Oh my god! We are here at last in the chapter where Scorpion and Sub-Zero have their final battle! This story is dedicated to the author who inspired me to begin this story: Shadowloo. His famous one-shot story of this very battle has given me the courage to write the story of Scorpion and I am forever in debt to his indirect influence. Have fun reading this chapter!
Chapter 6: Redemption
The battle raged, and in the end there were only six fighters left in the tournament: Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonja Blade, Kano, Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Before any of them had a chance to fighter each other, however, Liu Kang made a surprise challenge to Goro, the Shokan prince of Outworld and reigning champion of Mortal Kombat, to end the bloodshed of the tournament. Goro accepted and did battle with Liu Kang, a battle that emerged Kang the victor. Outraged, the Grandmaster of the tournament, Shang Tsung, challenged Kang in an attempt to reclaim the tournament for Outworld. To add to the suspense, Tsung ordered the execution of the remaining combatants while he fought Kang.
The remaining fighters survived the ambush with the aid of Earth Realm's God of Thunder, Raiden. With Kang the victor in his fight against Tsung, the Grandmaster countered by destroying the island with the fighters remaining there. Raiden gathered the combatants, minus Scorpion who seemingly disappeared during the ambush, to the entrance of the palace.
"Shang Tsung is destroying the island," said Raiden. "Come, warriors of Earth Realm! We must make for the Wu Shi Academy!"
With that, the five warriors followed Raiden. Sub-Zero was the last to follow, hesitating to leave as he looked behind him to see if his stalker was near. With no sign of Scorpion, Sub-Zero ran towards the exit. Suddenly, a fist collided with Sub-Zero's chin at high speed, causing him to stagger a few paces back.
Sub-Zero quickly recovered from the blow and looked behind him to see his attacker. It was Scorpion, blocking the exit of Sub-Zero's escape. Even through the loud rumbling of the island falling apart, Sub-Zero could hear Scorpion's raspy death breath. It was time to end this struggle.
"This ends now," shouted Sub-Zero, showing no fear in his posture. "No longer will you stalk me like a scavenger! I will send you back to the Netherealm where your retched soul belongs!"
"Yes, Sub-Zero," hissed Scorpion. "I will return to the Netherealm. But I will not go alone! You will pay for the pain you've caused me! I have known greater torment than you could possibly fathom! Now, your time has come! My vengeance will be my redemption, and you, Lin Kuei, will suffer as I have suffered!"
There were no more words from either warrior. Sub-Zero cracked his knuckles as Scorpion patiently stood his ground, both fighters ignoring the tumbling of the palace. Finally, both combatants charged each other and the battle began.
Scorpion made the first move by performing a forward somersault and landing a drop kick at Sub-Zero's chest, sending the Lin Kuei warrior several feet back. As Sub-Zero landed on his back, Scorpion charged at the Lin Kuei and leapt high in the air. Sub-Zero noticed the Spectre and rolled out of the way as Scorpion landed his knee where Sub-Zero's head was. Sub-Zero then got up and began his attack, throwing kick after kick at his enemy. Scorpion blocked each attack as he stood to his feet and began to throw a few punches at Sub-Zero's face and chest. Sub-Zero could only block the first three punches and was overcome with a punching combo, one that sent him staggering back a few paces once it was finished with a right hook.
Sub-Zero recovered reached into his blue over mantle. As Scorpion ran towards his enemy, his pursuit was stopped by five shuriken thrown at him, puncturing his chest. Sub-Zero then charged at Scorpion with a powerful jump kick to his chest. The blow knocked the Spectre to his back but did not stop him. Scorpion sprung to his feet and looked at Sub-Zero with hatred in his eyes as he pulled each shuriken from his chest and crushed them with his fists. Sub-Zero responded to Scorpion's taunt by charging his Fa Jing and covering his own arms in ice.
Scorpion welcomed his enemy's power as he gestured his enemy to come forward. Sub-Zero answered his call with a sliding shoulder thrust. Scorpion performed a sliding technique of his own by sliding his feet backwards, leaving behind a trail of fire in the process. Sub-Zero's shoulder thrust made no contact with his enemy. His unfortunate luck became even more present when Scorpion performed his sliding technique again, this time towards the Lin Kuei, and performed a back flip once Sub-Zero was in range. The blow of Scorpion's flaming feet sent the unlucky Lin Kuei high in the air with him unable to recover before he landed hard on his back.
As the battle continued, a dozen of Tsung's masked guards, all armed with either bladed spears or Chinese broad swords, entered the room, as if to flee the destruction of the palace. Once they caught sight of the two warriors, they split up into two groups and attacked them, separating them from each other.
Scorpion dealt with the masked guards with little difficulty, making each strike count and dodging most of the weapons. Any time his defense failed, he absorbed the pain he felt from the impaled blade and delivered his own punishment with his Kunai.
Sub-Zero, as well, had little trouble with the masked guards. His freezing abilities proved too much for his victims as he shattered their frozen bodies. His final opponent was a guard armed with a bladed spear. The guard tried to stab Sub-Zero with the blade, the Lin Kuei warrior dodged and grabbed the weapon from the guard's hands. Sub-Zero then hit the guard's back with the blunt side of the weapon and then dropped it. He punctured the guard's back with his own hand and grasped the spinal cord, the wound spraying with blood with Sub-Zero's hand deep inside. With a strong tug, Sub-Zero ripped out the guard's spine and skull and held it high in the air, the bloody spine twitching a bit as it was held up there. Suddenly, Scorpion ran towards Sub-Zero once again, apparently finished with the unwise guards as well. Sub-Zero noticed Scorpion's pursuit and put it to a gruesome halt as he used his bony mass as a weapon. The spine and skull shattered everywhere from the impact of Scorpion's chest and the Hellspawn Spectre was sent tumbling to the ground.
Scorpion got up to his feet and wiped the debris of brain and bones off his over mantle. He then ran towards Sub-Zero and began a kicking combo, connecting three kicks to Sub-Zero's chest and face. Scorpion then attempted a right hook but was overcome by a well placed uppercut followed by an ice blast. With Scorpion frozen in place, he was unable to defend against Sub-Zero's powerful shoulder thrust. The blow sent his back against a nearby pillar, keeping him from falling down to the ground. Sub-Zero took this opportunity to charge his Fa Jing into a more powerful ice blast so that he could finish the Spectre once and for all. Scorpion slowly raised his arms up as Sub-Zero continued to charge his power. This seemingly useless gesture was followed by a sudden raising inferno that engulfed the Lin Kuei warrior.
Sub-Zero screamed at the burning he felt from the sudden fire and weakened him. As the fires diminished from his body, Scorpion grabbed Sub-Zero's over mantle with one hand and threw punch after punch at Sub-Zero's face with the other. Sub-Zero eventually blocked one of the punches and forced Scorpion's face to the Lin Kuei's knee three times. Scorpion staggered a few steps as Sub-Zero ran towards him and performed another jump kick. To Sub-Zero's dismay, the kick collided with nothing but air, for Scorpion literally vanished in time before getting hit. Once Sub-Zero landed, he turned around to see Scorpion flying through the air with haste with his fist extended. Unable to react in time, Scorpion landed his Teleporting Punch and sent the Lin Kuei to his knees.
Scorpion slowly approached Sub-Zero and grabbed the Lin Kuei's throat. Sub-Zero responded by grabbing the hand that choked him and charged his Fa Jing, forcing the Hellspawn to let go over the pain he felt in his freezing wrist. Sub-Zero then landed a hard punch on Scorpion's face, followed by a roundhouse kick. Scorpion fell to his knees, but managed to tackle the Lin Kuei to the ground. With Scorpion mounted on top of Sub-Zero, it was very difficult for him to block the Spectre's punches. Sub-Zero did, however, manage to relieve himself of the menace by kicking Scorpion's back. Scorpion rolled over Sub-Zero and quickly turned around to see Sub-Zero get up and run towards him. Scorpion responded by using Sub-Zero's momentum against him and performing a rolling throw maneuver.
Sub-Zero landed hard on his back several feet away from Scorpion. As Sub-Zero slowly got up to his feet, Scorpion reached for his weapon, feeling the steel in his hand. Sub-Zero turned around and stared into the distant eyes of his enemy. The cold stare ended as Sub-Zero ran towards Scorpion again. Scorpion quickly threw his Spear at Sub-Zero as the flaming rope materialized from the back of it. The blade whistled its way towards Sub-Zero until the blade impaled his chest, halting the Lin Kuei's pursuit. The pain he felt forbade him from screaming, for the blade had punctured his heart.
"GET OVER HERE!!" shouted Scorpion as he pulled at the rope with all his might, bringing the Lin Kuei closer to him at high speed. Once Sub-Zero was within reach, Scorpion grabbed his enemy's throat, removed the spear and landed a powerful uppercut. The blow sent him nearly twenty feet in the air before he landed his back on a piece of rubble.
Scorpion slowly walked towards the defeated Lin Kuei as the palace began to break apart. Sections of the roof had fallen to the ground around them from the many earthquakes. Sub-Zero lay there on the rubble holding his mortal wound as the blood oozed. He struggled to breathe as blood spewed out of his mouth, staining his metal mask.
"No…… no…." whispered Sub-Zero through his choking.
"No? You dare beg for mercy from me," hissed Scorpion as he approached Sub-Zero. "You will receive no such gesture of pity! You've taken everything from me. My life, my clan, my family! Now your demons are calling for you!"
Scorpion gripped the edge of his mask and pulled. His mask and hood were removed to reveal, not a man's face, but instead a man's skull. Sub-Zero's eyes widened in horror as the eye sockets shined with fire.
"The Netherealm awaits us both," said Scorpion, his voice echoing in Sub-Zero's head. "Look into these eyes and embrace the fires of your destroyer!"
Scorpion's bony jaw opened and fire grew inside his mouth. Sub-Zero desperately tried to get up, but it was no use. The pain in his chest kept him from evading his enemy.
"DEATH AWAITS YOU, AS DOES MY REDEMPTION!"
"NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
A seemingly endless stream of fire shot out from Scorpion's mouth and engulfed Sub-Zero's body. Sub-Zero screamed in agony as the fires slowly melted his Lin Kuei garments and his flesh. The stream of fire did not stop until every bit of skin and muscle was melted and noting remained but his bones.
Scorpion halted the stream of fire and looked at the remains of his dead enemy. His vengeance was finally complete. He extended his arms outward and laughed over his victory. His laughter echoed throughout what remained of the palace.
"REVENGE IS MINE!"
Scorpion's body then burst into flames and vanished as the palace crumbled to the ground. His task finally done, his soul was sent to the fifth plane of the Netherealm, where he would exist, as promised, as an everlasting Hellspawn Spectre.
Well there it is! Now let's make one thing clear: THIS IS NOT THE END OF THIS STORY! I plan to go through the events up until Mortal Kombat 4 and end it there. I will update as soon as I can! See ya next chapter!