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Kenshi slept
under a tree for a couple of hours. He hadn't slept since coming to Outworld and he knew that his comrades would want that,
even if it was for a few minutes.
Since becoming blind, Kenshi still found it amazing that he was able to see in his
dreams. It was like he was able to see again and everything in the dream always seemed so realistic.
But normally,
his dreams weren't pleasant ones and this dream was no exception.
He was walking in an empty field, the sun was starting
to set. Kenshi walked around as if he was looking for something. Then, he spotted a blur not too far from him. He walked over
to it. The blur looked like it turned, like it was facing him.
Kenshi immediately took out his sword. "Who are you?!"
he demanded.
"Kenshi," the blur said. Kenshi loosened the grip on his sword as he heard the sweet, feminine voice.
This voice was one Kenshi recognized easily.
"Alex," he sighed with a bit of relief. He placed his sword back behind
him.
"It's so good to see you," Alex said. Kenshi squinted his eyes, trying to see her, but no matter what he did,
she was nothing but blur.
Alex seemed to put her hand out. "Come, Kenshi, let's go to a place where we'll live in peace.
No more war, no more fighting."
Kenshi smirked. He liked the sound of that and he knew that Alex would take him to
that peaceful place. But upon reaching out and grabbing her hand, Alex suddenly collapsed into his arms. Kenshi also noticed
that he was no longer in the empty field.
He was in the Netherealm.
"Alex," he said, but as he looked down,
he no longer saw blur.
A dry skeleton laid in his arms.
"ALEX!!!!!" Kenshi cried out, jumping up, leaving the
skeleton down on the ground. He suddenly head an evil laugh. Kenshi looked up and saw him.
"Shang Tsung," he growled.
"What did you do to her?!"
Shang laughed a little bit more before speaking. "You've always been a fool, Kenshi. You
always fall into one's trickery."
Kenshi quickly took his sword out. "Answer me, sorcerer! What did you do to Alex?!"
"Ah,
what love can do to a warrior's mind. You're not only a fool, but a weak one as well. Shouldn't you be concentrating on your
mission and not on the mere mortal you call your lover?"
"I said answer me, you coward!" At this point, a fuel of rage
boiled through Kenshi's blood.
"Fine, if you're that desperate." Shang smiled as he spoke. "But all I can say is that
Alex is a fool just like you. I used her to lure you here, of course, I had already killed her, sucked her up dry. Before
I did kill her though, I had the opportunity to pleasure myself with her. It has been years since I enjoyed something like
that."
Kenshi's teeth were clenched tight. "You bastard!!" he growled through his teeth. He screamed in rage and ran
over to the sorcerer, who only stood there, a smirk spread across his face. When he was a few feet away, Kenshi swung his
sword, but Shang easily dodged it. He took out his own sword and stabbed Kenshi from behind.
Kenshi stood there in
shock as he felt his own blood drip down his back and on to the ground. He couldn't believe that he fell for it. He let his
anger and rage get the best of him and now his flaw lead him to his fatality.
Perhaps, he thought. I am
a fool.
He fell forward into the pit of darkness and as he did, he heard Shang say, "Your soul is mine."
Kenshi
found himself in the darkness, but he wasn't lying down, he was sitting. He felt the soft ground he sat on and the tree he
leaned against.
He had woken up from his nightmare.
Kenshi felt a headache come to him. He took both his hands
to each side of his head and rubbed his temples clockwise. The blindfold around his eyes got in the way, so he took it off,
revealing his pale eyes. He rubbed just above them to ease the headache.
Then, the thoughts of the nightmare came back
to him.
"Alex," he whispered.
Immediately, he went to his arm panel to get in contact with Jax, wanting to make
sure that she was all right, but when he pressed the communication button, he sensed the beacon signal gone.
What?
he thought in panic. He pressed the button a few more times.
Why can't I get in contact?
Then, a horrible
thought came to his mind.
Were they attacked?
He did have a mission, but it would have to be on hold
temporarily. He couldn't get a contact signal and wanted to make sure that everyone, especially Alex, are all right.
He
pressed another button, which would transport him back to Earthrealm. Once again, he couldn't get a beacon signal. Kenshi
gasped. Not only had something happened back on Earth.......he was also trapped in Outworld.
Kenshi slumped back against
the bark of the tree. Many thoughts played in his head in fast motion. He sat there, looking like he was dazed out. Then,
Alex came to his mind. In his mind, he could only see blur. He could hear only silence now, except for the light wind blowing
around Outworld.
"Alex," he whispered softer than the whistles of the wind. A few seconds later, he was surprised to
feel a single, hot tear run down his left cheek.
Kenshi shook his head and whipped the tear away. The last time this
happened, he was just a small child.
As he put his hand back down, he suddenly sensed someone nearby. All of Kenshi's
thoughts and emotions quickly disappeared like a light. He slowly stood up as he head light footsteps nearby. Kenshi slowly
reached behind his back and lingered his fingers around the handle of the sword. When the footsteps were close enough, Kenshi
quickly whirled around and lashed his sword out.
To his surprise, the figure grabbed the arm holding the sword.
"We
won't hurt you," the figure said calmly. Kenshi first became confused by the fact that the older male said 'we.' That
was until he realized that he had more than one voice. There were many souls within him, but Kenshi could out tell whether
he is a friend or a foe.
"Who are you?!" Kenshi demanded. "And what do you want?!"
"You're help," the person
replied. "You're the first mortal we've seen since the last Mortal Kombat tournament. Have you ever heard of the Emperor Shao
Kahn?"
Kenshi put his arm down, but still kept his tight grasp on the sword. "A few times, yes."
"We are one
with a thousand dead soldiers within one, all because of the Emperor. We had served him once, but that was the past.
You know he is dead now."
"Is he?" Kenshi asked without a sign of concern.
"Yes, and now we have the opportunity
to free ourselves. Unfortunately, the orb which holds us together within can only be touched by a mortal. We
are immortal and cannot touch the orb. We need a mortal to destroy it and since you are the first mortal we've met
since Shao Kahn's death, we will be needing your help."
"And what makes you think I can trust you that easily?
Also, you never answered my other question."
The figure stayed silent for a moment before speaking again. "We are Ermac. We
can sense great power in you. Perhaps, you and us can make an exchange."
Kenshi gave himself a few seconds
to think about the situation. Because of Shao Kahn, he thought. These souls are trapt within this one man.
The tight grasps on his sword began
to loosen up a bit. It's like how my ancestors have been enslaved by Shang Tsung.
Ermac looked at the swordsman.
He was surprised when he slipped the sword back behind him.
"Sudden change of heart, we see," Ermac said.
Kenshi
slowly nodded. "I don't trust you just yet," he replied. "But I know how it is. The souls of my ancestors are enslaved as
well."
"Shang Tsung," Ermac replied.
"But if you try to fool me," Kenshi continued. "I will whip my sword out
and cut you to pieces quicker than a blink of an eye."
Ermac laughed a bit. "For a blind man, you're sharp, but do
not worry, you won't be fooled. Like we said before, you and us can make an exchange."
"What kind of
exchange?"
"One which will satisfy you."
Ermac reached out, his hand glowing. Kenshi felt a sharp twitch inside
of him and fell back. As he landed, the twitching went away.
"What the hell did you do to me?" Kenshi demanded.
"My,
short temper we have," Ermac replied. "You, our friend, now have telekinetic abilities."
"Tele what?" Kenshi asked
slowly getting up.
"Telekinetic powers," Ermac repeated. "It's when one is able to......"
"I know what it is,"
Kenshi said. "But why?"
"Surprising an opponent is one of things that counts in combat. As a blind swordsman, like
yourself, you hold many surprises. Having telekinetic powers will surprise them even more, that is why we gave you these
powers. We know of three moves that we can teach you in short time. An average person can learn these quickly."
Ermac
found a heavy log and brought it closer to Kenshi. "In front of you is a log. First, we want you to lift it up with your
mind, just to test your powers out."
Kenshi nodded and focused, his right hand out. His head and his hands glowed in
a purple aura and with his mind, he lifted the log slowly above him. Kenshi could feel the weight of the object as he brought
it upwards.
"Good," Ermac said. Kenshi put the log back down.
Ermac continued. "Now we will teach you three
tricks you can use, especially during combat. The first is the easiest and it's called the Telekinetic Push. Just use your
hand as if you are pushing away someone."
Kenshi nodded and focused again. He brought his hand quickly forward and
once again felt the weight of the log. The log was pushed a few feet back and hit's a bark of a tree nearby.
"Well
done," Ermac said. "Now will you learn another move called the Telekinetic Toss. You freeze your opponent in place and then,
bring them to your other side."
Kenshi focused once again. He kept the log in place for a second. Then, he brought
it towards him and shifted his body back to let the log pass by him. Then, he let the log land with a loud thud.
"Excellent,"
Ermac said. "The final move you'll be learning is called the Telekinetic Slam, which is a tricky move because if you miss
your opponent, you're pretty much screwed."
Ermac brought the log back closer to Kenshi. "Lift your arm up as you lift
the log. Then, turn your palm toward the ground and slam down as if you were slamming a basketball really hard."
Kenshi
nodded and focused one more time. He managed to lift the log above his head. Then, he turned his hand and slammed the log
down as hard as he could. The log shattered into a million splinters.
Ermac clapped his hands a few times. "You're
indeed a fast-learning warrior. We have done you a good favor. Now you must return it."
Kenshi nodded. "Where
is this orb?"
"About a mile up. It won't be out of your way. We know that you are heading towards Shang Tsung's
Palace. Follow me."
Ermac began walking and Kenshi followed.
The orb was hidden in a tree in the woods. Kenshi
could sense the orb's evil power within. Kenshi was hesitant at first, remembering what had happened to him ten years ago.
But
then again, he thought. He wouldn't have given me these new powers.
Kenshi slowly put his hands in the
tree, grabbed the orb, and pulled it out. He sighed with relief when nothing happened.
"We thank you for your help,"
Ermac said.
"Thank you for the powers," Kenshi replied. "But there's one thing I'm wondering......Shang Tsung......."
"There
is a Deadly Alliance going on and Shang has every soul he can get. We know that we will be trapped once they are
freed, but we do know one thing..........we know that you will set the us free from Shang's grasps. Oh, you know,
we never caught your name."
"It's simply Kenshi."
Ermac nodded. "Good luck, Kenshi."
Kenshi nodded. He
tossed the orb in the air. Then, he quickly took out his sword and quickly cut the orb in have like a piece of paper. The
two pieces shattered on the ground. Kenshi could feel a big gust of wind blowing against him and he could hear the sounds
of a thousands hisses.
If Kenshi was able to see, a blinding light would've hit him as Ermac broke into thousands of
green souls. Then, the souls are pulled into the same direction, possibly heading where Shang Tsung's Palace is.
Then,
silence hit the air. Kenshi turned his head a few times to get his senses back in gear. He could sense the souls going in
the same direction and once again, he followed them.
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