Better Than Death

Summary: Reptile asks Baraka to kill him. Baraka has other ideas
Warning(s): Spanking (in front of witnesses); spoilers for Mortal Kombat 1; references to violence; some self-destructive behaviour

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"We are leaving," Baraka ground out, glaring at Syzoth in such a way that dared him to try and stop them. It was a look that promised death...one of danger; the sign of a predator.

Syzoth had fallen to his knees as the last blow was landed. He was breathing deeply, a hollow pit forming in his stomach. He'd lost. He'd failed. Maybe...maybe he could still save them, though. His family. If Shang Tsung believed the prisoners had killed him while they were making their escape.

"Kill me." Syzoth tore his mask from his face and threw it across the floor. "If I die...maybe he'll spare my family," he whispered. It was a thin hope, but that hope was all he had to cling on to. He couldn't survive this...but there was a chance that those he loved could. It was a small one, but it was all he could give them.

Baraka visibly recoiled, as if Syzoth had uttered a vile curse rather than ask for death. "No! I won't murder you."

"It's mercy. Not murder." Syzoth's whole body slumped as he admitted, "Not that what I've done deserves yours." Despair pricked at him, threatening to drag him down into its dark depths. Death was the very least of what he deserved.

"You were protecting your family." Baraka continued to protest Syzoth's plea. "I would have done the same."

The rest of the tarkatan's comrades had managed to free themselves. Syzoth couldn't bring himself to care about that. Not anymore. His entire focus was on the need to persuade Baraka to kill him. "Please," he whispered. "I don't deserve to be spared. If you won't kill me for mercy...kill me for the sake of vengeance."

Baraka glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of his comrades. Then, he strode over to Syzoth. Reaching out with one clawed hand, he hauled Syzoth to his feet.

Syzoth closed his eyes, waiting for the killing blow. Instead, he felt a sharp sting on his backside as Baraka's hand bounced off his bottom.

Letting out a quiet gasp, Syzoth reached out and gripped onto Baraka's shoulder. The smack stung, but the pain wasn't unberable. It felt like punishment...and that if he didn't pull away, the punishment would continue. Baraka's hand wasn't touching him, but he could feel it hovering in the air, just above his bottom, prepared to smack again.

Syzoth took a step forward, moving into Baraka's personal space, and waited.

He wasn't waiting for long. Two more swats were delivered, making him wince and grip onto the tarkatan tighter. As pain went, it wasn't the worst he'd ever received. It didn't even come close. But it was pain that required a certain amount of submission on Syzoth's part. As strong as Baraka's grip was, Syzoth could break it easily. If he chose to.

"Baraka, we don't have time for this." It was Johnny Cage who was speaking, supporting his friend who'd been blinded. "That sorcerer could be back at any moment! We need to form a plan to capture him and take him to Liu Kang."

"I won't leave a good person to get himself killed," Baraka stated, the words ending on a growl that would have been menacing, if it wasn't for the words he'd actually said. "He doesn't deserve death. You don't deserve death." Throughout the whole time he was speaking, he didn't tear his eyes away from Syzoth's face...even when he was speaking to Johnny.

"You don't know what I've done. The amount of people I helped Shang Tsung to imprison. To torture. To kill." Syzoth shook his head, unable to agree with Baraka that he didn't deserve death. Maybe he was a victim as well...but he'd still had more power in this than any of the other prisoners the sorcerer had harmed.

Baraka gave a tiny grunt and shook his head, but he didn't try to convince Syzoth through words again. Instead, he pulled Syzoth towards the wall and propped his foot up against it. The next moment, Syzoth felt himself draped over the tarkatan's raised leg. His stomach dropped and he reached down, grabbing onto Baraka's leg to try and keep himself from toppling forward onto his own head.

As the smacks began to rain down on his defenceless bottom, easier now thanks to the position he was in, Syzoth could hear Johnny talking to the others...making plans for how to capture Shang Tsung once the sorcerer returned. Not one of them made any comment on what Baraka was doing, or tried to put a stop to it.

Despite his best efforts and his attempts to take the punishment stoically, Syzoth couldn't help beginning to shift in reaction to the stinging pain building in his backside. Baraka was being very careful to avoid his claws scratching any part of Syzoth's skin, as well as avoiding delivering smacks that were unbearably painful. But they still stung and burned...and it didn't take long before Syzoth's entire backside felt like it was on fire.

Finally, Baraka paused the spanking, although his hand stayed in position on Syzoth's backside. "I want you to admit that you don't deserve to die. That you don't deserve death. That all you were trying to do was save your family." His gruff voice carried more than a hint of sternness to it.

"I can't." Syzoth's breathing hitched. He didn't know why Baraka was doing this. He didn't know what the tarkatan expected of him. But he couldn't lie and try to claim something that he knew, deep down, wasn't true.

Baraka gave a soft grunt, but didn't respond verbally. Instead, he stood Syzoth up, steadying him with a hand on each hip. "Take your trousers down."

Syzoth's eyes widened and he couldn't help darting a look at Baraka's face. "What?"

The tarkatan held up a clawed hand. "I could do it myself, but it would likely leave your clothing in tatters. So you need to take them down. And then you need to climb back over my knee."

Syzoth's face grew hot and he cast a glance towards the three warriors from Earthrealm. They were still talking among themselves, but he knew they would have seen and heard what Baraka had done already...and what the tarkatan would do if Syzoth let him. They'd seen him spanked already, but was he really willing to let them see him humbled so completely?

Baraka moved his hand to Syzoth's shoulder, drawing his attention back to him. "I do not agree that your actions deserve death. But if I let them go unanswered, I suspect that you will continue down this self-destructive path you are on. If you believe you deserve punishment, then I will punish you in a way that won't cause you any lasting harm."

Syzoth wanted to voice a protest. He wanted to tell Baraka that he wasn't a child and that a spanking couldn't even touch on the crimes that he'd committed. But his backside was stinging already...and even though he thought he deserved a much worse punishment than being spanked, Baraka obviously didn't. And neither did his companions, as not one of them had made a move to stop Baraka's actions, or argue that Syzoth should be killed.

He didn't believe he was worthy of being saved. He didn't think he was worth what Baraka was doing. But the only alternative he had was to run...or fight them again. He was through fighting them. And running was the coward's way out, so he couldn't do that either.

Still, it was easier said than done to obey the tarkatan's directions. Syzoth's hands hesitantly went to his trousers and he cast a glance at Baraka's face...perhaps trying to see if the other was truly serious in his expectations. There was no change in Baraka's expression, though. He just looked back at Syzoth and waited.

They probably didn't have time for this. Syzoth was certain of that. Shang Tsung would return soon. Baraka had been right...they needed to leave.

As if reading his mind, Johnny Cage muttered, "So how are we supposed to fight against magic? Liu Kang didn't give us any helpful pointers about that."

"We need to set a trap of some kind," Kung Lao was saying. "Maybe if we could disrupt him from using his magic in some way...even if just for a moment or two....."

"You got any ideas of how to do that?" Johnny asked.

Baraka reached out with a clawed hand and turned Syzoth's face to look at him. "Don't listen to them," the tarkatan growled. "I gave you an order. I expect it to be obeyed."

The voices of Earthrealm's warriors faded from earshot as Syzoth focused on the tarkatan and his stinging backside once more. His face heated, but he didn't try to argue or protest. He nodded and began fumbling with his trousers, eventually pushing them down his legs. He then looked at Baraka's leg, still propped against the wall, bent at an angle to provide his body with support when he positioned himself back over it.

Stomach swimming with nerves, Syzoth moved forward and bent at the waist, positioning himself across Baraka's raised leg. The position made his stomach dip and he shifted his feet slightly, horribly aware of the fact his backside was raised and vulnerable, waiting for Baraka to start smacking it again.

It didn't take long for the spanking to resume and Syzoth was immediately biting his lip and squirming, only kept from falling to the floor by Baraka's arm, that he'd wrapped around his waist. The swats hurt a lot more over his bare skin and his bottom and thighs were quickly heating up, burning as if he'd sat down in a fire.

By the time the spanking paused, Syzoth was whimpering and crying out with every smack, tears beginning to slide down his cheeks. He whimpered when Baraka rested a hand on his burning bottom, even though the tarkatan didn't resume spanking just yet. Instead, he reiterated, "Do you understand that you don't deserve to die? That no one here believes you deserve to die? That we know you were trying to save your family and all of us would have done the same if we were in your position?"

"I...can't...." Syzoth shook his head violently, tears falling faster and harder at the words. "I deserve to die! You can't try and convince me otherwise!"

There was a low whistle from Johnny and he said, an edge of sympathy to his tone, "You should probably just accept that Baraka's telling the truth. Your skin's like bright green. Which I guess is normal for you, since you're a reptile? But I can see you're already hurting a lot. You're making my ass ache too," he muttered. not quite under his breath.

Syzoth couldn't bring himself to voice a response, but he couldn't stop the sob that caught in his throat when he felt Baraka's hand leave his bottom. Try as he might, he couldn't stop himself from tensing up as Baraka's hand landed in a swat that was much harder than the previous ones he'd been giving out.

Johnny gave another soft whistle under his breath. "Baraka, maybe we should just drag him with us anyway," he suggested. "You can continue this...conversation...once we're out of this place."

"And risk having to start over again?" Baraka continued to deliver harder smacks, focusing more to Syzoth's sit spots and the tops of his thighs.

Those areas were much more sensitive than the rest of Syzoth's bottom and he began to kick his legs in spite of himself. He knew he could stop this spanking. He could tell Baraka what the tarkatan wanted to hear and the punishment would stop. But even though they all understood and didn't blame him...Syzoth blamed himself. He knew there was much more he could have done to save the prisoners Shang Tsung had taken.

Wasn't there?

The spanking had continued to a point where it was nearly impossible to distinguish the individual smacks. Only the sound of Baraka's hand as it landed on Syzoth's aching skin made it clear that the spanking was still continuing. Syzoth welcomed the pain, even though his eyes were watering and sobs were escaping him. What he'd done...what he'd been forced to do...had scarred his soul, far more than any fight he'd been in could have done.

"Shang Tsung forced me to help him!" The words burst out of Syzoth. Right on their heels was a flood of tears and he slumped over Baraka's leg, sobbing as if his heart was broken.

With the way he felt right now, that wasn't far from the truth.

Baraka's hand came to rest on Syzoth's bottom once more, not swatting. "He did," the tarkatan agreed. "You never chose to help him. He threatened your family. But you have the chance to redeem yourself. You can leave, with us. We'll help you save your family," he promised.

Syzoth breathed in deeply, wiping at the tears that were still falling down his cheeks. His bottom was sore, so very sore, but he was finally starting to believe in Baraka's words. He was finally starting to see that he'd truly had no other choice, not if he wanted to keep his family alive. "Okay," he whispered, knowing the tarkatan would hear the note of surrender in his voice.

"Finally." Johnny's sigh of relief was audible.

"Good." Baraka loosened his hold on Syzoth's waist and then stood him up.

Syzoth pulled his clothing back into place, wincing as the rough material brushed over his punished backside. He gave his bottom a quick rub and then turned his attention to the others, taking a deep breath and wiping the rest of the tears from his face before he asked, "So what's the plan for when he returns?"

The End