero's reply, as he threw an ice blast at a backstabbing Smoke. Liu Kang reacted in time and felt the chilling cold of the energy as it passed barely above him. The blast hit Smoke in the chest, but these machines were never as adversely affected by Sub Zero's powers as men, their bodies reinforced against them.

“We must defeat these machines, they won't stop until they kill me, or we deal with them!” Sub Zero did not have to yell that twice, and with the numbers advantage the battle wasn't difficult. Liu Kang and Kitana quickly picked off Cyrax, Kitana using her fan lift power to render the yellow machine immobile as Liu Kang flew through the air delivering a powerful series of bicycle kicks, smashing it against a pillar. Smoke was similarly dispatched as Jax grabbed it and threw it through the air with his powerful cyborg arms, allowing Johnny Cage to shadow kick it against another Pillar. Sektor, it's programming realising this was an unwinnable battle, opened it's wrist panel and teleported away before Kung Lao's hat could take its head off.

“Well, two out of three ain't bad!” Jax exclaimed. Sub Zero dropped to a kneeling position, the battle having took much out of him.

“Yes, Jackson Briggs, I think you are right. But do not destroy Smoke... he was once a dear friend of mine. I want to believe something of his soul can be salvaged. Do you believe so, Raiden?” The Thunder God looked at the two dormant machines.
“I see this is human technology corrupted, and evil. Look at them closely Jax, you walk a dangerously close path.” The Major shook his head.

“Hell no, I let them strengthen my arms, that is nothing like this crazy crap. Sonya, you back me, right?” Sonya Blade shrugged. “Yeah, some partner you are,” Briggs sighed. Nightwolf had been examining the two machines as the conversation went on, and he knew he had an idea.
“I'm afraid I don't know if we can salvage Smoke's soul, Sub Zero, but I do know machines can be reprogrammed. They are impressive, I believe it would be a waste not to use them in the fight against Shao Kahn. Do you have any problems with this, or you Raiden?” Neither Sub Zero nor the thunder god lodged a protest, so Nightwolf set to work on the machine's wrist panels, hacking them with his computer know how.

“This will take a little time, hopefully we will not be beset by the Outworld extermination squads here,” Nightwolf hoped out loud as he worked.

“We should be safe for a time, but we need to formulate a plan of action. Kitana, we must discuss your mother,” Raiden boomed. The graceful princess of Edenia had been silent the entire time, sitting on the steps, twirling her fan. Seeing her mother a slave to Shao Kahn's evil had made her despondent.

“Raiden... I lost my mother ten thousand years ago. That was painful. But it's nothing compared to what I feel now. It's perverse, Kahn is so evil he won't even let her rest in peace, why she took her own life. I cannot kill her. But she must die. Therefore I won't be of much use to you, I'm sorry.”

“Kitana, it may not be necessary to kill her. It may be possible to break Shao Kahn's control. Either way, they need you to face this, Earthrealm needs you to face this. Millions are being murdered as we speak. It may only take one death to end this.” Kitana stayed silent, not showing any reaction. Raiden tried a different tact.  “Liu Kang needs you. You were of great help to him in the two tournaments, and he needs you just as much now. You've already dealt with the shock that for millennia, Shao Kahn made you believe that you were his daughter, that that freak Mileena was your sister, and had you kill for him. If you can face that and stand as a proud warrior then you can face this.” After several moments she nodded.
“You are right Raiden... I cannot be selfish. I will do what it takes to end this... even give my Mother peace again.”

“Very good. The rest are training with what little time we have left, quite the appropriate place for it, in these ruins. Join them, make sure you are at your peak. You will all need to be.” As Raiden finished his sentence, the earth began to tremor...

Watching the chaos occurring in Earth Realm through a mystical orb, Shao Kahn smiled. Before long he would join the battle and put his hammer to use, crushing pathetic mortals. He would personally rip apart Earth's warriors, especially Liu Kang, the only warrior to ever embarrass him in defeat. As he felt the souls of Earth's people being absorbed into Outworld through the portal, increasing his power, he awaited eagerly for Shang Tsung to arrive with his newly reborn wife. Queen Sindel... this time she would be obedient to him, faithful. He would recapture Kitana and they would be his prize for conquering both Edenia and Earth Realm. The portal fluctuated into site, the thing he had been waiting for. Shang Tsung, his queen and Reptile appeared before him. Shang Tsung and Reptile quickly bowed, as the Emperor rose from his throne to greet his new Queen.

“Sindel, it has been far too long. Seeing you again, and knowing you have given me the key to Earthrealm, it makes me feel something... something the mortals must call happiness.” His Queen bowed her head and smiled seductively.

“I am only glad that I can serve my great Emperor and Husband. I know you wanted to see me, however, I request, humbly, that I may go back to Earth to continue it's occupation.” Shao Kahn waved his arm.

“Such enthusiasm, you really are my perfect Queen. However, I am afraid I must deny you this... wait!” Before Kahn finished his sentence, his attention went back to the orb showing the events occurring in Earthrealm. The Outworld emperor had existed for millenniums and had seen much in that lifespan. But nothing quite like what he saw now.

“Sindel.... I think I can grant your request... this conquest may be more difficult than I have anticipated.” Shang Tsung and Sindel turned to see what Shao Kahn saw through the Orb. It left them both speechless.

When they escaped from Outworld, Mileena and Sheeva had ended up at the base of a large Earth mountain. Their escape had not been simple, as they fought through numerous of Kahn's lower henchmen. Mileena has satiated her violent lusts on the poor souls, and Sheeva herself had perfected her own methods of killing, cracking their skulls and pulling off their skins. In a way defying Shao Kahn had woken a viscious streak in her, probably because she knew she had leaped into a rather desperate situation. The portal that loomed over them in the sky confirmed as much. However, Mileena was more confident.

“Sheeva, I was not simply Kitana's babysitter or Kahn's assassin. I often eavesdropped on him.” Sheeva hissed.
“Subterfuge, not honourable at all. But it does take some courage to do anything like that to Kahn.” Mileena laughed evilly.

“I want to destroy Kahn, I want his power, I want his realms, I want to be Empress. I'm willing to tread dangerous grounds. It's a dangerous game, after all. But not one I play foolishly. I did not count on that wench escaping me, admittedly, but I was going to make my move sooner rather than later. I know why Kahn wants this world.”

“Alright, I see, but then I know you are an ambitious, and treacherous creature, why do you want my help. Is it simply because you are too cowardly to fight me?” Mileena's eyes glared at Sheeva, but then filled with glee.

“Oh I couldn't beat you with brute force, look at you, you have four biceps, and each one of them practically thicker than both of mine put together. But I will say this, if I wanted to kill you,” she said, then made a throat slit motion “you would be dead. I don't pretend I do things honourably. But for what it's worth, Goro was a very competent and powerful ally to Shao Kahn. I know to play with power, you need pieces. I'm willing to cut a deal with you, when I'm empress, the Shokan can be the highly honoured race they want to be. All I wish from you, is loyalty in return. I think that's fair, it's fairer than you get from Kahn.” Sheeva mulled over this for a moment. Really though it didn't take much thought.

“I will accept this deal as an alliance, we will share power. You wouldn't even approach me if you didn't need me, I know you well enough, so it's that or, we fight now. Because this is not a negotiation either of us can walk from.” Mileena hissed in anger, but she couldn't see any alternative to accept those terms... for the present anyway.

“Well, fine, that's acceptable. And don't be too shocked, I mean, it's not like Quan Chi and Shang Tsung forming an alliance, we're more reasonable people I think than those two egomaniacs.” Sheeva chuckled, something that was rather alien to her, but then the thought of the two sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung ever working together was such a ridiculous thought it was funny. Compared to that, it wasn't so hard to see she and Mileena coming to an agreement. Mileena gestured for the Shokan to follow.

“There's a temple underground, the entrance is somewhere on this mountain. I had sent some of Baraka's Tarkatans to locate it and lay low whilst the tournament last year took place. I sent them a signal that we are ready, so they should appear to guide us momentarily.” What Mileena said proved to be true, and they found the cleverly concealed cave entrance located not far up the mountain path. At a signal from Mileena, Sheeva realised that they didn't want any company from here on in. She surprised the Tarkatans and lifted them both effortlessly by their throats, choking them so they could not use their blades.

“Finish them!” Mileena egged her on, and with a display of her considerable strength, she completely crushed the throats of the unfortunate Tarkatans. “Hah, now I know why Kahn likes to keep a Shokan around.” Sheeva tossed the corpses to the ground and flexed her biceps.

“I hope the time to come to fight is soon, the way I feel I could destroy Shao Kahn in battle right now.”

“That feeling of elation is great, isn't it?” Mileena pointed out, “But no, we can hardly take him on as we are now. But a Tarkatan that came back to Outworld to inform me of what is inscribed on the walls of these temples... it sounded like no power I had ever heard of. The mortals call this place 'Olympus', something strange like that, and it is a place of many, many legends. Almost all legends have a grain of truth to them, and it was said in this region that the world was once inhabited by powerful beings known as Titans. They captured a human and tortured him for that information... those are probably his bones there,” she pointed, “and this temple, it's not been entered for centuries. I just think that all these things are not unrelated.” Sheeva listened.

“There are many stories about this realm, and Kahn desperately wants it. That cannot be a coincidence either.”

“Exactly, I say we go in, and we find out just what is hidden here.”

The two warriors explored the dark, narrow cave. It eventually opened up into a large cavern which housed a magnificent marble shrine, and a stairway leading down to a huge antechamber. The Shrine featured statues of armoured human like beings, fighting against creatures like dragons, and a bull headed beast. There was even a statue that caught Sheeva's attention.

“Centaurs? These people worshipped Centaurs! They did not have much taste, did they?” She shouted angrily, before deciding she didn't even want to look at the statue any longer. She charged up some energy and blasted the statue of the horse-human hybrid apart with a fireball. Mileena was amused by the outburst.

“Oh I think when we rule, I'll need to watch what you do to Motaro. It will be a masterpiece of suffering, no doubt.” Sheeva nodded.

“I will carve him up and stuff him, and hang his body parts off my walls. As for his race, maybe they can be our pets. Maybe,” Sheeva growled. The Shokan-Centaur feud went back a long, long time. But Motaro, she would take so much satisfaction in doing to him what she wanted.

“No love lost I see. Still, this is all quite fascinating, but we have power we need to look for. That massive chamber looks important, it's got to be the best place to start. We only have a few days, if we find nothing here we will need to be quick to improvise.” Sheeva smiled.

“Well in that case I can probably convince Raiden that I want to fight for Earth, he'd believe me that I want to free my race. It's true anyway. You though, he'd probably fry with a lightning bolt if you get within a castle's reach of Kitana.” Mileena grimaced.

“Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Come on.”

It was immediately obvious as they entered the chamber that it housed something important. In the centre of the chamber was a fountain, however it had ran dry long ago. The temple as a whole was a shell of what it had must been. Whilst Mileena usually considered artistry below her, she had to admit Earthrealm housed some spectacular architecture: she'd have to consider finding a human to redesign what will soon be her fortress. Kahn's tastes were a bit grey, even for her tastes. However, they felt something pulsating, some form of energy that felt as if it was pent up, within the chamber's walls.

“There is something here, almost certainly, but what do we do, to make things happen?” Sheeva asked out loud.

“Quiet,” Mileena snapped, “Let me think. The key must be contained somewhere among these murals.”

“There are murals everywhere, it will take some time to find anything from examining them. We need more action.” Sheeva said, as she stomped a foot on the ground. Whether it was sheer dumb luck, fate, or irony, Sheeva's impatient action caused something to happen. It caused the murals on the floor to light up, and they light progressed along lay lines towards the central fountain. Mileena gasped as water began to flow from it.

“Shokan luck is enviable, even if it's dumb luck... which fits the Shokans...”

“Some of our males might be slow, but don't ever question my intelligence,” Sheeva replied cuttingly. “Anyway, I wonder if this water has any magic properties.” Suddenly, the fountain itself crumbled, and the water took solid form, dividing into two beings. Even for Outworlders like Sheeva and Mileena, watching water come alive and form two solid beings, two muscular, bronze skinned warriors fully adorned in caped armour, carrying spears and wearing strange helments with brushes atop them was a very strange sight. The two warriors weren't quite human either, they were at least two foot taller than most humans, and dwarfed even Sheeva. The two warriors, faces hidden by the golden faceguards of their helmets, assumed battle stances.

“Well, we're going to have to beat these two if we're going to get anywhere!” Mileena shouted, and immediately rolled along the floor at an inhumanly fast speed, knocking one of the warriors off his feet.

“Seems so,” Sheeva replied, before charging the other warrior and wrestling it, using her advantage in limbs to wrest it's spear away from it. She didn't hesitate, leaping into the air and bringing her full weight upon the warrior, feet first, and spear first. Mileena was impressed at the speed Sheeva killed her warrior, she needed to pull her own weight, despite the large size difference. Deftly avoiding the spear thrusts, she leapt upon the spear and kicked the warrior's helmet off, revealing a simple, featurless face more like a golem than a human, before vanishing as the fighter tried to shake his spear. The warrior turned around only for Mileena's foot to meet his face again, staggering him backwards. She pulled out her sai and went in for the kill, stabbing through both sides of the creature's throat. Water spurted out, rather than blood, and the deed was done.

Just then, the entire ruin came alive... before them it had been restored to it's former glory, as if it was only the day before, and all the murals on the walls and floor glowed. They heard a voice, an alien voice that had no source.

“It has been almost five thousand years since warriors, of this realm or otherwise have passed the trial of the Titans. I am Chronos, and I was once a denizen of a long lost realm, I came to this realm and discovered here a power that allowed me to rule this planet until I was deposed by another, a lightning god. What you hear is what remains of me, and this power. I give this power unto you both, do with it as you will.” There was silence for several moments, Sheeva and Mileena not sure precisely what the disembodied voice meant. 

“Well, I believe we have found the power Shao Kahn must desire. I wonder if this Chronos meant Raiden, by lightning god?” Mileena speculated, before feeling the power in question hit her. It hit Sheeva at more or less the same time. Sheeva's bone and sinew cracked painfully, and at first she did not understand what was happening to her, only that when she looked up, the roof started getting... closer.

“What... what is happening to us!” She looked towards Mileena, and there was no mistaking it. The room was getting smaller... no, they were getting bigger! Mileena ran her hands across her shapely body.

“This... this is power! This is incredible!”

“Yes,” Sheeva replied, her voice, now much louder than before echoed through the chamber, “but there is the question, how are we going to get out of here at this size, it'll take us quite a long time to burrow our way back to the surface.”

“I don't think we'll have to worry about that... I don't feel like I'm going to stop growing anytime soon, do you?”

“No... you are right about that.” Sheeva of course by virtue of her default height was larger than Mileena, and Mileena by this time was closing in on forty foot tall, Sheeva closer to fifty. Sheeva's head was only ten foot below the roof of the chamber. Mileena secretly fantasised what this meant for her. Her tarkatan blood gave her an insatiable appetite for flesh... they were a man eating race, and at this point normal beings would be like bite size snacks for her. Their growth did not slow... it accelerated, and both of them felt the pressure of the marble roofing on their head for a few moments... before it crumbled to their increasing, immeasurable mass. Sheeva reached up with her four arms and began digging through the earth's crust itself. The Shokan always prided themselves on their great physical strength but what she possessed now was far beyond even a Shokan's wildest dreams, as her powerful arms simply moved through the very earth itself, it only offering the resistance of liquid. After twenty seconds of their rapid growth, they hit the surface about fifty foot above the chamber. They both got a grip on the surface, and began pulling themselves out onto solid ground. Sheeva spread out her titanic thirty foot limbs out, wallowing in her sheer physical strength.  Mileena noted she was enjoying it even more than her. With Mount Olympus as their backdrop, and their growing still not ceasing, they began to walk, knowing now they had the power to do everything they had dreamed of and more.

“I am going to eat Shao Kahn!” Mileena yelled, realisation dawning on her that such a thing was now totally possible.

“And I will squash Motaro between my fingers. Oh this Titan power, if Shao Kahn had this he would have become totally invincible.” Mileena, now hovering around the 150 foot mark, with the trees near her feet barely reaching the same height as her heel.

“It's just as well we found it before him.” Whilst Mileena was tempted to try and kill Sheeva, giving her this insane power to herself, the fact that Chronos had this power and yet was defeated worried her; though she did not say it out loud. It was maybe best to keep the Shokan around for now, in case there was a flaw in this seemingly perfect power they had found.

“I wonder when we will stop growing?” Sheeva mused, now 200 foot tall and viewing the earth before her almost like a map, the fields and forests being like tiny perfect models.

“I don't know, but I wouldn't mind if it was never...” Mileena's powerful body was an incredible sight to see, and she was Kitana's twin: she was always considered an intoxicating beauty. Where Mileena knew that the seductive affect her body might have on the tiny mortals is when she lifted her veil. Their lust would most certainly turn to horror then, and the fear would be absolutely exquisite.

“Well, the Shokan armies will have no problem pledging loyalty to me when they see this, what about you, do you command any loyalty in the Outworld forces?” Sheeva asked “because it might be a shame to squash useful soldiers.”

“Baraka will join us, and the Tarkatans. He helped me escape you see. The centaurs, you can do as you wish, I think everyone else will just be chaff for us to enjoy cutting. And Earth, we can take Earth just as easily as Outworld. Perhaps this would be an ideal planet for the Shokan to rule over in our new little empire?”

The two titans had rose to 400 foot now, still growing, at a brisk pace as they conversed. They had reached a town now, a town that housed some surviving humans and some outworld soldiers hunting them.

“Perhaps. And look, a settlement. I think we can start our fun small scale right now. There's only going to be so much land to dominate, we should pace ourselves,” Sheeva remarked, looking down at the matchbox sized buildings, and the now ant like inhabitants.

To a terrified onlooker far below, the booming voice above was deafening and barely legible. The sight was mind boggling. Before him several hundred yards to the left were gigantic, pink shaded high heel boots, the ankle of which was higher than the tallest building in the small nondescript town he called his home. To his right were similarly huge, bare feet that were not human, sporting only two massive toes each, all the height of two humans. Looking up, he could see their titanic abdomens, the human giantess in pink must have had a 150 foot bust, the four armed monster even bigger. And slowly both these immeasurably large creatures were slowly, but noticeably,  growing bigger. He thought that between the sky opening up and raining hell on Earth, and the fanged alien assassins slaughtering all of the people he knew in the streets in front of him, that he had seen everything, that it was the end of days and the Earth had entered armageddon... but this was a whole other level, so much so that even the mutant slaughterers all standing over their victims down the central street were equally frozen in shock. They all knew the two they were seeing, Mileena and Sheeva, but they had no idea how they could stand before them at such a massive scale. The 450 foot Shokan extended all four of her limbs, pushing forward her impressive muscular chest, and made a declaration to the insects at her feet.

“Human, or Outworldian, it matters not. Here today, you will be the first casualties in what will be known as the rule of the Shokan Titan, Sheeva. Bow down, worthless worms, and die!” Mileena decided to hang back and let Sheeva take some of her pent up God complex on the settlement. She didn't really care so much on demonstrating her power against such unimportant insects. Oh no, she had nothing but Shao Kahn and his main Outworld force on her mind. After that, perhaps the Elder Gods would follow...

Down below, everyone heard Sheeva, but no one bowed down as she ordered. It did not matter, their attempts to run, or hide, some desperately trying to burrow into the Earth, or enter the cellars of the once beautiful white stone buildings to avoid their incoming fate. It did no one any good whether they were from Earth or Outworld. Many dead human bodies that lay in the street already received an improvised burial courtesy of Sheeva's gigantic foot, the pressure being enough to shift the soil around them. The buildings collapsed like paper craft under her foot, and Sheeva was taking her time, singling out each building. However, that became boring for her quickly, so she decided to start bringing her four now 100 foot long, 15 foot thick arms into play. Her fingers easilly plucked up entire buildings, and she dug into the ground to bring up their underside foundations as well. Once she had debris in all four of her hands, she examined each one, counting around a dozen mortals, in each one of her hands. After giving them all a chance to be utterly terrified by their predicament, her monolithic cleavage or titanic, monstrous face being the last thing they were all going to see depending upon which hand they were in, she crushed all four into fists, spurting pints of blood through her thick, stubby fingers. All this power... and she was still growing. As she brought her attention on what was left of the town, in equal parts crushing everything beneath her feet and hands, Sheeva realised something was missing.

“There is no challenge to any of this. These pitiful beings cannot put up any fight at all, and these miserable little buildings don't feel satisfying to destroy.” Mileena laughed sadistically.

“Yes, although I think I like things that way, all these worthless bugs should be absolutely powerless before me. Still, Shokan, if you want to do something a bit more satisfying to you, I hear these humans build cities with buildings that scrape the sky. At least those might make for more entertainment for you.” Sheeva looked towards the horizon, and at her height she was capable of seeing miles away. There was a set of large buildings off in the distance, clearly a major urban centre. There even looked like some buildings that were bigger than her.

“Yes, that looks enticing,” Sheeva raised herself up, her height now past 700 foot, “Shall we go?” Mileena smiled widely beneath her veil.

“I thought you'd never ask.”

One poor soul had somehow managed to avoid the destruction of his home, by the destructive goddesses that had ravaged it. However, he hadn't made it that far, and when he began to feel the ground quake behind him, and a titanic darkness, like a shadow, swallowed him whole, he could not resist the temptation to look back. When he realised the massive high heeled boot was hovering right above, coming closer to the ground, he knew it was far too late. He said a silent prayer, hoping to join his loved ones in the afterlife. Mileena did not even know there was one surviving human on the ground as she tread by, Sheeva just behind her, when her boot squished him into paste. His death was merely a consequence of her passing. As they walked across the great expanse of countryside, crushing forests and farmland, they finally stopped growing, and the end result was pretty spectacular for them both. Sheeva had reached a truly unparallelled height of 1500 foot. Mileena was no slouch either but held back by her much slighter build than the Shokan, falling somewhere between 1350 and 1400 foot.

“I can see how Chronos ruled this Earth with this power, these mortals when they were much more primitive couldn't have opposed him in the slightest,” Mileena remarked, to which Sheeva replied,

“Maybe but obviously the Elder Gods took exception to him, it is almost certain they engineered his defeat.”

“An intelligent assumption, I say we don't hesitate in going after the Elder Gods once we have dealt with Kahn and Earthrealm, to not give them a chance to do the same to us. We must find Raiden, I am certain he will know how they did it. We can torture the answers out of him. Maybe not even him personally, I bet he would divulge what we want when he sees how his pitiful human race are at our mercy.” Sheeva glared at Mileena's back.

“That too is very dishonourable. You really are a despicable creature!” Mileena turned her head and smiled.

“Don't you remember back there, you murdered dozens of beings who were of no threat to you. How is that honourable? I don't think you were wrong to do it, why not exercise your power over those who are defenceless? It is the right of the strong. Honour is just how the weak try to excuse their inabilities in the end.” Sheeva had no rebuttal. By now she had lost what little nobility she had retained as a normal sized Shokan to this power. She could still bring her race to a position of strength and dominance but it would no longer be through honourable means. She wondered what Goro would think if he were still here, would he agree to this, this plan to brutally massacre the Earthlings, and would he approve of her ruling the race as no doubt would be inevitable? Did she care given even if he was still around, he'd be little more than an annoying flea to her?

“I will... continue on this path with you. It's still the only way in which we can finally destroy Shao Kahn and end his madness. I will not rule this planet like he, but, it will still need tamed. It will need to recognise its new ruler, and I will show them my power cannot be defied.” Killing was nothing new to her, it's not as if it impinged on her conscience, in the end she only cared that she would be seen in an honourable light by her race, and bringing them to prominence, ruling over an entire realm in which every other species was subservient... especially the centaurs, she at least had a modicum of respect for the humans, as the one known as Liu Kang proved they were a strong and honourable fighting race... would ultimately be the right thing to do, as a proud Shokan.

“Stop Sheeva... I sense... yes, I sense Kitana, she is nearby. If she is, then all of her earthling friends must be to, and perhaps Raiden!” Mileena said with glee, “What luck, they've spared us the trouble of finding them. Kitana is right on the menu next to Shao Kahn,” she practically salivated. She pointed to what looked like a strange, white temple surrounded by tall pillars... well tall to a normal person. The entire structure was smaller than Mileena's foot.

“They're in there. I'm going to go let my dear 'sister' know how we've been lately.” Sheeva crossed her massive arms and shrugged.

“I'll leave this to you then, you have some catching up to do.” Mileena stomped happily towards the structure.

The earthquake was incredibly potent, as the Earth Kombatants had to hold on to one of the great pillars or each other to stay standing. Raiden didn't have a clue why there would be such a sudden quake in this vicinity, to his knowledge there had been no plate shift, so this could not be natural. However when he saw the cause, he stared intently at it. He was not as shocked as the other warriors, especially not Kitana, as he was fully aware of the Titan power, the only power that could cause the sight of an enormous Mileena before them. He had not counted on one of their enemies to tap into that power... he had made a grave mistake in that assumption, one they were all going to pay for.

“Raiden, how... how can she be that size! She was bad enough at my height,” Kitana yelled disparately, utterly horrified that this thing, this freak that carried her appearance but none of her compassionate personality was all of a sudden in a position of godlike power.

“This is a power that we, the Gods sealed on Earth five thousand years ago. Somehow Mileena has managed to awaken it, and now that I sense outwards, she is not the only one,” he said, as he pointed to a vast female Shokan in the distance, a warrior they did not recognise, but it was enough to know she was clearly aligned with Mileena.

“Kitana, it has been a while,” Mileena's voice boomed over them, a sadistic smile imprinted beneath her veil, “and Raiden, you are here to. I want to know, Thunder God, how you sealed this power away and defeated Chronos. If you tell me, I will not crush you all under my foot right now.... besides Kitana, who is going to be my first meal, before her 'father' Shao Kahn.”

“Chronos, what, like the Titan in Greek myth? He actually existed?” Kung Lao asked quizzically, to which Raiden nodded.

“Don't be too shocked, warrior monk, there is a lot more to this planet than the human race today realise, a big part of why it is so prized by other realms, who have wanted to conquer it through the ages. Chronos was the last one to manage it, before he was defeated by I, assisted by the Elder Gods.”

“So despite how it looks, she's not unbeatable,” Liu Kang pointed out, and took his battle stance. He was prepared to stand up to even a Mileena hundreds of times his size if he had to, to protect Earth.

“Stow it for now, Liu Kang, we are not winning this battle here. My answer to you, Mileena, is no, I will not tell you.”

“Then die, Earthlings!” Mileena yelled angrily, just about deafening all the warriors, and she stomped her foot down on the Parthenon, reducing it to dust.

Shao Kahn had done the unthinkable. He had recalled much of his invasion force, to reinforce the defences of Outworld. When he saw the giant Mileena and Sheeva through the orb, he knew that inevitably they would turn their attention to him. He had heard of Chronos, and how his power had been sealed away on the miserable backwater realm. Ever since he had wanted the planet Earth. Seeing what those two degenerates had become, akin to Gods. told him he had been right in seeking that power, but he never accounted for Mileena's deviousness nor for the fact that the snivelling Shokan would grow a spine and defy him like this. Chronos had been defeated, so he was not completely without hope, rather, he was confident he could meet, and beat this threat just as he had beat so many others. He had ordered Sindel to lead a taskforce of Outworld's finest warriors in order to try and discover a means of defeating the Titans with secondary orders to eliminate Earth's kombatants. Compared to those two threats, leaving most of the mortals alive on Earth was hardly an issue. Chances are most of them wouldn't survive once Mileena and Sheeva were done with the realm anyway. He did have a strategy for the inevitable attack, taking a page out of Earthrealm's book and ordering the construction of war machines, such as huge ballistae and catapults. Such weapons would at least have some effectiveness on these two titans. Last of all, he had done something he had not done very often: he had appealed to his army's morale, promising them that defeating this threat to Outworld would bring them honour, and any who fight well in the battle to come would be well rewarded. Instilled in some of his warriors was a sense of loyalty to the cause, despite Kahn's tyrannical despotism, and he needed to encourage and fan those flames as much as he could, because this was the gravest threat his empire had faced.

“But still... you two will fall, and my Tarkatans will make a festival of your gigantic rotting carcasses, you damnedable traitors,” he said to what he saw on the orb,

Picking through the chips of marble and debris of the temple she had just crushed, Mileena realised pretty quickly that they had all escaped.

“The blasted Thunder god teleported them away in time. Oh well, I guess it would have been too easy otherwise.”

“He is a tricky one, Raiden, but he is of no threat. Anyway, it is time we begin the conquest in earnest. The humans will bow before us once we level a few of their cities and kill a few million of them,” Sheeva responded, impatient to continue on.

“I'll let you have all the fun here,” Mileena said, picking herself up and rubbing the dust off her gloves, “I want to go to Outworld, and deal with Shao Kahn. However, I will greatly appreciate it if you capture Raiden and Kitana, alive. Raiden we need, and Kitana,I want her reserved for my plate.”

“Guarantee me the same with Motaro, if you find him, and we have a deal.” Mileena nodded.

“Fine by me.” She looked up at the sky, at the massive portal. “Now that looks like the perfect size for me,” and she crouched, and leaped up off the earth with all her force, completely collapsing the ground and creating multiple ruptures, spinning through the air and towards the portal, which pulled her in. Sheeva now knew she had the entire planet Earth to herself, and she rubbed her four arms together. She would subjugate this entire realm in a matter of days.

Scorpion had observed everything from his home in the Netherealm. Earth was in grave danger, and he did care, surprising to even him. The younger Sub Zero, through his merciful behaviour in the tournament the year before had demonstrated an example to Scorpion which had reinforced the undead ninja's basic humanity. Therefore he was already well on his way to Earthrealm to join in the fight. He was unsure of how exactly they were supposed to fight the giant tarkatan mutant and the even larger Shokan, but if death, and his complete circumvention of it had taught him anything, it was that anything was possible. And knowing that wily thunder god, there was no doubt a plan was already under way to fight this. When the fiery portal to Earthrealm appeared before him, he took one last look at the seething bile and  huge piles of bones that pretty much completely made up the Netherealm, and decided that he was really glad whenever he could get out of this depressing place. Without hesitation he leapt through the portal.

The Earthquake reverberated almost through the whole of Outworld, as the titanic Mileena landed upon its tainted soil with megatons of force. For miles around the citizens of the cursed realm stood agape, not quite believing the force that had appeared before them. Mileena stood up from the crouched position she had landed in and surveyed the land which she was about to conquer. Nearby were the lost woods, a forest of soul devouring trees. Yes, this was definitely home. She just had to go claim its ownership from her former master.

“Just try to stop me Shao Kahn, and I'll give you a tour of my stomach,” she cackled, before beginning her march towards the great fortress in the distance, a fortress that barely came up to her  knee. Baraka, the general of the tarkatan hordes, had been stationed in the Wasteland with his forces after the sudden recall from Earthrealm. He had since heard the reason why but he was still not sure he believed it, until he saw it with his own eyes. Sure enough, moving in the distance and closing in on his position, was Mileena... a gigantic Mileena at a scale that would intimidate even the Elder Gods. His forces started to panic, growling and howling like the savage pack of animals they were, however Baraka clapped his arm blades together for their attention.

“Mileena is one of us! Now is the time to change sides, we can fight against our own, or we can side with her and claim Outworld as the realm of Tarkatans!” His declaration of Mileena's origins were enough to change the pack's behaviour towards a more excitable mood. They realised with such force behind them there would be no stopping them. That still didn't mean many hid their faces or cowardly bowed on the ground like dogs once the monolithic female tarkatan had reached them, looking down on them from hundreds of feet in the air. Baraka quickly bowed to; he knew his place was going to have to be servile, there wasn't much choice there.

“Good, Baraka, I see you are not foolish,” Mileena removed her veil and revealed the truth of her Tarkatan lineage, a giant set of fangs embedded in her mouth, “we can together depose Shao Kahn and rule Outworld. Well, I will rule Outworld, you will all be my most dependable subservients,” she grinned, her face resembling a wolf's.

“Of course, Great Mileena, but allow me, Baraka, to be your General: I have served Shao Kahn well in the past, now I wish to serve you.” To be honest, Baraka hated serving anyone, but he hadn't lived this long not knowing when declaring his loyalties was within his best interests. And he and Mileena had an intimate relationship; he could at least parley this into becoming the second most powerful creature in Outworld, and perhaps the Realms when all was said and done. He watched in awe as Mileena, who's face was difficult to make out so high in the air, descended with great rapidity towards him, cowing his men even more. The Tarkatan general shifted uneasily, finding it difficult to look up in the giant yellow eyes that dwarfed his own body. He felt the warmth of her breath, which bathed over him like a cloud of steam.

“Baraka, of course I intend to make you my general. I always respected your abilities... and not just on the battlefield,” she said softly, but still with enough vibration to almost knock Baraka over, before plucking him gently between her fingers, “but just remember, your life is in my hands. Or more accurately right now, between my fingers. I hope I can rely on you to be absolutely loyal to me, and to never scheme behind my back. The consequences for you would be... dire. And there are many more Tarkatans here would could take your place if need be. Understood?” Baraka struggled in pain between the giant pink pillars of leather and flesh, knowing only the slightest increase in pressure would pop him like a melon, but did manage to say what the titan wanted to hear.

“Yes Mistress, I will always be loyal to you and no one else,” he hissed out, before being dropped on a palm, relieving the pain.

“Good, I am pleased to hear this,” she purred, emphasising her incredibly large chest to the tiny tarkatan. He maintained his cool, barely, but he had known that body when it was normal sized and it had done a lot for him in the past. Maybe being a servant to Mileena would not be so bad.

“Mistress, what of Earthrealm?” He asked, wondering just what her plans for the invasion were. Mileena's gigantic fanged mouth frowned, which lead to further panic below within the hordes, who were unsure as to the reasons for the displeased expression on the goddess' face.

“I have had to share this power with the Shokan, Sheeva. To gain her co-operation I had to promise her Earthrealm.” Baraka was displeased to hear this.

“Great Mistress, our hordes were promised by Kahn that we would be allowed to slaughter the humans and to feed from them. Will this still be the case?”

“The Shokan would probably not agree to that; but nevermind, the time will come when I shall deal with her, and claim all the realms as my own. Before then, it is best to use her for as long as she can be useful.” Mileena placed Baraka gently back upon the ground.

“Utilise your hordes to placate the cities and villages. I will go and face Kahn myself. I don't need anyone's help to defeat him,” she said as she rose to her full titanic height. Finally, the Emperor of Outworld would meet his doom, within her digestive tract.

The group of Earthrealm warriors had been teleported to a US military base, which had been set up to fend off the Outworld attack. Raiden had chosen this place because a plan of action had to be put forth and the military support of Jax' and Sonya's army allies would be useful. Liu Kang and Princess Kitana sat with each other in the base' canteen, before they were joined by Jackson Briggs.

“Hey, Liu, Kitana, I've come to let you know, we've handed the yellow robot, Cyrax, to R&D. They think by equipping it with high yield weaponry, it can be used to fight those two giant pains in the ass.” Kitana was never fond of the loud mouth Earth warrior's language, but still appreciated all he had done in his role to help her escape Kahn's clutches.

“That is good to hear, human weapons as I understand it are crude, but can do great damage, not unlike you, Jax.” The major laughed, he didn't take offense to the comment at all, in fact he was quite proud of his attitude.

“Yeah, you might say that. Raiden believes we can stop them by finding some kind of energy filtering point, some mumbo jumbo about a sacred place here on Earth. In the meantime he wants the giant four armed freak distracted so we're going to take her on directly.”

“What is the scale of the damage the Shokan has caused,” Liu Kang asked anxiously. He had trained so hard to protect Earthrealm, and knowing there was little he could do in the current situation hurt him greatly.

“It's not good but it could be worse,” Sonya Blade entered, “I just got intel on that and apparently she is doing a lot of physical damage to the cities, but she's not killing a lot of people. She is leaving the ones who have bowed to her alone and she isn't chasing the ones who flee. It's just more the unfortunates caught in the buildings that she's been smashing apart. Seems she's hesitant towards killing everyone.”

“I wonder,” Kitana said, gaining everyone's attention, “I do not know Sheeva personally but she is a Shokan, and Shokans have a fierce sense of honour. They don't quite take pleasure in cruelty that Kahn and his kind do, so I wonder if we could try to reason with her. Perhaps if we could find Prince Goro, he could get her to see reason.”

“Goro went missing after the tournament at Shang Tsung's island, but if he survived then he won't ignore all that is happening,” Liu responded, “but for now we still have to deal with Kahn's invasion as well.”

“Of course, young warrior,” the heard the voice of Raiden as he entered the scene, accompanied by the rest of their group and Sub Zero, who bowed.

“I shall be joining you in this fight, I will do my best to honour myself and all of us together in the coming battles.” They all returned the bows.

“Everyone, we have a plan of action. In Outworld, I know that Mileena is attacking Kahn's fortress, so for now they are both occupied with each other. But make no mistake, Sheeva by herself is still an unstoppable force. It is all we can do to distract her, Sonya, Jax and Cyrax will remain here and see to that operation, it is best handled by the military,” he said, as the two soldiers saluted. “The rest of you, and Smoke, who has had his soul restored in a complex operation, will journey towards a temple located in Hong Kong. In this temple, there lies a great energy filter, as it could be called, a device which the Elder Gods have used in the past to weaken it's powerful enemies. This device was of great help to me when I fought and defeated Chronos, with it we can defeat Sheeva and Mileena...”

“That sounds excellent, we will go there immediately!” Liu Kang sprang up, but Raiden hadn't finished.
“Patience, Liu, it is not so simple. Unfortunately, Shang Tsung knows about the temple to, and he and Sindel along with an Outworld force will be on their way already. Sheeva we can and need to distract, they, you will need to fight. That filter is dangerous, it won't just trap the power from Sheeva, it can be used to give it to anyone, and if any of Tsung's group figures that out, the problem will increase exponentially.”

“Not to mention we must stop Kahn as well,” Kitana pointed out “my mother is the key to ending his access to this world.” Raiden nodded.

“Quite right, Kitana. All of you, you all have performed incredibly well in the service of Earthrealm, but this is your greatest battle yet. I ask you, are you all ready?”

The group answered positively.

Sheeva's journey across the Earth's landmass had been swift, aided by her teleportation abilities. She found no lack of urban areas along her path. She observed each time the tiny mortals scurrying away, trying to avoid her massive feet as they smashed into the ground, crushing whatever was in between, usually buildings that weren't even as large as one of the Shokan's toes. She had yet to come across any structure which passed her ample waistline, but these larger, box shaped buildings were the most fun to destroy. Often she would duck down, and look through the surface of little glass plates that allowed her to peer into the strange giant houses. She could just about make out the tiny humans panicking in fear, some simply frozen out of shock. At the lower levels, they would get a rather incredible view of her cleavage, and the ones at her face level would see her terrifyingly wide smile. Despite herself she found the intoxicating power pleasurable. Then she would reach forward with one of her arms, forcing her enormous hand into the building, callously crushing anybody and anything in it's immediate path. Pulling the hand out, she noticed various small speck of blood covering it, along with the dust cloud of debris. Then with one swipe, she'd bring the whole building down.

“You Earthlings will know your new ruler, Sheeva, commander of the Shokans!” she hissed, her voice audible for miles. Suddenly, she felt a force on her back. Not quite enough to make her stumble, but it was definitely a sharp, painful jolt. Turning around, she saw what looked like a mosaic of green on the ruined ground before her. She could make out that they were tiny, individual machines, and from one of them, a miniature fireball spewed, hitting her left breast. The small explosion was enough to hurt, and cause a minor burn, but little else.

“This must be Earthrealm's military force,” she observed, with a certain glee. There was no better way to prove her dominance than defeating this large force, which appeared to be made up of dozens of these little machines. Although she knew that all of these firing at once could cause a problem for her... that was only if she was a stationary target. Just as the green swarm fired in chorus, she had leapt in the air and brought her four arms forward, firing a massive searing fireball. The impact hit several of the tanks and caused chaos around for the land army. As they tried to match their target, she dissipated in the air.

“What, where the hell has she disappeared to!” Jax yelled to the monitor. He and Sonya were stationed a half mile away at a makeshift basecamp. Whilst Jax had wanted to be on the frontlines to take on the titanic shokan, Sonya had talked him out of it, being the more reasonable one of the two.

“I don't give a shit if you have titanium arms or not, you'll last about one second before she stomps you into paste. You'll damn well wait with me and Cyrax until the time has come to deploy him,” was what she had said. They did have a plan, Cyrax was loaded with a payload of nuclear pain, and they believed letting the Shokan be overconfident would leave her open to his attack. It was about the only shot they had so it had to count. The Shokan had the ability to teleport which would render practical nuclear assault a waste, they had to organise an ambush when she least expected it. Suddenly they felt an earthquake, which knocked them over.

“What the shit!” Jax quickly pulled himself up and picked the half junked monitor off the ground. Whilst the image was corrupted, he just about made up the cause of the earthquake. The thirty megaton weight of the Shokan had struck the earth, right in the middle of the makeshift military force. The earth itself had cracked, and the force, completely destroyed in one attack. The shokan was laughing maniacally, and a look of pure anger crossed the major's face.

“All those men, she's fucking killed them all! That is it, we can't wait any longer.” Sonya saluted, knowing they had little choice but to deploy Cyrax.

“They were just putting the finishing touches to a jetpack for Cyrax. He'll be more effective if he can go airborne, but he should be ready now.” Jax walked outside the tent and looked through his binoculars... not that he really needed them to make out the monolithic four armed monster on the horizon, who was celebrating her absolute victory.

A large military jet, one of the famous Blackbirds, one of the fastest available had been prepped for use by the defenders of Earth realm. Raiden chose not to teleport the warriors to the temple that was to be their destination, because the energy involved would draw the attention of Shang Tsung and his fighters. The sorcerer did not know the exact location of the temple, but it would only be a matter of time before he discovered it. Raiden believed that in transporting Liu Kang and the others via human means, it would delay Tsung finding out. This machine had the capability of reaching Hong Kong within half a day, he had been informed by enthusiastic mortal engineers. He saw no reason to doubt that. Cage and Nightwolf both had some experience and knowledge with such craft and would deal with piloting it. None of the Earth warriors wanted anybody else involved if it could be avoided, as they would get in the way when the fighting started. Once everything was ready, he stood before all the warriors on the runway as military engineers performed the last checks before take off, Kitana, Johnny Cage, Nightwolf, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Sub Zero, and the robotic Smoke, his humanity restored to him, and informed them of their mission.

“Every one of you knows how important this coming fight is, I don't have to repeat myself. Your destination is actually underground, beneath a number of Hong Kong's oldest temples in the Tai Po District. It will be a dangerous place, by all accounts the city has fallen mostly under Shao Kahn's control, and it remains his power base here on Earth.”

“Then we must free the city from his hordes,” Kung Lao exclaimed, “we must not allow them to kill any more innocents,” his sense of justice bristled at the opportunity to strike a blow at Kahn on Earth.

“After we deal with Sheeva, we can make the freeing of the city a priority, Kung Lao, but we must make give the filter out attention first. Liu, take my staff, it can be used to activate and control the filter.” Lui Kang stood forward, accepted the staff, bowing his head with grace.

“I will seal away this power, it is a power that only corrupts and brings death and destruction. The Realms ill need such power.”

“I agree, unfortunately power in it's purest form cannot be destroyed, only expressed and conducted, however the filter can be used to dissipate it into a natural form, just as the shrine in Greece acted as an energy dynamo, expressing it within the body of those two fighters,” Raiden explained, “You will no doubt encounter the Outworld warriors before you can reach the Filter. I can only say, prove yourselves in battle much as you have done so in the past and win.”

“Might I ask, Raiden, just what will you be doing in the meantime,” the actor, Cage asked, not hiding a certain amount of insolence in his voice. Raiden was by this time used to Cage's attitude.

“I will not be here sunbathing, I assure you. I have spoken with the Elder Gods, and have gained their permission to go to Outworld and help Kahn fight Mileena.”

“You are going to help Kahn!” Kitana yelled angrily, “Surely you can't even consider such a thing!”

The thunder god shrugged.

“I know, I do not like it any more than any of you do, but I cannot use my powers directly against Kahn, and I cannot use them at all in Outworld unless the Elder Gods will it. They regard Mileena and Sheeva as extraneous threats that need to be eliminated, and are willing to bend the rules this one time. Speaking of extraneous threats, I have one more warrior who wishes to accompany you.”

 He stood aside, and behind him strode forward a pupil-less, black and yellow clad warrior, an ornate mask hiding his face. But they all knew who he was, and Liu and Sub Zero particularly tensed at this revelation.

“Scorpion... are you sure about this Raiden?” Liu asked uncertainly. Scorpion spoke for himself, in his grim and aggressive voice.

“I am here to fight alongside Sub Zero. I murdered his brother, and I was justified. But this Sub Zero is a good man, and I wish to aid him in this fight.” Sub Zero, his scar piecing through his eyes, considered carefully this offer. Scorpion was essentially a demon of the netherealm, mortal concerns were no longer his. And he was dangerous, a fighter to never take lightly.

“I... accept your gracious offer, Scorpion. My brother walked a dark path, and I do not blame you for what you had to do.” They bowed to each other respectfully, and the pact was made.

“If all goes well, I will meet you at the temple after Sheeva and Mileena are both dealt with, and we can deal with Kahn and Sindel.” Raiden tipped his hat to them out of respect, and vanished, cracking electricity left in his wake.

“All aboard, then,” Cage said enthusiastically, “we got some giant Outworld tail to kick!” He and Nightwolf lead the warriors onto the sleek black jet, and before long they were in the air, anticipating the inevitable battle at their destination.

Shao Kahn's armies tried to halt the tarkatan rampage of Mileena, with little success. She was more than nimble enough to dodge the fireballs and arrows fired from the patchwork engines of war and as she neared the front formation of warriors, a sweep with her huge hand picked dozens of them up. She removed her veil and dangled these unfortunate souls above her terrifying fangs, before dropping them in her mouth. She felt their meaningless struggles against her tongue, and the sides and roof of her mouth, before swallowing them all whole. When she turned her attention to the various catapults and ballistae, arranged on a cliffside so they could attack her from a higher angle, she simply sprawled her body across the cliff face, crushing all of them at once along with the soldiers that manned them. They had no time to run as her massive shadow covered them in darkness and her huge bust smashed against the mountain. She smiled happily, knowing that there was simply no stopping her. The rest of Kahn's forces attempted an organised retreat, but she quickly stepped over them all and placed her foot between them and the sanctity of the mountain path to Kahn's fortress.

“Going somewhere?” she asked coldly, before planting her high heels all over the remnant forces, killing every last one of them. She was meticulous, even planting the stiletto point of her heel right on the last survivors. The end result was a battlefield caked in blood, and a half full Tarkatan stomach.

“Kahn, you will be my main course!” Mileena yelled in the direction of the fortress, a fortress that had been so impressive before, but now only totaled the approximate mass of her torso at most. Her  tarkatan eyesight was of considerable strength, and she made out the tiny emperor, standing atop the highest tower of his fortress, weilding his hammer, ready for battle.

“Mileena, you insolent mutant bitch, I create you, I train you, and I give you all the meat you want, in return only for failing me, and this is how you repay me now? No one disrespects the Emperor of Outworld this way. You will die. As will the pathetic shokan in time.” Mileena laughed. It was a cackling, high pitched sound that could probably be heard through all of Outworld.

“You little insect, how can you even threaten me? Once I  eat you Kahn, I will be the new queen of Outworld, nay, the Realms. The Elder Gods will fall once I'm done with you. And then all of the realms will serve me, or satiate my hunger and the hunger of my tarkatan hordes.” Kahn screamed in rage, and leaped from his tower at an incredible velocity,  a velocity that caught Mileena by surprise as his hammer found it's mark on her left cheek with enough force to actually knock her off her feet. Her grunts of pain echoed around the dusty valley.

“What, how in Outworld...” she moaned in disbelief, not believing the strength of the Emperor. Kahn hit the ground running, looking to plant his hammer on her ankle, looking to break her means of standing up. It was his best chance, unfortunately for him, Mileena at any height was quick to react, and her 200 foot long boot met him head on, sending him flying into the cliffside. She picked herself up, holding her cheek, rubbing it.

“Your power amazes me Kahn, I must admit. But you still don't stand a chance.” Kahn, dazed and broken, almost embedded in rock, gazed upwards at the towering tarkatan rising before him. He did not quite have the power to recover, and there was little he could do as two of her fingers plucked him up.

“Bon Appetite, for the Emperor of Outworld must be one tasty delicacy,” she howled with laughter, before daintily placing him on her tongue, and swallowing.

“Lovely...”

Sheeva heard a faint buzzing sound. She was unsure of what it signified, it almost sounded like an insect, but insects were so small to her now she couldn't possibly hear them. But then if so, what could be making that noise?

Suddenly she felt a tiny sting, again, much like an insect sting, but also again, what insect was big enough to sting her? She felt behind her back, near her inner thigh, and felt a tiny cut. Then she felt one on her shoulder, and then her chest. Then one of her arms.

“What, what is this, what is happening?” she exclaimed as she scratched at and felt for the tiny, itchy cuts. Finally, appearing hovering before her face, it stopped for a second. Some tiny yellow thing, she couldn't really make out what it was, but it was no insect. It buzzed around, flying quite fast. She swung her arms trying to smash it out the air but the object deftly avoided contact, and then sprang for her left eye. Sheeva moved her face just quickly enough so that it cut into her forehead as opposed to right in her eye.

“Annoying... insect, I'll get you!” she hissed, continuing her flailing. Cyrax continued to dodge, although it was becoming harder for its calculations to work out ways of evading the massive shokan arms that cut the air in twine. However, the plan was working, once it had the giant shokan in a disadvantaged position, it would launch a miniature tactical nuke, powerful enough to vapourise the shokan, and most of the surrounding area. Chances are it would destroy it to, but that mattered little. Self preservation was not among its objectives. Quelling this threat by whatever means necessary was. Unfortunately, Cyrax would go for the shokan's eyes again, and she was ready. Catching Cyrax in one of her mammoth hands, she closed it, exerting enough pressure on Cyrax to break its jetpack and badly damage its chassis, however the nuclear weapon remained undamaged and ready to fire. Sheeva closely examined the 'insect' she had finally managed to capture. It was a curious thing, like a yellow metal person. She could just hear it make slight bleeps and whizzing sounds. Obviously it was something the humans had concocted to fight her, although it was little more than an annoyance.

“Code Omega Gamma Delta, beginning launch sequence,” announced Cyrax, inaudible to Sheeva, as it prepped the weapon to fire right at her titanic face at point blank range. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough, as the compartment doors on Cyrax's chest jammed, thanks to his damaged chassis. Cyrax did not really realise that failure, as all that was left was the launching code sequence, it was all that mattered now to the programming of the lin kuei cyborg. But Sheeva tossed the little yellow thing away, miles away. She turned around, and then felt intense heat and a burning sensation behind her, and turned around, needing to shield her eyes thanks to a blinding light.

“What, an explosion? That... that was powerful enough to destroy me!” It had been a lucky escape for the shokan, and a major wake up call. These mortals did possess power that was a threat to her. That meant she had to respond with a show of force to completely subdue the denizens of Earthrealm. She was going to head east, and wipe out every city that lay on her path mercilessly. By the time she was through, the entire population would be begging her for their pathetic lives.

“SHIT, GODDAMMIT!!!” Jax smashed in a table with his bionic arms, having witnessed Cyrax attempt and fail to blow the giant four armed bitch sky high. Sonya tried to keep her cool, but even she quivered with a mix of anguish and rage.

“Jax... JAX!” she slapped him to snap him out of his fury, “We can still stop her, but we have to follow Raiden's plan.” She headed for their private hurricane jet, covered with a large green tarpaulin, and untied the ropes holding it down. “He gave me the location to head to, succeed or fail here. We only had to keep the shokan distracted, although I think that did a lot more to piss her off. We just gotta head for Hong Kong now,” the blonde lieutenant explained. Jax took one more look at the enormous shokan in the distance, stomping eastwards.

“She's heading in that direction, that's not a good thing,” he said, “Not a good thing at all.” Sonya rubbed sweat off her brow as she climbed up into the jet's cockpit.

“Then we gotta get there fast, because if she beats us there, it might all be over.”

Raiden watched from afar as the Emperor of Outworld was comsumed by the titan Mileena. He never thought such a gratifying event as the Tyrant's death would occur from such a disastrous event as this. Without the energy filter in Earthrealm, he was going to be unable to stop her like he once did Chronos, where he had used the filter to weaken Chronos to a much smaller size, and conducted his own lightning powers through it, vaporising the ancient titan. However, he knew he could not win, and he didn't intend to die here. No, he just had to buy the others time. Mileena would not wait long before heading back to Earthrealm, with Outworld all but within her grasp. He would make that harder for her. He flashed a bolt of lightning to catch her attention.

“Ah, first Kahn, now the thunder god, today has been my dream buffet,” Mileena purred, and headed towards Raiden at frightening speed. Raiden had no intention of becoming the next meal on her plate, and took to the skies. He had permission to use the full breadth of his powers, and he could not afford to take Mileena lightly. He screamed, and started raining lightning blasts upon the giant. At worst these only induced small static shocks to Mileena, but they were discomforting.

“Damn you, Thunder God, come here!” She yelled, trying to grab hold of him as he flew just outside her grasp each time. She smashed a hillside out of frustration. Raiden was not an easy insect to catch. However, she quickly formulated a cunning idea in her wicked brain.

“Oh, I will deal with you soon enough, Thunder God, but right now, your realm is just going to suffer for your irritations.” She looked up at the portal and readied herself to leap towards it. Sure enough, as she guessed, Raiden appeared in her way, forming a static field that would bounce her back. However, she didn't attempt to leap through it, but rather, threw her hand forward to make a grab for the tiny thunder god. It worked, and her fingers closed tightly around Raiden, his field being the only thing stopping her hand from crushing him.

“And now, its your turn,” Mileena cackled, before dumping him in her mouth. She felt a buzz down her throat, which tingled, but then, nothing. The emperor of Outworld and the protector God of Earthrealm were now nothing more than consumed morsels of the new Goddess, Mileena.

“Life couldn't be any better,” she mused happilly, before turning her attention back to the portal.

“Once I deal with Kitana, and the shokan, I'll have two worlds that belong to me...”

Among the great ruins that were left of Hong Kong, the mysterious and ancient temple that resided on one of the many islands that made up the city state, had been left strangely untouched. It was as if evil feared to tread near it. However, Shang Tsung knew why; it was a place of great mystical energy that could not just be approached at will by those who would not put its great power to use.

“Massster, when will the Earth warriors arrive? Reptile wishes to eat their brains, especially the trrraitor Kitana!” Reptile crawled around impatiently. The Outworld force led by Tsung had found the temple before the Earthrealm forces, however he was uncertain what to do next, and knew that the air machine the mortals were travelling in would arrive any minute.

“Patience, vile creature, they will be here soon. Sindel, what do you make of this place?” The former Edenian queen meditated in the air silently, floating as if she was a ghost. Her eyes, pure white, opened slowly.
“This place... it feels as though a great many people have died here, and will continue to die as history unfolds. It is not a peaceful place.” Tsung smiled gleefully.

“All the more reason to spill Kang's guts and claim his soul here. Without Raiden, we can beat these pathetic Earthrealm warriors.”

Jade, Rain, the mysterious Noob Saibot, Motaro, Ermac and Kano rounded out the powerful force beseiging the temple, waiting to ambush the arriving Earthrealm warriors. However, Tsung sensed something else...

“No... such a powerful, gigantic life force... the Shokan is making her way here. We must find the secret to this monastery before she gets here and crushes us all,” he looked up, spying the flying vessel they were waiting for, “Everyone to position. This time, we must not fail!”

Thanks to Smoke's cybernetic capability to detect life forms, the ambush proved unsuccessful in terms of the element of surprise, but that did not mean that the Earth forces found themselves in an easy situation. They came out fighting, relying on Smoke to locate and engage the enemy. Kitana found Sindel and challenged her mother to Mortal Kombat, Sub Zero and Scorpion put their ninjitsu to the test against Ermac and Noob Saibot, Johnny Cage found himself battling the brutish Reptile, leaving Smoke, Kung Lao and Lui Kang to fend off the rest. With the numbers advantage, Tsung chose to stay out of the fight, waiting for his moment.  The battle was vicious and bloody, and without the aid of Jax, Raiden and Sonya, things did not look good for the Earthlings. Kung Lao found himself trying to avoid being smashed into pieces by the massive Motaro, whilst having to watch his back from assault by the venomous Kano. Liu Kang and Smoke fought Jade and Rain across the courtyard, Edenian nobility both with the fighting skills to back it up. After sending Rain flying into a wall with a fierce roundhouse kick, Kang attempted to aid Kung Lao by blasting a fireball from his ki, only to find it bounced off the powerful centaur.

“Ha, you'll have to do better than that, human!” Motaro laughed as he stuck with a vicious tail lash which knocked Kang to the ground. Nobody really noticed that Jade was slowly making her way closer to the battle between Sindel and Kitana, which saw Kitana using her fans to block her mother's piercing screams. Her desire to not hurt her mother stayed her use of them to attack. Eventually, because of the one sided nature of their battle of intent, the battle became more mobile than the rest, as Kitana tried to find ways to retreat, eventually being cornered and left with no choice to run into the temple. Sindel followed, and after a brief interruption by Johnny Cage which Jade deftly, countered with her boa staff, knocking him out her way, she followed the battling royals.

“Damn, would have liked her number over her stick,” Cage rubbed his head, before realising a flying Rain was incoming. “Oh well!” He leapt into the air with his patented shadow uppercut. That took Rain out, but then he felt something grab onto his back and hissed in his ear. “Take that, you slimy scaly bastard!” Cage yelled as he tossed Reptile through a pillar. When Reptile touched it, it electrocuted him. Tsung saw this, and realised the temple's properties were connected with the energy surrounding it. With burnt flesh, Reptile picked himself back up and threw himself into the fray, chaotically striking at everything in his path with intense, violent energy, knocking friend and foe alike back.

“Fascinating,” Shang Tsung watched silently, using his ability to morph to allow himself to be an invisible Reptile, observing the battle.

Sub Zero witnessed the strange effect of the temple himself, and after dodging the thrown energy of Ermac, he touched a pillar himself.
“This... this power, it's as though the energy of this battle is coursing through me, making me stronger!” He launched a freezeball, a considerably larger, more powerful freeze ball than he was normally capable of doing, freezing the ground solid all the way under the feet of the Outworld side.

“Dammit, how can I fight with all this frozen shit!” Kano cursed, trying to keep his balance, before clumsily falling against Smoke, knocking them both into the temple wall. The energy flowed through them, making them faster, as they both took to the air attempting to land the first strike.

“C'mere!” Kano heard, then felt the pain of a spear grappling around his neck. However, his increased strength allowed him to fight against Scorpion's pull.

“Get over here!” Scorpion yelled irritably, pulling with all his might, however Kano was able to stand his ground.

“I don't feel like it!” Kano yelled back, then blasting at the undead ninja from his cyborg eye, letting the grip go. However, the distraction was more than enough for Smoke to land a vicious uppercut on the criminal.

“Yes, we might win this!” Kang realised, seeking to gain the temple's aid himself. Unfortunately, Motaro beat him to it. And Motaro was the strongest fighter in the battle to start with.

“Playtime begins!” He growled, as he felt able to kick entire buildings down with his hooves. He ran into the fray and began sending warriors flying, left and right. Tsung realised this battle was not a simple one, and could take some time to reach a conclusion. He could take advantage himself and use his soul power with the temple to defeat the Earth warriors, but he felt if he did that, the Shokan would arrive before they were prepared, and would still be impossible to defeat. Cursing that he loses this chance to kill Liu Kang, he entered the temple, realising it truly was in some way the key to battling the titan power of the traitors.

“Hah, none of you can dare challenge me, I am invincible!” Motaro yelled aloud as he mercilessly struck fighter after fighter, no one able to answer his great strength.

“Oh yeah? Well she might.” He turned around, to see two more humans, one male and one female.

“You don't mean this blonde woman, she looks like no threat.” He laughed. Jax Briggs smiled bitterly.

“No, not Sonya here. I mean her.” He pointed upwards. Sheeva had actually caught up with them as they attempted to catch up with the others, and knowing they were Earth warriors, had threatened to crush them into paste unless they swore allegiance. Now Sheeva may have caught them, but she didn't know the secret of the temple. It was supremely risky, but she was a way of getting them there, and giving themselves an advantage against Outworld, because they had claimed if she helped them defeat Tsung's group, Earthrealm's forces would swear allegiance to her. Finding the deal perfectly reasonable, Sheeva used her ability to teleport in a much more subtle manner than she normally appeared. Only after Jax pointed upwards did a shadow suddenly cast over the entire area,  covering the entire sky above the battle, and stopping the battle instantaneously.

“Holy shit, how big is she!?” Kano could only yell, backing up. He wasn't hanging around, and used everyone's dumbstruck status to run into the temple without being noticed. Except Sonya, who hadn't taken her eyes off him the entire time, and followed as fast as her legs could carry her.

Motaro knew more than anyone else right now, he was dead meat.

“Motaro”, the immense voice struck him like thunder, “Your race so offends me, maybe I should wipe you out. Or perhaps maybe if you submit to the superiority of the Shokan... and my superiority in particular, maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement.” He glanced up, catching a glimpse of the immense legs of the titan, the hinds and thighs covered in spots bigger than his body. He needed to strain his neck to even see up to her face. And even that was obscured by her meteoric breasts, a sight he frankly didn't want to look up at. Instead he looked down at the ground and bowed in submission.

“Good, good. I think I can maybe spare some of your race. But you... you are an exception. Accept your death with dignity now, and I will spare your race, but so much as move an inch in trying to run, and they will follow you into the Netherealm.” Everyone gasped as her immense foot lifted, and many of the warriors who were too close for comfort scrambled desperately out the way as the monolithic crusher fell to the Earth, leaving Motaro nothing more than a stain on the part-frozen ground. He had not moved, much to Sheeva's frustration; she wouldn't have at all minded slaying the entire useless Centaur race... but her word was her bond. They'd have to make do being the slaves of her race.

“With that business out of the way, the rest of you, do you intend to all die to?” The remaining warriors, aware that not bowing was liable to get them the same fate as Motaro, had no choice, regardless of what side they were on. If they could extend their lives now, they could fight another day. Jax sighed with relief. Sheeva had still not figured out the importance of the temple, and Sonya and Kitana both got in. He just hoped the two of them were enough to pull their asses out of this giant Shokan shaped fire.

And then a giant Tarkatan appeared nearby, shaking the ground beneath his feet.

“Aww hell no...”

Kano ran through the ancient temple, hoping that there was a way out the back. He figured that Shokan wouldn't bother about him if he could manage to disappear, and really, what was it to him who won? He'd just carry on like always. But still, he knew there was one woman who would follow him to the ends of the Realms, a woman who hated him so that he would most likely never be free of her, unless he killed here once and for all. And this seemed like just as good a place as any to do it. He had reached the main antechamber, a great shrine with various statues of different Gods, from different cultures. He was no scholar, but he knew this stuff wasn't in any text books.
“Just what the hell is this place anyway?” In the centre of the chamber, the focus point of all the sculpted deities, there was a pool of water, which shimmered like stars in the sky. It was beautiful in a way, a way even a hardened thug could appreciate. He examined his reflection, and realised it had been a while since he last shaved.
“KANO!”, he heard a feminine yell. Yep, that Sonya Blade, the one who'll never stop until he buries her six feet under. He stood up an turned around, smiling.
“Hey baby, been a while,” he slurred, “you look stunning today. But I think you need some red, it'd suit you.” The soldier readied herself.
“This is it, I swear Kano, I am taking you in, I'll kill you if you resist.” Kano laughed.
“On who's authority? The giant four armed bitch's or the giant tarkatan mutant's? I don't know if you notice dear Sonya, but Earthrealm is fucked. I'd have thought that you'd find somebody else to bother other than me once the great blue planet was half destroyed and under occupation by Outworld, but damnit girl, you must really be into me,” He licked a knife, before tossing it suddenly at his opponent.
Sonya deftly spinkicked the blade out of the air.
“You killed my partner, and until you've paid for that, I will never stop.” She rushed him, and they engaged in mortal kombat, oblivious to the centre of the room, where slowly, a shining blue orb began to arise out the water.

Kitana continued futilely to get through to her mother, as they fought through the ornately decorated corridors of the temple. However, to her surprise, just as she was cornered, a woman in green suddenly appeared and knocked Sindel away.
“Jade! I thought... I thought you were on Kahn's side.” Her friend winked.
“Never, I'd never betray Edenia. I just had to get close to you, to help you out. We need to break Kahn's control on your mother, I'd have thought it would have broken by now, because I know Mileena went after Kahn. I'm surprised the Emperor's stayed alive.” Of course, Kitana realised that Kahn dying would snap Sindel out of his control, but he must still be alive. She wondered where he was now. No time to think, as her mother attacked them again. With Jade's help, she felt they could contain her. She used her fans to lift the lunging queen into the air, and Jade leapt and smacked her in the head with the boa staff. The impact made Kitana wince, but she knew it only had knocked her mother out.
“Sorry about being so rough, Kitana. But for now, we can figure out how to help the Queen without her accosting us.”
“Yes, thank you. Come, we should carry her through the temple, we can't go back to where Sheeva is, I hate leaving Liu and the others, but we don't have much choice.” Jade bowed her understaning.

“Well, well, well. Those are a lot of tasty morsels you have collected, Sheeva,” the stilleto heel of the Tarkatan titan cracked the earth as she approached her ally. She eyed all the warriors cowering at Sheeva's feet and licked her lips. Sheeva however, stood in her way.
“Enough Tarkatan, you do not have to eat every single living thing. These warriors have sworn allegiance to me, they are not for your plate,” she waved her arm defiantly. Mileena growled angrily.
“Stupid Shokan, would you have this power if not for me? Maybe I should take it from you.”
“You reveal your true colours, Tarkatan, not that I didn't see it coming. I have had enough of destruction for a life time, but I suppose you are the last thing standing in my way, and then the realms will become mine,” Sheeva assumed her battle stance.

“The Shokan fights for us? Now I've seen everything,” Jax viewed the awe inspiring sight of Sheeva at full battle readiness, “but hell, I think I like her more than Fang face.”
“Yeah, I don't exactly care to be eaten by her, don't give a damn how hot she is,” Johnny Cage replied, getting some sighs for his attitude.
“Can we do anything yet, Nightwolf,” Liu Kang used a radio to contact the Indian warrior who had stayed behind at the Blackbird in order to secure their get away.”
“I don't know, Liu, this is a tricky situation. This Blackbird doesn't have the fire power to so much as bruise those two, and I haven't had any word back from Raiden at all. The US military are considering dropping another nuclear device, I'm trying to dissuade them.”
“No, I feel if they drop one of those destructive weapons on this temple, it will cause catastrophic damage on a planetary scale,” Kung Lao interjected, “this temple seems to magnify force and energy. We must not do anything rash before we fully understand it. Is that not the case, Sub Zero?”
The ex Lin Kuei nodded.
“Yes, at this point in time whomever has this titan power, and the control of this temple, is most likely the most powerful being in all the realms. We can't destroy it, we must take control of the temple in order to counter the Outworlders.”
By this time there were significant shockwaves causing minor quakes around them as the two titans battled a few hundred meters away. Most of the warriors observed the battle, a true battle between Goddesses. It was a battle that wasn't going to end well for the Realms either way.
Mileena used her agility and cunning to counter the Shokan's strength advantage, as well as her sharp teeth. She leapt upon the Shokan and dug her fangs into Sheeva's shoulder. Sheeva yelped in pain, but had the wherewithal to toss the vile creature away. The Earth shook at her collosal impact with the ground. Above them, a remorseless soul watched the battle. Sektor had new orders, new orders that had nothing to do with Sub Zero. The Lin Kuei had discovered the ancient legends of Cronos, of this energy amplifying temple. They realised if they could use it to destroy their enemies, they could use it to then conquer all the realms in the name of the clan. The Clan elders hungrily had Sektor reprogrammed. It was to wait for the opportunity, then spring to attack. It flew stealthily towards the temple beneath the notice of the two battling titans.

Sonya and Kano fought brutally, giving each other no quarter. They did not notice the quakes and shaking of the temple, nor the entry of three Edenian women, and Kitana knew better than to interrupt the battle. Instead, she eyed the orb in the centre, which crackled with electricity.
“Jade... this must be it, what Raiden was talking about. This is the power of this temple in this orb right here.” They lowered Sindel to the ground and took a closer look.
“There is a lot of pure energy being generated by this strange orb, I'd say it must have fierce properties,” Jade observed, touching the orb. Suddenly she gasped, and recoiled her hand.
“Jade, are you alright?” Jade held her scorched hand, but bit her tongue from the pain.”
It is alright, Kitana, I'm fine. I guess you shouldn't just touch strange magical crackling orbs...” as she finished her sentence, Jade suddenly arched her back, and felt an utterly strange sensation.
“What... what is this!” Kitana gasped as, Jade began to grow! This was it, the energy filter. Jade's body expanded, as Kitana backed away. She feared that if her friend didn't stop growing, she might crush everything in the room. Fortunately, Jade's sudden spurt stopped at a mere 12 foot tall, nothing quite like the creature's outside.
“Oh... incredible. This most assuredly is the key to defeating those titans!” Kitana looked up and down her friend, intimidated by her presence.
“You, you're okay Jade, right?” The Ebony beauty stretched out her limbs.
“I have most assuredly never felt better, Princess, but have no fear, I am not suddenly feeling delusions of megalomania. I still fully want to stop Mileena and Sheeva, Kahn and Outword, save Earthrealm and restore Edenia.” As they conversed, Jade's new found size finally caught the attention of the battling warriors across the room, and Kano saw a heck of an opportunity. But Sonya also knew she had to stop him.
“I don't think so, Kano!” She yelled as she knocked him into the air and bicycle kicked him up into the roof, finally doing what she had never done before and knocking the object of her vengeance out. Kitana sighed with relief at seeing Sonya succeed.
“Wow... who the hell is that,” the Earthrealm warrior sized up Jade, “doesn't she fight for Kahn?” Kitana gestured negatively.
“This is Jade, my good friend. Like me, she had to pretend to be in Kahn's service, but she is loyal to Edenia and to me.” Sonya saluted her new ally.
“So, this orb, I guess this is the key? We can take out those two monsters?” Jade nodded.
“I think so, I only touched it for a mere second, and look at me. I guess the three of us can use it to stop Mileena and Sheeva's madness.”
“Not if I have anything to say about that,” they heard a malicious and all too familiar voice.
“Shang Tsung, damn you!” Kitana yelled, knowing that their discovery by the powerful sorcerer could bring all their plans to ruin still. Kahn's right hand man stroked his beard.
“Jade, I see you have had a taste of the Cronos power. Impressive indeed, with it I will be unstoppable, a God. I merely have to deal with you three pathetic women.” His arrogant laughter was cut short when a vicious knee connected with his head. Despite her new size, Jade had lost none of her speed.
“It won't be that easy, Sorcerer, before I admit I didn't have the power to destroy you, now I think is a different story.” The force broke Tsung's jaw, he was lucky he had the power of his absorbed souls to heal his injuries.
“Insolent Edenian bitch! You will grovel at my feet!” He launched flaming skulls which Jade effortlessly bounced away with her staff. And then Tsung realised he had chosen his time poorly.
“I don't think so, Shang Tsung. I think you will die a miserable wretch at MY feet!” Kitana watched in awe as her powerful friend prepared to finish the baneful sorcerer, finally removing that thorn in their side for milennia. Jade raised her staff, ready to hack Tsung into pieces, only for a yell to draw her attention away.
“What? NO!” Kitana had not watched Sindel, and the Queen had regained consciousness, and was now touching the orb.
“Oh no!” Kitana was hurled back by a wave of force. Sindel floated upwards, and grew in stature to fill the space between the floor and the roof of the room, making her at least twice Jade's size. The three female warriors felt the force of a scream with no equal, sending them mercilessly crashing into a wall, Jade almost falling on top of and crushing Kitana. She remained conscious due to her greater resistance, and placed her arm gently over her knocked out friend's head and torso, in a futile effort to protect her from the worst of the primal scream.
“Yes, my Queen, you have stopped our enemies. I thank you, the Emperor will be pleased.” The giant concubine of Shao Kahn eyed the sorcerer disdainfully.
“I heard you, sorcerer, claiming your own ambitions before my husband. I knew he should not trust you. I will kill you now so that you may never become a threat!” Sindel's boot struck the sorcerer's chest and sent him into the wall with even more force. With all of her enemies seemingly dealt with, the Empress turned around towards the orb. With this, she could crush those insolent wretches with ease and bring the realms to where they belonged, under the thumb of Shao Kahn, her husband.
“Damn you Sindel... Kahn” Tsung was not a good loser, and knew there was no way he could match Sindel in Kombat now. But there was one thing he could do, as much as it went against every fibre of his being. If he would not have the realms, neither would his master. Kahn would have no chance if this power fell into an Edenian Queen operating by her own will. And Sindel's mind control was something he could break.”
“Hard to believe I'm doing this,” as he murmured the necessary incantation. Before Sindel could reach the orb again, she felt a piercing pain in her head. She dropped to the ground with some force and yelped in pain.
“What, what's happening to her?” Jade wondered out loud, as Kitana beneath her and Sonya next to her regained consciousness. A few tense moments passed, and in that time, Shang Tsung and Kano both slinked away, thanks to the females being distracted with one another.
“Jade? Kitana? Oh my dear Kitana, I did this to her.” The giant Sindel gently knelt down, towering over the other three still. She placed a hand on Jade's shoulder and gently motioned her out the way.
“Queen Sindel? Is that you, are you finally free?” Sindel smiled.
“Yes, I am not under Kahn's sway any longer, I know not how. Sindel lifted her weakened daughter up in her arms and cradled her like a baby.
“My sweet daughter, you will be alright now. It's over, Mother is finally here for you.” Sonya and Jade both realised they were witnessing a reunion eons in the making. If it wasn't for the issues occurring outside, this would have been a true happy ending, but they all knew things were far from over.
“Tsung and Kano got away,” Sonya kicked a wall in frustration.
“Leave them,” Sindel replied regally, “they are not the major threat now. We must stop Sheeva, I feel she will listen to reason, she was my bodyguard. I will call upon her loyalty. My daughter's clone,” she said the last three words with considerable venom, “needs to die, and die for good. Kahn was so cruel to my child, making her his killer and his pretend doll daughter. He will pay when the time comes, but for now, we must save Earth. Earth will be Edenia's greatest ally.” Sonya saluted out of habit. Well, this Edenian Queen certainly had militaristic authority.
“I thank you for how you have aided my children and people, whom I am addressing.”
“Sonya Blade, maam, I cam glad I could be of service. But now we have to stop those two outside before they do any more damage to my home.”
“Agreed. We must use this orb, it can strip them of this power they have come into possession of. We will deal with them appropriately,” Sindel stood up, carrying Kitana to the orb, “and I think my daughter should be the one to destroy her doppelganger.”
“Ma'am, if you don't mind, I would still like to pursue Kano now. The matter is personal, and no disrespect meant, but you seem to have everything in control here now,” Sonya stated, her desire to catch Kano having not decreased an inch. Sindel sighed.
“If you must. Jade, help her, and try and find Tsung to. I and Kitana will put an end to this with the Shokan and clone in Mortal Kombat. Then Earthrealm will defeat Kahn. He is not dead, I sense him near.” Sonya nodded, and left, followed by the large Edenian.
“My daughter, are you awake yet?”
“Mother...” Kitana was indeed awake. Sindel smiled softly.
“You must be ready to fight. Now I give you a taste of real power, but power should never be more than a tool of noble equity. The Shokan has forgotten this, we must remind her. And end those who abuse such power once and for all.”
Kitana nodded with conviction. She wanted the power to stop Mileena. But she knew what her mother meant, and for her it was not about hatred or revenge. Mileena had to be stopped before she ravaged the realms. She had loved Edenia and loved Earthrealm. With this power, she would never let these awful things happen again.

Whilst they were fighting, both Mileena and Sheeva felt odd pangs, as if something had slightly drained their power. However it was minor enough that neither noticed. At least the first couple of times. The third time however, they realised they were both shrinking.
“What! No? Who is doing this, I will crush them flat!” Mileena panicked more about the sudden shift. Sheeva, for some reason, felt less bothered for some reason. She knew she should be, and yet, the attraction of this power had faded for her throughout the fight. She realised that power was a means to and end, but what was her end? Just to rule all the realms? She had been conflicted in her mind all along about this goal. It was what Kahn craved, it was what Tsung craved, but when she asked herself, she just wasn't sure what she wanted. She had murdered many defenceless people, although she was certain not as many as Mileena, but what did that prove? That she was a murderer, not a warrior. For generations Goro had protected her race's sovereignity in noble kombat. He represented a pathetic despot, but Goro had still somehow made that seem honourable. Because when he was in the ring against Earthrealm warriors, they all fought against him bravely, and though many of them fell, they fell in a fair fight in which Goro proved his ability to triumph over adversity. But in the end, a human warrior, a human warrior who had stood at her foot just a short while ago, had proven his will more iron than even the great Shokan prince. She had to respect that. She could not enslave such a man! And so her whole motivation for playing Mileena's dangerous games had fallen apart. And she had done things which shamed her now. But she could destroy the tarkatan and make amends. She no longer wanted this power, but she'd still use it to save the realms from Mileena, Tsung, Kahn, all those pathetic power mad creatures. And so, she was not particularly upset in seeing that the power that was draining from her and Mileena, halving their stature, saw two powerful bodies crash through the temple and match their heights, that of the Princess and Queen of Edenia.
“Sindel... is your mind free of Kahn's interference!” Sheeva ran forward and bowed in front of her. The action was of great shock to Kitana, who believed the Shokan was a base creature.
“I see Sheeva, your nobility has not deserted you. Playing God is not the sort of behaviour I ever expected the honourable Shokan to indulge in, I am glad to see that you have not fallen that far.” Kitana gasped at seeing... tears, tears drip from Sheeva's eyes. In all her long existence, she had never seen a Shokan cry.
“Queen Sindel, I have committed acts that shame me and are a stain on my village. I beg you a chance to redeem myself.” Mileena watched onwards, cursing the Shokan, the Edenian monarchs, and pretty much every living thing at realising the odds were now stacked against her. Oh how she wished she had brought Baraka with her, not that the lug would have been that much use.
“You owe more apologies to Earthrealm than to us, but I think it is not too late to redeem yourself, honourable Sheeva. It seems we don't have to get our hands dirty destroying that... thing. Remove her from our sight.” Sheeva bowed, her now 800 foot frame smaller than before but still incredibly powerful.
“Mileena, time to die.” Mileena thought about running, but knew she wasn't going to get far. She had little choice, to try and manipulate her way out of the situation, by besting Sheeva in kombat.”
“Fine them, lets dance!” Mileena curled up into a ball and rolled along the earth, looking to knock the Shokan off her feet, however Sheeva kicked her like a football, her great strength a clear advantage.
“You need to try harder than that.”

Down below, the Earth warriors were happy to see Sindel and Kitana reunited and Sheeva properly on their side. The outworld warriors, knowing an unwinnable battle when they saw one, all slinked off. Scorpion and Smoke, no longer needed, opted to disappear also, their roles played out. Sonya and Jade, who had shrunk back to normal size, had no luck in tracing Kano or Shang Tsung, and reunited with the group.
“Well, Earth took a pounding, but thanks to your girlfriend, I think we're gonna be okay,” Jax laughed at Liu Kang.
“Yes, it would seem like it. It would seem this temple can divide the titan power, and make things more even. I don't know what to think of the Shokan, she killed a lot of people, but she showed a lot of remorse there.”
“Yeah, I don't know either. I say if she kills that fanged bitch I can find it in myself to forgive her. She didn't do as much damage as Kahn's forces. Still gonna be a hell of a repair bill though,” Jax replied, “what do you guys think?” No one disagreed. Still, Liu Kang and Kung Lao both worried; they had no idea where Shao Kahn was, and still no word from Raiden.

That meant things were far from over.

“Oh... shit, heads up!” Jax realised that an errant strike from Sheeva had knocked the 600 foot tall Mileena in their direction, The group ran as fast as their legs could carry them as the mountain of pink leather and pale flesh impacted the ground, cracking it, causing massive earthquakes that rocked them. Her arm smashed through the temple, obliterating most of it's support pillars and bringing the entire structure down. She grunted in pain as she levered herself up, but her face transformed into a wicked smile as she realised that the Earthrealm warriors were all right below her chest, powerless and vulnerable. It would take so little effort to pound these insects into dust right now before those three bitches could do anything about it. But then, they would kill her for sure. No, she was best to make use of this fortunate chain of events. The warriors tried to scramble away as the immense hand reached over them, enveloping them in complete darkness. Their cries could barely be heard by the titan, and Mileena knew with just a twitch of her palm muscles she'd perform probably the easiest multiple fatality the tournament had ever seen, but no, she had other things in mind.

Her three enemies were oblivious to what had happened, so consumed with her they failed to realise the danger their friends had just been put in.
“Mileena, this is almost over. Shall I smash you into the ground or skin you? Or maybe I can be even more creative?”
Mileena pulled herself up, the mortals still squirming in her enclosed right hand.
“I don't think so, Shokan. I doubt the Princess would be happy if you get her Earthling friends killed.”
“What?” Kitana yelled from behind Sheeva, as Mileena held out her open palm, Liu Kang and the others all dazed and powerless in it. “No! I swear Mileena, if you harm them you will die a dog's death, I'll tear your black heart out myself!” Mileena plucked a human at random, Sonya in this case, between her fingers, and dangled her in front of her mouth.
“I've already ate Shao Kahn and Raiden today, along with a lot of warriors, but my hunger is insatiable. Didn't you know that, Princess?” She emphasised Kitana's title with specific disdain, and jealousy.
“... What do you want, Tarkatan, what will it take to have you spare their lives?”
Sindel interrupted, realising a calm approach was the only hope the Earth warriors had.
“Hmm... I suppose I can go back to Outworld and rule there. I will leave Earthrealm and Edenia alone, for now at least. As an act of good faith, I will allow all but one of these pathetic ants go, and I won't kill any of them. However, Liu Kang, he will go with me. He will remain with me in order to ensure you never show hostility to this new empress of Outworld. If you ever break this bargain, I will eat him, and I'll send you the... remains as a gift.”
“That's not acceptable!” Kitana yelled angrily. Sheeva however held her back.
“She'll kill them all without hesitation if you don't do as she says,” she reminded Kitana, “ and you have a responsibility to the people of Earthrealm and Edenia.”
“Listen to her, girl, she's keeping them alive.” Mileena laughed, happy she was back in control of the situation. She'd be able to conquer other realms, make Outworld stronger and find a way of killing these three threats, she just needed time. A sharp pain struck her mid section, suddenly, causing her to clutch her stomach with her free hand.
“What is this, what's this pain,” she screamed, brought to her knees in agony. It felt like she was having her innards electrically shocked... oh no! A wound burst open in her stomach causing her to scream out in pain, and throw the mortals in the air.
“NO!” Kitana yelled, however, Sindel reacted in time, flying forward and gently catching the fighters in mid air. She landed back with Kitana and Sindel, and the watched as Raiden and Shao Kahn errupted from Mileena's wound, battling with small sparks of electricity.
“Wait, Raiden and Kahn are still alive? Impressive, most impressive,” Sindel observed.
Mileena's wound wasn't fatal but she was in considerable pain. She cursed knowing she had lost all her advantages.

On the ground, Raiden and Shao Kahn were at a stand off.
“Raiden, by all rights you should not be interfering with this conquest!” Raiden knew he was right, his involvement would be against the Elder God's wishes, and none of the four new titans could fight Kahn according to the rules of Mortal Kombat either.
“If you wish to invoke the rules of Mortal Kombat now, Kahn, be my guest.”
“I do. Under the rules of Mortal Kombat, you need to pick an Earthrealm warrior to represent you, and I need to pick an outworld warrior. I choose... Mileena!”
“What? How is that fair? Mileena might be wounded but none of us would last more than a second against her still! Not to mention her arm destroyed the temple, and the filter within, Her size is locked now.” Liu Kang was a strong, prideful warrior but even he knew a situation in which he stood no chance. Kitana, Sindel, and Sheeva, all would want to represent Earthrealm but are bound by the fact they were not native.
“Oh no, Kahn, it's not going to be like this,” the thunderous voice of Mileena attracted everyone's attention.
“I have to agree to fight for you, and I won't... as long as these three allow me to go back to Outworld unheeded.”
“You conniving, sneaky monstrous bitch,” Kitana started, but again interruped by Sheeva.
“I believe we should accept that, Sindel?” The Queen of Edenia nodded with approval. Mileena, still gravely wounded, made her way to a clear leaping point to the portal. It was going to hurt to exert herself through it but she had to get out of here. Even if she represented Outworld and squashed the Earthrealm warriors, there was nothing stopping the Shokan from killing her right afterwards, and Kahn knew that. Kahn was going to have to fight against and defeat Earthrealm's chosen warrior, and even if he won, he'd not make it back to Outworld alive. He was out of luck, and Outworld, it was in luck, a new and worthy empress.

Once the Tarkatan had left, Liu Kang stepped forward.
“You have no choice but to represent yourself, Kahn.” He braced himself for battle.
“You miserable, pathetic fool... I will do what I failed to do in Outworld, and kill you here!” The battle was impressive, even to the high up eyes of Sheeva, Kitana and Sindel. All watched in silence as the two kombatants put their wills to the test. Liu Kang managed to avoid the heavy strikes of the former Outworld emperor and respond with concussive kicks and punches. They traded blows for several minutes, before Kang spotted an opening and leaped to deliver a bicycle kick. He followed up with blasting his ki. Kahn attempted to counter with a swipe, but Kang cartwheeled over it and blasted the armoured ex-emperor with an uppercut.
“Damn you, Earthling, this is not how it is supposed to be!” Kang spat out blood, and Kang prepared to finally finish the constant thorn in the Realms' side. However, it happened in an instant, a portal appeared right behind Kahn. From the portal, two warriors leapt out, one Shang Tsung, the other, a pure white skinned warrior wearing blue sequined armour.
“Quan Chi! What are you doing here?” Raiden yelled, aiming a lightning blast at the interference.
“Shinnok still has a use for Kahn, Thunder God. We are taking him.” With that, Quan Chi summoned an army of green skeletons to occupy the earth realm warriors. Sheeva acted, aiming her foot to crush the escapees, however a strange energy field emerged when Quan Chi held up a green orb amulet.
“This amulet ensures not even those with titan power can harm me,” the sorcerer laughed as Tsung dragged Kahn through the portal. Indeed Sheeva's foot could not pierce the field, to her shock.
Once the other two were safely through the portal, Quan Chi dived for it, letting the field dissipate and the giant shokan's foot to stomp to the ground, crushing where the portal had formed.
“Damn them, that was a chance to wipe out three of the most evil, venomous creatures in all the Realms,” Sheeva stomped the ground angrily.
“I can't believe they escaped, and who the hell was that!” Kang yelled angrily once the green skeletons had dissolved into thin air.
“That was Quan Chi,” Raiden replied, not hiding that the fact disturbed him greatly, even more so that he should mention the name of Shinnok. “Still, calm down, Liu Kang. The battle you just fought, would be considered as Kahn throwing the contest. Earthrealm has once again been protected according to the rules of Mortal Kombat.
“What about Mileena!” Both stepping her foot forward nearby the warriors and not keeping her voice down caused Kitana to rock everyone and almost deafen them.
“Oh... I apologize, I'm really not used to this size. Raiden... can we not become normal again?” Raiden shook his head.
“I'm afraid it's not a simple matter, Princess Kitana. Even if you gave it up, Mileena certainly wouldn't, and once she's recovered from her injuries, she wouldn't hesitate to come back here. The Elder Gods could attempt to defeat her, which certainly would work, but they may not even consider it worth their time. I suggest that if Sindel goes back to Edenia to help reform it, and to protect it, you should stay here to counter any possible actions by that Tarkatan on Earthrealm.” Kitana sighed.
“And I finally thought I would see my home once again. But I can't leave this realm vulnerable.”
“She would also attempt to conquer the Shokan village, I must go back there. I can protect at least some of Outworld from her, with your permission, Queen Sindel.”
“You will default to me, proud Shokan? I would think you'd go to protect your people regardless of what I said.” Sheeva bowed.
“Ordinarily, yes, but, I still must atone for all the trouble and destruction I've caused. The best way I can think of is to pledge my undying loyalty to you. However, I do implore you to give me the permission to go.” Sindel nodded regally.
“Of course, I would never expect you to stand back whilst your people are threatened, not to mention, it would be ideal to have a buffer to keep Mileena and her Tarkatan horde in Outworld.
As the great portal in the sky evaporated, a whirl of souls descended from the sky. Raiden held up his staff towards it for everyone's attention.
“Everyone, the Elder Gods reward victory in Mortal Kombat greatly. All the souls which have been robbed from this realm as a result of these events will be restored. Even those killed by Sheeva and Mileena.”
“Oh yeah, and what about all the damn property damage,” Jax butted in, “because my tax dollars are gonna struggle to cover this.”
Raiden smiled, “I'm afraid that is your business, and the business of your leaders.”
“Oh, I can probably be of some help,” Kitana interrupted, “I will be somewhat bored whilst I am here thanks to well, this inability to interact normally with people. I might as well put this strength to use in assisting the rebuilding of your realm.”
“Well, she's much more pleasant on the eye than an industrial crane,” Johnny Cage laughed.
“Raiden, with Kahn vanishing and this Quan Chi character, this is far from over, is it not?” Kung Lao had been bothered by the earlier events.
“Oh, I doubt the fight for Earthrealm is over, I doubt it'll ever be over. This worries me, but we can discuss the possible threats facing us in the future at a later date, soon. For now, take solace in the peace we have earned for now. The powers afforded to the Queen and Princess of Edenia will grant your realms more security than they have enjoyed in the past.”
“Do you really trust them with it? And the Shokan?” Kung Lao interrogated, causing Kang to confront him.
“Hasn't Kitana earned your trust, hasn't she fought alongside us for months now?” Kitana's shadow appeared above them as she lowered herself to eye her critic on the ground.
“I understand your concern, Kung Lao, but I assure you, I will never do anything against the interests of Earthrealm. I also assure you my mother will rule Edenia as she once did with my father, peacefully, turning it once again into a prosperous land... although I doubt she'll be able to do it from the palace. As for Sheeva... Well she seems to be on the side of good now.” She lowered a hand on the ground, the edge of her fingers almost the height of the two warriors.
“Why don't you all clamber on, and I'll show you you can trust me, I'll get us back to the Shaolin temple from here.” Liu Kang was the only one not to hesitate, and he leaped athletically onto the outstretched digits, before pulling up Kung Lao, and the rest followed. Kitana brought her friends up with her to chest height, before turning to her mother and Sheeva.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye, for a while at least. Mother, protect Edenia. Sheeva, kill that whore of a clone, if you ever get a chance.” Sheeva bowed.
“I will relish the day I get to do as you ask.”
Sindel reached a hand forward and opened a great portal large enough for the pair to enter. After saying their farewells, the two warriors disappeared.
“So, the temple is, this way I think,” Kitana observed, before setting off. She didn't quite expect to wind up living on Earthrealm at this size, but she was charged now with a very important duty, a duty she would not shirk. The sky had finally turned back to a natural blue, and the sun shone on her brightly. Her great shadow outstretched across almost all of Hong Kong. She was going to have to avoid the cities, but she realised that the people who could see her great form stride across the plains were cheering her. Everyone understood what had happened, and she felt elated.
“Feels good to be appreciated, doesn't it?” Jax directed at Liu.
“I suppose, but, I can't help feel things are going to be even worse next time.” Raiden never voiced his thoughts.
“With Shinnok being involved, I have no doubts...”

Epilogue

Shao Kahn felt himself be dragged by the underarms but his former servant and the white wraith sorcerer. He realised from the burning heat and spewed lava around him that they had come to the realm of the dead, the Netherealm. He felt humiliated but physically unable to struggle with his captors. He then looked ahead and realised he was standing in a great throne room, with a great throne. Sitting atop it was a being he recognised instantly.
“Sh... Sh.. Shinnok!” The fallen Elder God, his red and yellow robes waving in the fiery winds of hell, smiled down at him.
“Yes, oh great Shao Kahn. Truly, how the mighty have fallen,” the God's voice was deep and powerful, and coed the normally fierce warrior, “The titan power falling into the hands of those three women, it is an obstacle to my plans, my great masterpiece, and I blame you for that. However, perhaps we can find a way for you to make up for it. You will fight for me, or you will die. Your choice?” Kahn knew he had none. He was powerless here, and Shinnok, it was clear he had been consolidating his power. With Tsung and Quan Chi serving him, Shinnok was in a powerful position.
“I will... I'll fight for you, but I do not know how in the Realms that you plan to defeat the new Titans.” Shinnok laughed evilly.
“Every power has a weakness, as does every individual. We will bide our time here, let Sindel turn Edenia into a place worth conquering again, let Mileena play with Outworld for a while. Soon, once the Elder Gods feel my wrath, even their power will be as nothing to me.”
The fires surrounding Shinnok reached zenith.

END