She paced back and forth impatiently, hands propped upon her curvy hips clad in tight green fabric. She had been waiting for this moment since the very first day Shang Tsung decided vent his frustrations upon her, using her as an unwilling pleasure toy and occasional punching bag when the former did not tickle his fancy. «What are you doing?! You must crazy to betray Shang, especially now» Vorpax thought to herself, but as her mind flooded with the memories of Shang raping her within the cold, dark caves of the Cobalt Mines and beating her in anger after another failed attempt at ending Kung Lao's life, any reluctance she may have felt simply melted away.

Her surroundings were rather quiet and seemingly vacant; unusual for a place that served as a prison for warriors who had acted against the Emperor, but this was no mere coincidence. Ever since he'd been imprisoned, Shang Tsung had made more than just an occasional ally and permanent enemy in Vorpax, but countless others in the Mines hated him as well for his pompous behavior and habit of taking the souls of whom ever he so chose when in a weakened state.

Vorpax had taken full advantage of the disdain the other prisoners held toward Shang and revealed her plan to them, to which they willingly obliged and cleared the area so that everything would go accordingly. There were those who offered to put an end to Shang, but Vorpax wanted that pleasure all to herself. Moments later a swirling vortex of fiery reds, purples, and black formed before Vorpax who sat opposite the opening portal, her arms crossed over her scantily clad chest. Shang Tsung stumbled forward, bending at the waist and propped his hands upon his knees to stabilize himself. His breathing was harsh and ragged in wake of a violent encounter within Earth Realm.

The portal closed behind Shang Tsung as he lifted his sweat drenched head just enough to see Vorpax sitting pretty atop a rather large mine rock, her lips curled in a mischievous smirk that was all too familiar to the sorcerer. «Back so soon?» she asked in mock surprise. Shang did not answer her as he stood to his full height, clenching at his side. Vorpax eyed the Sorcerer up and down curiously, examining the extent of his physical injuries. Again a smirk played across her face as if she were about to make a sarcastic remark at Shang's expense, and she did.

«Looks like someone got their ass kicked» she spat coldly, but not without humor. Shang rolled his eyes in utter frustration with the green clad beauty. «I am in no mood for your brazen sense of humor Vorpax! It would be wise of you to still your tongue» Shang retorted loudly, his voice echoing through the Mines, which he had not yet realized were devoid of life. Shang limped toward the rock upon which Vorpax sat, and pushed her aside to reclaim it for his own recuperation. The cunning seductress strut her way around the back of the rock, slid her soft hands down the length of Shang's muscular bicep and forearm, and pressed her body against his back as she leaned in to prop her chin upon his shoulder.

«My poor defeated sorcerer. You just need a little T.L.C, and that I'm sure I can provide» she said so into his ear, making the sorcerer for a split second close his eyes, allowing the soft coo of her voice to melt through him, his glistening, sweat covered abdomen retracted and rippled as his breathing grew heavy in aroused thought. Deep in contemplation of taking Vorpax, the sorcerer gave a slight grin that vanished as quickly as it had formed. «While I'd usually accept such a titillating offer, it does not interest me right now. What I need is rejuvenation. My battle with Kung Lao did not go as I'd planned» Shang began. «Clearly!» Vorpax cut in, in yet another sarcastic manner.

Shang continued where he left off before being rudely interrupted by his companion. «Do to an unexpected interference from Rayden, who felt the need to remind me of the rules of Mortal Kombat. But by the time he'd arrived my fight with Kung Lao had ended, and I was forced to retreat.» said Shang. His words ended in a defeated and disappointed tone. Vorpax's face was covered with feigned compassion as she patted the sorcerer's shoulder sympathetically. «Pity» she blurted dryly, as she made her way back around the large rock on which Shang sat to stand before him once more. «But unfortunately you'll find no rejuvenation here» said Vorpax revealingly. Shang's head turned from side to side as he took in his surroundings, finally realizing that in his pain and under the seductive lure of Vorpax that he'd failed to hear the usual clanking of mine tools.

Shang shot Vorpax a cold, yet confused glare. «What is this!» he demanded of her. Vorpax began to pace around in a small circle, hands behind her back, fingers entwined as she gave a devious grin. «Oh, just a little something that's been way over due ... My revenge» she responded nonchalantly. Shang was not amused and began to laugh heartily as if he'd just witnessed the antics of a small child. «Revenge?!» he blurted. «Being down here in the mines for so long must be making you delusional. Look at you; you're nothing more than a plaything! A lovely little toy the Emperor threw down here to keep his workers content with their dreary surroundings» he spat gloatingly, adding salt to her emotional wounds. «Unfortunately for you, clearing this area of the Emperor's prisoners has only granted me the privacy to do with you what I please»

Vorpax moved the delicate finger-tips of her right hand over mouth and let out a confidant giggle. «Quite the contrary Sorcerer, it would seem you're the one suffering delusions. You forget, with no prisoners in your soul stealing vicinity, you remain weak, near powerless, and ripe for picking. Just like you are now» said Vorpax in reminder with a smug grin gracing her face. Shang narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows in anger. «You also seem to forget Vorpax! That you are not immune to my powers» his voice rang out loudly as he lifted his palm cast in a dim green light. Vorpax began to struggle for breath as she chocked and fell to her knees. A green glow surrounded her form as her very soul was slowly being removed from her body. Shang gritted his teeth in satisfaction as he watched her gasp for life. «You fool! So much for your plans» Shang hissed. Suddenly a sharp pain rushed through his body and he grabbed at his side once more.

Instantly the eradication of Vorpax's soul was foiled, but Shang was determined and tried once more with all his might with no payoff. He'd exhausted all his energy and required much needed rest in hopes of recovering without the instant energy boost of a fresh soul. Vorpax rubbed at her throat as she stood to her booted feet and strode over to Shang Tsung. «Do you remember when I first met you, and I told you that there was more to me than meets the eye?» asked Vorpax, who refused to wait for an answer before continuing. «Well, you're about to find out!» With that said Vorpax bent at the knees and quickly shot up. She sent her clenched fist crashing into Shang's chin, which forced him up and off his feet and onto his back with a loud thud. Vorpax closed in on him, raised her leg high in a great show of litheness, and thrust down. The heel of her boot was sent plummeting toward Shang's face. Though weakened, Shang still harbored the skills and instincts of a trained warrior and reflexively blocked the oncoming blow with both his forearms crisscrossed over one another.

Shang rolled to the right out of Vorpax's reach and performed a kip-up. He thrust himself from his supine position directly to his feet where he quickly fixed himself into a fighting stance representing the Snake style of martial arts. Shang lunged forward, attacking with viper quick jabs and punches, aiming for Vorpax's neck, chest and abdomen. Vorpax defended herself expertly, but as the swiftness of Shang's strikes became almost a blur, her defenses became sloppy and a flat, open palm was sent firmly into her gut, knocking the very air from her lungs. Vorpax gasped and fell to one knee, but Shang would not give her time to regain her composure and performed a spinning heel in an attempt to connect with Vorpax's jaw.

Vorpax dropped flat to the ground to avoid the kick that would have surely shattered her jaw, then scurried to her feet and went into a backward somersault. She pushed off the ground and tucked midair, moving her feet over head. The toes of her boots strike Shang in the chin. The Sorcerer stumbled backward from the low impact move, but regained his footing just in time as Vorpax launched into a butterfly kick succeeded by a butterfly twist; the most difficult of wushu jumps. Shang was not able to successfully defend himself against Vorpax's fluid duo of lethal kicks, and took several blows to the face.

Shang found himself dumbfounded by Vorpax's dexterity. While he had always suspected she had some fighting skill, he figured them amateur at best, certainly nothing as proficient as what was being delivered. Vorpax refused to hold back her attack and ran toward Shang. She lunged forward and twisted clockwise on the balls of her feet into a turning back kick. Shang dodged and Vorpax's boot made impact with the cobalt wall behind him. The sorcerer proceeded to take advantage of a window of opportunity and dropped the ground. Speedily he turned in a 360 motion and sweep kicked his opponent off her feet and onto her back. Shang quickly stood and took a giant step forward; applying as much body weight as possible to his right leg as he lift it high as if to stomp a insect.

Seconds away from having her skull crushed beneath the foot of Shang Tsung, Vorpax thrust her arms forward and caught Shang's foot within her hands as he continued to violently apply pressure, pushing down furiously with intent to make her defense give way. Vorpax struggled to keep her trembling arms & hands in position, but rather than give up, she gathered all the strength she could muster and pushed Shang's foot aside with a loud grunt. Shang was not done with her by a long shot and bent at the waist, firmly pulling Vorpax to her feet by her curly mane of brown hair.

Viciously he slammed Vorpax against a wall of the mines and wrapped his hand around her slender neck. He began to squeeze tightly, choking her with the strength of a coiling constrictor. He leaned in closer, breathing heavy onto her skin and looked into her brown eyes that were filled with a jumble of emotions, most noticeably anger. «How completely silly of you to choose death over servitude to the great Shang Tsung. I shall miss you» Shang almost sounded genuinely compassionate, almost. «But like so many other things in my lifetime that have come and gone ... I'll get it over it» he said in ending, his tone cold and without emotion. Vorpax could feel herself becoming woozy, and her eyes began to blur, she shook her head defiantly not willing to succumb to the darkness of unconsciousness, for surely death would follow.

«Come on Vorpax! You're the daughter of the mighty Kreeya, do not disappoint her» Vorpax thought to herself as she struggled against Shang Tsung's grip. Suddenly Vorpax knee lunged forward and landed between the thighs of the sorcerer, nailing him in the scrotum, a blow proven to down even the biggest and toughest of warriors. Shang wailed loudly as his grip loosened considerably and he dropped to both his knees clutching the manhood he'd used to defile Vorpax on a number of occasions. This was the opening Vorpax needed.

With a few steps backward, Vorpax sprinted toward the kneeled sorcerer, screaming loudly in her rage and propped her booted foot against his chest with her right leg. Without missing a beat she pushed off, initiating a mid-air rotation, having used Shang's body to perform a wall flip. Her legs came together in unison as she back flipped through the air and felt the heels of her feet make strong contact with Shang's swaying skull. Vorpax landed in a fighting stance, fists clenched, fury written across her usually soft facial features. Shang Tsung was too weak from his battle with Kung Lao to keep up the new bout, and the blow he'd suffered to the cranium was quickly taking its effect. Soon Shang Tsung found himself collapsing in a heap, his vision heavily blurred, and darkness closing in around him until there was nothing to be seen.

Vorpax moved out of her battle ready stance and rolled her aching shoulders and neck, then looked down the unconscious Shang Tsung in disbelief. «I won!?» she asked herself, letting the reality of it all sink in. «I WON!» she screamed aloud, raising a clenched fist into the air to celebrate her victory. Vorpax proceeded to leisurely walk over to Shang's limp form, using the ball of her foot to roll him over onto his back. «You slimy, pathetic bastard!» she spat harshly with a look of disgust upon her face. Vorpax gazed around the area, spotting a miner's pick left behind by one the workers; she strode across the few feet of distance and plucked the pick from the stone wall it was lodged into.

Vorpax returned to Shang's side and gripped the miners pick with both hands. She lifted it high over her head as she looked down upon her defeated opponent. She hesitated for a moment, but proceeded to send the miners pick plummeting towards Shang's chest, stopping just inches before the sharp point of the pick pierced his flesh. When Vorpax thought about it more thoroughly, she realized even with Shang dead she'd still be a prisoner in the mines. Without Shang's magic she would not be able to go to and from Outworld as she pleased. Without Shang there was no one left that she was allied with to combat Kung Lao in the name of the Emperor, as the Champions death would certainly serve as the ticket out of her current hell hole.

Though she hated to admit it, she needed Shang Tsung, and it was her survival instinct that kept him alive. Vorpax dropped the miners pick with a clank as it hit the ground, and moved to stand, hovering over the sorcerers face. She bent at the waist and slid her forearms under his pits, and began to drag his heavy form across the floors of the cobalt mines until she'd reached her private sanctuary. A quaint area despite its gloomy surroundings, with vines of pink and white flora snaking along the dark stone walls, and a small hot spring in the mine's floor, surrounded by smooth, polished stones of varying size.

Vorpax situated the sorcerer in a comfortable position, propping a bundle of soft cloth beneath his head and neck for support. When done tending to Shang she moved and sat opposite of him, her back against the wall as she gazed on at his unconscious form. While she hadn't killed him, she had bested him, and that would forever bring her inner joy for as long as she served under him. She'd gotten her revenge, or at least a taste of it.

The next evening Shang awoke, his body was naked and emerged in the hot, therapeutic waters of the spring, with pink petals scattered across its surface. A soft moan escaped his lips as a dainty hand caressed at his toned abdomen and a soft cheek rubbed against the pectorals of his chest. His eyes fluttered open to find his arm wrapped around Vorpax, naked as well, with her long, wavy brown hair pinned up, a flower behind her ear, and looking up to meet his waking gaze. «Well, finally my sorcerer awakes» Vorpax cooed softly to him. Shang's eyes closed and his brows furrowed as if trying to regain a memory.

His eyes opened once more and Shang began to speak. «I had the ... oddest of dreams» he said, his voice low and soft. Vorpax quirked both her arched brows in feigned surprise, continuingly caressing the muscular 6 pack Shang possessed «Oh? What ever about?» she asked. Flashes of an intense battle with Vorpax swamped his mind; a battle that ended in his defeat. Shang looked to the woman wrapped in his strong arms and didn't give it another thought, surely it was a dream, Vorpax defeating him?! It was almost laughable.

Shang shook his head, still somewhat aching and responded «It is nothing of importance.» Vorpax withheld a giggle, knowing the great Shang Tsung would never admit to being beaten in combat by a woman, even if he did only think it was a dream. Vorpax craned her head to the left, moving her hand from Shang's abdomen to stretch her arm to its full length, palm open in presentation, revealing an offering. «I brought you a little gift» she said adoringly. Shang leaned forward, gazing off in the direction in which Vorpax directed to see a live and bound mine worker; a man of considerable size, surely a warrior of great power outside of the mines.

Shang's lips formed a wicked smirk, and he lifted his open palm. The rest he'd gotten gave him the strength he needed, and sucked the warrior's soul from his body in an eerie green glow. The sorcerer let out a sigh of perverse satisfaction as he absorbed the spirit, feeling his powers return to him almost instantly. Shang fixed his gaze on Vorpax who sat batting long lashes flirtatiously, his eyes roaming her body hungrily. «That soul was much needed. I guess I owe you a bit of gratitude.» Shang remarked genuinely yet with lingering sarcasm. «But now I am need some something else» he continued, and leaned in closer to Vorpax to claim her mouth with his own. Lips parted and tongues danced a forbidden tango as their hands explored the bodies of one another.

Vorpax pulled her lips from Shang's and responded. «What ever my sorcerer wants, my sorcerer gets.» she replied seductively, her index finger traced along Shang's lips. Vorpax climbed out of the spring, her naked form hovering above Shang Tsung. She offered her hand and he obligingly took it, he too leaving the warmth of the water only to be led to bed of soft furs nearby. Vorpax continued her servitude to Shang Tsung that evening in a night of unbridled passion, confident that she would be rescued by her Queen or released by Shao Kahn once Kung Lao was dead. Either way, all she had to do was sit back and wait, and that was one virtue Vorpax had in spades, its patience. True retribution would be hers in due time.