He wanted nothing more than to die, for the agony to stop.

But he was the last of his people, the last Zaterran. Many a time, he had contemplated simply giving in and letting the Saurians die off for good. But there had always been a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that there were others out there somewhere, in a realm not yet conquered by Shao Kahn, and that they would all be lost without him finding them. Whenever he came close to giving up, this thought would resurface and push him to keep going, no matter the adversity he faced.

As the last of his kind, he was seen by many as the living embodiment of his race. This was why Shao Kahn had forced the name 'Reptile' upon him - as a reminder that he was far, far beneath the emperor on the food chain and that he had best obey, lest his race die with him. With this name, Shao Kahn could keep Syzoth subservient, his will broken by the constant humiliation of his slave name. But he had persisted. He dutifully served Shao Kahn as Shang Tsung's bodyguard and spy, hoping desperately to carve a name for himself that would show all the realms that, while his people lived on in him, he was so much more than just his people.

And then came this new generation of Earthrealmers to consistently beat back every master Syzoth found himself in the service of.

In the last ten years alone, he had come close to being executed for his failure to best Earthrealm's champions in the last Mortal Kombat, saved only by Shang Tsung's quick wit, and subsequently been left to wander the wastes and pass from master to master following the emperor's supposed death, devolving further and further in both mind and body, making him all the more susceptible to the manipulations of that moroi witch. When he sought to prove to all the realms that Syzoth was no fool by slaying the vampiress, he came upon a chamber containing a great dragon egg. His body had been stolen, his will subverted, as the Dragon King Onaga used him as a vessel to continue his conquest of the realms, only to be bested by an Earthrealmer long past his prime.

In that moment of defeat, both Syzoth and Onaga's lives were spared by the Dragon King's soul being torn from Syzoth's body, knocked loose by the savage beating they received from Shujinko and taken away to the-Elder-Gods-only-knew-where, leaving Syzoth to lie unmoving in his own twisted and mutated body, slain in the eyes of those who could not peer into his mind and hear his mental screams of anguish.

The battle continued to rage between Onaga's forces and those gathered to oppose him, the Dragon King's battered body left forgotten mere moments after it hit the ground. He felt his strength continue to ebb away, his eyes slowly closing on the sight of the battle his body had been puppeteered to orchestrate. He hoped they all died for what they had done to him.


"Rise and shine, my old friend."

Syzoth's eyes shot open. No. Not his eyes. New eyes. Without even seeing them, he could feel how different they were - how different every cell of his being was. This was not his original body, nor Onaga's malformed take on it. It was something new entirely. He compelled this body to sit up and it obeyed. Looking over his form, it was clearly something new. For starters, his tail was gone, as were his snout and spines. His devolution had seemingly been reversed, but not fully. While once he had been able to pass for human with a simple disguise, his feet remained in their larger form, suggesting he was in roughly the state he had been in around six years ago, just as the devolution started in earnest.

"It seems I arranged everything correctly," said the unmistakable serpent-like tone of Shang Tsung. Turning his head to the right confirmed his estimation. From what Syzoth recalled from his hazy semi-consciousness as Onaga's vessel, Shang Tsung had been killed as he, Quan Chi and Raiden attempted to stop Onaga upon his return. His thoughts must have shown on his face, as the sorcerer smirked and said, "Who would have thought that you would play such a crucial role in my downfall? Truly, a serpent after my own heart."

"SSShang Tsssung?" Syzoth croaked out before wrapping his hands around his own throat.

"Relax, Syzoth. New vocal cords take time to be broken in. Like a good pair of shoes. Of course, you won't have to worry about the latter anymore, hm?"

"New vocal cordsss?"

"Yes, new. New vocal cords, new body, new life."

"Bo-" Syzoth began coughing uncontrollably.

"Body, yes," the sorcerer finished for him nonchalantly. "Your old one was irreparably transformed by Onaga's essence. Putting you back to how you were would have been nigh impossible. And a hulking form like that ill fits your particular skillset. Thus, I forged you a new body in the Flesh Pits, using knowledge gained from past experiments."

"But thisss isss not-"

"The Flesh Pits, no. Please, keep your talking to a minimum for now. We are on my island. You remember my throneroom, yes?" Indeed, Syzoth was laid out on some sort of table in front of Shang Tsung's old throne, from which he had commanded Syzoth for centuries. "I thought you might prefer to be revived in a place more familiar to you, to ease you into your new form. Plus, that place is far too crowded these days for me to get any real work done without interruption. Again, don't speak. Another large conflict is coming to the realms and you and I both have our parts to play. Mine, of course, is to be one of the five figureheads of our alliance. Yours is to covertly help me to become the sole figurehead."

"Five figureheadsss?" Syzoth asked, his voice raspy, but no longer painful to utilise. "SSShao Kahn, SSShinnok, Onaga and... Quan Chi, I presssume."

"You really aren't given enough credit for your intellect, my friend," Shang Tsung said with a smirk and pat on the shoulder. He quickly pulled his hand back and held it up in apology. "Apologies. I forgot that your new body will be rather sensitive until it has had time to adjust. Another reason to perform the ritual here where we can be left in peace."

The double doors opposite Shang Tsung's throne opened and in walked another of the island master's long-time supporters: Kollector. As was the way of the Naknadans, this particular member of the race was assigned a name suited to his role - in his case, gathering trophies from fallen warriors that competed in Mortal Kombat. With two hands, he handled the doors. With another pair, he held a tray of teacups and a kettle with a serpent-themed handle. With the others, he carried a glistening kirehashi sword, a relic of the Saurian race from which Syzoth descended. The very same sword that had been in Syzoth's possession upon his own... possession.

"I bring your requested items, Master," the Naknadan said, bowing his head as he approached. He placed the tray down on a plinth beside the throne and began pouring the first cup while handing his master the sword for inspection.

"Saurian smithing. A truly underappreciated art. Did you know, the grooves along the blade are designed to carry your acidic fluids to make cuts more devastating?"

Syzoth didn't know this. He knew precious little of his race's history or culture. Much of it had been lost in Shao Kahn's conquest of Zaterra.

"I suppose, then, you don't know that Zaterra is not the original home of your people?"

Syzoth stared dumbfounded.

"It is true. You can thank Kollector for obtaining this particular piece of knowledge. And for retrieving your sword"

The Naknadan in question continued pouring the tea, barely acknowledging his accomplishments being uttered.

"The Saurians actually originated in Earthrealm and only fled to Zaterra during a conflict that almost caused the extinction of the entire species. That is why our search for information and culture has been so fruitless - we were searching in the wrong places. But with this knowledge, we have made some real headway, and will continue to do so now that you are back among the living. Especially once you are fittingly equipped." Shang Tsung held out the sword and spared a quick glance down at Syzoth's exposed lower body.

Only now properly registering that he was fully exposed, Syzoth made to move from his sitting position, only for Kollector to place a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him in place, producing a set of clothes from his backpack with another arm, all the while pouring the third cup of tea and keeping his eyes aimed squarely at the cup. The attire Syzoth was handed was a fairly basic assassin garb, similar to those worn by Ermac and Lin Kuei warriors, only in green. Aside from the lack of footwear, the largest difference was the lack of a mask, instead featuring a set of long leather straps to tie around his head.

Now fully dressed and equipped with his ancestral sword, Syzoth truly felt like himself again. Shang Tsung opened both arms wide, like a father staring proudly at his son. "Excellent. You made the right choice in his attire, Kollector."

"The look would fall apart without the masterful recreation of his original body," Kollector replied humbly as he handed a cup of tea to his master and then offered one to Syzoth.

"You should try some, Syzoth," Shang Tsung insisted after taking a sip of his own. "Kollector has gotten rather good at preparing it."

Syzoth reluctantly took the offered cup and took a sip. He couldn't deny that it did taste good.

"I do try to treat my followers with honour and respect. It is truly a shame your subsequent masters have rarely treated you as you deserve."

Syzoth could sense that Shang Tsung was attempting to manipulate him, to keep him loyal to him and make him help the sorcerer to weasel his way to the top. He knew this, knew it was working, but he struggled to feel strongly about the manipulation. After all, he was correct in his assertion that Shao Kahn, Shinnok and Nitara had used him solely as a tool, making promises to help him to revive his race, yet never made any sign that they intended to follow through on their vows beyond their words. Shang Tsung, meanwhile, had gone through the effort of reviving him from death, rather than forgetting about him as others had. He had taken his desires and abilities into account to ensure his new body was perfectly suited to him. He had made sure he was in a place he felt comfortable to help ease him into his second life. He had even given him a crucial clue in his investigation into the fate of his people; whether withheld until now or only recently discovered, he had actually given him the information. Syzoth was grateful for this rare showing of respect, self-serving though it may well be.

"And what isss it you intend to manipulate me into doing for you, SSShang Tsssung?" Syzoth asked with a sideward glance, his throat becoming quickly soothed by the tea.

Shang Tsung grinned in that particular way he did when he was caught plotting and didn't care to hide it. "Once again, you aren't given enough credit. Put simply, I aspire to reach the top of the pecking order, as you well know. While the likes of Shao Kahn and Quan Chi are preparing their armies for the battle with the Earthrealmers and Edenians, my focus is solely on the endgame: the prize that awaits at the end of the bloody conflict to come. Why waste my time battling when I could wait for the prize to be within another's hard-earned grasp and snatch it out of their hands at the last moment?

"You will play a part in this victory by slinking around the battlefield and eliminating our major rivals one-by-one to keep them from interfering. But know that the danger will not come without a fitting reward. Once I have attained godhood, finding or reviving your race will be a triviality for a God of Souls. The Saurians will become my unstoppable army and I their patron god and protector. With the mighty Saurians and Naknadans by my side, even Shao Kahn and Shinnok will pale before my might and fall before me. And once all the realms are mine, your peoples will live in the peace that was so unjustly stolen from you by tyrants and conquerors. Is that not far preferable to serving the man who wiped out much of your race in bloody kombat?"

Again, Syzoth could identify every single word and idea Shang Tsung had carefully chosen to best sway him to his side, but once more, he really was correct in his assertions. Syzoth handed the sword back to Kollector and took a knee before Shang Tsung. "You will have my ssservice, SSShang Tsssung."

"And you will have my gratitude," the sorcerer responded, taking the sword from his other follower and tapping Reptile across each shoulder with the blade.

Syzoth rose and took back the sword, finding a spot on his belt to holster the weapon, knowing that the next time he drew it, it would be in the service of Shang Tsung.

"The Kytinn have been expunged from the underground tunnels in our long absence. Feel free to explore and take whatever you require or simply desire from the remains. I will call upon you once our preparations begin in earnest."

Syzoth bowed and turned to do exactly that. He hoped some of the Kytinn eggs had been left untouched. He had always wondered what they tasted like. As he opened the door, Shang Tsung spoke up again, catching his attention and bringing him to a halt with one foot over the threshold.

"Oh, and one more thing, Syzoth? Do your old friend a favour and eliminate that moroi wench when next you meet her. Your revival would have been a much smoother process had she not restored Vaeternus and taken most of my Flesh Pits with her."

Syzoth needed no further description than that to know the wench in question was Nitara, the treacherous leech that had used Syzoth to facilitate said realm restoration. And Shang Tsung clearly knew that. Perhaps, that was what had always drawn Reptile to him - his honesty in his duplicity. Nitara, by contrast, had taken advantage of his desperate situation and made a fool of him. If he ever saw her again, and he so hoped he did, he would drink every drop of blood in her veins and gorge himself on that conniving brain she was so awfully proud of.

He would start off the Saurian restoration in a way that would warn all the realms that the Zaterrans were not so feeble and dense as many made them out to be. And they would know him not as Reptile the last Zaterran, but as Syzoth the Champion of the Saurians.


Reptile needs more love. Shang Tsung is so fun to write when he's just Cary-Tagawaing it up, you don't even know.