Disclaimer: I own nothing that is not mine.

Chapter Six

Emma was having a good day at school the next day until she saw Tori.

"What happened to you," she asked when she saw the faint bruises on her friend's neck.

"I was attacked and nearly choked to death by another assassin."

"But why did they only attack you and not us," Emma asked.

"It's probably because I'm an easier target since I'm alone and you have Ella." The rest of the day went by uneventfully for the most part. It was around seventh period that Emma noticed something was wrong. It had been a day since she last saw Sub-Zero. She had misplaced the key chain too. The minute she and Ella got home from school they began the search. Their parents were out so they had the house to themselves.

"Can you remember where you saw it last," Ella asked her sister after hours of searching. Emma was about to answer when she heard a weird noise coming from the end of the hallway.

"Did you hear that," she asked Ella as she looked down the hall. The sound seemed to be coming from the room with the washer and dryer. Her eyes widened as realization struck her. Running down the hall she flung open the dryer door and looked inside the pocket of her jeans. There lie the key chain.

"I am so dead," she muttered. Turning around, she found herself facing a very peeved Sub-Zero. His trident had come off and his short white hair was sticking in about thirty different directions. His mask had somehow stayed on, but Emma knew from the look of his eyes that his mouth was forming a thin, straight line. His usually neat uniform was now wrinkled and had small rips and tears in it. As much as she wanted to laugh, Emma refrained from doing so.

"Um. . . I'm sorry. . ." she said hesitantly. Sub-Zero's eyes narrowed before he turned and walked into the living room.

Five minutes later

Sub-Zero sat on the couch in the girls' living room. His hair was fixed and his trident was back on, but his clothes. . . It'd be awhile before he could fix those. Emma sat on the couch opposite Sub-Zero. She hadn't said a word to him since it happened. Her sister Ella was probably still in the bedroom laughing, and Ermac was sitting in a chair to Sub-Zero's left. Unlike Ella, Ermac had stopped laughing some time ago.

"I'm really sorry," Emma said. "I didn't know the key chain was in my pocket—" Sub-Zero held up his hand to stop her.

"I accept your apology. Just make sure it doesn't happen again." Emma nodded in response. Sub-Zero sighed. It was going to be a long four months. When he opened his eyes he found Emma staring at him.

"What is it," he asked.

"Can I help you fix your clothes?"

"NO!"

Ella sped along the path that led out into the woods near their home. Emma had chosen to stay at the house instead of coming four-wheeler riding. Ella rolled her eyes. All Emma wanted to do was try to see Sub-Zero shirtless as he fixed his clothes. She was such a pervert. Crossing a small creek, Ella came to a large meadow surrounded by trees. The path led on through the meadow and back into the woods, but what she saw made her stop and turn the four-wheeler off.

'What's he doing out here,' she thought to herself. Sitting there in the middle of the field was Ermac. Ella would have thought he was dead if he hadn't been sitting up. Walking up as quietly as she could, Ella sat down beside Ermac and gave him a curious look. She wanted to ask what he was doing but she stayed silent. She saw Ermac's face twitch and her curiosity peaked.

'Is he smiling,' she thought to herself. After a while Ermac spoke.

"What is it that you want to ask of us?"

"Was it that obvious," Ella asked in an exasperated voice. Ermac chuckled.

"Yes."

"Okay fine. What are you doing?" Ermac was silent a moment before answering her.

"We are meditating." Ella looked at him in surprise.

"You meditate?"

"Yes. It helps clear our mind."

"Oh, so, what were you thinking about?" Ermac opened his eyes and looked down at her.

"We were thinking of the best way to train you." Ella was surprised by this. The last thing she expected him to be thinking about was her. Still, she was curious as to how he would train her.

"So how are you gonna train me? Are you gonna teach me telepathy?"

"No. There is a different method we will teach you by." Ella sighed. She had kind of wanted to learn telepathy, but it appeared that that wasn't going to happen.

"So where will we train," she asked. Ermac was silent once more before answering.

"We will train you here. This is a secluded place and it will serve for a good training ground." Ella was about to ask more when Ermac's hand shot out a couple inches from her face.

"Wha—" Ermac jerked his hand back and Ella noticed the green glow around it. A few seconds later a man went flying past them to land unceremoniously in the dirt. Rolling over, the man jumped up to face them.

"I just came for the girl, but you're going to pay for that," he growled. Ella watched as the two started fighting. The guy was good, but he wasn't as good as Ermac and he was quickly overpowered. Ella was so caught up in the fight that she didn't notice another guy come up behind her.

"Hey! Let me go," she shouted as the man grabbed her arms and jerked them behind her back. Twisting out of his grip, she turned to face him.

"Oh, no you don't," the man said as he grabbed her by the shoulder. There was a flash of metal between them and the man's arm fell to the ground. The man dropped to his knees screaming and staring at his newly acquired nub. Ella looked up and found Ermac standing there with his axe. In one swift motion the man was beheaded and his body disappeared. Surprisingly, Ella wasn't as disturbed by this as she thought she should be. She must've played the game too much.

"It appears that we need to start training right away. Sub-Zero was correct. Whoever is behind this does not want you to succeed." Ermac sighed. "And we fear it will only get worse."

Author's note: Enjoy!