Chapter Twelve: Deathtraps Galore

Tomas and Kuai Liang carefully made their way down another dimly lit hallway with the only sounds being their footsteps against the stone floors and the crackling of fire from the torches. But their silence was soon broken when they reached a room with a spherical platform in the middle of it. On the walls before them, the former Lin Kuei could see four large murals with different images depicted on each one. Tomas stepped closer to the first mural and frowned as he tried to decipher what the picture was conveying. "Is that Delia?"

At the bottom of the mural, there was a woman that shared similarities to Delia, the main one being the veil that covered her face. Above the woman was a scene of various people separated into two groups on either side of the mural. The masses of individuals were charging at one another as if they were going to war. Is this mural showing one of Delia's visions of the future? Is this Armageddon?

"Tomas, look at this." The silver-haired man looked away from the first mural and moved on to the second, the one Kuai was currently examining. "This must be Argus." The cryomancer pointed at the man bowing in the picture and then to the three dragon-like creatures that stood over him. "And these dragons…could they be the Elder Gods?"

"I think so. And look at this one." The two men looked to the third mural, which showed two figures who appeared to be asleep. They each had a dragon surrounding them, as if the beasts were shielding the men from anything that dared to try and harm them. Tomas placed a hand under his chin in thought. "I remember Daegon telling me about how he had awoken from a deep sleep centuries in the future. Maybe those two guys in the mural are supposed to be him and his brother."

Kuai crossed his arms over his chest and continued to look at the mural. "A centuries long slumber. Why? Did he explain the reason for him being asleep for so long?"

"Something about Argus hiding them for their protection. And then, some quest…" Tomas trailed off as he tried to recall everything Daegon had told him back at the Red Dragon's stronghold. But he soon shook his head. "Sorry, that was about all I got from him. At the time, I was so focused on getting answers about my own past that I didn't…" Tomas sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, which immediately let Kuai Liang know his comrade was getting upset. The silver-haired man opened his mouth to say something, but Kuai held up his hand to stop him.

"Look, no more apologies. Not for that especially. I understand, Tomas. Between the backstory of a complete stranger and finding your lost memories, it is quite clear which was more important. None of this is your fault."

"I…I really wish I could believe you. Kuai, I could've done more—"

"Right now, you are doing plenty." Kuai reassured Tomas while grabbed his friend's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Do not dwell on the past. Focus on the here and now, alright? Everything will work itself out."

"Heh." Tomas smiled at Kuai Liang. "Since when did you become such an optimist?"

"Well, when your best friend is an annoyingly lovable idiot, you cannot help but view things from an optimistic standpoint every once in a while."

"Yeah, I—" Tomas paused, realizing what Kuai had said. The cryomancer was not aware, but within Tomas' mind, Enenra was dying of laughter and his loud cackling echoed throughout his host's head. "...I hate you."

Kuai frowned. "What?"

"No, not you! Goddammit, Enenra!" The silver-haired man shook his head as if that would get Enenra to shut up. Enenra did stop, but Tomas could imagine the stupid grin that was probably on his face right now. "You know, maybe you should let Enenra live in your head instead of mine."

"While I appreciate the offer, I must decline." Kuai chuckled and he soon noticed an opening to his left, which led to another hallway. "If you and that demon of yours are done bickering, we should probably move on."

"Gladly." Tomas headed towards the opening, but he stopped when he caught a glance at the fourth and final mural on the wall. This mural showed two male figures as well, each standing on either side of a large pyramid. And atop the pyramid was some sort of monster. Maybe a demon? "Wait…" Tomas stepped closer to the mural, his eyes only on the strange creature. It looked incredibly familiar, but the silver-haired man could not understand why. Where did he see a monster like that before?

Suddenly, a certain memory flashed through Tomas' mind. A barren battlefield with bodies littered everywhere. A huge pyramid with fire raging at its top. And from those flames…

"Tomas?"

Tomas gasped as he was pulled back to reality by Kuai calling out to him. The silver-haired man placed his hand on his chest, where he could feel this terrible burning sensation within him. "I'm sorry…I was just recalling something."

"Please, tell me what it was." Kuai Liang urged his friend to talk to him.

"...A vision." Tomas took a deep breath to calm himself before he continued. "A vision I had during the Outworld invasion."

"Is that so? Why did you not say anything about it until now?"

"I didn't think it was important. At the time, I thought it was just something that Quan Chi conjured up to fuck with me when he was pretending to be Oniro. But this—" Tomas looked back at the mural. "This confirms that what I saw in that vision was holding some truth to it. Maybe…Maybe it was a vision of the future."

"Really?" Kuai thought about what Tomas told him for a moment. "This is much like how Raiden's future self sent him visions through his amulet. But what does it mean? What is that creature?"

Tomas shook his head. "I really don't know. But from what I remember from my vision, it was unlike anything I have ever seen before. A creature whose body was completely engulfed in fire." Then Tomas remembered something else about the monster. "And it spoke to me."

Kuai's frown deepened. "What did it say?"

"It said "I've finally found you" and "We'll be one once again". I don't know what it meant by that and even Enenra had no idea what that thing was talking about."

"And you are sure you have never encountered such a creature before?"

"Absolutely. Trust me, I would've remembered something like that."

"I see." Kuai Liang nodded his head. "This is definitely something worth investigating."

Tomas voiced his agreement with the cryomancer. "Yeah. But maybe later."

"Of course. Are you ready to go?"

"After you." Tomas motioned his hand to the doorway and Kuai walked through with his comrade right behind him. But the two warriors quickly noticed something strange the moment they stepped through the threshold. Attached to the wall in front of them was a human-sized statue of a lion's head and its eyes were currently glowing red. The men immediately knew something was wrong and they were able to dodge the mass amount of fire the statue suddenly spewed at them.

"Deathtraps? Seriously!?" Tomas shouted as he and Kuai turned a corner. "What is this, Indiana Jones!?"

Kuai arched a brow at Tomas. "Did you just make a movie reference?"

"Well, Cage isn't here right now, so someone has to!" The duo froze when they saw even more of the fire statue traps up ahead. Tomas sighed. "Of course there's more."

"Wait." Kuai Liang looked carefully at the traps and he became aware of something important. "There is a pattern. Look closely."

It did not take long for Tomas to see the pattern his friend had pointed out. "Got it. Okay…1…2…3!" The two warriors sprinted past the statues one by one while keeping in mind the pattern they would emit fire from their mouths. They were able to get past those traps without much difficulty, but then another problem arose. They ran down another hall, but were quickly stopped by another deathtrap, which came from above.

"Look out!" Kuai warned Tomas just before a giant plank with spikes on it crashed down where he was standing only a second before. The silver-haired man performed a back flip to avoid the spikes and stood by Kuai Liang, who was quietly observing how the traps were moving. "They too have a pattern. Let us be careful."

Tomas nodded and he counted in his mind how many times the plank would fall to the ground before moving forward. The men did the same for the rest of the spike traps until they reached the end of that hallway. Seeing no more traps around, at least not for the moment, the two fighters took a second to catch their breaths. "When Fujin said there'd be "obstacles" around to try and stop us, I didn't think he meant…well, that!" Tomas motioned his hand to the hall they had just passed.

"And if you recall, Fujin also warned us to be prepared for ANYTHING."

"I do recall that, thank you." A rumbling noise then interrupted Tomas and Kuai's conversation and the two watched as one of the walls around them was steadily lifted from the floor as if by magic. When it was fully elevated from the ground, Tomas and Kuai Liang saw an unexpected sight that had been hidden behind the wall. They made their way into the new room and stared in awe at the beautiful view before them.

There was a large opening on the left side of the room, where a stone railing was the only thing preventing anyone from falling over its edge. Beyond it were a few mountains filled with lush greenery and a huge waterfall could also be seen. Tomas and Kuai stood behind the railing and took in the gorgeous landscape. "Now why would anyone want to destroy this?"

"We may never truly know why, Tomas. But it is our duty to protect this world and all of its wonders." Kuai patted Tomas on his back and then stepped away from the railing. "Come now. We need to go."

"Yeah…" Tomas agreed and slowly let go of the railing to go join Kuai in the next room. Maybe sometime after this whole mess was dealt with, he would pay Peru another visit.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Johnny Cage exclaimed as he avoided another fire trap. "Seriously, this is some Indiana Jones shit!"

"Your movie references are quite entertaining, Johnny Cage." Fujin chuckled while he too dodged one of the traps. The wind god could have easily used his powers to float above the flames, but he decided the physical activity would be good for him. After all, it had been sometime since Fujin was out on the field like this, so he was going to make the most of it.

"Wait a sec." As he slid under one of the spike traps, Cage smiled. "You know about Indiana Jones?"

"I have lived for many years and I must say, of all the films I have had the pleasure of watching, I did very much enjoy Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Johnny let out an audible gasp. "No way! Dude, we gotta have a movie night! I've been trying to convince Rai-man to do it, but—" The actor was interrupted when a gust of wind suddenly collided with his chest and he was thrown back a few feet. Cage was not aware of it at the time, but Fujin had saved his life because another spike trap was about to crush the poor man's head if he had stayed where he was a second longer.

Fujin appeared a moment later beside Johnny, who was slowly getting up from the floor. "It is unwise to allow yourself to become so easily distracted." The god held out his hand to Cage. "Remember to be vigilant."

"Noted." Johnny grabbed Fujin's hand and allowed the god to help him to his feet. "Sorry, I got a little too excited back there. But come on! A god who actually likes watching movies? That's not something you see everyday."

"A small hobby of mine. I rarely have the chance to explore the realms myself, so when films were first introduced in Earthrealm, my curiosity was piqued."

"What, were you there when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth too?" Fujin said nothing, only smiling as Johnny's face slowly fell and his eyes widened. "Wait…I was just joking. Did you meet the fucking dinosaurs!?"

Fujin laughed and began to walk away. "I will leave that for you to decide."

"Wonderful." Cage threw his hands into the air in exasperation, but he soon followed Fujin down another hallway, which fortunately did not have any traps. The actor thought this would be a good time to have an actual conversation with Fujin since the two have only met today. He really did not know much about the wind god. "So, uh, besides you know Indiana Jones, but not Aang? You know, the Last Airbender?"

"Ah, a bender of air. Now I understand why you referred to me as such. Is he a character from a film?"

"Well, yes and no. We don't talk about—" Cage paused before leaning closer to Fujin and whispered something to the god. "The live-action movie."

"Hmm." That was all Fujin could say in response to Johnny's statement. "You will have to show me this Last Airbender at a later time. If I am allowed, I aim to become acquainted with more recent films."

"Wait, "if allowed"? What do you mean by that?"

Fujin's smile faltered slightly, which did not go unnoticed by Cage. "For years, my sworn duty was to keep Shinnok's amulet from falling into enemy hands. But after Sub-Zero—" Fujin stopped and thought for a moment. "After Bi-han stole the amulet from the Temple of Elements, I have found myself without a purpose."

"So, you're telling me you spent all this time in that temple? Just protecting some piece of jewelry?"

"That piece of jewelry, Johnny Cage, was forged by a former Elder God and with its power, anyone can become a threat to all the realms."

"...Oh. Okay, but then that means you're free, right? No amulet means that you don't have to stay in that temple anymore."

Fujin shook his head. "That is for the Elder Gods to decide. If I am still needed, whether at the temple or elsewhere, I will obey the Elder Gods' orders without question."

"Wow. You and Raiden got some serious faith in the Elder Gods. I don't know how you do it."

"Do you not have someone you place your own faith in?"

Johnny frowned. "What, you mean like a god? I mean…yeah? Look, I used to believe that there was only one "God" okay? But then I met Raiden, and now I don't really know. It's complicated."

Fujin nodded. "I see. I apologize if this topic has made you uncomfortable."

"No, no! It's fine, I just don't really care about things like. Not that much of a religious person, you know?"

"I understand." Fujin chuckled and patted Johnny Cage on his back. "But do know that I have faith in you."

Johnny suddenly stopped in his tracks, surprised by the wind god's words. "Oh, uh…thanks." The actor was genuinely taken aback and he had to let out a laugh. "Whaddya know?"

Noticing that Cage was no longer walking by his side, Fujin turned around to face his comrade. "What was that?"

"Sorry, I was just…thinking about something. Nothing important."

"Nothing important, you say? Well even so, I am here to listen. Please, tell me what is on your mind."

"...Sure." Johnny shrugged. "But let me know if you're getting bored. I've been told I talk a lot. Like, A LOT."

"I will keep that in mind. Please." Fujin encouraged Johnny to go on.

"I, uh…I was thinking about my family. Wondering how they're doing."

"Oh? Your family?"

"Yeah. Mostly my mom and my older sis. Dad died a little while back, but…let's just say he was an asshole. I don't know what my mom saw in him."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Don't worry about it. He's gone, so I don't want to look back. Besides, last I heard, my mom got remarried and is living a good life with her new husband. I'm happy for her."

"And your sister?"

Johnny suddenly went silent. Looking at the actor's face, Fujin could see the sorrow in Cage's eyes. The god opened his mouth to say something, but Cage beat him to it. "I don't know. My dad kicked her out of the house as soon as she turned eighteen. I was only ten at the time, so I couldn't do anything about it and my mom…she tried to stop him. She really did." Clenching his fists, Johnny looked away from Fujin and shook his head. "My sister kinda just disappeared after that, and when I left home, I should've tried to find her…but I didn't."

Cage was now irritated and he held his head in his hands while letting out a groan. "Instead I was worried about my damn acting career and lost sight of what's important! And now…I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't even want to see me."

"Johnny Cage." Fujin's suddenly serious tone caused Johnny to look at the god once more. "Family is to be cherished and I can tell from your words that your mother and sister are very dear to you. Despite being apart for so long, I know your sister is yearning for you to find her."

"How could you possibly know that!?" Cage shouted at the wind god. "I know Becky! She's not so forgiving and doesn't take shit from anyone, not even our dad! That's why Dad kicked her out, because she wouldn't bow down to him like Mom! If she saw me now, do you really think she'd want anything to do with me!?"

Now it was Fujin's turn to be silent. He watched how Johnny was breathing heavily and his eyes were filled with fury. The wind god knew there was much more to Cage behind his confident facade. "If you continue to be truthful as you are now, then yes. Show her who you truly are, Johnny Cage. Show her how much you have grown since the day she left. Not this persona you have created for the cameras."

"I…I didn't…" Johnny trailed off and his anger began to dissipate, slowly but surely. "What the hell am I doing?" The actor placed a hand on his forehead. "Why am I getting angry with you? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry, Fujin."

"No, thank you, Johnny Cage." Fujin bowed his head to Johnny. "Your honesty is greatly appreciated and I am honored that you trusted me enough to tell me something so personal."

"Yeah…" Johnny himself was confused as to why he said all those things to someone he barely knew. But what he did know was that Fujin was someone he could trust. He just knew it. It was a weird feeling, having so much faith in someone. Was this what Fujin was talking about? "Hey, uh…thanks. For listening, I mean. I really didn't mean to dump all that on you. I don't know where that came from."

"You should not hold such feelings within you. It is not healthy."

"I guess I just never thought about it. Maybe deep down, I was trying to forget all about that crap."

"Never forget, Johnny Cage." Fujin's voice was low and almost menacing. It certainly shocked Cage. "Your memories, no matter how painful, are not objects to be discarded. They helped to mold you into the man you are today. Never forget." As soon as those words left Fujin's lips, he and Johnny Cage heard a loud rumbling and the floor started to tremble. A second later, one of the walls surrounding them lifted itself off the ground and it soon revealed another room beyond it.

"Wonder what's in there." Johnny stated as he took a step forward, but Fujin stopped him from advancing.

"It is worth investigating. Are you ready?"

Cage nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

"Good. Then let us proceed. And Johnny Cage…I assure you that everything will be fine. I swear to you."