Chapter Twelve
It was a lot hotter than Frost had expected. She was sorry she had ever complained about being cold in Outworld. The universe has a nasty tendency to turn anything she wished for against her.

To say things looked bleak was an understatement. She had stumbled out of the portal and into a town built on a lava-surrounded island. The buildings weren't in and of themselves disturbing, but the rotting, hanging bodies decorating many of the roofs was a signal that she just wasn't in Kansas anymore.

More bodies littered the paths the way trash lay about the streets of Earthrealm and the pedestrians she saw paid them no mind, kicking them aside when they were in the way. She thought she saw one of them take a hearty bite out of one of the most rotten looking corpses, but upon further consideration she realized that she didn't want to know if she were right in that or not.

Behind her, the portal still cast its light on the platform it settled on, but she was having second thoughts about destroying the Kamidogu right away. She wasn't too sure she wanted to be stranded here with no obvious means of escape. Surely the destruction of the other five Kamidogu would be enough to keep Onaga at bay, at least for a little while.

She walked slowly down the ramp, carefully avoiding the entrails dripping from a few of the less savory remains. Besides the stifling heat, the air carried the smell of sulphur and acid. Brimstone, if her frazzled brain was remembering correctly. The air was thick with it, and she felt her lungs burn with every breath.

A few Tarkata walked the streets, but they didn't appear to be interested in her. Neither were the guards that rushed to and fro, seeming to be doing more hurrying than guarding. None of the pedestrians were paying attention to anything but themselves.

Still, she didn't want to be seen carrying a powerful artifact in a realm known for its treachery. She had no delusions of safety, she was sure now that she was bearing the Kamidogu of the Netherealm.

She tore the bottom and sleeves of her tunic off to escape the heat, baring her stomach to the hot air, and wrapped her parcel in them as best she could. Her pants had already been "ventilated" by her earlier fall while running from the Tarkata, but were still holding heat all too well. She thought about losing her boots too, but was afraid of taking a misstep into the lava filled channels. Furthermore, the steam coming from the group was a good clue that the ground wasn't going to feel like vinyl tile on a winter's morning.

While the Netherealm was turning out to be a horrible place to even visit, it wasn't exactly as she had imagined it. She was expecting more of a biblical depiction with lots of wailing and crying and gnashing of teeth. Or at least Dante's version. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved over that.

A few smaller Oni were having a hushed conversation behind one of the buildings, and curious, she crept over to listen. Any information was valuable when she was working with nothing.

They were speaking in some sort of garbled speech-sounding almost like the backwards subliminal messages on her father's old vinyl records. But as interesting as it seemed to be, it was still completely incomprehensible to her ears. Maybe she would have better luck eavesdropping on the Tarkata.

She stole quietly away, going the long way around the structures in an effort to avoid the central path of the village. There was no good excuse or reason for her to be there, and her clothing and general attractiveness marked her as an outsider. It wouldn't do any good to be captured while she had the Kamidogu…who knew how many were working for Onaga in that wretched place?

All the Oni would potentially be swayed by promises of power, and above all else, freedom. The power to come and go freely would be irresistible to those trapped suffering in the dark, and very few would have any qualms about what they did to get it.

She hurried out of the small village and crossed onto a plain that was half hidden in acidic steam. It would be easy to remain hidden among the wandering figures until she came up with a plan.

One of the figures nearly tripped over her, and when she looked up to berate him, she was horrified to realize he hadn't been able to see her at all. His face was completely missing, it looked like it had been chewed off by a massive set of teeth, along with part of his arm. Her stomach lurched perilously and she only succeeded in keeping the contents of her stomach on the inside by concentrating on the pattern of her pants.

More of the walking lurched past as she tried to think, and it became almost a sort of sick game for her to try and guess the gruesome death that had finished them. One was shot full of arrows like a pin-cushion, another chest was caved in. She didn't want to think about what they had done to deserve the brutal damage. If she died there, would she end up as one of the hideous things staggering the plains?

But thinking about death only made her worry about her friends again. Had they been able to destroy their Kamidogu? Did Queen Sindel trap Onaga in the rotting body? Were the realms still fighting?

Could they finish the fight without her destroying the final Kamidogu?

She felt selfish, but the fear of remaining trapped lay heavily on her mind. It would be nice to think she hadn't done anything bad enough to warrant an extended stay, but what if no one came to rescue her? What if no one could?

On the other hand, she could be the one thing standing between the heroes and ending the threat of the Dragon King once and for all. People could be dying needlessly as she worried about herself.

Did she want that hanging over her head?

She stood up with great effort and walked trembling to the edge of the plains, to the channel of lava. The lava boiled angrily, and she took an involuntary step back as a large bubble burst. Now or never! she decided and cast the Kamidogu into the lava, wrapping and all, before she could change her mind.

The lava bubbled up alarmingly as she watched, washing over the artifact like it were trying to swallow it whole, and with one final burst the Kamidogu sank, sending up a hiss of yellow and red steam as it disappeared from view. Her way out was gone, sinking to the bottom of the river of fire, and she half-heartedly considered following it. But the all too human desire to live kicked in and she cursed her misfortune from this side of life.

A slow tear tricked down her cheek. Once again her plans had been dashed by circumstances beyond her control. If she didn't do something quickly, she might never make it home. But it was hard to be forlorn when she was so angry. Angry because she was once again trapped. Angry because she was lost. Angry because if she began to despair she doubted she'd ever stop.

Whatever she needed to do, standing around and moping wasn't it. She gave herself a physical and mental shake. Tears would get her nothing in a realm without compassion. Tears were weakness in an emergency, and she was determined to stay strong.

But which way to go? It wasn't as if Glenda the good witch would show up and point her in the right direction. There was no one to rely on but herself and what was left of her abilities.

She began to walk quickly away from the plain, finding another bridge and crossing it. This island was less steamy, but contained more beings. Oni, in fact. Small, ugly things with pale faces and wrinkled faces. They scurried about like rats, pausing only to hiss and cackle at each other, looking like the vermin they were.

They were agitated by something, but it didn't seem to be her. Surely they would have smelled her fresh blood by now and done something if they were looking for her. Instead they crawled over the black rocks spiraling upward, congregating near a dark figure in the distance. At first she thought the distance was playing tricks on her eyes, but it appeared that the figure was entirely black from head to toe. It didn't matter though, she would not be exposing herself to the Oni by marching straight through them.

She backtracked through the plain of the damned, shivering as they ambled around mindlessly, intent on nothing but their own despair. The worst of Earthrealm was nothing like this, there was always some hint of life or joy, peace, hope, or at least release. Here, there was nothing but the pitiful existence within the realm. No wonder the Oni had been so desperate to escape with Quan Chi.

She chose to turn from the village, with its corpses hanging like flags. The portal ring was empty, no spitting red anymore, just nothingness. That avenue of escape was closed to her at least for now-there was no use standing around and hoping desperately for a fluke to open it again.

There was some sort of monument in the distance, spiraling higher than any of the buildings in the village. It was the color of obsidian, but there seemed to be a green glow coming from the top. Maybe she could find something there. In any case, it was a better idea than standing around and wishing she were someplace else.

There were less of the damned wandering around as she drew closer to the black tower. Either they were limited to the plains, or something was keeping them away. The Oni were less numerous too, and the ones who stalked this area were uglier, and big enough to cause the ground to shake when they stomped past. Their number too, dropped off as she continued on her way, sending a mental warning.

She dimly wondered how many species of Oni there were. Perhaps there was a larger breed that controlled this area and she was walking into the belly of the beast. She'd seen the one known as Moloch briefly in Shang Tsung's palace, and she didn't want to see anything larger than that. Something that huge would kill her before she had a chance to run away.

Suddenly she wasn't so sure heading for the asymmetrical landmark was the best course of action. Her heart was pounding by the time she came close enough to see its true shape. There were six tall spires surrounding the tallest one, the one that she had seen the glow shining out of. A woman dressed solely in white stood at the bottom. A crooked sword hung at her side, and a large hat and veil shielded her face from view.

While white may be considered the color of purity in some cultures, it was the color of death in many others. But before she could decide whether or not to approach the woman, the hat lifted, and the woman stared at her for a few moments before speaking.

"You are not a demon," she said, disappointment clouding her voice.

"No, no I'm not," Frost wasn't sure what to make of this strange being. How many people in their right minds wanted to meet demons? Those that did were generally classified in her book as "the bad guys."

The woman huffed angrily, crossing her arms aggressively over her chest, with a sour look on her features. Her oversized hat once again hid her eyes. Frost didn't like her already, any hopes of getting help from this woman dashing on the hot ground. Who was angry when their visitors weren't some kind of evil hell spawn anyway?

Who would wear such ridiculous headgear?

"Why are you so disappointed I'm not a demon?" she asked coldly, crossing her own arms.

The woman looked up again. "I am Ashrah, a demon-hunter, when I slay enough of the foul beasts I shall be free of this place."

The woman in white had her full attention now. "You know how to escape here?" Maybe this woman would be useful after all.

The woman held up the crooked sword, and it seemed to glow slightly. "My kriss purifies me as I dispel the demons. Soon I will have become too pure for this place and will be expelled."

"You will be too pure for this place?" Frost said with a smirk. "If such a thing were possible, why haven't the others trapped here tried it. I bet they want to leave as much as you do."

Ashrah frowned. "Only I discovered the kriss and only I wield it. Who else would dare to face the darkest of the damned?"

Frost glared at her angrily. This demon-slayer was more arrogant than even she had been. "Well, we're not all here on a pleasure cruise. If I thought it would get me the hell out of here, I'd try and take on Satan himself with it."

"Lucifer is dead. He was killed long, long ago by the Dark Lord Shinnok. How could you not know that?" Ashrah looked at her in confusion.

"Because I'm not supposed to be here," Frost retorted angrily. "I've just come here to save the universe and now I've managed to get myself stuck."

Ashrah regarded her warily. "Only those with tainted hearts can come here voluntarily," she said. "No one can just enter freely."

Frost's jaw fell open. Only those with tainted hearts... She'd like to think that she hadn't been so darkly tainted from her past mistakes. But how had she been allowed to enter? Ashrah could be lying, but why would she? "You lie," she hissed angrily, recovering her wits.

"It matters not if you believe me," Ashrah said, shrugging. "You do not have a foul enough soul for me to concern myself with you."

"If you were really so pure, you'd be more concerned with others than your own freedom," Frost spat at her. "I hope you rot here. At least I was helping others when I came here, what did you do to deserve this?"

"I was born here," Ashrah snarled. "Not all of us are so lucky as to have a choice."

"There is always a choice," Frost snapped back. "Why didn't you escape earlier?"

"I couldn't," Ashrah said, and turned her back to walk away.

"Couldn't or didn't want to?" Frost growled, but did the same. Nothing bothered her so much as the self-righteous. At least the sinners admitted they were sinning. The self-righteous did the same but kept their faces cleaner. She hoped Ashrah tried and purified the realm by removing herself.

It still left an intriguing idea in her mind. Could someone really redeem themselves enough that they would be too pure for the Netherealm? Where exactly did you get the chance to redeem yourself in a place full of torture? Why weren't any of the Oni trying that? Surely they were just as anxious to be free as Ashrah was.

She bit her lip again, deep in thought. Why was it only the kriss that allowed Ashrah to purify herself? Had the demon-slayer been chosen, had she earned it, or had she merely been lucky? If Frost marched over and rammed that thing down the demon-hunters' throat, which one of themwould be purified? Was there a worse punishment for killing people once you had already landed yourself in the Netherealm?

She sighed wearily. Likely killing Ashrah was not her best option, no matter how much she entertained the notion of shoving her sword in places that it most certainly did not belong. Little good would come out of obsessing over the idea either, it was the thought that counted over all, wasn't it?

Little good would come out of standing around the black spire like a streetwalker waiting for a john either. She was going to have to find her own way out elsewhere if Ashrah was going to be hogging the redemption route. There had to be some other way of escape.

Maybe there was a hidden portal somewhere. Raiden had said that Quan Chi had escaped to Outworld from a forgotten portal, hadn't he? There could be more, far into the reaches of the Netherealm. She could try to search for them, as futile as the effort sounded. It was better than nothing, or just sitting down to cry like she really wanted to do.

A good cry sounded very good right then, but whether that was an effect of the realm or an internal want was hard to tell. This didn't seem like the type of place where the citizens felt random periods of rapture where they leapt about dancing and giggled uncontrollably for the sheer joy of it. But the thought of an Oni running round laughing like a school girl brought a smile to herself despite the nagging feeling of doom in the back of her brain. There may be some hope for her yet if she could smile in spite of herself.

She set off with a slight spring in her step, still picturing the giddy Oni. She hadn't the slightest idea of where one would look for an abandoned portal, but she had a pretty good idea that she wasn't going to find one around the village or any large monumental structures. Out into the wilds of the Netherealm seemed like the best bet, although, she couldn't decide if they could still be the wilds if there was no wilderness. She giggled maniacally. The realm must really be getting to me, she thought a little hysterically and started walking as fast as she could away from the monument.