The Shaolin known as Shujinko stepped through the portal of the Nexus that led to the Netherrealm. Just as before, the portal had transported him into the centre of a village he had previously visited. His advisor, Damashi, was an agent of the Elder Gods and they had demanded that Shujinko needed to corrupt his soul once more after he had spent that past six years training under Nightwolf to purify himself. Despite his positive experience of the Matokan tribe, it was a waste of time from his quest. Now he had to return to this cursed land.

Shujinko wandered for days before he encountered a familiar face. It was his former ally, Ashrah. Despite having the appearance of an elegant, old-fashioned, attractive young woman, Ashrah was actually a demon from the Netherrealm. She dressed in a white, long-sleeved kimono-like dress with a golden linen, belt, and ringed bracelets and her physical appearance was that of a tall, mysterious woman; a blend between aristocracy and innocence.

"Ashrah!" Shujinko rushed over to greet his ally. "It is good to see you!"

"So, you have returned, Shujinko." Ashrah recognized the man despite his aged appearance for they had last met many years ago. "What is it here in the Netherrealm that tempts you this time?"

"My advisor has informed me to return to the Netherrealm to bring corruption back into my soul." He explained, a distaste in what he doing was clear. "I intend for the Netherrealm to naturally taint my soul as I spend time here."

"Beware that you don't stay for too long," Ashrah warned. "If your soul becomes too corrupted then you could potentially transform into an Oni or even... a Wraith."

"I have encountered many Oni in these villages before, but I know nothing of a Wraith," Shujinko informed. "Do tell me more."

"In summary: a wraith is an undead who loses all semblance of their prior identity, powers included, becoming a literal shadow of their former self." Ashrah explained. "And their appearance also resembles that of a shadow with pitch black skin all around."

"How come I haven't seen one yet?"

"It is rare for one's soul to be tainted in such a way where they become a shadow," Ashrah elaborated. "Actually, I'm currently searching for one."

"I didn't mean to disrupt your search," Shujinko humbly apologized. "I shall continue wandering until my advisor informs me that I've succeeded in his task."

"Care to join me in tracking down this Wraith?" Ashrah offered. "I can sense one nearby."

"Very well," Shujinko accepted the offer. "I shall aid you in weakening the Wraith."

"Thank you." Ashrah said gratefully.

"You may lead the way."

During the interaction between Shujinko and Ashrah, the Wraith was approached by the sorcerer Quan Chi. The Wraith was sat on a magma rock, looking down at the floor glumly. A frown was visible on the Wraith's uncanny face.

"Why so sad?" Quan asked, squatting in front of the race. "What troubles you, Bi Han?"

"How do you know my name?!" He lashed out, irritated by Quan Chi disturbing his peace.

"I know many things, Bi Han." Chi revealed. "I know that you were the former Sub Zero for example. I also know much about your killer..."

"Tell me!" He demanded.

"Now, now," Chi tried to calm the Wraith. "I offer you vengeance if you serve me."

"How can I trust you?"

The sorcerer told the Wraith a familiar name. "Hanzo Hasashi."

"Hanzo?" Bi Han tried to recall. "He was the leader of the Shirai Ryu, yes?"

Quan Chi nodded. "Excellent, your memory has been retained."

"Why should it matter to you?!"

"Because I want you to recall your death," Quan Chi explained. "Do you remember the Spectre known as Scorpion?"

"How could I forget the man who murdered me?"

"Do you see a connection between the two?"

"Yes..." Bi Han finally realized. "Scorpion IS Hanzo."

"Indeed, he is." Chi confirmed. "Bind your service to me and I promise you vengeance."

There was a moment of silence, but that moment of contemplation was rather brief. The decision was somewhat easy for Bi Han, he kneeled to Quan Chi.

"I, Bi Han, offer you my services." He sworn.

"Excellent." Quan Chi said with a villainous smile on his face. "Your new alias shall be: Noob Saibot."

"Yes, master."

"Here is the Wraith!" Yelled Ashrah who she and Shujinko were approaching Quan Chi and Noob. "And... Quan Chi?"

"We meet again, traitor." Quan Chi recalled Ashrah being under his command some years ago. "This Wraith is under my services."

"I'm the traitor? You're the one who sent one of my own sisters to attempt to assassinate me." Ashrah reminded.

"And that weakling failed." Quan Chi said in clear annoyance. "I demand that you stand aside."

"There is evil within both of you." Ashrah said as she drew her Kriss sword. Ashrah believed that her sword was blessed and that by slaying demons, Ashrah would become more humane and would be able to leave the Netherrealm, hence her own quest to purge evil in the Netherrealm. "You shall both meet the end of my Kriss."

"And what is his business with us?!" Noob pointed to Shujinko.

"If what she speaks of is true then I am here to aid her in both of your demises." He explained.

"We don't have the time for this." Quan Chi said in an attempt to defuse things.

"I have all the time in this damned world!" Noob leapt up from the rock he sat on and drew a sickle that he had left stabbed in his back for whatever sick and twisted reason.

"No, Noob. We don't have time for this." Quan Chi repeated himself.

Noob suddenly stopped his charge towards a prepared Ashrah. He froze. "Yes, master." He complied reluctantly.

Quan Chi summoned a portal and himself and his new Wraith ally retreated through it, Ashrah tried to catch them before it closed but Noob slashed her before he fully stepping through the portal.

Quan Chi and his newly acquired Wraith stepped out the portal to building that looked like a Netherrealm library. Ruins glowed across the walls; some symbols being hidden behind the bookcases that mostly were telling's of magic spells.

"Where have you taken me?" Noob asked as he looked over the balcony of the room. There was a bridge to the structure he stood in which beneath it was a pit that led to a pool of lava.

"To my fortress."

"This is yours?" Noob was astonished. He hadn't seen a building this large before during his time in the Netherrealm.

"Allow me to show you the downstairs," Quan Chi offered. "I believe there is a room you may recognize."

Quan Chi led Noob down a spiral of stairs that went through many interesting rooms that their use couldn't quite be made out until they reach the room below the entrance. The basement was a prison, a familiar prison...

Bi Han awoke in a prison cell. He scanned around the room and spotted a woman who was sat on a stone bench. She turned to face the Cryomancer after hearing Bi Han move around a bit.

"You're awake," She noted. "Quan Chi has ordered me to keep watch of you until further orders are given."

"Unless you're freeing me then I don't give a damn." Bi Han retorted. He checked his pockets before realizing he had lost his amulet upon being knocked out. "Where's the amulet?"

"With Quan Chi as he waits for Shinnok to collect it from him." She informed.

"What will he do with me?"

"I believe that he's leaving you to become a Wraith." She theorized.

"Whatever that is, I'm not sticking around to find out." Bi Han stood up and clenched his icy hands on two of the metal prisons bars. Ice slowly began forming on the bars and the woman quickly booted Bi Han into the wall behind him upon realizing what he was doing, pieces of the bars snapped apart and were left grasped in Bi Han's hands.

"H-how did you-"

"Are you uneducated of Cryomancers, demon?" He asked before shooting small icicles at the woman from between the bars. She dodged a few icicles before being caught in the shoulder by one of the icicles.

"I prefer the name of Sareena." She revealed as she pulled the sharp ice out of her shoulder.

"And I, Sub Zero." He introduced. "Which it seems apparent that you either didn't know that or don't know what it means."

"I'm not daft." She retorted. "Hey! Hands off the bars."

"Alright." He stepped back, complying after she picked up a pair of Kama that were lying on her seat. "I don't wish to fight you."

"Because you know I'll defeat you," She said but without the confidence in her voice. She was unsure.

"Willing to test that?" Bi Han asked as he began to create an ice sword. "Final chance to stand aside."

"I... I can't do that." She said as if she had no choice.

"Then I'll do what I must."

Bi Han pushed his sword through the gap he had made in the cell in an attempt to stab Sareena. Sareena threw her head back, the swords tip nearly catching her nose. Sareena kicked up, shattering the sword as her foot connected with it. Meanwhile, Bi Han froze and smashed one of the bars. While he squeezed himself through the new gap in the jail cell, Sareena stabbed a Kama into Bi Han's shoulder and dragged him to the floor. Sareena tried to strike with her second Kama but Bi Han rolled away and kicked Sareena into the prison bars. Bi Han grabbed Sareena and threw her into the wall opposite the jail cell. Bi Han launched an ice axe at Sareena but she ducked it, leaving the axe hanging out a newly made indent to the wall behind Sareena. The demon went to charge at Bi Han but was kicked back into the wall. Sareena struggled to her feet but was booted back into the wall and held firmly by Sub Zero's boot. Sareena stabbed her Kama into Bi Han's ankle which only drove Sub Zero into choosing to kick her again, this time in the face. Sareena was now stunned, injured and disarmed. She closed her eyes, anticipating death. Bi Han spared her and moved onwards, walking up the stairs to escape the basement that had been transformed into a small prison area.

Sub Zero spotted Quan Chi, the man who ordered him to be imprisoned, on a bridge in front of the exit from whatever the building he stood in was. The sorcerer was speaking with Shinnok, who had travelled to visit Quan Chi on a demonic horse. The two had arranged to meet so Quan Chi could return his master his amulet, which Sub Zero had previously retrieved for another sorcerer known as Shang Tsung. Bi Han had been hunted down by Quan Chi and his fellow Brotherhood of Shadow as they too were hunting for the amulet.

"Your prisoner seems to have escaped, Quan Chi!" Shinnok alerted his servant.

"Kia, Jataaka," Quan Chi called for his own servants who had been stood by his side. "Deal with him."

"Come, Jataaka. This'll be fun." Kia pulled out a pair of boomerang blades before rushing at Bi Han eagerly.

"It very much will." Jataaka ran shortly behind her friend with her own weapon of choice, a laser sword.

Bi Han kicked Kia who fell back into Jataaka. "You're an aggressive little demon, aren't you?"

"Watch it!" Jataaka yelled, clearly irritated as she pushed Kia off of her.

"We'll kill you, ninja!" Kia promised as she charged at Sub Zero. Kia began swinging her blades at a rapid rate, she tripped Bi Han over as she had made him fall back from attempting to dodge all the wild swings Kia attacked with.

"The Lin Kuei are not ninja!" He yelled, annoyed by the given title. He kicked up when a boomerang blade was about to fall onto him and head-butted Kia. The demon stumbled back but mustered the strength to throw her blade at Bi Han who ducked it and proceeded to clash an ice sword with Jataaka's laser sword. The boomerang blade came back to try and take off Sub Zero's head but again the Cryomancer ducked, causing the blade to stab into Jataaka.

"No!" Kia cried out as she ran to Jataaka who had collapsed to the obsidian floor of the bridge, she had been injured by Kia's own weapon. She looked back at Sub Zero, this time angrier than before she yelled. "This is your fault!"

"The blame is yours alone." Sub Zero stated.

"Just die already!" Kia again ran at Bi Han but a ball of ice stopped her attack as it froze her entire body.

"Hand over the amulet." Bi Han ordered.

Shinnok laughed as Quan Chi passed stepped in front of his master. "Finish him, my loyal sorcerer."

"No," Quan Chi refused. "I'd rather he join us."

"I will never serve the Brotherhood of Shadow," Bi Han remarked. "Your attempts are worthless."

"Is that so?" Quan Chi sighed. "Your soul requires at least some tainting in order to even enter the Netherrealm. You are destined to join our dark arts."

"No." Was the simple decline.

"How unfortunate." Quan Chi sounded genuinely upset by the rejection as he summoned upon his swords.

The movement of Chi's swords were too fast for Bi Han to react fast enough. One of the swords scraped Sub Zero's mask, cracking it open and leaving a line of blood that was visible through the cracks which stretched from the right side of Bi Han's upper lip and down to the left side of his chin. Quan Chi smirked as he clutched onto his swords even tighter, getting truly into the energetic feel of the fight.

"I expected better from you." Quan Chi chuckled. "You managed to defeat the God of Wind to retrieve the amulet but not me? I was unaware I was that skilled."

Bi Han tilted his ice sword to the side as he charged in low, swooping the blade up as he smashed his shoulder into a self-absorbed Quan Chi and raised his sword to slash at Quan Chi's stomach.

"Keep your guard up." Bi Han advised mockingly as he created a second ice sword.

"You have my full attention now." He confirmed.

The two charged at one another and began clashing their blades between one another, neither man being successful in breaking the other man's guard. It wasn't until one of Bi Han's swords shattered after a heavy blow from the sorcerer that he gained the upper hand in the fight. Quan Chi stabbed one sword into the now unprotected arm of Bi Han, causing him to collapse to his knees in agony of the impaled sword. Chi pulled the sword out of Sub Zero's arm and threw the Cryomancer to the feet of his master, Shinnok.

"A pathetic warrior." Shinnok insulted as he stepped on the Cryomancers hand.

"He was." Quan Chi corrected. He raised a sword up with preparations to kill Bi Han but was stopped by a sharp pain the suddenly rushed through his back.

"Quan Chi!" Shinnok reacted too late. "Treacherous little girl!"

Sareena had stabbed her Kama into the sorcerer. "I want to be free, Lord Shinnok."

"And I want you dead!" Shinnok screamed as he summoned a bolt of energy that connected into Sareena with full force before kneeing Bi Han in the face, breaking his mask.

"Why Sareena?" He asked as he crawled to her dying body. "Why?!"

"I couldn't... handle this... awful life... any longer..." She explained weakly. "Go... there's a portal... on the... fortress' second level..."

"Thank you."

"No... thank you..." She whispered before dying in Bi Han's arms.

"She isn't close to freedom." Shinnok muttered. "And neither are you."

Bi Han used his remaining energy to create an ice wall in front of Shinnok to try and block him off as he hobbled his way back to the fortress, picking up Shinnok's amulet that lay beside Quan Chi's now unconscious body as he retreated. Shinnok merely smashed through the wall with a backhand as he continued marching towards the weakened Sub Zero. Bi Han made it to the spiral of stairs in the fortress and he began to limp up them. Shinnok sent another bolt crashing into Bi Han, knocking him to the floor. Despite the immense pain, Bi Han continued crawling up to the second floor. nbsp;Sareena spoke the truth, the second floor was indeed a work in progress of a portal room. Fortunately for Bi Han, one portal was already functioning. Sub Zero was inches away from the portal but was grabbed by Shinnok. The fallen Elder God picked up Sub Zero only to be smashed in the face by a fist that was surrounded by ice, causing Shinnok to stumble away as Bi Han collapsed through the portal. Sub Zero shattered the portal system from the Earthrealm side of the system to prevent the Brotherhood of Shadow from further perusing him. He was safe for now.

"I remember everything vividly now." Noob recalled. "Your master killed Sareena."

"She betrayed the Brotherhood." Quan Chi explained. "Just like how Shang Tsung betrayed you."

"I... see."

"Why attack us for killing a traitor?" Quan Chi asked, once more persuading Noob. "I perceive you as a friend, which is why I revealed this past to you."

"Because you... care?"

"Why certainly." Quan Chi confirmed. "I want you to realize that I wanted to help you before and I still want to today."

"Where are Kia and Jataaka?" Noob asked. "I owe them my apologies."

"You may even want to become friends with them," Quan Chi considered. "You'll meet many other great faces in our Brotherhood. So, for one final time I ask: do you wish to join the Brotherhood of Shadow?"

"I do." Noob confirmed, even more certain than previously. "I will obey your command, my master."