Chapter Text
I don't wanna live
To waste another day
Underneath the shadow
Of mistakes I've made
'Cause I feel like I'm breaking inside.
I don't wanna fall
And say I lost it all
'Cause maybe there's a part of me
That hit the wall;
Leaving pieces of me behind.
And I feel like I'm breaking inside.
-Shinedown, “Breaking Inside”
Hanzo opened his eyes slowly, raising a hand to block the sunlight that was streaming in from his window. The Shirai Ryu slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed as he stretched.
As Hanzo washed and dressed to get ready for his day, his mind replayed the fight that had occurred in one of the Outworlder’s bedrooms last night. Tomas had been walking down the hallway and toward Hanzo when Bi-Han had arrived at the scene from an adjoining hallway. The new Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei had immediately lashed out, making a giant scene in the hallway.
It got to a point where Jax shouted at them from his room - “If you don’t take it outside, I’ll ram your heads UP YOUR ASSES!!!”
They didn’t want to walk all the way outside, so they settled for stepping into an open, vacant bedroom as Tomas continued to blame them for the death of his best friend. Hanzo didn’t know how long they were there, nor how long the Outworlder - Ghost - had been standing in the doorway. Neither one of them had noticed Ghost, and while they were speaking with loud voices, they were all trained warriors who always listened for footsteps. The fact that Ghost had crept up on them had startled the three of them.
Now, Hanzo made his way out of his bedroom, shutting the door securely behind him as he walked down to the kitchen which had been shown to him on the tour yesterday. When he stepped into the room, he discovered that a lot of the Earthrealmers had accumulated in the room, eating the morning meals that they had made themselves. Only Tomas seemed to be absent, something that Hanzo was thankful for.
Hanzo walked over to the screaming kettle, pulling a cup from the cabinets as he poured the prepared tea into the mug. He could feel Johnny’s spiteful glare on the back of his neck but didn’t say anything about it.
For a moment, Hanzo remembered how he had been the one to send those glares at people - Kuai, especially. He felt that ever-present guilt rise up in volume, realizing that the discomfort that he was feeling from Johnny’s glare was probably what Kuai himself had experienced. Hanzo took a sip of the tea as it cooled, swallowing it down with the sour taste that had risen in his mouth from the thought.
The small conversations that were occurring between the Special Forces were brought to a dwindling quiet as footsteps approached from the hallway. Hanzo turned to the doorway, seeing the two newer Outworld warriors step inside.
Erron Black was talking flirtatiously to his companion, Ghost. The black-garbed warrior seemed completely done with the cowboy as he walked around the Earthrealmers and headed straight to the fruit basket, grabbing an apple.
“Do you wanna go out to the sparring mats, later?” Erron asked, winking suggestively from under the brim of his hat. “We can take turns pinning each other… if you catch my drift.”
Ghost shoved Erron back with the hand that wasn’t clutching the apple, raising his middle finger in response as he tried to leave the kitchen. However, the cowboy recovered quickly and stood in his pathway, blocking him from leaving.
“You don’t have to be socold, honey,” Erron complained, placing a hand on Ghost’s shoulder.
In a flash, Ghost moved in a blur - he threw the apple up in the air vertically as his hands snatched Erron’s wrist. With his leg, he kicked Erron’s legs out, forcing Black to fall. The cowboy landed on his back on the dining table, making the cereal bowls jump up slightly from the impact. Ghost had pulled a throwing knife from his jacket, hurling it at the table - it embedded into the wood next to Erron’s head. Hanzo realized that it had nicked the cowboy’s ear.
The apple landed neatly in Ghost’s open palm after the knife had buried itself into the wood. The warrior looked at Black with narrowed eyes for one last time before he stalked out of the kitchen, leaving shocked faces in his wake. Tomas had arrived just in time to witness the spectacle, standing in the doorway as Ghost passed by him.
“Aw, damn,” Black grumbled, pushing himself up as he yanked the knife from the wood before rushing after his comrade. “Hey, Ghost! Hold up really quick - I was just playin’!”
The stunned Earthrealmers all looked in shock as Tomas slowly entered the kitchen. “Well, that just happened,” the enenra remarked as he took a seat at the table. “What’s the agenda for today?”
“Sonya and I will be with Kotal and Jade to try and locate Mileena’s location using satellite technology and maps,” Stryker explained, scrolling on his phone absentmindedly. “The rest of you are free to do whatever you want, but try to not start any fights...”
Jax’s face darkened as he grumbled, but no one made any complaints. Hanzo turned to look back down at his cup, staring at the dark liquid as he took in the soothing aroma of the tea while the others started to return to their conversations once more.
“... Do you think that Kuai could have survived the fall?” Kenshi asked the group, a contemplative look on his face.
Everyone froze.
“What the hell do you think?” Johnny snapped. The topic was a sore subject for everyone, but Johnny had taken it very personally. “Why are you asking now, you asshole?”
Kenshi pursed his lips, shaking his head. “... Nothing. It’s just… nevermind.”
Sonya leaned closer, frowning as she studied Kenshi’s subdued and dismissive stance. “Answer the question, Kenshi. Why are you asking about Kuai, now?”
“I went to the roof last night,” Kenshi sighed, divulging his thoughts, “When I was up there, I met with Ghost. His mind reminded me of Kuai’s - it was difficult for me to read his thoughts. I… I don’t know. There were too many similarities that I picked up on for it to be just a matter of chance.”
“What did you notice?” Kabal asked, interrogating the telepath.
“Well, he was wringing his hands in a similar manner that Kuai used to do when he was worried about something,” Kenshi recalled. “I don’t believe that he noticed that he was even doing it, to begin with. Then, Sento picked up on a faint scar over his right eye. It’s indiscernible to the naked eye, but Sento told me that it was there. Finally, with the way that Ghost took down Erron Black… I don’t know.”
Hanzo paused, thinking of the isolated Ghost and Kuai Liang, trying to piece the similarities together. He couldn’t picture Kuai behaving in such a way, and judging by the looks on the others’ faces, they couldn’t either. The proposed thought was left abandoned as Stryker changed the subject to get rid of the tension in the room.
Taking a sip from the steaming cup, Hanzo tried to shove off the lingering doubt that clung to his mind.
It was only an hour later when Kuai was summoned to the throne room.
The cryomancer frowned, slightly thankful that Kotal, Sonya, and Stryker had been able to find something quickly - it meant less time that the cryomancer would have to spend with his former team. Kuai had felt extremely vulnerable in the hallways; as a result, the cryomancer had locked himself in his bedroom. It was Ermac who came to deliver the summons to Kuai - the soul construct had teleported inside the cryomancer's room to deliver the message.
A month ago, the sudden appearance of Ermac in his bedroom would have startled Kuai - now that the cryomancer was more familiar with the behaviors of the Outworlders, he knew to expect this from Ermac, who didn't fully understand the need for privacy and doors. Sighing, Kuai had nodded, permitting Ermac to leave in a flash of neon green light.
Now, Kuai was walking through the double doors into the throne room, seeing the large group of warriors clustered together in the center of the floor, looking up at Kotal and Sonya expectantly. Kuai readjusted the red bandana to ensure that it wouldn't fall off before he joined Erron in the back, keeping a distance away from his Earthrealm friends.
"Kano broke quickly under interrogation," Sonya spoke, referencing the Black Dragon leader who had been imprisoned in the Outworld prisons after his failed attempt to kill Kotal in the carriage. "Because he gave us Mileena's location, I have agreed to have ten minutes to talk with him - no Outworlders. He wanted only Earthrealmers in the room with him, so I willhumorhis ridiculous request before we take him back to Earthrealm when this is over."
Kotal stepped forward, looking down at the group. "Mileena is located in the outskirts of Outworld's expansive jungles," the emperor spoke solemnly, with Jade sitting on her throne behind her husband. "General Blade has the coordinates. She will be discussing the attack plans before you depart."
With a nod from Kotal, Sonya walked down the steps to discuss the plan of attack. "The camp is heavily guarded by Tarkatan warriors. The majority of us will be leading a frontal charge to draw out the forces and distract Mileena from guarding the amulet. Meanwhile, a small task force will sneak around the camp to access the back tent, where we believe the amulet is being held. Because of the stealth that this recovers, I have settled on a team of four - Tomas, Hanzo, Bi-Han, and Ghost. When you grab ahold of the amulet, we expect Mileena and her forces to surrender. The four of you will have to be careful - you won't be receiving any back-up if things go wrong. Any questions?"
With no protests or suggestions from the warriors, they dispersed, preparing for the upcoming conflict.
After activating the portal machine that had been installed in Outworld's palace, Kuai found himself breathing through the humid air of the dense Outworld jungles, someplace nearby Mileena's camp. The cryomancer wasn't bothered by the heat - the Dragon Medallion offered him enough power to cancel out the effects. However, Kuai became concerned that the others would pick up on the chill that was radiating from his body. Reluctantly, Kuai retracted the cooling effect, grimacing as he began to sweat profusely now.
"Alright," Sonya spoke, handing Tomas a radio. The enenra tested the device to ensure that his voice could be heard on Sonya's connected radio before he hooked it onto his belt. "Let us know when you get into position and can see the main tent. When you hear all hell break loose, that'll be your cue."
"Got it," Tomas answered for the stealth group. With everything set and prepared, Tomas led the assassins through the thick brush, walking farther and farther away from the safety of the pack. Kuai crouched low in the cover of the trees, listening attentively for any peculiar sounds as he followed after the other three taller men.
A part of him was worried about being alone with the two people who had tried to kill him six months ago, but Kenshi's words reverberated in his mind, easing his worries. Kuai remembered Hanzo holding onto his blue headband the previous night, and he relaxed slightly, reassured that if his identity was uncovered, they wouldn't try to kill him.
While Kuai had been thinking over these things, he had blanked from his current situation and drowned out the sounds of the initiating argument between the remaining members of his teammates. Tomas was snapping rudely over his shoulder as Bi-Han was shouting back. Hanzo was stuck between diffusing the situation and adding his own words to the verbal fight. Kuai looked through the trees, trying to see if they were near the camp. Even if they weren't, Kuai was certain that their voices were being carried to the camp, alerting the enemy.
He needed to end this, somehow...
"How many times do I need to say that I'm sorry?!" Bi-Han snarled in irritation, glaring at Tomas. "I f*cked up, okay?! You're right about everything; I'm was a sh*tty older brother, and I ruined Kuai's life. But there's nothing that I can do about it, now! You keep holding this over my f*cking head - it's been six months, how long are you going to remind me of that day?"
"As long as I have to!" Tomas snarled, coming to an abrupt halt in the bushes as he whirled around to glower at Bi-Han and Hanzo. "You don't get to just forget about it and walk away - someone has to hold you accountable for your actions, and I sure as HELL don't trustyouto do it yourself. You can count on me doing this for another sixyears,you backstabbing bitch! As a matter of fact, you can kiss your Lin Kuei visiting privileges goodbye - no one at the Lin Kuei wants to see your faces."
"He's suffering every day with the realization that he messed up," Hanzo spoke firmly, not trying to be quiet as he tried to drill the point into the enraged enenra. "Leave the man to his own demons, if you want him to suffer - every person's worst enemy is themselves."
A dark shadow covered Tomas's face as he stalked closer to Hanzo. Kuai took this moment to intervene - he pushed past Bi-Han and placed himself between his best friend and the Shirai Ryu, holding his hands out to maintain the distance between the two. Realizing that he couldn't speak, Kuai just settled for shaking his head in what he hoped conveyed his exasperation and disappointment. He pointed with his thumb to the direction of the camp, raising his index finger to his lips behind the bandana to shush them.
Finally, a silence descended on the four of them. While the tension was still suffocating, no one talked. Tomas sent a last pointed glare at Hanzo before directing the same look to Bi-Han as well; with his displeasure made clear, the enenra turned on his heel as he trudged through the greenery, making somewhat of an effort to keep his steps quiet.
Kuai huffed in relief as he let Bi-Han and Hanzo walk ahead of him, following after the group. The cryomancer was thankful that he had managed to diffuse the situation, for the time being, meaning that theymightbe able to succeed in their mission. After walking for another ten minutes, the group was standing on a ledge that overlooked the back of the camp. The large main tent was right in front of them, the top of the canvas in their faces. Unfortunately, Kuai couldn't see around the tan tarp to see how many guards were stationed outside the tent - he could only guess in that regard.
Tomas unhooked the radio from his belt, sending a distrustful look in Bi-Han's direction as he activated the device. The feedback from the radio crackled as Tomas spoke, "We're in position, Sonya. We're waiting for things to happen on your end, over."
"Copy that,"Sonya's distorted voice rang out so that the others could hear,"We're charging right now - hang in tight."
With that, the General disconnected, leaving Tomas to holster the radio once more. He looked to the others, gesturing with his head to the tent that was right in front of them. "I'll go in and retrieve the amulet; when I'm done, I'll phase through the tent and come back up here. Then, we can leave."
"Can you even phase through solid objects?" Hanzo questioned. "I thought that you needed an opening for you to escape in your smoke-form. It would be better if I teleported into the tent. After getting the amulet, I could easily teleport back up here, and we can rejoin the others."
Bi-Han crossed his arms, looking at the others with narrowed eyes. "Your teleport summons fire - it could catch the tent and set it up in flames, bringing everyone back. My teleport is the most stealthy - I'll get it so that we can go back home; I'm sick of deserts and hot jungles."
"You guys must be f*ckingstupidif you think that I'm leaving one of you alone unsupervised," Tomas hissed, pointing his finger at Hanzo and Bi-Han."I'mgoing into the damn tent, and you're going to stay here, away from the amulet before you screw up everything!"
"Don't let your anger affect your judgment," Hanzo cautioned, his patience clearly wearing thin in the tone of his testy voice.
Unfortunately, Tomas had picked up on the irritation coming from the Shirai Ryu. In seconds, the three of them were roped back to their argument, spitting insults and curses at each other as the thoughts of the mission went completely out of the window.
The whole time, Kuai just surveyed the chaos from the side, huffing in exasperation as he fixed a deadpan stare at the group. In the distance, Kuai could hear the sounds of fighting at the front of the camp - Sonya had led the kombatants into the camp, and they were now engaged in battle with the Tarkatan forces. Kuai clenched his jaw worryingly as he looked toward the direction of the front of the camp; the others were depending on Kuai's team to complete their end of the mission so that they could end the fight easily and overpower Mileena.
Turning back to look at Hanzo, Bi-Han, and Tomas, Kuai didn't think that they would be finishing anytime soon.
Unless...
Shaking his head in annoyance, Kuai turned to face the tent, drawing one of the larger knives from the back of his belt. With a quick slash, there was now a wide gap in the fabric that enabled Kuai to slip through the tent. The cryomancer ran through the opening, landing on the ground inside the tent in a crouching position. He looked at the entrance of the tent with a hand on his pistol, waiting to see if a guard would try to enter the tent. When no one entered, Kuai turned around, seeing a small rectangular chest. The cryomancer opened the lid of the wooden box on its hinges, confirming the presence of the golden amulet on the inside.
The cryomancer retrieved the amulet before shutting the lid firmly as it seemed like the others had finally noticed that their comrade was gone. Through the tear in the tent, Kuai could see the faces of his teammates peering through the fabric with astonished expressions, looking down at Kuai. The cryomancer held up the amulet with an unimpressed expression on his face, quirking an eyebrow as he pocketed the amulet in his jacket, pulling the zipper shut. Kuai stood on the table, intending to jump up when he heard the sound of the tent flap being drawn back.
Whirling around, Kuai snarled upon seeing Rain enter the tent. The demigod's eyes landed on Kuai's figure, narrowing at the sight of the sudden intruder.
"f*ck me,"Kuai hissed under his breath, not caring if the others had heard him speak.
Raising his hands, Rain sent tendrils of lightning at Kuai, who rolled to the side to avoid getting hit. He threw knives blindly at Rain in a wide fan as he fell to the ground, hoping that one of them would hit him. As luck would have it, one of the knives lodged itself into the forearm of the demigod, who grunted in pain as he lifted a hand to pull out the weapon. While he was preoccupied with his task, Kuai rushed at Rain, tackling him through the tent entrance until they were falling to the dirt ground outside in broad daylight.
So much for subtlety...
Luckily, it seemed as though Sonya's forces had drawn out all of the Tarkatan forces - only Rain was left in the back of the camp. As Kuai got onto his feet to face the male Edenian, he heard heels clicking on the ground toward them. Kuai looked up, seeing Tanya stroll casually into the clearing, glaring at the cryomancer who had bested her before.
Now, as Kuai was getting into a fighting stance after drawing his firearms, he heard footsteps running up from behind him - Tomas, Bi-Han, and Hanzo were now standing behind the cryomancer, offering their support as Rain and Tanya charged forward determinedly, launching precise strikes and kicks. Kuai pushed Tanya back with a short jab, trying to not overextend himself. As she started to push Kuai into a corner, she was thrown away from him after Bi-Han had grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her into a portal. The female Edenian fell through the floor with a startled yelp as Bi-Han looked to Kuai.
"Get the Medallion out of here," the older brother spoke, pointing to the front of the camp where the sounds of conflict were steadily getting closer and closer - possibly because the Earthrealmers and Outworlders were succeeding in overwhelming the Tarkatans. Kuai nodded once, spinning on his heel to take off down the cleared path amongst the other taupe tents.
Kuai came to a screeching halt a distance away when he heard an enraged and feral howl from over his head. Spinning around, he received a kick to his chest, sending him to the ground. Kuai rolled away and quickly got back onto his feet in one motion, narrowing his eyes at the sight of Mileena. She was already injured - cradling her arm which was bleeding from a deep cut into the flesh. Her mask was lowered, revealing her gruesome teeth as they gnashed with irritation at Kuai. The cryomancer felt the amulet in his pocket, reminding him of the importance to survive.
"That belongs tome,"Mileena hissed, glaring with her abnormal golden eyes at the cryomancer.
In response, Kuai whirled the pistol in his hands, lifting up the pocket mockingly. "Come and get it, then."
Howling, Mileena was on the cryomancer like a wild banshee. Kuai spun out of range from her vicious swipes, sending off a couple of bullets. One of them tore through Mileena's shoulder while the other caught her in the foot - Kuai couldn't kill the half-Tarkatan under the order of Kotal Kahn; the emperor had requested that Mileena be brought before the court so that she could be properly executed. Gritting his teeth, Kuai knew that he had to end this fight non-lethally. But how?
After ensuring that no one was nearby, Kuai threw a fast-handed ice ball at Mileena. Her eyes widened like saucers before she was frozen in place. Kuai dashed at her, jumping in the air horizontally as he planted his feet in her face, falling to the ground on his back as gravity took effect. Her head snapped back as the ice shattered; Mileena fell to the floor, slumping unconscious from the savage hit to the head.
The cryomancer anxiously looked at the shattered pieces of ice; they were quickly melting under the summer heat in the jungle, but the chunks were still present. If someone was to come right now, they would clearly see the ice shards on the dirt ground. Cursing under his breath, Kuai stomped on the larger chunks to break them up - he knew that if they were in smaller pieces, they'd melt quicker. As he stomped on the last piece, Kuai turned toward Mileena, who was still lying on the ground. He cut off a piece of rope from a hitched tent, making it fall without the proper support.
Kuai took the thick rope and bound the half-Tarkatan's wrists, preventing her from being able to attack should she wake up. In an afterthought, Kuai also decided to bind her legs as well, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to run away, either. With Mileena properly restrained, Kuai could finally take a sigh of relief, knowing that they had succeeded.
With thundering footsteps, the remaining Tarkatan warriors rushed onto the scene, with the kombatants chasing after them, hot on their heels. They all paused at the sight of Kuai standing over the defeated Mileena. Now that their leader was defeated, the Tarkatans laid down their weapons in surrender as they got to the ground on their knees reluctantly. As they were rounded up and bounded in chains, the remainder of Kuai's team ran over to reunite with the others.
Tomas panted slightly, nodding at Sonya. "Sorry; things didn't really go according to plan. We were held up by Rain and Tanya, but they escaped after Rain teleported away."
"Do you have the amulet?" Sonya pressed, frowning as she took in the enenra's words.
Wordlessly, Kuai unzipped the pocket with the trinket inside. He held up the talisman gingerly, passing it over to Johnny carefully. The ex-actor took it with widened eyes, pocketing it securely before looking up to meet Kuai's eyes. "Thanks, man," Johnny spoke, nodding at Kuai. "It looks like we can wrap this up, now," Johnny continued, looking over at Sonya, who nodded in response.
As Sonya started to bark orders and prepared for the teleportation back to the Outworld palace, Kuai took another relieved breath. Now, he was one step closer to getting far away from his Earthrealmer friends and returning to a more peaceful state of life...
Right?
Kuai frowned from his seated position, looking over at the others as the Earthrealmers stood off facing the Outworlders.
Mileena had been locked up in the prisons along with the other surviving Tarkatans. Sonya was in a safe room with Johnny and Kenshi, talking with Kano. While Sonya had been reluctant to uphold her end of the bargain, giving Kano the audience he requested, she had dragged herself to the interrogation room where the Black Dragon leader was waiting for her. She had taken Johnny and Kenshi with her for backup, leaving the others to stay in the throne room with the Outworlders.
Kotal and Jade were outside, addressing the citizens of Outworld about the capture of Mileena and their plans for dealing with her. Kuai suspected that there would be an extravagant execution in the Koliseum, where the more-important executions took place. The cryomancer only attended to stay by Jade's side for her protection, but he could do without the event - the cheering from the sight of the rolling heads on the ground made him uncomfortable. Kuai couldn't believe that people tookjoyfrom seeing death - hearing the jeers from the crowd always unsettled him.
Now, however, without the leaders of their respected parties, the remaining Outworlder and Earthrealmer warriors were staring at each other distrustfully. With a jolt, Kuai realized that Jax was trying to get at Ermac again - the metal-armed soldier was shouting with the loudest voice in the room. Kuai, who was sitting on the stone steps that led up to the throne, got onto his feet as Jax threw a punch. The fist connected with Ermac's face, which prompted Erron to unholster his pistols, aiming them directly at Jax warningly.
"Take onebigstep back, partner," Erron's hollow and cold voice spoke lowly, glaring at Jax through narrowed slits.
"Don't tell me what to do,raccoon,"Jax snarled, making an insult at the expense of the dark makeup that covered Erron's eyes in a raccoon-like mask. This only enraged the cowboy, who stepped forward with the intent to do harm as Stryker tried to pull Jax away from the conflict.
Kuai stepped between the Outworlders and Earthrealmers, placing his body in between the two hostile groups in an attempt to diffuse the situation. The cryomancer made a pointed look at Erron, telling the cowboy to relax as he turned toward Jax, who was looking at Kuai as if he wanted to murder him.
"Get out of here," Tomas snapped, strolling forward to shove at Kuai. The enenra had been quiet the entire time - since they had returned from the jungle. Kuai suspected that Tomas had bottled up his hatred of Hanzo and Bi-Han and was now pulling on those emotions, directing them at the cryomancer. Kuai frowned both in annoyance and worry, rubbing his shoulder where Tomas had pushed him.
"What the hell was that back there, anyway?" Tomas snarled, referencing the mission from earlier. "You just jumped into the tent and nearly cost us the mission! You should have let one of the super-powered people retrieve it; what if we hadn't been able to hold off Rain and Tanya for the reinforcements to come and help?"
"That waspretty stupid," Bi-Han acknowledged, staring at Kuai with an emotionless, judging look.
Tomas's comment combined with Bi-Han's scathing comment had Kuai gritting his teeth. "Maybe," the cryomancer spoke in a deep, gruff voice that was laced with irritation and a lack of patience, "if you weren't busy arguingabout trivial things, I would have let one of you do yourf*cking job. Do you have any idea how hypocritical you sound? How can you blamemefor almost sabotaging the mission when it wasyourconstant and childishsquabblingthat was preventing us from even getting the amulet in the first place?! At leastIhad the initiative to enter the tent, you f*cking bastards!"
As Kuai's patience snapped and he lashed out, the cryomancer realized that he had spoken his tumultuous thoughts aloud, breaking the image of his supposed muteness. Now, Tomas huffed with anger and shock as he threw his hands up in the air wildly, chuckling sarcastically. "Wow," the enenra hissed, focusing his anger onto Kuai, "he f*ckingspeaks.Tell me this, Mr. Cryptic, why the hell should I listen to the guy who hasn't said a word since we've been here, huh?"
Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, Sonya stared down Kano from across the table with narrowed eyes. The leader of the Black Dragon leaned back in the seat confidently, smirking as he looked into the eyes of the General. Johnny stood behind Sonya, sending warning looks at Kano while Kenshi stood right next to the door, blocking the entrance. The chains of Kano's cuffs, which were held in place by a metal loop in the table, prevented him from moving his hands far from the table.
"You wanted ten minutes to talk," Sonya ground out through clenched teeth, keeping a hand on the taser on her belt as she stared down Kano, "so start talking - before your time runs out."
Kano grinned maliciously, showing yellowed teeth as the metal of his deactivated cybernetic eye flashed under the artificial light. "Alright, sweetheart; I'll get right into the details. I've got some... birds... in my organization. They come and go, telling me bits of information to keep me posted. Six months ago, I get the word that the Lin Kuei Grandmaster - one of your stronger allies -poof.He's gone. Fell off of a cliff and disappeared - no corpse was found; not one set of bones to bury."
Johnny slammed the table in a surprising act of anger, making both Sonya and Kano jump in surprise. "You don't get to talk about him, you piece of sh*t," Johnny snapped, glowering at Kano, who smirked in response.
Sonya pushed Johnny back, placing her hand on his chest to calm him. The former actor huffed angrily but did as Sonya wanted him, taking a step back from the table. With Johnny's anger subdued, Sonya turned back to Kano. "I assume that there's a point to all of this?" she spoke with a dangerous lilt to her voice.
"Yeah, yeah," Kano spoke, trying his best to wave his hand dismissively as far as the chains would let him. "I was gettin' there before your boy toy interrupted me. So, I hear that this friend of yours has died. I think at first - eh, it's no big deal. But then, my little bird tells me that this guy was the guy who killed Shao Kahn in the tournament, years ago. So then, I get a little more interested before my mind is busy with other things. You know - shipments and other black market deals."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sonya spoke, confused as to why the conversation had become about their dead friend. "What's your game, Kano?"
"I'm gettin' there!" Kano snapped before he composed himself, settling back in his seat. "About three days ago - the day that I got captured, you could say that I...saw a Ghost.Heh, literally and figuratively, if ya catch my drift..."
"What?" Johnny asked, pure confusion lacing his tone.
Suddenly, Kenshi walked from his position at the door to step right in front of Kano. "Choose your words carefully, scumbag," the telepath spoke with a deadly seriousness that took Sonya and Johnny aback. "What did you see, Kano? What about Ghost?"
The Black Dragon leader was leaning away from Kenshi in his seat, looking up at the telepathic warrior warily. "Calm your tit*," Kano spoke slowly, trying to diffuse the tenseness in the atmosphere as he chuckled nervously. "He was sittin' in the carriage with Kotal and his pet wife. The guy had that scar over his eye, the same place that I remember. Also, there was this...chill...that was coming from him. He's a frosty guy, right?"
"That means nothing to me," Sonya spoke dismissively, crossing her arms as she kept a composed poker face. "You don't have any proof that it is Sub-Zero; there are other cryomancers, you know. People can also get scars, too."
"Sure," Kano spoke slyly, leaning closer with a feral grin. "Exceptheconfirmed his identity to me. The moment he saw me, he looked like he wanted to kill me. Which - fair - most people have that same reaction, but hehatedme from the first second. And that look in his eyes...whew!It was sending shivers down my spine; herecognized me.He told Kotal that he had met me in the tournament and that I had supported Shao Kahn. From there, I just put two and two together. It wasn't hard to figure out, once I realized that the f*cker was alive."
Johnny's face had lost all color while Sonya's mouth had thinned into a thin line, trying to figure out if the crook was telling them the truth. Kenshi tilted his head, turning his face toward Kano. "Why are you disclosing this information to us?" Kenshi asked, a frown on his face. "What benefit would it have for you?"
"The bastard cheated me out of the money that I was going to get for killin' Kotal," Kano spat, a disgusted look on his face. "100K, gone just like that. Besides, I know that he's hidin' just to escape from his past and the people who tried killin' him the first time. Now that you know, he's gonna have a rough time. Iliveto create chaos and mayhem." With that, Kano sneered, shrugging as he leaned back in the metal seat as the chains jangled from his wrists. "So, now ya know."
With those words, Sonya stood up, slamming her hand on the table. "We're done here; you're ten minutes are up. When we leave to go back to Earthrealm, you're coming with us to answer for what you've done."
She left the room as Johnny and Kenshi followed after her, shutting the door with a slam behind them as they stood in the hallway outside. Sonya turned immediately toward Kenshi, covering her hand over her mouth as she pondered over Kano's words. "Is he telling the truth?" she asked the swordsman.
Kenshi hesitated before nodding, crossing his arms. "I took a look into his memories and replayed that moment. Ghost - hedidsummon ice. He froze Kano in place before he could kill Kotal. That, coupled with the similarities I saw... It's a bit too convenient, isn't it?"
Johnny sighed with stress, shaking his head firmly. "But why would he stay silent for so long? Why didn't he reach out to us, months ago?"
"Fear," Sonya stated bluntly, remembering the Black Dragon's words. "Kano said that Kuai was hiding from his attempted killers, Bi-Han and Hanzo. Given Bi-Han's last words, I think that Kuai wanted to stay dead so that Bi-Han could be happy. That is - if GhostisKuai Liang."
"Well," Kenshi spoke slowly so that both Johnny and Sonya were looking at him, "there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"
"We've got to confront him."
"... why the hell should I listen to the guy who hasn't said a word since we've been here, huh?"
Kuai bit his tongue at Tomas's retort, trying to stall until Sonya or Kotal finished. "I'm just stating the obvious," the cryomancer spoke, trying to lessen the tension in the room. "If you don't let go of this hatred and anger, it will get you killed. You have no idea how many times I was tempted to leave you in the jungle and finish the job by myself."
"Well, maybe youshouldhave," Tomas retorted, crossing his arms. "Without our help, you would have died. Rain would have killed you, and the combined forces of him and Tanya would have overwhelmed you. Maybe weshouldhave let you go; one less irritating life to bother me."
"Hey," Hanzo spoke for the first time that they had gotten back, going up to Tomas. "That's enough. Walk away and calm down."
Tomas snarled like an animal at Hanzo, making the Shirai Ryu take a hasty step backward.
After making Hanzo back up, Tomas returned his attention to Kuai. Gnashing his teeth in anger, Tomas stepped forward with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Kuai eyed the enenra's hands warily, taking a step back when Jax suddenly let out an enraged roar, throwing Stryker and Kabal off of him. All the heads in the room turned to watch with wide eyes as Jax sprinted toward Ermac, who was standing a distance away from the others as he tried to calm himself.
"Hey!" Kuai shouted, his voice slightly muffled from behind the blood-red cloth as he placed himself between the metal-armed man and the soul construct once more. Kuai stopped Jax in his tracks, holding his shoulders as Jax struggled against Kuai's hold. "Enough!" Kuai snapped, his patience coming to an end as his voice rang out in the throne room. "You can't blame him - he was under the control of Shao Kahn and had no self-control. He's as much of a victim as you are; let the past go!"
"Not until that f*cker gets what's comin' to him," Jax growled, throwing Kuai to the side as he resumed his charge.
Kuai recovered quickly, looking at the distance between himself and Ermac. No one else was close enough to stop Jax from hitting Ermac - already, the Special Forces man had his fist drawn back in a prepared stance to drive the metal into Ermac's face. Everything seemed to slow down in time for Kuai as he started to run again, trying to get between Ermac and Jax before something bad happened, ruining the truce between the realms. Out of the corner of his eye, Kuai saw Ermac flinch back, raising his hands out in front of him as they glowed green. Kuai wasn't worried about Ermac, however - he was concerned about the hulking Special Forces soldier.
Kuaishouldhave been more worried about what Ermac was doing.
The cryomancer slid across the ground without needing the ice, the sound of his boots making a painful screeching noise against the polished stone. "Don't!" he called out to Jax, who leaped up in the air with the intent to drill a Superman Punch into Ermac's head. At the same time that Kuai got between the two, Ermac's hands glowed brilliantly in that neon lime green light.
Suddenly, Kuai found that the ground under his feet had disappeared. One moment, he was looking up at Jax with his two feet on the ground, and the next moment, he was in a sitting position with his back lying against one of the many columns in the throne room. These stone columns had jagged spikes jutting out of them in all sorts of directions - Kuai always looked at them with trepidation every time he walked into the throne room; they deeply unsettled him. The cryomancer blinked, looking slowly at the kombatants a distance away. Jax had frozen in his tracks while Ermac stared at Kuai with widened eyes, lowering his arms slowly as the glow died out. Kuai realized that Ermac had intended to hurl Jax away from him, but the force had caught Kuai, who had blocked the blast from hitting Jax.
Kuai took in the pale and shocked faces of the others before he followed their gazes, looking down at his chest. Those jagged spikes that ran out of the columns and instilled wariness in Kuai hadfinallycome to prove his fears correct - a particularly large and sharp-edged spike was protruding out of the center of his chest, stained red with his blood. Kuai lifted shaking hands to the spike, holding onto it as if to check that it was real.
The doors to the throne room were kicked open at that time as Sonya marched into the room, followed closely by Johnny and Kenshi. Her eyes scanned the group of kombatants, seeming to search for someone before she followed their gazes. Johnny gasped audibly when they saw Kuai up against the column. The three of them rushed to the cryomancer's side.
Kenshi clutched Kuai's hand as he shouted to the group, "Ermac! Reptile! Get Kotal Kahn here, quickly!"
The cryomancer coughed, feeling copious amounts of blood running out of his mouth. In his weakened state, Kuai barely registered the feeling of the bandana being removed from his face by Johnny, who recoiled at the sight. "Oh my god," the ex-actor whispered, dropping the red cloth to the floor. "Kano was right."
Sonya had her hands over the wound in a poor attempt to staunch the bleeding. Her eyes met Kuai's half-lidded ones as he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. "Don't you fall asleep on me, Kuai," she spoke firmly but not unkindly as the others rushed up to them. "You don't get to die on me afterKanoof all people told me that you were still alive."
"Oh. My. God,"Kuai could hear Bi-Han speak quietly amongst the shocked murmurs of the group.
"... Nice job," Kenshi spoke with admiration in his voice, nodding to himself. "You fooled us all - I had my suspicions, but I didn'treallybelieve that it was you."
"Can we talk about this later?!" Johnny cried out hysterically as Kuai coughed again, splatters of blood landing on the pristine floor. "He's f*cking dying, you know!"
"... I'm sorry, man," Jax spoke to Kuai in a hushed voice as the reality set in for him. "I didn't mean for this to happen..."
"We've got to get him to the Soul Chamber," Erron ordered, gesturing at Kuai's slumped form. "Is there some way that we can get him off of that... thing... and transport him down the stairs?"
"Considering that he's missing a circle of his chest," Kenshi snipped, "I don't think so."
"Well dosomething!"Stryker called out hysterically, looking around at the others with widened eyes.
Kuai panted, feeling his eyelids droop.
A sharp slap on his cheek had him blinking wildly as he stared up through narrowed eyes at a grinning Kenshi, who was smiling like a madman. "You heard Sonya," the telepath spoke sweetly, "no falling asleep. Besides - I think that every one of us gets to have a decent punch on your dumb face when you're all better for hiding from us..."
"Go f*ck yourself," Kuai spoke, alarmed at the slurred speech that he was spitting out through mouthfuls of blood. His mind was hazy and his thoughts were jumbled as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "I should have just jumped off the f*cking roof when I had the chance... wouldn't have to deal with this..."
"What the hell is he talking about?" Kabal asked gruffly. Their voices were getting more distorted to Kuai's ears as his vision swam in-and-out of focus.
Suddenly, Bi-Han's face was in Kuai's vision. With gentle hands, the older brother tilted Kuai's head up so that the cryomancer could see his brother's worried face.
The sight made the buried guilt in Kuai bubble to the surface; Kuai started to break down in silent sobs, covering his face with his hands. "I'm sorry... I know you wanted me to be stronger,... but I couldn't live up to your expectations. I thought you'd be happy... if I was dead... but you were hurting the whole time."
"That doesn't matter anymore," Bi-Han spoke in a soft, gentle voice as Sonya seemed to turn around to face someone, shouting indecipherable orders. "We have years of lost time to make up for, Kuai, so don't leave me, alright?"
Kuai, for the first time in six months, smiled happily without a trace of bittersweetness in his eyes. "That... sounds nice... I really missed you..."
With that, the cryomancer lost the strength to stay awake, and he felt his head droop down as the darkness finally engulfed him.
