Chapter Eight - The Farewell
The sun shined through the Special Forces windows the next morning. The only noise in the quiet hallway was the sounds of footsteps running. It sounded like it was heading on its way to the men's wing.
Meanwhile, Kenshi could feel the sun's rays hit his face from his bed. 'Morning already?' he asked himself. It was then that he realized that he was holding someone in his arms. He smirked to himself and listened to Alex's rhythmic breathing as she slept peacefully in his arms. He bended his head down to kiss the top of her head.
Alex had just woken up as she felt Kenshi kiss her head. She slightly moved her head upward to look at him.
"Morning," she said, her voice sounding tired.
Kenshi smirked more. "Morning."
Alex leaned to him and lightly kissed Kenshi's lips. Then she pulled away. "Did you sleep well?"
A small smile appeared on Kenshi's face. "It was the best sleep I had in a long. I don't remember the last time I slept like that."
"Same here," Alex replied resting her head next to his. "I think that's how it is the night you, well, have a great night."
"True," Kenshi laughed.
They were just about to kiss again when the door suddenly flew open fast. Jax walked in a couple of feet.
"Kenshi, it's Jax. Get dressed we have a... Alex?"
"Um," Alex managed to say while feeling a bit embarrassed. "Hi?"
Jax stood there in a bit of shock, but he had the decency to turn his head away from the bed. "Eh, sorry if I was interrupting anything, but we're having an emergency meeting right now. Something happened last night. General White will be explaining everything at the meeting room. Um… get dressed." He left feeling a bit awkward. 'I should've knocked first like everyone has been telling me,' he thought. 'At least they were under the sheets.'
A half hour later, everyone met in the meeting room. General White stood while everyone else sat down.
"What happened last night, General?" asked Alex.
General White spoke. "Blade and Briggs are already aware of the situation. Something happened to Cyrax last night. We tried to get in contact with him, but I think his arm panel has been destroyed. Hell, we don't even know if he's even still alive."
"It sounded like he was being attacked by someone when we were speaking to him late last night," said Jax.
"Could it be those trees in the living forest?" asked Sonya.
"Anything's possible, but I thought I heard a hissing noise before the connection was cut off. That noise didn't sound like trees to me."
"So what do we do now?" asked Kenshi.
General White sighed. "Well, at this point, we don't even know if there are any unusual activities going on in Outworld. Cyrax hasn't really bumped into anything since he left Earth." He sighed again. "The only thing I can do for now is to have Jax send one of you out there to check out any unusual activities in Outworld and search for Cyrax. Hopefully he's still alive."
"Don't worry General," said Hsu Hao. "Cyrax is as tough as metal, literally."
Jax raised an eyebrow after hearing that. During meetings, Hsu Hao wouldn't even make a sound. Pushing that thought out of his head, the Major stood up from his chair.
"Jax," White asked. "Have you decided who it will be?"
"I'm deciding now," Jax replied. He looked at Hsu Hao. 'Hell no!' he immediately thought. He looked over at Alex. She was a good agent but he didn't believe that she was ready to go on an inter-realm assignment. Sonya was his partner and needed her to help out with more of the operations.
After a few minutes Jax finally made his decision. "Kenshi, start your preparations for departure."
Kenshi was shocked to hear his name being called out. Truthfully, he didn't expect to be called upon to go to Outworld at all. 'I'm finally going,' he thought.
Of course, he was going to help find Cyrax as well, but it was a chance for him to finally find Shang and redeem himself, something he has been looking forward to for the last ten years. When he gets there, he would be both a rescue party and spy, once he finds Shang of course.
From where she sat, a small frown appeared on Alex's face. She was happy about Kenshi going to Outworld. She knew that this was something he wanted for a long time, but at the same time, a part of her didn't want him to go knowing that he was about to do something that was dangerous. Worse, it was in another part of the universe.
"You'll be going through the portal in twelve hours," Jax announced.
Alex looked at her watch. It was nine in the morning.
"Speaking of which," said Sonya while standing up. She held what looked like a dog tag necklace and walked over to Kenshi. "Kenshi, everyone involved with Special Forces receive a dog tag to wear with their names on it whether they are soldiers or free agents. This one was made for you."
Kenshi stood up and put his hand out, accepting the tag. "Thanks," he said as Sonya placed the tag in his hand. He held it and brushed the metal with his thumb. He could feel his name engraved on it. Then, he put the jewelry around his neck. "Now I really feel like I'm part of the team."
"Kenshi," said Jax. "You are part of the team."
Six hours later
Alex stood next to the large shatter proof windows of the observation deck. From there, she watched the jeeps and fighter jets coming in and out of the base, though she currently wasn't paying much attention to them. Kenshi was stuck in her mind. It was only last night that they showed each other their feelings for one another and now he was leaving to go on a dangerous mission.
'Just when things were going well,' she thought. 'Now this…'
However, she knew that this was something he wanted to do and there was nothing she could do to stop him no matter how much she screamed and shouted. She tried her best to be happy for him, knowing he would want her support.
It was then that she heard footsteps from behind her. She turned around to see the person. Her heart fluttered when she spotted Kenshi walking over to her dressed in his traditional black uniform and red blindfold over his eyes.
"Alex?" Kenshi asked.
Alex fully turned around. "Yeah it's me," she said.
"Sonya told me you would be here," Kenshi said as he walked over to stand next to her. "You've been pretty quiet since the meeting ended."
"I know," Alex replied as she folded her arms in front of her. "I've been doing a lot of thinking all day, that's all."
"It's not about last night is it?" Kenshi asked with a frown.
Alex unfolded her arms before she took his hands into hers. "It's not that at all. Last night was a great night." She looked down. "I… I was thinking about something else."
She could tell just by the shape of Kenshi's lips that he was concerned. He put his arms around her waist. "It's about me leaving tonight, isn't it?"
Alex put her arms around his shoulders. "Yeah… I mean, I'm really happy that you finally have the chance to go. I know it's something that means a lot to you, because this mission will give you the chance to finally accomplish your goal." She sighed a little. "It's just that I… well, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I have a bad feeling about this mission. After Cyrax, I'm afraid that whatever happened to him is going to happen to you. Don't get me wrong I am worried about Cyrax. I... I just don't want anything to happen to you."
Kenshi gently kissed her forehead. "If you're worried about losing me, don't. You won't lose me," he assured her. "Nothing is going to happen and I'll make sure that I'll come back alive and in one piece."
Alex tilted her head up to him. "Promise?"
Kenshi nodded. "I promise."
Another six hours later
"This is it Agent Kenshi," said General White. "Are you ready for this?"
Kenshi picked up the duffle bag full of the supplies he'll need to survive the journey. "I'm ready."
Everyone but Hsu Hao was there to watch Kenshi go through the portal, which will take him to Outworld. Jax walked over to the swordsman and patted his back. "Take care of yourself. If you need anything, just use your arm panel to contact us."
"All right," said Kenshi.
Sonya walked up to him next. "Good luck, Kenshi. Be safe and find Cyrax for us. If something happens, we'll come out to get you."
"Thank you. I'll be safe."
Alex knew that it was her turn. She walked over to him. Immediately, the two wrapped their arms around each other in an embrace. The room became silent except for the pulsing sound of the machine behind them ready to transport Kenshi to Outworld. The other three in the room stayed quiet in respect.
Alex pulled back and looked at the small, silver chained bracelet around her left wrist. She began to take it off and then placed it on Kenshi's wrist. "This seems silly but… my mother gave me this bracelet just before she died. I want you to take it with you as a good luck charm."
"Thank you," Kenshi said. "I won't take this off until I come back."
Kenshi put his duffle bag down and reached both of his hands to the back of his neck to unclasp the hook of his dog tag. Then, he pushed Alex's dark hair to the side and hooked the jewelry around her neck. Tears began to form in Alex's eyes, but she refused to shed them.
"I'll be coming back for these and for you," Kenshi whispered.
"I won't take this off until you come back," Alex answered. They locked their lips together in a sweet kiss, their arms around each other. Alex wished she could stop him from going, but she couldn't. This was something he had to do.
Kenshi pulled back and cupped her chin with his fingers. "Be brave for me," he whispered. He felt Alex nod. Then, he slowly pulled away from her before picking up his duffle bag. "I'm ready," he announced.
"All right," said White. "Step into the portal."
Kenshi took a deep breath and walked into the portal. Sonya locked the glass door and then Jax turned the machine fully on. Alex watched as the blue energy slowly swirled around Kenshi.
'Be brave for me,' his voice echoed in her mind. She tightly grasped on to the dog tag around her neck.
The blue energy completed covered Kenshi to the point that no one can see him. When the energy faded, Kenshi was gone.
Alex bowed her head. She wanted to be brave for him, but she soon had the horrible feeling that this was the last time that she would see Kenshi alive.