Chapter Sixty-Three: Home Again
"Earthrealm is finished. It will not be missed."
In Shao Kahn's throne room, a ninja in a black outfit is speaking to Sektor while Cyrax and a group of Tarkatan stand in silence. They soon see a portal open to their left and heard metal footsteps coming into the room. Sektor decides to end his and the ninja's conversation there so he can see the newcomer.
"Very well. You will return."
With that, the black-garbed ninja and Cyrax along with their Tarkatan minions head to the portal just as Hydro approaches the red cyborg.
"You report late. Where is the intruder? And what is that?"
Hydro immediately answered Sektor's questions.
"He escaped in Earthrealm. This one-"
The hydromancer turned so Sektor could get a better look at what, or rather who, was slung over Hydro's shoulder.
"-aided him. While protecting the intruder, I caught this rogue off guard and managed to knock him unconscious. The Grandmaster requested him alive."
He could not show it, but Sektor was surprised when he saw Smoke's unconscious form in Hydro's grasp. The most elite Lin Kuei warriors had trouble landing a hit on the silver-haired man, yet Hydro knocked him out just like that. At least Tomas' capture will stop Oniro's complaining for a while.
"Excellent. We shall return to the Lin Kuei temple to inform the Grandmaster of this news."
"May I accompany you two?"
The sound of leather boots stomping along the floor echoed around the room. Sektor and Hydro turned to the source of it and saw Quan Chi walking towards them. Sektor met him halfway.
"That is not necessary. I assure you, you will get what you were promised."
Promised? Hydro wondered what Sektor was talking about, but he knew it was nothing good when he saw the sinister smirk on Quan Chi's face.
"I know I will, Sektor. But I just want to be sure that my merchandise is treated well. Is that a problem?"
"… No. No problem at all."
The red cyborg turned back to Hydro.
"Come. We must go."
Sektor walked through the portal with Hydro and Quan Chi right behind him. On the other side, the three fighters stood in the Grand Hall of the Lin Kuei temple. A wave of nostalgia hit Hydro as he stood there, remembering all those times he had walked to this very hall upon returning from his missions. Those days felt like they happened only days ago and not years.
"LK1V1."
Trying his best to not break character, Hydro immediately stood at attention when Sektor said his "name."
"Take the prisoner to the lab to begin his transformation. Then report back to me in the Grandmaster's throne room."
Without saying a word, the blue cyborg headed in the direction of the lab. Once he was sure that they were out of earshot, Hydro spoke up.
"Once I let you go, I must leave as Sektor commanded. Will you be alright on your own?"
He did not open his eyes, but Smoke responded to his sifu.
"I will be fine. It is you I am worried about."
Hydro scoffed.
"I will get by. I think I have been a good actor so far."
Turning a corner, the hydromancer saw two gray cyborgs coming their way. They stopped about a foot in front of Hydro.
"Sektor has ordered us to accompany you to the lab."
Hydro inwardly cursed himself. If he had eyes on him now, the blue cyborg would not be able to part ways with Tomas as they had planned. But he had to keep playing along for now.
"Understood. Lead the way."
"First, the prisoner must be restrained."
"He is unconscious. There is no need for restraints."
"Smoke is known for his ability to escape capture. Sektor ordered that we disable his powers in case he awakens during the operation."
One of the cyber ninjas then pulls out a pair of what seems like handcuffs, but violet lines of energy pulsated through the metal restraints. As the cyborgs stepped forward, Hydro held out his hand to the side as he was preparing to give Cyrax's new toy a test run. He whispered a small prayer to himself and his grip on Tomas began to loosen.
"Elder Gods, let this work."
The hydromancer then snapped his fingers and bolts of electricity instantly surrounded him and the other cyborgs. No damage came to their systems, but the gray cyborgs noticed that they could not connect to their comrades to alert them of their situation. And they noticed too late that Hydro's prisoner had disappeared, and the cyborgs were quickly knocked out by sharp hits to the back of their necks. It was a good thing that certain parts of the cyber ninjas' bodies were vulnerable as if they were still human. Their bodies fell to the floor with a thud.
"Nicely executed, boy."
Hydro knelt beside the two cyborgs and Smoke watched as his sifu fidgeted with the panels on their chests.
"I learned from the best. What exactly are you doing now?"
"As Cyrax did with me, I am scanning their neural nets to collect information. They may know of the Lin Kuei or even Shao Kahn's next move."
"I see. Once you are done, we need to hide their bodies before anyone sees them."
"Agreed. Where do you propose we take them? The temple will probably have guards around every corner, so we must find a place they are less likely to be in or look into anytime soon."
Tomas thought about that for a moment and he soon came up with a solution. It was probably the one place the Lin Kuei would least expect anyone to go since his and Kuai's departure.
"How about my old room?"
"Your room?"
"Yes. I doubt there is anyone guarding that place since it no longer has any occupants. Besides, most of the cyber ninjas are in the city, so we do not have to worry about encountering them anytime soon. It will be us some time at least."
At first, Hydro did not think that was a good idea, seeing that the Grandmaster probably thinks that Smoke would return to his room at some point if he happened to escape capture. But then again, Oniro knows that his former subordinate is much smarter than that. So, the blue cyborg nodded in agreement to his student's idea.
"Alright. We will do it your way, boy."
"Okay. I will teleport them there in case I am wrong about the guards and it will be much quicker than walki…"
Before Tomas could finish his sentence, Hydro had teleported away with one of the gray cyborgs, which was surprising considering the silver-haired man had no idea that his sifu had that ability. Maybe it was a result of the cyborg's transformation. Shaking his head, Smoke grabbed the other cyborg and teleported too. In a second, he was standing in his room with Hydro beside him and he took a moment to look around. It was a strange feeling as Tomas examined his old room, feeling as though he has not been here for years instead of only a week. But for Hydro… that was a different story.
"I remember when I first brought you in here."
Smoke turned to his sifu, who was busy trying to stuff his cybernetic charge into the closet. The silver-haired man had hoped that Xiao and Ling would be the last people he would ever have to hide in any closet, but it looks like life had different plans for him.
"So, you were there. When I first arrived at the temple."
"Not exactly. I had just returned from a mission when I saw one of the guards carrying you to your room. The Grandmaster had stopped me and ordered me to watch over you while you slept. But he…"
"…But he what?"
"It… could have been just my imagination, but I could have sworn there was a hint of fear in the Grandmaster's eyes."
That did not sound right to Tomas. Oniro afraid? The old man was not afraid of anything or anyone. But then again, Hydro must have arrived shortly after Smoke's "incident" in that prison cell and after that scene, anyone would be afraid of him. He just did not think that the Grandmaster would be one of those people.
"And you want to know the strangest thing, Tomas?"
"… What is it, Sifu?"
"That fear…it appeared for only a moment just when he said your name."
Hydro noticed that his student had suddenly froze midstride and his grip had loosened on the cyborg he was carrying. The hydromancer knew that something was wrong with Smoke.
"Tomas?"
"…You really do not know, do you?"
"Know what?"
Before Tomas could answer, a voice ranged through Hydro's head and it took him a second to realize that it was the Grandmaster's voice. Maybe he was going to tell the hydromancer to hurry back. He quickly responded to Oniro.
"Yes, Grandmaster?"
"Change of plans, LK1V1. Once you have the prisoner settled, report to Kano in the clocktower of St. Dominic's cemetery."
"Understood, Grandmaster. I shall go immediately."
"Good. I will soon go to the lab to oversee Smoke's transformation. Make sure that he is properly restrained before leaving the temple."
"Understood."
When he did not get a response after that, Hydro waited some time to make sure that Oniro was no longer there. Once he was sure that the Grandmaster was gone, the cyborg looked back at Tomas.
"Oniro wants me to report to St. Dominic's once I am done with you."
Smoke frowned.
"Why would he want you to go there?"
"I do not know. But he also said that he will be coming to the lab shortly to check on you. When he sees that you are not down there…"
"We will be discovered, I know. But there is no need to worry about that."
"Right. We are getting out of here. Now."
"…No."
Tomas looked down at the floor and saw that the cyborgs had dropped the handcuffs they had planned to put on him. He picked them up and examined them for a moment before turning back to his sifu.
"You go to the clocktower. But I want you to take me to the lab as Sektor instructed."
If Hydro still had his human face, the expression on it would be incredulous.
"Boy, have you lost your mind while I was gone? They will transform you! We need to leave and that is that!"
"Sifu…"
"No!"
The blue cyborg shook his head and grabbed Smoke's shoulders.
"Look, whatever it is you are thinking in that head of yours, just stop it. I am not going to let your risk your life when there is no need to, okay?"
"Please, Sifu, I need you to trust me."
"I do, I just…"
"Then let me go. I would not ask you to do this if I did not have a plan. Right?"
Looking into his student's eyes, Hydro could see that Tomas really believed he was doing the right thing. There was no fear or doubt in those silver orbs. Just determination. And that was why, with a little bit of hesitation, the hydromancer let go of Smoke and nodded his head.
"Okay. Okay, fine. I pray to the Elder Gods that you know what you are doing."
"I do, Sifu."
"Then what is your plan?"
"Making it up as I go, I suppose."
"Tomas!"
"Ha, ha! I am only joking."
"Boy, this is no time for…!"
Hydro stopped himself. And then he chuckled, realizing there was no point in finishing his sentence.
"Why do I even bother with you? It is good to know you are still the same stubborn, immature, ball of sunshine I have come to know and love."
"Did you seriously just call me a "ball of sunshine"?"
"Yes, you are right. That is too nice for you."
Tomas scoffed, but he was smiling as he did so. However, that smile was wiped clean off his face once he put the handcuffs on and he felt his power being drained. He knew this was not going to be an easy task, especially with the restraints on. So… Smoke will need some "inside" help if he was going to get through this without being transformed into a cybernetic killer. And he prayed that this will by Hydro enough time to get the information he needed before his cover was blown.
Sorry this chapter took me so long! But there is something else that have been working on recently. It's actually another story I have been writing and I think it's starting off okay. I know I said before that I didn't want to work on two stories at once, but I figured since this story is going to take a while to finish, I'll get started on another one so you guys won't get bored. Lord knows I've been having writer's block for this story for a while, so I needed to take my mind off of it for a minute. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!