Fan Fiction - The Lin Kuei Chronicles (Part One)
Chapter Five - Bridge

Shinnok landed on the dusty ground. His brow was drenched with sweat, and his pale complexion was already reddening with heat. The yellow ninja stood and watched the sorcerer. He was ready for the fallen god to kill him. More than that, he was ready to join his family.
It is funny, he thought to himself. A dead man, begging for death. But he was not completely dead. True, he was dead enough so that no mortal could kill him. But an immortal...that was different. But, surprisingly, the sorcerer Shinnok, who Scorpion had been fighting all this time, did not make any attempt on his life. Instead, the fallen god spoke to him in a calm, cool voice.
“Sub-Zero left you here.”

I awake from my slumber. I rub my eyes. The sun’s golden rays of dusk filter though my window. I yawn. I have been sleeping for hours. The bed is made. I yawn again as I stand. Looking around the room, I wonder--
The bed is made. I rush towards it, rip the sheets off. Where is the book? I heard a knock at the door.
“Are you awake yet, Guru?” asks a child. “Can you keep going with our lesson?”
I shake my head. “Tomorrow, please. Leave me.” I turn back to my bed and continue with my search.

“His name is Nightwolf.”
Sub-Zero and Frost sat side by side on the fallen log. The night air was crisp and cold, and the two ninjas, so close together, brought the temperature down almost ten degrees. Lord Rayden had started a fire to warm himself. He watched the two siblings, next to each other for the first time in almost a hundred years. They seemed to move the same, they had the same gestures. Even the girl had the same streak of white through her hair as her brother did.
“And this...Nightwolf...is supposed to help us do, what, exactly?” asked Frost. She held her brother’s hand tightly, and Rayden knew that he had made the right decision.
“He shall assist you in your overthrow of the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei.”
Sub-Zero leaned over to Frost and whispered “Kirou.”
“Yes, Kirou is the current one. As I have said, you cannot defeat his army alone.”
Sub-Zero turned to Rayden. A look of pride and stubbornness showed in his eyes. “I am just as good as any--”
“You may be. But they have made more improvements to their army since you have last visited. The cybernetic warrior program has been completed, along with a new...recruitment.”
Frost raised her eyebrows. ‘A recruitment?”
“I believe you know him, Sub-Zero.” Rayden pointed to his staff. Both ninjas looked at the stick, but it took a few moments for Sub-Zero to realize what his mentor was saying. “Reiko.”
Rayden nodded. Sub-Zero shook his head. “It makes no difference. He is just another warrior to me.”
Frost shrugged as well, but she had concern in her eyes. Rayden noted this, but stood anyway. “It is time for me to leave. Come morning, seek out Nightwolf, and you shall be on the first step.”

Everything Shinnok had said made perfect sense to Scorpion. The calm, collected way the sorcerer had spoken added to the authenticity of his words. Sub-Zero had left him, right when he had needed him most. He is your friend. Then why didn’t he stay? You had things under control. He could not have helped you any more. I could have been killed. He doesn’t care. He had to find the girl. You know that. What was so important about the girl. Is she more important than me? I...don’t know. Haven’t I always been there for him? Yes. Haven’t I always helped him, whenever he needed it? Yes! Where was Sub-Zero when my family was killed by the Lin Kuei? He is Lin Kuei. But Quan Chi killed my family. Did he really? Or is that what the ninja told you? I don’t remember. Sub-Zero killed your family. No. Sub-Zero killed your family. No...did he? Sub-Zero killed our family. Then what do we do? Whatever we have to.
Scorpion turned to Shinnok, who had been waiting for him to finish his thoughts. The ninja looked the sorcerer up and down. “What do you need?”

The book is gone. I have looked everywhere. It has been stolen from me. I sit at the library, pulling out volume after volume. Each one tells a little bit of the story, but not the whole thing. I must find the book, not just for me, but for my students. I pull out another book. Nothing. The next one is even less useful. The books I do not need are strewn about on the floor, the catalogue order disregarded. The next book is worse. Planets and Their Moons. The next one. Healing Powers of The Himalayas. I yell in fury. I begin to rip books off the shelves, regardless of title. I reach the end of the row and start on the next one, swiping my arm through the stacks. I come to one that does not budge.
I look at the title. The Kori. it means nothing to me, but I pull it out anyway. It does not move. I pull harder, and I hear a mechanical creak. A gust of stale air hits my neck, and I turn around. The entire back bookcase has opened. I look over both shoulders, and there is no one here. I walk through the opening.

PART ONE END.

By C. J. "Wingman" Zepplin

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