A/N: I haven't written a short story in a good while, so I figured I would type up a fluffy love tale. Just a little something I thought up that is really centered around a fictional New Year's visit for the Sub-Zero/Sareena fans out there. It will only be about two or three chapters long. Maybe four if the plot goes well.

Yeah, blame my being forever alone on New Year's for this. Lol. I'm pretty sure I ain't the only person lacking a relationship, but I'm patient. As long as I am happy, all is good.

Anyway, onto the short story. Enjoy, folks. :) R&R welcome!

He was cold, mysterious, and aloof. Very few people had earned the right to get to know his compassionate side. Even then, he rarely showed that side of his otherwise frigid personality. The blue-eyed warrior was almost always alone. Alone with his thoughts. No one bothered him, and he returned the favor by not bothering anyone as well.

Smoke, whom was this enigmatic man's most trusted ally and friend, knew that there had always been a dark sense of loneliness in his heart. Even if the Cryomancer never said it himself, there was always a lost part of him that he felt would never be replaced.

But Sub-Zero - or Kuai Liang - knew that patience was a virtue when it came to such things. Until then, however, he wasn't going to lower his emotional ice guard. Especially when appearances were very deceiving.

He had once met a mysterious woman during a trip to Outworld. She had confused the traveling Cryomancer for his older brother, Bi-Han. Clearly upset because he had just found out that he had been killed by Scorpion, Kuai Liang attacked her.

But that was a long time ago, even though it still ate at him. Perhaps that was why he was so unhappy... He sort of deserved it. Eventually, he grew to accept that unless he learned to be a little more forgiving and open, he would remain alone.

Only hope for something different in his life would get him out of this seemingly permanent loneliness. He just had to keep waiting until the Elder Gods decided to grant him that one wish he'd kept a secret for so long...

The wish? Seeing this mysterious enigma of a woman that he had once humiliated unrightfully. He had to apologize for his actions, no matter how difficult it would be for him to swallow his pride.

She was an astounding beauty with sexiness unrivaled by even the renown Edenian Princess, Kitana. With dark hair streaked with prominent white, sage green eyes, and crescent tattoos on her face and upper arms, Sareena was a sight to behold. Not to mention her natural charm as a denizen of the Netherrealm's humanoid inhabitants. Sareena could have anyone if she really wanted...

However, she had her flaws. The atrocious imperfection is what she resented, although she was a native of the darkest realm in existence. Plus she was easily swayed due to her inner conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted to be different, but this urge to be on the side of good was always quelled by an uncontrollable urge to remain faithful to Quan Chi.

"You are a demoness full of evil, Sareena. No matter how much you try to change, you will always be my slave," he would purr into her ear while forcing her to please him.

She was confused about her spot in the universe. Her fellow demon sisters, Kia and Jataaka, knew about this insatiable thirst for freedom. They, however, were too afraid to risk losing their human appearance. As such, they never supported Sareena's point of view.

They rejected her and tormented her whenever they had the chance. It was painful. Sareena eventually learned to accept what she was... A demon in disguise. She was nothing more than that. Only someone special to her would have the power to help her believe otherwise...

To many Earthrealmers, the phrase "demon in disguise" was often used to describe a person who looked innocent when they were rowdy and obnoxious. In the Netherrealm, though, this adage had a lot of irony plastered to it.

The women that appeared to be human were only using the beauty found in other realms as a cloak to hide their true forms as hideous demons. Sareena herself was one of these women, but she had always longed to be beautiful. She also wanted to find someone who would accept her no matter how she truly looked.

She knew of someone who needed a bit of hope. With the new year approaching in that foreign world, she decided to escape the dark, damned realm just to find him and make him feel happy.

Hopefully he would remember her from their last encounter and not reject her again...

A/N: Well, this is pretty good so far... I'll try to have another update when I wake up. Too all Sub-Zero fans out there, please don't question or insult me for making him seem like a wimp. I know he's more of a badass than that. Besides, there aren't even that many stories that feature Sareena as a main character. This is merely my addition to that part of the Mortal Kombat archive. :)