The jungle was thick, and the ground rocky, but Smoke had no problem navigating the terrain. He enjoyed the challenge; back home during training, there weren't any mountains for him to scale, no jungles to navigate, but here he felt free. Getting by the guards was the easy part; getting to the meeting spot was even easier. Despite being the adopted brother, he always excelled, besting even Kuai Liang. Bi-Han saw the potential in him; he knew he did. Despite having fun dashing around the jungle, Sektors comments still dwell on him, but Bi-Han would guide them through this uncertain time as he always had.
Smoke approached the meeting spot, a nice waterfall that opened up into a pond. Bi-Han had perfectly described it, and the beauty was breathtaking. Smoke crouched and did the eagle call he learned from Bi-Han. Yet a minute passed with no response. Smoke smirked, once again beating Kuai Liang. Maybe I should be the next Grandmaster, Smoke thought to himself.
A man grabbed Smoke from behind, putting him in a chokehold; Smoke gasped, trying to break free. Pulling at the arms of the man, he couldn't pry them apart for the life of him, but then the man just let go. Smoke quickly turned around, preparing to strike the perpetrator.
"Tomas, I can't believe you would let me sneak up that easily." Kuai Liang, dawning the role of Tundra for the first time, smirked under his mask.
"Kuai Liang, only a coward would attack such an important target from the shadows; we must now engage in Mortal Kombat." Smoke responded, teasing Tundra.
"Important! That you are not my friend, and only a fool would challenge a cryomancer master to Kombat," Tundra jested back. They both took stances, preparing to face each other; after all, Bi-Han wasn't here to break them up this time. So everything was on the table.
Tundra froze Smoke's feet to the floor and ran up and kicked him in the face, knocking him down. Smoke looked up to see Tundra running to hit him while he was down. In response, Smoke disappeared off the ground and teleported behind Tundra, smacking him on the ground. They would both smirk, and Tundra hoisted himself back up, getting ready to engage in another fight. Before they could, they were interrupted.
"Enough!" Bi-Han yelled from the trees, wearing the clothes of Sub-Zero without the mask. He had his arms crossed and had been watching the whole time, disappointed that his brothers would mess around with such high stakes. Better this than plotting against him, Bi-Han thought to himself. He jumped down from the branch he was standing on, scolding them the whole way down.
"The amount of noise you were both making alone makes me question who trained you; Lin Kuei are silent in battle, not babbling buffoons who throw out insults at their enemies." Bi-Han insulted them while pacing around them; however, he remembers when their father first took him to his first tournament, realizing he acted the same way.
"Our apologies, Grandmaster." Smoke responded, bowing while putting his fist in his hand; Tundra followed shortly after. Bi-Han stared at them, examining what his next course of action should be. Nervous about Sektor and Cyrax, he got an idea that could punish them while keeping an eye on Sektor.
"Smoke, tonight you will go with Sektor and Cyrax on their scouting mission," Bi-Han ordered while patting him on the shoulder, looking him directly in the eye as Smoke looked up.
"But Grandmaster—"
"I need you to be my eyes, brother, to keep him in check," Bi-Han responded, cutting off Smoke before he could finish his thought. Smoke nodded in agreement, and Bi-Han smiled at him, proud of the brother he had helped raise. While he wasn't perfect, he had faith in the Lin Kuei way of life.
"Go now, Smoke," Bi-Han commanded, Smoke bowing to Bi-Han before he left.
"And one more thing." Smoke turned around before hopping into the trees. "Until everyone has their masks off, I am Subzero, not your Grandmaster," Bi-Han told them both while putting on his mask, ready for whatever the night may hold.
Smoke dodged and weaved through the vines and trees. He knew Sektor would be angry at Bi-Han for sending him to their group. Worse, he would know that Smoke told him something. Despite Bi-Han being the Grandmaster, Sektor still had more than enough sway in the council to hurt Smoke. So he thought up a lie on his way there.
Soon the jungle would thin into a clearing where Sektor and Cyrax stood, discussing their mission beforehand. Sektor turned around quickly, startled by Smoke appearing from the trees; Cyrax left with a confused look on his face, wondering why Smoke had come to them over going with his brothers.
"Subzero has sent me here to be of aid," Smoke lied. "He wishes for him and Tundra to be alone tonight, for what I do not know." Smoke kept his expression as neutral as possible, hoping that they would both buy it. Cyrax was the first. He laughed a little at the decision. Sektors stern look turned to one of smugness, and he smirked a bit. You could almost see the idea just pop into his head.
"If that is Subzeros wish, then we are glad to have you along, friend; after all, we cover the larger and thicker side of the jungle," Sektor responded, still smirking a bit. This behavior surprised Smoke, but he was glad that at least they didn't question him.
"Shall we move out, then? The night is young, but it will not stay this way." Cyrax commented, and Smoke nodded to the request, but Sektor raised his hand, telling them to halt. Sending Smoke a bit on edge from his request.
"Before we do, I have a proposition for the two of you," Sektor stated. Smoke balled his hand into a fist, while Cyrax looked at him, confused.
"Our Grandmaster is wrong; we shouldn't be helping Earthrealm; we should help Outworld." Sektor proposed, and Smoke could feel his anger building as his fist got tighter; Cyrax looked in disgust at him. "Bi-Han has only caused the Lin Kuei to fall from their status, to become Raiden's lapdog. I propose we take over the Lin Kuei and stop his disastrous reign. Sektor shouted, Cyrax now in utter disbelief and Smoke was ready to take off his head.
"How could you say this? It goes against all our principles. You are a traitor and shall be dealt with as one." Cyrax responded, still in disbelief at what he was hearing, pointing his finger toward him and getting ready for combat.
"I agree. Your behavior is deplorable, and you shall stand trial in front of the council for your acts of treason. Stand down now, Sektor; you're outnumbered and far past your prime." Threatened Smoke, Sektor just laughed and smirked. He readied his gear; Sektor knew it was going to come to this; part of him wanted it to come to this. He had hoped Smoke would join his side this way, but maybe he needed a bit of motivation.
"Begin," Sektor announced, confusing Smoke and Cyrax.
Smoke felt a piercing force and was yanked backward, crashing into a tree. He got up quickly, looking for what or who had done that. Meanwhile, Sektor and Cyrax brawled it out, trading blows. Smoke saw a burning pair of eyes from the tree. He assumed a combat stance; despite his injuries, he would do his best. The man with the yellow eyes walked into the light, taking out his katana.
"I shall have my revenge!" He yelled, planting his katana on the ground, choosing to face Smoke in hand-to-hand combat instead. This action confused Smoke, but he rushed him while the man stood there with his hands down. Smoke threw his hand forward just to have it caught and for Smoke to be uppercut, sending him flying back to where he once was.
"You Lin Kuei are such fools, dishonorable thieves of lives and valuables." The man insulted, Smoke picked himself back up and rushed him again, leading with a kick and then a punch.
But everything Smoke threw his way was dodged, blocked, or caught. Scorpion grabbed him and pushed him to the tree, picking up his katana and stabbing it through Smoke's shoulder and into the tree, pinning him there.
"Scorpion, help me!" Sektor shouted as Cyrax pinned Sektor to the ground; even with all of Sektors gadgets and tools, he had still been defeated. Smoke was right about him being past his prime.
Cyrax looked up to find Scorpion had disappeared, only to be grabbed and thrown against a tree by him. Sektor quickly crawled away and got back up; the coward hid behind Scorpion. Cyrax quickly got up, throwing shurikens at Scorpion. As he got closer, Scorpion pulled out his chain and started spinning it to stop the stars from hitting him. Cyrax stopped in disbelief; Scorpion was a better-trained warrior than him. Sektor laughed a bit, watching it unfold.
Cyrax knew it was certain death to face Scorpion alone; looking over at Smoke still pinned to the tree, he ran, hoping Smoke would be spared by the two. Sektor chuckled again, counting it in his mind as he defeated Cyrax.
"We must pursue him and force him to give us information about the whereabouts of Subzero," Scorpion commanded, and Sektor shook his head at the thought of this.
"We shall follow his tracks; he'll lead us right to Subzero," Sektor said while stroking his beard. Scorpion nodded and then walked over to Smoke. Smoke tried to muster up the strength to pull the blade from his shoulder, his clothes soaked in blood as it dripped from the blade.
Scorpion twirled his kunai, aiming for Smoke's head. Smoke tried to pull more, but the tree gripped the sword, not allowing it to budge. After realizing the effort was in vain, he closed his eyes and made peace, praying for his brothers safety.
"Stop Scorpion; me and Quan Chi have other plans for him," Sektor ordered while walking over to Smoke. He placed his hand on Smoke's forehead and held down Smoke's arm, smiling the whole time.
"Arise, Enenra!" Sektor shouted.