Article: 14616 of alt.games.mk Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!nic-nac.CSU.net!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!olivea!news.bu.edu!taco.cc.ncsu.edu!inxs.ncren.net!concert!bigblue.oit.unc.edu!jpickett From: jpickett@med.unc.edu (James E. Pickett) Newsgroups: alt.games.mk Subject: FINALLY: STORY: Sub-Zero (09/09) Date: 15 Sep 1994 17:56:48 GMT Organization: UNC-CH School of Medicine Lines: 464 Distribution: world Message-ID: <35a1t0$e07@bigblue.oit.unc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: cahaba.med.unc.edu Originator: jpickett@cahaba * * * * * NOTE: More fan fiction. Standard disclaimers apply. DO NOT try this at home. Sub-Zero, Part 9 > I stepped out of the shadows. "So, Mileena, we meet again. >I'm surprised they didn't send Baraka with you." > She clenched her fists. "Baraka is dead. That little weasel >Kung Lao killed him! You are next, Sub-Zero." > "We shall see." > We faced each other, ready to fight to the death..... "Round one. FIGHT!" I mentally went over everything Kung Lao had told me about Mileena's fighting style. I started walking towards her, warily. She first threw her sai at me, but I was able to duck and hit her with a cold blast. I uppercutted her and slid into her shins. As she stood up, I tried to freeze the ground beneath her, but she grabbed hold of my waist and bent over backwards, slamming me to the ground. I stood up, only to have my feet knocked out from under me by her body roll. She once again grabbed me and slammed me back to the ground. This time, however, I jumped straight up into the air, kicking her in the face. Four more punches to her face ended the round. "Sub-Zero wins." A ball of light formed over her and entered her body. She stood up completely healed. "Round two. FIGHT!" This time Mileena didn't start off so restrained. She appeared to drop down through the floor. I expected her to appear behind me, but instead, she appeared above me, kicking me in the face on the way down. As I staggered back, she once again rolled along the floor, knocking me down. She repeated her combo two more times before stopping. Scorpion's warning echoed through my mind. "Don't let Mileena win!" Mustering my strength, I jumped to my feet. Mileena was walking steadily towards me, ready to strike. I side kicked her right in her face, knocking her back. I then froze the ground under her. I followed with a roundhouse kick to the face and a jumping side kick to her chest. She tried to do her floor roll again, but I dropped to one knee and blocked. I froze her after she bounced off of me, then back fisted her out of the air. As she stood up, I grabbed two handfuls of her long black hair, planted my feet in her abdomen, and flipped her. She instinctively rose to her feet, but started swaying back and forth. "FINISH HER!" The thoughts of her killing Raiden filled my mind. I called upon all of my remaining power and launched a blast of cold at her, only this time, I didn't stop. Wave after wave of cold flew from my hands towards Shao Kahn's assassin. The temperature of the room started to drop. I started stepping forward as I continued to freeze her, until I could feel the cold reflecting off of her. I looked over her icy form for one brief moment, then, summoning all of my strength, crouched down and uppercutted her as hard as I possibly could, shattering the ice. Frozen pieces of her broken body scattered around the room. "Sub-zero wins. Fatality!" I looked at where Mileena once stood. Her legs were still intact, standing in place. This was really going to be a mess when her body thawed out. Suddenly, seven armed guards came through the door. I considered fighting them, but I lacked the strength. My powers had been drained when I killed Mileena. They managed to subdue me without much difficulty. The leader walked over to me, looked me in the face, and smiled as though he had personally accomplished something by capturing me. If I was at full strength, I would have made quick work of all seven of them. I felt an impact on the back of my head, and everything went black..... * * * * * One of Shao Kahn's priests must have brought me back to consciousness. The next thing I knew, I was standing back in the arena in front of Shao Kahn's throne. Kung Lao was at my side. I noticed, off to my right, Johnny Cage and Jax were being held captive. Their arms were in shackles, much like Kano and Sonya. Shang Tsung stepped forward. "You are the only two left in the tournament. You will now have the displeasure of fighting me." I noticed that Kung Lao never took his eyes off of Shao Kahn. Shang Tsung continued. "In all of my seven hundred fifty five years, I have only met with defeat twice. The last person to defeat me as Lui Kang, but thanks to Baraka, there shall not be a repeat performance." This got Kung Lao's attention. He looked at Tsung with rage in his eyes. "Kung Lao, the only other person to ever defeat me was your greatest ancestor, The Great Kung Lao. I have never been able to live down that defeat. It has caused me to hunt down and destroy all members of his family, all of his living relatives, and all of his descendants as well. I used one of my greatest generals, Goro, to defeat him. The legend says that he met death bravely, with honor. But do you want to know the truth? He died on his knees, groveling for his life, squealing like a stuck pig!" "YOU LIE!" Kung Lao took a swing at him, only to be restrained by several of the priests. "It's true. I took his soul as he breathed his last. He has been in torment ever since." I shuddered at the thought. Tsung smiled and took a few steps back, continuing. "I thought I killed all members of his family, immediate and extended. But somehow, I managed to miss you. A direct descendant of the Great Kung Lao. I haven't had the pleasure of killing one since... since I killed your father twenty four years ago. "I wasn't defeated after that for another five hundred years, when that upstart Lui Kang was blessed with the wildest streak of luck any human has ever seen. Do you know what I did? I destroyed his temple, killing all of his shaolin brothers. Almost all of them, anyway. But once again, you eluded my grasp. How did you manage that again? Well, no matter. I have you now. I am really looking forward to our fight. The fact that you managed to kill Baraka proves your worthiness to fight me. He was one of Shao Kahn's finest generals and will be difficult to replace. Yes indeed, you will make a fine opponent." "Why don't you just bring him back to life?" I interjected Shang Tsung shifted his hollow gaze towards me. "But you!" His voice was filled with disgust. "You are nothing but a worthless second class assassin. How dare you come here with the sole purpose of killing me! You are one of a thousand. All who have tried to kill me in the past have met with the same fate.... The fate of your brother! "You killed my pet, Reptile. HOW DARE YOU! Mileena, too. You are NOTHING! You are WORSE than nothing! I am going to kill you slowly, sucking your soul out of your body as you die. You will meet with torment like no other outside of Hell has ever seen. And this torment will also be eternal." I looked him in the 'eyes' and smiled. "I highly doubt it, you sorry excuse for a petty magician." Shang Tsung was filled with rage. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME IN THAT MANNER, MORTAL!" He tried to regained his composure. "Thanks to you, I missed the opportunity to possess Lui Kang's soul. Well, you shall take his place. When I get through with you, I shall..." He was interrupted by Shao Kahn's booming voice. "Enough talk, Tsung. Choose the one you wish to fight first!" Tsung stepped back and looked us over. "I'll fight him first," he said, pointing towards Kung Lao. I chuckled. "Coward!" I said, under my breath, yet loud enough for Tsung to hear me. He sneered. "Do you want to go first? You wish to die first? Fine! I shall fight you first, Sub-Zero!" "May fortune be with you, my friend," Kung Lao said as they pulled him off to the side. Finally I faced the demon that held my brother's soul. We stood facing each other, all eyes upon us. Shao Kahn broke the silence. "Round one. FIGHT!" Tsung smiled and held his hands outstretched in front of him. Instinctively, I ducked. A flaming skull flew over me. I stood up, only to be hit in the chest with two more. I staggered back. When I looked up, Tsung was gone, replaced by Kung Lao. This caught me off guard for a second. That second was all he needed, as he took of his hat and threw it at me. I turned to the side and tried to side step out of it's way, but the hat found it's mark, slicing me deeply across the chest. I started to bleed heavily. I had to act quickly, so I launched myself into the air, expecting to jump kick Tsung. By the time I reached him, his form had changed again, this time into Baraka. He extended the blades from his forearms and caught me in mid air. Up and down, the blades flew with fervor. Pieces of my skin were being sliced off. Blood sprayed everywhere. He dropped me to the ground and once again morphed into Scorpion. He threw his spear, which hit me in the chest. There was no need to pull me towards him so he could hit me, as I fell to the ground as soon as his weapon pierced my chest. "Shang Tsung wins. Flawless victory!" Tsung threw back his head and laughed. The priests were coming over to heal me so I could continue the battle. "Don't heal him!" screamed Tsung. "Let him bleed! Let him die!" The priests hesitated for a moment. I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. Everything started to seem further and further away. Voices started to trail off into nothing. I thought I heard Shao Kahn screaming something, then I felt my strength returning. My wounds closed and my strength returned. "IF YOU DISOBEY ME AGAIN, TSUNG, I SHALL DESTROY YOU!" screamed Kahn. Shang Tsung tried to swallow his pride. "Yes master. Please forgive me. It shall not happen again." His tone of voice made the statement sound like it lacked conviction. I stood up, completely healed. I looked over towards the other 'Earth-realm' warriors. Cage had a very worried look on his face, as did Kung Lao. Even Kano looked concerned. Jax, however, just shook his head, as if he had already written me off. I couldn't see Sonya from where I was. "Round two. FIGHT!" Shang Tsung's form changed, and Lui Kang stood before me. Immediately, he attacked me with Kang's vicious bicycle kicks. Fortunately, I blocked. I froze Tsung as he bounced off of me, and uppercutted him out of the air. I slid into him before he hit the ground. As he stood, I grabbed hold of him and flipped him, throwing him a good eight feet. I stood up to face him....or rather her. Tsung had morphed into Kitana. He/she threw a fan at me, but I was able to block it. It didn't leave me unscarred, however, as the blade cut into my forearms. I threw a blast of cold at him as he morphed again, this time into Raiden. The ice connected as he started to fly towards me. A knee to his frozen face, followed by four quick punches ended the round. I raised my hand in victory. "Sub-Zero wins." A hush fell over the crowd as the priests revived Shang Tsung. He was quite shaken. I could hear him talking under his breath. "He is just flesh and blood....just flesh and blood." "Round three. FIGHT!" This time, I didn't wait for him to attack. I jumped at him immediately and kicked him in the face. Ground freeze, uppercut, slide, jump kick, they all hit their target. That's when he morphed into Jax. I tried to roundhouse kick him in the head, but he blocked it. He then grabbed hold of my uniform and slammed me to the ground time after time. I stood up dazed, and a flaming skull hit me in the chest. Tsung turned back into his normal form. He raised his arms up into his fighting stance, showing signs of pain. I stood up, trying to stay focused. Tsung launched himself into a jump kick. I put up my arms to block. As soon as I felt his foot impact on my arms, I froze the ground in front of me. Tsung's arms started flailing as he tried to keep his balance. I walked across the ice and roundhouse kicked him in the head, knocking him back. Tsung had lost. He stood in front of me, swaying back and forth. "FINISH HIM!" I concentrated on my hand, calling forth all of my powers. A condensed sphere of bitter cold formed in my hand, which I threw into Shang Tsung's chest. It hit his warm body and expanded. He let out a final scream of agony and his torso exploded into hundreds of pieces, leaving his legs standing. I fell to my knees, exhausted. "Sub-Zero wins. Fatality!" I had done it. I had succeeded on my mission. All the souls of Tsung's former victims were free of his devilish magic at last. I let out a cry of victory! Suddenly, I had a strange feeling, as if my brother was with me. He felt at peace, then the feeling was gone. Finally, he was at rest. A priest touched me with a glowing rod and my wounds were healed. Shao Kahn stood up. "So, you think you have won, Sub- Zero. Well you are mistaken. Now, you must fight my champion!" Champion? What champion? I thought it was over. Shang Tsung was dead. The tournament was over. Oh, how wrong I was. The crowd went wild as a nine foot tall behemoth stepped from out of the stands. He had sort of a tiger's face and stripes, yet he was humanoid. He also had four very powerful looking arms. Shao Kahn spoke. "Meet my champion, Kintaro!" I was supposed to fight this monster? He had to be kidding! "Round one, FIGHT!" My mind was still on my victory over Shang Tsung, so I found it very difficult to concentrate. Kintaro started walking towards me, so I froze the ground in front of him. To my amazement, he just walked over the ice like it wasn't there. He grabbed hold of me with all four arms and threw me to the ground. I stood up and tried to mound a defence. Kintaro spit a ball of fire at me, which hit me in the face. I staggered back and was hit with another one, which knocked me to the ground. I felt his arms grab hold of me and once again throw me to the ground. I couldn't get up. "Kintaro wins. Flawless victory" After I was healed, I started to formulate a new plan. "Round two. FIGHT!" I launched a blast of cold at him, but he jumped out of the way, and I really mean jumped....straight up. I lost him in the sunlight for a brief second, then I felt a crushing weight on my shoulders, driving me to the ground. I felt bones snap like twigs as Kintaro jumped up and down on me. He picked me up off of the ground and punched me in the chest. I heard a loud snap and saw that I was airborne. I landed on the ground hard after a few seconds. "Kintaro wins. Flawless victory! Get Kung Lao ready for the final fight!" I couldn't move my legs and I could hardly breathe. Everything started to spin, then the outside world started to recede. I felt my consciousness start to ebb away and the sounds of the cheering crowd started to fade. One thought crossed my mind... my brother was free, then darkness................... * * * * * The next thing I saw was Johnny Cage standing over me. He had a glowing healing rod in his hand. I felt my bones start to reform and my pain disappearing. "No time to chill out now, cool breeze! We need you!" I sat up, as Cage turned his attention elsewhere. The sounds of battle filled the arena. Shao Kahn was nowhere to be seen. Kintaro was lying on his back, somehow knocked out cold. Cage, Jax, and Kung Lao were trying their best to hold a bunch of now walking priests at bay. Kung Lao's hat flew, decapitating one of their opponents. Cage shadow kicked into several of the robed figures, and Jax picked up one and threw him into a charging group of seven more. I quickly got up to join the fight. I started throwing blasts of cold at several priests, freezing them where they stood. People were starting to come down from the stands to join the fight against us. I looked towards the platform, and noticed that Kano and Sonya had disappeared. Several armed guards ran in through one of the doors, charging at us. I ran and jumped up onto Kahn's throne to get a better vantage point. I concentrated hard and froze the ground beneath the charging squad. Their momentum carried them into each other. Several of them were impaled by their comrade's weapons. The sky was starting to grow dark. A bunch of people in tattered green uniforms ran out of one of the other doors, with Sonya in the lead. They joined the fight on our side, but we were still outnumbered. Then, to my horror, Kintaro started to wake up. I quickly picked up one of the discarded sets of steel manacles. It was very heavy, about 30 pounds. I grabbed it by the chain end and ran towards Kintaro. I swung it downwards as I reached him, hitting him on the head. Blood sprayed from his nose as he lapsed back into unconsciousness. "GET OVER HERE!" I turned, to see an armed guard only three feet from me. He was arching his back in pain, dropping his sword to the ground. Suddenly, he was pulled away from me and engulfed in flames. Scorpion stood before me. Instead of a face, there was only a bare skull. He replaced his hood and returned to 'normal'. I ran over to Jax. He was in the process of strangling two guards at the same time. "Jax, I know where your strike team's weapons are being stored." Jax dropped one of the men and looked at me. "Lead the way!" he said, snapping the other man's neck. I ran towards the sewer grate again, shouting for everyone to follow me, which they did. Kung Lao reached the grate first, and hacked it open with one slice from his hat. "I know the way!" he yelled as he jumped in. The rest of the group followed him. I jumped in last, hitting the ground with a splash. It was covered with water. I instructed everyone to run on ahead. Scorpion tried to stay with me, but I told him I would be along in a few seconds. After everyone was clear, I froze the water on the ground. Within seconds, the entire floor was a sheet of ice. I turned and ran in the direction the rest of the group went, past the slime filled pool, and finally to another sewer grate in the ceiling. I boosted myself up to the armory. Bits of body parts and gore littered the floor. Sonya and Jax were passing out the weapons to their men. Several of the soldiers were searching, presumably for the ammunition. "I FOUND IT!" screamed a blond haired soldier. Jax ran over to him. "Good work, Branscum." The two of them started passing out the clips to the other men. There was still no sign of pursuit. Suddenly, a head popped up out of the sewer grate. It was Raiden. "Sub-Zero, You created quite a spectacle back there," he said. I grinned at the thought of the guards slipping around on the ice. After all the weapons and ammo had been distributed, we headed out of the building, which opened into the forest path. Raiden pointed to way and we all ran towards the portal. I took the opportunity to talk to Cage, who was examining the rod he picked up off of a priest. It was no longer glowing. "John, what happened?" "Oh, man, you should have seen Kung Lao. He tore Kintaro and Shao Kahn apart! He is one mean little cuss. I'll tell you the gory details later." We continued to run until we found the make shift building which housed the portal. We ran inside and received a shock. The portal was gone! We all stood there in shock. Raiden broke the silence. "With Shao Kahn dead, his powers can no longer maintain the portal. Stand back!" He raised his arms out in front of him, and lighting starting striking towards the spot where the portal once was. "WE'VE GOT COMPANY!" yelled Sonya. "Kritas, Cirillo, come with me!" Several of the soldier ran out of the building with her. The sound of shots being fired and screams of agony echoed from outside. There was a deafening blast, and a blue portal was formed. "EVERYBODY THROUGH!" yelled Raiden. One by one, we jumped in. This trip was a lot less painful than the last. I stepped through and found myself in the dungeon that Cage referred to as Goro's lair. Soon, all were through the portal. The last one through was Raiden. As soon as he came through, the portal closed and disappeared. We were safe. * * * * * It was good to see life again. The tropical island had contrasted sharply with the dead looking outworld. Once we were on the beach, the only smell in the air was cool evening sea mist. I removed my hood and took a deep breath. There was no longer the smell of death in the air. The military patrol boat was just a feet away from the shore line. The yacht was a good bit further out. "Hey Jax, would you mind shuttling us out to my boat?" asked Cage. "No problem." I turned to Kung Lao. He looked like he was lost in thought. "Hey, how are you feeling?" "We stopped the outworld menace, defeated Tsung, released all of my ancestor's souls, and avenged their deaths. I should be happy, but instead, I feel very empty. I have nothing to go back to. My temple has been destroyed and my last remaining Shaolin brother is dead. My life long mission has been accomplished. I don't know what to do now." Cage interjected. "Ever thought of a movie career? You'd make a great stunt double." I could tell cage was joking, but Kung Lao was not in a joking mood. "Mr. Cage," said Kung Lao. "Could I trouble you for a ride to the mainland? I can walk from there." "Sure, Kung. No problem. Hey, and don't worry about Lui Kang. He died for a noble purpose. I'm sure that's the way he wanted to go." Kung Lao nodded in agreement. "I wonder what happened to Kano," said Sonya. "He is probably still in the outworld," replied Raiden. "But he may have escaped before Kahn's portal closed. "Well, you have all done the Earth realm a great service. Your names shall be told in stories for generations to come. And my special thanks to you, Kung Lao. I shall be watching you all." With that, the thunder god disappeared. Cage turned to me. "Hey, Subby...sorry, what are you going to do now?" "Well," I replied, "I am probably going back home to New York. See if I can salvage what's left of my career. How about you?" Cage put on his sunglasses and grinned. "Back to L.A." One of the soldiers ran up to him. "Mr. Cage, can I have your autograph?" "Sure. Who should I make it out to?" "Mike Kritas." "Okay." Cage pulled out a picture of himself. "Always carry a few for just such an emergency." He began to write. "To my good friend...." I turned to Scorpion. "What about you?" I asked. "You were successful in freeing your brother's soul. Shang Tsung is dead. But he had many followers, and a lot of them reside here in the earth realm. Since it was my fault you were put at this risk, I shall do my best to protect you from this danger." I wondered how he would fit into New York life..... "Well guys, it's been fun, but we have to be getting back to base now," said Jax. "If you guys want a ride, let's get on board. We all climbed onto the patrol boat and Jax shuttled us out to the yacht. The small boat pulled out and headed out to sea. Cage's yacht was magnificent, as he told us himself while giving us a guided tour. We each told our individual stories over dinner, during which Cage seemed to get great delight in having me chill his beer several times. After dinner, I went up on deck to be alone. The sounds of the waves on the open ocean and the feeling of the cool sea mist were very relaxing. My mind wandered to the events of the past several days, and how I had freed countless souls by killing Tsung. Scorpion came up on deck. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. "Nothing in particular. Do you think we've seen the last of the outworlders?" "I don't know, but I get the feeling that we are safe.....for now." - Jim Pickett 9/14/94 Let me know what you think.... jim.ahec@mhs.unc.edu