Mortal Kombat: The Three Titans

Chapter Twenty-Five: Flying Lizard

-Kuai's POV- Both Bi-Han and Hanzo stare down at Zodith, who is still resting in my shoulder.
"What," My brother sputters. "is that?"
"Baby dragon," I answer.
"Where did you find it?" Hanzo asks.

"Her." I correct him automatically. "I found her as an egg, deep in the Shadow Canyon. She would have died if I hadn't found her. She hatched last night, and views me as her parent." I say. "She will aid us."

"Please tell me that flying lizard isn't the weapon you mentioned." Bi-Han states, walking in along with Hanzo. "She will grow fast," I respond. "I will train her alone. She is my diamond in the rough."
"Does she have a name?" Hanzo asks .

"Zodith, the Obsidian Beast." I motion Zodith down with my hand, which she hops on. I lower her to the floor. "This is the first time she's seen new people. Let her come to you."
Looking rather reluctant, they both kneel down.

Bi-Han puts his hood down, the sapphires embedded in the fabric shining in the torchlight.
"Hold your hand out," I say gently.
Bi-Han does so first, his hand gloved in pale blue fabric.
Zodith sniffs his hand, ears perking up.

I smile. "I think she likes you," I murmur.
She nudges his hand, wings fluttering. Bi-Han smiles as well, letting out a small laugh.
"What you've done is incredible. Should we add this to your list of titles? First a Grandmaster, then a Titan, and now what? Kuai Liang, the Father of Dragons? The Rider of the Obsidian Beast? Need I go on?"

"You don't need to call me anything, Bi-Han." I say, feeling my cheeks burning.
****
We all gather around a detailed map of Pangea Ultima. Zodith has also warmed up to Hanzo, who is currently being held by the Sun Titan.
"Well," I begin, "this definitely isn't good."

"Where do you think they came from?" Bi-Han asks, pouring himself a glass of wine to calm his nerves. In his stress, he ends up turning his drink into a frozen mass that gets stuck to his hand.

"Bi-Han, you just turned my best brand of wine into a popsicle." I tease. "Hush, little brother," Bi-Han snaps back in an amused way, prying the frozen glass off and setting it on the table. Zodith looks at the frozen glass with wide eyes, then up at Bi-Han.

We watch her climb out of Hanzo's grasp and rush over to the glass. She licks the glass, and her tongue gets stuck. "Oh, dear," I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"This is your Obsidian Beast?" Hanzo muses.
Zodith growls, a steady stream of purple fire blasting out of her mouth as she shoves the glass away. Shaking her head, she snarls at the knocked over glass.

"Truly a monster to be reckoned with," Bi-Han looks amused as well. Zodith inhales to summon another burst of fire. Near one of my maps. "Oh, no, no, no!" I rush over, picking her up at the last second and holding her away as she breathes fire into the air, then coughs out a puff of smoke.

"I feel like I should have called her little troublemaker instead. She set the corner of one of my books on fire by sneezing on it." I sigh, holding her close as I sit back down.
****
We end up speaking deep into the night, to the point that Zodith falls asleep on the table, curled up similar to a dog.
"So, your theory is that the Titans either came from the sky like aliens, or from the deep ocean like some kind of Leviathan?" I tilt my head, feeling my head beginning to hurt from trying to make sense of all of this.
"That's the only theory we both could think of," Hanzo admits.

"And they haven't moved from the area where they suddenly appeared?" I ask.
They both nod. "They're just...there. Not making any movement." Hanzo murmurs.
I look back down at the map. "Let me see which one is the closest..." I trace the outline of Pangea Ultima, down to where Shadow Canyon is.

"Beyond Shadow Canyon," I point at the nearest red circle. "Within the Dead Forest." I say, inhaling sharply. "Which is full of deadly animals that are active at night and full of corpses."
They both look at me, startled. "You've never mentioned this Dead Forest before," Hanzo narrows his eyes. "It sounds rather...." He trails off.
"Creepy?" Bi-Han fills in.
"Life threatening?" I guess.
"Ominous," Hanzo finishes.

"Yeah, it's not a place I go to often." I state, leaning back on my chair. "Similar to the forest beyond your temple, brother, I don't let my men go there. I did once, but the group never came back. But I need to investigate that sudden Titan appearing."
"We'll come with you," Bi-Han states firmly.
"We won't let you go alone, Kuai." Hanzo nods.

"Okay...Get your bags set up, we'll have to walk. Dead Forest is a lot larger and darker than either of you realize. While you two have been staying in the safety of the light, I've been surviving in the shadows." I jab a silver claw into the map where the circle is, tearing it. "We will leave first thing in the morning."