Sonya guarded behind Cyrax and Geras. As each of them took the brunt of the bullets cast through the crowd by the Black Dragon, She aimed over and just beside to shoot into the fight. With little scope, she focused in on a short redheaded girl in black and white tank and shorts. She had a Black Dragon issues pistol and guarded herself, as Sonya had, behind the stack of two bodies.
Kira huddled with Kobra and Tasia. Together, they had sniped off Drahmin and Bo' Rai Cho, now lumps of flesh to stave off Sonya's return fire. A thick flesh barrier and some semblance of comfort as few of Raiden's forces had broken through past them, they took their time to aim.
Cyrax barricaded the most of the barrage, his army bulletproof but where rubber and cloth covered the wires and softer parts of his form, nicks and scrapes began to poke holes through him until Sonya's left ear had been carved in half by the ricochet.
Geras, the sands of time, carved the earth to create a blockade further out, but as the chaos spread and the fog of war thickened, he risked pushing up one of their allies. Though apathetic to that, Sonya ordered him to stop and he understood why.
Behind her ran in Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin. Jacqui sunk behind Geras and fired back with her. In what little open spots she could see of them, Kobra, she knew only as the blonde one, peered out past his comfort just in time for Jacqui to snipe him. The young man's head exploded and the ricochet shattered against the arm of the blueish oni Moloch. Unknown to the Special Forces at the time, the hulking oni crunched Kobra's body as it slowly made its way toward the open barrage of bullets that sunk comfortably into its skin.
"He's not going to make it. Just keep shooting!" Sonya commanded.
Arrow after arrow, Kung Jin aimed for the thick bony skull of the oni, with few making an impact. Jacqui and Sonya continued to fire against an easier target, but Moloch continued to stalk forth.
The oni walked through the fire, inside laughing no doubt from the bullets that only pockmarked its thick flesh.
Ermac, Kung Lao, and Kenshi cut the space between them. Formed another barrier for the combat kids to cut down Moloch. With Kenshi and Ermac at each side of the large beast, they worked to lift the mass of flesh off the ground. Kenshi strained, his power not as seamless as Ermac, created a tilt in the oni's upward movement, but even still, together they hoisted the beast up as the bullets shot freely into it.
Squish!
Splat!
Directly in front, Kung Lao had been splattered when an arrow stuck into Moloch's right eye. In pain, finally staggered and injured, the beast slammed a hand down in a desperate attempt to hold onto something. This something would be Kung Lao.
Caught in the large hand, the bullets ceased, and Kung Lao's arms squeezed into his body. Kung Jin ran out from behind Cyrax to change for a closer shot.
"Don't do it, son!" Kung screamed, the gargle of blood graveled his voice even as each finger pried from Moloch with Ermac's efforts.
Kenshi dropped the beast, unable to fully focus on the creature. Moloch nearly shook the ground beneath him as it dropped, and released Kung Lao.
Ermac backed Kung Lao to Kung Jin who pulled him toward Cyrax and Geras.
"Hold on, dad!" He dragged his father along.
Sonya and Takeda grabbed Kung Lao the rest of the way behind the barricade Geras formed of dry earth around them.
The hat tossed off and Kung Lao laid flat, Kung Jin checked on him, but though his eyes were open, and the damage didn't seem so severe, there was no breath. His eyes nearly pulled from their sockets and the blood already a stagnant pond in his mouth.
Blank.
Nothing.
That's all that was left of the man that rushed in for him.
That raised him.
He couldn't process it. Raiden will heal him, he knew. He'd get the Thunder God. Kung Jin rushed out from behind the barrier to find Moloch had charged with all the rage of a thousand bulls, though still slow, he'd crash through and crush everyone behind it.
Behind him, Kesnhi lay crushed on the ground, just a stain in the earth, and Ermac had been sent flying across the battlefield. As powerful as the entity was, it was still a brittle corpse.
He knocked an arrow, drew and then let loose. It bounced off Moloch's arm. He ran low fast, only three left. Moloch was too close and now all he could do was warn the others, if the Black Dragon behind him that still sniped at them didn't pick him off first.
As he rushed back, Liu Kang had joined them and kneel over Kung Lao. The barrier collapsed as soon as Kung Jin could warn them, but the beast was too close for comfort already. It ignored the nicks of bullets Kira and Tasia missed that still otherwise capped Geras. The only one free to move would have been Cyrax, having received cover from Moloch.
So he did.
Sonya grabbed his arm, but the machine was stronger. She screamed an order to return, to hold the line, but the man inside the machine had the will to ignore the machine's programming.
Cyrax clashed with the beast twice his height. A punch met with Moloch and pushed the beast back an inch, which staggered the oni. Surprised at such strength, it came down with its hands clubbed only for the speed of the machine to dodge it.
Cyrax opened its chest to lash out with its open web, the gunk hard and sticky enough to plant a foot down, but one swipe swept Cyrax off his feet and crashed down on his stomach.
Sparks shattered like glass from the wires that dangled down his head.
Sonya opened fire, having broken the line to rescue the machine. Jacqui took cover behind Geras to assist, then Takeda and Kung Jin. This bought Cyrax enough time to pull itself up, and the group could survey the damage. Cyrax stood, seemingly dazed for a moment, his front respirator crunch in, and its open breast plate sparked into a flame.
She tried to rush in as Moloch freed itself from the web and charged for them. Midway, she knelt down and aimed high for Moloch with both guns. Shot after shot she staggered the beast to buy Cyrax further time.
Sonya screamed for him to fall back, as well as the others. With better aim, Moloch had no chance, she figured. Moloch paused, the barrage from the front and back almost too much for it to move. She aimed for its one good eye and focused her attention with her best gun, having dropped the second for this shot.
As she went for the kill, Sektor and Triborg emerged at each side of her. They yanked her from the earth and struck her cold and hard. Each hit was enough to shatter bone, and to rearrange her face, dent her chest, and by the time Cyrax had reached them, kill her.
Moloch charged. One last effort forward.
Cyrax, barely able to defend itself against the two cyborgs, pulled its last hope from its burning chest.
A bomb.
Geras raised the wall of stone and earth, thick and high as he could. The kids didn't need to see this.
BOOM!
Chunks of oni flesh, shattered burning remains of machine and man all flashed and spilled against the wall. Geras maintained it high enough until the smoke settled into the fog of war already lifted by the battle around them.
Liu Kang and Hanzo Hasashi pulled Takeda and Kung Jin to their feet. They could sit around and glare, or they could see it through.
No time to process, only fight.
Caught in the fire, the three walked through the fire to the point of no return and let it burn.