Sub-Zero? Dead? What in the world would possess Scorpion to do that? I'm in a serious state of shock. I just wonder why Scorpion would the one to kill Sub-Zero. To my knowledge, he was aligned with Quan Chi and Sub-Zero was trying to kill Shang Tsung. Wouldn't it benefit Quan Chi for Shang Tsung to be dead?
"What made Scorpion do that? I mean, I saw the evil looks Scorpion was giving Sub-Zero when we were in Greenwich, but I didn't really think anything of it," Randy stated. Now that I think about it, I did too. I wonder what the issue between them was.
"From what we know, Sub-Zero killed Scorpion's clan," Mickie said. Wow, damn.
"Including his wife and infant son," Melina added. Dammit, I hate to believe Sub-Zero was capable of something so evil, but I guess it's a good justification for Scorpion's actions.
"Can someone please explain why we should give a damn?" It was little things like that that made me not like Randy. He only seemed to care about himself and not others. Maybe not directly, but Sub-Zero's death does affect us. So did Barbie's. And Mileena's too if you wanna go there.
"Randy, do you not see the big picture?" I ask him. He darts his eyes at me and my mind goes blank in fear. Randy gives me the creeps and since his fire powers are stronger than mine, I don't go against him. Usually.
"What is the big picture, Evan?" he asks while stalking towards me. I take a few steps back and he takes a few steps forward toward me.
I sigh in relief when Mark sticks his arm out to block Randy. "Don't even think about it, boy. He's right; you don't see the big picture." Thank you! Finally someone agrees with me.
"What is the big picture over him being-
"Randy, who is Scorpion aligned with?" Mark asked.
"Quan Chi." He answered like it was the stupidest question in the world.
"Who is Quan Chi aligned with?"
"Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, but he's not loyal to them," Randy said with a lot of disgust in his voice.
"Doesn't matter. He's aligned himself with them for the moment and Sub-Zero was assigned to kill him. Also, he killed Scorpion's family. You don't think that Scorpion would just let him run around this tournament scot-free?"
"I still don't see-
"It involves you, boy, because Sub-Zero was an enemy of Quan Chi's. That made him an temporary enemy of Shao Kahn. Essentially, since we're both, your dumbass could be killed next." That still doesn't seem to get through to him. I fear he will suffer the same fate as Kelly.
"I doubt it. You said yourself that I'm the strongest person of group in this tournament. That's all I need and I'll win. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare for whatever idiot that thinks they could beat me." Randy just walks away. He doesn't even know his way around Outworld. I just hope he doesn't align himself with Shao Kahn to spite Mark. If he does, it's practically guaranteed he'll suffer the same fate as Kelly.
"Randy-
I feel John place his hand on my shoulder and I turn to look at him. "Don't Evan. He just needs time to cool off." I hope John's right. We can't afford to lose Randy or anyone else in this tournament.
Mark sighed, "John's right. We'll deal with our problems another time. Let's go back to the lair. Unfortunately, it's the only place I actually know well in this realm." Great, we have to go back to that creepy place.
As me, John, Kitana, Jade, Mickie, Melina, and Mark walked back to Goro's lair, I saw something, rather someone, familiar. I didn't wan to break away from the group, but the face I thought I seen seemed like that of an ally. I'm pretty sure the guys will be okay with it. "Uhhh, guys?" They all turn around to look at me. "I think I see someone I know. You mind if I catch up with you guys later?"
"Evan-
"I know it's dangerous Mark. I promise I'll be okay. You could trust me." I hoped Mark believed I was strong enough to go off on my own. I mean, I beat Kintaro!
"Fine, but run back to Goro's lair as quickly as possible if you see something wrong." With that, the rest of the guys walked back to Goro's lair while I approached the mysterious figure.
The closer I got, the more familiar the person became to me. It looked like Sub-Zero, but he was supposed to be dead. Maybe I should turn back. It could be just an illusion to lead me into a trap. Having an internal conflict made me unaware of my surroundings and I bumped into something cold and fell to the ground. "I'm sorry. Let me help you up." Now I know this isn't an illusion. This was really Sub-Zero offering his hand to help me stand up.
"Thanks man. Sub-Zero, I heard you were killed by Scorpion," I say as I take his hand and stand up on my two feet.
"I'm not the Sub-Zero you think I am." I look at him with a lot of confusion. What the hell is he talking about? "I am Kuai Liang. You are referring to my older brother Bi-Han that was killed."
"So wait, there are two Sub-Zeros?" I ask in complete confusion.
"Technically, yes. We are both Lin Kuei Cryomancers. I'm here to find Scorpion, my brother's killer."
"Well, he's aligned with the bad guys. They're not gonna make your job easy," I warn him.
"I understand that. Were you a friend of my brother's?" he asks me.
"I spoke to him a few times, but we weren't really friends. Allies or acquaintances may be a better term."
He nods his head in understanding. "Will I be able to find Scorpion in this place?"
"I'm pretty sure not. he resides in the Netherrealm, I think it was called. Are you sure you wanna find him alone? Do you want me to help?" I may not have been friends with the original Sub-Zero, but from just one conversation, I think the younger one is a lot nicer. I want to help him in any way I can.
"Your offer is most appreciated, but I must decline it." I nod my head in understanding and say goodbye to Kuai Liang. I guess I should call him Sub-Zero though.
As I walk back to Goro's lair, I run into Randy. I'm cautious as I approach him and he notices that. "Don't worry Evan. I'm not gonna hurt you." The calmness in his voice made me relax and I walked over to him. I had no idea what he was looking at since there seemed to be nothing but trees with faces and people being hung from their branches. This Outworld place is really creepy.
"I just spoke with the younger Sub-Zero. His name is Kuai Liang and he's looking for Scorpion to avenge his brother's death." I don't know why I'm telling Randy all of this, but he's there so I might as well talk to him.
"Easier said than done." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. There's nothing clean about this place anyway, so what the hell.
"Where did you find the time to get some smokes?" I asked him.
"Last time we were on Earth," he replies as he takes a drag. I try my best not to inhale second hand and I think I do a pretty good job.
I keep thinking about the younger Sub-Zero. I feel like I should help him, even though he said otherwise. "Randy, should I help Kuai Liang find Scorpion?"
"Don't do something stupid, Evan," he answered as he took another drag of the cigarette.
"How is me wanting to help him stupid? He could be a good ally," I try to reason.
"Doesn't matter. Scorpion and Quan Chi are the most dangerous, not Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung. Therefore, I'm not helping this Sub-Zero guy. If you don't wanna end up like Kelly, heed my warning."
"What if Mark-
"Oh my god, Evan! Not everything he says is gospel. You shouldn't even be listening to him. All he does is sit around while me, you, Melina, John, and Mickie get our asses kicked. He didn't even show any emotion at Kelly's death and actually said she was the one he wanted dead. Is that someone you want giving you advice?"
"But he knows-
"He knows nothing, Evan! He just thinks he does. If I had my power for another 5 years, I would be able to kick his ass with no problem. Listen Evan, do not help Sub-Zero. He's not worth it. Screw his brother-
"How would you feel if someone said that about your brother?" I ask him.
"My brother didn't kill another man's family. As far as I'm concerned, the older Sub-Zero had it coming."
"You know, you could be really heartless sometimes." Doesn't he know that you need your friends to help get through tough situations? The closest thing Randy has to a friend are John and Mickie. Even they keep their distance from him.
"What's your point? I've been doing well in this tournament haven't I?"
"Okay, but I beat an 8 foot Shokan and I'm one of the nicest people here. You can't really go off of that for justification for being an asshole."
"You got lucky. I'm pretty sure that Goro dude would destroy you. Why don't you be a good little Evan and go back inside the lair and get ready for the matches tomorrow." I hate when he makes me feel weak compared to him, but he's right. I do have to get ready for the matches coming up tomorrow. I just leave the egotistical bastard alone and walk back to Goro's lair. I'm glad to see John walking towards me since I don't really want to walk back to that creepy lair on my own. We don't say anything since there's really nothing to talk about. John takes me to where the rest of the group is and this part of the lair doesn't seem so creepy. They have beds, but not enough for everyone. Apparently, everyone paired off. Mark and Jade took one bed, Mickie and John took another, and Kitana and Melina shared a bed. I kinda wanted to get in between Kitana and Melina, but didn't wanna seem like a perv.
"Evan, it's not safe to sleep alone. Come over here." I'm glad Melina became a brief mind reader. I jumped at the opportunity to sleep between those two. For the moment, I would forget about all the problems awaiting me tomorrow.
"Evan, Evan, Evan," I seem to hear. I'm not sure whose voice it is, but it is a sweet one. I open my eyes to see it's Kitana calling my name. "Evan, we are late. The first match has already started." Reluctantly, I get up out of bed, wash up, and get dressed before going to Shao Kahn's arena for the tournament.
When the 7 of us got to the arena, we noticed that Randy was already there. He was just smoking a cigarette and watching the match. "Well look what the hawk spit out, a viper," John said as he sat down next to Randy and we all followed.
"Cute joke, John boy," Randy replied before taking another drag and blowing it right in John's face.
John was about to do something, but Mickie got in between them. "Can we act like men for just a little while, boys?" they agreed, even though they didn't want to.
I look down and see Shao Kahn sitting in the throne chair and Sub-Zero there as well. Before I could react, I'm teleported from the audience to the center of the arena. "If you defeat Matt Korklan, you'll be almost guaranteed a shot at Scorpion," Shao Kahn said to him. Wait, I have to fight Sub-Zero? When I said I wanted to help Kuai Liang avenge his brother's death, this isn't what I meant. However, I will do what I can. This kinda feels like a WWE match, except I'm the one fixing it so that Sub-Zero could win, not someone with high authority.
"I'm sorry, friend, but I must do this," he says to me.
I nod my head, "I understand completely, Kuai Liang."
"Ready, FIGHT!" Shang Tsung announces and we proceed to fighting. Sub-Zero is a master at ice and I just developed mine. Pretty unfair without me fixing it anyway.
First thing Sub-Zero does is freeze himself, which I don't understand. Why would you attack yourself? I proceed cautiously, thinking he's gonna unfreeze himself sometime soon, but doesn't. I use that unforeseen opportunity to land a hard punch on him and I…..then a felt a hit in the back of my head. Note to self: when Sub-Zero freezes himself, it's so he could freeze you. Funny because I did the same thing against Kintaro a while back. Just as I get up to try and fight back, he does a slide and I fall right back down. Either I really did get lucky against Kintaro or he really wants to find Scorpion. Instead of just trying to stand up, I immediately jump in the air and the flame ignites on my feet. He attempts to freeze my flame with an ice ball, but I instantly melt it and connect with my flame feet. The hit did way more damage than I wanted it to, but Sub-Zero somehow managed to get up. I'm gonna regret it later, but I decide the next hit he gives will be the finishing one. All I have to do is survive the tournament, not win it. Sub-Zero pulls out an ice sword and slices me across the chest. It hurts only a little, but I exaggerate the pain. I fall backwards and wait for the referee to count to ten.
"FINISH HIM!" Shang Tsung shouts after the referee counts to ten. Instead of doing that, Kuai Liang helps me up and pats me on the shoulder. I'm not sure if he knew I faked the pain or not, but he seems grateful to finally be able to fight Scorpion.
