Chapters Heart of Ice
Prologue
Cold. That is all that Kuai Liang could feel inside. This is did not bother him though, he had long grown used to the cold inside his very heart, he embraced it even, it is what made him strong. The reason for the coldness he feels everyday is that he is the very master of ice and cold. Ever since the day he was born, he could control it.
Kuai Lang was trained at the Lin Kuei temple along with his brother, Bi-Han from a very early age to become an assassin. After ten years of brutal training, his brother became the feared assassin, Sub Zero, and brought honour and success to the Lin Kuei clan. Kuai Liang was also inducted into the clan under the codename Tundra. Though Kuai Liang was a mighty warrior and skilled assassin, his older brother alway's overshadowed him. This did not upset him, in fact, it made him proud to call Bi-Han his brother and he respected and looked up to him greatly. One message from a sorcerer named Shang Tsung would change Kuai Liang's life forever. Sub Zero, and fellow assassins, Sektor and Cyrax were hired by a mysterious sorcerer named Shang Tsung to compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament for Outworld. The details of the job were very vague but the Lin Kuei would never turn down a contract, so the three of them left for Shang Tsung's island, leaving Kuai Liang behind.
Many weeks went by without any word from Sub Zero or any of the other assassins sent, until one day Sektor returned. He told the clan of how Cyrax had betrayed them by breaking his oath by refusing to kill a man named Johnny Cage and deserting the clan. He also told them of Sub Zero's demise but the details of that were only shared with the Grandmaster. As soon as Kuai Liang learned of what happened to Bi-Han, he stormed into the Grandmaster's chambers and demanded answers. He was only dismissed by the Grandmaster and punished for his disrespect to the Grandmaster. After the severe lashing he was given, he set of to Outworld when a new Tournament was announced by the powerful emperor Shao Kahn, to find Shang Tsung and answer his questions. Before he left he was approached by his friend and fellow assassin, Smoke, who told him he was willing to aid him in his quest. He decided that he would honour his brother's memory by donning his brother's armour and taking the code name Sub Zero. They left without knowing what was to happen to the Lin Kuei.
The day after Sektor's return and Kuai Liang's secret departure the Lin Kuei were told of a new path the clan would be treading:
The Cyber Initiative.
This would transform the Lin Kuei into powerful cyborgs that enhance the assassins strength, speed and agility, but, unbeknownst to the clan, at a terrible price. The surrendering of the clans freewill and total control of the grandmaster. Sekor and Cyrax (who was recently brought back to the temple for judgement) were the first to undergo transformation and they were a complete success. They were nearly unstoppable. The rest of the clan soon followed suit.
In Outworld, Kuai Liang learned that Bi-Han was killed by a demon of the Netherrealm known as Scorpion. He challenged Scorpion to single combat and managed to defeat him. As he was about to finally avenge his brother's death, he teleported back to the Netherrealm. He swore that his revenge would be complete. He and Smoke also learned of what happened to the Lin Kuei as they faced down Sektor and Cyrax. Smoke was captured but the new Sub Zero prevailed and went on to desert the Lin Kuei and stand with the warriors of Earth Realm to defeat Shao Kahn and prevent him from ultimately absorbing Earth Realm. After the long and brutal conflict Shao Khan was eventually defeated and Earth Realm was now forever safe. This did not mean the safety of Sub Zero though, as he was mercilessly hunted by the Lin Kuei for his desertion, for no one left the Lin Kuei. In his desperation he turned to his new ally, Raiden, for help. Raiden took Sub Zero to the Wu Shi Academy, the home of the Shaolin, for protection from his old clan. Even though he had the protection of the Shaolin monks, Sub Zero accepted his fate that the Lin Kuei would kill him or turn him into a mindless cyborg. No one had ever escaped the Lin Kuei, so he knew that his chances for survival were slim, he knew that his old clan would eventually take him. As he sat in the courtyard of the Academy in solemn contemplation, he decided before he died he would take one last mission. A mission he had to do before he died.
He had to defeat and kill Scorpion and finally avenged his older brother's death.
Heart of Ice
Chapter one: Vengeance
The day was bright and radiant in the Wu Shi Academy, as it was for most of the day's there. The sun shone warmly on the cobblestone temple grounds and statues of honoured Shaolin warriors and monks seemed to glow under the sun. The temple grounds were as peaceful as ever. The birds were singing sweet songs as they flew from tree to tree. The stream in the middle of the grounds flowed without disturbance and the flowers that surrounded it were in full bloom. A lone man was sitting on a stone bench by the stream. This man's mood was not at all equal to the peacefulness of the temple grounds.
This man's name was Kuai Liang, but he was mostly known as Sub Zero.
Sub Zero sat on the bench lost in his thought's as he contemplated his fate.
'The Lin Kuei will find me. I know it. But when?'
Thoughts like this were not uncommon to him these day's as he knew he was going to be slain by the clan he once called family. He felt betrayed and empty as he gave his life and full devotion and loyalty to the clan and they repay him by attempting to capture him and turn him into a mindless slave. He also thought that he also somewhat deserved the fate he had been given, as he had dishonoured his clan by shameful desertion, even though his reason was justified, he still felt as there was no grey area. Desertion was desertion, and there was no way in getting around the oath he had broken. That very oath he broke had now cost him his life. While it might not come right now or in the next few days, he knew it was coming and there was nothing he could do about it. While he was a deadly assassin, he could not fight all the Lin Kuei in they're new cyborg forms, not to mention Sektor and Cyrax. Those names also brought sadness to him. He once called those men friend and now they were leading the hunt to find him and kill him.
Or worse.
These thought's were not the main reason for his sorrow. The unjust murder of his brother and his failure to avenge him weighed heavily on his mind. He cursed Scorpion in his thought's. He murdered his brother in cold blood. The worst part about it to him was that he still did not understand why. Why had his brother been slain? He asked this question daily to himself, he had even consulted Raiden on it and even the god of thunder had no idea why his brother died. He was sick of it. He wanted his answers. He had to avenge his brother. Then he could finally be at peace and die knowing his task had been successful.
"Does something trouble you, Sub Zero?"
This knocked Sub Zero out of this train of thought and he turned on the bench to see who it was. Raiden and Liu Kang stood there looking concerned.
"I am fine." He lied.
"You do not look it. Something is clearly on your mind." Liu Kang said sternly.
Sub Zero thought for a second before responding. He saw no reason in not telling them about his final mission, he spoke up.
"I am thinking of Bi-Han, his death still troubles me," He started to explain "I still do not know why he was slain and I must avenge him before the Lin Kuei find me."
"You do not think the Shaolin are capable of protecting you from them?" Liu Kang asked, somewhat offended.
"Not at all. But no one escapes the Lin Kuei. They will find me, and when they do I will be powerless to stop them." He said in a defeated tone.
"I understand your need for revenge Kuai Liang, but revenge can lead to very dark paths." Raiden interjected.
Sub Zero winced at the use of his name. He hated it when people called him that. He did take Raiden's thought's into consideration though, as he had learned that the thunder god was very wise and his words were always worth taking into account. But he was still determined that this mission for revenge would be his last chance to redeem himself for his failure to do so before.
"You must understand Lord Raiden, the Lin Kuei will track me down and when they do, I am doomed. I must defeat Scorpion and avenge my brother before that day happens." He explained with some determination.
Raiden looked at him with scrutinizing eye's for a while until he finally let up his gaze and gave Sub Zero a look of understanding.
"While I still do not condone the path you take, I understand your situation with the Lin Kuei and I can take you to the Netherrealm to find Scorpion." Raiden said to him.
Sub Zero was taken aback by the offer. He had not expected Raiden to come around and agree with him so easily. He stood up to face them both.
"Thank you Lord Raiden. I will accept your offer. I am ready to leave now if that is okay." He said.
"Of course, I will take you now." Raiden replied.
Liu Kang stepped in with his hands together in a bow.
"Good luck, Sub Zero. I hope you find peace." He said with a smile.
Sub Zero bowed back and looked at him with a smile that was hidden under his icy blue mask.
"Thank you Liu Kang, give Kung Lao my regards." He said solemnly.
He nodded to Raiden, signalling that he was ready to begin his final mission. Raiden nodded back and placed his left hand on his shoulder, he then used this right hand to summon lightning from the very sky to his hand. In an instant, Sub Zero's sight of the peaceful grounds of the Wu Shi Academy was replaced by the inferno that was the Netherrealm. He looked around at the hell that surrounded him. Lakes of molten rock surrounded him and the pathway he was on. The bodies of the dead were all impaled on spikes of rock, some of them still moving. When he looked before him he saw that the path lead up to an island in the lake of lava. He could see that the lakes went on for miles, and the whole place had a roof of dark red rock, like the entire place was one huge cave with no exit.
"You will find Scorpion there." Raiden said, gesturing towards the island.
"Thank you Lord Raiden, How will I get back to Earth Realm?" He questioned.
"I will come back to this place in a day's time. If you do not return I will investigate what happened." Raiden told him with a reassuring look.
"Thank you for your help Raiden, I will see you this time tomorrow." Sub Zero replied with a bow.
Raiden bowed back and looked at him.
"Good luck my friend." And with that Raiden vanished with a bolt of lightning.
Sub Zero took a deep breath before he began his journey to island.
"It is time to finish this."
Revenge and Teleportation
Heart of Ice
Chapter Three: Revenge and Teleportation.
The heat of the Netherrealm was almost unbearable for Sub Zero, being a man who's main power is ice, heat never sat well with him. He began freezing the path were his feet landed in an attempt to cool himself off. His journey towards the island where he was told by Raiden he could locate Scorpion was about an hour and it mostly consisted of Sub Zero looking around the abyss that was Hell. This was his first time to the Netherrealm and it shook him slightly at all the mangled corpses either impaled in a gruesome fashion or laying face down in the lake of lava. As he approached the island he was met with a flash as a green spinning vortex began to open before him. Quan Chi stepped out of it with an uncomfortable smile on his face.
"What is your business here mortal?" Quan Chi said with a bit of venom in his voice.
Sub Zero stared at him for a second before responding
"I am here to challenge Scorpion for the murder of my brother!" He exclaimed with fury in his voice.
Quan Chi chuckled darkly. If Scorpion could kill this fool, he could have another soul to serve him and he could make another twisted creation like Noob Saibot. Sub Zero was still unaware of who Noob Saibot truly was.
"And so you shall." He purred.
He raised his hand and a green aura enveloped it. A burst of flame appeared in front of Sub Zero and Scorpion appeared before him.
"You again! Do you truly wish to die, fool?" Scorpion hissed.
"I bested you before Demon! I shall do so again!" He shouted back.
With that Sub Zero slid forward on ice towards Scorpion and struck him with a kick to the chest. Scorpion flew back and hit the ground with a thud. Scorpion shook his head and rounded on Sub Zero. In a flash, he disappeared in a burst of flames and reappeared behind Sub Zero and punched him several times to the face and body. Sub Zero stood his ground and prepared to block. As Scorpions fist connected with Sub Zero's hand, he immediately froze on the spot. Sub Zero took his advantage and hit Scorpion in the face with a deadly uppercut. Scorpion flew back and as he was in the air Sub Zero fired an ice ball in his direction. Scorpion froze as soon as the ice ball hit him and Sub Zero drew the Kori Blade, his sword of ice, and slashed him out of his ice prison. Scorpion recovered from the attack and dodged another ice ball that was launched at him. Scorpion retrieved the head of his spear with a flick of his wrist. He pushed his arm forward and the spear shot towards Sub Zero.
"Get over here!" Scorpion taunted.
The spear's aim was true and Sub Zero was hit in the shoulder. He felt it pierce his cuirass and he felt the cold steel go straight into his chest, the wound now bleeding openly. He was dragged forward by Scorpion who punched him twice and finished with a flaming uppercut. Sub Zero jumped straight back up when he hit the ground and cupped his hands together and he breathed deeply. A solid beam of ice sprang forth from his hands and within seconds connected with Scorpion. Scorpion froze deeply and as hard as he tried, he would not be able to escape from the ice. Sub Zero had a chance to finish him. Happy that Scorpion could not move, he walked towards him with his ice blade in hand ready to make the killing blow.
"For my brother!" He yelled.
Just as he brought his blade down, a green barrier prevented him from making the blow.
"Enough of this folly!" Quan Chi yelled "Die mortal!"
Sub Zero felt the ground beneath him disappear as he fell through Quan Chi's portal. He looked down to where he was falling. It was a gruesome pit of earthen spikes that were covered in blood and remains of victims. Realising he was going to die he thought one last thought as the spikes came closer by the second.
'I have failed my brother... and myself.' He thought solemnly.
Then something came that knocked him completely out of this train of thought. A bright purple flash engulfed him and he felt a very strange sensation as if he was being pulled from the Netherrealm by force. The flash disappeared as quickly as it came.
Before he knew it he slammed against a hard wooden floor and the moment he hit the ground he heard several ear piercing screams. He felt his conscious slipping away from him and he glanced around before he passed out from pain and shock to see who had screamed.
He wished he hadn't.
Before him stood a small, lavender horse.
"Are you okay?!" The small horse exclaimed.
The man of ice froze. It just spoke. The horse just spoke to him. He thought he was going mad! He managed two words before he slipped out of consciousness.
"What... The?" He questioned before he slammed against the floor unconscious.
Twilight looked back at her friends, each of them baring the same confused and worried faces. All they could do was stare at the creature on the floor in utter astoundentment. They had come over to Twilight's to see a portal spell that could be used to move between places without the strenious activity of teleporting. Instead of the purple portal she was hoping for she instead recieved very bright and very large purple sparks from the end of her horn. The moment the bright flash had subscided they heard a loud crash and a strange creature on the floor of the library. They could only watch as the creature attempted to stand up and looked in their direction. He muttered out two words before collapsing onto to floor.
"What... The?" The creature croaked out
There was a silence for a good minute as the ponies just stared in bewilderment at the creature laying on the library floor.
"W-What is that thing?" Rarity finally spoke up
"I-I'm not to sure girls." Twilight said, sounding completely out of her depth.
Applejack stepped forward to it and checked for breathing. She noticed a bleeding wound in his shoulder that was starting to pool on the floor. She leant forward up the ornate blue metal mask that was on the creatures face. She heard small breaths being made, she also saw how the creatures breath seemed to condense, even though it was fairly warm in the library. Applejack turned to her friends.
"It's still alive!" she gasped to them.
Heart of Ice
Chapter Three: Waking up in a New Land
As Sub Zero stated to stir, he immediately winced in pain and clutched his head. He had splitting head ache and a very painful sensation coming from the left side of his chest. His throat felt like sand paper every time he swallowed. He could hear a high pitched beeping noise in the background. He then realised where he was lying down. He was in a bed. When did that happen? He didn't remember getting into a bed. Searching his memory, he remembered what had happened. His battle with Scorpion, Quan Chi's portal, the flash of purple light and... A talking horse? He brushed the thought off as a strange dream of some sort while he was asleep. A talking horse was preposterous.
He drowsily opened his eyes and surveyed the room he was in. It looked like a hospital room. Spotting the glass of water on a table at the left side of his bed, he removed his mask and proceeded to drink all of it in one go, his body temperature cooling it down. Seeing where he was, he remembered the wound he was given by Scorpion. He looked to his left side and noticed that he was still in his armour but his chest piece and his robes were missing. Using his right arm to sit up and inspect the damage, he saw that the entire area had been bandaged superbly. He wondered who had done it, the last thing he remembered was being in the Netherrealm and he highly doubted they had hospitals there. The flash of purple light must have taken him somewhere. He was about to question where when he heard a knock on the front door. He tied his mask back on and turned his attention to the door.
"Enter." He said, expecting a shaolin healer or Raiden.
What he saw blew his mind entirely.
Another colourful horse, brown this time, with a lab coat on, entered and smiled at him.
"Good morning. How are you feeling today? My medical team had to work fast to make sure you didn't bleed out." The brown horse said with concern in it's voice.
Sub Zero stared wide eyed at the horse for a few moments. He was no stranger to different species, thanks to his battle's against Shao Khan, but this was more strange than seeing a Tarkatan for the first time.
"I-I am well." He said still just staring at the horse. If his mask had not been there, his jaw would have hit the bed.
"I am Dr. Red Cross, I am the one who operated on you earlier, which I am happy to announce was a complete success." Red Cross said cheerfully.
Sub Zero merely stared at the apparent doctor pony, for what felt like an age, until the doctor finally spoke up.
"You do have some visitor's if you are feeling up for it. I'm sure you want to meet the mares that saved your life." Red Cross said to him with a smile.
Sub Zero nodded uneasily, though still taken a back by the situation, he did want to know who had saved his life. Red Cross said his goodbye and he heard him tell someone outside his room that it was okay to enter. Six diversely coloured horses entered the room, each varying in colours from light yellow to obscenely pink.
The first one he saw he immediately recognised. It was the lavender horse he thought was a dream! As he got a closer look at her, he examined her and her associates carefully. He noticed they each had an individual mark on their flanks and some of them had a horn or wings or nothing at all. They gave a respectable distance between his bed and themselves and each gave him looks varying from wariness to concern.
The lavender one seemed to be their leader, as she spoke up first.
"H-Hello, how are you feeling?" she asked in a very sheepish voice.
Sub Zero did not know what to say, he was still unsure if this whole thing being an illusion by Quan Chi.
"I am well, are you the one's that brought me to this place?" He questioned, searching for answers.
"Y-Yeah we did, you were b-bleeding badly so we took you to the hospital." She answered, as if she had done something wrong.
"You need not fear me horse, I am indebted you and your companions." Sub Zero told them.
"Who you callin' a horse!" A cyan winged one with a mane that was coloured like a rainbow said to him sounding offended. Sub Zero glared at her as if she just challenged him.
"Rainbow!" The lavender one scolded her. "I'm sorry about her, but can I ask, what are you?"
"I could ask the same question to you, horse." Sub Zero said plainly
"Okay, my name is Twilight Sparkle and we're not horses, we're ponies." She stated matter-of-factly.
'Ponies? This land could not get any stranger.' He thought. He knew what a pony was, he had seen them before, back on Earth Realm, but talking ponies with pastel coloured coats, horns and wings? This was downright insane. He was broke out of his train of thought as the others introduced themselves.
"I'm Ranbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" The rainbow one boasted proudly, seeming to have completely forgot her last outburst. He gave her a curt nod as the horned one next to her started to speak up.
"I am Rarity, and I must say darling, your robes are simply marvellous." The white one complimented.
Realising that his torso was still bare, he turned his head to the white one.
"What has become of my robes?" He asked patiently.
"Oh, they were terribly damaged from that dreadful cut you had, so I took the liberty of repairing them." As Rarity said this she levitated his robes over to him with her horn. Sub Zero raised an eyebrow at her levitating his clothing to him. He had seen levitation spells before, so this was not really new to him. He was still thought it was strange that all of it was controlled from a horn though. He looked over his robes, and to his surprise, they were masterfully repaired and even washed pristinely.
Seeing that he had no intention on harming them, the other three ponies stepped forward to introduce themselves.
"Howdy, Ah'm Applejack." A orange pony with a Stetson said to him, her mark being three apples.
As Sub Zero acknowledged Applejack, a pink blur whizzed up to his face and started speaking at one hundred words a second.
"HiI'mPinkiePieandIwassososoworriedthatyouwouldn'tbeokaybecauseyournewandthatmeansthatIhavetothrowyouapartybutifyouweren'tokayIwouldn'tbeabletogiveyourpartybutyouareokaysoIcan-" She was interrupted as Suz Zero held a hand over her muzzle. She felt that his hands were freezing.
"Speak clearly." He said in a firm voice. The pink mare nodded and Sub Zero released his grip.
"I'm Pinkie Pie." She said with a sheepish smile, as she backed away from him.
Sub Zero rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the last of the ponies. She seemed to be hiding behind her very long pink mane. She squeaked something inaudible and continued to cower behind her hair. Sub Zero could feel the fear coming off her. He knew he needed to be gentler with this one if he was going to get any information out of her.
"I am sorry if I had intimidated you, pony, but rest assured, I will not harm you or your companions." He said in his best reassuring voice.
This seemed to have some effect as the pony spoke up again
"I-I'm Fluttershy." She barely whispered.
"I'm sorry but I still did not hear you." Sub Zero tried again.
"I'm Fluttershy!" She said quicker than a whip.
Now that they had introduced themselves, Sub Zero rose from the hospital bed and slipped on his chest piece and robes. The ponies all gasped slightly as he rose to his full height. He was huge compared to them! He placed both of his hands together and leant forward slightly in a bow.
"If you truly saved me, then I am in your debt, ponies. I am Sub Zero."
Heart of Ice
Chapter five: A New Realm
Sub Zero had spent the last hour conversing with his new acquaintances, learning as much as he could about the new land he was in. He had learnt of the four different pony races: unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies and the ruling race of alicorns. He had also learnt of Celestia and Luna being the current rulers of the kingdom of Equestria.
"What is our current location then?" Sub Zero asked Twilight as they walked out of the hospital doors and into the street.
"This is Ponyville, the bestest town in all of Equestria!" Pinkie proudly proclaimed, with a unnaturally large grin. Sub Zero raised his eyebrow at her.
'I had best keep an eye on that one.' He thought. He looked around the street before him. Aside from the strange looks he was getting from passers by, the town looked rustic and peaceful. The houses and shops all had thatched roofs and were all quaintly decorated with flowers and vibrant paint schemes.
"Where did you say we were headed to?" He asked.
"Back to the library to wait for the princesses," Twilight started to explain, "I sent them a letter when we took you to the hospital and I'll need to send them a new one to tell them you are awake."
"Very well. Lead the way." He said, motioning his arm forward.
The walk through town was uneasy one. The townsfolk had almost comical reactions to the imposing figure of Sub Zero. Many just stared wide eyed at him, many just turned and ran, screaming all the way. One particularly strange reaction was one from a mint green unicorn who simply looked at him, made an excited squeak and ran, shouting something about 'hands'. Sub Zero ignored the gazes of the ponies and pressed on. The group did not speak much and any conversation was only between the ponies, each of them speaking in hushed tones. Eventually, they all stopped in front of what seemed like a giant oak tree. Upon second glance, Sub Zero realised that this tree had been made into a home as it had a door, windows and even some balconies.
"Here we are," Twilight said to him "Golden Oaks Library."
Twilight opened the door with her magic and Sub Zero stepped inside, having to duck under the frame of the door. Once he was inside, the first thing he noticed was the rows upon rows of books lining each wall of the library. There was a set of stairs on the far left leading to the library's upper level. He noticed that the floor, ceiling and bookshelves were all carved from the wood of the original tree. A large wooden bust of a regal looking horse rested on a table in the middle of the room. There was a large scorch mark in the left of the room, Sub Zero looked at this and turned to Twilight.
"That's where you landed when you teleported here." She explained to him, knowing what he was about to ask her.
"I am sorry about the damages to your home, Twilight Sparkle." Sub Zero apologised, feeling somewhat responsible for the damages.
"It's fine, Spike will be able to clean it up, I should go wake him up and..." She said searching for the right word.
"Warn him?" Sub Zero said, simply.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about this, it's just that you will probably scare the life out of him." Twilight said apologetically.
"I understand, go and wake your friend." He said to her, this put her more at ease.
"While I do that, feel free to sit down over there." She said, motioning to stools and table, in the right corner of the room.
Sub Zero nodded and made his way over to the nearest stool, as Twilight headed up stairs. He eyed it cautiously, as it was far too small for him and he was wondering if it would just break upon him sitting on it. He decided to take a gamble and sat down. The stool groaned in protest, but it held firm, just barely. The ponies all sat around him on the table all giving him looks of caution and curiosity. They clearly all had dozens of questions they wanted to ask the assassin.
"You all look as if you have questions to ask. Ask them." He said to them.
This seemed to do the trick, as the white unicorn, Rarity spoke up.
"You told us your name, but not what you are, care to enlighten us?" She asked.
"I am human, and I hail from Earth-Realm. I was raised in the Lin Kuei temple, I lived there for as long as I can recall." He told them.
"What's a Lin Kuei?" Pinkie questioned.
Sub Zero pondered answering this for a second. These ponies did not trust him enough already and he needed their help to return to Earth-Realm. How would they react to him telling them he was an assassin? He decided honesty would be the best decision for this situation, as any lies would further decrease their trust in him.
"The Lin Kuei are an eight hundred year old clan of the finest assassins in Earth-Realm. I was counted amongst them before I left."
He predicted their reactions spot on. The looks he was getting from Rainbow Dash and Applejack only became sterner and Fluttershy began trembling slightly.
"Why did you leave?" Rainbow further interrogated, distrust clear in her voice.
This brought a slight sadness to his heart, as he thought about his leaving of the Lin Kuei. The people he called family had turned on him as soon as he departed for Outworld to find Shang Tsung. He thought of Sektor and Cyrax, who had been forced against him by the Grandmasters sickening plan. He thought of Smoke, his closest friend, who had been captured by the Lin Kuei. He was now surely a cyborg or dead. He finally thought of Bi-Han, who's murderer was still left unpunished.
He let out a sigh and finally spoke to them.
"I did not approve of the path the clan was treading." He said, trying his best to keep sadness out of his voice. He did not have to tell them everything.
This answer however, did not satisfy some of the ponies.
"And what in the hay is that supposed t' mean?" Applejack blurted out, wanting to pry as much information from what she considered was Equestria's latest threat.
Sub Zero gave her the coldest look his icy blue eyes could muster. Applejack immediately shrunk in his gaze.
"Applejack! It is not polite to pry into people's personal lives like that." Rarity scolded Applejack, her manners never failing her, even in the face of someone like Sub Zero.
"A-Ah'm mighty sorry Mr. Sub Zero." Appejack apologised, feeling slightly ashamed of her outburst.
"It is fine," Sub Zero said, still feeling slightly bothered about it. "You do not know what you are speaking of."
Pinkie was the next to question him.
"Why are you called Sub Zero?" She asked him, curiously "That seems like a weird same for somepony. No offense."
Sub Zero inwardly scoffed. His name was strange? He glanced at Pinkie and looked at her carefully.
'Damned thing isn't scared in the slightest.' He thought. He eyed a jug of water with several cups around it.
"I could demonstrate, if you so wish." He spoke to the group as a whole.
They all shared a look before nodding to him. He reached to the jug of water and placed it in front of him. He simply dipped his finger into the water and the moment his finger breached the surface of the water, the entire jug and it's contents froze solid. The ponies stared in awe at his power over ice.
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Rainbow asked, a slight bit of admiration in her voice.
"I was born with this power, the Lin Kuei taught me how to use it." He said while pushing the jug in front of everypony to examine.
Steps could be heard coming down stairs, signalling Twilight's return with Spike. Sub Zero rose as Twilight entered the room first, with a large, infantile looking, purple and green bipedal lizard in toe.
"So where's this new guy Twi-" The lizard cut himself off as soon as Sub Zero came into his view. Sub Zero bowed slightly to the lizard. The lizard only blurted out something in complete gibberish before passing out. The ponies all jumped up to make sure he was okay, but Sub Zero stood back for a second and looked at Twilight.
"I suppose you were right."
Heart of Ice
Chapter Six: Celestia
After Spike passed out and was put on the sofa with a blanket over him, Sub Zero was sitting with the girls discussing his arrival. Twilight had explained how she was experimenting with portals and what caused the purple sparks that had brought him to Equestria.
"Interesting, I saw the bright flash too. I have a feeling that is what brought me to this place." Sub Zero said to them.
"What happened? What were you doing when you saw the flash?" Twilight asked, trying to piece together what had happened.
"I was in the Netherrealm, in combat with an old enemy of mine, when his master forced me through a portal. I was falling to my death when I saw the flash." He explained to them.
"What's the Nettherrealm?" Rainbow Dash asked, sceptically.
"There are many names for that location such as Hell or The Underworld. You may know it by a different name." He told them.
The girls all realised the location he was talking about when told them this.
"Y-You were in T-Tartarus?" Fluttershy asked, scared and amazed that he had been to such a terrible place. Sub Zero nodded.
"W-Why did you go t-there?" She asked
"I was hunting an old foe of mine, Scorpion. Before I could finish him, his master, Quan Chi sent me through a portal. I saw the bright flash when I came through that portal. " Sub Zero explained to them.
"You were fighting a Scorpion?" Pinkie asked.
Sub Zero stifled a chuckle at her question, all strangeness aside, these ponies were quite amusing.
"No, I was fighting a demon named Scorpion. He is the dead soul of Hanzo Hasashi, a Japanese ninja of the Shirai Ryu clan." He corrected her.
"You fight ninjas? That is awesome!" Rainbow Dash said, seemingly warming up to her new found idol.
"Uhh... What? Ninjas?" The now waking Spike groaned from the couch. The girls took notice and went over to assist him. Twilight turned to Sub Zero before heading over.
"Can you... Umm..." She began, trying to put what she had to say nicely.
"Not scare him?" Sub Zero finished for her. "Fear not, I will try not to intimidate him."
The girls and the assassin all gathered around the couch, hoping he would not faint again at the sight of Sub Zero.
"Hey Spike, how are you feeling?" Twilight asked the waking dragon.
"I had the weirdest dream Twi, there was this giant, blue monster in the library." Spike said to her, rubbing his head.
"That wasn't a dream Spike. I have someone I want you to meet, but only if you promise me you wont freak out." Twilight said to Spike.
Spike took a deep breath and nodded. Twilight smiled sweetly at him and stood aside, revealing the assassin in question. Spikes face dropped when he saw Sub Zero, realising the reality of the situation.
"Spike, this is Sub Zero." Twilight said to Spike.
"I am sorry if I had intimidated you before, dragon, but rest assured, I will not harm you." Sub Zero said, trying to sound as sincere as he could.
"O-Okay, I-I'm Spike." Spike said to him, failing to maintain a brave face.
"Spike I need you to send a letter to the princess about Sub Zero. Can you do that for me?" Twilight asked him sincerely
"You can count on me Twi!" Spike said, ready to perform his duty.
Twilight smiled at Spike warmly and pulled him into a comforting hug.
"Thanks Spike, you're a great friend." She said to him.
Sub Zero looked on at the scene somewhat awkwardly. He was not used to this much emotion, and it made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Twilight released Spike and grabbed her quill and ink well and went over to her desk. She began writing her letter as Sub Zero now began to wonder how this young drake was so needed to contact the princess. Twilight levitated her quill back into the well and walked over to Spike. Spike took the scroll and took a deep breath. He then let out a burst of green flame that burned the scroll entirely. Sub Zero raised his eyebrow at this but then saw how the scroll burned and the smoke that was produced, started to make it's way out the window and off to it's destination. He was impressed. This was an effective way to stay in contact with the ruler, as no one could intercept the message. Twilight turned to face Sub Zero.
"We need to wait for the princess to respond, I don't think she'll be long, she was pretty interested by all this." Twilight said to him.
Sub Zero nodded and sat back down on the chair. The girls and Spike joined him, they all sat there in a somewhat awkward silence as the girls had no idea what to say to him.
"So... How did you get that wound?" Twilight asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Scorpion hit me with his kunai, as you saw, it managed to pierce my cuirass" He said to her.
"What's a kunai?" Applejack asked, quizzically.
"Think of a spear head attached to a rope, or chain, in Scorpions case. You use it to stun an opponent and pull him towards you to land a finishing blow." He explained to the group.
"Do you have one?" Rainbow asked.
"No. I do not need such methods to stun opponents." He told them, turning his head to the frozen jug he had demonstrated on earlier.
The girls seemed to get the message and all let their imaginations wander, thinking of how he could freeze somepony instantly like that. Sub Zero noticed the grim looks they were giving the jug and decided it was time to change the subject before those grim looks turned to him.
"You are certain you're princess can get me back to Earth-Realm?" He asked them, hoping that asking them a question instead would ease their minds.
"I'm pretty sure she will be able to help. She's the wisest and most powerful Alicorn that has ever existed. I'm sure she'll know something that could help you out." Twilight told him, turning her head away from the jug.
At that moment, Spike let out a loud belch and a small flame burst out of his mouth. The fire seemed to roll into itself in the air before disappearing entirely. With a loud 'poof' a scroll replaced the space the fire was in. Twilight grabbed the scroll with her telekinesis and opened it.
"Dear Twilight," She began "I will teleport to the library momentarily after you get this scroll. I will see you shortly. Princess Celstia."
As soon as she lowered the scroll, a bright white flash engulfed the library, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The flash subsided and where the flash once was, stood a large and regal looking pony with both wings and a horn. Sub Zero knew this had to be the pricess, as he knew that she was an Alicorn. She had a long, multi-coloured, flowing mane and tail. She had a large, golden tiara on upon her head and a large amulet on her neck, each of them bearing a single amethyst. She had large golden horse shoes that covered the lower half of her legs. Her cutie mark was a blazing sun.
She stepped forward and addressed the girls first.
"Hello Twilight, it is good to see you and your friends again, but I must ask you and your friends to wait in the kitchen. I wish to speak in private with our guest." She said to them.
"O-Okay princess," Twilight said, slightly disappointed "Come on girls."
The girls went into the kitchen and Celestia turned to face Sub Zero.
"Greetings, I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and raiser of the sun. May I ask who you are?" She asked him, calmly.
Sub Zero bowed slightly and spoke to the princess.
"I am Sub Zero, of the Lin Kuei clan of assassins."
A Visit from the Princess
Heart of Ice
Chapter Seven: A Visit from the Princess
"I was led to believe there were two princesses watching over this kingdom." Sub Zero said to the princess.
"Princess Luna must rest during the day," Celestia explained, "As she needs her strength during the night. But I believe I should be the one questioning you."
"Very well then. What do you need to know?" Sub Zero said, trying to maintain a neutrality to his voice. He did not want to anger what could be his only chance to get home.
"Twilight explained your arrival in her letter, so I know your being here is a complete accident, but how do I know I can trust an assassin in my students home?" Celestia questioned.
"If it means anything in my favour, I am no longer part of the Lin Kuei." Sub Zero reasoned.
"Interesting. Why is that?" Celestia asked, curiously.
"I did not approve of the path the clan was treading" Sub Zero said, slightly tired of these ponies asking that question.
"What path was that exactly?" Celestia said, not satisfied with the answer.
"I was not under the impression I was being interrogated." He replied, more coldly than he had intended. This was the second time these ponies had tried to pry into his personal matters.
"If you do not wish to speak of it, that is fine by me. I simply need grounds to know I can trust you, as I have few so far." Celestia replied, equally as cold.
"Why do you need to trust me? Twilight told me that you were the one capable of sending me back to Earth-Realm. Why not just do it and pretend my presence here never occurred?" He asked trying to lead the subject away from the Lin Kuei.
"That brings me to the true nature of my visit. I cannot send you back." She simply stated.
This news was stirred mixed feelings within Sub Zero. He would not be able to return, but did he want to? The Lin Kuei had no idea that he was here and the chances of them finding out were slim. He was safe here, as far as he was concerned. Celestia seemed to pick up on his silence and spoke up.
"I am sorry if this news saddens you, but in order for me to teleport you back to your realm, I would have to have been there myself." She said to him, genuinely apologetic.
"Then what becomes of me?" He questioned.
"While I cannot do it now, I will go back to the Canterlot archives to see if there is anything that can help. In the mean time I would have you stay with my student, under her watch. She will send me weekly reports on your behaviour and I will judge if I can trust you to roam free." Celestia told him, still maintaining a neutral tone of voice.
Sub Zero bit his lip. He was an assassin, not some child to be kept on a leash. He took a deep breath to quell his anger and thought about it. This was a delicate situation and he could not afford to act on anger. He did not need to return to Earth-Realm anytime soon, so he did not really even need Celestia's help. But if he was going to be stuck here, he would need allies. Aside from talking, pastel horses, he had no idea what this realm had in store for him, and he would rather not have to go it alone. He did however, need the ability to roam free. He was far from finished with Scorpion and he needed a way back to the Netherrealm. He decided he had to cooperate. For now.
"Very well. Where will I be staying?" He asked.
"I shall let the elements decide that, whatever suits them best to their task. I will call them back in and let them know what has been decided." She replied.
The princess left Sub Zero and made her way to the kitchen. Sub Zero felt strangely useless in this situation. This land seemed peaceful and happy in it's ways. There was probably no need what so ever for an assassin, so what would he do to earn the trust of the six ponies he had no been bound to? His thoughts were interrupted as the Celestia entered the room with Twilight and her friends in toe.
"Are you sure this is the best idea princess?" Twilight said, feeling completely out of her depth watching over her new charge.
"I am confident that you will succeed Twilight, I have the utmost faith in you." She replied to her, warmly.
Twilight took a deep breath and nodded to the princess.
"Okay princess, I'll try my best." She said, more confidently than she felt.
Celestia smiled proudly to her student and then turned to Sub Zero.
"I have told them what we have discussed. I look forward to Twilights first letter on your progress. Good luck and farewell Sub Zero." She said to him.
Sub Zero bowed slightly and the very same blinding flash of light signalled her leaving. As the princess left, Twilight trotted up to Sub Zero very unsurely.
"I guess you'll need a place to stay if me and my friends are going to watch over you." She stated the obvious, trying to make some conversation.
"That is correct. I am sorry if this imposes on any of you." He told them offhandedly.
"This is real exitin' an all, but Ah got to go back to the farm. Them apples ain't gonna buck em selves! It was nice meetin ya Mr. Sub Zero" Applejack said as she left the tree house. All the other girls politely made an their excuses and left the tree house to Twilight, Spike and the assassin.
"I take it I am not staying with any of them?" Sub Zero said as they all left.
"I think it's best if you stay in the library. I have a spare bedroom and I suppose I can... Keep an eye on you better." She said sheepishly.
"If that if for the best, then so be it. I will try not to be in your way too much, as I will try to make my stay as brief as possible." He said to her, sensing the unease about her.
"Okay, Spike can you show him to the guest room please?" Twilight asked her assistant.
"Okay Twi, right this way Mr. Sub Zero." Spike said to him.
"Just Sub Zero will do." He said to him, slightly tired of their constant formality with his code name. He followed Spike up the stairs and they walked to the furthest door in the corridor. Spike opened the door and there was a simple room with one bookshelf and a double bed that looked barely his size.
"This is it. Do you like it?" Spike asked him.
"It will suite me fine dragon, thank you." He told him, as he walked into the room. Spike followed close behind him.
"You don't have to call me dragon, you know. You can call me Spike if you like." He said to him with a smile.
"Very well then Spike. I appreciate the room you and Twilight have given me." Sub Zero thanked him again.
"Ah, it's no sweat. Give it some time and I'm sure you, Twi and the others will be best friends!" Spike assured him.
"And not yourself, Spike?" Sub Zero said, noticing Spikes name was missing from that list.
"We're already friends right? You don't seem like a bad po-human. Plus you look awesome!" Spike said to him.
Sub Zero raised his eyebrow. Why was this on so quick to trust him and even call him his friend? Not that Sub Zero needed those. He had allies he fought with, but he never considered them his friends. The only real friends he had were those in the Lin Kuei, and they were all trying to kill him now. But the innocent smile on the baby dragons face managed to bring a long missing warmth to his cold heart.
"I suppose we are Spike, I hope Twilight and the others will be as quick to trust me as you are." He said to him.
"Hey, I know what it's like to be the only one of your kind around here," He said to him reassuringly, "I gotta go, I still got chores to do. See ya Sub Zero!" And with that, Spike left the room and Sub Zero to his thoughts.
He thought over Spikes final to words to him and saw the sense in them. It's not like he saw many other dragons walking through town after all. He glanced at a clock on the wall. it read quarter to ten, this had taken much longer than he thought. With not much else to do, he decided to turn in for the night. He took off his bracers and greaves and unstrapped the metal plates on his arm and put them on the bedside table. He settled over the covers and drifted off to sleep.
Heart of Ice
Chapter Eight: Settling In
Sub Zero stared at the ceiling, occasionally glancing to the clock on the wall. The time read 7:05 in the morning and he had just woke up from a very unrestful sleep. He had barely slept during the night as he was busy contemplating his current position.
He had no idea what to do.
He was stuck in a land very far from Earth-Realm and he had now found himself the charge of six pastel coloured, talking ponies. He snorted at the thought.
'This is ridiculous. I'm an assassin! Not a common house pet!' He thought to himself, letting each raging thought come into his head, only to make way for the next one.
He took a calming breath. Getting angry was not going to solve any of his problems, only through staying composed did he have a chance of getting home, one way or another. A faint knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.
"H-Hello? Are you awake Sub Zero?" Twilight said from outside his room, sounding much like her yellow coloured friend.
He sighed. The pony was still terrified of him. He couldn't blame her really, he would be too if he was in her position. Unfortunately though, he was not. He was the alien here. He would have to tread lightly if he wanted to at least win this ones trust.
"I am. I will be with you shortly." He called out to her, trying his best to sound as level as possible.
"Okay, me and Spike are downstairs, we'll have breakfast ready for you if you're hungry at all." She said back to him, still sounding very unsure of herself.
The sound of hooves going down the stairs followed. Sub Zero got out of bed and got himself ready for the day. This simply consisted of putting his armor back on. He slipped on his last bracer and made his way downstairs. He entered the library and smelled the food being cooked in the room across. He made his way over and he entered where he found Twilight reading a newspaper and Spike cooking. He coughed to get their attention.
"Good morning Sub Zero!" Spike said cheerfully to his new found friend.
Sub Zero bowed respectfully to them both
"Good morning Spike, good morning Twilight." He said, eyeing the chair at the table. It looked as ridiculously small as the one yesterday.
"Good morning Sub Zero, how did you sleep?" Twilight asked politely, trying her best to keep her composure.
"I slept fine," He lied. "What are your plans for the day?" He asked, trying to find something to make himself useful.
"It's reshelving day today, that's when I take all the books out of there shelves and make sure they're all in their place." Twilight explained, smiling politely.
"Do you need assistance?" He inquired.
"Heck yeah we do!" Spike jumped in before Twilight could answer. "There's a ton of books in the library."
"Spike, it's rude to put our guest to work, besides you'll be all the help I need." Twilight gently scolded him.
"I do not mind aiding you Twilight, I do not have much else to do around here." Sub Zero said truthfully.
"Well... Alright then, I suppose it's okay" She said to him with a smile.
With that the group ate their breakfast, consisting of cereal, toast and oats, Sub Zero politely turning down the latter, and got to work. There really wasn't a lot of work for Sub Zero to do as Twilight could effortlessly move all the books into their correct places using her magic. This left Spike and him to clean the shelves and the library. The inly problem was is that there was so many books for them to sort, he knew he was going to be doing this for a while and that was fine with him. He wanted to at least be useful to keep the boredom away. Sub Zero noticed that the scorch, marking his arrival was gone, upon asking he found out that Spike had cleaned it up as he went to bed. The morning was passed with idle chatter between Twilight and Spike and some questions towards the icy assassin. He did his best to answer to the best of his ability without revealing too much about himself or his life with the Lin Kuei, why start telling his life story to someone he had no interest in sharing it with?
As the last book slid into place, Sub Zero glanced at the clock. It read it was midday and he had finished the only thing he considered to be useful for the day. Sighing, he realised that he would be having many day's with little to do while he was stick here, what use was there having an assassin around if there was no one to fight? All he could do is hope that the princess would find something of use in the 'Canterlot archives'.
"Well that took quicker than I expected." Twilight said, shifting the assassins attention to her.
"Yeah thanks for the help Sub Zero." Spike agreed, heartily.
"You need not thank me. I will do what I can to help if I am to be staying here." He said to them, really wondering if that was considered hard work around here.
"You don't need to worry about that, the princess told me to watch out for you and that's exactly what I'll do. You don't need to strain yourself for our sake." Twilight replied pleasantly to him.
"I would rather do something that is of use around here, just tell me what needs doing and I'll earn my keep." Sub Zero said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Okay... if you insist." Twilight said, not really meeting the assassins eye's.
"What else were you intending to do today?" He asked trying to find something else that would keep him busy. He hated being too complacent. It bothered him.
"Well, nothing else to do around here, I was going to meet the rest of the girls for lunch if you wanted to join us?" Twilight said, trying to make a new friend out of the assassin.
Sub Zero, however, did not share the sentiment.
"I meant something that isn't pointless and trivial." He said to her, slightly colder than he meant to sound.
Twilight put her hoof down. She stared Sub Zero straight in the eye and spoke sternly.
"Well Princess Celestia told me herself that I am to be keeping an eye on you and I'm going out to meet my friends. So I guess you've not really got a say in the matter." She said, not trying to sound too commanding, she did not wish to anger him.
Sub Zero stared her down with his chilling blue eyes and Twilight gulped. He stared her down for what seemed like a century, but Twilight stood her ground and stared back, looking much braver than she felt. Spike tip-toed upstairs, wanting to avoid any potential arguments... Or ice balls. To both of their surprise, he started laughing, a rich, baritone chuckle that seemed really out of place for the person it belonged to.
"You are a brave girl," He said, smiling behind his mask, "lead the way."
Twilight sighed a breath of relief.
"This way, we're going to Sugarcube Corner!" She happily announced, followed by a cheer from Spike, who promptly jumped on her back.
Sub Zero hung back a bit before making his departure behind them.
'This should be interesting.' He thought to himself before marching to catch up with Twilight.
Sup! Sorry to say but Imma put this thing on hold for a while. I'll be perfectly honest with you, I have no idea where this story is going and I kind of just jumped right into this. I'm not dropping the story, I'm just getting my shit together with it. Not sure when the next update will be but it'll be out at some point. In the mean time I'm working on something new that I've actually had a think about so hopefully that will turn out better. Thanks for reading and actually being patient with this story, I never updated the motherfucker.
Peace
