On the other side of China, a former Lin Kuei Warrior was on the run. The upper half of his body was now only clad with two blue straps. He was the younger brother of the previous Sub-Zero, who was killed in combat by Scorpion during the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Yet strangely, when Sub-Zero fought Scorpion himself, he was surprised that his life was spared.
Now once again, he was being targeted, after escaping the Lin Kuei he had no idea as to what had happened to Smoke, who attempted to escape with him. He had heard Raiden's message, but as of now, saving the world was not his interest.
As he continued along his way, he could hear the sound of a missile. And he knew that there could only one source: Sektor. Looking up, he saw the missile was nearly on top of him. He quickly rolled to the side, dodging what would've been a fatal strike.
As he regained his balance, Sub-Zero knew that Sektor himself couldn't be far away, but the best option was to run for now instead of taking the cyborg head on.
Running through the forest, Sub-Zero made every effort possible to conceal himself. Taking a moment's rest behind a tree, Sub-Zero made sure to keep his eyes open for any sign of Cyrax or Sektor. If Sektor was here, Cyrax couldn't be far behind.
His body was started to tire, something he knew his soulless assassins wouldn't have to worry about. There was barely any time for him to sleep. Yet he wondered, he had not seen Smoke since he was separated from his friend after his escape from the Lin Kuei.
Suddenly, he heard a clinking sound, and he immediately leapt from the tree. His instincts proved to be right, as he had only just managed to avoid getting ensnared by a green net.
Wasting no time, Sub-Zero ran as fast as he could towards the clearing, aware that now both Cyrax and Sektor were nearly right behind him. Now he had to act, stopping for a moment, Sub-Zero turned around and managed to temporarily freeze both Cyrax and Sektor into place with a freeze projectile. That wouldn't hold them for very long, however.
Wasting no time, Sub-Zero proceeded to make his way through the clearing, but as he arrived, he became to notice that it was suddenly getting very foggy in the sky. Only it wasn't normal fog… it was smoke.
O-O-O
At Shao Kahn's palace, all of the extermination squads had returned. Kahn had issued a progress report. The squad leaders gathered in the Great Hall. With Shang Tsung and Sindel by his side, Kahn selected Motaro to speak first.
"We encountered three Earthrealm warriors, today, my liege."
"Oh? And who were they?"
"Their names are Jax, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage?"
"Who is "Johnny Cage"?" Kahn asked, slightly confused.
"He's the one who wears those sunglasses." Tsung answered for him.
"Oh yes. The stupid one."
"You need not worry about him any longer, my emperor. He was struck down by my own hand." Motaro declared, proudly.
"Excellent work." Kahn said. "And what of the other two?"
"I'll answer that one." Kano broke in.
"You will speak when spoken to, worm." Motaro said, about ready to swipe Kano across the face.
"Stand down, Motaro." declared Kahn.
With a slight bow, Motaro did as he was told.
"Yes, well, we destroyed those grunts' only method of transportation, now they're trapped in a city surrounded by Extermination Squads, no way they'll get out."
"Hmm, well then, you had best make sure that those two are dead by tomorrow, otherwise… well, I think you've gathered the idea, correct?"
Kano nodded nervously. "Um, yes. The grunts will be dead by the end of tomorrow…"
"Good. Now then, Shang Tsung, I hear you had a little encounter with Kang today… I assume it do not go well." Amusement could be found in Kahn's otherwise stern voice.
"No better than your stupid little attempt to take souls from the Netherrealm." Shang Tsung whispered.
"What was that, Shang Tsung?" shouted Kahn.
"Um, no sir, it did not go well at all." Shang Tsung said, fearfully.
"I thought so." said Kahn. "It is I, who deserve the honor of crushing the Champion in Kombat, do not forget your place, sorcerer."
"No, sir. I won't." Tsung said, trying to hide his anger. "If he think that I'm going to just let him take Kang's soul, he's gravely mistaken. It is my right, and mine alone. Though to be honest with myself, perhaps it is not Kang who deserves my animosity."
Meanwhile, deep below the city where Motaro had slain Johnny Cage, the two survivors made their way to the suburbs. Not knowing why Jax had led them there, Sonya nevertheless continued to follow her superior.
"I just hope there's something here." Jax mused to himself.
"Yeah…" Sonya said, dryly.
"You still thinking about it, Sonya?"
"Well…" Sonya started.
"I know it's rough, but you've got to stop this."
"I know I should but…"
"Sonya… it's a war out there, we're not just fighting for ourselves here and we're not fighting for just him, no, we're fighting to keep our very freedom alive."
Sonya did not look at Jax as he spoke, merely nodding her head numbly. Even Jax was surprised at Sonya's sharp change in personality, but nonetheless, he continued his lecture.
"It's a war, Sonya. There are always casualties in war. I thought you understood that."
"I do." Sonya whispered.
"Well, you're acting as though you're green again."
Green is army term for rookie soldiers.
Sonya lifted her head up. "I guess you're right…"
"We can mourn for him after we've won… if we win for that matter." Jax said, turning around.
"If?" Sonya whispered. Never before in her life had she heard her superior officer say "If", even the Major couldn't help but feel somewhat worried about this predicament. Sonya couldn't blame him, they were under the remains of a ruined city, with countless Centuars roaming the streets above, if they were found, there would be no escape.
"Hold on." Jax said, lifting his hand up to stop Sonya from proceeding.
"What?" she asked.
Jax ignored Sonya's question and proceeded forth on his own. Gazing around a nearby corner, Sonya saw a smile form across the Major's face.
"We're in luck, the Subway down here is still intact."
"Huh?" Sonya said, somewhat surprised. "You mean that…"
"Yup, we can use it to get to our friends."
"Oh! Seriously? That's great!"
"Yeah, it looks like it still works, c'mon Lieutenant, we're moving out."
O-O-O
Meanwhile, the fog surrounding Sub-Zero was starting to get more and more thick, holding his breath, the ninja attempted to make his way through, he knew that something like this wouldn't stop Cyrax nor Sektor from pursuing him, he needed to keep going and no natural disaster would make him stop.
He only found time for quick meals these days, hunting for food and devouring them as soon as he had made the kill. This was starting to take its toll for Sub-Zero had found himself running noticeably slower than in recent weeks. He barely had time to sleep either, stopping for only two hours before he resumed his desperate attempt to keep ahead of his pursuers.
Unbeknownst to Sub-Zero, this fog was not a natural occurrence, a third cyborg was pursuing him neither Cyrax nor Sektor, distinguishable only by its' gray color. The new cyborg silently made its way closer to the unsuspecting ninja. And by the time that Sub-Zero started to hear it, it was too late…
Suddenly, he felt a horrible pain in his throat as he heard himself desperately gasping for air. Slowly, his feet rose off the ground, and he found that what was holding him was indeed a cybernetic arm, but he did not know which one had grabbed him: Cyraz or Sektor.
He soon found it to be neither cyborg, one that he did not recognize, but he could feel something familiar about it.
The cyborg's name was Unit LK-7T2: Smoke. Sub-Zero's best friend converted into a cyborg, but his memories of his human life had been stripped away during his automation, the man Sub-Zero knew was gone, replaced with a soulless assassin, remembering nothing of his friend, all of his sensors are just told him one simple thing:
Primary Target: Sub-Zero IdentifiedTerminate