Chapter Fifty-Seven: Waves of Nostalgia

Tomas could not believe it. It just could not be true. Was this cyborg…really Hydro? He has been missing for almost eighteen years. Everyone thought he was dead. But there was only one hydromancer Smoke knew who was in the Lin Kuei and Hydro had the ability to freeze his enemies with his water attacks.

So many emotions hit Tomas at once at the thought. He was terrified at the idea that Hydro has become this cybernetic killing machine, but he was relieved to see that his sifu had returned. But this also brought up so many questions. Where has Hydro been? Why did he leave? Did he return to the Lin Kuei voluntarily or was he forced to become a cyborg by the Grandmaster?

Smoke quickly shook his head. This was not the time for questions. For now, Tomas focused on the ice that still covered his body. He closed his eyes and concentrated on raising his body temperature like he has done countless times whenever Kuai Liang or Bi-han managed to freeze him while training. The ice instantly began to melt as Smoke's body heat began to rise and soon it became nothing but water.

Now that he was freed from the ice, Tomas was about to get up from the ground, but someone decided to aid him in that action as a metallic hand grabbed the back of the silver-haired man's head and hauled him to his feet. Smoke was then thrown through the window of an antique store and he crashed into a wooden table that was in the way. The table broke apart when Tomas hit it and he landed roughly on his side as wooden pieces flew over him. As he laid on the floor, Smoke closed his eyes tightly to try and shut out the pain he felt through his body and he had his hand on the back of his head where his attacker had grabbed him.

Back outside, Sub-zero stumbled his way to his masked comrade, who laid frozen on the ground. He knelt down and placed his hand on the speedster's chest. A ripple of energy then spread throughout the ice from the cryomancer's hand and cracks started to appear. Piece by piece, the ice broke apart and soon the man's body was free of its containment. The speedster gasped once his face was freed and he reached for his respiratory mask to help get more oxygen into his lungs.

"Cough, cough! Thanks. I "cough" I thought I'd be stuck in there."

Sub-zero nodded and held out his hand to the speedster. The man gladly accepted it and allowed the cryomancer to help him up, but as soon as he was on his feet, Kuai Liang immediately noticed someone standing behind him. He quickly grabbed the speedster and pulled him away from the blue cyborg before it could decapitate its target with its katana. Sub-zero summoned his own sword and he and the ninja exchanged blows while the masked man would throw a punch or a kick in every chance he got.

While those two were preoccupied with the cyborg, Smoke had finally gotten up from the floor and had his hand on a wall to balance himself. He did not know what exactly that table was made of, but it really had him seeing stars.

"I…I can't…"

"What is wrong with you now!? This is not the time to be…!"

"I will not fight him."

"What!? Have you lost your sanity!? If you do not fight back, we will die!"

Tomas winced. Enenra's yelling was not helping his aching head, but he tried his best to ignore the demon as he looked out the broken window. He could see Kuai and the speedster fighting against the cyborg and they did not seem to have the upper hand, even though they outnumbered the machine two to one. Enenra could feel how conflicted his host was about the situation and he knew it was because of their little trip down memory lane. Knowing how much Hydro meant to Smoke, the demon also knew that the silver-haired man was not going to harm the cyborg if it meant harming his mentor. But…maybe he will not have to.

"Tomas, I…. I understand, alright? But if you will not fight him, then we have to find another way to stop him."

That seemed to have calmed down Tomas a little and he nodded his head. It was nice knowing that Enenra was not against his decision.

"…Okay. Do you have any suggestions?"

"You are asking for my advice? The world must truly be ending."

"Enenra…"

"Ha, ha. Calm down, boy. Anyway, I think we could try breaking through to him like we did with Cyrax. Something about that "sunshine" name Johnny called him back at the Coliseum must have triggered something within him. We just have to find a similar trigger for Hydro."

"Like what, exactly?"

"Think about it. You know Hydro and Hydro knows you. There must be something in his memories that will remind him of that. Something that he could never truly forget no matter what."

Smoke thought about his memories of Hydro and tried to think of one that would be powerful enough to help his sifu. Enenra stayed quiet as he thought, but his attention was now on the fight that was still occurring between his host's comrades and the cyborg. Kuai had blocked another strike from his opponent's katana and the masked man dashed towards the two warriors with his hook swords in hand. But again, the cyber ninja was able to avoid the speedster's attack. It pushed Sub-zero away and then knelt down as a column of water surrounded it, blocking his opponents' view of the cyborg.

The column suddenly dispersed, and waves of water flew towards Kuai and the masked man. The cryomancer summoned an ice shield that protected him, and the speedster quickly ducked behind a car to shield him against the water. Some of the beams of water managed to pierce through the vehicle like a sword and they almost hit the masked man, but by some miracle, he did not receive any injuries. However, his luck soon ran out as the cyborg's katana punctured his shoulder through the car. Once he was sure he was safe, Sub-zero stepped from behind his shield and looked for his ally.

But his eyes fell on the cyborg as it pulled its katana out of the side of a car and the blade was covered in blood. The cryomancer knew exactly whose blood that was and he sprinted towards the vehicle to aid the speedster. He did not make it far, however, before currents of electricity surged through his body. Kuai howled as his body was overwhelmed with pain and he was paralyzed due to the electricity as well. Trying his best to ignore the pain, the cryomancer could see that the cyborg had its hand in one of the puddles that its water blasts had created and the electric currents from its hand were being poured into the water. And the electricity spread into other bodies of water that were near the cyber ninja, including the one Sub-zero had the misfortune to step into.

Hearing his friend's cry, Smoke was taken away from his thoughts and his eyes widened when he saw Sub-zero. Enenra gritted his teeth at the sight. He did not care about the cryomancer, but he knew how upset his host would become if Kuai was killed and he needed Tomas in the right state of mind. Otherwise, the silver-haired man will start to make mistakes that may cost them their lives. Taking a deep breath, the demon reached into deep into his host's mind and he forcefully pulled Smoke back into the depths of his subconscious.

Tomas gasped as he stood again in the familiar white abyss, feeling as though all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. Once he got his breathing under control, the silver-haired man looked around his mindscape and wondered how he ended up here in the first place.

"Hurry up and find what you are looking for."

Smoke turned around just in time to see Enenra walking past him. The demon was wearing an outfit similar to his host's, but of course, it was all black. Tomas followed Enenra with his gaze.

"What do you mean? Why did you bring me here?"

"I thought it would be easier for you to physical look within your memories for that trigger. Besides, time here does not work the same way as it does in the real world. I am not saying that time is infinite in this place, but…just take whatever time you need."

Enenra stopped in front of one of the screens that surrounded them and crossed his arms. He did not look back at Tomas to see if he had moved, but he knew that the man had nodded his head. Smoke walked in the opposite direction of the demon, but he suddenly stopped and glanced back at Enenra.

"…Thank you."

Enenra's body stiffened and his eyes grew wide. The last thing he had expected to hear from Tomas was "thank you." But the demon quickly regained his composure and stayed silent as he continued to look at the projector screen in front of him. The memory it showed was nothing particularly interesting, but he kept his eyes on it anyway so he would not have to look at Smoke. If he had, he would have known that his host was smirking underneath his mask.

Tomas' eyes wandered over the memories that were being played in front of him, focusing more on the ones that included Hydro. There was one where his sifu taught him and Kuai how to ride a horse. Another screen depicted Hydro sneaking in a movie for him and his students to watch together one night. While all these memories were precious, Smoke did not feel like any of them would invoke a reaction within the cyborg. The silver-haired man ran his hands through his hair as he became frustrated.

"Dammit! I do not know what to do!"

Hearing his host's words, Enenra glanced over his shoulder and saw how upset Tomas was. He sighed.

"THINK, Tomas. The answer is here, you just…"

"Well, I do not see it!"

Now feeling frustrated himself, Enenra teleported in front of Smoke and glared at him.

"Look, you better think of something quick or I will take matters into my own hands! You are allowing your emotions to get the better of you and that leads to complications. I do not have time for complications!"

Tomas was used to Enenra's outburst and he usually ignored them, but this time he could not. This time, he just…snapped. Taking a step forward, Smoke glared back at the demon.

"Of course! You do not have to deal with these "complications" because you have no one to care about! And no one gives a damn about whether you live or die! You could die right here right now, and no one would…would…"

Smoke trailed off as an idea finally dawned on him. He knew what he should do. Enenra could see through his host's eyes that he was ready for Hydro.

"I…I think I found that trigger."

Enenra's face softened and he nodded.

"Then put it to good use."

Without warning, Enenra thrusted Tomas back into reality with a smirk. It was amusing to him how easy it was to "motivate" his host. Maybe humans were not so useless after all. Back in the real world, Smoke did not waste any time charging at the blue cyborg, who still held a paralyzed Sub-zero in its electrifying hold.

"Hey!"

Just as the cyber ninja turned towards him, Tomas teleported to where Kuai Liang stood and grabbed the cryomancer by his shirt, ignoring the pain from the electricity. The two men vanished within a cloud of smoke and reappeared next to their masked comrade behind the car. Smoke shook his head as he sat up from the ground and looked at the speedster, who had his hand over his shoulder wound.

"What the hell have you been doing? Taking a nap?"

The pain in his shoulder grew when he spoke, and the man grunted as he applied more pressure onto his wound with his hand. Tomas reached towards the speedster's hand to take a look at his injury, but the man shook his head.

"I'm fine, I'm good. Instead of worrying about me, worry about the dickhead who stabbed me."

From the other side of the speedster, Kuai had his head in his hands and his eyes were closed.

"Sub-zero?"

The cryomancer groaned in response to his name being called and leaned back against the vehicle.

"Ugh…"

"Sub-zero, are you alright to move?"

"I…I will manage."

Smoke smiled under his mask. It will take more than being electrocuted to stop his friend.

"Good. Because I have an idea."