Chapter XIII

"Sanctuary"

Sareena sat in the corner of a small lodge in one of the Outworld villages. She sat in the darkened corner wearing a large black cloak which she held closed. Occasionally a drunk villager would come and attempt to hit on her but she'd quickly brush them off. She didn't want to bring any attention to herself.

As she suspected, things in Outworld quickly went downhill with Quan Chi on the loose. He had formed an alliance with another sorcerer named Shang Tsung and they had taken over what was left of Shao Kahn's army. She had heard that they also had some kind of super soldiers who wouldn't die and with them they managed to drive back Kitana's armies and they began taking over villages everywhere. This particular village was one of the few free ones left.

At the far end of the lodge she saw men and women trying to shatter things with their hands to show off how strong they were. They probably were planning on entering the tournament the so-called "Deadly Alliance" was holding. Sareena wanted nothing to do with it. The last thing she needed was attracting the attention of Quan Chi. Shang Tsung was probably no better. She never met him, but heard of him a few times while in the Netherealm. For some reason his name sounded very familiar.

Sareena then suddenly heard a loud commotion at the door and a felt a deep chill rush through the room. At the lodge entrance she saw a young woman with spiked blue hair dressed in a blue and black ninja uniform stride in. Sareena stared at the young woman very curious. Her uniform looked like the one Sub-Zero wore.

The ninja woman walked over to the end of the lodge where they were breaking things. Sareena heard the villagers yelling out bets as the woman cracked her knuckles and began stretching. A couple of men brought over what looked like a piece of marble and laid it out in front of her.

"Solid marble! I got 200 pieces of platinum on you for this!" one of the men proclaimed.

The woman stretched and cracked her neck and then started to look like she was concentrating really hard. The entire lodge fell silent as she then suddenly shattered the marble in half with an axe kick. Half the lodge started cheering while another half started booing.

The woman appeared to be basking in her glory when she was suddenly interrupted by someone yelling "Frost! That's enough! We have to go now."

Sareena turned an looked at the door to see who said that and saw a tall ninja also dressed in blue and black. "Sub-Zero..?" she whispered to herself.

The woman Frost then quickly went to the door to join Sub-Zero and they left the lodge. Sareena quickly ran to the door and went outside to follow.

"I was just having a bit of fun Sifu..." Frost said.

"We don't have time for you to be showing off. We're here for a reason." Sub-Zero answered. "Now return to your quarters and rest up."

"Yes Sifu." Frost moaned and went to the small inn which was next to the lodge.

As she left Sub-Zero stared out at the view. The village they were staying at, Makeba, was on a cliff high in the mountains.

"Sub-Zero..? Is that...is that really you..?" a woman's voice whispered behind him.

"I am Sub-Zero. Who are you?" he answered turning to see someone wearing a large cloak which was hiding her face.

"You don't remember me?" Sareena answered removing her hood. "It's me....Sareena..."

Sub-Zero stared at her for a moment then quietly said "Sareena..?"

"Yes...don't you remember? I helped you against Quan Chi." she continued smiling, slowly walking towards him. "I....I can't believe how much you've changed..."

"I'm sorry." Sub-Zero quickly interrupted taking a step back. "I'm not the Sub-Zero you know. That was my older brother."

Sareena was silent for a moment then said "Oh. Forgive me. I thought...."

"No..I understand." Sub-Zero cut in removing his mask. "Excuse me for being surprised, I just never expected to meet you."

"You know about me..?" Sareena asked.

"Yes. My brother told me how you helped him defeat Quan Chi. But he said you were killed by Shinnok..?"

"No...no. Shinnok only destroyed my.....my....human form..." Sareena started, reluctant to imply that this wasn't her true form. "He sent me to the 5th Plane of the Netherealm as punishment for helping your brother."

"I'm sorry." Sub-Zero said quietly.

"I found a way out though. It was the same portal Quan Chi used to escape I'm afraid. Is that why you're here? Because of him?"

"Yes. I and some other fighters are here to stop him and Shang Tsung before they try to take the Earth."

The two of them were quiet for a moment until Sareena asked, "I met your brother...right..? Where is he..?"

Sub-Zero was silent for a few moments then quietly answered, "My brother...died almost ten years ago. He was killed by a spectre named Scorpion."

"Scorpion..." Sareena whispered shocked at this news. "Why Scorpion?"

"See, my brother had killed Scorpion during a mission. But Scorpion was allowed to return to avenge his death." Sareena suddenly looked very dispirited as he said this. "Are you okay? You look upset..."

"No." Sareena whispered, her head hung down. "No, I'm not."

Sub-Zero quietly stared at Sareena for a few moments and said "Listen, I want to thank you for helping my brother anyway. If it's any consolation, he would've helped you escape the Netherealm."

"Yeah..?" Sareena asked looking up.

"Yeah." Sub-Zero answered with a light smile. He then thought for a moment then asked "Where have you been staying since you escaped the Netherealm?"

"Nowhere. I've been wandering around. Trying to keep a low profile. I don't want Quan Chi to know I got out of the Netherealm."

Sub-Zero paused again and then finally asked "Would you like to come back to Earth with me?"

"What..?" Sareena asked, shocked at what he just said.

"You can stay at the Lin Kuei Temple on Earth."

"But why?"

"It's not safe for you here. And I owe you for helping my brother. It's the least I can do."

Sareena stared at Sub-Zero shocked and quietly answered "I don't know what to say....thank you..."

"Okay. I have some things to take care of. I'll take you through the portal I used tomorrow." he said walking into the inn.

As night fell Sareena returned to her room which she rented in the inn, but she still couldn't sleep. The news of the death of the older Sub-Zero saddened her very much. In all her years working for Quan Chi, she constantly saw him use and manipulate others only to betray them when he got what he wanted. If someone ever tried to deceive him or managed to outsmart him, he'd screw them over first and harder. No one ever came out on top against Quan Chi.

Throughout her years in the Netherealm, Sareena desperately clung to hope that one day Quan Chi would be defeated and she'd truly be free from him. However, with each victory Quan Chi took, her hope faded more and more. But when she saw Sub-Zero stand up to him and saw that he could defeat him, for the first time in years she felt that little bit of hope rekindled. An unlikely mortal could finally take down Quan Chi.

But now that she knows he was killed by Scorpion, she realizes the truth. There was more to his death than simply Scorpion's revenge. Only Quan Chi and Shinnok have the power to send spectres to other realms. They sent Scorpion to kill Sub-Zero in revenge for his stealing Shinnok's Amulet. Scorpion was Quan Chi's way of getting back at Sub-Zero. She heard Quan Chi say Sub-Zero's soul was tainted with evil, so when he died he was probably sent to the Netherealm where Shinnok was waiting. And he probably....she didn't want to think about what Shinnok did after that.

Now this Scorpion is after Quan Chi and trying to defeat him. Sareena would like to hope Scorpion will succeed where so many others have failed. That this spectre that Quan Chi created and used would stand up to him and finally defeat him once and for all. But she knows the truth. Quan Chi will find a way to win. He always wins in the end.

The following morning Sub-Zero met with Sareena who was still depressed. Sub-Zero was talking to Frost, but Sareena couldn't hear what he was saying. He was probably giving her instructions on what to do until he came back. When he was finished Frost bowed and Sub-Zero walked over to Sareena.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah." she answered quietly.

"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing. No sleep last night." she quietly answered, deciding to leave it at that. She didn't want to burden Sub-Zero with her problems.

Sub-Zero and Sareena took a Dragonfly to a far away location where Sub-Zero said a secret portal was hidden. It was the portal the Earth fighters used to get into Outworld. Before they entered the portal, Sub-Zero said "I should warn you, in order to cross through the portal you must defeat a manifestation of one of your enemies."

Sareena suddenly became very nervous and said "And what happens if you don't?"

"Don't worry about it." Sub-Zero answered calmly. "I've come through this portal already and they're just mindless phantoms. You shouldn't have any trouble against it, no matter who it looks like."

Sareena nodded and braced herself as the portal began to glow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe as she was pulled into it. Once inside she saw only darkness. It was like an empty void. It then started to get light and in the distance Sareena saw a figure begin to appear and prepared for the coming fight. As the figure became clearer, she expected it to take the form of Quan Chi or Kia. Or maybe even the Vampire she had fought before.

However, the figure took the form of a person she had never seen before. It was a woman, dressed all in white. She had dark hair and was wearing a large white hat with a veil hanging off it. She stared at Sareena for a moment and then bowed and took a fighting stance.

The woman in white charged at Sareena and they began fighting. Just as Sub-Zero said, this phantom wasn't much of a fighter. Sareena easily dodged her attacks and quickly countered them before delivering a final roundhouse kick that knocked the woman down. Sareena couldn't help but wonder why this phantom is in the form of a woman she had never seen before. Who was she and why was she Sareena's enemy?

As Sareena thought, the woman took advantage of the distraction and leveled her with a devastating combination of kicks and punches. As Sareena rose, suddenly she became very angry. She hissed and lunged on the woman and began violently pounding on her face. As her anger raged, memories of the Netherealm again entered her thoughts. She slashed at the woman's face and started screaming until the woman suddenly disappeared.

Without warning Sareena found herself on a stone floor and heard the ocean around her. She looked up and saw she was no longer in the portal and realized she had made it through and tried to calm down.

Sub-Zero was standing next to Sareena and asked "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Sareena was breathing heavily, trying to calm down and said "No.....no I'm fine." She rose to her feet and looked around and said "So this is Earth..?"

"Yes. From here we take a ship to the mainland. From there I can take you to the Lin Kuei Temple."

Sub-Zero and Sareena went to an old ship which was docked near the portal entrance. From there they spent the next several days traveling. As Sareena traveled she was awestruck by the Earth. She had never imagined it would look like this. A bright blue sky, with white clouds. A sun that shined brightly overhead and she had never breathed air so fresh in her entire life. The oceans were blue and the breeze was actually comforting. In the Netherealm, any breeze was a bitter cold that felt like it was cutting into you. But here is was nice.

Sub-Zero and Sareena traveled south where the Lin Kuei Temple was hidden in the Antarctic. Even with all the ice and snow, Sareena still thought it was beautiful. In the Netherealm the snow looks like ash and it's constantly hailing down like a tempest. Here the snow was white and it seemed so peaceful. Strangely, in spite of how Sareena was dressed, she wasn't affected by the cold.

They reached the Lin Kuei Temple which was a massive complex hidden in the ice and snow. They went inside and Sub-Zero showed Sareena to her quarters where she could stay. It was a large room of stone and marble. In the center was a bed with many sheets and blankets on it. At the far wall was an opening that had a balcony. Sareena walked over to the balcony and began staring at the view, still marveling at how beautiful the Earth was. After an eternity in the Netherealm and her brief time in Outworld, Earth seemed like paradise. Sareena almost wondered what she could have done to deserve all this.

"You can stay in here. I'll be returning to Outworld tomorrow. If you need anything let me know." Sub-Zero said.

"I'll be fine. Demons don't need to eat." Sareena said quietly, still staring outside.

"Are you sure you're not cold? Dressed like that?" he asked.

Sareena smiled lightly and said "No, I'm fine. Believe it or not, it's colder in the Netherealm." Sub-Zero was about to leave when Sareena suddenly said "Wait. Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"When Shinnok invaded....did you meet or hear of someone named Reiko?"

"Reiko..? I think so. I think he was one of Shinnok's generals..." Sub-Zero answered.

"Was he killed? Do you know what happened to him?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know. I think he survived but as far as I know, no one's seen or heard of him since." Sareena was quiet then Sub-Zero asked "Did you know him?"

Sareena thought about it for a moment then said "No.....no I didn't. Thank you."

Sub-Zero nodded and left the chamber. Sareena sat on the bed and decided to try to get some sleep. She removed her boots and laid down pulling all the sheet and covers over her. Everything felt so nice and good, but strangely there was still something missing. For some reason, Sareena was still plagued by a strange emptiness. She decided to ignore it and drifted off into sleep.

Sareena's sleep was not peaceful, however. Her dreams were still haunted by horrible memories of the Netherealm. Of Drahmin and the other torturers and the terrible things they would do to her. In her time as one of the Damned, Sareena was tormented, degraded and forced to endure atrocities that will haunt her for the rest of her days. Almost twelve years of suffering and pain.

Sareena tossed and turned in her bed as the vivid dreams of the Netherealm haunted her. She suddenly awoke in a cold sweat with a loud scream. It was night and for a moment she almost lost control of herself and found herself attacking the shadows around her before she calmed down and realized it was just a dream.

Sareena sat on her bed rocking back and forth reminding herself that she was free and they couldn't hurt her anymore. She wanted so much to just let go of what had happened to her, but her scars ran too deep. Her painful memories may never fully go away, if at all.

As Sareena sat on her bed she started to feel very afraid about her Demonic instincts. Since her escape she's been having more and more trouble controlling herself. In the portal she went berserk over a mindless phantom that managed to catch her off guard for a moment. Her own dreams were putting her into uncontrollable rages.

It was starting to go deeper than anger now. Whenever her Demon side took hold she found herself thinking about doing terrible things. When her Demon side took over while she was attacked by the villagers, she wasn't just thinking about defending herself. She was thinking about killing them. Butchering them, slaughtering them, and doing other inhuman acts.

It was getting harder and harder to control her Demon side. Sareena could feel it getting stronger. She then started to wonder what if it takes over completely. A chill ran up and down her spine at that thought. She didn't want to go down that path.

Sareena heard some talking and quietly left her chamber to see who it was. She crept to the stairs that led to the main floor of the Temple and found Sub-Zero sitting at a large table with another woman. She had short blonde hair and was wearing a green jacket and a light gray shirt and black leather pants. Sareena sat at the top of the stairs to hear what they were talking about.

"You can't be serious." the woman groaned at him.

"Sonya, calm down. You don't even know her..." he answered.

"Neither do you!" she interrupted. "What do you know about this woman?"

"She helped my brother defeat Quan Chi, but he thought she was killed by Shinnok. Then the other day I met her in Outworld...."

"And let her stay here. Don't you find it a little convenient? That Quan Chi escapes and suddenly one of his ASSASSINS miraculously pops up out of nowhere? How do you know she isn't using you? That she wasn't using your brother? She's a Demon for God's sake!"

Sub-Zero sighed, frustrated. Arguing with Sonya Blade was always a lost cause. "I'm sorry Sonya if I can't take your arguments more seriously, but it's not like your exactly open to...well, anybody. You ever think that maybe it's just you?"

Sonya paused a moment, trying to calm down and said "Look, Frost and I may not like each other, but that's because I think she's arrogant and obnoxious. I can accept you trusting her. But you can't seriously expect me to accept you trusting some Demon from the Netherealm you don't even know."

"Did I say I trusted her?" Sub-Zero answered. "She helped my brother and I owe her for that, so I offered to let her stay here for a while. That's all."

"Is it? How do you know she isn't planning something or going to do some messed up Demon voodoo on you while you sleep?"

"Somehow, when I met her I didn't get the impression that she wanted to put some magic hex on me."

"Look, I just don't want you to set yourself up to be screwed over because you have a soft spot for some Demon your brother liked. Just watch your ass okay?" Sonya said quietly.

"When don't I?"

Sonya smiled a bit and rose from her seat and said "Don't try to make jokes. It's so out of character for you." She turned to leave the Temple and said "So I'll be seeing you tomorrow right?"

"Yeah. And keep an eye on Frost till I get back. Make sure she doesn't do anything reckless."

Sonya nodded and left the Temple as Sub-Zero rose and started to make his way to his chamber. Sareena quickly returned to her chamber so she wouldn't be seen. She went inside and began pacing around, not pleased with what she heard.

"Who is she to judge me?" Sareena grumbled to herself. "Who does she think she is to talk about me? Stupid bitch, I ought to rip out her God damn......" Sareena trailed off and tried to calm down. Again, she was having trouble controlling herself.

What made Sareena angry wasn't that Sonya was talking about her, but that she was right. Sub-Zero has no reason to trust her. No one does. She is after all, a soulless Demon. Why would anyone trust her? She doesn't even trust herself anymore. It may be for the best because of the curse Quan Chi put on her so many years ago.

As Sareena thought she finally realized what's been bothering her all along. She has no soul. The emptiness, the anger, the hopelessness, it all comes from her not having a soul. And because of that, she will never truly find peace. She will never be truly free. She will never be trusted. All because of what she is.

A Demon.

End of Chapter XIII