03

Despite the pain that he incurred each time he did it, Kuai Liang woke early every morning, sat at Hanzo's favorite table to brew tea, and watched the sun rise. Apart from the first time, he had not spoken out loud to Hanzo since, instead sitting in silence and suffusing himself in memories of his friend.

Once he was done, he would leave feeling slightly more ready to take on the day. He spent most of his time in an isolated training hall Tomas had set aside for him, away from curious eyes. When he was not training, he sat among the fiery flowers of the gardens and meditated. His evenings were reserved for Tomas, who to Kuai Liang's surprise, never failed to visit him daily to have dinner with him. The younger man didn't seem to mind his occasional bouts of silences, filling them with light chatter and stories about their childhood.

"I am surprised Harumi has not come to speak with me regarding my identity," Kuai Liang said one night, after Tomas regaled him with a ridiculous story of her and Tomas as children, urging and somehow convincing Bi-Han to transform their koi pond into a skating rink.

Tomas immediately looked guilty and Kuai Liang raised an eyebrow at him. At his steady gaze, the man immediately broke. "I'd spoken with her that night and she'd wanted to barge into your room immediately to talk to you. But I convinced her to leave you alone for a few days. She means well but Harumi can be…intense."

Tomas' thoughtfulness continued to surprise him. "I appreciate it, though I am more than willing to speak with her. Harumi has been nothing but kind to me."

"Were the two of you also…?" Tomas trailed off. He seemed hesitant to bring up anything regarding Kuai Liang's own timeline, and he appreciated his tact. Though it still pained him to think of his world, he had started to open up and discuss minor things about it with Tomas during their meals.

Kuai Liang almost blanched at the question, because it brought to mind a conversation he'd had with Harumi earlier that he'd forgotten.

"No, I…did not know her personally in my timeline." He paused before adding hesitantly. "She was Hanzo's wife."

Tomas flinched so badly he splashed himself with his tea, and cursed as he wiped up his mess. "Oh god, Kuai Liang. I am so sorry."

He looked down to find his fingers and his cup lightly coated in frost, and he willed them away as he struggled for control. "A part of me feels…ill at the thought," he admitted. "But that is neither Scorpion's nor Harumi's fault. It is simply something I must learn to live with." Then he had a sad realization. "When Harumi thought I had been Bi-Han, she'd been ecstatic at the idea that she would have my blessing for the wedding. I am sorry to take that away from her."

"Harumi puts on a brave front, but Bi-Han's betrayal had cut her deeply. They were very close."

For a horrifying moment, Kuai Liang thought to ask if he meant that they had been involved romantically, but decided his sanity would not be able to handle it.

"I'll let Harumi know she can talk to you tomorrow. Hope you survive it," he added as a jest.

"I'll make sure to signal help when I need it."

Tomas beamed at his joke, and Kuai Liang could not help the small smile that it brought to his lips.

The next morning, after the sun had risen, Kuai Liang decided to stay by the tree for a bit longer than usual. He had felt less melancholy that day, and thought to contemplate on it before starting his training.

He heard someone approaching and he assumed it was Harumi, finally coming to talk to him. A shadow appeared across the table, and when Kuai Liang looked up, he instead found himself staring at his younger self. He blinked in shock, before quickly rising to his feet and bowing.

"Grandmaster. My apologies, I had not realized you were there."

"Please, none of that. You are our guest here."

"I thank you both for your hospitality. Being back in the Fire Gardens has been…" he paused as he struggled to find the right word. "Restorative."

As he straightened, he found his counterpart observing him.

"May I join you?"

"Of course."

As they sat together, the synchronicity of the situation was not lost on Kuai Liang. Here was Scorpion sitting at this spot with Sub-Zero once again.

The same, but different.

"Would you like some tea?" he offered.

"Yes, but please, let me heat it for us."

His counterpart looked at him oddly as he emptied Hanzo's cup in one of the bushes, but he did not explain why he felt the need to do so. It was tea he had made specifically for Hanzo, and he would not serve it to anyone else.

He handed over the kettle and watched as a low flame appeared on the other's hand, heating their tea before pouring them both a cup.

There was an awkward silence as the two continued to stare at each other. Maskless and face to face, Kuai Liang could finally see his features in his counterpart. He looked incredibly young, and he held himself with a certainty and confidence that Kuai Liang was sure he had never had at that age. Then again, he was of a similar age when he had demanded Shao Kahn to produce Scorpion so he could exact his revenge.

Kuai Liang also noted that he was not wearing his Scorpion uniform. Instead, he had donned plain, gray tunics more often used by trainees. He was not sure if it was done for his benefit, but he was still thankful all the same.

"So…you are not Bi-Han," his younger self said haltingly, as if unsure of what to say.

"No." And you are not Hanzo, he thought painfully.

"Should I call you Kuai Liang?"

"I am more used to Sub-Zero than anything else," he said. "But you may continue to call me Tundra, as I have told the others."

"Tundra feels very impersonal. Are you…uncomfortable with our name?"

He grimaced. "Very few people in my timeline knew my name, and in that incredibly small pool, even fewer actually used it."

Even Hanzo rarely did, often still referring to him as Sub-Zero.

"I feel it keeps you at a distance to call you Tundra," Young Kuai Liang argued.

"We are strangers."

"You are, in a way, a brother of mine. Father has always said that family is important," he said firmly, and Kuai Liang almost dropped his cup. To have someone claim him as family, after having none for decades—it was unnerving if not a little surprising. "But I will abide by your request, though I shall continue to call you 'Kuai' in my mind." He gave a sharp nod, and Kuai Liang oddly felt as though he'd been berated. "You may call me Liang."

"You do not have to take half of our name—you may still go by Kuai Liang."

"It does not bother me; it is a childhood nickname Tomas gave me when he had trouble with my name." He gave Kuai Liang a nostalgic smile, which he returned faintly. It was a nice thought, that there was a world where he and Smoke did not have to hide their friendship. Childhood nicknames. Kuai Liang almost shook his head in disbelief.

His counterpart continued. "This distinction will make it easier for my mind to accept…all this," he waved a hand between the two of them. "Kuai." He gestured at Kuai Liang, then he tapped his own chest. "Liang."

"…Liang, then," he agreed hesitantly. It did sound like the best option. Calling him Scorpion only brought up images of the wraith, but using their full name also made Kuai uncomfortable.

"Why did you run from me when you saw me at Wushi?" Liang finally asked.

Others often told him that he had the unique ability to get straight to the heart of the matter. It was a quality he apparently shared with his alternate self, and it felt uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of it.

"I mistook you for someone else," he responded vaguely, which caused Liang to raise an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"A ghost from my past. What were you hoping for when you approached me?" Kuai countered.

The younger man took a breath and exhaled shakily. "I'm—I'm not sure. I thought you were Bi-Han."

"It seems like everyone did," he muttered. "Raiden told me you only wished to talk. Was there something in particular you wanted to ask Bi-Han?"

Liang glanced away with a frown. "Though an alternate, I thought he could…give me insight into Bi-Han's mind. Then maybe I could understand why."

"Why he betrayed Earthrealm?"

Liang balled his fists. "Why he betrayed everything the Lin Kuei stood for. Why he attacked me and Tomas and left me scarred. Why he—he—" He closed his eyes, and his expression twisted in pain and grief.

Kuai's hand jerked up to touch his own scar. "Bi-Han did this to you?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," Liang said in a clipped tone. "Since you had to ask, can I assume you bear no scars from him then?" he asked somewhat bitterly.

He was suddenly very aware of every mark on his body that Bi-Han had ever given him: the lashes from the whip that he'd endured during punishments in the Lin Kuei, the cuts from his Kori Dagger that he'd gotten when spars went too far, the wounds from his sickle when he returned as a wraith.

"He did not give me this scar, no. But the Lin Kuei of my timeline is nothing like yours, and our punishments were often rendered by those you trusted most."

"I…do not understand."

"It is a relief to me that you don't."

Liang gave him an uncertain glance, and it was that very confusion that confirmed to Kuai that he'd been brought up very differently.

"You grew up with Father and Grandfather training you and Bi-Han—"

"And Tomas."

"—To become Lin Kuei warriors in service of Earthrealm. Despite these challenges, did you grow up loved and cared for?"

Liang seemed taken aback by his line of questions. "Yes, of course, we were a family."

"That gladdens me." It seemed Liu Kang truly wished to give them better lives in his new timeline; the kindness made his heart ache. He took a sip of his tea and looked at his cup contemplatively. "Bi-Han and I had a difficult relationship. I knew he cared for me, and I him, but growing up in a den of assassins left very little space to cultivate much brotherly affection. Our…environment also did nothing to curb any of his cruel tendencies.

"Even as children, Bi-Han craved power. We had seen the power the Grandmaster had wielded, how each word he'd spoken would be followed with no question. The idea of being practically invincible was a strong pull to two children who could barely defend themselves from threats inside of their own stronghold."

"What of Father? Surely as Grandmaster—,"

"Father had never been Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. He was a powerful Master who defected in his later years, when he yearned for a normal life. He married and had children…it was only a matter of time before the Lin Kuei caught up to him."

Liang looked aghast at his words. "You were taken against your will? Kidnapped?"

"I believe they would have killed us, had our powers of ice not manifested early," he said dispassionately. "We were frequent targets of fellow assassins, and our previous 'soft' upbringing meant that we had to endure punishment more often than the others. They learned early on that there was no worse punishment to Bi-Han than forcing us to hurt each other. Sometimes they made us fight, other times one would whip the other."

The horrified expression on Liang's face made Kuai soften. "I only share this with you so you can understand. Bi-Han and I grew up in this reality, where power, and how one wielded it was the only thing that ensured survival. And later on, when he died and was raised as a wraith, he would succumb to that lure for power."

"That's…horrible."

Kuai steepled his fingers. "If we remove all of those experiences..."

"Nature versus nurture? Was he just doomed to be…evil?"

"I do not know this version of Bi-Han, nor do I have any prior experience with having a normal childhood," he added wryly. "But if I'd hazard a guess, I would say Bi-Han has ambitions that neither of us fully understand."

"I cannot fathom it. I have always been at peace with my place in the world," Liang said solemnly. "I only ever wished to serve in the Lin Kuei."

"I have never wanted to be Grandmaster," Kuai admitted, and with a start, he realized it was the first time he'd ever said the words to anyone. But it was the truth; in the aftermath of his one-man war with Sektor, he had been the only one left, and he'd felt obligated to rebuild and lead them to a more honorable path.

But he had never wanted it.

"That the world would push two of the most reluctant Grandmasters to lead is…" Liang shook his head, not finishing his sentence. They shared a commiserating look. "Why brother would even want this job eludes me."

"If you allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment…"

"Go on?"

"Are you certain he actually wanted to be Grandmaster?"

"I've always thought so?" Liang looked uneasy. "Ever since we were children, he's only ever spoken about it with certainty, and well—arrogance."

Kuai grew contemplative. "I imagine it would have been difficult, growing up with the pressure of being the heir to the Lin Kuei. How was his relationship with your father?"

If Liang seemed to be troubled before, he now became increasingly stiff. And in the pointed silence that followed, he seemed as if carved from marble itself.

That bad then? Kuai thought as he patiently waited for him to respond.

"Father was a bit harder on Bi-Han than us," he finally said.

"Is there any chance your father might have put undue pressure on him? Any chance he'd been raised to feel inadequate? Like he was never doing a good job?" Kuai was certainly projecting to a degree. Both he and Bi-Han had always been 'barely good enough', according to the Masters. And where he had internalized and believed it, his brother had been fueled with the drive to prove them wrong.

"And does that matter? Would how Father have treated him justified what he did?"

Kuai raised his hands placatingly. "Perhaps Bi-Han simply wants power—whether it is good or evil matters little to him. He wants the Lin Kuei to be the undisputed power in Earthrealm, led by himself."

Liang suddenly hunched into himself, and Kuai gave him a concerned glance. "So much so that he let Father die," he whispered.

His heart lurched at those words. No wonder his questions had unsettled him. "I am sorry."

The two sat in silence for a while, Liang visibly gathering himself. "Bi-Han spat those words to me while he agreed to Shang Tsung's deal. I do not know if he…truly did it, or if he was simply saying it to keep me in line."

Shang Tsung? Kuai was again reminded that he had yet to learn all that had happened in this timeline, but it was a discussion for another time. "Bi-Han knows you well enough that such words would have never drawn you back in. Perhaps he hadn't intended to say them at all, but the truth could not be kept back forever."

"Did he even truly care for me? For Tomas? Was it all a lie?" The despair was clear in his voice.

"Despite everything, I have no doubt in my mind that he cared for you," Kuai said with certainty. "Brother has always been complex. Your Bi-Han is not the same as my Bi-Han, but there are things that I believe transcend timelines."

Liang huffed. "That makes it hurt even more. Knowing that he loved us, but that our love was not enough to save him."

"Love rarely ever is," he said gently. "But we love him all the same, do we not?"

"Always."

The two shared another look before simultaneously taking a drink of their tea.

"Jasmine?"

"It was my friend's favorite."

"Your ghost?" Liang's voice grew soft. At his nod, he added, "He has good taste. Though when I have it too often, I feel like I've—"

"Swallowed an entire bouquet?" Kuai guessed, surprising Liang.

"Yes? How did you—?"

He chuckled, albeit a bit roughly. "Those were the words I once told my friend when I first tasted this tea." The offended expression on Hanzo's face had been comical.

"Have you met his counterpart in this timeline yet?"

The light atmosphere shriveled at the question and Kuai breathed deeply before exhaling harshly. "As far as I know, he does not exist in this timeline."

"Perhaps you simply have not seen him yet?"

"His position is already filled." He could not keep out all the bitterness from his voice, and Liang caught it.

"…Is it me?"

Kuai looked down, suddenly ashamed. "It is not your fault."

"It is not, but that does not mean it does not hurt to think about it," Liang said understandingly. "It must have been a shock to learn you had become Scorpion."

"I had never even considered it a possibility," he admitted. "Liu Kang has changed so many things in this timeline."

"Are you disappointed? To learn that you had become Scorpion and not Sub-Zero?"

"I only ever took on the Sub-Zero name to honor Bi-Han after his death." He had never truly felt like he had earned it. Until now, some part of him was still working towards this unreachable goal of feeling worthy of his title. "To know that a version of me embodies all the best qualities of a warrior, and was bestowed the title of Scorpion? I feel incredibly humbled."

"You flatter me."

"Earning such a title is a great achievement." Hanzo would have approved, Kuai thought. "Having the strength to break free from the Lin Kuei to establish your own clan is even more impressive. I have no doubt the Shirai Ryu will flourish with you at its helm."

Liang flushed at his words, but a pleased smile was playing on his lips.

The ease with which he said this to his counterpart confirmed it in his mind—he did not, and never would, see Liang as himself. If he did, he knew he would have been far harsher, an issue to confront another day.

But if Liang was not him, not a copy or a new version, but a separate person, then his concerns about himself replacing Hanzo were unfounded. As he digested this new idea, the vice grip around his heart lessened slightly.

"We are still few, but one day, I hope its scale rivals that of the Lin Kuei. But it will take some time. Would you consider…" Liang trailed off.

"Consider?"

"Would you ever consider joining the Shirai Ryu?"

Kuai jolted in his seat, utterly poleaxed by the question.

"It's not something you have to decide on right now," Liang assured him. "But I wanted to keep the invitation open. Whatever you decide, you will always be welcome here. And I…" His tone turned shy. "I would like to get to know you better. As I said, you're practically family."

He did not know how to respond. It should stop surprising Kuai that Liang was freer and more open with his feelings. The younger man seemed to understand that his silence was only due to his overwhelmed state.

"Bi-Han had been my only family for so long that the concept still feels elusive to me," Kuai admitted.

"And we have all the time in the world to acclimatize you to this concept."

Oh, to have this young one's heart, he thought with no small amount of envy and awe in equal measure. To simply be accepted and claimed was so alien to him.

Unsure what else to say, he simply settled on a sincere, "Thank you, Liang."

"Of course, Tundra."

He shook his head. "Call me Kuai."

In his mind, he took a leap into unknown territory. His soul was yet torn, but he found that perhaps, it could still be mended.

A/N: I love both iterations of Kuai Liang, if it's not obvious.

For Bi-Han, I think he's more complex that just "hur hur evil" and I will be taking that route for this fic, and all my future MK1 fics that feature him.