Akari gazes around the chaos of the arena only to find something he wish he didn't. Annette or rather Etienne was surrounded by Okorik, Kano, Havik and some weird creature. Akari immediately said "Hey Deon, Annette's over there. And, yes I do mean that man with rapier and worst of all she's surrounded!"

Etienne's expression is one of apparent fear. His eyes open wide and glistening slightly to suggest emotion. As someone comes close behind him, he looks over one shoulder and whispers, "We're not going anywhere yet, Annette."

He raises his arms, fingers trembling intensely. As he rests his quivering hand on his collarbone, a faint pink color expands across his skin as if blood pooled under the entire surface of it.

His weapons fall to the ground as his body grows limp. He collapses at the feet of his attackers, eyes void of color.

At that moment, Mileena twitches uncomfortably. She lets out a wild screech and tears the mask from her face. She begins tearing violently at her clothes as if they burn, the pieces scattering on the ground beneath her. Her flesh changes just as Etienne's did, taking on a bruised color. Veins bulge across her body. She takes off, running with frightening speed toward Etienne's lifeless body.

She rambles about senseless topics as she runs, describing her desires, images of grotesque violence, asking many child like questions under her breath. "For the Matron!", she shouts when she arrives.

With whatever has overcome Mileena distracting them, Annette awakens as her body is returned to it's original female shape. She is quite weak, being barely able to pull herself across the ground away from the fight. She lays on the ground a few yards off, arms clutched over her chest. She cannot feel Etienne in her mind, instead sensing his presence in Mileena.... "Etienne.... What are you?", she whispers to herself.

Khaali rises, her breath heaving, to stand before Motaro. Before he can raise a hand against her, two fists of her own pound into the side of his face, then the other two snap him back to the side again. Back and forth Khaali pounds her fists into the centaur, before grabbing one of his horns in a hand each.

"Centaurs will always... be... second." Khaali snarls, before bringing her forehead down and tugging Motaro's face up. His nose breaks with a crunch and he roars in anger.

Shoving him aside into the dirt, Khaali wipes blood from her face and bares her teeth, before lifting all four arms and screeching to the whole arena.

hey guys sorry i havent been on for a while, my premedical classes are insane!

Can anyone fill me in what i missed out on so Serenity can make her come back?

Long story short: Akari(my character) Annette and Deon ran to the center of the arena to stop Khaali from attacking Khan head on by herself, Annette came up with a plan to sic most of the Tarkatans on Khan that got counteracted by Okorik and Shao Kahn sending out an army of both Shokan and Chaosrealm warriors. Meanwhile Akari and Deon acted together to help Khaali fight off Motaro.

What we have is one big war scale mess. And judging from Harle's last post something really odd happened.

Nothing short of demonic possession, homeslice.

Okorik saw what happened to Mileena and said, "What is going on and why is taking so long?"

As he tried to make his way towards the scene in the center, Akari caught sight of something disturbing that he couldn't explain. Annette had reverted to back to normal and collapsed, while Mileena stood over her with her hair an unusual shade of brown. Akari thought to himself "No that couldn't be right or possible" as he looked at Mileena.

Having used Mileena for his intended purpose, whatever posed as Etienne releases its hold on her. She collapses, unconscious. The swirling vortex of colors that emerged from her body shoots at lightning speed to Annette's side, where it encases her body. Annette is wide eyed but silent as the she and the spirit dissipate into the atmosphere.

Before he can make to her, Annette's body fades into the air. Akari's face grows pale as he says to himself "Is she gone? Did she die?" He let's out a frustrated shout as he dashes back to Deon and Khaali and cries "I should have just done what I was planning when this started!" As the two vigorously fought off a large crowd in a hopeless battle,Akari taps both of their backs and says "I have no idea where we will end up, but this is for our own good!"

Krimson leaves the Coliseum speaking on her communicator with a mysterious man.

"Krimson, report." he demanded.

"Things haven't gone too well so far. But you should remember that I haven't been in the realm for long."

"I am aware of that, but the Grandmaster will not be pleased to hear this."

"I know what he expects, but you know I serve no one, and I have no interest in joining the Red Dragon." She spoke.

"Yes, but you were contracted for a certain reason, and we fully expect you to carry it out."

"Hmm. You don't have to tell me twice...but getting close to him will not be easy. And I'm certain my presence is well known by now."

Krimson continued her communication with the man before she stopping briefly and analyzing her surrondings. She pondered a moment, with a sly grin and began her way to the Coliseum.

The man continued talking before final ending his thoughts. "I expect nothing less."

"Yea, yea yea." She ended the communication.

----

"So, what's next?" Krimson asked, making converstation with an Outworld denizen?

As he tries to get Khaali and Deon's attention, Akari shouts out "We have to teleport out of here now! I can teleport long distances but I cannot choose locations I can't see,so we will end up in parts unknown. Are you two ready?"

Deon uppercuts a tarkatan into the crowd and then runs over to Akari.



"What if you teleport us to the domain of the Shokan? Khaali isn't wanted there nor will they take kindly to an Edenian or Earthrealmer, but we have no choice, anything's better than here..." Deon screams for Khaali as well.

"Annette dematerialized, hopefully she's safe, she's not fully human, the struggle going on inside her, is disturbing, I could sense it, but I don't understand it."

A thin blanket of black smoke rolls across the ground, under the feet of Khan's warriors, over Mileena's limp body, slowly creeping toward Annette's former comrades. It brushes past Khaali's leg, pulsing on contact as a faint ripple of energy moves from it to her. The smoke recognizes her, sending some kind of message of vague familiarity before it moves on. It eventually collects at Akari's feet, unnoticed, but does not pulse as it did before, perhaps not wanting to be detected. Instead it does nothing but rest on the floor, lying in wait.

As the three warriors gather together Akari senses something strange, he then immediately shrugs the feeling off and replies to Deon "Anette's okay? I hope that she materializes somewhere safe then. Also I'll try for that area, get ready!" Akari, Deon and Khaali all simultaneously then vanish in a burst of light.

Khaali shields her eyes from the light with one hand, before slowly lowering it. She stands, her breasts rising and falling with heavy breaths.

In one hand is gripped a trophy, a long sash of Motaro's mane, black. She ties it into her own hair, leaving it draping down her neck and shoulders.

From the heavens, Serenity looks at her friends, unbeknownst to them she was slowing starting to lose control of her powers and needed time to gain some mastery over them.

Serenity whispers "I am sorry i left you my friends, do not worry i will return quickly stronger than ever before."

Serenity turns around and sees her friend and training partner Ekibyogami smiling.
"Ok, lets go" Serenity says while eyes glowing, but to her surprise her friend slowing shook his head. "Go back to them Serenity. Now is your time to fight again."

Staring deep into his eyes, she knew she was already ready.
Running to him she gives a big hug. "Thank you my friend."
And with that Serenity makes her descent to the mortal world once again..

The three warriors reappear in a strange subterranean area away from the chaos of the arena. Akari looks around and says "The domain of the shokan is somewhere in this area Deon? If anything it's better than being in the middle of that battlefield."

Okorik saw what happened and said, "Well now, it seems they've gotten away. A shame but that disqualifies them from the tournament." Shao Kahn yelled, "Where have those warriors gone?" Before he could continue, Shang Tsung snapped his fingers and two tarkatans carried an unconscious shadow priest to Shao Kahn. He said, "This shadow priest has apparently been helping those Earthrealm warriors. He would've escaped yet apparently they forgot about him. No matter for you shall deal with him. It was almost too easy, since the confusion allowed us to surprise him. It's almost as if he wasn't doing anything." Shao Kahn looked angrily at the Shadow Priest and said, "What is his name?" Shang Tsung replied, "He was one of my finest. He is called Marek." Shao Kahn told the Tarkatans, "Take this traitor to be executed." The Tarkatans took Marek between two columns and chained him there. Shao Kahn proudly yelled, "If anyone chooses to oppose my choice, I hereby state this: I challenge anyone who tries to stop this execution by facing me in Mortal Kombat!"

Deon looks around apprehensively, "Unfortunately, we are, this is the last place an Edenian, a human, and a rogue Shokan should be, we might be safer here, but that safety is tenuous at best."


Deon hears the yells of Shokans battling each other surrounding them as it reverberates off the walls, "Damn it....we should hide...it sounds llike they're conducting an initiation ritual of some sort.."

Akari hears the sounds of battle a distance away and responds "Yeah maybe we should have chosen the living forest instead but we were in a tight situation so it doesn't matter now. But your right we've got to vanish quickly, any ideas?"

Akari looks back towards Khaali and notices she has a lock of hair tied to her own hair. Akari curiously asks "Did you rip that off the centaur before we left?"

Khaali tossed her head, her dreadlocks, and the mane, shake around her shoulders.

"I take something from each battle I win. That is how I have always done."

She glances down briefly at her stark naked form and wonders if she could have fought someone with a top while she had been at it.

Okorik wakes from his daze and says, "How long have I been out."

Should we all just start over?

Heh, it seems the story reached a climax, then we all got writer's block for a month, (remind you of anything naughty?) hehehe... Well, I wrote Annette out technically but, you know.... *shrugs*