Chapter Nine - The Bad Feeling
Kenshi felt like he was in mid-air as he was transported from Earth to Outworld. He had his sword in his hand not knowing what will happen once he landed there.
It felt like a long time before he finally felt his feet on the cold ground and sensed the disturbing ki surrounding the atmosphere. Kenshi stood there in his own darkness and tried to sense what's around him other than the ki. He clutched his sword tighter as he sensed terrified souls passing him, all going into the same direction.
'Shang Tsung,' Kenshi thought while clenching his fist. 'He really is here!'
Kenshi knew of the actual reason that he was here… to search for the missing Special Forces agent Cyrax and bring him back home. He would do that while searching for Shang Tsung as well. The last known place Cyrax was at was in the living forest.
He knew that it could possibly take weeks before he would find either of them, but he was willing to fulfill his two duties.
Then, Alex came to his mind. He reached his free hand over to the bracelet Alex had given him just before entering the portal and brought it to his fingers. He felt the cold jewelry on the skin of his fingers.
It was then that he realized another duty to fulfill… to quickly complete this mission in order to get back to her and make her proud.
'Don't worry Alex,' Kenshi thought as he tilted his head up towards the sky. 'I'll be back as soon as I can.'
He began to sense the souls again and realized that they were going in the same direction, like they are being attracted to something ahead of them. Kenshi placed his sword back behind him and began following the souls.
Just twenty feet away, a dark shadow stood behind a dead tree. He stared at the blind swordsman for a while before he began walking away. Then, the shadow teleported away.
Back on Earth, Alex looked out the window of the Special Forces cafeteria. In front of her, only little portions of her dinner were eatn. It had been two weeks since Kenshi left for Outworld. She knew that he was all right from all the contacts she and the rest of the agents had with him.
Well, he was all right so far at this point.
Alex was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Agent Sonya Blade sat down in front of her with her tray of food. "Alex?" the older agent spoke.
Alex shook her head quickly and turned her head towards Sonya. "Oh, hey... I didn't know you were there."
"Deep in thought I see," Sonya replied taking a bite out of her roast beef sandwich. "Don't worry, so far Kenshi is all right from our last report."
"I know," Alex answered. "But I can't help it with this stupid gut feeling at the pit of my stomach."
"Is it the food?" Sonya asked looking down at Alex's barely-eaten dinner.
Alex looked down at her plate. "Oh no, it's not the food, though I did overindulge in vodka shots last night. I'm still working through this hangover."
Sonya eyed her. "That wasn't exactly smart."
"Hey, I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't off duty today."
"Fair enough… so… I'm guessing that the bad feeling is about Kenshi then?"
Alex nodded.
Sonya took another bite out of her sandwich before speaking again. "What is it that's bothering you about Kenshi? I mean I know you know that he's all right."
"Yeah," the brunette agent replied. "I'm just being paranoid really, but since the night Kenshi left for Outworld, I couldn't help but have this bad feeling that it would be the last time that I would ever see him alive."
"Everyone feels like that whenever their loved one leaves for a long period of time," Sonya said. "I once thought I've lost the man I loved once and I was devastated for a while until I found out that he was well and alive."
"Do you still love him?" Alex thought knowing that she was mentioning the famous martial arts actor, Johnny Cage.
"I… guess I do in a way," answered the blond agent. "But in the end, I don't think we're meant for a relationship. I'm always busy trying to fight the forces of evil and protect our world while he's too busy acting in all of these b-movies and acting like he's the biggest hot shot around."
Alex chuckled. "Remember when Ninja Mime came out in theaters? That was probably one of the biggest movie flops in American history and I didn't have to go see it to know that from what I saw in the previews."
"And Cyrax felt that Johnny robbed him of his eight bucks," Sonya mentioned laughing as well.
The two female agents laughed for another second before stopping, both with serious looks on their faces. It was fun getting off the subject for a minute, but it was something that couldn't be avoided, especially when it involved the lives of two agents.
"Other than that," Sonya continued. "You shouldn't worry. Kenshi's smart, not to mention the fact that he has great senses, literally. I'm pretty sure that he'll be fine no matter what happens."
"I hope your right Sonya," Alex said.
It was at that moment that Alex felt her stomach turn in an uncomfortable way.
"Crap!" Alex cried out. "I was wondering when the hangover was going to work its magic." Then, the younger agent stood up and began running out of the cafeteria.
Sonya followed Alex into the woman's bathroom. She stood a few feet away from the stalls as Alex threw up the contents into the toilet. After a minute, Sonya heard the toilet flush and Alex stepped out of the bathroom and slowly walked towards the sink.
"Are you okay?" Sonya asked placing a hand on Alex's back as she washed her mouth out. "You look like you're going to pass out."
"Maybe," Alex said. "Maybe I just need to rest for the remainder of the day or something."
"You should," Sonya agreed. "I imagine being nervous about Kenshi and the mission isn't helping your hangover either. If you happen to still feel like this within the next couple of days, go to the doctor. We need you in top shape."
Alex only answered with a quick nod.
The dark figured entered what looked like a palace. He walked around until he found the main room where all of the operations within the palace took place. There were mummified bodies dressed in rusted armored gear standing on their feet and holding various weapons in their hands. Near the back of the room, a large green energy filled with tortured souls swirled slowly in an upward direction.
The man the shadow was looking for stood with two other people and walked over to him. The man was tall with long black hair and a goatee and wore a red outfit with yellow dragon designs in different places. Behind his back was a straight sword wrapped in its case.
"Shang Tsung," the shadow spoke. "I've come to tell you about my discovery."
Shang Tsung raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Rovno?"
"It seems as though an intruder is out to not only search for another missing agent, but is out to kill you as well. He is a swordsman named Kenshi and he is a spy for Special Forces." He then began to describe Kenshi's features and his wardrobe.
"Special Forces?" Shang Tsung said. "They must know something about the Deadly Alliance." He looked back at Rovno. "Is there any other important information about this spy?"
"No," the shadow replied. "Except that his current location is far at the moment."
"Thank you, Rovno," Shang Tsung finally said. "It's good to have a teleporter and a mind reader on our team. You may go now until I give you your next orders."
Rovno bowed to the sorcerer before teleporting away.
'Kenshi, huh?' Shang Tsung thought. 'Why does that name seem so familiar?'
An extremely pale man turned to the sorcerer. "What do we do now, Shang Tsung?"
Shang Tsung turned his head to the man. "I think you know what orders to give to our friend here, Quan-Chi." The sorcerer turned his head to the Asian man with them. "Mavado, any word on Hsu Hao yet?"
"He is still awaiting orders back at the Special Forces base," Mavado replied.
"They must have a portal on their base," Shang said. "Tell Hsu Hao to destroy it and report back to Outworld."
Mavado nodded as Shang Tsung left the room.
Quan-Chi turned to Mavado. "I have a gift for you, Mavado. You know about Kano being alive now, yes?"
Mavado only growled in response. He and Kano have been rivals for years considering that Mavado's mission as a Red Dragon member was to eliminate every remaining member of the Black Dragon clan. Kano was the last known member.
Quan-Chi continued. "Since Kano is working alongside with Shang Tsung, I will give you the opportunity to fight Kano in a battle to the death."
"Thank you, Quan-Chi," Mavado replied. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this opportunity."
"Not so fast," Quan-Chi said. "Before you have your battle with Kano, I need you to complete a task."
"Anything."
Quan-Chi smirked. "Shang Tsung and I do not tolerate people invading our plans to conquer Outworld and soon Earthrealm. Shang Tsung has given me a hint to have you do one thing for us."
Mavado stared at the sorcerer, awaiting his orders.
"You must eliminate the swordsman."