Mortal Kombat 9: Ember Edition

Chapter 3: Found Only to be Lost Again

As soon as Quan Chi had said the word "sister", both Sub-Zero and Scorpion's eyes widened into looks of pure shock. Scorpion watched as Ember started making her way cautiously towards Sub-Zero, as if she was afraid to move faster like it would cause him to disappear. Sub-Zero himself froze (no pun intended), only his eyes moved as they followed her. She knelt beside him, unsure what to do except sit there and goggle at him. It was only after he carefully reached out to touch her pale cheek, that he spoke.

"Ember--is that really you?" Everything about him caught her off guard, she didn't know what she had been expecting, considering the last time she saw him he was sixteen. How old would that make him now? Thirty?

She nodded, her throat getting dry, "Yeah...Bi-Han it's me." She wasn't what he was expecting either; the last time he had seen her was when she was five and the transition in appearance from five to nineteen was a big one, that's for sure. He marveled at how grown up his little sister had gotten before questions he wanted answers to for years had returned to him.

"Oh my god..." Sub-Zero muttered, then, realizing he had been staring for too long, shook his head "What are you doing here? Where's Father and Mother?"

"I came here looking for you." She answered, ignoring the sigh of disapproval that came from him, "Mom, uh, she's at home...and your father's...dead." She averted her eyes and looked blankly at Bi-Han's boots, obviously uncomfortable with the sensitive topic of his father. The girl didn't want to know how he'd react if he knew his father's killer was her. Neither did she want to get into detail about their mother's current condition and where she's actually staying, not in front of strangers.

Ember took a deep breath and looked back at him, "What about Kuai-Liang? Is he here?" She asked, changing the subject. He shook his head and winced in pain.

"No, Kuai-Liang is back at the Lin Kuei temple." He slowly touched her wavy hair, examining the auburn color that complimented her fire-colored eyes. "Fourteen years..." he mumbled.

While Bi-Han and Ember were caught up in their sibling reunion, Scorpion just watched the whole thing stupefied. For some reason it never occurred to the Shirai Ryu ninja that his mortal enemy had siblings, never really imagined him with a family in general. He stiffened as he felt he was intruding on a personal family moment, even if it was Sub-Zero. Quan Chi crossed his arms and looked down in indifference.

"My apologies for having to ruin this reunion, but Sub-Zero has committed an inhumane crime and much accept his punishment. Scorpion," the necromancer turned his head to the Shirai Ryu ninja, "Kill him." However, Scorpion was even more reluctant to kill the Lin Kuei now that his long lost sister had showed up. Ember looked away from Bi-Han to face Scorpion and Quan Chi, her face paling and her mouth agape in horror.

Her eyes switched between Quan Chi and Scorpion, landing on the ninja when she saw his reluctance. "Please don't kill him!" She begged, pleading at him with her eyes, "You can't!"

This became a roller coaster of emotions real quick, going from excitement to horror. Ember felt her heart stop and drop at Quan Chi's orders. Bi-Han held onto her arm and gently squeezed in reassurance, wanting her to go; if he was going to be killed he didn't want her witnessing it. Yet, despite the gesture, Ember didn't look away from Scorpion's soulless white eyes, hoping that she could coerce him into sparing her brother by simply staring at him.

Scorpion stood still, neither making a move towards Sub-Zero or away; he was conflicted to say the least. While he actually did want Sub-Zero dead, he had promised the thunder god Raiden that he wouldn't kill him in exchange for his clan being brought back to life. As he looked at Ember he was surprisingly bothered by the pain she was expressing; he pitied her.