"It's good to see you again, Bi-Han."
"Indeed." Despite his shadowy mask, Sareena could tell that Noob Saibot was smirking.
"What do you find so amusing?" she asked.
What he found so amusing was that Sareena's tone suggested she genuinely meant what she was saying, despite Quan Chi's mind control forcing her back into the sorcerer's service. That Quan Chi had allowed her to keep her feelings towards Bi-Han was both amusing and intriguing. It suggested that the sorcerer had improved as a manipulator, using the very feelings that had led Sareena to betray him a decade prior to make her loyal now, since Bi-Han himself was now working with Quan Chi as part of Shinnok's vast alliance. Her desire to be with him, amplified by Quan Chi or kept at its natural level, would make her desire to stay in Quan Chi's service. It was a surprisingly clever plan.
Of course, Bi-Han would never say any of this in Sareena's presence, lest the sorcerer's respectably sick plan unravel. Such was the risk with corrupted agents over the mindless variety - the ability to think made them more effective agents, but allowed the slave to break free, given sufficient stimuli. Anchoring one's control in the victim's own desires was an effective method of keeping them pliant, so long as the illusion was never broken.
"We never did get the chance to fight side-by-side, did we?" he asked, careful not to hint at her helping him against Quan Chi.
"No. We did not. But with a battle such as this, we should have plenty of opportunities to do so."
Bi-Han, again, chuckled. "For now, focus on your duties around camp."
"Of course. I will see you later then?"
"Of course." Bi-Han placed a hand on her cheek and felt its warmth. Bi-Han had spent so long in isolation or accompanied only by other undead or the mechanised Smoke that he had almost forgotten that other beings could be warm. He began to wonder if his hand chose to linger as it did because of his fascination with this sensation, or because he had unwittingly come to return Sareena's interest in him. This only fascinated the wraith all the more. But he chose to let her go. She had her duty of protecting Quan Chi's tent to return to, and he needed to check in on Smoke and Kano's group. He could only imagine what deadly new abilities the Black Dragon might have augmented the cyborg with.
As Bi-Han approached the Black Dragon's area, he noted that a crowd had gathered. Mostly Black Dragon, from the looks of it, but some from other factions were also watching whatever was happening with intrigue. Pushing past a few of them, Bi-Han found what had them so spellbound.
Smoke appeared to no longer be a cyborg of the Lin Kuei's design, but a being comprised purely of living vapour. A mask had been placed over where his face would be, along with particular articles of clothing, such as gloves, pants and boots. Just enough to identify him as some sort of humanoid. That Kano could have augmented him to this extent...
Or so Bi-Han thought for mere seconds before spotting the man much more likely to be responsible for such a breakthrough: "Sektor."
The red cyborg turned his head away from his masterwork to look at the newcomer. "Bi-Han."
Bi-Han approached and the two gripped each other's forearms. "It seems I am not the only Lin Kuei who has achieved perfection."
"Former Lin Kuei. The old Lin Kuei's days were numbered once it lost you. And that number reached zero when your brother seized control."
"'Brother'... Hm. I hear you have a new clan of your own."
"Yes. The Tekunin, the ultimate technological force, far beyond Earth's Special Forces or the current Lin Kuei."
"Kuai Liang has made many enemies since I've been unable to guide him. Us, Smoke, Sareena, Frost. I wonder, which of us do you suppose will be the one to finally finish him?"
"You ask as if the answer is not obvious. Despite your beliefs, it will be my revenge to take."
Bi-Han chuckled. "I don't believe we have had a competition since... that mission in Chongqing back in '88."
"And the result here will be much the same."
"I am not the cryomancer you once knew, Liu Li Jun. It is about time you saw first-hand what a wraith is capable of."
"All undead are nothing in the face of technology."
"Are you confident enough to wager your clan on that assertion?"
"Wagers are beneath me, Bi-Han."
"Even if your prize would be to have Smoke and myself return to the fold?"
"..."
"Hm-hm. There may still be humanity in you yet, Sektor."
"Kuai Liang."
"Tabansi."
The current bearer of the cyromancer mantle knelt in meditation at the bank of a river that ran close by the alliance's encampment in the Edenian canyon. While the battle would likely not be for another few days, Sub-Zero bore the cryomancer armour he had unearthed in a tomb in Outworld. It marked his place in the legacy of this long dead race. Of the three known descendants of the cryomancers, only he had the right to bear this mantle, following Bi-Han's corruption and Frost's betrayal.
Cyrax had not seen his former Lin Kuei compatriot much in the years since he was freed from the Cyber Initiative by Sonya and Jax. He had stayed with them in the Outerworld Investigation Agency and partaken in many excursions into other realms, and even helped to liberate one from Outworld's hold.
"Are you sure it's wise to be out here alone? Given what we're here to deal with-"
"You are here, are you not?"
"Well... yes."
"Then I have no need for concern." Kuai Liang had changed in the years since he had seized the Lin Kuei from Sektor. Cyrax knew that the Dragon Medallion had augmented his powers somehow, even turned his hair grey despite having only recently passed forty. Cyrax had to wonder if the medallion or its power had influenced his personality as well. Or if he had simply become wiser since he had taken on the role of Grandmaster.
"I'm only here because my scanners picked up something coming down the river toward this location."
Kuai Liang stood and faced him. "A living something?"
"Most likely. Could be part of an ambush or distraction."
"How far out is it?"
"About seventy metres and closing."
Sub-Zero brought both hands together and a thin, flexible layer of ice formed from his fingertips, all the way up to his elbows. From what Cyrax understood, this was originally an effect of the Dragon Medallion enhancing his abilities beyond his full control, but this effect had been suppressed by the greater control offered by the armour of his Cryomancer ancestors. He further showcased this new level of control by forging a more precise blade of ice than he had previously created.
Cyrax, likewise, prepared himself for the coming encounter, closing his helmet and activating his recently upgraded pulse blade.
The two remnants of the old Lin Kuei stood ready to deter the approaching entity with their blades - and slay it with them if they must. As the river bent in their direction, the approaching entity came into view. It was a humanoid woman, scantily-clad and seemingly unconscious. The water surrounding her body was a misty red.
Sub-Zero lowered his stance. "Sareena?"
"Where is she, Noob?" Kia demanded as she and Jataaka approached the wraith mid-conversation with Frost.
"How am I supposed to answer that question without context?" he asked casually. "It seems the two of you have not become any more competent since last we met."
"Who else could we mean?" Jataaka shot back. "Sareena. She was last seen with you."
"Before she left for Quan Chi's tent, yes. You would have a much easier time of this if you asked those who had actually been around that part of the camp since then."
"No one else-"
"Will admit to having seen her because they know the consequences. Use your heads for once. With servants such as you, is it any wonder Quan Chi's schemes have all resulted in abject failure until now?"
Jataaka's hand moved toward the sword on her belt. Frost was quick to produce her own ice daggers and step in front of the wraith. Bi-Han placed a cold hand on her shoulder, causing her body to relax.
"This is getting us nowhere," Kia said to her partner.
"As per usual," Bi-Han added cockily, causing Kia to scowl at him. "Before you try accusing another of your comrades of being a traitor, you might make better use of your time by considering who it is you are looking for, and the means by which she was recruited into our ranks."
It took the two a moment to pick up on the implications, but they shared a look and departed the instant they did.
"Are those two going to be a problem?" Frost asked, weapons still in-hand.
"Calm yourself, Little Sister," Bi-Han replied, gently taking her blades from her hands. It really was a simple matter for Bi-Han to make Frost obey. The promise of power and revenge was an incredible thing when made to the right person; incredible for the one offered in Scorpion's case, and for the one offering in Frost's. "I have dealt with them before, and I have only become more powerful since. Besides, if my words hit the way I intend, then I fully expect their contemplation of Sareena's whereabouts to turn on themselves."
"But you really have no idea where this Sareena is?"
Bi-Han's eyes scanned some of the nearby tents and their occupants. "I may have an inkling or two. But the matter no longer concerns us. We have far more important matters to attend to."
"Sub-Zero?" His was the first face Sareena saw upon waking.
"Try not to move," he told her calmly, his cold hand numbing what she could feel as pain in her shoulder. "You are safe now."
"Where... am I?"
"You are in our camp."
"Relax," said a woman unknown to Sareena from the other side of her cot. "We're the good guys."
"This is Vera Briggs," Sub-Zero explained. "Wife of Jackson Briggs." Sareena knew that name. She had never met Sub-Zero's Earthrealm allies, but she knew of them. Jackson Briggs was said to be an absolute powerhouse in hand-to-hand combat. Something about metal fists?
"And the best damn medic in the O.I.A., I'll have you know."
"I thought you retired to go and be a normal doctor," said a man in yellow armour that could only be the former Lin Kuei Cyrax.
"I've almost got my doctorate, but I was given leave to come help out here. Something tells me I'm gonna be needed."
"You can trust Doctor Briggs' expertise, Sareena," Sub-Zero said reassuringly. "But we have little time remaining. I need to know how you ended up in that river with these wounds."
Sareena lay back and tried to recall. "It is all... hazy. I know Quan Chi had me under a spell of servitude. He managed to catch me after I fled the fight in my true demon form."
"I see..."
"It is not your fault. I should have been forthcoming about my true nature. No one can blame you for lashing out in surprise. But, I'm afraid I recall very little of what happened after Quan Chi cast his spell. I served him dutifully as I did before I met your brother. And then... I had an important duty of some kind, but I failed. I was attacked, I think. In the camp."
"In Shinnok's camp?"
"Yes? I... think so."
"Then there is division among the enemy ranks," Cyrax noted.
"Given their alliance consists of warriors with mutually distinct ambitions," Sub-Zero responded wisely, "it only makes sense that at least some among them will allow their eagerness to override logic. Especially among the lower ranks."
"True. Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung don't seem the types to undermine their side's success so early on."
"Quan Chi, perhaps? But why would he have Sareena attacked? You weren't on the verge of escaping his hold, were you?"
"I am not... I don't believe so. I may have been the one who provoked the attack. But I am not even entirely sure my injuries were intentional."
"I don't see how being sent down the river was likely to be an accident," Cyrax replied.
"Regardless," Sub-Zero spoke up, "any information you have regarding the enemy numbers, kombatants or tactics would be vitally useful to us. But that can wait until we can be sure Quan Chi's magic is fully purged from your mind, lest it make you mislead us."
"How do you intend to-"
"Apologies for my tardiness," a tanned man with long silver hair and godly white eyes said as he entered the tent. Even inside, his hair continued to move as if fluttering in the wind. This, then, could only be-
"Fujin," Sub-Zero greeted with a bow.
"This is Sareena?" the Wind God asked as he stepped closer and looked the woman in question over.
"It is. She has been under Quan Chi's hold for some time. Can you purge it completely?"
"I am familiar with his particular brand of magic from the last conflict in Edenia. I see no reason for him to delve into another school of magic when he already had this sort of powerful ability already mastered. Purging it from her mind should be a simple matter. Are you prepared, Sareena?"
"I-I am. Please."
Fujin stepped closer, placed his hands at either side of her head about two inches away from her skin, and began chanting his spell. Sareena blacked out soon after.
"I assume you have a plan for dealing with Kuai Liang," Frost questioned.
Bi-Han chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Frost asked standoffishly.
"Kuai Liang? Not 'Sub-Zero'? Your respect for the mantle is admirable. I just might have to bequeath it unto you once the usurper is dealt with."
"With all due respect, I have no interest in that title. I will forge my own path, not hang onto your coattails."
"You are wise beyond your years, Little Sister. The spirit of the mantle will be in good hands, at least. But to return to your question: Yes. But I am not the only one."
"What do you mean?"
"Kuai Liang has made many enemies over the years. You, myself, Smoke, Sektor, Quan Chi, Hotaru... And those are just the ones I am aware of. There are likely more. His name carries great weight - weight we will use to pressure his enemies into allying with us in the battle to come and face him as a united front."
"You think we can't take him with just the three of us?"
"Possibly. But that new armour of his makes me hesitant to trust such outdated odds. Combine that the Dragon Medallion and he is more powerful than ever. I must insist on caution here. You have come a long way under my tutelage, but when last you held the Medallion, you were consumed. He has held mastery over it since the beginning. And that was before he acquired the Cryomancer armour."
Frost grumble unintelligibly, but it was a clear sign of her acceptance of the facts.
"Besides," Bi-Han continued, placing to fingers under his sister's chin to redirect her eyes back to his, "the more 'comrades', the more fodder to throw his way to weaken him before we swoop in for the kill."
"Clever."
"As is to be expected. I am doubtful we can lure all of them into our plot, but we need only one faction to hold off the Lin Kuei for us. And then, the Sub-Zero name will be vacated. Permanently."
"How are you feeling?" Kuai Liang asked as he returned upon receiving word of Sareena's revival.
"I feel... light. In mind and body."
Fujin chuckled. "Yes, my particular magics have been described as 'making one feel like they are walking on air.'"
"That sounds apt. I feel incredible."
"Then you are truly freed from Quan Chi's hold. However, I would advise keeping your distance, should you encounter him again. Your mental defences have been worn down by his magics, and you will be particularly susceptible to them until your defences have been built back up. I can teach you how, but I am afraid there will be no time for such things before the battle. There are still many preparations to be made."
"No, this is more than enough, Lord Fujin."
"To have a demon of the Netherrealm call me 'Lord'... We truly live in strange times." With that, Fujin departed, leaving the subject of Sareena's assistance in Quan Chi's plot a decade prior unbroached, for which she was truly grateful.
"Do you think you're good to fight?" asked Sonya Blade, who had come to speak with Dr. Briggs earlier.
"Sonya!" the doctor herself exclaimed sternly. "She was at death's door just a few hours ago."
"And godly healing magic is a literal miracle," the blonde soldier retorted. Sareena had listened to Sub-Zero speak of this woman numerous times before, and the deep respect he held for her had been clear from word one. Being now in her presence, it was easy to see why, as she positively radiated authority.
"Yes, I was here to witness it, but I still don't-"
"It is okay, Doctor," Sareena assured her as she swung her legs off the cot and let her feet touch the floor. "I appreciate your concern and all of your hard work. However, I am ready to fight."
"Honey, you don't need to push yourself just becau-"
"What other time is there to push oneself than at the end of the realms?"
Sonya Blade smirked. "I like this woman. Sub-Zero, she's in your hands. Make sure she's ready when the time comes."
"You say that as if there were any doubt," the grandmaster responded, an alien warmth in his tone as he actually bantered with this woman. Clearly, his demeanour around his closest comrades was entirely different from how he conducted himself around his initiates. Sareena longed to have that sort of relationship again after so long.
Once the two were alone with only the doctor on standby, Sareena tested her legs and found that they could hold her steady. She turned to face Sub-Zero and bowed. "I am ready, Grandmaster."
Sub-Zero actually smiled. "I know you are, Sareena."
The battle began not long after. Sareena was ready by the time the two armies marched out to face each other, once more decked out in a Lin Kuei uniform. A number of her clanmates welcomed her back and asked if she was okay. They really did feel like one big family. It was probably ironic that the group from Arctika was a warmer group than the one from the depths of the Netherrealm.
The battle lines broke almost instantly and Sareena found herself separated from the rest of the Lin Kuei. Kuai Liang, likewise, was separated from much of his clan. He had around a dozen initiates with him, fighting alongside him, truly a Lin Kuei united in kombat for the first time in many years. It didn't take long for them to encounter the first of Sub-Zero's many enemies: Noob Saibot.
Kuai Liang had learned much of the Netherrealm from Sareena since she had joined the Lin Kuei. 'Noob' was a word in the language of a long-dead Netherrealm race, meaning 'born' or 'reborn', or in a very particular dialect, 'lost'. 'Saibot' was another word from this tongue, meaning 'shadow'. Thus, 'Noob Saibot' could be translated as 'Born in Shadow', 'Reborn in Shadow' or 'Lost in Shadow'. He supposed that answered the question of whether Bi-Han's black skin was tied to his immolation, or his wraith shadow powers.
Unusually for him in the last year, Bi-Han was alone, not accompanied by either of his brother's former allies that had since joined his side. Sub-Zero and his forces advanced on Bi-Han, who remained standing in place, confident that his brother would find him - and that he could deal with him alone.
"Where is he, Bi-Han?" Kuai Liang demanded fiercely. "Where is Smoke!?"
"Your concern for your friend is admirable, but foolish, Kuai Liang."
"There was a time when you didn't think so."
"A time I have long since outgrown. But don't worry. You will soon see things from my point of view. And then, we will be brothers again."
"I would sooner die," Kuai Liang declared, taking his stance.
"Heheheh. That is entirely the idea," Bi-Han chuckled, taking the same stance.
The first exchange of blows was quick, but powerful, the two brothers laying into each other fiercely. The other Lin Kuei became dragged into fights by surrounding warriors and managed to hold their own. That is, until a barrage of small missiles was fired upon them from above. In one fell swoop, over half of those that had accompanied the grandmaster were obliterated. Sektor then landed in the middle of the area, dual pulse blades at the ready.
The shock of the attack opened Kuai Liang up to an attack, allowing Bi-Han to deliver a fierce back kick to his brother's gut, sending him staggering. With his eyes briefly facing the ground beneath him, Kuai Liang had time enough to spot the black metal fist emerging from a puddle of green binary symbols and rocketing up towards his face. Using his ice blast as a jet, Sub-Zero pushed himself back away from the spot from which Sektor emerged, whilst also freezing that spot, coating Sektor's entire body from the chest down in enough ice to temporarily immobilise him.
Unamused by the interruption of his flow, Bi-Han grabbed Sektor as his jets failed him and he began falling back down to the ground. Holding his former comrade above his head, Bi-Han threw Sektor back out into the carnage around them. That momentary distraction allowed Kuai Liang to escape from Bi-Han's sight.
Nearby, some ruins stood not much taller than a human, but the archway and the remnants of the walls provided enough space that Kuai Liang could take cover behind them. A tiny glimpse of his frozen fingers and the mist his perpetually frigid flesh created in the surrounding air were all Bi-Han needed to spot his hiding place and move in.
Travelling through shadows, Bi-Han came out through the wall on the other side of the ruin, swinging the club he had claimed from a Netherrealm demon at his brother's head, shattering it to pieces on impact, shards of ice skittering across the brickwork and raining back down over the wraith as he realised his mistake.
He dug his heel into the dirt to steady himself out of the momentum of his emergence, just in time to spot Kuai Liang leaping down from a spot on the wall a few feet above his ice clone. Sub-Zero delivered a fierce kick to his brother's face, driving enough force into his skull that a full-on backflip was required for Noob to not completely lose balance. Even so, the recovery time of the flip was too much for Bi-Han to avoid being grabbed and slammed into the ice clone, shattering its entire form above the knees as he careened into the wall he had just emerged from, bouncing off and back into his brother's hands. The younger kombatant grabbed the back of his brother's garb and swung him around the threshold of the archway, slamming his face into the other side of the wall, and then fiercely yanking him into the open, where he was open to a shoulder-barging ice slide.
By the time Bi-Han had steadied himself and was dragging himself up from one knee, Kuai Liang already had the lower legs of his ice clone gripped in both hands and brandished as weapons, his brother knowing first-hand how thick the ice that composed the statue to be.
"You have lost your touch, Brother. Has there been any benefit to your undeath, or has your transformation been nothing but objective failure?"
"And you have stagnated, still clinging to the past like a child." Despite his best attempts, Bi-Han's previous confidence was giving way for obvious frustration. "We are not brothers. I outgrew that bond years ago."
"Is that so? Then, why did you create a shadow companion and corrupt my best friend if not to fill the void in your heart from our separation?"
Bi-Han said nothing. Instead, he returned his club to the void within his shadowy form, producing instead a hand sickle of some black nether metal, his intent to attack with speed instead of the club's power clear to his brother. But this clarity did little to prepare Sub-Zero for the sudden return of Sektor as he rocketed through the archway and struck him in the back, sending him tumbling end-over-end across the Edenian soil. After sharing a brief antagonistic glare, the two former Lin Kuei put aside their differences to see their crafty and quick-thinking adversary buried in the soil his armour was now covered in.
Sickle and pulse blades rain down on Sub-Zero, who had only the time to produce a small ice sword with which to guard against the onslaught. With his proper Kori Blade, he could easily contend with the two, but much of his focus was now forced into reinforcing the smaller blade each time the burning hot plasma or the diamond-sharp nethersteel made contact with it.
Sareena charged in the direction she had seen Sub-Zero and Cyrax head in, only to stop dead in her tracks as she saw him: Quan Chi. Her former master was currently engaged in battle with the spectre Scorpion, whose defeat at Bi-Han's hand thirteen years prior had led to the annihilation of the Shirai Ryu. An annihilation in which Sareena had willingly taken part. She was unsure which crippling fear was currently more powerful: falling under Quan Chi's sway again, or being recognised and slaughtered by the vengeful spectre.
The latter was not a fear that held any sway over her former 'sisters', however, as the two now rushed past Sareena, seemingly not even noticing her, so focused as they were on aiding their master. Their aid ultimately amounted to naught, however, as Scorpion unleashed his blazing hellfire upon Kia and tore Jataaka's head from her shoulders with his infamous ropedart. Then, Sareena watched in awe as Scorpion struck Quan Chi through the heart with his spear and used the burning chain to split the sorcerer in two.
As with her godly healing earlier, Sareena felt a great weight lift from her soul as the force that compelled her back into her old life was destroyed by, ironically, a man whose great vengeance would also see her as a target to be eradicated. But there was no time for fear. She had lingered here long enough, and the chance of her being forced to turn against her allies again was dealt with. Sub-Zero needed her.
As she rushed past Scorpion, hoping against hope that he wouldn't notice her, his dead white eyes fell onto her. His arm rose and pointed in a slightly different direction than the one she had been going. Had he noticed her Lin Kuei crest and decided to send her toward her grandmaster? If he recognised her as one of the participants in his clan's demise, he made no indication of such.
Sareena nodded thankfully and headed in the direction the spectre had pointed. She made a mental note to meet with him later on and divulge everything to him. He deserved to know the truth and have the chance to pass judgment upon her if he so desired, after everything she had helped to take from him.
The two-on-one continued with Sub-Zero, despite the duo's intense animosity towards the man, managing to earn a modicum of respect from both Noob Saibot and Sektor as he managed to mostly keep up with the two. Every so often, another Lin Kuei warrior would attempt to intervene to assist their grandmaster, only to be cast aside by one of his foes, warned off by Sub-Zero himself, or dragged back by some other kombatant.
Intervention finally came after what felt like a decade of struggle, as Sareena finally reached the battleground. She was quick to enter the fray with the Demon Fang, a serrated blade with a clip point tip, forged from the bone of a dead oni. While she had never faced Sektor or his particular brand of weaponry before, she had fought Bi-Han, as both an enemy and a sparring partner. While she doubted she could take Bi-Han in a serious fight, she was confident that she could at least buy Sub-Zero time to deal with Sektor and come to her aid before she expired.
While Sektor's technology had notably improved since his last clash with Sub-Zero years ago, his tactics had not. For all his talk of the superiority of technology, he had allowed himself to stagnate. Even with his mostly cybernetic body, his designs were unimaginative, the weak points in the armour being obvious to Sub-Zero. With a few well-placed ice attacks, Sektor's jets were frozen shut, his armour was cracking and one of his blades was inoperable.
Sektor called in Tekunin fighters to assist. The bulk of the interlopers were held off by scattered Lin Kuei and Special Forces, but some did manage to break through. It seemed that numbers had been Sektor's priority with these recruits, as their bulky exteriors suggested the overwhelming use of exoskeletons like with the first generation of cyborgs, and few of them showed flight, cloaking or teleportation capabilities. This made it easier for their human enemies to keep most of them at bay, but those that broke through were still not to be underestimated. But there was one in particular among them whom it would be foolish to misjudge.
Sub-Zero was suddenly struck in the back with an icy blast. While his ever-strengthening powers made him highly resistant to cyromancer freezing, the attack did manage to slow him down for a few seconds - more than enough time for Frost to get in close with a dagger forged of ice. Before her dagger could strike home, though, she was knocked off her feet by a well-placed explosive device that, in the few seconds he had to spot it before it detonated, Sub-Zero recognised as belonging to Cyrax.
The golden cyborg was quickly at Sub-Zero's side, lifting him to his feet and slightly warming his back with his own pulse blade to undo the effects of Frost's ambush as swiftly as possible. Sektor's forces hesitated, evidently unsure how to proceed against what was clearly one of their own. It took Sektor a few seconds to insert a command into his wrist console to override this hesitation, which bought Sub-Zero enough time to properly forge his Kori Blade, and Cyrax time to analyse the enemies' structural strengths and weaknesses. Passing this knowledge on to Sub-Zero, Cyrax then set his sights on his fellow cyborgs, allowing Sub-Zero to focus on Frost.
Like her former master, Frost's hands already gripped ice-forged blades as he approached. Frigid mist emerged from beneath her facemask as she breathed - a sign of sheer power coming from Sub-Zero, but one of undisciplined anger from Frost. As much as it pained him to face her, dealing with her quickly to allow him to focus on Noob and Sektor was his priority. He had bested her with ice many times before, and he could do so again.
"Did you know?" Frost asked, clearly barely able to contain whatever frustration was currently driving her.
"Know what?" he asked in turn as he took his stance.
"You know damn well what I mean!" She thrust a dagger forward accusatorily. "Bi-Han told me about our connection. That you and he are my brothers."
Sub-Zero's reply did not come quickly enough for Frost, who seemed to take his silence as confirmation. Before he could get a word out, Frost lunged at him with her daggers. The first strike was easy to deflect with Sub-Zero's own blade, but Frost's weapon advantage was a second blade, both less unwieldy than her former mentor's larger blade. With this second blade, she thrust low. But Sub-Zero's weapon was firm enough to be able to deflect a strike, even with the tip of the jagged base of the hilt. And its wielder had only gotten better at performing such a feat from his encounters with the similarly dual-bladed tarkatan hordes in Outworld.
For his counterattack, Sub-Zero butted Frost in the gut with the outer fins of the blade, made intentionally rounder for use as a blunt instrument. After staggering her with this approach, he brought the weapon up, intent on striking her chin with that same part, but she managed to pull her head back, not dissimilarly to how he himself had dodged Sektor earlier. Her arm came up swiftly and nicked Sub-Zero's arm with her blade. The cut was not deep enough to reach the skin beneath, but it did leave a noticeable scratch in the ice layer, suggesting a cut of half an inch in depth had his arms not been frozen over.
He retaliated by sliding into her, shoulder barging her back another few feet while his blade was held against his chest to prevent her dagger from piercing his torso. She swung a blade wildly to buy herself time to recover, but Sub-Zero anticipated this and grabbed one of the blades with the pincer-like dual tip on his own blade, before twisting and snapping the far less reinforced ice weapon clean in half.
Her attempted retaliation with her second blade was blocked by the much larger blade of Sub-Zero, which he then shoved into her to knock her back again. So she threw it at him. He deflected it with a wide arc of his sword over his head, exactly as she anticipated he would. But instead of being left open, his momentum carried him back along an ice slide, which left him just out of range of her roundhouse kick, until he moved his hand into perfect range to grab her ankle mid-arc.
Although reluctant to inflict serious harm on Frost, Kuai Liang saw little other choice as he bashed her in the knee with the blunt fin of his sword, feeling her leg bend back at a sickening angle. It wasn't enough to break the bone, but the pain was certainly enough to throw her off. He then stuck the blade's tip into the soil, gripped her leg firmly with both hands, and pushed it away from the blade as a wind-up. When he slid back with her leg still in his grasp, he drove her knee directly into the blunt part of the sword with enough force to snap the kneecap and leave her leg bent at the exact opposite angle from how the Elder Gods intended.
As Frost fell to the ground from a mixture of shock, agony and lack of balance, Kuai Liang was quick to freeze her over before her screams could break his heart any further. He'd return for her once the battle was over, or perhaps have Sareena or Cyrax retreat with her once Bi-Han was dealt with. He would return her to the Lin Kuei and then, no matter what or how long it took, he would get through to his former apprentice and work on rebuilding their relationship.
The other Sub-Zero was having nothing close to the struggle Kuai Liang was facing. Fighting Sareena again was child's play. He had bested her long ago as Sub-Zero, and he was confident beyond reason that he knew exactly what she was capable of. It seemed that she had spent much of the decade between her 'death' and her meeting with Kuai Liang hiding and not acquiring any new skills or abilities as Bi-Han had, learning only Lin Kuei martial arts that Bi-Han had partially taught to Kuai Liang in the first place.
Plus, she was just as held back by the absurd notion that Bi-Han could 'be saved' from his existence as a wraith as Kuai Liang was. And that limitation on their kombat prowess would be their undoing. Well, it would be for Kuai Liang; Sareena was barely worthy of note to Noob Saibot. She was but a momentary distraction from his clash with his successor - a clash he was rather eager to return to.
His sickle lodged itself between the jagged grooves running along Sareena's blade, allowing him to catch her off-guard and yank it free from her hands. She was quick to replace it with the dual kama from her belt. It was difficult to say if these were the same kama she had wielded when first Bi-Han had spared her life, but her stagnation in other areas suggested they were. It was fitting, in a way, that she use those same weapons when he would again spare her life. But this was no act of mercy, motivated by pity or hope, no active decision. Rather, killing her would simply take more time than Bi-Han was willing to spend dealing with her. He had witnessed her repeating history - returning to Quan Chi's service, betraying him again and aiding Sub-Zero, and then being defeated by Bi-Han but living on - and that was as far as his amusement allowed him to participate. The fun was over and it was time to move on.
Bi-Han summoned his shadow doppelganger. This entity was named simply 'Saibot' by Noob, the second half of his identity as Noob Saibot, in many ways. It was not an easy or energy-efficient thing to split his consciousness across two bodies, hence why he had recently begun utilising those he could manipulate to do his bidding instead. He could have simply summoned Smoke to deal with Sareena while he moved on, but Bi-Han had another purpose for Smoke in this encounter. Besides, Saibot literally could not be hurt, which was one of the bigger advantages to using it.
Saibot could simply phase through Sareena's kama strikes and make itself corporeal when it needed to strike. While she was struggling to deal with this threat, Noob performed a Sub-Zero-like slide, catching Sareena off-guard as he struck her low and launched her into the air above him. To her credit, she maintained her composure and swung her kama at his head. And it damn well would have hit, had Saibot not been there to catch her at the midsection as she flipped end-over-end and landed firmly on its shoulders. Saibot then lifted Sareena as high as its arms would allow and slammed her down into the ground, hitting her head hard on a flat rock halfway buried in the soil.
Without even checking to see what state Sareena was in, Bi-Han made his move to return to the fight with Kuai Liang. He dissolved Saibot and dropped onto his back, disappearing into his shadow. Unseen by Kuai Liang, who had just finished freezing Frost, his brother emerged from the ground behind him, maintaining the momentum from the fall to launch himself into the air, flipping around until his knees caught his brother around the head and pulled him off the ground, releasing him after a 180° spin.
Sub-Zero was completely caught off-guard and launched through the air. After a few flips, he managed to get his bearings, creating an ice slice on his way to the ground, using the icy crescent to catch himself and launch straight into a sliding jump, swinging at his brother with his leg as he came careening back to the spot his feet had formerly occupied. Bi-Han was already gone by the time Kuai Laing's foot cleared the space Bi-Han's head had been in. But Noob's shadow-walking was a predictable talent, requiring either a dark shadow or that of a living entity to pass through. As such, Sub-Zero raised his foot as high as he could and brought it down with such expert timing that he managed smash the top of Bi-Han's skull as the latter same up through the dirt, sending him back into the shadow and tumbling out of another shadow nearby.
Kuai Liang quickly closed the gap between himself and his brother. He caught sight of Sareena's unmoving form not far away. He had no time to check on her, and neither did Cyrax, still engaged in battle with Sektor's forces as he was. Sub-Zero forged a new Kori Blade and made his way over to his fallen brother. It truly did seem that there was no hope for Bi-Han anymore. And with his skill and power, Kuai Liang could not allow that kind of threat to go free. It was time for the previous Sub-Zero to finally rest in peace.
As he approached the possibly concussed Noob Saibot, Sub-Zero found himself coughing more and more. There was no visible cause, but that made the cause no less obvious. Smoke could produce a smoke so fine that it was visually imperceptible. But much like Sub-Zero's deep freeze or Noob's shadow clone, it was a power that required great focus and could not easily be utilised in kombat. With an ally to divert attention away, however, this was more than possible to pull off.
However, this fine vapour was a part of Smoke himself, his body forming it, not simply producing it. This meant that, as in years prior, Kuai Liang could freeze Tomas' non-solid form to force him to stop. And he did, reforming in his new vapour-based form. This took Kuai Laing by surprised as, when last he'd seen Smoke, he was still a mechanical cyborg, only slightly upgraded from his initial cyberisation.
What exactly this new form entailed, Sub-Zero doubted even Bi-Han or Sektor could tell, were they so inclined. For now, he could only freeze his old friend in place, as with Frost, and try to get him back into containment before he could thaw. Failing that, though, he was sure his friend would want him to end his decade-long entrapment in this cybernetic hell.
And so he began, a focused, frigid aura filling the space around him, the inhuman vapour form of the man before him shifting into a solid, semi-transparent ice sculpture. The process was interrupted as Saibot attacked Sub-Zero from behind, launching itself through the frigid aura and striking the cryomancer in the back. As he turned back to face his attacker, he heard the ice shatter behind him as Bi-Han returned to the fray and released his other comrade. Kuai Liang grabbed Saibot's arm as it tried to punch him, using its momentum to launch it over his shoulder and into the other two. Smoke dissipated on impact, disappearing from sight, while Bi-Han dropped into the shadows.
Bi-Han emerged from Cyrax's shadow while the two cyborgs continued their clash. Cyrax was caught off-guard by the sudden attack, forcing Sub-Zero to intervene. Sektor sent a stream of napalm his way from his wrist-mounted flamethrower but Sub-Zero's ice powers were powerful enough to push back against the fire - a feat that had not been possible when last they'd clashed. The ice pushed the flames back so far that the nozzle eventually froze over, the flames unable to melt through before the pressure became too much and the hose itself exploded, sending the now burning cyborg careening off away from the fight. Fortunately, Cyrax's current armour was heat-resistant enough to survive a dip into a pool of molten lava, so aside from the pushback of the blast, he was left unscathed.
Bi-Han, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. Saibot, however, made its presence known by attacking both Sub-Zero and Cyrax at once. Cyrax's part in the fight was short-lived, as Sektor rocketed in with his battered and broken armour, colliding with Cyrax and dragging him away from that fight, over to where Sareena was slowly regaining consciousness, knowing that Cyrax would need to hold back around her.
Sub-Zero now had the advantage. He had fought Noob and Saibot at the same time before, and he was much more powerful now. He had also recently found Bi-Han and Tomas at the same time and managed to hold his own. Saibot alone was no match for Sub-Zero. This was proven when Sub-Zero deftly dodged Saibot's blows and countered with a swing of his blade, slicing the doppelganger's abdomen wide open.
But instead of the inky black blood or mist one would expect to emerge from a wounded shadow, it was a grey vapour that emerged. Sub-Zero quickly realised that this vapour was actually Smoke, hiding inside Saibot ever since Bi-Han distracted him by attacking Cyrax. What's more, he was now wielding Bi-Han's sickle in his hand, pulling back to take a swing at his old friend's midsection.
Sub-Zero moved to dodge the strike, only to find his foot frozen to the ground. He barely had time to register that Frost had begun to thaw from Sektor's explosion and get his foot free before the sickle struck home, slicing through Sub-Zero's stomach. The shock of the agony literally tearing through his guts sent him turning, staggering away from Bi-Han's assistants, right into the waiting arms of Bi-Han himself.
Bi-Han wrapped his left arm around Kuai Liang's shoulder and held him tightly. "Welcome back, Brother," he said darkly before ramming his brother's own Kori Blade through his abdomen, spraying both Smoke and Saibot with his ice-cold cyromancer blood.
Cyrax and Sareena were both witness to the explosion of crimson from a little distance away now that Sektor lay unmoving in the dirt. Cyrax was quick to teleport in and use his advantage to sever Saibot's head with his wrist-mounted buzzsaw. He'd have gone for Bi-Han's head, but his teleporter's range was too short for that. Even so, he eliminated one of the three foes instantly. And with Saibot's body dissipating, not only did the shadow require time to recover before it could be summoned again, but Smoke no longer had a place to hide. And Cyrax knew how to deal with Smoke. He was literally built for it.
Nearby, even Frost, despite all the animosity that had built between herself and Sub-Zero over the past year - between her frustration at her lack of progress, her desperation to attain self-control, her abandonment in Outworld, her imprisonment back at the temple - she couldn't help but feel a vice-like grip tightening around her heart as she watched her former mentor receive a mortal blow from the man she now knew was both his brother and her own.
She watched impotently as Cyrax attempted to save or at least avenge his friend, battling Sub-Zero's former best friend who had been used as a tool to strike Sub-Zero down. His sneak attack would even have been the finishing blow had Bi-Han not wanted to save that honour for himself. There was almost a glee in Bi-Han's inhuman eyes as he held his dying brother in his arms, lowering him to the ground in a twisted parody of the scene where the hero dies in the arms of a loved one. Frost's stomach tied itself in knots as it began to dawn on her that she had just made a terrible mistake.
She had little time to dwell on this, however, as her pain became much more literal when Sareena, in a panicked rush, stabbed the distracted cryomancer in the heart, leaving her blade embedded in Frost's chest as she moved to do something, anything, to help.
Knowing her time was severely short, Frost focused her command over ice over her own body, coating every inch of herself in a thick layer of ice. The final thing she saw as her mind shut down as she entered cryosleep was Bi-Han, her eldest brother, staring at her. He knew the part she had played in killing their middle sibling, and there was no appreciation or pride in his gaze. It was almost accusatory, holding her accountable for the icy blade now embedded in their brother's chest.
As the frigid glaze overtook her own eyes, Frost finally, truly understood her place in all this: she was Bi-Han's tool, nothing more. She was no more special to him than Smoke - probably less so, in fact. Hell, for all she knew, everything he'd said about their familial bond could well have been a lie to take advantage of her. But she was done being other people's tools. She would get her revenge on Bi-Han for using her as he had. It was actually rather sad to realise that even with this huge shift in perspective, Frost was still focused on revenge against a Sub-Zero...
Sareena swung her kama at Bi-Han's head, but he dipped down into his brother's shadow and wouldn't be seen again for the remainder of the battle. After a few moments of dreadful anticipation, Sareena finally lowered her guard and dropped to her knees by Sub-Zero's body. The ice coating his arms had melted into a scattered layer of water droplets, making his attempt to grip the Dragon Medallion on his chest futile. Or so Sareena first thought. In reality, the medallion was gone, no doubt stolen by Bi-Han before he departed. But what would he want with the symbol of the Lin Kuei's leadership? Such questions could wait for later. Sub-Zero needed medical assistance now. Where the hell was that medic?
Smoke was definitely more adept at using his powers to evade strikes than he had been a decade ago. While his free will had been suppressed at the time, Cyrax still remembered his every action in service to the Lin Kuei. As such, he had both the knowledge and the equipment to capture him. Cyrax's chest cavity opened up and the nanomachines that constructed his tools therein produced a net infused with green energy. The net had been upgraded a decade ago, back when Cyrax had first been automated, redesigned specifically to capture the more elusive members of the Lin Kuei; Smoke chief among them. Cyrax could only hope that the net would work now, as it had then.
Despite Smoke's ability to shift into vapour at will, the instant the net made contact with said vapour, Smoke was forcefully reverted to his tangible smoke-like form and blasted with enough electric current to short-circuit the nanomachines that current comprised his body and trap him within, the net closing up to form a sack to contain the nanos for easier transport.
With two of the enemy now removed from the conflict, Cyrax turned his attention back towards Sektor, only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. Nor, in fact, was Frost. And none of the Tekunin cyborgs showed up on Cyrax's sensors. It seemed that, for now, the battle with Sub-Zero's enemies was over.
As was his life. Sareena shook her head in distress as Cyrax tuned back to face her, his sensors confirming seconds later than Sub-Zero was dead.
For now, the best Cyrax could do was get Sareena and their friend's body to the closest field hospital with his teleportation. The few Lin Kuei that remained did what they could to cover their retreat with each jump before returning to the fray to prove to all the realms that, even with their grandmaster no longer among the living, the Lin Kuei spirit could not be vanquished. Cyrax regretted that he only now saw what an incredible rebirth Kuai Liang had given to the once corrupt and decadent Lin Kuei.
Frost awoke on a gurney in some kind of laboratory, the whirring and grinding of machinery all around her telling her even before she saw the clan logo exactly where she was.
And then the mechanical footsteps of a Tekunin cyborg approached. It was slimmer than those she had seen before, perhaps suggesting a female within the blood red armour. It stared at her motionlessly, a minute sound suggesting to Frost that her state was being reported to the grandmaster. She attempted to sit up, but the cyborg pushed her back down, forcefully. Its hand remained on her bare shoulder until another cyborg entered the picture. This one was much more jagged in its design. But despite this new form, Frost recognised Sektor even before he spoke.
"Lin Kuei," he said, causing a scowl. "Discomfort at the title. Good." Frost sensed that a silent command was issued to the other cyborg, as it removed its hand from her shoulder and stepped back. "You will forgive the lack of comfortable accommodation. Our warship was recently shot down by an O.I.A. assault. We have only recently reactivated this old Cyber Lin Kuei factory for our purposes. And besides, cyborgs have no need for comfort."
"Very informative," Frost groaned as she sat up. She only now realised that she was, in fact, entirely naked. She was about to cover herself up, but concluded that such a 'logical' entity as Sektor would have little interest in her nude form. Plus, there was a far more pressing matter: on her chest, just above her breasts, sat a small, circular glowing device. Her hand automatically moved up to investigate.
"Inadvisable. Your heart was damaged beyond repair by the Netherrealmer's dagger." Sektor produced said weapon, still coated in Frost's dry blood, covering almost the entire blade. "A replacement heart was necessary. One that can more easily be replaced with backups and more effective alternatives."
"Like the one that Hsu Hao guy has..." The only difference was that Hsu Hao's device was larger and lit up red, while hers was an icy blue that didn't register as strongly against her already very pale skin.
Sektor seemed to make a sound that seemed to Frost like a scoff. "Hardly. That device is years old, far outclassed by this state-of-the-art piece."
"You sound almost proud."
"Pride has no place in my work. Only results. Your survival is that result."
The result that filled Sektor with such pride seemed to truly warrant it. Frost was alive, even after taking a blade thorough the heart, and there was some kind of brace on her knee that, although disconcerting that she didn't know its full purpose, did seem to be mending her knee enough that she could bend it a little without much discomfort.
"Let's just cut to the chase and have you explain why you bothered to save me in the first place."
"You are powerful, the inheritor of Sub-Zero's cryomancer powers. And you are an enemy of Sub-Zero's allies. The enemy of my enemy-"
"Is my friend. Yeah, I know."
Despite his façade of detachment, Sektor sounded agitated as he repeated his statement. "The enemy of my enemy is a logical investment. Especially one with a power as rare as yours. I propose an alliance. You assist me with my research to create the ultimate cybernetic life form, and you will have the Tekunin's resources - augmentations, troops, weapons, surveillance - at your disposal in your campaign against Bi-Han and the Lin Kuei."
"And you expect me to trust you?"
"Only as far as I trust you. Our arrangement will last only as far it benefits me, and your every action will be monitored to make sure you stay in line."
"At least you're honest about where we stand..."
"I anticipated you might appreciate that after Bi-Han."
Frost sighed, chilling the air around her. "It's the best deal I'm going to get."
"Indeed."
"Alright, we have a deal. Tell me more about this research."
Sektor signalled for his follower to help Frost her feet as another one entered with some clothes - a slightly torn and bloodied Lin Kuei uniform, making Frost wonder exactly where Sektor had found his clan's initiates.
Once she was dressed, Frost was led through the factory, observing the forceful augmentation of a number of captives along the way. She was eventually led into a smaller lab, where a grey cyborg, much closer in design to Sektor than the others, lay unmoving on a gurney.
"This," Sektor explained with more than a hint of pride in his cold mechanic voice, "is the Triborg."
Sareena sat reluctantly on Sub-Zero's throne in the Lin Kuei headquarters in Arctika. In the wake of Sub-Zero's death, Sareena had been elected as the new Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. Although reluctant to take the position, she knew that the clan needed stability quickly, and forcing further discussion on the matter would provide anything but. She had offered Cyrax the role, but he had sworn to leave that life behind. He said he would always be available to assist Sareena, but re-joining was the last thing he wanted. As one who had abandoned and then been forced against her will to rejoin an organisation she once served, Sareena was more than understanding of his desires.
Sareena's first act was to recall all active Lin Kuei operatives to the headquarters for a full debriefing. She decided that the clan was to keep tabs on all of their enemies for the time being, and work to recruit new members to make up for their lost numbers. She proposed a tournament, inviting capable fighters from around the world to test their might and prove themselves worthy of joining the Lin Kuei.
Around this time, the clan was visited by Taven, the demigod that had infiltrated the clan's temple during his quest and helped to fight off Bi-Han and Smoke's assault. He had apparently succeeded in his quest by now and had acquired the power of a full god. He came to pay his respects for Sub-Zero at his funeral, which was also attended by most of Sub-Zero's surviving Earthrealm allies.
While he noted it was inappropriate, Johnny Cage asked Sareena if they could still rely on the Lin Kuei's aid in protecting Earthrealm. No doubt, this was on behalf of the absent Sonya Blade. Sareena assured him that the Lin Kuei would always protect Earthrealm.
The most surprising attendee was Fujin. He had battled Bi-Han in the past and knew what Kuai Laing was capable of, both as a warrior and as a man. He lamented the loss of such a great man on both counts.
Towards the end of the funeral, Sareena approached Taven in private.
"Lord Taven," she bowed respectfully.
"Please, rise, Grandmaster. I am not one for such formalities. It feels like just yesterday I was simply the son of a god and nothing more."
"Then, please call me 'Sareena'. I am hardly fit to bear the title anyway."
"I am sure you did not wish to speak to me about your doubts about your abilities, Sareena."
"Yes. I actually wished to offer you your mother's temple back."
"I appreciate the offer, but... why?"
"It is yours, is it not? With your mother's passing, her temple is now yours."
"But the Lin Kuei will need a home if they are to rebuild."
"Yes, but this home has been compromised once before. Without your intervention, we might not have survived. And who knows how many in Shinnok's alliance might now know the location of our headquarters now?"
"I see from where your concern stems, but I believe it would be wiser to remain where you are situated. Each of my parents' temples and shrines, no matter the realm, are connected. I may freely travel from one to another at a moment's notice. I need only uncover the rest and I will have a network between the realms. That should prove useful for all those who seek to protect the realms from the forces of darkness. The Lin Kuei included. So long as you continue to use this temple as your home, you will have access to that network, and to my protection."
"...You will protect us from invaders?"
"If it is within my power, yes. My primary duty is to Edenia, but I will provide assistance whenever I am able."
"I appreciate your offer, but... why?"
"I believe Sub-Zero was creating something special here. A force to protect one of the most pivotal of all the realms - a realm whose fighters do not only prioritise the wellbeing of said realm, but of all of them. And that force can grow stronger with my temple network, and access to other realms from which to recruit more members."
"You would do that for us?"
"It's about time someone did."
Sareena found herself smiling for the first time since... since before she had been driven away by Kuai Liang, actually. She hadn't realised it had been so long until now. And if she was to honour Sub-Zero's memory, it could not be the last time.
It was surreal for Cyrax to be back in this room after so many years. The room had changed quite a lot, the technology having come a long way in such a short span of time, thanks to the Cyber Lin Kuei data Sub-Zero passed along when he overthrew Sektor. But this was very much still the room in which Tabansi had reacquired his humanity. And now, it was his turn to help another to reacquire theirs - one whose humanity had been taken partly due to Cyrax's involvement.
When Cyrax had been the one going under the knife in here, Jackson Briggs had overseen the entire operation, along with his future wife, Vera Nicolau. Now, though, both were elsewhere, Jax undergoing surgery for the loss of his arms in the battle, and Vera performing the operation to save her husband personally. This left Cyrax to oversee Smoke's operation. But this operation would be entirely different from Cyrax's.
Even after spending days trawling through documents, schematics and notes seized from the Cyber Lin Kuei, the Tekunin, the Black and Red Dragons, what exactly Bi-Han had done to Smoke remained unclear. Smoke had been one of the first-generation Lin Kuei cyborgs, much like Cyrax and Sektor. Those relied largely on an exoskeleton with fairly minimal cybernetic replacements. Cyrax had been able to mostly recover from the procedure with time. But Smoke had been upgraded with some form of nanomachines that hadn't existed back in '93, which had converted Smoke's cybernetic form into nanobots that could be reconstituted into machinery, or pure vapour.
Cyrax was doubtful Smoke had any physical humanity left to reclaim. But the programming that had turned Smoke into a Cyber Lin Kuei enforcer had not changed since it was first installed. Bi-Han had always rejected modern technology, favouring the traditional ways of the Lin Kuei, unlike his brother. There was essentially no chance that Bi-Han had enough technological knowhow to change Smoke's programming, nor was he stupid enough to risk it. Most likely, he had simply revealed himself as Bi-Han, the last remnant of the old Lin Kuei that Smoke's programming was loyal to. As such, deprogramming Smoke should be no different than deprogramming Cyrax had been.
"Let's get this show on the road," Cyrax commanded of the doctors and tech specialists in the room.
Smoke would have not only a decade of technological advancement and experience over Cyrax for his recovery, but he would have Cyrax by his side to help him through his recovery, every step of the way. And once he had recovered, the two would set out to destroy Sektor, the Tekunin, Bi-Han and every other remnant of the old Lin Kuei and its twisted designs on the human race. Tabansi and Tomas would make Kuai Liang proud and honour what he had created.
They weren't even halfway to the LZ and things had already gone to shit. The pilot of the chinook had been grabbed from the outside by Noob Saibot's shadow helper... thing, and now Sonya had to take the stick to keep them all from dying in a fiery wreck. Noob himself had gotten aboard and killed half the team before Johnny and Kenshi had time to react.
Kenshi went down quick, leaving Johnny to fight the former Sub-Zero alone for a time. The former actor managed to keep up, but Noob eventually got the upper hand. Not surprising from a guy who apparently beat Goro one-on-one. Johnny shuddered to think what might happen if he had to fight Liu Kang.
When Noob's sickle was maybe an inch away from Johnny's eye, the supine soldier managed to push him back and kick him away. This gave Kenshi a chance to tackle the wraith out the open door of the chinook and out of sight. Hopefully, he'd be able to grab onto something and let the wraith fall.
As Johnny lay on his back, winded and dazed, he thought he saw a ghost standing at the back of the chinook. In a way, he supposed, he did. Despite the ashen skin, glowing yellow eyes and veins, and the general gothic makeover, the warrior joining Bi-Han on this mission was unmistakeable, especially with that medallion on his chest, the thicker yellow mark over his right eye and the mirror-like black ice coating his lower arms.
Johnny rolled over, groaning at both the pain and his rotten luck to have to be the one to deal with this. But then, he'd sooner have Sonya stay out of the fray than have to face Sub-Zero herself.
This one's been in the works for a good long while now, and its delay held off an already complete story that references its events and will release in the next few days.
My hope here is that some people who are familiar with my MK videos and my numerous references to the idea of Bi-Han being partially purified and becoming a Noob/Sub-Zero hybrid will have seen this title and assumed that was the idea being built to, only to be blindsided by Kuai Liang's death. Hey, at least I didn't doctor footage in the trailer and charge £50 for my misleading garbage.
The name I came up with for Sektor, "Liu Li Jun", it intended to represent that Sektor is a killer an very logical. I asked SonicHaXD about it, and he proposed the alternative of making dumber names to fit with Bi-Han and Kuai Liang's names, which sound utterly bizarre if you're familiar with Chinese.
