Sub-Zero: Origins

Warm Welcome

With an angry grunt, Kuai Liang threw the katana towards the trees and staggered to his feet. "It's not possible!" he yelled, furiously pointing at his best friend. "That's not my brother's sword! That does not belong to Bi-han!"

Tomas inhaled deeply, wincing in his own disbelief. "Yes, it is," he insisted sadly. "My pr̆ítel, you know it is."

"No!" he snapped. "No, I am not going to let you stand there and tell me that my brother was a...a..." he trailed off. His words failed him. He couldn't bring himself to say that his brother had been a part of genocide, that he was a butcher.

"That's not the only thing I found," the other quietly said. "There were other weapons in that cave, and many of them belonged to the Lin Kuei. That cave was the foundation of a much larger structure, of a building on par with our own Temple. I found a few timbers, some pots and pans, and God help me, children's toys, but it was otherwise completely burned to the ground."

"Are you actually suggesting the Lin Kuei systematically exterminated the Shirai Ryu?" Kuai Liang's emotions snowballed inside his heart, rapidly swirling out of control.

"That is what the evidence is suggesting," he replied. He looked at him sadly.

"First of all, you're out of your mind," the Cryomancer hissed, dismissively waving his hand at the other. "Secondly, an operation like this would have required every single one of us. I don't know about you, but I don't recall wiping out our mortal enemies!"

"Your brother had been sent on a secret mission. Maybe he contracted a small army. Maybe he was working with the Black Dragon. You heard Oniro. We've been working closely with them lately because of the Cyber Initiative."

"Do you know how insane you sound right now?"

Tomas raised an eyebrow at him. "What about Himavat?"

"What about him?" Kuai Liang growled.

"He said Bi-han had done things you wouldn't want to accept. He said his soul was in jeopardy. Maybe this is what he meant."

"You're going to listen to that crazy old man?" he yelled. "You said he was a liar." His friend started to say something, sighed, and then shrugged. The Cryomancer scowled, feeling the anger roll over him like a spreading fire. "My brother would not have done something like this," he adamantly insisted. "He's being framed. Somebody stole his sword."

"My pr̆ítel-"

"He wouldn't have just left it here!" he yelled. "It's priceless to our family. He knew that as well as I did."

"What if he was mortally wounded here?" Tomas countered. "What if his body is in that pile? And remember that fisherman and his family? They knew us. How would they have known us if they hadn't seen us before? That man called us butchers."

"You knew Bi-han! He was your friend. You know he wouldn't have killed helpless women and children. You know he would've buried these people. He may have hated them, but he wouldn't have left them to the wild animals."

"He would've if he was trying to curse them somehow."

Kuai Liang whipped around and stalked towards his friend, his blue eyes blazing madly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know as well as I do what it means." He met his friend's expectant gaze, initially refusing to elaborate, but finally giving in. "They were our mortal enemies. Maybe he left them like this to make sure that their souls never find peace."

Kuai Liang breathed deeply and acted as if he were going to walk away. But unexpectedly, he whirled around and punched Tomas squarely in the jaw. The other fell backwards into a tree and hit his head, but immediately sprang back and tackled the younger warrior. The two immediately began wrestling in the dirt. The Cryomancer blindly punched at his friend's face, but Tomas, clearly not wanting to fight, deflected them. He struggled to pin his friend, who, enraged and full of adrenaline, was stronger than normal.