Mortal Kombat Fan Fiction ❯ Of Serpents and Sirens ❯ A New Contender ( Chapter 30 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Shang let his arms drop as he stood. He gently touched her back. "I have to go watch the final two fights. If I do not...I do not wish you to suffer, hehua. We have our son to think of."

She looks up at him, cheeks wet with tears and nods. Wiping the tears away she stands and grabs his arm.

"Then I'm going with you. No arguments, Shang. I love you and I'm going to be there at your side. No matter what happens."

He viciously kisses her and she clings to him, kissing back just as hard.

"You are...my soul."

"Lets go."

He nods and they leave his rooms, silent as they make their way outside. Fighters and monks both move to the side giving them shocked looks as they walked side by side through the double doors leading to the courtyard. 

Her hand on his arm is warm and comforting and it steadies him. He grips it in his own gently. Shang Tsung couldn't understand it but he had to hold her hand. The feeling of helplessness yet again washed over him. Made stronger only by the fact that he had found Lily. He had dragged her into this dance of life and death and utterly regretted it. If Outworld lost...Lily would suffer gravely and so would his son. She could even suffer a miscarriage if the punishment was too severe. 

He was inescapably frightened and he did not like the feeling.

Already plans were whirling through his mind.

He could throw a portal up, push Lily through and take her place.

Or he could jump through with her. Live.

Shang shook his head. He was not a coward. He would face this. He would find a way out of this corner even if he had to fight his way out. He only hoped if it did come to that...that the Dragon Goddess would protect his hehua. His queen.

/  -  /  -  /  -  /

"Sheeva! Choose your opponent!" Shao Khan exclaimed.

"Yes, emperor."

The Shokan woman looked at the crowd and noticed a hooded figure and pointed at them.

"That one there. The small one with the hood."

"I'm not sure you want that." They replied.

Sheeva growled, "Coward! Stand and face me!"

They looked up, "Cousin?"

The young man standing beside her sighs, "I had hoped to avoid this, but very well. Do well, Meili."

The feminine voice scoffs, "When don't I?"

"When you're not focused."

"Oh gee, thanks cousin."

Johnny pats her on the back, "Watch out, she's a lot faster than she looks."

The young woman laughs, shrugging off her cloak. "Well so am I."

Johnny does a double take, long pale blonde hair hung in a braid past her hip. She was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit with long sleeves that hooked over her middle fingers under a sheer sleeveless black robe with slits up the sides of her legs with silver bracers around her wrists. Her belt was grey and dark blue.

'Wow. She's gorgeous.'

She smiles back at him and he gasps. Her eyes were two different colors. One brilliant blue and the other...

'Holy shit.' 

The other eye was pure white.

He was stunned...it couldn't be.

She takes a running start, flipping up into the air and landing on one foot before falling into a fighting stance.

"Name's Meili. Nice to meet ya."

Raiden places a hand on Johnny's shoulder, worried. "Johnny what is wrong?"

"I could almost swear I saw Cassie smiling back at me when she smiled."

"But she is not Cassie."

"I know but the strangest thing is...one of her eyes is pure white, Raiden. Like yours and Fuj...Holy Shit."

"What is it?"

"Hun, I need a moment to think. Shush." 

"Hun?"

Johnny grinned at him, "Well, I gotta come up with some other names for you now...since you know...us."

"Oh."

"Lets watch the fight first okay?"

/  -  /  -  /  -  /

Fujin admired the young girl's stance, she had excellent balance. But the way she bounced from foot to foot was rather familiar to him but he just couldn't place it.

"Cassandra, what do you think of the girl? Do you think she can defeat Sheeva?"

He looked down at her and stilled. He looked back at the young girl and then back at Cassie again.

Cassie was bouncing from foot to foot as well. She never was able to stay still.

'Not even in bed.'

He waved a hand in front of her face and snapped her out of her wandering thoughts.

Cassandra?"

"She looks like you, Windy."

"What?"

"That Meili girl. She looks like you, doesn't she? but with my blonde hair. I mean the silver armor, hell even her fighting stance is so damn similar to yours. Its so weird. Like I know her somehow."

Suddenly everything clicks and Fujin is left shaken with the realization that they do know her. 

He looks down at Cassie like he's seeing her for the first time again, a warm feeling exploding through his chest. Given the one thing he had wanted so much in his whole existence. He was right, Cassandra Cage was an incredible woman.

Fujin kisses her fiercely then and when he pulls back, he smiles widely at her.

She giggles and smacks his arm, "What was that for?"

"Dearest...what do you think of the name Meili?"

"It's pretty. Why do you ask?"

"Cassie, my dearest heart, Meili is our daughter's name."

She looked at him oddly, "But we don't have kids. I thought gods and mortals couldn't."

"Apparently we can and we do."

"But-" He turns her head back to the young woman in the arena and kisses her temple and she's frozen in place as the realization hits her.

"Holy shit, she's...our kid?"

"I am completely sure."

"But she's my age...how is she my age? What's she doing here? Some time travel shit or what?"

Fujin shakes his head, "That I cannot answer, dearest."

"She better kick Sheeva's ass, that's all I'm saying."

"If she's anything like you, she will be formidable."

/  -  /  -  /  -  /

Shang Tsung was puzzled by the young woman in the arena. He had never seen the fighter before, he only hoped she was capable.

Lily tugged on his arm, "Shang, that fighter, who is she?"

"Apparently her name is Meili."

Lily shook her head, "It's so weird but..."

"What, hehua?"

"She kind of looks like Cassie."

He nodded, "I can see the resemblance yes."

Shang studied the girl before scanning over the crowd where he locks eyes with a pair of piercing green eyes. The owner of the eyes grins at him and gives a curt nod, acknowledging him. He gives a confused look back. They shake their head back, pointing two finger to his eyes then points them to the arena.

'Watch.'

The young man wanted him to watch.

'Why?'

/  -  /  -  /  -  /

Sheeva yelled and rushed at her, throwing punches in succession with all four hands. Which the young woman dodged rather quickly before she hopped up, placed one foot in her stomach and kicked out with her other foot, sending Sheeva stumbling back.

The Shokan woman roared and spun, throwing a foot out and kicking her back and she tucked in and using a handspring flipped back up dropping back into a stance. But this stance was different. It was like Johnny's.

"I knew it!" Came from the audience.

Raiden looked down at Johnny in shock, "Why did you yell that?"

"Thunderstruck, think about it a moment. She looks a lot like Cassie, but one of her eyes is pure white, like yours and Fujin's...She just used one of Cassie's attacks and my fighting stance...I will bet you anything that that girl is Cassie's daughter with Fujin...my granddaughter. And well...your niece...god this went weird. I called it by the way. Didn't I call it?"

"It is not possible. Gods are unable to bear children with mortals."

"Well, Fujin missed that meeting."

Johnny yelled out, "Let loose kid! We already know!"

The young woman paused and looked back at him stunned. "How?!"

"Give me some credit kid!"

Meili smiled brightly and turned back to Sheeva just in time for her two right fists to connect and Meili crumbles.

The young man steps forward, concern in his voice. "Meili!"

She sits up, holding a hand out. She's okay.

She grins up at Sheeva and spits blood onto the stone below her.

"I'm sorry but I'm done playing now."

Meili flips up and sends a flurry of punches at Sheeva, which the Shokan woman tries her hardest to block, grunting as she's pushed back two steps. The young woman flips backwards and falls into a stance, standing on one foot and holding her hands together in front of her. 

Sheeva snorts, "That is no fighting position. You are foolish to think you can beat me!"

All four hands come together in front of her, cracking her knuckles.

Meili just stands there looking at her, no emotion showing in her features.

Sheeva roars and rushes her explosively.

Meili shifts just a moment and drops to both feet and throws both palms out connecting with Sheeva's chest and wind rushes from her hands and throws her back across the arena. Sheeva bounces at first then slides across the stone arena, coming to a halt ten feet away. When she struggles to get up...something happens.

Meili's pure white eye sparks and when she raises her hand she brings it down quickly and the sky rumbles in answer, a bolt of lightning striking at Sheeva continuously, her body jerking and jolting until smoke rose from her flesh and she slumps to the ground...dead. 

Shao Khan roars in anger.

"How dare you! You failed to mention you had the power of the gods!"

Shang is inwardly shocked at the display of power the young girl showed. Yes she looked like Cassie but she had the combined powers of both Raiden and Fujin. 

'Just who are you?'

Meili bows, "It does not matter what powers you have as long as you can fight and win against your opponent. Survival of the strongest...isn't that the basis of Mortal Kombat?"

The sorcerer nodded, agreeing with the young woman. Although she had led the Shokan woman to believe she was an easy target. Sheeva was the fool for not taking her opponent more seriously. 

It was an under-handed tactic...one he would have pulled had he been in her place.

'One more fight left. It was all or nothing now.'

His hand gripped Lily's tightly.

Meili turns, bouncing back into the crowd to stand next to her cousin and waves back, "Thanks for the fight! It was fun!"

Shao Khan leaps to the courtyard and slams his hammer down.

"Raiden! Send forth your champion so that I may crush his skull once and for all!"

/  -  /  -  /  -  /

Meili looks up at her cousin.

"Do you think we did enough? Will he fight?"

He looks up to the balcony. "He has to. If not I will step in."

"But we were told that while we could fight the last fight had to be between Shang Tsung and Shao Khan. Future events rely on it."

"So Cassandra was correct. You are from the future, are you...daughter?"

They turn and come face to face with Fujin, Cassie, Johnny and Raiden. Liu Kang and Kung Lao are both there as well.

Meili giggles, nervously, scratching her head.

"Well, I guess the cat's outta the bag now."

Cassie grins and hugs her firmly. "Well damn, Windy, we made a pretty gorgeous kid."

Fujin places a hand on her shoulder, "It is alright. Although I must ask why you did not come to me?"

"Uncle and grandfather figured it out on their own. I am sorry for not approaching you from the start, baba."

The wind god's chest aches at that word. 'Baba. Father.' He smiles softly.

"Do not apologize, my daughter. Now what is the goal of your being here?"

She bows, "Shang Tsung must challenge Shao Khan."

Liu takes a step forward angrily, "I am meant to fight him. Why Shang Tsung?"

"Because my life depends on it." The young man finally spoke.

Liu and Lao looked at him in shock.

He shook his head, "If Shang Tsung fails to fight him, then he will challenge Lily Cage. She cannot fight in her current state as my father knows.

"Why can she not fight?" Kung Lao questions.

Because she is currently pregnant. With an infant version of myself."

Johnny gapes at him, "You...you're...Lily's..."

He grins before giving a slight bow.

"I am Fai Tsung. Son of Shang Tsung and Lily Cage."