Chapter Fifty-Two: Coming to Terms

Tomas was not sure of his location, but he soon found himself alone in a dark alley. Not a single soul was around him and he was grateful for that. He needed to calm down before he harmed anyone by accident. Like Pyros has said before, negative emotions can empower Enenra and one little slip up could give the demon the opportunity to take control. Even with their current arrangement, Smoke could not trust that Enenra would not take that opening if it ever appeared.

"Trust. What an empty word."

Speak of the devil and he will appear. Enenra's voice was the last thing Tomas wanted to hear right now. Maybe it was the demon's nature to come in at the most inconvenient times. The silver-haired man grabbed his head with his hands and stepped back until his back hit the wall of the building behind him.

"I wonder what Cyrax will do with the information he gained from that video. Will he still remain your friend or turn against you? Will he keep your secret, or will he tell everyone how much of a danger you truly are?"

Smoke said nothing as Enenra talked, but he was listening. How could he ignore the demon when he was literally speaking inside his head? And what he was saying was beginning to stress out Tomas even more. What if Cyrax did turn against him? What if everyone turned against him after seeing the monster he could become? Just thinking about that made Smoke want to puke.

"Do you not trust Cyrax? I thought he was like a brother to you. A person who should be trustworthy enough for you to tell him such things as that."

What Enenra just said sounded very similar to what Kuai had said before Tomas left to Outworld with Soliel.

"You have been keeping a lot of secrets and as someone you have considered as a brother, I thought I would be trustworthy enough for you to tell me such things!"

Smoke and Sub-zero have argued before, but in that moment, the silver-haired man had never seen his friend so angry before. Angry with him. And the cryomancer had every right to be. Tomas thought he was protecting Kuai by keeping Enenra and Pyros a secret. But what if he was doing the opposite by keeping those secrets? What if he was putting not only Sub-zero in danger, but everyone else he cared about because they did not know about the demon?

No. Tomas shook his head to clear those negative thoughts from it. This was not a good time for him to have a mental breakdown. Taking a few deep breaths, Smoke closed his eyes and for some reason, he thought back to that day when he was first brought to the Lin Kuei temple. With every detail Cyrax told him about the video, his memory of that day had slowly started to come back to him. He remembered how scared and cold he was alone in that cell for what seemed like hours. He remembered how angry he was at his captors bringing him to the temple against his will.

But most importantly, Tomas remembered how he felt...in control of his power. Of Enenra's power. He guessed that was because he was a child then and the demon knew that he would not protest much against the use of his abilities. After all, the boy was confused and would have done anything to get away from his kidnappers. Enenra had allowed him to do as he pleased because at the time, Smoke did not care who he hurt or killed.

Now, since Tomas has grown a conscience, he has been very reluctant to use the demon out of fear of hurting someone he cares about. But maybe if he could regain that feeling of control, if he could get Enenra to use his power for good...

"I am not a force of good, Tomas. None of us demons are."

"...No."

Tomas lowered his hands from his head and looked up at the sky. He did not know why, but Smoke could imagine Enenra looking at him with an arched brow. The demon laughed in the back of the silver-haired man's head.

"And what is that supposed to mean, boy?"

Sighing, Smoke sat on the ground and propped one of his legs up so he could lay his arm on his knee. The other leg remained stretched out and the tip of Tomas' foot started tapping a gray trashcan that sat beside him.

"You may be a demon, but...that does not make you evil."

"Ha, ha, ha. That is very humorous, Tomas."

"I was not joking."

"Then you really are more of a fool then I thought."

"I do not think I am the fool here."

"Is that so?"

Smoke looked down at the ground and saw a small rock between his legs. He grabbed it and began tossing it into the air over and over again.

"We do not have to be the monsters everyone has made us out to be."

""Us"?"

"I have killed people without having to use my... your powers. So many that I have lost count. I have just as much blood on my hands as you do."

"Correct. But?"

"But we can choose to redeem ourselves. We can save lives now instead of taking them."

"Redemption? Tomas, I am already damned, and I am sure that you are too."

"I know."

Tomas stopped tossing the rock and instead threw it at the wall of the building opposite of him.

"But if Earthrealm wins this war, I can gladly leave this world knowing I did something good. No matter where I may end up."

And Smoke was really telling the truth. He knew he was probably going to fall to the Netherrealm for all the horrible things he has done for the Lin Kuei, but at least he could die without an overwhelming guilty conscience.

"I am sorry, Tomas."

Now it was Tomas' turn to raise an eyebrow. Did Enenra just say he was sorry?

"But you and I have different morals and goals. Mine do not involve me risking my life for the sake of Earthrealm."

Smoke was a bit disappointed by Enenra's response, but he should have expected as much from the demon. Oh well. He would just have to let Enenra be. For now.

"Very well. I have said my piece."

Tomas then stood up and proceeded to walk out of the alleyway. But Enenra stopped him.

"Wait."

"What is it?"

Smoke could hear the demon scoffing at him.

"Are you trying to get us killed?"

"What...?"

Tomas could say no more before a black mist started revolving around his feet. It quickly covered his whole body and soon enough, all the silver-haired man could see was darkness.

In another part of Deacon City, Nightwolf lead the way through the metropolis with Jade and Kitana close behind him. The Edenians had been reluctant to leave Sindel, but they knew that the queen would be protected as long as Raiden was around. So they decided to leave Sindel with the thunder god and they went with Nightwolf to help rescue civilians. And thankfully, she had provided Jade and Kitana with proper attire for battle before they parted. Their outfits were a bit more revealing than the ones they had worn during the Mortal Kombat tournament, but they still had the same color scheme for the two women, Jade's being green and gold and Kitana's being blue.

The trio had encountered a few Tarkatans here and there and they had to carefully sneak past one of the giant monsters so they would not be eaten. Besides that, they have not had much trouble, which was a bit worrying. Surely Shao Kahn's army had more to provide than Tarkatans and giants for them to fight. So where were they? Were they waiting to ambush Nightwolf, Jade, and Kitana when the opportunity presented itself?

"Kiva."

Nightwolf called forth the wolf spirit and Kiva instantly appeared before him. The shaman kneeled and laid his hand on Kiva's head.

"Go ahead of us and scan the area for any attackers. And be careful."

Kiva nodded and sprinted ahead while Nightwolf watched him run off. Jade and Kitana were still getting used the Native American calling his spirits and not being able to see them themselves. It as though Nightwolf was talking to air.

"May I ask you two a question?"

Jade and Kitana looked at Nightwolf as he stood up from the ground, confused as to what question the shaman wanted to ask. The women nodded and Kitana spoke up.

"Of course. What is it you would like to ask us?"

"...It is about Smoke. I wanted to ask if you two could give me more information about him."

"Really? Why?"

"I am curious as to why he can see spirits. He is not a shaman and no one of divinity. Maybe if I knew more about Smoke's background, I could figure out why he is able to communicate with spirits."

While the Edenians were also curious about that, they did not see the incident as important. Yet they could see that Nightwolf was not only interested in Tomas' newfound ability, but he seemed a bit concerned about it as well. Why?

"But that is not the only reason for my request."

Jade arched a brow and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh?"

"Yes. You see, I sensed an unusual energy radiating from Smoke. He is not human."

"We actually suspected as much to be honest."

Which was true and it was not only because Tomas has powers. His eyes, his hairs, his form altogether, it just seemed...inhuman. It was strange yet intriguing at the same time.

"Is that so? Then it would seem we are on the same page."

"It would seem that way."

"Then can you please give me the information I requested?"

"I can, but there is not much to tell. As you may already know, Tomas used to be an assassin for the Lin Kuei along with Sub-zero and Cyrax. But he has no memories of his childhood."

"You are saying he has amnesia?"

"Correct. All he knows about his past is his name."

So he knows nothing about the origin of his powers?"

Jade shook her head. Nightwolf crossed his arms and thought about what he had just been told. It was not much information to go on, but he will have to make do with it. Although, Tomas' abilities and movements did look familiar for some reason. The shaman tried to think about it further, but Kiva's feet pounding against the ground as he ran to Nightwolf drove him away from his thoughts.

"Did you find anything, Kiva?"

The wolf nodded and motioned for Nightwolf to follow him back the way he came.

"Follow me. Kiva has found something."

Jade and Kitana nodded and the trio ran behind Kiva as he led them to the subway. From the top of the staircase, they could hear shouting and gunshots echoing within the darkness.

Wow! I don't know why this chapter was such a struggle to write, but here it is! I hope you guys are enjoying the story by the way and I'll try my best to get the chapters out as soon as possible. And also, I made changes to chapter forty-eight, because I just realized that I was spelling Kiva's name as "Akiva." I have no idea why I did this and how I didn't notice it, but for all the people who did notice it, I'm stupid and I'm sorry lol. If I make that mistake again or anything else seems wrong about the chapters, don't hesitate to point it out for me. I want you guys to point it out. Just try not to be so harsh about it please.