Chapter 4: More Dragons

Next morning when Subzero woke he found that the door was open. Serriana had brought in his breakfast on a silver tray. Rice, eggs wine and vegtables he consumed it thankfully and gave his thanks. He lay back down and wished he hadn't woken up. This was the day he was due to start his expedition. Little did he know how difficult it was going to to be. This was going to be a big important job. Perhaps the most important he'd ever take.

He looked up at the pattened rich ceiling and across to the large windows. There was a Lin quei coming down the path below. He rushed out of bed and peered through the curtains. An Arch assassin, he relaxed. It was only smoke. He was dressed in traditional fashion except that his silk was coulered grey and black unlike the usual red. Subzero smiled to himself, he hadn't seen Smoke in a good long time. Every time he returned to the lin quei Smoke was gone on his own mission. A promising young candidate, he was efficient.

Subzero walked across the room. He had dark black hair with a firm face and nose. His lips were always emotionless, he hardly ever needed to use them. He stretched once and withdrew a blue costume from a large ornate wardrobe at the other side of the room. He started to dress before there was a dull knock at the door.

"Master Subzero" came Serriana's voice "Its Smoke here come to see you, do you want me to invite him in or tell him to come back later?"

"Bring him in" he called back fitting the silk mouth piece into place in front of the mirror "Tell him I'll be down shortly... you sure its Smoke?"

"He looks the same to me master, but I'd be afraid to check if you know what I mean"

"That's all" he replied with a frown. He heard her footsteps decend down the wooden stair case. Subzero liked Smoke. Of all the people in the world Smoke was the only person Subzero felt he could really trust. Smoke himself had gone through some of the same hardships as himself. He had a talant, a magical ability to turn himself into nothing but a thin layor of dusty vapour. He was a dangerous assassin and could use his ability to get through the smallest of gaps.

Even so in a camp of assassins Subzero didn't like decending his own stair case unless he had a couple of Shurikens up his sleeve. These he deposited in various places about his person, they were always up a sleeve or down a side pocket ready in an instant. His lips had smiled when he saw Smoke coming down the path but now mellow it hadn't moved since. Under the mouth piece they stayed fixed in one place. He rubbed his hands hard and blew on them before attaching the wrist guards. Those hands were cold again.

Before the day began he liked to warm himself up. He backflipped once and punched against the thin air. He brought his kicks up high aiming for Scorpion's imaginary face. He stopped and bent forward stretching his legs and arms. It took him a good twenty minutes before he was happy and willing to see one of his best freinds. He never took any chances, yet it pained him somewhat that he always had to take such precautions.

The fact that he wanted to get rid of Sektor was a notable point. But he knew for sure that there were pleanty of ambitious Lin quei out there who wanted to get rid of him as well. He stopped just by the door and looked across the room. He walked over to a small table by his bed and looked down at a small object.

A green bottle with small luminous flowing letters "Ditdoe forumla" he picked it up and took it to the door. It still refused to be just a dream. He took his cape off of the peg and brought it round his shoulders depositing the small bottle inside a pocket. Opening the door he decended the wooden steps down to the hall, entering through another door he came into the dinning room where he saw Smoke sitting at the end of a very long table. Even now the grey mist was rising off him like a frosty morning being warmed by sun.

The mansion was large, he didn't care for it much himself. It was the principle of it that was more important. Being the best servant he had to make sure his possessions looked the part. That meant having a good house and servant to be proud of.

"Its good to see you Subzero" said Smoke warmly, he had a deep mysterious voice that Subzero liked. Taking a chair out a place away from Smoke he sat down facing him.

"Hey Smoke, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing at all actually" chuckled Smoke "I've been sent to escort you to your transport"

"Escort me? By force?" replied Subzero raising his eyebrows with displeasure

"No of cource not" chuckled Smoke slowly "I hear you're doing a big job. The Grandmaster is paying me to make sure you get to the helecopter in one piece"

"How odd" lauthed Subzero "A privrate escort Smoke? This must be the easiest job you've ever done. Serriana!" he called. She appeared out of a side door "Bring my freind here something nice to drink" she nodded with a pleasantry and hurried away.

"This is a nice place you got here" said Smoke looking up at the decorated ceiling

"Heh, its not quite to my taste really but it keeps the rain off" he grunted in reply resting his arms on the back of the chair.

Smoke leaned back ahwile his blue eyes seeming to grow searching for a moment, something that was puzzling him "Have you heard the news?"

"What news" yawned Subzero widening his mouth for a good long time. He stopped and looked back at Smoke who he noticed still hadn't replied "I presume I haven't. The Grandmaster doesn't give me much time to socialise nowadays"

Smoke looked from side to side quickly and then leaned closer across the table bringing his elboes forward "The say the Shiri Ryu's been completely wiped out. It's been on the news, a huge masacre in Japan. Blood and bodies everywhere, do you think whoever did it means to take us out as well?"

"Heh na that was Quan chi" chuckled Subzero he looked up with a smile as Serriana came in with drinks "Ah just put that down over here Serriana dear and then you can get back to whatever you were doing"

"Quan chi?" asked Smoke pensively "That sorceror who hired you?"

"Yup" replied Subzero with a shrug "He did it as payment to the Grandmaster for my services... of cource you must keep this strictly confidential Smoke I know I can trust you of all people. On my mission I managed to kill Scorpion at the same time, a pretty good combination for the Grandmaster. On Scorpion's part I actually meant to spare him, but that Quan chi person told me that he's dead"

"Better for it eh?" lauthed Smoke "Still I'm glad its not you who did all that killing"

"Why's that?"

Smoke paused and sat back again. He looked out of the window onto the grass outside, it was a nice day and the sun came in throguh the windows lighting the room with a golden glow.

"I dunno... it just shouldn't be done you know what I mean? The Shiri Ryu was certainly a lot smaller than we ever were... but they've got history and prestigue behind them. A lot of knoledge they had kept away in their book shelves and in their masters heads. I often wonder whether there was another motive"

"Who cares" replied Subzero with a shrug "As long as I'm alive to spend the money. When I finish this job Smoke I'll be rich you know that? I'll invite you on holiday with me somewhere how about that?"

"You should be careful Subzero" whispered Smoke with a glance at the door "There's a lot of people who think that you got rid of the Shiri Ryu... nobody really knows what you did on that job with Quan chi cos the Grandmaster has kept it all quiet like. People keep saying things to me, that you're dangerous and that you should be gotten rid of" smoke stopped short. Subzero was lauthing "What's so funny?" he asked with a frown.

Subzero lauthed hard and spilled some of the wine down his front "Oh the whole thing is Smoke, and I don't really know why I'm lauthing. To tell the truth Smoke yes I probably am dangerous as they put it they should get rid of me. But which one of them is going to have the guts to do it eh? I'll have their head and spine off of them before they can say backstab"

"I'm glad you're confident" replied Smoke with a shudder "Just let me say that I'm not sure I'd like to be in your shoes right now..."

Smoke and Subzero came to the helecopter unhindered. It roared up into the air after they had said their good byes and soon the Gobi desert was passing underneath as if Subzero's journy back to the Lin quei had been nothing but a short stroll.

The driver was called Tringle and had worked with many of the best Lin quei assassins on different missions. He'd worked for Subzero several times, his job was mainly transportation. He wasn't an arch assassin but had managed through other means to aquire the same power and almost the same sallery as one mainly through coming from the west. He'd learned in one of the numerous Shaolin temples after he'd decided that a military career in the U.S wasn't his thing. When he came to the Lin quei he brought a lot of knoledge with him even though his actual skill wasn't enough to enlist him as a full arch assassin. He had a lot of respect.

His hair was coulered green every chance he got, a dark complexion with a brick like face he was more firm and morbid than even Subzero was. It was a pleasure working with him and Subzero enjoyed it imensely. He could rely on Tringle completely. It was very rare for him to socialise, he just did what he was payed for and that was it. No messing about.

When Subzero finnaly arrived at the Himalayn mountains it was dark and he was exhausted. He watched as Tringle took the helecopter away and shuddered realising that now he was completely on his own. He stayed in a small village near by where he had supper and a nights rest. The streets were small and the ground uneven and easy to trip up on going up or down hill. The people round here were mostly cattle raisers and farmers. As much as the tall mountain ranges had to offer as a tourist attraction it seemed evident that little of the money found its way down to the inhabitants themselves.

The sky was dark that night and a storm brew up in the sky. Lightning flashed and rain poured all night like a monsoon. Subzero turned in the small bed looking up every now and again to see a great flash of light cut across the sky. He shivered in the small bed and waited eagerly for the morning to come. He wasn't ignorant of the storm and every moment it lingured he pondered Madame Ditdoe's words. Surely if Rayden knew that the map had been stolen then he would no doubt try and reaquire it at this temple?

He turned over in the night and outside the sky displayed a mirage of purples blues and white flashes of thunder. The sky was tearing itself apart as rain and hail battered down on the small village below. He couldn't imagine how the people in the small thatched huts could survive this kind of weather. He was lucky to be in a brick house, but even so he could here the noise on the roof like thousands of tiny feet dancing to a tune with no beat. He shivered in his sleep, his hands were like lumps of ice, he kept them close to his body to try and keep the heat in them, but instead they seemed to take it out of him.

He couldn't sleep, he was up before sunrise with hardly a wink he headed down the stairs. The storm was quiet now, only the noise of rain dripping off of the roof into puddels below could be heard. The sky rumbled distantly as the storm passed on to trouble other people. He found the front doors of the acomadation locked and exited through the window. He'd payed the bill; they'd insisted that before he was even aloud to enter the rooms. He wasn't trying to avoid any costs instead he was irritated that these people tried to enforce power over him that they didn't have. If he wanted to leave in the early morning then no foreigner was going to stop him.

As far as the map was concerned it was very inacurate, but was the only clue to the mountain temple's where abouts. Wrapping the blue cloak arround him he started up the mountain following the map as best as he could. Tringle he was glad to notice had dropped him on the correct side of the mountain unlike the last idiot pilot. If he hadn't had to cross round the whole mountain to get to the temple he may have beaten Scorpion to that wretched map and need never have killed the bastard. He'd get even with that pilot sooner or later. It was no doubt in Subzero's mind that the pilot had done it completely by mistake, but that kind of thing wasn't forgiveable in the Lin quei. He'd deal with the punishment himself, personally.

He passed through a dark valley where on either side of him the rocky walls loomed up high on either side. He'd taken a wrong turning, he gazed at the old parchment and cursed quietly. His feet crunched on the pebbles and stones as he looked vainly for a way up the mountain side. It was hard to see in the darkness and what was worse is that he felt a drop of rain on his hand. It seemed the skies weren't finished with pouring on him yet, and somehow he doubted that if he got caught out this time there would be any old ladies to help him out. He wondered vaguely whether this storm was the same one returning or another moving towards him. But in the darkness of the valley it was hard to even see a few paces in front of him let alone the black weather patterns of the skies above.

He was just about to head back from the trail when he heard a noise in the darkness. First a crunch to his right by the rocky face, another to his left his eyes moved to both. Another noise behind, a trap, animals didn't move in these kind of patterns although the movements did seem rather animalish. He stopped walking and placed his feet firmly on the ground. The shuffling stopped, he thought quickly of what he should do. He didn't yet know what the enemie's tactics would be. Would they try and kill him imiediately? Or would they first try getting information out of him?

The footsteps had stopped moving, he was making them wary "Don't worry I'm unarmed" he said to the darkness. There was a shuffle and the three noises moved closer, one circled behind him the others appeared in front bolstered by his words.

"Stick yer hands up" said a rusty voice behind him. He felt almost as if he were in a budget cow boy film, he did so. He could see the other two now in front of him. One was as tall as he was the other was taller and looked strong. The taller man had a machete and the one of his own height had a smaller blade that appeared to be decorated. The man behind him had a pistol, he was the one Subzero was being careful of.

"You Red Dragon?" said the tall one in front of him with a grunt.

This was a tricky question. Subzero knew that if he answered wrongly then these people who were no doubt in some kind of gang would kill him. If he answered corectly then he might just live, that gave him two options.

"You gonna talk or are we gonna shut ya up for good?" said the shorter of the two. The dagger gleamed as he held it up in the darkness. This was not good. Subzero instead took the third option. He slid back suddenly on icy feet and elbowed the gunman in the face. A shot fired with an orange glow, it was silenced and the nozzle gave off a low loud squeak of a sound as the bullet hit the ground.

Holding on to the gunman he kicked the other two away with a double kick to both torsoes. He gripped the wrist hard and twisted freezing the bone until the man cried out in pain. There was a snap and the gun fell to the ground. Taking an arm round the man's neck he broke it much the same way Scorpion had planned to kill him, except this came with no resistance.

The other two fumbled in the dark now groping and picked up the blades. They rushed forward hoping to make a quick end to this fight. The tall man lunged forward cleaving the air. Subzero easily dodged aside. With a subtle wrist he curved the other blow from the man with the dagger so that he hit his taller freind. He cried out in pain in the darkness as blood ran down his leg. Subzero dived to the ground and with a circle sweep he brought both men crashing to the stones. Compared to Scorpion these people were amatures. Cats among Tigers who Subzero had no problem squashing. He stood to his feet and with a rush of air brought his leg down aiming for the taller man's neck he missed and hit the chest with a crack of ribs.

He brought his attention to the shorter attacker and with burning cold hands brought forward a smashing blow sending him flying back several meters before he hit the ground. Ice and snowy shards flew up into the air from the devasting blow and glittered like glass under the starlight. Quickly he brought one hand arround the tall man's neck and froze it. His voice shouted out becoming quiet suddenly as the ice spread up into his head and chilled the brain.

"Too easy" commented Subzero wringing his hands. He walked slowly over to the remaining attacker and found him choking on the ground. He was broken physically and mentally from the blow, his stomach was blue with ice.

"Please don't kill me Mister I werent gann hurt you I promis"

"A likely story" replied Subzero grabbing him by the neck he lifted him up and hurled him across the ground onto the hard pebbles. Winded he cried out rolling aside onto a bloody face. Subzero was quick to arrive beside him again he picked him up by the neck and held him aloft.

"Who do you work for? Tell me unless you would like me to hurl you again"

"The Black Dragon" cougthed the man trying to free his neck.

"What were you doing here out late at night in the mountains?"

"We're trying to find out about a temple arround this area, we thought you might be red dragon come to kill us"

Subzero paused a moment in thought. He tightened his grip and spoke slower this time "This Black dragon group... it wouldn't happen to have a lot of money would it?"

"Yes of cource!" gasped the man "Its very rich, if you let me live I can pay you"

"Again a likely story" and again the man flew across the ground and landed with a curse amongst the rocks. He looked bad now, the wounds would need stitches not to mention the likely broken bones.

"Please!" he shouted out but Subzero's hand grabbed him again by the neck and he was lifted into the air.

"I don't want your stinking money. You don't have enough to pay me... instead I have a message for your employer. If ever he needs a good job done then he can hire Subzero of the Lin quei. Perhaps if he'd payed me instead of you useless wretches he might have actually gotten some results, now get out of my sight"

He nodded anxiously and stumbled off down the trail like a diseased beggar. Subzero thought nothing more of it. He was always on the look out for career oppertunities, it probably wouldn't reap anything but it was in his mind worth the effort leaving the last man alive.

Following the map the hardest point in the journy was climbing up a virtical rock face with hardly a foot hold. This was the kind of thing Subzero was trained to do with ease although it didn't feel like that, every step was an effort against gravity. It was at times like these that his unfeeling cold hands really did come in useful. The rain started now more constant than before and up in the sky the black clouds rumbled with foreboding energy. As far as Subzero was concerned he was in no mood to be caught out in a storm like the one that had happened only that night. He sped up the pace with a glance skywards.

After several wrong turnings and several moments where he almost gave up altogether he climbed up a windy crag of rock and found the temple. It was a huge circular entrance embedded in the mountain itself.

The air was tighter up here. He realised with some thanks as he looked back that the clouds were now above him. A flicker of lightning crossed the clouds below and he realised with some surprise how high he really had gone up the mountain. He turned back to the entrance, a large stone circular door blocked his entrance into the building. It was cold up here above the sky line and he didn't know how to get in. He looked at the map with uncertainty, this had to be the temple. How many temples were there in the mountains anyway? He certainly wasn't going to go looking for another one "Temple of elements? Sorry son that's next door. My ass" thought Subzero.

"Open the door with the element that is cold and yet burns"

That was the clue. It took Subzero a surprisingly long time to work it out. It irritated him no end and when he finnaly ice bolted the door and it moved aside with a shudder he vowed that he'd never mention his stupidity of that moment to anyone ever.