Chapter Seventy-Seven: Overload

"Yeah, I don't think this is normal."

Standing on the roof of the temple, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade could not help but worry about the darkening sky, which was now completely covered with storm clouds. The spots that allowed the sky to peek through were a menacing red. Sonya was looking through a pair of binoculars as she scanned the area for any strange activity. Besides the monsters that roamed the streets and reporters not being around when you need them.

"You think, Cage? Could things get any worse?"

As if to answer the blonde's question, a helicopter was then seen somewhere in the distance. Unfortunately for the copter, a giant, red dragon, who had been sleeping peacefully atop one of the city's skyscrapers, was awoken by the sound of the machine approaching it. The dragon let out a roar before fire spewed from its mouth onto the tail of the helicopter. The helicopter immediately started to fall from the sky, and it soon crashed into the ground below. An explosion followed soon after to signal the copter and its inhabitants' demise. Sonya clenched her teeth tightly and moved to go to the helicopter's location, despite knowing there was an incredibly low possibility that anyone survived.

"Sonya, don't!"

Johnny quickly grabbed the soldier's arm before she could take off. He instantly held his free hand up as a sign as surrender when Sonya glared at him.

"There's nothing you can do. I know it's not fair, but-"

"What part of any of this is fair, Johnny!? Innocent people are dying one after the other and we're just sitting here! My fellow soldiers are laying down their lives while we're doing what exactly!?"

"Look, Raiden and Sindel said that soon Shao Kahn would try to cross over into Earthrealm. And we need to be here to stop that from happening."

"I know, but-"

"This sucks, I get that. But it'll work out in the end, okay? Just trust Raiden. He knows what he's doing…most of the time."

After a moment, Sonya chuckled at the actor's words.

"Most of the time?"

She stopped when she saw the serious expression on Johnny's face. The actor sighed.

"You know, I uh…there have been times when I found myself…doubting whether we're making the right choices or not. Hell, it's like if I go to the bathroom for one second, I'll screw up the future in some way. My head hurts just thinking about it."

Sonya slowly nodded her head. She, too, had been feeling the same way as Johnny Cage. The same could be said about everyone else honestly.

"…We can't let him take on all the responsibility, you know. Raiden's a god, yeah, but he doesn't know everything. Every time the future changes for the worse, he blames himself for it. I know he does."

Johnny shook his head and turned away from Sonya. The blonde had never seen this side of Cage before, so serious and sincere. She liked it honestly.

"How can you tell? About Raiden, I mean."

"…Because I've been feeling like that since this whole thing began."

"Johnny-"

"No, seriously. Raiden can shoot lightning from his hands. Liu Kang punched a guy through his chest with his hand on fire. Cyrax even told me that Tomas moved a whole PLANE by himself. That's real power right there and power's what we need right now. I'm just an actor. I only pretend to save the world in movies. I'm not a real goddamn hero!"

"Johnny, you don't really believe that do you!?"

The look on the actor's face answered Sonya's question. She scoffed and grabbed Cage's chin, forcing the man to look at her.

"Listen, idiot. You are needed just as much as anyone else here, okay? Sure, you can't shoot lightning from your hands or lift a plane, but neither can I! And you don't see me moping around feeling useless! We all have our strengths, Johnny. You just haven't figured out what yours is yet. Well, besides the whole "glowing green" thing and the fact that you could probably literally talk someone to death-"

"Okay, okay, I get it! Thanks…I guess?"

Sonya chuckled and let the actor go. Johnny then started to massage his chin, which was now a bit sore from the blonde clutching it so hard.

"You're very welcome. Honestly, without you who'd be our comic relief?"

"I mean, Tomas is pretty damn hilarious when you get him started. We had the best conversation about lobsters being mermaids to crabs."

"Lobsters being mer-WHAT? How did that conversation even start!?"

"A story for another day, Sonya. Another day."

Just as he said that, the two warriors heard the crackling of lightning behind them. They quickly turned around and were relieved to that Raiden and the others had returned with Smoke in tow. Although Johnny and Sonya were concerned about how sickly the silver-haired man looked. With his pale skin and dull eyes, it was almost like they were looking at a ghost. Despite that, Johnny could not help but embrace Tomas as if the two had not seen each other in years.

"Man, I'm really glad you're okay. I mean…you are okay, right?"

Smoke was surprised by the hug, but he shook it off and patted the actor on his back. He could tell that Cage was worried about him and how could he not be? Tomas looked and felt like he was going to keel over and die any second now. That thought was not exactly comforting.

"Well, I…I am alive. So, I guess that counts for something."

As Johnny let go of Tomas, Sonya was by their side looking just as concerned as everyone else.

"…What the hell did that bastard do to you?"

Not wanting to answer her, Smoke showed his discomfort by looking away from Sonya. She instantly understood and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Do not worry about it. Really, it is-UGH!"

Tomas yelped in pain as he held his head in his hands. Images flashed through his vision for a moment, but they came by too quickly for the silver-haired man to tell what the pictures were. Raiden immediately felt that terrible energy rise within Smoke and a crimson aura surrounded his body. He slowly reached for Tomas.

"Tomas, calm yourself! Do not let the demon control you."

"Easier…said than…done."

Smoke's words were almost incomprehensible since they sounded more like growls than actual words. Not to mention there was now an incredible pain erupting within his mouth, like something was stabbing the silver-haired man right in his gums. As he reached up to his mouth, Tomas noticed that his nails had grown into black talons and his canine teeth were now long and pointed like fangs. His eyes darted at his comrades that surrounding him, their eyes slightly widening in fear as they looked down at Smoke. Were they afraid of him?

"Of course they are afraid of me! I am turning into a damn monster!"

Tomas closed his eyes tightly, hating how much he sounded like the demon that possessed him. And to think that said demon was about to literally erase the silver-haired man from existence. He heard Jade's heels click on the concrete as she approached him, but he refused to look at her. He could not.

"Tomas, it is okay. We are going to help you get through th-"

In a flash of red, Smoke sprinted away from the crowd and through the exit of the roof. He was so fast, it took Tomas' friends a moment to register what had just happened. But Jade knew what happened. She knew what WAS happening. She was losing a very dear friend and the Edenian had no idea how she could help.

Within his own mindscape, Cyrax was trying his best to unlock the contents in Sektor's computer chip, but he was having trouble focusing on the data that was sprawled out in front of him. He knew he could not make any mistakes when interacting with the data or the cyborg would have his own files corrupted. But Cyrax was worried about Tomas and the changes that the silver-haired man was going through. It was like Smoke was becoming a whole different person and the cyborg was not sure if that was for the better or worse. Either way, his friend was hurting and Cyrax hated seeing those he cared about in pain.

The matrix that surrounded Cyrax suddenly disappeared, and the numbers transformed into letters that formed the phrase "POSSIBLE THREAT DETECTED" in all-caps. The yellow cyborg was instantly thrusted back into the real world, and he was already in a fighting stance. But as he stepped into the hallway, a red blur zoomed past him, and he had no idea what it was. Or rather who it was. Cyrax chased after the blur and stopped when he heard a door slam shut.

The only room nearby was a storage closet, so of course, Cyrax decided to check it out. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it, but he could not push the door open. The cyborg pushed harder but he still could not open the door. Was something blocking it?

"Look, I know you are in there. Now either you can open the door, or I will force it open. The choice is yours."

Unbeknownst to the cyborg, the person sitting on the other side of the door was Tomas. The silver-haired man could barely register that someone was talking to him. He opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself unable to do so. So, Smoke just sat down with his back against the wall and slowly drifted into unconsciousness. His escape from one problem…but now Tomas is going to have to deal with another problem.

Speaking of that, Smoke opened his eyes and knew that he was back in his mindscape. But instead of the usually calm, white space he expected to see whenever he entered the depths of his mind, Tomas was greeted with a rather unsettling sight. The walls of the mindscape were crumbling, and huge cracks revealed the black space that laid beyond, the home of Enenra. The small screens of his memories still surrounded him, but they were now dim, and some were even flickering on and off as if they were struggling to stay in one piece. Just like Tomas himself.

As he was pushing himself off the ground, Smoke heard someone yelling from within the darkness and it was becoming louder and louder. He realized to late that whoever it was that was screaming was flying right towards him, and Tomas was sent tumbling across the floor when someone crashed into him. Smoke hit his head against one of the few walls that was still standing around the area, and it shattered upon impact. At the same time, a sharp pain went through Tomas' head, and he let out a scream in agony.

"When will this pain END!? I can't take it anymore!"

Smoke involuntarily let out a low growl, but he calmed down when he felt someone grab his arm. He temporarily forgot about his pain and looked to his left, where he was face-to-face with a bloodied Pyros. The telepath struggled to breath as he spoke to Tomas.

"Do not…give up, my boy. I…I…"

Pyros grunted and withdrew his hand to clutch onto his chest. Smoke could see that the telepath was terribly wounded with three deep gashes running diagonally across Pyros' upper body. And as hard as Pyros tried to hide it, he was in pain. Tomas reached for him, but the telepath waved him off with a small smile.

"No. No, I…I will be fine."

Pyros' free hand shook as it ignited and with a quick movement, he shoved the flames right onto his wounds. It was incredibly painful and it took everything Pyros had not to scream, but the fire managed to stop the bleeding for the moment. That was all that matter. The telepath looked back to Smoke and tried his best to keep his voice steady as he spoke.

"I will be alright. I have been through worst, my boy. I just-"

The telepath stopped midsentence and his eyes widened in terror. But Tomas did not need to turn around to see why. He could feel it. That overwhelming darkness that has been haunting him for so long, whether unconsciously or directly. Smoke thought he had gotten used to its presence, but this time was different. This darkness was not Enenra anymore.

It was something much, MUCH worse.