Let's Fake An Answer For The Curious

Only to have to dodge when a red blur was flung at him.

He looked behind him, where the beef had hit the wall and left a red streak of blood where it had slid down to the floor. Well, I guess it doesn’t like beef then.

“You know you are extremely picky for a tentacled abomination,” he said in a sarcastic manner, and he swore he heard something that almost sounded like a chuckle emitting from the hole. He’d never worked out just how sentient the creature was. Or maybe he was just afraid of it being more intelligent than he wanted to acknowledge.

The door to the laboratory slammed open, and he did a strange jump spin to turn around and see who the hell it was. He wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or relieved it was just Shang Tsung. Given the weirdly gleeful look on his fellow scientist's face, maybe he should be more apprehensive instead.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” He questioned, unsure if he actually wanted the answer.

Shang Tsung rubbed his hands together before declaring “I have a new subject for us to study.” Before Quan Chi could question what he meant by that, two of the lab’s assistants walked in, pulling what he assumed was a container covered by a blanket. Tsung looked delighted. “Oh, I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.”

The lab assistants left the covered item in the middle of the room before quickly excusing themselves. Quan Chi wandered over to it, tilting his head and waiting for the big reveal. Tsung grabbed the blanket, tugging on it and letting it fall to the floor.

Quan Chi wasn’t sure what exactly he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t what was in front of him.

Inside a glass container with air holes, was a man. Quan Chi would have thought him to be human, if it weren’t for the fact his arms were blue, almost looking like they were made from ice. All he was wearing was what looked like a hospital gown, just about covering him from his chest down to his hips. As for his face? Ah. He was beautiful, even as he glared at the scientists with more hatred than Quan Chi had ever seen before.

“Isn’t he magnificent?” Shang Tsung whispered, running his hand down the glass as if to simulate stroking the man. The response from the man was to slam his fist against the glass. This just made Shang Tsung laugh. “They weren’t entirely sure what he was. They believe he’s some kind of snow spirit.”

“He’s impressive, I’ll give you that.”

Quan Chi tilted his head. This supposed snow spirit was indeed a very interesting find, and not just because he was pretty to look at. That said, he also appeared to be extremely angry right now, and Quan Chi wasn’t sure how they were going to examine him without sedating him. He supposed working out if he could understand them was a good place to start.

“Does he understand us?” Quan Chi asked Shang Tsung, hoping he’d at least gotten that sort of information before he acquired this man.

There was a bang on the glass, and the man furiously growled “yes I understand you! Now let me out of this prison you absolute cu-”

“Now, now, there is no need for that,” Shang Tsung interrupted, his voice calm as he smirked. “As far as I see it, we have saved you.”

“We have?” Quan Chi questioned, because even he wasn’t sure exactly how Shang Tsung had come to that conclusion.

“The gentlemen who previously had him in their possession were talking about using him as a weapon, torturing him until he complied,” Shang Tsung explained, tapping his fingers along the glass. Quan Chi wondered if he was purposefully trying to annoy the poor creature. “Meanwhile, we just want to understand what exactly you are.”

“Oh yes, because vivisection is so much better than torture,” the man sarcastically spat.

“We could study you without vivisection,” Quan Chi explained, before pointing over towards where his tentacled friend lay. “I have been studying that creature for almost a year now, not once have I needed to cut it open to do so.”

“See,” Shang Tsung said smugly, still running his hands down the glass. “We don’t want to hurt you, if we don’t have to.” The creature did not look convinced, but backed down slightly. “Now, darling, do you have a name?”

He looked between them, before lowering his head and whispering “Kuai Liang.”

“A lovely name,” Shang Tsung commented, finally reaching his hand down to the container's lock. “If I let you out, are you going to let us examine you?”

Kuai Liang stood silently, before letting out a bitter sounding “I’ll be good.”

“Good boy,” Shang Tsung purred, opening the container up. He reached out his hands to take hold of Kuai’s arms, carefully guiding him out. Quan Chi watched with bated breath, half expecting Kuai to go against his word and attack them. Only he didn’t, just continued to let Shang Tsung guide him over to the examination table.

“I’ll go get the checklist then,” Quan Chi mumbled, feeling like he was interrupting an intimate moment when Shang Tsung began stroking Kuai’s hair. And I think I have issues with overstepping boundaries.

As he picked up a stack of paper and clipboard he heard Shang Tsung make a disgusted noise. He turned in time to see him bending over and picking up the piece of beef. Quan Chi grimaced, he’d completely forgotten about that.

“Do I want to know?” Shang Tsung questioned, dangling it between his fingers.

“Turns out tentacle monsters are fussier eaters than I anticipated,” he replied with a shrug. A strange chattering came from the hole, and Quan Chi sighed. It did that sometimes, he hadn’t figured out if it had meaning or not yet.

Except, Kuai Liang seemed to perk up at the noise.

“They say they prefer chicken,” Kuai Liang stated, pursing his lips.

“Wait, you understand it?” Quan Chi questioned, stepping forward. He wasn’t sure if he believed it or not, but the creature chattered again and Kuai listened intently. “What… What did it say?”

“Uh.” Kuai Liang’s face went red. “They seem to consider you their pet.”

Quan Chi stood in stunned silence, mouth agape, as Shang Tsung burst into an uproar of laughter.

“I’m the pet?” He blurted out, turning to the hole and shouting “listen here! If anyone here is the pet, it’s you! Got it?”

Once again, something akin to a laugh came from where the creature resided, although this time he was much more willing to believe that’s what it was actually doing.

He ran his hand down his face, grumbling, “let’s just get this examination done.”

The sooner they got the basics done, the sooner they could move onto the more interesting parts. And given what just happened? He was very interested to find out just how much he could learn about both his subjects with this turn of events.

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