Chapter Sixty-Nine: Ambush

Tomas and Kuai were finally returning to the others. They walked back down the hall side by side, but they stopped when they heard a booming voice echoing throughout the room.

"No! How is it not enough!?"

The two men shared a look before exiting the hallway and joining the rest of Earthrealm's champions. Smoke and Sub-zero noticed that Nightwolf had returned, but the look on Raiden's face told them that something was wrong. Had the shaman failed to complete his task?

"I must speak with the Elder Gods. Shao Kahn's violation must be punished."

Tomas approached Jade and the Edenian immediately explained what was going on.

"Tomas, Kuai. Nightwolf managed to stop the soulnado, but it seems that we are still no closer to stopping Armageddon than before. In fact, it seems we have made things worse."

"Worse? How so?"

Jade shook her head and she, Smoke, and Sub-zero looked back at Raiden and Liu Kang, who was now speaking to the god.

"But the battle is joined here, in Earthrealm."

"We cannot win without the Elder Gods."

"But Master-"

"He is wasting his breath. The Elder Gods do not care."

Smoke could hear the bitterness in Enenra's voice. But he was paying more attention to Raiden right now to say anything about the demon's comment.

"Nightwolf, you will lead until we return."

Return? Before Tomas could even ask about that, Raiden and Liu Kang disappeared in a flash of lightning.

"They went to see the Elder Gods. Not like that will help anything."

"Why do you say that?"

"The Elder Gods are not supposed to interfere with the lives of mortals. At least not until someone breaks the universal rules they have set in place, such as with the merging of the realms."

"Then…that must be what Raiden was talking about Shao Kahn being in violation."

"Yes, but he is wrong. Shao Kahn has only invaded Earthrealm, not merged it with Outworld. Not yet anyway. The Elder Gods are very specific about their rules."

"Specific, huh?"

Tomas placed his hand under his chin in thought. If invasion was not enough to convince the Elder Gods to act, then when would it be enough? When the bodies of every living being in Earthrealm was piled at their feet? The thought really started to irritate the silver-haired man.

"Tomas?"

Smoke turned back to Jade, who had grabbed his hand. Whenever she touched him, Tomas could not help but feel warm inside. The Edenian just had that effect on him, not that he was complaining.

"Is Kuai alright? He was yelling at Hydro, and he looked terribly upset."

"Do not worry. He is fine. Let us just say that Hydro said some things and Kuai did not take it well."

"Oh. Well, I am sure you were able to set things right."

"Yes, I hope so. I…"

Tomas trailed off when he felt Jade give his hand a gentle squeeze. That small action alone made all of his thoughts go flying out the window.

"I, uh…"

"Yes, Tomas?"

"By the gods, just kiss her already!"

Now Smoke's face had become really red and he quickly turned away from Jade so she would not see him. The woman frowned.

"Tomas, are you sure that you are alright?"

"F-Fine. I w-will be j-just fine."

Smoke let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. Jade nodded, but she was smiling. The Edenian thought that Tomas' behavior was actually pretty adorable.

"Well, now what?"

Glad for the distraction, Smoke along with everyone else turned to Stryker. The officer had asked the question everyone was wondering.

"Standing around here won't do us any good."

Tomas nodded.

"Right. I think we have been standing around here long enough."

The other champions seemed to agree, but before anyone could move, Hydro held up his hand.

"Wait."

The cyborg spun around and took a moment to look at his surroundings. Smoke did not need to ask his sifu what was wrong. He already knew there were being watched by some unfriendly forces. And they were not the only ones.

"Tomas…they are here."

"I know, Soliel."

The silver-haired man looked to Soliel from across the room, who was still standing with Esme. He could see the old woman's hand tightened around her daughter's own, yet Soliel remained as calm as always.

"They…are in pain. They do not want to hurt us, but they are being forced to."

At least that confirmed that they could still think. They just could not act on their own free will. Before he could say anything back to Soliel, Smoke could sense that something was coming, and he immediately shouted to warn his comrades.

"Get down!"

No one questioned Tomas' command and all of Earthrealm's champions quickly jumped back away from the stone table just as a missile passed by them. The projectile hit the table and blasted it into pieces, the force of the impact throwing a few of the Earthrealmers into walls and on the floor. Smoke was thrown as well, but with a flip, he managed to land upright and skidded across the floor until he slammed his fist into the ground to stop himself. For a moment, the silver-haired man was surprised at how deep of a hole he managed to punch within the concrete, but his shock quickly passed. This was just another thing added to the list of his recently discovered abilities.

"So, this is where you all have been hiding."

Tomas froze when he felt the presence behind him. He did not need to turn around to know who it was that spoke to him. He gritted his teeth and glanced over his shoulder at the newcomer.

"It seems you have been repaired, Sektor. Have you return for a rematch?"

"Yes, but make no mistake. The results will be different."

"I highly doubt that."

That must have to hit a nerve as Sektor immediately threw a punch from behind, which Smoke dodged with ease, and the silver-haired man planned to retaliate by sweeping the cyborg off his feet. But Sektor flipped over Tomas' leg just as it came around and stood back just as other Lin Kuei cyborgs appeared from the shadows. Even more were visible on the staircases, and they surrounded the whole temple, forcing the champions of light to go back-to-back in the center of the room. Stryker shared a look with Kabal.

"So much for standing around."

Taking his role as leader, Nightwolf knew the only course of action he and his comrades could take and so, he barked out only command for his team.

"Attack!"

With that, Earthrealm's champions charged at the cyborgs. Nightwolf called forth his axes and threw one at a cyber ninja, causing it to fall harshly on its back from the impact. Stryker tried to shoot one, but the bullets only bounced off the cyborg's body. The officer quickly changed tactics and switched to his baton as his weapon. Kitana did not hesitate to pull out her fans and cut through any cybers that came after her.

Heading towards Sektor, Smoke could care less about the cyber ninjas around him. The red cyborg was the silver-haired man's only concern and Enenra was amused by that. If it was not already clear, the demon had been waiting for this rematch for a long time. He enjoyed seeing the anger and hate in his host's eyes whenever Tomas and Sektor met, and it made for great entertainment.

"Maybe this time you will actually kill him."

Smoke scoffed.

"And maybe you will not interfere this time."

"I do not believe I will have to."

Tomas stopped just a few feet away from Sektor and got into his fighting stance. The cyborg did the same.

"I should have known of Hydro deceit. Now you all will pay for your betrayal."

Without warning, Sektor threw a kick towards his opponent's head and Smoke blocked it. Tomas countered by throwing a punch at the cyborg's chest, but Sektor caught it. He twisted Smoke's arm behind his back and the silver-haired man instantly disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Tomas reappeared behind Sektor and kicked his back, forcing the cyber ninja to fall forward. Sektor managed to catch himself and flipped back onto his feet. Spreading his arms out, the red cyborg's chest compartment opened, and Smoke already knew what was coming out of it.

He stood his ground and when Sektor launched his missile, Tomas raised his hands. Time itself seemed to slow down as Smoke focused on the projectile and a millisecond later, the missile exploded. He was really getting the hang of his new abilities, but Sektor was not pleased.

"That is new. Were you keeping that ability a secret from us, Tomas?"

"No. This was something I learned after I defected from the clan. I was not going to learn much more if I stayed."

Sektor scoffed and closed his chest compartment.

"Maybe you are of use after all. I was always confused about what exactly my father saw in you. Now my eyes have been opened."

"Well, do you see that the Grandmaster you serve now is nothing but an imposter!?"

"…Of course."

Tomas' blood suddenly went cold. Sektor had known about the Grandmaster this whole time? So, that must mean he also knows that Oniro is dead. That he was murdered. And yet, Sektor did not sound the least bit sad about it.

"But…then, why? Why do you serve this man? He killed your father!"

"I serve NO ONE. Once our business is done, I will become the new Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei."

"That is what this is all about? You planned your father's murder just so you could take his place!? What kind of a monster are you!?"

"My goals are none of your concern. What is important is that you will help me reach them."

"The hell I will!"

Smoke charged at Sektor with his fist pulled back and thrusted it at the cyborg's face. Again, Sektor blocked it and countered with a punch of his own, which Tomas easily dodged.

"Oniro was your father, Sektor! Your blood! You feel nothing about his death!?"

"Why do you care!? I thought you would be pleased about it!"

"Not when there is another tyrant there to take his place!"

Tomas managed to land a kick to Sekor's chest, and the cyborg returned the favor by punching his opponent in the face. A small cut was made on Smoke's lip and he quickly wiped away the blood that was beginning to flow from it.

"Sektor, who is he? Who is the Grandmaster?"

"Why would I tell you?"

The red cyborg then disappeared in a flash of green data and Tomas immediately jumped back as Sektor reappeared from the ground with his fist in the air. There was no way Smoke was going to allow himself to be hit by that uppercut again.

"Because whoever he is, he is not on your side. This alliance of yours is not going to last and he is not going to give you what you want!"

"How can you be so sure of this!?"

"I knew there was something wrong with the Grandmaster the moment I saw him back in his study. He is EVIL. Nothing good will come out of thi-!"

While he was distracted, Sektor drove his fist into Tomas' stomach, forcing the silver-haired man to double over in pain. The red cyborg scoffed.

"Nothing good will come from you running your mouth instead of fighting!"

Sektor followed the attack with another, an uppercut hitting Smoke's jaw. His opponent flew back and crashed into the bottom of the left staircase. While Tomas was fine, the stairs were not so lucky.

"I have to admit, Sektor does have a point."

"Shut up, okay!? The last thing I need right now is for YOU to run your mouth."

"Oh, ho, ho. Someone sounds pissed. Did I strike a nerve?"

Smoke let out a low growl in response. At the same time, Sindel had just defeated another Lin Kuei cyborg by stomping the heel of her shoe into its neck. Gruesome, but effective. She stopped for a second to catch her breath and it was then that she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Sindel, I need you to end this now."

"Pyros? What is wrong?"

"Tomas cannot be the one who defeats Sektor. That honor remains for someone else."

Scanning the room for the subject of their conversation, Sindel saw Tomas walking back towards Sektor. A light red hue clouded his irises and his canine teeth had now grown into fangs. Sindel has seen this before and she knew Sektor would soon be no match for Smoke, not that the cyborg had much of a chance in the first place.

"You know what you must do, my queen."

The woman nodded her head and inhaled all the air she could. Closing her eyes, Sindel threw her head forward and everyone began to fall to their knees as she let out the most piercing screech anyone has ever heard in their lives.

Hey guys! Anyone excited for the new Mortal Kombat Legends movie? The first one was amazing, so if you haven't watched it yet, please do! You won't be disappointed, I promise. Speaking of not being disappointed, I was so happy to see Smoke in the trailer. I just hope he nor Sub-zero will be transformed into cyborgs.