Love & War 4
Chapter 12: Scorpion Unleashed
Back in Earthrealm, Hanzo and Takeda were bonfiring several hundred yards from the Sky Temple.
"I'm not even tired. We should've pushed on to the Sky Temple," said Takeda.
"See that storm?" Hanzo said. "You don't want to be struck by lightning, do you? The clouds are getting too close as it is..."
A flash of lightning struck close to them. Raiden appeared, grabbing Hanzo by the throat with the Kamidogu dagger in hand.
"YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE COME!"
"This isn't you, Raiden, it's these damn daggers."
"The Kamidogu opened my eyes to the blood code, Hanzo. It's secrets and it's power! The demon that entered Earthrealm is not here to destroy us, but to set us free."
"No, Takeda...
Takeda impaled Raiden from behind with his sword, but it didn't seem to faze him at all.
"Heed your master, boy, or suffer the consequences!"
A few weeks ago in the Himalayas
"I don't want to die like that," said Takeda. "But I guess you know what that's like. You pulled off some moves on Fox. All that hellfire. I wonder what I could do with that kind of power. Can you teach me?"
"It's not a style," said Hanzo. "It's my curse. An burden I've carried since the day everything changed. The last seconds of my life seemed like hours. The massacre of my clan was an outrage. But it was nothing compared to what my eyes held in those final moments... my family, frozen... my loving wife, Kana and my innocent son, Jubei... I died, but my soul kept praying for fire, until someone answered."
"Hanzo Hasashi, you are here to suffer, yet my torturers report that fire does not burn you. Why?" It was Quan Chi, who took him to the Netherrealm.
"Quan Chi never controlled me. I was never his revenant. I volunteered. My loss had become a fire within. The dark sorcerer stoked the flames with a promise of justice and vengeance. SCORPION WAS BORN! I found vengeance, but there was little justice in it. The fire remained no matter how many battles I fought. I kept fighting, even after my life was restored. I didn't deserve a second chance. After all the murders I've committed willfully, suicide sounded just. Until a wise man saw my hell fire for what it was."
"Rage?"
"Enough for a lifetime."