WOW! I post this story in the middle of the night and already its recieving good attention! I'm very excited as to how this fic will turn out. Ok, we've covered how Hanzo Hasashi died. Now it's time to take a look at Scorpion and how his transformation has affected him. Hope you like it!
WARNING: This chapter, as well as many more to come in the future, features scenes of disturbing images involving mutilation, torture and gruesome death. I will not accept any flamed reviews that are account of the reader being offended by such scenes. This story is intended for mature audiences only. In the event of a flame posted that has to do with being offended with these gruesome images, I will administer a warning to the reviewer and continued abuse will result in a reported complaint. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.
Chapter 2: The Prison Of Souls
Scorpion woke up lying on his back in a small cell of some kind. His glowing white eyes scrolled the area and found nothing but black walls, offset by two brown metal gates exposing the red earth outside of the cell. He stood up to his feat and approached the gate in front of him and touched the rusted bars. As his fingertips came into contact with the metal, a deadly electric surge passed throughout his body and sent him flying back to the opposite gate behind him. As his back hit the gate, another electric surge passed through him and sent him face first to the hard floor. He slowly lifted himself up to his knees and placed his hands on his head, suffering from the surge that pained him. He heard the snickering laughter of a devilish guard outside his cell. The guard stood tall with metal plating covering its deformed, olive green physique and a bone covered helmet a top its oddly shaped dome. Scorpion snarled at the guard as he stood to his feat.
"Beekoo shabooda," growled the guard as it walked away from the cell.
Scorpion approached the gate once more to take a look at the world outside his cell. He saw red skies and rocky surfaces that extended forever with the occasional lava pit breaking its reach. The heat that radiated from outside was enough to make a man sweat like a farm animal, and the air reeked of sulfur and brim stone. The only signs of life Scorpion saw were scattered demonic creatures, running about the rocky surface in search for fresh meat along with the many guards like the one he saw earlier. Seeing no way of escape, Scorpion went to the middle of the cell and sat down with his legs crossed, his eyes open and wary of his surroundings.
As he waited, he tried to remember how he got there in the first place, but he couldn't. He had no memories of his previous life. No knowledge of his clan, not even the peaceful memories of his wife and child. He didn't even know who he was. He closed his eyes as he fell into a trance of deep thought. Suddenly, Scorpion opened his eyes as a flash of Sub-Zero entered his mind. The flash startled him and caused him to quicken his breathing. More images polluted his sights. Flashes of Sub-Zero fighting someone garbed in a yellow over mantle. The yellow ninja in his flashes caught his attention as he looked at his own clothing. He was clad in a similar fashion and came to the conclusion that he was the yellow ninja in his vision of the past. As his visions continued, he saw that Sub-Zero gained the upper hand in the fight. Using his ice powers to be claimed the victor, Sub-Zero removed the yellow ninja's head without any sign of honor or respect.
The next set of visions took place at Scorpion's home in Japan. He saw images of his wife cooking and his son playing some child's game. These images soothed Scorpion until the frantic flashes showed him something horrid and disturbing. He saw flashes of his wife and child, mutilated and strung up by the walls. Their eyes were ripped out of their sockets and their faces covered in blood and yellow puss. Fingers were missing from their hands and shoved into their mouths. Numerous punctures, made by large blades, covered the skin of their bodies and their dismembered legs were scattered about the floor.
Scorpion stood to his feet and held his head with his hands, trying desperately to remove the visions that haunted him, but more flashes appeared. This time he saw members of his clan, the Shirai Ryu, being slaughtered like animals by hundreds of devilish-looking savages, armed with rusty blades. The devils would slice off their limbs and sink their teeth into their victim's flesh, violently chewing their way to the bone.
Scorpion grunted and sighed profoundly at these images as he paced along about the cell. He pounded on the walls with his fists and shook his head frantically. The flashes in his head began to quicken until at last he saw the clan's entire hide-out burn to the ground, with Sub-Zero's back turned on the chaos.
Scorpion shouted to the ceiling as loud as he could as the visions haltered. He fell to his hands and knees as he gasped for air. After a moment's pause, he regained himself and felt only one thing: Vengeance. He wanted to find Sub-Zero and punish him for what he had done to not only him, but every last remnant of his being. He vowed that the lives of his family and clan would be avenged. His soul would not rest until Sub-Zero was dead and his soul rotted in the pits of the Netherealm for all eternity.
Suddenly, the gate to Scorpion's cell was opened by three guards. Scorpion's rage was ever present in his glowing eyes. One of the guards spoke in an unknown tongue and pointed at Scorpion. The guard's order given, one of the other guards approached Scorpion and grabbed his over mantle. Scorpion responded by breaking the wrist that grabbed him and landed a punch so powerful that his fist punctured the guard's face. Green blood oozed from its eyes as the guard fell to the ground.
Scorpion made no sudden movements as the other two guards, although taken aback, smirked at the Hellspawn. The head guard spoke its native talk to the other and both charged at Scorpion. The Hellspawn took a step back to dodge an oncoming thrust from a large blade. Scorpion then spun his body around while extending his left leg out, performing a roundhouse kick to the guard's face. The unlucky demon fell to the ground as the other guard managed to impale the ninja's chest with its dagger. Scorpion shouted out in agony, but no blood spewed from the wound. Scorpion grabbed the guard with one hand and the dagger with the other. While suffering numerous punches to his face, Scorpion slowly removed the large knife from his chest and thrust it into the throat of his enemy. The guard backed away a few paces while grasping its new wound, gargling as its green blood squirted from its neck.
As the last guard recovered to its feet, several more demon guards appeared outside the cell in response to the commotion. They surrounded the deadly Hellspawn and sprung their attack. Scorpion held off the guards with much skill, but was eventually overwhelmed by their numbers. Though he was not fatigued with exhaustion, there were too many for him to hold off. As they piled on top of him, they pounded their fists and feat furiously and stuck him with their blades. Forcing him into submission, they carried him out of the cell and took him through the corridors of the cell complex inside.
Scorpion was not finished, however. He continued to fight his way out of the guards' grasp by kicking his feat and throwing several punches whenever his hands were free during his struggle. After what seemed like an eternity of struggling, the guards brought him to a large chamber deep inside the complex. The room was massive but without decoration. No chairs, beds, or tables were present. The only thing that interrupted the emptiness of the chamber was a pile of lit candles on the other side.
The guards threw Scorpion into the large chamber and remained at the entrance. Scorpion, angered beyond any extent, sprung to his feet and charged the group of demon guards. Scorpion was unable to escape the chamber as the guards kept him away. They sliced his flesh with their weapons until a stream of fire wrapped around him and pulled him away from the guards. The flame slammed Scorpion to the floor and released him as it traveled back to the candles. Scorpion stood up and brought his sights to the live fire as it moved. The flame grew in size and shaped itself into what resembled a demonic face. And then the flame spoke in a low and deep voice that rumbled the gargantuan chamber.
"Scorpion," spoke the face of fire. "Welcome to the Netherealm."
Scorpion said nothing and stared into the eyes of the fire.
"You are here because of your thirst for revenge. You seek to find the one who murdered you and massacred every remnant of your being. You know of whom I speak."
Scorpion clenched his fists tightly at the thought of Sub-Zero. "I want him," shouted the Spectre.
"All in due course," said the flame. "But first, you must realize what power you have. You have been reborn a Hellspawn Spectre of the Netherealm. With your new powers and your overwhelming thirst for revenge, you have limitless potential."
Scorpion narrowed his eyes at the flame and said, "What powers do you speak of?"
The fire smirked and traveled to the floor in front of Scorpion. The fire then took the shape of a Kunai blade and materialized the weapon. Its task done, the fire returned above the candles and took the shape of a face once more.
"Take your weapon and see for yourself," said the fire.
Scorpion grabbed the hilt of his weapon and gazed upon its steel. The flame spoke the language of the guards and ordered them to attack Scorpion. The demonic guards slowly surrounded the Spectre and snarled at him. Scorpion held his weapon in his right hand and stood in his defensive stance, waiting for the guards to lay on their attack. He was in a calm state, but his resolve was strong. After a long pause, one of the guards ran towards Scorpion with its blade extended outward.
Scorpion dodged the attack and impaled the guard's forehead. After he quickly removed the Kunai three more guards attacked from the rear. Scorpion spun around and performed a roundhouse kick that connect with the cheeks of all three with suck force that their lower halves of their faces flew elsewhere. Another guard attacked from his left with a small ax. Scorpion parried with his weapon and elbowed the guard in the stomach, followed by a head butt to the face. Four more attacked from all angles. Scorpion slit the throat of the one approaching from the right and landed a spinning back kick to the one approaching from behind. The remaining two attacked simultaneously and stuck their blades in Scorpion's chest and back.
Scorpion shouted out to the pain he felt, but he did not let that stop his rampage. He severed the head of his fore attacker with the blade he removed from his chest and spun around to gut the aft guard. The horizontal slice nearly chopped the guard in half as the blade stopped midway. Scorpion then removed the blade from his back and threw it at another guard approaching from his right. The blade whistled and impaled the unlucky guard's chest. Another guard latched on to Scorpion from behind with its claws dug into his shoulder and neck. Scorpion stabbed the guard in the eye and threw it over his head to the ground. Once the guard hit the floor, Scorpion smashed its face inward with his fist and quickly stood to his feat.
As Scorpion regained his footing, five guards attacked him head on. Scorpion tackled one of them while extending his arm outward, the Kunai cutting the stomach of one of the guards to his right. Scorpion and his attacker fell to the floor as the remaining three turned and charged. Scorpion then slit his victim's throat and then turned around to meet the other three. The Spectre somersaulted over the heads of the three guards and performed a foot sweep, tripping two of the guards. Scorpion wasted no time in stabbing the fallen guards with his Kunai and then stood to his feat.
The last remaining guard turned around and saw Scorpion nearly twenty feet away from it. Scorpion gripped the hilt of his weapon tightly and threw it at the guard, its blade puncturing the demon's chest. What Scorpion did not expect to see was a rope, materialized by fire, attached to the edge of the hilt as he threw it. He gripped the rope and gave it a small tug to test it. The rope pulled the guard a step closer. Convinced, Scorpion tugged at the rope hard and sent the guard flying towards him.
"COME HERE," shouted Scorpion as the guard flew closer to him. When the guard came within range, Scorpion gripped at the guard's neck, removed the Kunai and landed a powerful uppercut that sent the guard flying high in the air. Scorpion turned around to the remaining guards at the entrance.
Though there still plenty in reserve, the remaining guards refused to engage. Luckily for them, the fire behind Scorpion traveled to him and wrapped itself around his body, levitating him in the air. The burning he felt was unbearable. He twisted and turned as he shouted in agony, but it was no use. The fire grew in size and engulfed him.
"Well done," spoke the fire as it tortured the Spectre. "That was but a small glimpse of the powers you posses. In time, they will be familiar to you like the hilt of your Spear."
Scorpion was then taken back to his cell by the fire that pained him. The bars closed behind him as he was smashed into the floor. The fire then released its hold over Scorpion and quickly disappeared, leaving the Spectre alone in the dark to recover from his agony.
Gruesome, huh? I'm sorry for the over imposing warning at the beggining of this chapter. If I am to finish this fic, then people need to understand that I am not here to offend people. I wanted to create this fic the way I think it should be. Oh yeah, the translation behind the two odd words at the beginning is "Escape is futile." Anyway, I hope you like my approach on the ever-famous Spectre of Mortal Kombat. I'll update as soon as I can! Later!