Chapter Fifty-Five: Speed is Key

With one of Sub-zero's arms slung over his shoulder, Smoke walked out of the ruined building with Cyrax just behind him. One of the soldiers, James, ran up to them and asked if they were alright. Of course, Kuai dismissed his concern with a wave of his hand.

"No need to worry about me. Are you and your comrades alright?"

"Hell yeah! You saved our lives. Isn't that right, Pierce?"

James looked back at Pierce with a smug smirk on his face. Pierce scoffed, but after a moment, his face softened and looked back at Tomas and Kuai.

"Yeah...thanks... but this doesn't change anything."

Seeing the way the soldier's attention was directed mostly at Sub-zero, Smoke turned to his friend with a questioning look.

"What exactly happened while I was gone?"

Kuai Liang only shook his head in response.

"Nothing to be concerned about."

"I would not say that."

The clanking of metal on the ground drew Tomas and Kuai's attention to Cyrax, who looked much better than he had before. Thanks to his nanites, the cyborg's body was slowly repairing itself, but it may take a while before Cyrax was fully functional again.

"Tomas, I…"

Smoke held his hand because he already knew what his comrade was about to say.

"No, it is alright. You have nothing to apologize for. I…I am the one who should be apologizing."

He looked at Cyrax and then back at Sub-zero.

"To both of you."

As Tomas was about to say something else, the communicator on his wrist started beeping. He brought up his arm for the others to see it and pressed the button on the side of the communicator to answer the call.

"This is Sonya Blade. Do you read me?"

Smoke was the one who answered back.

"Yes, we read you, Sonya."

"Raiden's found us a temporary base of operations. It's an old temple with a symbol of a dragon on the front window. I'm sending you its coordinates."

A map showing the layout of Deacon City appeared on the communicator's screen. It zoomed in on a white dot that represented the location of the cathedral Sonya was talking about.

"We'll all meet up at this spot in about an hour to discuss our plans further for the invasion. If you guys can't make it around that time, just give me a call to let me know you're okay."

"Understood."

"Good. Just be careful. The entire city is crawling with monsters."

"Yes, we know. You be careful too, Sonya."

The communicator then turned off and Tomas let his arm drop. Fortunately, Cyrax and Kuai had heard what Sonya had said, so the silver-haired man would not have to repeat anything.

"Let us move on. If we find any survivors, we should immediately escort them to the temple for their safety."

Both Cyrax and Kuai nodded in agreement and they looked back at the soldiers. James nodded back at them while Pierce took out another weapon since his last gun had been destroyed by Goro. He mentally scolded himself for being so careless and swore that he would not be caught off guard like that again. While everyone was getting ready, Smoke heard a voice in the distance. It sounded like the person was in some sort of struggle.

"You hear it too, yes?"

Tomas turned away from the others and his eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the area for the source of the voice.

"Allow me."

Smoke's sight suddenly began to distort, and he winced as a burning sensation went through his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly and covered them with his hand.

"By the gods, what did you do, Enenra!?"

"Stop your whining and open your eyes. You will thank me for this."

Slowly, Tomas opened one of his eyes and soon after that, he opened the other. His vision was still a bit blurred, but it quickly sharpened and he almost jumped back at how… incredibly clear everything seemed. He could see every detail of the ladybug that was crawling right next to his foot. He could see the scar on the eagle's side that flew overhead, even though it had been mostly hidden by feathers. And he could see a fight happening far off from Smoke and his team. One of the fighters was a Shokan, but she was a female. The other had on a mask and used what appeared to be hook swords as weapons.

But Tomas did not notice one very important thing until he happened to look up at a window of a wrecked clothing store. His improved sight made it so he could see his reflection clearly even when the window was full of cracks. He again raised his hand to his eyes as he saw how much they had…changed.

"My…my eyes."

"An improvement, I say."

Smoke's eyes had changed from their silver color to a much darker gray and his pupils were now slitted with a hint of red around them.

"This is not…permanent, right?"

"Of course not. I only allowed you to temporarily use my eyesight. Do not worry."

The strange sensation returned for a brief moment as Tomas' eyes returned to their normal state. The transformation truly amazed the silver-haired man.

"There are some perks to being a demon, you know."

Smoke sighed and looked down at his attire. His silver armor glowed in the small rays of sunlight that managed to break through the storm clouds. As much as he hated it, Tomas agreed with Enenra. The powers he had gained because of the demon have been useful and they are the reason Smoke has been able to survive for so long. They were a blessing…as well as a curse.

"This does not change anything, Enenra. I will not allow you to gain control of me if your only intention is to harm others."

"Hmph… As you wish."

"Tomas."

Someone calling his name and a hand on his shoulder drew Tomas out of his thoughts. He immediately knew that it was Kuai who was standing behind him, because the air seemed to get a couple degrees colder whenever the cryomancer was near. Smoke turned to his friend and arched a brow when he saw the deadpan expression on Sub-zero's face.

"Look, we get it, Tomas. You are a handsome man. The gods have truly blessed you. But could you please stop staring at your damn reflection and focus on the mission?"

At first, Smoke was not sure how to react to Sub-zero's words, but a few seconds later, he laughed. A good, genuine laugh.

"Was that your attempt at a joke, my friend?"

"Yes…and no. We really should be going, Tomas."

"I agree. But there is something I wish to investigate."

Tomas pointed in the direction he saw the two fighters.

"The is a battle happening over there. A Shokan is involved and is fighting against someone in a mask. If they are fighting against the Shokan, then maybe they are on our side."

"How do you know this? I cannot see anything from here."

"No, Tomas is right."

The two men turned to Cyrax, who was looking in the direction Smoke had pointed to.

"I detect two heat signatures to the northeast. One of them is indeed a Shokan, specifically the one called Sheeva. I remember seeing her on Shang Tsung's island. The other fighter's identity, however, is unknown to me."

"Do you think we should get involved with their fight?"

Cyrax turned to Tomas and nodded.

"In this war, we need all the allies we can get. If there is a chance that this fighter will join us, it is worth investigating."

"Alright, but…what about the soldiers?"

The trio looked back at the group of soldiers who were awaiting their next instructions. After the battle with Goro, Smoke did not think that the soldiers would of much help to them against another Shokan, male or female. They would be useful with the survivors though, at least if they had someone there to guide them. Cyrax seemed to know exactly what Tomas was thinking and he soon spoke up.

"I will lead the soldiers to the temple, as well as any other people we may come across. May I see your communicator, Tomas?"

Tomas nodded and held out his wrist communicator again for Cyrax. The cyborg clamped his hand around it and as soon as he made contact with the device, his eyes began to glow. It only lasted for a brief moment, but it was long enough for Cyrax to complete his task.

"I now have the coordinates that Sonya sent to you. I can lead the soldiers to the temple without any problems. Or at least without any problems with directions."

Cyrax then grabbed both Smoke and Sub-zero's shoulder and gave them a gentle squeeze. Or at least what he believed what gentle since he could not physically feel anything, but the cyborg's comrades showed no signs of discomfort. That was a good sign.

"You two go ahead but do be careful. Especially you, Tomas. And please do not disappear again."

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

"I am being serious. We are here for you, Tomas…we really are."

Cyrax gave Smoke a quick pat on his back before letting go of his comrades.

"Come back in one piece. I mean that."

Both Smoke and Sub-zero nodded and sprinted down the street to the ongoing battle. They quickly made it to their destination, which was a bridge that looked as though it would fall apart any second with the giant hole in the side of it. The duo stopped a few yards away from their targets, who had not noticed their presence, and watched the fight from afar. Sheeva seemed to be struggling to hit her opponent, the man with the mask, due to his unnatural speed. And it truly was unnatural.

The man zoomed around Sheeva so fast that human eyes would not be able to keep up with him. Even Tomas and Kuai were having trouble seeing the speedster's movements. He landed a few kicks on Sheeva before finishing her off with an uppercut and the Shokan fell unconscious as soon as her body hit the ground. The masked man looked at his hands in amazement, as though he was amazed that he had defeated Sheeva himself.

"Starting to feel like the old days. Only faster."

As he looked up, the speedster finally saw Smoke and Sub-zero in the distance. He immediately got back into his fighting stance.

"Look, I just beat one of you Lin Kuei guys. I'll sure as hell take you down if you don't back off."

Smoke was not sure why this man associated him and Sub-zero with the Lin Kuei, but then he thought about what he was wearing and soon understood. He really did look like he belonged with the infamous assassin clan. Holding up his hands, the silver-haired man slowly approached the speedster.

"We are not Lin Kuei. Not anymore."

"And why should I believe you?"

"You have no reason to trust us. But if we wanted you dead, we could have killed you while you were occupied with that Shokan."

"Shokan?"

The man glanced at Sheeva, who still laid motionless on the ground.

"That's what she is, huh? Good to know, I guess."

He turned back to Tomas.

"But if you're not Lin Kuei, then who are you? You're not working with that Shao Kahn guy, are you?"

Tomas shook his head.

"And I am assuming you are not allied with him either?"

The speedster nodded.

"Right."

"Then we are on the same page."

"Seems that way."

Believing he had earned a bit of the man's trust, Smoke lowered his hands.

"Good. I am called Smoke."

Sub-zero took that as his cue to step up and introduce himself.

"And I am called Sub-zero."

The man nodded again and dropped his stance

"I'm…"

The speedster stopped himself as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Time seemed to stop as he dodged a giant blast of electricity flew past him and headed straight for Tomas and Kuai. The two men quickly ducked, and the projectile flew over them to hit a car behind them. The vehicle was immediately destroyed and it erupted into a pile of flames. Smoke and Sub-zero looked back at the car to see the damage that had been inflicted upon it, but the masked man did not look impressed. Instead, he sighed and turned around to face his attacker.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Shout-out to Jacksepticeye! He was my inspiration for the title of this chapter and for those of you who have not heard of him, I encourage you to check him out on Youtube. He is absolutely hilarious and fun to watch! Oh, and just a little fun fact about the last chapter. The phrase "můj přítel" means "my friend" in Czech. Thank god for google translate!