Chapter Nineteen: For the Lin Kuei
"Sub-zero! NO!"
The Lin Kuei cyborgs surround Kuai Liang and use their pulse chargers to restrain him. The cryomancer screams in pain from the force of the chargers' energy and is unable to summon his powers to escape. As the cyber ninjas are dealing with Sub-zero, two more cyborgs appear before Shao Kahn's throne. Kuai recognized Cyrax, but he did not know who the red cyborg was that accompanied his old friend. Shang Tsung stepped forward to address the cyborgs. All these meddlesome ninjas were beginning to irritate the sorcerer.
"Who now interrupts the emperor's tournament?"
The red and yellow cyborgs bow before Shao Kahn. However, it was the red one who spoke up.
"We request that we may return him to our temple for judgement."
The robot was referring to Sub-zero. Smoke looked over at his friend who was at the Lin Kuei's mercy. He had to do something and he had to do it now. Tomas was about to go to Kuai's aid, but Raiden holds him back.
"You cannot save him!"
"I have to try! I am not going to abandon my friend!"
"I am sorry, but if you go, they will take you as well. Do you think Sub-zero would want that to happen?"
Again, Smoke looked at Sub-zero and the cyborgs. It pained him to see Kuai suffering and the sight reminded Tomas of Zhu Zin. He felt just as helpless as he did back then. This time… this time will be different.
"And what do I gain from granting this bold request?"
"The Lin Kuei's loyalty and service."
Smoke was shocked. The Lin Kuei were willing to serve Outworld in order to capture him and Sub-zero? This was madness!
"Very well. He is yours."
No. Sub-zero was not going to be transformed. Not if Smoke had anything to do with it. The cyborgs bowed again to the emperor and just as they were turning around, Tomas teleported away from Raiden and Johnny Cage.
"Smoke, STOP!"
But the thunder god was unable to stop the ninja. Smoke reappeared in his human form before the red and yellow cyborgs with his fists clenched at his sides. The robots stopped immediately as they recognized Tomas.
"Smoke."
The red cyber ninja clenched his own fists while Cyrax stayed quiet.
"You have disobeyed the directive to remain at the Lin Kuei temple. You will return with us to begin your transformation."
"I will not. And neither will Sub-zero."
"Then you will be taken by force."
The red cyborg tried to grab Tomas, but the ninja kicked the robot back before it could touch him. Seeing Smoke as a threat, Cyrax made his hand into a buzzsaw and aimed it at Tomas' throat. The cyber was not going to kill him, of course, but he could use his weapon to intimidate the ninja.
"STOP!"
The yellow cyborg halted his assault at the sound of Shao Kahn's booming voice. Everyone turned to the emperor, confused.
"It seems that a challenge has been made, yes?"
Shang Tsung smirked.
"It seems that way, my lord. This is the Mortal Kombat tournament. And what is a better way to settle disputes than with violence?"
The sorcerer raised his hands into the air and looked at Smoke.
"If you accept this challenge, you can win your freedom, as well as your friend's. At least for the time being. It is your choice."
Without hesitation, Tomas nodded.
"I accept."
"Very well. The next battle will be Smoke vs Cyrax and Sektor!"
The crowd cheered as the next fight was announced. Smoke, however, was confused. Did the sorcerer just say… Cyrax? And Sektor? He glanced at the yellow and red robots as they walked to the other side of the arena.
"Hey, wait!"
Tomas heard Johnny Cage shout and looked back to see the actor jogging to his side.
"I'll fight, too."
"Johnny, this is not your battle."
"I know that, but hey, were buddies, right? Gotta look after each other. Besides, you're going against not one, but two robots. Haven't you seen "The Terminator!?"
"No."
"Should've known that… but the point is, you shouldn't fight them alone when you have there are people here willing to help you."
Cage adjusted his shades and then looked at Shang Tsung.
"You got a problem with me tagging in, Harry Potter?"
The sorcerer frowned at the name making Johnny facepalm himself.
"Never mind. Let's just get this thing over with."
Cage and Smoke to their positions on the opposite side of the battlefield as the cyborgs. As he got into his fighting stance, Tomas stared at his opponents. Now that he thought about it, Cyrax was the only one in the Lin Kuei to use a buzz saw as a weapon. Could that yellow cyborg truly be his old comrade? If so, Smoke would have to be careful not to harm Cyrax. If he actually could.
"Johnny, I have a favor to ask you."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"The yellow cyborg. Please try your best not to hurt him. He was… is my friend."
"I mean, I'll try, but that's going to be kinda hard if he starts getting crazy with that saw. What about the red one?"
Smoke did not care about Sektor. They hated each other and that had not changed.
"He is mine."
The dark tone in Tomas' voice worried Johnny Cage. He did not know the ninja well, but he could tell that Smoke did not like the red cyborg. If only Johnny knew how much his ally resented Sektor. Standing away from the upcoming battle, Raiden watched as his champions talked. He was not angered by Smoke's decision to ignore him, but the thunder god was worried. If Smoke lost this fight, then he and Sub-zero would be transformed into robots. Tomas and Johnny Cage needed to win this fight. Shang Tsung was still smiling as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Kombatants…BEGIN!"
Smoke immediately went to Sektor, leaving Johnny to fight Cyrax. The ninja gritted his teeth together as he charged at the red cyborg. What sounded like chuckle resonated from the robot when Tomas was upon him, and at the last second, Sektor disappeared in what looked like random green data. The cyborg could practically feel Smoke's confusion and it made him want to laugh. A few seconds later, as Tomas was trying to pinpoint Sektor's location, the robot shot straight up from the ground and performed an uppercut on Smoke.
The ninja flew into the air and then landed far from his opponent. Smoke grabbed his jaw, which was now throbbing, and realized that part of his mask had been broken. The damaged area showed some of his mouth. But he could not worry about that right now. More green data appeared before Tomas and out of it stood Sektor. He just stood there and looked down at the stunned Smoke.
"So, is it true? You really went through with the initiative?"
"Of course. Your ignorance blinded you to the Grandmaster's vision."
"His vision includes us giving up our humanity!"
"And in return, we will gain so much more."
Compartment opened in Sektor's chest and a missile was revealed, aimed right at Smoke. Tomas gasped as the projectile was launched, but he was able to teleport before it could reach him. The missile hit the ground instead and exploded. Flames and sand spread into the air, but they quickly died down. Behind Sektor, Smoke reappeared in a crouched position.
"I thought the Grandmaster wanted us alive."
"Some things just cannot be helped. If you happen to die by my hand, it was "self-defense."
"It seems the transformation did nothing for your arrogance."
On the other side of the arena, Johnny was ducking and dodging Cyrax's attacks, but he was not fighting back. He was thinking about what Smoke had asked of him.
"The yellow cyborg. Please try your best not to harm him."
But how exactly was Johnny supposed to do that? His opponent did not seem so keen on talking things out and if it really was Cyrax, then the actor was in trouble. After all, the Botswanan wiped the floor with Cage on Shang Tsung's island. This should be a breeze for Cyrax now that he was a cyborg.
"Hey, uh… Cyrax, right?"
The cyber ninja threw a punch at Johnny's face, which he avoided.
"Woah, hey buddy. I'm just trying to have a conversation with you!"
Again, Cyrax's hand changed into a buzz saw and he slashed it at Johnny making him jump back.
"Jesus! You know, you'd be great for Robocop!"
Ignoring the actor, Cyrax continued to attack. The cyborg managed to get a cut in on Johnny's arm. Cage grimaced as he placed his hand over the wound.
"God, that hurts like bitch! Was that really nece…"
"DO YOU EVER STOP TALKING!?"
Cyrax's sudden outburst made Johnny, Smoke, and Sektor look at him, surprised and confused. Even Cyrax himself was confused. He was not supposed to feel any kind of emotions. This sparked a glimmer of hope in Tomas. The ninja called out to his ally.
"Johnny, what did you do!?"
"Hell if I know! I was just talking to him and he got pissed!"
The yellow cyborg suddenly started yelling and grabbed his head. He must be malfunctioning. As Smoke and Johnny were distracted, Sektor used the opportunity to lung at Tomas and pin him to the ground. The red cyborg activated a pulse charger of his own and plunged it into Smoke's side, where he was still wounded. Raiden had not finished healing the injury before the ninja took off. Tomas screamed as the energy surrounded him. Johnny was about to go help him, but Smoke stopped him.
"Don't worry about me! Help Cyrax!"
"By doing what? Talking!?"
"YES!"
Johnny frowned, but he turned back to Cyrax, who had a hand on his head. The actor took a deep breath and began to do what he does best: talk.
"Listen, man, if I said something wrong, that was my bad. I was just trying to lighten things up a bit, you know!?"
Cyrax threw his head back and yelled even louder. Sparks started flying from the cyborg's body. Johnny was beginning to think that he should stop, but then again, this way better than getting cut down by a saw.
"Dude, you're not looking so good. You should try to relax, it'll do you some good."
Cyrax had had enough. He changed both of his hands to buzz saws and charged at the actor. Johnny stood his ground.
"Jeez, give the saws a rest, sunshine."
Something clicked in Cyrax's mind and when he had one of his buzz saws at Johnny's throat, he stopped. A memory flashed before the cyborg's eyes. It was of his first fight with Johnny Cage. When he was a human. The actor was overconfident and believed he could defeat the Botswanan in battle. Cage practically skipped to the arena while Cyrax had only thing on his mind: He had to kill Johnny Cage.
"Not everyone gets to rumble with a celebrity. Ready for your beatdown, sunshine?"
Sunshine. That stupid nickname had triggered the recollection. Cyrax lifted his head up to look at Cage.
"I said I would not kill you."
Cyrax whispered the words, as if he was unsure of himself, but Johnny heard him. Before the actor could say anything else, Cyrax's eyes went black, meaning that he had shut down. Cage caught the cyber ninja before he fell to the ground. Sektor detected that Cyrax was no longer functioning and for a split second, he forgot about Smoke. Good. Even though his body felt numb, Tomas managed to reach for the panel on his opponent's chest.
"Do it!"
Smoke's eyes widen and then… everything went black. Next thing he knew, Tomas had punched a hole straight through Sektor's chest. His entire arm had gone through. Sparks flew from the cyborg's injury.
"Im…possible."
Sektor felt all of his energy leave his body and he fell beside Smoke. He was finished. Now that he was finally free of Sektor, Tomas got up into a sitting position while clutching his side. He could hear the crowd booing and footsteps approaching him. A shadow soon loomed over the ninja and he looked to see Johnny holding his hand out to him. Smoke gladly accepted it and the actor pulled him to his feet. Behind Cage, Tomas could see Cyrax on the ground. Hopefully he would be alright.
"Smoke!"
Smoke and Johnny turned around and they saw Sub-zero running towards them. Shang Tsung had not lied when he said that Tomas was fighting for their freedom.
"Sub-zero. Are you alright?"
"I am fine, it is you I am concerned about."
"Don't worry. This is nothing."
"Yeah, I'm fine you guys. No need to worry about ME."
The ninjas turned to Johnny Cage. The actor was actually pouting like a child with his arms crossed. Tomas laughed.
"Forgive me, Smoke."
Raiden had made his way to his comrades and bowed before Tomas.
"It seems the future has drastically changed and therefore you two were able to defeat Sektor and Cyrax. I congratulate you on your victory, but there is another matter we must attend to."
"What is it?"
"First, will you allow me to finish healing you?"
Smoke had forgotten about the wound that he was unconsciously putting pressure onto. He nodded to the thunder god.
"That would be appreciated."
"Very well. Afterwards, I would like to speak to the princess."
Raiden and his warriors turned to Shao Kahn's throne. Kitana was walking away with her head down. The emperor must have scolded her.
"Kitana's faith is a slender reed, bent before the storm. If it can be uprooted altogether…"