Chapter VII

"Taking a Chance"

The massive statue of Shinnok tumbled over and shattered the wall with a deafening crash. When the dust and smoke cleared, the statue had broken through the wall leading to the outside. At the base of the statue, a lone masked figure clad in blue and black climbed onto the statue ran up it to freedom. He was Sub-Zero of the Lin Kuei, and he had accomplished what many thought was impossible: he escaped the Prison of Souls. From a nearby tower overlooking the prison, Kia watched Sub-Zero run to freedom through a pair of binoculars.

"Well, he's definitely a mortal. His soul is still contained within his body." she said. They had received word that there was a disturbance in the Prison being caused by a mortal with power over ice. At first it was hard to believe that a mere mortal could accomplish that.

"A mortal can't exist here with his soul intact." Jataaka said.

"Unless Shinnok allowed it to be." Kia answered.

Behind Kia and Jataaka, Sareena watched Sub-Zero make his way to the Sea of Immortality uncertain of what to make of the situation. "I'll inform Quan Chi. The two of you continue to track him."

Sareena returned to Shinnok's Fortress through a transport and quickly made her way to Quan Chi's chamber. Quan Chi's chamber was dark room that was little more than a bridge floating above a black pit. She entered the chamber where Quan Chi was sitting in his throne.

"Approach, Sareena." he said upon seeing her enter.

She stood at attention in front of him and said "Sir, a mortal has escaped the Prison of Souls and is headed toward the Sea of Immortality."

"A mortal?" he asked.

"Yes, a mortal..." she answered, "with the ability to freeze."

"Alert the Keepers and send a full garrison to intercept. Make sure he does not cross the Bridge!" he said suddenly. Sareena was a bit surprised by his reaction.

"The Keepers?" she asked. "But he is just a mortal. Certainly I can dispose of him myself."

"Do not question me Sareena...and more importantly do not fail me." Quan Chi hissed. "We have toyed with the ninja long enough."

Sareena bowed and left Quan Chi's chamber and sent word to the Bridge Keepers to be prepared. She then alerted a small garrison of Demon soldiers to guard the Bridge and to kill the ninja on sight.

Afterward, Sareena stood out on a balcony that looked out over the Bridge of Immortality. As she watched dozens of Demons spread out on the massive bridge she couldn't help but wonder why all this was necessary for one mortal. Who could this man be that a garrison of Demons were needed to stop him? Was Quan Chi actually afraid of this ninja?

Sareena took a pair of binoculars and looked to the front of the bridge which was little more than a mile away from the fortress. At the front she saw the ninja Sub-Zero charge onto the bridge and he almost immediately started fighting some of the Demon guards.

"Hm. And I thought ninjas were supposed to be masters of stealth." she mumbled to herself. Although, it's not like there's anyplace to hide on the bridge anyway she then thought. She watched as the ninja plowed into one guard after the next, as if he was in an urgent hurry. The Demon's were posing little threat to the ninja which didn't really impress Sareena. The low level Demon guards were poor fighters. When Shinnok would finally invade the Heavens, they'd probably just be used for cannon fodder.

As Sub-Zero continued his journey down the bridge he encountered the first of the Bridge Keepers. The Keepers were massive monstrosities originally created by Shinnok to fight in his war against Lucifer. After Lucifer's defeat, they were made guards of the Bridge of Immortality and served as the last line of defense of Shinnok's Fortress.

As she watched Sub-Zero fight the Keepers, she couldn't help but be a little impressed. She had never seen a fighter like him before. His attacks seemed rash, almost reckless, but they made sense. He was able to adapt and improvise against each opponent. A natural fighter. And his power over ice only added his advantage.

"I'll be damned." Sareena said to herself as she saw the last of the Keepers fall. And without wasting a second, Sub-Zero took the Keeper's key and continued to run towards the fortress. As she watched it became clear how this mortal was able to exist in the Netherealm. Shinnok probably wanted him to join the Brotherhood.

Sub-Zero reached the entrance to the fortress and stopped to try to figure out how to get the keys to open the door. As he tried to figure it out, he happened to look up and he saw Sareena watching him from the balcony high above. They stared at each other for moment until Sareena heard Jataaka call her name. She left the balcony as Sub-Zero finally got the entrance to open and charged in.

Sareena went inside where she saw Kia and Jataaka waiting. "We've received our orders. We have to stop the ninja at any cost." Kia said.

"He's already inside." Sareena said. "Let's go kill him now."

"No!" Kia said suddenly. "I can handle him myself! I don't need your help to deal with one insignificant mortal!"

"Kia, this mortal just defeated the three Bridge Keepers. We should fight him together." Sareena said, a little confused why Kia was suddenly so determined to fight Sub-Zero alone.

"Go back to your chamber Sareena." Kia sneered. "IF your needed I'll contact you."

"Fine." Sareena mumbled, losing interest in arguing with Kia any longer. She left Kia and Jataaka and returned to her chamber. She figured if Quan Chi or Shinnok got angry about her ignoring orders she'd just tell them it was Kia's idea. Kia probably wanted to fight Sub-Zero by herself because she wanted Quan Chi's praise and approval. Sareena didn't care. Let Kia take the glory, maybe that way she'll be promoted to Quan Chi's concubine, and Sareena will finally be left alone.

As Sareena sat in her chamber she kept thinking about Sub-Zero. She had never seen a fighter like him before. But what she was most curious about was why Quan Chi was so determined to destroy him. She had never seen Quan Chi react to an adversary like that before. Maybe he really was afraid of this Sub-Zero. A mortal strong enough to not only escape the Prison of Souls, but best the Bridge Keepers must be warrior to be reckoned with.

Sareena then started to think how and why a mortal would be in the Netherealm in the first place. What was he after? Before she was called out to the Prison she overheard Shinnok talking about an amulet of some sort. Maybe it has something to do with the business Quan Chi had on Earth earlier? She figured this Sub-Zero was probably sent to get the amulet back. But if he was sent to the Netherealm, how was he planning on getting out?

Suddenly Sareena's thoughts were interrupted by Quan Chi's voice in her head. He said to her "Sareena, the ninja has defeated Kia and Jataaka and is headed towards you right now. You are the last line between him and me. Do not fail me."

Sareena then started to feel very nervous. Suddenly it was all up to her. She drew her weapons and took a deep breath. She heard footsteps approaching her chamber and felt a chill in the air as Sub-Zero entered. Moment of truth she thought to herself.

"And number three." Sub-Zero moaned to himself.

Sareena turned and prepared for battle. "I am Sareena. And you shall not pass me."

Sub-Zero did not attack however. He instead rubbed his forehead and said "Look lady, I'm really running out of time here so could you just cut me a break and give me the last key to Quan Chi?"

Sareena was slightly taken aback by his request. She answered "I can't do that. If you wish to see Quan Chi, you'll have to go through me first."

Sub-Zero sighed and said "We all do what we have to."

Sareena charged at Sub-Zero and began her attack. Because she was watching him on the bridge she was able to anticipate many of his first attacks. She took advantage of that because she knew he would quickly adapt once he realized what she was doing. She struck him hard and fast with several spinning attacks and managed to draw some blood with her sickles. A final roundhouse kick sent him tumbling to the floor.

Sub-Zero sat up and stared at Sareena for a second. He cracked his neck and said "Not bad."

Sub-Zero stood up and composed himself and braced for the next attack. Sareena charged and began attacking only this time Sub-Zero was harder to hit. Sareena knew he was already adapting to her and she needed to improvise her offense even more.

The two warriors continued trading blows for several minutes. Sareena had never encountered a fighter like Sub-Zero before. Strangely, there was a part of her that enjoyed the challenge. As the fight wore on, she couldn't help but notice the he seemed to be enjoying himself a bit, too. Maybe he had never been in a fight like this either, Sareena thought to herself.

Suddenly Sub-Zero hands began to glow a bright blue and he launched an ice blast at Sareena. She tried to dodge it, but she was caught off guard and it was too fast. She suddenly felt a searing cold and she couldn't move at all. She realized that he had just frozen her an she was now vulnerable to his attack. Sub-Zero leveled Sareena with a devastating uppercut that sent her to the floor. She tried to get up as fast as possible, but he was already on her with more punches and kicks.

A final kick made Sareena collapse to her knees. She made a slight effort to stand, but she knew she was defeated. She looked up at Sub-Zero and said "Finish it ninja. At least let me die with honor."

Sub-Zero stared at Sareena for a few moments. This one was different from the other two assassins he fought earlier. Not only did she give him a better fight, but while the other two just kept mindlessly attacking him until he put them down for good, this one actually had the honor to admit defeat. He couldn't help but be a little impressed by that. There was something else about this one too, he thought to himself. She wasn't bad looking either.

"Well?" Sareena said defiantly. "What are you waiting for? Finish it ninja!"

Sub-Zero then answered "No. To kill a fighter like you, " he said nonchalantly, "that'd be a real crime. Besides, I've killed enough people for one day." He then turned to walk away, but then stopped. "But....I can't have you following me either." With that he delivered a sharp chop to Sareena's neck that knocked her unconscious almost immediately.

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Sareena awoke on the floor of her chamber with a pounding headache. She had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but wanted to know what happened with Sub-Zero. She quickly ran to a Quan Chi's chamber, and listened at the door. Inside she heard Quan Chi talking with Sub-Zero. She wanted to know what was happening but didn't want to be seen, so she climbed outside to a window that was overlooking Quan Chi's chamber.

Looking inside, she saw Quan Chi fighting Sub-Zero. As she watched them fighting, she could only feel awe. The more she watched this Sub-Zero the more impressed she became. She had never, in all her life seen anyone defy Quan Chi like he had.

As she watched she began to see he could win. He could actually defeat Quan Chi. As she made this realization, she then realized that if he could defeat Quan Chi, and because he is a mortal, he could escape the Netherealm. He came to the Netherealm, he had to have a plan for getting out. He could escape. And maybe, he could bring her with him.

In Quan Chi's chamber Sub-Zero continued to battle the mad sorcerer with all his might. He didn't trust him from the start and was more than happy to personally put him down. As they fought, suddenly the corner of the chamber where Sub-Zero teleported in began to glow. Suddenly, the woman he had fought earlier, Sareena charged in and ran towards them. At first Sub-Zero thought she was here to help her master and cursed himself for sparing her life. But she instead attacked Quan Chi and leveled him with a powerful uppercut that knocked him from the platform of his chamber into the dark below. Sub-Zero stared at Sareena baffled at what just happened. She turned and looked at him and started smiling.

"Why did you help me?" he asked her.

"You are still a mortal..." she began, still smiling at him, "that means you can escape the Netherealm."

"There won't be anywhere to go if I don't get the amulet back." he answered, probably figuring maybe she could help him find the amulet.

"Take me with you." she said suddenly, coming closer to Sub-Zero. "I've waited an eternity to escape."

"You don't understand. I can't leave without the..." Sub-Zero was cut off by a red beam of energy which cut through Sareena's body. She let out a painful scream and collapsed into his arms. "Sareena!" he screamed as she began to fade away.

Sareena saw a mix of outrage and anger in Sub-Zero's face over what had happened to her. She then saw Shinnok standing over her, smiling. A wave of terror and sadness washed over her as she realized she had been caught and this meant she'd never escape the Netherealm. Everything then faded to black.

End of Chapter VII