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Kenshi felt like
he was in mid-air as he was transported from Earth to Outworld. He had his sword in his hand not knowing what will happen
once he lands there.
It felt like a long time before he finally felt his feet on the cold air and sensed the disturbing
ki surrounding the atmosphere. Kenshi stood there in his own darkness and tried to sense what's around him other than the
ki.
He clutched his sword tighter as he sensed terrified souls passing him, all going into the same direction.
Shang,
Kenshi thought. He really is here!
Kenshi knew of his real reason to be here. He was here to search for the
missing Special Forces agent Cyrax and bring him back home. He would do that while searching for Shang Tsung as well. The
last known place Cyrax was at was a forest filled with trees with the ability to talk and move their own branches.
He
knew that it would take weeks before he would find either of them, but he was willing to fulfill his two duties.
Then,
Alex came to his mind. He reached his free hand over to the bracelet Alex had given him just before entering the portal and
brought it to his fingers. He felt the cold jewelry on the skin of his fingers.
It was then that he realized another
duty to fulfill.
To quickly complete this mission in order to get back to her and make her proud.
Don't
worry Alex, Kenshi thought. I'll be back as soon as I can.
He began to sense the souls again and realized
that they were going in the same direction, like they are being attracted to something ahead of them. Kenshi placed his sword
back behind him and began following the souls.
Just twenty feet away, a dark shadow stood behind a dead tree. He stared
at the blind swordsman for a while before he began walking away. Then, the shadow teleported away.
***
Back
on Earth, Alex looked out the window of the Special Forces cafeteria. In front of her, only little portions of her dinner
was gone. It has been a week since Kenshi left for Outworld. She knew that he's all right from all the contacts she and the
rest of the agents had with him.
Well, he's all right so far.
Alex was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't
realize that Agent Sonya Blade sat down in front of her with her tray of food. "Alex?" the older agent spoke.
Alex
shook her head quickly and turned her head towards Sonya. "Oh, hey. I didn't know you were there."
"Deep in thought
I see," Sonya replied taking a bite out of her roast beef sandwich. "Don't worry, so far Kenshi is all right."
"I know,"
Alex answered. "But I can't help it with this stupid gut feeling at the pit of my stomach."
"Is it the food?" Sonya
asked looking down at Alex's barely-eaten dinner.
Alex looked down at her plate. "Oh, no it's not the food, it's all
right."
"Kenshi then?"
Alex nodded.
Sonya took another bite out of her sandwich before speaking again.
"What is it that's bothering you about Kenshi. I mean I know you know that he's all right."
"Yeah," the brunette agent
replied. "I'm just being silly really, but since the night Kenshi left for Outworld, I couldn't help but have that bad feeling
that it was the last time that I would ever see him alive."
"Everyone feels like that whenever their loved one leaves
for a long period of time," Sonya said. "I once thought I've lost the man I loved once and I was devastated for a while until
I found out that he was well and alive."
"Do you still love him?" Alex thought knowing that she was mentioning the
famous actor Johnny Cage.
"In a way yes," answered the blond agent. "But I don't think we're meant for a relationship.
I'm always busy trying to fight the forces of evil and protect our world while he's too busy acting in all of these stupid
movies and being a hot shot."
Alex laughed. "Remember when Ninja Mime came out in theaters. That was probably one of
the biggest movie flops in American history."
"And Cyrax felt that Johnny robbed his eight bucks," Sonya mentioned
laughing as well.
The two female agents laughed for another second before stopping, both with serious looks on their
faces. It was fun getting off the subject for a minute, but it was something that couldn't be avoided, especially when it
involved the lives of two agents.
"Other than that," Sonya continued. "You shouldn't worry. Kenshi's smart, not to
mention has great senses, literally. I'm pretty sure that he'll be fine no matter what happens."
"I hope your right
Sonya," Alex said.
It was at that moment that Alex felt her stomach turn in an uncomfortable way.
"Crap!" Alex
cried. "I don't think the gut feeling in my stomach is just a feeling. I think I'm going to puke." Then, the younger agent
stood up and began running out of the cafeteria.
Sonya followed Alex into the woman's bathroom. She stood a few feet
away from the stalls as Alex threw up the contents into the toilet. After a minute, Sonya heard the toilet flush and Alex
stepped out of the bathroom and slowly walked towards the sink.
"Are you okay?" Sonya asked placing a hand on Alex's
back. "You look like you're going to pass out."
"I'm not sure," Alex thought. "I've been like this since this morning.
It's only the third time today I threw up."
"Did you drink anything last night?"
"Just a small bottle of Vodka,"
Alex remembered as she splashed water on her face. "Maybe it was more stronger than I thought."
"Maybe," Sonya agreed.
"But it could be from nervousness about Kenshi and the mission as well. If you still feel like this within the next couple
of days, go to the doctor."
Alex only answered with a quick nod.
***
The dark figured entered what looked
like a palace. He walked around until he found the main room where all of the operations were taking place. There were dead
bodies dressed in armored uniforms standing on their feet and holding weapons in their hands. Near the back of the room, a
large green energy filled with tortured souls swirled slowly upward.
The man the shadow was looking for stood with
two other people and walked over to him. The man was tall with long black hair and a goatee and wore a red outfit with yellow
dragon designs in different places. Behind his back was a straight sword wrapped in its case.
"Shang Tsung," the shadow
spoke. "I've come to tell you about my discovery."
Shang raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Rovno?"
"It seems that
an intruder is out to not only search for another missing agent, but is out to kill you as well. He is a swordsman named Kenshi
and he is a spy for Special Forces." He then began to describle Kenshi's features and his wardrobe.
"Special Forces?"
Shang said. "They must know something about the Deadly Alliance." He looked back at Rovno. "Any other important information
about this spy?"
"No," the shadow replied. "Except that his current location is far at the moment."
"Thank you,
Rovno," Shang finally said. "It's good to have a teleporter and a mind reader on our team. You may go now until I give you
your next orders."
Rovno bowed to the sorcerer before teleporting away.
Kenshi, eh? Shang thought.
Why does that name seem so familiar?
An extremely pale man turned to Shang. "What do we do now, Shang?"
Shang
turned his head to the man. "I think you know what orders to give to our friend here, Quan-Chi." Shang turned his head to
the Asian man with them. "Mavado, any word on Hsu Hao yet."
"He is still awaiting orders back at the Special Forces
base," Mavado replied.
"They must have a portal on their base," Shang said. "Tell Hsu Hao to destroy it."
Mavado
nodded as Shang left the room.
Quan-Chi turned to Mavado. "I have a gift for you, Mavado. You know about Kano being
alive now, yes?"
Mavado only growled in response. He and Kano have been rivals for years considering that Mavado's
mission as a Red Dragon member was to eliminate ever member of the Black Dragon. Kano was the last known member.
Quan-Chi
continued. "Since Kano is working alongside with Shang, I will give you the opportunity to fight Kano in a battle to the death."
"Thank
you, Quan-Chi," Mavado replied. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this opportunity."
"Not so fast,"
Quan-Chi said. "Before you have your battle with Kano, I need you to complete a task."
"Anything."
Quan-Chi
smirked. "Shang and I do not tolerate people invading our plans to conquer Outworld and soon the Earth. Shang has given me
a hint to have you do one thing."
Mavado stared at the sorcerer awaiting his orders.
"You must eliminate the
swordsman."
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