Chapter XII

"Freedom"

Deep within the bowels of the Netherealm, Sareena lay hidden in the shadows sleeping. Trying to sleep anyway. Since she was banished to the 5th Plane of the Netherealm almost twelve years ago, Sareena almost never slept. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw the sneering, snarling face of Drahmin standing over her. Every waking moment of her life was filled with pain, terror, and torture.

As one of the Damned, she was helpless to do anything to stop Drahmin. Sometimes he'd throw her to the other Damned souls where they'd swarm over her and she'd be subjected to their tortures. In her time trapped in the 5th Plane, Sareena has experienced pain and been violated in ways that will haunt her for the rest of her existence.

The endless agony and torment was a constant tax one her mind and spirit. But through the anguish she went through, Sareena struggled to hold onto her sanity. She refused to break. She would not give Shinnok or Quan Chi or even Drahmin the satisfaction of breaking her. But it was an eternal struggle. Every passing day it became harder and harder to not just give in to madness and despair.

But strangely the tortures have recently ended. One day, Drahmin wasn't there to hurt her any more. At first Sareena didn't know why, but then she heard a rumor. Apparently, Quan Chi was dragged into the Netherealm by a spectre named Scorpion. Scorpion made it his business to forever abuse the damned sorcerer and was successful for some time until Quan Chi contacted Drahmin to be his bodyguard. Apparently, with Drahmin occupied with Scorpion, he no longer had time to torture Sareena.

Since then Sareena has been moving throughout the 5th Plane searching for a way to get out, but was cautious not to be seen by the other torturers. Although she has been living in misery for the past decade, knowledge that Quan Chi was finally on the receiving end of some torment brought a small bit of satisfaction. She could only hope that this Scorpion was making Quan Chi suffer as bad as he made all his slaves suffer.

Sareena was lying hidden within a dark cave located in the far corner of the 5th Plane but then heard someone yelling in the distance that sounded a lot like Drahmin. She quietly crawled to where the yelling was coming from and found Drahmin, Quan Chi and another Oni named Moloch standing in front of some kind of stone with strange words and symbols inscribed on it.

"Translate sorcerer!" Drahmin snarled. "We want out!"

"Don't rush me damn it!" Quan Chi spit back. "I'm reading this as fast as I can." Quan Chi was reading the inscriptions carefully and kept looking at a small amulet which had similar inscriptions on it. He then smiled and said "That's it!"

Suddenly a large spear shot out of the darkness behind Quan Chi and shattered the stone and was followed by someone bellowing "QUAN CHI!"

"It's him! Stop him! STOP HIM!" Quan Chi screamed as he began to run away. Sareena saw the look on Quan Chi's face and was shocked. In all her life, she had never seen such terror on his face.

From the shadows a ninja dressed in yellow and black emerged and continued to yell "You're mine Quan Chi!"

"Stop him! Don't let him near me!!" Quan Chi screamed again. Drahmin and Moloch roared and charged at the ninja.

"That's him...Scorpion..." Sareena whispered to herself, awestruck as he began to fight the two Oni. She had never even dreamed of seeing anyone who not only terrified Quan Chi, but would challenge Drahmin and Moloch.

Quan Chi scrambled to get away, running up a path which led down a dark cave shaped like a skull. Sareena quietly followed him to see where he was going. She remained hidden as she watched the panicked Quan Chi run towards a large idol which looked like the amulet he was carrying. Sareena had seen it before, but she never thought anything of it. It was just some old relic. Quan Chi said some strange magic words and suddenly the relic glowed and what looked like a portal opened.

"QUAN CHI! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" Scorpion roared chasing him. Quan Chi then lunged into the portal and disappeared. "I WILL FIND YOU QUAN CHI!! THERE IS NO WHERE YOU CAN HIDE!!!" Scorpion then jumped into the portal after Quan Chi and also disappeared.

Sareena stared at this portal shocked at what she had just witnessed. She slowly approached the portal, uncertain of what to make of it. She then heard Drahmin and Moloch approaching. She ducked and hid in the shadows again.

"Damn spectre....hate him...want him dead!" Drahmin growled. Moloch then growled in agreement. Drahmin stared at the portal and angrily said "Sorcerer left us! Tried to leave us here!" He and Moloch slowly approached the portal and he snarled "Come! We break spectre and then we break sorcerer for leaving us!" Moloch roared eagerly and the two Oni jumped into the portal.

Sareena again approached the portal which was still open. Drahmin was just saying he wanted out and he blamed Quan Chi for leaving them. Was this it? Could it be, Sareena thought to herself. Is this what she had been waiting for her entire life? Finally after all these years, a way out?

But was it safe to go through? What if the portal put Sareena someplace worse? However, her fears were quickly dismissed. No place could possibly be worse and better to take a chance on getting out than spending the rest of eternity in this hellhole. She closed her eyes, took a deep breathe and jumped into the portal.

Pain wracked through her body as Sareena was transported through the portal. She suddenly collapsed onto the ground. She regained her bearings and looked up. Above her was a dark orange sky with black clouds. Around her was an old dark forest and in the distance she saw a small village.

"I remember this place..." Sareena whispered quietly as a slight, vague memory entered her thoughts. "Outworld....I'm back in Outworld..." She took a deep breathe and for the first time in thousands of years fresh air filled her lungs. She then let out a loud laugh and screamed "I'm HOME!" Outworld was a dank and dark place, but Sareena didn't care. It wasn't the Netherealm. The dark sky above her was beautiful. The old dying forest she was sitting in was beautiful. Everything was beautiful because it wasn't the Netherealm. And that was good enough. She was free.

Sareena lay in the same spot rolling and laughing in joy over being free for almost an hour before she finally decided to start moving. She approached the nearby village but tried to remain hidden. Although she was free, she was still in her Demon form and she guessed people most likely won't react well when they see her.

In the past, Sareena's human form was given to her by Quan Chi. However after it was destroyed by Shinnok she would have to find some other way of getting it back. Once she was close to the village she found a large cloak. She put it on and covered her head with the hood and entered the village keeping the cloak closed. As she walked through the village a guard of some sort approached her.

"And what be your business here stranger?" he asked.

"Just passing through." Sareena answered, trying to tone down her Demonic voice which sounded very deep and harsh.

"And who may you be, stranger?"

"No one of importance. Let me pass please."

"I mean no offense ma'am. Just my job. Been hearing stories of strange folk passing through, especially with Princess Kitana's army around. Sorcerers and other creatures running around..."

"I mean no harm to anyone. Let me pass..." Sareena interrupted losing her patience.

"You okay ma'am? You sound kind of hoarse?"

"I'm fine. Just a sore throat. Let me pass..." she snapped trying to force herself past the guard.

The guard then grabbed Sareena's shoulder to stop her and said "Hold on there ma'am..."

Sareena didn't hear the rest. As soon as her grabbed her a disturbing memory of Drahmin flashed across her brain and she screamed "DON'T TOUCH ME!" She then violently threw the guard away from her and he crashed through a nearby wall.

Sareena took a deep breathe trying to calm down but she didn't realize the hood of her cloak fell down revealing her face. She then heard screams in fear and anger from the other villagers surrounding her.

"My god! What is that?!"

"It's a monster! It just attacked someone!"

"Kill it! Don't let it get away!"

Sareena quickly found herself surrounded by a crowd of panicked villagers who were shouting and screaming at her. For a brief second Sareena tried to reason with them, but as they came closer more disturbing memories of the Netherealm flooded her mind. She didn't see a band of scared villagers but a mob of Damned souls and Demons who were going to hurt her.

A villager lunged at her with a knife but she ducked out of the way and slashed him with her claws. She hissed and let out a terrible scream at the villagers. Another villager attacked her but easily knocked him out of her way. She then picked him up and tossed him into the crowd. Now that she was out of the Netherealm her power began to return to her and without thinking launched a deadly fireball at the villagers.

As they started to scream and run away Sareena regained control of herself. The same sickening feeling she would always get when she lost control of her Demonic instincts washed over her and quickly ran out of the village, back into the woods. She ran deeper and deeper into the woods before finally sitting by a small river still shivering from what she had done.

"I'm okay....I'm okay....I'm not in the Netherealm anymore.....they can't hurt me...." she started repeating to herself over and over. "I'm free.....I'm free....they can't hurt me...."

As she sat by the river trying to calm down she realized she couldn't live in peace in her Demonic form. She needed to find a way to look human again. But how? She needed a sorcerer to do that and she wanted nothing to do with any sorcerers. All the sorcerers Sareena knew were degenerate madmen who don't do anything unless they have something to gain.

Sareena sat on the ground wishing there was some way she could be human again. If only there was some way she could do it herself. She wanted to be human again so bad. Suddenly she had strange feeling pulse through her hand which was placed on the ground. It felt almost energized. She looked at her hand and saw that it no longer looked like a Demon's hand, but a human's. The spot where her hand was also now rotted and looked dead.

She put her hand on the ground again and again began to think about how much she wanted to look human again. She closed her eyes and kept thinking about it. She then felt the same strange feeling. She looked at her hand again and now her whole arm looked human again. The part of the ground she had her hand was now even more rotted and spread out.

Was she somehow absorbing the energy of the land? Was that one of her powers? She then went to another part of the forest and placed both hands on the ground. She close her eyes and started concentrating. She concentrated on the single thought of being human again harder than she had before. The weird feeling then returned. This time it traveling up her arm and through her whole body.

When Sareena opened her eyes, the grass, soil, bushes and trees around her were all rotted and dead, but she saw that she was again completely in her human form. She returned to the river and looked at her reflection. Her human form was back. She looked normal again.

For the next few days, Sareena remained hidden within the forests of Outworld, basking in the joy of finally being free from the Netherealm and having her human form again. One night she was camped near a valley and simply sat next to the fire enjoying the warmth it gave her. Now that she was free from the Netherealm and she no longer needed Quan Chi to maintain her human form, Sareena started to consider what she should do next.

Outworld was a dark and dead place and word of the Princess Kitana's war with the armies of Shao Kahn were spreading. Sareena wanted nothing to do with either. Perhaps she should find a way of getting to Earth? She always wanted to see the Earth and had heard it was a beautiful realm. It must be great, because all people try to do is conquer it. She'd have to find a portal somehow though. But there was something else plaguing Sareena. Although she was overjoyed to finally be free, there was something missing she couldn't put her finger on.

Sareena's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of marching not far from where she was. She looked over the cliff into the nearby valley and saw a massive army setting up camp. She didn't recognize the banners but she did know they weren't Shao Kahn's. They must be the Edenian forces. Sareena suddenly felt very uneasy. She wanted nothing to do with these people and especially didn't want any of the scouts to spot her and mistake her for a spy.

"Strayed a little far haven't we, little girl?" Sareena heard a voice whisper from above her. She turned and only caught a glimpse of something pouncing on her with a nasty hiss. Sareena instinctively kicked her attacker off and saw it was a tall woman with dark hair and large bat-like wings.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sareena demanded from the woman.

"I am Nitara. And I thirst." she answered. As she spoke Sareena saw a pair of fangs in her mouth and recognized she was a Vampire. She had never encountered one but heard about them.

"I'm not your prey Vampire." Sareena said sternly, not interested in fighting. "I suggest you leave."

Nitara stared at Sareena for a moment and laughed "You have some gall telling me what to do, little girl."

Nitara lunged at Sareena again but she dodged the attack. Nitara then threw several kicks and punches which Sareena managed to dodge and block. Sareena grabbed a punch from Nitara and tossed her away, but Nitara used her wings to stop her fall and land on her feet.

"All right you have some skill." Nitara sneered. "But it won't save you." Nitara took a fighting position and Sareena braced for the attack. Suddenly Nitara looked like she was going to vomit and suddenly spit a spray of blood at Sareena. The blood splattered onto Sareena's face catching her off guard and blinding her. Nitara took advantage and began pummeling Sareena viciously. Sareena was knocked to the ground, but before she could regain her bearings Nitara grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her close. "Noble effort. But it's time to feed." Nitara taunted before plunging her fangs into Sareena's neck. Sareena let out a painful agonizing scream and in desperation threw Nitara off of her with all her might. She clung to her bleeding neck which was searing with pain. Nitara however looked sick and spit the blood out of her mouth.

"Terrible! Your blood tastes terrible! What the hell are you?!" Nitara yelled disappointed and angry. Sareena struggled to stand but was still hurting from Nitara's bite. "Wait...I know your blood. Yes, I can even smell it on you. You're a Demon." Nitara snarled. "No wonder your blood tastes so bad. What else should I expect from a lowlife abomination?"

As Nitara talked Sareena's anger grew. This thing tries to drink her blood like she's a piece of cattle? Now she calls her an abomination? A lowlife?

"A Vampire calls me a lowlife?!" Sareena snarled fuming with rage. "A VAMPIRE calls me an abomination?!"

"Don't act so insulted. Vampires are a great people. Whereas Demons are the lowest forms of life. Soulless, miserable, wretched creatures all of them." Nitara answered with a groan. "I'm wasting my time here. I have more important things to worry about."

Nitara turned to fly away, but Sareena grabbed onto her foot, her eyes burning with rage. "Don't you turn your back on me, you bitch!" With that Sareena violently threw Nitara to the ground and quickly pounced on her. She then started to rain down blows onto Nitara's defenseless face and slashed her face with her claw-like nails.

Nitara shoved Sareena off and felt her face which was now dripping with blood. "You....cut me?" Nitara said dumbfounded. "You.....CUT.....ME....." she then screamed. "You'll pay for that you God damn abomination!!"

Sareena and Nitara were about to continue fighting until they heard some Edenian soldiers approaching. They had heard the fight and were coming to investigate what was going on.

Sareena and Nitara stared at each other for a moment then Nitara grimly said "We'll finish this some other time Demon."

"Some other time Vampire." Sareena answered harshly watching Nitara fly away. Sareena then quickly disappeared into the shadows so she wouldn't be seen by the Edenian scouts.

Sareena's bite wound on her neck was already healing the next day, but she found a small leather strap and wore it around her neck to hide the marks. Demons are fast healers so the bite marks should be completely gone very soon.

Although her Demon instincts had again taken over during her fight with Nitara, Sareena wasn't as upset as she was in the past. Although she hated letting her Demon side take hold of her, she had no problem unleashing her anger on the Vampire.

Sareena sat by herself in a small bar that was located in a small village. Princess Kitana's army had begun fighting Shao Kahn's forces and Outworld was in chaos. Sareena wanted nothing to do with Kahn or Kitana and decided to lay low. Not to mention Quan Chi was still on the loose. She sensed he was on Outworld and with him around trouble couldn't be far behind. She didn't want to bring any attention to herself, especially attention from Quan Chi.

Although Sareena was finally free, she knew many dangers and conflicts still lay ahead for her. In spite of the dangers that lay ahead, Sareena didn't fear. She knew and accepted that things would be difficult for her. It didn't matter. All that mattered was she was free from the Netherealm. And she was never going back. Never.

End of Chapter XII