Welcome back to "Evolution" folks! Whether this update comes as a surprise to any of you or not, I'm still sticking to the schedule. Don't worry though. After I finish this and the next chapter of "Traitor", I'll be getting right back into the excitement of "Omni Force: WAR" and "The Challenge of a Lifetime"!
That said, let's get back into this!
BOOK FIVE
EVOLUTION
After working seamlessly together in an effort to stop the now named Mini Colossus, Avatar Korra, her friends, and now Kuvira have their sole objective of finding Ryuto! But before they can head out to the mines to discover if there is anyone still there, they decide to learn more about just what technological advancements the man they're up against has made…
CHAPTER FIVE
COLOSSUS
As the citizens of Zaofu who were unharmed gradually made their way back into the city, the Metal Clan guards were stationed around the ensnared Mini Colossus. Inside, Ash, Rex, Korra, Kuvira, Suyin, Lin, and Pikachu were surveying the control center.
"Man…" the former of the group uttered as he saw what remained of the screens that the pilot of the mecha would have seen, "Isn't this tech more like what we see in our worlds?" he inquired towards the EVO, who looked on with him.
"Yeah…" he responded, placing his hands at his hips as he narrowed his eyes, "I'm thinking this Ryuto was up to more than just making smaller mechs," he noted, getting his ex-girlfriend's attention, "Am I right?" he guessed while arching an eyebrow.
"I'd assume you'd be right…" she answered as she sauntered around the area, "Still, I don't see how this vessel would've been powered…" she pointed out, placing her hand onto her chin, "The power core would've been right here in the torso…" she mentioned.
"Well, what if they just used electricity?" the police chief implied curiously.
"They were still using that same spirit weapon technology," her half-sister retorted in reply as she folded her arms over her chest, "I doubt they'd scrap that kind of power for one we could've dealt with more easily," she noted.
"Hold on," the Avatar interjected, catching everyone's attention as they looked to see her squatting down beside the Electric type as they were looking over the metal floor, finding lines that seemed to intersect, "Rex, can you come over here for a sec?" she asked, enticing the Providence agent to quickly go to her.
"Uh… what exactly do you need?" he questioned, squatting down next to her.
"Try using your powers," she requested as an answer as she pointed at the floor, "I think there's something under here…" she noted unsurely. Without taking a moment to ask anything else, the goggled man placed the palm of his right hand against the floor. Glowing blue lines spanned out from the point of contact along the metal, followed by the sound of something creaking. Just then, everyone widened their eyes and gasped to see the floor split into four quarters, slowly coming apart to reveal what was beneath it.
"What in the world…?" Kuvira uttered, stunned by what she was seeing. As her ex-boyfriend ceased his action after a few more seconds, he looked and blinked in surprise to see the circular contraption lodged within the open floor, feeding off of the electrical currents that were surging into it. Though nothing appeared to be within the glass encasing the pink light radiating brightly, it seemed to be brimming with energy.
"Um… I'm guessing that isn't just any old spirit vine…" Ash noted as he scratched his cheek nervously.
"Pika pi…" his partner agreed. A while later, the group had claimed the source of energy and had it stored within a metal box for safekeeping.
"To think Ryuto found a way to extract the energy from spirit vines…" the former dictator grumbled as she narrowed her eyes, sitting upon a bench besides Korra, while the male Omni Force members were on the opposite side.
"So that thing… was basically the power source for the entire mech?" the Pokémon trainer inquired as he arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah…" Rex answered as he crossed his arms over his chest, "What's weirder is how futuristic that tech is," he mentioned, "The screen stuff could basically be from either of our worlds," he explained, placing his right hand onto his chin, "but that… power source thing…" he kept going, "It's nothing I've ever seen from the kinds of worlds we live in, let alone here…" he noted, leaning back a little.
"What are you saying?" Korra asked, confused by his statements.
"I'm saying that this Ryuto guy isn't making this kind of tech, but using it in a way that works with what you guys currently have," he replied in explanation, "It's from another world," he stated, causing everyone to widen their eyes.
"P-Pika…?" Pikachu stuttered in disbelief.
"Okay, say that was possible," the Avatar chimed as a suggestion, "How did he get the technology to enhance that Mini Colossus we fought?" she questioned.
"Hey, you said that name was stupid!" Ash yelled, causing her to roll her eyes out of exasperation.
"It shouldn't matter if that technology was made from another world or not," Kuvira stated as she stood up from her seat sharply, "We need to hurry and stop Ryuto before he sends out more of those mechs," she added seriously, walking off.
"Wait, m-more?" the Pokémon trainer stuttered in shock, "There might be more of those Mini Colossus mechs?!" he exclaimed as his eyes were widened.
"Hold on, Kuvira," a voice advised, being Suyin as it caused her to stop, "We need to establish a plan first," she pointed out, going over to her with Lin.
"If these goons have technology that's going to handle regular metalbenders and the kid's little friends," the police chief began, gesturing towards the raven haired man, "then we're going to need to be prepared," she noted as she folded her arms underneath her chest.
"I have no doubt this… Ryuto is using the metals he's been mining for more than just the mech we faced," the matriarch mentioned as her former guard captain turned to fully face her, "which is why you're an asset we can't afford to lose," she told her.
"So how are the rest of us supposed to fight if those mechs are all made out of tungsten or whatever?" Korra chimed in as a question, "I doubt we'd have any plasma saws here in time to try and break through them…" she mentioned in frustration.
"Wait a sec…" Rex uttered, catching their attentions, "If we can break through one and take control of it," he began to suggest, "maybe we can take down the others," he recommended, "I mean… if there are any others…" he corrected as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"There will be," his ex-girlfriend stated firmly, about to walk away until the Metal Clan leader grabbed her by the right arm.
"Kuvira… what is it about this Ryuto that has you so afraid?" she asked, having noticed the anxiety in her voice.
"He's an extremist," she responded, turning around to face the others, "He'll be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the Earth Empire's goals…" she explained, "even if it means sacrificing anything…" she added as she clenched her fists in frustration.
"And what would… 'anything' be?" the Avatar questioned in concern.
"Republic City," the ponytailed metalbender replied to everyone's shock, "After what happened when we had come to Zaofu, he was certain that Republic City wouldn't comply and would have to be taken by force," she told the group, "I'm sure that since he's seen how resilient the people were there, he'll wipe it off the map," she explained to them.
"So we need to hurry," Korra realized as she got up from her seat with her friends.
"And fast," Rex added, turning towards Suyin, "Do we have an airship ready to head out to those mines?" he asked her.
"No, but the mines aren't that far from here," she answered earnestly, "And we've got plenty of soldiers ready to come with us," she mentioned with a serious expression in her eyes.
"Then what are we waiting for?" her half-sister retorted in question, jogging off with her and the others. The EVO was about to go off as well until he felt a hand come onto his shoulder, being from the former dictator as he stopped and looked back at her.
"Uh… muchacha?" he uttered in confusion, noticing her rather nervous expression, "Everything okay?" he asked out of concern.
"Rex…" she began, grasping his jacket tightly, "don't think that just because we're fighting the same fight that we're automatically back together," she advised to him as he blinked in surprise, "I know I said some really harsh things in the past that I'd like to take back, but-"
"We can worry about our relationship after this is over, muchacha," he interjected, giving her a wink, "Now come on," he beckoned, running off. She blushed a little, evidently exasperated by his flirting but somewhat drawn to it. She then hurried after him and the others, prepared to carry out their mission. Meanwhile in the mountainside laboratory, the five other mechs were stood up, getting their final adjustments as cartridges of spirit vines were being loaded, while welders were making last minute tweaks to the joints of the tungsten-based creations. Viewing their work from the balcony above, Ryuto had his hands gripping the railing, recalling the time when he and his allies were forced into hiding.
FLASHBACK
"Kuvira's surrendered…" one man reported, much to everyone's shock as they gasped and widened their eyes.
"How could she have done this?!" another soldier shouted angrily, slamming his right fist into the metal wall and rupturing it on impact, "She had the force of our army, our mecha suits, and the Colossus!" he listed off in rage.
"It wasn't Avatar Korra alone that stopped her," Irine chimed in, holding a clipboard with paper in her hands, "Along with Zaofu's Suyin, her family, the Air Nation, and the members of the Omni Force," she listed off, "they were able to-" Her sentence was cut off as a cable suddenly flew in and whipped the clipboard out of her hands, breaking it in half as the pieces fell onto the ground. Everyone turned to see that the cable had come from none other than the spectacled man, who reeled it back in to the pulley system at his belt.
"R-R-Ryuto?" a helmeted man stuttered in disbelief, "Since when were you a metalbender?!" he questioned, astonished as were the others among him.
"Since always," he answered, adjusting his glasses as he pushed them back up to his eyes, "Sometimes we have to keep secrets in order to stay alive," he mentioned, approaching the group, "But now it's time we do away with any secrets," he declared, grabbing the papers that were upon the advisor's clipboard and ripping them up to mere shreds, "If Republic City cannot be ours, then it must be destroyed," he concurred, causing everyone to widen their eyes, "With our knowledge and resources, we can create the Earth Empire that Kuvira would have wished for," he stated with clenched fists, "For better or worse, this is our path now…" he finished.
"Then… what are your orders, sir?" one man asked, catching his attention as he turned to see his fellow members saluting him, "We'll follow your lead and not succumb to the United Republic," he said for the entire group. Irine was the last of the ones to finally give a salute to the new leader, who put his arms together behind his back.
"There are going to be quite a few changes around here…" he said, narrowing his eyes onto the expansive laboratory.
END FLASHBACK
"Ryuto?" a familiar voice chimed in, enticing him to turn around and see his advisor standing there with her arms behind her back, "I wanted to inform you that the Colossus mechs are nearly complete," she told him, causing him to crack a slight grin, "The one that was sent to Zaofu has likely been disabled… but…"
"No need to continue that drabble, Irine," her superior interjected, trotting over to her, "Have the pilots get ready for launch," he advised as he headed past her, "and please get your armor on," he pleaded to her.
"O-Of course, sir…" she stuttered in reply. Moments later, the spectacled man was within the control center of one of the mechs, dressed in uniform with a helmet and a mask upon his head. He waved his arms around, bending the meteorite metal in the controls to make the mecha start to stomp forward. Four others followed, along with seven platoons of regular mecha suits as they headed out of the laboratory into the valley.
"It's time we erased the United Republic like we should have…" the leader declared with an ominous smirk.
X
An hour had passed since the Omni Force members, Lin, Suyin, Kuvira, and the Metal Clan soldiers had all left to search the mines that the former dictator had spoken of. As they arrived though, they discovered no signs of anyone within the caves they ventured into except for the equipment that had been left behind.
"Nothing…" the matriarch grumbled in disappointment, "Were we too late?" she wondered.
"I sure hope not…" her half-sister responded, noticing the indents on the cavern walls the others were inspecting, "It looks like they left only recently," she noted as she put her hands at her hips.
"Gah!" the ponytailed metalbender yelled suddenly, stomping off in frustration.
"Uh… Kuvira?" Korra uttered in confusion, seeing that she was evidently upset.
"If you hadn't come after me that first night, none of this would be happening!" she shouted towards the younger Beifong woman, "I could have stopped Ryuto if all of you hadn't interfered!" she claimed, placing her hand over her armored chest.
"Kuvira, you were an escaped fugitive at that time…" she retorted in a placating manner, narrowing her eyes, "And last time I checked, you weren't keen on giving us any information about Ryuto in the first place…" she mentioned rather harshly.
"Because YOU told ME that I had to answer for what I've done!" the rogue metalbender shouted back to her surprise, "Ryuto and his followers are part of that responsibility I have to make up for my mistakes…" she told her, tearing up a little, "But now that it's come to this…" she kept going, gritting her teeth. As everyone looked on in concern, Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up.
"Pika?" he squeaked, jumping off his master's shoulder.
"Something wrong, buddy?" he asked him, squatting down. Without warning, a rumble suddenly occurred, causing bits of the cavern's roof to fall down.
"Everyone out!" Lin demanded, pointing towards the exit. Those who were inside immediately ran out of the cavern, which did not seem to be collapsing.
"That wasn't an earthquake…" one male soldier pointed out, narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the area.
"Fan out," Suyin suggested, waving her left arm, "If we cover more ground in small groups, there's a good chance we can-" Her statement was interrupted by the sound of another rumble in the ground, causing everyone to stumble for a moment.
"Okay, that's not a good sign…" Rex realized bluntly.
"LOOK!" a female guard yelled, pointing towards the valley. The former dictator was the first to direct her eyes at the location, widening them at the sight she saw.
"N-No…" she stuttered out in disbelief, falling onto her knees. The five Colossus-styled mechs were already heading out from the mountainside, with the platoons of mecha suits following them as they stomped onwards.
"We were too late…" the matriarch realized, looking over at the woman she had once cared for, "Kuvira…" she uttered, understanding that the very thing she wanted to stop was now a reality. Seeing that hopeless expression in her eyes made the EVO clench his fists angrily, running out towards the army.
"Rex!" Korra cried out to no avail, seeing him put on his goggles and form his legs into his Sky Slyder before zooming off into the distance.
"Bogey spotted at our nine o'clock!" one man radioed into the communication channel of Ryuto's mech, causing him to perk up.
"What is it?" a woman on the line asked as their leader was looking at the monitors in front of him, trying to spot the oncoming object.
"I… can't tell exactly…" the soldier replied with a hint of nervousness in his tone, "It looks like- Wait, what?!" he exclaimed, interjecting his own sentence as the spectacled man finally saw that it was the Providence agent coming towards them, widening his eyes as he transformed his legs into the Punk Busters, while his arms turned into the Smackhands. He dove down at the platoons of mecha suits, slamming his right fist into one and causing it to tumble into a few others. The rest of them turned their attentions onto him, surrounding him as he glanced over at the Mini Colossus mechs heading out of the valley.
"Get him!" one of the men in the mecha suits commanded, enticing the others to charge towards the goggled man. He readied his fists, but suddenly, the ground swelled up and burst around him, blowing the enemies back in an instant.
"You know, you really have a hard time listening, don't you?!" the voice of the Avatar shouted towards her teammate, causing him to look over and see her beside him with the palm of her right hand resting upon the ground.
"Sorry, I got angry…" he muttered in apology, "What'd you expect me to do?" he asked sarcastically, making her roll her eyes in exasperation. Just then, they saw a pair of watery throwing stars pierce into the back of one mecha suit, causing it to spark wildly. Its pilot immediately disembarked in fright, managing to get away before the suit burst into flames. As they raged on, Ash arrived on top of Charizard as they floated down, with Pikachu and Greninja running up to him.
"Well… we got their attention…" he noted as a drop of sweated trickled down his cheek, "Now what?" he asked his comrades. Rex took a moment to look back at the large mechs appearing to be leaving the scene, thinking of an idea.
"Let's see how Ryuto likes us breaking his toys…" he answered as a suggestion, causing his teammates to smile and nod.
"Been a while since we've fought side by side, huh?" the South Pole native guessed towards the capped man beside her, "Hope you're not too rusty, Ash…" she flirted, making him blush a little before he turned away and smirked.
"Oh, believe me…" he began, sparking within a cloak of yellow electricity, "I'm far from rusty…" he declared as he clenched his fists. Two of the mecha suits fired off cables towards the trio, which they all evaded as the EVO jumped up and formed his right arm into the B.F.S., bringing it down and slicing open one of the suits.
"A-Ah…" the male pilot inside stammered before he was yanked out in a yelp by his morphed left hand, allowing him to grab what remained of the suit, and toss it toward the others. Some were knocked back, while others ran out and fired off their flamethrowers towards their lone target. However, Korra hopped and stuck out her hands to block the flames, waving her arms to make them dance and spiral around her. She then fired them back at her opponents, striking as they were blinded by the fire through their visors.
"Can't… see!" one man yelled right before a Funchuck slammed into his suit, sending him flying in a loud yell. Having reformed his legs and morphing his arms into the nunchucks-like build, Rex span around and slammed into several of the mecha suits, sending them flying.
"Ryuto," one woman communicated to her superior, catching his attention as he perked up slightly, "should we worry about our men fighting the rear?" she asked him. He looked at the monitor showing what was occurring behind the Colossus mechs, narrowing his eyes.
"Irine?" he uttered.
"Yes sir?" the voice of his advisor responded.
"I need you to assist those in the mecha suits," he told her, placing his arms behind his back, "Apparently, there are rebels fighting against us…" he muttered, sounding frustrated.
"Understood," she replied before the feed cut out. He smirked, feeling confident that his allies would not fail him.
"Lightning Style…" Ash began as he placed his hands together in the form of a tiger seal, while mecha suits were charging towards him and his Pokémon, "FLASH PILLAR!" he bellowed, emitting a bright light from his form that blinded his enemies as they covered the visors of their helmets with their arms.
"Pika… CHU!" Pikachu exclaimed as he unleashed several streams of lightning out at the suits, electrocuting them on impact as those inside screamed in agony before falling over.
"Nice shot, buddy!" his master complimented with a thumbs up, making him do the same back, "Now Charizard, Dragon Tail! And Greninja, Cut!" he commanded to his other teammates. Cloaking his flaming tail in a green, scale-like aura, the Fire/Flying type swung it out and struck a few of the mecha suits aside. In the meantime, the Ninja Pokémon smacked his fists together and pulled out a glowing white blade from them, using it to slice off the flamethrowers from the mecha suits still surrounding them. However, they fired off electrical charges, which he narrowly evaded as he hopped around quickly. The dragon-like creature was being bombarded by flames, enduring them as long as he grimaced in agony, clenching his teeth.
"Pikah…!" the Electric type growled in frustration, having to dodge the electric blasts and flames shot his way.
"Guys!" their trainer cried out, hurrying over while still sparking within his electrical cloak. Suddenly, he was grabbed at by the wrist by a cable, being yanked away in an instant. "Whoa!" he yelled, getting flung over and slammed into the ground, making it crack as he coughed up a wad of saliva, "Ugh…" he groaned, gritting his teeth as he tried to sit up. He widened his eyes to see a stream of flames coming towards him, enticing him to immediately roll away before being potentially. "What the hell…?" he muttered out, still in agony from the hard throw onto the ground. He stood up and blinked in surprise to see the silvery mecha suit standing before him, seeing its helmet retract to reveal Irine's face.
"You must one of those Omni Force members, correct?" she inquired, causing him to arch an eyebrow while narrowing his eyes, "We won't let you ruin the Earth Empire's ambitions a second time…" she declared, firing out cables in an attempt to ensnare him. However, he spun counter-clockwise to evade them, using his right hand to grasp one and send an electrical charge through, zapping the advisor to the anarchist as she stumbled back with a grunt.
"Hate to break it to you," he began to say to her as he dropped the cable and turned to face her, adjusting his neck with a slight crack as his body grew slightly, while the energy around him shrank, "but I'm not letting you guys get away with whatever you're planning…" he declared fiercely as he clenched his fists.
"Very well then…" the woman he was about to be pitted against responded, letting her helmet come back down over her head as she was prepared to face him.
X
"AGH!" Korra yelled as she slammed into the ground, rolling across it before coming to a stop on her stomach. She barely had enough time to blast air from her palms to propel herself up into the air in order to avoid the fire shot her way. "Rex, a little help?!" she called out to the EVO, who was currently having to evade electrical blasts from the mecha suits as his arms formed back to normal.
"Kinda busy!" he replied, shaping his limbs into the Block Party and using its energy shields to block the flames sent his way by the mecha suits, who continued to fire at him as he formed the barricade into a half sphere around himself. The Avatar landed near him, about to bend out water from the sacks draped over her back until she was electrocuted from behind.
"AAAAHHHH!" she screamed in agony as she fell down onto the ground.
"Korra!" her Omni Force teammate yelled, bringing down his energy shield and running over to go and help her, only to get shocked him as an electric blast zapped him as well, "AAAGHH!" he cried out, falling to the earth on his stomach.
"Rex…" the South Pole native uttered, trying to push herself back up off of the ground.
"Keep them surrounded!" one man within a suit approaching them demanded, "Once we have them detained, we can fall back in line behind Ryuto!" he told the group. Suddenly though, Pikachu leapt in, making his tail glow a silvery white before slamming it into the heads of two of the mecha suits, causing them to stumble back as he landed by his friends.
"Thanks, little guy…" the Avatar said in gratitude, catching his attention as he turned his head and shot her a thumbs up.
"Relax, it's only one little runt…" a soldier reassured, much to his anger as his cheeks sparked furiously. However, he and the two Omni Force members were still surrounded, as both Charizard and Greninja were still fending off other mecha suits from afar, and Ash was busy dodging slabs of earth bent up by the armored Irine. Just then, the ground started to rumble as the suited soldiers were about to attack, enticing them to turn and see the oncoming Metal Clan soldiers with Suyin, Lin, and Kuvira in tow. They were all sliding in upon board-like stones as the latter waved her arms around rapidly. All of a sudden, the cables within some of the mecha suits came out and started to wrap around themselves, much to the surprise of the pilots as they had not activated them.
"Muchacha?" the EVO uttered in disbelief, seeing his ex-girlfriend leap out and launch the stone she rode upon onto one of the restrained mecha suits, knocking it down to the ground. Seeing that the others were distracted by her and the other approaching allies, the Mouse Pokémon formed a sparking orb of yellow electricity upon the tip of his tail. He flung it out at one of the mecha suits, striking it and knocking it down. That gave Korra the opportunity to stand back up, clenching her fists and raising them up to bend the earth and have it trap the feet of some of the other suits that had yet to be restrained. Rex also got onto his feet, forming his right arm and back into the build of the Blast Caster, using the whip to smack down a few of the enemies that were trapped for the moment, knocking them out. As the former dictator finally arrived on the scene, many of the still standing mecha suits were prepared to fire onto her. However, she waved her arms around, causing their own limbs to suddenly start moving on their own, firing off flames and electricity randomly, even striking each other as they shouted in pain. Some flames almost struck her ex-boyfriend, who narrowly managed to duck away from them. "Hey!" he yelled, receiving no response from the ponytailed woman as she bent out blades over her arms, running out at the mecha suits that were still moving.
"RRROOOAAAAGGGHHH!" the Fire/Flying type roared, engulfing himself in orange-colored flames before slamming his right fist against the ground. Light began emitting from the breaking earth, spreading to be underneath the surrounding mecha suits before exploding in a burst of red-orange flames. Meanwhile, the Ninja Pokémon was firing watery throwing stars toward his foes, but they seemed to do no more than merely splash apart against their armor.
"Neen…" he croaked in frustration, being surrounded by the mecha suits as he backed up slowly. Without warning though, the ground swelled up and burst apart beneath his adversaries, blowing them back in loud yells. "N-Nin ja?" the frog-like creature stuttered in surprise before seeing Lin and Suyin land in front of him.
"Looks like we made it in time…" the former of the two concurred, getting into a ready stance, "Though was radioing Republic City really necessary?" she questioned to her half-sister.
"In case things go wrong, it'll be good to have the city evacuated ahead of time," she replied, preparing herself as well, "Take on the mecha suits in groups!" she commanded to the guards who ran over, "There are likely benders within some of them!" she mentioned before they went off to face them.
"Hey…" the police chief uttered, noticing that one person in particular was not among the group as she turned to Greninja, "where's the kid?" she asked him, catching his attention.
"Ergh!" Ash grunted from afar, tumbling over the earth before coming to a halt, breathing heavily as Irine was slowly stepping towards him.
"I think I've heard of you once before, Ash Ketchum…" she noted from beneath the helmet of her weaponized suit, catching his attention as he perked up for a moment, "Yes, when the events Harmonic Convergence occurred…" she recalled, stomping the ground to make the earth split and build up towards her target, only for him to quickly jump back to avoid it. However, his back slammed into an earth wall she had bent up, followed by her having more come up and move in on him, about to trap him completely. He attempted to jump away, but was squeezed against the wall by the ones closing in on him.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" he screamed in agony, feeling his body getting crushed by the rock around him.
"How pathetic," his opponent muttered, walking away as it seemed she had all but subdued him completely, "For someone like you to stand with the Avatar, you're incredibly weak…" she stated, prepared to head over to the battle raging on from afar.
"Ergh…!" her adversary grunted, sparking only a little as his electrical cloak shrank, trying to think of what he could do.
FLASHBACK
"Some new attacks?" a shirtless Elfman inquired towards his older sister's boyfriend.
"Yeah!" he replied as he clenched his fists, "I never really had any strong techniques before I learned how to use the Bulk Up Jutsu I invented..." he pointed out as they looked out at the lake they sat in front of, "And now that I learned how to use Armament Haki, I think I could really make great combo attacks!" he mentioned excitedly as he stood up from the log. His expression then shifted into a frown as he slumped his shoulders. "The problem is…" he started to say, looking at his hands, "my body's still pretty weak…" he admitted disappointedly, "My attacks just don't have enough power to back them up…" he added, sounding upset with himself.
"Hm…" the Beast Soul user hummed in thought, folding his arms over his bare chest, "Maybe you should think about it like a real man!" he suggested proudly with a thumbs up.
"That doesn't really help, Elf…" the Omni Force member responded as a drop of sweat rolled down from the side of his head.
"Well, I think you've got yourself a good idea as to what you want to do," his friend noted as he stood up and placed a brawny hand onto his shoulder, "But don't go selling yourself short," he advised, causing him to perk up slightly, "You're a strong man who can power through anything," he complimented to make him smile a little.
"Yeah… thanks, Elfman," he responded, seemingly content.
END FLASHBACK
'I keep telling myself I'm so weak…!' he yelled inwardly, gritting his teeth as he tried to push to walls pressing against his body, 'But I've stood alongside so many strong people, I can't keep calling myself that!' he declared through his thoughts. He then coated his arms and legs in black, sparking wildly with electricity before bursting out from the rock in a yell, tumbling onto the ground as he came to a stop on his knees.
"Huh… huh…" he breathed out tiredly, glancing out to see Irine heading toward his allies fighting in groups from afar. He growled in frustration, getting on his feet and running out after her. In the meantime, Korra was bending out water from the sacks draped over her back, blasting back some mecha suits with it and freezing their legs up in ice. As they were trapped, Kuvira ran in and placed her right hand onto the chest of one, crushing its metal frame as the pilot inside screamed in fright.
"K-Kuvira?" the Avatar stuttered in surprise, seeing that she was being rather violent as she ran out and stomped her right foot against the earth, making it surge up and burst beneath another small group of mecha suits, sending them flying.
"Hey, watch out!" her ex-boyfriend's voice shouted, catching her attention as she saw several electrical blasts being shot her way, only to end up blocked thankfully as he jumped in, forming his arms into the Block Party and making energy shields to take the attack. Seeing that they were safe for the moment, the South Pole Native took the opportunity to make her eyes glow a bright white. As she bent the water back into the sacks she had, she slammed her right fist against the earth, causing it to shatter massively as all of the mecha suits fell into the crevices she had created from the attack, while dust blew about the entire area. As the dirt settled after a few moments, it revealed that the enemies were all trapped in the cracks, struggling to get out of them.
"Huh…" the short haired woman breathed out, letting her eyes go back to normal before standing up. Rex brought down his energy barricade and reformed his arms, looking out at the surrounding area.
"Okay, that's most of 'em…" he concurred, seeing that the Mini Colossus mechs were not too far off, "We can hit off Ryuto and his buddies after we help out Su and-" His statement was interjected at the moment Kuvira smacked him upside the head with her right hand, which Korra saw as she immediately ran over to them.
"Why couldn't you just stay out of this, Rex…?!" the former dictator asked angrily as her fists shook, "I TOLD YOU THAT THIS WAS MY MESS!" she screamed as he rubbed his hurt cheek, "I'm the one who needs to bear that responsibility…" she noted, tearing up, "This was all my fault… not yours…" she added as she put her right hand over her eyes.
"Muchacha… I get it," the EVO responded, taking hold of her extremity and pulling it away to allow her to look at him, "That hopeless feeling you had…" he began to say, "Believe me, I've felt it, too…" he confessed, grabbing her by the shoulders, "But I had friends at my side to help me through all of that and so do you," he pointed out seriously, making her blink in surprise, "So don't try to push us away when we know this whole world's in danger as long as that guy has those mechs," he advised as he glared at her harshly.
"R-Rex…" she stuttered, stunned by his demeanor.
"Pika, pika!" Pikachu cried out, catching their attentions as they saw him pointing towards the battle raging from afar, where Metal Clan soldiers were being knocked out by the mecha suits.
"We better hurry and help them out," the Avatar told her comrades as she took notice of the giant mecha suits heading off in the opposite direction, "If we're gonna take on five of those things, we're gonna need all the help we can get," she concurred as the metalbender wiped her eyes, "Lead the way, Pikachu!" she yelled while running towards the fight.
"Pika!" he responded with a nod, rushing off beside her while leaving the former couple behind.
"Kuvira…" the Providence agent uttered, catching her attention, "we'll stop them," he promised with a grin, "We always do," he joked before running after his friends. She remained where she was, stunned by his admirable amount of loyalty and resolve. In the meantime, Irine was quickly approaching the battle as well, seeing that most the guards had been taken down by the mecha suits, leaving Suyin, Lin, Charizard, and Greninja left to fend them off.
"Ryuto, sir," she communicated into the radio channel.
"How is it going down there?" her superior questioned through the line.
"Better than I anticipated," she responded with a grin, "It seems we've taken care of all the Metal Clan guards," she mentioned, "so that leaves Suyin and Lin Beifong, what's left of the Omni Force members here including the Avatar, and Kuvira…" she listed off.
"Excellent," he said afterwards, "Make sure to do away with Suyin permanently," he advised to her, "We need to let those in Republic City know that we won't be so merciful as Kuvira was…" he added deviously.
"Understood," the armored metalbender responded, cutting away from the radio. All of a sudden though, she was tackled from behind by Ash, falling onto the ground with him as they tumbled across it.
"Forgetting someone?" he inquired rhetorically and mockingly as they stood up.
"Ergh…" she growled angrily, firing out cables from the arms of her suit towards him. However, he sped forward to evade them, sparking in his electrical cloak as he punched her in the face, making her stumble back. "Wh-What?!" she stuttered in shock, noticing the black coating over his arms and legs.
'By combining my Armament Haki with my Lightning Style…' he noted inwardly, clenching his fists tightly as he lunged out, 'I can win!' he declared through his thoughts, striking her over and over. She attempted to bend the earth in order to trap his feet within rock, but he broke through it rather easily, kicking her in the chest and making the metal armor break off slightly, revealing the pinkish-purple light within it, which he took immediate notice of.
"Wait a sec…" he started to realize. His thoughts were halted though as he was knocked away by a rock that was bent up from the ground behind him, tumbling onto the ground.
"You really wish to die in such a foolish manner?" his adversary guessed as her helmet retracted, "I suppose the Avatar will need to find more reliable allies…" she pointed out while approaching her foe.
"I'm not just an ally…" the Pokémon trainer muttered, clenching his fists as he stood up, "I'm her friend!" he bellowed, swinging his extremities out at her again.
"How pitiful…" she grumbled, clenching her fist and making a metal blade come out over her right arm, about to pierce him with it as he grimaced in fright.
"Pika… CHU!" Pikachu exclaimed suddenly, unleashing a bolt of lightning that struck her in the chest.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" she shrieked in agony upon being zapped, while the light within her armor brightened, which Ash took notice of as he blinked in surprise.
"Wait Pikachu, stop!" he cried out to his approaching partner, who ceased his electrical discharge as he slid to a halt by his master.
"No…" Irine uttered in realization, seeing the sparks coming off from the light of her armor, "NO, NO, NNNOOO!" she screamed repeatedly, trying to get herself out of it as she pulled at the arm, unable to do so.
"Uh oh…" the raven haired man gulped, taking a step back with the Electric type, "I think we better move!" he beckoned to his comrade, who hopped onto his shoulder as they turned and ran off.
"NO!" the metalbender shouted, shooting out a cable to grapple around his right leg, making him trip and fall, "If I die because of you, then you'll come with me!" she bellowed in declaration, firing off more cables to try and ensnare the rest of his body. However, Pikachu jumped out with tail glowing a silvery white, deflecting the oncoming wires and then cutting cleanly those that were around his trainer's leg, allowing him to get back up and run.
"Come on, buddy!" he beckoned, enticing him to jump onto his shoulder and get away with him.
"NO!" Irine exclaimed, about to pursue them until she noticed the light in front of her chest glowing even brighter, "Forgive me… Ryuto…" she apologized, realizing what was to come as the luminosity engulfed her. A massive explosion then occurred, blowing the aspiring Pokémon master and his partner forward as its brightness could be seen from afar. All of the Mini Colossus mechs took notice of it from their monitors as their leader lowered his head slightly in sadness.
"Ugh…" Ash groaned as the dust cleared, lying on his back upon the ground as he was holding onto the Mouse Pokémon in his arms, while his body had shrunk back to normal.
"Ash!" a familiar voice cried out, catching his attention as he sat up to see Korra running up to him.
"Hey Korra…" he greeted tiredly as he tried standing up, only for her to do so for him by pulling him up by his right arm, while his comrade jumped down to the ground.
"What happened over here?" she questioned, seeing the large crater that was left behind from the blast.
"There was some woman in a mecha suit that had one of those… spirit core things powering it…" he explained in reply, having to catch his breath, "Pikachu's Thunderbolt must've… overloaded it or something and made it explode…" he mentioned, causing her to perk up in surprise as she placed her hand onto her chin.
"That might be the key…" she realized, much to his confusion as he arched an eyebrow, "Mako said that by charging the spirit vines with too much electricity, they end up exploding," she told him, causing him to blink in realization, "Pikachu, you might just be our best bet to stopping this guy…" she said to the Electric type, who merely blinked.
"Pika?" he squeaked, completely perplexed as he tilted his head to the side. In the meantime, the last of the mecha suits fell to the ground, as Rex had arrived to assist the others in subduing them.
"Nice work…" Lin complimented in between breaths.
"We still have the giant ones to worry about…" her half-sister commented, seeing that the larger mechs were far ahead of them.
"Guys!" Korra called out, catching their attentions as they saw her run up to them with Ash and Pikachu in tow, "I think we've got an idea on how to stop these things," she stated to their surprise as they widened their eyes.
"Explanation?" the EVO asked as he came over with Charizard and Greninja.
"That reactor thing we found in the Mini Colossus that attacked Zaofu was given a constant source of electricity to keep it powered, right?" she inquired rhetorically to the group, "If it gets too much, it'll explode like when Mako stopped the core in Republic City," she explained.
"So you're saying we can get into each of these mechs and take them down by overloading their power cores with electricity?" the police chief guessed as she crossed her arms.
"Hm…" Suyin hummed as she placed her hand upon her chin.
"I know it's not perfect, but it's the only plan we have at this point to stop him," the Avatar pointed out with stress in her tone.
"No, you're right," a familiar voice chimed in, causing them to perk up and turn to see Kuvira approach them, "There's not much left we can come up with," she noted as she narrowed her eyes, "Have the guards return to Zaofu to protect the people," she advised to her former superior, "They'll need the protection in case things do go wrong…" she mentioned.
"Good idea," the matriarch responded in agreement, going to one of the soldiers who was still conscious, instructing him on what to do.
"That leaves us with Ryuto's final force…" Rex realized, clenching his fists. Everyone maintained serious expressions, prepared to see things through to the end and stop the maniacal anarchist.
END
Yeah… I kinda wanted to turn this into the final chapter, but then I realized how long that would take, and I had already made my schedule up very clearly to show what I was going to get done for the weekend. That said, I'm glad with how the chapter turned out for the most part.
Now there's one chapter left and then the return of "Traitor" for the finale of its second episode! Stay tuned everyone!
