Mortal Kombat: Sub-Zero's Student

Chapter Eighteen: Blizzard

-Hanzo's POV- I hear Kana follow me into my room.
"This," I open a drawer and pull out a framed black and white image. "is what I wanted to show you."

I kneel down and hold the picture frame out to Kana. He looks down at the image, studying Harumi holding Satoshi in her arms. "Who is the lady?" He asks.
"My wife, Harumi." I explain. "She is also dead."
"How did she die?"
"An evil sorcerer killed her and my son....a long time ago." I sigh. 

I take the photo and place it back in the drawer, closing it. "We should have heard back from Kuai and Bi-Han by now." I pace.

An owl screeching causes us both to wince. I rush outside with Kana close behind me. A snowy owl is perched on the closest cherry blossom tree.
"Looks like Kuai delivered a message." I hold my arm out and the white owl swoops down, landing on my armored arm.

A small pouch made of wolf skin is tied to its ankle. I remove the pouch and the owl flies off.
Inside the pouch is a rolled up piece of scroll.
'We are safe,' I read the small paragraph silently to myself. 'The Temple is still damaged but empty. Frost escaped before we arrived. Bi-Han and I will devise a plan about the Lin Kuei Cyberization. Come meet us as soon as you can.
-Kuai. 快良'
****
-Bi-Han's POV- "Do you think they got the message?" Kuai asks, pacing and adjusting his dark blue Lin Kuei outfit.
"I'm sure they did. Try not to worry." I respond.
"You're right," Kuai sighs, slumping down at the large wooden table in the temple library.

I notice dark rings around his eyes and small icicles forming on his knuckles. Oh, Kuai...you always were such a nervous person.... He drums his fingers impatiently on the wood.

Wind howls fiercely outside. Sounds like a massive snowstorm is coming. The light of the moon is soon blocked by clouds and the temple is plunged in darkness. Kuai lights a candle and stares at the ember, causing his sapphire blue eyes to reflect the light back.

Now looking at Kuai closely, he seems...depressed.
"Was I really such a bad mentor?" He asks.
"What?" I blink. Kuai snaps his attention to me and blushes. "Sorry," He stammers, flicking his gaze to the candle, then back to me.
"I was just thinking out loud. It's just....with Frost. I gave her a home. And yet...she betrayed me in the end."

"She was a bad student, Kuai. Perhaps Kana will be a different story. That boy views you as his father. He trusts you like no one else ever has. Be patient with the child, he is still young."
"I know," he groans, rubbing his face. "I just want him to be happy and safe. When I lost control, it really scared him. He acts like it doesn't, but I can tell he is wary around me and Hanzo."

I tilt my head. "Do you want me to see if I can reason with the boy? He appears to trust me, despite my ragged appearance."
"Maybe as a last resort." Kuai states. "He's my son. He needs to be comfortable around me again."
I nod. "Very well, then."

The entrance to the library suddenly bursts open, revealing both Hanzo and Kana. Snow and wind whirls in aggressively from the hole that used to be the main entrance. With a grunt, Hanzo slams the doors shut, his black hair a tangled mess.
"We..." Hanzo wheezes. "Got the message...."

Kuai immediately gets up, hands Hanzo a blanket, and sits him down at the table.
Kana stands at the end of the table, looking around cautiously. I glance at Kuai and nod, giving him the message to comfort Kana.

"Hey, Snowball." Kuai smiles sadly, kneeling down near the child. 'Snowball?' I wonder.
"It's okay, Kana. We're home. It's safe here."
I know Kuai is lying, but the child needs a sense of security. Frost is still out there. She may kill the child if given the chance.

While Kuai tries to comfort the boy, I look over at Hanzo. "So, Frost escaped...." He sighs.
"Kuai said she may be in the Lin Kuei Factory located in the canyons. That may be the first place we need to look."
"That is perhaps the best place to start." Hanzo takes out his golden mask and puts it on.

"But we need to wait for the blizzard to die down. Even though all three of us can teleport, we need to figure out what to do with Kana."
"Right," Hanzo nods, his voice muffled by the mask.
"For now, we make a plan."

Kuai walks over to one of the bookshelves and pulls out a scroll of paper. He lays it down on the table, using lit candles as paperweights.
"What are you doing?" Hanzo asks, watching Kuai get a thick stick from a drawer, set one end on fire using a candle, and blowing it out.
"Sketching out the layout of the factory from memory." Kuai explains, using the stick and charcoal as a crude pencil.

"Do you not have writing utensils in this place?" Asks Hanzo, propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands. "Oh," Kuai grins, looking up. "We do, but I like drawing like this better."
Hanzo rolls his eyes. I can't tell if he's smiling behind the mask. "Whatever you say, Picasso."

"Here, Kana." Kuai gives the boy a stick that's already burned and a sheet of paper. "You can draw as well."
Both Hanzo and I exchange glances that say: "Kuai has finally lost it."

"Okay," Kuai sets the stick down, looking down at the layout he drew. Both Hanzo and I gather around the drawing to look. "There's three entrances from what I can remember. Here, here, and here." He points to the main entrance in front, then to two smaller ones at the sides of the large foundation.

"The main one is always heavily guarded. The ones on the side may be less populated....but I'm not entirely sure." Kuai looks down at the sketch, clearly frustrated.
"Papa," Kana pokes Kuai's arm. "Maybe this will help." The boy holds up his drawing.
Kuai takes it and scans it over. His eyes widen.
"What is it?" I ask.

"It's...the Dragon Medallion." My younger brother furrows his brow, setting Kana's sketch on top of the map. "Kana," Kuai picks up the boy in his arms. "How do you know about the Medallion?"

"I saw it in a book," Kana smiles.
"Which book?" Hanzo asks gently.
The child points over to a thick book with a red cover. I walk over and retrieve it from the shelf.
A dragon symbol is imprinted in the cover.
I flip through the book, muttering each chapter.
"The rise of Onaga....Ice dragons through the ages....Cryomancy...."  I continue looking.
"Traits Of Onaga's offspring....Ah! Here we go. The Dragon Medallion."

I set the open book on the table. "The Dragon Medallion..." Kuai reads, moving a candle closer to see. "A Medallion once belonging to a humanoid race known as Cryomancers. This ancient artifact contains power that increases a Cryomancer's skill with controlling their element. If given to another person that can control an element, being Pyro, Hydro, or Cryo, their true form will be revealed."

Kuai flips the page, but the text only talks about the rivalry between the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu. "That's all it says on the Dragon Medallion?" He looks annoyed.
"Do you know where this Medallion is?" Hanzo demands, his brown eyes hardening. "It sounds like a rather useful item."

Kuai's face drains of color as realization hits him.
"Frost stole it. We need to get it back."