#cyber sub-zero

--

It was Raiden who saved you that day- pulling you from the house in a flash of lightning and sending you to the Sky Temple. You had collapsed in a heap on the stone floor, sobbing, Kuai's medallion clutched in your hands.

"He still has a soul," Raiden had murmured, "He will find it again."

--

Shao Kahn's attempted capture of Earthrealm changed a lot of things- the timeline, the tournament, and everyone's lives.

And it brought Kuai Liang back to you.

When he appeared in the doorway, your heart stopped. He was exactly as you'd remembered him before Sektor's interference. Every line, every little fleck of gray in his beard, and every jagged scar.

He breathed your name, his voice shaking, but you stayed where you stood. In your mind, you still saw him, all metal and wires, as he tried to wring the life from you.

"Forgive me," was all he could muster as he stared at your trembling frame.

His eyes traveled over the holes in the wall, remnants of his blind attack that you hadn't yet found the time to repair. You watched him as he ran his fingers over the sunken plaster as if he was trying to remember his actions.

"I am so sorry," he murmured as his eyes fell on what remained of the bloodstain on the carpet at his feet, "How could I have done this to you?"

You let out a shaky breath as you remembered the way he had struck you with no remorse; how you had pleaded with him to come back to you.

"I know it will take time," his voice was still uneven, shaky, as he tried to process what he had done, "But I will regain your trust."

You closed the gap between yourself and Kuai and he stiffened as if he expected you to lash out. Instead, you wrapped your arms around him and simply sobbed into his chest. For a moment, his hands hovered, before encircling your frame and pulling you against him.