Sinister Sareena

I am Sareena, a Demon from the Netherealm. I was born thousands of years ago and raised there for all my life. My parents, insisting that the Brotherhood of the Shadow was the next direction for the Netherealm, joined Shinnok in the war against the Elder Demon Lucifer. They were brave soldiers, but their bodies were destroyed by Lucifer himself when he led an assault on Shinnok and Quan Chi. Shinnok slew Lucifer and imprisoned his essence to prevent him from reforming his body, but since Lucifer absorbed the essence of my parents and millions of other Demons during the war, all their essence would remain trapped with his. Many lives were sadly lost with this one act, but it was for a greater good.

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Shinnok knew my parents well, and granted me asylum within his new kingdom. With his ascension to power, Shinnok felt his victory was hollow; he wanted Earthrealm, not the Netherealm, and to appease him if only momentarily, he changed all our appearances to resemble the newest mortals that colonized Earthrealm, Humans, since he felt that the Raptors who lived in the realm before were not aesthetically pleasing.

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At first, it bothered me that he changed all of his subjects into such disgusting, vile, fragile creatures, even if it was in appearance only, but over the centuries, I grew to love my new form. Looking so different, along with the radical changes Shinnok made to the Netherealm, affected how all Demons conducted horrors and tortures to the poor, hapless souls who found themselves in the realm. The Prison of Souls was such an interesting concept, and made for a more sophisticated method for capturing new arrivals and indoctrinating new souls into the Brotherhood of the Shadow.

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Quan Chi, Shinnok's right-hand, noticed my exceptional beauty bestowed, and took me under his wing. He trained me, Jataaka, and Kia to mimic the fighting styles and magic he learnt from his home world, so our abilities became as refined as his. He built and molded us into images he could relate to more easily and we became his personal guards. There were times when I felt that his training served me well, as I was more disciplined in my combat skills, but Quan Chi's tasks were all mundane... Torture this, maim that, service him, play with her... With the right connections and lineage, the Netherealm can be paradise for Demons, but after thousands of years of doing repetitive tasks, it became so boring to have all this power and skill, and so little to do with it. The spirit realms are not ideal for an immortal once every facet has been explored, every skill has been achieved, and every goal has been accomplished. There is simply nothing more to do when one has all the time in the world, and the world is finite. There was no hope of escaping as long as I served the Brotherhood of the Shadow.

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It was not until Sub-Zero came to the Netherealm that my interest in existence was revived, especially when Quan Chi ordered that the Bridge of Immortality Keepers be alerted and sent after the Lin Kuei warrior. I had not seen Quan Chi so furious since Drahmin had overcome his punishments and became an Oni; he had unusual satisfaction knowing that Drahmin, a fallen king, had been banished by his people to the Netherealm. Regardless, Sub-Zero somehow defeated the Keepers and found his way into Quan Chi's fortress. Much to my surprise, he killed any guards who opposed him rather easily. Even my friends and I proved to be ineffectual in stopping the assassin, suffering a loss almost as embarrassing as when we were defeated by Mitharos and Noob Saibot years earlier. There was one thing that puzzled me when we fought... After he defeated me, I landed on my knees, awaiting the final blow, and he merely left me to collapse and pass out. Death is of no consequence to Demons, as we are simply reborn on another plane of the realm, so his leaving me to fall made absolutely no sense... He demonstrated something I did not quite understand at the time, and I was curious to learn more about it.

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I watched Sub-Zero enter Quan Chi's lair, and before he fought the sorcerer, they exchanged a few words. There was something that struck me in their talk about Sub-Zero being sent to the Netherealm to retrieve Shinnok's amulet... He needed to get it back for a God, and not just any God, but an Earthrealm one. Sub-Zero came from a realm completely unlike what I grew up with, and if he was in the Netherealm to retrieve Shinnok's amulet, he must have had a way to escape... Perhaps he could show me more of what the mortal species had to offer and take me with him.

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Sub-Zero stood up to Quan Chi and fought well, but there was no way Sub-Zero could beat him alone. Regardless of if I was wrong, I intervened, and sent Quan Chi over the bridge. Sub-Zero questioned why I helped him, though it should have been obvious: he was destined to escape the Netherealm, and I no longer wanted to be there, so my aiding him would assure me a passage to his world. I expected us to leave, but as he tried to explain why we could not, I felt a jolt of pain in my back spread throughout my entire body, and found myself on another plane of the Netherealm. Shinnok had destroyed my body, and my essence was scattered amongst the swirling masses of other Demonic apparitions, awaiting regeneration.

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It did not take long before I was strong enough to form a new, Demonic body, but unfortunately, the gorgeous Human body I was given while serving Shinnok was completely destroyed, and without his or Quan Chi's magic, I could not change back. I wandered the fifth plane of the realm for years, revolted with my old skin and brutish form, evading the Brotherhood of the Shadow until they lost their dominion over the realm with their failed attempt at taking Edenia and the Heavens. Elder Demon Baphomet took control before Shinnok returned, and imprisoned the fallen Elder God on the seventh plane with the most brutish and powerful Oni to torture him. I could finally roam the realm freely.

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Quan Chi and Shinnok's Fortress no longer existed over the Sea of Immortality, and the Prisons were destroyed, with only ruins remaining as remnants of Shinnok's rule. I explored them with a sense of nostalgia and reminisced of the times I spent training with my former allies, but I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard the musical screams of a potential playmate. Anxious to get back into the grind of harming others for thousands of years, I followed the anguished cries and found the source... A Human, his body ripped into two, perfectly symmetrical halves, with half a tongue sticking out of their mouths. Both sides were bound by barbed wire to a sheet of suspended hot metal, glowing red as his skin burned and sloughed off into a disgusting mess on the floor. The sides faced each other, crying and wailing, longing to be whole again.

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It was funny watching him squeal as the metal superheated his skin until it burst into flames, and when he heard my approach, he pleaded for pity and freedom. It was such a spectacle to see him attempt to speak! I had not laughed at something so pathetic in years, and I was happy to have something to watch that elevated my spirits. After a few hours, I grew somewhat bored and decided it was my turn to prolong his pain.

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I asked him the conditions of his torture when the metal cooled and he stopped screaming. He looked at me with scorn at first, but since he had not had a sympathetic ear to hear his troubles, he opened his heart. With tears swelling and evaporating in his hollowed eye-sockets, he told me with tremendous difficulty that Shinnok and Quan Chi themselves judged him, and that he was to find a way to make himself whole again, on condition he do so without his powers. I asked what kind of power he wielded, and he showed me... By freezing the metal beneath him and covering his body in ice. I was face to face with Sub-Zero once again.

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I was struck with shock. I cheered when he fought against my former masters, but death is inevitable for mortals, even ones like him. When the ice melted, I tore off the barbed wire, ripped his halves off the metal sheet and hoped to bring him somewhere else, but upon the two bloody sides coming off, his body exploded and reformed in two halves once again on the hot slab, with the wire recoiling to bind him. He screamed as the metal glowed red and burnt him horribly, and he used his ice powers to cool himself and the metal. There was not much else he could do...a160; The poor being would remain trapped like that until he found the solution.

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I loved watching him suffer, but I hated Shinnok for destroying my body, and I felt that since this man had the courage to stand up to a Fallen Elder God, he deserved my pity and help. The sad part was that I knew the solution to his conundrum; all he needed to do was endure the pain and remove his bindings to free himself. When the metal was at its hottest, it was at its most malleable, especially the thin, barbed wire. Sub-Zero did not have superhuman strength, but it was not required, since that was a limitation of his physical body, which no longer existed. He was so used to being a man and relying on his powers that he never thought of ways to escape beyond his former, mortal limitations. Pain is enough to keep one from thinking straight, but it is a living emotion that must be forgotten in this realm to ascend to the level of a Demon.a160; It was his problem, and he needed to solve, for if I told him how to get free, he would remain trapped in the state of a tortured soul forever.

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In any case, since the slab of metal was already glowing red-hot, I took the liberty of bending it into four pieces; from bottom to top so that his legs could stand freely, and then from left to right to give the illusion that he was whole, and perhaps give him a better grasp on his surroundings. The wire had to remain wrapped around his torso so that he wouldn't slide off the metal, but he did manage to get his arms free by himself. Now that he was almost whole, he had better control over his powers, and could keep the metal cool between his two halves. It was an amusing sight to witness, and even though he still was not freed of his punishment, it was an impressive way to cope. I explained that this would not count as freedom, but he said he would manage. The ability to walk was already a big relief for him anyway; however, relief is only a fleeting luxury for the damned.

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He thanked me for my help and was taken aback when I told him who I was; he did not expect me to look so different from our last encounter. As we left the ruins of the Prison of Souls, he regaled me with stories of his exploits on Earth while serving the Lin Kuei, and how he was asked to participate in a tournament by the former Outworld Champion, Shang Tsung. One of Tsung's wealthy enemies caught wind of the Lin Kuei's participation, and hired Sub-Zero to kill the sorcerer. The mission would have not only granted the Lin Kuei clan a legendary status, it would have also bought Sub-Zero his and his brother's freedom and supported them throughout their retirement. However, a ghost from his past caught up to him and killed Sub-Zero in a heated battle. He was horribly angry, since Raiden, the God who he retrieved the amulet for, did not step in to inform the specter that Sub-Zero was innocent of the crime the ghost accused him of. The spirit, whom Sub-Zero referred to as Scorpion, accused the assassin of killing the entire Shirai Ryu clan, as well as the specter's family, but this was impossible because Sub-Zero was battling the monks and retrieving the amulet for Quan Chi at the time the murders took place.

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I took the opportunity to ask Sub-Zero what it was he had done when we fought, what he described it as, and he used a term I am still learning the meaning of now... Mercy. He showed me mercy because seeing me fall to my knees reminded him of when he killed Scorpion. Having faced the warrior in the Prison of Souls, he decided that killing me in that state, regardless of death being inconsequential, would have left a horrible weight on his conscience... Perhaps it was his way to atone for killing Scorpion that he spared me, but in any case, it was a sign that he was not all bad...

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We had not gone far from the Prison's ruins before a horrible shrieking noise broke out... Well, horrible for Sub-Zero, since the noise was directed at him - he was a sufferer, I was a tormentor, so anything related to punishing him did not faze me. The sound grew to a high pitch; he clutched his ears in pain and fell to his knees. Metal chains erupted from the Prison of Souls and coiled around Sub-Zero's limbs, and lifted him off the ground. He was then slammed down and dragged slowly back towards his place of torment. Apparitions of Quan Chi and Shinnok appeared behind him, and laughed at the Human's troubles. These were not the real leaders of the Brotherhood, just manifestations created by the Netherealm to keep his sentence in check; they paid no attention to me. They mocked the Lin Kuei warrior, and told him that until he found a way of combining his body into one piece again without his ice powers, he would remain trapped forever, rotting in Shinnok's abandoned prisons. The two apparitions then motioned with their arms to lift Sub-Zero into the air once more, and let the barbed wire around Sub-Zero's body crumble to the ground. Thanks to the rapid freezing, he was still attached to the metal, but not for long. The apparitions used the coils on his limbs to slowly rip his body in two again, his agonizing cries filling the air, and his blood and charred organs spilling onto the ground. Quan Chi gave out a hearty laugh as he and Shinnok dragged the poor soul back to the Prisons.

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He called to me for assistance, and I attempted to cut the chains with my sickles, but with Shinnok and Quan Chi's apparitions present, anything I did would be ineffectual. I was not about to go back for Sub-Zero to have the process repeat itself; only fools like Sisyphus keep rolling the stone and expect a different outcome. Despite him begging and pleading to me, I could not help him any longer and he would have to free himself. When he realized that calling me was futile, his halves each curled up and whimpered.

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Feeling down-trodden, I decided to explore my surroundings more to see if anything else in the Netherealm had changed, and as luck would have it, there was a significant difference in one particular section of the world. Where there once was a large, stone structure that resembled Shinnok's amulet, now stood an open portal! I had only seen Quan Chi use portals to travel to different realms, but they were ones he made out of nothing. I was unaware that this statue had been a kind of gateway. However, this one was very unstable, as it fluctuated location every few seconds, and the images it showed me were beyond my imagination: realms with skies of varying colours beyond red and black, earth that was covered in soft, pink spikes, purple liquid flowing in streams instead of lava, volcanos that were dormant and covered in ice instead of fire... What wonders the living worlds held! This was my ticket to freedom! Regardless of my appearance, I had to leave that boring existence and I entered a cold, white, wet realm. It was the exact opposite of what I was used to for millennia, but it was a change I enjoyed!

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As I studied the white substance falling from the sky and collecting on the ground, I noticed my skin changing from green to white... Somehow, the landscape was affecting me, and the more I focused on it, the more I was able to modify my own image... I focused on the vast emptiness of the landscape and felt my skin smoothen, hair grow atop my head, my limbs shortened, my claws retracted, my tusks disappeared, my height shrank, and my clothing warped to cover my new, female Human parts. I had the impression that being in a living realm allowed me to harness the essence to modify my body per my will, but upon trying to do anything more, I found myself barred. Perhaps this was a brief gift from the realm, the same way the Netherealm welcomes occupants with messages telling them where to go for judgement. In any case, the transformation was enough to conceal my true, Demonic heritage and hopefully allow me to traverse the realm unnoticed.

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I explored the desolate landscape until I noticed a figure approaching me in the distance. At first, I was very weary to meet a local, but as we grew nearer, I recognised the blue costume as belonging to the Lin Kuei assassin, Sub-Zero. I was on Earthrealm! I ran to him with a rather large smile on my face, happy to see that he had escaped his confinement in the Netherealm, and I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders... But as I pressed my body against his, I felt another body between us,a160; one he carried in his arms. I put my hand on his chest and felt his heart beating... Being alive and dragging a mortal without consuming them meant that this man was not the Demonic Sub-Zero I had expected. He, however, knew who I was easily enough thanks to the markings of my clothing still bearing the Brotherhood of the Shadow's insignia.

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Sub-Zero, the one I met in the Netherealm, had mentioned he had a younger sibling named Tundra, and it turned out that through serendipity, I had found him, now taking up his brother's mantle as the new Sub-Zero of Earthrealm. The girl he carried was his former protege, Frost, who had tried to kill him in Outworld, but he decided to spare her to serve as an example to the rest of the Lin Kuei that he was more forgiving, yet still severe, with those who attempted to cross him. Another example of mercy right before my very eyes... It was incredible to see such a common trait among the Human species, and a wonder that so many Humans found themselves in my realm...

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This Sub-Zero was much more lively compared to his brother, but considering this one was alive, it was to be expected. He told me that since his brother's demise, he had taken control of the Lin Kuei and reformed it, using the group's resources to protect the world instead of remain killers for hire. An organization with the sole purpose of helping the world was a foreign concept to me, but it sounded quite amusing. I wanted to learn more about aiding the world, and about Earthrealm in general, and since his brother spoke favourably of me, this new Sub-Zero offered me asylum at the Lin Kuei headquarters to learn more about the organization, and perhaps join it someday. When we arrived at the temple, he declared me his newest protege, and proceeded to teach me new techniques for honing my chi, and channeling my rage into more positive energy.

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It was during this time that I observed the relationship between Sub-Zero and Frost. Once he helped her regain her health, he and the rest of the clan shunned her under his orders. They absolutely refused to acknowledge Frost until she learnt humility and the value of teamwork. She was no longer invited to train with the groups, and spent most of her time training alone, living with the shame of her actions weighing heavily on her mind. I could see that slowly, she was becoming a better, brighter, person, someone that I could speak with if she didn't loathe me so much. It was clear she despised me for taking her place as Sub-Zero's personal student.

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After a few weeks of guidance under Sub-Zero, I already felt like a new person. Sub-Zero's teachings lead me on a frenzy for knowledge about Humans. I learnt so much from a fantastical machine that showed me key information and images about Earthrealm's greatest events. Surprisingly, there was so much violence, more than I expected from mortals. It made me wonder how much value was really placed on life when so much of the past involved atrocities that compared to various punishments I had seen and conducted in the Netherealm... From what Grandmaster Sub-Zero told me, life was considered very precious, something to be preserved and cherished, but Human history contradicted this. Then again, if both Sub-Zeros, assassins paid to kill others, could ultimately regret their actions, then perhaps there was some... Hope? Yes, hope that the mortal worlds could become better places with time and effort. It was such a foreign concept, and a brilliant idea compared to the routine I followed in the Netherealm. This was the change I needed in my immortal life, to try and make the world a better place, if only to see what it was like to help others instead of harm them, and share the knowledge that killing was no longer required to create great changes. ``Mercy'' was growing on me rather well, and it was easy to get practice while sparring with the Lin Kuei members and neither killing, nor maiming them. They enjoyed learning from me, especially about my experiences in the Netherealm. They were most entertained by the original Sub-Zero's fate, since he had garnered a legendary status with the group... Grandmaster Sub-Zero, however, was not pleased to hear how much his brother suffered, but he felt it was an important lesson for his pupils and allies to learn why the Lin Kuei's old teachings would not benefit them in the long run.

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During a private meeting with Raiden, Sub-Zero asked that I not attend, since it would look bizarre that the Lin Kuei housed a Demon directly associated to Shinnok and Quan Chi's Brotherhood, even if I no longer served them. While I was in my quarters, an unusual chill came over me, and I found myself enveloped in shade. I was in a dark room, no longer at the Lin Kuei Temple, but in the recesses of my own mind. From here, I sensed a familiar presence surrounding me, and I demanded that Noob Saibot reveal himself. He chuckled, and showed me the new face he had acquired to live in the mortal realms. It was a handsome face, and for a change, not covered in ancient armour or a ninja's mask, though the dark spectacles he wore seemed a bit much.

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I had nothing to fear with Noob Saibot in my mind. He was one of the few Brotherhood members I could stand, despite his defeating me so easily in sparring matches. He felt that Shinnok's treatment was too harsh, and for a time, petitioned my return to at least a physical state after I had defended Sub-Zero from Quan Chi. With the Brotherhood disbanded, I asked what he was doing, and he informed me that he wanted to reunite the Brotherhood. I shunned the thought and created a wall between us; I wanted nothing more than to distance myself from the Netherealm and the Brotherhood of the Shadow after the way I was treated. I desired more from my existence than torturing souls and making them feel pain. He appeared in front of me once more, illuminated the room in white, smirking as he nodded in agreement to my statement.

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He said that he had been in the mortal realms long enough to see that the only way to keep everyone from experiencing pain and suffering was to protect the people from themselves and each other. He flooded my mind with moving images of Human history, with wars fought in the name of conflicting ideals, races, religions, wealth, jealousy, anger... It was different seeing everything like this, and Noob Saibot added a new sensation to the images, something I did not consider before... Pain. Seeing and feeling the sensations of being torn to pieces, burnt alive, strangled, frozen, transformed into metal beings... As a Demon, it was rare that I ever experienced pain myself, but seeing and feeling all this was too difficult to bear. The most horrifying aspect was that these images all consisted of Humans committing these acts against other Humans in the present... These were not all images of the past, but atrocities happening now... How could they subject each other to this treatment? How could I look at these beings as merciful if, to this day, they still fought and murdered each other over petty, trivial things that mean nothing in the spirit realms? Where is the fun in being a mortal when even so much as a conflicting ideal can be a reason to die?

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Noob Saibot turned the moving images off and told me of his plans to permanently change the mortal worlds. He believed that the best way to keep everyone happy was to make them like him, an indestructible Shadow Demon. He revealed that thanks to absorbing enough essence from the Netherealm, he had found a way to pass on his own essence to other beings; he had already tested it successfully on Reiko, the Demon Hero, and made him a powerful Shadow Demon. It was interesting to hear about such a successful experiment, especially with a legend like Reiko volunteering for the process. I was not even aware that Reiko had been found, as he had been missing since Shinnok fought against Raiden for Earthrealm millennia ago... But Noob Saibot opened his own mind to me, and Reiko was there, and had returned to fight with the Brotherhood.

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Noob Saibot was a powerful creature, a new, unique kind of Demon, but what he proposed would change life on all realms. Making every creature immortal, and uniting them under a single banner could make for a peaceful existence... But then I thought of some of the recent images he had just shown me, about how similar this message sounded to what Sektor, the leader of the Tekunin, was doing with capturing and turning people into metal people like him. Noob Saibot stressed that only the willing would join The Brotherhood and be changed into Shadow Demons, and made me an intriguing offer. With a group of living beings now under the rule of the mechanical tyrant, he insisted that if I join him, Noob would make me head of a division with the priority to save those who were forced to become Tekunin minions. A chance to make a direct impact and save people from present-day slavery? Finally, a task worthy of my talents that would be both a challenge and something new.

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When he exited my mind, I was back in the Lin Kuei Temple, but now Noob Saibot stood before me, ready to bestow upon me new power and responsibility. He wrapped his arms around me, held me close, and pressed his lips against mine. I understood this as a Human custom called ``kissing'', but when he opened his mouth, a white light shone, and the ray jammed down my throat. My body ached as my insides dissolved and shifted with the new power they were experiencing. I pushed Noob Saibot away and exploded into black mist. It took a moment for me to reform into an intriguing shape. My skin was smooth and black, my eyes were blue, my hair grew down to the middle of my back, my teeth were fang-like, and I had my claws again. I was stronger now too, and thrilled to be part of something bigger than myself, but for a greater good instead of needless evil.