Chapter Text
XXV
Syzoth completely stretched out in the bed before he was fully awake. He was in his Zaterran form and he was much too large for Johnny’s, already big, guest bed. His legs easily stretched to hang off the sides and his tail was touching the floor. He inhaled deeply as the morning was coming to him and he eventually opened his eyes. Once he realized where he was and how he was sprawled out on the bed, he quickly sat up and shifted back into his human form in one motion.
Syzoth looked beside him and was alone in the bed. He quickly shimmied to the edge of it to look on the floor just in case he accidentally knocked Tomas off but the other man wasn’t there either. When Syzoth looked towards the window, he thought it was the morning, but it was actually still dark outside. A part of him told him to try to go back to sleep, but he wasn’t tired anymore. Also, he wondered where Tomas was.
Syzoth was out of the bed and leaving the room. As soon as he was in the hallway, he noticed that there were lights on in the house, but they were very dim and eerie. Furrowing his brows a little, he walked down the hall until he was getting towards the balcony that would overlook the main room to the floor below him. It was there that he could hear music- music that gave him goosebumps and set him on edge.
He could hear the song: “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” playing and he released a very low, guttural noise from his throat due to the unease and displeasure of hearing such a thing. He figured that Johnny must have been playing a prank on the others for what was done to him. However, as he looked around, he saw no one. By the Gods, Syzoth hated every second of whatever was happening.
Syzoth cleared his throat before calling out louder than the music playing, “Johnny? … Kenshi…? … Tomas…?”
No answer and he wasn’t really surprised. Syzoth swallowed hard and looked behind him down the dark hall before he looked the other way to the stairwell. Making his way there, he descended down to the base floor of the home where the music was loudest. Taking a deep breath, he looked around at what he saw before him.
Johnny’s home looked different. It looked more humble and suburban but Syzoth’s mind told him it was still the actor’s house. The rain had picked back up and beat heavily on the windows at Syzoth’s back. The lighting was almost a dark orange, tinging to red now and the shadows were obnoxiously thick and swallowed almost every corner. Syzoth’s body prickled with defensive urges. His body was wound tight, arms close to himself and he focused on every beyond human, Zaterran senses he had that could keep him alert to his surroundings.
“Johnny…?” Syzoth called out again and there still wasn’t a sound back. Just the music that played on repeat. Taking a deep breath that didn’t help at all for courage, Syzoth wanted to at least find Tomas and drag him back to their room because at that point, the Zaterran was not going to get anymore sleep that night- or ever. He wanted Tomas to make his mind go elsewhere. Somewhere that wasn’t as frightened as he was currently.
Syzoth began walking through the other man’s house. The more rooms he passed through, the more the lighting became more and more red. He eventually came across a massive library Johnny had that was filled with many books and display cases alike to show off all the collector’s items he’s obtained over the years. It was just as frighteningly lit with the red glow but the walls were different in that room. They almost looked like they were covered in… slime and grime and mold and something organic. Syzoth felt a jolt of fear that was too personal to him. It almost reminded him of the dungeon he was in when he served Shang Tsung.
Taking quick steps back to flee the room, an inhuman screech pierced through the air, forcing the Zaterran to jump with a short scream. He instantly shifted into his Zaterran form to be ready- to be menacing. But he was f*cking terrified.
The screeching of whatever monster was deeper within Johnny’s home sounded like it was fading away, along with the quick pattering of feet scurrying through the home, echoing away.
And then finally, Syzoth could hear the yell from a man that was unmistakable: Johnny Cage, “Yeah, f*ck you too!”
Syzoth nearly sprinted through the house, only shifting back into his human form once he turned the corner to where Johnny Cage, indeed, was. They were in the large entranceway to his front door. Whatever screeched had barrelled through the front door, knocking it completely off the hinges, leaving the front entrance completely open to the heavy downpour of the outside weather.
Johnny Cage was dressed differently. He was in modern clothes but it was ripped in many places and the grime from the other room was all over his body as if he had been crawling through it. The main difference with the actor, however, was that he was wearing an entire flamethrower set up with the tanks on his back and all. Syzoth wanted to ask how Johnny had a flamethrower but the question never came out.
Johnny, however, looked at Syzoth and gave a quick nod while smiling wide. His voice was gruffer than usual, as if he was trying to sound heroic or something, “Don’t worry. I got the bastard on the run. Hates fire.”
Syzoth looked towards the busted open doorway and back to the actor, “Wh-what… are you talking about?? What’s happening? Where is everyone else?”
Johnny’s face now became serious. He tsked and looked down, shaking his head and his voice was thick, dramatic and mournful, “They’re gone, Blue. Gone.”
Syzoth was so f*cking confused. Johnny called the Final Girl in his movie, The Flesh Pits, Blue as a nickname. Why he was calling Syzoth that now, he couldn’t even say but he didn’t question that either. Instead, he focused on what else Johnny said, “What do you mean, gone??”
“They’ve become,” Johnny looked up at Syzoth, eyes glazed over with tears that he blinked away, “these… things…. I don’t know much more than you at this point. Let’s go.”
And then Johnny turned to go further back into the house instead of out and Syzoth just followed him. Syzoth didn’t question anything else while Johnny explained the situation they were in, which was that he didn’t actually know what situation they were in. The music had turned off at some point, the lights didn’t look as red anymore but everything was still dim- corners dark. In fact, the only lighting was from candles all over any and every end table and surface.
They were nearing one of the larger bathrooms Johnny had within his home and they could hear sloshing water from a full bathtub, causing both men to stop. As they waited, they noticed that the door to the bathroom was open too. They then could hear wet footsteps patting on the floor with each slow step, making them slowly back away from whatever was about to exit.
When a face slowly showed itself, Syzoth’s eyes widened with fear, just as much as his heart dropped with dread. It was Tomas, but his face was more pale than normal. His eyes were very dark- heavy with bags and busted blood vessels. His lips were dried and cracked with bloody smeared residue along his skin. His eyes weren’t the normal, pretty grey they always were. They were pure white with a rim of red around the iris. His pupils were very small and looking straight at Syzoth with his side-glance. He slowly strode from the bathroom- step, step, step, until he was out enough to be completely seen, all while his body was twisting and contorting as if it were a new body he was controlling and getting used to. He had a sinisterly curious look on his face, resembling much of an unfortunate mother Deadite and Syzoth took several steps back.
The Zaterran bumped hard into a body behind him and when he quickly whipped around, he jolted when he saw it to be Johnny. The actor resembled a near identical Deadite look just like Tomas and his flamethrower was completely gone. Only, the actor’s movements were much of how it normally was- more alive and less animated by outside influences.
Johnny laughed, tilting his head a little for Syzoth, “What’s the matter, Syzoth? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Syzoth didn’t know what to do and he backed himself up more to be away from the wall, focus flipping between both men. He didn’t want to attack them but he felt a raw panic. He wanted to beg them to stop whatever they were doing but the moment they both suddenly ran at him, he screamed.
Syzoth jumped completely out of the bed. He was in his true form- his massive reptilian body shook the room as he landed on the floor and scrambled across to the other side, knocking into a dresser loudly.
Tomas was up in a heartbeat, sitting up but clearly not even fully awake. He tried to get out of the bed and ended up hitting the floor. He roughly snatched the bedsheets and tried to pull himself up, nearly falling again from the intense startlement of whatever the f*ck just happened. He blinked quickly, rubbing his eyes as he stammered over his groggy words, “Sy-Syz…, Syzoth, what- you okay?? What’s wrong??”
Syzoth was breathing very hard- head whipping around the room to take in his surroundings. There was no more rain. No more music. The early sun was shining through the curtains covering the window. He was back in the room he stayed in and Tomas was stumbling in his tired steps to keep his balance after such a startling wake up. When he was coming to a little more, he cautiously made his way towards the terrified man.
Oh, it was a dream.
Syzoth could have cried. He quickly got to his feet and rushed over to Tomas, wrapping his large, reptilian arms around the other man in a desperate hug.
The air became knocked from Tomas’ lungs but he made sure to hug the other man back. When he was able to take a breath, he sucked in some air as he asked more clearly, due to waking up fully, “Are you okay, Syzoth…?”
“Bad dream,” Syzoth grumbled out as he pushed his head against Tomas’ shoulder.
Tomas sighed with relief as he brought his hand to Syzoth’s scaly head. He smiled and closed his eyes, gently stroking his fingers along Syzoth’s Zaterran skin, “I’m sorry to hear that, Sy…. It was just a dream, though. Everything’s okay now….”
“Yes,” Syzoth sighed hard. He slowly shifted into his human form, tail just starting to wag with light comfort before that, too, disappeared with his disguised self. “Yes,” he said again and leaned away from the hug, just to bring his hands to Tomas’ face.
The young man smiled when Syzoth looked at him before he began to laugh as Syzoth squished his face, just to gently tug at his warm cheeks- pushing and pulling as if he needed to confirm that Tomas was real.
Tomas laughed more, “Wh-what are you doing…?”
The last image that was burned into Syzoth’s mind was Tomas as a Deadite and he really wanted to forget that imagery. He stopped tugging on Tomas’ face to look into the man’s beautiful grey eyes. Syzoth admired how the other man’s cheeks were even turning red with the light blush that creeped along his skin, “I just need… to see you….”
“If that would help…,” Tomas said kindly.
“It does,” the Zaterran sighed again. He then leaned in and pressed a strong kiss to Tomas’ lips.
Tomas’ body tensed up- he didn’t expect the kiss. It wasn’t unwanted- but he failed to kiss back from the lack of preparation.
Syzoth, however, didn’t seem to mind as he pulled away and dropped his head back down to the grey man’s shoulder.
Tomas was blushing harder and his hand rested on Syzoth’s shoulder, gently rubbing it. Now that he was fully awake, he felt they probably should see if the others were awake, to see what they needed to do that day before going back to the Academy. He said as much to the green man, “Wh-why don’t we go see what the others are doing…? We can clean up and get ready to go back to the Academy.”
Syzoth leaned away, standing up fully and he nodded. Before he could answer, Tomas leaned in this time, giving the Zaterran a quick, sweet kiss to his lips. Tomas smiled, blushing even more before he glanced away and started to leave the room. Syzoth smiled too, licking his lips lightly before he followed just behind.
The smell of coffee let the two know that someone was awake already and the grey man hoped that it was Johnny. Tomas didn’t really pay attention to the detail until he left the room, but he was red with unease when he realized that the borrowed shirt he had gotten from the actor was ripped. Syzoth completely tore the buttons off and it tore a few threads as well. … Now Tomas was seeking Johnny out to ask where his clothes were, just to return clothes that had been ruined in turn. Yeah, it left him kind of embarrassed and he was holding the shirt closed with his hands as they strode through the actor’s home.
“I will tell him it was me,” Syzoth was apologetic when he could sense Tomas’ dismay.
Tomas tried to smile but he was so nervous, “N-no, don’t worry about it. I’ll tell him something….”
“But you’re unsure,” Syzoth commented worriedly.
“Just because,” Tomas sighed, “he gave me his clothes to borrow while mine dried. … I didn’t mean to rip it.”
“I’m so sorry,” the Zaterran felt as if he had messed up again.
“Please don’t apologize,” Tomas begged. He stopped walking to face the other man. He gave Syzoth a kind smile, even passed his nerves, and raised a hand to gently hold the man’s jaw, “It wasn’t just you. It’s just as much my fault, so, please don’t be sorry, okay? I’ll talk to Johnny when I get my clothes back.”
Syzoth frowned hard but his head weighed lightly into Tomas’ hand, as if chasing the warmth subconsciously, “I got carried away. … I didn’t like the smell.”
Tomas smiled and laughed a little, “You don’t like how Johnny smells?”
Syzoth was serious, being honest as his sad, green eyes looked into Tomas’ grey ones, “I didn’t like the smell of Johnny on you.”
Tomas’ smile dropped and his eyes widened just a touch. His lips parted but he didn’t make the noise, “Oh,” until a second later. He let the Zaterran’s words sink in and the more they did, the more his cheeks flushed even redder. His grey eyes flicked downwards and he dropped his hand from Syzoth’s face. He cleared his throat just as Syzoth tilted his head and the grey man turned, stammering over his words, “I-I’m sure it won’t be a big deal at all…. Let’s just see if it’s him that’s awake….”
Syzoth’s fingers curled a little at his sides as he watched Tomas walk off. He could see from where he was, the young man’s ears had turned red, betraying how much he was blushing. The Zaterran blinked, surprised by Tomas’ reaction to the information he shared. Syzoth could tell, much like how he could tell many of Tomas’ reactions, that he liked what he had heard. He liked Syzoth admitting that he became carried away with a possessive need and that’s why he ripped the shirt.
If his tail were visible, it would have revealed how it gave a quick flick, like a half wag as the smallest smile tugged on Syzoth’s lips.
The coffee aroma brought the two to the main kitchen where it turned out that Johnny was awake, along with Kenshi and Raiden too. Each of them looked as if they had just awoken not too long ago and they were discussing amongst themselves when the other two joined them.
Raiden looked over to see Tomas and Syzoth and he smiled warmly, “Hey, good morning, guys. It seems you’ve woken up early, too.”
Tomas was still tired- he had gotten woken up by Syzoth having a nightmare but he had no bitter feelings over it. All that was on his mind currently was how he needed to get Johnny alone. He smiled at Raiden, giving his good morning greeting in turn before he addressed the actor.
Johnny was slowly sipping on some black coffee and looked at Tomas just as the grey man asked as casually as he could, “My clothes?”
Johnny hummed in his mug before he lowered his glass and nodded. He happily jogged around the island towards Tomas and Syzoth and when he was near them, Tomas lowly explained before he and Johnny left, “I am so sorry, but I… uh…, your shirt… got ripped….”
Johnny stopped walking and looked down at Tomas’ body, realizing immediately what he meant. He wasn’t mad at all, but he couldn’t help but be curious, “What happened?”
Syzoth opened his mouth to answer and Johnny did not miss that detail, but Tomas quickly grabbed the actor’s arm to pull him away- a forwardness that was unlike the grey man.
Tomas gave Syzoth a quick, pleading look and the Zaterran shut his mouth quickly. Tomas and the actor quickly left the kitchen and the grey man laughed so awkwardly, “I, uh, toss a lot in my sleep. Th-the, um, buttons must have gotten caught on the sheets somehow. … I’m really sorry, I can pay for another shirt, or even fix this one if-”
“Hey,” Johnny clapped his hand on Tomas’ shoulder, “don’t even worry about it. You know how much clothes I have? You’re actually doing me a favor by getting rid of it, so I should thank you.”
“O-oh, well…,” Tomas laughed weakly, “that’s good….”
“You have a good time?” Johnny asked innocently with a wide smile.
Tomas glanced at the actor, just to quickly look away, “Y-yeah, yes…. Last night was… a lot of fun. Intense. I, uh, didn’t actually think I’d like something like that so much….”
They reached one of Johnny’s laundry rooms and hanging within was the grey man’s clothes. The actor, however, hummed at what Tomas had said and laughed a little, “Very forward. Honest. I respect that. I bet Syzoth probably has a lot of… special tricks.”
Tomas furrowed his brows for a moment in confusion, looking at the actor before it suddenly dawned on him that when Johnny asked about having a good time, he was insinuating Tomas and Syzoth. … Together. … Not what Tomas thought and his face flared a bright red and he almost yelled, “I-I meant the m-movies! I had fun wa-watching movies!”
“Right!” Johnny quickly deflected. He could see the malfunctioning within the grey man’s head happening in real time and the actor laughed apologetically, “Right, of course, I did too, man! I’m glad you had a great time!” He then made Tomas turn his body away as he pushed him into the laundry room, “Just toss my clothes in the bin!” before he then closed the door behind the young man.
Back in the kitchen, Syzoth was seated at the table with Raiden and Kenshi. They were talking about their time the night prior and Kenshi asked Syzoth, “So, what did you think of the movies?”
Syzoth smiled politely, but his tone didn’t hide his unease at all, “I… had a great time being together with everyone. … The movies… I… don’t much care to do that again….”
“They were frightening, weren’t they?” Raiden asked innocently. The Champion never made a peep or any real showing that he was scared at all, but his voice was so calm and kind like always that perhaps he really was shaken based on his question.
“If we do this again,” Kenshi laughed softly, “then I’ll suggest to Johnny that we watch comedies or something.”
“That sounds great,” Raiden said with a smile.
“Comedies…?” Syzoth questioned. “As in, ones to laugh at, yes?”
“Yes,” the swordsman answered.
“Then if we can,” the Zaterran began carefully, “have… the same group, then I may be open to it….”
Kenshi couldn’t help but smile. He knew that Syzoth was referring to Tomas as the “group”. Based on their demeanor and how close they were all night, the swordsman could only assume that they did talk things out and it worked out for the best. He nodded for the Zaterran, agreeing to the terms.
“Hey,” Raiden began to the Zaterran, “would you be open to some sparring when we get back?” He laughed, “Lao has been teasing me about my lack of training and honestly, it shames me to admit that I’ve missed more than a few days of it. I’ve been told that I’m getting in my head about it but I can’t help but feel that he’s right. I want to get back into some one on one training and while you’re here, I’d love the chance to spar with you. We’ve never had the chance to, afterall.”
Syzoth smiled sheepishly. He liked to avoid violence when he could, but he also knew that sparring was good. It would help him too, anyway, and he nodded, “Sure. We can.”
Raiden smiled happily, “That’s wonderful.” He then regarded the other two, “I can’t wait to have a rematch with both Kuai Liang and Tomas, too. Tomas has clearly improved so much. I can’t believe how much stronger he’s become, I can only imagine Kuai Liang’s skill, as well. Being under Hanzo’s tutelage has been noticeably beneficial to them.”
The Champion then leaned forward more on the table, musing happily over the thought of sparring as he recalled, “When Tomas and Kung Lao fought, I saw Tomas use tricks I’ve never seen before. He’s fast- he was able to keep up with Lao with no issue. I can’t wait to see how much of a struggle I will have against him. It’s going to be so amazing to learn from it. I saw Tomas do this move with-”
Raiden had gone off explaining the spar he watched between Kung Lao and Tomas and he was so kind with his words- smile just as warm. It was making Syzoth a little antsy and he shifted a little in his seat as the unease prickled down his spine. He kept his face neutral to the Champion’s words, but Raiden was practically glowing with admiration and excitement to what he was speaking of. The words of Kung Lao burned in Syzoth’s mind, “Raiden probably likes Tomas anyway.”
And Syzoth could see that. Raiden clearly did like Tomas- but Syzoth wasn’t sure in which way exactly. Regardless, it made him wish that Tomas was beside him right now so he could press close to the grey man- show his affection for the man he could kiss forever. Jealousy was a foul feeling, despite Syzoth representing the color of it. He hated the envy- he truly did. Syzoth very much liked Raiden. Raiden was extremely admirable and it was no wonder as to why he was so loved. So, for Syzoth to feel so petty over Raiden speaking so fondly of the man that he liked, made his teeth ache. Syzoth wanted to apologize to Raiden for the unwarranted feelings, just as much as he wanted to sink his teeth into Tomas to leave a mark for everyone to see.
Kenshi was smiling and participating in the conversation with Raiden, but his head tilted when he could sense something in the back of his skull. It was like an uncomfortable itch that was impossible to scratch as his attention became pulled to the third person at their table. Kenshi was still listening to Raiden, but he started to focus more on Syzoth and when he did, he could almost read the jealousy in Syzoth’s mind. It took the swordsman aback and distracted him. The thoughts were very- very- vague. Almost nonexistent but just a fraction flashed in Kenshi’s mind’s eye before it was gone like a huff of breath.
His head tilted down a little. He still hadn’t completely learned everything from Sento and he had no idea what more he could learn. Yet, whatever split connection he just had with the Zaterran was definitely new….
