Chapter Seventy-Five: Vengeance

Scorpion led Smoke to what appeared to be a small library. At least as close to a library as it could get considering that it was built in Hell. Small, spherical lanterns hung above the room from chains and a winding staircase rose from the ground to another higher platform. Tomas could not see what was on that level, but he was not sure he wanted to. The Netherrealm is a place filled with horrors that the silver-haired man could live without seeing.

Stopping by one of the bookshelves that surrounded the room, Scorpion leaned Smoke against the shelf and let go of his arm.

"Rest while you can. This will only take a moment."

Tomas let the back of his head hit the wood of the bookshelf and closed his eyes. The pain in his body was getting worse, especially in his head. He hoped that Pyros would be able to figure out what was happening to Enenra soon before the pain became unbearable.

"Scorpion, I…do not mean to question your intelligence, but…this does not look like an exit."

Scorpion scoffed as he took one of the books off the shelf and opened it.

"It is not. But I believe there is something here that may help you. I recall Quan Chi coming here shortly after his return from the Lin Kuei temple."

"Lin Kuei…temple?"

Tomas then remembered when he and Hydro were undercover, and Quan Chi appeared to accompany them back to the temple.

"What is he…why is Quan Chi working with the Lin Kuei? What do they have that…he desires?"

Placing a hand on his forehead, Smoke was finding it difficult to keep his thoughts straight. He could barely utter a simple sentence without having to pause to recall what he was going to say. Scorpion could hear the pain in the silver-haired man's voice and decided to change the subject to keep Tomas from thinking too hard.

"That is a question for another time. For now, you should focus on regaining your strength. I will focus on finding an antidote."

"Antidote? For what?"

"You have been poisoned, Smoke. This particular poison affects the mind, slowly consuming your sanity piece by piece. In this case, however, you are not its target."

"Really? Then…why do I feel…like shit?"

"Have you not noticed your demon's peculiar behavior? Has it not attempted to kill you within the depths of your mind?"

Tomas froze. He should have expected that Scorpion would know about Enenra, but it still surprised him how casually the Shirai Ryu spoke when he mentioned the demon.

"…So…that is why he…is lashing out."

"Yes. And he will not stop until you are eliminated."

"You mean…he wishes to…kill me?"

"That is correct."

Smoke shook his head.

"But he knows what…what will happen if he does that. He told me that…if I died, he would…die as well."

"Yes, that is true. If you were killed in a physical manner."

"What is…that supposed to me-?"

"If I were to drive my sword into your heart and kill you, then yes, you and your demon will die. But if only your consciousness were removed from your body, if your very existence was destroyed without damaging your physical form...then the Enenra will be unaffected by your departure. It will be able to gain full control over your body as if you were never there to restrain him in the first place."

Looking down at the floor, Smoke tried his best to process this information.

"If that is true, then…why? Who is trying to help Enenra…take over my body?"

"Is that not obvious?"

Scorpion looked up from the book he was reading and stared at Tomas.

"It is the same man who convinced Shao Kahn to invade Earthrealm despite having lost the last Mortal Kombat tournament. It is the same man who posed as Sub-zero in order to manipulate me into believing he murdered my family and clan. It is the same man-"

The specter suddenly stopped midsentence and quickly turned back to the book in his hands. He took a deep breath before speaking again, his words coming out as a whisper.

"The same man who turned me into…this."

Tomas did not even have to hear that last part to know who Scorpion was talking about. But if that was the case then…when did Quan Chi poison him? It had to have been sometime when he was in the Lin Kuei temple, but that was impossible. Hydro and Enenra had kept the silver-haired man safe whenever he was not able to defend himself. But then, Smoke thought about the Grandmaster's study and his battle with the fake Oniro.

Just before he had that terrible vision of Edenia, Tomas had been hit with a dart and at first, he thought the dart must have contained a hallucinogen to make him see those things. But what if that was the poison beginning to take affect? And if so, that meant…

"Quan Chi was…the one who poisoned me?"

Scorpion nodded.

"And…he is the one posing as the Grandmaster?"

Again, Scorpion nodded.

"Okay, but again…why?"

Sighing, the Shirai Ryu looked up and turned to Smoke.

"And again, that is a question for another time. We need to-"

Scorpion stopped when he felt the floor underneath begin to give way. But he was not fast enough to avoid being dragged into the black hole that had suddenly appeared.

"Scorpion!"

Smoke tried to reach for the specter, but he was too late. The hole disappeared along with Scorpion.

"Do not worry for him, brother."

Tomas turned around just in time for Bi-han to grab him by his throat and push him against the bookshelf with a little more force than was necessary. The silver-haired man could taste more blood rising up his throat, but he managed to keep it down.

"You should worry about yourself."

"Bi-han-"

"My name is NOT Bi-han!"

The black-garbed ninja's grip tightened around Smoke's throat.

"It is Noob Saibot. Remember that."

Without looking back, Noob suddenly grabbed something with his other hand that had been thrown towards his head and laughed.

"How predictable."

What the wraith had caught was his former ally's signature spear and said ally did not look the least bit pleased by this.

"You are willing to risk your very soul for him, Scorpion?"

Noob let the spear go and allowed Scorpion to retrieve his weapon. The wraith then used his now free hand and thrusted it into his own chest. Tomas' eyes widened at the sight, surprised that Bi-han would harm himself like that. But his surprise quickly became panic when he watched as Noob withdrew his hand and it held a jagged sickle. With a quick movement, the wraith aimed his weapon at the silver-haired man's throat.

"I should have expected your betrayal."

Even though he could see that Smoke was being used as a hostage, Scorpion remained calm.

"You will not kill him. You cannot."

"Is that so?"

"The poison has not run yet its course. If you kill him now, the demon perishes as well. Quan Chi will not allow that."

Again, Noob chuckled and turned to Tomas. He slowly moved his sickle up Smoke's neck until the end of the weapon was sitting underneath his captive's chin.

"He is your friend!"

For a second, Scorpion could have sworn he saw Noob freeze up at the statement, but the wraith immediately returned to his calm demeanor before the Shirai Ryu could confirm that.

"In the past, yes. He WAS my friend. But no more."

"And why is that?"

"What is the point of having comrades when all they do is hold you back?"

Turning back to Scorpion, Noob scowled under his black hood as he stared at the specter.

"I could have been so much more if I had not allowed my emotions to get the better of me. It was because of him-!"

The sickle suddenly pierced into Tomas' skin. It was a small cut, but it still caused a trail of blood to trickle down Smoke's neck. The silver-haired man let out a small hiss as Noob continued.

"-and my other so-called comrades that I fell to the likes of that damned Shirai Ryu! I was weak because I allowed them to make me so, because I allowed myself to feel. Now…I have no one to hinder me."

The wraith again looked to Tomas.

"YOU will never hinder me again, Vrbada. Once the demon takes over, you shall be a nuisance to me no longer!"

With a grunt, Noob tossed Smoke behind him towards Scorpion, the Shirai Ryu catching the poor man in his arms. They had no time to recover before Noob charged at them with his sickle drawn behind him ready to strike. Without a second thought, Scorpion shoved Tomas out of the way and quickly drew one of his katanas from his back to block the wraith's attack. Smoke skidded across the floor until his back hit the bottom of the long staircase. He did not hit it too hard, but the impact still managed to make him cough a few times. His coughing sounded worse than before.

As the silver-haired man sat up from the floor, the sound of swords clashing brought his attention back to Scorpion and noob, who were already engaged in a battle to the death. The Shirai Ryu blocked another strike from his opponent and turned to counter with an attack of his own. He swung his sword downward aiming for Noob's head, but the wraith already had his sickle ready to stop the attack.

"And to think…I have been working alongside you all this time. I had actually begun to respect you as a warrior!"

Noob attempted to push Scorpion back, but specter was not going down so easily.

"I would hate for you to change your mind simply because of a difference in opinion!"

With a roar, Scorpion called forth a shield of hellfire that forced Noob to jump back before he was burned. Just as the wraith did so, Scorpion rushed through the flames and jumped into the air, his spear unraveling around him. He thrusted the spear forward and watched as it flew towards Noob, the weapon managing to pierce through the wraith's mask by his cheek. Reaching his hand towards his face, Noob gently touched the scratch his adversary had created and then pulled it away. Blood was now smeared on his fingertips, yet his blood was the same inky black color as his entire body making it almost impossible to see it.

"Can you imagine that? Discovering that your own strongest ally in death was your worst enemy in life? To know that they were the one who ended your life for an unjust reason!?"

Noob's hand curled into a fist, and he waved it toward Scorpion.

"How could I have been so blind!?"

Looking away, Scorpion sighed as his spear returned to him.

"So…you know who I am?"

It was only a matter of time, the Shirai Ryu thought. When his and Noob's first encounter, Scorpion could not help but feel that he had known the wraith in his past life. His movements, his demeanor, it all reminded him of someone, but he could not figure out who. But it finally hit the specter when he overheard Quan Chi speaking with his "master." The sorcerer practically bragged about how was able to deceive Scorpion into believing that Sub-zero had murdered his family and clan. And how not one, but two of Earthrealm's finest warriors were now at his service and they had no idea that they were enemies when they were alive.

Those warriors were Bi-han…and Hanzo Hasashi.

"…I did not know-"

Scorpion was interrupted by Noob's fist colliding with his jaw. The Shirai Ryu was knocked into another bookshelf, which caused a few books to fall onto him. He moved to get up from the floor, but he was pinned down by a boot stomping on his chest.

"No! Do not dare say you are not at fault! I told you it was not so, but you did not believe me!"

Noob then punched Scorpion in his face, a piece of the specter's mask flying of as he did so.

"I am here because of your own damn stupidity! But-"

The wraith punched Scorpion again.

"I should be thanking you. If not for you, I would have never discovered my true potential.

Again, Noob punched the specter.

However, do not mistake my appreciation for forgiveness. You will pay for what you have done, Scorpion!"

Noob moved to once again punch Scorpion, but he suddenly froze when his fist was only an inch away from the Shirai Ryu's face. For a moment, the wraith found it hard to breath like a hand was wrapped around his throat and their grip was stopping oxygen from entering his lungs. Scorpion could feel it too, and it made him turn his gaze over to Tomas, who now had a menacing red aura surrounding his form. The silver-haired man had his head in his hands and was shaking it violently back and forth.

"Shutupshutupshutupshutup…"

Smoke hissed under his breath and Scorpion was unable to hear what he was saying. Suddenly, Tomas threw his head back and he screamed towards the ceiling, his words sounding more like growls than words.

"SHUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

That was the last thing Scorpion saw before he was blinded by a powerful white light. That…and the black tears that were streaming down Smoke's face.