Chapter Seventy: Death Wish

"Elder Gods, I beseech you. Earthrealm is in danger."

Raiden again stood within the realm of the Elder Gods. Liu Kang stood by his side as the thunder god spoke to the giant figures that surrounded them, desperation evident in his voice. The Elder Gods noticed that, yet they continued to speak in their normal robotic manner.

"We are aware of your plight, Raiden."

"Then you must intervene on Earthrealm's behalf."

"…We cannot."

Raiden's eyes widened. Why were the Elder Gods refusing to help him? To help Earthrealm?

"But Shao Kahn…Liu Kang has bested him twice, yet he still-!"

"Shao Kahn has not violated the rules of Mortal Kombat."

"What!? He invades Earthrealm as we speak!"

"Invasion is not itself a transgression. It is the merger of realm that is proscribed."

Hearing this, Raiden felt his blood boiling. Who cares about rules right now?

"A distinction without a difference! Innocents are dying at the hands of Outworld!"

"It is regrettable. But the Mortal Kombat tournaments are not intended to prevent certain outcomes. They are intended only to maintain balance among the realms."

What balance? This was not balance. This was utter chaos and Raiden knew it.

"Please, you must-"

Earthrealm's protector was practically begging the Elder Gods for their assistance, but it was futile. They have already made their decision.

"We have spoken."

With that, Raiden knew he had lost, and the Elder Gods slowly began to fade from his vision. He and Liu Kang were now alone, and the monk could see the pain in his master's eyes.

"The last doors are closing. We are nearly trapped."

"Master. We can win this on our own. You must have faith. Isn't that what you have always told me?"

"I know, Liu Kang. But if we cannot rely on the Elder Gods, how can you rely on me?"

Liu Kang sighed.

"Master, I…I had my doubts about your judgement. And I still do. But as I have said, I have faith and-"

Raiden's hand suddenly shot up, signaling Liu Kang to be quiet. The monk stared at his master curiously.

"What is it?"

Liu Kang's voice came out as a whisper so as to not completely break Raiden's focus from whatever it was he was concerned about. Despite that, the god stayed silent, and the widening of his eyes was enough to alarm Liu Kang.

"Master?"

"…We must return to Earthrealm. NOW."

"But Ma-"

Again, Raiden interrupted Liu Kang by grabbing his student's shoulder and summoning lightning that quickly engulfed them. The two men disappeared in a flash back to Earthrealm.

Fortunately for Raiden and Liu Kang, the Champions of Light were still in one piece when they returned to the temple. The only thing that was out of place were the Lin Kuei cyborgs that lay motionless on the ground, either dead or unconscious. Liu Kang was relieved when he saw Raiden relax the longer they stood there, but it was not only because everyone was alright. The power he had felt, the sinister force that had haunted him since the last Mortal Kombat tournament, had made an appearance in the temple. But now it was gone, and it was for that reason Raiden immediately went to Tomas' side.

"Are you alright, Tomas?"

Smoke was surprised that the thunder god came to him as soon as he and Liu Kang returned, but he did not think too much of it.

"Yes. Yes, I am fine."

"Are you sure?"

The serious tone in Raiden's voice made Tomas frown and he looked at the god in confusion.

"Lord Raiden, is something wrong?"

"…It happened again, did it not?"

"What happe-?"

Smoke stopped, suddenly realizing what Raiden was referring to. He sighed.

"I am fine, Lord Raiden. I was able to stop myself thanks to Sindel's interference."

Raiden then looked back to the cyber ninjas on the ground, and he instantly knew what had happened. Sindel's screams would not only make you go mad, but they could kill you in a heartbeat if she wished it. It was a miracle that his warriors had not been harmed, but then again, Raiden should have guessed that the Edenian had somehow shielded the others from her power. The woman was truly amazing, Raiden thought to himself.

"I see. But Tomas-"

The god's eyes softened when he placed his hand on Tomas' shoulder.

"It is getting stronger. Much stronger. And I am afraid that there may be a point where you are unable to control this power…this other being that lives within you."

"…I know."

Smoke clenched his fists tightly and shook his head.

"That is why I need you to make me promise, Lord Raiden."

"…What is it?"

Tomas took a deep breath before speaking again.

"If…If I am unable to contain my power…if I am unable to control it and it becomes a danger to the others-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Smoke suddenly felt a terrible pain in his head, and he fell to his knees with his head in his hands. It took everything in him not to cry out, but his allies were already to his side, Hydro being the first one to him.

"Tomas!? Tomas, what is wrong!? Talk to me, boy!?"

But Tomas was unable to answer his sifu. Black dots began to cover his vision and it did not take long for the silver-haired to fall to his side, unconscious. It was not long before his eyes flew back open, but he was no longer in the temple. Instead, he had returned to the dark void that his demonic partner resided in, which he had just realized was a huge contrast to the white abyss Pyros had always welcomed Smoke into whenever he slept. Goes to show how different the two beings are.

"What do you think you're doing!?"

Tomas was caught off guard by the distorted voice and he was even more surprised to be slammed to the floor on his back. Glowing, red eyes loomed over Smoke's form, and he soon realized that Enenra had returned to his true form. And he did not look happy.

"Have you lost your sanity!?"

Smoke tried to pry the demon's hand off of him, but Enenra held him still, applying a little more pressure onto the man's form to stop him from moving.

"You were going to give Raiden permission to kill us, weren't you!? I will not allow that! Not while I still reside in your body!"

Tomas stayed silent, so Enenra continued.

"How many times must I remind you? If you die, I die. You can go and commit suicide once our business is done. Not before! Do you hear me!?"

Smoke sighed and looked into the demon's eyes, which was rather difficult considering that they were glowing right in his face.

"I understand now, Enenra."

"Understand what?"

"You said before that humans are never truly satisfied with anything. That they always want more. And I realized not too long ago that I am no different."

Enenra's eyes narrowed, and Tomas thought he had angered the demon even more. But instead of attacking him further, Enenra let go of his host and allowed Smoke to stand up.

"Explain. Now."

"I…I have only had a taste of your true power and at first, I was afraid to use it. Afraid of what I could do with it. But now I am afraid that I am relying on it too much. Back there, I knew that I could easily defeat Sektor with your power and I began to call upon it without a second thought. But at that moment…I knew I would lose control and lash out at whoever was near me. And you were not influencing me in any way. That was all me."

Tomas folded his arms and looked down at the ground, unable to look at Enenra anymore.

"The worst thing is that I did not even care who got in my way. All I cared about was taking Sektor down, no matter what it took. I have said many times before that I do not want your power, but you were right. As long as you are here with me, I have no choice but to use it. And I am afraid that it will soon turn me into someone…something I am not."

Smoke was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder. He jerked his head up to see it was indeed Enenra, but he was human again. The demon shook his head.

"…I will not allow that to happen, alright?"

"But I thought that was what you wante-"

"That is NOT what I wanted."

Enenra's grip tightened.

"Yes, at first I was going to try and force you to see things my way. But I soon realized that it would be more beneficial to me if you are my ally, not my enemy. Besides, and as much as I hate to admit it-"

His face twisted in disgust, Enenra let go of his host and turned away.

"-You have been a terrible influence on me as well."

Tomas frowned.

"What?"

"Lately, I have began to…care for…things. I…am feeling emotions I thought had disappeared a long time ago. Anger, hate, those I know. But now there is…worry…regret…and at some points during our journey together…I have felt happiness."

Smoke's eyes widened slightly. Feeling the need to comfort Enenra, the silver-haired man reached out to pat the demon on his back. But Enenra flinched away before he could.

"I do not like it. I do not want to feel these things."

Enenra then glanced over his shoulder at Tomas.

"Yet you fight so hard to hang on to your emotions. To your humanity."

The demon let out a dry chuckle.

"And that is why no matter what I do, you will never stop fighting the darkness I have dragged you into. I am the bad guy here. That may never change, but-"

Enenra finally turned around to face Smoke and he smiled. There was nothing sinister behind that smile either, which surprised Tomas. But he welcomed it.

"I know that you will always do what is right. You slipped up today, yes. But that is not a reason why you should have yourself killed. You just need to do better, because next time, Sindel will not be there to save you. And there is not much I can do since you are the dominant soul of this body. I am merely a passenger that has attempted once or twice to move into the driver's seat."

Enenra sighed.

"I am tired of fighting you, Tomas. But I cannot keep my power locked away like this. It will eventually break free just as it did today. We are two prisoners who live in a cell fit for only one. Our souls have no choice but to collide every now and then."

"…If our souls were to truly collide…if we were to become one and I gained all of your power…do you believe that I can control it? Control…us?"

"I do not know. Do you?"

Smoke did not answer. He was not sure what answer would be anyway. Enenra shrugged.

"That is a bridge we can cross another time. But for now, I do not want to hear anymore thoughts about you killing yourself or you allowing someone else to kill you. And if we are to die in this war, the last thing I want is to be murdered by a damn god. Understood?"

Tomas slowly nodded his head.

"Understood."

"Good. Gods, why do you have so many internal issues?"

Hearing that, Smoke had to let out a chuckle.

"Well, I can give you plenty of reasons for that. One, I am possessed by an ugly, horrifying demon that may or may not want to eat my soul-"

"Oh, shut it you brat. How does Pyros put up with you and your mouth?"

"The same way I put up with yours. Lots and lots of patience."

"And a beer or two."

"Definitely a beer or two."

For anyone who has not yet watched Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, do not read this if you don't want spoilers. You have been warned! First of all, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY DID SMOKE HAVE TO BE A CYBORG!? WHY!? Second of all, the movie was great! But besides Smoke being transformed, it did break my heart to see Stryker and Kung Lao die like they did. I was so excited to see them fight and then they just get killed off. And poor Raiden! That man had heart to let himself be turned into a mortal to fight, and I loved seeing him being so fatherly towards Liu Kang. It was so sweet!