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The temperature in the training room is low. Very low, to the point of near-freezing. It is the closest approximation that Tundra has to training in his home of Arctika, for he is very much at comfort in the cold. His meditation now takes him to a calm place within as he sits at the heart of the large chamber, eyes closed and hands on his knees, but the truth is he doesn't feel very calm at all. He has found himself distracted ever since their last voyage into the Netherrealm.

Although Noob Saibot was defeated thanks to the treachery of the cleric of chaos, Havik, he had overwhelmed them prior. He and his Army of Darkness could very well have been victorious on that day when he lured them into hell, and once they had the orb they were forced into retreat. This was especially stinging to him, for his uncle yet remained. Three times now they have fought, and three times he has failed to get the upper hand without some manner of outside intervention.

When he was a child, he was spared. In Outworld, they used the ancient crystal heart of the cryomancer civilization and its power to temporarily destroy Noob's physical form, but he returned in the Netherrealm. And now most recently, their mission to his spire, which could have failed if not for the unknowable wiles of Havik. This frustrates him to no end; Noob Saibot has forever been a petty, narrow-minded and malevolently malicious fiend, but his power is greater than he alone can overcome.

He has often wondered what would happen if he were to face the wraith alone and with no way to defeat him other than his own power; could he succeed and overcome his shadowy relative? Noob has hindered him in no small manner, both physically with his blind eye and mentally with this doubt. It is precisely due to this doubt that he has focused on turning it into a drive to better himself. Though he is on a team, and though they have other enemies, Tundra has always seen Noob Saibot as his ultimate foe, and that is why he trains to defeat him now.

He opens his eyes. "Program, activate."

The dark and chilled chamber suddenly lights up as blue holograms begin to form all around him. Ever since reverse-engineering what little technology of Rellim Ohcanep they brought back with them on their accidental trip into that cyber-realm, the training room has become much more advanced. Though the technology is still in its early and experimental phase, the results have so far been very effective. Hardlight holograms allow the creation of solid environments to train in, rather than the flat terrain of the training room, and though still very rudimentary in nature these environments allow for a greater diversity of fighting experiences.

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>>893038

The program he has selected emulates a cave in Artika, with large structures of simulated ice rising from the floor and hanging from the ceiling; sharp icicles and stalactites. When this is done and the room has finished configuring, his opponent approaches. The training android fixes him with bright blue eyes and awaits his commands. While nearly everyone on the team has made use of the android, Tundra has something of a unique perspective on it, one he shares with Vapor and Frost, due to them both being Lin Kuei: the machine itself is a hybrid of current Special Forces tech and the old Lin Kuei's Cyber-Initiative, made possible again thanks to the reverse-engineering of Rellim Ohcanep's technology.

His father was responsible for the destruction of the old Lin Kuei and its corrupt ways of replacing flesh with machine, considering the latter superior and the former weak. Sub-Zero showed how valid that philosophy truly was when he defeated Sektor and annihilated his base. Not all of the information from the old Lin Kuei was destroyed, however, allowing Special Forces to discover a cache of it and from it create this android, a humanoid fighting machine prototype. For now, it is only used in training, and in Tundra's opinion it should be kept that way. His father proved that man will always conquer machine, and the concept of replacing true warriors with fabricated fighters is silly to him. It does, however, make for an extremely effective punching bag, in that it can punch back.

The android stares and then speaks in a monotone voice. "Please establish training perameters."

>Easy Difficulty
>Medium Difficulty
>Hard Difficulty
>Very Hard Difficulty
>Custom Setting: Noob Saibot difficulty

>>893044

> Is this even a decision

> Custom

Let's get stomped by skynet

>>893044
>>893053
I was gonna show some restraint and vote for very hard but fuck it, let's make daddy proud.

>Custom

>>893044
>>Custom Setting: Noob Saibot difficulty

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>>893053
>>893058
>>893059

"Custom setting: Noob Saibot."

There is a brief buffer before a new holographic image appears alongside the android. It resembles a human form, but indistinct and featureless. As part of the custom setting, the hologram fights alongside the machine---the Saibot to its Noob. With the android linked into the training room, it and the hologram can act in tandem, just like Noob himself. And, of course, the rating of kombat difficulty is near maximum.

Tundra stands up, and the android's eyes light up even more brightly. "Perameters set. Engaging mission protocols. Prepare for Kombat."

"I am prepared," he replies, summoning a blade of ice in one hand and holding it out at his side.

Both the android and the hardlight hologram charge at him, both splitting up to attack from both sides!

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>893064

> Fight defensively until you find an opening

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Reminder:

Ice Ball: Tundra blasts a freezing ball of cryonic energy in a straight line at an opponent, freezing them if it hits for a short time.
Enhanced: Frozen Ball: Instead of mere energy, Tundra creates a physical orb of ice that he launches at his opponent, dealing damage and freezing them on impact.

Kori Blade: Tundra creates a sword out of ice and swings it at his opponent, slicing them across the chest.
Enhanced: Double Kori: Tundra creates two swords and attacks with them both, swinging them in a crossing arc before stabbing outwards with both of them.

Ice Shuriken: Creating a small projectile between his fingers, Tundra quickly throws it, dealing minor cutting damage if it hits.
Enhanced: Freezing Shuriken: Creating more shuriken with both of his hands, Tundra throws them in a flurry, and upon connecting, they can freeze an opponent.

Ice Shield: Tundra creates a thick shield of ice in front of him that he holds aloft to deflect an oncoming attack, either off to the side or back at his opponent.
Enhanced: Ice Dome: Tundra creates a full dome around himself, used for defense from the outside, or to trap an enemy inside with him to keep them from escaping.

Ice Halfplate: Tundra conjures up half a suit of icy armor to protect himself with, keeping himself from taking additional damage.
Enhanced: Ice Full Plate: A stronger suit of armor that fully covers his body and lasts longer, offering stronger protection.

Gut Buster: Tundra takes a step back before lunging forward and slamming his fist into his opponent’s gut, knocking them back.
Enhanced: Gut Freezer: As before, but with added cryonic energy to enhance the damage and freeze them for a follow-up attack.

Skull Bash: Tundra slams his forehead against his opponent.
Enhanced: Frozen Bash: Tundra covers his head in a layer of ice before doing his attack, enhancing its damage and knocking the opponent backwards further.

Ice Spikes: Tundra summons an ice spike somewhere in his vicinity, either below an opponent or elsewhere, that can be used in an offensive manner.
Enhanced: Ice Trap: Tundra designates a spot for a delayed Ice Spike to shoot up from when an opponent walks over it.

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>>893069

The android strikes first, and Tundra attempts to block with his sword, but the metal fist smashes clean through the blade. Splinters of ice rain around him as the fist follows through and punches him in the face. The hologram then swings a leg and kicks him in the back of the knee. The machine then kicks his chest once he kneels down, knocking him onto his back.

He slides along the ground, grunting slightly. 'This is about right,' he thinks as he quickly gets up onto his feet, ready to continue.

The hologram then vanishes from sight, appearing behind him. The android leaps forward with a flying kick.

>Current Meter: 2
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>893091
Use the disrupto-m4x maneuver that Kaito taught you! throw a snowball at his visor

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>893091

> Ice Shield

Can't win if he kills us can we?

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>>893099

In one hand, Tundra quickly creates a snowball, one that is extra slushy. Harmless and small, but useful---which he proves when he hurls it at the android, striking it right in the face. The snow blocks its eyes for a moment, which won't stop the machine for long. It misses its kick due to this manuever, soaring past him and landing on its feet. The hologram, meanwhile, continues its charge.

>>893108

Before the hologram can attack him, however, Tundra holds up his hands with his palms facing the blue figure. Rather than blast it with ice, as one would usually expect of a cryomancer, he instead creates a block in front of him, shaping the ice into a shield. He pours every bit of cryonic energy he can muster in those few seconds into the construct, holding it in front of him defensively. The hologram attacks it but does nothing; the ice holds up.

He then pulls back before lunging forward, smashing the hologram with the shield and shattering its body. The shield remains as the hardlight crumbles around it, vanishing into thin air. Having destroyed the shadow, Tundra turns his attention now to the body, which wipes its eyes clean, clearing its vision. The android looks at him and takes a moment to reassess its strategy.

Shield in hand, Tundra meets the machine in the center of the training room, whereupon he blocks all of its attacks with the ice. The machine punches, kicks and twists, but he moves with a fierce determination and counters each attack, pushing back and bashing with the shield when he can. So often he has tried to overcome his problems with pure offensive attacks and a little trickery---but this offensive defense seems to be working rather nicely!

>Current Meter: 3
>1d100 and anction!

Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>893160
> Gut Buster
I'm a better ice box than you'll ever be.

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>893160

> Enchanced Ice Shuriken

Let
It
Snow

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>893160
X-ray time

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>>893177

As the machine strikes at his shield, Tundra takes a step backwards, then pushes his opponent's fists off to one side. This creates an opening that allows him to step forward and smash his fist into the gut of the machine---something that nearly hurts him, were it not for the guantlets---which sends it stumbling backwards.

Tundra smirks beneath his blue mask. 'I'm doing great!'

>>893181

With his free hand, he conjures up a series of small, snowflake-shaped projectiles and throws them at the machine as it recovers. To his surprise, it does---and quickly. Its arms come up and quickly block each sharp shuriken with its forearms. The display of speed and efficiency of movement distracts him for a moment---long enough to fail to notice the reformed hologram-shadow coming up from behind!

The hologram tackles him from behind and holds his arms back, causing him to drop the shield. Now trapped in a full nelson, Tundra strugles to escape as the machine approaches him.

>>893184

He brings up both feet to kick at the machine, thinking he can quickly escape this predicament, but couldn't be more wrong. Its hands catch his feet and tighten around them. He struggles as the hologram and the machine begin to pull outwards, each maintaining a tight grip on him. He grits his teeth as pain begins to surge through him. They pull further, and harder, and further...

>Current Meter: 0
>1d100 and an action!
>Or Terminate Program

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>893211
Erm... Can we create a staligmite under the hologram to flip it up into the air so that it has no leverage. And hopefully lands on top of the robot too, breaking it's gold and squishing us a bit.

>>893236
Dice gods say no ;(, we die instead. Which is fine, what good are we if we can't even beat a fake noob?

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>>893236

Tundra closes his eyes and fights back, struggling against their ironclad grip. He begins to shout as they continue to pull, and his mind begins to whiten with pain. Focus evades him and all concentration bleeds away as he tries, futilely, to escape. A sharp, stinging pain then ripples through him from his back.

The android looks down at him as it slowly pulls harder, and harder, seemingly ready to tear him in half...

That's when the lights in the training room shut down. The holograms deactivate, including the one holding up his upper half, and the android lets go. Tundra hits the floor and rolls to his side, inadvertantly clutching his midsection. The android deactivates as the lights in the center return, only red. A door opens and Cassie runs inside.

"Woah, woah, woah! Tundra!" She runs over to him, turning him over. "I just got an alert from in here that someone was in danger. What happened?"

She suddenly realizes how cold it is in here and shivers. Tundra lets out another groan as she helps him up. "I was... training..."

"Training, or trying to kill yourself?" she asks as she takes out her phone. She checks the settings in the training chamber and turns the temperature back to normal. "What the hell is this? 'Noob Saibot custom setting?' This has half of the safeties deactivated! This could nearly kill a man!"

"I know, I know... I just..." He clenches his fist and unclenches it in frustration. "I'm still not good enough."

"Well you're definitely not going to be good to anyone if you end up dead," she says as she helps him towards the door. "Come on, let's get your back looked at. I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled something, the way that thing was tugging on you."

As they go, they fail to notice the head of the android swivel ever-so-subltly, following their movements.

>Insist that you are fine and head to your room
>Let her inspect your back
>Explain your actions
>Thank her
>Other

>>893278
>Insist that you are fine and head to your room
We are fine, we just overdid it a bit

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>>893417

Once outside, Tundra shakes off her grip. "I appreciate it Cass, but I'm fine. Really. I just overdid it---didn't know when to call it quits, is all. I'm okay." He rubs his back slightly as he walks off.

She tags along. "Hey come on, don't give me that tough guy crap. I'm just trying to be a good squad leader and look out for the team."

"I know, and like I said, I appreciate it," he replies, still sour from his loss but unwilling to admit it. "I just need some time to myself. I'll do some stretches and my back will be just fine."

Cassie puts her hands on her hips. "Alright, fine. But I'm ordering you to report back to me later on so I can make sure you're okay."

He lets out a sigh. "Very well. Where?"

Her voice perks up. "How about the gym? If you're going to stretch out, you should be warmed up for a workout later, huh?"

"I just had a workout," he points out.

She stammers slightly. "Well, yeah... but you could always use another, right? We'll go easy."

"I don't know if---"

"Look just meet me in the gym later, alright?" she says firmly. "Oh, and uh... Sam will be there, too. You know. Because I'm helping train her. And stuff."

Zian pauses, tilting his head as he thinks about that strangely expository bit of dialogue. He looks over his shoulder. "Something going on, Cage?"

"What? No. I'm just telling you to meet me, that is us, at the gym later. For a workout, that's all, and so I can check up on you, like I said." She coughs into her hand and then steps backwards. "Well then, seeya!" She then quickly shuffles out of the hallway and out of his sight.

'Weird...' he thinks. 'Is she up to something?'

>Go to your room
>Go to the rec room
>Take a walk
>Don't make plans to actually go to the gym later
>Other

>>893278
>>893458
>>Go to your room

>>893458
> Take a walk
Go do something low impact and distracting. Maybe make it snow on the wizards mansion. Looking forward to getting a nice recuperative massage from Sam later

>>893458
>>893511
backing.

>>893458
>Take a walk
Walk it off.

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>>893469
>>893511
>>893528
>>893533

Shrugging the notion off, he proceeds through the base for a short while. He ends up outside, walking along the beach. The repetitive motion of walking helps ease some of his discomfort. The base seems mostly empty today, due to half the team being deployed on a mission to Chaosrealm. OWEA intel came in that Havik was making a push on the Chaosrealm Kamidogu, still in the possession of the team, and so a recon mission into that strange, shifting realm was formed in order to spy on the cleric's operations. Kaito, Takeda, Kung Jin, Sheeva and Vapor all went on the Dragon Wing, and Fireseed is still on extended leave of absence.

That leaves Frost, Ling, Jacqui, Cassie, Cao, Sam and himself on the island. And Shang Tsung, of course---not that he's a member of the team. But the old man does frequently hang around, often poking his nose into their business. Speaking of which, Tundra realizes he hasn't seen much of Old Man Tsung lately. Perhaps a visit to his palace is in order.

As he walks down the beach, his eyes spy Frost and Ling in their usual shaded spot, sitting in hammocks and casually chatting as they enjoy the tropical breeze. They have not seen him yet.

>Go up and talk to them
>Sneak by them
>Ask them if they want to go see Shang
>Throw a snowball at them
>Other

>>893575
>Shang is too nosy
>Don't like it
>But he's not being nosy right now
>Don't like it
>Let's be nosy

Flawless Logic.

Actual answer is
>Go up and talk to them

>>893575
> go up and talk to them
I have no idea about this character's character.

>>893603

Generally speaking, he's a well-intentioned guy, sometimes a little goofy, but holds himself to a high standard that he might not be able to reach.

>>893575

> Talk

Hey Shang, any anti wraith tips? Asking for a friend.

>>893603
He's kinda stiff / shy. Particularly oblivious to matters of sex, as all male Lin Kuei seem to be (God knows how Sareena and Jade ever got laid)

>>893657

We (Kaito) Practically put it in for them/ encouraged them not to give up.

>>893575
>>Go up and talk to them

True story, the reason Sektor was so eager to be a robot was secretly to get rid of involuntary boners and dirty thoughts. He didn't know what to do with that shit and was just securing his inevitable future as a wizard.

>>893666
and Johnny helped a lot with Liu Kang x Kitana as well

>>893682

Canon

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>>893592
>>893603
>>893673
>>893649

He approaches them with a wave. "Hey girls."

Ling smiles. "Square jaw, check, thick head, check... Why Frost, I believe Tundra has come to pay us a visit. Maybe he's feeling lonely?"

Frost looks up from a book in her hands. "Easy," she says to her friend. She looks up at him, but not at his face. "Hello, Zian."

"Up to anything?" he asks.

She shrugs and looks back down at the book. "Not with you, no." Ling giggles nearby.

Tundra narrows his eyes and cocks a brow. "Uh, alright? Did you want to do something, maybe?"

"No thanks." Frost closes her book. "We're just having a little 'us' time."

"But all you do is hang out with each other," he points out.

"Well, if you wanted to spend time together, there were plenty of opportunities," Frost says nonchalantly, absent-mindedly checking her blue nails. Ling continues to giggle, as if she's in on some joke.

"I... don't understand," he says.

"Don't worry about it," she says, just as aloof as before. She stands up, leaving the book in the hammock and walking past him. It occurs to him she didn't even look him in the eyes the entire conversation.

Ling springs upwards and bounces over to him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "There, there. I know it's tragic. I'm sorry, she's just moved on." She giggles some more and chases after Frost to walk with her back towards the base, leaving him there, stumped.

'...The hell just happened?'

He looks over at the book and quickly reads its title; "The Cold Shoulder"

"...Fitting."

>Continue your walk
>Go to Shang's palace
>Head back to base
>Explore the jungle
>Other

>>893710

> Steal the book.

CHAN HAS RETURNED UNTO ME.

>>893710
>>Continue your walk

>>893710
>Continue your walk
But switch their hammocks around first.

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>>893742
>>893777

After nearly circumnavigating the island, but still feeling sore, Zian pauses for a moment to stretch. As he does, a stray wind blows through the nearby jungle, rustling a series of leaves---some more than others. He notices the unnusual movement and investigates more closely, discovering a tunnel hidden by foliage. That's hardly a surprise, as the island itself has a massive network of underground passages, caverns, and Goro's old lair.

Feeling somewhat adventurous, he decides to explore. He walks into the dark passage, immersing himself in shadow completely. One can never know if the oni extermination was completely thorough, or if one of Old Man Tsung's crazed experiments in cross-breeding could be running around, and so he is silent, stepping without noise, just as his mother taught him. Zian sneaks through the caves, listening to the dripping of water and the screeches of faraway bats.

Eventually the cavern gives way to worked stone, and he finds himself in a dungeon. This lair is long abandonned, but not entirely uninhabited. Rats scurry away as he walks through its halls.

That's when he starts to feel it. It begins when he notices an absence of noise; no animals, no screaches, nothing. Then, a cold follows... not a natural chill, but an unnatural one. A familiar chill, one that creeps up his spine like no other can.

He controls himself, keeping from panic. "I know you're there," he whispers. Tundra turns, looking for him in the darkness. His eye scans the area, waiting for Noob to appear.

"Not entirely," the voice of his uncle replies.

"You don't have the orb. You can't be here physically---Shang Tsung has wards upon this island that prevent people like you sneaking in."

"You're a fool to place your faith in such an old man... But you're also correct. I'm not really here."

"Then how are you speaking to me?"

"We have a connection, Tundra... Zian. A very special connection. And this place is very special to me; I have a connection with it as well. Do you know what it is?"

Zian's fists clench. "I don't care."

"You should. This is where I died." His eyes widen as he looks around. "Yesss... Do you know who was responsible?"

"Scorpion killed you."

"True, but who was responsible before that even? When Scorpion dragged me to hell, who could have pulled me free from the hellspawn's grasp? Who could have spared me this fate?"

"I'm not going to listen to any of your lies."

"Kaito!" Noob's voice rings in his head, as a pair of white eyes peer from the darkness. Tundra faces the wraith fully, fists up and ready. "Kaito is the one responsible! He cast Scorpion to hell, he could have saved me!" Noob's dark form grows nearer. "He could have stopped me from becoming what I am..."

>"That's not true."
>"Like I said: I'm not going to listen to this."
>"You deserved to die."
>Leave
>Other

>>893893
>>"You deserved to die."

Maybe a little less harshly worded. But you reap what you sow, brah.

>>893893

> You deserved to die

& I'm not going to turn on Kaito over such an obvious lie.

>>893963
Does anyone remember exactly how that went down?

>>893991
I don't remember the exact details of his death beyond what he's saying about Kaito being actually true.

In terms of deserving it, that's Bi-Han's life story. (Where do bad folks go when they die? They don't go to Heaven where the angels fly.)

And he killed Hanzo first, dude was just gettin' revenge.

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>>893963
>>893967

"Maybe you deserved it," he replies coldly. "Kaito isn't the one who darkened your soul, you did that. You're the one who killed Scorpion. Your trip to the Netherrealm was your fault and there you became what you really are." He points at the spectre. "Don't try to sell me anything else! I know my history well."

"It's true," Noob says, growing nearer still. "I am what I am, and I love what I am. I am free, unburdened by morality, by conscience. I very nearly could have been like you, nephew. Shackled by mortality, imprisoned by lies. I know what I am: but do you know what you truly are?"

"I've heard enough of your lies for one day. I won't hear any more."

"But you're so accustomed to hearing them," he cackles. "Lies, that is. Such as the lie you've been told your entire existence."

"I don't give a damn what Kaito did to you back in the day. That was before I was even born."

"I'm not talking about him anymore," Noob says, his voice slithering around the room as his visage fades into the shadows. "I'm talking about you, Zian... and your parents."

"Enough." He turns to leave.

"Have you ever wondered what our connection truly is about, Zian? Why you are so special to me? Why that, even now, we can speak?"

"I said enough!" He approaches the exit, but it is blocked by shadow, a darkness thick enough to block passage.

"I tried to show you in Outworld what you truly are. Some day, I would like to show you again. But if you ever need know what the truth is, you need only look in a mirror... and talk to mommy."

Noob cackles again, his laughter echoing through the dungeon as he leaves. Tundra turns back and tries to follow the sound, but the wraith, or whatever form of projection of the wraith it was, is gone, along with the darkness.

Zian quickly leaves the tunnels and returns to the beach, leaving the encounter behind and trying his best to ignore whatever he was talking about. Up ahead is the base; he thinks he's had enough of a walk for now.

>Head to your room
>Head to the rec room
>Go to the gym
>Call your parents
>Other

>>894052
>>Head to the rec room

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>>894232

Once inside, he realizes he's grown quite parched. 'A quick drink from the rec room,' he decides, and heads straight there. Upon opening the doors, his ears are filled with the sounds of kung fu fighting. A quick glance at the television reveals that it is a movie marathon of Jackie Chan films, and Cao is sitting in front of it, seemingly enraptured by what he is taking in. Jacqui sits next to him, munching on popcorn.

"This is amazing," he says, watching the action star fight off thugs with a ladder. "It's like they took my life and put it inside the screen!"

"Right," Jacqui says, rolling her eyes and chuckling as she takes another handful.

Tundra walks up to the fridge and takes out some ice-cold lemonade. Cao turns around and sees him when he hears the fridge open. "Zian! Have you seen these things?"

"Once or twice. We didn't really have television in Arctika." He takes a drink of the lemonade and puts the pitcher back inside.

"You should watch these with us!" he says enthusiastically before turning back to the screen.

>Watch the movie marathon
>Head up to your room
>Go to the gym
>Multitask
>Other

>>894317
>>Watch the movie marathon

Eh, it might help take our mind off Douche Saibot

>>894317
>>Watch the movie marathon
Sorry Sam.

>>894317
>Watch the movie marathon

>>894317
>>Multitask
Some body weight exercises while watching.

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>>894336
>>894360
>>894415

After a moment, Tundra shrugs. "Why not?" He climbs over the couch and sits between them as Cao practically bounces in place. 'Who would have thought he'd be such a big fan of the Chan?'

He finds himself greatly enjoying the marathon, and forgetting his earlier gripes and worries. An hour slips by. Then two. At around the half-hour mark past the second hour, Tundra's wrist-communicator buzzes. He holds it up and sees Cassie's face appear in it. Immediately he thinks to himself,

"Hello? Tundra? Come in!"

"Hey, Cassie."

"Dude, where are you? We've been waiting for, like, an hour!"

"Yeah, sorry... I forgot. I got caught up watching the Jackie Chan marathon."

"Tundra! You can't just---Wait, there's a Chan marathon?" She shakes her head. "Tundra! You can't just bail when I gave you an order to report to me later so I could see if you're okay!"

"In my defense, I thought you phrased that as more of a joke?" he shrugs apologetically.

"It wasn't!"

A voice from nearby Cassie can be heard; Sam's, unmistakably. "It's okay, Cassie, really, I'll---"

"No! Hold on!" She holds the communicator closer to her face. "Get over here right now, mister! She---I mean, WE are waiting! And yes that's an order and not a joke! Move it, Lin Kuei!"

She turns her end off. Cao was watching and not listening to their conversation, but Jacqui was. She cocks a brow. "Previous engagement?"

"I guess. Did she sound mad to you?"

She gives him a knowing smile. "Nah, I know Cassie when she's mad. That wasn't mad-Cass, that was just midly-annoyed-Cass. The important distinction is the lack of swearing."

>Ignore the order and remain here
>Ignore the order and head up to your room
>Go to the gym
>Change first, then gym
>Other

>>894465
>Go to the gym
fine, if you insist.
On an unrelated note, does the island have an HR department to report sexual harassment?

>>894465
>>Change first, then gym
Some nice form fitting workout gear.

>>894465
>Change first, then gym

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>>894502
>>894514

Standing up from the couch, he walks towards the exit. "Hey, there's only seven movies left!" Cao shouts back at him.

"It's okay," Jacqui assures him with a shoulder pat.

Tundra heads over to the barracks and his room on the first floor. Once within, he changes out of his battle suit. When he does, he cringes slightly from a sudden pain in his back. 'Need to stretch that out some more,' he thinks begrudgingly. Sitting on the couch for two-and-a-half hours didn't help. As he slips into some more form-fitting clothing suited for a workout, he goes to the mirror and splashes some water onto his face.

When he looks up into the mirror, he sees Noob Saibot. He shouts and blinks once, and then the vision is gone; he is in the mirror once more. He breathes heavily a few times, staring at his reflection.

An echo in his mind reminds him of his earlier conversation. 'You need only look in a mirror... and talk to mommy.'

He shakes his head. "I'm not letting you get to me," he mutters, leaving his room and slamming the door.

During the walk to the gym, he shakes out his hands and cracks his neck. 'I'm fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine.' He pushes open the doors to the spacious gymnasium and quickly catches sight of Cassie and Sam. Ever since Sam's powers were revealed a few months ago during that Omegis fiasco, the finer details of which he tries very hard not to think about, the younger Cage had taken it upon herself to help train the girl and it's really started to show. It's one of the first things one notices about her, especially if you knew her beforehand, as her level of fitness has greatly increased, evidenced by her slightly thinner body and more noticable muscles on her arms and legs. Not to the level of Cassie herself, or arguably any other girl on the team yet, but she's getting there.

Zian approaches them both. "Hey," he says with a smile.

"Hi, Zian," Sam quickly replies, putting her hands behind her back.

"Well, look who finally showed up, eh?" Cassie nudges him in the ribs. "So, what do you want to do first?"

"My back?"

She blinks twice. "What?"

"You... wanted to see about my back?"

"OH! Oh right! Of course, your back, because you got hurt. Ahem." She pauses for a moment. "...How is it?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Fantastic!" she grins and swings her hand. "Glad to hear it! Let's get to it, then!"

'Weird... she seemed concerned about it more earlier,' he notes. Sam, meanwhile, just stands silently and swallows a nervous lump in her throat.

>Lift weights
>Pull-ups
>Crossfit
>Play basketball
>Go swimming
>Combatives/Sparring
>Other

>>894598
>Pull-ups

>>894598
>>Crossfit

That's pretty much all you need to be a fighter, right? MMA pre-fight hype packages are like 75% "Dude swinging two ropes up and down making waves"

>>894598
>>Pull-ups

>>894598
>>Crossfit

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>>894684
>>894820

Tundra looks over at the pull-up bars and approaches them.

Cassie smiles. "Pull-ups? Cool, we'll do some sets. We were just doing some warm-up stuff before you arrived. You know, stretches and such. Just getting our bodies ready."

"I'm familiar with warming up, yes."

She snickers. "Are you sure about that, cryomancer? Eh? Eh?" Both he and Sam look at her strangely. "You know... Because cryomancers and 'warming up' and..." She slowly lowers her hands. Then, her face changes when she detects something in her pocket. She takes out her phone and quickly answers it. "Hello? Oh, hey mom. I mean ma'am. What's that? You need me right away? But I was totally doing a---No! Right away, ma'am!"

She hangs up her phone, but Tundra notices that it never lit up. "Well! That was mom, gotta run!" Before either of them can say a word, Cassie quickly scoops up her gym bag and runs out.

Sam awkwardly turns towards him. "So... I guess it's just the t-two of us, then?"

His eyes stray from the door where Cassie left through back to her. "Yeah... Imagine that."

She rubs one arm in silence for a moment. "So, uh, pull-ups?"

Several minutes later, and he and she are both doing them side-by-side on seperate bars. Zian is well-accustomed to this exercise, able to do many on his own, but Sam is less experienced.

"Can you hold my feet?" she asks, slightly embarrassed. "Cassie does when I run out of juice."

"No problem," he says, getting behind her. She lifts herself up and bends her legs back, allowing him to hold her feet. Though she mostly pulls herself up with her own strength, he does lift her slightly with each one. He averts his eyes respectfully from her backside, not wanting to stare.

>Do the workout quickly and leave
>Make conversation
>Help her push herself further
>Move onto another exercise
>Other

>>894890
>Make conversation
So hows being magic treating you?

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>>894983

After letting her down, Tundra decides to make conversation while she takes a sip of water. "So, how's the training going? Powers coming along nicely?"

"Yeah!" she says, excited to talk about it. So excited, in fact, she nearly spills her water bottle as she sets it down. "Cassie's been kicking my ass into high gear, hah. It's crazy, I think I've been more active in the last few months than I had been for, like, three years."

"Must have been nice."

"I mean, sometimes I miss being lazy," she admits. "N-not too much, though!"

After taking a break, they're back at the pull-ups. Sam finishes her set first, a much smaller number, and looks over at him and silently watches as he does his. Once he sets back down, she asks, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you about something..."

"Yeah? What is it?"

Sam rubs her hands together. "I'm kind of new to this whole super-hero thing. And maybe it's not exactly right to call ourselves that, but I mean, that's kind of what we are, right?"

"Sure, go on."

"Well, I got an email from my old roomie on the behalf of a friend of a friend, and another email from my father, asking me to be in a float for a big holiday parade in Chicago. I've never really been on a parade float before, or been an 'inspiration to young women and aspiring police officers' before. That's what the first email said, hah." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, I was going to try to get some of the others to maybe come with me? It's in a week."

"So... We just sort of stand on a float and wave to people?"

"Generally, yes? I know we haven't done too much in the public eye since being on the team, but I think it would be kind of neat. And maybe, afterwards, we could see some sights around Chicago, m-maybe get some dinner or something..." She pushes her fingers together nervously. She sounds hopeful, but hesitant.

"Alone?"

"Not if you wanted to," she quickly replies. "We could invite the others! Or my old roomie, or you could meet my dad, or anything really. Unless you didn't want to go."

>Sure, I'll go
>No thanks
>Only if we bring some of the others
>How about just the two of us?
>Other

>>895088
>Sure, I'll go
It's be fun to see America.

>>895088
>>Sure, I'll go

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>>895109
>>895139

He gives her a thumbs-up and says, "Sure, I'll go."

"Great!" She clasps her hands together in front of her. "I'll get a few things ready. I just hope no super-villains attack the parade, huh?"

"...Why would they?"

"I don't know," she chuckles nervously. "I wasn't serious, I was just... Anyway, I'm gonna go grab a towel."

She walks away towards the towel rack, leaving Tundra to wait for her. He sits down and thinks about how awkward this seems. While nothing outwardly has occurred that would warrant the awkwardness, apart from them working out alone, he can't help but recall their brief 'fling' while he was under Omegis' mind control. She had desired for the three of them to do something rather not appropriate in a professional environment. Sam, all the while immune to her mind-control, had to play along---and that involved a rather aggressive kiss from him.

He didn't not like Sam. Rather the opposite, he quite admires her and the determination she's shown to stay on the team, but things have been rocky since that night. While nothing has kept them from working and fighting together on the team, they haven't spent much time alone with each other until now. They've done a fairly good job at avoiding each other, until Cassie suddenly up and left them alone.

As she returns, he looks up at her. "You know, I can't help but feel that Cassie set this up in a way."

"Oh... Well, uh, maybe?" she says with an uncertain look. "I mean, maybe her mom really did call her?"

'That's not very convincing...' he thinks.

>Push her to tell the truth
>Forget it for now and finish up the workout
>Move past it and onto another exercise
>Change the subject and talk about something else
>Other

>>895262
>>Move past it and onto another exercise

>>895262
>Move past it and onto another exercise
Probably just Cassie smoothing wrinkles in team dynamics. Leader type stuff.

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>>895322
>>895368

'It's probably just Cass trying to patch up holes on the team. Not very subtly, sure, but I can't blame her.' He stands back up. "So, what do you feel like doing next?"

"How about some weights?"

"Sounds good to me."

Over the next fifteen to twenty minutes or so, they spend time curling weights while casually chatting. As they do so, Tundra has to admit to himself that he actually rather missed how personable Sam could be in conversation. 'It's good to know that Cassie's training regimen hasn't stolen the smile from her face,' he thinks as she recounts one of her experiences when she worked retail during High School. Having come from a completely different life than he, it's also nice to just get her perspective on things; it reminds him that he doesn't quite need to take things so seriously.

"And then what happened?" he asks, switching his weights for a heavier set.

"She left the check-out stand to chase after the woman who 'stole' the last box, and ended up slipping on some kid's skateboard. She broke her hip, which was hillarious."

He chuckles. "I can only imagine."

"Buuuut... she sued the place and the manager blamed me for the whole thing, so I got fired. That job was definitely NOT going on my resume, hah."

"Yeah, well... at least you bounced back, right?"

"Sure, look at me now!" She giggles into her hand as she walks over and sets down her weight. "Thanks for listening to my dumb story."

"It wasn't that dumb. I've never been in a supermarket before, so I found it interesting."

"You know, sometimes I forget that you were trained by a clan of ninjas your entire life."

"Hah, yeah... We don't really like the term ninja."

"Right, sorry, I forget about that sometimes, too."

"It's fine. To be fair, we do look like them. Or rather, they look like us."

She cocks her brow and leans on a nearby weight rack. "Oh, don't go all 'chicken or the egg' on me now---" The weight rack wobbles slightly from her leaning on it, causing it to fall with a few loud noises. Her eyes go wide and she stumbles back as this happens, having lost her balance. He's over to help in an instant, but she's fine---the floor is padded.

"Oh, kill me now," she groans as she looks at the weights she spilled all over, thinking she's made a fool of herself.

"That's very difficult, given your powers," he jokes as he offers her a hand. She stares at it for a moment and then gently takes it, whereupon he pulls her up. She moves close to him and touches his arm.

Her eyes look up into his. "I..."

He clears his throat. "We should probably get the weights?"

"Right! Right." She pulls away and the two of them go to work on setting the rack back up and putting the weights back on in the proper order. "Clumsy me," she says with a blush.

>One more exercise for the night
>Bid Sam goodnight and return to your room
>Get a drink with Sam and hang out some more
>See what the others are up to
>Other

>>895487
>See what the others are up to
Chan movies are likely still going on.

>>895487
>>Get a drink with Sam and hang out some more

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>>895629
>>895644

Afterwards, they decide to get a drink in the rec room. A light workout, not too intensive, which suits Zian just fine---his back is still sore. They walk there, chatting and laughing, only to discover that Cao, Jacqui and Cassie are still here---and that Ling and Frost have even joined them for the marathon.

With a shared look, the two of them decide to join the others. The marathon goes well past midnight, and soon many of them are asleep in front of the television. Ling retires first, heading up to her room, followed by Jacqui less than five minutes later. Cassie has fallen asleep on the couch, as has Frost---her head leaning on Cao's shoulder. The thief doesn't seem to mind, as he is still intently focused on the screen.

Sam lets out a yawn and soon enough she is dozing as well. Much like Frost, her head comes to rest on Zian's shoulder, and her hand on his leg. When he tries to move, she holds on, letting out a small, "Hmmmph..." in protest. He smiles to himself and simply lays back on the couch, letting her have her way.

At least for several more minutes, when the sound of the team arriving from Chaosrealm wakes them all up. Sam startles awake as Tundra stands up to open the doors to take in the sight of Takeda and Kung Jin slogging towards their rooms, looking worse for wear. "What happened?" he asks them.

"Chaosrealm fucking sucks," Takeda mutters.

"Ditto," Jin agrees.

Vapor enters the hall then, her hair disheveled and outfit torn in several places. "What happened?" he repeats the question to her.

"I do NOT want to talk about it right now. Maybe tomorrow morning." She slides past him.

Kaito then enters, looking honestly rather fine. He sees Tundra's questioning look and says, "First time trips to Chaosrealm can be hard on people. Debriefing in the morning."

"Rodger," he says, watching Kaito head to the barracks. Sam, Cao and Frost walk up behind him, with the officer checking her watch.

"It's late. I should really hit the hay." She smiles up at Tundra. "Goodnight, Zian. See you tomorrow."

Frost, not to be outdone even when there is no contest, leans over and gives Cao a goodnight kiss on the cheek, leaving a small stain of blue behind. Tundra gives her a confused as she saunters past him, but she doesn't say anything. He, however, recalls what Ling said earlier---'she's just moved on.' With Cao?

Cao looks at him, also seemingly caught off-guard by the sudden display of affection. "You still wanna watch the rest?" he asks.

"Nah... I'm good. Thanks." He pauses before adding, "Oh, by the way, you've got some blue on your cheek."

"Oh..." He rubs his cheek and the two stand awkwardly for a moment before the thief steps back and flips over the top of the couch.

Tundra heads to the barracks.

>Go to sleep
>Stay up for a while and stretch
>Call home
>Talk to Frost
>Other

I'll call it for the night. We'll be resuming tomorrow after I get home from a session of D&D.

I'll keep you informed, so stay tuned!

>>895878
>>Call home

>>895878
>>Call home

>>895878
>Call home. Also what timezone is the island in for earth?

>>895878
>Call home

>>895925
>Also what timezone is the island in for earth?

It's off the coast of China...but also halfway in another dimension, so...?

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>>895914
>>895924
>>895925
>>895947

Settling onto his bed, Tundra grabs a tablet and turns it on. A symbol of the Lin Kuei clan flashes on its screen, and once it is fully booted up, he opens a contact list and selects the contact "Mom" to call.

It rings for a few moments before it is answered. His mother's face appears on the screen and she speaks. "Zian? Hello?"

"Hey, mom."

"It's so good to hear from you! How are you doing? Are things going well with the team?"

"Yeah, everything's okay. I'm alright." He shifts slightly, unwilling to make his mother too concerned. "How are things at home? Dad?"

"You know your father and how he is, there's always something to keep his mind occupied. But what about you, are you keeping busy?"

"I've been training very hard."

"Don't JUST focus on training, Zian. Not even your father did that. After all, he had to make time for me, because he knew what I would do to him if he didn't!" She brings a hand up to her mouth to stiffle a fit of laughter, and Zian chuckles along with her. "Speaking of which, have you met anyone yet?"

"Mom..."

"What about that pretty Cage girl?"

"Cassie? She's my superior. That wouldn't be professional, even if she doesn't always act the most professional..."

"There's always that Briggs girl, isn't there?"

"I think she's already in a relationship... or maybe just broke up? Either way, I'm not really all that interested in getting into a---"

"Well, there must be someone! We can't have you be so lonely over there! Are you still hung up on Frost?"

"Mom, I didn't call you to talk about relationships!"

"Oh, calm down," she giggles. "I'm allowed to tease my only son. So, what is it, then?"

>Talk about Noob Saibot
>Ask about a "lie"
>Talk about her visiting with Dad sometime
>Mention the parade
>Other

>>896746
>Talk about Noob Saibot

Hey folks, I'm home. We'll be resuming shortly!

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>>896746

"I, uh... I had something of a run-in earlier with Noob Saibot."

The smile runs away from her face. "Oh... What happened?"

"We took the orb from him, mom. He shouldn't be able to haunt me still. The nightmares stopped, but somehow he's still reaching me..." Tundra rubs his forehead. "He said something that I haven't been able to get out of my head. I don't exactly know, but---"

"What did he say?" she cuts him off.

"...That I should ask you," he replies.

Sareena silently stares at the screen on her end before she looks away. "I see."

"Mom?" he says after several moments. She is clearly deep in thought. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I don't think so, honey..." She looks back at him. "We will talk about this, soon. But it's late where you are. You should get to bed."

"Mom, I---"

"Goodnight, Zian, thank you for calling," she says, and suddenly cuts the call. He sits back, his finger hovering over the redial, but then turns the screen off and sets the tablet aside. Resting his head back, he stares at the ceiling for a while, wondering what that was suddenly all about.

His eyes eventually flutter shut and sleep finds him soon after.

The next morning, as he sits in the mess hall for breakfast, someone sits across from him. He looks up from his eggs and sees Cassie.

"So? How was your 'workout' last night?" she asks with a sly smile, raising her eyebrows.

"Hm? Oh, it was fine. Not very intense."

"Annnnnnnd?" she asks expectingly.

"Annnnnd, we then joined you in the rec room."

"What, so nothing happened?" She seems disappointed.

"What was supposed to happen?"

"Oh, uh, nothing."

"...Then everything went according to plan?"

"For now." She pokes at her eggs and then changes the topic. "So! Question: how do you feel about Christmas trees?"

He blinks. "I'm... neutral?"

"You guys celebrate Christmas at the Lin Kuei, right?"

"No."

Cassie sets her fork down. "Well, we didn't do anything for Halloween or Thanksgiving, so I think we should do something for Christmas. I'm feeling very unseasonal... on this tropical island."

"I've never celebrated any of those holidays," Tundra says. "In fact, I think most of the team never has. A quarter of us are from Outworld, others are from China or Japan, there's you, Jacqui and Sam... And something tells me Fireseed hasn't celebrated a holiday in his life."

"Exactly! That's why we should get in the holiday spirit. This could be your first Christmas! I think it would be a great team-building thing. What do you think?"

>Nah, I don't celebrate it
>Sure, why not?
>Do I have to do any work?
>I think you should consult the team as a whole.
>Other

>>897251
>>Sure, why not?

>>897251
>Do I have to do any work?
We don't have any Jewish people on base, do we?

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>>897275
>>897345

"Well, I don't see what harm it could really do."

"Great! I'm going to need your help in making some snow, then."

"...Snow?"

"Y'know, for the effect. We'll need Frost on board too, but you can handle that, right?"

"I don't know... Frost has been giving me, well, the cold shoulder."

"Seriously? Is something wrong between you two?" She looks across the mess hall at Frost and Ling chatting over their own meals.

"I don't think so. At least, not in that way. I don't think she's mad at me, just... She's been acting, I don't know, aloof?"

"Huh. Weird. Well, see if you can get her to help in making snow for later on."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Great! I might also need you to play Santa Claus at some point."

"Wait, I don't---"

"Talk later!" Cassie says, picking up her tray and swiftly leaving the mess hall. Tundra watches her go with a frown.

'She's been acting so strange lately. I wonder what's caused it. I hope this isn't another case of mind control.' He returns to his eggs when he notices Sam and Vapor enter the cafeteria, get trays and sit at a table. They appear to be having a friendly conversation of their own.

>Talk with Sam and Vapor
>Talk with Frost and Ling
>Head out to morning training
>Head outside
>Go to the Rec Room
>Other

>>897357
>Talk with Frost and Ling
Let's find out what Frost's deal is, and also let her know that it's apparently our job to make this a White Christmas for the base.

>>897357
>>Talk with Frost and Ling

>>897357
>>Other
Find Grandpa Shang, ask him what the true meaning of Christmas is.

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>>897359
>>897361

His eyes then drift from the two of them to Frost and Ling, who are just finishing up their breakfast. He decides to walk over to their table and sit down. Ling is about to say something when Frost keeps her in check with a hand. "I got this. I'll catch up later."

The outworlder shrugs and slips away, leaving the cafeteria afterwards. Tundra looks at Frost. "Why have you been acting so strange since yesterday?"

"Look, it's not you," she says simply. "I've just kind of gotten over one or two issues I had."

"Issues?"

"Yeah, you know. Issues. I mean, you've always known I've had them. Hang-ups about Sub-Zero and stuff like that, but I'm over it."

"And you can just... 'get over' it?"

"It wasn't THAT easy. I thought about it for a long time. I also talked the ears off of that shrink. I probably have his record for sessions; I have a LOT of issues. But in the end, I decided that just because you and I are both cryomancers doesn't mean we're destined to be. Sorry."

He sits back. "That's what this is all about?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm done waiting around for you to make a move and me not trying to push for something myself. It just doesn't seem healthy, you know?"

"Sure, but..."

"Anyway, I think it'll work out for the better if we just stay friends." She puts her hand on his. "I hope this doesn't hurt or anything. I mean, I know we didn't really have anything solid going on, but still."

>No, it's fine; remain friends
>For some reason, this rejection makes her more appealing
>Get defensive; what don't you have?
>Ask her what she plans to do now
>Other

>>897469
>>Other
I'm confused.

>>897469
>Get defensive; what don't you have?
Tundra, bless his heart, wasn't even aware he and Frost were trying to be a thing. Does he at least know how much she bullied Sam about it?

>>897476
Frost wanted to hook up with Tundra, not least because she lost Sub-Zero himself to Sareena 20 years ago (which led to the accidental self-cryostasis incident 20 years ago). She even went so far as to bully the shit out of Sam when the team first formed, since she also seemed to have eyes on Tundra. We don't know Frost's entire thought process, since she's one of the most "troubled" members of the team, but during Cao's stint as Kahn, she had a heart-to-heart with Cao and got his opinion on things. That helped settle things, apparently, since Frost has given up on Tundra - and keeping things in the Lin Kuei in general - and is now throwing signs at Cao, since he's the only real kindred spirit she has on the base.

That's what I can gather. Unfortunately for Tundra, all this has gone completely over his head, mostly because Frost never explains to anyone what she's thinking.

>>897469
>>Get defensive; what don't you have?

>>897496
No, I know that.

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>>897476
>>897478
>>897527

"Wait, I'm confused. I didn't even know you wanted me to make the first move!"

"What, was I that subtle?" she snickers. "I mean, I was really interested... for a while. I wanted it badly, to the point where I was actively trying to keep others away from you, but I wanted YOU to want me and you just sort of never did. But that's only one part of it; the shrink helped me realize that this was all just a, what did he put it? A manifestation of my old desires to be wanted by Sub-Zero. I subconsciously projected him onto you, and really, can you blame me? You're like a clone of the old man."

"Well what don't I have?" he asks, growing slightly defensive.

She pats the back of his hand. "Nothing, you're fine, really. You're a swell guy. Well, maybe you can't see a good thing when it's staring you right in the eyes because you're too focused on other things, but I can't blame you for that or anything." Her grip on his hand tightens slightly. "It's fine, Zian. I've just moved on."

He scratches the back of his head. "I just... Why didn't we ever really talk about this?"

She takes a sip of milk and raises her eyebrows nonchalantly. "I guess I was just waiting for you to go first. But since you never did, I figured you weren't interested. Why should I tie myself down waiting for someone who never looks my way?"

"I wasn't opposed to the idea," he says softly. "There's just a lot going on. And we're on the team together. I just thought it wouldn't, you know, be appropriate."

"Things are what we make of them," Frost replies, setting her glass down. "Maybe you think it'd be inappropriate, but I'm looking for something else. You don't have to overthink it." She lets go and picks up her tray. "If you want something, just go get it, you know? That's what I'm shooting for. Later, Zian."

She walks away, putting the tray away and leaving the mess hall and Tundra behind, still somewhat confused. He realizes he didn't tell her about the snow, but in hindsight that seems almost trivial to this. It's strange... While he never actively sought her as a partner or anything more than a friend, he had thought about it on occasion, but now it's completely off the table? He has to admit, due to them both being cryomancers and both Lin Kuei, the idea had crossed his mind, but he's always been so focused on training or other matters that he put it off.

Laughter from the other side of the room draws his attention as Sam nearly shoots milk out of her nose; something Vapor said has sent her into a laughing fit. He watches them for a moment and thinks.

>Put it all aside for now; go do your morning routine
>Consider a different relationship than one with Frost
>Decide instead to now actively pursue Frost
>Go sit at their table
>Other

>>897545
>Go sit at their table

>>897545
>>Go sit at their table
Vaper never did tell us about what happened on the mission.

>>897545

> Consider a different relationship

Ling has a nice... HAHAHA no.

Reflect on your feelings for Sam.

>>897605
There are no feelings for Sam, not yet. Tundra only admires her for getting over her crippling weakness in the beginning and holding out hope just long enough for her to discover she has one of the most busted powers in all of Mortal Kombat (total immunity to magic and sudden trauma) and finding her place on the team.

>>897626

Yeah but he's just been told he missed something right in front of his face. Ic ould see him re-examining his feelings for all the girls in case he's a dumbass.

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>>897560
>>897562

Tundra walks over to them. "Something must have been pretty funny, huh?" he says with a smile.

Sam sets her glass down. "I'm sorry. Andela was just telling me about their mission."

"How was that, by the way?" he asks as he sits down. "You said you'd tell me about it."

Vapor smiles. "Okay. I want you to start by imagining a gigantic toilet."

"What?"

Suddenly, and inexplicably before Vapor can continue her story, Tundra's communicator lights up. General Sonya is on the other end. "Zian, please report to the portal chamber. You have visitors. Over."

"What? I mean, right away, ma'am."

She cuts the feed and he gives them both a curious look. "I'll have to hear it later, I guess." He stands up and quickly walks towards the OWEA half of the base where the portal generator is based. After getting cleared, he steps through a sliding set of metal doors and is suddenly face-to-face with his father, his mother and a frost giant.

"Mom! Dad! Bestla!"

"Son," Sub-Zero says. Sareena stands alongside him and gives him a small wave.

The giantess Bestla gives him a big smile. "Hallo, leetle Tundra!" While her time with the Lin Kuei has allowed her to learn how to speak their language, she still maintains a heavy accent.

>Ask them why they have suddenly visited
>Greet them and offer to show them around the base
>"Is there some kind of crisis going on?"
>Let them explain
>Other

>>897645
That's just it; the girls haven't really been on his mind. He's concerned with getting stronger as the literal heir to the Lin Kuei.

>>897646
>Ask them why they have suddenly visited

>>897646

> Is there a crisis

>>897646
>>Ask them why they have suddenly visited

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>>897655
>>897670
>>897716

"What brings you here, so suddenly?" he asks as General Cage walks up alongside them. "Not that it's an unwelcome visit, I mean. Is there a crisis?"

"No, not yet," his father replies.

"Grandmaster Sub-Zero has graciously made us an offer that we find difficult to refuse," Sonya says. She then nods at Sub-Zero, who takes out a black wooden box with a highly polished surface. Holding it out in front of him, he opens it to reveal a medal inside.

Tundra's eyes go wide. He has only seen this artifact a few times in his life. "The Dragon Medallion!"

"Indeed." Sub-Zero closes the box. "Its power allows any who wield it to greatly increase thier own abilities to a level that far exceeds their standard skills."

"With minimal side effects," Sareena points out.

"The grandmaster has agreed to let us test the Dragon Medallion with the team," Sonya explains. "In a controlled environment, of course. We don't want anything to go wrong."

Tundra's mind briefly flickers back to Frost---she once tried to steal the medallion, and ended up frozen... for nearly fifteen years.

"In addition to this, we also have something else." His father looks at his mother and nods to her. She produces a unique case that is cold to the touch, with a semi-translucent surface. Tundra leans over and peers inside, noting four objects within---large eggs.

"The white dragon eggs from Outworld? They haven't hatched, yet?"

"We hope to change that today," Sub-Zero confirms. "We will need some time to prepare your training room for the proper conditions. General, if you would?"

"Right this way," Sonya says.

Before Tundra can ask why Bestla is here, she suddenly answers by scooping him up in one arm into a crushing hug. "I meesed you very much!" she says. He lets out a small cry as his sore back is pressed on by her massive forearm.

"That's... nice... Bestla!" he says with a pained grin. "But could you... set me down... please?"

"Oh! Sorry. I forgeet my own... stranth? Streeng?" She briefly struggles with the last word as she sets him down. He breathes hard.

"Strength," he corrects the large cryomancer. "And you have a lot of it."

"So sorry."

>Follow your parents
>Chat with Bestla
>Head back to the others
>Ask mom for a look at the eggs
>Other

>>897733

> Eggs.

>>897733
>Follow your parents
>Chat with Bestla
I didn't know Sub-Zero kept company with a friendly ice giantess.

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>>897743

Actually, Tundra is the one who met Bestla during an adventure in Outworld, during the "Legacy of the Lin Kuei" two-parter. You can read about it here:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/325031/

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/352882/

>>897733
>>Follow your parents
>>Chat with Bestla
>>897743
we saved her from outworld last time we were tundra

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>>897743
>>897761

Tundra and the giantess quickly take after his parents, though she must crouch for a considerable portion of the journey, as the base was not designed with giants in mind.

"So, how have things been at the temple?" he asks her.

"Very good! Sometimes meess home, but Arctica very nice. I like to wrestle ice-beasts."

He gives her a strange look. "The ice-beasts? Those yeti monsters? With the claws that tear apart men?"

"Very fun. You should try sometime, yes!"

Sareena looks back over her shoulder. "She's actually managed to wrangle more than a few into pens for us. We've never captured them before."

"That's very impressive," she says to her, and she offers a sheepish grin.

Sub-Zero speaks but doesn't look back. "Yes, but they are ferocious beasts, wild and untamed. Perhaps unable to be tamed. They have little advantage for the Lin Kuei."

Tundra catches his meaning, remembering their conversation about the dragon eggs many months ago. "But dragons, on the other hand..."

"Exactly." They reach the training room and enter it. As Sonya explains about the many uses it has, Bestla squeezes through the doors.

"Oh! This room is nice. Very big. Good for me!" She laughs as she stands up straight, reaches up and touches the ceiling.

Tundra folds his arms and smiles. "Yeah, it's really something, isn't it? We train in here."

"Should make more rooms like theese," she looks down at him. "Then I could veeseet more." She brings a hand up to her forehead and wipes away a small amount of sweat. "Hot, though..."

"This should do nicely," Sub-Zero nods, his arms folded. "With proper safeties in place, this should make a fine test chamber."

"I agree, grandmaster," Sonya concurs.

>When do we start testing?
>Who is going first?
>Are we going to work on the Medallion, or the Eggs first?
>Should I assemble the team?
>Other

>>897824
>Are we going to work on the Medallion, or the Eggs first?

>>897824
>>Are we going to work on the Medallion, or the Eggs first?

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>>897830
>>897852

Tundra approaches them. "So, which comes first? Testing the medallion, or hatching the eggs?"

Sub-Zero faces him. "We will need time to prepare, but once this chamber is properly made ready, it is my hope that we can accomplish both at the same time. The assistance of Frost will be necessary."

"What do you mean, both at the same time?"

"My efforts to hatch the eggs have unfortunately failed. Even with the assistance of the Dragon Medallion and the cryomancer armor you recovered, they have not yielded any results. However, I believe that if you, I, Frost and Bestla, as the only remaining cryomancers, combine our power with these tools, we can achieve success."

"That makes sense," Tundra nods. "Four cryomancers are better than one."

"And the four of us should be able to infuse enough cryonic power into the eggs to spark their awakening, or at least trick them into thinking that their mother is trying to do so."

Sareena approaches and holds up the case for them to look into. Tundra takes in the sight of the four eggs; they are just as he remembered them. Three of them are of equal size, and the fourth is noticeably smaller than the other three.

"Tomorrow, I think, or later tonight," Sub-Zero says. "In the meantime we will remain here."

>Give them a tour of the base
>Train with your father and Bestla
>Help with the preparations
>Go speak to the other team members about the upcoming tests
>Pull your mother off to the side for a chat
>Speak to your father about Noob
>Other

>>897926
>Give them a tour of the base

>>897926
>Give them a tour of the base

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>>897965
>>898014

Tundra offers them a tour of the base, but it becomes increasingly evident that Bestla is going to have difficulty doing so. He offers to take her outside, but when he does, she becomes burdened by the tropical heat.

"This weather!" she pants, now sweating profusely. "How can anyone leev in this heat?"

He looks at her heavy animal skin cloak and armor. "Uh, perhaps you're wearing too much? You're not exactly dressed for the weather. We could always put you back in the training chamber, it can get very cold with the settings turned down low---"

He is suddenly hit with her helmet, then her cloak, and then most of her other clothing. Sareena puts a hand over Tundra's eyes as Sub-Zero shakes his head. The nearly naked giantess stands tall and proud on the beach in all her frost giant glory, blue skin shining and blonde hair blowing in the wind. "Much better!" she cries. She approaches the water and dips a toe in. "Oh. Oh! This is nice!"

As they stand in the doorway, Cassie walks by. "Sup Tundra. Oh, hey grandmaster! When did you---" She stops in her tracks and lowers her sunglasses as her eyes go up and down. "When did we get a giant naked blue lady?"

Suddenly and without warning, Takeda runs down the hallway and sticks his head out. "I heard something about a giant naked bluuuuoooh wow," he whistles. "I love this job." Cao peaks around his shoulder and is similarly transfixed on the sight.

Bestla splashes around in the tropical waters, apparently enjoying this little trip to the island.

Tundra looks over at his father. "So, uh... the rec room is this way, and the barracks and the mess hall are down that way..."

>Leave her be for now
>Try to get her back inside
>Quickly drag your parents to another part of the base
>Beach party?
>Other

>>897926
>>Give them a tour of the base

>>898047
>Leave her be for now

>>898047

> Beach Party

or

> Leave her to swim

Ask her to catch us a great white

>>898047
>>Leave her be for now

>>898047
>Leave her be for now
just don't do anything stupid. Takeda.

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>>898061
>>898064
>>898067
>>898078

"Should we get her?" Cassie asks.

Tundra rubs his chin as he thinks, then replies, "I think she'll be alright for now. She's never been in an environment like this, so why not let her enjoy it?"

"I see little harm in it," Sub-Zero says. He looks over at the other men on his son's team and adds, "Other than distraction."

Kaito walks down the hallway at that moment. "Kuai! So good to see you!" He shakes his old friend's hand. He gives Sareena a hug. "Always a pleasure. So what brings---" He stops as he sees Bestla outside, and stares for several seconds. Sareena snaps her finger and he looks back. "So what brings you here, other than that?"

Sub-Zero and Sareena walk off with Kaito, chatting about recent events, leaving Tundra to deal with the others. He turns to them and says, "Just don't disturb her, okay?"

"I can't find anything disturbing about this," Takeda snickers. "Boy, of all the times to not have a camera..."

"Maybe I could draw you a picture?" Cao jokes.

"Alright, that's enough," Cassie says, grabbing both him and Cao by the ears. They whine in protest as she drags them off. "Both of you are on extra detail. No giant blue titties for you."

Tundra smirks and lets her do her thing.

>Spend the rest of the day relaxing in preparation
>Confer with the team about the Dragon Medallion
>Catch up with Sam and Vapor
>Sneak a peak at the medallion and the eggs
>Other

>>898114
>Sneak a peak at the medallion and the eggs
I'm feeling this option

>>898114
>Sneak a peak at the medallion and the eggs

>>898114
>Confer with the team about the Dragon Medallion
The potential is limitless.

I just realized.... aren't khameleon and her kids still on the island? Mildly interested in knowing what would happen if she held the medallion.

>>898139

No, not at the moment. She's been dealt with.

PERMANENTLY.

Cao worked out where she'd be going, don't worry.

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>>898127
>>898128

Later that evening, with the tour done and his visitors settled down in guest quarters (albeit the 'guest quarters' for Bestla is the island's large walk-in freezer in the mess hall) Tundra finds himself curious. The rest of the team are all busy with something or other, and they have all been properly introduced to his parents so that is out of the way, leaving him ample opportunity to subtly move through the halls towards the training room. He enters to find the preparations for the chamber mostly complete, with two cases containing the Dragon Medallion and the eggs. They are locked within a secure container, but a simple handprint from Tundra to confirm that he is a member of the New Defenders is all that is required to open it.

He opens the case with the medallion first to look upon its surface. He has always been fascinated by the artifact, though he has never held it. In his childhood, when he doubted that he could ever become as great a cryomancer as his father, he thought about using it to boost his power... but that would have involved stealing from his father, and he knew well what had happened to Frost when she sought to use the medallion without proper care or preparation.

Driven by an intense curiosity, his fingers gently run along its surface, tracing the curving image of the dragon. As he does so, he can almost feel the power of the item contained within, and the promise of what kind of power it could bring him... but he pulls his hand back and closes the case once more.

Now, his eyes turn towards the dragon eggs. He opens the second case, a small hissing noise emitting as he does, and feels the eggs. They're exactly as he remembered them; cold and with a semi-smooth scaled texture. His hand moves to the smallest egg, large enough to fit in his hand but not much else. Holding it up to inspect it further, he recalls when he first laid eyes upon it, in that dragon lair far away in the frozen reaches of Outworld. Even then and now he feels a strange kinship towards this egg, an unexplainable attraction and pull towards it.

'Why is that?' he wonders. 'What are you, little egg? What are you hiding inside?'

His thumb gently rubs it as he turns it around.

>Try to hatch it with your power
>Use the Dragon Medallion to hatch it
>Put it back
>A sudden visitor catches you
>Other

>>898219
>Try to hatch it with your power
Maybe it needs a gentler touch, instead of pure icy force.

>>898219
>A sudden visitor catches you
Frost thinks Tundra is going to pull the same shit she did almost 20 years ago.

>>898219
>A sudden visitor catches you
BESTLA FUCKS TUNDRA RIGHT WHILE FROST SPIES ON IT WITH TEARS IN HER EYES

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>>898227
>>898239
>>898378

Slowly, his hands come to close around the egg. His eyes slide shut as he feels the surface while gently holding onto it. There is something here, a strange aura surrounding the egg. In this moment, as his hands turn white from his power, he begins to realize something else about it. It is more than an egg, it is a vessel, a barrier, a chest. Transporting, protecting, concealing. As a thin layer of ice begins to form across its surface, he realizes another thing: he can feel the life within it. A small, repetitive beating, like that of a tiny heart, pounding away at a slow, relaxed and consistent pace.

'It's sleeping...'

"Zian!" A voice startles him out of the focused state he had found himself in. He turns and puts the egg behind his back as Frost approaches him. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"Nothing," he quickly lies.

She looks at the table next to him, recognizing the black case within. "Is that..." Her eyes widen. "The Dragon Medallion? What is it doing here?!"

"Everything is alright," he assures her. "Father brought it to---"

She cuts him off. "Were you in here touching it?"

"Well, no, not exactly," he explains. "I only looked at it, and gently touched it."

"You can't touch it!" she says, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. "Do you want to end up FROZEN for fifteen years?!"

As she pulls him away, he neglects the strange rumbling he feels in his hands. "Frost, that's not going to happen this time. We're much stronger than when you tried to take it long ago."

"I don't want you to end up like I did!" she says, ignoring his words. "That thing is dangerous, don't you understand?"

Although touched by her sudden concern, he continues his effort to calm her. "Frost, please! Just listen to me, I---"

Suddenly, there is a shrill cry that causes them both to stop. It came from behind him. That's when she notices the open egg case, and the missing egg. "Zian...?"

Slowly, he takes the egg out from behind him and holds it before her, both of their eyes looking at its surface. Its cracked and broken surface, that is, for something is emerging. Utterly amazed and stunned into complete silence, they watch as the small creature slowly pokes out its head, white as snow, and opens a pair of bright blue eyes that look right up at him. Tiny clawed hands hold onto the edge of the broken shell.

"Tundra... What did you do?" she whispers as the baby dragon lets out another small cry, its tiny little wings stretching out.

>Name it
>Take it to your father
>Show it to the others
>Let it stretch its wings
>Other

>>898439
>Name it
Yukiryu, "Snow Dragon"
>Let it stretch its wings

>>898454

Nailed it, backing.

>>898439
> let it stretch it's wings
It's a Christmas miracle! And one we can rub in the old man's face.

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>>898454
>>898473
>>898503

After hearing her question, he reaches up and helps the small creature climb out of its shell. Its claws find his finger and latch on as he lifts upwards, bringing it out of the shell completely. Frost takes the remnants and sets them aside as he holds the little dragon in his palm, watching as it flaps its wings and chirps.

"I can't believe it," she says, astonishment in her voice. "You actually did it! You hatched a dragon egg, Zian!"

"I'm having a hard time believing it myself," he whispers. "Father said he couldn't do it. Why could I?"

With the finger of his other hand, he gently rubs the belly of the small dragon as it rolls onto its back. Its chirping laughter and playful scraping at its finger serve only to endear it more to him.

"So, what is it? A guy dragon or a girl dragon?"

"I... don't know," he replies.

"Are you going to name it?"

"Name it?"

"It's your dragon, isn't it? That's how it works, right?" She puts her hands on her hips. "It should have a name. Maybe something gender-neutral, until we figure that part out."

He looks down at the small, white creature as its tiny wings flap excitedly. It looks up into his eyes and stares, seemingly communicating without words.

"Yukiryu," he suddenly says as inspiration strikes him. "Snow dragon."

"I like it," Frost says with a smile. "But what about the others?"

"I don't know what they'll make of it, honestly."

"I meant the eggs."

"Oh. I don't know about that, either. Originally, father wanted the three of us and Bestla to try hatching the eggs, but this one just hatched when I held it up... I don't know why."

The white dragon curls up into a small ball in his palm, its wing covering most of its body as it closes its eyes and starts to sleep.

"That's fucking adorable," Frost deadpans. "What? Don't look at me like that, it is."

>Try to hatch the other eggs
>Go right to Sub-Zero
>Let Frost try to hatch one
>Seek out your teammates
>Other

>>898548
>Go right to Sub-Zero
One is enough.

>>898548
> Go right to sub zero, the person not the temperature

>>898548

> Frost you're up

Quickly though, afterwards we got to get the others.

>>898548
>Let Frost try to hatch one
Mommy and Daddy!

>>898597
>>898606
We've got three bigger eggs, and those might require different conditions. Let's not chance it.

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>>898567
>>898595
>>898597
>>898606

Tundra quickly looks up and realizes what he has to do. "I have to show dad this!" He sprints towards the exit, leaving Frost behind.

"Hey, wait!" she calls out. "What about these things?"

"Watch them for me!" he says as he runs out. She puts her hands on her hips and looks over at the eggs, wondering.

Upon reaching the guest quarters, he knocks on the door. "Grandmaster! Father! You must see!"

The door slides open a moment later and Tundra slips in past the questioning gaze of his father. Sareena walks over. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Far from it!" He holds out his open palms. "Look!"

She gasps as Sub-Zero looks upon the tiny dragon. "Zian... Is this...?"

"It is," he nods at the elder cryomancer. The small dragon perks up and stares at Sub-Zero for a moment, yawns and then resumes its sleepy state. "I was inspecting the eggs, and it just hatched!"

"Just like that?" he asks, slightly suspicious. "Are you certain?"

"He's telling the truth," Sareena says, knowing when her son is lying.

Sub-Zero concedes. "Fair enough, my love. But how, and why?"

"It just happened. I don't know why, but I think it might have something to do with my connection to the egg." He sits down on the couch as he looks at the tiny one. "This was the smallest egg of the four. For some reason, ever since I found them, I've felt differently about that one."

Sareena sits next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Because?"

"Because I used to still doubt myself as a cryomancer," he replies, looking up at his father. "At least, until that journey. But something about this egg being the smallest of its brothers just made me care about it more, I suppose."

"Curious." Sub-Zero scratches his beard, deep in thought. "There may be a connection between your feelings for the egg and its successful hatching."

Sareena touches its tiny head with a finger, feeling its scales. It coos softly as she does, bringing a smile to her face. "It is certainly a small one..." Sub-Zero says under his breath.

>Can I keep it, or is it the property of the clan?
>I have named it Yukiryu.
>What about the other eggs?
>Are you displeased?
>Other

>>898687
>I have named it Yukiryu.
>Are you displeased?

>>898687
>I have named it
> can I keep it?
I mean, I am keeping it.

>>898687
>I have named it Yukiryu.
>Can I keep it, or is it the property of the clan?

>>898687
>>I have named it Yukiryu.
>>Are you displeased?

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>>898698
>>898737
>>898750
>>898751

"I've given it a name," he says.

"That's adorable! What is it?" she asks.

"Yukiryu." As Sareena continues to stroke it with a finger, he looks up at his father, who remains silent. His arms are folded and his face is unreadable, but he doesn't look very happy. "Are you displeased?"

He taps a finger on his arm. "It was my intention that the dragons be raised and used for the Lin Kuei."

"Does that mean I won't be keeping it?"

Sareena stops and looks up at him now as well. Their gazes briefly meet before he looks back at his son. "Zian, you were the one who retrieved these eggs. You succeeded in hatching one, where I failed. And clearly, you share a connection with this fellow creature of kori."

"Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"The Lin Kuei will suffice with three dragons, and now the New Defenders have one."

Tundra breaks out into a smile along with his mother. He looks down at Kukiryu, who gives a small flap and a chirp, as though sensing his elation.

"You should rest for tonight, son. We'll begin the testing tomorrow morning."

>Go to your bed and sleep
>Get a snack for Kukiryu
>Show the dragon to the others
>Check back in with Frost
>Other

>>898888
>Check back in with Frost

>>898888
>Check back in with Frost

>>898888
>>Check back in with Frost

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>>898899
>>898907

With Kukiryu in hand, he leaves the guest quarters with a wide grin. 'I can't believe this. My own dragon!' He holds up the small winged reptile and snuggles him against his cheek. "I bet you're going to grow up to be big enough to ride one day."

The dragon chirps, but then stops, seemingly detecting something. Its head cocks to one side.

"What is it?" he asks. He watches as the dragon spreads its limbs and leaps from his hands, immediately falling towards the floor. "No! Wait!"

Panic surges through him as he fears the dragon cannot yet fly! Its wings are too small, too fresh! Surely it'll just hurt itself!

But, even as he dives for it, the dragon spreads those tiny wings, thin membranes catching the air and breaking its fall. With a single flap, the dragon takes off, flying low over the metal floor. "H-hey! Wait! Come back!"

The dragon chirps but keeps going. He quickly chases after it, discovering that it is leading him back to the training room! The dragon lands in front of the door and chirps at it. "You had me worried, little guy." Scooping up the white dragon, Tundra then opens the door, expecting to find Frost---but the situation is much, much worse.

She is there, Dragon Medallion in her hands and eyes wide with fear as ice slowly creeps up her forearms. Her eyes are transfixed upon the medal, but she hears the doors open. "HELP!" she cries in terror.

"FROST!" Kukiryu takes off as he runs towards her. He stops a few feet away, staring at her and the medal. "W-what do I do?"

"I th-thought I could control it," she says, her voice shaking and weak, as if she is very cold. "I th-thought I had changed. I was wrong! I was so wrong! HELP ME! I DON'T WANT TO BE FR-FROZEN AGAIN!"

He looks at the ice, slowly progressing upwards from her frozen hands. It is slow, as if she is fighting it off, but the further it creeps, the more she panics and the less concentrated she grows.

>Hold onto the medal with her
>Tear it out of her hands
>Encourage her! Don't let her doubt!
>Activate the safeties in the chamber
>Get Sub-Zero
>Other

>>899030

>Hold onto the medal with her
share the load mr frodo

>>899030
> tear it out of her hands
We don't know how to control it either, I don't think we would be able to help her that way

>>899030
>Activate the safeties in the chamber
>Hold onto the medal with her
It's Yuki with a Y, not a K.

>>899057

I screwed up somewhere along the line there and kept typing it as such, my bad

>>899043
>>899057
>>899056

For the hell of it, let's have a few 1d100s.

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>899105

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>899105
fucking hell

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>899105
ICE ROLL!

Rolled 7 (1d100)

Just one for me, don't mind it

>>899151
hah. I feel bad, but we won by a lot more than we lost

>>899120
>>899139
>>899151
Haha! Everyone sucks but me!

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>899105

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1.33 MB PNG

>>899120
>>899139
>>899148
>>899151
>>899306

Thinking quickly, Tundra reaches forward and grabs hold of the medal in her hands and ties to pry it out of her grip, but he isn't strong enough. The ice is too thick, the power too great, and now his hands are stuck onto it as well. With the only other option being trying to control it, he grits his teeth and focuses while Yukiryu flies around them both, chirping in worry.

"Frost, stay with me!" he says to her. "I'm going to help you!"

"I... I can't!" she says, closing her eyes. Tears run down her cheeks, and freeze. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

He feels the power of the Dragon Medallion surging through them both. It is great, overwhelming, threatening to burst forth. He closes his eyes and reaches deep within himself, finding the determination to fight through the waves of cryonic power it is emitting due to both of them holding it at once. Frost is lost; she has given up and now babbles incoherently as panic takes hold of her completely. The terror of facing another icy tomb has sent her over the edge as what is possibly her greatest fear returns in full.

Any hope of getting them out of this is going to come from him now. Tundra focuses intently, his arms tense and body shaking. As the ice continues up to her shoulders, Frost lets out a scream. All of these things are distractions, and so Tundra does what he does best and focuses solely on the task in front of him, unwavering in his resolve. But much like before, he has neglected something else, or rather someone else: Yukiryu!

Within that ancient medallion are powers and rituals untapped and unheard of for millenia, and it is that same font of energy, once accessed by him in his attempts to control it, that now allows his mind to link to his new pet. It is not solely the medal that is responsible; his strange bond with the creature is what truly enables this. Connected as they are, the small dragon now understands something he cannot, and so flies towards his chest!

There is a flash of blue when the dragon makes contact. Rather than crash into him or through him, the dragon disappears and becomes one with him. Zian's eyes shoot open as his body undergoes a rapid change! From deep within him, his heart pounds as his skin turns white and his eyes a bright blue. Claws emerge at the ends of his hands and feet, and wings and a tail sprout from his back, tearing apart his clothing! His head rears back as teeth sharpen to accompany his new elongated skull, from which large horns grow!

Frost looks upon this change in confusion and terror. In this new, more powerful form, the being that was Zian and Yukiryu now controls the full power of the Dragon Medallion! The ice around her arms cracks and then breaks, freeing her from the medal's grasp. She falls back as Tundra rears his head back once more, letting out a howl unlike any other, a dragon's roar that is joined with a breath of rime.

SHARE THE LOAD THE LOAD LOAD THE LOAD THLOAD LOAD

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>>899349

And then, as quickly as the transformation happened the first time, it ends. His body changes back as a blue light forms; the small dragon flies out of his chest and encircles him as he falls to his knees, panting heavily. The room goes quiet as he and Frost stare at each other, each gasping for breath. In his hand is clutched the Dragon Medallion.

He speaks first. "What... What was that?"

"It was an animality," a harsh voice speaks. They both turn as Sub-Zero enters the chamber alone. "Few have ever unlocked such power."

"Father..."

"Grandmaster..." Frost gets onto her knees. "I... Forgive me, please... I am not worthy---"

He walks past Tundra and the medal to approach her directly. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? You should, it happened before!" Sub-Zero scolds her. "The entire point of bringing it here was to test it in a controlled environment, under careful watch! And you took it while no one was here to help you if anything went wrong, with no safeties in place, even after last time!"

"I thought... I thought I could control it," she says. Tears form in her eyes as she looks down in shame. "I wanted to prove that I could..."

"It is as if you have learned nothing," he spits, clearly disappointed in her. She hugs her arms close to her chest and the tears flow more freely now.

>Defend her
>Let him scold her
>Hand him the Dragon Medallion
>Attempt to distract him from Frost by focusing on the animality
>Other

>>899357
>>Defend her
She deserves her scolding, but she also wants to prove herself. That drive will totally make her great one day if she can take the time to get there.
Attempting to rush now serves nothing, she's had that lesson twice.

>>899357
>Defend her
So Tundra is a dragonkin now?

>>899357
>Defend her
>Other
Say that she came with us to look at the eggs at first. Lie and say that asked if she thought she could control it

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>>899380
>So Tundra is a dragonkin now?

On this internet, it's very hard to find good pictures of what I was looking for.

Frost wouldn't have grabbed the Dragon Medallion if she didn't think she couldn't control it or had otherwise not gotten stronger since the last time she did it. She did it to prove something to herself and did so with her best efforts and intentions. Even if Sub-Zero is her master, what right does he have to call her a lesser person for doing so?

>>899357
>>Defend her

>>899357
>Attempt to distract him from Frost by focusing on the animality
Her actions are indefensible.

>>899390
They are out there but google guides your searches based on your internet history. That is why you keep getting dragon porn results.

>>899426

>That is why you keep getting dragon porn results.

Damnit, I'm caught red-handed, hoisted by my own petard!

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>>899375
>>899380
>>899381
>>899415

"Wait!" Tundra springs up to his feet. "Father, please. She didn't mean to." Yukiryu flies up and lands on his shoulder, perching there near his neck.

"She clearly did," he replies. "Look at what happened. It's a miracle that you managed to stop it from happening a second time."

He holds up a hand. "Okay, yes, she did. And she deserves to know what she did wrong, but look at her. She wants to prove herself to you, that's all she's ever wanted to do!"

Sub-Zero looks from him back down to her as she wipes her eyes. Tundra continues, "Maybe it was foolish, but she wasn't afraid to try again. A coward would have never tried it twice. That drive will make her great some day."

Frost looks up, hardly believing her ears. She grows quiet as Sub-Zero faces him fully.

"Look at what is in your hand, Tundra." He does so, looking down at the Dragon Medallion. "You hold it without risking destroying yourself. This is because you carry yourself without doubt, with certainty. She doesn't know what she wants and she never has."

Tundra's eyes narrow. "You're wrong, grandmaster. I doubt myself plenty. I've doubted that I can ever defeat Noob Saibot, and I've hurt myself training plenty of times, just yesterday morning in fact." He looks down at Frost, staring into her blue eyes. "But no matter how many times I do, I'll never stop trying. That's what she did: she tried, and we never succeed without failing a few times. She may have her problems but that isn't one of them."

Sub-Zero says nothing at first. He then looks back down at her. "I took a risk letting you join this team. Of all the Lin Kuei warriors here, you were the one I thought of holding back. I didn't think you were truly ready. You're brash, impulsive..." As she looks down, his stance softens somewhat. "But you're also not alone." He looks over at his son.

"She wouldn't have grabbed the Dragon Medallion if she didn't think she couldn't control it, or hadn't gotten stronger since the last time. She did it to prove something to herself and did so with her best efforts and intentions. I beg you, father, don't be so quick to judge her."

"Many a ruin is built upon the best of intentions," Sub-Zero replies, but he lets out a sigh. "Very well. Frost, I shall return to my room. Come tomorrow morning, it shall be as if this never happened. We three shall know, and reflect on it in our own ways. I know you certainly will." He looks at Tundra again. "Place the Dragon Medallion back in the protective chamber, Tundra. Tomorrow morning you will join us. Frost may, if she so chooses. This time under proper supervision."

He leaves, the door sliding shut behind him with a slam that echoes through the chamber. Tundra gives her a look as she averts her eyes and he places the medallion back into the box and seals it shut.

>Offer her a hand up
>Kneel down and hug her
>Let her speak
>Leave
>Other

>>899504
>Offer her a hand up

>>899504
>Offer her a hand up
Raargh, dragon! Can we do the dragon form thing and wrestle with Sheeva?

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>>899538
>>899553

Standing alongside her, he offers her his hand. She slowly looks up and sees it, and after a tense moment, decides to take it. He pulls her up to her feet, but she refuses to look him in the eye, instead taking a step towards the exit.

He steps in front of her. "Hey, wait. Frost."

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I didn't want this to happen. I, I was trying to hatch one of the eggs, and I thought that if I could use the medallion..."

His hand lowers as he takes in her back. 'Did she do this because I hatched the egg?' With a gentle hand, he turns her around. "I'm not angry at you."

"Sub-Zero is."

"Yeah, well... I'm sure he'll deal with it. He even said, it's like this never happened."

"But it did."

"We'll call it a learning experience, how about that?"

She finally looks up at him. "How can you be so damn optimistic? You just turned into a dragon to save me from my own stupidity. Can't you just be mad at me, for once in your life?"

His brow furrows. "Why do you want me to be mad?"

"I... I don't. I don't know what I want, like he said. I just... C'mere, you big lug." She wraps her arms around him in a hug. Yukiryu flaps to his other shoulder to avoid her head. "Thank you. Thank you for being there for me."

His hand finds her back and gives her an encouraging pat. "Hey, it's alright."

"I'm sorry I said those things earlier. I know I don't always show it, but... I'm really glad to have you in my life, Tundra. Zian."

>"I'm glad to be your friend."
>Kiss her
>Walk her back to her room
>The feeling is mutual
>Other

>>899641
>Walk her back to her room
Obliviously.

>>899641
>>"I'm glad to be your friend."
She's moved on, let's let her

>>899641
>The feeling is mutual

>>899641
>The feeling is mutual
>Other
Notice how beautiful she is

>>899641
>>The feeling is mutual
>>Other
Make Ice Puns.

>>899742
.... what's your game?

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>>899673
>>899686
>>899661

He smiles and hugs her tighter. "Me too. C'mon, let's get you back to your room."

It's rather late, and most of the team has gone to bed, and so their walk there is uninterrupted. At her door, she wishes him a good night and gives him another hug. She also stops to give Yukiryu a pet before closing her door.

Tundra walks to the first floor and to his room. Once inside, and after checking the thermostat that it is at its lowest setting (the damn thing has an annoying habbit of reseting to a higher one) he takes off his mask and sits down on his bed.

He grunts as he does so. His back still aches, even after that transformation. The white dragon flies around his room, inspecting this new environment.

'So... I can turn into a dragon now,' he thinks. 'This has been one hell of a day.' At the same time, he wonders about the potential of this new power, and what it could mean for his future battles. Can he do it at will? What kind of drive will be required to master this new ability?

Zian sighs. He rubs his back and his arms. Despite all that he's gone through, he still doesn't feel strong enough to take on someone like Noob by himself... but he's getting there. Every day he grows stronger, and now he has a new ability. It both excites and confuses him.

He stands up and walks over to the mirror above his sink and runs some water. Splashing it onto his face, he stares at his reflection, looking deeply within his blind eye. It's his constant reminder of Noob, even since the nightmares stopped. He knows now that Noob was using the orb to affect his dreams, but even without the artifact the wraith lurks over him, a shadowy spectre haunting his every action. 'I'm not alone in this,' he has to remind himself. 'Family, friends, my team...'

He suddenly feels a small weight on his back as Yukiryu lands and crawls back onto his shoulder. He looks at the dragon in the mirror and smiles.

"But now I have you at my side, too."

Heading over to his bed, he crawls in and soon finds sleep.

But not for long, for in the night he is interrupted by...

>Sareena
>Frost
>Sam
>Bestla
>Other

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>>899755
Nothing, just that she is beautiful. Is there a game being played?

>>899772
>Frost
iBTs HABBENing N O W

>>899772
>>Other
This thread has a distinct lack of Old Man Shang.

>>899772
>Bestla

>>899779

>Game? What game? I have no game.

>FROST IS HAPPENING NOW

kek'd

>>899779
>>899782
>>899787

I'll need a tie breaker or some backers.

>>899772
>Bestla

>>899825
For Bestla girl

>>899772
Sure let's do old man shang

>>899772

Sareena, because mom's gonna mom even if her son's a Chinese Ninja Warrior.

https://youtu.be/WVIpnoptwSQ

I'll settle for Frost making a midnight visit to Tundra while Bestla quietly watches from the window outside and cheers him on.

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>>899787
>>899825

...a sudden midnight visitor. Tundra's window is overcome with a great shadow from outside as a large figure peers within. After confirming it is him, she opens his window and sticks her head inside. He thick accent fills the air. "Hallo? Leetle Tundra?"

Tundra shoots up. "Gah! Bestla? What are you doing?"

"I was uncom-fur-tee-ble in the freezer," she explains. "Hard floor. Your room is cold! May I sleep, yes?"

"I thought you liked it outside. You were having a ball earlier."

"Was fun for a while, but wouldn't want to leev in it," she says. Though he hadn't quite invited her in, she begins to climb in through the window, which is thankfully large enough to encompass her form.

"Well, come on inside then," he says as she stretches out, trying not to knock over anything. She fails, however, when her large knee bumps into his bookshelf. He leaps from bed and stops it from falling over while Yukiryu watches and chirps. "So sorry," the giantess apologizes, bumping her head into the ceiling.

A noise knocks from above; Ling's room is overhead. She pounds on the ground with her staff to communicate her desire for quiet.

"So sorry!" Bestla whispers up at the ceiling.

Tundra sighs and hands her a blanket, which is only large enough for her upper body. He crawls back onto his bed after closing the window.

"Theese is fun visit," she smiles at him. "Night-night! I guard you from night terrors."

"Thank you," he chuckles. He tries to sleep under the sheet, but after a few minutes he feels it slip off of him. He opens his eyes and sees her lying with one arm propping up her head and her other hand pulling the sheet slowly off of his body. "Besta? What are you doing?"

"Notheeng," she smiles, looking at his chest.

He grabs the sheet back and wraps it more tightly around himself. "Goodnight."

>A good night's sleep
>Waking up cuddling
>More games in the night
>Bestla wants something
>Other

>>899907
>>Other
OLD MAN SHANG!
I want shenanigans dammit!

>>899907
>Waking up cuddling
I will hug him and squeeze him and call him George.

>>899923
What the fuck makes you think Grandpa Shang is up at this hour and looking to troll the New Defenders?

>>899929
>What the fuck makes you think Grandpa Shang is up at this hour and looking to troll the New Defenders?
When isn't Grandpa Shang up and looking to troll the New Defenders?

>>899907
>>Waking up cuddling
+
>>Old man shang

He could be laughing at him, literally "I came here to laugh at you, saw you snuggling a giant and laughed harder"

>>899907
>Wake up cuddling

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>>899923
>>899929
>>899931
>>899932
>>899937

The next morning, Tundra awakens to find himself entrapped. It seems that by wearing the sheet so tightly, it only made it easier for Bestla to cuddle up to him and hold him tightly against her chest. She hugs him now like a teddy bear, soundly sleeping.

But that isn't all. Someone else is in the room as well, and as he awakens he takes in the sight of old man Shang Tsung! He sits in Tundra's chair, seemingly very amused. "Wh-what are YOU doing here?" he shouts at the sorcerer.

"Oh, don't mind me. I wandered by and couldn't help but notice your current predicament," Shang says with a hearty chuckle. "I must say, you children do keep strange company. But who am I to judge? You met my previous lover, after all."

"That's not---Bestla! Bestla, wake up!" He struggles to free himself from the sheet as Shang walks over to his window and floats out. 'Huh. And here I was thinking I hadn't seen enough of him lately,' he begrudgingly thinks.

Bestla lets out a great big yawn, stretching her arms and dropping him onto the bed in the process. Tundra quickly unwraps himself as Yukiryu flies to his shoulder.

"No offense, Bestla, but I think you should find another place to sleep," he says. "Maybe in your room, at the temple in Arctika?"

She offers a sheepish smile. "So sorry. You are nice to cuddle, so cold!"

"Thanks," he replies. "Just, uh... let yourself out through the window at any time."

>Get breakfast
>Shower
>Go find dad
>Check on the team
>Other

>>900041
>>Shower
Hahaha, good ol shang

>>900041
>Get breakfast
Time for the whole team to freak out at Tundra's new pet dragon whelp.

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>>900048
>>900051

After a quick shower, he discovers that she is gone. He quickly dresses and leaves his room, only to encounter Takeda. "Woah there, big guy! You'll never believe which frost giant I just saw climbing out of someone's window. Can you guess who?" He raises and lowers his brow a few times.

Tundra rolls his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

As he walks off, Takeda follows. "Hey, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get a few pointers. I don't mind strong ladies myself. I've been trying sweet talk on Sheeva but---" He suddenly stops talking and walking as he sees Yukiryu on his shoulder. "Is that a dragon?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, it is a dragon."

Suddenly Cao's door opens and he jumps out holding his Wrath Hammer. "Dragon?! Where?! Where's the dragon?!" He looks at the two of them and the small white reptile and lowers his hammer. "Oh. You can probably take that one, Takeda."

"Very funny, dragon-slayers. But this one's with me."

He walks to the mess hall for breakfast, where his new pet quickly becomes the talk of the team. They crowd around his table, amazed at the sight of the small creature.

"Does it do any tricks?" Jin asks.

"What does it eat?" Ling asks.

"He's so cute!" Sam fawns over the white dragon as he squirms playfully in her palm. "I just can't believe I'm holding a real dragon!"

Tundra simply smiles and eats his eggs as the others all look on.

>Proceed to the testing
>Proceed with hatching the remaining dragon eggs
>Let the others play with him for a while
>Meet up with your mother and father
>Other

>>900172
>Proceed to the testing
Let's not overwhelm the poor kid.

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YOU KNOW WHO WOULD FUCKING LOVE TO SEE A DRAGON?

>>900172
>>Proceed to the testing
>>feed the little dude

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>>900186
>>900254

After giving the small dragon a few bites of his breakfast, the team follows them both to the training center. There, Sub-Zero explains to them the power of the Dragon Medallion and what it represents for the team along with General Cage.

"Essentially, we're going to see what you can shoot for with your training," Sonya explains. "This will give you an opportunity to know just how far you can go, so we can get you there more effectively. Grandmaster Sub-Zero can wield as much power now as when he used the amulet when he was younger, so it can be acheived with time, energy and training."

"But you will be under strict observation and with safeties at the ready," Sub-Zero says. "If you cannot control the power, it can control you."

Tundra looks around. He notices that Frost is absent, and she wasn't at breakfast either.

Sonya approaches the case and opens it to reveal the Dragon Medallion. "You'll all go, one at a time, and we'll have several programs at the ready to test your boosted power on. Who's first?"

>Cao
>Cassie
>Fox
>Jacqui
>Kaito
>Kung Jin
>Kung Ling
>Sam
>Sheeva
>Takeda
>Vapor
>Tundra
>Leave and look for Frost

>>900306
>Kaito
Just so he can show off and truly become the Avatar.

>>900306
>Kaito
does Fox have power's other than Ninja Skillz?
or Kung Jin or Kung Ling?