Chapter Six: Escaping the Stronghold
Tomas stared at the Great Dragon Egg for some time, his eyes looking over the crack over and over again. This egg was the cause of all this? The reason why his village was attacked twenty-four years ago? The reason why Tomas, who was only a child at the time, was murdered? This was not right. This was not fair.
"All of this…because of a fucking egg." Tomas clenched his hands into fist at his sides. "I suffered because of a stupid egg." Turning away from the egg, the silver-haired man glared at Daegon. "Why do you even have this thing? Why are you protecting it!?"
Daegon said nothing and looked away. That only caused Tomas to worry more, and his worry soon became panic. "You…You seriously want to resurrect the Dragon King, don't you?" Tomas shook his head furiously. "Why? Why do you even care about Onaga? He ruled over Outworld, not Earthrealm or Edenia! Why would you want him to come back!?"
There was silence, a very uncomfortable silence at that. Then, much to Tomas' surprise, Daegon started laughing. It started off as a chuckle, but it soon turned into full-bellied laughter. Tomas just stared at the demi-god with wide eyes. Soon enough though, Daegon stopped and smirked, his smile no longer genuine and welcoming like before. Now it held sinister intent. "Ah, Tomas…you do not see the big picture."
A sudden roar drew Tomas' attention from the demi-god to the entrance door. The silver-haired man took a step forward, but as soon as he did, something came bursting through the door. A bloodied body slid across the metal floor to Tomas' feet, their face gone and huge gashes covered their entire body. While Tomas' eyes were stuck on the mangled corpse, Daegon looked on in awe at the display. "Finally, it is done."
Through the hole that the body had created, a clawed hand reached out and tore opening even more so that it may enter the room. Another roar echoed throughout the area, finally pulling Tomas' attention away from the dead body that laid before him. Once he looked up, the silver-haired man could not help but gasp at the creature that was now slowly making its way towards him. Its short snout was covered in blood and filled with jagged, yellow teeth. Red scales enveloped its humanoid form and its golden eyes were locked onto Tomas, who stepped back as the creature came closer.
"What do you think, Tomas?" Daegon asked the silver-haired man, but he knew he would not get a reply seeing as Tomas was too focused on the humanoid monster. The demi-god raised hand to the creature. "Stop." With that single command, the monster froze in its tracks, growling as if it wanted to protest against Daegon. But it did not, which pleased the demi-god greatly. "You do not know how long we have waited for this day."
Now that he was no longer in immediate danger, Tomas looked to Daegon and spoke. "What is this thing? What have you created!?"
"Tomas, this…this is the future." Standing before the monster, Daegon looked proud as he examined his creation. "A humans infused with the DNA of a dragon to create the perfect hybrid." The demi-god chuckled. "Well, not exactly "perfect". There are still a few complications that need to be addressed. Such as the incredibly short lifespan." Daegon said that last part quietly. "But no matter. That will be fixed shortly."
"You－" Tomas scowled and he stomped towards Daegon until the two men were mere inches apart. "Are you insane!? I mean, I knew you guys were twisted when I came here, but this…human experimentation!?" Just the thought made Tomas sick to his stomach. It reminded him of the Cyber Initiative, the very reason why the silver-haired had to escape from his former clan the Lin Kuei. The Grandmaster was going to force all his warriors to undergo an operation that would transform them into cyborgs, which he believed would make the Lin Kuei stronger and better.
Daegon was practically doing the same thing, and that did not sit well with Tomas. Where did the demi-god even get dragon DNA? Why would he even want to create dragon hybrids? These were questions Tomas would think about later, but right now he needed to leave. He definitely was not safe and there was not much he could do on his own. The silver-man had to get help, but he would return. The Red Dragon needed to be stopped before innocent people became one of Daegon's experiments.
"Tomas." Daegon reached for Tomas' shoulder, but the silver-haired man quickly backed away. Daegon sighed, but a smirked remained on his face. "I know how all this must seem to you. But I promise you, this is all for the best."
Tomas scoffed. "The best for the world? Your clan? Or just the best for YOU?"
Now Daegon's smile began to falter and his face grew serious. "I see you are not going to listen to reason. It is a shame really. I could see why my mother adored you."
"Your mother?" Tomas frowned. "You mean Delia－?"
"Tomas, look out!" Enenra's warning came too late as something grasped onto his host's leg. It pulled hard, causing Tomas to fall onto his side, but he was able to see what had grabbed him. Rising from the ground where he stood was a skeleton, its form encased in a green aura. Its fingers pierced into Tomas' leg, and the energy that surrounded it began to rapidly flow down its arm into the wound it had created. The silver-haired man screamed as an electrifying sensation overtook his body, inside and out. Flashes of green bolts could be seen around Tomas' form as he could do nothing but cry out due to the pain.
"Think of this as a parting gift." Daegon said while kneeling beside Tomas. "I gave you the answers you wanted. Be grateful for that."
Tomas could barely hear what the demi-god was saying, but frankly, he did not care. He was in too much pain to care. He could not move and black dots were slowly appearing in his vision. It would not be long before Tomas passed out or worse…
"What in the Netherrealm do you think you are doing!?"
Tomas was pulled back from the brink of unconsciousness by Enenra's shouting. He then felt the demon's power rise within him and soon, a large, black tentacle emerged from the ground and stabbed the skeleton through its ribcage. The tendril dragged the skeleton from the metal floor and wrapped itself around the skeletal form, crushing it until it was nothing but dust. Tomas gasped, relieved that he was able to breath properly again, but his body felt numb. Ignoring the sensation, the silver-haired man struggled to get up from the floor while Daegon watched, clearly disappointed.
"I cannot believe someone with your power was injured by something like that." He looked to his dragon creation and nodded his head. The creature again stomped towards Tomas, who somehow managed to stand on his own, and it roared as it got closer to the silver-haired man. Tomas was having difficulty focusing on the monster, but fortunately, Enenra was there to help him.
"You know, he does have a point. You should have sensed that thing coming! But you were distracted, and now look at you－!"
"Help now…lecture later, please." Tomas succeeded in making a complete sentence despite not being able to think clearly right now.
Enenra grunted, but he decided to do as his host asked. "Fine. There is a vent above you. Do you see it?"
The dragon hybrid swiped its claws at Tomas, who rolled out of the way, and the creature instead hit the wall where its target had been standing. Claw marks were made as the dragon's talons dug into the hard rock of the cavern and pieces of it went flying across the floor. While the hybrid had its back turned, Tomas took the time to quickly find the vent Enenra had mentioned, which fortunately took him only a second. "I see it!" Tomas then transformed into a puff of smoke, barely able to keep his gaseous state while he slipped through the vent door.
Daegon watched the silver-haired man escape, shaking his head. "He is your problem, sorcerer. I brought him here. Now you take care of the rest." The demi-god stated to a figure who had been keeping to the shadows this whole time.
Falling out of his smoke form, Tomas landed on the ground with a loud thud. He groaned while putting a hand on his forehead. "Gods…my head. My body."
"I hate to interrupt your whining, but we are not alone."
Now Tomas was on full alert, scrambling to his feet to face whatever threat the Red Dragon had thrown at him. Although, moving so quickly may not have been the best idea as the silver-haired man's body ached even more, but he ignored the pain. Scanning his surroundings, Tomas' eyes landed upon a small cage that sat in the middle of a dark section within the cavern. He steadily made his way over to the cage and the prisoner within soon came into view.
The prisoner, a woman, had her wrists and ankles chained together and she wore a red, tattered dress along with a matching red hood to cover her eyes. The woman's body was littered with scratches and bruises and she made no move as Tomas approached her. The silver-haired man even believed that the woman was not yet aware of his presence. "Um…hello?"
Hearing Tomas' voice, the woman finally looked up from the floor and turned to face whoever had spoken to her. "…You came."
Tomas frowned. It sounded like the woman had been expecting him. "Yeah, I…I guess."
The woman made her way to the bars to get a better look at Tomas. "You were much smaller when we last met. You have grown into a fine young man, Tomas."
"Yes, great, she knows you. Who doesn't around here? Now LET US GO!"
The pain in Tomas' head became worse due to Enenra shouting throughout his mind. The woman noticed how Tomas winced, already aware of the cause. "Enenra is right. It is time to go."
"How did you－?" Tomas shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. It's not important right now." He reached out to the iron bars of the woman's cage. "I'll get you out of here and－"
Before Tomas could even touch the bars, screaming could be heard further down the tunnel that led to the room he and the woman were currently in. The silver-haired man turned and from the darkness, massive flames swarmed throughout the tunnel. Whatever or whoever was in the path of the fire definitely did not survive. And as if to confirm that, a figure was seen coming out of the flames, but they soon became nothing but a burning corpse when the fire completely engulfed their body. The person fell to their knees and the impact caused their form to disperse into nothing but ash.
But someone else had followed the corpse out of the flames. Someone who, shockingly enough, was unharmed by the blazing fire. When their form was visible from the fire, Tomas felt relieved to see that it was a friend. "Perfect timing as always, old man."
Indeed, the "old man" was Pyros, a pyromancer and telepath who had been a huge help to Tomas since the silver-haired man's defection from his former clan. For a while, Pyros was a resident within Tomas' mind, protecting it from Enenra when the demon was being…well, a demon. But now that Enenra was under control, at least for now, the man felt that he could leave Tomas alone and he did just that throughout this last year with the exception of visiting every once in a blue moon. Pyros smiled at Tomas and crossed his arms. "Old man, huh? Is that any way to address your elder?"
But the moment his eyes landed on the iron cage, Pyros' face grew serious. He grabbed one of the cell's bars and looked upon the battered woman. "Do you know who I am?"
The woman stared back at Pyros and answered the man's question. "If I say yes, that would be a lie. If I say no…then that too would be a lie."
"A contradiction. I suppose that is the only way to describe this particular situation. Wouldn't you agree…Delia?"
"WHAT!?" Tomas looked between Pyros and the woman, a hand running through his hair as he did so. "You're telling me…she is…" He held his head in his hands as he tried to comprehend what was happening. "Wha…What's next!? An evil sorcerer is gonna show up to try and kill us!?"
As if to answer his question, multiple skeletons similar to the one that attacked Tomas before burst from the ground. They surrounded the trio, but they stepped aside when another figure approached from the shadows. The newcomer laughed and Tomas could not help but groan when he recognized that god-awful laugh. "And I just had to open my goddamn mouth."
Stepping into the light, a man with pale skin and a sinister smirk on his face held up his hand, which was engulfed in the same green aura as the skeletons. "You do not seem pleased to see me, Tomas Vrbada."
"Really? What gave you that idea, sorcerer?"
The sorcerer, Quan Chi, laughed again at Tomas' sarcasm. "I see your humor has not changed since we last met."
"I was not trying to be funny."
"Well, you certainly made me laugh." Quan Chi turned to Pyros. "And I see you have brought a comrade with you. Perhaps he will be useful to the Netherrealm army as my slave." The sorcerer's hand suddenly shot out in Pyros' direction and the pyromancer gasped while putting a hand on his forehead. "Relinquish yourself to me."
"Pyros!" Tomas reached for his ally, but was stopped when Pyros held up his hand.
"Mind control. I must admit, that caught me off guard." Pyros chuckled. "But your mind games will not work on me, sorcerer." The telepath lowered his hand and it suddenly ignited much to Quan Chi's surprise. Pyros then raised a wall of flames that surrounded him, Tomas, and Delia and separated the trio from the batch of skeletons Quan Chi had summoned. Now the pyromancer's focus was on the cage that Delia was trapped in.
"Hold still." Pyros told the woman while he grasped onto the bars of her cage. He started to whisper in a language Tomas did not understand and soon, the cage fell apart along with Delia's chains. She did not have much time to enjoy her freedom before Pyros scooped her up into his arms. "We are leaving. Now." The pyromancer turned to Tomas. "Grab on to my shoulder."
Tomas nodded and quickly did as he was told. Soon after, the raging fire died out and the anger Quan Chi felt when he saw that the trio had disappeared was immeasurable. The sorcerer clenched his fist tightly, which caused his skeletal soldiers to crumble from his power.
Stepping out of the portal that hid the Red Dragon's stronghold, Tomas, Pyros, and Delia ran for some time through the forest before taking a breather. Tomas had his hands on his knees while he tried to regulate his breathing. "This…has been…an insane…night." It was then that he looked at his injured leg, five puncture wounds within his calf from where the skeleton had grabbed him earlier. Now that his adrenaline rush was gone, Tomas could feel the pain of his injury again and he grunted as he sat on the ground to keep weight of his leg.
"Let me see." Sitting next to the silver-haired man, Pyros reached out for Tomas' leg and gently turned it to examine the wounds.
Tomas waved a hand at the elder man. "It's fine, it's fine. Definitely doesn't hurt as much as a thousand volts of electricity being forced into your body all at once." He leaned back against a tree that was behind him. "Or as much as finding out that I died over an egg. An EGG, Pyros."
Pyros suddenly froze and turned from the injured leg to Tomas. "What did you just say?"
"I know, stupid right?" Tomas shrugged. "But I just found out that the Red Dragon, or at least some members who went rogue, were the ones who sacrificed me all those years ago. Because of a… dragon's egg or something－"
"Did you see it?"
The serious tone in Pyros' voice worried Tomas. The last time he saw the telepath look so distressed was when Enenra was rampaging through Tomas' mind during Outworld's invasion of Earthrealm. "Y-Yeah. Daegon said it contained the essence of the Dragon King, Onaga. But it hasn't hatched and they haven't found a suitable host yet, so we should be okay for now. I'll get in contact with the Special Forces and－"
Before Tomas could finish his sentence, Pyros had taken off in the direction they had just came from. He was heading back to the Red Dragon. Tomas called out to Pyro. "Pyros, what are you doing!? We should get help first before we head back in there!"
Delia, who had been quiet since their escape, calmly spoke to the two men. "There is no need. It is too late."
Just as Pyros approached the portal to the entrance of the Red Dragon's base, he was thrown back as a huge wave of energy crashed into him. His body flew into one of the nearby trees and landed harshly on the ground. Tomas had not time to shield himself nor Delia before the wave hit him as well, the energy feeling like a million knives piercing into his chest. He, too, was sent flying back with his body skidding across the grass until it finally came to a halt and Tomas' eyes rolled into the back of his head as he drifted into unconsciousness.