Chapter 3: Aster
Not a whole lot has changed within the Lin Kuei. In fact, many changes took place years ago when the Cyber Lin Kuei made their sudden return. It was a surprise for everyone since Sektor's third death, this time at the hands of Sub-Zero during the battle of the Sky Temple. That was until three years later he came back as Triborg and killed Kuai Liang. Frost, who was Sub-Zero's apprentice prior to his death, reluctantly became a temporary leader of the clan.
Frost, Cyrax and Smoke went on an interesting journey to find a way to put an end to the Cyber Lin Kuei for good and avenge Liang. They came across the Snow Daggers, ancient artifacts that were once performed on cryomancers if they prove to be worthy of the mantle of Sub-Zero and becoming human again, having been cured of her cyborg condition in the process. Frost was successful into killing Triborg and avenging her master and friend. She has since become the new Sub-Zero. Frost did not do so alone. She had the Lin Kuei and the revived alliance with the Crystalnoids. They saw her as worthy of being the new leader of the Lin Kuei. As do Cyrax and Smoke. The two remain with the Lin Kuei and have grown older. So has Frost given that she is no longer a cyborg. Frost is now officially the grandmaster.
They were not the only ones. The entire clan saw her as worthy. As well as a certain individual. A young woman named Aster. Frost met Aster during her journey to stop the Cyber Lin Kuei from taking over Earthrealm. Aster was found by Kuai Liang when she was facing a horrible past. Liang believed her to be special and so does Frost. Aster admires the new Sub-Zero. Like Liang, she saw goodness in Frost's eyes and knew she would help keep the clan alive. Aster wants to follow in her footsteps and also help keep the peace and honor.
Today, Aster was going to be tested to see if she is ready to become Frost's new apprentice. She has since been trained to control her cryomancer powers with help from her grandmaster. Smoke and Cyrax have both grown fond of Aster and see how kind she is to others, caring so much about their safety. No one can blame her though.
Aster sits on her knees as she looks up at the statue of Kuai Liang, which was built to honor him after his death. "Grandmaster Liang. I just want to say that I am sorry. I wish I could have helped you and Frost against Sektor years ago. I'm honestly afraid of letting you and Grandmaster Frost down. I don't want to do so. I may have failed to actually defeat Sektor, but Frost did. I hope you can forgive me." Aster sits as she looks up at the statue.
As Aster talks to the statue, Grandmaster Frost, Smoke and Cyrax watch from afar. "Do you believe she is ready, Sub-Zero?" Smoke asked Frost.
"Yes, Smoke. Aster has come far with her training. Becoming an apprentice is not an easy task. I speak from experience. I see something in her." Frost replied.
"I believe so too. I had no idea she grew to admire a strong person such as you. Because she saw your eyes. She, like Liang, knew you were worthy. After all, Aster is part of the reason why we stand here today." Cyrax said.
"Because otherwise we would've lost the Kold War against the Cyber Lin Kuei. I owe it to her. We all do. It is time to complete her training. Are you two with me?" Frost asked them and they nod. She smiles as they start walking down the temple to meet with Aster. Frost too has grown fond of Aster and is glad that she admires her. Frost was surprised by this when they first met and Aster wanting to help save lives from Sektor.
Aster continues to mediate with her eyes closed, but opens one of them as she senses her master and two friends approaching. She stands up and bows her heads before them. "Grandmaster. I've been waiting for you as you have asked. How may I be of help?"
"It is good to hear your voice, Aster. I summoned you here for a purpose. It is time to complete your training. To see if you are ready to see if you have what it takes to be a new apprentice." Frost tells her.
"Training? How will this one work, may I ask?" Aster asked her.
"Just as Kuai Liang did for me, you must face the strongest of warriors. If you can prove that you can defeat them, then you will be seen as one of the strongest too. But do not take this so lightly. These tests are to be taken seriously. Remember all the things I have taught you, Aster." Frost instructs her.
"I understand, Grandmaster Sub-Zero. Who are the strongest fighters you have?" Aster asked.
"You're looking right at them." Frost smirked. Cyrax and Smoke step up, knowing what she meant.
"You, Mr. Cyrax and Mr. Smoke? I see now. Because they're your closest friends and followers as they were to your predecessor. I would be honored to fight the three of you. Just like being part of the clan." Aster nodded. "So who will I fight first?"
Cyrax was the first to step up. "That will be me. I want to see how well Frost has trained you in cryomancing." Cyrax said, getting into position.
"I hope I won't disappoint you. I've seen how you fight though." Aster said.
"We shall see how this fight will turn out. Let's see what you have learned so far." Cyrax said. They start fighting.
Cyrax brings out his wrist blades while Aster uses her cryomancer powers to bring out two ice daggers. The two clash weapons with each other. They seem to be fast paced with each other. Cyrax swings at the ankle, only for Aster to jump, block a swing, duck a straight kick, allowing Aster to dodge roll to the side and roundhouse kick him in the head, elbow his right rib cage, and punch him in the back, stumbling Cyrax. Aster comes forward and disarms one of his blades and side kicks his right shoulder followed by the back kick, and tries to stab his wrist, but Cyrax blocks it with his other wrist blade gauntlet, knees Aster's stomach, punches her across the face, followed by a backhand strike and another punch to the face. Cyrax side kicks Aster's left shoulder with an eagle kick to the head and a swing kick to the chest. Aster rolls back up. Cyrax throws micro bombs which Aster throws her ice daggers through them, causing small explosions. She charges through the smoke and palm strikes his stomach and chest and left shoulder. Aster knees his chin, palm strikes his forehead, and trips him. Aster was about to punch him in the face, but stops an inch away from his nose.
"Are you alright, Cyrax?" Aster offers her hand to him and he takes it.
"I am fine, Aster. You managed to read my gestures, knowing what I planned on doing. You tried to disarm me, but that doesn't mean you are defenseless. You must always think as you keep a rational mind. You have done well, Aster." Cyrax tells her and bows his head to her.
"Thank you, Cyrax. I hope I can remember the lesson well. I have a feeling it won't be an easy thing to do, but I'll try." Aster said.
"Nothing is ever easy, Aster. It is something that everyone should know, regardless if it's among the Lin Kuei or not. We all speak from experience. All of our allies know it too." Smoke said.
"I know. I don't want to throw my life away unless I have to to keep everyone alive. I'm not as powerful as I originally thought, but I don't want the greed of power to go to my head." Aster said.
"Yes. That is what I have learned the hard way. No one is invincible. Not even me. That's why we train to become stronger, but invincibility is an impossible task from my point of view. Believing so can lead to aggression." Frost said. Aster nods in understanding, knowing what she meant. Aster was told about the Old Era and felt bad for her grandmaster and wanting to redeem herself. It pleases the young student to hear that Frost has done so a long time ago.
"I believe you, grandmaster. How else would we be standing here? Who shall be next?" Aster asked.
Smoke was the next to step up. "That would be me. This time, we must fight without weapons. I want to see how well you can fight bare-handed against me. Remember to use muscle memory to your advantage and figure out how to read your opponent and adapt. Are you ready?" Smoke asked.
"I am ready, Mr. Smoke." Aster smirked before getting into position.
"Good. Let us begin." Smoke said before they fight.
Aster and Smoke stay in a fighting stance for about a minute before one of them makes a move. Aster was the first to strike. She attempted to do a kick strike to the right knee, only for Smoke to disappear and reappear beside her and does a double kick to the right arm and the side of her head, stumbling her. Smoke follows with a double reverse side kick to the back and does an elbow strike and punch to the back of the head, stumbling her. Aster recovers and was ready to fight back. Smoke teleports above her and attempts to do a drop kick to the shoulder, but she parries his foot and replies with a double kick strike to the chest, a roundhouse kick to the head and a jump kick to the chest, sending Smoke backwards. Smoke disappears once more and Aster was prepared this time. Aster jumps backwards and freezes the ground where at the same time, Smoke reappears, but nearly loses his footing and almost slips. This allows Aster to do a palm strike to the chest, chop to the neck, a back kick to the head and a backflip kick to the chin, sending Smoke flying and hits the ground, defeating him.
"I started to realize your pattern quickly. You kept attempting to use your powers to turn the tables. That's how I had an idea." Aster tells her friend.
"Indeed, Aster. I was testing your reaction time. To see how you can react and sense one's presence. You must know that the enemy will not play fair, even in a 1-1 fight." Smoke corrects her.
"Smoke is right. We still have enemies out there. Hiding, cowering in fear. Even if they do return, they will use whatever advantage they might have to gain the upper hand against any of us or our allies." Frost said.
"Even Mileena? She's the only known enemy we have left. Shao Kahn is gone, and so are the Black Dragon and Red Dragon." Aster said.
"But Mileena, while insane like her 'father', is known for her leadership skills. Sooner or later, she will know how to come back and plan something devious. No one knows when they will come back. But as Liu Kang once said, new evil may arise. Anything can happen to us, that is why we must be ready." Frost tells her student, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Grandmaster. I don't know what to do. What if they come back and strike us while our backs are turned? They make more allies somehow and some way." Aster worries.
"Dwelling on what horrible things the future will hold will only bring more fear and worry. Only you can make your own future happen. As did I. So have Smoke and Cyrax. Kronika and Geras tried to control our fates, but no more. I was able to open my eyes and see the truth that Kuai Liang was telling me about. They no longer matter to us. The good thing is even if new evil rises, we must be prepared for anything that could happen. That's why we train newer generations of the Lin Kuei. We must resume training. You have one final test." Frost instructs.
Aster looks into her master's eyes and sees what she actually means. Frost originally wanted power and leadership, but it was out of greed rather than by right and honor. She sees that Frost was wrong and sought out to reclaim her honor and done so when she helped against Geras and Triborg.
"I must fight my own grandmaster, I assume. Just like you have gone through the tests beforehand." Aster assumed.
"Yes. Don't expect me to go easy on you this time. This is for real." Frost tells her student.
"Don't worry, grandmaster. I won't expect anything to be easy, coming from you. This time, I shall be ready. To put the words and lessons to good use." Aster said. She and Frost smirk at each other.
"Excellent. With no more words, let us begin our test." Frost said. They get into a stance and get ready to fight.
"As you wish." Aster said.
Frost and Aster's hands start flowing with ice, both ready to use their full skills for Kombat. Frost and Aster fire ice beams at each other. They seem to be evenly matched at first, until Frost, with the powers of Sub-Zero, starts to overpower Aster's cryomancing powers. Aster sees this and then spin jumps out of the way and throws ice stars, which Frost deflects and breaks with a swift kick. Frost and Aster stare at each other, none backing down. Frost summons a long ice sword and was ready to fight. Aster on the other hand uses an ice nagnata. The master and student clash at each other with their respective weapons. Aster tries to trip her with her weapon, but Frost jumps at her and punches her forehead, and spin kicks her across the face, sending her back.
Frost fires several ice balls which Aster blocks by spinning her her nagnata. Frost comes in and ducks a weapon swing and back kicks her left rib cage and left shoulder, making her drop her nagnata. Frost wraps her legs around her neck and throws her. Aster rolls and recovers. She covers her hands with ice. She dodges several swift swings from Frost's sword, grabs her wrist and punches the sword, shattering it to tiny pieces before chopping her right rib cage and right shoulder, side kicks her face and throws her by the wrist. Aster jumps to punch her in the back of the head, but Frost grabs the first and pushes her back.
Aster gets into a defensive stance, ready for Frost to come in. Frost comes in for roundhouse kicks, but Aster ducks one and parries the other, back kicks her left rib cage twice. She grabs her master's wrist once more and throws her down, but Frost quickly recovers. Frost throws ice stars, but Aster quickly kicks them away, shattering them. A move she just learned from Frost herself. Frost creates an ice sphere from her hands and slams them into the ground, creating a mist in the air. Aster sees this and gets back into a stance. She sees Frost coming in and manages to block and deflect all of her blows and elbows her throat, palm strikes her in the head and does a jump kick to the face, sending Frost sliding down.
Aster kicks up her ice nagnata and approaches her master. Frost looks up and sees what she is going to do. "Finish me." Frost demands.
Aster took deep breaths and readies her weapon, holding it in the air. Smoke attempts to intervene, but Cyrax grabs his shoulder, as if to tell him to stand back. Aster after a moment of silence, breaks her weapon in half with her knee.
"I won't kill you. Because I have no reason to." Aster exclaimed.
"Then you have passed." Frost smirks as she takes Aster's hand.
"You mean the fight wasn't real?" Aster asked.
"Part of it, yes. But the real test was to show your morality. To see how you will face an enemy. To fight by any means necessary. To show morals." Frost explained.
"Because it is a lesson you taught me, Sub-Zero. To show morality. You told me that we should not kill our foes unless absolutely necessary." Aster said.
"Exactly. You will know down in your heart on what to do whenever you defeat your opponent. But the enemy may not do the same. Remember to not expect anything to be easy for you, Aster." Frost tells her.
"I will remember." Aster promises.
"Good. Bend the knee." Frost ordered. Aster does so and Frost brings out an ice sword. "By authority of the grandmasters before me and the power that flows within me. Arise, Aster. My new apprentice." Frost said as she taps her student's shoulders with the sword.
Aster looks up and smiles at the words her master has said. Smoke and Cyrax look on, remembering the days they had with Kuai Liang and them training Frost and she becomes his apprentice once more. Now Frost is doing the same for Aster. "As stealthy as the night." Aster said.
"And deadly as the dawn." Frost finished. The teacher and student bow their heads to each other out of gratitude and respect. Aster feels pride in her heart that she is coming closer to fulfilling her wishes of being Frost's appreciate and best student. She would do anything to make Frost proud, but feels afraid of everyone's safety and what the future may hold for the Lin Kuei.
Note: Aster, Frost's idolizer from Kold War has returned! She is much older and experienced and mastered her cryomancy. I apologize if this feels too similiar to a chapter in Time for Vengeance, but I thought I'd show her progress and that her fighting style is different from Frost as she wields a nagnata, a bo staff with a blade, in battle. And of course, Frost is grandmaster with Cyrax and Smoke, the latter being my favorite in MK1 assisting her. I hope you guys like Aster!