Chapter Fifty-One: Hidden Beast

Following Sonya's orders, Smoke, Sub-zero, and Cyrax lead their Special Forces group to the specified coordinates that the blonde had given them. While Sonya and Jax's team covered the southwest section of the city and Raiden's team covered the north, the former Lin Kuei and their team would cover the southeast section. That way all groups could try and find citizens in different parts of Deacon City faster and get them to safety. At the front of the group, Tomas stayed a good distance ahead of everyone and kept his hands stuffed inside his hoodie pockets. Now that he thought about it, the silver-haired man felt ridiculous in his current attire compared to the soldiers.

Behind Smoke, Sub-zero and Cyrax were speaking amongst themselves, careful not to have anyone listening in on what they were saying.

"The plane landing like that was no accident, was it?"

"I do not believe so, Kuai. Whatever Tomas did, he saved our lives. But it did cause him a great amount of stress. We should watch him in case he collapses."

"I agree with you. But he should not have to hide his pain."

"Kuai, you know how Tomas is. If he tells us that he is hurting, we will worry. And our worry will cause us to make a mistake, one that may cost us our lives. It is best that we just focus on our mission for now."

Sighing, Sub-zero nodded and they continued in silence. A few minutes passed before Cyrax decided to speak again.

"I am going to talk to Tomas. Would you mind staying back here?"

"You wish to speak with Tomas alone?"

"Do not worry. I am not trying to keep anything from you. I just...want to see where Tomas' head is at. What he is thinking. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"...Yes. Go on ahead. I will stay behind."

Cyrax nodded and he quickened his pace until he was right beside Smoke. He took a good look at his friend and would have frowned if he had his human face. Feeling the cyborg's eyes on him, Tomas arched an eyebrow and turned to Cyrax.

"What?"

"...I do not know. You tell me."

Now Smoke looked really confused.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Something is bothering you. But nowadays, it seems that something is always bothering you. And I think I have an idea what that something is."

Tomas shook his head. There was no possible way that Cyrax could know what was wrong with him. He barely knew himself really.

"Tell me something, Tomas."

"What?"

"You said that you do not remember much about the day you were found by the Lin Kuei, correct?"

"...Yes. It is all a blur. Why do you ask?"

"Because...I think I may know what happened that day."

A small compartment opened on Cyrax's leg and he pulled out the red flash drive Smoke had taken from Outworld.

"I managed to decode those encrypted files we found on the drive. When I opened them, the information they held was not what I was expecting."

"What did you see?"

"...I saw you."

Now that really was the last thing Tomas had expected Cyrax to say.

"Me? What do you mean "me"?"

"All the data the Lin Kuei has collected on you was in that drive. Of course, there was not much, but there was a video file labeled "Project Smoke." And the date it was recorded was the same day you were recruited by the Lin Kuei."

"" Project Smoke?" What exactly did this video contain?"

Cyrax thought back and started to tell his comrade what he had seen in that video.

Flashback – 23 years ago

Sitting alone in a cell, a boy with silver hair and eyes had a blue blanket wrapped around his naked frame and his knees pulled to his chest. Tear stains could be seen on his dirty face and scratches and bruises covered his body. But he did not care. He could not feel any pain, so why should he care?

The door to the boy's cell opened and he immediately growled at the newcomer. A man wearing a gray outfit with a mask and cowl tried to approach him with his hands raised to show that he meant no harm. He was speaking in a language the boy did not understand and for some reason, that angered the child more. After taking one more step towards the boy, the masked man suddenly grabbed his throat. He did not know why, but he felt as though someone was choking him and he could not get any air into his lungs. He clawed at his throat in a futile attempt to take away the invisible hands that were suffocating him.

Two more masked men entered the cell and tried to help their comrade. But there was nothing could do as the man's flesh began to melt away. His mouth was wide open in a silent scream and his skeleton dropped to the floor. Nothing but a mass of bones and flesh was left to remember the man by.

The other two men instantly grabbed the child who was responsible for their comrade's death and tried to kill him themselves. This child...this monster deserved to die. It was too dangerous to let out into the world. The boy growled and scratched at his attackers, but after some time, he managed to throw the men off him. The force of the throw caused the masked men to crash into the wall, creating a few cracks in it as they hit it.

As they fell to the floor, the boy raised his hand and his eyes glowed red. The entire room began shaking as though an earthquake was occurring, but this was no earthquake. Two black tendrils sprouted from the ground and they went straight for the two men. One tentacle stabbed one of the men right through his heart and the other tentacle constricted itself around its target's body. The man screamed as the tendril started to crush his body, but luckily for him, more men came through the cell doors to his rescue.

One of the newcomers had a gun in his hand, but it did not have actual bullets. It was a tranquilizer gun, which was only used for animals. The boy may not be an animal, but he was not a human either. The man holding the gun aimed at the child and immediately pulled the trigger. A tranquilizer dart flew and planted itself straight into the boy's neck. He tried to reach for the projectile, but the effects of the drug were already affecting him.

His vision became blurry and his arms and legs were beginning to give out on him. The child desperately tried to get up and get away, but the masked men grabbed him and held him against the wall. Once they were sure their captive was restrained, another man slowly stepped into the room. He did not wear a mask like everyone else and he had this air around him that told the boy that he was a man that you did not want to mess with. However, the child was not about to let this man scare him. He attempted to snarl at the man, but due to his weakened state, his snarling came out as nothing but pitiful growling. The boy's antics only amused the unmasked man and he knelt so he was at eye level with the boy.

"Such power within someone so young. Fascinating."

"Grandmaster, please stay back. This boy is dangerous!"

"Indeed."

The Grandmaster did not heed his underling's warning and instead reached out and wrapped his hand around the child's throat. He squeezed his hand and the boy grunted as his air supply was being cut off.

"It does not seem that the tranquilizer was enough. Close your eyes, boy. You are only making this harder on yourself."

Black dots covered the boy's vision and after a few seconds, his sight went dark. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went limp as he fell unconscious. The Grandmaster released the prisoner from his hold and his men let the boy drop to the floor. One of them already had his sword drawn out and he pointed the end of it at the child's head.

"Sir, allow me to finish this boy. This...monster should not be allowed to live."

"...No."

"No? But sir, he has already killed two of our best men and another is critically injured...!"

"You dare question me?"

The glare the guard received from the Grandmaster stunned him into silence. If only looks could kill. The man slowly put his sword away and stepped back from the boy before he did anything he would regret. Satisfied with his subordinate's obedience, the Grandmaster ordered his other men to take the child to one of the spare rooms and let him rest. When the boy awoke, he and the Grandmaster would have much to discuss.

End of Flashback

"That is it. I have not shared this information with anyone, not even Kuai. I wanted to discuss this with you before...Tomas?"

Once Cyrax had ended his story, Tomas had stopped listening to his comrade. Only one thought was playing through his mind right now. Cyrax knew. He saw the monster that lived within Smoke. Saw what he could do if he let Enenra take control.

Yet Cyrax was still here with him. The cyborg could have told everyone about the video and they probably would have imprisoned, or even killed Tomas after seeing what he can do. But Cyrax had not told anyone besides him. He had kept this information secret this whole time.

"Tomas?"

Raking a hand through his hair, Smoke suddenly felt like the world around him was closing in, making it hard for him to breath. He felt like he was being cornered. Trapped. Cyrax and Kuai, who had been watching his two friends from a distance, both knew something was wrong as soon as Tomas pulled back his hair. It was something Smoke would do when he was nervous or afraid and Sub-zero and Cyrax had picked up on a long time ago. Kuai was about to step in to help Tomas, but Cyrax held his hand out to stop him. There was no need to, however, because Smoke would not give them the chance to help.

"I...I will go ahead and scan the area for any attackers."

Cyrax turned back to Tomas and tilted his head slightly to the side to show that he was confused.

"Tomas, what...?"

"I will...meet back with you shortly."

And before anyone could stop him, Tomas vanished in a cloud of smoke. Kuai and the soldiers stopped instantly, and they stared at Cyrax as though they were trying to ask him what happened. The cyborg looked back, but he was not sure what to say. Sub-zero jogged up to him and spoke in a low voice so the soldiers would not hear him.

"Cyrax, what happened just now? Where did Tomas go?"

"He just...he said he was going to ahead to look for any attackers."

"What? He knows he should not go off alone. What did you say to him, Cyrax?"

"I.."

"Cyrax. What did you say?"

Unable to say anything to Kuai, Cyrax just shook his head and turned towards the soldiers.

"Smoke has gone to scout the area ahead. We should wait here until he returns. It will not be long."

A few of the soldiers shared confused looks with each other, but they did not question the cyborg. Besides, who were they to say no to a break? As the soldiers took the time to conversate amongst themselves, Cyrax looked back at Sub-zero, who had his arms crossed over his chest. In that moment, all the cyborg could think about was how much Kuai looked like Bi-han. He had already lost one friend, and now, Cyrax was afraid that he may have very well lost another. He just prayed that Tomas would make it back in one piece.