Musical Selection for the chapter

Onimusha Dawn of Dreams - Test of Valor 4

Marvel vs Capcom 3 - Dante Theme

Tekken 2 - The Headshaker

Urban Reign - The Showdown

Chapter 17 – Fighting Creepers

East side of Stella's castle…

Lars gave the official word to attack the castle as his troops drove their hovers over the river and entered the broken west gate covering that part of the area. The monsters and Manji warriors were already startled from the bell being alarmed because of an intruder. Now they face an all out invasion from the Paladin forces. With their firearms, the Paladins were effective in taking out many of the enemies. Alisa hovered high above the castle, helping out her group fight the monsters using her new laser beams shot from her eyes. She herself landed on top of the east wing of the castle roof. Flying bat monsters tried to gang up on her but Alisa spun her leg around like a spinning top, knocking off all the monsters. Alisa rushes near the closest window to enter inside. Alisa hoped to seek out Stella or Yoshimitsu and put a stop to them. However, something hit her on the back and it corroded her armor.

Alisa: "What the?" (Turns around.) "Hey!"

It was two of Stella's newest creations which spawned out of Zuku's body after Snippy impregnated her. One of them yelled in excitement, perhaps because they knew that Alisa was no ordinary being. Alisa resolved herself to take care of these beasts before confronting Yoshimitsu or Stella.

At the Westside of the castle…fountain courtyard.

Lars shot the last remaining manji ninja who were retaliating from the Paladin onslaught. The coast was clear for his troops to advance.

Lars: "Let's keep moving men!"

For extra measure, Lars made sure the group would advance before he did. Then a blast was shot across the reconstructing wall as it almost hit Lars. He looks for the source and it was someone he thought surely died.

Lars: "It can't be! Dragunov!"

Dragunov came from the south corner of the castle heading into the fountain courtyard. The Spetnaz soldier didn't expect to run into Lars, but Dragunov felt the need to eliminate Lars because he was partly responsible for destroying his base of operations.

Lars: "How did you survive that explosion? What are you doing here?"

Ignoring his questions, Dragunov thought about shooting Lars' in the head. But off the corner of his eyes, he noticed some strange creature descending from above the castle ready to strike him. It was another one Stella's new pets as it jumped up in midair. Not being fazed, Dragunov's aims the plasma gun at the attacker. The laser puts a large hole through the creature's midsection. However, just after the first creature jumped from the tower, two more of its siblings came from above the castle and landed surrounding the dying creeper who was shot down. Dragunov shoots again but the other two creepers dodge out of the way before the wounded one was obliterated from the second fire of the plasma gun.

Lars: "What the hell are these things?"

Dragunov was curious himself, but these things were hungry for blood, that much he could tell. Lars was forced to pull out his dagger hidden under his right leg. He insisted that Dragunov help him to fight off these unknown monsters.

Lars: "You mind fighting these guys off? Then we can talk later."

Dragunov reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Underground atrium dungeon level, north side of Stella's castle…

Kunimitsu: "You! I'm actually glad you found me! After I kick your ass, I'm going to make you help me find those keys!"

Zuku didn't responded, which Kunimitsu found to be strange. Instead tentacles came from out of her back, about three on each side. Then the mutated Zuku drew out her 2 ninjatos and proceeded to attack Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu took the challenge and defended herself. She was able to cut off a few tentacles from attacking. Yet this didn't faze Zuku. Zuku stepped back and did her special move, the Phoenix Feather once again. Kunimitsu couldn't get away in time as some of the sparks hit her arms and legs. Kunimitsu fell on the ground rolling in pain.

Kunimitsu: "Dammit! Aaaggghh!"

Zuku them opened her mouth and blasted a large volume of acid heading for Kunimitsu. The fox ninja got out the way, but the acid sprayed on to the gears and they melted. Now Kunimitsu couldn't use the cage to ascend above ground. Those sparks hurt her like crazy. Plus, she didn't know what happened with Zuku to make her grow tentacles, spit acid, and stop trash talking. Either way, Kunimitsu wanted to get this fight done. There were only three options. One, use the poison mist to freeze the mutated Zukumimefu. If that didn't work, use one of the special charms to fry her body into a crisp. All else fails, commit Seppuku by using the firework bomb under her pouch. Kunimitsu wasn't going to do the latter, so she chose number 1. Taking the capsule from out of the pouch, Kunimitsu gathered herself to blow off the poison mist. Snippy disguised as Zuku didn't know what Kunimitsu was planning, but it was smart enough to recognize the imminent danger of the misty smoke.

Kunimitsu: "I don't think so! Rin…Pyoh…To…Sha…Kai…Jin…Retsu…Zai…Zen!"

Using the kuji-in, Kunimitsu now gained control of the poison mist. Zuku tried to jump back up to the surface, but Kunimitsu blasted the mist to catch her enemy. Zuku's jump wasn't quick enough as her body froze up and fell back down below. The lower body of Zuku shattered afterwards. Only the upper body remained intact. Kunimitsu was relieved that her technique worked.

Main keep, Stella's Castle…

Yoshimitsu was gaining the upper hand on Raven as they fought their battle. It appeared that Yoshimitsu never grew tired as he fought Raven. The Dark Talon slowly lost focus due to his eventual fatigue. He was beginning to wonder if he could even finish this guy off. Suddenly Yoshimitsu grabbed Raven's arms as he slung him around in a 360, similar to King's Tijuana Twister. Yoshimitsu slung Raven towards the King's chair. Raven landed on the ground in a lot of pain after colliding with the chair.

Yoshimitsu: "Futile! Your efforts are meaningless! Now I'm getting bored of this fight. Time to die Raven!"

Raven briefly blacked out. Was this the end for him? How would his companions react to him being killed? He told himself he was sorry for letting everyone down. That is until he a heard a child's voice.

Child: "Don't give up Raven."

Raven in his dream opens his eyes to see a lone boy standing in front of him with the light shining through the darkness. The boy looked like he was about 7 years old, wearing tattered underclothes. He reassured his confidence in Raven.

Child: "You can't give up Raven. If you go away, I know someone who won't have a daddy to play with."

Raven: "A daddy?"

Child: "Yea and Kunimitsu will be sad forever."

Raven: "Wait a minute? Karasu is that you?"

Dream ends…

Yoshimitsu picks up Raven and aims his blade for Raven's forehead.

Yoshimitsu: "Any last requests before you enter death?"

There was a slight pause, but Raven remembered at the last second about the special charms given to him by Jun Kazama, in case a situation like this occurred.

Flashback…

Raven: "You take one."

Kunimitsu: "I don't want to."

Raven: "This is not up for debate. Stella, Yoshimitsu, or anyone aiding them could be a lot stronger than we think. These are the charms Jun Kazama made herself. She told me these would nullify any powers those guys might use."

Kunimitsu: "Are you positive about that? I mean her?"

Raven: "Yes believe me."

Kunimitsu: "Okay. I'll take one. This better be enough to kill them Raven."

Raven: "Trust me it will."

Flashback ends…

Raven: "Now…I do…have…a…request."

Yoshimitsu: "Oh you do? Fine…say it!"

Instead, Raven used his left hand to unravel the enhanced charm and struck it on Yoshimitsu's face! The Manji Clan leader immediately let's go on Raven backpedaling. The power of the charm made Yoshimitsu's entire body rise in temperature all the way up to the boiling point. His screams of agony eventually ceased until he was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Raven: "Namu!" (To the corpse.) "I guess Jun didn't fail us after all. Now to find Stella."

Back at the dungeons…

The frozen corpse of Zuku had not moved for some time. Kunimitsu felt it was safe to press forward. That is until she heard the top remains of the corpse shake off the ground. Cracks began to form all around the upper body of Zuku, until Snippy bursts out of the shell. Using its tentacles, Snippy grabs Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu uses her ninjatou to stab the surface so she wouldn't get pulled closer to Snippy.

Kunimitsu: "What the fuck is this thing?! Let go!"

Snippy was angry for getting nearly trapped by Kunimitsu's poison mist attack. Since the monster couldn't drag her towards it, Snippy spitted acid towards Kunimitsu once again. This time Kunimitsu couldn't get away. Snippy let go at the last moment before the fox ninja was screaming in anguish as the acid burned her body. The parasitic looking creature felt some satisfaction taking out a formidable opponent. Or did he?

Kunimitsu (from above): "I got you now!"

Kunimitsu had no choice but to kill this beast with the special charm Raven gave her before they left for the castle. After landing on the monster's back, Kunimitsu pasted the charm on top of its head. Immediately hopping off, Snippy started to yell as its body's temperature quickly rose. This time the battle was over. Snippy collapsed on the ground as its flesh decayed into ashes.

Kunimitsu (thought): "That was too close. I wanted to save that charm for Stella. Just how powerful is this woman? Get it together Kunimitsu! Just find out where those keys are first! Then I'll regroup with Raven & Lars."

After gaining composure, Kunimitsu jumped from side to side on the cylindrical wall going up to the surface. She eventually found herself back outside near the castle where the northern gate was located. The next thing to accomplish was finding the room where Stella sleeps.

Notes: Didn't want to leave the readers hanging with cliffhangers. Maybe the next chapter things will pick up even more. We will see which character will have to deal with Stella first.