Chapter Fifty-Four: Questioning Rule

Tomas stood before Goro without a hint of fear in his silver eyes. The Shokan was on his knees with his two remaining hands covering his wounded shoulder joints. Blood was leaking profusely from the joints due to his severed arms, which laid lifelessly on the ground between him and the one responsible for taking them away. He locked eyes with his attacker and growled at him, but Smoke did not react.

"Fool."

Enenra commented and Tomas could picture the demon scowling at Goro.

"If he had been more aware of his surroundings, he would not have lost his precious arms so easily. Now...you can go in for the kill."

"I do not think so."

Smoke watched as Goro slowly stood up from the ground and glared at the silver-haired man as he rose. Still, Tomas did not step back, even when the Shokan's face was mere inches from his.

"I will have your head for this, ninja. Mark my words."

"I must admit, I am impressed by the fact he is still able to talk so big in such a weakened state."

Tomas paid no mind to Enenra's words and kept his focus on Goro.

"You are beaten, Shokan. Leave while you still can. I do not wish to kill you."

"Then you are just as foolish as Liu Kang. He should have finished me on Shang Tsung's island. But he let his morals get in the way of that. So, tell me ninja: Is all this -"

Goro waved his two arms around to draw Smoke's attention to the wreckage that surrounded them.

" - worth it? Worth keeping someone like me alive while others suffer?"

Tomas was not sure how to answer that. Was it worth it? After all, Goro was truly a monster, a being who did not care about the lives he has taken or will take in the future. Should Smoke really let him go?

"You have the perfect opportunity to finish me."

Goro took another step forward and bent down a little so he was at eye-level with Tomas.

"I will make it easy for you."

The Shokan smirked as Smoke stood there, confused. Did Goro...want Smoke to kill him? Why? What was Goro trying to prove? Tomas reached for one of the kunai knives around his belt and Goro's smile grew.

"That is right. Finish what you have started. Do not make the same mistake those monks did."

Smoke raised his kunai to Goro's throat. The Shokan seemed excited about this and Tomas felt a bit disgusted at how happy the Shokan was at the idea that his life would be taken away. It was then that the silver-haired man made his decision.

"No. That was not a mistake."

Goro's happy expression quickly vanished and was replaced by the one of confusion. He had no time to dwell on what his opponent had said before the heel of Smoke's boot connected with his jaw. The Shokan fell flat on his back and the back of his head collided harshly with the ground.

"Killing you would be a mistake."

Sitting up, Goro rubbed his aching chin and glared again at Tomas.

"What do you mean? Even after what I have said..."

"I understand what you said, and believe me, I did want to kill you. Especially after what you did to my comrades."

Smoke glanced back at Cyrax, who had not moved from his spot on the ground. He assumed that the robot had shut down since he had been so quiet, but Tomas hoped that his friend was not dead.

"But then I thought...maybe you are not as bad as you seem."

An incredulous look spread across Goro's face.

"What?"

"...May I ask you something?"

Tomas waited for Goro to reply, but when the Shokan continued to stare at him in silence, he went on.

"Why exactly do you serve Shao Kahn?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I just cannot see why anyone would willingly serve that tyrant. Maybe you do take pleasure in others' suffering. Maybe you are just as much of a monster as Shao Kahn."

"What exactly are you implying?"

"I am not implying anything, I just... I want you to look me dead in my eyes and say that you are satisfied with serving Shao Kahn for the rest of your life. I mean... look at yourself. The one thing that made you stand apart from others has been taken from you."

Goro looks down at his two attached arms and then at the ones that were on the ground.

"You know what Shao Kahn does to those he deems useless. Even if you can get your arms back, you have been beaten far too many times. And you were supposed to be the champion of Mortal Kombat. Now you have been defeated by Liu Kang, Kung Lao... and me."

Goro gritted his teeth in anger. He knew there was some truth behind Tomas' words, but he just could not accept that.

"Shao Kahn could care less what happens to you. You are expendable in his eyes."

"Hmph."

With what little energy he had left, Goro picked himself off the ground again and looked at Smoke, but he was no longer angry. With how tired he was from blood loss, the Shokan did not have the strength to be angry anymore.

"That may be so, but..."

A roar from the distance startled both Goro and Tomas. They looked around for the source of the voice, but they did not expect the newcomer to come from above.

"Tomas, get back!"

Without hesitation, Smoke quickly jumped back before something crashed down where he was just standing. He landed a good distance away from Goro and looked up at the person who would have crushed him if not for Enenra's aid. It was another Shokan, but this one looked different from Goro. Tomas remembered that Kung Lao had fought this Shokan back at the Coliseum during the tournament. Kintaro.

Smoke also remembered how ferociously the beast had fought and prepared for Kintaro to attack him, but the Shokan's focus was only on Goro. Kintaro grabbed his comrade and turned back to look at Smoke for a moment. The Shokan's eyes showed nothing but hatred towards the silver-haired man. Fortunately, Kintaro made no move towards Tomas and simply turned away. He leapt high into the air with Goro in tow and landed on the top of a skyscraper where the two disappeared from sight. Smoke waited a moment to make sure they would not return before he turned his attention towards Cyrax. He knelt beside the cyborg and gently shook him while calling his name.

"Cyrax? Cyrax, are you okay?"

A few seconds later, Cyrax's eyes changed from their dull gray back to their normal green and the cyborg lifted his head up. While his vision was a bit blurry and one of his eyes even had a crack in it, Cyrax was still able to see Tomas beside him.

"Tomas? What...What happened? Where is...?"

"Do not worry. Kintaro had appeared and took Goro away. They are gone for now."

"...Good."

Cyrax moved to stand up, but Smoke stopped him.

"Wait, you should rest for a moment."

"I will be fine. My nanotechnology is fixing my injuries as we speak. My body will be able to function properly in no time."

Cyrax used Tomas' shoulder to help him stand, but once he was up on his feet, he let go.

"I suppose that is one of the perks of being transformed. Right?"

"...Yeah. I suppose."

Smoke was glad that Cyrax was trying to make light of his robotic body instead of hating himself for it. He was still Cyrax, no matter what he looked like. In that moment, Tomas so was grateful that he truly had his friend back. And speaking of friends...

"Wait, where is Kuai?"

When Smoke asked that question, Cyrax mentally cursed himself. How could he have forgotten about Kuai? The cyborg took off in the direction of the building he saw Sub-zero being thrown into and Tomas quickly followed him. Cyrax went through the giant hole the cryomancer had created and saw Kuai laying on the ground by a desk unconscious. He knelt beside the cryomancer and did a quick scan of his body to see his vital signs since Cyrax could not feel for a pulse. He was relieved to see that his friend's heart was still beating strong.

"Is he alright?"

Smoke was standing next to Cyrax with a worried look. The cyborg nodded his head.

"Kuai is fine. Just give him some time to..."

"Urgh..."

The cyborg looked back at Kuai, who was slowly opening his eyes. He closed them again though because of the light above him and it only made his headache worse.

"Kuai?"

Forcing his eyes to stay open this time, Sub-zero saw two figures beside him. He recognized Cyrax, but the other person he could not see as clearly. But he could make out the ninja-like attire on them and immediately sat up with an ice knife in his hand. Cyrax grabbed the cryomancer's hand and Tomas backed away a little with his hands up once he realized that Kuai may be confused by his appearance.

"Woah, woah! It is me, můj přítel! Tomas!"

Kuai recognized his comrade's voice and when his vision began to clear, he could see Tomas' face. At least the parts that were visible.

"Tomas? What...What the hell are you wearing?"

Even though he knew Kuai was being serious, Tomas could not help but laugh at his friend's question. But he quickly regained his composure.

"I would like to know that myself."

Now Cyrax was staring at Smoke along with Sub-zero. The two looked genuinely curious about the silver-haired man's attire, but Tomas was not sure what to tell them.

"Would you believe me if I said...it was magic?"

Kintaro and Goro finally stopped in an empty alley and Kintaro sat his comrade by a dumpster to rest. Without warning, the Tigrar Shokan blew fire onto Goro's wounds. Goro howled from the pain, but he knew it needed to be done to stop the bleeding. It felt like an eternity, but Kintaro had finished the task and stepped back to give Goro some space.

"What is this!?"

Goro and Kintaro instantly recognized the voice and they looked down the alleyway to see Sheeva heading their way. A small gasp escaped her when she saw that Goro was missing two of his arms.

"Kintaro, take him back to Outworld. I am sure Shang Tsung can replace his arms."

Kintaro simply nodded and grabbed one of Goro's arms to help him up again. Sheeva said nothing else as she turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait, Sheeva."

The female Shokan stopped and glanced back at Goro, who had gotten up on his own and was leaning against the green dumpster.

"What is it? I must return to the fight."

"...Why?"

Sheeva frowned at the question while turning around to face her Shokan brethren.

"Why? Have you lost sight of our cause? We are fighting for Outworld. For our people."

"But what will happen once Outworld wins this war? What will happen to us?"

"We will be safe. That is all that matters."

"Safe from what? Earthrealm? Or Shao Kahn?"

Clenching her fists, Sheeva stayed silent for a moment. She was not sure what to say to Goro. She took a deep breath and turned away again.

"Now is not the time to be having this discussing, Goro. We will talk once this is over."

Goro and Kintaro then watched as Sheeva leapt into the air and disappeared. Goro sighed and looked back at Kintaro, who looked genuinely confused about the whole matter, but he pushed his confusion aside to help Goro.

"Come. We must see Shang Tsung about your injuries."

Goro only nodded and he and Kintaro took off in the opposite direction of Sheeva to search for a portal back to Outworld.

Chapter Fifty-Four everybody! Thanks for being so patient. I know I be taking a while to get these chapters up, but I've been having writer's block for some time now. I'm trying to get back into it now with the semester ending and I have a little more free time to write. Anyway, you guys have probably already guessed it, but Smoke is now in his MK9 outfit. Not the alternate one like when they were back in Outworld. I just decided to tell you guys this, because I felt it would be boring if I tried to describe it lol. And for you guys asking about a sequel, I do plan on making one. Hopefully it won't have as many chapters as this one, which was not intended. But it does make me happy that people enjoy this story so much that they want a sequel, so thank you for the reviews! You guys really made my day.