Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 19

The ashen-haired man gazed at the sleeping woman within her coffin. In kombat, she had been beautiful, her violet eyes ablaze with a bright fire. In formal regalia, she was stunning. He could certainly see why his doppelganger was so infatuated with her. Her dress hung daringly low on her shoulders, revealing her fair skin, and it clung to her figure. A goddess indeed. How did her lover of this timeline manage to conduct himself around her? There was no way he could've acted so chivalrous around her.

Then his mind turned elsewhere. He had no idea of what had become of the Smoke of this timeline. For all he knew, his body could be lying among the thousands that died during Armageddon. However, his instincts told him that his doppelganger survived somehow. It didn't matter. If he was still alive then he would simply cut him down like the rest of his allies.

Dark Smoke put his hand on the crystal, and he could feel power thrumming beneath his palm. Such power. He had hardly believed that such power could have existed, until now. Feeling it roll through him was intoxicating. Even a small piece of this crystal had power beyond belief. Possessing such a tiny piece could make one unstoppable, he had heard. He could believe it. Of course, there was a drawback. Only direct female descendants of the moon could wield such power. Sakura was that descendant.

It was no wonder Shang Tsung and Quan Chi had wanted her so badly. Her soul could easily do the work of millions. Merging timelines would have been a cinch if they had succeeded in taking her soul. Of course, the sorcerers had a secondary plan for their plot. Since that had been the case, this Smoke had demanded to have the sleeping goddess and all that was associated with her. He had supported him in the war against Liu Kang and his champions. He deserved compensation, after all.

Naturally, there had been some reluctance from both sorcerers. Dark Smoke had expected this, but what good would a comatose woman do them? It was at that point that the two finally agreed to his terms. Of course, working with those two had taught him that there would be some sort of a catch down the road...which was why he sought out the woman on his own. It would only be a matter of time before one, or both, of the sorcerers decided to be a backstabber. He could only hope that they would backstab each other.

Dark Smoke kept his eyes on his angel. He needed her to wake up so he could take her to a location that no one knew about. It was just a matter of figuring how to get her up and out of her crystalline prison. Fortunately, he had plenty of time to think about it while the two sorcerers established rule across timelines.

"Soon, you'll be right where you belong." He whispered.

For now, he would patiently wait.