Chapter Three: Good-bye

Smoke could not get out of that hall fast enough. Tundra was right on his heels and grabbed his friend by his arm to stop him.

"Smoke, look, I know this seems a bit extreme..."

"A BIT extreme!? We are going to be turned into cyborgs! For the benefit of the Lin Kuei, my a...!"

He quickly shut up when people started to come their way. If they had heard what he was saying, the gray ninja would have probably been hanged for heresy against the Grandmaster. With a grip still on his arm, Kuai urged Tomas to come with him someplace where they could talk freely. Smoke sighed and then nodded. He followed Tundra to his room, the one he had shared with Bi-han ever since they could remember. Funny, it did not feel as cold as it would if the two brothers were together. Is this how the room was going to feel for now on?

It was a stupid thing to think about, but the silver-haired man could not help it. He was going to miss the elder cryomancer, even if the two were not as close as Tomas was with Kuai. As he looked at Tundra sitting on his bed, Smoke felt terrible because there was probably nothing he could do to ease the other's pain right now. The blue ninja needed time to grieve and Smoke was going to make sure he had all the time he needed. Well, at least until they were surgically transformed into mechanic weapons of destruction tomorrow.

"Are you okay, my friend? Do you need anything or...?"

"I... I think I just want to be left alone right now. I am not trying to push you away, it's just... I need time to think. I do not want to talk about Bi-han right now."

"... I understand. Come to me whenever you are ready to talk. I will be there."

"I know. Thank you, Tomas."

Smoke nodded and walked out of the door. He stayed outside the door for a moment and, just as he predicted, he started to hear sobbing from inside. Tundra wanted to wait when he was alone before he cried, and Tomas understood that. This was the first time in years that Kuai has cried about anything and he did not want anyone to see him in pain. Especially his best friend. After a moment of hesitation, Smoke forced himself to leave the room and headed outside.

It was starting to get dark, but not dark enough that Tomas could not see his way to the courtyard. The arcade was his favorite place to go to whenever he was troubled. He just paced back and forth and talked to himself about the meeting. No one really comes out there that much, so he was practically alone and free to say whatever. Or so he thought.

"I do not know if I can go through with this. But it is not like I can say no to the Grandmaster. Tundra may be willing, but I am not going to allow him to..."

Suddenly, another headache like earlier started to form. It was not as bad, but it still made the warrior wince in pain. Tomas held a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. This was really starting to annoy him.

"What the hell is this!?"

"Oh. Sorry about that."

Smoke gasped in surprised, but he immediately got into his fighting stance. He slowly turned in a circle to find whoever the voice belonged to.

"Who are you. Show yourself!"

"Please, there is no need for violence, Tomas. I mean you no harm."

"I doubt that. You confessed that you were the one causing my headaches."

"True, but not on purpose. Once our bond gets stronger, I can speak to you telepathically without causing you any suffering."

"Bond? What are talking about? Who ARE you!?"

After he asked that, there was a moment of complete silence. Smoke started to think that maybe the voice really had been his imagination, but then he heard rustling in some bushes nearby. He took a step toward them and braced himself for any oncoming attack. Instead of a strike, however, Tomas was surprised to see a pair of black-gloved hands with the palms outward coming out of the undergrowth. They seemed to be a gesture of surrender.

"I am unarmed. I only wish to speak to you for a moment."

Smoke kept his stance up as the outsider finally withdrew from the bushes. They were wearing a black trench coat with a hood that covered their face.

"May I put my hands down, please?"

After a minute, the gray ninja nodded and slowly, the stranger lowered his hands.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know many things, young warrior. Just like I know that you are in danger."

"I am in danger every day. I am an assassin, after all."

"No, Tomas. I am talking about the initiative. If you go through with it, you will become one of Oniro's mechanical slaves."

"A slave? I do not understand."

"If you want answers, then I suggest that you go to the armory. I have a feeling that most of your questions will be answered there."

"Why should I believe you? I do not even know your name."

The hooded man sighed. Tomas was right. How was he supposed to gain the ninja's trust if he did not identify himself?

"You may call me... Pyros."

"Pyros... well, that's an unusual na..."

Tomas looked away for one second and now, the stranger was gone. Even so, the ninja felt that he would meet this "Pyros" again soon. Now, about what Pyros said about the armory... it could be worth looking into. On one hand, this could be some sort of trap. On the other hand, maybe he really was telling the truth. For some reason, Smoke felt that it was the latter. So, after careful thinking, Tomas decided to take the man's advice and go get his answers. Besides, things could not possibly get any worse, right?

The arsenal was dark and empty when Smoke arrived. Nothing out of the ordinary as far he could tell. He took a few steps inside and stopped to admire the array of weapons stored there. Tomas had been in the armory many times, but he never really looked at anything in here, except thing he needed. Now, with the one person who ran the place gone, the armory looked so... new. Foreign, even.

There were definitely no clues about any danger in here. Smoke sighed, irritated. He knew he should not have listened to that guy. He was probably just an illusion created by the ninja's own tiring mind. He was just going to go back to check on Kuai and forget about the encounter with Pyros.

Just as he was about to walk out, Tomas heard voices down the hall that were quickly getting louder and closer. They sounded angry and Smoke's instinct were telling him to hide. He turned himself invisible and hid behind a crate that was placed close to the entrance so he could get away fast and quietly. Soon after, the owners of the voices came in, two Lin Kuei assassins that were holding someone with a bag over his head by his arms. Blood trailled behind them as they stepped into the armory.

"You are a disgrace. Why did you even try to come back here?"

"You've signed your death warrant, traitor. Just wait when the Grandmaster hears about this."

Traitor? Smoke looked over the crate and saw the two ninjas harshly set their captive on the floor. His hands were bound behind his back.

"Do not even think about escape. You will not get far, I swear."

With that, the Lin Kuei ninjas left the room to go see the Grandmaster. Tomas made sure they were gone before walking towards the prisoner. He turned off his invisibility as he did so. When he was close enough, Smoke saw the source of the blood trail. The captive leg was severely wounded and bleeding tremendously.

"Hello?"

The injured man slightly lifted his head up to show that he had heard Tomas.

"Smoke? Is that you?"

Smoke immediately recognized the voice and took the hood off. The sight that was revealed almost made Tomas want to find those captors and beat them to a pulp. It was Cyrax, but his face was badly cut and bruised. He had a black-eye and a huge gash on his head that was still bleeding. The Botswanan tried to smile, but it hurt just to do that simple action.

"By the gods, Cyrax, what happened?"

"Nice to see you too. Do I get a hug?"

"No, but you can give me an explanation. What HAPPENED? And do not try to change the subject with humor, that is MY job."

Cyrax gave a dry laugh in response.

"I am sorry..."

"I do not want an apology...!"

"Well, you are getting one, alright!? I was not thinking when I defected and left. I knew I could not leave you and Kuai here to be transformed."

"The initiative. Why did you not tell us about that? We could have helped you figure something out."

"It was not like that. I did not know the Grandmaster's true intentions when he asked me to make the armor."

"Armor?"

"Yes. This initiative was not meant to surgically transform us into cyborgs. They were supposed to be just suits of armor for when we are in battle. Without my knowledge, Oniro had made a deal with the Black Dragon clan to use my armor to create cyber ninjas. He even gave the command to install a slaving protocol within the suits."

If you go through with it, you will become one of Oniro's mechanical slaves. That was what Pyros was trying to warn Smoke about. He was right. Oniro had betrayed the whole Lin Kuei.

"Tomas, listen to me carefully. You need to get Kuai Liang and the two of you need to get out of temple. Tonight."

"Wait, you want us to seriously try to escape the Lin Kuei? No one leaves the Lin Kuei, Cyrax. Look what happened to you!"

"I do not have powers like you and Tundra. With your combined strength, you two can get out. I know you can."

"And what about you? I am not going to leave you here to die. I can carry you and..."

"No, Tomas. I will only slow you down. Besides, death would be a mercy, but I feel the Grandmaster is going to have me transformed as well. With the slaving protocol, I should not be a problem for him."

"Cyrax..."

Smoke looked down at the floor, sadden at the fact that he really could not bring the Botswanan with him. If he did, all three of them were more likely to get caught. Cyrax placed a hand on Tomas' shoulder.

"It is alright, my friend. I had a good life with you, Kuai, and Bi-han. You three became the family that I always wanted and as long as you and Tundra are safe, I can die peacefully. Oniro may gain control of my mind and my body, but I refuse to let him take my family away as well. I have lost Sub-zero, so please do not let me lose you, too. I do not think my soul can take anymore grief."

So many emotions were running through Smoke's mind. Anger, sadness, grief... it was too much. Reluctantly, Tomas nodded and grabbed Cyrax's hand. They clasped their hands together tightly as a sign of friendship.

"I will come back for you, I promise. Even if you are turned, me and Kuai will find some way to bring you back. Just... hang on, okay?"

"I will. And..."

Cyrax was interrupted by voices coming from the hall. It sounded like the two captors from earlier were returning. Again, Smoke willed himself invisible, but stayed by his friend.

"You have to go now, Tomas. Once you have Kuai, go to my room. I left some supplies up there that should last you until you get to town. A good amount of food, water, and some weapons."

"Alright. Thank you, Cyrax. Make sure you remember my promise."

Cyrax nodded and motioned for Smoke to go. The gray ninja quickly got up and ran out the entrance. He needed to find Kuai and he was going to get the cryomancer out of this place, whether he liked it or not.