Thanks to Akiane Lee, deegirlsjs, pokemondude, Paritheikae for reviewing so far! I appreciate it! :D
Title of Chapter: Frosty Love
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Lucipher and Hadoken!
Warning: Action sequences and language!
Next Day
Kenshi and I walked through the forest, reveling in the quiet silence that surrounded us. I had nothing to say, no apologies, no questions – nothing. I twirled my ice staff like a person in the colour guard might twirl their gun, or their baton. I still had a lot of Earth knowledge; just because I was actually from the Lin Kuei didn't mean I didn't remember things from my child hood. I sighed as the word Lin Kuei slipped into my mind – which brought up the subject of Sub-Zero. I stopped walking and stared at the ground angrily.
"Damn Sub-Zero!" I shouted in fury.
Kenshi turned around and shook his head, walking back to me. I sighed in frustration, pushing past the blind swordsman. It made no difference what I said, as long as I got my revenge. "What exactly do you plan on doing if you run into Sub-Zero?" Kenshi queried. I turned around and stalked back over to him, prodding him in the chest with my index finger as I spoke.
"I'm going to kick his sorry Grandmaster ass all the way to the Netherrealm! His sorry brother can kill him for all I care!" I replied hotly, stepping back. I realized I had startled Kenshi a little bit and I suddenly felt slightly guilty. "Sorry Kenshi," I apologized. "I'm just a little upset about the whole Sub-Zero thing."
"It's quite alright," he replied, recovering quickly. "I'd be angry, as well." I nodded apologetically but a crooked grin crossed Kenshi's face. I gave him a stern-yet-curious look and he shrugged, saying, "Then I guess I'm going to have to control you for the time being." It took me a moment to get what he was saying, and when I did –
"Kenshi!"
"Sorry!" Kenshi replied quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just don't do anything too irrational."
"Oh, I'll do something irrational alright," I said dangerously. He walked past me and I stared after him for a moment, before following. We reached the brim of the forest, and he led me to a small ledge that overlooked the Lin Kuei palace. I glared down angrily, as Kenshi started down. The snow was falling harder now, and Hadoken was hungry. "Go hunt, Hadoken," I ordered. The wolf dog sniffed and then ran into the forest as I ran after Kenshi. If there was anybody I trusted in this world, it was him.
We walked in silence, coming to the gate quickly. The guards stood in our path and looked each of us over. "I am here to see Sub-Zero," Kenshi explained. "He's been expecting me." The guards nodded towards me. They could tell that I was Lin Kuei, but they had never seen me before, so they wouldn't let me pass. "This one is Lucipher. She's a part of the clan." I was dressed in a black t-shirt, and black pants, but over that I was wearing something similar to Sub-Zero's attire. The blue vestments with the Lin Kuei symbols and the grayish-black pants, along with combat boots.
I raised an eyebrow coldly.
The guards moved aside and let us both in. We entered the palace and from that point on I followed Kenshi. It was funny; in the palace, it was as if I was the blind one and Kenshi was my guide. We came to Sub-Zero's quarters and my companion knocked lightly. The door shifted open and the Grandmaster appeared, looking at Kenshi first. He gave me a glance – and that's when I realized that he didn't recognize me. I hid my smirk as Subs let us in. He and Kenshi got along well…
"This is Luci," Kenshi explained, gesturing to me. Sub-Zero was taken aback as he looked over at me. I looked away, angry. You don't forgive someone for almost killing you. I don't think Kenshi wanted me around Sub-Zero, for more reasons than just the fact that I was about to attack the Grandmaster. "She's accompanying me on my search for Mavado. A nearby village was destroyed; she was living there."
"Ah, I see," Sub-Zero responded. "So she'll be traveling with us?" I froze and turned my eyes to Kenshi. He looked sheepish.
"Yes," he replied. I had to travel with Sub-Zero? I glared at Kenshi, resisting the urge to slap him. I turned on my heels and started out, storming down the corridors. I bypassed Frost, who was surprised to see me. She darted after me, icy eyes ablaze. I didn't care what she had to say, or what Kenshi had to say, either. I would find Mavado on my own – and I would kill him. Frost rested a hand on my shoulder and I rounded on her, blasting her back with a ball of ice. She growled but didn't return the attack.
"I didn't know you were in the palace," Frost said, voice angry. "We're allies, remember? You could've warned me!"
"You work for Saibot and Quan Chi!" I snapped. "You're no ally of mine!"
"I hate Quan Chi! I'm only working for him so that I can kill Sub-Zero!" Frost hissed quietly.
"Kill Sub-Zero my foot – you're practically in love with that guy!" I shot back. When I said that, I meant that she was in love with Quan Chi. But she took it the wrong way – thinking that I meant she was in love with Sub-Zero. Her pale face portrayed her shock and she stepped back. So she was in love with Sub-Zero? What has this world come to? I suddenly felt a wave of sympathy wash over me, only because I partly knew what it was like to be in love and not to have the feelings returned.
"That's exactly why I have to kill him!" she snarled, turning around and running off. I stood there in shock, looking after her. There was no way she was telling the truth. I didn't feel as angry as I had earlier, in fact I felt a little bit of guilt for running out on Kenshi like that. I sighed and walked back down the corridors, hoping to find the blind swordsman somewhere.
Sure enough, there he was, waiting at the end of the corridor. "Kenshi, I apologize," I said as I walked up to him. He waved off my comment, looking a little relieved. "Can I ask you a question?" He nodded and together we walked outside and sat on the snowy ground. "Do you think Subs has feelings for Frost?" Kenshi seemed surprised but he answered nonetheless.
"I don't think so."
"Don't be nice, Kenshi."
"OK, I think he does have some form of…love for her, but it's nothing in comparison to how he feels about you," Kenshi replied quietly. "When I first met you, I didn't understand why you were Sub-Zero's apprentice. Raiden is an odd lesser god, if you know what I mean, but after I saw the way he reacted to you I understood. When you two are together, it's almost like a chemical reaction." It sounded like it pained Kenshi to say this, so I rested a hand on his knee to silence him.
I wanted to hear no more.
"I don't believe you," I sighed. "But for now, I'm not willing to press the issue."
"Why did you ask, then?" Kenshi queried, eyebrows furrowing.
"Because Frost wants to kill Sub-Zero not only because of her imprisonment, but because she has feelings for him," I responded. I found it easy to talk about this kind of thing around Kenshi. Ermac was the only one who could get me to spill my deepest darkest secrets, but Kenshi – he was a close second. "And believe you me, Frost can have him." Kenshi gave me another crooked smile as Hadoken trotted through the snow. The wolf dog sat down obediently as I brushed snowflakes out of his fur.
Sub-Zero appeared a few moments later, beckoning to us. I found myself glaring at him, but what good would it do? I couldn't hurt him right now, because Kenshi was here. Speaking of Kenshi, he stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and he helped me to my feet, although I didn't need it. "We should probably head out," Sub-Zero advised. "Mavado is close by."
Kenshi looked a little distant as we left the safety of the palace. "I sense something following us," he said softly. I looked over my shoulder as a growl rumbled in Hadoken's chest. Sub-Zero stopped and looked around, as we heard footsteps. To our surprise, Mileena and Reptile appeared. What would they be doing in a place as cold as this? Reptile laughed; it was disgusting. Mileena just smirked as she drew out her weapons. "You fight Mileena, I'll fight Reptile," Kenshi instructed; I nodded once.
I summoned my water sword and leapt forward, slashing at Mileena. She moved out of the way and thrust her weapon forward. I jumped back and sliced at her with the water sword, but she dodged. Now, I wasn't exactly one for killing people, but Mileena was trying to kill me and she was attacking me. I tossed the water sword up in the air and sucked out the water, bending it into a cobra made of water. The water cobra hissed and spat, as the icy sword came down and planted itself in the snowy ground.
Mileena sliced at my water cobra, but it reformed itself and slithered forward on my command. I twisted my hand and the cobra coiled, preparing to strike. Mileena glared at me and lurched forward, and just as she did, I shot my hand up in the air. The water cobra shot up and bit her in the ankle; I jerked my hand down and the water cobra pulled Mileena to the snowy earth. She screamed in fury and pain, because the cobra was slowly freezing her, from the ankle up.
Soon, she was frozen solid, a look of pain etched in her features. I smirked and made a fist, crushing the water cobra in the process. I grabbed my sword and rested it on my shoulder as I looked at the frozen woman before me. I heard Hadoken snarl once, so I turned around to find Kenshi and Sub-Zero fending off Reptile. Hadoken was biting the large, mutant creature's tail. Kenshi held out his hand as a green aura surrounded it, and he used his telekinetic powers to twist Reptile's arm behind his back.
Reptile screeched in pain, and Kenshi's other hand glowed green as he used his telekinesis to pull Reptile to his knees. Sub-Zero blasted the suffering creature with a ball of ice, and then brought out his kori blade. Kenshi moved his hand down slightly and Reptile was thrown to the ground. Sub-Zero raised his blade and for a moment I wondered what would happen if I defended Reptile. I could try and stop my companions from killing him, but this was not my battle. Wouldn't it make me a bad person to let them go ahead and make the final move?
I held my ground, and watched as Sub-Zero brought the blade down on Reptile's back. Blood gushed out and stained the pure white snow, and I turned away. I could've saved him. But I didn't. I felt guilty, as I listened to Reptile spit foul words as death drew nearer to him. I looked over my shoulder and watched as Kenshi made a fist and Reptile started to choke. This, I could not take.
"Kenshi!" I cried out, before I could stop myself. He looked over at me (although he could not see me and I could not see his eyes because of the blind fold) and his brow furrowed. "Stop, I know Reptile is going to die, but don't make it any more painful than it needs to be!" My heart was pounding in my chest; I could feel the blood pulsing through my veins. Steam rose from my sword for a split second. Kenshi nodded once and opened his hands, palms face up. The green aura left them and Reptile stopped choking, but his death was a few minutes closer.
I couldn't help myself; I walked over to Reptile and put a hand on his shoulder, forming an ice dagger in my hand. "He's in too much pain; I can't stand it," I admitted, aiming for his heart. It would be far less painful, and I cringed as I plunged the dagger into his scaly skin. He sputtered once, as blood gushed over my black gloves, and he died there, in the snow. "I hate killing people," I admitted again, tossing my dagger away. Kenshi nodded; he understood how I felt. Sub-Zero, however, was less understanding than Kenshi.
"Compassion is a trait one should not have in battle," he said sternly.
"Shut it, old man," I snapped. My voice was shaky, however. (Yes, I know Sub-Zero isn't old in any case, but I just said what came to mind.) "You're not my teacher; you abandoned me and left Kenshi and Ermac to do your job. Now that I'm back, you expect me to listen to you? I think not! Hadoken," I started, as my black wolf dog snarled. Hadoken looked up at me with his right, blood red eye, and his left, pale yellow eye. Kenshi held out his hand and forced Hadoken to the ground.
"Calm down, Luci," Kenshi eased, voice soft.
"I will not calm down!" I exclaimed. Hadoken tried to thrash around but he was held firmly in place. I backed up a step and formed another ice dagger. I threw it at Kenshi's hand, and it was a direct hit. He pulled the dagger out of his hand as blood oozed out, dripping onto his already-red boots. I realized what I had done – out of anger, of all things. Hadoken was freed from Kenshi's grasp, and I snapped my fingers. He followed me as I ran into the forest, too upset to stay with them, at the moment.
Whaddaya think? Please review!