Bi Han "Sub-Zero" x F!Reader

Forty-Six

Careful to remain undetected and silent, you, Bi Han and Kuai Liang crept through the dark corridor of the Ying fortress.

Fire bowls burned at irregular intervals. Above them, on stone pedestals, stood warriors from times long past. The shadows bathed their faces in a kind of darkness that made them seem almost human, alive.

Several minutes had already passed when the tunnel finally came to an end and burning white light fell through a wide-open door.

Quan Chi hadn't looked round once the whole way. Something in the back of your head was tingling. Even if he wasn't in enemy territory, everyone had the urge to look around from time to time. There were no windows in the tunnel, only forwards or backwards and therefore no way out if someone was lurking in the darkness.

But the sorcerer had not hesitated for a second on his way. As if he was lulled into a sense of total security.

You cast a sceptical glance over your shoulder at Kuai Liang. He shook his head, his dark eyebrows drawn together. So you weren't the only one who felt strange about this.

You immediately rushed two steps faster to catch up with Bi Han and tap him on the shoulder. He paused just as Quan Chi stepped through the door into the bright room and disappeared.

"We should keep a low profile.", you whispered, pressing your back against the wall and disappearing into an alcove in the shadows.

"Something is strange, Bi Han.", Kuai Liang squatted next to you in the darkness.

Brown eyes inspected you both.

"Why are you hesitating?", the grandmaster finally asked.

You shook your head, strands of your (H/C) hair falling into your forehead.

"Hesitation and caution are easily confused, grandmaster.", you whispered. "But carelessness is always punished."

He frowned.

"Father's words are poisoning your beautiful mouth, Mûdān.", without further ado, he turned and pursued Quan Chi.

A hiss came from between your clenched teeth. Again you looked at the younger brother, but your legs were faster than his response.

In the end, you were stupid and loyal to Bi Han. If he ran to certain doom, you would be the first to jump after him. Inwardly you cursed yourself but your heart couldn't bear the thought that he would die alone. Far away from you.

And just like you, Kuai Liang couldn't just turn his back on his sense of loyalty. Of course not. The younger brother had always followed his older brother around like a puppy. From an early age, he had admired him, envied him for what he had.

Somehow you believed that Kuai Liang had a crush on you when he was young, hoping he could finally possess something, be chosen by someone who favoured him over Bi Han.

But he had quickly learnt that he had never been an option for you. It made your stomach cramp all the more to realise that fate was possibly trying to drive you into the arms of the younger man after all.

Goose bumps spread over your arms at the thought.

Bi Han slipped silently through the open door into a large room. Light flooded it from the ceiling and as you followed it you could see a cave that had been dug directly into the mountain.

Bi Han's steps became hesitant. He stopped, bent down and picked up something that was almost the size of his palm. You frowned in confusion before he lifted it up to get a better look.

It was a coin from ancient times, studded with patterns and with a hole in the centre.

"Pure gold.", you pick up a coin too.

Bi Han's gaze continued to wander. The entire cave was full of mountains of these coins, chests so full that the lids could no longer be closed. But this place didn't look like a treasure trove. More like a place to store things that nobody should find.

"Stolen goods?", Kuai Liang asked as he stopped at your side.

"Possibly.", you turned your head.

Footsteps sounded. Not far from you, separated by a wall of gold and artefacts, Quan Chi appeared. He had turned his back on you, accompanied by a troop of his strange-looking demons.

"There will be spoils in this war.", Bi Han said, more to himself than either of you.

The scepticism that Kuai Liang had been wearing on his face since the beginning of this mission did not seem to ease. Slowly you felt understanding.

Loot was something insignificant, even for the clan. The Lin Kuei did not trade in money as was customary among humans. They wore most of the gold as jewellery or made heirlooms from it. It would not even have been possible to buy them out of the agreement with Liu Kang because they were not slaves but had committed themselves by oath.

"Let us win it first, brother.", Kuai Liang tried to bring his brother back to the actual path of the mission.

But something had already changed in him - you could see it clearly.

All of a sudden footsteps approached.

Adrenaline rushed through your veins. Magic tingled between your fingers. One quick exchanged of glances and all three of you scattered around to hide between mountains of good and stone pillars.

A shadow seeped out of the tunnel, spilled over the wooden steps and into the light that was reflected by the many polished coins.

A man appeared, dressed in brown leather and yellow cotton. Hints of green shimmered in between silver jewellery and claw that held poisons of unknown origin.

As your eyes wandered further upwards, black hair spilled over wide shoulders. A silver comb held some of the strands together in the back of the man's head.

How much confidence could one person have?

If it would have been measurable, Shang Tsung must have been equal to an emperor. The way he walked, one foot smoothly placed after the other while he had one hand behind his back and the other in front of his chest told a story of intelligence.

If only there would have been this smug smirk on his face, that was very defined by Chinese heritage.