Lin Kuei Grandmaster Sub-Zero

I am Sub-Zero, leader of the new Lin Kuei, a former group of assassins now devoted to defending Earthrealm. It looks like we will be proving ourselves for this task sooner than we thought, and I will have to lead them while I deal with my own problems. I have too many enemies to be concerned over...

My first problem came from my former prota233;ga233;, Frost, who tried to steal my Dragon Amulet. Thankfully, her pompous attitude cost her dearly, as the amulet was too powerful for her to control; she froze herself in ice. After several minutes of hacking and slashing carefully through the ice, I had finally freed her from her icy coffin, and she began to breathe on her own as the surrounding air warmed her body. I also retrieved my amulet from her frigid grasp. It felt very good to be holding it once again... I felt the tremendous surge of power as my muscles grew and my body changed. I am wiser and stronger beyond my years with the amulet on.

The spike in power that I had received from the amulet attracted the attention of a demon from the Netherealm. As soon as I had stepped off of the Dragon Fly with the unconscious Frost over my shoulder, a woman ran towards me, and at first I put down Frost's body and prepared myself for battle, but she called my pseudonym with a gigantic smile and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, rejoicing that I had escaped the Netherealm as well. I had never seen her before, and as she felt my heart beat, she came to realise that I was not the Sub-Zero she knew. We talked for several hours about my brother, his run-in with the Brotherhood of the Shadow and herself, and how she had desired to leave the Netherealm and that group's horrible clutches. She also said how Shinnok dealt with her when she tried to help my brother escape... Given everything that she had been through, I took pity on her, and when we reached the portal, I had offered her asylum at the Lin Kuei Temple; she happily accepted, feeling that I could protect her.

Frost was out cold until we returned to Earthrealm, and she was severely injured physically and mentally; the freezing process was hard on her body, but it was her pride that was severely wounded, since she failed to take my place as Grandmaster, and because I still saved and helped her come back to Earth. My kindness could only go so far, though, as when she was capable of walking by herself, I left her to train alone, back to her full strength and ordered the other members to shun her in order to teach her humility and to teach her how valuable it is to work with others instead of trying to dominate for power alone. If she wanted to become a fully respected member of the Lin Kuei, she would have to earn it once again.

A few weeks had passed since Kung Lao killed Shang Tsung and since Quan Chi had disappeared, and I had resumed training myself and the rest of my clan in the ways of the Lin Kuei, and helped them in honing their individual skills. Even Sareena partook in these daily exercises, revealing her interesting, demonic powers. She was an inspiration to most of the younger members to work hard and to avoid going to the Netherealm; she had explained what happened to the majority of souls who wound up there, and also explained my brother's tortures... She definitely scared the younger members straight.

As we trained in the fresh, cool air, it began to snow, and we heard an unusual roar from one of the mountains. We looked in the direction of the noise and saw an avalanche of fire coming from the mountain... A young Lin Kuei recruit named ``Eyez'' used her abilities to see that the fire balls were actually people engulfed in flames! She identified the symbols on their leader's cape as being that of a dragon's face... I remembered Kenshi, Sonya, and Jax mentioning a group of individuals called ``The Red Dragon'' that had destroyed the Outerworld Investigation Agency, and it seemed as though they were going to try and destroy us as well. How these people found the location of our base was the first question that came to my mind, but that had to be answered later; I had to protect my clan from the onslaught.

I told the Lin Kuei to prepare themselves for battle and to warn everyone on the grounds. As they did so, I used the power of the Dragon Medallion to create a gigantic ice wall to slow down the invaders and prevent them from having easy access to the base. The barrier reached several meters in height, and with its protruding spikes and with the speed the Red Dragon members were falling down the mountain at, they would be impaled well before their flames could melt the sharp icicles. With its thickness, it would take an actual dragon's flames to break down. I slid back to my comrades and organised the lines so that all those who perfected the Nejin technique would join me at the front. As we waited for our enemies, I said to them that this would be the ultimate test of survival and would push them all to their limits. I encouraged them to fight with all their might and to not be afraid to kill their opponents if they had no other options. Even Frost was prepared to fight off the invaders, and for the first time since she recovered, I addressed her personally and told her to be very careful. She seemed to be particularly happy about it...

We all watched in amazement as the fireballs came together and took the shape of ... A fiery dragon that contained the silhouettes of the warriors inside! Sonya never mentioned the Red Dragon being magic-based fighters! The group roared in unison, and the flames spewed from their single mouth were so intense, the protruding icicles melted, the wall weakened and cracked, and they charged and broke through without any difficulty. The Red Dragon clan divided and, with their leader at the front with his two hook swords, stormed at us in a fiery fury. We rushed into the oncoming flames of war, and Nejined before our lines crashed into one-another.

I managed to encase several Red Dragon warriors in ice, with intentions of taking them prisoner, until their leader, wearing his red and grey armour and Spanish conquistador helmet, caught my eye. Our gazes locked and we boldly marched towards each other, he brandishing his hook swords, and I creating a twin set of Kori blades, and when we finally confronted each other, our battle began.

He was lithe, and with his grapple-springs, he dodged the majority of my attacks and held his ground with ease, and with some kind of mysterious, ancient power, he was also extremely resistant to my freezing techniques, summoning flames to engulf his body whenever my ice blast came near him. He was smart enough to not summon too much fire, as he'd melt through the ice he stood on. My Nejin technique kept my strength and endurance at their peak, and allowed me to take any blows he gave me with few problems. Eventually, I summoned an Ice Shaker Shield to surround me and prevent him from getting close without heating up, and knowing that he had to remain in perpetual fire to attack me, he somehow sprouted dragon-like fire wings and kept in the air as we continued to fight. Eventually, we both tried to smother the other with our powers, driving everyone surrounding us away with the amount of power we were using. Our weapons smashed and crashed, and we both were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion... Until an explosion knocked us both to the ground.

We both got up and saw a massive, white portal with a giant, red being standing in the center... The being had to have been at least three meters tall, almost touching the very top of the portal itself, and by now, both Lin Kuei and Red Dragon groups were looking at this monstrosity as it opened its chest and thighs, and massive guns appeared onto its shoulders, and launched a barrage of missiles at all of us. I tried to create another thick wall of ice, but I was too fatigued from fighting and keeping my shield at full strength... The missiles came hurtling towards us, and I screamed out ``SEKTOR'' before... I was pulled away by the Red Dragon leader from the oncoming projectiles! In fact, all the Red Dragon members were doing this for the Lin Kuei, all of them using fiery wings to fly and carry us away from the bombardment.

When we landed a few meters away from the explosions, the man who saved me, calling himself ``Mavado'', stated that the only reason he ordered his men to save us was because Sektor attacked both our ranks, and that now it was now a common enemy that we would have to destroy - together. I hesitantly shook his hand and we agreed to a short-term truce to join forces and destroy Sektor, and that once it was defeated, the truce would end. The Lin Kuei and the Red Dragon were now facing my old enemy.

Sektor roared an inhuman-laugh and from the widening portal came an army of red robots, all of which were built similarly to his older designs. Despite its obvious combat upgrades to its now massive body, Sektor stayed back and watched as our groups fought, and we held our ground well against these machines, to the point that the Red Dragon clan reformed their fiery dragon creature and attempted to attack Sektor itself. The Red Dragon breathed a stream of fire at Sektor, swallowing it up in a massive blaze, but then a large surge of energy blasted through the flames and hit the Red Dragon. They could not take this unexpected attack, and separated and fell from the sky, onto the cold snow. Sektor laughed once more, and ordered its men to teleport near the portal. It summoned a second wave of fighters from the portal, not looking like anything any of us had ever seen before... It was like being in a war movie that had just changed into a horror film, as the second wave of units consisted of Mummies and Oni demons! The robots began to change and shift their body parts as the Mummies and Oni charged into them and merged, creating Cybernetic Mummies and Cyber Demons.

We were outnumbered and out-powered by Sektor and his side-show freaks, and we had no choice but to abandon the Lin Kuei base... Once again, the Red Dragon came to our aid, with each member carrying a Lin Kuei, and helped bring us to their own base. We were not followed; Sektor got what it wanted by humiliating the new Lin Kuei like this. When we arrived, Mavado allowed us access to the medical facilities and training facilities as a show of good faith, but before we could tend to the wounded on both sides, Raiden appeared to us and stated that a war between Edenia, Outworld and Earthrealm was brewing, and that because the enemy was already in all three of the realms, all available forces from each realm, including the Red Dragon, would have to unite in order to prevent the rise of the Dragon King.

It felt bizarre being amongst those who had just tried to destroy me, but I could not be anywhere else. With my base taken over by one of my worst enemies, Earthrealm already in serious danger, and with the assumed capture of Frost and Sareena, I knew that things were not right at all. The tension between the OIA and the Red Dragon clan is very uncomfortable, and the worst part is that Cyrax managed to gain outside help from the Vampire people; though Raiden said we need every available resource to fight against so many foes, the Vampire people's services are only guaranteed at night, and after hours of fighting, they must all change location at once, leaving whichever group they are with to fend for themselves. Also, the fact that they require blood from sentient beings to survive may make them more of a hindrance than a blessing.

I am now presently in Outworld, at the front line with Mavado, the lead Vampire Nitara, the Raptor Khameleon, Kenshi from the OIA, and Blaze the Elemental. The opposing line consists of several monstrosities of Oni and Mummified soldiers and several Tekunin warriors, and beyond them is where Onaga is hiding. No one knows his plans, but it is our job to prevent their fruition. Before Raiden went to talk with Drahmin and convince him of Onaga's treachery, I looked behind me and caught a quick glance of a fast-moving, familiar face... The person may have been Sareena, but she looked rather... Gloomy. Before I could call out to her, she disappeared into the crowd of eager soldiers. No time to worry about her now; I have enough potential enemies on both sides to deal with. Raiden has given the signal that negotiations with Drahmin failed, and General Mitharos and his men are already charging.

Author : Jerrod Therace

Creation date: 2006-12-20-17-49

Modification date: 2006-12-20-17-49