Kuai was sitting in the Fire Gardens of the Shirai Ryu temple, ignoring the noises of the students around him making their way to their classes.

He had his eyes closed, clearing his thoughts for his next assignment. It was important to stay serious for this, as the next training session was for the future warriors who would defend Earthrealm when he and the others would be unable to.

After favorable request, it was decided that the lesson for today would be held at the Shirai Ryu temple. The four kids had complained bitterly about the cold, frigid temperatures of the Lin Kuei, and had blamed that on their losses in training. So, Kuai relented. (Also, he'd be able to prove that he could still wipe the floor with their asses without the temperature being an obstacle.)

"Oh no. He's smiling."

Kuai opened his eyes slowly, looking up from his seated position to the other Grandmaster. Hanzo resisted the urge to smile. "What's got you in good spirits, today? I thought you were extremely reluctant to come all the way here for this."

The cryomancer exhaled, tilting his head to the side to crack his neck. "I was just thinking about how the kids have been complaining that I only beat them in previous training sessions because of the cold; today, I get to show them that the cold doesn't matter."

Hanzo snorted. "So, in other words, you're excited to beat up children." Kuai frowned. "Well, yeah! Look at us, Hanzo. We're getting older. At least by doing this, I know that I can still fight well enough to defend myself..."

The Shirai Ryu nodded, taking a seat next to Kuai. "No, I understand. Hopefully, the point where we are unable to do anything will not arrive too soon. I hear that Johnny's thinking about retirement." Kuai rolled his eyes. "Of course he is. It's Johnny; what more can you expect from him?"

Hanzo was about to say something when they both heard the chatter of familiar voices.

The bickering of Cassie Cage and Kung Jin.

Kuai shot Hanzo a quick "oh, no" face before the kids stepped into view.

Takeda was leading the team through the unfamiliar setting, while Jacqui walked behind the group. Cassie and Jin were in the middle, arguing between themselves.

"Face it, Jin! Punk rock is better than that shit you listen to."

"Excuse me, bitch? Frank Sinatra is one of the greatest artists of all time!"

"Yeah, for old people! I don't even know why I'm talking to you; you're gay!"

Jacqui shot Cassie a look. "Really, Cass?"

Takeda walked up to Hanzo, a blank look devoid of emotion on his face. "Help."

Kuai shook his head. "Behold, the future generation of Earthrealm's defenders. Doing it better than us." Jacqui frowned. "How is this considered 'better' to you?"

Hanzo stepped forward, sighing. "In truth, most of our previous fights alongside your parents involved a lot of quarrelling amongst ourselves. It seemed impossible that we would ever get it done, but in the end, we pulled our shit together and succeeded."

Kuai snorted. "This is why I prefer to fly solo. With the exception of a few people." Hanzo elbowed Kuai. "Not. Helping."

Kuai sighed, clearing his throat. "Alright, that's enough. We're not here to babysit you, so stop acting like babies!"

The four kids fell silent, all looking up at the two men with respect. Kuai nodded to Hanzo, who stepped forward.

"Alright," the Shirai Ryu started. "You all know why you're here. So keep that in mind before you decide to start something. We'll divide you into two groups; two of you will be with Sub-Zero, the other two will be with me. Then, we'll do rotations. Understood?"

The four kids nodded, being smart enough to stay silent.

Kuai nudged Hanzo. "I can take Takeda and Cassie. It'll be good to expose your student to a more unfamiliar style. He's only had training with me a few times."

Hanzo nodded. "Fine. I'll take Jin and Jacqui."

Takeda leapt back quickly to avoid getting hit by a full frontal kick.

Yep. He definitely doesn't need the cold to do well. I TOLD them, but they wouldn't listen.

He felt the air move above his head as he ducked to avoid a high attack, then tried to grapple Kuai after the missed blow. However, the cryomancer slid backwards quickly, ice forming on the ground. Takeda cursed inwardly, realizing that in his haste to punish the failed attack that he had overextended; Kuai quickly slid back into range, landing a few blows that were lessened in power. Afterwards, the two stopped.

Out of the corner of his eye, Takeda noticed that Jin wasn't doing so well against Grandmaster Hasashi, either. His seemingly unpredictable teleporting only made the archer more frustrated as he tried to land a single blow.

Back at his own session, Kuai had asked Cassie what went wrong in their sparring match.

The blonde nodded slowly, thinking carefully. "Takeda was doing fine in the beginning, but I noticed that he was a little slow in his reaction speed. Probably because we haven't really done anything recently. He lost the fight when you baited him with the missed punch; he tried to move in, but you were faster in retreating slightly, then punished his overextension."

Kuai nodded. "Exactly. Now, there were two things you both should have picked up from there; the first one being that you should always check your opponent's intentions before they even make the move. Think one step ahead to avoid falling into traps like those. The second thing that you should have realized is that you can, in turn, try to get your opponent to overextend by missing a hit, jumping back quickly, and then capitalizing on their mistake. I want to see you two fight each other now, but try to implement these tips into your fight. However, if it requires you to think about doing it, then don't."

Cassie and Takeda nodded, and Kuai stepped back to let them do as they were told. Meanwhile, Hanzo watched Jacqui and Jin spar with a critical eye, arms crossed sternly.

Jacqui rolled on the ground to the right to avoid Jin's strike to the ground with his bow; she got up to her feet quickly, kicking Jin's legs out from under him.

As the archer tumbled to the ground, he sighed inwardly to himself.

This is going to be a long day...

Hanzo and Kuai had allowed the kids to take a break, and they were walking through the woods bordering the edge of the Shirai Ryu territory.

"I'm exhausted," Jacqui groaned. She was clutching her side where Kuai had hit her. While it wasn't a force strong enough to break the rib, it was hard enough to bruise.

Takeda smiled at his girlfriend in sympathy. Only Cassie, Kung Jin, Johnny, and Kenshi knew about their budding relationship, and Takeda was eager to keep it that way.

Jax is NOT going to be happy.

Cassie and Kung Jin, meanwhile, had managed to enter into another argument of a different topic that didn't concern Takeda or Jacqui. They simultaneously rolled their eyes at the two, choosing to ignore them.

However, the sounds of the two kids arguing drowned out the surrounding noises.

Which was extremely dangerous, considering that they were walking right on the edge of the Shirai Ryu border...

"Okay, but honestly? Cassie was right about rock being better."

Hanzo sighed, internally screaming in pain as Kuai spoke up. He turned to face the Lin Kuei with a blank look on his face. "That's what you and I think, Kuai. There are others who have a different viewpoint, you know."

Kuai nodded. "No, I get it, but... you know what? Nevermind."

Hanzo shook his head, a smile forming on his face. The kids had been gone for a while now, and he was growing slightly concerned.

Kuai turned on his cell phone. "They should have been back a few minutes ago..." This did absolutely nothing to alleviate Hanzo's concerns. Kuai frowned, looking into the woods where the four had departed into. "I should go and check up on them. Stay here, in case something happens and we need backup."

However, before Kuai could walk a step, the two froze when they heard a cry for help.

Abandoning all hesitation, Hanzo and Kuai ran through the woods towards the sound of the kids.

Cassie struggled against her restraints, trying to free herself. The nearest man kicked her, forcing her to stop.

The attackers had come out of nowhere; one minute, the four were walking through the woods, the next, the men had leapt out of the bushes, taking them all off guard and were able to overcome them easily.

Now, the only thing that the kids could do was to wait for help or their untimely demise.

However, the first of the two outcomes emerged suddenly; Hanzo had teleported over the heads of some of the goons, using his dual swords to kill them. Meanwhile, Kuai had emerged from the woods, freezing two attackers who had charged at him. He punched a hole through them both and immediately ran to the kids' side. "Are you all okay?"

The kids, bound and gagged, all nodded. Kuai sighed in relief. "Okay. I'm going to free you, and you're going to run back to the temple. Your parents are going to kill us if you get hurt. If we don't come back by nightfall, contact your parents. Okay?"

The kids nodded in confirmation again, and Kuai quickly cut through the ropes with a knife made of ice. Now freed, the kids did as they were instructed, wisely not arguing amongst themselves. Kuai watched them go as another goon snuck up on him, holding his hand in the attacker's direction and freezing him quickly.

Shortly after, Kuai and Hanzo had easily dispatched the men, who were currently dead or dying on the ground. Hanzo shook his head, sighing. "What a mess."

Kuai snickered. "Wow. Psychopathic much? Besides, the dead bodies will be taken care of by decomposers, and they'll provide nutrients for the trees. It works out."

Hanzo gave Kuai a look. "Since when did you become a science geek?" Kuai placed a hand over his hip, striking a pose. "I've always been a science geek, bitch!"

The Shirai Ryu Grandmaster snorted, unable to keep it in at the ridiculous sight. "Whatever. Let's just go-"

There was a whistling sound in the air, signifying that something had been shot. Kuai immediately lifted a hand to his neck. "Ow." He looked at Hanzo before falling to the ground, eyes closed and unconscious. Hanzo immediately reacted by trying to see what had attacked them before he heard the sound again, too late, and clutched his own neck where the dart had embedded itself into.

He felt his knees lock, and he fell to the ground as well.

Kuai was the first of the two to wake up again. He shook his head to shake the blurry vision, squinting to adjust to the darker room that they were currently in.

The cryomancer glanced down, realizing what he was bound in with a look of disgust on his face. Oh, great. Johnny was right; this is gross. Where there's a cocoon, there's a D'Vorah. Somewhere.

Kuai frowned in concentration as the air around him dropped significantly in temperature; before long, the cocoon holding him had been frozen, and Kuai broke through easily, sighing with relief.

However, his friend was nowhere to be found.

"Hanzo!" Kuai whisper-shouted as he walked through the underground tunnels. "Wake up. We need to get out of here, now."

A spider-like creature suddenly jumped out at him from one of the hollows. Kuai yelped, forming a Kori Blade and slicing through the animal. It died at his feet, and Kuai shuddered.

Gross...

"Hanzo!" Kuai continued to walk through the unfamiliar territory. "Come on." He paused. "I was the one who stole the mural from your office!"

Still, nothing.

Kuai sighed. "This is just my luck. That's it. He's not dead, or anything..." He cautiously continued through the maze until he found himself walking into a bigger room. And there, in the middle, was Hanzo. The still-unconscious Shirai Ryu was trapped in the same way that Kuai had been restrained earlier. Kuai ran over to him, trying to get him to wake up.

"Hanzo! Wake up!" Kuai shook him. The man did not respond. Kuai rolled his eyes, lifting his hand back, and swung it down, slapping Hanzo's face.

Still, nothing.

"God-fricken-dammit-chicken-fucking-nugget!" Kuai had lost his process of straight thinking at this point. He was paranoid that someone was going to attack him in his state of vulnerability. "We've got to go, Hanzo! I'll just drag you out of here, you fucking lazy-ass bitch!" Kuai cut through the cocoon quickly, not bothering to catch Hanzo as he fell to the ground.

Kuai was about to lift him up again when he was thrown off of his feet. D'Vorah had crept up from behind, attacking him. Kuai rolled back onto his feet, glaring at the Kytinn. She now held Hanzo as a hostage, her stinger from her hand ready to pierce the still-unconscious Hanzo's neck. Kuai stopped in his tracks, hesitating.

D'Vorah grinned maliciously, knowing that she had the full advantage. "Give him up, D'Vorah!" Kuai glared. The Kytinn continued to grin. "No. My brood needs breeding stock to thrive and flourish. You two will be perfect for this."

Kuai gagged. "Okay. One, ew. Two, double-eww. Three, hell no!"

Suddenly, Hanzo opened his eyes blearily, looking up at Kuai in confusion and noticing what was going on. Luckily, D'Vorah had not noticed, and Hanzo formed a flame-aura, scorching the Kytinn off of him. She screeched in agony, scrambling away.

Hanzo glared at her retreat, then at Kuai. "Why does my face hurt, Kuai?"

Kuai shot him the most innocent look he had ever given, trying not to grin at the sight of a red handprint on the Shirai Ryu's cheek. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Hanzo. Let's get out of here quickly."

The two ran through the underground tunnels, trying to find their exit. Hanzo shook his head. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get a watch."

"Shut up and answer the fucking question, Kuai."

"I honestly have no idea. When we get out, we'll know."

Hanzo squinted through the darkness of the cave. "I see light over there."

Kuai stared at the light as well. "You know, in these situations, nine times out of ten it's not an exit." Hanzo shot Kuai a dirty look, while Kuai shrugged in defence. "What? It's true."

Hanzo shook his head, running towards the light, while Kuai sighed, reluctantly following.

As soon as they were about to enter the room, however, Kuai pulled Hanzo back, for good reason.

The light shifted.

It moved and squirmed until the head of a humongous, shiny beetle poked through the entrance.

Kuai shot Hanzo an "I told you" look. "What did I say? Nine times out of ten!"

The beetle screeched, and the two men turned tail, running away.

The Kombat Kids had returned to the Special Forces base, recounting everything that had happened to Sonya and the others.

However, as of now, they were still unable to locate the Grandmasters.

Stryker frowned. "They didn't bring their phones with them. It would have made tracking their location a lot easier."

Jacqui shook her head. "It was our fault. We were in trouble, and they had to get to us quickly. I don't think that they thought of that."

Sonya shook her head. "I checked their uniforms. The thing is, they weren't wearing a similar uniform. No Tengu, Red Dragon, or Black Dragon. Think that they were mercenaries?"

Kabal nodded in thought. "Someone could have hired them to wear them down while the mastermind took care of them."

Bi-Han cursed angrily. "We're still no closer to finding out where they are!"

Johnny groaned. "And could you turn off the horror movie? We're trying to work, here?"

Kung Jin frowned. "What?"

Johnny gestured with his hand. "The screaming on video. You don't hear that?"

All of them quieted down. Kenshi walked over to the panel, picking up the device that they all had, connecting them to the same communications link.

The blind swordsman lifted it up. "I think that they might be in trouble right now."

"For the record, THIS IS NOT HOW I WANTED TO DIE!"

Hanzo ignored the ranting cryomancer, focusing on navigating their way away from the massive insects chasing after them.

Kuai halted in his stride, pointing ahead. "SPIDER!"

A huge spider had constructed a web, blocking the way through their only tunnel. Hanzo charged forward, igniting himself in hellfire and scorched his way through the beast and the web. The two continued to run.

Kuai panted. "Do you want to babysit our kids? All you have to do is watch them, and make sure that they don't get into any trouble. You won't run into D'Vorah and her creepy-ass plan to incubate her children into you, NO! That could NEVER happen!"

Hanzo growled. "Would you just SHUT UP?!"

Kuai pointed ahead again. "There! I see the night sky."

The two continued to run full steam at the exit, but Kuai stopped Hanzo by holding him by the tunic to prevent the Shirai Ryu from running off of the ledge.

There was a foaming sea below them. It swirled and frothed angrily, and Kuai grimaced at the sight. "So. You want to choose the 'get eaten' route or the 'drown' route?"

There was a massive roar behind them. Kuai and Hanzo both looked behind them, giving each other a look.

Kuai jumped into the water. "I CHOOSE THE SLIGHTLY HIGHER CHANCE OF LIVING!"

Hanzo would have laughed if they weren't in such a grave situation, and he too jumped, the sea swallowing them whole.

...

Kuai sputtered, head breaking above the water first as he gasped.

Hanzo appeared beside him, also gasping for air. They swam over to a piece of driftwood, keeping themselves afloat.

The Shirai Ryu shook his head. "I am NEVER, EVER, babysitting again!"

Meanwhile, Kuai had noticed something rippling in the water. "Uh... Hanzo? You aren't bleeding by any chance, are you?"

Hanzo frowned. "I fell and cut my leg, why?"

Kuai pointed at the dark fins cutting through the water. "That might be a problem..."

Hanzo cursed, drawing his sword from its sheath. The fins circled around the two men clutching onto their flotation device ominously.

Suddenly, the heads of the animals popped above the water, chittering happily.

"Oh my god!" Kuai cooed. "Hi, you guys!"

The dolphins swam around the two men, chirping and whistling happily. Hanzo smiled slightly at the sight of the playing dolphins.

The sounds of an aircraft started to become audible. Kuai and Hanzo squinted into the night sky, trying to locate it.

"What if it's Black Dragon?" Kuai asked.

Hanzo gave him a look of disbelief. "They don't have planes or aircraft, do they?"

Kuai rolled his eyes. "They're thugs, Hanzo. They could have stolen it!"

The Shirai Ryu didn't bite back. "Whatever. Just as long as I don't freeze myself to death and get out of this water, I'll be fine. Even if we'll be in danger again."

The helicopter was now directly above the two waterlogged men. Hanzo and Kuai both squinted, blocking the light from their eyes. Someone from the aircraft climbed down on a ladder.

"Need a hand, little brother?" Bi-Han grinned cheekily.

Kuai and Hanzo both sagged with relief.

"Yes, please," Kuai rasped.

Hanzo felt extremely drowsy, eyes closing on their own will, then forcefully snapping them open to stay awake.

The two Grandmasters had been brought to the Special Forces base, where they were being tended to in the medbay. Both had been given a fresh change of clothes and hot, steaming tea to drink to warm themselves. Luckily, they had sustained no serious injuries.

Kuai had retold everything that had happened to them after their capture, but Hanzo could tell that he, too, was tiring as well. Only his more energetic nature was keeping him awake.

Before long, the others had left, giving them time to rest. Hanzo was drifting off before Kuai started to laugh.

Slightly startled, Hanzo looked over at the cryomancer. Kuai shook his head. "I think I'm going insane, Hanzo. We had a hell of a day."

Hanzo smiled crookedly. "Yeah, we did. With many close escapes, as well."

Kuai settled into his bed, sighing contently. "Oh, by the way, remember how your face hurt after you woke up in the tunnels?"

Hanzo frowned, eyes widening slightly when he remembered. "Right! Do you know what happened?"

Kuai snickered. "When I found you, I tried to wake you up. But, you didn't respond to my shouting and shaking, so I slapped you. It was amazing, even then you didn't wake up!"

Hanzo froze, glaring at the other man. "If I wasn't so tired now, I'd go over there and gut you right now. But, it's your lucky day." Hanzo drew up the covers, slipping into a restless sleep easily.