Mortal Kombat: The Three Titans

Halloween

(From now on, all skits and special parts will take place in modern day, but the temples will remain untouched.)
The entrance to the Temple of the Titans is almost kicked down as Kuai throws the doors open.
Hanzo nearly chokes on his tea and Bi-Han drops his book at the bang.
"Guys, guess what day it is!" Kuai smiles, closing the doors with another slam.
"Saturday?" Bi-Han guesses, picking up his book.

"Well, yes—" Kuai chokes out, trying to contain his excitement. "But it's also the last day of October."
"Meaning....?" Hanzo trails off.
"It's Halloween!" Kuai whoops.
"Halloween?" Bi-Han echoes. "That's today?"
"Yes," the youngest Titan nods. "We finally have an excuse to party. Where's the fancy wine?"

"Kuai, we drink here almost every weekend," Bi-Han murmurs as the younger Titan rummages through the cabinets. "If we weren't immortal, we'd be dead from alcohol poisoning by now...." Hanzo sighs, setting his mug on the table.

"Found it," Kuai smiles, setting three glasses on the table, along with the bottle of sour, red wine. Hanzo's empire has expert winemakers—which is where this brand is from. Red wine spiced with cinnamon, orange peel, and a dash of lime juice for sourness.
"Oh, c'mon, everyone else is celebrating. Why shouldn't we?" Kuai insists.
Both Bi-Han and Hanzo glance at one another.

(Midnight.)
"O-okay....One more time on the song...." Kuai hiccups, placing the needle on the vinyl record.
Bi-Han and Hanzo groan.
"I think we've heard it enough," Hanzo sighs, facedown on the couch.
"Last time, Kuai," Bi-Han chastises, lying on the floor in a mess of blankets.
(3:00 am.)
Bi-Han is throwing up in the toilet while Hanzo wakes up with a pounding headache.
"That's the last time we drink recklessly....." Hanzo hiccups.

"I knew we should have just sticked to drinking juice or something lighter," Bi-Han sighs, exiting the bathroom.
"Here, here," Hanzo grunts, sitting up.
"Hold on," Bi-Han rubs his eyes, sobering up. "Where is Kuai?"
Hanzo looks around. "He was here last time I saw him."
Both men go outside. They find him asleep on the roof of the temple.

"I'm not going to question it," Hanzo sighs, then teleports up there. "Kuai, wake up. We should go to bed."
The younger man wakes up and groans.
"Well, all three of you are in quite the predicament, hm?"
The three Titans scream at Fujin's voice as he walks up the steps. "Easy, I'm not trying to frighten you!" Fujin laughs.

"Why are you here?" Bi-Han asks.
"Kuai told me to come. At least, I think. The e-mail he sent me is like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, but I got the message. So...I figured I'd check up on you three." Fujin shrugs, smiling.
"And Raiden?" Hanzo asks.
"Raiden is currently complaining about all the noise at his temple. He was never a holiday person, well, God. Never a holiday or party God. All about how we need to be alert and protect Pangea and blah, blah, blah... I was just happy to get out of the temple for once." Fujin smirks, looking a Kuai.
"So, how'd you get up there?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out," Kuai sighs.

"Hm, noted." Fujin laughs, walking on the air like it's nothing and sitting on the roof. Hanzo teleports back down. "I think we're going to go for a walk and also get some Sprite. You wanna come, Kuai?" Hanzo asks.
"No, I'm good here. You guys go," Kuai answers.
Both men nod and walk down the steps.

Kuai sighs, looking out towards the city, the many lights looking like it's own miniature galaxy.
"I'm surprised you didn't want to go," Fujin smiles.
"I just...feel like I needed someone to talk to. Someone with more knowledge than me."
"Oh," Fujin looks surprised, his face burning a little in embarrassment. "And that person would be me."
"Yep," he sighs.
"All right, what do you want to talk about?" The God of Wind asks.

"Life, I guess. Thinking about what will happen in the future," Kuai states.
"Think about it this way," Fujin starts, looking out at the city as well. "The future is like the universe as a whole. Yes, it's large, scary, and forever expanding, but that's what makes it beautiful. Yes, there are dark days ahead, but there are also lighter ones. The stars cannot shine without the darkness, much like you cannot savor the good days without the bad." Fujin looks back at Kuai.

"So what will you do about it?"
Kuai thinks this over. "Well," he begins quietly. "Learn to control my drinking, for one."
"That's good. If it makes you feel better, I used to drink as well." Fujin smiles gently.
"You used to drink?" Kuai laughs. "I don't see you being a drunk."
"Well, not a drunk, per se. Just a beer to unwind. Like you, I used to stress out about life and everything beyond my control. But sometimes you just need to let life take its course. I understand that can be a scary prospect, but you'll be a lot less stressed."

"That's true," Kuai murmurs. "Thanks for the advice."
Fujin nods and sits next to him. "Anytime."
"About that e-mail I sent, what did it say?"
"Ah, it was hard to understand with those....small images. What are they called?"
"Emojis?"
"Yes, those. You said something about coming over here when I had free time and also something about being lonely. Are you lonely, Kuai?" Now he looks worried.
"Not lonely, really. More like....just wanting to do something different."

"Something different," Fujin echoes, looking deep in thought. "What are you implying? Starting a family, perhaps? Or falling in love? Or just wanting to get away from the temples in general?"
"Getting away from the temples. You've seen the people down there. They're living their own independent lives without us. I get it. It's modern day now, they don't pray to us often anymore. They don't freak out when we go down there, just treat us like, well, equals."
"As expected. Things will not always be the same. If you want something different, would you want to, let's say, go on vacation? Just to get away?"

"Yeah," Kuai nods, looking at the stars overhead. "That sounds like a good idea."