Disclaimer: All characters within this story belong to Midway.

Chapter 1

(Earthrealm – Forest)

The full moon shone brightly in the night sky. It was a welcome sight to the hunters of the forest; however, it could be a death sentence to their prey. One prey in particular cursed the brightness of the moon: the former Lin Kuei ninja Sub-Zero. He ran full speed through the heavily vegetated forest using all of his ninja training to avoid his stalkers.

'How am I supposed to get out of this one?' he muttered in his head.

Sub-Zero dashed violently in all directions while keeping his hearing sharp for any signs of the robotic assassins. He didn't think he would have to worry about them after he left the Lin Kuei territory but it looked like the Grand Master wasn't very happy for his best ninja, let alone the only cryomancer, to leave the clan. Suddenly his enhanced hearing picked up a familiar sound.

'Oh… son of a…'

His thoughts were cut short as he jumped to avoid an explosion. Sub-Zero frowned as he judged the area of effect for the explosion. It was obviously one of Sektor's missiles and after a quick observation; Sub-Zero concluded that it was one of his homing missiles.

'That means he's not that close…' he frowned in thought. 'Still… I should get a move on.'

His vision suddenly became unfocused and he felt a strange pull on his mind. Sub-Zero shook his head vigorously and cautiously investigated the source of his sudden discomfort. The ninja's eyes widen when he found a dark swirling portal behind the brush.

'This could lead anywhere….'

The cryomancer's senses kicked in and he reflexively dashed forward, leaving behind an icy sculpture of himself. He turned to find the ice clone ensnared by an electric net. Another one of his reflexes caused him to release an orb of frozen energy from his hand, effectively immobilizing a missile.

"Well, anywhere is better than this…." Sub-Zero said bitterly and took his chances with the portal.

(Edenia – Castle Courtyard)

Sub-Zero grunted loudly as the portal spit him out face first onto the ground. He rubbed the back of his head gently and opened his eyes in time to see Cyrax and Sektor trudging their way towards him.

'Oh damn it…' Sub-Zero rolled his eyes. 'Why don't they just give up?'

The renegade ninja immediately located the highest open window on an enormous castle. That was his best chance to hide from the robotic ninjas. They were sent to ruthlessly follow him, but Sub-Zero knew that harming anyone except their target wasn't in their programming. Using his cryomancer powers, he created temporary ice steps leading to his destination. He made one final leap into the room and ducked quickly when he saw red and yellow out of the corner of his eye. The ninja quickly scanned the room for anything that might help him hide. The room was beautifully decorated with carefully carved wooden furniture and miscellaneous ornately decorated items. Sub-Zero suddenly felt incredibly out of place especially when he spotted a slender figure asleep in an oversized canopy styled bed.

He leaped into a shadowy corner. 'Whew… it figures something like this would happen to me…'

Sub-Zero let out a breath and slumped slightly… right before knocking over a porcelain figure. He winced as he heard the item shatter. He watched the sleeping figure immediately rise and begin to scan the room cautiously. The ninja steeled himself when the woman's eyes landed directly on him. He quickly considered freezing her and then slipping out of the room but the shadows hid him well and she didn't take notice of his presence. Much to Sub-Zero's relief, the woman went back to sleep after another minute or so.

'I need to get the hell out of here.'

He quickly moved towards the window and froze when a large steel bladed fan pierced the wall in front of him. His head snapped to the beautiful figure sitting upright on her bed.

"Who are you?" she asked vehemently.

"Listen, I didn't mean to-" Sub-Zero started but was cut off by a swift punch to the face.

The woman had dashed off of her bed and attacked him fiercely. Sub-Zero was taken aback by her speed and ferocity. He tried to explain his situation to her after each blocked attack but she continued to cut him off with a swift blow to the head or stomach.

'This is getting ridiculous.' He growled in his head; his patience wearing thin.

The woman jumped into the air with a kick, which was caught by the ninja. He proceeded to spin her around and throw her into the opposite wall. She let out painful grunt and before she could recover, he had pinned her to the wall and gave her a fierce stare.

"You're not listening to me." Sub-Zero stated.

The woman sneered and sharply kneed him in the groin. He let out a strained grunt and loosed his grip on her slightly. Sub-Zero felt her try to take advantage of his pain and promptly slammed her back into the wall while tightening his grip on her throat.

"That's not a nice thing to do…" Sub-Zero choked out. "… to someone who has control of whether or not you see the next sunrise."

The woman glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I'd rather have this conversation without my hand wringing your throat, be a good girl?"

She looked extremely aggravated but gave a short nod. Sub-Zero released her and introduced himself.

"I am Sub-Zero." He gave an introductory bow. "You are?"

"Kitana." She said massaging her throat. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to hide. There are some… people after me."

"What kind of people?"

"I am formerly of the Lin Kuei ninja of Earthrealm. They don't take it lightly when one of their own decides to leave the clan."

"Earthrealm?" Kitana said incredulously. "How did you end up in Edenia?"

"I used a portal to escape my pursuers. I only need to stay until I can find a portal to return to Earthrealm."

Kitana turned away from the ninja and contemplated the situation.

'How am I supposed to make a decision?' Kitana thought furiously. 'He came here and attacked me and now he expects me to let him stay here?'

She turned her head to find him staring at her stoically.

'I guess it was more of me attacking him than the other way around…'

"Okay." She said finally. "You can stay here but you have to stay out of sight. I don't want anyone knowing that I'm keeping a ninja in my room."

"I will." Sub-Zero bowed in gratitude. 'I'm not a dog.' he rolled his eyes.

"Good. Now I should get back to sleep. Do you…" Kitana started.

"I'll manage." Sub-Zero grunted.

Kitana grabbed her fan from the wall and went back to bed while Sub-Zero disappeared into the shadows.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Note: Tell me what you think guys!