Chapter Sixty: Over the Edge

Tomas and Sindel walked one of the many hallways of the temple, which was much bigger than either of them had originally thought. Their footsteps echoed within the concrete corridors and the light that came through the stained glass windows shined colors of red and orange. As they walked, Sindel kept her hold on Smoke's arm and tried her hand at "making small talk" to ease the silver-haired man out of his shell.

"I know we have not known each other for long, but I do wish to get to know you better. If that is alright."

While the queen looked genuinely curious about him, Tomas was hesitant about sharing information with her. He did trust Sindel, but it was strange that she suddenly approached him out of the blue. Why? If anything, Smoke thought the Edenian would be spending time with Kitana or Jade.

"What is it exactly that you wish to know?"

"Tell me anything you like. I am sure there are things you want to get off your chest. I am more than willing to listen."

"Forgive me, but…"

Smoke stopped and gently pried Sindel's hands off his arm.

"I do not feel… comfortable with that. There are things that I…. I cannot say… I…"

Tomas found himself lost for words. He wanted to say it. He wanted so badly to tell someone about everything, even if Sindel was basically a stranger to him. But he knew he could not. Frustrated, Smoke walked ahead while running a hand through his hair and Sindel quickly followed him to catch up. He walked down to the end of the hallway and was about to walk to the next one, but Tomas instantly froze when he saw the sight before him.

The silver-haired man's eyes darted all around the area and he still could not believe what he was seeing. The trees, the flowers, that stone bench that sat in the middle of the grass… it was a splitting image of the courtyard back in the Lin Kuei temple. Every little detail was there. Taking a step into the courtyard, Smoke slowly made his way across the grass and headed to the bench. Sindel stopped before the arcade and watched Tomas from a good distance away in silence.

Tomas slid his hand across the surface of the bench and looked around at the greenery that surrounded him. He shook his head.

"What is this?"

Sindel finally stepped out into the open and slowly approached Smoke.

"Beautiful, isn't it? So lively and… pure. But… even the purest of life can be tainted by a sliver of darkness. Would you not agree?"

Frowning, Tomas turned around to face the Edenian to ask what she meant, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, he saw that the scenery around him had been transformed from a gorgeous garden to a desolate wasteland. Fog was everywhere and large rock structures obscured the view of the pale gray sky on either side of the barren landscape. Before he could examine this new area any further, Smoke felt something wrap around his leg and he was soon hoisted into the air with incredible force. He then heard someone sighing as he hung upside down from what appeared to be… hair?

"I know there is something that is bothering you. It is pushing you the brink of insanity. I saw this the very first time we met at the base."

Hearing footsteps approaching him, Tomas managed to lift his head enough so he could see Sindel's face. But he unintentionally caught sight of the queen's chest, which was now visible since she had removed her purple cloak. The silver-haired man quickly turned away, yet Sindel caught a flash of red as Smoke turned his head and she smirked.

"So modest. It is simply adorable."

The grip on Tomas' leg loosened and he was dropped to the ground while Sindel's hair retracted back to its original length.

"But it will not save you from what is to come."

Smoke stood up and faced the Edenian, confused.

""What is to come?" What are you talking about?"

"Look around you. Do you know where we are?"

Doing what Sindel told him to, Tomas again looked at his surroundings to see if there was anything familiar that could help him figure out where they were. But there was nothing.

"… No. I do not."

Sindel's smile faded as she nodded her head.

"I did not expect you to know. This place existed long before your time. It is… it was my home."

Smoke heard how Sindel's voice cracked when she said the word "home." And he soon realized exactly where he and the queen were now.

"This is… Edenia?"

Sindel nodded.

"… I have to admit, this looks nothing like how I imagined it."

"You should have seen it before Shao Kahn's invasion. So much lush greenery and water so clear you can see all the life that lived within it. It was beautiful."

"I will take your word for it. But why are you showing me this?"

"Because… Armageddon begins here."

Sindel then whipped her hair again at Tomas and grabbed his arm. He tried to pull his arm away, but the Edenian kept her hold on him.

"And we must be prepared if it comes to pass!"

The queen again lifted her captive and and then threw him into the ground. A large amount of debris from the impact covered the area that Smoke had crashed into, but when it cleared, Sindel saw that the silver-haired man was nowhere in sight. As her hair withdrew back to its owner, the woman sensed something approaching her from behind and she instantly threw her arms up to protect herself. Appearing from a cloud of smoke, Tomas swung his leg at Sindel and she was able to block the attack. Although, she was struggling to keep herself upright due to the force of Smoke's kick.

"Excellent. You did not hold back, even though I am a woman."

"Why should I? I know from experience how powerful a woman can be."

Sindel pushed Tomas off her and they began to circle each other. Smoke pulled out two of his kunai knives and kept his eyes on the Edenian's hair, which spread behind her like snakes ready to strike.

"Why are you doing this? Are we not on the same side?"

"This is not about sides. This is about you, Tomas."

"What?"

"You are hiding something, and I wish to know what it is. So, if you do not want to talk with words, perhaps you will in kombat!"

With a cry, Sindel called forth her power, which manifested itself into violet wisps that surrounded her body. It soon spread to only her hands and she used it to summon her own weapon, a Kwan Dao. She twirled the weapon around a few times before settling into a stance, the bladed end pointed straight at Smoke.

"It would be unwise to underestimate her."

Tomas nodded in agreement. So far, Enenra's advice has not steered him wrong, and he doubt it would now.

"I know. Her hair acts as a secondary weapon from her Kwan Dao. I need to be wary of it."

"Her hair is not the only trick up her sleeve. Watch out!"

Smoke dodged Sindel's weapon as she thrusted it at his head.

"Stay focused, child!"

Avoiding the Edenian's attacks, Tomas slowly began to gather energy to create a smoke bomb and once it was prepared, he threw it Sindel's way. The area around them was immediately engulfed in smoke and the silver-haired man used the cover as he snuck behind Sindel. But the queen had predicted Smoke's movements once he had thrown his smoke bomb and she waited at just the last second to turn around while releasing a deafening scream. Smoke immediately covered his ears, the sound of the scream too much for his enhanced hearing to bear. The purple waves that were created by the queen's cry forced the smoke surrounding the two fighters to disperse and Sindel was able to see her opponent again. She stopped screaming and looked at Tomas.

"You will have to do better than that if you hope to defeat me."

Grunting, Smoke finally put down his hands, but he could not get of the terrible ringing in his ears. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.

"Dammit. I did not think the old broad was still capable of doing that."

Tomas thought Enenra calling Sindel an "old broad" was a bit disrespectful, but he decided to let the comment slide considering that it seemed the queen was trying to kill him.

"You could have warned me about that, you know."

"No matter. She still is not going to win this fight."

The ringing soon subsided, and Tomas' attention was brought back to Sindel.

"Look, whatever it is you think I am hiding is none of your concern! Besides, do you really think it is worth this fig..?"

"YES!"

Smoke was surprised. He had not expected Sindel to yell at him like that. Her answer echoed throughout their temporary battlefield and Tomas could hear the desperation in the Edenian's voice. She shook her head.

"By the gods, Tomas, you… I know you are afraid. I do. But you cannot keep denying who you are. What you are."

Smoke gritted his teeth together. He was getting really tired of hearing that. It seemed that everyone knew what he was thinking or feeling, but how could they? How could Sindel? Angrily, the silver-haired man threw his kunai knives on the ground and stomped towards his opponent, no longer caring that they were in the middle of a battle.

"You know what? You do not know a damn thing about me!"

Sindel again pointed her Kwan Dao at Tomas.

"Not another step."

"Or what?"

Smoke grabbed the end of the Edenian's weapon and pulled it closer to him, dragging Sindel along with it. The point of the blade aimed at the man's heart.

"You will kill me? Then do it. You could not ask for a better opportunity than right now."

Looking into his eyes, Sindel knew that Tomas was serious about this. He was practically asking her to kill him. Smoke just stood there waiting for his opponent to make a move, but when she did, he scoffed.

"No?"

He then broke the bladed end of Sindel's weapon off of the staff and threw it to the side. The queen stumbled back and looked at her broken weapon in awe, surprised at how easily Tomas was able to break it. But her adversary was not done with her yet as Smoke kicked the woman in her midsection, and she was sent flying into one of the rock formations. She yelped as her back hit the structure and she felt something rise within her throat. Sindel covered her mouth and began coughing up blood, but fortunately, it was not much.

"What do you want from me!?"

Sindel froze. Tomas' voice sounded… different. It sounded distorted and his words sounded more like growling. She looked up and gasped as she saw the red aura that had surrounded the silver-haired man as he came towards her. Even his eyes had turned from their usual silver to a crimson color.

"If you do not want to kill me, then what!? You want to help me!? Then let me give you some advice!"

Smoke vanished for a moment before reappearing in front of Sindel and he pinned her against the rock by her throat. The Edenian grabbed his hand to try and break free of his grasp, but Tomas was not going to let her go.

"Don't. Because anyone who gets near me is bound to be hurt in some way. Maybe even dead! Why!?"

He pulled back his arm and his hand was clenched into a fist.

"LIFE. FUCKING. HATES ME!"

With a cry, Smoke brought down his fist, ready to land the finishing blow on Sindel.

"Tomas, STOP!"

There was a loud crack as Tomas hit his target. But Sindel was confused when he had not hit her, but instead, right next to her head. A huge crack had formed from where Smoke had punched through the rock formation and the queen also noticed that the silver-haired man had released her from his hold. Slowly, Tomas pulled his hand away from the rock and stepped away from Sindel, who let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. She hesitantly pulled herself away from the rock and reached out to Smoke.

The man felt dizzy and felt as though he was going to faint. He stumbled back a few steps before his legs gave out on him and let himself fall back. And he would have hit the ground if someone had not caught him from behind. The newcomer gently lowered Smoke to the ground and helped him sit upright. Tomas had his head down and his eyes closed, but he was still conscious and knew who it was that had caught him.

"Thank you… Pyros."

Smiling, Pyros looked over Smoke's shoulder and gave him a pat on his back.

"You did good, my boy. You did good."