Important Note: When I first wrote this story, I had initially thought what everyone else thought… that Ermac taught Kenshi how to use his telekinetic powers, but long after writing this chapter, I realized that statement wasn't all true. In Kenshi's Deadly Alliance Konquest journey, it only states that Ermac taught him how to perform the telekinetic slam and nothing else.

However, as I edit this story, I realized, because of how this chapter came out, that editing the mistake would have been too complex since the overall story would have be affected by the change. So aside from fixing grammar errors (and changing Ermac's speech pattern with the whole 'we' instead of 'I' dialogues from later games), this chapter pretty much remains the same and follows what I misinterpreted all those years ago.

Chapter Thirteen - The Enigma

Kenshi slept under a tree for a couple of hours. He barely slept since coming to Outworld and he knew that his comrades would want that, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Since becoming blind, Kenshi still found it amazing that he was able to see in his dreams. It was like he was able to see again and everything in the dream always seemed realistic.

But normally, his dreams weren't pleasant ones and this dream was no exception…

He was walking through an empty field, the sun in the distance starting to set. Kenshi walked around as if he was looking for something. Then, he spotted a blur not too far from him. He walked over to it. The blur looked like it turned, like it was facing him.

Kenshi immediately took out his sword. "Who are you?!" he demanded.

"Kenshi," the blur said. Kenshi loosened the grip on his sword as he heard the sweet, feminine voice. This voice was one Kenshi recognized easily.

"Alex," he sighed with a bit of relief. He placed his sword back behind him.

"It's so good to see you," Alex said. Kenshi narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see her better, but no matter what he did, she was nothing more than blur.

Alex extended her hand out. "Come, Kenshi, let's go to a place where we'll live in peace. No more war, no more fighting."

Kenshi smirked. He liked the sound of that and he knew that Alex would take him to that peaceful place. However, upon reaching out and grabbing her hand, Alex suddenly collapsed into his arms. Kenshi also noticed that he was no longer in the empty field.

He was in the Netherrealm.

"What the-" he said, but as he looked down, he no longer saw blur.

A dry skeleton lied in his arms.

"ALEX!" Kenshi screamed, jumping up and leaving the skeleton down on the ground. He suddenly heard an evil laugh. Kenshi looked up and saw him.

"Shang Tsung," he growled. "What did you do to her?!"

Shang Tsung laughed a little bit more before speaking. "You've always been a fool, Kenshi. You always fall into one's trickery."

Kenshi quickly drew his sword out. "Answer me, sorcerer! What did you do to Alex?!"

"Ah, what love can do to a warrior's mind… you're not only a fool, but a weak one as well. Shouldn't you be concentrating on your mission and not on the mere mortal you call your lover?"

"I said answer me, you coward!" At this point, a fuel of rage boiled through Kenshi's blood.

"Fine, if you're that desperate." Shang Tsung grinned sadistically as he spoke. "But all I can say is that Alex was a fool just like you. I used her to lure you here… of course, I had already killed her, sucked her up dry. Before I did kill her though, I had the opportunity to… have fun with her."

Kenshi's teeth were clenched tight. "You bastard!" he growled through his teeth. He screamed in rage and ran over to the sorcerer, who only stood there, a smirk spread across his face. When he was a few feet away, Kenshi swung his sword, but Shang Tsung easily dodged it. He took out his own sword and stabbed Kenshi from behind.

Kenshi stood there in shock as he felt his own blood drip down his back and on to the ground. He couldn't believe that he fell for his trick again. He let his anger and rage get the best of him and now his flaw lead him to his fatality.

'Perhaps,' he thought. 'I am a fool…'

He fell forward into the pit of darkness and as he did, he heard Shang Tsung say, "Your soul is mine!"

Kenshi found himself in the darkness, but he wasn't lying down, he was sitting. He felt the soft ground he sat on and the tree he leaned against.

He had woken up from his nightmare.

Kenshi felt a headache come to him. He took both his hands to each side of his head and rubbed his temples clockwise. The blindfold around his eyes got in the way, so he took it off, revealing his pale eyes. He rubbed just above them to ease the headache.

Then, the thoughts of the nightmare came back to him.

"Alex," he whispered.

Immediately, he went to his arm panel to get in contact with Jax, wanting to make sure that she was all right, but when he pressed the communication button, he sensed the beacon signal gone.

'What?!' he thought in panic. He pressed the button a few more times. 'Why can't I get in contact?'

Then, a horrible thought came to his mind.

'Were they attacked?'

He did have a mission, but it would have to be on hold temporarily. He couldn't get a contact signal and wanted to make sure that everyone, especially Alex, are all right.

He pressed another button, which would transport him back to Earthrealm. Once again, he couldn't get a beacon signal. Kenshi clenched his teeth in frustration. Not only had something happened back on Earth… he was also trapped in Outworld.

Kenshi slumped back against the bark of the tree. Many thoughts played in his head in fast motion. He sat there, looking like he was dazed out. Then, Alex came to his mind. In his mind, he could only see blur. He could hear only silence now, except for the light wind blowing around Outworld.

"Damn it," he whispered in frustration as he covered his face with his hands. "I hope she's okay…"

As he put his hands back down, he suddenly sensed someone nearby. All of Kenshi's thoughts and emotions quickly disappeared like a light. He slowly stood up as he heard light footsteps nearby. Kenshi slowly reached behind his back and lingered his fingers around the hilt of his sword. When the footsteps were close enough, Kenshi quickly whirled around and lashed his sword out.

To his surprise, the figure grabbed the arm holding the sword.

"We won't hurt you," the figure said calmly. Kenshi could tell that the voice belonged to an older male.

"Who are you?!" Kenshi demanded. "And what do you want?!"

"You're help," the person replied. "You're the first mortal we've seen since the last Mortal Kombat tournament. Have you ever heard of the Emperor Shao Kahn?"

Kenshi put his arm down, but still kept his tight grasp on the sword. "A few times, yes."

"We are one with a thousand dead soldiers within, all because of the Emperor. We had served him once, but that was the past. You know, he is dead now."

That would explain why he said 'we' instead of 'I.' "Is he?" Kenshi asked, not really caring about the Emperor's fate.

"Yes, and now we have the opportunity to free ourselves. Unfortunately, the orb which holds the souls together can only be touched by a mortal. I'm immortal and cannot touch the orb. We need a mortal to destroy it and since you are the first mortal we've met since Shao Kahn's death, we will be needing your help."

"And what makes you think I can trust you that easily? Also, you never answered my other question."

The figure stayed silent for a moment before speaking again. "We are Ermac. We can sense great power in you. Perhaps, we can make an exchange."

Kenshi gave himself a few seconds to think about the situation. 'Because of Shao Kahn,' he thought. 'That all these souls are trapped in this one being.'

The tight grasp on his sword began to loosen up a bit. 'It's like how my ancestors have been enslaved by Shang Tsung.'

Ermac looked at the swordsman. He was surprised when he slipped the sword back behind him. "Sudden change of heart, we see," Ermac said.

Kenshi slowly nodded. "I don't trust you just yet," he replied. "But I know how it is. The souls of my ancestors are enslaved as well."

"Shang Tsung," Ermac replied.

"But if you try to fool me," Kenshi continued. "I will whip my sword out and cut you to pieces quicker than a blink of an eye."

Ermac laughed a bit. "For a blind man, you're sharp, but do not worry, you won't be fooled. Like we said before, we can make an exchange."

"What kind of exchange?"

"One which we believe will benefit you."

Ermac reached out, his hand glowing. Kenshi felt a sharp twitch inside of him and fell back. As he landed, the twitching went away.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Kenshi demanded.

"Huh, short temper we have," Ermac replied. "You, our friend, now have telekinetic abilities."

"Tele-what?" Kenshi asked slowly getting up.

"Telekinetic powers," Ermac repeated. "It's when one is able to-"

"I know what it is," Kenshi cut in. "But why?"

"Surprising an opponent is one of thing that counts in combat. As a blind swordsman, like yourself, you hold many surprises. Having telekinetic powers will surprise them even more, that is why we gave you these powers. We know of three moves that we can teach you in short time. An average person can learn these quickly. Anything else you wish to learn beyond our brief teaching is up to you."

Ermac found a heavy log and brought it closer to Kenshi. "In front of you is a log. First, we want you to lift it up with your mind, just to test your powers out."

Kenshi nodded and focused, his right hand out. His head and his hands glowed in a blue aura and with his mind, he lifted the log slowly above him. Kenshi could feel the weight of the object as he brought it upwards.

"Good," Ermac said. Kenshi put the log back down.

Ermac continued. "Now we will teach you three tricks you can use, especially during combat. The first is the easiest and it's what we call the Telekinetic Push. Just use your hand as if you are pushing away someone."

Kenshi nodded and focused again. He brought his hand quickly forward and once again felt the weight of the log. The log was pushed a few feet back and hit's a bark of a tree nearby.

"Well done," Ermac said. "Now will you learn another move called the Telekinetic Toss. You freeze your opponent in place and then toss them to your other side."

Kenshi focused once again. He kept the log in place for a second. Then, he brought it towards him and shifted his body back to let the log pass by him. Then, he let the log land with a loud thud.

"Excellent," Ermac said. "The final move you'll be learning is called the Telekinetic Slam, which is a tricky move because if you miss your opponent, it leaves you wide open for an attack."

Ermac brought the log back closer to Kenshi. "Lift your arm up as you lift the log. Then, turn your palm toward the ground and drop your palm in a downward direction."

Kenshi nodded and focused one more time. He managed to lift the log above his head. Then, he turned his hand and slammed the log down as hard as he could. The log shattered into a million splinters.

Ermac clapped his hands a few times. "You're indeed a fast-learning warrior. We have done you a good favor. Now you must return it."

Kenshi nodded. "Where is this orb?"

"About a mile up. It won't be out of your way. We know that you are heading towards Shang Tsung's Palace. Follow me."

Ermac began walking and Kenshi followed.

The orb was hidden in a tree in the woods. Kenshi could sense the orb's evil power within. Kenshi was hesitant at first, remembering what had happened to him ten years ago.

'But then again,' he thought. 'He wouldn't have given me these new powers in the first place…'

Kenshi slowly put his hands in the tree, grabbed the orb, and pulled it out. He sighed with relief when nothing happened.

"We thank you for your help," Ermac said.

"Thank you for the powers," Kenshi replied. "But there's one thing I'm wondering… Shang Tsung…"

"There is a Deadly Alliance formed on and Shang Tsung has every soul he can get his hands on. We know that the souls within us will be trapped once they are freed, but I do know one thing… we know that you will set the souls free from Shang's grasps. And… we never caught your name."

"It's simply Kenshi."

Ermac nodded. "Good luck, Kenshi."

Kenshi nodded. He tossed the orb in the air. Then, he took out his sword and quickly cut the orb in half as though it was nothing more than a piece of paper. The two pieces shattered upon impact with the ground. Kenshi could feel a big gust of wind blowing against him and he could hear the sounds of a thousand hisses.

If Kenshi was able to see, a blinding light would've hit him as Ermac broke into thousands of green souls. Then, the souls are pulled into the same direction, possibly heading where Shang Tsung's Palace was located.

Then, silence hit the air. Kenshi turned his head a few times to get his senses back in gear. He could sense the souls going in the same direction and once again, he followed them.