Wind of France and Many Hands!
The battle against the robot dog was tough and getting across the bridge was a little tougher for the group from the helicopters pursued, but they managed to beat them and made their way into an old streetway sneaking their way to an alleyway and spotted some cyborg guards aiming their blades at a man who is scared and on his knees. They also rescued an innocent bystander along the way, Chacha and Kimi taking out the guards on the ground while Raiden and Azuki took care of the ones that were flying with mechanical wings. After that, Raiden and the girls quickly continue down the path until they stumble on a large metal gate.
The rest of the way was hard too, sneaking around some guards and beating some up too with a few Metal Gears in the way, but they eventually made their way to the building and on the rooftop, Raiden use his eyepatch to zoom in on one of the refining tower seeing one man.
"Dolzaev." Raiden said.
"Is he alone?" Azuki asked.
"No, he's with a woman right now though they don't appear to be on the same page and he's leaving." Raiden reported.
Then to his surprise, the woman turns around and appear to have spotted Raiden blowing a kiss which made him jump back on the defense stance.
"Raiden, what happened? Did the enemy spotted you?" Azuki asked worry.
Raiden look ahead again and saw the woman gone from the spot.
"I'm not sure, but I think we're safe for now." Raiden said.
"All right, we're heading for the refinery." Raiden jumped down as the girls follow him.
They stealth kill on a couple of guards along the way and fought some more out on the open, then came along two helicopters. Once those obstacles were taken care of, they made their way through a door heading toward the plant.
"Raiden, the cliff is jus ahead, at the end of the old city. Beyond that is the refinery's backyard." Boris informed.
"Just a drop? No tunnel connected at all?" Kimi asked.
"No, it was only built two years ago. There should be a narrow path around there that leads to the plant. It is protected by a fence, but probably you can cut your way through." Boris said.
"Probably." Raiden chuckled.
"Hey, don't let the cocky attitude get in your head. There's bound to be stronger enemies up ahead than the ones we've dealt with so far." Azuki stated.
"She's right, best be on guard at all times." Boris nodded.
The four found the path making their way down to the fence, Raiden cutting open a way in, and they are suddenly ambush by some little black round robots with three arms.
"The fuck?" Azuki shocked.
"The same ones when I fought back in Tenbi, don't let a single of one moving." Raiden ordered and slice two of them in half.
Azuki smashes a few with her kicks, Chacha use one like a chained mace and made it bigger with her Maken smashing the other little robots, Kimi use her Maken to create wind on the ground blowing them up for Raiden to blitz slash them into pieces.
"So, these things were in Tenbi?" Azuki asked.
"Yeah, but I took care of them before they could escape." Raiden said.
"Sounds like someone is trying to find out more about Tenbi Academy." Chacha guessed.
"Could be the case, probably to scout out about the fighters." Raiden theorized.
"Do you think Dolzaev knows something?" Kimi wondered.
"We'll know once we find him." Raiden said.
They make their way through the refinery while being careful with the security measures like some guards patrolling the areas and the IR sensors which are hard to avoid, they soon made their way on top of a refining tower where they meet the woman Raiden saw earlier.
"I was worry when you'd come… Jack the Ripper." The woman said smiling at him.
"Jack the Ripper?" The girls confused as they look at Raiden.
"No one calls me that anymore. Tell us where Dolzaev is?" Raiden demanded.
"I can show you a better time than that crusty old bear." The woman claimed.
"Are you the one in charge here of the security?" Azuki asked.
"Aw, the Maken-Ki girls from Tenbi. Very unexpected, I look forward to seeing how strong you are." The woman smiled.
"Oh, where are my manners? I am Mistral, the Cold Wind of France." Mistral introduced herself. Breasts sizes: F-cup.
"And you… your reputation precedes you. Liberian, but white as snow… A natural-born killer, even as a child." Mistral mentioned.
"Born killer?" Azuki puzzled.
"I'm sensing a very bad background story of your life." Kimi said.
"Yeah, it was Hell for me, but that was a long time ago." Raiden assured.
"I was born in Algeria myself, you know. I'm only half French. We had our own civil war in the 90s. So, you see, cut from the same cloth, you and I." Mistral pointed out.
"What makes you think you know a damn thing about Raiden?" Azuki asked angry.
"I lost my whole family, everything…" Mistral said making Raiden feel like how he lost his family.
"But I butchered those fuckers. My family's killers. That's when I realized I am a killer too, and a good one at that. I slaughtered dozens in Iraq, in Afghanistan, I'd found my calling." Mistral bragged a little as she slowly walks forward a few feet.
"Did your family really wanted you to live such a life?" Kimi asked.
"Perhaps not, but what happened, happened. To be honest, I found it quite dull." Mistral mentioned as she takes off her jacket revealing her skintight suit.
"My enemies fell like domino, one after another. Not once did I feel threatened. I was adrift, without challenge, without purpose… At times, I even envied my prey. At least they had a cause to die for." Mistral explained as the Dwarf Gekko came and surround the young heroes.
"And then… I met "Him"." Mistral said.
"Him?" Chacha confused.
"Could be her boss." Raiden guessed.
"And I knew what I'd been missing. His ideals gave my life meaning. Ideals, Jack. What are yours?" Mistral asked.
"I won't deny what I did in the past, but the ideal I have now is protecting the weak with my sword and if I must kill to protect then so be it. That is my ideal." Raiden answered strongly pointing his sword at her.
"Uh, so naive. It seems we have less in common than I thought." Mistral sighed as she crushed one Dwarf Gekko with one stomp of her foot.
"To be honest, I'm still not fond of killing even after going through everything since we came to the island. But Raiden is a member of Maken-Ki and as his fellow members, we will fight to take care of the problem even if it means staining our hands in blood." Azuki determined as she gets into her fighting stance.
Chacha and Kimi look at each other knowing they feel the same way with Azuki and look back at Mistral who chuckles bit.
"It would seem you're more mature than I thought. I can see why Kamigari would want to recruit such fine girls." Mistral said.
"Kamigari? That's the secret organization that works with the government by using the Elements and Maken." Raiden recalled hearing about.
"No way, they teamed up with an evil group like yours?" Azuki asked.
"And whose to say that Kamigari isn't evil itself." Mistral said.
"Enough talk. If you would kill for your ideals, then surely you are ready to die for them!" Mistral's body glowed.
(Music: A Stranger I Remain, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST)
"Jingu Coat: Hecatonchires!" Mistral summoned her in the form of multiple arms appearing on her shoulders and back up to 14 arms. Those arms also created a spear as well.
"She got a Maken?" Chacha gasped.
"No, she said Jingu. They're mythical weapons used by the gods of their Western homelands, or so the legends are told." Raiden explained.
"(Is there anything else you don't know?)" Azuki thought asked.
"That's right, like your Makens made by the Gods of the East." Mistral said and a thought came to her.
"How about we do that ritual your school does before a duel. That should make things interesting." Mistral suggested.
"She even knows about that." Kimi surprised.
"Doesn't matter either way, we're still going to kick your ass!" Azuki smirked.
"Then how about this, if you win then you can kill us, but if we win then you will have to come with us to Tenbi as our prisoner." Kimi stated the bet much to the others' shock.
"Such a brave young girl. I accept." Mistral accepted the terms.
"Kimi, are you crazy?" Azuki asked.
"Don't worry, I know we'll win because we're Maken-Ki!" Kimi determined.
Raiden smiles believing they can win and points his sword at Mistral.
"Time to begin the match! Here are twin flowing rivers whose paths never cross. To follow your path, to prove yourself, you must expose yourself to the blazing sun!" Raiden said.
"The children of the sun's path is craved into the Heavens!" All the girls finished the ritual.
"Come, mon gars!" Mistral gestured a hand signal to bring it on.
"Here I come!" Azuki jumped high in the air and perform a powerful axe kick which was blocked by Mistral's arms.
"Don't underestimate Maken-Ki!" Azuki shouted as she tries to push her foot down harder but couldn't budge.
"Such a strong spirited girl, I like that." Mistral commented before grabbing her leg and slams her down.
This causes Azuki to gasp in pain and Mistral was about to stab her on the back when Raiden came in and slash the spear away from Azuki, Mistral smiles as the spear then started to bend and swing one blade toward Raiden as he narrowly dodges it and clash his sword against her weapon. He is forced to jump back because of the long spear being difficult to fight at close range since it can become flexible too, Kimi use her Maken to make one part of the floor slippery for Chacha to slide on and grab Azuki. Raiden was going to charge at her again, but Mistral instantly swing her whip spear making him go on the defense and the pink killing woman decided to go after Kimi next. She swings her whip spear at the little girl and Kimi quickly dodges each attack the best she caught despite getting some small cuts on herself, then Mistral twist the spear to smack Kimi away as her back crashes on a large pipe.
"Kimi!" Chacha gasped.
"Best pay attention, girl!" Mistral advised as she jumps and slammed her spear at Chacha who dodges that.
Chacha took out a small red shuriken and enlarge it like the one she used for the Maken-Ki welcome party at the hot spring, she charges at Mistral spinning her shuriken, but the enemy was able to thrust her spear into the hole and piece it on the floor. But that didn't stop Chacha as she threw a strong headbutt making Mistral stumble back a little then grab her arms holding the spear, Chacha is holding her down for Raiden and Azuki to attack her from both left and right.
However, Mistral is not worry about this at all and two of her arms on each side created two swords and brass knuckles blocking their attacks.
"What?" Raiden shocked.
"Those arms made those weapons appear. Is this your Jingu's power?" Azuki asked shock as well.
"That's right, my Jingu can make any weapons I desire which make things more fun when I'm fighting more than one opponent!" Mistral explained.
Raiden and Azuki start attacking her sides again though they are counter and block by Mistrals weapons while Mistral twist her whip spear to stab Chacha on the leg, this causes her to let go and get sent flying with a kick. Raiden perform a double parry and slash the weapons away as they disappear, and he start fighting the spear again, but he was able to slices into three pieces much to Mistral's shock and punch her follow by Azuki doing a spin kick forcing on the ground she quickly recovers.
"Not bad, I was originally only interested in fighting Jack. But you girls have caught my interest and I want to see your full capability!" Mistral smiled.
"Be careful what you wish for!" Kimi threw three knives at Mistral as she easily caught them.
"These knives… I see, so you defeated that stupid dog." Mistral chuckled.
"He maybe a stupid dog to you, but I believe he had a free will of his own and you forced him to obey you! That is something I can never forgive!" Kimi angered and charges with one knife in each hand.
"If you feel that bad for the dog then you should heel as well!" Mistral thrusted her spear at Kimi who managed to deflect it with the knife though still got push back.
Azuki attacks her again as Chacha and Raiden instantly joins in, Mistral counter and clashes their attacks with her spear and extra arms spinning around to fight them back-to-back, giving them cuts on their bodies and holes on their clothes, then form a few swords to spin faster like a spinning top at Raiden pushing him back. Raiden struggles to hold his ground a little but manages to swing his sword with such force that the swords broke into pieces and thrust palm strike Mistral back even though she blocked it, Chacha comes at her from behind only to be grab by one of the arms and threw her at Azuki. Mistral swing her whip spear at Raiden as he blocks it though it was really close to his face, he pushes it back only for her to make the whip spear wrap on his leg forcing him up. Raiden didn't lose focus and slice it off that cause Mistral to stumble back a little.
"Maken Table: Cosmic Star. Bounce!" Kimi turned the spot under Mistral's feet make her bounce into the air.
"Airstep Darkrow!" Azuki charged kick Mistral away.
"All right, score one for us!" Chacha cheered.
"It's not over yet! After her." Raiden chased after the opponent.
They land on one large line pipe as the next stage for the second round where Mistral forms an insane-like smile.
"I want more!" Mistral excited.
She charges at the Tenbi students swinging her blade whip-spear around as Raiden blocks the assault and Azuki jumps over him to counterattack, but her kicks are block and clashes against the other 14 arms and force back with the others though almost trip.
"Be careful, fighting like this is going to be difficult." Azuki warned.
"Should I make it wider?" Chacha offered.
"No, that will consume most of your Element. Just focus on the fight." Raiden turned down and charged.
Raiden clashes against the spear as Chacha decided to throw more of her shuriken for long-range support, they grew a few times bigger as one manages to make an opening for Raiden to slash away at Mistral and send her up with a strong electric uppercut.
Mistral felt the pain on her chin, and it was great getting the feeling of being threatened of her life for the first time in a long time and she wants to feel that more to give this fight everything she has.
She separates her whip spear and stab them on each side of the large pipe then slams herself down causing it to break, she jumps down from side to side of each tower.
Raiden and the girls quickly follow her down to ground level as they get ready for the final round.
"Let's end this now!" Mistral shouted and used her rolling slash attack making them dodge her.
"She really knows how to roll with it." Chacha commented.
Mistral charges at Azuki slash her blade against her Maken boots and form all kinds of blades on all of her 14 arms, Azuki would have been dead very soon if Raiden hadn't jump into parry and clashing most of the weapons as they dodge. Kimi and Chacha quickly enter wit help fend off the other weapons making this into a fourway battle of the four against one, Kimi managed to enter an opening slide under a broadsword attack and slashes on her side causing it to bleed though she ignores the pain. Mistral kick Kimi away crashing into a large metal tank, the pink killer woman also jumps around while striking the three fighters.
"(This woman, she's very strong. Even Raiden's overwhelming strength won't be enough be enough to defeat her. We need to do something else.)" Kimi thought tried to think of a way, then she turns around seeing the label on the tank giving her an idea.
"Guys, lead her over here!" Kimi shouted.
"Huh, why?" Azuki confused.
"Don't worry, guys, if Kimi has a plan then we should listen." Chacha believed.
"I'm going with my guts on trusting her plan." Raiden smirked and started slashing faster with stronger striking power.
Raiden deflects all the weapons at once, Azuki and Chacha took this chance to pushed her away toward Kimi.
"If you wish to die that deadly then I'll gladly grant your wish!" Mistral thrusted her spear.
"Sorry, nobody is dying today!" Kimi jumped over despite getting cut on her leg.
Mistral stab the tank causing some kind of liquid onto her body, she was gonna turn around but suddenly felt her body unable to move.
"Wait, this liquid!" Mistral realized.
"Yep, good old liquid nitrogen." Kimi nodded and slashed the tank to make it open a little more.
This made nearly Mistral's whole-body freeze except for her head that was covered by the other arms.
"Okay guys, now!" Kimi shouted.
"Blood Slicer!" Raiden sliced the 7 seven arms on one side.
"Talon Slash!" Azuki destroyed the other 7 arms.
"Black Smashing Round!" Chacha slammed Mistral with an enlarge Dwarf Gekko on her body.
(Music End)
"Did we win?" Kimi asked worry.
"Yeah, we won!" Raiden nodded.
"Awesome, now we can-AAAAHH!" Chacha screamed in fear.
The reason for her scream was because she saw Mistral's real two arms and both legs are shattered much to their shock.
"Oh no, we made her limbless!" Kimi panicked.
"Hehe, not to worry, they were just metal instead of flesh." Mistral chuckled.
"Wait, so you were a cyborg?" Azuki asked.
"In a way, and as part of the duel, I have lost the battle and so, I will be your prisoner." Mistral admitted.
"Well, this should be interesting." Raiden commented.
KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!
Raiden and the girls have battled and defeat the Cold Wind of France, it was very hard even for the lightning boy being the strongest among the four but thanks to Kimi's quick thinking, Mistral ended up getting the cold taste of defeat. I decided to make Mistral's weapon to be a Jingu because she was born in the west which would make perfectly, and the ability to make combat weapons is cool too!
In just next week on March 4th is going to be the officially one-year anniversary of Maken-Ki final volume being released last year which ended the series. My new favorite character of Maken-Ki is Crimson Calamity, a she demon as one of the eight heads of the evil God who came good at the end. Her lightning powers are awesome which gave me an idea for a new Maken-Ki crossover story I've been thinking of.
KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!