Article: 12813 of alt.games.mk
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From: jpickett@med.unc.edu (James E. Pickett)
Newsgroups: alt.games.mk
Subject: STORY:  Sub-Zero (01/??)
Date: 24 Aug 1994 17:00:19 GMT
Organization: UNC-CH School of Medicine
Lines: 218
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <33fub3$1591@bigblue.oit.unc.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: cahaba.med.unc.edu
Originator: jpickett@cahaba


**** DISCLAIMER:  This story is fan fiction.  It has not been 
     authorized by Midway or anyone else.  It does not represent
     the views of my employer or anyone else I know.  Please
     don't flame me, as this is my first post to this newsgroup.
     -Jim
	    



	                     Sub-Zero



     All long days must come to an end.  In that, I have always
trusted.  My hotel room was cool, comforting, and relaxing.  I
walked over to the thermostat, turning the air conditioner up
higher.  This had been my longest business trip yet.  In the
morning, I was to go home.
     It had been six years since I had left the Lin Kuei, moving to
America.  The elders did not take my decision kindly, given my
fighting prowess and elemental mastery of the powers of cold.  But
I was just not an assassin.  Killing for money, for those greedy
corporate bastards in Tokyo, it was appalling.  The rest of my
family had fallen into that lifestyle, but I would not.  It pained
me greatly to leave them, but that was another time, another life.
     Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against killing in self
defense or for revenge.  I also bear no animosity towards the
corporate world, of which I am now a part, but there are other ways
of dealing with competition than assassination.
     Reaching over, I turned off the radio, being satisfied with
the weather report.  Clear skies, no precipitation.  It should be
an uneventful flight back to New York tomorrow.  Laying back into
bed, I looked out the window.  I jumped to a loud clap of thunder. 
Strange, I thought the man on the radio said clear skies.  A bolt
of lightning just flashed across the night sky, accompanied by a
low rumble of thunder.  I also noticed a bit of a queazy feeling in
my stomach.  Trying to ignore it, I laid back in bed and fell into
a troubled sleep.........

     .....I was standing on a beach.  Judging by the vegetation, I
was on an island somewhere in the south pacific.  Also, the
multitude of footprints in the sand indicated I was not alone. 
Through the dense foliage, off in the distance, I could see the
gates of some sort of temple.  I hacked my way though the tropical
forest towards the ancient structure.  When I arrived at the gates,
I could see into a court yard.  Two men were fighting in what
appeared to be a tournament while a group of monks watched.  One of
the competitors wore a straw hat and a white Japanese style outfit. 
The other man was dressed in a blue and black ninja uniform.  He
threw a ball of ice, which froze his opponent in mid attack.  It
must be my brother.  Another assassination?  I shook my head in
disgust.  My suspicions was proven correct as the sky grew dark and
he pulled the head off of his opponent.
     "Sub-Zero wins.  Fatality!"  The voice came from nowhere.  My
brother held the head up high to show to the cheering crowds.
     My heart dropped into my stomach as the head turned towards me
and gave an evil smile.
     The scenery started to change.  I was suddenly back at home
with the Lin Kuei, sitting with my brother and sisters, listening
to our father teach us the ways of the ninja.  I was seated next to
my brother, four years older than I.  Ever since childhood, he had
a mean streak in him.  He was the first of us to learn the secrets
of the elements, but when fighting, he liked to rely on brute
force.  This was the only way he and I differed in our fighting
style.
     I then started seeing other scenes from my past.  My brother
saving me from a group of wild dogs, evenings spent laughing the
night away by the fire, working out together, him consoling our
family after the death of our father, and the time he stepped in
and broke up the fight between me and Tornado, possibly saving my
life.
     Suddenly I was hovering in mid air, watching a fight on a
bridge.  It was between my brother and another ninja, dressed
identically to him, except for wearing yellow instead of blue.
     "Get over here!!!"  The yellow ninja pulled my brother towards
him after thrusting a spear into his chest.  An uppercut sent him
flying, blood spraying everywhere.  The fight continued.  My
brother put up a valiant fight, but was no match for the yellow
ninja.  
     A voice said "Finish him!!!"  The punch knocked him off of the
bridge to the spikes below.  "Scorpion wins.  Fatality!"  Scorpion. 
The name was branded into my mind.
     I was then at the bottom of the pit.  My brother was there,
twitching as several spikes protruded from his body.  I could see
his soul rise out of his body.  Another ninja, this one wearing
green, walked over to his body.  To my horror, he took off his mask
revealing a reptilian form, and he began to devour my brother's
body.
     My brother's soul was still near, watching.  Suddenly, he was
violently pulled away.  I followed him to a throne room.  There, an
old man sat on a throne.  "I am the great Shang Tsung!  You dare
try to assassinate me?  Pathetic Lin Kuei assassin.  The power of
your soul will help pave the way to the future!"  He then proceeded
to .... absorb.... my brothers soul.  My brother screamed and tried
to get away, but it was to no avail.  His scream was joined by an
anguished chorus of etherial screams.  I turned my head in despair.
     Suddenly, I was...nowhere.  Everything was white.  A mist
covered the ground.  A form appeared from the ground up in front of
me.  It was the man my brother had killed.  He seemed alive and
well, straw hat and all.
     "You have seen what has transpired."  His voice was deep, like
thunder.  "Shang Tsung possesses your brother's soul.  It is up to
you to free him.  You must face him in the Outworld.  Return to the
Lin Kuei.  They are sending another assassin.  You MUST go in his
place.  I will see you there."

     ......I woke up in a cold sweat.  I looked frantically around
the room, trying to regain my senses.  I was still in the hotel
room.  I looked at the digital clock next to the bed.  I assumed
there had been a power surge since it was blinking 12:00.  
     The man appeared before me again.  His eyes were glowing blue
in the darkness.
     "You know what you must do!"  With that, he disappeared again.

     The next day, I canceled my flight back to New York.  I was on
my way back to China, to the Lin Kuei.  I was once again to become
Sub-Zero.

                            * * * * *

     Three days later, I was walking along the dirt road that led
back to my former home.  When I was about 100 yards from the
village, I went into the forest and changed my clothes, putting on
my blue and black ninja uniform for the first time in six years. 
I could hear the sounds of the village from here.  I'm surprised no
one has found me yet.
     Just as the thoughts were crossing my mind, a figure jumped
down from a tree and landed on me, taking me by surprise.
     "Sub-Zero!  We thought you were dead!"
     A ninja dressed in black and dark grey helped me up off of the
ground.  It was Shade, a friend of mine from long ago.
     "Hello, Shade.  Remember me?"  I said, taking off my hood.
     All sense of relief left his voice.  "You should not have come
back.  The grand master has ordered us to kill you if you
returned."
     "So am I to die this day?" I said, leveling my gaze at him.
     "Perhaps, but not by my hand, old friend.  Please, leave now
and I will make no mention of you.  The others will not hesitate to
kill you where you stand."
     "Shang Tsung is still alive."
     "I know," he said.  "We are dispatching another to finish what
your brother has started."
     "Who?"
     "Tornado."
     "I SHALL go in his place.  The right of vengeance is mine. 
Tsung possesses my brother's soul.  I must free him and allow him
to rest in peace.  Tornado's arrogance will cause him to fail."
     Shade appeared to be troubled.  "I can take you as far as the
village, but you must face Tornado and the elders alone."
     "Thank you, but I will go myself.  I do not want you to be
executed for helping me."
     "Farewell, Sub-Zero."  With that, he faded into the shadows.

     When I arrived at the village, I made my way straight to the
courtyard.  The elders were giving Tornado some last minute
instructions.  I decided that this was a good time to make my
entrance.
     One of the elders noticed me as I stepped into the courtyard. 
"Sub-Zero!  You live!"
     "Step aside, Tornado.  The right of vengeance is mine!"  I
said.
     They all suddenly realized who I really was. 
     The grand master stood up and spoke.  "You dishonored us when
you left.  You now have the audacity to show your face once more?"
     "Shang Tsung killed my brother.  I seek revenge.  I shall go
to his tournament in the place of Tornado."
     The elders started discussing amongst themselves.  The grand
master raised his hand, causing everyone to be silent.  "Your
actions warrant death, however, if Tornado wishes, you may fight
him for the right to enter Tsung's tournament.  If you lose, you
will die.  What is your answer, Tornado?"
     "I wish it!"  Tornado said without hesitation.  "Your brother
is not here to protect you now."
     We stood facing each other, waiting for the signal from the
grand master.
     "Fight!"
     One thing about Tornado, he was predictable.  He immediately
started into his whirlwind spin, moving towards me.  Unlike most of
his opponents, I was not paralyzed with fear.  I launched a ball of
cold at him, freezing him where he stood.  Slowly, I walked over to
him.  He was standing unmoving in front of my, skin with a bit of
a blue tint to it, arms folded over his chest.  The elders gasped
as I planted a severe uppercut on his chin, knocking him into the
air.  Before he had the chance to land, I slid across the ground,
connecting with his ankles.  A roundhouse kick sent him flying
again.  I launched myself into the air and landed a side kick into
his chest, knocking the wind out of him.  I froze him again, and
followed it up with an uppercut and slide kick.  As he stood up, I
let a barrage of punches fly into his face, each one hitting it's
target, and each one causing blood to spray.  After about six
punches, he fell to the ground.
     "Sub-Zero wins.  Flawless victory"  The grand master sounded
a bit disappointed, yet impressed.  He walked down from his chair,
set above the elders.  "Congratulations.  You have won the right to
live, and to enter the tournament."
     I watched as they carried Tornado off to be nursed back to
consciousness.
     "I do hesitate, though."  The grand master motioned to one of
the elders, who rushed off.  "You have dishonored us once before. 
You may do it again.  To ensure your cooperation, Smoke will follow
you.  He will be watching you from time to time.  Do not fail us,
Sub-Zero."
     The elder returned with Smoke at his side.
     "Success, Sub-Zero."  Not good luck, the elements be with you,
hope to see you alive again and not beaten to a bloody, twitching
pulp, just success.









More to come.......maybe.