Chapter Thirty-Four: Deadly Knowledge

In the depths of the Netherrealm, Quan Chi was just finishing off a small, black Imp that was misfortune enough to stand in the sorcerer's way. The Imp's heart was an ingredient for a potion Quan Chi needed for a potion he had to brew to help with Sindel's resurrection. And this particular demon just had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Imp was now on the ground with Quan Chi's boot on its stomach to hold it down.

"Please, my lord. Have mercy!"

Quan Chi was never one for mercy. The demon might as well have been talking to a wall. The sorcerer laughed at the Imp's awful cries and put more pressure on the demon's belly, causing it to scream in pain.

"You should feel honored. Your pitiful excuse for a life will now be used for a worthy cause."

The Imp screamed louder and louder until its body was snapped in two. Blood gushed out of its mouth and parts of its intestines poured from each of the halves of the demon's body. Quan Chi moved his foot away from the body and knelt down to get what he came for. He plunged his hand inside the Imp's chest, grabbed its heart, and quickly yanked it out. The sorcerer held the heart up to get a closer look at it, green blood dripping from his hand.

"Was that necessary?"

Behind Quan Chi, Shang Tsung was sitting on a rock watching his ally admire the grotesque organ. It surprised Quan Chi that Shao Kahn's right-hand man agreed to come to the Netherrealm with him. Shang Tsung came only because he and Quan Chi had some things they needed to discuss. Especially things involved in the invasion of Earthrealm.

"I do not know why you suggested that we invade Earthrealm in the first place. We could only merge with Earthrealm if we won ten Mortal Kombat tournaments in a row. And you know exactly how the last tournament turned out."

"It is the emperor's decision whether he wants to merge the realms or not. If he believes that he can obtain enough power to go against the Elder Gods, who am I to say otherwise? Besides, I thought you wanted to be rid of Shao Kahn once and for all. With the invasion, you may get your chance."

"That may be so, but I do not want Shao Kahn to bring me down with him. If Outworld tries to merge with Earthrealm, the Elder Gods will not only punish the emperor, but they may go after any who was involved in the invasion. That includes you, Quan Chi."

"I am not worry about that. After all, the Netherrealm may be a part of Shao Kahn's invading army, but we are not the ones who are trying to merge with Earthrealm. Invasion itself is not going against the Elder Gods' rules."

Quan Chi put the Imp's heart in a sack he was carrying and was about to start walking back to his palace. But he and Shang Tsung suddenly froze. The emperor's right-hand was the first to speak up.

"Do you feel that energy?"

"Yes. It is stronger than last time."

"Last time? Are you speaking of what happened at the Coliseum?"

"Indeed, and I know Raiden felt it too. I am sure he has already confronted the source of it."

"How can an Earthrealmer have so much power in their possession?"

"It is a mystery."

A wicked smile came across Quan Chi's face.

"But it is one that I will get to the bottom of."

It was about ten o'clock in the morning when Johnny Cage finally woke up. He yawned and scratch his messy hair as he walked to Tomas' room to check on him and Soliel. The door was open, but Cage knocked on it a few times to let the others know he was coming in.

"Good morning! I hope you guys had a…"

The actor stopped once he entered the room and saw only Soliel on the bed. She was holding a small piece of paper in her hand.

"What's that, kiddo?"

Soliel handed the paper to Johnny and he quickly read the message that was written on it. She had no idea what it said anyway.

I went out to take a little walk. I will be back soon, do not worry.

Tomas

After reading the note, Johnny balled up the paper and threw it in a trashcan nearby. He then sat next to Soliel on the bed.

"Don't worry, Soliel. Tomas is fine, just taking a walk."

Soliel nodded but was hoping that Smoke would be back really soon. She had nothing against Cage, but she did not want to be left alone with him for too long. In another part of Deacon City, Tomas was walking past some shops with clothes being displayed in big windows. He had been out for only an hour or so before Johnny and Soliel had awoken. It was immediately after that thing had attacked him in his mind and he was thrown back into the real world.

That was unfortunate, because Smoke wanted to talk to Pyros about that monster. Enenra. He could not get the name out of his head. Tomas tried calling Pyros, but the telepath would not answer. Like he was trying to avoid Tomas. Fine. Pyros had asked him to be patient and Smoke had been patient. Now was the time to find answers on his own.

But the silver-haired man had no idea where to start. All he had was the beast's name. A name that sounded oddly familiar. Maybe he read the name in a book somewhere. Speaking of books, Tomas was about to walk by a huge library in the center of the city.

A few steps lead the way to the entrance with two stone pillars on either side of the doors. It was a long shot, but maybe Smoke could find some important information in the library. With a sigh, Tomas made his way up the steps and through the entrance doors. He took a minute to look at the scenery as he went inside.

Just beyond the doors, a brown, circular counter stood at the front with an old woman wearing glasses behind it. Behind her, there were a few tables with computers on them and large bookshelves that almost reached the ceiling. The woman at the counter was reading a book and did not immediately notice Smoke's presence until he laid his hand on the counter. She quickly jerked her head up from the book and smiled at Tomas.

"Oh, sorry there sweetie. How can I help you today?"

"I...May I use one of the computers?"

"Certainly. Use whichever one you want."

"Thank you."

Tomas walked past the old lady and headed to one of the computers in the back. There were a few other people using computers around him and some were looking around the shelves for books. Smoke sat down and tried to get reaquianted with the computer. He has used a computer before, but the few times he did were short and Tomas never really got the hang of it. He looked over the computer screen and used the mouse to click on one of the tabs below.

A searchbox appeared in the center of the screen. Not knowing what he should type in, Smoke just went with the word "Enenra." He pressed enter and a small search list popped up. The silver-haired man was surprised that anything showed up and took it as a good sign. He clicked on one of the tabs at the top that read "Images" and scrolled through some of the pictures. It showed various images, but all of them depicted someone or something enveloped in smoke and vapor.

"This may be useful."

Tomas went back to the "All" tab and looked through the websites. One website caught his interest. It showed a picture of a alien-like creature whose body was completely made of smoke. The beast reminded Smoke of the monster he had seen in his mind. The site was titled "Mythological Beasts of the World."

When Tomas moved the cursor over the link, the screen suddenly froze. He moved the mouse around a few times and clicked on some of the buttons on the keyboard, but nothing worked. Seconds later, the computer just turned off on its own. Smoke threw his hands up in the air, thinking he did something wrong to the computer. Hopefully it was not broken.

"Something wrong, honey?"

Tomas turned around in his seat and saw the old woman coming towards him. He sighed.

"I think I may have broken the computer."

The lady frowned and clicked on the power button a couple of times to see if she could turn it back on.

"Damn computers...forgive my language, it's just...I asked for new computers months ago and no one has provided them yet. All these computers are junk."

"I see. I do hope you get the computers soon."

"So do I, dear. Don't worry about this, it wasn't your fault. What were you looking for? Maybe I can help you finds some good old books for it."

"It is..uh..mythological beasts."

"Mythological beasts? Oh, yeah, I know where you can find books on that. Follow me."

The woman lead Smoke through different bookshelves until she found the spot she was looking for. She motioned her hand over some books on one of the shelves.

"Here they are. I think you'll find a book that has what you need."

"Thank you. It is much appreciated."

"My pleasure. If I may ask though, what the interest in mythology? Some school project you doing?"

"Um...yes. For college."

It was a stupid lie, but Smoke hoped she would buy it. And the woman did.

"A college man? Good for you! Knowledge is power, honey, and a college education will get you the career of a lifetime. Study hard, hear?"

"I will."

The old lady patted Tomas on his shoulder and then left him to his "studying." Once she was gone, Smoke skimmed over the book titles on the shelf. Most of them were based on Greek and Roman mythology, but he did manage to find a big book that seemed to talk about all sorts of creatures in myths and legends. Tomas never got the chance to pick it up though.

"What are you doing?"

The voice startled Smoke and he almost shouted in surprise, but a hand covered his mouth before he could do so.

"Calm down. It is only me. Pyros."

Tomas stopped struggling Pyros' hold and nodded his head. The telepath then removed his hand from Smoke's mouth and stepped back.

"Now I will ask you again. What are y...?"

A sudden punch to his nose interrupted Pyros. He hissed in pain and tried his best not to make any loud noises that the other people in the library could hear. The telepath held a hand to his nose and glared at Tomas while whispering to him.

"What in the name of the Elder Gods was that for!?"

"Do not ever sneak up on me like that again!"

"How could you have not heard me coming? I was walking ever so loudly so you could hear me!"

"Well, it was not loud enough!"

Tomas ran a hand through his hair and Pyros let go of his nose. It still stung, but it was not all that bad.

"May I speak now?"

"No! As a matter in fact, where the hell have you been!? Did you not hear me calling out to you?"

"Actually, I did not. I was busy doing something."

"Busy doing what? Avoiding me so we will not have to talk about that...that thing?"

"Tomas..."

"What was that, Pyros? Is that thing the reason I have been blacking out? Why I have not been able to remember anything about my past?"

Pyros held his hands up to stop Tomas' barrage of questions. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, the telepath finally spoke.

"...Yes. It is the reason for your blackouts and memory lost."

"I heard you call that monster "Enenra." Is that its name?"

"That is what they are called, yes."

"So there are more than one?"

"...Not anymore."

"So, what does this "Enenra" want with me? Why did it attack me?"

Pyros went silent, thinking about what he should and how to say it so Tomas could understand. As well not give away too much like he had done before by revealing the monster's name.

"Tomas...let me be very clear about this. This beast...is pure evil, and it will do whatever it can to draw you from the right path. In other words...it is a literal demon... that is after your soul. And Tomas...you now have my permission to worry."