Chapter Twenty-Four: Damsel in Distress

Smoke, now back to reality, opened his eyes and instinctively put a hand up to his face. He knew he had taken off his mask in his dream, but the ninja still felt the need to check if the garment was in place. A habit from being in the Lin Kuei for all those years. Tomas sighed at the thought.

The ninja heard giggles near him and he jolted upright into a sitting position. At the end of his bed, Smoke saw three kids standing there looking at him. They gasped when Tomas got up and they even took a few steps away from him. Smoke had to admit, he must have looked very intimidating with his outfit. Not to mention that he was also a complete stranger.

The one at the front of the trio was a girl with curly, red hair and blue eyes. She was the shortest of the three. The boy to her right was about the same as her and has dark brown hair with matching brown eyes. Beside him was another boy, but he was a few inches taller than the other two. He has shoulder-length black hair and hazel eyes. The three children stared at Tomas for a moment or two before someone else walked into the room.

"What have I told you three!?"

The kids looked back and there in the doorway stood Esme. She looked upset.

"I do not want you bothering our guest. Now go on downstairs."

The children nodded and quickly ran out the door. Once they were out of sight, Esme turned to Tomas, who was starting to get out of his bed. The old woman went to his side to stop him.

"No, no, no. You need to lie back down and regain your stren…"

"Listen, Esme. I do not know what you were trying to do to me before, but if you think I am going to give you another chance…"

"I am not going to do anything!"

"And why should I believe you?"

A knock on the door made Smoke and Esme look at the entrance to the room. Soliel was standing there with a glass of water in her hands. Esme shook her head.

"Honey, I thought I told you to stay with your brothers and sister."

The girl ignored and walked into the room. She stopped beside Tomas and held the glass up to him. She would not move until the ninja accepted the water.

"Thank you...Soliel."

Soliel said nothing, but she gave Smoke a small nod and went back outside. She closed the door behind her and went downstairs. Esme sighed and smiled.

"I don't know what I am going to do with that girl."

"Well, she must have learned from you that it is okay to interact with strangers."

Tomas, ignoring his body's protest to stay on the bed, grunted as he stood up and walked past Esme. The woman grabbed Smoke's arm before he went out the door.

"Look, I know after what I did that you do not trust, but please believe me when I say I meant you no harm."

"Then what were you doing?"

"I was only trying to help. Clearly, your friend did not appreciate that."

"My friend?"

"He called himself…Pyros, if my memory is correct."

So Pyros had revealed himself to Esme. What could the woman have been doing to draw Pyros out?

"As soon as you entered my home, I knew there was something unusual about you. Your aura…it is unlike anything I have ever felt before. But do you know why that is?"

"No, I do not and right now, I do not have time to care. My comrades are probably upset with because of my sudden absence, so I should return to them as soon as I can."

Smoke took his arm out of Esme's grasp and grabbed the door's handle. Before he went out though, the ninja remembered he still had the glass of water in his other hand. He placed the glass on a dresser to his right and then opened the door. Tomas went down a staircase with Esme behind him and when he reached the bottom of the steps, the ninja saw Soliel and her siblings looking sitting in the room with flowers. Smoke and the children looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. He wanted to say something to the kids, something to reassure them that Tomas was not a scary person, but he did not know what to say. Since he came in as a stranger, maybe it was best that the ninja left as one.

"Tomas, please."

Esme calling Smoke by his real name made him scowl at the woman. He did not recall telling her anything but his codename.

"What did you just say?"

"I called you Tomas, I know. The only reason I know that is because, like Pyros, I can read minds as well. That is what I was doing before with you. I really was trying to help. I want to help you."

Smoke did not look back at Esme as she talked. Instead, he looked directly at Soliel and she looked right back at him.

"Thank you for the water, little one."

Once he said that, Tomas went out the front door and started walking back to the Marketplace. Esme just stood there and watched as the door closed behind Smoke with a sad look on her face. She looked down at the floor and whispered a silent prayer for the ninja and hoped that he would come back at another time. And when that time came, she hoped Tomas would be more than willingly to accept her help.

Back in the streets, Smoke found his way back to the spot where Johnny had seen the Taigore. Neither of his comrades, or even the creature, were there.

"They must have headed to the Coliseum."

As the ninja turned around, something, or someone, crashed into him and they both fell to the ground. The newcomer fell right on top of Tomas.

"Oh no, please forgive me, I…!"

Smoke looked up and his face was just inches away from a masked woman. She had dark skin and the brightest, emerald green eyes Tomas has ever seen. Her outfit was similar to Kitana's, except her clothes were green and black with gold accessories and her black hair was tied back into a long ponytail. She had placed her hands on the sides of Smoke's head to push herself, but stopped for some reason as she examined the person beneath her.

"An Earthrealmer."

She simply stated the fact and Tomas nodded to confirm it.

"Yes, I am."

The woman looked back when she heard shouting from the distance. The voices were getting closer to where she and Smoke are. She scrambled to her feet and ushered for Tomas to do the same.

"We need to go, now!"

"Wait, "we"?"

"Did I stutter? Come on!"

The girl grabbed Smoke's arm and with incredible strength, she hoisted the ninja from the ground. She then dragged Tomas to a nearby alleyway and told him to press himself against the wall.

"She could not have gotten far! Find her!"

The woman recognized the voice. It belonged to the tarkatan, Baraka. He was leading a small search party of tarkatan to find her. The girl held her breath as the creatures passed her and Smoke. Once they were gone, she slowly walked out of her hiding spot with Tomas behind her.

"I hope I am not too late."

"Too late for what?"

The woman turned around to face Smoke. The ninja had his arms folded across his chest.

"Forgive me for rushing you here without an explanation, but it had to be done."

"Why? Why are those tarkatan after you?"

"I…I am a friend of princess Kitana. My name is Jade and I am seeking Lord Raiden's aid."

"For what purpose?"

"I will explain, but we should not stay here. We must…"

Jade stopped when she saw more tarkatan coming their way. Again, she pulled Smoke out of the creatures' sight. She then nodded her head to her right.

"This way. The tarkatan rarely go to the Wastelands."

"The Wastelands!? I must return to the Coliseum for…"

"Shao Kahn is preoccupied at the moment. There is no need to worry about the tournament right now."

Jade started to walk ahead, but she immediately stopped when a cloud of smoke suddenly blocked her path. Tomas emerged from the smoke cloud.

"Explain. Now."

The woman sighed. The look in Smoke's eyes told Jade that he was not moving until she told him what was going on.

"Kitana is going to be executed."

"…What?"

"She disobeyed the emperor and entered the Flesh Pits. There, Kitana discovered the truth behind Shang Tsung's experiments. The sorcerer was creating replicas of the princess using tarkatan blood, and now…he has the perfect clone."

"Was the emperor aware of these clones?"

"…Yes. In fact, he was the one who ordered Shang Tsung to make those horrid replicas. Kitana did not know this and in a fit of rage, she went to the emperor to tell him of the sorcerer's experimentation. Now she has been imprisoned and is going to be replaced by a tarkatan clone. The daughter Shao Kahn has always desired."

Smoke could not believe this. Kitana's own father has disowned her and has replaced her with a replica. Was the princess that terrible of a daughter?

"Where is she now?"

"In the Tower in Shao Kahn's fortress."

"Then we should go to her."

Tomas walked past Jade, but the woman stopped him before he could get too far.

"I tried to get Kitana out of there myself, but guards appeared before I could free her of her bounds. The Tower is probably surrounded with guards now that they know I was trying to free the princess. We will be heavily outnumbered."

Jade was right. The fortress would be on high-alert now. No one was going to get anywhere near Kitana. Smoke thought about teleporting Kitana out of there, but quickly decided against it. It took a lot of energy and concentration just to teleport himself. If Tomas had Kitana with him, he would not be able to get far.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Kitana asked me to find Lord Raiden. Do you know of his whereabouts?"

"He left my comrades and I in the Wastelands some time ago. I am not sure if he has returned to Outworld yet."

"I see. For the time being, we should continued to the Wastelands. It will distance us from any pursuers and we can think of a plan while we are there."

Smoke nodded and they headed out of the Marketplace. It did not take long for them to reach the Wastelands. As Jade said, hardly anyone, especially the tarkatan, went to the Wastelands. Fortunately, the area was vacant of anyone besides the two fighters. Jade looked back in the direction they came to see if anyone had followed them.

"I think we lost the tarkatan for now."

"Good, but we should still keep our guard up. Who knows if…"

A flash of pink interrupted Tomas and he and Jade turned to the source of it. A woman wearing a revealing, pink outfit with gold lining appeared nearby. She had shoulder-length black hair and bright, orange eyes with black slits for pupils. At first glance, some may confuse her with Kitana. But Jade was not fooled and immediately recognized the woman.

"By the gods…you are Mileena!"

"Mileena?"

The woman in pink laughed as Jade called her name.

"The one and only, dear Jade."

Milena then looked over at Smoke and she smiled under her mask.

"And I see you have brought a friend. An Earthrealmer I presume?"

"And if he is?"

In a childish manner, Milena clapped her hands together and jumped up and down a few times.

"Jade, no need to be so aggressive. You would not want Kitana to be angry with you for being so rude to her sister, do you?"

It was then that Tomas was able to figure out who Mileena was. Or rather what she was.

"You are the clone, aren't you?"

Mileena froze. Her hands dropped to her sides and she scowled at Smoke.

"What did you refer to me as, Earthrealmer? I am no clone. I am the true princess of Outworld!"

"You are nothing but a monstrosity. Do not dare refer to yourself as a princess. You are not Kitana!"

Jade extended her pole and Smoke got into his fighting stance. Mileena laughed again.

"That is right. I am not Kitana. In fact, there is to be a celebration for her."

What Mileena said next sent chills down Jade's spine. The clone started to whisper in a sing-songy voice.

"She is going away."