Mortal Kombat: The Phoenix Verison

Chapter 7: What Once Was

At the Lin Kuei temple, Sub-Zero had left Ember in the care of his most trusted medic. The trip back to the temple had taken quite some time, all the meanwhile she had been unconscious.

The medic promised to let him know once she woke up and in the meantime Sub-Zero reluctantly attended to his grandmaster duties. He realized that when she woke up he wouldn't have as much time with her as he wanted, but it was better than none at all.

In the sterile room of the infirmary, the medic kept an eye on the resting Phoenix. He was in his late thirties, his dark brown hair already graying from the stress of being a medic for the Lin Kuei. Other than the grandmaster himself, the woman lying on the bed before him was probably the most important patient of his lifetime.

With an uneasy feeling in his gut, the medic vividly remembered the crystal clear threat the grandmaster gave him.

"If you touch her in anyway that isn't medically professional, I will kill you."

And he was the medic Sub-Zero trusted most. He didn't even yell or hiss the threat, it was the stoic tone that sent a shiver down his spine.

The grandmaster had wanted to be in the infirmary just to make sure that she was safe. It took plenty of persistence to get him to go back to his duty.

The woman's vitals, other than being undead, were normal. The electrocution hadn't done any real damage fortunately, but the neutralizing spell made her extremely fatigued.

It was an instinct-regular procedure, checking to see if the patient was breathing. He hadn't removed her mask under pure curiosity but what he saw made his eyebrows furrow.

Besides the yellow cracks in her skin that glowed in sync with her heart were several cuts and scratches decorating her pale face. How old the wounds were varied, some were weeks old while a few seemed to be inflicted as recently as the day Sub-Zero captured her.

The medic had a hunch and carefully removed the clawed gloves from her hands to reveal sharp fingernails that resembled a bird's talons, matching the cuts and scratches. Gently he lifted one of her limp hands and brought one of the nails closer for inspection. Sure enough, there were some specks of dried blood.

He sucked in a breath, realizing with a heavy heart who had inflicted these wounds: a woman who couldn't stand how monstrous she had become.

Silently he took out some nail clippers and trimmed what he could, knowing this wouldn't end the problem entirely, but it was something. Then, even though she was undead, he cleaned the wounds. Finally, he put the mask back on her face.

Moving to his desk to write some notes, he jumped when the door opened and the grandmaster stepped in.

"Grandmaster! I told you I would send for you when she woke up." The medic said, his eyes following Sub-Zero as the cryomancer approached his sister's bedside.

Ignoring him, Sub-Zero instead asked "How is she?" The medic went on to explain how everything was fairly normal and she was only exhausted from the spell Raiden had placed on her. When Sub-Zero reached for the mask to remove it, the medic stopped him.

"Grandmaster, I wouldn't do that if I were you." The questioning raise of a black eyebrow silently inquired an explanation, an explanation to which the medic improvised greatly. "She may feel alarmed if she's without it. It will be easier if she removes the mask on her own."

It was a dumb lie and if given more time he probably would've thought of a better one, but Sub-Zero returned his hand to his side nonetheless.

After a few moments passed in silence, Sub-Zero lightly placed his hand on top of Ember's.