Sub Zero was still busy making changes to the Lin Kuei that would better the clan and restore it's honour that had been long lost by Oniro and his evil leadership. He wanted the Lin Kuei to become a clan of protectors of their home realm and to stop their assassin ways. Of course if assassination was a valid method in order to exact the clans new goals for protection then it would be done, but they were no longer heartless killers for hire. The majority of the clan was more than happy with the changes made, even the ones who for whatever reason were hesitant were still open to aid in the Lin Kuei's new ways since Sub Zero was a key reason why they had their humanity back. Thanks to Oniro, only Smoke and Sub Zero remained as the only warriors not trapped in a metal shell. This would soon change as Sub Zero was considering teaching a new generation at some point in the near future.

"It's been a while since things have been this… peaceful." Smoke commented as he entered his and Sub Zero's bedroom where the Grandmaster was thinking of how to acquire new members that didn't involve the old methods that involved some very cruel methods.

"There's still much work to be done." Sub Zero remarked as he began writing notes for ideas.

"I know," Smoke understood. "But for once the Lin Kuei isn't fighting anybody."

"We all need a break from the violence," Sub Zero believed. "And the future of our clan is looking like a strong one."

"I just hope everyone's alright," Smoke said. "Being a cyborg must be tough…"

"We'll get through it," Sub Zero was sure of it. "Cyrax is already working to find a way to break some of our warriors free from being cyborgs."

"I'm worried that said work is driving him insane…"

"I'll check on him soon." Sub Zero promised.

"You've been working on the clan's new policies as is," Smoke pointed out. "I'll see how our allies are doing. It'll save you the workload."

"I don't consider it work," Sub Zero clarified. "But thanks, love."

"Of course, hun." Smoke said before kissing Sub Zero on the cheek and going to leave only for a hologram to appear in front of the door.

"Greetings, Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada." The hologram spoke.

"What do you want?" Smoke asked, not sure how to feel about this thing invading their privacy.

"I am Wu," the hologram introduced himself. "I am an Elder God."

"That explains why an illusion of a talking monkey is here," Smoke commented jokingly. "Apologies for my disrespect. What brings you here, Wu?"

"The two of you greatly aided in stopping the Earthrealm invasion," Wu recalled. "For that I would like to reward you with the power of knowledge."

"What do you know?" Sub Zero asked as he now joined his boyfriend to experience this bizarre event.

"There is a set of armour that you shall find located in these ruins I have marked on this map…"

"What map?" Sub Zero's question was soon answered as a map was suddenly summoned and it dropped to the floor, it was an ancient map of Arctika and on it marked a red cross for what resembled the armours location. "Thank you."

"Pay attention to the ruins," Wu advised. "You may also learn more of your kind known as the Cryomancers."

"I shall keep note of that." Sub Zero said with a nod.

"And as for you," the hologram faced Smoke. "I shall inform you about your-"

"Wait!" Smoke interrupted. "Are the rest of the clan receiving gifts?"

"No," he said bluntly. "They helped fight for the invasion."

"They were brainwashed!" Smoke countered.

"Why they helped matters not," Wu made clear. "Either way they are undeserving of any gifts."

"Can I not forfeit my gift and give it to someone else?" Smoke requested.

"You can," Wu confirmed. "But for only one."

"Then I choose my friend Cyrax," Smoke decided. "He's been struggling with his cybernetics and needs them gone. Please can you do that?"

"I'll do something even greater," Wu promised as his hologram began fading. "Farewell."

Cyrax had been spending most of his time in his room, working away in desperate attempts to break apart his cybernetic parts, constantly seeking new potential methods to de-cyberize himself. Not only did Cyrax want himself to be freed but he knew many others in the clan would be. His hopes were suddenly raised when the strange hologram of Wu emerged in his room.

"I am the Elder God known as Wu," he quickly introduced himself before Cyrax could even find words, his time clearly of value to himself. "Your friend Tomas Vrbada requested his gift for helping protect Earthrealm should be passed onto you."

"Firstly, hello. It is nice to meet you," Cyrax greeted. "And that is very generous of him… what is this gift?"

"He mentioned you're not a fan of your cybernetics," Wu stated as he began prepping a spell. "This can only mean one thing. You desire and upgrade."

"I… what?" Cyrax was confused. "No! I want my cybernetics gone!"

Cyrax's shouting was silenced by the spell that was loudly blasted into Cyrax where for a brief moment his cybernetic parts were stripped from him, only to be immediately replaced with stronger and sturdier parts. Wu, like all Elder Gods, clearly wasn't well versed with human emotions and thought logically that Cyrax must've wanted upgrades seeing how being a cyborg was greater than being human in the physical sense, at least in Wu's eyes.

"You're welcome," the hologram said as he began fading away again. "Farewell."

"No!" Cyrax continued yelling as he went into a fit of rage and began smashing up his room with his new so-called 'upgrades'. "I didn't want this!"

Now in the outside courtyard of the temple, Sub Zero and Smoke were running out under word of a sudden intruder who was attacking the cyborgs. The sudden events this day were springing up had made the couples earlier comments now rather ironic. They soon located a more than fuming Wraith from the Netherrealm as he began mercilessly hacking at an already deceased clan member.

"Stop!" Smoke demanded which the Wraith quickly spun his head around to face the noise.

"You!" He cried out with his imposing white eyes fixated on Sub Zero.

"You know me?" Sub Zero was confused but readied a sword made of ice anyway as Smoke got into his fighting stance by his lover's side.

"YES!" the Wraith shouted even louder now. "Do you SERIOUSLY not recognize ME?!"

"I'm not acquainted with any Wraiths," Sub Zero said with certainty. "Or… did I know you before you became this?"

"You DID!" he confirmed. "Take a WILD guess!"

"You're…" Sub Zero was finally beginning to realize. "Bi-Han?!"

"Your brother?!" Smoke was just as shocked.

"I WAS," he confirmed. "But I am now Noob Saibot!"

"I'm sorry for what happened to you at the tournament," Sub Zero apologized. "And I'm very sorry about what you've become."

"I'm stronger than I EVER was!" Noob claimed, in his corrupted mind he didn't see his transformation as a negative. "And your friend has told me all about you!"

"Who?"

"SCORPION!"

"Did you hurt him?!" Sub Zero was beginning to get worried.

"You CARE about MY KILLER?!" Noob's frustration and rage was clearly growing to a frightening level. "And then you really had the nerve to STEAL MY TITLE?!"

"It was to honour you and grandfather," Sub Zero explained. "I mean anything but disrespect to you."

"Then why align with HIM?!" Noob couldn't fathom the idea. "Is there some pathetic intimacy you have going on with your own brothers MURDERER?! By any chance would it happen to somehow be that PATHETIC emotion known as love?!"

"We're just friends," Sub Zero clarified before turning to Smoke. "I'm actually… in love with someone else."

"You and Smoke?!" Noob wasn't surprised, he always knew that Kuai had such feelings deep down for his childhood friend. He didn't care anyway though. "Smoke, you were always a decent kid, please tell me that you AREN'T aware of your lovers appealing betrayal of his own blood!"

"I actually am," Smoke admitted. "Scorpion's anger was being manipulated by Shang Tsung and probably his former master Quan Chi-"

"Quan Chi would've NEVER meant for that monster to slay me!" Noob yelled, sick of the accusations against his master. "And I shall deal with the other sorcerer in due time for BETRAYING me… just like you."

"Scorpion isn't evil," Sub Zero tried explaining but knew that these seeming justifications for his actions would just enrage Noob more. "Look… I'm sure if the two of you just talked it out you could make amends!"

"What a TERRIBLE idea!" Noob yelled. "I've had enough of talking! It is time I kill you and fix the Lin Kuei MYSELF!"

"Don't hurt him!" Smoke himself began shouting. "Or else."

"You'll remain united in the Netherrealm," Noob assured. "Now die!"

"Brother please!" Sub Zero pleaded as Noob began hurrying forth.

"We are brothers no longer!" Noob said harshly and he sent a shadow portal beneath himself and then emerged from behind Sub Zero and stabbed his scythe into his back savagely.

Smoke quickly came to his lover's aid by hitting a rapid sequence of punches which Noob just shook off and began hacking at Smoke who started dodging with his impressive speed and agility. Smoke then found an opening to grab Noob and pulled him in before dropping to the floor and popping his legs up and flipping Noob over him where he was slammed onto his back from the monkey flip maneuver. Smoke then kipped up as Noob scrambled to his feet only to begin choking on a burst of smoke that Smoke himself had transformed into and travelled past him. Smoke then emerged from behind and punched Noob in the back of the head which knocked him into Sub Zero.

"Please stop, brother," Sub Zero pleaded. "Why must we fight?!"

"Because this clan would be better off without a Sub Zero," Noob believed as he summoned a Wraith to restrain Smoke as he prepared to strike at his brother. "This is for not avenging me!"

Noob went to stab Sub Zero with his scythe again but the Cryomancer blocked it with his ice sword before summoning a scythe of his own made of ice and hooking it around Noob's scythe in order to disarm him. This didn't stop Noob's assault however, who began wailing kicks and punches at his brother who threw his ice weapons to the ground where they shattered into a million pieces to free up his hands to begin blocking Noob's attacks as best as he could. He managed to wrap his hands around Noob's leg as he went for a spinning kick and took him to the ground and held him down.

"I won't fight you!" Sub Zero said. "Just stop, Bi-Han! We're family! I love you!"

"LIAR!" Noob screamed as he wrapped his hands firmly around Sub Zero's neck and began throttling him.

"Stop…" Sub Zero said as he began losing his breath. "Please, Bi-Han…"

"Begging won't save you!" Noob informed as he flipped Sub Zero over and began smashing his brother's skull against the stone flooring.

"But I will." Smoke remarked as he had broken free of the shadow's grasp and had now scooped his arms under Noob's, seemingly restraining him just like how the shadow had done to him.

"Get off me!" Noob demanded.

"Kuai!" Smoke called for. "I know he's your brother and all… I liked him too… but I don't think we're convincing him any time soon."

"You're right," Sub Zero admitted as he got to his feet and caught his breath. "I'm sorry for this, Bi-Han."

Sub Zero went to launch a ball of ice straight into Noob's face but the Wraith teleported just at the right moment and the ice smashed into Smoke's face and blasted him to the ground. Noob then emerged from above and wrapped his legs around Sub Zero's head and flipped back into a headscissors brainbuster maneuver. Noob then teleported to retrieve his scythe and then back on top of Sub Zero where he immediately stabbed the weapon into his shoulder and began dragging it downwards to cause as much pain to his brother as possible.

Smoke tried coming to the rescue but Noob had a shadow restrain him again. Smoke knew how to break free now and did so in a matter of seconds, only to be grabbed by another shadow and then another after fending the last off. Smoke was constantly being held back by one shadow after the other as he desperately tried to stop his lover from being tortured even more. Smoke began getting more and more frustrated as he watched Noob assault Sub Zero recklessly and with nonsign of stopping until he had beaten his brother to death.

Something suddenly awoke in Smoke again, it was the Enenra that secretly lived within Smoke. The Enenra had exited from his host in a burst of cloudy smoke with Smoke himself passing out in reaction to the Enenra breaking out from his body. The creature passed through the shadows who couldn't get a hold of him due to his gas state, the Enenra being able to transform from their monstrous state into smoke at will. This state also allowed for him to enter bodies like how he possessed Smoke's. He then took his hideous physical form that consisted of being a black monster with sharp teeth stretching across his face yet no eyed visible, but what appeared to be his eyes glowed red when in his alternative form.

The creature shrieked at Noob who spun around unphased by the monster and stabbed his scythe into the monster's side who let out an ear piercing shriek as he grabbed Noob and slammed him head first onto the floor in response. The Enenra then pelted Noob across the courtyard with a bear-like swipe of his massive hands. Sub Zero was still grounded and hadn't actually seen the Enenra but had heard the noises and was baffled as he tried getting to his feet after the beating he had endured only to collapse to the ground again all while the Enenra was darting over to Noob and impaled his claws into the Wraith and screaming in Noob's face with fury that couldn't be matched by anyone or possibly even anything. Before the Enenra could slaughter Noob, the Wraith quickly decided to shoot what was known as a ghostball with its energy surging through the Enenra which left him vulnerable momentarily as he reacted to the pain he felt from the magic. Noob then used the opening to relentlessly hack at the Enenra until he forced the creature to retreat into a cloud of smoke and entered Smoke's body once more.

"Huh?!" Smoke suddenly awoke like last time the Enenra had interfered. "Kuai! Are you okay?!"

"I'm… fine," He replied weakly as Smoke quickly came to check on his lover. "Where's Bi-Han?"

Smoke looked around and saw Noob across the courtyard and now surrounded by many of the Lin Kuei's clan members who had been alerted from the loud noises created by the Enenra. Noob began trying to fight the masses but was quickly overwhelmed and much to his dismay, was forced to retreat through another one of his shadow portals.

"Did you see an animal?" Sub Zero asked, confused by the noises himself.

"No?" Smoke answered unsurely. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"I heard some strange noises," Sub Zero described. "And then Bi-Han was suddenly thrown off of me."

"I haven't the slightest clue," Smoke admitted. "But I'm glad you're okay."

"Are you okay also?" Sub Zero asked as some concerning injuries were present on Smoke too.

"It's just a scratch," Smoke said with a smile behind his face mask. "I'm sorry about Bi-Han."

"Thank you," Sub Zero said, very grateful for Smoke's caring nature. "I don't think it's all bad though."

"How so?" Smoke asked.

"Bi-Han is alive," Sub Zero answered. "In a horrid state right now… but alive… and possibly able to be saved."

"Not going to give up on him, huh?" Smoke expected nothing less from Sub Zero. "I respect it."

"I can't just leave my brother like this." Sub Zero explained.

"I know," Smoke understood. "This kind of mentality is why I love you."

"I love you too."