You…Will Die

Sindel stands baffled by the presents of her former Fiancé. It had been a millennia since the invasion that claimed her life. This would be the first time she'd see the Emperor in person. His tall stature and dominant build reminded her that this actually wasn't the first time she saw the emperor. The golden aura surrounding his body reminded her of the fear she felt as she watched Shao Kahn stand atop of the Pyramid surrounded by the desolate wasteland formally known as Edenia—A vision shown to her by Anomaly and predicted by Dhelia. Armageddon has come to this side of Reality.

Lui Kang and Kung Lao always envisioned a time in which they would have to face the Emperor and end his threat to Earthrealm once and for all. A time that never came as they took on the more strenuous task of facing the Brotherhood of Shadows alone. Now they have a second chance. Raja makes her move by spitting a ball of blood as fast as a bullet towards the emperor's noggin. Normally, such an attack would be instant death, but not for the Kahn. He immediately Snaps her neck and tosses her lifeless body next to Kotal.

Li Mei stood frozen as she dwelled on the golden aura of the Emperor. She has never feared his presence in the past. It felt strange to her that she would see him more dangerous as an ally than she did when he was her enemy. Whether it be because of his return or the stories her mother told her of the Emotional Spectrum, what mattered most was that she knew his presence is their biggest threat.

Kotal focuses on the Hammer he wielded in his hand as the memories of his father's death constantly replayed in the back of his mind. However, instead of seeing Kitana watching him from the window, he saw Shao Kahn. D'Vorah held onto his garment as she observed the emperor. Neither Ferra nor Torr were frightened or amused by his presence.

Chan and Jinn put their guards up, only to have Kitana hold her arm in front of them both.

"Do not interfere. I would not want you two to get caught in the crossfire. You've done enough for me. Li Mei, take the Earthrealmers back to their realm," Kitana requested.

"Kitana, do you know what you've brought to us?"

"What choice do I have Chan? You think I'd bring him back if it were not important?"

"Endangering all the realms? Your friends? Your…" Chan glanced in Sindel's direction. "No one here is going to sweep this under the rug Empress."

"I am in full control!" she shouted. "He can't do anything I won't allow him to. He hasn't spoken a word since he's been here."

"Back on Earth, when a country feared another's nuclear threats, they would start working on countermeasures for stopping whatever superweapon they might have; typically with the assistance of other countries."

"I know what you're implying, Chan. I'm not insane," she states.

"I know," he responds. "Whatever you saw on the other side, it needs to stay on the other side. That includes…" Chan looks directly at the emperor.

"I will honor your request once the situation is dealt with. Now please, leave!" Kitana seemed out of breath after shouting. She looked around as everyone looked at her with disgust—or at least that's how she felt. Even those who seemed to defend her not long ago started to seem uncertain of her decision. It was looks that she had seen before when she ordered the Tarkatans to kill the former councilors. The look of disapproval.

"I propose we hold a temporary truce until Shao Kahn is dealt with," Chan states bluntly. He looks at his brother and Kotal Kahn, who both seemed weary. Kitana's mouth hung open as she took time to process what Chan proposed. Slowly, she started to grit her teeth and the heat surrounding her face started to radiate the area.

"Hái yǒu nǐ, Chan?" she asked. "You see, I've studied Earthrealm's traditions. The story of Caesar and his death at the hands of those he trusted the most."

"There's a reason he was betrayed," Jin muttered.

"I won't stand by and allow you all to murder my father a second time," she said. Sindel appeared behind her daughter unbeknownst to her. Kitana tensed up as she felt her mother's breath on the back of her neck. Sindel wrapped her right arm around the Empress and embraced her.

"If you feel this is the right choice, then I shall be by your side."

"Sindel!" Raja called. She raised herself to her feet as her neck snaps in place. Ancient writings appeared on her palm as she reached her hand towards Sindel. The former queen chuckles, building it up to obnoxious laughter.

"So, you still live as I do," she noticed. Kitana remembers the images from her box.

"That means…"

"This makes no sense. I've brought you all back to life by killing off Nitara's contracts. How can I not have control of you all?"

"Perhaps the blood code only applies to Nitara in their case?"

"It would not be possible for her to return to life if that were true," she confirmed.

"It matters not," Sindel interrupted. "You've proven to have no control over me." Sindel removes her arms from around Kitana. She stares into the face of Shao Kahn who looked angrily upon her. "You've caused my daughter and I much strife for centuries. I could never forgive you for that." Shao Kahn's lips trembled as if he were trying to speak, but something was preventing him from doing so. "Through Kitana's eyes, I've seen how highly she speaks of you. How much she feels you were more of a parent to her than I was. She was never able to meet her real father because of you. For now, however, I shall work alongside you this one time. Protect my daughter at all cost."

"This alliance is possibly the deadliest of them all. We can rarely stand a chance against either of them one on one," D'Vorah said.

"They've never fought us," Chan responded as he stepped forward. "Not us united." Kung Jin and Li Mei stood forward beside him. Jin slammed his staff into the ground and placed an enchanted thread along it. Li Mei surrounds her fingers with the mud along the ground, wearing it like a glove.

"We will honor this truce," Kung Lao said. He looked at Raja. "If it's alright with you, that is."

"Our duty is to kill Kitana. I'm sure she won't go back on her word of not killing the others," Lui Kang responded. Raja gritted her teeth before releasing a deep sigh.

"We have no choice here," she responded. Kotal nodded and stepped forward.

"Yeah! We time now!" Ferra yelled in excitement. She and Torr simultaneously raised their arms in the air and roared. D'Vorah watched them all in disgust.

"You can't be serious right now," she stated.

"D'Vorah, I know you fear him. You still have a duty to protect the realm and overthrow Kitana," Kotal responded.

"The hive knows no fear, Ko'Otal."

"I know you. You've served every master that has come your way. It is time for you to stand up for yourself as you've done with Tanya. She eradicated your entire race once before, but you still chose to stand up to her. Now, you must do the same. Not just for Outworld," he responded. D'Vorah thwittled her fingers, pondering his every word. She sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. Kotal shook his head in disappointment before turning his attention back to Shao Kahn.

"Stand back, we got this?" Lui Kang boasted. He and Kung Lao stretched and cracked their fingers as they approached the former Emperor. Kitana was frustrated by the pair, but more specifically Lui Kang. She can't avoid him forever. Her life was almost taken by him already. Only Shao Kahn can protect her now, but she cannot control the magnitude of his strength.

Lui Kang and Kung Lao alternated between one another as they use multiple physical blows to the emperor; with each punch and kick they throw being stronger than the last. Chan noticed him absorbing each blow as if it were wind rustling along his skin. Lui Kang's fist began to heat up. Jacqui reminisced on how her father learned to use a similar technique with metallic fists years ago. She studied the shaolin's method replaying it step by step in her mind.

D'Vorah turns around and notices her peaking from behind the tree. Three maggots fall from the trees above them. As they started to burrow into their skins, Takeda entered the minds of the maggots and prevented them from acting on them. He uses the bugs as a transmitter into D'Vorah's mind. He learns about her initial plot against Kotal as well as her plot against them. D'Vorah forces the boy out of her mind as she sacrifices her children atop of them. Jacqui and Cassie seemed disgusted by the small splatter of the bugs on their shoulders.

"We've been compromised by D'Vorah, but not the others. If those maggots burrowed any deeper into our skins we'd be dead within the next few weeks," he said.

"Quick thinking," Cassie praised.

"Not quick enough. Kotal doesn't have long before he's a goner. I predict a few more days. He's been her victim for a while now."

"These guys are something else. Cassie, what's the move?" Jacqui asked. Cassie continued to ponder on her plans as things started to get more complicated.


End of Chapter 26

Just a small update. With the end coming soon, one would wonder what this means for the final story title "Resurrection." The outline is completed, but there's still a ways to go with the rest of the story. I've done some reflecting on what made it easier for me to release chapters at a faster rate in the past compared to now, even though I have more time and more planning in comparison. I realized that I have too much planning which restricted my writing. Whenever I have a cool idea or plot point that seems important in the moment, I have to now either hold it for a later time or work around it in said chapter, leading me to rewriting current and future chapters. This is something I'm gonna refrain from but I'll be returning to my vague summaries and going from there. I didn't plan to rework these final chapters, but it seems that's gonna be a necessity because there was going to be so much info dumping and I'm starting to feel that the past few chapters and the upcoming chapters were becoming reminiscent to the Espada Arcs in Bleach (if you've watched that anime before you know what I mean). The new summaries feel vague enough to where I can flex a bit more with my creative freedom rather than be restricted to a set structure. With that said, the next four chapters should come much faster.

Edit: How could I forget? I have a new story out called "A Woman of Wonder" which will be six chapters long. A tease of that story is in chapter 17. Like this story, I plan to have it completed before the end of the year.

(Upcoming—Awakening)