Chapter Thirty-Two: Family Matters

An uncomfortable silence passed between Smoke and Jade. The silver-haired man was debating on whether he should drop the topic or not. It was clear that Jade was not fond of the sorceress Delia and bringing the woman up must have brought back some bad memories. With a bit of hesitation, Smoke put his hand on the Edenian's arm, which caused her to look up at her friend.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to..."

"No."

Jade placed her hand on top of Smoke's and the action made the two blush. They quickly looked away from one another, but they were smiling at the contact.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

It surprised the former assassins how comfortable they around each other, yet they only met just a few days ago. Maybe it was because Tomas and Jade have lived similar lives and they can relate to each other.

"Is it alright if I ask about your family?"

The sudden question caught Jade off guard. She did not expect for Smoke to take an interest in her family, let alone anything concerning her personal life.

"You really want to know about them?"

"Why not? Speaking of them before, it seems you loved your family dearly."

"I did. I still do."

"Then I would like to know why."

Tomas smiled down at the Edenian and that alone told Jade that it was okay to talk about such a personal subject with him. How strange was it that she trusted Smoke just as much as she trusted Kitana, her sister?

"Very well. Shall we walk?"

Jade tugged on Smoke's arm and pulled him away from the tiger cage. He laughed and nodded his head.

"Of course. After you."

Tomas was surprised when Jade looped her arm around his. But he was not complaining. The man enjoyed Jade's company and was glad to have her so close. A small part of him wanted the Edenian much closer...

"My father was soldier in the Royal Guard."

Smoke was pulled from his thoughts when Jade started to speak. He attention was all on the Edenian now.

"A soldier?"

"Yes. According to King Jerrod, he was the most incredible warrior in Edenia. In fact, the king and my father grew to be great friends, as well as my mother and Queen Sindel."

"I am guessing that is why you and Kitana are so close."

"I was there the day she was born. I am only a few years older than Kitana, but on that day, I knew she and I would grow up to be more than best friends. As I said before, the princess is my sister."

"Being friends with royalty must have had its benefits."

Jade chuckled.

"I have to admit, it was great not having to eat my mother's cooking when the queen was around. I love my mother, but she was an awful cook."

"Ha, ha. And because you love her you never told her that her cooking was bad, did you?"

"Of course not!"

Smoke and Jade laughed together. They continued to walk through the zoo until they saw a water fountain with a few benches surrounding it. Tomas held out his hand to motion for Jade to sit down first. She nodded and proceeded to sit on the bench with Smoke following suit. The two took a moment to watch as other people walked through the park and some kids ran past them laughing and eating ice cream. Jade sighed.

"I miss that. Laughing and playing with my friends back in Edenia. When everything was so peaceful."

"You are free to do that now. Here, in Earthrealm."

"I know, but..."

Jade's smile had faded and she grasped Smoke's arm tighter.

"Why did it have to be this way?"

The Edenian bowed her head down and closed her eyes. Smoke was not sure what he could do to comfort Jade. He knew that she was upset and seeing her so blue made the silver-haired man feel sick to his stomach. Tomas slowly wedged his arm free from Jade and wrapped it around the Edenian's shoulders. He pulled the woman close and rested his head on top of her's.

"I know it may seem selfish of me, but...if Edenia had not been merged...if you had not been under Shao Kahn's command, then..."

Jade opened her eyes, but kept her head down.

"Then we would have never met."

The Edenian could not see him, but she knew Smoke had nodded his head.

"Right. And I am glad to have met you, Jade."

Finally, Jade looked up at Tomas and she smiled at him.

"I feel the same way about you, Smoke."

"Tomas."

"I'm sorry?"

"My real name is Tomas. Tomas Vrbada. I guess after we parted ways after Shao Kahn's defeat, I forgot to tell you and Kitana."

"Oh, I see. Then...Tomas it shall be."

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. When the staring was beginning to feel awkward, Smoke was the first to look away while Jade pretended to be playing with a peice of her hair. The Edenian then let go of Tomas' arm and stood up from her seat.

"I...I am sorry about before. If you wish to know more about Delia, I..."

Smoke quickly stood up and stopped Jade.

"Forget about it. It is not important."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I was only asking out of curiousity."

Jade nodded, but she felt that there was a reason behind Smoke wanting to learn about the sorceress. She would not push the matter though. When Tomas wanted to talk, he could come to the Edenian anytime. Jade looked around the area and held her hands behind her back.

"So, what should we do now?"

"Whatever you would like to do."

"Well, maybe it would be best if we found everyone else. We did wander off without them and they are probably worried."

"I agree. I have no idea where to start though."

Hearing shouting in the distance, Smoke and Jade looked around to see what the commotion was. They followed the shouts to a wide area with a small cave in its center and a fence surrounding it. Tomas read the plate that sat on a pedestal beside the fence. The Lion's Den.

"Somebody, do something! That girl's going to be killed!"

Jade tapped Smoke on his shoulder and pointed to the cave.

"Is that child supposed to be in there?"

Her question was innocent, but seeing the little girl Jade was pointing to made Tomas. Not only that, but the silver-haired man immediately recognized who the child was.

"Soliel..."

Soliel, who was standing inside the fence, was staring down a lion who was slowly coming out of its den. She did not seem the least bit intimidated by the beast, but the people outside the fence were scared out of their minds. Smoke looked back at Jade.

"I will be right back."

Before Jade could ask where her friend was going, Tomas had taken off behind a snow cone stand and disappeared. The Edenian looked back at the den and saw that the lion was only a few feet away from the girl now. Soliel did not move an inch as the animal approached her and growled. It lowered its head to the ground and looked as though it was about to pounce on Soliel. Just as the lion launched itself at the child, a flash of black scooped up Soliel and they vanished in a cloud of smoke. The lion slashed at the smoke and tried to locate its prey, but when the smoke cleared, it was alone. The crowd was baffled by the girl's sudden disappearance and some were comtemplating on whether or not they had imagined the child. After some time, the people dispersed and went on as though nothing had happened.

"Jade!"

Jade turned around and saw Smoke behind the stand he had gone to just seconds before. He had his hood pulled over his face and the blonde girl was now in his arms. Jade jogged towards the two and she looked curiously at Soliel.

"Is she alright?"

Tomas pulled his hood down and ran a hand through his hair.

"She's fine, thank the gods."

He then looked down at the girl.

"What were you doing in there,Soliel?"

As expected, Soliel looked up at Smoke, but did not say a word.

"You know this child, Tomas?"

"We met back in Outworld. A little before you and I had bumped into each other. Speaking of Outworld, I wonder how she was able to get here."

"Maybe she was able to find a portal in Outworld."

"Maybe..."

"Hey, guys!"

Smoke and Jade turned their heads in the direction of the shouting. They saw Johnny Cage waving at them while running towards them. The others were right on his tail. As the actro approached, Cage immediately started talking.

"We heard some screaming and came to see what was going on. You guys okay?"

Jade nodded and motioned to the girl Tomas was holding.

"This child was about to be attacked by a creature called a lion. If not for Tomas, I am not sure what would have happened."

Smoke smiled at the compliment and Soliel raised her head so she could see everyone. Johnny instantly recognized the girl.

"Wait, I remember you. You were the nice kid that gave me that banana."

Soliel nodded.

"Wow. I didn't expect to see you here, kiddo. I hope that lion didn't scare you too bad."

The child shook her head and looked back at Tomas. Again, Soliel just stared at the silver-haired man and did not say anything. Her green eyes seemed to be looking deep into Smoke's soul.

"We should take her away from here."

Tomas and everyone else turned to Jade.

"Before anyone finds her and starts to ask about her escape. You did not want anyone to know about your powers, correct?"

Smoke nodded.

"Correct. And I think Soliel has seen enough of the zoo for one day."

Soliel wrapped her arms around Smoke's neck and put her head back down.

"Soliel? She told you her name?"

Remembering their first encounter with Soliel, Tomas had forgotten that the girl had not told them her name. It was Esme who had told Smoke about Soliel when he went in her house. He could not believe he had let the name slip from his mouth like that.

"Well...not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it would be best to discuss this elsewhere."

Tomas nodded his head to the crowd of people that were coming their way. Cage quickly understood.

"Right. Let's get out of here."

And the Earthrealm warriors left the zoo with Soliel in tow.