Sareena had finally made her way back to the rebel base of operations, though her mood was burdensomely uneager. Her suggestion to Sub Zero and Smoke to let her search for Bi Han in the Netherrealm was hard enough to get permission for; Sub Zero feared for her safety, and Smoke, she suspected, still didn't trust her completely. Sareena was thankful that the right hand of the Lin Kuei wasn't the right ear as well, otherwise she feared her situation would be very different. Sub Zero seemed to value her services, and her company, at least she hoped. Unfortunately, he was likely to be disappointed by her news; that Bi Han had refused to come back home. Disappointed was only a fraction of how she felt herself, but she didn't want to be selfish and keep the news to herself, no matter how grievous.

Sareena silently hated that the Lin Kuei's section of the camp was so far in; this meant she had to walk past more and more people. Most of them, men and women both, gawked at her. By the looks of them, it was her outfit that garnered most of their attention. She conceded that her attire was provocative, but she didn't understand why people insisted on staring. It wasn't like the outfits worn by Kitana and Jade were especially modest, though they did lack certain quirks of her's, namely leather and some small spikes. Speaking of the Edenina women, Sareena was coming up near Jade, who was looking over some sparring soldiers. Her wounds were still bandaged, but the general showed no signs of pain. Sareena hurried past her but she was sure Jade was staring at her back, she could almost feel it. Unlike the others, who were ignorant of the truth, Jade looked at her analytically, curiously and suspiciously, and to Sareena's certainty, judgmentally. Jade was one of the four people outside of the Netherrealm and the Brotherhood of Shadow that knew what she truly was; a demonic demon, evil and conniving by nature.

Sareena didn't appreciate these suspicions, but she supposed that she couldn't blame anybody for it either. She herself sometimes had trouble...controlling herself. Too often she wanted to lash out at somebody, and we're it not for Sub Zero's support, she may have. She remembered what he had told her, "We all struggle with our nature.". Sareena thought it admirable that such words came from a man who had his nature changed against his will; the cyber initiative.

Sareena cleared her head of that thought; she was approaching the Lin Kuei section and everyone knew that Sub Zero, the grandmaster, didn't care for any sympathy.

The modest assembly of ninja, only five counting Smoke, stood when they noticed her approach. The four acolytes that had come along greeted her the traditional way by putting their fist to their chest. She returned the gesture warmly, and noticed that Smoke was only just now putting his fist to his chest, with less enthusiasm than the others, seeming like he had succumbed to peer pressure. The gray clad ninja motioned for the others to leave them in private, and they obeyed without question.

"So you've returned. I get the feeling that you bring bad news. You didn't find Bi Han, did you?" Smoke asked presumingly.

Sareena noticed the condescension in his voice, as slight as it was. She ignored it though.

"Actually, I did."

"What?" Smoke asked with surprise.

"I encountered him out in the plains of the Netherrealm. We...spoke."

"Spoke? Spoke! That's all well and good but where is he?" Smoke asked in a way that was getting on Sareena's nerves.

"Bi Han would not return with me. He merely told me to leave, and I suspected that he would have killed me if I did not."

"Understanable I supposed, I don't know why you would be able to get through to him."

Sareena's expression turned ugly; she was done with Smoke's attitude.

"Where is Sub Zero? He should be hearing about this."

"The grandmaster is away right now."

"Away? What do you mean away?"

"I mean exactly that."

"Why are you being so difficult!" Sareena snapped.

"Because I don't think you can be trusted, demon. Who knows what you were up to in that hellhole? Meeting with Quan Chi perhaps?" Smoke accused.

Sareena clenched her fists and gritted her teeth at his insuation.

"I'm not going to stand here and explain myself to you Smoke, you aren't worth it. Sub Zero trusts me, and that is all I care about."

"Trusts you? He uses you, we all see you as a tool, but trusting you? I hardly think so."

"Evidently he trusts me enough to search for his brother, all the while you laze about here."

Smoke's eyes flashed with anger, and Sareena noticed a mist sweeping over to them.

"How dare you; Bi Han is as much a brother to me as he is to Sub Zero. If I knew where to find him and how to help him, I would be the first one there and the last to leave! What are you to him? What reason do you have for such charitable aid?" Smoke asked angrily.

Sareena calmed her temper. She realized that she may have been out of line with what she said.

"...I owe him my life."

She relaxed herself, but Smoke still fumed with anger, quite literally. Clearly what Sareena had said cut him deep.

"Look, I know you don't trust me, and you probably don't like me very much either. I know what I am, but I also know what I want to be. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help Sub Zero and Bi Han, I owe so much to both of them." Sareena said with sincerity.

Smoke's eyes softened and he relaxed as well. He looked like he felt a little guilty.

"And...I probably understand Bi Han's situation better than you or Sub Zero do." She added.

"Yes, probably." Smoke added, but not with any scorn like before.

Sareena smiled at him, and she thought Smoke was to but she couldn't really tell. Things had become awkwardly silent between them suddenly.

"I never said I didn't like you...I just...well...you understand I'm not very good at this don't you?"

Sareena chuckled at his trouble; indeed it was true, none of the Lin Kuei were accustomed to showing their emotions this way. Smoke evidently gave up on trying to convey his feelings through words and instead did so through action. He put his fist to his chest, thumping hard this time. That gesture alone said more than a thousand words. Sareena returned the salute.

"I'm glad we had this talk, but please, where is Sub Zero?" Sareena asked him.

"He's been dispatched on a mission, by request of Princess Kitana herself..."

The fires crackling around Scorpion and Noob Saibot had started to burn themselves out, but things were only heating up between the two reunited rivals.

"It wasn't long after I killed you that I learned Quan Chi was the one responsible for the death of my family and clan. I was...shocked to say the least." Scorpion said.

I'll bet.

"I tried telling you, but you wouldn't listen. You killed an innocent man." Noob told Scorpion.

"Innocent!" Scorpion spat like the word was poison.

"Do you have any idea the pain I went through?"

"I don't care. I guess that makes us even."

Noob ran at him furiously.

"Not really!"

Noob pushed off the ground and attempted a super man punch, but Scorpion easily countered by catching and throwing him. Scorpion watched Noob skid across the ground, believing that his old foe had become less skilled over the years. Suddenly, a fist hit him over the back of his head and knocked him down. Before he could get back up, someone stepped on his back, putting their weight on him. Scorpion managed to see Saibot standing over him, the shadow creature must have remained in place even while Noob was thrown away. Scorpion kicked his leg out and swept Saibot onto the ground. The spectre quickly rolled onto his front and postured up, about to drop a heavy hand onto Saibot's head. His fist only met grass though; Saibot had returned to Noob before the impact.

Noob jumped into the air and intended to dropkick Scorpion, but he rolled out of the way in time. Both ninjas afforded the other little breathing room, and their martial prowess clashed. Just like it was before their deaths, both fighters were nearly equal in size and strength. Scorpion's attacks were more aggressive, and he was able to incorporate his fire into his strikes, but Noob's ability to defend and attack almost simultaneously with Saibot's help blindsided him every time. A sudden punch from Saibot followed by a forceful kick to the head from Noob dazed Scorpion for a moment. In that moment, Noob had vanished and reappeared below Scorpion out of a black hole. Noob grabbed Scorpion's legs and began sinking down through the hungry abyss, taking Scorpion with him.

"Get your hands off of me!" Scorpion protested as he struggled to pull himself free.

Noob laughed evilly as he pulled Scorpion waist deep into the hole.

"You dragged me to hell to kill me, now I'm going to take you to a place that you will wish was so homely."

In an act of desperation, Scorpion grabbed his kunai and stabbed it into the ground as he was pulled under, with his hand sticking out of the ground making him look like a zombie. The veins in Scorpion's arm bulged as he used all his considerable strength to hold onto his anchored weapon. The faint glow of the incinerated town was like a light bulb on the ceiling of an incredibly dark room. Scorpion had been pulled under enough that he could see what was around him; black. The darkness was smothering, like he was submerged in a pool of oil. Looking down, he saw Noob still pulling him down. The wraith himself was lightly coloured in contrast to this place. His white eyes glared hatefully at Scorpion from below. Scorpion noticed something stirring in the darkness behind Noob. Hands that were ass black as the place he was being dragged into and then a head coloured the same way. Two oddly coloured eyes in that head opened; white with a purplish hue to them. Saibot extended forward slowly like a ghost while staring at Scorpion the same way that Noob was, if not even more venomously. The sight of the phantasmal shadow approaching him unnerved Scorpion, and he knew that if Saibot got it's hands on him, then he wouldn't be able to hold onto his kunai. Scorpion used his free hand to remove his mask and reveal his flaming skull. Scorpion inhaled air and exhaled flame. The angry fire collided against the walls of darkness. The black was so dense that the fire couldn't illuminate it, merely push through it. It did the trick though because Noob was forced to let go of Scorpion or risk being incinerated. Scorpion pulled his mask back on and hoisted himself back up. He rolled onto the ash ridden grass and pulled his kunai from the ground as the hole into the black abyss shut.

Scorpion rubbed his sore arm while keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of Noob, the wraith hadn't come out with him. The only sounds he heard were his breathing and the crackling fires. He noticed in the shadows a man; then he noticed those white eyes. Saibot stepped out into the faintly glowing light and stood before Scorpion.

"Your master has let you off the leash I see." Scorpion taunted.

Saibot was silent. Scorpion couldn't even tell if the shadow being was breathing, if it even needed to. Scorpion drew one of his mugai ryu swords and pointed it at Saibot.

"If you seek the same quarrel with me as your master, then come!" Scorpion shouted.

Saibot narrowed it's eyes at Scorpion and charged him. Scorpion stepped and attempted to decapitate Saibot, but the shadow clone ducked under it and tackled into Scorpion's mid section. Scorpion staggered his stance to steel himself against the attack. Saibot slammed into him but couldn't take him down. Scorpion took advantage of the moment and wrapped his arm around Saibot's bent over midsection. Using all his strength, Scorpion lifted Saibot off the ground and over his shoulder. At the apex of the lift Scorpion let go, and Saibot flew over him before flopping on the ground. Scorpion turned to him and flipped his sword in his hand so that the blade pointed downward.

"Die." Scorpion said before he stabbed his sword through Saibot's stomach.

He twisted the sword and was sure that he had stabbed through into the ground. Saibot didn't bleed however, nor did it scream or whine or grunt. Instead, it was laughing! Scorpion didn't understand; the shadow clone laughed at him as he pushed the sword deeper. Suddenly, Saibot lost details and became two dimensional; a real shadow. Scorpion noticed that the shadow's arm was moving, and realized what it meant. He turned in time to see Noob grab his shoulder and knee him in the stomach. As Noob pushed him away, Scorpion heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being unsheathed. Noob now brandished his second mugai ryu.

"Thanks for sharing." Noob said with no gratitude at all.

"Do you really think you can hope to cross swords with me?" Scorpion asked, getting into a battle stance.

Noob's answer was to attack. He tried a downward strike, but Scorpion deflected it and quickly slashed at him, but Noob stepped out of it's range. Scorpion kicked at Noob's leg to unbalance him before he tried cutting him. Noob blocked the attack with his stolen sword but the force behind it, combined with Scorpion having kicked his leg out from under him, made him fall over. Scorpion was relentless and tried to finish him but Noob kicked him in the chest from below, pushing Scorpion back and into Saibot's arms. Saibot wrenched Scorpion's arm close to the breaking point and forced him to drop his sword into Saibot's awaiting hand. Saibot kicked Scorpion in the back, pushing him forward. Scorpion looked up in time to see that Noob had gotten to his feet and was about to swing his sword at him. His intuition told him that Saibot was about to do the same from behind. Scorpion was forced to teleport into a fiery hole to escape the double threat. Sparks flew off of the swords as they collided against each other. Scorpion reappeared out of his teleportation to punch Noob in the face, but Saibot returned the favour by kicking him through the door of a burning house. Scorpion teleported again but didn't try to attack, he instead put some distance between himself and his two enemies.

The two halves became whole again, and now Noob stood dual wielding both of Scorpion's mugai ryu. Scorpion brandished his kunai and held the much smaller blade close to him.

Lets cut him into pieces! Saibot said in Noob's head with all of his sanguinary desire.

Noob growled his concurrence and attacked. Even before his death Noob never was very partial to using swords or other weapons in battle. Nevertheless, all of those that trained with the Lin Kuei received extensive combat training in all forms, and Noob, having been the best of his time, was proficient enough to wield both swords competently. Mere competence, however, wouldn't best Scorpion and his chained kunai. Scorpion got in close because his blade was shorter, putting Noob at a disadvantage because he needed space to swing his blades.

Scorpion left a small but painful gash over Noob's ribs as he ducked underneath his arm. Noob retaliated by kicking backwards, catching Scorpion in the stomach and pushing him back. Noob weaved his movements together; as planted his foot back down he stepped forward with a downward slash that just barely cut into Scorpion's arm, and then he swiped the second sword horizontally and almost cut open Scorpion's stomach.

Scorpion took advantage of Noob's lowered posture to vault over him; literally rolling over the wraith to get around him. Scorpion was surprised to find that Noob had eyes in the back of his head, but realized almost too late that it was actually Saibot emerging from his body. The shadow clone carried one of his stolen swords and attacked with a flurry of sword strikes. Scorpion bobbed and weaved to avoid all of them and then stabbed his kunai into Saibot's throat. The shadow being merely melted away from the blade, but this served as cover for Noob's thrust. Scorpion stared into Noob's glaring white eyes and he felt warm metal pierce into him. Noob's hateful eyes were smiling at the sight.

"Once again Scorpion, I have bested you. That makes the score three to one now, huh?" Noob asked rhetorically while pushing the sword deeper.

Both men remembered what Noob was referring to; the first encounter they ever had in the Netherrealm. It was a distant memory, technically it was a lifetime ago considering both of their deaths and reincarnations. The memory spurred Scorpion's desire for revenge against his death and Noob's hatred for his rival.

And that despite having killed him twice over, he still came back to kill you. Saibot added with some antipathy, making Noob's eye twitch a little.

I know that makes you angry, that you tried so hard and in the end, it didn't work out. Saibot continued, seeming like it intentionally was egging Noob on.

Noob tried pushing the sword deeper, but Scorpion placed his hand on the guard to stop him.

"I was better than you when you were alive, I was better than you when you died, and when you finally managed to defeat me, you created something even better than I once was. Ironic, isn't it?" Noob asked.

Scorpion raised his other hand high over Noob's head and tried to stab his kunai down into the crown of his hood. Noob caught Scorpion's hand easily, stopping it inches from his head. The wraith shook his head at the spectre, unimpressed with the attack. Suddenly, a length of chain dropped down around his neck. Noob looked up and saw that it was connected to the kunai and he hadn't even noticed it.

"Ironic? You tell me!" Scorpion said before tripping Noob onto the ground.

As Noob fell he pulled the sword out of Scorpion, and the chain from Scorpion's kunai wrapped tightly around his neck. Blood poured from Scorpion's wound, but he wasn't concerned.

"Your swordsmanship is lacking, you need more training. I'm afraid you will never have the opportunity though."

Scorpion knew the wound wasn't fatal, Noob had merely cut through flesh and muscle, missing any vital parts, albeit barely. Scorpion pulled the chain tighter and stood on Noob's arms, immobilizing him. Noob eventually lost the ability to make choking gurgles as the air was completely cut off from his throat. Noob clawed at the ground in a desperate attempt to pickup one of Scorpion's swords. Scorpion noticed this and kicked the blade away from them. With his one hand free Noob was able to pull the chain loose enough for him to take a breath but Scorpion quickly pulled the chain even more, choking him again.

Noob kicked his legs and tried to shake Scorpion off but he just couldn't do it. Scorpion's merciless stare practically burned a hole in his head. As much as he refused to admit it, he was afraid. All his bloodthirstiness from just a minute ago had broken down in the face of his looming death.

Away from the two enemies, Saibot began materializing out of a shadow on the ground. It picked up Scorpion's sword in it's black hand, gripping it tightly. Where Noob was fearing for his life, Saibot was focused on bringing pain. Saibot started running towards them. Scorpion didn't seem to have noticed, and Saibot grinned beneath it's mask with killer anticipation. Suddenly, a whitish blue sphere rolled next to Noob and Scorpion. It exploded and coating them both in a thick layer of ice. Saibot stopped in it's tracks and dropped the sword, putting it's hands to it's head. With Noob having become unconscious from the freezing, Saibot's ability to manifest itself started to weaken. It's consciousness started flow away, back into it's, 'hole'. Saibot scowled at this while it saw a pair of legs land on the ground in front of it, followed by a torso, then a pair of arms, and finally a head. The helmet blocked any kind of facial expressions, but Saibot could tell that the cyborg wasn't happy.

"You vile creature." Sub Zero said before blasting Saibot with ice.

I thought it was unsatisfying that Noob Saibot and Scorpion never met again, so I gave them a little reunion. Scorpion will remain a central character in the story as well. Thank you to those of you who reviewed, most recently einhorn.