Author's Note: Thought or Emphasis.
I don't own Mortal Kombat. If I did, MK11's story mode would definitely have been different.
Mortal Kombat: Konciliation
A One-Shot
Hanzo Hazashi stepped through the hall of the Lin Kuei temple. His senses were alert, even if he was here by invitation.
A letter gave him an exact path to this hidden place, and to the room where he would wait; it even accounted for where he was at the very moment of receipt. Any normal man would be disturbed, but Hanzo was not normal.
Nor was the one who summoned him, of course. That cryomancer, that Lin Kuei scum, was of the rare few who could match him in strength.
He made a mental note to give such praise before sending the Lin Kuei to hell.
"Master Hanzo."
That voice, as cold as he remembered.
"Sub-Zero."
Like Hanzo, she had foregone the hood and mask for the occasion, though her blue assassin garb was unmistakable. She had let her dark hair grow since their last conflict, pulled into a longer ponytail than his own. Any other man might have found her beautiful, even with the scar crossing over her right eye.
Hanzo, however, had to resist the urge to strike her down where she stood. "Speak."
She gestured to the table prepared before them. One pot, two cups.
"Tea?"
"Hmph." He continued standing, instead watching her fall effortlessly into seiza and pouring herself a cup first. The untrained eye would see her in a vulnerable position, but he was no fool, and he kept up his guard.
"I have always preferred mine…" With a single exhale over her cup, the steam immediately ceased. "…a bit chilled."
"Hmph."
"Is that all you have to say?" An eyebrow rose. "Although, I suppose you have always preferred your fists to speak for you."
"Just tell me why I am here."
"Very well." She nodded. "You reestablish the Shirai Ryu, as I reform the Lin Kuei." She began to pour another cup. "We both seek to shed our clans' dark pasts. We both seek to protect Earthrealm."
"And?"
"And this common goal gives us a chance…" She lifted a box onto the table. "…to forge an alliance."
He huffed in insult, keeping a wary eye on the new object. "I did not know the Lin Kuei were trained in comedy."
"This is no joke, Hanzo Hasashi. I wish to offer you a gift." She offered him: "The truth."
"That your clan killed my family? That your brother's actions doomed my soul?" He raised his left hand. "That even after his fall, I remain like this?"
A flame erupted from his hand; a light reflected in eyes whose glare could scorch a spirit. Hanzo carried in his palm the fires of hell, stoked from a vengeful core.
"I know the Lin Kuei's honor is stained." Sub-Zero was not shaken by such a sight, not after all the years of blood spilled between them. "After being freed from Quan Chi's control, I hoped I could find my clan and bring them to honor. But Sektor had stripped them of their bodies and souls, made them mere slaves to his cyberized mind. I had to kill every-"
"I care not for clan politics." A familiar voice warned her, "Now tell me what you know."
Again, she was unmoved. "Shut your mouth, Scorpion, and I will."
She opened the box: in it, a red robotic skull, attached to other devices.
"I managed to keep Sektor's head intact, including his memory." She pressed a button. "Here is the truth."
The hologram that displayed was clear.
"Quan Chi."
The two watched as Quan Chi, from Sektor's point of view, discussed their deal: the sorcerer exterminated the Shirai Ryu in the guise of Sub-Zero, while the Lin Kuei fought at his side. How Quan Chi smiled the entire time, so smug over having fooled them all, boasting of his profits:
The soul of his new specter, his Scorpion, the dead man formerly known as Hanzo Hasashi.
The video ended.
Hanzo fell to his knees.
"Harumi. Satoshi." He closed his eyes, nearly in disbelief. "I thought I was avenging them…"
"Knowing of your loss, Hanzo, and how you have suffered over the decades… The injustice chills even my blood." Sub-Zero stared into her tea. "In a way, I too know the loss of family."
"Your brother." He sighed, remembering the skull he left scorched in Shang Tsung's throne room. "An innocent man."
"No, my entire clan. Cyrax, Smoke, even the greedy Sektor—though I could never seek their friendship under my former Grandmaster's rule, deep down they were all my brothers."
Their fall into darkness under the Cyber Initiative was her greatest source of sorrow. Even after her clansmen's deaths (and her own), some had only become something worse.
She was still unsure exactly what Bi-Han had become before he fell into that Soulnado. Perhaps she did not want to know.
"As for Bi-Han, I do not blame you for his death. Quan Chi is responsible, and you-"
"I was Quan Chi's pawn." He gritted his teeth. "His pet monster to unleash on Earthrealm. I am still…"
"You are not. You are more than a monster, Hanzo. You are a teacher, one who treats his students as his family. Like Takeda Takahashi." After her battle with Scorpion under the Blood Code's thrall, she asked Raiden about the boy who stood with him—the boy she still regretted trying to freeze solid. "You are a grandmaster, like me."
"Hmm." Perhaps, he pondered, they were more alike than he realized.
"We have started anew on our own. But now, we can do so together. Will you join me?"
He closed his eyes, mulling it over.
Ever since his family's death, even after his attempts at vengeance, somewhere beneath the rage and injustice he felt was a question burning nearly as bright; he knew something was wrong. With the revelation, it was as if a puzzle piece long missing had fallen into place.
And of all the people in all the realms, it was she, Sub-Zero, the one who he once thought wore his killer's mask and name, his rival and enemy for two decades, who finally gave it to him.
To the shock of his former foe, tears rolled down the face of Hanzo Hasashi.
"Yes." The pact was sealed. "Thank you for showing me the truth."
A second shock: Sub-Zero's hand twitched. Her arm, compelled, almost moved to reach out, but she caught herself, instead grabbing the towel on the table. She passed it to him, his stare slightly quizzical as he had already wiped the tears away.
She let out a laugh—quick, quiet, barely a chuckle—at both herself and the sight. Her smile, as rare as his, managed to slip. "To think that the Shirai Ryu devil could cry."
He thought about her words this day; far from the angry words of an assassin weary of their life-long battle, they were respectful, reassuring, kind. "And to think that the icy Lin Kuei could give such warmth."
She was equally taken aback. "Flattery?"
"Honesty." It was something he had not seen in so long. "Such kindness, it almost reminds me of…"
He fell silent. He dared not say more.
The silence suited them both, for they needed no words to cherish this. It was something they had both sought on separate paths for a lifetime, something they united to finally attain.
Peace.
"SCORPION!"
Hanzo turned to see a teenage girl in blue attire not unlike that of Sub-Zero, but with short hair pure white and spiked; whether literally frozen in place, he did not know.
"What are you doing here, Frost?" Sub-Zero stood, seeming to tower over her student even from across the room. "I told you and the others to remain in your chambers."
Frost's disbelief gave her courage. "I should ask you the same question, Master!" Angry blue eyes looked over the two. "You told us of his strength; you told us all to retreat if we ever met him in battle; yet here you are laughing with our enemy over tea!?"
"He is our enemy no longer." She spared a glance to Hanzo, a slightly warmer eye than Frost had ever seen from her before. "If the gods are kind, we may even become-"
"I see now." She smirked. "To foster peace, you seek to seduce this demon! Or do you intend to let him enter your chamber before you take off his head?"
"You mock at your peril, girl." Hanzo would never conceive of defending Sub-Zero's honor, but such words were quite the bold insult to them both. Sub-Zero apparently felt the same; the air of Arctika impossibly cooled further.
"And you, Shirai Ryu dog," with her ice dagger raised high, Frost charged, "breathe your last!"
Before he stood, Hanzo had already determined three ways to take her down without injury, though perhaps a shattered jaw would teach her well.
Instead, with a single hand, a blue blast encased the girl in ice.
"I apologize for her." Sub-Zero sighed. "She is strong, but lacks judgment, unable to see the wisdom of peace."
"Some advice, from a fellow grandmaster: To train a wild one like her, she must quickly be tamed."
"I will consider your words." She looked over her frozen student. The girl she had taken in only a few years ago had power, potential, great ambition, and a stubborn pride…
Sub-Zero had seen the same in Bi-Han.
But resolving that was for another time, and she turned back to her old rival. "What will you do now?"
"I will find Quan Chi." A fist clenched. "His end is long overdue."
"I feel the same. He must face justice for making monsters of us both." Fist to palm, she prepared to bow. "May your quest find you peace, Hanzo Hasashi."
He mirrored her actions, and they bowed together. "May your clan find its honor, Sub-Zero."
"Kai-Lan."
"Hmm?"
"Kai-Lan is my name." Another of those soft smiles, but… playful, almost. "As my ally, you should know it. It is not a name I share lightly."
"Kai-Lan…" He weighed the name on his tongue. "I will never forget it."
Indeed, Hanzo never would. Scorpion and Sub-Zero would fight together against the forces of darkness—criminals, gods, and greater still—sooner than they expected. As their bond of trust grew, their enemies would fall before their fire and ice.
Evil would be no match for their deadly alliance.
END
I was inspired to write this when watching an MK11 character intro, wherein Sub-Zero wished to avenge Hanzo against D'Vorah. The assassin of everyone's favorite characters questioned why he was trying to kill her, since Hanzo "was once his enemy."
Kuai Liang answered: "He was my equal."
The first word that came to mind was "bromance" (with accompanying YouTube song), and somehow that idea became this: what if Kuai Liang was a woman? Maybe they'd be bros, maybe a Romeo/Juliet thing… anything's possible.
It wasn't until looking back on the reboot trilogy that I saw how awesome the fire-ice duo could have been (and sometimes was) as partners, and I almost wish they could have become brothers-in-law or something through Takeda and some Lin Kuei girl to unite their clans into one super-team in defense of Earthrealm. Too bad Frost is an arrogant cyber-b*tch. Oh, well. There's always the next reboot, right?
I really like writing these shorter works. For more works like this, head over to my profile and check out my Naruto fic "A Talk" and my Samurai Jack fics "Stay" and "Hello Again." I'm also working on another bigger project or two. Until next time, readers.