The bass roar of the Holodragon echoes through the outskirts of Shang Tu, accompanied by the tenor bark of Carol's motorbike and the soprano scream of Maria's stolen sports bike; moments later, those same streets rumble as the army of Shang Mu rolls through. Buoyed by the sight of the Holodragon and the advancing army, the few remaining citizens of Shang Tu rally; those who are willing and able fall in with the advancing army, once again uniting under a common banner.
Two miles out from the Royal Palace, Kaede Himura is the first to spot the advancing liberators; she opens comms to Aquila. "Captain, bad news: seems someone went to get reinforcements."
"Excuse me a moment," Aquila requests. "Need to do some housekeeping."
After a brief period of silence, Kaede hears a single gunshot over the radio; her pulse spikes at the reminder of the price of failure.
"See what you can do to stall them, then fall back to the Palace," Aquila commands.
"I'll need assistance," Kaede replies. "Requesting Hayabusa."
"That is not possible," Aquila informs. "He is… unavailable."
Kaede shakes off the chill that runs up her spine. "Very well, sir; I'll do all I can," she assures; shutting down comms, she turns to her retinue. "Stall that army!" she commands; before the retinue can react, a piercing beam of pure blue energy rips up the tarmac around them and Kaede.
Kaede looks up and sees the Holodragon turning for another attack. "Change of plan: fall back to the Palace!"
With Kaede and her retinue forced into retreat, Lilac resumes her flight to the Palace. As she approaches her destination, she gets her first look at the size of the Jade forces; it's clear they have finally begun to break through the Palace defences. Maria wasn't kidding about their numbers; maybe we should have called King Dail and asked him to send the Sky Battalion as well…
"They have air support!" Kaede radios to Aquila.
Aquila turns his attention to the direction of Kaede's retreating patrol; he sees the Holodragon bearing down on his forces. "I see it," he hisses; switching channels, he hails Hideyoshi Takenaka. "Take down that holodragon!"
Lilac takes evasive action as a cluster of rockets heads straight for her. As she recovers, she finds Hideyoshi flying directly at her; she dives, trying to make him overshoot. But the trick doesn't work; Hideyoshi dives also, landing on the back of the Holodragon as it levels out again.
"Make this easy for yourself and surrender!" Hideyoshi demands.
"Not a chance!" Lilac retorts, turning to face the Kasai-dojo Grand Master.
"So, you're the world-famous Sash Lilac, 'saviour of Avalice'," Hideyoshi observes. "Impressive work; if the stories are even half true, your fame is well deserved."
"Then you know what I'm capable of."
"That is true. But you also had a lot of luck, something you will not have this time."
Hideyoshi charges, naginata low and forward, but Lilac doesn't counter the attack; instead, she pitches the Holodragon into a vicious roll, tipping Hideyoshi off-balance; he slips and falls; the Holodragon's claws tear through one of his wings; unable to maintain altitude, Hideyoshi lands heavily on a nearby rooftop.
"Who needs luck when you have Pangu?" Lilac smiles to herself as she flies around the rockets, heading for the Palace throne room.