The Fading Shadow:
-Chronicles of Smoke-
Chapter I
The sun began to rise above the high cliffs in the mountains of Tibet, only miles from the Chinese border, a safe haven for the Lin Kuei. The morning mist has not had a chance to dissipate when the sound of battle broke the almost serine silence of the mountains. As the sun cast long shadows of the main temple that the Lin Kuei were housed in, it also cast a shadow upon two young warriors. One was dressed in a deep blue cloak with chain mesh on his sides and a sash on his waist. He wore a black hood with a simple, vented face mask, his eyes shimmered with a chilling blue, and ice ran through his veins, his past name was forgotten, he went by the name «Sub-Zero», a young assassin in the Lin Kuei, and an elite warrior in his class. His footsteps chilled the earth he stood on, and his strikes left devastation in their wake. His opponent, an almost carbon copy of himself was dressed in a grey scheme and like Sub-Zero also wore a vented face mask, however, his mask had an additional metal frame which highlighted his face. Unlike Sub-Zero whose power was evident, this man seamed to be much more covert in his approach. His eyes were a void, unreadable to his opponent, and intimidating to his targets. As he stepped forward, he made no sound, almost as if he wasn't touching the ground beneath him, and in fact he wasn't, his entire bottom was covered with a thick mist, making his legs impossible to see, since they weren't physically there. This man had the ability to completely dematerialize any part of his being into a cloud of smoke. Like his power, his calling name was «Smoke», another elite assassin, like Sub-Zero, well versed in the specialty of recon and entry. The two warriors faced each other in the arena which the Lin Kuei had built their fortress around. The gravel beneath them made for an excellent grip for their feet as tread across the loose pebbles. Sub-Zero stepped into the rising sun, creating a silhouette of his being, as he exhaled a cold mist protruded forward, although he didn't know it, he was part of an ancient and powerful race of beings known as the criomancers. He and his brother, who also shared the same name, are the last of their kind.
The two warriors starred each other down as if they were to tear each other's throats out at any second. To somebody who is untrained, that would certainly appear to be the case. The two warriors starred deeply into the other's being, scanning the tiniest muscle fluctuation, the first sign of a tension in a muscle, the first sign of even a thought of attack. To them, time and existence stood still, the space between them was the only thing that mattered. Suddenly the silence and serenity of the mountains is broken once more as Sub-Zero is the first to make a move, leaping into the air above Smoke and over to the other side. As his feet touch the ground and the gravel beneath begins to shift he extends his left leg outward and sweeps with a strong motion at Smoke, however, stands still as his lower half turns once again into mist and Sub-Zero's leg shoots straight through. Smoke turns around with great speed and sends his mist forward, as it morphs into a solid form of his leg, it comes crashing forward into Sub-Zero's chest, sending him tumbling across the gravel.
Seeing that his hit has made its mark, Smoke comments in disappointment «Come on, I know you can do much better, you know me to well to let yourself get hit by that attack. Now focus or the next one will be full force...
Sub-Zero rolls into his tumble and springs off his hand and back onto his feet, starring back at Smoke. With a forced grin to hide the pain, he responds, «You're absolutely right, now take this!»
Sub-Zero charges a small amount of energy into his arms and jumps high into the air. He brings his arms together and the two small blasts become one, considerably larger ball of energy. He launches it down at Smoke and as it tumbles, it shatters into smaller fragments, coming down like rain.
Smoke stands his ground and braces for impact. The shards strike the ground around him, causing it to freeze instantly and jut upwards into a cage of solid ice. Smoke lowers his guard and looks around, he's completely imprisoned in a wall of mirrors, as he tries to move, he notices that his feet are frozen solid. As he struggles to get out, he sees the reflection of his attacker come at him, unable to determine where the attack is coming from, he can't put up a defense, and is struck straight from the front by Sub-Zero as he slides in on a sheet of ice and his feet and smashes an elbow into Smoke's abdomen, causing him to fly back with great force, shattering the icicles behind him. His body falls backwards, tumbling on impact, and he lands on his back, facing upwards towards the sky.
Sub-Zero moves forward to the fallen Lin Kuei warrior and observes him. Exhaling slowly through his mask, a thick mist of ice-cold air can be seen leaving the vents as he begins to speak. «So, do you wish to give up, or do you want another beating?»
Making eye contact with Sub-Zero, Smoke's gray eyes take on a glazed look. H slowly turning his head to Sub-Zero, he answers in a low, yet taunting voice. «You think this is over?»
Smoke's full body takes on an ethereal form and dissipates from sight. As Sub-Zero takes a step forward in confusion, he is jumped from behind be Smoke, who delivers an elbow to Sub-Zero's neck, causing him to stumble forward and drop to his knees. Smoke grabs Sub-Zero as he falls and locks him into a Full Nelson, suspending him off the ground, he leans back wards, and releases Sub-Zero, flinging him into the air. As the cryomancer's body shoots upward Smoke shoots his leg up, kicking Sub-Zero in his back, and hanging him in mid-air. Smoke lowers his foot as Sub-Zero's body falls to the ground once again, it looks as if Smoke has taken the victory. Sub-Zero is inches from crashing onto the gravel beneath him but then his eyes ignites with life and his reaches down, landing in a hand plant and then spinning with grate speed as he goes into a helicopter kick, smashing Smoke in his ribs before pulling his legs underneath and landing in an upright position. Smoke stumbles back, grabbing at his side.
Both warriors stare at each other before dashing forward and launching two identical kicks to the others head, but both meet in the center and lock up. Sub-Zero pushes one way, and Smoke pushes the other, both locked in a contest of strength before both push and give in the same direction and fling themselves into a barrel roll, in mid-air. As the come around the launch another kick, this time with their other foot, and both kicks plant themselves underneath the other one's jaw. They shoot backwards towards the ground, but regain their balance and land, squatting on their back foot with their front foot extended outwards. Their stances are identical and once again they charge each other. As they come close they raise their front legs in an attempt to land a crushing axe kick to the other, once again, they get locked for a split second before pushing forward and landing on their opposite side. Smoke is the first to make a move from this position as he flips backwards, and onto his hands and launches twin thrust kicks at Sub-Zero, who intern does an aerial over them and launches a sweep towards Smoke's head.
Smoke turns into mist once again and again, Sub-Zero's sweep fails as Smoke sinks into the spaces between the gravel and vanishing underneath the arena.
«That's a very impressive escape, I see you've been practicing and delving deeper into your power. Admirable, but I am not without my own techniques...» the ice ninja commented.
Sub-Zero gets into a stable stance and brings his palms together, then slowly separates them, creating a sphere of ice. As his kori energy begins to feed into it, it begins to expand.
Sub-Zero begins to draw more and more energy into the kori ball at a faster rate, and it expands into a small bubble around him, flash freezing the gravel beneath him. The kori ball then incases itself in several more shells as it starts to reach critical mass.
Smoke reforms above ground right behind Sub-Zero ready to grab him as the technique fires off from within the bubble, expanding it with great speed, instantly freezing everything into solid ice, including Smoke, who has now become a solid statue. Sub-Zero quickly ducks down and away from the frozen Smoke. He then walks up to the frozen statue and folds his arms.
«It's called Frost Nova, a devastating attack and a personal favorite of my brother's. But it takes time to charge up. However, if you get to use it, it's full proof. Sorry Smoke, looks like you loose.» He comments, tapping on the ice statue, formally his opponent.
Sub-Zero pulls back and smashes the ice statue of Smoke, and it falls to the floor into pieces. However, Smoke's body is nowhere to be found. Stunned, Sub-Zero begins to look around he arena. He was certain that at least Smoke's solid form would be incased inside the statue.
He hears a low fizzing sound from behind him as he turns around he sees Smoke reformed and charging up his own blast. Before Sub-Zero can say anything, Smoke unleashes a gigantic ball of vapor at his opponent. Sub-Zero can't do anything but put up his defenses and brace himself for the impact. The blast comes forward with extreme force, and it surrounds Sub-Zero in a thick black cloud, suddenly lifting him into the air. He feels his body get racked with blows to the ribs, legs, arms knees, every square inch is assaulted with extreme force. As he manages to open his eyes, he sees two red sparks in the midst of the cloud and Smoke quickly comes forth smashing Sub-Zero with a fierce uppercut, as the swirling cloud disappears, and reforms back into Smoke's full body. Sub-Zero's battered body shoots from the arena and into one of the walls of the Lin Kuei temple. Sub-Zero hits hard and leaves an imprint of his impact. He manages to look up as Smoke towers over him with his mist at his feet.
«What.......? You....win.» the ice ninja forces out.
Smoke moves forward without saying a word and shoots his arm forward, as if to finish the downed warrior, but instead, extends his hand as a sign of friendship and support, helping Sub-Zero back to his feet. A loud gong sounds and a cloaked figure moves forward, dressed in black with a long sash across his shoulders. It is the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.
Addressing the two of them, he commends them on an excellent training exercise. «That will be enough for today. You two deserve a rest, well done.»
A resounding cheer is heard from the other members of the Lin Kuei that were the spectators. Sub-Zero and Smoke shake hands and remove their hoods. Sub-Zero has short black hair and is a mix of Chinese and Caucasian in appearance, since his true origins are unknown, he was adopted by the Lin Kuei. Smoke on the other hand has a grey hue of skin, like a very much like fresh ash from a fire., and has blazing white hair.
«Well done my friend, well done. I believe that means we're tied now, 47 to 47.» Sub-Zero comments.
«I guess so. You're Frost Nova technique is a true force to be reckoned with.»
«Speaking of techniques, that last one that you performed, I've never seen anything like that. What do you call it?»
«Actually, I haven't thought of a name for it yet since it's a brand new attack, but I guess I'll call it Assault Tempest.»
Two more of the Lin Kuei stepped forward, both wearing the same style of clothing as Sub-Zero and Smoke, yet with two different colors. One was known as «Sektor», his color was a crimson red, considered as one of the most loyal to the Lin Kuei he is a master in long range attacks and posses massive strength along with pyromancer-like abilities. He had pale skin and black hair, which was shoulder length coupled with a small ponytail in the back. The other Lin Kuei wore a gold scheme, he was dark skinned and had black hair which was slicked backwards. His name was Cyrax, also a loyal member of the Lin Kuei, Cyrax specialized in using poisons in his attacks. He was recently scarred across his left eye in a past mission, thought to be suicidal, yet he returned. He is also an expert in mixing powders for the explosives the Lin Kuei use, he himself is a demolition's expert, making sure that nothing survives of his targets.
Sektor is the first to speak, with his usual snide tone. «Well, well. So the two of you have been holding back this whole time? What do you say to another match this time, the two of you versus the two of us?»
Sektor, being one of the most loyal, and born of blood into the clan despises Sub-Zero, seeing him as an outsider. However, he has a small sense of respect and honor for him as well, seeing the ice ninja as his biggest rival to eventually becoming the next grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.
The Grandmaster intervenes at the request immediately.
«Sektor, that's enough, leave your quarrels for another day. You have a battle awaiting you anyway, you will be facing against my right hand man, Lin Kuei within the hour, and I suggest you get ready.»
«Yes master, forgive me, I will go and prepare myself accordingly.» Sektor comments bowing before the Grandmaster.
As Sektor leaves he throws a glance at Smoke and Sub-Zero as if to say «Maybe next time.»
Cyrax also departs after bowing before the two warriors, and follows Sektor.
Smoke lets out a deep sigh and looks at Sub-Zero «I guess I will retire to my chamber.»
Very well, I guess I will see you later tonight for our evening session, so rest up, I won't hold back in our rematch.»
«Hah! You weren't holding back earlier.» Smoke responds.
Sub-Zero lets out a small laugh before bowing respectfully to his comrade.
Smoke turns around and bows to the grandmaster then turns into his ethereal form and vanishes. He reappears in his chambers and leans against a wall, and sits in a squatting position. Closing his eyes, he lost himself in deep meditation, he began to loose himself again, the memories of his past started to flood his mind as he begins to lose consciousness. As he is about to drift off completely, a knock on the door to his chamber snaps him back into consciousness.
«Enter» the grey assassin spoke, still sitting on his bed in a cross legged position.
The door to his chamber turned a bit as his room filled with a cold chill. There was only one person that could be on the other side, his friend, Sub-Zero. As the young assassin entered his comrade's chambers, he had a slightly distressed look on his face.
«What troubles you brother?» Smoke asked him, still sitting in place, his grey eyes locking onto the blue ninja.
«I am being sent out...This time we've got a high paying client that wants me to enter the Outworld Tournament of Mortal Kombat. My mission is to find out what happened to my brother. Also, if I am to find out that his mark is still alive, than I am to eliminate him as well.» Sub-Zero explained, the cold mist starting to pool up around his feet.
«When do you disembark?» Smoke asked, planting his hands onto the floor and then vaulting his feet over, and moving into a standing position. Smoke's platinum blond hair draped over his ash grey skin as he looked at his friend. «Try not to die on me, because there's no place, either in the heavens, or in the nether that will save you from me if I find out that you've thrown your life away.»
Sub-Zero couldn't help as he heard Smoke's comments. «Since when did you ever get the idea that you could beat me Smoke?» he answered, crossing his arms.
«Hmm, since about half an hour ago when you were pressed up against the training facility wall and pretty much at my mercy.» He answered back with a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice.
Both ninja's shook hands once more, looking each other in the eye. «Remember» Sub-Zero spoke.
«Yes, yes I know. We'll never fight one another in actual combat.» Smoke finished.
With that, Sub-Zero left his friend's chamber and moved through the Lin Kuei headquarters. He crossed the bridge that lead from the mountain pass and into the outside world. As his image faded from sight, the familiar grey cloud of vapor appeared on the opposite edge of the bridge. It started to pool up and finally takes the shape of a human. Solidifying, Smoke reappeared again, his arms crossed and his grey eyes fixed on the horizon. The sun started to east, and the mountain breeze began to howl through the assassin headquarters. Turning back around, Smoke made his way back to his chambers. On his way back, he heard a small explosion in the training yard. Thinking the headquarters were somehow under siege, he readied himself and made his way through the headquarters and towards the yard. Upon coming closer, he realized that the explosions where caused by none other than Sektor.
«That should've been ME!» he hollered. «I'm stronger, faster, and much more experienced than Sub-Zero. I should've been the one sent on that mission!» The red ninja was furious. Generating small balls of explosive energy into his palms, he was using some of the training dummies as target practice. Cyrax was standing off to the side, his arms crossed and gaze fixed on his comrade.
«The Grand-master believes it's best for Sub-Zero to go. It was his brother at has gone missing after all.» He commented.
Another explosion rang out as Sektor incinerated another sparring dummy. «Does it look like I care? Did you see the bounty for this mission? Do you have any idea what a man could do with that kind of money?» he questioned Cyrax.
Growling a bit, Cyrax kept his mouth shut. He had no response for Sektors' comment since he was right. But he also knew that Sektor loved getting into situations that could compromise the Lin Kuei. «You've been on more than enough missions, far more than any other Lin Kuei and earned more than enough to do what you want. Why do you want any more?» he asked him.
«Damn it Cyrax, it's the principle, I should've been the one sent out because I'm the best there is. Better then Sub-Zero, and even more superior to that second rate rookie, Smoke.» He retorted, generating another ball of energy and tossing it into a training dummy, blowing it to pieces.
«Second rate huh?» Smoke finally called out as he came forward and confronted the red warrior. «How about I drop you and make you eat those words Sektor?» He added as he moved forward, smoke twirling around his body and his grey eyes locked onto him. Reaching behind him, he pulled out his wind mill shuriken, and extended the blades so they faced Sektor.
Turning towards Smoke, Sektor crouched into his own stance, and extending his arm blades, his red eyes locked onto Smoke. «You know I can't be held responsible if I cause permanent injury to you. I hope you've taken that into account before opening your mouth Smoke.»
«Shut up and fight you arrogant ass.» Smoke replied.
Sektor wasted no time in responding to Smoke's request. Charging forward, he moved at an impressive speed. Generating enough power around his body to cause a sweltering heat wave wherever he moved to, Sektor lashed out at Smoke with his arm blades, the heat wave following right after. It was an effective technique seeing as how the sudden blast of heat would through an opponent off guard and leave them open to a follow up attack. In this case, Smoke was no exception. While he could withstand high temperatures, he was still hit hard with the attack, causing him to lose focus just long enough for Sektor to deliver a punishing kick into Smoke's sternum.
The grey colored assassin slid across the dirt floor on the bottoms of his feet, still standing from the strike. That attack showed smoke right away just why Sektor was one of the best, if not THE best assassins in the Lin Kuei. He was ruthless and effective in his methods. But he was also arrogant beyond belief. And Smoke really couldn't allow himself to be put down by somebody as cocky as that. Taking the hit and trying his best to shake it of, Smoke took in a deep breath and readied himself for Sektor's next attack. He wouldn't have to wait long however as Sektor was already on the charge and moving full force towards him. The hot air radiating off of Sektor's body caused the temperature around him to become unbearable. Smoke would need to resort to hit-and-run tactics in order to keep himself from being totally annihilated. As Sektor came forward, his fist engulfed in swirling flames, Smoke shifted into his ethereal form and passed straight through, reforming on the other side. Using Sektor's own momentum against him, the grey ninja smashed him square in the kidneys with a strong elbow strike, followed by a swirling back fist to the side of Sektor's face. Grabbing him by the shoulders of his uniform, Smoke tossed him over his and further out onto the arena floor.
At this point, Sektor was completely enraged. Being beaten by Sub-Zero was one thing, however Smoke, at least in his eyes was a complete embarrassment to his honor. Smashing his fist into the floor, his body engulfed itself in flames as he stood back up. The fire around him danced wildly, reflecting his anger for Smoke. Switching into his Kenpo style, Sektor mover forward, in a series of spin kicks, tipped with his flames. If Smoke was to get caught with one of these, it would be much harder to recover from. So instead of backing away, he needed to close the distance and move forward where the flames from Sektor's kick wouldn't reach him.
Turning into his mist form once more, Smoke dashed forward, moving right up against the red ninja. This would take more energy out of him, but if he could keep himself in this state for the majority of the time, he would be able to defeat one of the Lin Kuei's best. With his own grey eyes giving off a small glow, Smoke attacked Sektor with vicious strikes, turning solid only nano seconds before impact. With a combination of strikes to Sektor's jaw, he started to make progress. The flames began to die down around them as Smoke pressed forward. As he kept pushing forward, he delivered a knife-hand strike into Sektor's stomach, an elbow into his lower ribs, and then a rising knee into his jaw. The final blow sent Sektor crashing to the ground in a back flip fashion. However, Smoke wasn't without his own drawbacks. His constant shifting caused enormous strain and fatigue on his body. Collapsing to his knees and breathing heavily, he looked at Sektor with satisfaction. He had beaten the best, or so Smoke thought.
Sektor's fallen body suddenly began to move as his fist clenched the gravel underneath him. Swinging his legs around, and shifting his momentum to hi arms, Sektor transferred into a handstand and moved to a vertical base. Gazing onto Smoke with a rather impressed look, Sektor moved forward, spitting some blood out onto the floor.
«I have to admit it Smoke. For a rookie like yourself, you surprised me. Not many can stand toe to toe with me. And even fewer can make me bleed, but I'm afraid your best isn't good enough to beat me. That attack took a lot out of you, meanwhile, I still have power to spare.» He taunted him.
Not being one to give in easily, Smoke forced himself back to his feet, to at least prove Sektor wrong. But it was no use. He was right, as arrogant as Sektor was, his experience taught him well. He knew exactly how weak Smoke actually was in this state. As the grey ninja tried to attack him, his body gave in. His movements were sloppy, with no power behind them. And at this point, Sektor began picking Smoke apart.
Pulling Smoke forward, Sektor delivered a strong knee to his chest, followed by a back fist straight into Smoke's face. The attack caused him to sway backwards, at which point Sektor grabbed him again and held him in place. Keeping him from falling onto the ground. Instead, he flung him forward and into another knee strike straight into Smoke's stomach. The impact was enough to have Smoke cough up blood into his facemask, the crimson fluid coming out of the air vents was unmistakable. While still stunned, Sektor delivered a crushing elbow strike into Smoke's spine, launching him into the ground with excessive force.
«Sektor, that's enough. You made your point. Now let it sink in before the Grandmaster finds the two of you at arms with one another.» Cyrax commented.
Sektor took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Cyrax had a point. If the Grandmaster was to find the two of them like this, the consequences wouldn't be pleasant. Deciding to let Smoke lie there, Sektor kicked him once more in the side, undoubtedly shattering several of his ribs in the process before leaving him alone in the courtyard.