Chapter One: Another Adventure
Lush, green forests thriving with wildlife. Rivers and streams flowing and filled with fish, especially carp. Prague was just as Tomas Vrbada remembered it, at least with the few memories he had recovered. One year had passed since Outworld's invasion of Earthrealm and Tomas was free to do as he pleased. Sure, the silver-haired man was probably still on the most wanted list for the Lin Kuei, Black Dragon, Netherrealm, and Outworld. But at least he would not have to face them alone.
During this past year, Tomas had made new allies, gained new abilities from his demonic comrade Enenra, and he is now dating the most beautiful woman in the world. Thinking about Jade immediately put a smile on the silver-haired man's lips. Her vibrant, emerald eyes. Her slender, yet muscular frame. Her smooth, chocolate-colored skin. Everything about the Edenian was perfect in Tomas' eyes and he still did not know what he did to deserve such a goddess by his side.
Tomas was pulled out his thoughts when felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and smiled when he saw that the caller ID read "Ninja Mime". He needed to make a mental note to change that when he had the chance, but he knew that it was his friend Johnny Cage who was calling. Tomas pressed the green answer button and held his phone to his ear. "Hey Cage. How's Las Vegas?"
Cage screaming in his ear was an unexpected reply, and Tomas winced at the noise as he pulled his phone away from his ear. When the yelling died down, the silver-haired man placed the phone back near him and spoke again. "You do remember I have enhanced hearing, right?"
Hearing the slight irritation in his friend's voice, Johnny quickly apologized for causing Tomas discomfort. "Oh yeah, sorry man. I wasn't thinking. But you'd understand if you were here right now!" The actor laughed before continuing. "Kabal is on a roll in poker! You know this guy has won over fifty grand already!?"
In the background, Tomas could hear a lot of cheering and laughter. Johnny soon explained what had happened to cause such a ruckus. "And Kabal has done it again! You are the man, my man! Oh, and he says hi."
Tomas chuckled. He was honestly glad that his comrades seemed to be having a good time in Las Vegas. The group consisted of Johnny, Kabal, Stryker, and Kung Lao who, unlike his cousin, was always up for a good time. They wished more people could have came, but the others had their own important matters to attend to. Including Tomas, Johnny thought to himself, and he decided that he should make this call quick so his comrade could get back to business. "Sorry if I caught you at a bad time. Just wanted to check in on you and all."
Tomas shook his head. "No, no. I'm glad you called honestly. It's good to know that you guys are having a good time."
Johnny nodded his head. "Yeah. But hey, you know...you know we would've went with you to Prague, right? If you ever need us to—"
"I know, Johnny." Tomas's face grew serious as he spoke. "But this is something I need to do on my own. They are my memories, and it is my responsibility to get them back. Don't worry, okay? After all, I'm fortunately...or maybe unfortunately, never alone." Smirking, Tomas knew that the person he was referring to had heard the last thing he said. And they were not amused by it.
"The next thing you say better be an apology, boy."
A deep voice in the back of Tomas' mind growled, but the man was not at all intimidated by it and he went back to his conversation with Johnny. "But despite our differences, he's actually been decent company. So please, forget about me this weekend and focus on having fun. That's probably the best thing you can do for me right now."
Johnny sighed, but he knew there was nothing he could do to change his friend's mind. All the actor could do was pray that Tomas came home safe once his journey was done. "...Okay. I understand. Just be careful, alright? Sub would kill me if anything happened to you."
Tomas scoffed, but he was still smiling. "What makes you think he'd come after you if something were to happen to me? You're not even here."
"He'll find some excuse to come after me. I know he wants to murder me."
"Kuai does not want to murder you." Tomas could practically see Johnny's deadpanned expression right now and he sighed. "Okay, he doesn't want to murder you now...I think."
Cage's jaw dropped at Tomas' statement. "You THINK!? Wha—you know what?" The actor took a deep breath. "I'm going to take your advice and focus on Las Vegas. Maybe have a few drinks before I meet my end by the walking air conditioner."
Tomas laughed. "Sounds like a plan. See you later, Johnny."
"Yeah. And you stay safe, Tomas."
And with that, Johnny ended their call and Tomas was left alone once again. Well, not alone of course. Enenra made sure not to let his host forget that. "If you hate me that much, then I suggest you move your ass and get that amulet."
Tomas knew the amulet the demon was referring to. The one that belonged to Quan Chi, or rather his master Lord Shinnok. To break the seal that was keeping Enenra imprisoned within his body, Tomas needed to find that talisman, but since the Outworld Invasion there has been no sign of the sorcerer. The silver-haired man sighed and replied to Enenra with his thoughts. "I'm working on it. I would go down to the Netherrealm myself, but what can I do against an army of demons?"
Enenra scoffed. "You could destroy them all if you desired. The power is within you."
"You really are confident in your strength, aren't you?"
"OUR strength, Tomas. You are more powerful than you think."
"Yeah...if I had a dime every time someone said that to me." Tomas walked deeper into the woods and stopped at the bank of a river. Glancing over his shoulder at the backpack he was carrying, Tomas took out the water canteen that was in the bag's side pocket. He then knelt and placed the bottle in the river to gather some water. As he was doing this, the silver-haired man thought about what Enenra had said before mentioning the amulet. "...I don't hate you."
Enenra, whose mind had been somewhere else entirely, was pulled from his daydreaming when he heard his host's voice. "Excuse me?"
"I said I don't hate you." Tomas finished filling his canteen and took a sip of the water before screwing the top back on it. "Despite what you might think, I do consider you to be—" Tomas paused as he was not sure what to say next. "Friend" was not exactly the word he was looking for to describe his relationship with Enenra. An acquaintance? A rival? Over this past year, the demon and host had not thought about what they were to one another. At least now that they were not trying to kill each other.
Enenra sighed before speaking to Tomas again. "We are two individuals forced to share a body. And now we share a common goal. Let us just leave it at that for now."
"...Very well." Tomas slowly rose from the ground and nodded his head. "That's not too bad, I guess. At least we're no longer enemies."
Enenra chuckled. "Let us hope that mindset lasts. For both of our sakes."
The sound of leaves crunching behind him instantly caused Tomas to turn around. He dropped into his fighting stance and scanned the area for any signs of life. Closing his eyes, Tomas used his advanced hearing to track whoever had tried to sneak up on him, and he soon heard a loud heartbeat pounding in his ears. It was almost like it was the man's own heart that he was hearing, and the sound was coming from nearby. "Whoever you are, I insist that you show yourself."Tomas called out to the woods in Czech, his native tongue. "I mean you no harm."
There was a long silence as Tomas waited for the stranger to appear. He was about to walk away and hope that he whoever was watching him would not attack. But as soon as the thought came to his mind, the sliver-haired man saw a small hand slowly emerge from behind one large pine tree. The owner of said hand soon became fully visible and Tomas was surprised to see that they were only a small child. A girl who was probably eight or nine years old and they looked frightened as they stood before Tomas. "I'm sorry." The girl, speaking in Czech, apologize to Tomas and she started playing with the buttons on her long-sleeved pink shirt.
Tomas' face immediately softened, and he smiled kindly at the child while responding to her. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize." The man looked around to see if anyone else was nearby, but it seemed that the girl was by herself. "Where are your parents? You shouldn't be out here by yourself, little one."
As if on cue, Tomas heard a distant shout from deeper within the forest. He clearly heard the name "Katerina" being called and he assumed that was the child's name. To confirm that, Tomas decided to just ask her. "Is your name "Katerina", little one?" The girl's eyes widened almost instantly at the mention of the name, which Tomas took as a "yes" in response to his question. "Well Katerina, I am Tomas. It is nice to meet you. I hear someone calling for you. Could they be your...father?"Tomas made a guess due to the voice sounding as though they belonged to a man.
Katerina slowly nodded her head. "We were walking together in the woods, but I went too far and then I couldn't find him. I didn't mean to." The girl began to cry, feeling terrible about leaving her father behind like this.
Tomas shook his head and walked towards the child. When he was close enough, the man knelt before the girl and held out his hand to her. "It's okay. Your father is looking for you right now and he's close. Why don't we go and meet him halfway? I'll help you, okay?"
Sniffing, Katerina nodded her head and reached for Tomas' hand. Once she did, Tomas gently clasped his hand around the girl's own and stood up. He smiled and started walking in the direction he heard the shouting with Katerina right by his side. The way the child was hanging onto him reminded Tomas of Soliel, the little girl he had meet during the Mortal Kombat tournament in Outworld. The girl was from a lineage of witches and her powers revolved mostly around telepathy. Tomas made a mental note to visit Soliel when he was done with his business here.
"Katerina!"
Katerina gasped when she heard the voice calling her name. Without thinking, the girl let go of Tomas' hand and started running towards who she believed to be her father. "Daddy!"
"Katerina, be careful!"Tomas started sprinting after Katerina, who had disappeared behind some bushes a short distance from him. He stepped through the bushes and was relieved by the sight that greeted him on the other side. A man, probably in his late twenties, was holding Katerina tightly in his arms and the girl cried again as she hugged him back. "Daddy, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Katerina's father kissed his daughter on her forehead and stroked her hair while also speaking in Czech. "It's alright. I'm just so happy you're safe, my little ladybug." The man had not noticed Tomas standing in the distance until he finally looked up from Katerina's face. He quickly grabbed his daughter and stepped away from Tomas, his once gentle expression now turned into a deep scowl. "Who are you!? What do you want!?"
Tomas quickly raised his hands and took a step back to show he did not mean any harm to the father and daughter. "Please, I only wanted to make sure Katerina was alright. She was lost and—"
"How do you know her name!?" Katerina's father questioned Tomas, clearly forgetting that he was shouting his daughter's name all throughout the forest. "I will not allow you to harm my daughter!"
"Daddy!"Katerina yelled at her dad, drawing the man's attention back to her. "This nice man helped me find you. He doesn't want to hurt us, Daddy."
Hearing his daughter's words, the father looked back at Tomas and gave the silver-haired man a once-over before coming to a decision. He thought that if this stranger had wanted to hurt him, or more importantly Katerina, Tomas could have done so long ago. So, Katerina's father decided to trust his child and he lowered his guard. But only slightly. "Well, if what my little girl said is true, then...I guess you have my thanks."
Tomas breathed a sigh or relief and slowly lowered his hands. He was glad that Katerina's dad seemed to have calmed down. "Please, there's no need to thank me. I was not going to leave your daughter out here by herself."
The father nodded his head and smiled. "Well either way, you have my thanks. But again, I must ask who you are."
"Right." Tomas chuckled and bowed his head to Katerina's father, a gesture he would usually do when greeting people back when he lived in China. Old habits really do die hard. "My name is Tomas. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."
The formality of Tomas' greeting caused the father to arch a brow and Tomas began to question if he did or said something wrong. But those thoughts quickly faded when Katerina's dad suddenly let out a full-bellied laugh. "God, I wasn't expecting you to be so...polite." The man had to wipe a tear from his eye from his laughter, but he soon regained his composure. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I'm not use to people being so formal where I'm from." The father then held out his hand to Tomas. "The name's Hugo. It's nice to meet you too, Tomas."
Smiling, Tomas accepted Hugo's hand and shook it. "Forgive me. Where I grew up, people were really strict about appearances."
"Really?" Hugo frowned. "Are you not from around here?"
Tomas shook his head. "No. Well, yes, I was born here in Prague, but I...my family and I moved when I was a child, so I don't remember much about my life here." The silver-haired man felt a lump in his throat as soon as the words left his mouth. There was no way he could teel Hugo, a man he just met, about how he was kidnapped and taken to China to join an elite clan of assassins when he was only nine years old.
Hugo, who must had seen how uncomfortable Tomas looked while explaining his origins, smiled kindly at the silver-haired man and nodded his head. "Hey, it's okay. I didn't mean to upset you or anything. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
Tomas was grateful that Hugo did not push the issue. "Thank you. But if I may, there is something I would like to ask you."
"Is that right?" Hugo put a hand under his chin in thought. "What is it you want to ask me?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask for directions to a village somewhere around here." Tomas then pulled out a large map from his backpack and held it out to Hugo. "You see, I am looking for a certain village and I want to make sure I'm going in the right direction. The village is called "Vesnice Rudá" if I remember correctly. It's not an easy place to find on a map honestly."
Hugo looked down at the map and shook his head. "Of course. The government has tried its hardest to make sure Vesnice Rudá isn't known to many outsiders."
Tomas frowned. "Really? Why so?"
"Let's just say that village has a bad reputation of being a target of...unfortunate events."
Tomas' mind immediately flashed back to when the day he was sacrificed to Enenra by an unknown cult who attacked his village. Could that be one of the "unfortunate events" Hugo was talking about? "I see. But...I must go to this village. For personal reasons. Hugo, please, can you show me the way?"
Hugo thought for a minute about Tomas's request. He now believed that the silver-haired man was a good person, but the people of Vesnice Rudá were not ones to welcome outsiders so easily. But Hugo had a feeling that Tomas could win over the hearts of the villagers one way or another. Tomas just had that sort of aura around him that even Hugo could not deny when he first laid eyes on the strange man. Crossing his arms over his chest, Hugo sighed and looked down at Katerina, who had reamined quiet during the exchange between the two men. "Ready to go home, Katerina?"
The girl smiled and held her father's hand. "Can Mr. Tomas come with us?"
Hugo laughed and looked back at Tomas, who was chuckling at being called "Mr. Tomas". "Come on, my friend. Looks like we'll be showing you Vesnice Rudá after all. But be warned. Not everyone is going to be as kind as my daughter and I. Especially to someone who is not from our village."
Tomas nodded and smiled. "Then I suppose there is no problem then. Because I believe Vesnice Rudá is, or rather was, my home. I just want answers and…I know I can find some of them there if the people will only allow me to do so."
Just so you guys know, "Vesnice Rudá" is Czech for "The Village of Red". It's not a real place or anything, so please don't try to look it up. It will not appear, I swear lol.