Disclaimer: I own nothing that doesn't belong to me.

Chapter Ten

'I wonder what he wants,' Emma thought to herself as she made her way to the field where she and Sub-Zero held their training sessions. Their training had gone over well for the past month, but yesterday Sub-Zero had told her to meet him out here. He'd said it was important, though with him most things were important. She'd yet to see him act carefree about something. When she reached the field she found Sub-Zero standing in the middle of it with his back to her.

'Figures he'd already be here,' she thought. Hearing her approach, Sub-Zero turned to face her. They stared at each other for a while until he spoke, breaking the silence.

"You've finally arrived. Good. Now we can get started."

"Um, do you mind telling me why I'm out here at least," Emma asked.

"You are here for a test," came the simple reply.

"A test?" She had never been good at tests, especially so early in the morning. "What kind of test?"

"That," Sub-Zero said. "Is what you're about to find out." With lightning fast motion he threw a ball of ice at her. Emma jumped to the side, barely avoiding the icy cold blast. If she'd been half asleep before then she was wide awake now.

"Well that was a rude awakening," she said in a sarcastic tone. Sub-Zero's response was to throw another ball of ice at her. Moving faster this time, Emma dodged the attack and ran at Sub-Zero, hoping to force him to fight in hand-to-hand combat so he couldn't use his ice attacks.

"Trying to fight me up close," he asked, sending off yet another ice attack. Emma frowned and disappeared in a blur, reappearing behind him. Bringing up her foot, she aimed a kick at the side of his head. In the blink of an eye his hand shot up and caught her foot. Grabbing her ankle with his other hand, Sub-Zero threw her around in front of him. Emma crashed into the ground hard enough to feel the breath leave her. Rolling, she came to a stop in a crouch.

"So you want to play that way, huh," she growled at the Lin Kuei. Sub-Zero jumped forward and swung a punch at her head. She jumped back, avoiding the punch, and started to deliver a punch of her own when she saw the sun reflecting off of something in Sub-Zero's other hand. Whatever it was it glittered a lot like…

'A sword! Crap!' Emma ducked down in a crouch just as Sub-Zero swung the sword around in a glittering arc. She had forgotten about the Kori blade he wielded, and now she was at a disadvantage due to her lack of a weapon.

'Oh well,' she thought as she swung her leg out, knocking Sub-Zero off his feet. She used the time she had to jump up and put distance between them. She stood there for a moment before noticing the air around her was getting cooler.

"What the—" Sub-Zero jerked up his hand and an ice cold geyser of air shot up around Emma. She should have felt the pain of being turned into an ice cube. But instead she felt her body getting hotter. That's when she noticed that the icy air around her wasn't even affecting her. Looking down, she found the cause. An aura made entirely of flames had encased her body like armor, putting up a barrier between her and the ice.

'Did I do this,' she thought in disbelief. Without warning the flames and the icy geyser disappeared to reveal Sub-Zero lunging at her. Emma dodged out of the way but she wasn't quite fast enough to avoid his sword.

"Argh!" Her hand gripped the wound on her arm, there was already blood running down to drip off her fingers. Sub-Zero brought the blade back up and swung it around again, this time aiming for her neck.

'If only I had a weapon,' she thought frantically as she closed her eyes and threw her arms up by reflex. She opened her eyes when she heard the unmistakable clang of metal on metal, only to have them grow wider at what she saw. She was now holding twin swords and had them crossed in an X to block Sub-Zero's blade. The swords were about as long as Sub-Zero's, with large, one-sided blades that were shaped in a zigzag pattern close to the hilt and straightened out as they got closer to the point. The blades slightly curved upward, and a red stripe colored the top part of the blades.

'Did I summon these,' Emma asked herself. 'But more importantly, now I just might be able to win this.' She pushed forward, pushing Sub-Zero back and knocking him off balance. Using the opportunity, she knocked the Kori blade out of his hands and kicked him square in the chest, knocking him to the ground. She pounced and landed sitting on his chest with her blades forming an X over his throat.

"I win," she said with a smile. Sub-Zero stared at her for a while before sighing.

"Fine, you win," he said. The swords disappeared from Emma's hands in a blaze as she smiled at him. Without warning he grabbed her wrists before she could get up.

"W-what are you doing," she stuttered as he pulled her down so that her face was a couple of inches from his.

"I just wanted to tell you congratulations. You were able to beat me and unlock your elemental magic." A confused look crossed her face and she forgot about the current position she was in.

"My elemental what?"

"Magic. You and your friends are elementals. Raiden told us that as least one of you would have an element opposite her teacher's. So it was you."

"But if my element's fire why wasn't Scorpion my teacher?" She was perfectly happy with Sub-Zero being her teacher, though. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea. A low chuckle sounded deep in the cryomancer's throat.

"I'm your teacher because you chose me to be so," he said in a deep voice. Emma was suddenly reminded of the position she was in. She could feel Sub-Zero's finely toned muscles through his clothing and his hands were gently but firmly wrapped around her wrists, ensuring that her escape was impossible. His mask was still on, but that didn't do much to help because Emma found herself staring straight into his brilliant blue eyes. They were the kind of eyes that reminded her of the ocean, dark, bottomless, and unpredictable. They could be as bright and clear as tropical waters one minute and as dark and cloudy as a stormy sea the next. They were the type of eyes one could find themselves drowning in, as Emma did now. Somehow she was able to find her voice.

"Um, I really need to get back to the house so… could you let me go please." Sub-Zero blinked before releasing her. Getting up, he watched her retreating figure as she vanished into the woods.

'Why did I do that,' he scolded himself. 'I usually have more self-control then that…' He pondered on it a bit more before deciding to blame it on the summer heat.

Author's note: Enjoy!