Mileena looked at herself in the mirror, she felt genuinely uncertain of herself for the first time in her entire life. She had never cared about what people thought concerning her appearance, but now, she suddenly felt very conscious, and confused. The reason why she felt this way was due to the fact that Zion had given her some clothes to wear instead of her torn garment and housecoat she was borrowing. Now, she was wearing a royal blue shirt that seemed to loosely fit her, but according to Zion, this was what Earthrealm women wore. It wasn't the odd fit that made her somewhat uncomfortable, but the colour… Still, the 'track pants' she had been given felt amazing and Mileena mentally noted that she'd have the seamstress' in Outworld make her some.

But above all, looking at herself, Mileena felt… Human.

This feeling was one that she didn't know how to react to if she was honest with herself. She was a half-breed, and she was proud of both heritages she embodied, regardless of whether or not some might say she was a 'monster'. But in these simple clothes, she didn't feel like a warrior, she didn't feel like an Empress, she felt like… What did she feel like? She felt like, well, Mileena. This new feeling of 'slowing down' was one she knew, but always ignored, believing that there was always more to do to secure her kingdom. Now, she didn't have much of a choice…

She left her room, feeling like today would be as good a day as any to move beyond the small part of the farm she had seen, and try to figure out what her surroundings were in case of the need for a fast escape ever arose. She left the small house and took in the morning air, it was nice, relaxing… she wished that the air in Outworld was like this, but usually it was full of the stench of blood, war and other things. She walked over to the railing on the deck and leaned on it, looking around as she had done in the few days prior. Her mind went back to what Ezekiel had told her, about the different locations across 'Earth' as it was known here. Despite her father's best efforts, this realm was never one they conquered, or even had many contacts in. She also reasoned that the few contacts who may have been here were most likely dead at this point.

Ezekiel was finishing up with the morning run through the chicken houses to leave food for them when Zion walked by.

"Everything alright?" She asked casually. She knew something wasn't though, and needed to figure out what.

"Y..yeah." Ezekiel nodded. Zion stopped and frowned at him, the way he stuttered told a very different story.

"What's wrong?" She bluntly asked, her mind entering protective guardian mode in pre-emptive fear and anger over Mileena possibly having hurt him.

"Um… are you mad at me?" Ezekiel quietly asked, not meeting her gaze. Zion was taken aback by his question and got down to his level and smiled sadly at him.

"What are you talking about? Why would I be mad at you?" She asked, she was genuinely confused and curious as to why Ezekiel would be upset.

"Uh…b..be..becasue of…" Zion trailed off, trying not to look up at the deck. Zion however, didn't need to look back to understand what he was getting at.

"Hey. EZ. Look at me." Zion frowned. "If I seem unhappy with you and Mileena talking, that's not true. But I don't want you getting hurt, while she doesn't seem like she's going to hurt you, I'm still your sister. I'm just trying to make sure your safe."

"Do you not like her?" Ezekiel asked.

"…I don't know." Zion sighed. "I don't trust her implicitly, but I don't distrust her either. Look, she's from another dimension. That alone should give you reason to be hesitant."

"But she showed up here near death! Sh..she's not a bad person…"

Zion sighed, this wasn't unusual behaviour for Ezekiel. She could tell that Mileena hadn't been trying to manipulate him to think this stuff, and he was just a very compassionate person. Compassionate to a fault really. Zion smiled and ruffled his hair playfully.

"It's okay EZ, just… keep being you." She finally said. Ezekiel nodded with a smile. Zion kept on walking, casting a quick glance up to Mileena who gave a look back to her. It was hard to tell what the Half-Tarkatan was thinking about right now.

Over the next hour, Mileena walked about the property, looking at the farmyard. Off on one side there was a building that had a faint smell of vegetables, and a smaller building that she could hear the sounds of chickens wandering around in. She made a quick note that she probably couldn't keep eating the chickens… For some reason, Mileena was rather intrigued by everything, she knew farmers in Outworld to be peasants, the lowest-class of citizens. She hadn't given them much thought, but now, there was something oddly relaxing about where she was. Finally, she came to the end of the road that lead to a dark black path with yellow lines on it. She looked around then turned and headed back towards the farm house. When she arrived, she found Ezekiel working in the small garden again and walked past, watching him trimming parts of the plants that seemed unhealthy.

"Ezekiel." She said as she walked towards him.

"Hm? Oh… Hi Miss Mileena." Ezekiel said when he realized who was behind him.

"I've met you and your sister, but is there anyone else who lives around here?" Mileena asked. "I'd like to know if there will be anyone I need to explain myself too."

"Well, there's… uh…" The small boy thought it over. "Our parents are out of the country, so… they're not here… Zion has some friends at work who stop by sometimes, but that's really it. I don't have many friends."

Mileena felt… what… why did she feel pity? Not just that, why did she feel this kind of pity? This wasn't the usual pity for a fool who believed they could defeat her, and found themselves broken and begging for their life at her feet, this was a type of pity for someone she cared for… Tanya was the only person she had ever felt this type of pity for…

"Hm. Alright then." The Empress nodded, cutting her thoughts off. "There must be someone who can get a message to my followers… Or maybe the people here could become reserves in the upcoming battle… Father always stressed the importance of having as many warriors at your back as possible."

"Oh yeah, there's Zion's friend Kabal, and-" Ezekiel began.

"Now don't we look on point!" A male's voice suddenly shouted, genuinely startling Mileena. She felt herself ripped from her thoughts and thrown face-first back to reality. "How you doin' little buddy?!"

Mileena looked around in confusion until she saw a man crouching on the house rooftop looking down with an almost comically goofy grin. The first thing that caught Mileena's attention was his hair… it… How could she explain it!?

"It's been too long dude! Whatcha been rollin' with lately!?"

The man stood up and jumped off the roof, landing on the deck before flipping over the side of it and landing on the ground a few feet away from the two, his scarf flapping as he fell. Ezekiel looked up with excitement clear on his face.

"Hey, Zion! It's been a- you're not Zion." The man began with a grin before cutting himself off and blinking in confusion at Mileena.

"Mileena? This is my friend, Jackal." Ezekiel said with a smile.

"Mileena?" Jackal remarked with a raised brow. "Huh. Ain't seen you round town recently."

"She's from out of town." Ezekiel quickly said.

"Jackal?" Mileena thought. "As in… the animal? Or a moral-less vagabond who enjoys messing with people?"

"Well, that was my second guess. Right behind Zion's older sister." Jackal shrugged.

"Second one."

"Where we..were you Jack? You haven't been by in months!" Ezekiel asked, curious.

"Heh, me and my bro were dealin' with some stuff. I didn't have time to stop by and check in on ya. But stuff finally cleared up, sooo…" Jackal explained, ending with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, I'm here now."

Mileena felt a few types of energy radiating off this man. One of them being 'I-Have-No-Idea-What-I'm-Doing', another being 'I-Have-No-Idea-What-I'm-Doing-But-I-Can-Pull-This-Off'. She had to admit, she kind of admired it. She knew the benefits of deception, and Jackal seemed to have a smooth mastery of it.

"Listen, I'm passin' through and was wonderin' if you wanted to come with. I'm heading down to Midnight Smoothies and wanted to know if you wanted to come." Jackal explained, then looked to Mileena. "You too."

"Midnight… Smoothies?" Mileena repeated, somewhat confused by what the second word was. She wished she hadn't, as Jackal's look was one of deep questioning.

"Drinks." Ezekiel said. Mileena thought it over, then nodded. Sure, if they were heading to a populated town, people might question her veil, or have negative reactions if they saw her face, but she got the feeling that anyone who did see her face would probably write it off as something Jackal-related. On top of that, this would be a good time to get a better understanding of where she had found herself, and could potentially find something of use to her.

"Sweet… Let's cruise!" Jackal flashed the pair a toothy grin, the sunlight reflecting off of his sunglasses. He walked off, Ezekiel following behind him. There was something eccentric about the way he walked as well as talked. He was almost entertaining in a bizarre way. Mileena blinked in confusion as she looked at the dark red cube-like carriage that was now in front of the house, its doors missing. Jackal and Ezekiel got into it, with Ez sitting in the back. Mileena followed suit, slowly getting in beside Jackal and looking at the odd contraption, seeing all sorts of technology that she didn't have the first idea what it was for or what it did. She noticed the two boys pulling some sort of belt over then and attaching it to something, and Mileena followed suit, even though she was confused, she refused to show it. There was a loud roar, and the vehicle began moving. Mileena's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Jackal essentially controlling this odd contraption as if it was second nature. Her confusion and wonder didn't go unnoticed by Jackal, who looked to Ez briefly, but didn't get an answer to his unasked question. Messing with the radio, Jackal muttered something under his breath about the terrible selection of music these days, until he finally found something that seemed to put him in a good mood.

"Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green- Ahhh, won't you take me home… yeah yeah…" Jackal sang along to a song. Mileena watched the man somewhat questioningly, wondering what compelled him to act this way… Oh well, if this was how he acted, she may have to put up with it for the time being.

She watched the scenery begin to change, the green hills and scattered trees seemed to gradually fade away, the surroundings becoming plainer, until the mundane scenery began to fade away and buildings began to appear, and Jackal guided the vehicle into the small town. There were many houses and a large building with a pointed tower above it all and everything seemed to rest next to a sizable body of water. That was what really caught the Ex-Empresses' attention. Back in Outworld, the most she had seen was a small oasis that she had briefly stayed near during a time of rest between campaigns with Tanya, and she remembered the Edenian had been entranced by the crystal blue water. But this… this was unlike what she thought possible. Sure, she knew of oceans and lakes, and had seen and traveled across them, but they were always saturated with filth and stained with blood and monstrous remains. This seemed tranquil almost like a painting. There was a beauty unlike what she had expected a body of water could possibly be, and as they rode past it, she found her gaze following along, across the water to the hills and land across the bay.

"So, this is the town of Trinity…" She thought to herself, looking about. "It's… beautiful. Perhaps this could be where I establish my rule once Outworld and Earthrealm and under my control as they should be."

"Damn Ez, what kinda girl did you land?!" Jackal wondered, casting a brief glance to Mileena. "I didn't expect you t'be into women this much older than you… Maybe I misjudged you. Or maybe Zion has… Nah… she's sweet for my brother…"

Mileena had been so caught up in the sights that she didn't notice the vehicle stop. The two boys got out and headed towards a nearby building, until Ezekiel stopped and walked back to the jeep. Mileena felt someone shake her arm and looked down, seeing Ezekiel holding her hand, trying to get her attention.

"Miss Mileena?" He said, looking up at her. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yes. I'm fine Ezekiel." She nodded, following the two towards the store. When she entered, she was a bit confused by the stylistic choice of the colours used to decorate the walls surrounding them. It was a weird mixture of tallow, pink and purple. Why was everything reminding her of the ones she lost!? Was she actually in the Netherrealm? And now was forced to be eternally reminded of those she lost? She sighed quietly, looking around the building, seeing the list of the flavours of whatever a 'smoothie' was. They seemed to be made of all sorts of fruits, some of which she recognized, and others she didn't know what they were. While Jackal and Ezekiel seemed to be talking to a woman, she finally found one that she figured could be decent, a mixture of passion fruit, banana and dragon fruit. She took a seat next to Ezekiel at a counter and waited. She noticed Ezekiel giving her a concerned look and smiled at him under her veil.

"Are you okay?" Ezekiel asked, concern clear in his voice.

"Yes, little one. I'm fine." Mileena nodded. "I'm… just a bit confused."

Ezekiel blinked then nodded in understanding.

"So, what should I know about this town?" She asked, looking out the windows at the town around her.

"W..well, the town tends to be pretty quiet, every year we have a festival… but I've never really gone to them before. I like watching the coast for whales and stuff, but it's kinda a small place, so I don't really know what to say."

Mileena smiled slightly at the boy, he really seemed to be trying his best to explain things, and it was a good explanation. She was briefly startled when Jackal retuned with a tray. He passed the drinks around and she tired the drink, hiding the straw under her veil. The taste was wonderful, she was surprised by the simple but ingenious design of it.

"Hm. So this is just fruit, mixed with milk and ice?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Jackal nodded, he clearly was confused as to why Mileena seemed so interested with this. Had she honestly never had a smoothie before? Then again, what was with the mask? before suddenly seeming to realize something.

"Hey kid. Did'ja tell Zi that we were coming here?"

Jackal and Ezekiel looked to another and blinked, both of them seeming to realize that same thing. Jackal silently took his phone out and quietly sent a message.

Yo Z. The kid and new chick are with me. Don't worry.

Zion picked up her phone and blinked when she saw the message. Jackal… Did… What…!? What was he think- Wait. No, he wasn't thinking. This was Jackal… Okay, so… they were probably gone for maybe thirty minutes, what's what worst that could happen? With Jackal and Ezekiel, Mileena probably wouldn't be a huge issue, come to think of it, she hadn't really been an issue. Maybe Ezekiel was right, maybe she was being a bit too aggressive.

Back to that hidden place that was shown a few chapters ago…

Kano downed his beer as he messed with some tech, trying to get it to turn on. Unfortunately, the old communication devices were that. Old. He didn't want to risk sending massive signals off that could potentially alert everyone to where they were, but he needed to try and get in touch with someone. The machine sparked… then seemed to peter out and die.

"Damn it!" He cursed, kicking the small device away. That probably did more damage than good, but he really didn't care all that much. His frustration was rising at this point, not just because he had no idea what had happened with the whole 'dead-then-alive-thing', but also because Kabal was claiming to have seen Mileena, who was dead long before all this weird stuff began happening.

"Still no luck?"

"Piss off mate."

"Hey, I'm just talking." Kabal said, raising his hands defensively.

"And I'm tellin' you to stop."

"Hm. No." Kabal said flatly. "Who are you trying to get in touch with anyways?"

"The tooth-freak had that fire chick she had a thing for, as well as the water boy. Either of them would probably want to know she's alive, and of course Shao Kahn would probably be pretty happy t'know his daughter's alive. Issue is, I don't think any of 'em have the comm stuff we gave em' a while ago."

"What about Black?"

"…don't. Don't make me call him." Kano muttered. "Th'dude bailed on us, we don't need his help."

"He's also the only guy we know in Outworld." Kabal reasoned.

"And?"

"And what? He's in Outworld and works for money. Those two things should lead to an easy answer to this problem."

"And if he tells Kotal?"

"…crap. Right."

"Alright, so who else do we know?"

The two looked to one another in silence, unsure of what to say or do, until Kabal finally seemed to realize something.

"I have an idea." He stated. "You might not like it, but it's an idea…"