Sareena

''I am not a being of Light. I am a demon of the Netherrealm, a servant of Quan Chi.'' -- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Bio

Sareena is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. She made her debut in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, and first became playable in Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition.

About Sareena
Sareena is a demon who first appeared in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero as a non-playable boss character. She was first playable in Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition for the Game Boy Advance and later in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. She is from the Netherealm and was a assassin for Quan Chi, but turned against him. Her young and beautiful appearance hides her true form of a hideous demon. In the past, she required Quan Chi's magic to sustain her human form, but since recently escaping the Netherealm, she has managed to find a way to remain beautiful without him. She is now a force of good with an alliance to Sub-Zero and the new Lin Kuei, however, she remains wary of her natural demonic nature.

Storyline
The demon Sareena first appeared in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero as one of Quan Chi's personal assassins. She and her two partners, Kia and Jataaka, were ordered to kill Sub-Zero before he reached Quan Chi. They were defeated, but Sub-Zero strangely spared Sareena's life. Later, as Sub-Zero battled Quan Chi, Sareena suddenly appeared and helped him to defeat the sorcerer. After expressing her desire to escape the Netherealm with him, she is shot in the back with a bolt of energy by Shinnok. She collapses into an enraged Sub-Zero's arms and appears to die.

It is later revealed in Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition that Sareena was not killed by Shinnok's attack, but rather her human form was destroyed. Her essence was then banished to the Fifth Plane of the Netherealm as punishment for her betrayal, where she would suffer for years. After years of being trapped, Sareena discovered the portal Quan Chi and Scorpion used to escape the Netherealm shortly before Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. She went through the portal and is transported to Outworld where she later discovered a way to restore her human form without Quan Chi's magic by absorbing the energy of the realm.

Shortly after regaining her human form, Sareena encountered the younger brother of the Sub-Zero she met years before. Feeling that he owed her for helping his brother, Sub-Zero granted her sanctuary with the Lin Kuei back on Earthrealm. In gratitude, Sareena pledged her loyalty to the clan, swearing to help defend it from its enemies.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, it is revealed that Sareena followed Sub-Zero into the Netherealm, saving him from being killed by Noob Saibot and Smoke. She and Sub-Zero were victorious, but after the battle, Sareena lost control of her human form and returned to her true demon self. Thinking her to be a threat, Sub-Zero attacked and she fled, not wanting to harm him. However, she was later attacked by Noob Saibot, Smoke, and her former master Quan Chi, who demanded she provide them information about the Lin Kuei. At first, Sareena refused, determined to remain loyal to Sub-Zero. But Quan Chi then cast his dark sorcery upon her, returning her to her human form and then convincing her that she can never be good and that she is simply a pure evil demon. Swayed by Quan Chi's corruption, she agreed to serve him once again.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon's Konquest mode, Taven encounters Sareena still serving Quan Chi alongside Kia and Jataaka in the Red Dragon's lair. They battle, but ultimately Kia and Jataaka are beaten by Taven and Sareena was freed from Quan Chi's spell. Presumably, after the battle, Sareena escapes Quan Chi's hold over her as, in her Armageddon ending, she defeats Blaze, causing his power to flow into her. She is left unconscious until Sub-Zero reaches the top of the pyramid and revives her. When she awakens, she realizes that she had gained the ability to freeze. She then confronts Quan Chi and freezes him in a block of ice. Sareena and Sub-Zero place the sorcerer in the Lin Kuei temple, where he will remain frozen forever.

Biographies

 * Tournament Edition: "The Netherrealm demon, Sareena, lost her human form in an attack from the fallen Elder God, Shinnok. She was transposed back into her demon form as her essence descended back to the Fifth plane of the Netherealm. Sareena remained there until she discovered an abandoned portal that led to Outworld. Once in Outworld, she learned to feed off of the living aura of that realm to regain her human appearance. She no longer needed Quan Chi's sorcery to sustain her exterior beauty."
 * Armageddon Bio Kard: "Once one of Quan Chi's elite lieutenants, the demon Sareena had a change of heart, offering to help Sub-Zero to defeat her sorcerer master. This betrayal cost her human form and brought her years of suffering in the Netherrealm. Now free, she has regained her mortal form and has pledged to Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei."
 * Armageddon: "I was given asylum by the Lin Kuei in gratitude for aiding Sub-Zero in the Netherrealm years ago. I swore to uphold the laws of the clan and protect it from any outside threat. My allegiance was strong, but Sub-Zero felt I still had much to prove before the clan would fully accept me. He entrusted me with a small metallic object that would guide me and grant me access to the hidden Lin Kuei temple. He ordered me to wait for him there as he departed for the Netherrealm. Instead, I followed him -- I could not bring myself to allow him to come to harm. But the realm's essence began twisting my soul, and I had second thoughts about disobeying him. When he was attacked by Noob Saibot and Smoke, however, it seemed I had made the right decision. I leapt from hiding and prevented Noob from killing Sub-Zero. With the sides now even, we soundly defeated Noob and Smoke. They escaped to parts unknown, but not before rendering Sub-Zero unconscious. The intense fight and the influence of the Netherrealm's dark energies caused me to lose control of my human apperance, and I reverted to my demonic form. When Sub-Zero regained consciousness, he was confused and attacked me. To avoid harming him, I fled to the depths of the Netherrealm. There I was ambushed by Noob, Smoke, and my former master, Quan Chi. The sorcerer knew of my allegiance to Sub-Zero and demanded to know the location of the Lin Kuei temple. At first I refused, holding to my oath. But Quan Chi's influence is great. He cast his dark sorcery upon me, returning me to my human form and showing me my true nature. I am not a being of Light. I am a demon of the Netherrealm, a servant of Quan Chi. I will follow him to whatever end. I surrendered the object given to me by Sub-Zero. He was a fool to have trusted me."

Signature moves

 * Fire Skull: Sareena fires a skull engulfed in flames. This attack is borrowed from Quan Chi. (MK:TE)
 * Split Kick: Sareena does a forward flip, kicking the opponent in the process. (MK:TE)
 * Skull Bash: Sareena thrusts forward extremely fast, smashing her opponent in the head. (MK:A)
 * 5-Star Kick: Sareena thrusts forward with her leg extended and if she makes contact, she will kick the opponent 5 times before they fall back.(MK:A)
 * Gut Buster: Sareena charges her fist, then shoots forward with a powerful punch that knocks her opponent back. (MK:A)
 * Throwing Knife: Sareena throws a large knife at her opponent. According to Ed Boon, this is possibly the fastest projectile in Mortal Kombat. (MK:A)

Endings

 * Tournament Edition: "While in Outworld, the demon known as Sareena encountered Sub-Zero. Since she had freed his brother from his confines of the Netherrealm so many years ago, Sub-Zero offered her asylum within the Lin Kuei. His compassion may be honorable, but befriending a demon of the Netherrealm is not an action without risk...as Sub-Zero may soon discover."
 * Armageddon: "Blaze had dissipated, but the power he had released flowed into Sareena. She lay unconscious atop the pyramid until Sub-Zero revived her. Examining her hands, she found that she had gained the ability...to freeze. Sareena confronted her old master, Quan Chi, and froze him solid. She and Sub-Zero hid the sorcerer in the Lin Kuei temple, where he will remain forever suspended in a block of ice."

Character development
Sareena's journey towards becoming a regular character in Mortal Kombat is perhaps one of the stranger ones. After her brief appearance in Mythologies, Sareena was meant to reappear or be mentioned in future games, but was often cut or forgotten.

Early in Mortal Kombat 4's development, she was considered to be added to the roster (the MK team wanting to include another Mythologies character in addition to Quan Chi and Shinnok), but they decided to use Fujin instead. Although she was left out, shortly before and briefly after Mortal Kombat 4 was released in arcades, it was vaguely hinted that Reiko was going to share some sort of connection or relationship with Sareena. However, this connection was never developed and later forgotten.

She then was originally planned to be in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, but was cut from the final game. She was then added to Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition as a "shotoclone" character. She got her fighting styles from the characters that didn't appear in Tournament Edition, but appeared in the GBA version of Deadly Alliance instead; she borrowed Yuan Yang from Frost, Tae Kwon Do from Sonya and Sai from Li Mei. Her projectile was also borrowed from Quan Chi.

After her appearance in Tournament Edition, it was highly expected and heavily rumored that she would be included in Mortal Kombat: Deception. However, she once again didn't make the final cut, only to be encountered in Konquest mode of the game.

Finally, in the first surfaces of Armageddon, Sareena was also anticipated as a playable character. Her appearance in the character roster render proved that she would appear in the game, and later she was first shown off at E3 show, along with other recurring characters. She is playable in Armageddon's final version.

Appearance
In Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Sareena, Kia and Jataaka wear more revealing clothes than any female Mortal Kombat character had at that time. Their clothes were made with leather, making them even more provocative. They were designed this way probably to indicate that she was an assassin and a demon in a human appearance. In her Tournament Edition appearance, her outfit is similar to what she wears in Mythologies, and she wears her Tournament Edition outfit as her alternate outfit.

In all her appearances, Sareena is shown to have a tattoo-like design over her face and white streak on her hair, just like all members of the Brotherhood of Shadow. The white streak may also indicate that she can only gain the appearance makeover; Sareena's face had been completely remodeled, much like Li Mei. She no longer had little black eyes, and instead had bigger blue eyes. Her lips are also no longer black, as they are peach-colored.

Trivia
Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition: Mortal Kombat Deception: Mortal Kombat Armageddon:
 * In Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, there was a briefly hinted love interest between Sareena and the elder Sub-Zero, which she later developed with the younger Sub-Zero.
 * Sareena makes a brief cameo appearance in Deception's Konquest mode. For a side mission, Shujinko is ordered by the Brotherhood of the Shadow to find the traitor Sareena.
 * She is considered to be a new character in the fighting game series.
 * She borrowed the Tae Kwon Do fighting style from Sonya, the Yuan Yang fighting style from Frost, and the Kama weapon from Nitara.
 * She is one of the characters that appear in a cage in the Dark Prison stage.
 * She is one of the characters seen running through The Krypt mode.
 * In Konquest mode, she is found in the Netherrealm asking the player to not tell the Brotherhood of Shadow where she is located and pays the player koins.
 * In online play, she is considered to be one of the more powerful characters, largely due to her Throwing Knives. The Throwing Knives have the fastest performance rate of all projectiles, fast enough to be used in juggle combos.
 * Borrowed the Ba Shan Fan fighting style from Hotaru.

Character Relationships

 * Once served Quan Chi.
 * Once partner of Kia and Jataaka.
 * Defeated by Elder Sub-Zero, then wishes to leave the Netherrealm with him and later defeated him once he became Noob-Saibot.
 * Helped Elder Sub-Zero defeat Quan Chi.
 * Seemingly killed by Shinnok.
 * Encountered Younger Sub-Zero and allied with him.
 * Defeated Noob-Saibot and Smoke to save Sub-Zero.
 * Manipulated by Quan Chi to serve him again.
 * Freed by Taven in Armageddon.
 * Betrayed Quan Chi again to join Sub-Zero.
 * Joined the forces of light to the last battle in Armageddon.