Author's Note: Writer's block. It happens. Hope you like this update :)
As soon as Tundra and Jiayi ran to help her aunt, Reiko promptly hurled Frost into them, knocking them to the ground in a heap. The young Elite groaned as she pushed the older Cryomancer off her body, and for a brief moment, she laid there between the two of them, grimacing and dabbing the blood from the corner of her mouth. But that only lasted for a microsecond before all three had scrambled to their feet and faced the General as he stalked towards them.
When he saw them stand united, he paused and chuckled. "What a treat this is," he began. "It's been ages since I last had the pleasure of facing three Cryomancers at once." He bared his wolfish fangs and grinned wickedly at the Crown Prince. "I believe the last time I took on so many Cryomancers at once, I killed your father and at least half of the Lords of Mòhé in one fell swoop."
His taunt proved too much for the otherwise calm and collected Prince to take. With a loud, mad roar, he leapt through the air at Reiko and attacked him with a kori sword that he'd formed in his flight. Jiayi had moved so fast that the General barely had time to block him with his scythe. But even that did not deter the Cryomancer. Moving blindingly fast and with lightning reflexes, he swung and stamped and stabbed his sword at their enemy, giving him almost no time to react to his brutal, relentless assault. He danced around with the grace of a ballerina and the ferocity of a lion, his face wrenched in concentration, loud grunts escaping his lungs. Each clang of their weapons was incredibly loud and hard. If Reiko had been even slightly less capable as a warrior, Jiayi would've killed him easily. But even with the General's skill and newfound divinity shielding him, the Crown Prince still had him on the ropes.
A warm flutter of butterflies flew from Tundra's nether regions into her belly as she watched the Cryomancer back Reiko up like he was nothing but a mere novice.
In a split-second pause in the action, Jiayi suddenly stamped his foot hard. Tundra and Frost watched as a line of ice now raced through the dirt from his boot and then climbed towards the sky only a few feet away, forming a jagged wall. The General glanced at it, and that proved to be a mistake. The Crown Prince used that moment of opportunity to grip the backside of his armor and throw Reiko through it headfirst as if he weighed no more than a feather. The ice wall shattered like glass as he broke through it, the thousands of shards exploding outward. Now Jiayi lunged for him again with his kori sword raised, but this time, the General threw his hand towards him, and with the gesture sent a forked branch of red lightning directly into his middle.
The Crown Prince hadn't even landed before Tundra and Frost were now moving, and with a ferocious grunt of her own, the young Elite threw an ice ball directly at her enemy at the same time her aunt sprayed thousands of ice shards at his body. She wasn't particularly surprised when neither attack worked; Reiko danced out of the shards' path at the same time he caught the ice ball with his powers and shoved it back at her. Now it was Tundra's turn to duck out of the way, and she barely made it in time. The edge of her blue Seidan robes froze as she fell to her knees and then rolled back to her feet.
An instinct rose up inside of her, and as if she was flexing her biceps, she curled her arms to her chest. With her movement came a small expanse of ice that rippled like the ocean waves as it wormed its way through the ground. Then she threw her hand at Reiko and willed the undulating shards at him. The waves of ice raced at him like a speeding freight train - and the thousands of tinkling, clattering pieces even sounded like a freight train as well as they moved like a river of glass - before they struck him and swallowed him beneath the jagged swells, instantly entombing him.
"Well done," Jiayi breathlessly said as he trotted beside her.
She glanced at him and shook her head. "No," she began, "I think you're the real star of the hour." She smiled at him in all sincerity. "I'm glad you're on our side."
He chuffed and beamed at her with that ornery smile of his, once again sending those butterflies shooting through her belly and groin. "I know you're flattering me, Lady Olivia, undoubtedly in an effort to return to my good graces after that insane jump of yours," he replied, but his eyes were twinkling in amusement.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Are you okay?" she then demanded to know, now looking at the char mark that scorched his silver armor. He nodded, still smiling, so Tundra looked at Frost. "Are you okay?" she asked her aunt.
The elder Cryomancer scoffed. "Please," she dismissed her niece and then looked at the thick layer of ice on the ground. "I don't think this is going to hold Reiko for very long."
"Probably not," Jiayi agreed.
As he said it, the ice that buried him exploded outward, releasing him from his tomb and sending the three Cryomancers flying through the air. Tundra landed on her back hard and managed to shield her face from the debris, though the ice managed to lodge itself into her arms and legs in spots. She grimaced in pain before she wrapped her fingers around a particularly large piece that jutted from her ribs and yanked it free. It was only a superficial stab wound, but it still hurt like a bitch, and she yowled as she slid it from her flesh and threw it to the side. Warm blood trickled out, soaking her Seidan robes. She then glanced to either side in time to see Frost and Jiayi struggling in similar ways.
"Oh, Olivia," Reiko now jeered as he carefully walked towards her like a panther stalking his prey. "How powerful you are becoming. It's so beautiful to see you growing as mighty as one of the Lords of Mòhé. Don't let that beauty fade and die. Don't waste it, let it flourish. Come with me, dear child, and I will teach you everything I know."
"Go to Hell," she grunted as she got to her feet, ripping more ice shards from her body before producing a kori sword in her hands.
"As you wish," he smirked before lifting his hands into the air.
A whipping ring of blood emerged from the ground, gradually rising around them into a perfect conical vortex. Above them, Tundra saw blood-black clouds rapidly building in the sky, exploding in a magnificent arrangement of shape and color, connecting to the steadily growing vortex still swirling up from the ground. She gulped as the heavens, as if cut open with a sword, began to weep bloody rain upon them. The wind eerily howled as if screaming, rapidly growing stronger, threatening to throw her and the others off their feet. And then finally, it became a full-fledged tornado of gore, whipping around like a crazed red ribbon. At the heart of it was Reiko.
With the help of one of the Seidans, Hydro broke free of the cobalt collar that restrained her and then promptly tossed a water ball into the air above her, holding it in place with her powers. Rapidly, she gestured with her hands to rotate it around faster and faster until gravity coupled with her skill flattened it into a sharp, spinning saw that she used to slice an entire swath of Tarkatans in half. She used her water saw to clear a path to the pile of weapons where Reiko's forces had casually tossed her spear, and in this fashion she crossed the battlefield quickly. Nearly black blood sprayed through the air, anointing both friend and foe with gore. It dripped from the young Hydromancer like water, staining her blonde curls red, but she scarcely noticed, even as she dug through the pile to retrieve her spear. At last she found it and stood up...
...Only to sense the sudden presence of an attacker behind her. Hydro spun around in time to block Empress Kitana's war fans with her spear, deftly deflecting one, two, three blows before butterfly kicking away from her and then snapping back with a water whip that knocked the Revenant into a smoldering tree nearby. The Undead Empress slumped to the ground, giving the Falcata warrior the opportunity to throw her spear at her. Kitana was not as stunned as she initially appeared, however, and with lightning reflexes, she dodged to the side in time to avoid the attack, rolling onto her feet like a graceful cat. She sneered at the quivering shaft lodged in the tree for only a brief moment before she axe-kicked it and snapped it in half.
Hydro scowled as the end of the spear splintered to the ground; that had been a gift from her mother when she'd been named one of the Falcata. Furiously, she threw her arms in the air and conjured a twisting water spout that enveloped Kitana and whipped her around like a blue ribbon. Chunks of skin ripped from her arms and legs, staining the water with wisps of black clouds, and the Hydromancer sensed that she was weakening as she drowned. She clamped her fist down to tighten her grip over the Empress even more, smothering her, killing her faster than she deserved. But then suddenly, she felt something hard and sharp slam between her shoulder blades, shoving her to her knees, breaking her concentration. Water exploded everywhere and the Revenant toppled to the ground, choking up water.
Meanwhile, Hydro's attention was currently focused on the Tarkatan who hit her. As blood streamed down her back, sending rippling waves of pain through her flesh - she suspected she might need stitches if not for her Hydromancer healing abilities - she threw her hand towards him and with it, a water whip as hard as leather. It curled around his neck like a snake. She yanked it back to her with a violent tug and effortlessly snapped his neck.
By this point, though, Kitana had recovered, teleported into the air above Hydro, and dive-kicked her in the face when she reappeared. The young Lin Kuei Elite fell onto her back and smashed the back of her skull. Now her head hurt in two spots as blood streamed from a wound from her hairline. But she didn't get a chance to recover before the Empress cut upward through the air to magically lift her off the ground. Surprisingly hard gusts of wind swirled around the Hydromancer, suspending her in empty air, blowing her hair into her eyes. With a ferocious growl, the Revenant slapped a closed fan across her cheek. Blue stars exploded in her vision and tears instantly sprang to her eyes as the strike stung and burned her cheek. A pearly tooth tumbled from her mouth in rivulets of blood and drool.
Kitana moved in to slap her with her fan from the other side, but Hydro wasted no time blasting her in the face with a jet of water, knocking her backwards, breaking the spell that held her hostage in the air. She dropped to the ground but landed on her feet as the Empress stumbled, sputtering and quickly wiping her eyes before she angrily threw one of her fans at the Lin Kuei Elite. It spun like a saw through the air, a deadly blue blur. In a move that shocked the Hydromancer as much as the Revenant, she quickly plucked the fan from its course with a water whip and then fiercely flung it back at its master. It instantly plunged into her shoulder, and she howled as she dropped to her knee in pain.
Black Revenant blood spurted from the wound, staining her arm, but with a ferocious snarl she forced herself to stand while ripping her own weapon from her body just in time to counter Hydro's attack with her storm sword. Then she attacked back and swiped at her with a left, right, and then left, backing her up as the Hydromancer barely deflected each blow. Finally, the Revenant twirled around while dropping low in an attempt to hamstring the Elite, but Hydro decisively drilled her sword into the ground to block her attack. Kitana barely had time to convey her surprise at her enemy's quick reflexes.
Now it was Hydro's turn, and she whirled around with tremendous force - rather like a tornado, onlookers might say - and chopped her blade towards the Empress's head. The Revenant caught it with her fans, but the Hydromancer didn't quit her assault. She swung her blade harder and harder at her, backing her up, giving her no time or opportunity to retaliate. It was obvious that the deep wound in her shoulder was slowing her down considerably, a weakness that the Elite fully preyed upon.
Kitana wasn't quite prepared to lose yet, though, and finally deflected a blow just long enough to begin her own assault with her fans. They were closed to form blades like long knives, and she stamped and thrust and whirled around to counter any incoming attacks. In this fashion, she backed Hydro up and kept her on the defensive. Finally, though, the Elite covered the Empress's fans with her sword while shoving her back into a tree with her free hand, pinning her to the bark. Tired and wounded, she strained to push back but was unable to move, and she grunted in frustration.
Her rheumy white eyes went wild with hatred, and she snarled and panted as she said, "Your time is at hand. Reiko will set Lord Shinnok free and you will all burn in the cleansing fires of his glory."
With that, Kitana stabbed Hydro's belly, flooding it with sickening warmth and spreading fire. The Hydromancer grimaced and fought down the urge to puke as more blood spilled from her body, but she stubbornly stayed on her feet, her grip on her enemy weakening. The Empress sensed her loosening grip and used the opportunity to shove her away before attacking once more, only to be blocked yet again. Both women advanced and withdrew, their weapons clanging against each other every time they met. At one point, Kitana slashed her arm with her fan, cutting a perfect stripe through her flesh that immediately trickled blood from the deep wound.
Instinctively, Hydro snapped a water whip at her with her free hand, and this time it launched her straight into the tree where half of her spear was still lodged. The Empress couldn't stop her momentum, and fell directly into the splintered haft. She couldn't even scream as it plunged through her body, exploding through her abdomen just below her breast. All she could manage was a pathetic gurgle before her black blood spilled over her mouth. Weakly, she pawed at the weapon while the Hydromancer marched towards her with her storm sword poised to kill. She ruthlessly swung it at Kitana's neck, but unexpectedly, the Revenant tilted her head into her path as she struggled to get free. The blade instantly cut through her face, slicing her head in half at an angle.
When all hell broke loose, Cassie Cage wasted no time leaping over the rope that tied her hands behind her back, and just in time to block Mileena's soaring sai with it. The sharp prongs sliced through the threads like butter, unintentionally freeing her. She'd take it. Reiko's forces had stolen her guns, but they'd overlooked her combat knife hidden in her boot. The Army Ranger quickly slid it from its sheath and then lunged at Mileena, who was stamping towards her like a rampaging bull.
The Outworlder snarled as she blocked Cassie's knife with her remaining sai, the clanging of metal on metal like shrill little bells. But the pink-clad construct, who had the high ground, easily snapped her foot, burying her boot in the Sergeant's chest, knocking her several feet onto her back. Cassie quickly rolled to her feet and then leapt into the air, clubbing her with a tightly clenched fist. Mileena's face flew to the side, so the Ranger swung her knife at her head, but she caught her hand in her own and then threw one punch at her belly and another immediately to her face with her free hand. On her second pass, Cassie pulled her wrist into a joint lock, but undeterred, the construct calmly flipped through the air and got free.
Frustrated, she threw another punch at Mileena, and once again she blocked and then snapped her leg forward, kicking the Sergeant away. For a moment, Cassie simply knelt in the dirt, catching her breath, and for a long moment, their eyes met. Those golden orbs that hinted at her Tarkatan heritage narrowed. And then with a blood-curdling shriek, she hurled her sai at her opponent. It happened so fast that she barely had time to skirt to the side to avoid it, and violently, it plunged into a tree behind her.
Cassie, however, was already moving. She dashed towards Mileena, even as the construct was pulling a tonfa from a scabbard strapped to her thigh. She expertly twirled it into her grip just in time to block the Ranger's knife attack. Both women then began to throw punch after punch at each other in between trying to disembowel each other. They were equally matched, Cassie realized as they met each other blow for blow, attack for attack. Their battle was blindingly fast, and she had long since ceased thinking about what she was doing. Like some sort of machine or robot, she was on autopilot, the world around her fading away as she slid deeper into the zone. At this point, if either one faltered even just a little, it was over.
Finally, though, in a move that was more instinct than reason, the Sergeant jumped and spin-kicked around, driving her combat boot into Mileena's chest. It was her turn to fly, and she did, right into a low, decorative wall that bordered the gardens. Like a jaguar, Cassie bolted towards her and closed the distance, leaping low into the air and driving her knee up her body. The Outworlder thumped into the wall again, but wasn't so stunned that she couldn't block the fist hurling towards her temple. She promptly threw her own punch at the Sergeant, but this time Cassie caught her and heaved her over her shoulder, slamming her on her back. It should've given her some time to do something else, but Mileena instantly scrambled to her feet and twisted around her arm before clamping her hand around her throat.
The Sergeant barely had time to contemplate how strong the woman's grip was and how she was choking her before she threw her backward over a small pile of dead Rangers. The construct calmly leapt on top of the ghastly mound before leaping again, driving her boots at the Ranger's face. Cassie rolled out of the way, leaving her to collide with the ground like a meteor. Small cracks and fissures broke through the small indentation in the dirt. Once more, she attacked her, and the two women drove punches at each other, seemingly tireless.
One of Mileena's haymakers caught her arm and tossed her into the garden wall. Cassie barely had time to turn around and cross-block before the construct was stabbing downward at her with the tonfa. She was stronger than she looked, but the young Sergeant held firm, even as she took her for a ride along the wall, scraping the tip of the blade against the stone, showering them both in sparks. At the end of her ride, Cassie somehow found her arms wrapped firmly around the Outworlder's waist, and she easily leaned backwards, taking her with her, slamming her face-first on the ground.
But instead of stunning her like she'd hoped, Mileena teleported in a purplish-pink cloud that glittered with dazzling sparkles only to emerge above her a moment later and dive-kicking her in the head. The Sergeant now fell to the ground. She wasn't helpless, however. The construct wasted no time lunging for her, but just as she reached her to attack, Cassie twisted her legs into the splits and delivered a powerful punch right to the woman's groin.
The Outworlder howled but threw a sai that she had recovered at some point during their skirmish at her. Her aim was untrue, though, and although it skirted by Cassie's face, slicing open her cheek in a fine line that immediately bloomed red, it ultimately ended up in the body of a fallen Ranger behind her. Mileena screeched in frustration at this development before grabbing for her again. This time, the Sergeant rolled out of the way, picking up one of her fellow soldier's nightsticks in her escape before slapping it right into the construct's kneecap. As expected, it instantly hobbled her.
Mileena groaned and whimpered helplessly on the ground, clearly defeated. Cassie had no pity to spare for the vile creature, however. She staggered to her feet and limped tiredly to where the woman huddled against the low wall.
"Please," she begged. "I'll give you gold...jewels...men...women...Just spare me…"
"Oh, I'm really sorry I put a damper on your whole world domination thing," she replied, gripping the nightstick tighter now. "I shouldn't have gone Tonya Harding on your knee, even though it felt so damn good I'm gonna have to change my pants when this is done." She cocked her head then and felt her lips spread into a wicked smile. "Then again, you know what? I don't think I am sorry."
With that, she swung the nightstick again, this time connecting with Mileena's jaw so hard that it ripped it right off the hinges. The bony, bloody mess hung there by sinew and torn muscles for a long moment as the construct's eyes rolled into the back of her head. She started to slump forward, but as she did, Cassie grabbed her by the back of her hair and held her up like a puppet. Then, she quickly snapped a selfie with her before throwing her face-first on the ground.
"Now that's what I call a jaw-dropping performance," she said to Mileena's corpse.
When all hell broke loose around her, Jacqui quickly snapped the ropes that bound her with her cybernetically enhanced strength. A moment later, a blazing fireball whooshed past her face, narrowly missing her. A second one followed, giving her almost no time to duck. She dodged to the side only a split second before it took her head off and then quickly glanced up in time to see a yellow-clad woman sporting a severe A-line bob stalking through the bedlam towards her. Wasting no time, she snapped back her wrists, arming her cybernetic gauntlets, and fired two pale blue energy bursts at her. With impressive acrobatics, the woman twisted high over the blasts before landing on her feet in front of her.
"I don't know why, but I expected the Earthrealm Champions to be more formidable. But they send mere children to defend their Realm. I'm quite disappointed," the woman jeered.
"I won't disappoint you for long, Karen," the Specialist retorted, sliding into a boxer's stance.
"I am called Tanya, not Karen," she indignantly replied.
"That's exactly what a Karen would say," she scoffed before drilling both of her fists into the ground.
Immediately, the plateau around them began to quake, at first just a low tremble but soon a thundering shake. The ultrasonic seismic blasts that emitted from her gauntlets had done their job. Tanya stumbled, struggling to keep her balance, but as the earthquake rippled beneath her feet, she soon collapsed to both knees. This gave Jacqui ample opportunity to charge at her, hellbent on tackling her, but the Outworlder thrust a palm at her and with it, a large violent jet of fire. The Army Ranger barely had time to dance from its path before it hit her, but even still she felt the scorching heat slightly cook her back. Her skin prickled like it was sunburned.
The fire did not deter her, though, and as soon as she whirled around it, she was already bolting towards Tanya once again. With the grace and agility of a leopard, Jacqui jumped through the air and pounced on the Outworlder just as she was climbing back to her feet. The woman choked and gasped, fighting to get her air back. For a moment, Jacqui thought she looked like she would puke, but she managed to push herself up and straighten up. Pure rage crossed her face. The Specialist heard her father's voice in her ear, an echo of the past when he first taught her how to fight: "Don't ever fight angry. That's not what it's about."
No one had told Tanya this.
She charged Jacqui, fists flailing. Jacqui was ready. One fast straight punch to the woman's unprotected jaw and her head whipped back, her body arched backward, all of her momentum snapping back on her like a broken rubber band. She lifted right up off her toes, clearing the ground. For one long moment, her body hung in the air. Then she landed with a thud that shook the ground.
Jacqui was already on top of her, pummeling her face with her fists. Tanya briefly tolerated it as blood spilled from her nose and mouth, but then she screeched like a harpy as she drilled one of her tonfas into her shoulder blade. The Specialist, not expecting such retaliation, tumbled to the side with a loud, pained groan. The Outworlder, meanwhile, sprang backwards through the air like a swan once she got to her feet, backflipped several feet off the ground, and landed in a dangerous crouch on the nearby wall.
Jacqui gasped, struggling to inhale but only pathetically croaking, as she felt her hot blood spill from the wound near her shoulder and spine. The pain was blindingly jagged and cruel, but she still forced herself to turn over to see Tanya driving her bloodied tonfa towards her chest. Jacqui crossed her arms above her and somehow caught the woman's arms before she could kill her. Then, without giving the yellow-clad woman the chance to respond to the block, she gracefully swept her legs around and knocked her to her knees before she kipped up and slid back into her boxer's stance.
The Ranger scarcely noticed the inferno in her shoulder anymore. But even still, she snapped her cybernetic gauntlet towards her opponent, silently guided by her strong instincts and equally strong muscle memory. Immediately, a loud, discordant hum exploded in her ears at the same time an electric pulse burst out. The pale blue energy wave hurled towards Tanya before it crashed into her and threw her completely on her back. Tanya cried out in pain, but as she fell, she tossed one of her tonfas at Jacqui. She quickly butterfly kicked over it and it sailed harmlessly into a tree, thudding as it cut into the bark. She didn't care, though, because the second she landed she pounded the ground with her gauntlets. The earth instantly rippled with the shockwave racing towards the woman.
But like Jacqui had done just seconds prior, Tanya leapt into the air and twisted over it, her remaining tonfa grasped firmly in her outstretched hand, cutting towards the Ranger's face. Jacqui stumbled backwards just to avoid the outstretched weapon, but she wasted no time stepping into a spinning back kick that caught the unsuspecting warrior in the face.
The force of the blow spun Tanya into something like a butterfly twist, her arms flailing like a rag doll. She groaned in pain as she fell to the ground – blood spraying from her mouth and broken jaw – and her tonfa rolled from her grip. But Jacqui was still not done. She wrapped her arms tightly around the woman's knees and dropped her weight on them just enough to snap them up. A loud crunch filled the air a moment before Tanya wailed in agony, her tibias and fibias jutting from the back of her calves in jagged fractures, her blood spraying everywhere. She was almost helpless now, completely at Jacqui's mercy. But unfortunately for her, she was about to find out that the Specialist had no mercy to give.
She pounced on the yellow-clad woman, her enemy, and gripped her by her silky, blood spattered choli blouse, lifting her torso up. Tanya futilely shrieked for Mileena's help, but when no help came, she weakly battered Jacqui's arms for a moment before the Ranger curled her armored hand around her throat, quickly snapping her neck to the side, silencing her forever. And to be sure, she then plunged her cybernetically enhanced fist into her face, crushing her skull inward, punching completely through. More blood exploded out from the back of her head, and when she withdrew her arm, it was covered in blood and brain matter up to her elbow.
"Ew, what a mess," Jacqui wrinkled her nose in disgust before dropping Tanya to the ground and then bounding off to her next battle with a group of Tarkatans.
"Woo! Look at my favorite ex-wife fight!" Johnny shouted over the din at Sonya, who had just blasted a perfect circle through one of the Oni.
The General had no chance to say what she thought of that because at that moment, two more Oni burst into the clearing, howling and waving their thick, meaty arms at her, with three more hellspawn right behind them. Shouts in the distance heralded even more.
"Sareena, we've got company!" she barked at the demoness. She immediately grabbed her and yanked her along, racing towards better ground. When they reached the short wall, she leapt over the partition before her Netherrealm companion vaulted after her. Sareena's feet fell down hard on top of her, she stumbled, and then a hand full of sharp talons chopped into the railing where she'd just come over. A bat-faced Oni lifted above them, its mouth snarling and drooling. Off-balance and still stumbling, the demoness managed to turn her dragontooth sword over in her hands and swing. Her weapon sliced cleanly through the vicious Oni's neck, silencing the other's scream before it ever escaped his lungs. Headless, the creature dropped, but more came, and she continued to hack through her pursuers as Sonya blasted them with her energy gauntlet beside her.
Bedlam ensued around them. The enemy warriors swarmed over the battlefield, their talons and cast iron weapons flailing. The Earthrealm Champions - scattered amongst them, the Tarkatans, the Seidans, and Reiko's army - scrambled everywhere, shouting, fighting off the attacking hordes. At Sonya's side, Sareena gracefully cut down her opponents with her sword, even though they were crammed shoulder-to-shoulder around her, and she was still weak from the injuries she'd sustained against her Netherrealm masters' torture. Only a few feet from her, Sonya struggled against three winged Oni, but she'd unholstered her sidearms and expertly shot each of them through the head. Doubletap.
Suddenly, something huge and heavy slammed into the General's back, smashing her to the grass face-first. Her pistols skittered from her grasp as she fell, fire now searing her muscles. With a startled and pained yelp, Sareena flew to the ground beside her, her hands frantically trying to brush her back. Open-mouthed, gasping for air that refused to come, Sonya tried to reach for her guns, but her body moved in a painfully slow fashion. Pitifully, she writhed like a slug sprinkled with salt. And then, she looked over her shoulder. Standing over her was the Oni known as Moloch with his giant orb poised to hit them, the metal stained with vermilion blood, bits of crushed bone, and brain matter. Suddenly, she understood that she and Sareena had both been hit by the demon, though how badly, it was hard to say.
As her ribs squirmed awkwardly inside her chest, Sonya struggled to move, to get to her guns, because her arms and legs moved erratically, all limbs twitching in shock. They wobbled like a newborn fawn's. Her back and chest felt as if they were constricted by iron bands. Sareena was in no better shape; she croaked on the ground, her face pale, her mouth wide open like a fish out of water gasping for air. With a ferocious snarl, Moloch suddenly grabbed her beneath her shoulders and hoisted her to his feet, and as he did, the General groaned as fresh pain zipped through her body. Time slowed. Sonya watched him lift her body over his head with superhuman strength and then poised to throw her over the cliff's edge; she could already imagine the fall through the trees, the branches ripping through her face before the earth rose up to meet her, squashing her from sheer momentum. She felt the Oni's arms move forward, and then the General suddenly felt his breath return.
"No!" she yelled as Sareena, who'd also regained her breath, unexpectedly lobbed an ethereal skull wreathed in pink and purple flames at Moloch's chest. It struck him hard and there was a loud crunch of breaking bones. The impact forced him to double over before dropping to his knees, and as he did, he dropped Sonya harmlessly to the ground. But Sareena was relentless and conjured another flaming skull. This time, upon impact, the force of it hurled the Oni backwards and he plummeted off the edge of the cliff, his wailing voice fading the further he fell.
"Thanks," Sonya told her partner.
The demoness looked at her, clearly still pained by the attack, and nodded her head. "Anytime, baby," she said before collapsing onto her back. "I'm getting too old for this shit," she lamented a moment later.
"You and me both," the other replied.
Tundra, Frost, and Jiayi now backed away hesitantly as Reiko lifted into the air on a current of blood, shielded by a whirlwind of gore. Within seconds, the sheer power of the thing yanked the three Cryomancers from their feet and chucked them into the air, pulling them inside the vortex. Tundra screeched as she tumbled through the air, helpless to the General's power. Nausea found her as well as she zipped round and round the circle at breakneck speeds, threatening to make her puke. Up was down in here, and for a minute, she was certain she'd been barrel-rolling uncontrollably, completely chaotic, vaguely wondering how Fujin did it. Frost was in the same boat, but somehow, the self-disciplined Jiayi managed to focus long enough to blast Reiko with a jet of ice, freezing him into a solid block. As soon as he did, they all tumbled to the ground, the blood falling around them like heavy rain.
The fall immediately smashed open the General's icy tomb, and he broke free, more than a little pissed off at the development. He instantly lashed out at Tundra, who had the wind knocked out of her when she landed, and ruthlessly threw a barrage of shuriken at her as she squirmed on the ground. Frost, however, was already moving, and had leapt in front of the attack with a kori shield growing. The weapons harmlessly drilled into the ice, and with a disgusted sneer she threw the shield to the side before spraying a thousand tiny ice daggers at him in return.
Reiko butterfly kicked over them and landed facing her once again, not realizing that Jiayi had already teleported behind him. Quickly, the Crown Prince wrapped his arms around his waist and then hoisted him backwards, slamming him onto the ground on his head, delivering the perfect suplex. The General was quick to recover and almost instantly summoned his scythe from the aether just in time to hook Jiayi's legs and topple him to the ground. By this point, though, Frost was already soaring through the air with her kori pick-axe aimed at his head, a weapon that he confidently met with his own, driving her back before he climbed to his feet.
His clear hatred for her snapped inside him just then, a great, overwhelming crack that gushed blood and wanted her to drown in it. Ferociously, he attacked her with his scythe, easily backing her up, hitting her harder and harder until it was all she could do to block him. He sensed her tiring - the sickness in her blood already weakening her - and he knew it wouldn't be long before she faltered.
"You don't have long for this world, Miyuki," he told her between blows, sneering. "But I could save you. I could prolong your life and delay your inevitable damnation. Just say the word and you shall be healed."
She hesitated for a minute and looked at him with eyes that almost begged him to save her. She was considering it.
But then Tundra and Jiayi both charged at him with kori swords raised, their mouths screaming war cries, and he whirled around and faced them with his raised hand motioning them to stop. Both Cryomancers immediately froze in place as Olivia felt her blood...lurch. Her muscles fought, they strained to get free, but she was a prisoner inside of her own body, no different than the ice statues she'd made of her enemies. All she was allowed to do was breathe, and even then, she suspected Reiko could stop that if he so chose.
He'd frozen Frost as well, and with a wicked grin, he looked at her. "Join me, Miyuki, or you can die knowing you murdered your own niece, the daughter of your beloved brother."
With a flick of his wrist, she haltingly started staggering towards Tundra and Jiayi, her body shuffling like a zombie, clearly unwilling but unable to resist Reiko's power. As she moved, he lifted a finger. This prompted her to raise her pick-axe above her head, aiming the pointed end towards Tundra's face. The young Cryomancer strained to get free, futilely so, but Reiko's power over her blood held her fast.
"No! No!" she whimpered as Frost was forced ever closer. Terror flashed in her aunt's eyes as she crept within range. This was not her choosing.
"What have you decided, Miyuki?" Reiko taunted her. "Serve me or kill her?"
Frost's eyes slid shut and she scowled, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "I've...made...my...decision," she struggled to stay. "I'm done being a slave to sorcerers." She groaned and stubbornly twisted her head, frothing at the mouth to regain control, but somehow she did.
And something happened. There was a ripple of white across her skin, leaving a fine dusting of frost across her pale features, and at the same time, Reiko began howling before he dropped to his knees. The connection between him and them was immediately broken, and he was wounded. He tucked his arms over his chest and rocked back and forth for a few moments. When the pain subsided, he snarled, "You're far more clever than I realized, Miyuki. Using your powers to freeze my connection to you? Now you will die for sure."
He climbed to his feet and lifted his hand towards them, his palm glowing red, his eyes flashing with murder. Terrified, Tundra unwittingly grabbed Jiayi's hand and held him close to her, bracing for death. Valiantly, he pushed her a step behind him, shielding her from whatever may come.
And then...Reiko suddenly doubled over, groaning. He collapsed to his knees and then to his palms before he began vomiting blood. Not just a little blood, this. No, rivers of blood passed through his mouth, puddling around him. Seconds could've lasted for an eternity, but when he finally stopped vomiting, he started screaming and clawing for his chest. His grubby fingernails quickly shredded skin, leaving his strong muscles a bloody, stringy mess.
"What's happening?" Tundra asked no one in particular, and no one answered. The three Cryomancers stood in a line facing him, watching him in amazement as he mutilated himself.
He quickly gave up on his chest now and began ripping at his sculpted abdomen, but whereas he abandoned his chest once the muscles were exposed, he didn't stop with that. As if he couldn't reach them fast enough, he dug deeper and deeper through his tissues until he broke through the abdominal cavity and exposed his internal organs. Blood, muscle, and sinew hung like wet string from the wound, and still that wasn't enough. Reiko plunged his hands into his own intestines and began yanking them out of the massive hole inch by inch, dropping them onto the ground. As courageous as she was, the sight of him yanking the floppy gray intestines from his body like a madman made Tundra scream in shock and fright, and she threw her hands to her mouth to silence herself and to stifle her own urge to vomit.
And still, Reiko wasn't satisfied.
He kept digging and digging until at last, he discovered a round, flat disc made of gold and an emerald set into its heart. Astonished, he curled his fingers around it and pulled it from his abdomen before looking at it in wonder. A triumphant smile spread across his face before his bloody lips peeled away from his teeth and he looked directly at Tundra.
"Why are you so upset, darling girl?" he grimaced as he asked her. "I finally found it."
As soon as he said it, he collapsed onto his side, dead. The three Cryomancers said nothing as the amulet fell into a pool of Reiko's blood and began...slurping it up as if it was a living thing dying of thirst. The blood mostly ran fast, but there were a few thicker skeins intermingling with it, gelatinous clumps like clots as well. With each ounce of fluid it took in, it began to glow in a dazzling array of purple, pink, and blue lights, the colors growing brighter and more vivid until Reiko's corpse was a dessicated husk.
Now Havik, who had been monitoring the situation from the shadows, chuckled as he stepped forward to pick it up. He reverently caressed it and then looked at the three Cryomancers. "I told Reiko that someday, he'd claim Shinnok's amulet. But first, his blood needed to run." And with that, he began chanting something in a strange language, causing the amulet to vibrate in his hand.
A jolt suddenly ripped through the Seidan landscape, halting all the fighting in a split second. Then the land started shaking and the trees nearby, with the dead remains of far too many warriors from both sides caught in their branches, were jumping up and down. There was a strange combination of sounds - a roaring that was suddenly overwhelmed by a thunderous creaking. And then rocks began tumbling from the cliff in giant chunks, landing with deafening thuds on the ground, rolling towards the warriors down below. The land continued bucking and rearing like a fairground ride, throwing Tundra, Jiayi, and Frost to their knees with startled shouts. This earthquake did not just envelop all of Seido; it transversed the entire universe, in all the Realms, to the abodes of the Elder Gods and Titans, to the end of time, heralding doom.
And when the dust finally settled and the quaking began to subside, Tundra looked up. Standing before them, in black and gold armor, with a pale, gaunt face that resembled Himavat's, was an ancient god clutching the golden amulet in his withered fingers.
He peered at the three Cryomancers and sneered. He said, "I am Lord Shinnok and your end is near."
SpinoGuy, yeah, Frost is back. We'll see how that goes LOL And yeah, I'm not sure how Kuai Liang will be received now that he's back to himself. To be fair, though, Kabal was only ostracized at first. He was forgiven after Kintaro humiliated him for a second time.
alwaysdoubted, I think Frost's real test is going to be against Shinnok ;)
MKDemiGodzilla-Warrior, I hope this chapter answered your questions!
ROCuevas, thank you!
Praxus84, hahaha Subby might go that route, but then again, he might be a little more patient given the events of Ascension. We'll see. Maybe a happy medium. Like, "you hurt my baby and I'll hurt you" sort of thing, but then that be the end of it. And yeah, I hope Tommy makes it too...
Pom Rania, as for the lichtenberg figures, you've got to keep in mind that's not necessarily my opinion, but rather, the character's opinion. They very well could think they're ugly. I personally think they're cool. So yeah lol
DinoLord00, how about Moloch for a cameo? LOL To answer your question, I don't know the exact amount of chapters left in the story. Let's do some rough guessing and say five, tops. But I don't want to put that in stone because I don't know for sure. Also, it's probably going to be less than five but we'll just say five to give me wiggle room.