Far into the stretches of the Netherrealm's fiery landscape, a ferocious battle took place. The wraith Noob Saibot had run into Ashrah, the demon hunter. Fueled by her desire to cleanse herself of the Netherrealm's dark influence, she armed herself with the Datusha, a mystic sword with a distinct wavy blade, used for slaying demons and vampires alike. She could sense the great evil in the warrior's heart and did not hesitate to challenge him.
"You vile scourge, the realms will rest easy when I have dealt with you." Said Ashrah, Noob Saibot and his cyborg companion Smoke had remained in a defensive stance, ready to strike should Ashrah begin her attacks.
"You're outnumbered and outmatched." Said Noob.
"I've defeated gods and Shokan alike. While you have hunted hell's demons like big game."
"You think, I'm afraid of you and your pet? Clearly you know nothing of my reputation."
"Shao Kahn's warriors have mentioned you plenty….how could you possibly hope to defeat me? When you couldn't even best Ermac." That was enough to enrage Ashrah, she lunged at them, leaping into the air, she thrusted her sword, the two ninjas moved out of striking range and her sword impaled itself onto the Netherrealm's soil. Noob called to Smoke to attack, Smoke rushed towards her as she pried her sword from the ground and swung at the cyborg. The blade collided with Smoke's mechanical shell, sparks flew and the sound of clanking echoed all around the battlefield, Noob stayed back and watched in anticipation; he was confident that Smoke would finish her off.
Opening his chest panel, Smoke launches three harpoons at Ashrah but she quickly dodges them and slashes them in one fell swoop. He teleports in front of her at an instant and tries landing a killing blow, she avoids each of his punches and kicks while Smoke deflects her sword strikes with his metallic wrists. Her blade locks with his crossed forearms as sparks fly and the blade scrapes against his chassis. The two proceed to stare at each other, Ashrah glares into his crimson glowing eyes as she takes in the smoke emitting from his body; it was of a particular origin, from a very rare breed.
"You carry the essence of a demon." Ashrah cried out.
"But you still have good in your heart. Why do you insist on being manipulated by a Wraith?"
"What are you talking about?" Smoke growled back.
"Ignore her prattle! Finish her!" Noob yelled out to his comrade, in an instant Smoke moved back from Ashrah, sparks flying from his head as he began to shortage out. Smoke placed his hands on his head as he writhed in pain and groaned in discomfort.
"The purity of your soul….it's fighting to regain control." Ashrah turns to face Noob Saibot, "I'll deal with your master." She extended her blade towards the ninja, Noob just stared back at her whilst maintaining a defensive stance.
"If you think you can take on Goro's slayer...you are mistaken." Noob snarled at her.
"If I am to go down fighting, I'll make sure that you go down with me. Your evil blood will stain hell's soil." Noob launched a barrage of black shurikens at her, each she deflected with her blade. In a split, one of his shadow clones charges at her and she cuts through, the bisected clone collapses in a blackened slimy discharge before its body vanishes into the ground. Noob Saibot teleports in front of her whilst she's distracted and punches across the face. Blow after blow, Ashrah is unable to fight back as Noob overwhelms her with punches and kicks galore. He summons more shadow clones who proceed to overwhelm her; though nearly beaten to the ground, Ashrah musters up the strength to vaporize the clones in a blast of pure white energy, Noob raises his arms to block the light, his pale eyes becoming irritated by its brightened radiance. In a split second, Noob can feel himself flying backwards, Ashrah launched herself like a spinning torpedo incapacitating the wraith.
Noob collapses to the ground, Ashrah thrusts her sword and plunges into Noob's right shoulder. Noob cries out in agony as he grabs hold of the blade attempting to pull it out while Ashrah attempts to hold it firmly in place, black blood gushes from the wound as Noob kicks Ashrah, giving him the opportunity to pry the sword off of him. Ashrah, still recovering from the blow, tries to lift herself up from the ground; Noob slowly raises himself up, covering his wounded shoulder with his hand as he faces Ashrah.
"Your mission was a success." Noob frustratingly said. "Evil blood has been shed by your sword, Demon Hunter."
"But this is far from over. It takes more than that to kill me, you will just be another adversary, another rival who I must dispose off….whenever we meet again." Noob stood himself up, arching his back as the pain made it difficult for him to stand straight.
"Then again." Noob moves his left arm back, forming an extra set of shurikens as Ashrah looks on in confusion. "There won't be a next time, my dear lady." Suddenly a portal opened, that pulled Ashrah away from Noob's attack; as she passed through, the portal closed, leaving behind her sword, impaled against the ground. Noob stared at the blade, feeling a mixture of exhaustion and anger.
"Wha-what happened?" Smoke had finally regained his composure. "She has ascended from the Netherrealm." Noob Saibot responded back.
"She would've been killed if you aided me!" Noob yelled at the cyborg.
"You forced me to duel her on my own, you really expected much of a success." Smoke snarled at him, struggling to lift himself up.
"You dare speak to me in such a tone? If it weren't for me, you'd still be deactivated in Shao Kahn's deepest, darkest dungeons!"
"You lie!" Smoke pushed Noob aside, "My friends would've come to rescue me-Sub-Zero would've recovered me!" Smoke cried out.
"Is that right?" Noob growled.
"The same Sub-Zero who prioritized rebuilding the Lin Kuei clan? The one who practically replaced you with a protege? Another Cryomancer? The one who never bothered looking for you, who ignored you in favor of the Earthrealm warriors and a Shirai Ryu dog?"
"And what are these friends you speak of? Kabal? You think you two putting aside old feuds meant anything? Just because you were both fighting for the same cause? He probably never really cared about you, he's probably already dead, or gone back to a life of crime."
"Or how about Cyrax? Oh sure he was reprogrammed, but he prioritized the Special Forces over you or Sub-Zero and is now coming to blows with our Zaterran friend."
"And as for Zaterrans-you probably view Khameleon as a friend too, don't you? Just because she saved your life once from a Tarkatan horde? She never cared about you or your allies, you were just a means to an end to her."
"And you would assume that Raiden would come to your aid. What a beacon of hope the Thunder God truly is. You were never a champion, you meant nothing to him."
"Shut up!" Smoke cried out. "If what you say is true, then how am I supposed to believe that I'm not just a tool for you?" Smoke turned away from the wraith.
"I reactivated you, because I saw your value, you were always one of the greatest fighters of our time, I knew it from the moment I first saw you." Smoke slowly turned back in confusion.
"What do you mean-first saw me?" Smoke asked.
"Now that I know the truth of your powers, I realized that I had a reason to give you, your life...your freedom back to you." Noob said.
"If you just give me a chance, I can show you how valuable you are." Noob extended his hand, Smoke moved slightly back, feeling unnerved. He knew better than to trust a Netherrealm denizen but he sensed some familiarity in him. His words and demeanor brought him back memories of a better life before his cyberization. He also knew deep down that he had nowhere else to go, and maybe his friends have truly abandoned him. Smoke saw no other option at that point, he took Noob's hand.