Mortal Kombat
Season 1, Chapter 2: Ice
It was a cold winter night in China in 1990. In the middle of a forest was a large Shaolin Temple with a giant tower of ornate design. In the forest was a figure with a frosty mist coming from his hands and mouth; the figure was a ninja wearing a black outfit with various light blue parts, including a padded vest and front flap, belt straps, armored leg guards, and a face mask. He had a black hood on his head, black pants, black straps wrapped around his exposed arms, padded footwear, and throwing knives strapped onto his belt. On his flap and armbands was a symbol of what appeared to be an upside-down triangle inside a circular object, the object open at the three points of the triangle.
The ninja went through the forest, remaining as quiet as possible. He took cover behind a tree before pulling out a telescope and looking through it, getting a closer look at the heavily guarded temple. He put the telescope away and quickly made his way closer to the temple, continuing the survey of the area. He saw armed Shaolin monks covering almost every entrance. That was when he saw a back entrance, two monk guards by it having already been taken care of. The ninja was suspicious of this but still quickly made his way through the now unguarded back entrance. He made his way around the halls, avoiding guards to the best of his abilities until he stumbled upon an empty corridor with a large door at the end of it with "不许进入" written on it with the English translation "Do Not Enter" right below it. He raised an eyebrow at this; why are there no guards in this hallway, and why is there a sign saying not to enter it? He quietly began walking down the hallway, carefully looking around, and that was when his foot hit a pressure pad on the floor. The ninja then jumped back as two jets of flame began shooting out of the walls between where the pressure pad was. The ninja's hands then began to produce more mist as he aimed them at one of the jets, shooting a wave of ice at it and freezing over the jet shooting the flame before doing the same to the other one. He then heard a bell ringing; he looked to see monk guards arriving, weapons in hand. He glared and began to run down the hallway, the monks running after him, his foot hit another pressure pad, and he grabbed a monk and pushed them in front of him, the monk being sliced in half by a giant swinging blade. A monk with hook swords swung them at the ninja, him dodging the swords before forming a blue ball in his hand and slamming it to the ground, large icicles forming out in front of him, the icicles impaling several monks. The ninja went to the door; he opened it and found a pedestal with a rolled-up scroll. He walked to grab it before a kunai blade attached to a rope zipped toward his head; he dodged it but looked to the source of the blade. It was another ninja, wearing an outfit very similar to his own only the light blue replaced with yellow, the knives replaced with sheathed swords, and the symbol is that of a spear blade.
Hours ago, on that very night, it was an ordinary evening for the Chinese ninja clan of the Lin Kuei. The blue ninja was training, now wearing a black and blue gi, and his face, now exposed, showed a Chinese man with short hair. He was hitting several moving wooden panels with targets on them with his ice powers before a man entered the room. The man had a ponytail and a goatee and wore a mainly red and black GI.
"The Grandmaster requests your presence, Bi-Han." the man said.
Bi-Han ceased his training and walked out of the door. The man in red scoffed.
"I do not know why you still rely on this old training display." he said, looking into the room.
"Not all of us think modern technology is best, Sektor." Bi-Han said, walking away. He entered a very large temple and walked into a room where a man wearing a large red and black robe with large shoulders, a black hood with a red upside-down triangle on it, a red face mask, and wearing a medallion with a dragon on it was sitting in a chair. Bi-Han bowed before the sitting man.
"You called for me, Grandmaster?" Bi-Han asked
"Yes. We have received a very peculiar client." The Lin Kuei Grandmaster said. A man then walked into the room. The man had pasty white skin, black shadowing around his red eyes, and black lines moving up his bald head from his eyes; he also sported black lips and black fingernails. His outfit had a large black vest with armored shoulder pads, a collar, large spikes sticking out near the shoulders, and metal bolts connecting the armor to the vest. There were two small red crescent symbols on the front of the armor, and below them was a yin-yang emblem with a red outline. The outfit under the armor was heavy green in color with what looked to be the body of a black leather coat with the flap on the back of him, leather straps connecting the two ends of the flap on the front of him; he also sported a large reddish brown belt, black long arm guards with two spikes on each one and a red gem on the back of the wrist. Finally, he had armored leg guards that went up to the knees, and the shoes had a silver metal patch on the toes.
"I am Quan-Chi. I wish to hire the services of the Lin Kuei." He said, "There is an artifact that has great importance to me. I can find the artifact myself, but there is a problem. I have no knowledge of where it is. There is a map of where the artifact is, but it is in a heavily guarded fortress. That is why I wish to hire the Lin Kuei to retrieve the map for me."
"Hmm, the Lin Kuei could do this mission for you, but the price may be a high one." The Grandmaster said
"What I offer as payment is far more valuable to you than material wealth. You see, I am a very skilled and very powerful sorcerer. My practice in the mystic arts allows me to fulfill your greatest desire." Quan-Chi said
"And that greatest desire is?" The Grandmaster asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Successfully bring me the map, and in return, I will destroy your clan's enemy and rival, the Shirai Ryu."
Both Bi-Han and The Grandmaster looked at Quan-Chi, surprised at what the supposed sorcerer was offering.
"I see...please step out for a moment for me to consider this deal." The Grandmaster said
"Of course." Quan-Chi said, walking out of the room, leaving Bi-Han and The Grandmaster alone.
"I do not trust him, Grandmaster." Bi-Han said
"Neither do I. However, what he is offering is far too good to ignore."
"But what if he is lying and does not fulfill his end?" Bi-Han asked
"If he is lying, then the Lin Kuei will find and kill him. But if he is telling the truth, then the Shirai Ryu will no longer be a problem for us." The Grandmaster said, "Quan-Chi, enter."
Quan-Chi entered the room again.
"The Lin Kuei accept your offer." said The Grandmaster
"Excellent. Here are the coordinates to the fortress where the map is held. Return successfully, and I will destroy your enemies." Quan-Chi said, handing Bi-Han paper with coordinates written on it.
Back at that present time, Bi-Han was looking at the yellow ninja as he pulled back the rope and kunai. Bi-Han fired an ice blast at the ninja, but he dodged it. He recognized the symbol the ninja wore; this was a Shirai Ryu. Though his face was masked, the weapon gave him a good idea of who it was.
"Scorpion, I presume? Why is a Shirai Ryu here?" Bi-Han asked
"I am Scorpion, yes. I have heard of you; you are Sub-Zero. I am here to retrieve that map, Lin Kuei." The yellow ninja said
"As am I. And will not let you have it, Shirai Ryu dog." Bi-Han said as he readied himself for a fight.
Scorpion then launched his kunai at Bi-Han again, Bi-Han dodging the kunai and grabbing the knives at his sides, throwing them. Scorpion kicked the knives away in mid-air. Scorpion jumped to Bi-Han and pulled back his kunai, falling down and stabbing Bi-Han in the arm. Bi-Han then kicked Scorpion away before pulling the kunai out of his arm. His hand glowed blue and froze the kunai and the rope it was tied to before striking the rope, shattering it to pieces. Scorpion then unsheathed his swords and swung them at Bi-Han, Bi-Han dodged the swings until both his hands glowed blue, and he formed a sword from ice, using it to block the blades. The two ninjas continued fighting with their swords, their blades clashing several times. Bi-Han slashed Scorpion's leg with his ice sword; Scorpion grunted in pain before Bi-Han drove the ice sword through his shoulder. Bi-Han then forms a large icicle and stabs it right into Scorpion's stomach. Scorpion coughed before Bi-Han then kicked him in the face; it was hard enough to break the facemask he was wearing. He collapsed flat on the floor, not moving.
With the Shirai Ryu dealt with, Bi-Han walked over to the pedestal and grabbed the map. He then made his way out of the temple and back to the Lin Kuei headquarters. He returned to the Lin Kuei temple, where The Grandmaster and Quan-Chi were waiting. He knelt before the Grandmaster and presented the map.
"My mission was successful, Grandmaster. I have retrieved the map." Bi-Han said
"Excellent work, Sub-Zero. You are the greatest of the Lin Kuei for a reason." said the Grandmaster, "Quan-Chi. As agreed, the map has been retrieved."
"Yes, I knew I had chosen wisely to rely on the Lin Kuei for this task." Quan-Chi smiled as he took the map from Bi-Han.
"The Lin Kuei never fail." Bi-Han said
"Now then, about your end of the deal." The Grandmaster said to Quan-Chi.
"Of course." Quan-Chi said, "I will do as promised. You have my word that the Shirai Ryu will be no more by sunrise."
"We will hold you to that word." The Grandmaster said as Quan-Chi teleported away. "Bi-Han, I want you and a small group to go to the Shirai Ryu's headquarters at sunrise and see if Quan-Chi will keep his word."
Bi-Han bowed and nodded.
The morning of the next day, Bi-Han and a few other Lin Kuei ninjas went to Japan, where the Shirai Ryu lived. They went to the location of the Shirai Ryu's headquarters; they arrived to find that the headquarters had become smoldering ruins. The group had searched the village to see several homes and buildings had been burned down; corpses were littering the streets, many being torn apart. They saw the place where the main Shirai Ryu temple would be, there was instead smoking rubble, and the chief of the Shirai Ryu was in the middle of the rubble, strung up and several poles and his body dissected open, his organs hanging and dangling out. One of the Lin Kuei ninjas laughed.
"Ha! It is about time these dogs were put down." he said
"Yes, I must admit that it feels good being rid of them." another Lin Kuei said
"No doubt The Grandmaster will have a celebration about this." said the third Lin Kuei
"I do not see anyone alive. Let us go back to inform The Grandmaster of the news." Bi-Han said before they all heard a scream. Scorpion, looking beaten and bleeding, jumped down from a roof holding a sword, bringing it down on one of the Lin Kuei ninjas and slicing him lengthwise in two.
"One survived!" one of the other Lin Kuei said
"I will deal with him." Bi-Han said, running up to Scorpion and kicking him. Scorpion stumbles back. He was panting; his body was still bleeding; he looked tired and delirious like he could barely even stand. Scorpion swung his sword at Bi-Han slow enough for Bi-Han to catch the blade in his hands; his hands then froze the sword blade and struck it, shattering it. He then fired a blast at Scorpion, freezing his body so that he couldn't move.
"Now the Shirai Ryu dies." Bi-Han said before forming a large icicle and driving it into Scorpion's mouth, impaling it through his head. Scorpion's eyes twitched a little bit before they rolled back, and any life within him went away.
"Now we go inform The Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu's destruction." Bi-Han said to the other two ninjas.
Two years had passed, and it was now the year 1992. Bi-Han was sparring in the Lin Kuei headquarters with a ninja dressed in all gray and smoky mist emitting from him.
"You are good, Smoke. I see why my brother admires you." Bi-Han said
"That is good to hear from you, Bi-Han." Smoke said
A Lin Kuei ninja entered the room where the two ninjas were sparring.
"Bi-Han, The Grandmaster requests your presence." he said
Bi-Han went to the temple and bowed before The Grandmaster.
"Bi-Han. I have called you for an unconventional assignment. The Lin Kuei has been invited to participate in a tournament known as Mortal Kombat. The invitation was given by the tournament's host, Shang Tsung. He has promised that should the Lin Kuei win, they will be given immense power and glory." The Grandmaster said
"I will do as you ask, Grandmaster. Though I do question why the Lin Kuei are agreeing to fight in a tournament." Bi-Han said
"Our eldest members have told me that they know about this Shang Tsung. He is a powerful sorcerer and can give the Lin Kuei great power. Still, he is also a potential threat to us." The Grandmaster explained, "that is why I am sending you, Sektor, and Cyrax to his tournament. While you will be participating, after the tournament is over, you will kill Shang Tsung at the soonest opportunity."
"As you wish, Grandmaster." Bi-Han bowed.
