Disclaimer: I do not own Mortal Kombat or any characters therein. If the guys who do are reading this, can I buy stock in Sub-Zero?

Prologue

'On your knees,' came the cold, metallic drone of a voice filtered through a cybernetic helmet.

Sub-Zero did not do so much as move his legs, defiantly staring at the floor.

'On your knees!' came the command again, this accompanied by a sharp strike to the back of his legs. The blue-clad Lin Kuei warrior dropped suddenly to the ground, his shoulders angled downward to keep his head bowed. He was held in this position by two pairs of strong robotic hands. Raising his head as best he could, through the gloom of the throne room he could see the seated form of the Lin Kuei Grandmaster, resplendent in his crimson robes. Expressionless eyes peered at Sub-Zero over the matching mask that covered the lower half of the Grandmaster's face. In the past, this dead gaze would have intimidated Sub-Zero, but any chances of that had disappeared with Sub-Zero's respect for the man seated in front of him. All he felt towards the Grandmaster now was loathing and disbelieving anger.

'Well now, Sub-Zero,' the Grandmaster intoned in his deep voice, which echoed around the room, like a coffin lid closing, 'you have certainly led us on quite the merry chase, haven't you?'

Sub-Zero did not reply. He refused to give his former master the satisfaction.

'I must admit, I was beginning to grow concerned when Cyrax returned without being able to track you down. But, fortunately for us, we had the perfect informant that was able to direct Sektor directly to you.' The Grandmaster smiled behind his mask. 'I believe you two have met before?'

A dark shape materialised out of the shadows next to the Grandmaster. Clad in similar cybernetic armour to the two whom held Sub-Zero down, bar that it was ashen grey compared to Sektor's crimson and Cyrax's yellow, the newcomer nonetheless carried himself in a manner that Sub-Zero could not mistake.

'Smoke!' he gasped.

The grey clad assassin had been Sub-Zero's companion in escaping the Lin Kuei. When the two had discovered how the Grandmaster intended to turn the clan members into cyborg warriors, they had chosen to flee rather than become the soulless automatons their master wished them to be. Unfortunately they had underestimated their former comrades' new cybernetic bodies, as Sektor and Cyrax had swiftly followed after them. During the ensuing fight, the two escapees had become separated; Sub-Zero had been able to escape, while Smoke had not been so lucky. Sub-Zero had hoped that his friend had found some way to free himself, but it seemed he had not been so lucky.

'Smoke…why…?' Sub-Zero asked, stunned that his friend would have told the Lin Kuei how to find him.

The cyborg before him did not answer, simply staring down at Sub-Zero wordlessly.

'Smoke, speak to me!' Sub-Zero said desperately, hoping for some kind of reaction.

'Don't waste your time,' the Grandmaster interrupted. 'He doesn't see you as you were anymore. Now you are nothing more than a target that he was set to hunt.'

'What have you done to him? Smoke would never willingly betray me to a monster like you!' Sub-Zero snarled at him.

The Grandmaster stiffened slightly at the insult but maintained his composure. 'Granted it was no easy task. He was resistant to our process of changing him into a higher being, and he did not wish to tell us where you might be. It took time, but after some tinkering with his mind and completely wiping his brain of emotion, he obeyed every order without question.'

Sub-Zero attempted to summon his cryomancer powers to himself. If he could just break free of Sektor and Cyrax and get his hands on the Grandmaster, he could turn the Lin Kuei leader into a statue of ice and shatter him to pieces.

Before he could even form an icy corona around his hands, Smoke stepped forward and dealt a backhanded blow across Sub-Zero's face with a closed fist. The metal glove impacted with Sub-Zero's lower jaw and he tasted the salty tang of his own blood.

'Hostile actions will result in retaliation. Cease and desist,' Smoke said in a deadpan automaton voice that was no longer his own.

Sub-Zero looked up, panting in a combination of pain and gripping sadness, realising that the warrior that had struck him would never again be his friend. Ever since Sub-Zero's elder brother had disappeared, Smoke had been the only one there for him in the Lin Kuei clan. Now there was nothing left for him.

'What do you want with me?' he asked, his voice quivering.

'You already know what I want,' the Grandmaster answered. 'Your loyalty, your undying fealty to the Lin Kuei is what I want. Become one of my superior warriors, serve me as you once did before.' He rose from his throne and approached Sub-Zero, kneeling down so that he could whisper in his ear. 'It can all go away. All the pain, all the loss, all the agonising memory; I can rid you of all that. I can remake you; reshape you into one of the most powerful warriors this world has ever seen. Give in to me, and I will bring you new life.' The Grandmaster stood and looked down at his captive.

'What is your answer, Sub-Zero?'

He did not answer for a moment, and then looked up into the Grandmaster's eyes. 'I would sooner die than become one of your abominations, corrupt beast,' he said evenly. 'If this is what you would call new life, I choose death.'

The Grandmaster looked to the side, heaving a dramatic sigh. 'Oh my dear boy, such notions you have. The choice I gave you was not life or death.' He glared back at Sub-Zero coldly. 'The choice was whether or not you would accept life willingly.' He nodded at Smoke, who stepped forward and took hold of Sub-Zero in place of Sektor.

'Take him to the operation chamber,' the Grandmaster ordered. 'Begin the preparations for his transformation.'

Smoke and Cyrax nodded without a word and began to drag Sub-Zero out of the room. Struggling with all his might, he could not break free of their inhuman metal hands.

'You shall not have me, Grandmaster!' he shouted as he was taken out of sight. 'No matter what you do, however long it takes; I will be free of you! I swear it!'

The Grandmaster simply chuckled and dismissively turned his back.

'So troublesome,' he commented to Sektor. 'It seems we shall have to configure his mind more extensively than I first thought.'

'Yes, Grandmaster,' Sektor replied with a nod.

'Now then, Sektor,' the Grandmaster said, seating himself on his throne once more, 'we have something to discuss.' Steepling his fingers he continued. 'We were fortunate enough in this past Mortal Kombat tournament that the winner was an inhabitant of Earthrealm. However, this champion is unlikely to be one to plan an invasion of another realm. Therefore, it will be our duty to do so. Once the Lin Kuei has been reborn as the mightiest soldiers this realm has seen, we shall be the ones who shall instigate an invasion. And to do so successfully, we shall require a champion of our own, one who will be willing to continue as winner of the Mortal Kombat tournament, so that when the time for invasion has come, it will be the Lin Kuei that reign supreme.

'For one of our own to become champion, we will need to defeat the current champion in Mortal Kombat. Sektor,' the Grandmaster announced, 'I want you to hunt down and defeat Liu Kang.'

Sektor knelt before the throne. 'I am honoured that you would choose me for such a task, Grandmaster,' he said. 'However, once my mission to capture Sub-Zero was complete, I took the liberty of encoding my own new mission rather than wait for orders.'

The Grandmaster stood, outraged. 'How dare you! You are my creation, Sektor! You fight for me! It is my orders you follow!' He sneered down at the crimson-armoured cyborg. 'Just what exactly does this new mission of yours entail?'

Quicker than the Grandmaster could react, Sektor shot out his hand. Had Sektor been an ordinary man, the Grandmaster would have been able to counter his attack. But Sektor had been enhanced beyond human speed; the Grandmaster had performed the transformation himself. The irony was lost on him as the cyborg's hand penetrated his chest and clutched itself around his heart.

'Leadership of the Lin Kuei,' came Sektor's answer as he used his other hand to rip the dragon medallion that had long been a symbol of Lin Kuei Grandmasters from the neck of his own master. With a jerk of his wrist, Sektor crushed the man's heart inside his own body.

Leaving the spasming body of the former Grandmaster behind him, Sektor headed for the operation chamber. While the idea of invading other realms was tempting, Sektor felt content that conquering Earthrealm would require less effort and would suffice for now. In the meantime, there was a transformation to perform.

Behind the grill of his cybernetic helmet, Sektor smiled.