Mortal Kombat: Sub-Zero's Student

Chapter Seventeen: Frozen Memories

-Kuai's POV- Snow crunches under our feet as Bi-Han and I make our way up the mountain. The moon hangs high in the indigo sky as stars light our path to the temple.
"Kuai," Bi-Han's voice causes me to snap out of my concentration and fear. I stop walking and turn around to face my brother.
"Yes?"
Bi-Han blinks, his milky white eyes shining with tears, much to my surprise. "I want to apologize...for—for how I've treated you lately."
"Bi-Han," I begin, but he cuts me off by touching my shoulder and squeezing it firmly.

"Here, let me look at you." He grabs my chin and tilts my head up towards the moonlight. "How you've grown, Tundra. You have become a handsome man. Mother would be so proud." My cheeks burn as he lets go of my face.

He takes a few steps away from me and up the mountain. "Come on, Kuai. We are burning moonlight."
****
-Hanzo's POV- I grit my teeth in pain, forcing myself to sit down on the concrete slab of the still frozen fountain once we are back at the garden.
My entire body hurts and my chest burns.

I cough, dark smoke flowing from my mouth.
"Wonderful," I mutter, feeling chills wash over me.
"I think Kuai gave me his cold."
Kana sits next to me, leaning his head to rest on my arm. "What were you thinking?" I demand, feeling my eyes burn with tears.

"You could have gotten killed. That was very reckless of you!" I glare down at the boy. "Facing Scorpion could have been a death sentence! He has killed many before you."
The child flinches and jumps away. "Uncle—"

"And Kuai—" I cut myself off, focusing my anger back on the boy. "Did you want to die?! I am very ashamed of you, Satoshi!" I yell, my hands burning with hellfire. Satoshi looks petrified.
"W-who is Satoshi...?" He squeaks.

Immediately, my anger is snuffed out. No, no. I did it again... "Kana...God, I'm sorry." I grip my hair tightly. "I should have never brought you here." I take in a deep breath.
"Satoshi is—was—my son. He acted a lot like you."
"Your...your son?" Kana echoes, his fear forgotten and replaced with confusion.

"Yes," I breath out, looking down at my hands as they heal over from being set on fire. "He would have been your age by now...Perhaps even older." I cannot recall how many years it has been since the death of my family and clan. Sometimes I think that is for the best.

"Come on," I pull Kana into a hug again, dusting off his Lin Kuei clothing that is clogged with ash and soot. "Let me show you something important."
****
-Kuai's POV- The entrance to the Lin Kuei Temple is still in ruins as Bi-Han and I walk up the steps to see the damage. Worse yet, Frost's frozen body is missing. Looks like she escaped.

"What happened here?" Bi-Han asks, staring at the destruction with wide eyes.
"Frost and her army of machines attacked us. One of them blew up the door. And...I lost control..."

Without turning back to my brother, I enter the temple. The main room is empty and dark.
I walk around the area, glaring at the dark corners, keeping my attention on high alert. The sound of something small sliding across the stone floor causes me to jump.

A bloody Lin Kuei medallion smeared the floor along with my foot when I kicked it. I kneel down and pick it up with shaky hands. My breath catches in my throat as memories of being a cyborg slam into my brain.
Getting captured.
Feeling my brain and spine getting ripped out from my body.
Waking up as a machine.
Still having my memories but can't feel pain.
Being forced to obey Sektor while Cyrax is already a slave.

A blood-curdling scream echoes throughout the main room. That's when I realize that the sound is coming from me. Snowflakes and small shards of ice form around my body and whirls around me like a miniature blizzard.
I drop the medallion, watching it freeze over and smash to pieces of the floor from the sub-zero temperature.

"Kuai!" Footsteps rush over to me and I can hardly make out Bi-Han beyond the wall of moving ice and snow. I fall to my knees, still screaming. Clutching my head, I see large icicles crack out from the floor aggressively. My brother suddenly teleports behind me and sits me on his lap on the floor.

My hoarse screams quiet down to soft whimpers as Bi-Han pins my arms to my sides from behind.
"Calm down..." He whispers in my ear, rocking back and forth gently. He leans against one of the large icicles and turns my head and body to one side. My ear is pressed up against his chest while my body is curled up into a fetal position.

I try to control my breathing, watching the ice fragments and snow slow down and fall to the floor once they fully stop. I open my mouth to speak, but only sobs and gasps come out. "Shhh...Just stay calm. Then you can tell me what's wrong." The water from my tears freeze onto my face as I feel my heart rate slow down.

The blizzard in my chest dies down. A wave of nausea hits me. I break away from Bi-Han and throw up on the floor. Black, sludgy snow forces its way up my throat and I cough it up. Bi-Han is immediately at my side, rubbing my back as I continue to cough up the black sludge.
"Let it all out. Stay with me, Kuai. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." I grip his hand and squeeze it. His fingers are thin and cold. The nausea suddenly stops. I wipe my mouth, staring at the sludge in disgust.

Bi-Han continues to rub my back in slow circles.
"Are you okay?" That question alone is enough to make me break down all over again. He holds out a thin blue blanket and places it over my shoulders.
"Bi-Han...I-it was horrible!" I weep, gripping the blanket around me tightly.

"I remember being a cyborg! The pain! Being forced to obey....watching my clan die!" My voice cracks.
My brother cups both sides of my face with his hands. I flinch at the cold and sudden contact.
"Listen to me, Kuai," He begins.
"I don't know what you've suffered through when I left and never returned....but I'm here now. I will not leave you again. When I saw you as a machine, I was shocked. Scared, even. Who would do such a thing to my baby brother? I vowed that day to hunt down whoever did that to you. You said Frost was behind this, correct?"

I sniff and nod. "Then we hunt her. Contact Hanzo and Kana. We will think of a plan here. But do you know where this Lin Kuei factory is?"
"The canyons," I rub my head, my memory hazy.
"The factory is located in a canyon, somewhat hidden underground."

Bi-Han nods, letting go of my face, but not before messing up my hair in a teasing manner.
"Hey!" I scowl, blushing. He lets out a dry sounding laugh. "Then we break into the factory. This will be... interesting."