Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 41

Sakura gazed upon her only child. He was her world and her light. Her pride. He made things much more bearable for her. He was vicious in battle, but he had such a warm and kind personality overall. Marek was such a joy to everyone he came across. For the present Sub-Zero, however, she wasn't quite sure where he stood. She did recall how stoic he was when he first met her son. Sakura suspected that, deep down, that he missed his friend, and that seeing Marek brought a lot of memories back. He had actually offered to train him for kombat, which she had actually allowed. Her son, after all, was near-identical copy of Smoke with few exceptions.

Marek had her violet eyes, and his complexion was slightly darker than hers. That was it. All of his other qualities he shared with his father. His hair was the same silver color, but it was a little longer than how Tomas used to wear his. He had the same, muscular body structure and he was just as tall as him at six-foot-five. To top it all off, he had a light accent.

The mother of one recalled the night that Revenant Smoke appeared to her. The corruption and evil of the Netherrealm oozed off of him, but he had confessed to mourning her after she faked her death to open a portal between Earthrealm and the Lunar realm. Her grief and longing for her former lover had taken hold of her and surrendered herself to the Enenra. That dalliance with him resulted in her baby boy, who was now a man. Marek was half-Lunarian and half-Enenra. He was the first of a new and an exceptionally dangerous race. Other than Raiden, no one knew what he was and that was how she wanted things. As far as everyone knew, he was half-human and half-Enenra given the circumstances. Still, she couldn't help but worry.

As the older woman continued to reminisce, her twenty-seven-year-old son approached her.

"Mother?"

"Huh? Oh, Marek!"

"It's time for our briefing. I was sent to get you."

"Let's go then."