This is the concluding chapter of my story! Watch now as Scorpion finishes his tormenting quest for revenge!

Chapter 17: Final Quest For Revenge

Scorpion teleported to the top of the mountain where the ambush of Liu Kang took place. Kitana remained on the Spectre's shoulder with her hands and feet tied together. Scorpion studied the area to make sure it was safe. Satisfied, he gently placed Kitana on the rocky surface and cut the wire cable with his Kunai.

Once Kitana was free, she wiped away the tears in her eyes and gazed upon Scorpion as the Spectre looked towards the far away horizon. She stood up on her feet and approached Scorpion.

"Why, Scorpion," questioned Kitana. "Why risk your life for two people you hardly know? Quan Chi and Shinnok will be looking for you. They will hunt you down until you are sent to the Netherealm."

Scorpion kept his sights away from her. "I know all too well the pains of losing someone I hold dear to me. I will not let such a tragedy happen to another if I have the power to stop it. I have redeemed myself of the crimes against your people, but now I have other business to attend to. Can you find your way from here?"

Kitana looked around for a moment before saying, "I suppose. I have a knack for finding my own way."

"Then leave me now. I still have a score to settle and I must do it alone."

Kitana nodded and turned away. Before she started walking, however, she turned around once more to face Scorpion. "For what it's worth, Scorpion, I thank you for your bravery. I wish you luck on all your journeys."

With that, Kitana walked away. Scorpion's resolve was strengthened a thousand fold. He now had the ability to search his clan's murderer on his own terms. He put aside his hopes for being resurrected as a mortal and gave pursuit to Sub-Zero, knowing that his soul would never rest until the Lin Kuei was dead.

Sub-Zero separated himself from the group unintentionally and found himself in a massive underground chamber. The layer was built of rock and reminded him of a sewer. With only torches to light the many rooms, he journeyed through the chamber slowly and cautiously, awaiting any creature that dared attacked him.

Sub-Zero searched the area for hours with nothing in sight, with the exceptional skeleton resting against the walls. No signs of life were present, not even behind the metal bars of what appeared to be prison cells. He began to unleash minor ice blasts on the walls so that he could find his way around. Unknown to the Lin Kuei, someone was following his marks of ice.

Sub-Zero found himself in the largest room of the chamber. It was composed of the same structure as the rest of the underground layer, built with rock and metal bars with five torches hanging from the walls. There were four exits in the room. Finding no need to search the place any further, Sub-Zero chose the exit from which he came so that he could follow his ice marks out of the chamber.

Suddenly, a lone figure came out of the darkness in front of Sub-Zero, blocking the way out. Sub-Zero immediately stood in his fighter's stance and waited for the figure to come closer. Finally, Sub-Zero was able to make out who was approaching him.

"Scorpion," said Sub-Zero as he relaxed his posture. "What are you doing here?"

The Spectre gave no response. He simply halted his pace and stared into the eyes of Sub-Zero. The Lin Kuei couldn't help but noticed that Scorpion's Kunai was in hand and the Spectre's grip was tight.

"Why are you armed, Scorpion?"

Scorpion started to bob his head in different directions. "It is time for you to account for your crimes, murderer."

Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes. "What crimes do you speak of, Scorpion. I have committed no crimes against you."

Scorpion snarled at the confused Lin Kuei. "Like your brother before you, you depend on petty words to save your retched hide. Your brother paid with his life for taking my own, and now you will pay with your own for my clan's massacre!"

Sub-Zero was astounded by Scorpion's accusations. "I was involved in no such massacre! What has that sorcerer told you?"

"Words will not save you, coward!"

Sub-Zero stood in his fighter's stance and charged his Fa Jing, covering his forearms with ice. "I am not a coward, Scorpion! If it's a fight you seek then lay on your attack, but I tell you now your accusations are false!"

Scorpion lunged at Sub-Zero with his Kunai drawn. Sub-Zero responded with an ice blast but hit nothing as Scorpion vanished from sight. Scorpion reappeared from Sub-Zero's left and flew through the air until his fist collided with Sub-Zero's face. The blow caused the Lin Kuei to flinch and brought him to his knees. Sub-Zero blocked two kicks from Scorpion and countered with an elbow strike to the Spectre's gut, followed by a spinning back fist. Sub-Zero ended the combo with a vertical chop followed by a side kick. Scorpion staggered back a few paces and snarled at his enemy. Sub-Zero gestured with his hand for Scorpion to come closer.

Scorpion charged at Sub-Zero and performed a jump kick, one of which the Lin Kuei ducked under. Scorpion quickly turned around with a spinning roundhouse, of which collided with Sub-Zero's shoulder. Sub-Zero staggered back and responded with an ice blast before Scorpion could land a right cross punch. Sub-Zero shattered the ice that covered the Spectre with a jump kick and sent Scorpion tumbling to the ground.

Scorpion sprung himself up with a back handspring and performed his flaming back flip. The blow sent Sub-Zero flying through the air, but the Lin Kuei was able to perform a back flip and land on his feet. Sub-Zero performed a sliding shoulder thrust, but Scorpion managed to side flip out of the way. Sub-Zero failed to block a right hook from Scorpion but managed to block a left uppercut and countered with a back fist. Scorpion responded with another right hook followed by a kick to the side. Scorpion then landed three alternating punches to Sub-Zero's face and sent the Lin Kuei to the ground.

The final punch crushed Sub-Zero's mask and broke his nose. Sub-Zero removed his damaged mask and spat the blood that slipped into his mouth. He sprung up to his feet and performed his sliding sweep maneuver, leaving behind a trail of ice on the rocky surface. Scorpion countered with a spinning foot sweep and collided with Sub-Zero's extended foot, knocking the Lin Kuei to the ground. Scorpion grabbed Sub-Zero's throat and lifted him above the ground. Sub-Zero grabbed Scorpion's arm and charged his ice powers. Scorpion shouted at the freezing pain he felt in his arm but tightened his grip nonetheless.

With little air left in his lungs, Sub-Zero made one final attempt to free himself from Scorpion's grasp. He swung his legs upward and wrapped them around Scorpion's neck. When Scorpion's grip loosened, Sub-Zero let his body drop down and used his legs to fling Scorpion into the air.

Sub-Zero landed on his knees and held on to his throat as he gasped for air. Scorpion's body flipped around until he landed his chest on the rocky surface. Scorpion slowly stood from the ground and faced Sub-Zero. The weakened Lin Kuei slowly stood up and waited for Scorpion to make the next move.

Scorpion charged at Sub-Zero and performed a jump kick. Sub-Zero performed a back flip and left behind a frozen likeness of himself. Scorpion shattered the ice clone and suffered a strong right hook from Sub-Zero, followed by a knee strike to the gut. Sub-Zero continued the combo with an elbow strike to Scorpion's chest, followed by a head butt to the face and ending with a side kick to the chest.

Scorpion fell to the ground, giving Sub-Zero the chance to charge a deadly ice blast. Scorpion sprung himself to his feet as Sub-Zero launched the powerful ice blast. The projectile was halted as Scorpion summoned a thick, flaming wall from the ground. As the ice blast melted from the flames, Scorpion gestured his arms upward once more and summoned his Hell Fire to burn Sub-Zero. The flames engulfed the Lin Kuei and caused him to fall to the ground and roll about the rocky surface, trying desperately to extinguish the flames as he screamed at the burning agony he suffered.

Scorpion drew out his Kunai and waited for the right time to strike. Sub-Zero finally relieved himself from the flames and slowly rose up to his knees. Scorpion threw his weapon at Sub-Zero, the blade whistling its way towards the Lin Kuei until it punctured his abdomen. Sub-Zero gave out only a gasp as the blade impaled him. Scorpion pulled the rope attached to the weapon and brought the weakened warrior towards him.

Scorpion caught Sub-Zero by his throat and removed the blade. The Spectre planted a massive uppercut on the chin of Sub-Zero, of which sent the Lin Kuei fifteen feet into the air. Sub-Zero landed hard on his back, unable to move from the pain he felt in his gut. Scorpion slowly approached the defeated warrior and stood over him.

"The time has come for you to receive your just punishment, murderer. You, like your brother before you, are the source of my everlasting misery. And now, by defeating you Sub-Zero, I have avenged the massacre of my family and clan. With your death, my soul can finally rest."

Scorpion grasped at the edge of his mask, preparing to kill Sub-Zero in the same fashion as his older brother. Sub-Zero slowly turned to his side while holding on to the wound in his gut, facing away from Scorpion. The Spectre removed his hand from his mask and kicked Sub-Zero's chest, forcing him to face his death.

"Don't you dare turn your back to me! I will look into your eyes as you burn to ash!"

Despite the pain he was in, Sub-Zero began to chuckle quietly. Such behavior enraged Scorpion and drove the Spectre to grab Sub-Zero's blue over mantle.

"You disgrace the memory of my dead relatives! Be silent!"

Sub-Zero's laughter diminished as he gave Scorpion a look of sincerity. "Your soul will never rest, Scorpion," choked Sub-Zero as blood oozed out of his mouth. "The Lin Kuei, my brother, may have been responsible for your murder, but your family's true killer still remains free."

Scorpion punched Sub-Zero in the face and let go of the over mantle. The Spectre turned away from Sub-Zero as the Lin Kuei lifted his head up to look at Scorpion.

"I know nothing of your past," began Sub-Zero. "But my death will turn you into the very thing you despise: A murderer. You saw mercy in me in the Outworld tournament, Scorpion. Do not let Quan Chi's deception cloud your instincts. That sorcerer has turned you into something you are not, but it's not too late to keep your honor intact…"

Sub-Zero fainted from the blood loss. Scorpion turned around to face the unconscious Lin Kuei. He did not know whether or not Sub-Zero spoke the truth, but part of what he said was right. Quan Chi did lure Scorpion into doing things he would never do. The confusion in Scorpion kept him from finishing Sub-Zero.

"But if you are not the killer, then who is?"

"I am the one you seek," spoke a voice behind Scorpion.

The Hellspawn Spectre quickly turned around to see none other than Quan Chi standing there with his evil smirk.

"Quan Chi?"

"Yes, Scorpion. I am the one responsible for your clan's murder. Upon your failure at the Shaolin Temple before your birth as a Hellspawn, I upheld my promise to the Lin Kuei to destroy every last remnant of the Shirai Ryu. I was also the one who personally disposed of your wife and child, serving my own needs while dealing with your wife."

Scorpion's blood boiled with rage. "You… made me FIGHT HIM?"

Quan Chi laughed at Scorpion's outrage. "Do not act so surprised, my beloved creation. It was I who guided you to the knowledge of your power. With your thirst for vengeance and your resolve strengthened through torment, I was able to use your talents to my advantage. To defeat my nemesis, Sub-Zero, I needed the power of a Spectre. You have done my bidding well, Scorpion, but now I must return you to the Netherealm."

Quan Chi extended his hand towards Scorpion and began chanting the words of a spell. Scorpion fell to his knees as a white light engulfed his body. He felt his arms go numb as the spell took its toll. Scorpion glanced over to Sub-Zero, who woke up from his unconscious state. Sub-Zero crawl his way towards Quan Chi and unleashed a minor ice blast with what little energy he had left in him. The blast did no damage to the sorcerer but provided Scorpion the opportunity to charge Quan Chi head on.

"NEVER," shouted Scorpion as he lunged towards Quan Chi and grabbed the pale sorcerer's shoulders.

Upon contact, the light that illuminated Scorpion spread throughout Quan Chi's body. Both vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Sub-Zero alone in his weakened state. Suddenly, a harsh gust of wind blew in the massive chamber and materialized the mighty God of Wind Fujin. The mighty God stood tall with long white hair and was garbed in purple and green clothing. Fujin lifted the weakened Lin Kuei and healed his wounds as they flew through the air out of the chamber.

Scorpion and Quan Chi fell through a flaming worm hole at high speed. Scorpion kept a firm grip on the sorcerer and threw punch after punch. Though Quan Chi fought back and gained the upper hand in the falling duel, he could not escape Scorpion's grasp. The two fought furiously as they fell for what seemed like an eternity.

At last, they fell through the end of the wormhole and landed on the red, rocky surface below them. The two tumbled over each other, causing Scorpion to let go of the sorcerer. Once Quan Chi's tumbling came to a halt, he slowly stood to his feet and studied the area around him. The unbearably high temperatures caused the sorcerer to sweat, and the scent of sulfur and brimstone caused his nostrils to cringe.

Scorpion slowly began to rise up to his feet with his back turned to the sorcerer. Quan Chi watched as Scorpion turned around with rage in the Spectre's glowing white eyes. Quan Chi unleashed a grotesque flying skull towards Scorpion. The green projectile bounced off of Scorpion's chest and appeared to have done no damage to the Spectre.

"No," said Quan Chi in disbelief. The projectile was supposed to rip Scorpion's entire torso to pieces. It was then the sorcerer realized where he was. He was trapped in the Fifth Plane of the Netherealm, a place where the sorcerer's powers would weaken and a Spectre's abilities would grow in strength.

Scorpion removed his mask to reveal a man's skull. The eye sockets shined with fire as Scorpion stared into the horrified eyes of Quan Chi.

"Welcome, sorcerer," spoke Scorpion. "Welcome to my domain!"

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOO," shouted Quan Chi.

Scorpion silenced the sorcerer's cries by throwing his Kunai. The blade whistled its way towards Quan Chi until it punctured his chest.

GET OVER HERE!

Oh my God in Heaven! Ladies and gentlemen, the end of my fic has finally been reached! I want to thank everyone who kept tabs on this story and saw it through until the end. I hope you guys liked my story! Check ya later!

-Onion Man Chive