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Mileena found herself visiting the Tarkatan colony often.
Whenever her schedule offered her an opening, she would usually spend it there.
To her, it did not seem obsessive.
But by Tanya's sharp observation, her visits had doubled in a month's time.
Mileena brushed it off, insisting that she was simply making sure that her deal with Baraka was being made right every month - despite Tanya reminding her that, as Empress, she could easily put someone else in charge of that.
Even if she did find someone trustworthy enough to oversee her arrangement, it was not their burden to bear.
Outworld had forsaken those afflicted by Tarkat.
Her own mother, despite being in the position to change such views, did nothing to help them either.
As the new reigning Empress of Outworld, Mileena now held that same power.
She knew firsthand how torturous Tarkat could be on a daily basis.
She could not stand aside and allow others like herself to suffer, not when she could provide even the smallest bit of comfort for them.
Mileena would often ride with the supply convey to the colony to ensure that every item the colony requested was accounted for and delivered. She often butted heads with Baraka over the extra step, with the man insisting that he could take inventory well enough himself. And considering that Baraka was the one who put the request papers together every month, as well as being a former merchant himself, Mileena knew he could do a better job at it than her.
But even though he could, it would look like she was skirting her responsibilities.
She wanted the people to see that she kept to her word, no matter what it required her to do in order to do so.
There were decades upon decades of hardship that she needed to make up for, no matter how many times she was told that the condition of the colony was not something done by her hands. She had not been the one to create such deplorable living conditions, but she could be the one to fix them.
After all... this would surely be her home one day.
If she made it that far.
Such a thought was always at the back of her mind- not quite in the way, but not quite out of it either.
No matter how much, or how hard she fought it, even if she learned to control it, Tarkat would win in the end.
It always did.
There were thousands dead who proved it.
There were hundreds driven mad who proved it.
The thought of it crippled her at night.
Often she would taste the hint of blood in her mouth just before she fell asleep.
Often she would endure nightmares of herself transforming in the middle of the night, and going on a hunt inside of the palace.
Despite warping the rules to their favor, despite changing Tanya's title to allow the two of them to be public, those nightmares had made Mileena hesitant to allow the other woman to share a room, to share a bed with her. A dream long sought out now felt like rot inside of her. She suffered from nightmares where she found herself standing over Tanya's mutilated body - cut and carved by her own bleeding hands.
It was a chilling experience.
Even though the worst Mileena had experienced so far was waking up and finding out that she had somehow stolen Tanya's pillow in the middle of the night - much to the other woman's annoyance.
Every day was one step closer, though.
Every day, the noose tightened a little more.
"Back again, Empress."
Mileena chuckled at the familiar voice that called out to her.
She had stepped away from the colony and gone down one of the winding dirt paths, where it took her through the plains and placed her just above a cliff side that overlooked the canyon below. The air was dry, but the subtle breeze brought in the sweet scent of the cactus flowers blooming uphill.
"I am here every time, Baraka," she reminded.
"Again and again," he replied, "- making more unnecessary work for yourself."
"It is hardly unnecessary," Mileena remarked, as she turned to face the man now. "Besides, I have come here with something in mind."
She had come to terms with her visit while she was in the carriage.
But now standing in front of the man, seeing him face-to-face, she was beginning to feel the weight of that confidence.
"I have a favor to ask of you, Baraka."
"You have made great strides in improving life for my people, I will do whatever is necessary to return the good will," he nodded.
"I have told you before, I am making up for my mother's wrongdoings," Mileena corrected. "This is my debt to repay, not yours."
She knew Baraka did not believe her when she said as much.
Once again, she had not been the one to create such inhospitable conditions.
She was not Outworld.
She was not her mother.
But both of their responsibilities were on her now.
"You are free to reject it," she offered.
"Speak your favor," Baraka spoke instead.
Mileena took a deep breath and straightened herself up.
And she noted the way Baraka eyed the movement.
"I request that, if I am to succumb to Tarkat before you do, I want you to kill me."
Baraka's face tensed at the words.
To him, they came from nowhere.
But to her, they had been on repeat for weeks now, simply waiting for an opportunity to be heard.
"I understand my request is not easy," Mileena remarked.
"That is a start," Baraka huffed. "You are not the first to ask me, however. Many have come before you and the same many I have kept my word to. This disease is indescribable to those who do not have it. I understand why you would want a contingency in place, but... I do not understand why you ask me. You are surrounded by plenty who are much closer, and who possess far more power than I do. I ask why have you chosen me over them?"
She was not surprised by his answer.
She had originally gone through a list of people who could handle her in her Tarkat form.
And while the list was plenty, for each person, she found a fault.
"I would never - I could never ask Kitana to do such a thing," Mileena answered. "She was always in denial about the severity of my infection - and she still is, to a degree. But now with mother gone, she does not want to think about death. If I asked her to do it, I fear that she would not hesitate; she would simply be unable to do it."
Kitana had taken on the mantle of becoming the Outworld General under her rule.
She was ruthless when it was necessary to be.
But Mileena knew Kitana would never be able to draw her bladed fans if she asked the woman to, even if it was in self-defense.
Kitana would rather their family end together than die with only herself remaining in its place.
"If I asked her to, I know that Tanya would do it," Mileena continued, "- but I cannot bring myself to ask. She would do it out of duty, out of mercy, out of love, but I could never ask her to live with that pain. She would tell herself she did it for the greater good, that she did it to aid me, but I know that she would always blame herself in the end."
The Umgadi had been isolated and raised to protect the royal family, no matter the cost to themselves.
In a way, it could be viewed as a badge of honor to be asked to end a royal member's life instead.
Tanya would do it, and she would succeed in doing it.
But she would have to live out the rest of her life with blood on her hands, and an empty spot in her bed.
"There is Rain, but despite everything that has happened, he truly is committed to redeeming himself," she spoke. "Even I must admit that it would be cruel to ask him to do it - it would only set him back. I am learning to forgive, but he would never see it that way; he would think my request as being further punishment."
Kitana had been in her ear a lot regarding Rain.
As her mother's pick of High-Mage, he had tied himself to Shang Tsung in order to help with finding a cure for her Tarkat.
A cure had been elusive, but the serum created in its place had done the job well enough.
As much as her hate ran deep for those who had brought themselves against the throne, Mileena could not deny the subtle blind spot she had for Rain. He had a tendency to get lost in his studies, always looking for something new, always wanting to learn - and Shang Tsung had scratched that itch for him. He had been so blinded by the need to learn more, to aid her in the creation of a cure for her Tarkat, that he did not realize just how deep he had gotten himself until it was too late.
It did not help either that General Shao had always held it over Rain's head that he had been the one to get Rain his position as High-Mage.
He was still at fault for his actions, but...
Mileena felt like Kitana was making her soft on the matter.
Or at least, she was going to blame her sister for it.
"Li Mei has the skills to do it as well. But she had shouldered the blame of my father's death, and the coldness from my mother for so long, she deserves to be free of further scrutiny. I could not ask her to do something she has only just been made innocent of," Mileena finished.
Out of respect, Li Mei would do so.
Perhaps more for the safety of the palace, and the safety of Sun Do over anything else.
But as a former Umgadi who had more or less raised her and Kitana, she could not ask Li Mei to see her life to an end as well.
Baraka said nothing as she spoke.
But she could see the growing look of understanding in his face.
The subtle uncomfortable look of knowing where she was coming from.
"My greatest fear is that if I were to ask any of them to end me, they would hesitate and I would not," Mileena spoke. "You have brought mercy to others afflicted before. You know what it is like. I know you will not hesitate, and I know it will be quick. You are the best option that I have."
He nodded.
"You have my word."
"Thank you, Baraka."