Chapter Five - The Mission Begins

Two days later, General White had announced that the portal for the Outerworld Investigation Agency has finally been completed. They have even tested the portal to see that it's safe for those who enter the portal and that test passed. That day, White called for a meeting, and the six OIA agents reported to him right away.

"As you know," White said. "The portal for the OIA is completed, tested, and ready. Now that it's all set, one of you will be chosen by Jax to go through the portal to Outworld to report any Intel from the realm you can. There has been a rumor as of late that there is a new threat in Outworld that may eventually reach Earth."

"What kind of threat?" asked Sonya.

"That we are not sure about. That is why Jax is choosing one of you to go to Outworld and to report the activities."

"How long do you think this mission will take?" asked Jax.

White was silent for a brief moment before speaking again. "It depends. It could be days, it could be weeks, and it could be months."

The group became silent.

After a minute, White spoke again. "Jax, have you made your decision on who will enter Outworld and investigate or will you need a day to make that decision?"

"Yes, I have already decided," Jax answered. "It took me a few days, but I have chosen Cyrax to go first on this mission."

"I am honored," Cyrax said with elation. "This will my chance to prove my loyalty to you all and pay you back for bringing my soul back."

"Good," said White with a nod. "Cyrax, be prepared because you are going through that portal tonight."

Next to the cyborg, Kenshi could sense Cyrax's excitement, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment. He had hoped that Jax would pick him to go through the portal so he could finally have the chance to finally slay Shang Tsung. The feeling of disappointment and some anger coursed through his veins.

Alex looked at Kenshi with a frown on her face. She knew that he wanted to be the one to go to Outworld to 'visit an old friend. 'What kind of business was it about?' she thought. She could sense a bit of disappointment within him, so she planned to talk to him once the meeting was over.

General White walked over to a cabinet in the meeting room. He opened it revealing two arm panels. "These arm panels will help you keep in contact with us," he explained. "One of these will be placed on your left arm, Cyrax, for when you leave for Outworld tonight."

Five minutes, the meeting was over. Kenshi immediately walked out of the room. Alex didn't hesitate to go after him.

"Kenshi!" she called out once she was in the hallway.

Kenshi stopped in his tracks and slightly turned his head towards her. "What?"

"Is everything all right?" she asked as she caught up to him.

Kenshi frowned a little bit. For once, he wanted to tell her the truth. He's never really talked about what happened ten years ago to anybody before, but he was still not sure if he was ready to tell Alex just yet. After all, he was still trying to learn to trust her.

Instead, he said, "Yeah, everything's all right."

Alex sighed, noticing how strained his voice was when he said it. "It doesn't like it's all right."

"Trust me," Kenshi answered. "I'm fine."

Alex slowly walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "If you want to talk about it-"

"I said I'm fine!" Kenshi shouted. The tone of his voice wasn't too harsh, but it was enough to shut Alex up. Then, he turned and began to walk away. Alex watched him walk down the hallway until he made it to the end of the hall and made a left turn. Alex let out a loud sigh. 'I shouldn't have pushed him about it… damn it.'

Alex could sense someone from behind her. Thinking that it was Jax or Sonya, Alex turned around. She suddenly stopped mid-turn as she noticed Hsu Hao standing in front of her.

For a brief moment, the two stared at each other. Alex did her best to avoid his reddish eyes.

"Hello Alex," Hsu Hao said in greeting.

Alex swallowed hard. "Um, hi. Um, some meeting we had, huh?"

"Yes it was. This plan may become a success, but… you never know what may happen on this mission." Then, with a knowing look, he passed Alex and walked away.

A shiver ran up her spine. 'Okay that was weird… maybe Jax and Cyrax were right about Hsu Hao being up to something after all!'

Later when Alex met up with Jax and Sonya for dinner, she told them about her 'brief meeting' with Hsu Hao.

"I knew it!" Jax shouted. "Hsu Hao is up to something!"

"Calm down, Jax," said Sonya as she folded her arms in front of her. "You're jumping to conclusions! We don't know for sure. It's probably just the way he acts."

"Don't be so sure yourself," Jax replied. "That motherfucker will get his ass kicked if my suspicions are right."

"Just talk to General White," Alex said. "Maybe he'll write up a report and look into it more."

"Maybe." Jax looked down at his tray. "I could do it right now. I think I pretty much lost my appetite after this conversation."

"All right," Alex answered.

As Jax got up, Alex spotted Kenshi slowly walking around the cafeteria with a plate of food on his tray.

Sonya saw him as well. She turned to Alex and smiled at her. "Um, maybe I should go with Jax. Either way, he's about to meet with White while seeing red anyway," She got up taking her tray with her.

"Sonya!" Alex called but Sonya was already too far to hear her.

"Jax, wait!" Sonya cried as she caught up to her Special Forces partner.

Kenshi used his senses to find someplace to sit and eat his dinner. Eventually, he sensed Alex nearby. He felt a bit bad about shouting at her earlier today. Despite not knowing how she felt afterwards, he went over to her table and sat down in front of her. He wasn't surprised when she didn't say anything right away, though he could feel her eyes staring at him.

"Hey," he managed to say.

Alex's had to smile… despite being blind, it always fascinated her how he can figure out where she was. "How did you find me without looking?"

Kenshi smirked. "Lucky guess."

That made Alex chuckle. "Whatever you say."

Then, Kenshi sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry if I was a bit harsh on you before."

"It's okay. I'm the one who should be sorry. I pushed you a little too hard to tell me what's wrong. I guess whatever it was; it's none of my business."

Without thinking about it, Kenshi reached a hand out and placed it over hers. Alex's eyes widened at the gesture because it was something she wasn't expected. She didn't move her hand, but she found that she liked the feeling of his warm, calloused hand on her softer, cooler hand.

"After dinner," Kenshi said quietly as he made a decision. "We'll go to the lodge. There, I'll tell you everything."

Alex's eyes widened more at that. "You know you don't have to-"

"I know… but, well… I realized that I never talked to anyone about this before. I guess now is a good a time as any."

"… Are you're sure?"

Kenshi nodded.

"Okay."

Fifteen minutes later, Kenshi and Alex walked to the lodge area in one of the Special Forces buildings. They sat on one of the couches in front of a fireplace, which was lit. No one else was in the lodge but them which was definitely what they needed right now.

After a brief silence, Kenshi sighed while leaning back on the couch. "I've told you how much I wanted to go to Outworld, right?"

"Yes?"

Kenshi let out another sigh and slightly shook a little. Alex realized that this was something that's not going to be easy to talk about. She reached over to his hand that was resting on his knee and cupped it into hers. "It's all right. Just take your time."

"Well, it's just that, well, as I said in the cafeteria, I've never told anybody about this before. Have you ever heard of the sorcerer, Shang Tsung?"

"Plenty of times," Alex replied. "Sonya and Jax have told me stories about him before."

Kenshi proceeded. "Well, I sort of met up with him ten years ago in Japan after I won a duel. He was disguised as an old man named Song and offered me a katana, but I had to go with him to China where the sword was located. It turned out that it was located underneath the House of Pekara, where my ancestors were buried."

That caught Alex's attention. She remembered Kenshi mentioning the House of Pekara as one of the places he liked visiting and it was no wonder if his ancestors happened to be buried there.

"It was in a well that was covered by a rock," Kenshi continued. "After I took it off, souls flew right out." He tugged his blindfold a little. "There was a curse placed upon the tomb and it left me permanently blinded. Shang took those souls, which are the souls of my ancestors. He left me there to die, but the sword somehow guided me out."

"And from Sonya's reports, Shang now lives in Outworld," Alex replied. "He's the reason why you want to go there."

Kenshi nodded. "Since I became blind, I only have one goal… to redeem myself, slay Shang, and free my ancestors."

'So… that's the kind of business you were talking about,' Alex thought with a frown.

Kenshi leaned over in his seat. "All I had to do was find access to Outworld. When you, Jax, and Sonya came along and told me about the OIA, I knew that this was my chance. But when Jax chose Cyrax to go to Outworld, I pretty much lost some hope."

"Maybe you'll get another chance," Alex answered. "There are two arm panels available and if Cyrax needs help later, hopefully, Jax will send you out to help him."

"I hope so," Kenshi replied. "Don't forget, he has other candidates too. You, Hsu Hao, Sonya, and even Jax himself."

"Hey there," Alex said with a snort. "I don't think Jax would send me to investigate. I may have been a soldier for a while, but I'm still pretty new to this inter-realm business. Hsu Hao is not exactly the most trustworthy person at the moment, even though he's one of the Chinese Secret Military's best. Jax could make himself go, but since he's the one running the agency, he'll need to stay back and make sure everything is under control. It is possible that Sonya would be sent to Outworld. She has been with Special Forces for years. I'd say that you have a fifty-fifty chance of going. Keep hoping for the best, but expect the worse so that in case this doesn't work out, the disappointment won't be so bad."

Kenshi squeezed her hand a little. "Thank you, Alex. I admit, it's been a while since anyone has given me advice like that."

Alex smirked. "Glad to be of help."

At nine o'clock that night, Jax, Sonya, Kenshi, Alex, Hsu Hao, and General White met in the underground chamber of the Special Forces base. Tonight, Cyrax will be going through the portal to Outworld.

Jax placed the arm panel on Cyrax's left arm. "The green button here will keep you in contact with us," he explained. "And when you need to return to Earth, press this yellow button."

"Gotcha," said Cyrax.

"Do you have everything you need Cyrax?" asked Sonya.

Cyrax pointed to his backpack. "I'm good to go."

"I hate to do this," said General White. "But I need to search through the bag."

"Okay," Cyrax said handing White the backpack.

White opened the backpack and searched through it. "Okay, you have enough food and water to survive for a month, not that you need it… flashlight, batteries, handgun, extra bullets, your Pulse Blade... a bottle of Heineken?!"

"Eh…" Cyrax said as he turned his head between Jax and White. "It's for celebration time if this mission is a success."

"That can wait until you come back to Earth," Jax said taking the bottle away.

"Damn," Cyrax grumbled.

Jax looked at the bottle. 'Heh, I'll save this for myself later.'

"Well," said White. "Let's get this portal set up. Cyrax, are you sure that you are ready for this?"

"Ready and waiting," Cyrax replied stepping into the portal chamber. The chamber could fit only one person with four corners made out of metal with claw-like points pointing down towards the center. Next to it was a machine, which controlled the portal.

After Cyrax got in, Jax locked the glass door of the chamber and then he turned on the machine. Everyone could hear the humming noise coming out of it.

Kenshi stood there and listened to the noise coming out of the chamber. Although he was still disappointed about not receiving the opportunity to go to Outworld, he started to feel a bit confident about the upcoming mission. He hoped that whatever was going on in Outworld will be taken care of soon.

Alex looked over at Kenshi. She smiled as she saw a tiny smirk on his face. "You seem better now," she whispered to him.

Kenshi tilted his head towards her. "What you said before gave me a bit of confidence about this mission. Hopefully, we can take care of whatever's going on."

"I hope so too," Alex replied.

The humming noise became louder and louder. Everyone jumped when a blue- like energy began to surround Cyrax. No one could see him. When the energy disappeared, Cyrax disappeared with it.

"Let the mission begin," Jax said out loud.