In the thin gray light of dawn, Bi-han woke to an abrupt crash followed by hysterical giggling and Kuai Liang's voice whispering, "Tomas! Be quiet!" The fifteen-year-old boy promptly opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. In the corner of the small and humble room the three shared, Bi-han saw his little brother and pseudo-brother frantically trying to shove some creature into a box.

"What are you two jerks doing?" he demanded to know as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

There was a startled pause as they both jumped and looked around from the wooden crate they had been fumbling with. As always when he saw his brother, Bi-han felt pulled in two opposite directions at once. He loved Kuai Liang and hated to see him donning the robes of the Lin Kuei and sporting more black marks than a cheetah – most of them bruises from being so clumsy – because this was not the life they were supposed to lead. But on the other hand, a horrible anger consumed him. Were it not for the fact that An Zhi would've maimed or killed the little boy in retaliation, Bi-han would've escaped by now. So whenever he looked at Kuai Liang, he routinely had to stifle his urge to beat the living tar out of him.

"Nothing," his brother said quickly.

"Idiot, I can see the animal," he snapped as he threw off his blankets and rolled off his mat and onto his knees. He crawled to them. "What is that thing?" he asked as he peered at the rodent-like creature in Kuai Liang's hands.

"It's a marten, Bi-han," Tomas answered.

"It looks like a weasel crossed with a chipmunk," he said. "Where'd it come from?"

"The forest," his brother replied.

Bi-han promptly smacked him on the back of his head. "No kidding, genius."

"Well, then why'd you ask?"

"What'd you do, catch it in one of your hunting traps?"

"Uh huh!" Kuai Liang said proudly, beaming with pride. "I was trying to catch a fox, but this little guy got caught in the trap instead. So me and Tomas thought we'd bring him home and keep him as a pet."

"Cool, huh?" Tomas added.

The teenager rolled his eyes as the two boys looked at him expectantly. He scoffed. "Sure, very cool," he said drily. "So, you guys are gonna feed and water him?"

"Yup!" they said as one.

"And clean up after him, and play with him?"

"Yup!"

"Good. There's just one problem with this whole thing," he began.

"What?" Kuai Liang wanted to know.

Bi-han smacked his head again. "Dad, you moron!" he snapped as his kid brother yelped and rubbed his scalp. "What do you think he's gonna do when he finds out you have this thing? Oniro too. They'll both beat you within an inch of your life. You'd think you idiots would learn by now."

"Oh," Tomas said. "I hadn't thought of that."

The teenager got to his feet, gripped his shirt, and pulled it on. "Of course you didn't. You never do. But you're not gonna drag me into this stupid plan of yours. I get enough beatings without your help. So get that rodent out of here before I beat the crap out of you."

"Yes, Bi-han," Kuai Liang said, crushed.

"Yes, Bi-han," Tomas said, equally distraught.

In the dining hall at breakfast, Bi-han immediately spotted Bomani, a thirteen-year-old Tswanan who wore a yellow sash over his robes, sitting alone at the only vacant table. He was the new kid, having been stolen from his village in Africa and brought to the temple not six months prior. The teenaged Cryomancer felt lukewarm towards him. When it was just him, Bomani was a decent kid. But unfortunately, he followed Jiao-long like a lost puppy, so when he was with him, he had the tendency to be a jerk. Thankfully, Jiao-long was nowhere in sight, so Bi-han joined him.

"I never saw snow until I came here," he said with a thick Tswanan accent as he pointed out the large windows. His English was decent. Bi-han knew from previous conversations with him that American and European missionaries visited his people and taught them the language. Outside, a raging blizzard swirled snow around.

"Yeah, well, get used to it," Bi-han told him before he swallowed a spoonful of porridge.

"My parents promised they'd show me snow someday," Bomani announced. "But they died. There was a sickness in my village. Outsiders came with doctors. They called it…cholera." He sounded out the last word slowly, as if he weren't certain he was correct. He looked to Bi-han for affirmation.

"Cholera," he repeated, nodding.

Bomani looked back out the window. "It's so white," he said. "I never dreamed it was so white. It feels like Heaven."

Bi-han raised an eyebrow and glanced out. "I think it feels like prison."

Later that morning, when it was time for the children to go through their kata with Sifu Halsey, code-name Hydro, Bi-han wasn't surprised when Kuai Liang and Tomas rushed in late. The two boys naturally found the empty spaces beside him, and as they breathlessly got into their stances and joined the motion of the class, Bi-han looked at them. Both of them had longish, unkempt hair – Kuai Liang's was brown and Tomas's was strangely white – dusted in snow. So were their robes, for that matter, and their tabi boots were soaked and muddy. He gave them a disapproving stare.

"You're late," he whispered in annoyance at them.

"We were releasing the marten," Kuai Liang whispered back.

"It took you that long to throw an animal out the back door?"

"We didn't want anyone to hurt him, so we took him into the woods."

Bi-han shook his head and grunted. "Argh! You are such a girl!" he hissed.

"Bi-han! Kuai Liang!" Hydro, a British man with a heavy accent, barked at them from the front of the training room. "Come here now!"

"Yes, Sifu," both Cryomancers said at once. As they headed towards him, Bi-han shot an evil look at his brother. He knew he was in trouble. They both were.

When they reached the front, Hydro crossed his arms. "Tell me, what's so important you two gits couldn't wait 'til after training to tell each other?" Behind them, Bi-han heard several of the boys snickering softly. His ears burned in fury.

"Nothing, Sifu," Kuai Liang answered as he looked at the floor. He hated upsetting Hydro because the elderly man was more fatherly towards him than An Zhi ever could be. Bi-han felt similarly.

"Well, since you two have extra energy to gossip, I think you should grace us with a demonstration," the older warrior said. "You've clearly mastered these forms, so I think we'd all like to see how it's done. Get into position."

Both boys sighed at once. It wasn't a fair match because Kuai Liang was so much smaller than Bi-han, and far less experienced as well. But they obeyed and faced each other. The older brother didn't want to hurt his littler one, so he let the child make the first move. Kuai Liang threw a perfectly executed punch at his brother's chest, but Bi-han calmly deflected it, grabbed him by the wrist, and twisted it around. He put just enough pressure on it to bring the boy to his knees, but was impressed when the other gracefully twisted his arm in the other direction, broke free, and countered with a punch to his thigh.

The tense ache of a charlie-horse filled Bi-han's leg as Kuai Liang straightened tall. The older Cryomancer ignored the slight pain, however, and threw a rapid succession of punches at his brother, landing each one in various points on his chest and arms to distract him, and then finished with a firm kick to the stomach. The younger boy toppled to the mat with a surprised yelp, and Bi-han didn't give him a chance to get up. He immediately pinned his brother down and raised his fist high above his head as if to strike.

"Stay down, Kuai Liang," he ordered. His little brother didn't know it yet, but he didn't mean it. Because their father was such a brutal, heartless man who didn't believe in the power of positive encouragement, Bi-han took to telling his brother to yield, which was his secret way of telling him to keep fighting. He never wanted Kuai Liang to give up. Never.

As he hoped, the little boy struggled to get free, but Hydro immediately stopped them. "That's enough, boys," he said. "Get up."

Bi-han stood up and gave his hand to Kuai Liang, lifting him to his feet. The teenager couldn't help but smirk as he looked at his brother. He saw the frustration in his eyes not so much for losing the match, but from the hunger of wanting to keep trying and not being able to. It blazed in the child's blue eyes like fire. Kuai Liang looked up at him hopelessly, so Bi-han raised his eyebrows knowingly at him.

Hydro looked at them with his arms crossed. "Well done, Bi-han," he said. "Kuai Liang, your form was sloppy. During study time tonight, you'll accompany me and go through your kata five times because you clearly need more practice."

The younger Cryomancer wrenched his face in unhappiness while the boys behind them sniggered even more. Bi-han couldn't blame his brother for being upset. Even with this added punishment, he'd still be expected to complete his schoolwork, and Sifu Dimitri, their professor, always assigned a mountain of it. The eight-year-old would be working well into the night.

Hydro frowned. "It's obvious to me that neither one of you are experts. Therefore, I expect that during your training, you gits won't cluck on like a bunch of hens." The other boys laughed again, but their teacher ignored them. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sifu," Bi-han said. But Kuai Liang merely hung his head.

"Kuai Liang?" their elder prompted impatiently. Still, the boy said nothing, clearly distraught, so his older brother nudged him before he made his punishment worse.

Finally, he sighed. "Yes, Sifu."

"Good, now get back to your places and pay attention!"

After training, Bi-han sat by himself at lunch and flipped through an ancient book nearly 500 years old. It was The History of the Lin Kuei, and it was his favorite book, even though he resented being a part of that history. Printed on papyrus and carefully bound in leather, it showed in Cantonese characters, delicate watermarks, and beautiful paintings all the key figures and events in the clan's past. But one entry stood out the most to the teenager.

For the thousandth time since Bi-han discovered the book in the temple library, he read the passage and then studied the portrait of the man it spoke about. If the colorful painting could be trusted, the man had short hair nearly black, and a body built rather like a bull, with a broad chest and thick neck attached to a strong face. His sapphire eyes were cold and ruthless, chilling the teenaged Cryomancer to the bone. This man had been a rebel, had killed his Grandmaster for some reason lost to history, and fled the Lin Kuei. This man was his ancestor: Sub-Zero. And Bi-han was obsessed with him.

"Whatcha looking at, Bi-han?" Kuai Liang asked as he flopped on the bench beside him.

"Nothing," he snapped as he slammed the book shut. "Go away."

"But I want to see!" He reached across his brother and clawed at the book, so the older of the two immediately slapped his hand. "Ow!" he cried.

"Can't I have just two minutes without you bothering me?"

Kuai Liang rubbed his hand and scowled. "I don't know what you're getting so upset about. It's just a book. And a boring one at that. The History of the Lin Kuei?"

"If it's so boring to you, then feel free to get lost."

"You're a jerk, Bi-han!"

"And you're a pest!"

Suddenly, a new hand snatched the book from the table. Both boys looked up to see Jiao-long, flanked by Bomani and Shen, start flipping through the book with a wicked grin. "What are you two girls fighting about?" he teased.

"Give that back!" Bi-han snapped. "I was reading that."

"Nah, I think I'm gonna keep it. Might learn something useful," the red-clad teenager said.

"How you planning on doing that?" Kuai Liang began in a dangerous tone. "You actually have to know how to read first." He smirked at his enemy.

"You think that's funny?" Jiao-long replied in an equally ominous voice. "You know, Kuai Liang, the story of David and Goliath is just something people made up to sell Bibles."

"Don't talk to my brother that way," Bi-han hissed, not liking the veiled threat he heard. He felt his icy powers surge to the surface.

Jiao-long sneered. "Or what?" He nodded over his shoulder at Oniro, who was eating at his personal table at the front of the room. All the boys knew he never punished his son. Not like he punished them. Bi-han knew he wouldn't care if Jiao-long beat up Kuai Liang.

"Or you'll have to deal with me," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"And then my father will deal with you."

"I don't care, it'll be worth it."

Jiao-long chuckled. "Thanks for the book," he said as he wandered away with his lackeys in tow.

When they were gone, Kuai Liang looked at him with an apologetic expression. "Thanks for sticking up for me," he said.

Bi-han promptly smacked him on the head. "That was my book!" he cried angrily. "That idiot wouldn't have taken it if I weren't distracted by you. You're nothing but a pest. Get away from me!"

"I'm sorry, Bi-han!" the little boy yelped, a wounded expression filling his blue eyes.

"You're always getting me into trouble. I hate you!" With that, the elder brother jumped to his feet and stormed from the dining hall, leaving Kuai Liang all alone at the table to think about what he'd done.

During history class, Sifu Dimitri droned on in an even more monotonous, boring tone than usual, teaching the boys about Alexander the Great's conquest of Greece and Asia, so Bi-han's attention waned. He glanced over at his brother, who was sitting with Tomas as always. While the Czech boy was focused intently on the lesson, Kuai Liang hung his head in defeat. Bi-han frowned. After languages, history was his kid brother's favorite subject. He should be lapping this crap up. But it was obvious he wasn't listening at all. And Bi-han wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Kuai Liang!" Sifu Dimitri roared as he hit the boy's table with a thin pointer stick. Everyone in the room jumped at least ten feet in the air. Unlike Hydro, who had a reasonably even temper, the gigantic Russian man had an extremely short fuse, almost as short as An Zhi's. "Why aren't you paying attention?" he yelled

"Uh…uh…uh…" the eight-year-old stuttered. Bi-han felt slightly sorry for him. He had been on the receiving end of Dimitri's temper before, and he'd hated every second of it.

"Everyone, get up!" the teacher commanded. Immediately, all the boys obeyed, scrambling to their feet and standing at attention. "I'm not going to punish you, Kuai Liang," he said. He gestured with his hand toward all the other boys. "Since you're having trouble paying attention, I'm going to give you something more interesting to look at. Everyone will do exactly 100 squat thrusts, as fast as they can. Now!"

Bi-han joined the chorus of groans as he rapidly bent his knees, threw his body forward and his legs back to do a push-up, pulled his legs under him, and then stood. He hated squat thrusts, and he silently cursed his little brother for his punishment. Why couldn't they go one day without something like this happening? Of course, he reasoned, he was probably partially to blame for this latest incident as well. He largely suspected that his brother was upset for being yelled at during lunch, and that's why he hadn't been paying attention like he should've been. So Bi-han stopped screaming mental profanities at Kuai Liang and finished his sentence in silence.

Jiao-long finished his squat thrusts a few moments before the elder Cryomancer, and when Bi-han finally righted himself, he saw the other boy stare at his brother threateningly. He sucked in a deep breath. He didn't like the bully looking at Kuai Liang like that. But that had been Dimitri's purpose all along. He wanted all the other boys to be angry at him, maybe even rough him up a little, in order to keep him from screwing up again. But Jiao-long wouldn't quit glaring when they rest of the class did, and Bi-han knew he was going to have to keep an extra close eye on his brother tonight.

After study time finished, Bi-han was walking through an empty hall on his way to supper when he heard wicked laughter followed by the sound of pottery breaking. A few dull thuds followed, and then the Cryomancer heard his brother shout "Leave me alone!" before a loud punch silenced him. Immediately, he took off running towards the scuffle. Not surprisingly, he found Kuai Liang in a side corridor, held on either side by Bomani and Shen, with Jiao-long punching him in the face and gut. Instant fury flooded him.

"Let him go!" Bi-han yelled.

Jiao-long whirled around. "Oh, look, big brother's here to rescue his kid sister." His cronies laughed. Oniro's son motioned for them to release the boy. Kuai Liang immediately ran to his older brother, and the teenager promptly noticed the torrent of blood streaming from the boy's broken nose. Cold, raging fire consumed him as he pushed the bleary-eyed child behind him and raised his fists.

"Nobody messes with my brother but me," he hissed as he stalked closer to the bullies.

"I can do what I want," Jiao-long sneered.

"Yeah? So can I!"

With that, Bi-han took a swing at his enemy, and caught him directly in the jaw. The red-clad teenager stumbled backwards into the wall, but quickly came back with his own punch, and he caught the Cryomancer in the eye socket. Blue and white stars filled his vision as loud, stinging pain flooded his cheek. But, he was undeterred. He lunged at Jiao-long's middle, and easily tackled him. The other cried out in surprise as he straddled him and started punching him ferociously in the face with crazed screams. Then he gripped a handful of his enemy's hair and used it to thump his skull into the hard, tile floor. Finally, when he raised his ice-charged fist, summoning a swirling ball to his palm to freeze Jiao-long, someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him backwards. It was An Zhi.

"Enough!" the Master cried. He struck Bi-han across the face, knocking him to the floor. "Are you stupid, boy?" he demanded to know as Bomani and Shen helped a profusely-bleeding Jiao-long to his feet. "Attacking the Grandmaster's son like that?"

"But Father, look what he did to Kuai Liang!" the teenager protested.

"Your brother needs to learn to take care of himself," the Cryomancer replied with a sinister glare. "If he can't defend himself against his aggressors, then let his wounds be his teacher."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it, Bi-han," he interrupted. "Now get out of here. All of you."

"Yes, Father," he said, rubbing the spot where An Zhi hit him. He got to his feet.

"Yes, Master," Jiao-long said.

"Yes, Father," Kuai Liang said, though with his broken nose, it sounded like "Yeth, Favver."

Both Cryomancers skipped dinner in lieu of going to the healers to fix the boy's nose. When that unpleasant business was taken care of, the teenager decided to help clean up his brother, so they went to the community bathroom closest to their room. Bi-han immediately lifted Kuai Liang up and set him on the sprawling sink and quickly soaked a washcloth. Then he gripped his little brother's cheek in his hand, tilted it towards him, and set about wiping the blood from his face.

"You're an absolute mess," he told him. The kid flinched as he touched his purple nose.

"You should talk," Kuai Liang shot back in a nasal voice. "Look at you."

Bi-han looked in the mirror. His eye, he suddenly realized, was swollen nearly shut and shaded an angry color of red and purple. He scoffed and then smiled faintly at his brother. "It's a badge of honor," he said in all sincerity. He was proud to have earned the bruise. "I meant what I said. Nobody is allowed to mess with you except me." He tousled Kuai Liang's hair before he rinsed out the washcloth in the basin. Then he started dabbing away blood once more.

"I'm sorry you always get in trouble because of me, Bi-han," the boy said softly. "I'm sorry you hate me."

"I don't hate you," he replied.

"But you said-"

"I know what I said, and I was angry, okay? So just drop it."

"But-"

"I said drop it." He finished cleaning his brother's face and smirked. "Look, you have raccoon eyes," he told him.

Kuai Liang's face lit up and he looked in the mirror to see. Two perfect purplish-black circles formed around his eyes. "Cool!" he cried. "I can't wait to show Tomas. Think they'll stay like that? I think that'd be awesome if they did. Then I could go around looking all mysterious."

Bi-han rolled his eyes and laughed. "You're such a weirdo." He threw the washcloth in a large laundry receptacle. "Come on, you hungry?"

The boy shook his head no and then slid off the sink. "I missed study time, remember? I still have a mountain of work to do for Sifu Dimitri."

The teenaged Cryomancer draped an arm over his brother's shoulder and led him from the bathroom towards the dining hall. For such a rotten brat, Kuai Liang was a good kid. "Well, don't worry about that. I'll help you. It's what I'm here for." He paused a moment, then gently yanked his brother's hair to tilt his head up. The boy stared at him with large, blue eyes. "Pest," he said, smiling.