Chapter Fifty-Three: The Four-Armed Prince

"He's taking way too long."

One of the soldiers in Sub-zero and Cyrax's team was pacing back and forth and muttering to himself, much to the dislike of his comrades. Another soldier, an African American man named James, sighed and walked over to his anxious friend.

"Look Pierce, you gotta chill."

"Chill!? How can I chill when we're sitting out in the open like this?"

"Hey, if something tries to attack us, we'll be ready. Especially with them two."

James glanced at Sub-zero and Cyrax, who were a short distance away conversating amongst themselves. Pierce rolled his eyes.

"Right. Fucking Elsa and C-3PO. We're "saved"."

"Man, seriously, what's your problem with them? They've been doing nothing but help us out..."

"We don't need those freaks!"

Everyone, including Kuai and Cyrax, had stop what they were doing and now had their eyes on Pierce. But he did not care. Instead, the soldier glared back at the two former Lin Kuei and crossed his arms.

"You guys think you can just waltz on in here and be praised like gods!? Well fuck you! It's because of you bastards that this war is happening! You should've just stayed in whatever hell you came from and...!"

"Pierce!"

James grabbed Pierce's shoulder and shoved him away from the group. He pointed off into the distance as he scowled at his comrade.

"Walk it off."

"You can't just...!"

"Walk. It. Off."

Pierce opened his mouth to say something else, but the look he got from James made him shut up and leave while casting one last glance to Sub-zero and Cyrax. As he walked off, two other soldiers went after him to make sure Pierce did not go too far. James sighed and turned back to Sub-zero and Cyrax.

"Sorry 'bout that. Pierce can be a bit of an asshole sometimes."

Cyrax nodded, knowing that some of the soldiers may be on edge because of this war and may say things out of anger like Pierce did. Kuai did not say or do anything. He did not care much about Pierce's outburst since his mind was mostly on Tomas. It has been over half an hour since he left and there was still no sign of him. The cryomancer hoped that Smoke would come back soon.

"Everything alright?"

Sub-zero looked at James with an arched brow. The soldier really did sound concerned.

"You're friend has been gone for a while. Maybe we should look for h..."

"He will be fine."

Cyrax quickly interjected James' sentence. Both the soldier and Kuai were now facing the cyborg in confusion.

"Smoke should be back shortly."

"But we can't just sit here..."

"I said he will be back shortly."

"Cyrax."

Sub-zero grabbed Cyrax's arm and pulled him away from James so he could talk to him privately. They stopped a few feet away and Kuai let Cyrax go.

"Alright, tell me what the hell is going on. You have been on edge ever since Tomas left. And still you will not tell me what it was that you two had discussed."

"It's...complicated."

"Then simplify it for me. Or...are you keeping secrets from me too?"

"Kuai, that's not...! Ugh!"

Cyrax threw his hands into the air in exasperation. After a minute of silence, the robot sighed and crossed his arms.

"Do you...do you remember all those times when Tomas would just...snap?"

"...Yes. They were only a few times when he did. It is hard to make Tomas angry."

"Right. But whenever he did get...angry... did something ever feel off about him? Like he was not himself?"

"Of course he was not himself..."

"No, no. Kuai, that is not what I mean. What if...what if Tomas really was not himself?"

"I do not understand, Cyrax."

"Trust me when I say I do not either. Maybe it is the result of a split personality or maybe it is another entity altogether..."

"Wait."

Kuai held his hands to make Cyrax stop talking.

"Are you saying that Tomas is... possessed or...?"

"I honestly do not know, Kuai. Whatever it is...Tomas does not want anyone to know about it. In fact, I think he is afraid of it. Afraid of himself."

"But that is absurd, he...!"

Trailing off midsentence, Sub-zero looks away from Cyrax shaking his head. Smoke would not hurt a fly, unless said fly threatened to kill everyone he cared about. There was no need to fear him and there was especially no need for him to fear himself, no matter how angry he gets. Tomas would never let his anger get so out of control to the point that he would hurt those close to him.

"So...what does this have to do with Tomas running off earlier?"

"That was my fault. I should not have told him I knew about this... "other side of him." I am not sure what exactly to call it."

"What exactly is it? This "other side"? And how did you come to find out about it?"

"I..."

"Stay back!"

Pierce's shout interrupted Cyrax and he and Sub-zero turned back to the soldiers to see them aiming their guns at someone who was approaching them. The figure looked like a human, but his four arms and giant stature set him apart from humanity. Goro. He stopped in front of Pierce and eyed the soldier's rifle.

"Do you mean to intimidate me with your puny weapons?"

Pierce sneered at the Shokan and moved his fingers to pull the trigger of his gun, but before he could, the weapons was snatched out of his hands by Goro. He used his hands to break the rifle into four pieces and dropped them to the ground with a cruel smile on his face.

"What do you plan to do now, human?"

As Goro draws back his fist to punch Pierce, Kuai lunges towards the Shokan and knees him in the face. Goro stumbles away from the cryomancer and Sub-zero pushes Pierce back so he is with the rest of the group.

"I will handle this. Just stay back."

"I don't need your he..."

Pierce stopped protesting when Kuai glared at him. Those piercing blue eyes made him want to run and hide, but the soldier simply shut his mouth and nodded. Satisfied with Pierce's obedience, Sub-zero looked back at Goro, who was wiping blood off his mouth.

"You dare draw blood from me!?"

"Only because you made it too easy."

Goro roared and charged at Kuai in rage. Anticipating the assault, the cryomancer had prepared to dodge Goro and simply leaped out of the way as the Shokan prince slammed his fists into the ground, breaking the earth beneath them. Huge cracks spread within the ground and the soldiers had to step further back so as to not get trapped in one of them. One of them even had his foot get caught within a crack and would have fell deeper into it if his comrades had not helped him up. Cyrax ran to Sub-zero's side to offer him assistance, but he should have known his friend would not accept his help.

"Cyrax, I must fight him alone. It would not be honorable if I were to have you aiding me while he fights alone."

"I know, but at this point, none of Shao Kahn's followers deserve a fair battle. Was it honorable for them to invade Earthrealm against the Elder Gods' will?"

"No, but..."

"Then let us take care of this creature."

Cyrax's hand then transformed into a buzzsaw and he got into his fighting stance. Kuai wanted to argue with the cyborg, but a part of him agreed with what Cyrax had said. Shao Kahn's army was preying upon the innocent people of Deacon City, people who could not defend themselves against them. Where was the honor in that? With that in mind, Sub-zero got into his own fighting stance and he scowled at Goro, who only laughed at his opponents.

"Weaklings. Cannot even stand on your own feet without assistance."

"Says the one who was defeated by both Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Soon our names will be added to that list."

Goro growled at Cyrax and cracked his knuckles with a picture of Cyrax and Kuai's decapitated heads in his hands flashing through his mind.

"No Earthrealmers shall best me in combat again."

The Shokan launched a huge fireball at Sub-zero and Cyrax. As quick as lightning, Cyrax stepped in front of the projectile and cut through the ball with his saw, which caused it to explode from the impact. Smoke covered the area as a result of the explosion and Goro planned to use the smokescreen as a cover for him to attack. He sprinted forward to charge through the smoke, but he was caught off guard by the appearance of Sub-zero who suddenly burst through it instead. A Kori Blade was in the cryomancer's right hand and he slashed the sword across Goro's chest. The blade did not cut too deep into the Shokan's flesh, but it was enough to make him hiss in pain.

Kuai did not stop there, however, and thrusted his sword at Goro's head. But the Shokan was prepared for the strike and grabbed the Kori Blade with his two right hands. As Sub-zero tried to pull his weapon away, Goro smirked and gripped the sword tighter causing cracks to spread along it. Seconds later, the Kori Blade has been reduced to tiny ice shards that fell to the ground at Goro's feet. Sub-zero jumped back and Cyrax took that as his cue to jump in while his friend got another weapon prepared.

The cyborg slashed his buzzsaw at Goro to drive the Shokan away from Kuai, as well as the soldiers, and once they were far away, Cyrax dropped a small, yellow bomb by Goro. The robot quickly flew back before Goro could see the bomb and it instantly detonated. The Shokan was consumed by fire and debris and no one could see anything through it, so Cyrax and Kuai, who had another Kori Blade in his hand, kept their eyes peeled for Goro. What they did not count on, however, was for their opponent to appear above them.

"Get back!"

Cyrax shouted at Sub-zero and the two flipped backwards just before Goro landed on the ground. The force from his fall threw the soldiers away and some of them flew into poles or cars. Kuai had just landed on the ground when Goro lunged at him and connected a punch to his jaw. The Shokan then threw the disoriented cryomancer into the wall of a brick building to his left and Sub-zero crashed straight through it. He fell on the floor of what looked like a lobby for a motel and the back of his head hit the front desk as he slid to a stop.

"Sub-zero!"

Cyrax sprinted towards the motel to help his comrade, but Goro appeared to block his path with another fireball prepared in his hand.

"You should always keep your eyes on your opponent!"

Goro released his fireball and Cyrax had just enough time to summon a shield to protect. Again, an explosion followed the projectile when it made contact with the barrier and smoke engulfed Cyrax and Goro. Cyrax used his enhanced vision to locate Goro through the smoke, but he could not see the Shokan anywhere. A moment later, the cyborg felt something grab his ankle and he fell to the ground. His body had soon been dragged out of the cloud of smoke and was lifted into the air by his leg. Cyrax's face was brought up Goro's, who was the one who had grabbed him, and smirked just before he slammed the robot's body into the earth beneath him.

Goro repeated the action several times until sparks and pieces of metal broke of Cyrax's body. A phrase that said "System Malfunction" in big, red letters kept flashing before the cyborg's eyes and even though Cyrax could barely feel any of the pain Goro was inflicting upon him, he did not really want his body to be destroyed. Fortunately for him, Goro stopped his beating and threw Cyrax into an abandoned red honda. The car was terribly dented on the side by the cyborg.

"It seems that not even your machines can match my might."

Goro slowly walked towards Cyrax, who was unable to move from his spot because of the damage he had taken, and stopped in front of him.

"Do not worry. Your miserable life will soon cease to exist."

Goro raised both of his two upper arms into the air and prepared to crush Cyrax into oblivion. But the Shokan did not get the chance before his two arms were cut from his body in one swift motion. Goro roared as his torn limbs fell to the ground and used his other arms to try and stop the bleeding of his wounds. Cyrax watched through blurring vision as someone appeared in between himself and Goro and it took a moment for him to realize who it was.

"Smoke?"