A/N: Sub-Zero has a little chat with an angsty Smoke. Yay. Thank you for all the awesome reviews! I hope you like~

and thank you to Snivy Terphione for telling me about some hilarious MK vidoes on YouTube by DashieXP that you should all check out - warnings for adult humor and language in there. :)

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

I had woken up to find myself in a very good mood this morning, and I intended to hold on to that feeling no matter what.

No matter what, I thought as I felt an eye-twitch coming on. So far, everything happening to me today seemed to be against me. From Scorpion refusing to cooperate with his clothes; to Kitana announcing she'd make us lords—something I did not want; to Sonya pecking at me about my friendship with Scorpion.

I understood her concerns, but she didn't even try to get to know the man. Circumstances were different than what was previously thought and I couldn't make her see.

Quan Chi and the Lin Kuei were responsible for everything. And they would pay.

No! Those are angry thoughts… Happy, think happy…

I turned the corner after my little chat with Sonya and finally reached the spiraling stairs that led up to a floor of bedchambers. I was hoping to find Scorpion in his room. He seemed a little more than ticked off especially after Cage had teased him. I just wanted to make sure he wouldn't take it out on any servants today, and to check if he changed his bandages.

I'd only just placed my foot on the first step when a grey mist appeared before me, a few steps above, and began to darken and form the shape of a man. I sighed.

A familiar voice spoke out from the haze. "Well, that was certainly entertaining."

"Come to lecture me, as well?" I asked my friend.

"No, I don't particularly have a problem with the Shirai Ryu." Smoke finished becoming solid and moved down the steps to stand beside me in the hallway. "Other than he's a Shirai Ryu…"

"The last one," I reminded.

He waved a dismissive hand. "Be that as it may, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else…"

"What?"

Smoke shifted nervously. "Can we talk somewhere…? Here, let's go outside."

I reluctantly followed him until we reached the courtyard in the back of the castle. Though, it was more like a huge balcony overlooking the open land beyond. There were stone benches along the curved railing, and in the middle of the courtyard stood a large, ornate statue of some Edenian King long dead. The whole place was decorated with various flowering plants and trees, and while nothing compared to the castle's gardens, it was still very beautiful.

Smoke sat down on one of the benches and I followed his example. I was silently hoping this wouldn't take too long. But he did say that it wasn't about Scorpion, so there was that.

I was surprised to find that Smoke looked anxious. "Do you remember back in Outworld, when we were staying with Bo' Rai Cho?" he asked after a brief silence.

"Well, yeah. It wasn't that long ago…"

"When I tried to talk to you? About what Raiden told me?"

I had to rack my brain for a moment, but then the memory finally came back of us in the garden.

"As I recall," I started sharply. "You didn't want to talk about it."

"I tried," he snapped. "But I lost my nerve. It didn't feel like an appropriate time."

"And now?"

Smoke frowned. "Who pissed in your coffee this morning? If you don't want to talk just say so. Crazy of me to think my best friend would have the time to—"

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, and I meant it. Dammit, Sonya. "I was just in a hurry before. I wish I had some, though."

I tried to relax and give my friend my full attention. He deserved that at least.

"Some what?" Smoke asked, confused.

"Coffee," I lamented wistfully. The Edenians had no concept of such a drink.

Smoke laughed and I knew he'd forgiven me of my rudeness. He also knew that I wasn't much of a coffee drinker.

"Mhm," he said. "Anyway, I was nervous to tell you before, because I wasn't sure how you would react."

Uh-oh. I didn't like that.

"You know you mean a lot to me," he continued. "And I trust you more than anyone."

I gave him a small smile. "As you have my trust."

There was no one else I knew who I trusted more. It wasn't always a wise thing to do in the Lin Kuei, but Smoke had proven himself a loyal friend. More times than I could count.

He looked away and sighed. "I'm glad of it."

I waited while he looked lost in thought. Finally I said, "It was something Raiden told you. Something horrible and life-altering I take it?"

Smoke nodded. "I'm hoping it's not too horrible. Although I must admit I might have been in shock there for a while. I'm dealing with it."

"What is it?" I asked. He was making me nervous.

"I approached Raiden to find out about my past. You know I can't remember anything of my childhood, and I thought maybe he could find out. Or help me remember." Smoke still wouldn't look at me. "That was my mistake. I should have left it alone... I'm an Enenra, Sub-Zero."

I stiffened slightly in dread. It felt like something was twisting my throat. I had heard of Enenra's before. Demon entities born of slain mortals come back to avenge themselves, and wreak havoc in their misery. Looking at my friend I couldn't believe it.

But I knew it was true. Enenra's were creatures of smoke and vapor. This explained a lot.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling terrible for my friend. "How…?"

"I was taken from my family when I was a boy," he said quietly. We had that in common then. "By some cult that…sacrificed children to their demon-god. They burned me alive. I died. And I came back as a demon myself."

I didn't know what to say.

His dark eyes glittered. "I killed them all. Then after, my memory was lost to me."

"But you have it back now," I said weakly.

"Yes," he hissed. "Some good it's done me. Now I know that I'm a monster—an unnatural killer."

I wanted to remind him that he was among a fine group of killers. But I knew that wouldn't help. He wasn't human after all. At least not anymore. It was a lot to take in, and I wondered how he slept at night keeping this all inside.

"You're not a monster," I insisted. "You were just…reincarnated into something else."

"My name was Tomas Vrbada," he said sadly. "I was born in Prague."

I was shocked all over again. I wanted to tell him that it was a blessing to know his past, no matter how painful. I didn't even know where I was born, even if I knew my true name. Bi-Han had made sure I knew that much. I remembered that my brother was often frustrated that he couldn't recall more of our past. And then eventually, he didn't care to talk of it anymore. I had convinced myself that we were orphans, and that there was nothing to remember.

I turned to Smoke. "What will you do now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to hurt anybody. Anybody that doesn't deserve it. I'm afraid I won't be able to control this demon inside me. Sometimes I feel a strange urgency…something calling me to let the darkness take over."

I shuddered. This reminded me too much of my brother. His darkness overcame him and there was nothing of him left. And Scorpion, who received a second chance like Smoke.

"But you've controlled it fine all these years…" I said stubbornly.

"But I didn't know about it before," he retorted. "What if I awakened something now?"

"No." I shook my head. "I don't believe it. You're stronger than that. You've always controlled your powers beautifully."

He didn't look convinced.

"And you've already had your revenge on those horrendous people," I persisted. "Why would the demon need to awaken now?" I felt a panic that he would leave, or hurt himself, and that I would never see him again. "I've already lost one brother."

Smoke finally looked at me. "I'm not your brother."

Yes you are, I thought desperately.

"Tomas." I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't mind the use of his real name. But that was who he was. His true self had nothing to do with the demon. "You're more of a brother to me than Bi-Han ever was."

And it was true. As much as it hurt me to admit. Bi-Han and I were close, but there was something distant about him, something I could never reach. When I first met Smoke, I was surprised at how easily we got along—how much we thought alike. I even looked up to him, wishing I could be as outgoing as he was.

I could see a small spark of the Smoke I knew return in his eyes. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Of course," I replied without hesitation.

He looked away again, smiling a bit. "Thank you. I know it must be hard to say his name."

I blinked in surprise. But he was right. I hadn't said my brother's name out loud in a long while.

"Thank you," he said again. "I don't want the others to know… Not yet."

"I won't tell anyone," I promised. Then more playfully, "Tomas."

Smoke laughed. "Please don't tell anyone." He stood up. "You can call me that if you like."

I shrugged. "Well, you know my name. It's only fair, I guess."

He was smiling, but his eyes were still sad to me. "Ready for the party tomorrow?"

I was grateful for the subject change, even though my emotions were still in knots inside my head. "I'll be happier for the party than for the knighting."

"It's not a knighting it's a lord…ing."

"Whatever."

"We should've been made knights," he said. "That suits us better."

"Yes," I agreed whole-heartedly. I only hoped the ceremony for us wasn't too embarrassing.

It made me sad that an awkward silence passed between us.

"Well, we'll talk more about it later," he said and excused himself. I watched him go with regret. There was something unresolved here.

I hope he comes to peace with this other side of him soon. And I couldn't think of him as an Enenra. That wasn't him, but where his powers stemmed from. Yes.

I sat there for a while, cursing Raiden. He changes our lives forever and then leaves. Hopefully he came back soon, with some good news this time.

Completely and emotionally exhausted, I finally hauled my ass off of the bench and returned to my mission of finding Scorpion.

I knocked on Scorpion's door for a moment, before deciding to barge in like he always does to me.

I entered the room and glanced around quickly, finding him in front of the mirror in the corner.

"There you are," I said relieved. "I've had a pretty weird day so please don't tell me that you have anything to nag me about or that you're really Quan Chi in disguise—"

...

"—WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

I watched in shock as long tendrils of black hair fell to the floor around his feet.

Scorpion's eyes met mine in the mirror. He turned and held out the scissors to me.

"Good. Help me cut my hair."

A/N: Poor Smoke. Poor Sub-Zero. They're angsty little pincushions. Next chap, it's time to party!

I would like to thank my reviewers, I know I'm always corny like that but you guys are awesome. And I appreciate it every time. I know I'm not the best writer out there but I'm still learning and growing. I feel like my style changes a lot, lol. And I try to stay in continuity with my own story...so sad, ha. Thank you for the encouragement to continue.

BlackTwilight909: Thank you! You're too kind!

JuniorMints: That's one of the best compliment I've ever gotten, I think. Thank you so much! I hope to read something of yours someday. Nice name ;)