Chapter II
Demons
Shang Tsung opened his eyes.
For a moment, he thought he was in the Void. The world around him was dark and blurred. His hearing dulled, and he seemed to be floating in weightless space. It was cold, and to his distress, he couldn't breathe.
I'm under water.
He gasped upon thrusting his head in the open air. Disoriented and dizzy, he flailed to the shallow end of the pond and gagged whatever water he'd swallowed. Around him were desolate hills and harsh badlands. Sand blew through the air, and the wind whined like a soul torn from its body. Above was a dim purple sky marked with strips of blood-red clouds.
He took mild comfort to be alive and in Outworld but felt no less puzzled as to how he got there. To his surprise, he appeared unharmed and still in possession of his youth, though his clothes were in tatters. A curious turn of events, as the last thing he remembered was dissolving to dust.
It was all within his grasp. He'd taken the souls of gods, Titans, and even Shao Kahn. History itself was his for the reaping. But again … again … that wretched boy was his undoing. Again he, a demon sorcerer who'd lived for over a thousand years, would be humbled by that lowly Shaolin twat.
It was infuriating, but he chose not to dwell on such matters. For whatever reason, he lived. He seemed to have lost much of the power he gained—he could not feel the souls Raiden, Kahn or the others—but despite Liu Kang's triumph, Shang Tsung lived. He would claw his way back to power again. As long as he had breath in his body, he would endure as ever.
Unfortunately, Tsung's confidence took an unpleasant blow as, only a few steps out of the pond, he crumbled to a knee. He clutched his chest and realized he was weaker than suspected. A realization confirmed when he felt his youth melt away.
"No … no, no, no …"
He tried to resist, but it was no avail. He collapsed to his hands and knees, and within moments, his black hair turned white and thinned, muscles withered, and his flesh sagged to wrinkles. Defeat had been humiliating enough, but he was once again reduced to his frail, ancient form, and that more than anything made Tsung curse the heavens that mocked him.
"You will pay for this, Chosen One," he hissed. "I don't care if you are the guardian of time itself now. I don't care how you reshape history. I will find a way."
In the meantime, he needed a refuge to regain his strength. In the distance, he saw the Mountains of Power on the horizon and guessed he wasn't far from Sun Do—a simple village of commoners he could easily infiltrate. He could change his form, steal a few souls, and be gone without his enemies learning of his survival.
The trek to Sun Do went through a patch of woods where the trees seemed to be developing pained and sinister faces. By the end of the century—perhaps sooner—this would be another living forest, and the hapless residents would have to contend with the incessant moaning that went with it. To say nothing of the risk of being eaten by the damn things.
There were times Shang Tsung was reminded how much he hated Outworld.
Upon reaching the village, he took the form of a feeble beggar clad in a ragged cloak. It seemed perhaps redundant, but he didn't want to chance someone might recognize him even in his aged form.
All seemed peaceful and serene in Sun Do, which he found surprising given recent events between the feuding Kahns. Villagers went about their day as if the wars hadn't touched them. It was a curious sight, so incongruous from Outworld's normal state that Tsung wondered if Liu Kang had already altered time.
But if so, how was he still alive?
He found a small shop where the keeper—a middle-aged man with greasy hair and thin beard—talked with a younger fellow who stunk of fish. "Don't mind me, sirs," Tsung said upon entering. "I am but a humble traveler, and I have been on the road for some time. Tell me, what news of the Kahns?"
"Not much to say, stranger," said the keeper with a shrug. "I think Lord Kotal just got back from Edenia. All is well."
"Oh? Kotal Kahn lives? I thought he fell in battle."
"Battle?" the fisherman repeated. "How long have you been on the road, old-timer? There hasn't been a battle in centuries."
Interesting.
"I see," he said. "What of Shao Kahn and Queen Sindel?"
The keeper and fisherman exchanged a look. "Never heard of any Shao Kahn, but Queen Sindel is still in Edenia with her King."
"Word is their daughter has recovered from her accident," the fisherman said. "You ever see her? I hear she's a real beauty."
The keeper and fisherman then went into a debate as to which Edenian Princess was prettier despite being twins, but Tsung paid no attention. He rapped his fingers on the wooden counter and tried to guess the meaning of all this.
"Pardon me, sirs," he interrupted. "You wouldn't happen to have heard of a Quan Chi, have you?"
"Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell," the keeper replied as the fisherman shook his head.
Most interesting.
"What of Shang Tsung?"
The keeper shrugged, but the fisherman said, "I heard of Shang Tsung. He's an Earthrealm myth."
"Is that so?" Tsung asked, now intrigued. "Tell me about him."
"They say he was a demon that played at being a man," he said. "Could've been one of Earthrealm's greatest warriors and Champion of Mortal Kombat, but they say he offended the gods. So the gods cursed him. They say he roams here and there, stealing souls and making slaves of his victims."
"Is that what they say?"
"Just a spook story they tell kids to keep them from wandering in the woods at night, you know? Watch out for Shang Tsung lurking under a bridge, he might grab yeh."
"An amusing story," Tsung said, chuckling. "An Earthrealm fairy tale like their boogeyman and Santa Claus."
He continued laughing, harder, to the point where his true voice came through his beggar disguise. The shop-keeper and fisherman forced smiles, but both looked uncomfortable.
"Say, old-timer," the keeper said. "Where did you say you were from again?"
"Oh," he said. "Let's just say I've come out from under the bridge."
With a snap of his finger, green flames shot from his hand and into the keeper's chest like a cobra striking its prey. The man only managed a surprised grunt before his soul was drained from his body, leaving a withered husk to crumble on the floor like a marionette without its strings.
The fisherman looked on with his jaw hanging open. When he saw Tsung turn his attention to him, he bolted for the door only to be stopped in his tracks when his body was engulfed in the same green flame. A strained scream escaped his lips just before his soul joined the rest.
They were weak and unremarkable, but Tsung felt invigorated all the same. Returning to his proper form, he was pleased to see his youth had returned somewhat. Though streaked with gray, his hair darkened, and he was closer to his physical prime. A few more souls and he would be fully restored.
But more than that, he felt fate had paid him a kindness. Somehow, for whatever reason, he had been brought to a timeline where Shao Kahn never existed. Where Quan Chi was no one, and he himself was regarded as only a myth for children.
A world without Shao Kahn or Quan Chi was a world without rivals. Liu Kang, the fool, had apparently created a world that knew only peace without "evil" to trouble it.
If this is a world without villains, he thought with a smirk. Then it will please me to be the first.
Sareena opened her eyes.
Her back felt sore, and her head ached. She was on the ground, looking at the overcast sky above, and realized she'd been dropped from something. Sitting up, she looked at the portal transporter on her wrist and wondered if something had gone wrong when she made the jump.
She was back on Earth but pretty sure this wasn't where she was supposed to be. The coordinates on the transporter should've taken her to the Special Forces headquarters. Looking around, she saw rocky terrain covered with snow. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed she'd landed closer to the Lin Kuei in Arctika.
She clicked on the radio she'd been given and said, "Come in. This is Sareena. Do you copy? Over."
She rolled her eyes at the silly army lingo Sonya insisted she speak when she communicated on their "walkie-talkie." She only played along because Kuai Liang asked her. Although she was always happy to help the Lin Kuei, the truth was she didn't care for the Special Forces.
"Hello? This is Sareena. I'm back from the Netherealm, but your bockety portal thing put me in the wrong place." A wintery breeze drifted by, but she barely noticed it. She always felt cold. "Oh. Uh, over."
Nothing came from the radio but static. It figured, she thought. They gave her a barely functional portal transporter, why not a busted radio? She never heard anyone say it, nor would she ever accuse, but Sareena always suspected Kuai Liang's colleagues in the Special Forces didn't like having her around. Sonya especially.
She tried not to let it bother her. Kuai Liang trusted her, and that was enough.
"Okay, look," she said. "I know you guys are already dealing with Liu Kang and Kitana, so aside from that, I haven't heard much of anything. A few rumors, but nothing to be worried about, I don't think. So, if that's all, I'm going to …"
It was slight and brief. She barely heard it herself, but beneath the gentle wheeze of Arctika's wind, there was the sound of rocks tumbling. But more than that, she sensed something in the air. She couldn't say what, but something made the hairs on her arm stand and her stomach churn.
"… wait here until you get back to me. Over and out."
She clicked the radio off and put it back in the pouch on her belt. Taking a breath, she unclipped the daggers strapped to her boots and prepared to draw. She hoped it was nothing—just her nerves on edge—but centuries in the Netherealm taught her better. Even on Earthrealm, there was always a threat.
She felt it coming before she even heard it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white shape move and ducked out of the way on reflex. Her attacker flipped elegantly in the air and landed on her feet with inhuman grace. Sareena drew her daggers and faced her opponent, ready for battle.
The woman looked like a priestess of some sort. She was clad all in white with gold trim and a large, circular hat that had a veil hanging from it. In her hand, she held a shining sword that curved like a serpent and seemed to be made of pure crystal. It hurt Sareena's eyes to look at it.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want from me?"
The woman in white said nothing. She twirled her blade—it sounded almost musical cutting through the air—and charged. Her attacks were swift and continuous. She almost glided through the air, her shining white appearance making her seem ethereal and otherworldly.
Sareena dodged and blocked but was hesitant to counter. She didn't know who this woman was, much less why she was attacking her. Although her instinct demanded she fight to kill, she feared her opponent might be known to Kuai Liang or his allies and this might be a test or misunderstanding.
She ducked under a swing of the woman's blade and flipped away to create some distance. "I don't know who you are," she said. "I have no quarrel with you!"
The woman didn't acknowledge her, only pressing her assault with more swings of the sword. Sareena ducked another slash only to get hit with a kick to her stomach. She doubled over and took another blow to her face that sent her tumbling to the ground.
She had only a moment to regain her senses before seeing the woman dive at her, intent to split her in two. She blocked the attack with her daggers—the sword mere inches from her face.
"I'm a friend of Sub-Zero!" she said, struggling to hold the woman back. "I work with the Earthrealm Special Forces! I am not an enemy!"
The woman's face was cold and stern—her eyes like ice. "You are unnatural," she said. "And that alone makes you an enemy."
With a roar, Sareena flipped the woman off her and kipped up to her feet. To hell with this, she thought, sheathing her daggers and drawing her Demon Fang sword.
"Have it your way. You want a fight, you got one."
They exchanged numerous passes and clashed swords. Attacks were parried and countered, but neither could gain an advantage. The woman in white's fighting style was almost dance-like, but when she struck, she hit hard. Oddly, although she didn't know the woman, Sareena thought there was something familiar in the way she fought.
Sareena swept at her feet, knowing she'd avoid it but that she'd back off. With some distance created, she threw a dagger at her face. The woman in white deflected the knife with a swing of her sword but left herself open to Sareena's Five-Star Kick.
She pressed the advantage, hoping to at least disarm her, but the woman evaded her. Seeing she was still dazed, Sareena kept up the assault and tried to force her into a corner. But the woman regained her senses enough to duck beneath an attack—losing some of her veil in the process—and caught Sareena's arm with a slash of her sword.
Sareena screamed as unexpected pain tore up and down her arm like a lightning bolt. The cut wasn't even that deep, but for some reason it hurt more than anything she'd ever experienced. She clutched her wound and moaned, as it felt like acid burned into her flesh.
The woman in white, seeing her advantage, came at her again with more swings and chops of her blade. Sareena could barely block the attacks, and worse, she was losing feeling in her injured arm.
In desperation, she allowed the woman to knock Demon Fang from her hand and charged her Gut Buster attack. The woman realized what was coming too late as Sareena thrust forward and plowed into her stomach with enough force to crack stone.
The woman in white let out a grunt as she was thrown back at least five feet and sent tumbling along the ground. She managed to hold onto her sword, but when she tried to stand, she collapsed back down, holding her midsection.
Wasting no time, Sareena retrieved Demon Fang and charged, intent on finishing this once and for all. Her opponent realized what was coming and thrust her hand out, creating a blinding flash of white light. She stalled long enough for the woman to take her sword and escape.
Although tempted to give chase, Sareena sank to her knees and tried to catch her breath. "Yeah," she muttered. "You better run."
"Friends! Friends, come and lend me your ears!"
The people of Sun Do gathered around Shang Tsung looking dejected and fearful. Mothers held their children close, and men looked to one another, hoping someone would have the spine to stand and fight. But the crucified, soul-drained husks of those who already tried warned them to accept their new master.
"To honor your new Lord," Tsung continued. "You shall commence a glorious new project. You, my faithful subjects, are going to build me a new palace. I am currently working out the details, but for now, I think it would be best if you all got to work on the foundation. You may start by clearing the woods east of here."
The villagers were silent. It was the expectant hush of people waiting for some hero to emerge and come to their defense. But no such hero came.
"Well? On your way."
The people of Sun Do meekly accepted their orders and began filing out of the village. Tsung, restored to the prime of his youth, felt great satisfaction. An Outworld without tyrants like Shao Kahn to terrorize it had left its people soft and easily conquered. He alone had subjugated this village in less than a day!
He took a moment to admire the new clothes he ordered one of the village women to make for him. His new overcoat was red as blood and designed with a golden serpentine dragon. The fabric wasn't much to speak of, but considering it was put together by a lowly commoner, he thought it did him justice.
He was on his way to the local tavern to sample their wine selection, when a shrill young voice shouted, "Who do you think you are?!"
The girl approaching him couldn't have been older than sixteen. She wore simple clothes of purple and pink, and though young, she was a pretty thing that would surely grow into a beautiful woman in time—assuming she didn't get herself killed.
"You think you can just come into our home and make slaves of us?!"
"I don't think, my dear," he said. "I believe I already have."
"You won't get away with this! Someone will stop you!"
He chuckled. Her impetuousness was amusing, but to her credit, she showed more courage than anyone else in her village.
"Li Mei, stop it!" an older woman shouted, running up behind her. "Forgive her, my lord. She doesn't know her place."
"Mother!" Li Mei said. "We can't let him get away with this! We have to do something!"
There was fire in her voice that intrigued him. Yes, he sensed her soul—vibrant and full of energy. A courageous heart with no fear. He rarely thought of consuming souls as eating, but the girl would've made a fine feast.
"You have spirit, child," he said. "But I would mind your mother if I were you."
"I'm not afraid of you, snake!"
"I know," he said as green flames formed around his hands. "That's what makes you so tempting …"
She turned pale. There was fear, but she stood her ground. She would sooner face death than enslavement. Admirable, he thought. But foolish.
"I see you've wasssted no time, sorcerer."
Tsung turned to find a cloaked figure standing a few yards off. Li Mei's mother dragged her off, leaving him to face this new challenger.
"And who are you, friend?" he asked. "Come to liberate the good people of Sun Do?"
"Not necessssarily. Clean up would be more accurate."
The voice was strange, but familiar. There was a lisp that Tsung recognized but wouldn't believe he, of all people, had come. But his opponent threw his cloak off and revealed a ninja clad in green and black. His flesh, though scaled, was pale with a yellow-green tint, and his snake-like eyes were focused and determined.
"Reptile," Tsung said. "I'm surprised to find you here. And looking so humanoid. I guess our new Fire God showed you favor."
"I know of no Fire God. I serve a new massster, and he would not have you polluting his new world."
"You're quite articulate now. Has your new master taught you how to speak?"
A smirk came to Reptile's face. There was confidence and intelligence in his eyes Tsung had never seen before. He found it insulting.
"You are a thing of the passst, Shang Tsung. You have no place in thisss new world."
"Is that so? And you think you'll be the one to rid it of me?"
"Who sssaid I came alone?"
In the corner of this eye, Tsung saw green sparks form on the ground beside him. He hadn't a moment to realize what they were when the blow struck his chin. He steadied himself to see a cyborg ninja distinguished by red coloring. Its eyes lit up as it took a fighting stance, and an indecipherable robotic noise emerged from it.
"Is that …?" he said. "Sektor? You come at me with one of the Lin Kuei's toys, Reptile?"
In a flash, Sektor attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks. Although he dismissed the creature as a toy, Tsung quickly found he would be a fool to underestimate it. He struck Sektor with an elbow to its head and flipped it over his side only to be blindsided by Reptile.
As ever, the Zaterran's attacks were fast and slippery. But even at his best, Reptile was never a true match for Shang Tsung. He caught an attempted punch and meant to respond in kind, when Sektor hit a running knee into his side. Reptile followed with an uppercut to his midsection.
Angered, Tsung kicked the cyborg away and grabbed Reptile's face. He received a jab to the throat for this effort, and Reptile followed this by hurling him over his shoulder and sending him crashing into the dirt.
Sektor was on top of him before he could even react, trying to stomp his ribcage to splinters. Tsung rolled away and managed to return to his feet. Roaring, he shot an explosive fireball into Sektor's chest that knocked it back. Before the smoke cleared, Reptile hit with a dropkick and Tsung was on his back again.
Clutching his chest and gasping for air, Tsung glared at his opponents with bloodshot eyes and a vein in his temple bulging. "You dare do this to me?!" he snarled. "You dare strike Shang Tsung?! You will pay for this insult, you wretch!"
"That name has no meaning anymore," Reptile said, as Sektor stood up behind him. "Thisss is a new age. One where the worthy shall get what they dessserve."
"Oh, you'll get what you deserve," he said, his eye twitching. "I'll see to that, Reptile. I promise you will suffer for this insult."
"I told you: I didn't come alone."
As Tsung got to his feet again, a blinding pain suddenly struck. As if time temporarily froze, he was able to look at his arm as it inexplicably bent at an unnatural forty-five-degree angle with a sickening crunch.
His broken arm went limp at his side, and he continued staring at it as if it wasn't real. The invisible Zaterran that hit him took shape, revealing a female clad in gray and black clothing he recalled was named Khameleon. As she walked to Reptile, numerous other Zaterrans appeared all around them.
"This …" Tsung said, backing away. "This isn't possible. You … you people are extinct!"
"Unlike Shao Kahn," Reptile said. "Our new massster keeps his promises. Zaterra is ressstored. We are whole."
"And you are nothing, Shang Tsung," said Khameleon. "Nothing but a bad memory to be put to ressst."
Too stunned by what he was witnessing, Tsung didn't even see Sektor readying a missile until too late. The blast hit him in the chest and sent him tumbling violently in the dirt again. He writhed on the ground, the wind knocked out of him, and tried to make sense of this. It couldn't be happening. He hadn't survived Liu Kang to end like this.
Sektor stood over him. In desperation, he tried to take the cyborg's soul, only to find it had none to steal. Sektor tilted its head in seeming curiosity and placed its foot on his shattered arm. Shang Tsung bellowed in agony as it ground its heel into his broken bones.
"You're getting off easy, sorcerer. You dessserve much worse, but our master just wantsss you gone."
While Reptile spoke, Sektor typed at something mounted on his wrist. When it finished, an ominous beeping started.
"Do the noble thing for once in your wasssted life, Shang Tsung," Khameleon said as the Zaterrans each disappeared into invisibility. "Just die."
With that, she and Reptile disappeared, too, leaving Tsung pinned beneath the cyborg's foot. As the beeping got faster and louder, Sektor looked down at him and said in a monotone, robotic voice: "There is no place for us anymore. Our time is over."
Shang Tsung only saw a bright flash as Sektor's self-destruct countdown finished.
Sareena's arm still hurt by the time she reached the Lin Kuei temple. It wasn't bleeding, but it hadn't stopped burning since it happened. The wound looked ugly—turning a sickly shade of red and purple—and she worried if the woman's blade had been poisoned.
She approached the entrance, holding her arm, and guessed she would have one of the Lin Kuei's healers look at it. The temple looked ominous as ever, silent and blanketed in snow. She suspected the Lin Kuei, though unseen, already saw her approach and paid no mind. Despite what she was, she had their master's trust.
Just as she reached the temple door, a cloud of mist formed. In it, a figure appeared along with a voice: "Who goes there?"
"It's me. Sareena." She revealed the metallic medallion Kuai Liang had given her that helped her find the temple's location and allowed her entrance. "I'm back."
The smoke cleared, revealing a Lin Kuei with silver hair, wearing gray and black. She didn't recognize him, but he seemed familiar. "State your business," he said with a cold look.
She hesitated. "I … have no business," she said. "I just got back from the Netherealm. Nothing of note to report, so I just … I'm back. I thought I was welcome here?"
His eyes narrowed. "The medallion," he said. "Show it to me."
She handed it over, but felt her arm sting. "I should talk to Kuai Liang," she said. "I was attacked earlier. I don't know who she was, but she seemed to be some kind of priestess. If she's an enemy of the clan, he should be warned."
Without taking his eyes off her, he pounded on the entrance with his fist. The doors creaked open and a young blue-haired woman wearing a Lin Kuei uniform emerged.
"Frost?" Sareena said. "What are you doing here?"
Frost eyes her suspiciously but didn't respond. She turned to her gray comrade and asked, "Smoke?"
Sareena hesitated again. Smoke … as in Kuai Liang's friend? She thought he was dead—a revenant of the Netherealm like Liu Kang and Kitana.
"Come inside," he said. "Leave your weapons."
She looked from Smoke to Frost and Smoke again. She didn't know why, but an uneasy feeling came to her. She was a friend to the Lin Kuei and its Grandmaster. She shouldn't fear disarming herself, but for some reason she sensed danger.
Though reluctant, she gave up her Demon Fang, daggers, and even the portal transporter and followed Smoke and Frost inside. Entering the great hall, all seemed as it should. Some members of the clan stood guard, as they often did. She heard the faint echo of new recruits training in some other part of the temple. Everything seemed normal.
Smoke and Frost's presence were a mystery though. Even if Smoke was revived, the last she heard, Frost betrayed the clan and might have gotten involved with cyborgs. Was that all a ruse? How much had happened while she was in the Netherealm?
Grandmaster Sub-Zero sat at the end of the great hall. Seeing him brought some relief. Whatever dread Smoke and Frost's presence gave her, at least Kuai Liang was there. He looked distinguished and regal compared to the regular Lin Kuei fighters, as befitting their Grandmaster.
She bowed before him and smiled. He didn't react, but he was never open or expressive with his emotions or thoughts.
"What is your business here?"
Sareena frowned, and the dread she felt rippled through her blood like a tremor. "I … Sub-Zero, it's me."
"Answer the question," Frost demanded.
"She admitted she came from the Netherealm," Smoke said. "She had these on her."
Sub-Zero accepted the medallion and transporter from him and inspected them. He frowned and asked her, "How did you get these?"
"Y-you gave it to me," she said. "Kuai Liang … I don't …"
"How do you know that name?"
Sareena's stomach churned. She looked over her shoulder and saw more Lin Kuei were surrounding her. "I don't," she said. "I don't understand what's going on. You said … I'm not …"
She trailed off upon seeing the other blue Lin Kuei behind Sub-Zero. It was a face she barely remembered—known all too briefly—but recognized all the same. It wasn't possible. He couldn't be here.
"Bi-Han?"
"It's as I warned you."
Her dread turned into outright fear when she saw the woman in white alongside Bi-Han.
"This demon is a deceiver," the woman said. "It would infiltrate your clan and bring doom to you and your people."
Smoke and Frost grabbed her. They held her arms behind her back and forced her to her knees. Her instinct was to fight back and escape, but she was too blindsided. What was happening? Why didn't Kuai Liang recognize her? How was Bi-Han alive?
"I don't understand," she said. "Somebody … somebody please tell me what's going on …"
"Kill the beast, brother," Bi-Han said. "Demons are not to be trifled with."
She felt ill. None of it made sense. It was like a nightmare. She almost expected see Quan Chi in the shadows laughing at her.
"Lady Ashrah," Sub-Zero said. "She acts as if she knows me. If she meant to infiltrate us, why would she act so openly?"
"I do know you! You granted me sanctuary! Don't you remember?"
"Don't listen," Ashrah said. "It is the demon's way. It'll cloud your mind with its wiles and make you believe its lies. With your permission, I will fulfill my task and slay this abomination right now."
Panic came to Sareena as Ashrah drew her strange sword. She struggled to break free of Smoke and Frost but couldn't move. The demon in her raged, desperate to break out and fight, but as frightened and confused as she was, she didn't want to harm the Lin Kuei.
"Kuai Liang!" she screamed. "It's me! Sareena! I'm Sareena! You know me! You trust me! Please, don't do this!"
Ashrah raised her sword, intent on beheading her. Her heart pounded and terror gripped her. Not like this, she thought. Please, not like this!
"Ashrah, wait," Sub-Zero said, standing up. "This transporter … it's from the Special Forces. How could she have this and the Lin Kuei medallion?" He looked at Sareena, and a haunted look came to his eyes, as if some part of him did recognize her. "We should keep her alive. I need answers."
"That's how this creature works, Grandmaster," Ashrah said. "The longer it stays here, the greater hold it will take on your mind."
"I don't—"
She raised the sword to strike. "You'll thank me after."
Sareena roared. Her human voice became guttural and monstrous as she threw Smoke and Frost off her with all her demonic strength. Frenzy replaced her panic, and she snatched Ashrah by her throat and hurled her into Bi-Han, who was charging an ice blast to freeze her.
She snarled at the other Lin Kuei warriors but stopped in her tracks when she found herself facing Sub-Zero. Even in the midst of her demon rage, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him.
Sub-Zero stared at her a moment, the haunted look in his eyes still there. Before the rest of his clan could rush to his defense, he put the medallion and portal transporter in her hands. "Sareena, go," he said. "Run."
She had no time to respond. Smoke placed himself in front of Kuai Liang to shield him. Frost shot an ice blast of her own. Sareena ducked and sought her escape. She was stalled when a terrible burning pain came to her back, as Ashrah had retrieved her sword and slashed her across her shoulders.
That might have been the end of her, but Ashrah delayed when the floor beneath her feet turned to ice. Kuai Liang might have done it, Sareena didn't have time to look, but she used the opening to leap over the charging Lin Kuei.
The exit was already blocked by guards, so she instead jumped through the window. The temple overlooked a large canyon that went down hundreds of feet. Sareena slid down the cliff's side and stopped herself by plunging her claws into the icy wall.
Shouting echoed from above, and she knew she didn't have much time. The transporter was recharged, so she activated it without thinking of the coordinates. When a portal opened, she dove in with a bright flash.
With the fighting over, the people of Sun Do returned to their village. No one was sure what had happened, but it seemed the important thing was Shang Tsung was no more.
The explosion caused by Sektor left some charred rubble that was still smoldering when the villagers came back. Most stayed away, but a few of the more curious and courageous inspected the remains to ensure the sorcerer was gone for good.
"Yes," said one of the villagers, kicking around some burnt stones. "It's safe now. He's gone."
As if in response, green flames shot out from beneath the rubble. The man's body arched like he'd been bitten by a snake and howled as his soul was slowly drained from his body. The remaining villagers screamed and all fled—some into their homes, others from the village entirely.
The fresh soul did little to rejuvenate or heal Shang Tsung, but it was a start. He dug himself from his smoking grave, burnt and filthy. He had managed to use his magic to shield against the worst of Sektor's blast at the last second, but the price was steep. His youth was gone, and his arm still broken, but he lived.
Unable to stand, he clawed his way across the ground—the only thing matching his pain was his fury. He didn't know how the Zaterran race was resorted, but he didn't care either. Reptile, Khameleon … all of them would pay. He would make slaves of them, just as Shao Kahn had when he first conquered them centuries ago.
He would find Reptile's new master, whoever that was, and make him pay, too. And Liu Kang … he hadn't forgotten Liu Kang, who no doubt was laughing at him even now.
After managing to crawl a few yards, he stopped when he found someone standing over him. He sensed great power coming from the figure above, and through his blurred vision, realized it was a ninja clad in red and black with eerie green aura emanating all around him.
"Shang Tsung," said a voice that sounded like dozens speaking at once. "You have seen better days."
He looked up at Ermac, feeling the last of his strength wane. "Have you … come to kill me, too?"
"No, sorcerer. Unfortunately … we may need you."
End of Chapter II
