(A Dream)

Kenshi could hear shrieks. He could see green-colored winds.

"Thank you for letting me have the souls of the Warrior Kings, Kenshi," he heard the deep voice say. It was followed by an evil laugh. Then, a sword ripped through the green-colored winds causing it to split in half. Then, he could hear the loud shrieks again from the souls, calling out Kenshi's name.

'What is this?' Kenshi asked himself.

Then, Shang appeared in front of him. Kenshi fills with anger. "You!"

Shang laughed. "Die fool!" He took out his sword and jabbed it quickly at Kenshi.

(End of Dream)

Kenshi sas up in fast speed as his alarm clock went off. Kenshi could feel his sweat pouring down his face and he breathes heavily, his body shaking.

'Why do I have these dreams?' he thought.

He reached for his alarm. When he found it, he pushed a button and the alarm immediately shutted off.

'8 o'clock,' he thought remembering what time he had it set for. He lied back down and wiped the sweat off his face. The sun shined through the window of his new room at the Special Forces Headquarters. Of course, Kenshi could only see darkness, nothing else.

After a few minutes, Kenshi got up from his bed and began to get ready for his day. After a hot shower, he dressed into the armor suit. Then, he grabbed his red blindfold and tied it over his colorless eyes. Then, he took his katana out of his case and slipped it in the scabbard behind his back. As soon as he released the sword, he starts to sense the locations of the headquarters. Then, he made his way out the door.

As he did, Jax emerged out of his room. He saw the swordsman walking down the hallway.

"Kenshi!" Jax cried out catching up to the new free agent. "How is everything here?"

"Fine," Kenshi replied. "So what is going on now?"

"There is going to be a meeting today about the agency. General Simon White will be discussing more about the project. Right now, I'm meeting up with Agent Cyrax for breakfast. Do you want to join us?"

Kenshi was not much of a breakfast person, but as soon as Jax mentioned it, he could feel his stomach growling.

"I suppose," Kenshi answered.

The two agents headed towards the cafeteria. Waiting outside was a black and yellow cyborg, half human and half robot.

"Morning Cyrax," said Jax.

"Morning," Cyrax said in his robotic tone.

"Agent Cyrax is a robot?" Kenshi asked.

"A cyborg actually," Jax replied. "He was originally made as a soulless assassin in a group called the Lin Kuei, which is now rumored to be a force for good. Special Forces was able to restore his soul and he has agreed to help us with the new agency." He looked at Cyrax. "So, what's for breakfast?"

Cyrax shrugged. "I didn't check the menu yet."

The three of them walk into the cafeteria. After choosing what they wanted to eat, they walk towards an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria and sat down.

"How is the Black Dragon Investigation?" Cyrax asked.

"We managed to capture everyone," replied Jax. "Well, except Kano. Agent Hsu Hao has been a big help with ending the Black Dragon clan once and for all. All we have to do now is capture Kano. Hsu Hao volunteered to help with the new agency as well."

"I still have a bad feeling about him," Cyrax said. "I feel as though he's up to something."

"You think so?" Jax asked.

Cyrax nodded.

"What do you think he's up to?" Kenshi asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'll try to find out."

After a minute of silence, Jax spoke again. "Where are Sonya and Alex?"

"I spoke with Sonya this morning," Cyrax replied. "She and Alex are in the weight room and will eat in a couple of hours."

The mentioning of Alex made Kenshi's head tilt up a little bit. He remembered the nice things she did for him when they first met.

***

General Simon White stood in front of the six agents.

"The agency is almost complete," White said. "When it is complete, we can finally find out what is going on in Outworld. Rumor has it that there is some evil lurking there once again. If this is true, Special Forces will prevent it, just like how we prevented Shao Kahn's invasion."

The six agents, Jax, Sonya, Cyrax, Kenshi, Alex, and Hsu Hao, all nodded.

"Would we go at once?" asked Jax.

"No," White replied. "Jax, Sonya, Hsu Hao, you're the only three with more experiences with investigations. Cyrax, you've only been here a month, Alex, you've been here three weeks, and Kenshi, you've only got here yesterday."

"But sir, didn't we agree that Kenshi would be a free agent?" asked Sonya.

White sighed. "I apologize, I almost forgot about that." He looked at Kenshi. "If we do decide to let you in on the mission, are you sure that you are up to it?"

Kenshi nodded. "Yes sir."

Alex, who stood next to Kenshi, looked over at him. He sounded a bit eager about the mission.

'No one would be,' she thought. 'There must be a reason why he's like this. No one wants to deal with Outworld.'

When Alex first joined Special Forces as an official agent, Sonya had told her stories about Outworld. Alex herself never wanted to go there, but with General White's words, she'll most likely not have to worry about it.

"When the agency is ready," White continued. "I think we'll only send one of you out first. God forbid anything happens, then we'll send the rest of you in."

Everyone nodded except Hsu Hao. The redness in his pupils glowed with no emotions in it.

***

Every once in a while in his life, Kenshi would fall into a state of depression. Hours after the meeting, Kenshi lied on his bed thinking through everything.

Kenshi's parents died when he was a teen. Since then, Kenshi traveled to learn more about his ancestors and took up sword fighting. He had always been lonely, leaving him with the feeling that no one cared about him. Becoming a swordsman was what kept him going.

When he became blind, he had vowed to not let it get in his way. Sometimes though, he became frustrated about not being able to see, especially when he makes a mistake when fighting.

He also constantly blamed himself for letting Shang Tsung take his ancestors' souls. He couldn't believe that he fell for their captor's trickery.

Sometimes, Kenshi felt like giving up, but he made a promise to free his ancestors and become the best swordsman. He is willing to keep those promises. Now they are the two things that keep him going.

'What would happen afterwards?' Kenshi thought. Then he let out a sigh. 'I don't have anything else to live for.'

Then, he heard the door knock.

'Who could that be?' he thought. He slowly got up and felt his way to the door. He opened it.

"Kenshi?" he heard a female voice say.

Kenshi recognized the voice. "Alex?"

"Yes it's me," Alex replied. "I haven't seen you since the meeting so I thought I'd stop by and say hi."

Kenshi became a bit shocked by this. He has never met anyone who wanted to see him just to say hi.

"Um, hi," he replied.

Alex shrugged. "Well, it's eight o'clock. Do you want to get something to eat at the cafeteria?"

Once again, Kenshi could feel his stomach growl. He hasn't eaten anything since breakfast.

"All right," Kenshi replied putting out his left hand. Alex smirked and took his hand into hers once again.

As Alex lead him towards the cafeteria, more thoughts play in Kenshi's head.

'Why is she being so kind to me?' he thought. 'She's been like this since yesterday.'

Later, the two of them sat together with their meals in front of them. Alex looked at Kenshi. "So where do you come from?" she asked with curiosity in her voice.

Kenshi tilted his head down. "You seem to be curious about me ever since yesterday."

Alex looked down. "I apologize."

"It's all right. You have the right to be curious."

Alex tilted her head back up. "It's hard to explain, really. I mean, how do you fight while you're, um, well........."

"Blind?" Kenshi answered. "Don't be afraid to say it."

"All right."

Kenshi continued. "My katana helps me. It gives me better senses. It's actually a resting place of the souls of the Warrior Kings. I happen to be a descendent."

"Your sword?" Alex said. "No wonder it glows during battle."

Kenshi nodded. In the past, people mentioned to him that his katana would glow a red color just before and during a fight.

"So it was a tomb for the Warrior Kings?" Alex continued. "So their spirits guide you."

"You could say that," Kenshi replied. "Except they're not there anymore."

"Not there? What happened?"

Kenshi sighed. "I......I don't want to talk about it."

Alex placed a hand over his. "When you're ready to talk about it, let me know."

Kenshi nodded. Then, he let himself feel her hand on his. They were smooth and silky. He smirked a little, liking the feeling. When Alex removed her hand, Kenshi felt a bit disappointment.

After dinner, they walked back to Kenshi's room.

"Thank you for joining me for dinner," said Alex.

"You're welcome," Kenshi replied. He moved his hand into his pocket to get out his single key, which lead to his room.

"Alex?"

"Yes Kenshi?"

"How come you have been so kind to me?"

Alex felt a bit shocked about this question, but she managed to answer. "I was told that you don't trust people easily. I want to show you that you can trust me. I really want your trust."

Kenshi only answered with a nod.

"Good night," Alex finally said. Then, Kenshi could hear her footsteps walking farther away from him.

***

Alex entered her room and turned on her light. As she began to get ready for bed, all she could think about was Kenshi.

'I just hope that I can earn his trust,' she thought. 'I do like him.'

The last thought startled her. 'Alex?! You've only known him for one day! How could you think that?'

Alex sighed a little as she let herself fall on to her bed. 'Could it be true? Could I possibly be falling for him? All I want is to earn his trust as a friend, but more than that?'

Meanwhile, Kenshi had his own thoughts.

'She's been a nice woman,' he thought. 'Sonya's nice, but Alex is a different story. No one has ever shown me kindness like she has.'

As he drifted off to sleep, Kenshi found himself looking forward for Alex to be in his presence again.

To Chapter Three ------>