Raiden had started his war against Outworld.
Oniro, Triborg, intended to finish his against the Lin Kuei.
Though he transformed himself into a supposedly logical machine, he sadistically reveled in the thought of destroying his enemies once and for all. In Triborg's mind, he had allowed Kuai Liang's mockery of a Lin Kuei to persist for too long. Especially now, when his own son was an asset to them that could and would be used against him.
But even with Sektor to account for, Triborg was assured that he would be victorious. After all, he commanded an army of cyborgs like no realm had ever seen. It was a small army comparatively to what any government had at their disposal, but a far more advanced kind of army. The United States military only dabbled in this technology, using it for prosthetics, or voluntary enhancement once threats like Outworld had made themselves known. They did not embrace the technology as the Tekunin did. They did not use it to its fullest extent. To fully remove the weaknesses of flesh.
They would be made to understand. The entire world would be made to understand if Triborg had his way.
But before any of that could happen, Triborg was convinced that the Lin Kuei had to be dealt with first.
After dismantling the Tekunin's base in Outworld, Triborg had his minions prepare for the impending assault. It didn't take the efficient, mindless cyborgs long to be ready to commence their master's will, but Triborg had a few personal details he wished to attend to.
He walked down a corridor in the Tekunin's hidden base and entered a darkly lit room. In the center of the room, two cyborgs sat inoperative. Grey Tekunin drones were working on repairing them, taking parts from fellows of theirs who had been downed in previous battles when needed. One cyborg was a shiny green, the other was silver like Triborg himself, but their armor had a slight bluish tinge to it.
Triborg silently washed the repairs progress. He turned his metal gaze to the rest of the room. On one side, there was a table with two clear canisters. One contained thousands of tiny nanobots moving around with no apparent direction. The other contained bubbling silver liquefied metal. On the other side was a cyborg head that looked identical to Triborg's own, with part of the plating removed and wires plugged in, connecting to a high tech computer console.
Off to the corner was a bodybag. The tag read "LIANG, LISA."
Triborg chuckled to himself. How fortunate that Frost only escaped with prototypes of his technology. And no idea of the details of what he had planned for the future.
No, that child had no idea at all.
"Grandmaster." Said a robotic voice.
Triborg returned his attention to the drones.
"Are they ready?" Triborg asked.
"Confirmed." The drone answered.
"Excellent," Triborg responded. "Reactivate them. I think they've waited for this long enough."
The two drones complied. The lights of the cyborgs came on. Blue for the bluish silver one, yellow for the green one. They stood up and scanned their Grandmaster, confirming his identity.
Seconds later, they bowed.
"Ijul," Triborg motioned to the blue cyborg. "Era," he motioned to the green one. They rose. "It is good to have you among my ranks again, my most… my only loyal followers."
"Of course, Grandmaster Oniro." Ijul responded.
"We live to serve." Added Era.
"So you do," Triborg agreed. "So you always have. That is why I have rewarded you with freedom from any slaving protocols."
"You are generous and wise, Grandmaster." Ijul praised.
"There is one question I must ask you, Grandmaster." Era admitted. "What has happened to us?"
"You were deactivated for quite some time," Triborg answered. "Years, in fact. You may recall that when I was in the process of upgrading the LK-7T2 body, I required parts from each of you."
"Yes Grandmaster, and we were happy to give them." Ijul responded obediently.
"Once again, your loyalty is commendable," Triborg complimented. "But yes, taking the parts I needed left you both in a state of disrepair. I would have allocated resources to your repair sooner, but my primary objective was establishing all that which you see before you. An army of cyborgs untethered to the clan that was stolen from me. Welcome, my friends, to the Tekunin."
"We are honored, Grandmaster." said Era.
"We are certain that this new clan will prove powerful indeed," Ijul added. "Though I feel that I must ask. What has become of the Lin Kuei?"
"It may please you to know that LK-9T9's reign as Grandmaster after usurping came to an inevitable end," Triborg explained. "It certainly pleases me. He was betrayed by LK-4D4 and LK-52O. The Lin Kuei as it was no longer exists. LK-52O has created a new Lin Kuei. An inferior, weaker Lin Kuei. Surprisingly, LK-9T9 has even allied with him, likely out of a mutual hatred for me. This disgrace to our former clan must be wiped out in its entirety. It is the first step in paving the future I have planned for the Tekunin."
The two loyal cyborgs looked at one another, but quickly put aside their initial surprise at what had become of the Lin Kuei.
"We pledge ourselves to your new clan, Grandmaster," said Ijul. "And are prepared to fight on your behalf."
"When does our fight with the inferior Lin Kuei begin?" Era asked.
"Reconstituting you both was actually the last thing I needed to prepare for this operation," Triborg revealed. "We attack now."
The Lin Kuei and their guests had tried their very best to prepare for this attack. Reverse-engineering technology from the old Cyber Lin Kuei, informing their new allies of the threat of the Tekunin and Sub-Zero trying to mentally ready his students for the oncoming battle.
The sense of waiting for the threat to appear was perhaps worse than the thought of the threat itself for many, including Frost and of course Sektor.
Their waiting would come to an abrupt end. Explosions started, and the entire cave system began to shake.
"Are they trying to bury us alive?!" asked Sleet.
"[Calculating] No," Sektor responded. "[Hate] Oniro would want to see our faces when we die. [Conclusion] They are merely attempting to rattle us."
"Ready yourselves!" Sub-Zero commanded. "The battle begins now…"
Though not Lin Kuei themselves, the AWOL Special Forces members, demonesses, and other such allies did as Sub-Zero had said.
Soon after, Tekunin drones began teleporting into the base and marching towards their enemies like the efficient machines they were. The Lin Kuei went into battle against the cyborgs, and the base soon erupted into chaos as battle raged in every room.
Sub-Zero, fulfilling his duty as Grandmaster, led the charge. He would let the Tekunin kill his students and destroy the family he had built. To his left was Frost, his daughter in all but blood, charging forth with the same vigor as her mentor. To his right, Sektor, the only person alive who hated the Tekunin's leader more than he did. They had more experience with the Tekunin than anyone, and Sub-Zero knew that both his star pupil and his former enemy would be invaluable in this battle.
Far less experienced with the Tekunin, Cassie and her squad joined the fight all the same, determined not simply to preserve their own lives, but to aid their Lin Kuei hosts as best they could.
Sareena found herself in an interesting position, fighting both alongside her new clan, the Lin Kuei, and her old friends. Both parties joining her gave her a sense of hope about the battle's outcome even in spite of the chaos surrounding her as she and her allies clashed with the cyborgs.
Much like their previous battle against the cyberized Tengu, the Lin Kuei and the rest held their own against the oncoming cyborgs. The Special Forces deserters further bolstered their forces, granting them an upper hand against the drones.
Still, they were numerous, and showed no signs of ceasing their assault, no matter how many of them went down.
Unlike the humans and demons that fought against them, the Tekunin cyborgs were incapable of tiring. The presence of Sektor and Cyrax, as well as numerous Lin Kuei who had been given cybernetic enhancements to remedy injuries from previous battles, helped matters, but it became increasingly important to dispatch their enemies quickly before fatigue had its chance to set in.
To their credit, they certainly had one thing emotionless machines could not: determination.
One cyborg came up to Sub-Zero and tried to throw a punch. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster caught its fist and began using his cryokinetic powers to freeze it. He was able to pull the mechanical hand right off of his opponent, and followed that up by coating his lower left arm in ice and slamming his elbow into the cyborg's face, knocking it over. The cyborg hit the ground and it's CPU became dislodged, rendering it immobile.
Oniro was sending his fodder. This only meant he had something bigger planned. Both Sub-Zero and Sektor instantly knew this.
Sektor saw fit to dispatch this fodder quickly, blasting through cyborgs with his laser. He was certainly pleased to be able to take on the Tekunin with his full capabilities.
Frost similarly held little back against the cyborgs responsible for her abduction. One cyborg aimed a laser cannon at her, but she was able to freeze it with a well-timed ice blast right into the barrel of the cannon. She then formed a sword out of ice and cut the lower arm of the cyborg right off.
Previously, Frost had succeeded in controlling the Dragon Medallion, but had refrained from actively channeling its power. Now, she thought it the right time to put it to use. She quickly discovered that the power of the medallion made her ice constructs more solid, a useful advantage for certain. She chopped off the cyborg's left leg below the knee, rendering it no longer a threat as it fell forward helplessly.
Another cyborg came at her with a pulse blade. Frost dodged the strike, then kicked the cyborg in the head, knocking them back. The cyborg slashed again, and Frost defensively shot freezing energy from her hands as the Dragon Medallion began to glow. Frost succeeded in freezing the laser blade itself, much to her astonishment. She followed that up by uppercutting the cyborg, then jumping onto its torso and leaping off of it in order to send a barrage of ice throwing daggers at several more oncoming cyborgs which would have otherwise overwhelmed her fellow Lin Kuei. She then formed a larger ice dagger and slashed the wires on the back of her initial attacker's neck, cutting it off from its movement control and rendering it essentially harmless.
Cyrax made use of his own pulse blade against the attackers. He cut down one cyborg, but a second managed to dodge his strike. Cyrax then transformed his left hand into a circular saw blade and cut into the cyborg's armor, spilling black oil onto the ground before Cyrax slashed upwards from the abdomen to the neck. The cyborg's neck and head came loose, tenuously connected by a few wires. It continued to function for a few short moments before falling forward and crashing to the ground.
The Lin Kuei and their allies continued to push forward, fighting their way through the cyborgs and letting nothing stand in their way. They would not falter, not if they wanted to survive.
But as each Tekunin drone went down, there was an omnipresent sense that this was all a mere prelude.
They were proven right when the last drone was defeated, cut down by Jataaka who was now dual-wielding her mystical sword and Sub-Zero's old pulse blade.
There was a brief moment of respite, although no one let themselves dare think that the battle was over.
And it wasn't long before the second wave appeared. More Tekunin drones, now with some of the cyberized Tengu mixed among their ranks. The Lin Kuei quickly began to battle with them, though strangely, the cyborgs seemed to avoid the clan's leadership.
Likely because of what the Tekunin's leadership had planned….
Soon after the drones, in teleported Triborg himself, wearing his old Lin Kuei Grandmaster robes as he did when dealing with Raiden. To either side of him were Wu Lae and Hydro. In front of them, his two willing slaves, Ijul and Era.
Very quickly, Sub-Zero and Sektor zeroed in on their enemy.
"Oniro…" Sub-Zero said disdainfully.
"[Hate] Finally decided to show yourself, coward?!" Sektor asked.
Triborg chuckled. "If you mean put an end to this charade of a 'Lin Kuei' myself, then yes."
"[Hate] And end me?!" Sektor surmised.
"That much is long overdue, defective model." Triborg replied.
Sektor growled in anger and charged at his father.
"Sektor!" Sub-Zero shouted.
Sektor didn't respond. He intended to let his blind fury lead him all the way to Oniro.
Instead, the Tekunin Grandmaster's followers stepped in.
Ijul aimed a device that resembled the hilt of a pulse blade at Sektor and began firing short bursts of laser fire. Sektor was hit by the blasts but kept coming. Ijul then activated the blade itself, which rather than a standard sword-like energy blade, took on a blue whip-like form.
Ijul wrapped the energy whip around Sektor. It burned through Sektor's armor, and once ensnared, he was easily pulled to the ground by his opponent.
"Go ahead my acolytes," Triborg commanded. "Eradicate the traitors and their followers. But leave LK-52O and LK-9T9 just barely alive. I wish to finish them myself after I have annihilated everything they hold dear."
"Your madness will not destroy this Lin Kuei, Oniro." Sub-Zero said adamantly.
"You Cryomancers were always so willfull," Triborg recalled. "I should have expected insurrection eventually."
"We will never submit to you…" Sub-Zero responded.
Triborg chuckled. "Very well, have it your way. Kill them."
"As you command, Grandmaster." All except Hydro answered in unison.
Era activated her own pulse blade, which emitted two green energy blades from either side in a staff-like configuration.
Those who had escaped the Netherrealm were quickly reminded of Jade, and had a feeling this opponent would be no less formidable.
Triborg's four horsemen sprung into action, and the enemies of the Tekunin quickly found themselves on the defensive.
Era swung her pulse staff at Sub-Zero, who narrowly managed to duck under it. Her next strike was then parried by Jataaka, making use of both of her swords. Sub-Zero formed his Kori Blade and stabbed Era in the back. The cyborg responded to the damage by spinning her head all the way around and firing green laser beams from her eyes. Sub-Zero narrowly rolled out of the way of the beams, but Era continued to follow him with her head while struggling against Jataaka.
Jataaka took advantage of the cyborg's distraction and pushed forward with greater force, knocking Era off-balance and forcing her to cancel out the laser beam to re-focus.
She turned her head back around to blast Jataaka with the beams, but was stopped when one of Kia's razor boomerangs lodged itself in her left eye.
"Get away from my wife!" Called out Kia as she ran over to join Jataaka in fighting Era.
Ijul meanwhile lashed at Cyrax with his laser whip. Cyrax made his best effort to dodge each strike, but suffered some damage to his armor. After all, the whip was a far more unpredictable weapon than a sword. This battle was one of the few times that Cyrax found himself glad to be a cyborg, due to the extra protection his armor provided. Being encased in a metal shell was good for something…
Still, it would prove unfeasible to stay on the defensive. A pulse blade couldn't parry a weapon like that with such precision. Ijul was too fast for a well-placed energy net and too close for a bomb.
Luckily, an answer to Cyrax's plight would come in the form of his old comrade.
Sektor used his teleportation apparatus, one of many things Cyrax had repaired for him, to spring up behind Ijul and grab him by the shoulders.
"[Hate] Oniro's most loyal lap dogs," Sektor recalled. "[Hate] I should've known it was only a matter of time before he brought you back. I almost thought he had stripped you both down for parts."
"We would gladly die in service of the one true Grandmaster." Ijul responded.
"[Hate] That can be arranged," Sektor told him. "[Command] Cyrax! Finish him!"
Given the situation, Cyrax decided against reminding Sektor that he no longer held any position of command. Under normal circumstances, he would protest to coldly killing an enemy who might still yet be saved. But Cyrax remembered Ijul and Era as well as Sektor did. Their loyalty to Oniro was unwavering and would be swayed by no one.
Cyrax readied his pulse blade and was about to strike down Ijul, when Ijul's chest compartment opened and fired a large metal trident. The trident impaled Cyrax and forced him back, the blades very nearly piercing his remaining human flesh.
"[Rage] You'll pay for that." said Sektor, aiming his laser blaster directly at Ijul's head.
Ijul teleported out of the way just as Sektor fired. The laser still went through the head of another cyborg, saving the life of the Lin Kuei student equipped with a cybernetic grapple arm that Sektor had been less than kind to previously.
Cyrax pulled the trident out of his chest, thankful he didn't have a bomb loaded in, as otherwise the puncture would've caused it to explode. He threw it into the ground when Ijul reappeared behind him and was about to cut into him with the laser whip. However, the weapon was knocked out of Ijul's hand courtesy of a well-timed arrow from Kung Jin. Jin followed that up by ducking down and letting his boyfriend Kai leap over him and into a flying kick, Kai's flaming foot colliding with Ijul's chest and knocking the cyborg down.
"Thanks." said Cyrax.
"Just doing our part." Kai replied humbly, as Kung Jin rushed over to join him.
"[Analysis] A well executed maneuver," Sektor complimented. "[Hate] But Oniro's sycophants do not die so easily."
The statement was equally true of those Triborg had enslaved, such as Wu Lae, the former leader of the Tengu.
Wu Lae slashed at Lin Kuei student Sleet with his arm blade, only for the strike to be parried by his friend Chloe using her wrist blades. The two Lin Kuei had a score to settle with the cyberized Tengu leader, as he had abducted their mutual friend, Frost. Then, they had been helpless to prevent it. Now, the pair had full intention of fighting back.
Chloe and Sleet knew they had to be careful of course. Wu Lae in this form had managed to best and temporarily blind Frost. Luckily for the two students, they had help from none other than a Shirai Ryu, namely Takeda.
Takeda lashed at Wu Lae with his whips to get him off of the Lin Kuei duo. The strikes damaged Wu Lae's armor but did little else to deter him. Wu Lae retaliated by shooting out his blade on its chain. Takeda rolled out of the way, and then ducked when the blade came his way. Wu Lae swung again, but this time Takeda activated his pulse blades. With one carefully timed slash, he cut the chain and Wu Lae's blade clanged to the floor.
Wu Lae summoned a purple fireball and fired it at Takeda, but Sleet shot a blast of cryokinetic energy that proved cold enough to dissipate the projectile.
"Woah!" He exclaimed. "I couldn't do that before!"
Wu Lae turned his attention to the inexperienced Cryomancer, about to strike him when Chloe was able to get close enough to stab him in the abdomen with one of her wrist blades. Pressing a button on one of her gauntlets, she began to administer an electric shock through the blade which began to short circuit Wu Lae's cybernetics systems.
Wu Lae began moving uncontrollably, like the cyborg equivalent of a body spasm. Chloe pushed the blade further to amplify the electric shock. Wu Lae strugglingly raised his arm and tried to strike her, but Takeda shot out one of his whips and wrapped it around the former Tengu leader's arm.
The electric shock continued, the lights on Wu Lae's body and in his cybernetically augmented eyes began flickering, and finally, he was rendered immobile. Chloe removed her blade and Takeda released his whip, as Wu Lae fell to the ground.
Victory was short lived however, as Chloe, Takeda, and Sleet were almost immediately after set upon by Tekunin drones. As this happened, Triborg glared at them. More specifically, Takeda, and his pulse blades…
And then, there was Hydro…
The former Lin Kuei turned Tekunin slave found himself fighting against Frost. Just as Triborg had designed it, he had no control over his own actions. Yet his mind remained his own. Like some manner of personal hell….
Frost herself hardly wanted to fight him either, but had to defend herself.
Hydro threw a punch which Frost was able to duck underneath. She tried to kick him in the back, but even with her partial cybernetic enhancements and the power of the Dragon Medallion, it had minimal effect. Hydro hit her with a backhand that knocked her down.
Frost shook her head and was about to stand back up to continue fighting, but Hydro blasted a jet of boiling water at her. Luckily, Frost was able to freeze the water before it could hit her, and managed to catch the ice formation that resulted.
She then slammed said ice over Hydro's head, following that up by tackling him. Hydro was thrown back but retaliated with a kick, knocking Frost away.
Frost tried to shake that off to. Sure she was bruised, but she'd spent a good portion of her life… too much of it in retrospect, getting into scraps like this. She wasn't about to let this be her last.
Still, it was hardly a fight she wanted at all.
"So I guess helping us was just a one-off, huh?" She asked.
"No," Hydro denied. "I listened to what you said. Oniro, he's taken control of my movement. He left me my mind to torture me."
As Hydro was explaining this, he rushed forward via jets of water and threw a punch which created a hole in the wall, a hole that would've been in Frost's head had she not ducked out of the way. She formed an ice dagger and stabbed into his armor, penetrating it but garnering no reaction. Hydro raised both arms over his head and tried to slam them down on her, but Frost put her newly enhanced strength to use and was able to catch them.
"We can help you," Frost assured her opponent. "But I'm going to need to take you down first."
"That'll be easier said than done…" Hydro warned just as his chest compartment opened up.
Frost pulled Hydro closer to her by his arms, pressed her foot against his stomach, and then flipped back while releasing her grip and kicking Hydro, launching him into a wall. Frost then sprung back to her feet with a handstand.
Hydro's chest weapon still fired, albeit with delayed timing, revealing itself to be a much larger blast of pressurized water than Hydro could normally manage, which shot Frost back and floored her.
Hydro proceeded to take out his aquamarine colored pulse blade, and take flight, coming right back down towards Frost with the blade held high.
Luckily, after dispatching a half dozen Tekunin drones, Jacqui stepped in, using her forcefield to block the pulse blade.
Hydro continued to press against her, until his blade was knocked out of his hand courtesy of a well placed shot from Cassie. Hydro proceeded to charge at her while still in flight, Cassie launching into a counter-charge with the aid of her green energy. They slammed into each other, knocking them both back, although Hydro got back up much more quickly. He was about to attack Cassie when a sudden torpedo of white light slammed into him and knocked him away.
When the light faded, it turned out to have been Ashrah, channeling her divine energy through her whole body.
"Thanks," Cassie said appreciatively as she got up. "Where'd you learn that?"
"I'd actually never tried it before." Ashrah admitted.
"Improvising, I like it!" Cassie complimented.
Likewise, Jacqui helped Frost up.
"You ok?" Jacqui asked.
"I'm in one piece." Frost responded frankly.
"Good enough." Jacqui responded. She then opened fire on a few Tekunin drones that were overwhelming Lin Kuei students, shooting them down.
"Thanks for looking out for my family." Frost told her, before turning her attention back to Hydro.
As expected, he had gotten back up after Ashrah' s attack, and was on his unwilling warpath again. The four women readied themselves to continue the fight.
Of course, they were hardly the only ones facing a seemingly unceasing opponent.
Era's strikes were fast and precise, making combating the cyborg a tricky affair. Luckily for Kia, she was a fair bit quicker than her wife or Sub-Zero, able to dodge Era's laser staff and thus create a distraction for the other two to strike.
After Kia dodged another swing, Jatakaa did just that, but Era kicked her aside before her swords could make contact. Kia rushed towards her wife, and Era was about to attack them when she picked up a lowering of temperature on her sensors. She swung her pulse staff, expecting Sub-Zero, only to cut through an intricate ice sculpture in his likeness.
The real Sub-Zero had put some distance between himself and his opponent. He fired an ice ball, intending to freeze Era, but she rolled under it, briefly de-activating her pulse staff in the process. She re-activated it to strike Sub-Zero, but her strike was parried by Eyota, using her spiritual magic to create a construct of a spear.
The two warriors dueled with one another. Eyota's powers allowed her to keep pace with the programmed deadliness of her cyborg opponent. Furthermore, Era was at somewhat of a disadvantage, still having one of Kia's razor boomerangs lodged in her eye. Eyota noticed this weakness and dematerialized her spear construct, ducking under a pulse staff swing before reaching up to grab the boomerang. She pulled it out, oil spurting from Era's damaged eye socket, but the cyborg had no reaction to this. It opened its chest compartment and charged a large laser cannon.
Eyota's eyes widened when she saw the weapon, but it's charging cycle thankfully provided enough time to narrowly jump out of the way before the beam blasted through the nearest wall. Sub-Zero came into her path and Era prepared to fire the cannon again.
Just as he had hoped.
The Lin Kuei Grandmaster formed a sphere of freezing energy, or an "ice ball" as Frost tended to simply call it, and fired it directly at Era's laser cannon. It went straight into the large barrel and froze the weapon, quickly affecting Era's other systems. She tried to march forward in spite of this, unwilling to fail her mission.
"Your loyalty is honorable," Sub-Zero commended. "But misplaced."
"I… serve… the true Lin Kuei…" Era managed to get out.
She raised her pulse staff, but Jataaka intervened with a well-timed slash that cut her hand off, the weapon deactivating as it fell to the floor. Eyota then formed an energy construct of a crossbow and fired an arrow directly into the opening Kia had previously created, damaging the necessary circuits to render Era immobile. She dropped down shortly after.
"I will never understand dutiful servitude to murderers…" she commented.
"Lucky you." Jataaka responded dryly.
Finding himself all too well understanding the devotion or Oniro's only willing followers, Sektor was only all the more eager to dispatch them. They were reminders of his old life that he could go without. Of the loyal servant he had been, desperately seeking his father's approval.
And he had no major qualms with taking the rage these memories brought out on Ijul. True, both he and Era had been valued comrades before the Cyber Initiative, but that was a lifetime ago, quite literally for Sektor.
As such, he held nothing back as he delivered every punch and kick to Ijul, each blow taking off a small chunk of his armor. Cyrax, Kai, and Kung Jin were all circled around them, prepared to jump in as back weren't entirely sure that Sektor would even need it.
However, Ijul proved to be unpredictable even without his laser whip. After being knocked back by a kick from Sektor, Ijul revealed one of his additional armaments: flamethrowers akin to Sektor's own. And when they fired, high intensity blue flames resulted, the sudden pressure and heat being enough to knock Sektor over.
Ijul would've continued his assault, had not Kai jumped in and began using an experimental Shaolin technique. Calming his mind and expanding his chi, his spirit, to his surroundings, Kai started to take in Ijul's flames, using them to fuel his own. With the brief power boost, he let loose two fireballs which knocked Ijul back. The cyborg prepared to fire another trident from his chest, but Cyrax launched an energy net just in time, incapacitating Ijul after a few seconds.
Their enemy down, Cyrax walked over to Sektor and extended his hand to help him up.
Sektor was hesitant at first, but after a moment or two took Cyrax's hand and allowed himself to be helped.
Given the chance, Hydro would've readily accepted some help as well. Unfortunately, he had no control over his present situation. Fortunately, his opponents were compassionate and merciful.
They could help him, but they'd have to disable him and overcome this attack first.
Hydro's unwilling offensive consisted primarily of throwing out punches and kicks, as well as shooting jets against both boiling and freezing water. Against one opponent, this might've been an overwhelming assault.
Against four, the limited AI controlling Hydro's actions was clearly desynchronized, forced to act more erratically to keep up with Frost, Cassie, Jacqui, and Ashrah all at once. They used the limitations of their computerized foe to their advantage, striking from different angles and coordinating surpise attacks.
The AI seemed calibrated to target Frost and other Lin Kuei members specifically, prioritizing them over any other opponents. Frost used this to lure Hydro right to a spot where Jacqui had thrown down a miniature landmine, the relatively small explosion sending him into the air. He slammed against the cave cieling and fell back down, only to be caught up in a small tornado of white light Ashrah had created around herself, and thrown into a wall.
Hydro then teleported, reappearing and uppercutting Ashrah, knocking her down.
He, or rather the AI controlling his actions, attempted to stomp down on her, but she rolled out of the way. Ashrah got up onto one knee, unsheathed her Kriss, and thrust forward to strike Hydro, but he caught her arm and used it to pull her up and throw her aside.
He was then blasted by two shells from Jacqui, to which he fired back with a stream of freezing water. A distraction, as it turned out, when Frost grabbed his arm and began freezing the arm-mounted water cannon at its source. This began to interfere with Hydro's systems, and the AI retaliated by jabbing her in the abdomen, and then a second punch to her face. Frost was naturally heavily dazed and began stumbling, barely able to think from how much her head was throbbing.
Luckily, that was where Cassie came in, green energy kicking Hydro into a wall. Jacqui quickly ran over to the cyborg, activated the electric shock function on her gauntlets, and then grabbed Hydro in order to short circuit his systems.
With his ability to do further harm halted, Hydro said "Thank… you…" to Jacqui.
Cassie meanwhile quickly focused on Frost's well-being.
"Hey, you alright?" She asked. "Those hits looked… ouch."
Frost nodded, her headache starting to subside, before spitting out some blood.
"You know me," she replied. "I'll live."
"Can't keep a good Lin Kuei down." Cassie complimented.
Frost nodded. "I think I like this whole us fighting on the same side thing, let's do some more of it."
"Couldn't agree more." Cassie replied, just before the two started taking down Tekunin drones.
Throughout the battles against Triborg's elite, Vera, Stryker, Mokap, and Sareena had been aiding the Lin Kuei students against the drone hordes. Their success against the drones had helped to bolster Mokap's confidence in his powers, and to Sareena, the experience helped further solidify her commitment to the Lin Kuei.
However, they all knew what the true threat was here.
After kicking a drone in the face with her foot enveloped by pink flame, Sareena saw an opening to rush Triborg. She looked over at Stryker, who nodded to signal that he was with her on this. And then Sareena charged, her Demon Fang sword at the ready.
She only made it halfway through closing her distance to the Tekunin leader before he assumed his Cyber Sub-Zero form and blasted out a facsimile of cryokinetic energy that froze her in place.
Triborg then pulled one of Sektor's red pulse blades from his cloak and approached the frozen Sareena, raising it to slice her down there and then.
"NO!" Shouted Ashrah. The other warriors moved to intercept Triborg, but Ashrah got to him first, raising her Kriss to block Triborg's strike. The red energy of the pulse blade sparked against the white mystical energy of the Kriss.
"What?!" Triborg asked. "Your blade is mere metal and parlor tricks, how is this possible?!"
"Clearly mine is a power beyond your understanding, metal monster." Ashrah replied.
Triborg chuckled. "And you think this will grant you victory?"
"Those who fight for the good of others will always triumph over evil men like you." Ashrah answered.
"Such heroic nonsense…" Triborg said dismissively.
He slammed his knee into Ashrah's stomach, throwing her out of focus. She still managed to duck under Triborg's next pulse blade swing, only to be knocked into the air by an uppercut and sent crashing to the ground.
Triborg intended to finish off both demonesess, taking sadistic pleasure in trying to picture the reactions of their closing in allies, who he soon intended to slaughter.
He was then blasted by an inferno. Sektor's flamethrowers were once again operational, and he had been saving them just for his greatest enemy.
The flames immediately burned away the robes Triborg had been wearing. But this did little to deter the Tekunin grandmaster. Triborg emerged from the inferno in his default silver form. Fire still bounced off of his armor but caused no damage to him.
"You couldn't honestly have believed it would be that easy, LK-9T9." Triborg mocked.
"[Rebuttal] If I did, I would not be surrounded by allies." Sektor argued.
The others took that as both the closest thing to a compliment they might receive from Sektor and a call to action.
Sareena began summoning her pink flame to thaw herself out as the rest all charged forward, hoping to overwhelm Triborg.
Triborg would not be defeated so easily.
Sub-Zero attempted to slash Triborg with his Kori Blade, but Triborg cut the ice sword in half with his pulse blade. He then grabbed Sub-Zero by the throat and lifted him off his feet.
He would've crushed his rival's throat there and then, were it not for Chloe stabbing one of her electric wrist blades into his leg while his focus was on Sub-Zero. Triborg's response was to slam the body of the Lin Kuei Grandmaster into his own student, knocking them both to the ground. Frost and Sleet quickly went to check on them.
Cyrax jumped into the fray next, green pulse blade striking against red. Triborg cackled as he assumed his Cyber-Smoke form.
"It is almost a shame, LK-4D4," Triborg admitted. "You were a useful asset."
"I'm not yours to use anymore." Cyrax argued.
"Oh, but you are." Triborg replied.
He blasted smoke out of his vents and created a smokescreen just as Cyrax's allies were about to attack. Only the light from the three active pulse blades was visible, and the red one Triborg used deactivated as he disengaged from Cyrax for the moment.
Suddenly, Triborg reappeared behind Cyrax and grabbed the back of his head.
"Haven't you wondered how I know where you are?" Triborg asked. "Not to mention where to hit you? Such as for instance, the value LK-52O places on his protege."
Triborg slammed Cyrax face-first into the ground.
"You've been my eyes, Cyrax," Triborg revealed. "A little backup program I installed in all of the Cyber Lin Kuei. I can access your visual systems at any time I want. I see everything you see. And it is the same for LK-9T9. As long as you live, you can't escape me. Never."
Triborg reactivated his pulse blade and prepared to cut Cyrax's head off like a chef taking the head from a chicken.
This was prevented when one of Takeda's whips cut through the smokescreen and wrapped around Triborg's arm. Sektor then teleported right next to Triborg and punched him in the face, knocking the Tekunin Grandmaster down.
Putting his lust for vengeance aside for the moment, Sektor helped Cyrax up.
"[Concern] Are you in optimal operating condition?" Sektor asked.
Cyrax chuckled. "Yeah, I'm alright."
Both cyborgs turned to face their enemy, who eyed them both with red eyes of rage.
He then suddenly teleported out of sight, Takeda's whip releasing as a result.
The Shirai Ryu student and his teammates quickly closed in to see where their enemy had disappeared to.
Triborg then reappeared behind Sektor and Cyrax and stabbed them both with pulse blades. Strategically, he chose not to cut through their hearts so as to have the opportunity to torture them later.
The pain was still considerable, and both cyborgs fell to the ground, matching holes in their chests. They tried to crawl away, but Triborg lifted the blades above their legs.
The others were quick to intervene. Kung Jin slammed Triborg with his staff, the small dragon head atop it glowing with flame for good measure. Cassie then followed that up with a green energy kick which sent Triborg straight into a flurry of punches from Jacqui, and finally, his armor was pierced by Takeda's whips. Takeda proceeded to pull him to the ground.
"Nothing like a little teamwork." said Cassie.
Triborg cackled.
Using his pulse blades, he cut off the ends of Takeda's whips, leaving the blades embedded in his body. He deactivated the weapons temporarily.
Kung Jin fired a flaming arrow, but Triborg caught the projectile and snapped it. He assumed his Sektor form and unleashed his flamethrowers on Jin, who narrowly managed to roll out of the way, and luckier still, had a boyfriend who could manipulate fire.
Kai was quick to jump into the path of the flame stream, trying his best to absorb the fire. Triborg simply kept the flamethrower active.
Activating his orange pulse blades, Takeda jumped into the fray. Triborg raised one arm, activated one of the red pulse blades, and blocked the strike while still keeping his flamethrower on Kai.
Cassie and Jacqui began firing on Triborg, but even the bullets that pierced his armor didn't seem to garner any reaction.
"I was wondering what had happened to my old weapons…" Triborg admitted.
"These were yours?" Takeda asked. "Grandmaster Hasashi said they were a gift from Sub-Zero."
"I'm sure he did," Triborg responded. "Don't worry, I'll eradicate the rest of your clan after I'm done with you."
"I won't let that happen!" Takeda said adamantly.
"I stopped giving other people choices before you were born, boy." Triborg pointed out.
He then slammed his knee into Takeda, causing the Shirai Ryu student to stumble back and cough up some blood.
Triborg activated his second flamethrower and within seconds of using both, overwhelmed Kai and sent him flying back.
Jin rushed to check on his boyfriend, but Triborg changed into his Cyber Sub-Zero form and froze his feet, stopping him in place.
Takeda came charging again, but Triborg easily dodged his slashes.
"Sloppy. Though I expect nothing less from a Shirai Ryu." Triborg mocked.
He grabbed Takeda's elbows and began freezing them at the pulse emitters, cutting off the blades. He then headbutted Takeda and knocked him down with a roundhouse kick for good measure.
Triborg then found himself slammed on the back of the head by two electricity conducting, metal-encased fists joined together in an axehand.
He stumbled forward, before spinning around and kicking Jacqui with enough force to send her flying back.
Triborg was then slammed into and knocked down by a glowing green freight train named Cassie Cage.
"I've seen enough people get hurt in die, you're not taking anyone else." Cassie told him.
Triborg didn't even bother responding the proclomation. He simply asssumed his Cyber-Smoke form and shot a cloud of black smoke directly at Cassie's face. She started coughing and quickly lost all ability to see anything in front of her. Triborg then leapted out of the smoke, grabbed her by the throat, slammed her into the ground, and then assumed his Cyrax form. His hand changed into a saw and he prepared to slice into Cassie, until his saw was frozen and quickly ceased functioning.
Moments later, Frost kicked the Tekunin Grandmaster in the face, knocking him off of Cassie. He prepared to retaliate, but was telekinetically thrown by Mokap.
Both Frost and Mokap helped Cassie up.
"You alright kid?" Mokap asked.
"Been better," Cassie replied hoarsely. "The universe does not like my neck…"
She then looked over at Frost.
"Guess you saved me this time…" she said with a smile.
"Had to make things even somehow." Frost replied.
The moment was cut short when Triborg teleported in front of the three and hit them with a series of punches, sending them to their knees.
Triborg pulled out his pulse blades and prepares to finish the three, but Jataaka stepped in with her own swords and blocked this attempt.
The two began dueling, both skilled in the use of twin blades.
Triborg didn't want to admit that he was surprised to find such a formidable opponent, and instead focused on determining how to gain the upper hand.
Then he remembered a piece of information he had learned while examining Cyrax and Sektor's visual records to learn what attempt at a plan they had come up with.
Jataaka had a wife.
Triborg teleported away fron his current opponent and reappeared behind Kia, who had been trying to aim a razor boomerang at him.
He held a pulse blade to her neck, and as expected, Jataaka dropped her guard quite quickly.
"Let her go!" Jataaka pleaded.
"I see compassion is not a weakness unique to humans," Triborg taunted. "It's always amusing seeing people like you beg for those you care about."
Triborg was then suddenly grabbed by a large spirit bear summoned by Eyota and thrown across the room and into a wall.
Triborg got up and changed into his Sektor form. He scanned for Eyota and prepared to lock his missiles, when the clicking of a gun was heard next to his head.
Triborg locked eyes with Stryker.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Triborg laughed. "You must be joking."
Stryker shot a hellfire bullet at Triborg point-blank.
"Still think this is funny?" Stryker asked.
When the smoke cleared, part of Triborg's metal face was missing, revealing a cracked glowing eye and the inner workings of his systems, framed around a human skull long devoid of flesh. The sudden damage also caused Triborg to reflexively return to his default form.
He swung his pulse blade at Stryker, who narrowly ducked under it as the laser blade went into the nearest wall. Stryker tried to tackle Triborg, only to be kneed in the chin.
Stryker stumbled back and could've sworn he felt a tooth come loose. Not much time to think about it as a punch came soon after.
Triborg would have continued his merciless assault were he not blasted by a laser.
Stryker looked in the direction it came from to find Vera holding up the arm of a disabled Tekunin drone, trying to figure out how to get it to fire again before another drone set upon her and a Lin Kuei student quickly began helping her fend it off.
Triborg then found himself at the mercy of a quite angry Jataaka, who charged at him with both blades at the ready.
He blocked her strike with his pulse blades, and then quickly transformed into his Cyrax form and fired an energy net, which wrapped around her and began to electrocute her.
He raised a pulse blade to finish her off, but one of Kia's razor boomerang came flying at him and cut through the hilt. The pulse emitter at the top of the weapon fell off as the laser blade itself short-curcuited and failed. The energy, having no where else to go, quickly lit the wires within the hilt ablaze, turning it into more of a metal torch. Triborg assumed his Cyber Sub-Zero form and froze the broken weapon, stemming the flames before throwing it to the ground. He began scanning for Kia, deciding to attack her next.
Until another hellfire bullet shot apart some of his back armor plating.
Triborg whipped around right as Stryker was running at him and hit the officer with a cold metal backhand, sending him flying into a wall and knocking him unconscious.
Another razor bomerang came at him. Triborg froze it in mid air, then teleported right in front of Kia and punched her across the face. She stumbled back and coughed up some blood, then tried to throw a punch of her own. Triborg caught her fist and began trying to crush it in his hand.
"Y-You… hurt my… wife…" Kia said. "I'll… make… you… pay…"
"That outcome seems improbable." Triborg replied coldly.
Suddenly, Triborg felt a saw digging into his back.
He pulled Kia around and slammed her into Cyrax. She rolled to the ground after the impact but Cyrax kept coming. Triborg activated his remaining pulse blade and cut off Cyrax's saw attachment the moment he went for another strike.
A second slash would've taken off Cyrax's head, but a shot from Jacqui knocked the pulse blade from Triborg's grasp, damaging his mechanical hand in the process. Cyrax fired an energy net to try and incipacitate Triborg, but he teleported out of the way at just the right moment. When he reappeared he assumed his Cyber-Smoke form and grabbed Cyrax's face. He pulled the yellow cborg's mask off and then grabbed his face, shooting smoke directly at him in an attempt to suffocate Cyrax.
Jacqui tried to aim a shot in order to save Cyrax, but couldn't get a clear one.
Luckily, there were other options.
"[Challenge] FATHER!"
Triborg dropped the choking Cyrax, kicking him while he was on the ground. He turned around and saw Sektor, picking up the pulse blade that had been removed from his grasp and igniting it.
Triborg clenched his fists.
"Challenging me again?" He asked.
"[Satisfaction] I defeated you before…" Sektor reminded him.
"You defeated what I was, not what I have become." Triborg rebuked.
Before the conversation could continue further, Jacqui grabbed Triborg from behind and pulled him into a headlock, channeling electricity through her gauntlets and trying to shut down his systems. This certainly served to slow Triborg down, but he managed to reach behind him, grab her, and flip her over his head, slamming her onto the ground.
Triborg tried to stomp Jacqui, but she rolled out of the way. She tried to get up, only to get a metal knee to the face, taking her out of the fight for now.
Triborg then refocused his iron glare back at Sektor.
"Your new allies are quite brave," Triborg admitted. "Or quite foolish."
"[Admittance] I have grown to see the former." Sektor replied.
Triborg ignited Cyrax's pulse blade, having pulled it off him in their struggle to make up for his damaged second. "You've become soft, boy. How unbecoming of a Lin Kuei assassin."
"[Correction] Apparently, that isn't what being Lin Kuei means anymore."
Sektor readied into a battle stance. Triborg did the same, and seconds later, the two charged at one another. Their pulse blades clashed as the two cyborgs struggled against one another. Both were too prideful to concede defeat.
They continued to duel, parrying and countering each other's strikes with computerized precision. Eventually, Sektor decided to try and turn the battle in his favor. He aimed a flamethrower at Triborg and prepared to fire it. Triborg caught his arm and sent the flames shooting up at the ceiling while the two's blades were locked together. Triborg then assumed his Cyber Sub-Zero form and began freezing Sektor's arm. Before long, the flamethrower started to malfunction. The extreme cold also affected the integrity of Sektor's armor, as Triborg began trying to crush his arm.
Then a flying kick from Sareena knocked Triborg back and caused him to release Sektor. He slashed with the pulse blade but she fired a pink fireball that blasted it from his hand. Sareena then uppercutted Triborg, also utilizing her pink flame. She went for a other kick, but Triborg grabbed her keg. He would have most assuredly broken her foot if not for Ashrah strabbing her Kriss through his mechanical arm.
Triborg's systems started to malfunction, he was losing control of his artificial cryokinesis. To correct this, he transformed back into his default form. He then pulled away fron Ashrah, in the process releasing Sareena and throwing her across the room. Ashrah lost her grip on her Kriss but it remained embetted in Triborg's arm.
Triborg pulled out the Kriss and threw it to the ground. Sektor tried to re-enter the fight, only for Triborg to silently summon three Tekunin drones to blast him back with laser cannons.
He was then struck by a glowing white fist. When Triborg refocused his attention on Ashrah, her entire body seemed to be glowing, channeling the evidently heavenly power of the Kriss through herself rather than the blade.
She struck Triborg with a flurry of strikes at a speed even an advanced cyborg had trouble keeping up with.
Triborg found his problem exascerbated when a sphere of white energy collided with him. Cassie and Frost were fighting side by side against a squadron of Tekunin drones and cyberized Tengu, leaving Mokap free to join the fight against Triborg himself.
Mokap was surprised to find Ashrah wielding what seemed to be the same glowing white energy he possessed command of, but put his questions in that area aside as he focused on trying to protect his friends and those he considered surrogate family.
The two kept pummeling Triborg, until he transformed into his Cyrax form and released a bomb.
Mokap tried to telekinetically throw it away from them. But right as he lifted it, the bomb went off. Mokap had gotten it a distance enough away not to seriously harm himself or Ashrah, but it did serve to throw them back and send them both slamming to the ground, the force of the impact rendering them unconscious for the time being.
Triborg was about to attack Cassie and Frost, until a series of arrows punctured his armor, the surprise of it forcing him back into his default form.
Mere arrows? Upon closer inspection, they were made of a green energy.
They then suddenly dematerialized. Triborg turned to find Eyota aiming an energy construct of a crossbow at him.
"You seek to enslave others and take from them," Eyota said plainly. "My people have a bad history with that. Expect no mercy from me."
"As you should expect none from me, child." Triborg threatened.
Eyota fired a few more vollies with the crossbow, but Triborg teleported out of the way of the arrows. When he reappeared he tried to grab her with the intent to snap her neck. The spiritual energy Eyota wielded radiated from her as some kind of defensive mechanism, knocking Triborg back.
She then once more summoned the massive spirit bear, which charged at Triborg and slammed him into a wall. The bear slashed at Triborg with its claws, leaving sizable gashes in his metal frame, exposing wire and bone below, vut with no human organs.
Save one. The brain.
Triborg transformed into his Sektor form and fired a rocket over the spirit bear's head and at the ceiling above Eyota. It started to come down, threatening to crush Eyota. The spirit bear dematerialized from her loss of concentration.
At the vital moment that the cieling came down, Jacqui tackled Eyota and shoved her out of the way…
Only to be the one crushed under the rock instead.
When the smoke cleared, it was evident that Jacqui was alive, but pinned under the heavy rocks.
"JACQUI!" shouted Cassie, rushing over to her best friend.
Vera and Takeda were quick to run to her as well.
"Oh god oh god oh god…" Takeda said frantically. First he'd almost lost his father, and now the love of his life was in jeopardy.
"Jacqui, baby, are you ok?! Can you hear me!?" Said Vera as she tried to analyze her daughter's condition.
"I…" Jacqui managed to get out before coughing.
"You're gonna be ok, you're gonna be ok." Cassie tried to reassure both Jacqui and herself.
"I can't… feel… my legs…" Jacqui said. "Or my arms… can't… move…"
"Oh god, this is bad," Vera said worriedly. "She's paralyzed…"
Takeda and Cassie had the same idea.
Make. Triborg. Pay.
They turned around to find the Tekunin Grandmaster marching towards them.
Cassie started glowing like a green supernova, her emotions fueling the green energy as they had when she faced Shinnok himself.
She aimed her pistols and started firing green energy infused bullets nonstop. Triborg couldn't counter, because Takeda began telekinetically holding him in place.
Cassie kept shooting until her guns were out of bullets to shoot. She threw the weapons to the ground.
Takeda released Triborg for the express purpose of allowing Cassie to slam into him with her family's trademark kick and begin pummeling him as her mother would Kano.
Triborg refused to be defeated however. He aimed his flamethrower and fired at Cassie point blank. Her green energy protected her, but it forced her off. He then hit her across the face before turning into his Cyber Sub-Zero form. He created an ice sword with which to stab right through her.
Takeda acted to prevent this, lunging with his now functional again pulse blades at the ready. Triborg caught him by the throat and slammed him onto Cassie just as she was getting up.
Kung Jin, Kai, and Eyota all came running at him next. Triborg teleported out of sight.
He reappeared behind Kung Jin in Cyrax form. He dug his sawblade into Jin's shoulder, causing him extreme pain before knocking him out with a punch.
He teleported next to Kai, transformed into his Sektor form, and kicked him with the aid of small jets in his legs, knocking the wind out of him and causing Kai to fall to the ground.
Lastly, he teleported near Eyota in Cyber-Smoke form and blasted smoke directly in her face, before slamming her down with both metal fists.
He emerged from his own smokescreen to find Cassie and Takeda trying to get up and continue the fight.
"Admirable," Triborg admitted. "But ultimately, your resistance is futile."
He transformed into his Sektor form and aimed a rocket at them.
But before Triborg could fire, he foubd himself blasted with cryokinetic energy.
The source was Frost, shooting out the energy nonstop from both hands. Both the Dragon Medallion and her eyes glowed a bright blue, and the lower half of her arms had frozen over as she continued her assault.
Triborg tried to activate his internal heating systems to counter this, but they weren't working. Then he realized the cause.
The headshot from Stryker, bullet and arrow holes from Cassie and Eyota, Ashrah's blade through his arm, and the slashes from the spirit bear.
His internals had been left exposed! And that left him susceptible to exaclty what Frost was now unceasingly subjecting him to.
Triborg began walking towards Frost, intent on killing her before this could continue further. Frost's response was only to channel more power from the Dragon Medallion, and continue to deep freeze Triborg.
Triborg marched on regardless, until a second stream of freezing energy began to overtake him.
Sub-Zero himself, standing in front of s pile of disabled Tekunin drones that had been used to keep him at bay. Chloe was by his side, although she looked visibly exhausted from fighting the dozens of cyborgs with her Grandmaster.
The ancestral armor Sub-Zero wore glowed as brightly as the Dragon Medallion. As did his eyes and even the scar on his face.
He gave Frost a nod of recognition. Teacher and stufent, father and daughter, combined their power to take down this foe who had threatened the lives of those they cared for.
And nothing would stop them now.
Triborg struggled against the cold as he was gradually being frozen from the outside in. He began to flicker between his various forms, as if trying to discern a solution that wouldn't come. He finally settled into his default form as his movements ceased and a block of ice began to encase him.
After several moments that felt like hours, Sub-Zero and Frost ceased their assault. Triborg was completely immobilized.
But not without one last trick up his sleeve…
Greenish-blue energy particles began forming around Triborg, and he teleported out of his icy prison seconds later. A failsafe, evidently.
The other Tekunin cyborgs all began to be teleported away as well. This unfortunately included Hydro and Wu Lae, meaning that saving them from Triborg's clu8tches would have to come later.
On the bright side, if there indeed was a bright side to all this, the battle was over.
Realizing that fact, the combatants, Lin Kuei or otherwise, all took a moment to catch their breath.
All except Takeda, Vera, and Cassie.
The only thing they could think about was Jacqui, and the crippling injuries she had suffered.
Bruised as they were from battling Triborg, Cassie and Takeda returned to Jacqui's side, where Vera had been for the remainder of the battle, further examining her daughter's condition.
Everyone else had begun to gather around as well. With Triborg's retreat, the energy net holding Jataaka prisoner had dematerialized, allowing Kia to reunite with her wife now that the battle was over. Even the two typically somewhat distant demons couldn't help but express sympathy for Jacqui's condition.
Her injuries were so severe that everyone seemed to ignore their own for a moment, even Kung Jin's bleeding shoulder.
Most guilty over the whole thing was Eyota. She keeled down next to Jacqui and seemed on the verge of tears.
"I'm so sorry…" She said.
"Not… your… fault…" Jacqui replied. "This is… part of the job…" She looked at her mother. "What you and dad… always tried to prepare me for."
She started coughing up blood.
"Oh god, she may have sustained internal injuries." Vera realized.
Takeda took Jacqui's hand. It felt limp.
"Hang in there baby, please," he pleaded. "Just hang in there!"
Kia walked over and pushed Takeda aside. Her hands started glowing a whitish-pink and she placed them on Jacqui's side.
"What are you doing?!" Takeda asked.
"An old trick I learned," Kia explained. "Don't worry, I'm trying to help."
Cyrax came over and began to examine Jacqui.
"I haven't seen anything this bad in a long time…" he admitted.
"You a doctor?" Vera asked.
"Sort of," Cyrax answered. "More of a… mechanic."
One Lin Kuei student rolled up their pants to show the mechanical leg Cyrax had given them.
Vera nodded.
"[Analysis] Her vital signs are improving," Sektor offered. "[Conclusion] the mystical treatment applied by Kia would appear to be having a positive effect."
"Yeah, if I focus, all that statisticy stuff shows up for me to," Frost realized, still adjusting to her cybernetically augmented eyes. "She's getting better."
"Is she gonna pull through?" Cassie asked.
"[Analysis] [Conclusion] She will be alive in the sense of heart and brain function," Sektor answered. "Little else, unless…"
Frost looked at Sektor as if they'd had the same idea.
"Hydro mentioned that Hanzo had crippled him." She recalled.
Sektor nodded
"Grandmaster Hasashi did what?! And who's Hydro?!" Takeda asked. "What the hell does this have to do with helping Jacqui?!"
"Everything," Frost answered. "There's a lot I should tell you, but for now, the short version: Triborg was able to make a crippled man walk again."
"Woah woah, you're not saying…" Takeda could barely believe what he was hearing.
Frost looked at Cyrax. "Can you do it?"
"Other than putting Sektor back together, which is a bit different, I've never done anything this extensive before." Cyrax answered.
"You'll need help from someone with a bit more traditional expertise in this area." Vera pointed out.
Cyrax looked at her, no mask to hide his surprise. "You're saying you'd help with the operation."
"I've performed surgery before," Vera told him. "And you've fixed people with tech before."
"Hold on!" Takeda shouted. "You're just going to turn her into a cyborg!?"
"Not to the extent of me or Sektor," Cyrax answered. "If I'm right, I think I can construct an exoskeleton that will restore her movements. But it will be risky."
Vera looked at her daughter. "Jacqui, do you want to do this? It's up to you."
"Might as well… give it… a try," Jacqui answered with a weak smile, before turning her head towards Takeda."Don't worry… Taki… I'll be alright… and even if I'm not… this is what I signed up for…"
Takeda sighed. "Line of duty." He said knowingly.
He looked at Cyrax and Vera. "Do what you can." His gaze then returned to Jacqui. "I love you."
"I love you too…" Jacqui replied.
Cassie suddenly pulled Frost into a hug.
"Thank you," She said quietly. "Having that idea gave me hope…"
Frost was surprised at first, but returned the hug. "Just trying to help."
Sektor walked over and began taking the rocks off of Jacqui alongside Cyrax, so that they could move her to the closest the Lin Kuei had to a medical ward for the operation.
Sub-Zero walked up to Vera and Takeda, and removed his helmet.
"Like Eyota, I feel I must also apologize," he admitted. "Jacqueline would not be in this situation were it not for my enemy."
"It isn't your fault either," Vera assured him. "Besides, you and Frost are the ones who stopped that bastard… for now."
"[Announcement] If it is any consolation," Sektor chimed in. "Oniro has lost an asset. The moment he began gloating about his ability to spy on us, I immediately began tracking down the program that transmits my visual feed to him, and deleted it. I will aid Cyrax and Frost in locating and removing said program as well."
Sub-Zero nodded. "Thank you Sektor. You have been of great help."
Sektor simply nodded and continued removing debris.
Kia stood up and away from Jacqui. "I've done what I can. The rest will have to be up to your Earthrealm technology."
"Thank you." Vera responded.
Kia nodded, and silently began moving through the group and healing others. Her wife Jataaka was of course first, then she gave attention to Kung Jin's shoulder wound. It didn't completely heal, but she got close.
"I think I get it now, kinda." she admitted to Sareena.
"What do you mean?" Sareena asked.
"Why you like helping people." Kia answered.
Sareena couldn't help but smile, happy to hear those words.
Once enough rocks had been cleared, Sub-Zero created an ice construct of a medical stretcher. Vera and Cyrax moved Jacqui onto it and then picked her up.
"You ready for this, Dr. Briggs?" Cyrax asked.
"Not Doctor yet, Vera corrected. "And honestly, no. But I'm not letting my baby girl die without a fight."
Cyrax nodded. "Let's get to work, then."
Miles upon miles away from the icy tundras of Arcticka, Doctor Rotwang was analyzing scans sent to him by Daegon of how Hsu Hao's Cybernetic Heart Unit had been altered by the properties of the Netherrealm. As Rotwang had designed the original apparatus, he was intrigued by this particular case and determined to figure out the secrets of this seeming fusion of technology and mystics.
And then quite suddenly, the heavily damaged Triborg teleported into his laboratory.
Triborg nearly collapsed the moment he fully materialized.
"R-R-R-ROTWANG!" Triborg shouted.
Rotwang rushed over to the Tekunin Grandmaster and began examining him.
"Now now, my dear Oniro, there's no need to shout," Rotwang said calmly. "You seem to have sustained major damages to your systems."
"I-I-I k-k-know that!' Triborg replied angrily. "T-T-Those blasted Cryo-Cryomancers. Y-You said the internal-internal heating system w-would counteract their abilities-abilities."
"Oniro, you came to me with your Tekunin clan and asked me to design cybernetics systems I've never attempted before," Rotwang reminded him. "Even your original Cyber Lin Kuei did not require systems like what you've asked me to create. And don't get me wrong, I enjoy the challenge, and the generous payment, but do not forget, you are not invincible, Oniro. Even with my state of the art invention that allows you to alter your weapons configurations and appearance at will, you must still exercise some caution. Beneath my cybernetics, you are only human."
Triborg grabbed Rotwang by his collar and pulled him closer.
"Then make me less human! Further beyond human!" Triborg yelled.
"Oh yes, I am always willing to help a person transcend the limitations of basic humanity," Rotwang admitted. "Alas, even I have not yet discovered a way to abandon it completely."
"Then I will." Triborg decided.
"You always did have a mind for innovation," Rotwang complimented, helping Triborg to a work table. "Luckily for you, the nanobot self-repair technology will aid me in this process. My little friends have already fixed your vocal processor, as you may have noticed."
"They cannot repair damage this extensive." Triborg recalled.
"Quite right," Rotwang confirmed. "Now relax yourself, and let the doctor do his work…"
Wholly unaware of the battle that had just taken place, the Special Forces were conducting a rigorous search to find the location of the Lin Kuei and by extension Cassie's team.
And luckily, they had the recently resurrected Smoke to aid in the search.
Smoke was hunched over a monitor with Gemini in the chair, going through locations to determine the best possible hiding place for the Lin Kuei.
"I knew the situation with Raiden was bad," Smoke admitted. "But once I came back, I figured it'd been Shinnok's magic driving me to hate him. Didn't think it was bad enough for Kuai to go underground like this."
"You'd be surprised…" Gemini said as she kept searching the globe.
"If I know him, and I do, he'll pick somewhere remote," Smoke explained. "Try to get away from civilization, but also find somewhere he could make work for him and the clan."
"An island, maybe?" Gemini asked.
"Possible." Smoke admitted.
"Think he could've gone to Shang Tsung's old island?" Sonya asked as she walked in.
"In terms of last places anyone would expect him to be, it's on the list," Smoke admitted. "But I think the bad memories would be too strong. I mean, we weren't there for what happened to Bi-Han, but you get what I mean."
"Yeah," Sonya agreed. "Couldn't blame him."
"He could've set up in one of the old Lin Kuei's bases," Smoke suggested. "We had them set up all over the globe."
"And he never seemed to want to help us find any of them…" Sonya recalled.
"Don't take it personally, Kuai trusts you," Smoke told her. "He's a trusting guy in general. But he likes to keep a few secrets to himself in case of emergency."
"Strategically sound, if a bit annoying." Sonya admitted.
"Judging by everything you've told me about what Raiden's been doing, and what I've seen for myself in the Netherrealm, he isn't going to want to be found." Smoke pointed out.
"And our kids won't either." Jax added as he walked in with Kenshi.
"I have tried to sense for Takeda," Kenshi revealed. "He is certainly in Earthrealm, but his presence is faint. He and the others are definitely far from here."
Smoke nodded. "Hey Gem, try scanning in the far end of Asia, the poles, Australia. Places like that. Think farthest possible point from where we are."
"Heh," Gemini remarked. "Just like my moving strategy after my divorce."
"Now now, don't compare my friend to someone who'd be crazy enough not to realize what they had with someone like you." Smoke requested.
Gemini cracked up. "Charmer, huh?"
"I simply recognize good qualities in others." Smoke said modestly.
"Smoke, Tomas, stay on task if you could." Sonya interjected, crossing her arms.
"Alright, alright." Smoke replied, raising his hands in surrender.
"How on the nose is Sub-Zero with the ice thing?" Gemini asked.
"You're asking if he'd hide somewhere cold," Smoke surmised. "Honestly? Yeah, he probably would."
"Maybe your buddy's staying with Santa Claus." Jax chimed in.
The group shared a laugh, excluding Sonya.
"Oh c'mon Sonya, I would've thought someone who married Johnny would have a better sense of humor." Smoke teased.
"We're divorced." Sonya clarified.
"So you're saying he's available?" Smoke asked.
"Now hold on-" Sonya started.
"I'm just asking," Smoke clarified. "You two clearly didn't work out, and I won't say I didn't think about asking him out during the Outworld tournament. He's cute, and I always appreciate a man, or woman, that can make me laugh."
"Well, guess you missed your chance." Sonya concluded.
"Oooh I see, holding out to patch things up," Smoke realized. "I understand, I'll back off."
"You'd better." Sonya lightly threatened. Interestingly, she made no effort to deny his prediction of her intentions with Johnny.
Jax chuckled. "Don't take it personally Smoke, she's always like this when she likes somebody."
Sonya huffed. "Whatever, let's focus. We've got our kids to find."
"Speaking of which, I think I've got something," chimed in Gemini. "I was looking through travel records. Sub-Zero couldn't have moved his whole clan without some record of a boat trip or a flight. In this case, I'm thinking this is the former. Passenger count for the boat matches known headcount for Lin Kuei members. Mentions they didn't want anyone else touching their luggage. And the name…"
Gemini started laughing.
"What is it?" Smoke asked.
"He put himself down as 'Kyle Tundra'," Gemini said as she started to get a hold of herself. "Now, we're all in agreement that that's definitely an alias, right?"
"Tundra was Kuai's codename before assuming the mantle of Sub-Zero." Smoke explained.
"What was the destination of the boat?" Sonya asked.
"Looks like… Arcticka." Gemini answered.
"I should've known!" Smoke said. "It's a perfect hiding spot. The old Lin Kuei had a base there, it's so remote no one would think of it, and with the area being Tengu territory, the Lin Kuei wouldn't be expected there."
"So that's it, that's where we need to go." Jax concluded.
"This is the place," Smoke confirmed. "Knowing Kuai, he'll be here. And if your children are with the Lin Kuei, they'll be to."
Sonya nodded. "Alright people, let's start getting ready to move out. This is it."
As usual, Johnny walked into the room unaware of what was going on.
"Hey so, the snack machine only had Cheetos, Doritos, or Fritos," he said before surveying the group. "What important thing did I miss this time?"
"We've found them." Sonya answered.
"Well holy shit, let's get going!" Johnny replied excitedly.
"That'd be the plan, my friend." Jax confirmed.
"Awesome. Jeez I hope those kids are alright… Mo' must be freakin out too." Johnny pondered.
"I am sure they are well," assured Kenshi. "Something… Something tells me everything will be alright. Calms me. It feels like… the presence of my wife…"
"Hey man, whatever helps you stay positive." Jax responded supportively.
"Could certainly use something to feel positive about…" Sonya said quietly.
"Sonya, we're gonna get them back," Johnny assured her. "I'm sure Cass misses you by now. We're gonna work this out, and it'll be like we're a family again."
"I hope you're right…" Sonya replied.
"Whether they realize it or not, they need us right now," Jax pointed out. "That's what families do, be there for each other."
Sonya nodded and walked past the others to begin getting ready. What lay in store for them, was certainly going to be a memorable reunion...