"Let's not get crazy now," Jax tried to reason. "What makes you think you can take out Quan Chi on your own?"
"In the Netherrealm he can," Sub-Zero replied.
"Not even. Quan Chi-
"Silence!" Scorpion shouted to Sonya and Jax. "I will get my revenge and nothing or nobody will stop me."
"Scorpion, you are aware of the dangers of facing Quan Chi, right?" Mickie asked with concern etched across her face.
Scorpion's demeanor softened at the look on Mickie's face. It was almost similar to the look his wife would give whenever he would have to complete an assassination. Their words were also similar.
"I am aware, Mickie. You need not worry about me," he replied, avoiding her eyes. He knew if he looked at her again, all the hellfire in his body would be put out in an instant.
"Still, you should have some reinforcement. Just in case any of his Netherrealm buddies try to interfere with your vengeance."
"Like Bi-Han," John pointed out.
Scorpion and Sub-Zero locked eyes in that instant. Both of them had a score to settle with the elder Sub-Zero, now going by the name Noob Saibot. Unlike Scorpion, Bi-Han couldn't just leave the Netherrealm whenever he pleased. This is both good and bad for Scorpion. Good because in the unlikely scenario of Bi-Han being too much to handle, he could escape. Bad because Bi-Han probably knew the ins and outs better than Scorpion, and maybe even Quan Chi. Still, this was the man who allowed himself to be a pawn in the scheme of Quan Chi. For that reason, he must pay.
"Uh oh," John said.
"What's the matter?" Mickie asked.
"That look."
"What look John?" Randy wondered.
"The look Scorpion and Sub-Zero are giving each other. It's the look that almost got me eliminated in the Mortal Kombat tournament."
"The combination of fire and ice is a deadly one indeed. Right Evan?" Randy pointed out.
"Definitely. Especially when you know how to balance the two," Evan replied. "But Sub-Zero, are you okay with fighting your brother?"
It was a question Scorpion was wondering himself. The whole point of Sub-Zero even coming to the tournament was to get revenge on Scorpion for the death of his brother. Even now as he knew the truth, Kuai Liang still considered Bi-Han his brother. After all, he took on the codename of Sub-Zero in his honor.
"Does it ease your anxiety to know that no matter what you do he won't die?" John asked.
"He was still a fellow Lin Kuei clansman," Sub-Zero answered.
"No offense, but he's in the Netherrealm," Randy pointed out. "How good could he have been to land up there?"
"And unlike Scorpion, with no way out," Mark added.
"You must understand the duty of an assassin. There's no time to be remorseful. Remorse is a sign of weakness and no one wants a weak assassin."
Scorpion was just thinking along the same lines earlier in the day. Maybe Kuai Liang did understand him better than Scorpion previously gave him credit for.
"The ends justify the means, boy," Mark explained. "The ends that you seek are filled with good intentions. From one encounter with your brother, I can tell that he didn't share those intentions."
The ends justify the means? That sounded like complete and utter bullshit to Scorpion. He wanted a good life for his family and he still found himself in the Netherrealm. Was that not a good intention? Or maybe being a family man isn't considered noble in the eyes of the Elder Gods.
"Look, are we taking down Quan Chi or what?" Jax asked. Scorpion wanted to roast him for being so bold, but he didn't need any unnecessary enemies.
"Jackson, calm the hell down and be patient. It's not like you're contributing anything except your big mouth," Mickie shot back. The snappy comeback caused John to chuckle a little.
"He's right though," Sonya said. "Time is of the essence and we're wasting it."
"We could always send you and Jax to the Netherrealm. Not like you'll be greatly missed," Randy said.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me woman."
"Let's not start fighting again. We lost a lot of people already. We don't need to lose anymore," Evan said.
"The boy's right. And so is Sonya. Time is of the essence. Scorpion and Sub-Zero should be making their way to the Netherrealm now," Mark added.
"Without a plan?" Raiden asked.
"The plan is to kill Quan Chi. Is that not good enough for you?" Mark challenged.
"But-
"Raiden, do you have a plan?"
"Not at this moment...but I can think of one."
"We don't have time for this!" Scorpion shouted. "We must go to the Netherrealm now Sub-Zero."
"Wait!" Mickie shouted, causing both men to stop. "How do you get him down there?"
Scorpion was annoyed by another interruption in his goal. Every moment longer Quan Chi was breathing was a moment wasted. Yet, he couldn't deny that Mickie was right. They had no actual method of getting Quan Chi down there.
"That's probably what Raiden was gonna ask, if you all weren't so bull headed," Sonya scolded.
"We have no time for the second-rate police officer. How do we lure Quan Chi?" Randy asked, completely ignoring the angry look he was getting from Sonya.
"This is pointless!" Kuai Liang shouted, surprising everyone. "All you guys are doing is arguing."
"When you come up with a plan, come find us in the Netherrealm. Let's go Sub-Zero."
Kuai Liang nodded his head in agreement and he exited the Outworld Palace behind Scorpion. He gave a Scorpion a nod before Scorpion used his hellfire to teleport them both down to the Netherrealm.
"So this is your home?" Kuai Liang asked.
"Have you never been down here?" Scorpion wondered. Kuai Liang shook his head no. "Then, be on guard Cryomancer. The Netherrealm houses some of the vilest creatures in all the realms."
"I will keep that in mind."
Scorpion and Kuai Liang walked side by side for miles in the hellish realm. Scorpion occasionally glanced over at Kuai Liang and he seemed relaxed. The temperatures did nothing to deter him since he was still breathing cold air from his mask. Despite all this, Scorpion still felt that Kuai Liang was out of his element in a place such as this.
"See any familiar faces?" Scorpion asked.
"Can't say I do."
Just then a blue portal appeared in front of them. Out of it appeared Noob Saibot. "Allow me to be the familiar face, Kuai Liang."
"Bi-Han! Why do you stand in our way, Brother?"
"We may share blood, but we are not brothers."
"Are you working for Quan Chi?" Scorpion asked.
"No, more like repaying a favor. Smoke, come here!" Noob shouted. Smoke appeared before them. He didn't look like the Lin Kuei assassin Scorpion remembered seeing.
"What have you done with Tomas, Bi-Han?"
"Back to that favor. Since I can't leave the Netherrealm, Quan Chi went and got Smoke for me," Noob started. "I used the technology here in the realm to modify Smoke and make him my slave. You would know how technologically advanced this realm is if you weren't constantly leaving it, Scorpion."
"I leave for the purpose of hunting down and killing Quan Chi."
"That's what I'm supposed to do to repay Quan Chi's favor. Eliminate you. Killing the man who has disgraced the Sub-Zero name is a great bonus."
"I'll handle Bi-Han. You deal with Tomas," Kuai Liang ordered. Scorpion looked at him incredulously. "Well, are you just going to look at me?"
Smoke attempted to attack the distracted Scorpion, but he quickly moved out of the way. Using his spear, he pulled Smoke close to him and connected several punches to his mechanical face. Smoke opened his mouth and smoke appeared out of it. The smoke took on a gaseous form and attacked Scorpion from behind. Scorpion hit the floor with a light thud and immediately got back up. Smoke vanished into a cloud of gaseous particles right before Scorpion's eyes. Scorpion removed his mask and spun around in place while the hellfire came out his eyes. His intention was to find Smoke somewhere.
Scorpion felt a hard thud to his back and once again found himself on the receiving end of a beating from Smoke. He definitely underestimated the speed and stealth of the Lin Kuei assassin. His advantage over Noob would come in handy now, but he didn't want to leave Kuai Liang to fight off two people on his own. It was time for Scorpion to get serious. He transferred all the hellfire in his body to his right arm and unleashed the spear from it. The spear pierced right through Smoke's mechanical neck as Scorpion pulled him closer forcibly. He kicked Smoke in the head and Smoke snapped back. Scorpion's flaming eyes were focused on the mechanical carcass lying on the ground. Hellfire came out of his eyes and burned Smoke's body. He picked up his mask, which was on the ground next to Smoke.
His attention turned to the two Sub-Zeros. Kuai Liang was at a severe disadvantage with having to deal with Noob and his shadow, Saibot. When Noob attempted to use Saibot to attack Kuai Liang, Scorpion sent out a fireball hitting the shadow. This turned Noob's attention towards Scorpion and gave Kuai Liang a breather.
"We have unfinished business," Scorpion stated.
"So it seems." Noob got into a fighting pose. "Come, I'll send you to a part of the Netherrealm you could never escape from."
Scorpion threw the first punch at Noob's face and blue blood came out of it. Scorpion attempted to punch him again, but Noob blocked it and kicked Scorpion in the stomach. Saibot slid on the floor, tripping Scorpion into the air and leaving him wide open. Noob capitalized on this by creating a black hole portal and Scorpion fell in.
There was nothing in the black hole. Scorpion felt as if he would be in there for an eternity. Time stood still and Scorpion seemed to not be moving. It was then that the black hole had an opening. Scorpion saw the Netherrealm floor getting closer and closer. He hit the ground skull first and Saibot tackled Scorpion completely to the ground.
"Now you see who the better Wraith is," Noob boasted.
"Not even close!" Scorpion declared with all the energy left in him.
Noob was about to hit an attack, but was frozen solid by his younger brother, who had recovered. Kuai Liang pulled out an icicle sword from his side and slashed the back of his brother, causing Noob to fall to his knees. Scorpion got back up to his feet and kicked Noob in the face. Kuai Liang slashed Noob's neck, decapitating him. Noob's blue blood rained on the face of Scorpion and Kuai Liang. Kuai Liang kicked Noob's body on the ground, placing a foot on top of it. It was his way of declaring he was the undisputed bearer of the codename Sub-Zero.
"Must have been hard for you to do, right?" Scorpion asked. This was the same Kuai Liang who entered the Mortal Kombat Tournament just to avenge his brother's death. This was the same Kuai Liang who stopped at nothing to find his brother's killer. And yet, this was also the same Kuai Liang who now stood triumphantly over his brother's reincarnated corpse next to his original murderer.
"Bi-Han said it better than I could have. We may share blood, but we stopped being brothers long before his death," Kuai Liang turned to face Scorpion. "I still believed he was the Bi-Han I joined the Lin Kuei with."
Scorpion nodded his head in understanding, though he really didn't. To his knowledge, the Shirai Ryu was one big family. There weren't any well-known betrayals or backstabs. Not a single had become cold and heartless like Bi-Han. It was mainly due to the fact that most, if not all, members of the Shirai Ryu had one goal in mind: protecting their loved ones.
"It seems Quan Chi has given you the slip again," Sub-Zero commented.
Scorpion grunted in agreement. "No problem. One day, Quan Chi will have no place to run and no place to hide. And when that day comes, vengeance will be mine!"