A.N.: For now, this story will be rated T to increase visibility, but also because as of right now, the story is really not M-worthy, which will probably change in the next chapter or two.

I don't own anything of the Mortal Kombat universe except my own creations. All credits go towards Netherrealm Studios.

Act 1, Chapter VIII

Future Pasts & Past Futures

Charlatans and jesters conglomerated on the plaza, magicians and fire jugglers enthralling the spectators who were generous enough to throw them a coin or two. Little stalls had been erected overnight, each painted with fantastical colours, each with sewn patterns that mesmerised the beholder. The shouts and bellows of salesmen could be heard even with the chatter of the common folk, and the sweet scents of strawberry cakes and honey tea were intoxicating. Chronos wished he'd come into this world on the right foot instead of attempting to disfigure royalty.

The full moon lingered above the fairgrounds, cloudless skies revealing bright stars beaming beyond, and even in the darkest streets of the fair, the moonlight illuminated all sorts of figures, from illustrious nobles to shaggy groups of sailors chanting and staggering through the streets while slinging their ales around in their hands. He managed to avoid ramming into them face first, passing them by to reveal a circle of people gathered in one of the makeshift square.

He managed to squeeze by a few smaller people and saw a couple dancers swaying their hips in entrancing ways, their eyes commanding you to stare into them. The dragon sat himself down in a cross-legged position, which was a lot less comfortable with a fully-fledged outfit than with some shaggy leggings. Despite the mildly uncomfortable position, he enjoyed the sight of the mostly voluptuous dancers, each armed with an instrument, engrossed in their art.

Only half a minute had passed by before the dancers began pulling audience members into their show, with one of them, profoundly tanned, strutting towards the cross-legged man. She reached for his arm, but he managed to pull a woman in front of him to take the fall. The dancer grabbed her instead, but did glance back at Chronos, who conjured up a sly smile, and the dancer shook her head in exaggerated disappointment. It wasn't a whole while longer before he rose from the ground and made his way somewhere else; he'd like to try that honey tea he'd caught the smell of earlier.

He did find the stall, a surprisingly large one at that, and ordered a cup of tea before taking a seat at one of the standing tables perched in front of the stall. He leaned mildly on it, his gaze following everyone who managed to catch his interest, from pretty girls to outlandishly suited mustachio men, letting his thoughts wander for a moment. His honey tea came on by eventually, served by a rather handsome man he couldn't ignore, and he began slowly sipping away at the sweetness of it. He tasted some cinnamon too, a nice touch.

Finished with his drink, he departed from the stall, not before paying the people for their service, and let himself be carried around by his restless legs. He felt like he had spent one second walking before arriving at a familiar building, but he never did have a moment to spare to admire the impressive metalwork within the frame of the double doors. The lights still burned inside, and he couldn't help but think back to that point, where he was just some guy hiding from the storm.

He pushed open the doors to find the place empty, the curving stairs still in pristine condition and the chandelier above as lavish as ever. He marched over to the bar, noticing the woodwork being sleeker and shinier than the last time he visited, and perched himself on top of a stool, grabbing a glass and rolling it around on the edge. He heard a door open and another familiar aspect of the bar greeted him.

"Oh, hello sir," she straightened out her clothes, "I apologise, we're not serving any customers tonight, the Royal Family is seated upstairs."

"Can't even say hello to an acquaintance?" he said, removing the hood of his robe, revealing his tattered face. The girl stared for a second or two before the realisation struck her, "That guy."

"Oh my, apologies!" she hastily began pouring him a drink, "I hadn't recognised you."

"Not so strange, I'd say," he remembered the girl and a bit of the conversation. He spared no thought afterwards- being on the cusp of death tends to divert one's mind- but he could now appreciate the bartender in full, her dark golden hair shining in the light of the chandelier, her hands slim and slender, her eyes a deep sea blue. Her frame was quite petite, unusual for what he´d seen from most Edenian women, but her wide hips did attract. He was quite impressed, "I remember the Princess was going to have you reprimanded for your serious transgression."

The woman laughed a bit, "Yes, she was awfully threatening back then," she gave him a full glass of ale, "but my employer was quite calm about the whole situation, figured the heir wouldn't even remember me from the event."

The dragon smiled, "But I do," she revealed a phantom smile before he asked her something else, "You remember I asked you why the Royal family was here?"

"Yes, they were discussing the issue of the Alythandir Plains," she bore a confused look, "Why?"

He took a swig before setting down the ale, "I also asked you about the annexation by a foreign force. I've never managed to get an answer to that because of my own forgetfulness," her expression grew grim, "Mind if you could tell me what this annexation is all about?"

She shuffled a bit on her feet and awkwardly looked around before answering, "Do you know what Mortal Kombat is?" Chronos shook his head, "Every 50 years, we send our best warriors to Outworld to compete in Mortal Kombat, a tournament. Its purpose is to give us a fighting chance against invaders like Outworld by making them have to win ten tournaments in a row to legally invade our world and merge it with his," the dragon only gave her an empty stare, but it was probably because the concept of merging realms was alien, "As it stands now, Outworld has won nine tournaments in a row. The reason the Academy is set up is to train warriors for this tournament. That the current batch of prospective fighters isn't up to par to the standards of what we need isn't just a bit regretful, it's devastating!"

The bartender began tearing up a bit, "Tens of thousands will have to run from the terror of the Emperor, thousands of us will be cut down by his relentless horde of mindless creatures," she was barely able to hold back her sobbing, "You know, my dad's a soldier in our army, and he's going to hold the line for us to escape to places like Earthrealm or Seido," she took a deep breath, "I don't want to leave him behind, but that's what's going to happen in just a few months from now. This place, where I grew up, where the sun shines all day, where the forests teem with life like nowhere else, never to be seen like it's supposed to be," she looked up into the dragon's eyes, who was all a bit bewildered at this, "Do you know Al'Kei? It's a big tree in the Al'Kei Jungle, a tree that reaches above mountains," her face grew melancholic, "It's going to be a shame to see it all go."

Her eye-liner had run our across her cheeks and she was sniffing profusely. She wanted to just clean some glasses, but her hands were shaking too much to do so. She hadn't seen Chronos vault over the counter next to her, so she was mildly spooked when she did notice. Before she could even say a word, the big man went in for a hug, to which the bartender just began crying her heart out on his chest. She spent a whole twenty second just bawling in his chest before letting go. She used a wash-cloth to wipe away her tears, but it smudged her eye-liner all over her cheek.

"I'm sorry for asking," the dragon apologised, "Shouldn't have brought it up like that."

She began cleaning up her face, "No, it's fine," she said, "I'm just a bit emotional at the moment."

"Yeah, I figured," he hopped back over the counter and chugged the rest of his ale, "I'll just leave you to your duties," he chuckled a bit before thinking aloud, "I guess the Princess was a bit on edge for a reason," he looked back at the girl, "You know, I've never gotten your name. Might I ask what it is?"

"Susanna," she replied, "Second name of my mom."

"Pretty name," he said and she gave a courteous smile, "Have a good night, ma'am."

He slung his hood back over his head before leaving, back to the fair outside, not noticing the beautiful lady watching him from atop the railing. Her little meeting had been adjourned just now, with Rain almost throwing a fit and her father losing his temper, which resulted in a rather angry back-and-forth. Eventually, things calmed down, and the meeting concluded with Rain still not being handed control of the plains. It was dreadfully boring, but she'd much rather have the purple prince's attention focused on her father than herself.

"My dear," speak of the devil, "shall we go? I have reserved a seat at the finest restaurant, and I would hate to have the employees waiting for our presence."

"Yes, let us depart, Rain," she was half listening to him since while on their way, nodding and agreeing to his self-absorbed monologues and superficial acknowledgements of the events around them. It was astounding how little she remembered of the trip to the restaurant despite being fully awake. To be fair, the restaurant was intoxicating, the mood was lulling and the lighting was dim. It was almost a perfect place for the prince to work his charms on the sapphire heir.

"Good evening, sir, madam," the head waiter bowed respectfully, "Allow us to guide you to your table."

The royal pair were guided throughout the establishment towards a table close to the stage, on which a piano was stationed, which was vacant for now. The atmosphere was soothing and serene, the lighting was lulling. If Rain knew anything, it was picking a restaurant to work his magic. Unfortunately for him, she'd figured out his magic and had become nearly impervious to it. The prince offered her her seat, as it would behoove a courteous man, and once she had taken it, sat down himself as well. The waiters had offered them wine on the house, and they were generous enough to accept it. It would help all parties if the royal pair were inebriated to improve their interactions with each other.

A long thirty minutes passed, the blueberry woman expectantly waiting for her meal, while the purple-clad royalty boasted about his conquests in war and love, with her absent nodding further perpetuating his already inflated ego. It was a shame too; he was quite handsome, his face chiselled by the Gods themselves, a warm and shining smile, his almond-shaped eyes almost commanding unconditional attention, his form fit and flawless. All of those fantastic aesthetic qualities, wasted on a superficial and vain man.

She noticed a firm discussion between what appeared to be the owner and one of his employees, of which the former was looking livid and gesturing towards the piano in an awfully animated way. They appeared to be going at it for several minutes before approaching the royal pair, each with furrowed brows and small beads of sweat on their foreheads, probably because the Princess' eyes were now fixated upon them. They spent well over five seconds mentally bracing themselves, which could only have dire implications.

"Sir, eh, madam," the owner started, with Rain only now taking notice now, "there have been some unfortunate developments for today's programme," the poor sod began rubbing the back of his neck, "as it stands now, our scheduled pianist has been afflicted with an illness that leaves him bedridden."

Rain was quick to bemoan it all, "I apologise too, good sir," he began inspecting his fingernails, "I was under the impression this establishment was worth my time and resources," he turned his head fully to the owner, who was imperceptibly shaking on his legs, "Unless you can find a sufficient replacement for your pianist, I am to regretfully conclude this restaurant is worth neither."

The owner and his confidante were now at wits' end, with several other tables eyeing the royal pairs', with whispers of doubt spreading throughout the restaurant. The princess did feel pity for the poor owner and his cohorts. After all, the issue was outside of their powers, and now they might be under the scrupulous eye of potential customers who would turn their sights on supposedly greener pastures. She looked outside to see someone familiar stalk the streets, his hands deep in the pockets of his blue robes, only sparing a glimpse inside the restaurant.

Kitana could only smile, "Say, I might know someone to help you out," she turned back to the owner, who bore what could be described a face that just found ten secret treasure chests in his back yard, "I know of a person who might be able to fill that empty seat in front of the piano," the owner waited with unbound anticipation, "He's the man in the blue robe walking outside," the man spared a flash of a moment to see who it was, "You should attempt to get him to play. He might need to be convinced to do so. Offer him a three course dinner on the house, just to be safe."

Once it was clear the sapphire heir was done talking, several of his employees rushed outside to apprehend the blue-clad man. She watched them stop him in his tracks, his enormous figure almost comical next to the lean and slim waiters, who appeared to be doing their best to get him to go inside. At first, the big man looked on the verge of ploughing through the tiny waiters, but they either mentioned Kitana, food or both to finally get him to walk inside. He, along with his newfound posse, spent a good few seconds passing their table before she heard a dreadful inquiry.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" it became clear they don't intend to tell him until he was put on the spot, "You're going to tell me, right?" he was lead next to the piano, "Do you want me to… lift this thing away?" within half a second, his question was answered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, apologies for the delay," Chronos could only stare blankly at the owner, who was now bombastic and eccentric, "Our scheduled entertainment was unable to perform due to an illness, Gods bless him, but a valiant and brave man has selflessly sacrificed himself to take his place."

The dragon stared at the piano, back at the owner, to Kitana, who wore a deliciously devilish smile, then back at the piano, then at the delectable food, before she saw him mouthing what should sound like, "Fucking cocksuckers," which made it clear he wasn't too happy to be in this predicament. Naturally, the purple prince was no less than amused with the development of things.

"I suppose this restaurant will be worth at least my time," he snickered at it all, "I wish the boy had retained an item to savour this very moment," he leaned on the table with both his elbows, hand firmly clasped.

The big man looked absolutely lost, his eyes shifting between everyone present. He was slow to take his seat, stroking the keys of the piano, surprisingly deliberate, like recollecting old memories. He swiped off the sporadic specks of dust, sniffed it, and for a second, his head and eyes rolled back slightly, lost in an old life. Before long, he managed to finally plant a finger on one of the keys. What followed was an uninterrupted forty minutes of a musical masterpiece. Somewhere around that time, he intended to walk away. Kitana was no less than awestruck, while Rain seemed to detest the idea of acknowledging his skill, which doubled up to intensify her single, painful word.

"Again!" she hollered, and many patrons joined her in shouting so. He froze up for a moment before returning to his seat and once again having to strain his muscle memory and, well, memory to perform again. It was a full hour of magnificence, and like many, Kitana was lost in trance, befuddled by the sheer passion the dragon played the instrument. Even during her ecstatic state, she could notice his eyes lingering on her for just a moment longer before resuming to gauge the crowd. Finally, the dragon's pose relaxed, appearing to be content with the performance he had delivered. The princess did hear another cry for an extended show, but it was met with the behemoth rolling his fingers across the keys before he stepped down from the stage.

He sat himself down at one of the seats near a window, staring at the festival's lights and fireworks illuminating the skies. He'd been on his way back to the Academy- he promised Azsara a sixth round of trying to get him drunk- but the sudden interception by the waiters promising a full three course meal on the house was tempting enough to forego that plan. He didn't need to hear the undying gratitude the royal heir would have for him for saving her romantic dinner, the free dinner was more than enough to get him to shake up his rusty fingers. It was good keeping his skills fresh.

He'd managed to chomp through his appetizer in no time, and by now, he was halfway through his very foreign and exotic kind of steak when the blue-clad woman sat with him in the booth, which he didn't notice immediately during his gorging of the damn delicious steak.

She straightened out her clothes before talking, "You told me that you stopped playing the piano," he looked up from his food, "I didn't expect you to play several sonatas this evening, I expected you to fumble around with the keys and attempt to conjure up a creation of your own," he put down his knife and fork to respond.

"I quit piano lessons quickly," he used a napkin to wipe smudges of steak sauce from the corners of his mouth, "but I didn't quit playing the piano," she raised an eyebrow, "Playing an instrument makes you a bit more attractive to the opposite sex."

She nodded, "True, I suppose it does raise your appeal," she gestured a waiter to come over, "although some other aspects do not," he shrugged his shoulders at her remark, right before the waiter appeared at their side, "Good sir, I'd like your finest rosemary tea," she looked at the animal who resumed devouring his food like prey, "and your largest pint of ale for this fine gentleman," Chronos didn't look up from his food, but did let a smile spread across his face. The waiter nodded happily, returning to the kitchen. The princess gazed in awe at the size of this lad, who had managed to tear through a big chunk of his steak in less than a minute, "You're not fond of savouring the taste, are you?"

He finished eating before answering, "I just eat a lot," he slowed the pace at which he shoved food down his throat, "I didn't exactly grow this large and strong by just sitting on my bum and watching Cheers all day," he explained before the Edenian got lost, "Cheers is a comedy show on tele- a comedy show, that's all you need to know," he reached for his food, "Oh, and drink a bunch of milk, gives you strong bones."

The drinks just arrived, Kitana's rosemary tea just hot enough, while Chronos' ale almost managed to dwarf him in size. He downed half of his ale in one go and slammed the pint down, some of it spilling over the edge and onto his steak. He didn't seem to mind when he took another bite out of it. In all her life, she had never seen someone eat so much in so little time, even compared to Chronos himself. It made her wonder if he was malnourished as a small child and was coping with it through eating.

She took a sip of her tea before asking, "Did you always eat this much?" he instinctively shook no while chewing on some food, "What was it like? Your home?" it seemed to be a question out of the blue, 'Hah,' but she hadn't heard much about him, other than some sweeping mentions about it by Jade.

"Not all too special," he took another large swig of his drink, "My mum and dad weren't around much, brother wasn't around much, nothing all too heart-shattering to be fair," he rubbed his tattooed arm, "They were around for the holidays, though," he smiled and stared off somewhere in space, "those days were fun."

"What was your family like?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"My mum was a neurosurgeon and worked at a hospital in another city. She wasn't home much," Kitana eyed him, confused at his terminology. He clarified quickly, "A neurosurgeon cuts up brains, I think," he waved it away, "My dad was a lawyer, travelled a lot because his clients usually lived damn near halfway across the state," he drank a lot more modestly now, "and my brother had some super secret mission somewhere in Southeast Asia, making sure the reds wouldn't flood the world or some dumb stuff like that," the princess was left to guess what 'reds' entailed, "but the last couple of years, he was home much more."

"What was that like?" she asked, and he stared at his almost empty pint before laughing, then laughing louder, then coughing uncontrollably before drinking the last bit of ale left.

"He didn't have the constitution I have."

He ruffled around in his pocket to find a couple of dimes in his pocket, handing them over to the cute delivery girl, "Here, for the effort," he said, having the snow-covered girl's eyes light up a bit.

"Thank you sir," she kindly said, "and enjoy your pizza."

He was drawn to say 'likewise' before realising how stupid that would sound, "Thanks, have a great night," he gave a warm smile before closing the door, taking a deep sniff of his warm pepperoni pizza from the local Uncle Joe's. He plopped down on the couch and turned on the television. He left it on a channel recounting the Bhopal incident, which was shaping up to be absolutely dramatic. It was odd to see something so terrible affect him so little. It was just so far away, too abstract of a thing to care. Or maybe he was too hungry to care.

He took a sweet slice of pizza and took one big bite before the phone was ringing. He had to lick his fingers off before picking it up, expecting his mum to tell him that she was coming home early for Christmas, but instead, it was a familiar voice that slurred all the way through her phone call.

"Heeeyyy," Alex sounded absolutely hammered, "look, I didn't wanna caaalll you but- Vera, please get away, Vera! Vera!" it was a bunch of laughter for a couple of seconds before his ex came back to the phone, "Sorry, we're juust having sooo much fun," he heard some muffled snickering, "No, I'm not gonna ask how big his dick is, come on," it sounded like she was fumbling with the phone, "Sorry, sorry, sorry! Can you just, help us?"

"Can you wait a second?" he asked, but he didn't wait for a response, instead fetching a note and a pen from the dinner table, returning to the phone and firmly holding it between his head and shoulder, "Tell me where you are."

"Ooooh, thank you, thank you, you're the beeeest, Chronoooooos!" the phone on the other fell down again, followed by cackling from Alex and her friend, "We're at the 21st Street Danceteria, can you come quick, pleaaase?"

He heard her spout some more drunken nonsense while he looked for a map. He managed to fetch one from a drawer, unfolding it and looking for the street. He found it fairly quick, and with some quick maths he calculated the trip to be about twenty-five minutes with the car. He did intend to eat his pizza, which was cooling down on the table. He jogged back to the phone, where he heard his ex crying.

"I'll be around in about half an hour, Alex," the crying became less audible

"Chronooooos, I thought you diiieeed," she said, "thank you soo much again for picking us up!" she already moved the phone away from her ear, "See you sooon!" he heard the phone on the other end miss the horn.

"Oh my God, Alex, you're soo drunk!" Alex' friend yelled.

"Shut up Vera, for Christ's sa-" the phone was finally put on the horn and he could at last go back to his pizza and eat at least some of it. That hope was squashed in an instant when the phone rang not two seconds later. He hadn't even turned his head back to the pizza when it did, and he was reluctant to pick up the horn, fearing a drunk ex crying on the other end. He was relieved when he picked up the phone and heard something else.

"Hello, is this Chronos I'm speaking with?" it sounded like a fairly young man, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Yes, this is Chronos," he replied, "who is this?"

"Jonathan Hardey speaking here," the voice began, "your brother, Aaron, he's here at a party," Chronos heard some screaming in the background, "and it's safe to say he's not in the best state at the moment," the screaming grew louder. It did sound like Aaron, "if you wouldn't mind, could you pick him up?" porcelain was smashed in the background, "He's going to rack up quite a debt to me if he keeps breaking things."

"Yeah, no problem," Chronos said, who was already snatching the map from a desk nearby, "just tell me where you are."

"We're at 21st street," Jonathan told him. It was convenient Aaron left behind the Challenger and was close to Alex, "I'll be waiting outside with him when you come. Can you guess when you'll be here?" he heard some thumps in the background.

Chronos was thankful he'd been thrown a bone by God, "About twenty-five minutes, half an hour," he looked at his pizza, still hot enough to enjoy, "You'll be waiting with him?"

"Yeah, no worries," Jonathan said, "See you then, Chronos," this time, the phone was put on the horn without a hitch, and the dragon did the same, deciding to abandon his pizza for the moment to get this all out of the way. He tossed away the map and marched to his bedroom, cobbled together an outfit, styled his hair, brushed his teeth and tied his shoes before practically dragging himself to the car, keys whipped out of a drawer from a cupboard in the garage. He opened the garage door and threw himself on the leather seat of the car and conveniently found a couple of cigars on the passengers side.

He adjusted the mirrors and let the engine rumble and warm up. The snowing outside left a thick layer of white on the streets and he had to take care to not slip in the bends. It's good that the V8 was so fantastic to listen to as he drove out of the garage. He did close the garage door before going out; he wouldn't want his pizza stolen.

"Oh my Good, Alex," Vera whined, hugging herself in a thick wool coat, "It's sooooo cold!"

"Yes, I know, Vera," Alex said, who was herself shivering in a winter coat, "but Chronos is gonna be here soon, and I don't want him to be even more pissed," she blew some breath in her hands to warm them up, "I bet a Coke he's gonna have a scrunched nose when he gets here."

The mahogany-haired woman was exceptionally good at sobering up when her ex-boyfriend would show up, whether it was at her birthday parties or on occasions such as this. Maybe she was still embarrassed to be around him, but at least it looked like he wasn't most of the time.

"Aleeeex," Vera was very persistent in annoying her friend, "I wanna go hooomee!"

"Vera, I swear to my unborn son, if you don't shut it, I'll leave you behind!" she threatened, which the black woman did not take in stride.

"But I have a daaate!" she almost cried, "and I can't look like this!" she gestured at herself, and to be honest, she didn't look all too bad, just tired.

"I geeet it!" Alex wasn't entirely sober yet, "Chronos is going to be here any moment now, and you can go home, and I can go home, and nobody's going to cry any more."

The dark-haired beauty did finally learn to just keep herself quiet while they waited for the dragon to pick them up. Indeed, after some time, they saw a familiar Dodge rolling up to the curb with the passenger seat window rolled down to reveal Chronos in a slick nice sleeveless suit, smoking a cigar, which was almost done for, his nose scrunched and the interior a bit foggy from the smoke. She didn't spot the aviators yet, but she assumed they were somewhere secret, waiting to be whipped out.

"Hey, Chronos," Alex said, "sorry for calling you, but you're the only one whose number I've remembered."

"No worries," he said and he gestured them to hop into the back seats, "gotta pick someone else up too, though," Chronos himself stepped out of the car, "you stay put right here."

The two girls took the back seat while the big man went out to pick up his third passenger. The girls talked about their colleges- Vera was studying physics, Alex was studying biology- and some about their personal favourite make-up, to which they both agreed that neither one of them was too fond of it. They spent an unexpectedly short minute just sitting when they saw someone strolling down the side-walk with another man slung around his shoulder. One was obviously Chronos, the other was unmistakeably his brother.

He tossed his half-conscious blood relative into the passenger's seat before walking around and plopping his own behind in the driver's seat, adjusting the mirrors slightly before driving away at a moderate pace. The trip was mostly filled with Vera drunkenly longing for her bed while Alex talked her down constantly. Aaron was just snoring for the most part.

"Gooood, you know what I just realised right now?" Vera started, "Chronos' face is like, reallyyy weird," the dragon stared into the rear view mirror to see Vera swaying from side to side.

"Yes, his face isn't traditional," Alex nuanced it a bit, "but what is inside is important."

"At least he's tanned and buff," this girl wasn't a think, then speak kind of girl, "Did you go on vacation or something? Because no one is that tanned from being around the city."

The big man answered, "Me and Aaron and my parents went to the Bahamas for a month or so," he made sure to keep his eyes on the road, which was becoming more difficult because of the intensifying snowstorm, "I had to leave halfway through, though. I fell ill," he looked at Aaron, who was peacefully sleeping in his chair, "Aaron stayed all month."

"Yeah, he's got like, double your tan," Alex said, "I wonder what your parents look like," Chronos was quick to answer.

"Not as tanned," he told the girls, "they spent a lot of time reading," he smiled, "they gained a few pounds, though."

The girls gave a chuckle and after that, the ride went fairly smoothly. After fifteen minutes, they arrived at Chronos' house. It was easier to drop of an unconscious man early than keep his brother snoring next to him in the car. He dragged his brother out of the car, which made him realise the snowstorm had grown so bad that he could barely see the door fifteen feet in front of him. With so little vision, he imagined driving a rather well-maintained car would result in a wreck, so when he dropped Aaron into his bed and went back outside, he did so through the garage door.

He stepped inside of his car and reared the vehicle in the garage, which bamboozled the girls. Chronos swiftly explained what he was going to do.

"Look, ladies, with the way the snowstorm's shaping up outside, I don't plan to turn this car into a block of iron," he looked over his shoulder, "so you two are staying here to sleep out that drunkenness."

"Noooooo," Vera whined, although it was more like a whisper, "but I have a date tomorrow."

"I'll bring you home, don't worry," Chronos said, which apparently was good enough for the black woman to calmly step out of the car. The dragon was happy that it wouldn't be a ten minute struggle to get her to rest, "you can stay in my parents' room, down the living room, up the stairs, second door on the right."

Vera walked to the stairs while the mahogany-haired girl stayed behind. He looked at her in confusion before she spoke.

"Can I, uuh, sleep in your bed?" Alex asked, "Vera's going to keep me up all night, and I'd rather stay somewhere familiar," he gave her a frown.

"No funny stuff?" he asked.

"No funny stuff," she agreed.

He thought about it for a second before speaking, "Sure," that was all. She gave a warm smile before heading to his room, and he himself waited a minute or two before heading up himself. He was happy he could get to bed a lot earlier than expected, but he was disappointed by one thing; his pizza had gone cold.

Kitana was tracing the edge of the glass with her fingernail, waiting for him to finish his story. Often times, he referred to a thing she had no connection to, like a Danceteria or a Challenger, but she listened regardless of the unfamiliarity of terms. His voice was quite enjoyable to listen to, even if his face was, as the girl in his story had put it, pretty weird, or maybe the face and voice fit together in some way. She was a bit perplexed by one thing however, which she would ask him another time. When he did finish, he looked to his now empty plate, a melancholic stare in his eyes.

"It's one thing I remember," he said, "but maybe I'll tell you more some other time," he looked back up at her, "if you want. If you care."

She replied, "Well, it gives me just a bit more insight on you," she said, "I'd like to know more," she stood up, "another time. I have duties to attend to soon, and it may be better to continue some time else, some place else," she turned to leave, "and besides, we have our training sessions in the morning to catch up," she had a fleeting question to ask, "do you still train the others at the Academy? With training me, I assume your schedule is quite busy.

"Jade's recovered again, so that burden has been relieved from my shoulders," he rolled his shoulders, "Maybe it's for the best. I'm not the guy you should be giving responsibility to. Me, I like being just a man."

"A shame, I like your teaching," she was absolutely sincere for once, "and I look forward to sparring again. We have the time."

"I suppose," he said, rolling around his empty pint, "we have all the time in the world," he stared in her eyes to see whether she picked up what he meant. Her eyes widened a bit before returning to a relaxed state.

"Plenty time, right?" she asked, and her voice grew a bit thick.

"See you tomorrow morning," he said before the conversation would devolve into a crying contest. She left him to his own in the booth to ponder his own thoughts, which were none at this point. His mind was empty, and for now, he liked it that way.

hit or miss, I guess they never miss huh

Back from a short cryostasis to release another chapter into the world. No epic fight scene or lemon yet, those are currently in development as season pass exclusive expansions. As always, hit that fat yeet on the favourite and follow and leave a review behind to tell me how trash I am for not updating every living nine seconds of my life

- The 0 Degrees Kelvin Man