In Edenia, Raiden was speaking with Sindel, Jade and Kitana. Once Sindel relayed everything Riekhan told them to Raiden, the thunder god was shocked to hear Kronika's plan. But with the whereabouts of the crown, he knew this was their chance to strike. He summoned his lightning and teleported away back to Earthrealm to discuss with Fujin and the earthrealm forces.
Once he was gone, Sindel turned to Jade and Kitana and asked, "Where is Riekhan?"
"He said he was going out for some air." Jade answered as Kitana added on, "But that was almost an hour ago."
"Is he on the roof like usual?" Sindel asked as neither had a sure-fire answer.
"Don't worry, I'm right here." Riekhan said as he walked into the great hall and he wasn't alone. With him, was Ermac, and Riekhan explained, "I was out getting Ermac to help us in anyway he can."
"That's good. This actually makes this all the better." Sindel said as she then explained, "We need to find any information we can on Shao Kahn and his alliance with Kronika."
"What about finding the crown?" Riekhan asked as Sindel answered, "Lord Raiden has assured me that his earthrealm forces will retrieve it before long. On our end, we need to focus on halting Shao Kahn and his army."
"I see. Why not send Jade and I into Outworld?" Kitana asked as Jade agreed and said, "We know our way around the realm better than most and can stay discreet while gathering information on Shao Kahn's army."
"Very well. But you two won't be going alone. Ermac will accompany you." Sindel said as Riekhan asked, "What about me?"
"You'll stay here in Edenia with me, Riekhan. We can't leave the realm undefended incase another attack happens." Sindel said as Riekhan refuted, "Shao Kahn wouldn't be stupid enough to attack twice in the same day! And even if he was, you could just call Earthrealm for aid."
"Edenia cannot run to Earthrealm for help every time it has a problem, Riekhan. The realm must stand on its own two feet in these situations." Sindel said as Riekhan wanted to rebuttal once again, but Kitana stopped him.
"Mother is right, Riekhan." Kitana said as she assured Sindel and Riekhan, "Don't worry, I assure you both we will return successful."
Riekhan gave a defeated sigh and said, "Fine."
Sindel gave a portal stone to the group, and the trio left for Outworld. Once they went through the portal, they appeared in a desert in Outworld. Ermac took a look around and pointed to something in the distance and told the other two, "We can feel many energies there. It's the tarkatan war camp."
"The Tarkatans? Perhaps capturing Baraka and questioning him on Shao Kahn's whereabouts could work." Jade suggested as an interrogation on someone within Shao Kahn's court could go a long way in gathering the info they needed.
"What you propose is risky, Jade." Kitana said to the general as Jade replied, "Even so, both of us at our roots are ninjas. Sneaking around without being seen or detected is one of our greatest skills. Not to mention, Ermac is capable of holding off many tarkatans with ease should they manage to find us."
"Jade is correct. Going to the war-camp and capturing Baraka to interrogate him for any information he has, will serve us well in our mission." Ermac said.
Jade told Kitana, "It's up to you, princess. You lead us. If you have second thoughts on this plan or don't agree with it, we will follow your lead."
Kitana thought on the idea briefly but eventually agreed to the idea of infiltrating the camp to capture Baraka. With that, Ermac picked up Jade and Kitana with his telekinesis and the trio levitated close to the war camp. Once they were close enough, the trio snuck in on foot.
The trio hid behind huts and maneuvered around many different groups of tarkatans. They successfully snuck around unnoticed for a few minutes. They hid behind another hut, but this one caught their attention as Ermac felt a Tarkatan energy level stronger than the others.
"Mileena... She is here." Ermac said as he pointed to the hut far across from their right.
"She's even closer to Shao Kahn. Perhaps we should think about questioning her." Jade suggested as the trio all agreed and made their way over to the hut Mileena was in.
Once they were at the right hut, they hid and listened in on a conversation Mileena was having with a Tarkatan. "Go now. My father will be here soon and when he is, the battalion must prepare itself." She said as the Tarkatan understood and tried to leave the hut, only to be stopped by Reiko, who walked into the hut.
"Mileena, since when do you give orders to your father's soldiers? Have you forgotten that I am his general?" Reiko mockingly asked as Mileena grew furious at the smug general.
"You... I don't know why my father trusts you, nor why he seems to follow your word like gospel, but you will get what's coming to you one day, Reiko!" Mileena claimed as the general replied, "It's not difficult to see why Shao Kahn would trust me far more than you, Mileena. What I said earlier weren't exactly lies. You would indeed make a horrible ruler, and deep down, everyone else knew it."
Mileena's rage rose by the second with how hard Reiko was antagonizing her. "My father will see the truth at some point, Reiko. And when he does, I'll make sure I have the honor of killing you....slowly!"
Reiko began to chuckle at Mileena's claims and replied, "How much of a fool can you be, Mileena? Shao Kahn will never believe you again. You, his science experiment gone wrong for a 'daughter' who miserably failed him and is responsible for allowing Sindel and Kitana to tear down his once great empire? He'd sooner kill a useless waste of resources like you than ever get rid of his greatest general."
"You lie, Reiko!" A wide eyed Mileena yelled as she tried to act like his words didn't cut deep, but....they did.
"You are a very stubborn woman, Mileena. Honestly, it's one of your worst qualities....amongst your many other horrendous ones." Reiko said as Mileena narrowed her eyes. Reiko put his hands behind his back and walked towards the hut's exit and informed her, "Regardless, you're father will indeed be here soon. Do try not to fail him once AGAIN, would you?"
With that Reiko walked out of the hut and left a very frustrated Mileena alone. Her frustration and rage reached a boiling point and she unleashed it when she started to swing around in a rage and destroyed different objects around her. She then punched a hole into the wall of the hut and tried as best as she could to calm down. It was a futile effort however. No matter how hard she tried, Reiko and his lies just made her blood boil.
"It sounds as if Mileena is on thin ice with Shao Kahn." Jade whispered and Kitana agreed.
"Of course. That's how Shao Kahn operates. Fail him, and he casts you out." Kitana replied, talking from experience.
"Or he betrays you and takes your power for himself as he did to us, Shang Tsung and Riekhan." Ermac added on, detailing his own experience with the treacherous emperor.
"I can't believe I'm asking this, but....do you really think it possible Mileena eventually turns on Shao Kahn?" Jade asked.
"No." Kitana flatly answered before explaining, "She's far too loyal to him. And as Reiko's antagonization shows, that loyalty to Shao Kahn is to her own detriment. Even IF she betrayed him, she'd have nowhere to go and nobody to turn to for help."
"Anything is possible, princess. After all, her brother turned away from Shao Kahn's regime and joined you and your mother's." Ermac stated as Kitana replied, "That's because her brother is better than her. She's far too evil, greedy, psychotic and loyal to her 'father' to see what Riekhan saw."
Kitana had enough of talking about Mileena and said, "Shao Kahn will be here shortly. We need to move."
The trio went to make they're way to the next hut, but they ran into a Tarkatan female who was scared by the three ninjas. The female slowly backed away in fear and stumbled over her words in the Tarkatan language as Jade assured the woman that they weren't going to harm her. The woman kept backing away regardless and bumped her back into a large pile of wood used to make bonfires.
This alerted the other tarkatans in the surrounding area and they all saw Kitana, Jade and Ermac infiltrating their camp. The war horn was blown and everybody in the camp was alerted to the three invaders. With tarkatans running to them on all sides, the trio had no choice but to fight.
Ermac started off by giving the trio an advantage when he used his telekinesis to pick up many tarkatans and flung them towards the others. Once they were down, Ermac put his focus on dwindling the war camp's numbers altogether. Kitana and Jade both had to take on their fair share of enemies before both were staring down Reiko and Mileena.
"You two edenians don't belong here." Reiko said before claiming, "But it works to our advantage that you are now. We'll exterminate you right where you stand."
"That's funny, Reiko. Since when do you do anything without Shao Kahn's permission?" Kitana asked as she turned to Mileena and said, "And you... I'm truly stunned, Mileena. After what Reiko did to you, you're now taking orders from him?"
Mileena growled at Kitana's words and vehemently stated, "I'll never take orders from Reiko!"
"Is that right?" Jade asked half mockingly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"From what we heard in there, it sounds like you're stuck doing what the general wants. As Shao Kahn's daughter and his 'heir', you should be giving orders, not receiving them." Kitana said as she added on, "At least, that is what I was doing during my time as Shao Kahn's false daughter."
Mileena's fury grew and she then brought out her sais and rushed towards Kitana before yelling at Kitana to shut up. With her response, it was clear Kitana's words and the current situation with Reiko was getting to Mileena's head. With Kitana and Mileena facing off, Jade and Reiko were now face to face.
"You have a lot to pay for, Reiko." Jade claimed as she brought out her Bo staff.
Reiko scoffed and asked, "Still angry at me for what happened to you back on Shang Tsung's island a year ago? You wouldn't be the first."
"No, I wouldn't. But watching your embarrassing demise at the hands of your own power was satisfying enough." Jade said, recalling the pathetic way Reiko died after he became the blood god. She then got in a stance and aimed the tip of her staff at him before declaring, "Now, you will pay for the part you played in creating that cruel device that tortured Riekhan."
"Tch. Your little apish consort isn't even supposed to exist anymore. But it matters not. Soon enough, he'll be dead and in the new era, you can be MY consort, Jade." Reiko said with a smirk.
Jade narrowed her eyes and had enough of the bold claims being made here. She sprung into action, and the two began their battle.
Ermac easily picked apart the various Tarkatan warriors that rushed towards him and was doing his part to keep them at bay. But as more and more tarkatans started to fall by the minute, Ermac could sense reinforcements approaching the war camp. Not just reinforcements, but also the dreaded emperor himself. He turned and saw Kitana and Mileena clashing. Across from them, Jade and Reiko were embroiled in a fierce brawl. With that, Ermac charged up two soul blasts and aimed them specifically for Mileena and Reiko.
The blasts hit and knocked both away momentarily as Kitana and Jade turned to him and he yelled, "Hurry, you two! Retreat quickly! Shao Kahn and his forces approach! We will buy you time!"
"A-are you sure?" Kitana asked, not wanting to leave Ermac alone.
"Go now!!" Ermac yelled as Kitana understood the soul ninja meant what he said. With that, she and Jade both ran away from the camp to try and get as much distance as possible between them and Shao Kahn's forces.
Ermac unleashed a large portion of his power and pushed all of his enemies back, but as Shao Kahn got closer and closer to the battlefield, he sensed someone else here. Someone close to both Jade and Kitana. The two turned a corner from a hillside near the camp, but were ambushed. Out of nowhere, Dark Sindel unleashed a powerful banshee scream and stunned the both of them. She then launched her hair at them and wrapped it around both of their necks to begin choking them out.
Ermac saw this, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Shao Kahn toss a lance at him. He dodged it, but was then brought down from the sky by Shao Kahn who jumped up and knocked him down with a punch. Ermac landed in a heap and he got to see Dark Sindel holding a now unconscious Jade and Kitana with her hair. Shao Kahn landed on the ground, and his army backed him as Ermac was surrounded on both sides.
With nowhere to go and Kitana and Jade being held captive, Ermac realized that retreat was now the only option for him. He didn't want to leave Kitana and Jade, but he knew if they were going to be killed, Dark Sindel would have done it by now. With that, his body shined green and he used his soul magic to teleport himself away from the danger around him.
Once he was gone however, Shao Kahn scoffed before looking towards his wife and saying, "It worked. The coward fled. Back to Edenia no doubt."
"Of course." Dark Sindel said as she looked towards the two unconscious Edenian ladies. She then stared at her daughter and said, "The Kitana in my timeline disappointed me as well. So much so, she forced my hand into disowning her. Till this day, she still resides in a dungeon cell."
"Whether it's this timeline or another, it appears she has a tendency to be a waste of time and space." Shao Kahn said as he looked towards Jade and said, "She doesn't concern me. Let Tanya deal with her. Kitana however....will make an excellent show at the coliseum."
"Planning to execute her, I presume?" Dark sindel asked as Shao Kahn replied, "And is that a problem for you, wife?"
Shao Kahn was expecting Dark Sindel to have somewhat of an issue with the outright killing of her daughter, but.... "Not at all." Dark Sindel coldly said as she couldn't care less for the death of a Kitana belonging to a counterpart of hers that she loathed. Shao Kahn was taken aback by this, but he soon took joy in the fact that this version of his wife was so cold and calculating and would go as far as to kill her own daughter if she got in the way. While they discussed their plans however, Ermac wasn't gone from the realm. Just gone from their sight and senses.
The soul ninja hid well behind a large mountain but overheard the two's conversation. He was slightly relieved that Jade and Kitana weren't going to be killed right away, but he needed to hurry. With that, he used the portal stone as quickly as he could and he left Outworld before anyone else could attack. He'd return to Edenia, and this time...he was bringing his own reinforcements.
DBZ Universe-Hyperbolic Time Chamber
9 months had passed in the hyperbolic time chamber for Zirack and Vegeta and the two only kept getting stronger. But right now, they were just talking man to man about their experiences and how different their worlds were. With Zirack's knowledge of Vegeta's position as the prince, he wondered something.
"What was it like growing up on our home planet?" Zirack asked as Vegeta answered, "Much like you and Kakarot, I didn't grow up on Planet Vegeta. When I was really young, I was apart of an elite group of soldiers that survived the planet's destruction by being away from it. And before you ask, those two soldiers are long gone."
"Man, we got lucky then." Zirack said as Vegeta's story made it clear that he, Vegeta and Goku all had fortune helping them out on that dark day.
"You and Kakarot might have experienced good fortune with your escapes, but not me. Instead, I found out Frieza had our squad stay off planet so he could keep us within the planet trade organization. To him, it didn't hurt to at least have a small handful of Saiyans do his bidding for him." Vegeta said as alarm bells went off in Zirack's head.
"Whoa! I completely forgot about Frieza!" Zirack said as he had known for a long time exactly who was the culprit in destroying his home planet. "He's dead....right?"
Vegeta cracked a satisfied smirk when he answered, "He's dead alright. In fact, it was my own son who did the deed."
"Really?!" Zirack asked, happy to hear the tyrant was put down.
"Of course. The bastard hasn't been a problem for this universe in over a decade." Vegeta said as Zirack then asked, "But you said Cell and Buu were worse, right?"
"Yes. Both were stronger than Frieza, but each got worse than the last. Not just them, but also the other powerful enemies we've had to face." Vegeta said as he began to rapidly fire off the names of many other foes earth has had to contend with. "Cooler: Frieza's older, and from what I could tell when I fought him, much stronger brother. Androids 13, 14 and 15. All of whom were able to fuse together to make one immensely powerful android that almost destroyed everything. Another Saiyan, who it turns out was the true legendary super Saiyan named: Broly. Then there was Bojack. A galactic conqueror who tried to claim earth. And just recently, a reality warping demonic hell spawn that forced Kakarot and I to work together to defeat him named Janemba. And the only reason I know his name, is because the fat bastard wouldn't shut the hell up and stop saying it."
Zirack was at a loss for words with everything he just heard. It was all too much to take in and make sense of, so he just moved on altogether. But it was insane to him the amount of threats that this universe, his home universe, faced day after day. Powerful threats, at that, that would no doubt give the displaced Saiyan a run for his money with the way Vegeta talked about them.
"But enough about this world. Tell me more about yours." Vegeta said as he asked, "When you first protested staying here, you said you had a family. Tell me about them."
"Well, right now it's just me and my wives." Zirack said as Vegeta's attention was caught with that last part and he questioned, "Wives?! Plural?"
"That's what I said." Zirack answered, to which Vegeta asked, "How many do you have?"
"3." Zirack answered and Vegeta asked, "Are they all aware?"
"It was actually their idea. They all liked me, but realized that since I was the last Saiyan to ever exist at the time, it was selfish to try and force me to only love one of them. They told me that since I was all that was left, it would fall upon me to start repopulating the Saiyan race, so....they came up with the idea of a harem." Zirack answered as Vegeta raised an eyebrow and was surprised to hear that.
"Well, their reasoning on sharing you is sound." Vegeta admitted. "Tell me about them."
Zirack began to chuckle as he thought back to his first meeting with each of his wives. "This is gonna sound strange but my first meeting with two of them include the both of them stalking me."
"It certainly does sound strange." Vegeta said as Zirack's wives already sounded like crazy women.
"Li Mei was the first one I met. She wasn't trying to harm me. Instead, she was looking for my help." Zirack started as he then went on to explain Li Mei's troubled past to Vegeta. Her physical and mental suffering at the hands of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. The relationship he forged with her and how he helped her become a stronger fighter.
"The next one I met is a woman named Skarlet. She was also stalking me at first, but she was actually trying to harm me. And when she used her powers on me at first, I was creeped out by her." Zirack admitted as Vegeta asked, "What are her powers?"
"She's a 'blood mage'. She learned a powerful ability called blood magic. With her blood magic, she can use blood to make weapons and hardened tendrils that held me captive until I broke out. But to me, the biggest thing I remember when I first met her, was a slash she managed to land on me with her knife. And then....." Zirack said as he didn't want to tell the Saiyan prince the what happened next.
"Well? Out with it, what happened?" Vegeta asked as Zirack admitted, "She....licked my blood clean off her knife."
"........." Was Vegeta's reaction as he became wide eyed for a second and was also a little weirded out by this Skarlet woman. The fact that she was one of Zirack's wives proved something to the Saiyan prince however. He smirked before replying, "Heh. And that day you realized she was a keeper, huh?"
"Uhh..... I-I wouldn't say that...." Zirack said, scratching his head and sweat-dropping. Zirack then went on to go into a little more detail on Skarlet and her upbringing. Her ties to Shao Kahn and Outworld. And the threat of death she faced when she grew terminally ill.
"So, Li Mei and Skarlet. That's two of your wives, what about the third? Who is she?" Vegeta asked.
"Her name is Nitara. She's a vampire that lives in a different realm called Vaeternus." Zirack answered as Vegeta was taken aback by this 'Nitara'.
"A vampire? How did you marry a vampire?" Vegeta asked, not expecting to ever hear a Saiyan be with a vampiress.
"Well I didn't 'marry' her per se. Not in the conventional way anyway." Zirack said, confusing Vegeta. He then explained, "With how things go in Vaeternus, two people need to agree to become mates. Once they, well......mate, they are officially 'married'. And since the vampires in Vaeternus seemingly live forever, their unions last forever until one is killed."
"Really?" Vegeta asked as Zirack answered, "Really. Believe me, I was surprised when I found out I was now her husband after we......you know."
"Those vampires sound a lot like the Saiyans. Saiyans weren't conventionally married like people are here on earth. Much like the people in Vaeternus, a male and female Saiyan get together, mate and are officially mates from that point forward." Vegeta informed Zirack as the displaced Saiyan could see the connection.
Zirack then went into further detail on Nitara and how they first met. The portal sphere holding her realm hostage. Saving her people from a genocidal demon. And her aid in saving his and Skarlet's lives in the past.
"So let me see if I have this right. Li Mei is a master fighter with a tortured past and used to be bloodthirsty, but is now free from her vengeance and is one of your world's most powerful fighters?" Vegeta asked, trying to summarize everything Zirack told him.
"Yes." Zirack answered, proud of Li Mei's progress from who she was when they first met to becoming the woman she is today.
"And Skarlet is a blood mage who also happens to be a ninja that keeps getting powerful the more she trains in ki along with her blood magic abilities?" Vegeta asked.
"That's right." Zirack answered, also feeling grateful for the relationship he had forged with the blood mage. His fights with her and her blood magic were always a highlight of his one on one spars with her.
"And Nitara is a powerful vampiress whom saved your life on more than one occasion and also helped to indirectly save the life of Skarlet?" Vegeta asked, wondering if he had covered all of the bases.
"Exactly." Zirack answered, as he owed Nitara for saving his life and the lives of his loved ones in the past. And the more he thought about it, maybe seeing her only 12 times a year still wasn't fair to the vampiress. Regardless, Vegeta brought Zirack out of his thoughts and put it altogether for the displaced Saiyan.
"I see now. They're all physically and willfully strong women. That's why you're attracted to them." Vegeta informed Zirack.
"I....guess so." Zirack said as Vegeta then informed him, "You don't even know it but your saiyan instincts have helped guide your love-life. After-all, we Saiyans are naturally attracted to strong willed women."
"Is that the case with you and Goku?" Zirack asked, finding this new information to make so much sense considering what he feels for Li Mei, Skarlet and Nitara.
"I'd say so. But in Kakarot's case, I think his wife is a little on the extreme side." Vegeta said, never forgetting the amount of times he'd seen Goku get an ear-full from Chi-Chi.
Vegeta then went back over to the training area and said, "That's enough chit-chat for today. We've only got 3 months left and neither of us have reached our goal."
Zirack followed suit and replied, "Ready when you are, prince."
"Very well." Vegeta said as he made a 'come one' motion with his hand.
"Bring it o-." Vegeta tried to say as he was immediately punched in the face by Zirack and the two began yet another spar with one another.