The darkness was overwhelming, but something was wrong to Frost's sedative dulled mind. She saw vague, blinking lights in front of her, and finally it dawned on her; her lights hadn't gone out, the building's had.
As her mind struggled with that concept, she began struggling with the bonds again. Whatever had been heating the bonds had gone out with the lights, and she tried dumbly to focus on freezing them. It took a minute or two to concentrate enough to collect her Fa Jing, but finally she got them brittle enough to snap like cheap plastic.
The cybers seemed surprised when she rose, but the blinking lights weren't fast enough to stop her projectile, nor could they catch the piece of armor she flung before it shattered the frozen steel of the door, and Frost stumbled out into the hallway just as the power returned.
---
Sub-Zero was preparing to put his foot through the chest of one of the cybers when the lights shut off. The blow connected, but the power wasn't behind it, and the cyber's chest was merely crushed.
The second cyber swung at him, but the lighted arm panels were a dead giveaway of its intention. He pushed it away, before freezing it. The lights retuned just in time to make the shards of shattered cyber glisten impressively as they flew through the air.
Unfortunately, the return of light was accompanied by an aural assault as what seemed like every alarm in the building went off at once. Not surprisingly, four more cybers appeared responding to the alarms. The surprise came when eight more appeared behind him, effectively catching him in a pincer attack.
Unlike action films, real ninjas don't dance around menacingly as they attack one by one, and Sub-Zero braced himself as they all came at him at once.
Being outnumbered wasn't so much a problem as the fact Sub-Zero was in such close quarters. Luckily, the small width of the hallway was an encumbrance to the Tekunin as well, and they couldn't all take advantage of their numbers. Still, he was having difficulties guarding his back while the cybers attack from his front and flanks.
He had been forced to abandon his kori blade in favor of two shorter blades, as its length was inhibiting his movement. But he soon had to give up on them also, as the cyber's armor was too strong for the ice to damage, and he didn't have the luxury of time for aiming blows solely at their unarmored joints.
There was little time for anything but defense really, and he would have retreated in favor of better conditions if both directions hadn't been blocked. He couldn't defeat any of the cybers because as soon as one cyber went down, another attacked before he could land the finishing blow. It was beyond frustrating, and he was tiring quickly.
He feinted left and quickly did a kori slide to the right, but the cyber there was ready for him. What the Tekunin wasn't prepared for was the ice that had formed beneath its feet, and Sub-Zero took advantage of its unsteadiness to knock it over and slide down the hallway on it, like cybernetic surfboard. The rest of the Tekunin followed of course, but he was far enough ahead of them that he had already kicked in a door and headed in before they caught up with him.
The new area appeared to be willed with Tekunin, but a moment later it was revealed that none of the new units were moving, nor were the tell tale panels lit. Still, the half darkened room was creepy and lit only dimly by a few ceiling panels, making the standing suits of armor cast long shadows. There wasn't time to examine it further before the live Tekunin came pouring in behind him, adding to the scarlet confusion in the room. He spun to face them as they charged, glad to only have to defend in one direction.
The Tekunin were more wary now, no doubt keeping an eye on the floor. That didn't make them any less of a threat though, and he was driven back farther and farther into the room. It was getting harder and harder to tell the difference between attackers and empty armor as his field of vision became clouded in red. He was also sure that there were more live Tekunin and a glance at the door confirmed that.
A kick to the kidneys alerted him to the fact that the enemy had surrounded him once again. He mule kicked back, but only succeeded in knocking over an empty suit. Another cyber caught him in the face with a punch, and between the searing pain and the salty blood dripping down his face and lips, he knew his nose was broken. He reared back fro the punch and knocked over another empty suit with a loud clatter.
The Tekunin closed in, but he took a wild swipe with a newly formed kori blade and gained some space. He froze the floor again around him, making the slippery ice several inches thick. He was going to need every advantage he could get.
---
Frost took off down the hallway as fast as he could go, stumbling over herself as she went. She had no idea where the hell she was going; she just knew she wanted to be away from the slab.
The whole hallway seemed to be waving like a fun house ride, and she was reduced to feeling down the wall like an invalid, not trusting her visions. Curiously, her two captors didn't follow her, and she wondered what was occupying them.
---
Another Tekunin lost their head, spewing oil everywhere, and making the ground even more treacherous to those not used to fighting on ice.
The crowd had rapidly started thinning once they couldn't close in enough to double team Sub-Zero. His reach with the kori blade was greater and now that he could take his time he was literally cutting them to pieces, coating the room in black oil.
Still, he was tired, muscles aching from being held tense, joints feeling rigid. The Dragon Amulet gave him power all right, and he was feeling the absence heavily now. No matter how much it would have helped in battle, he hadn't wanted risk it falling in to the wrong hands. Now he wasn't so sure if his decision to leave it with Smoke was the best one.
He nearly slipped in the oil himself as the next cyber tried to attack his back. The cyber couldn't control his momentum, however, and slid over th4e slick floor and bowled over two of his comrades and they landed in a heap. Counting the three on the floor, there were only ten left, a thought that felt like a breath of fresh air. A few quick downward stabs sent the three downed Tekunin to the scrap heap, leaving only seven.
Each downed cyber brought a fresh sense of relief as their numbers dwindled. He was still tired, but it felt like a second wind coming. Victory was at hand, and all the fighters could sense it, though the Tekunin were programmed to either achieve their goal or die trying: of which the latter seemed most likely.
Killing the last Tekunin felt good, as much as Sub-Zero hated admitting it. He felt more than a little savage, knee deep in bodies and covered in the "blood" of his enemies. Still, the thrill of victory brought an almost feral grin to his face as he made to wade through the mess on the floor.
He was almost to the door before a lone cyber entered, the light from the doorway making it appear as a mere silhouette. Despite the automation, the footsteps spoke of arrogance and pride, and Sub-Zero knew at once who it was. Only two people he had ever met carried themselves like that, and only his brother had the skills to go with the walk.
There would be no mercy or forgiveness this time, he resolved. Only death.
Sektor's stance had always been cocky, even after being cybernetically enhanced, and now it was almost mockingly loose. Sub-Zero growled deep in his throat and motioned for Sektor to come to him, something he knew would enrage the Tekunin grandmaster. He made not move to drop back in to the Dragon stance and merely stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Sektor to react. The stakes may have been high, but he was confident he could beat the cyber again.
Sektor wasn't taking the bait though, and simply stood between his opponent and the exit, knowing full well Sub-Zero wanted most to escape and rescue his student. The smirk was almost evident in his voice as he said, "It is good to see you again, Grandmaster," he added an extra bit of sarcasm to the last word. "Tell me, to what do I owe the honor of your business?"
"You know why I'm here Sektor," Sub-Zero replied calmly, still holding his relaxed stance. "So tell me where my student is, and I might not blow this place to hell."
"Your student? Oh yes, she arrived this morning," Sektor said. "She should be joining us any minute now. I know we shall enjoy her company; the Red Dragon seemed to enjoy her immensely." He paused and let the double entendres sink in.
"Oh, I don't know about hat, she can be quite a lot to handle," Sub-Zero decided to play the word games too. He smiled and said," You don't think she's too frigid to work well with your team?" He slowly started advancing on Sektor. "I know I don't play well with others," he added before throwing a kori dagger that hit the doorway just above Sektor's head.
"You missed," Sektor said simply, but then he saw the frozen fist aiming for his visor. Sub-Zero had taken advantage of his distraction to close them distance between them and was now pressing the attack. His kori blade was out already, and Sektor knew the Lin Kuei was not holding anything back. This suited Sektor just fine.
Sektor drew his own pulse blade to ward off any further attacks with the ice weapon, but was not prepared for the series of kicks Sub-Zero sent his way, and caught a back kick to the stomach, knocking him off balance. Sub-Zero continued his attack, never letting the cyber collect himself to retaliate.
Sektor finally managed a low kick to the knee that caught Sub-Zero unaware, and the Grandmaster hissed in frustration. He wanted to end this as quickly as possible and rescue Frost before anything else happened. The cyber tried to trip him up again, but he slid back and sent a kori blast at his opponent. Sektor neatly sidestepped it, but Sub-Zero had already begun another Cold Shoulder behind it, and the cyber was knocked off his feet. He raised his blade to begin the decapitating blow, but grunted as the searing pain hit his stomach.
He looked down to see his blood sizzle on the pulse blade jammed through his torso. He gasped as it burnt into his flesh and sank to his knees.
---
Frost staggered into the room drawn by the sound of ice on metal. Her bleary eyes took in the metal carnage before her, before she caught the movement and watched in horror as her sifu was impaled on a glowing blade and dropped wide-eyed to the floor.
She didn't know what she was doing, but her kori dagger had found the delicate circuitry in the back of Sektor's neck and she brutally tore into him, ripping the wiring to shreds. He fell, now truly lifeless, to the ground, and she stumbled to Sub-Zero and sank down beside him.
He was still conscious, watching her with a mixture of pity and concern that made her chest ache even as it make her cheeks burn. She choked back tears and cradled his head, careful to avoid disturbing his wound. He licked his lips and slowly said, "Frost, get out of here."
"I can't," she whispered as the world started spinning again. "I can't."
"Frost," he began again, with more effort.
"I'm sorry," she said, closing her eyes. "I'm so fucking sorry." She opened her eyes again and the tears spilled out, "I'm sorry," she sobbed, laying her head on his, ignoring the blood and oil.
"I'm sorry," she repeated like a mantra between heaving sobs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."
Then the last thing she heard before it all overwhelmed her was the last voice she's ever thought she'd be glad to here.