Chapter 31: Distrusts and infighting.
Vault under Beacon
"I hope you know what you're doing." Ironwood spoke.
"I know what must be done." The ice warrior replied.
"The medallion could keep Atlas afloat for years without any hint of running out of power at all. It may - no, it will kill you if you fail." Ozpin warned.
"I know of the risk." Replied Sub Zero.
The General sighed as he offered the cryomancer the Dragon medallion. Sub Zero reclaimed the relic from General Ironwood's hand and nodded to him.
"I am ready for its power." Kuai Liang said.
Ozpin, Glynda and Ironwood backed away from the ice warrior as he got on his knees. Both of Sub Zero's hands wrapped around the medallion as he applied his glyphs onto them.
In a split second, Sub Zero's consciousness drifted to another plane of existence.
He opened his eyes and looked around as to where he was kneeling. The cryomancer found himself standing on a fairly large ring with a dragon ingrained into the granite floor. Surrounding the ring is a vast, seemingly endless body of water.
From behind him, Sub Zero noticed the presence of someone. Turning around, the cryomancer saw another cryomancer with a similar attire to his.
"Grandfather?" Kuai Liang asked.
"Defeat me to earn my mantle, as your brother did." The elder Sub Zero spoke.
"You honor me with your kombat." Kuai Liang replied.
Back in the vault
"It'll take a while." Ozpin spoke.
"I have duties to attend to, so I'll take my leave." Ironwood agreed.
"So do I." Glynda added.
"I will inform you of any development. You have places to be and I will not waste any more of your time." The Headmaster stated.
The pair left Ozpin alone with his thoughts. The immortal then continued to do what he did best and had been doing for centuries.
Waiting.
Penny's POV
The android thought she was being cautious. She stalked the newly introduced cyborg as he went about his day. The yellow cyborg sparked interest in her.
Cyrax was what he was called. Due to the occurrence of recent events, people have grown to fear machines. The day Atlas fell was forever remembered as the Mechaniclysm, the Cybernetic Revolt. Twas' the day Atlas' very own weapons, creations made to protect people, annihilated them.
The fear of Cyber soldiers was ever more present than before since that fateful day. It was that very same day that Penny decided to never reveal her well kept secret to anyone. For, should they know what she was, they would either turn against the Atleasian Council or have her dismembered.
Yet, the cyborg before her seemed not to care. Cyrax took whatever insults people had for him and brushed it off as if they were but wind and air.
Penny knew.
The android knew he was just like the people who feared him.
Cyrax was simply a victim of the Tekunin. Just like those who eyed him in disgust.
When he was in the lab, Penny made sure there was no one around to listen to them speak before approaching the yellow cyborg. To her surprise, she could not find him in the lab on the mothership. Panic flared inside the android as she frantically looked at the security feeds.
"You have been following me for a while. Do you have something to say?" The cyborg asked from behind the ginger android.
Penny almost jumped at the voice. It was as if she was a regular human. The ginger regained her composure and replied.
"Yes, I would like to speak to you." Penny answered.
"Please make it quick. I will do my best to answer whatever question that boggles your mind." Cyrax sat down at a workbench and started working on his high-frequency buzzsaw.
"You're like me." Penny blurted out and were she a human her heart would've skipped a beat. The ginger did not know why she said it, but it made sense in the context for some odd reasons.
"We are not alike, you and I. Not exactly, android." The yellow cyborg replied.
"How long have you known about it?" The ginger asked.
"The moment you stepped into my sight. I did not feel like addressing it back then, but I feel it fitting bringing up the topic now since you've already admitted it." Cyrax answered.
"Thank you for not making a scene at the sight of me when we first met. What did you mean when you said that we are not alike? We are both mechanical constructs that were given a soul and a mind of our own." The android asked.
"Ah,... But you see, there is a key difference between us. I was a man before that was taken away from me while you are a machine that was brought to life through the work of science. Whereas my existence is a tragedy, yours is a miracle. You should be proud that you are a living proof that even machines are capable of having a soul." Cyrax explained.
"I am not just a machine. I too was a real girl." Penny explained.
"Oh? Why did you agree to this then? Or were you forcefully conscripted as I was." That caught the yellow android's attention.
"Nothing like that. I was dying. I was weak since my birth and the doctors said that I couldn't live past the age of four. That's why my father decided to keep all of my memories in a database, so when I died, we could still be together. It took him years of research before he could create an android that can hold my mind. He finally succeeded and somehow, my soul was kept with my mind." The ginger explained.
"You should be proud of yourself then. You are a testament of your father's love. Your story also confirmed one of my theories about souls, so thank you for that." The buzzsaw cyborg spoke.
"You are welcome! May I inquire as to what that theory is?" The cyber girl smiled brightly.
"Certainly." The yellow cyborg replied, but he refused to elaborate further.
"Can you tell me what the theory is?" Penny asked.
"Yes." Cyrax replied curtly.
"Can you do it now?" The ginger asked impatiently.
"Yes." Cyrax replied once again.
"I see. The joke is quite humorous." The cyber girl beamed, "Please tell me your theory about the source of souls."
The buzzsaw cyborg nodded.
"Tis' quite simple. I believe that our soul comes from our consciousness, our very thoughts and emotions. The fact that you have no bits of mankind inside your body other than your consciousness proves that Aura does not come from our body, but rather, our sense of self. This means that you are no less human than any of us and that I am no less of a man than I was." Cyrax explained.
"I,... Understand what you mean." Penny nodded.
She didn't really understand, but she got the gist of it. It almost made her giddy. He was one of the few people who recognised who she was and not what she was made of.
"I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship!" Penny chirped.
After a short moment of consideration, the yellow cyborg stuck out his hand. Penny shook it with great enthusiasm.
"I'm inclined to believe so." The buzzsaw cyborg replied.
If he could smile, the android could imagine seeing his smile right now. The moment was abruptly cut off by the alarm blaring.
TIMESKIP
Ozpin sat at his desk and stared at the two men approaching him. Glynda was prepared to fight them, but the Headmaster waved her off. Hanzo was standing in front of his desk perfectly still to the regular person's eye, but Ozpin knew better. The man was trembling in rage and he was almost praying for a fight.
"Master Hasashi, what business do you have with me?" Asked the wizard.
Hanzo did not answer, but he gave Ozpin the hard copy of Adam's files from the factory. Ozpin knew immediately what they were about to talk about the moment he opened it.
"Hanzo,..."
"Read it thoroughly before speaking." The yellow shinobi warned.
"I already know where this conversation is going." Responded the wizard.
"Then answer this. Did you know that he was planning an attack on Salem?" Hanzo growled.
"Yes." The Headmaster answered truthfully.
"Then WHY did you send me after him!?" The Hellfire ninja's eyes lit aflame in rage.
Glynda was prepared to fight, but Ozpin signaled her to stand down.
"He would do nothing but mildly inconvenience her. Worse, he will make the whole world aware of Salem. Carnage would have been inevitable and the people who would have had to clean up the mess are us." The Mediterranean wizard reasoned.
"You kill people for the fault of KNOWING!?" Hanzo rolled his hands into fists.
"If I must." The Headmaster stated.
Hanzo flared a suffocatingly murderous aura while Ozpin relaxed posture seemed no less threatening. Takeda and Glynda both gripped their respective weapons as the thunderous aura from the two stared at each other.
"You manipulated me! Misdirected my vengeance! AND CAUSED ME MY SON!" Hanzo slammed his fist into the table, breaking it.
"This manipulation ends here."
The yellow ninja leapt at the immortal with enough force to light his foothold on fire with friction alone. Scorpion grabbed Ozpin by the neck as he pushed Hellfire to feet to launch himself and the Headmaster through the windows like a missile.
Hanzo flew down from the clocktower with the wizard like a meteorite and slammed him to the ground hard enough to blow up the ground and sent the concrete flying. The Hellfire assassin noticed that the Mediterranean had turned his green Aura field on.
In the office, Takeda sighed and looked at Glynda as he spoke.
"Maybe we should step in." The psychic offered.
Professor Goodwitch responded with a table flying at him, but it broke upon impacting Takeda's own telekinesis field.
"Surrender. You Shirai Ryu are overstepping your boundaries." Glynda spoke.
"I'll have to decline that offer." The lasher snarked.
Scorpion's POV
Due to the unbreakable nature of the divine Aura field, Ozpin received the attack with profound disinterest. A single thrust from the cane gave out a shockwave that sent the yellow ninja flying a dozen of meters into the air.
Ozpin then slammed his cane to the ground and used it as leverage to throw a double legged kick to Hanzo's stomach, sending the Hellfire assassin rolling on the ground. As Scorpion got back to his feet, the immortal leapt forward and thrusted his cane at the yellow ninja, only for Hanzo to quick-draw his katana and deflect the blow to his right.
The Hellfire assassin slashed downwards, only for Ozpin to block the attack with his cane before punching Scorpion in the face with the handle of his cane, disorienting him. The Headmaster swung right and the yellow ninja blocked the cane, but the shockwave of the green Aura still sent him sliding back a few meters.
Hanzo slashed down with his katana, sending a flaming air blade at Ozpin. As expected, the wizard tanked it with his green Aura effortlessly.
The Headmaster caught a kunai aimed at his face with his left hand. The kunai exploded and surrounded the immortal with a cloud of smoke. Ozpin rammed his cane to the ground and the green shockwave cleared the smoke, but Hanzo was nowhere to be found.
Looking up, Ozpin saw Scorpion in the sky, with his flaming skull, as he shot a great fireball from his mouth upon the wizard's direction. Looking as unimpressed as ever, the immortal covered his entire body with divine Aura as the great fireball fell upon him.
The fireball glassed the grounds of Beacon, leaving a hundred meter diameter crater that was glowing red. Once again, the Headmaster was completely unharmed by the attack.
Under Beacon, a cryomancer's eyes snapped open with a brilliant blue light.
The wizard looked up and once again, Hanzo was no longer in his sight. Ozpin moved his head to his right to dodge the chained kunai coming from behind him and grabbed the chain with his left hand. The chain then suddenly wrapped around his neck and the Headmaster activated the green Aura to protect himself before the chain burst into flames.
"GET OVER HERE!" Two voices stacked upon one another sounded behind Ozpin.
The wizard was pulled back towards Scorpion. The immortal swung his cane to his right, only for Hanzo to duck underneath the swing and wrapped the chain around Ozpin's right wrist before using his right fist to knock the cane out of the wizard's hand.
The chains then tied the wizard's hand with his neck. Ozpin activated his invincible Aura to avoid getting burnt to a crisp.
Scorpion noticed that the Divine Aura flickered, meaning Ozpin's invincibility was running out of time. Hanzo threw the wizard over his shoulder and slammed him onto the ground, cratering the stone floor.
Yet, despite being held at Hanzo's mercy, Ozpin chuckled as his energy field disappeared. Scorpion held the Wizard up by the neck using the chains wrapped around his neck.
"You lost your invulnerability field, yet you still laugh?" The yellow ninja asked in bafflement, "Have you finally lost your sanity!?"
"No, I cannot defeat you. But, I can do what I do best." Ozma explained as he held his grin, "I can always buy a little more time."
Hanzo barely managed to block an incoming ice blast with his left arm before teleporting away from the beam. The Hellfire ninja had to focus his flame into his left arm to defrost it and heal his frostbite wound.
Scorpion noticed his shadows were being blocked by the shadows of a hundred meter tall clawed hand. The hand crushed the ground around it with a death grip, but the ninja was quick enough to teleport on top of it and locate Sub Zero, who was seemingly standing mid-air.
The yellow ninja launched himself at the cryomancer, shattering the ice hand with the force of his leap. Scorpion sent a left flaming kick at Sub the ice warrior, but it was stopped dead in its tracks.
Hanzo realized that every snowflake surrounding Sub Zero was a glyph.
Block.
Accelerate.
Deflect.
Scorpion was launched back at breakneck speed. Hanzo teleported behind Sub Zero and added the momentum to his quick-draw, only for the ice warrior to create an ice shield in his left hand and deflect the attack to his left, causing the Hellfire ninja to fall down from the sky.
Scorpion saw an ice dragon flying towards him with its mouth wide open to chomp him down and sheathed his katana. The yellow ninja launched his left scorpion kunai into its upper jaw and flipped over its head before stabbing the other kunai into the creature's skull, burning it until the ice exploded.
Sub Zero's shield splitted into six knives and was launched through a glyph, multiplying the number of knives by a hundred as it rained down. Hanzo weaved through a storm of blades and launched his chained kunai forward to sling himself at the cryomancer, who was lowering himself to the ground.
The Hellfire ninja whipped his arms forward to clash his chains, creating a fierce explosion. The yellow ninja then whipped his chains into the ground, causing it to spit lava.
Yet, when the dust had settled, Sub Zero was nowhere to be found. An ice dragon suddenly bit Hanzo's back from behind and flew at the cryomancer's position.
Kuai Liang grabbed Scorpion by the neck as the dragon shattered itself into the Hellfire ninja's body, causing splinters of ice to embed itself into Hanzo. The ground suddenly grew ice spikes before the ice warrior chucked Scorpion into the mattress of spikes.
Hanzo groaned in agony as he glared hatefully at Kuai Liang. Scorpion tried to wiggle free, but the jagged blades that jabbed into his flesh made it incredibly difficult to do so.
"That's enough, Scorpion." The cryomancer declared.
"Not,... Until *huff* the debt,... Is paid!" Hanzo groaned out.
"Do you really believe doing whatever you're doing now is a good time? I thought you have tempered your wrath? Thousands are without their homes and they are getting more and more restless by the battle you brought. The fight could be seen a mile away, were you trying to attract Grimm upon the innocents!?" Sub Zero scolded.
Hanzo looked at the soldiers in disarray, General Ironwood trying to rally the people as they got more and more frightened, the wary look from the girl with ginger hair and Cyrax. Takeda stll had his plasma blades in the air, ready to fight anyone who dares to approach him. Scorpion stopped struggling.
The ninja thought he had tempered his rage, but that was obviously not the case. He was still too rash about this decision.
The ice spikes inside of the Hellfire ninja dissolved into snowflakes and disappeared like dust in the air. Hanzo then struggled to sit up as blood streamed profusely through the holes in his body. Some of the holes could even be seen through.
Even as Hellfire stitched the wounds in the yellow ninja's body back, he still had a hard time standing. Takeda teleported next to his Grandmaster and helped him stand up.
"The Shirai Ryu will ally with your kingdoms no longer. It is not a matter of pride, but one of principle." The Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu declared.
The two of them then teleported back to the Clan. The moment the two landed, they both noticed that Ruby and Yang were nearby. The girls rushed to their side as the lasher plopped Hanzo to the ground and huffed.
"What happened!?" Ruby asked.
"We just cut ties with the kingdoms. The Shirai Ryu is on its own now." Takeda replied.
"What!? Why!?" Yang exclaimed.
"We had just found out we've been deceived and manipulated by the Headmaster. It would be for the better if we do not work with them anymore." Hanzo spoke as he tried to get up.
"That's insane." Yang breathed out.
"I know. It's not good, but we have to take the fight to our enemies. We will do so with or without them." The Grandmaster stood up and turned to walk away "Gather the members, we are taking initiative. I am calling the legions to war. We are going to the Grimmlands."
"Are you CRAZY!? YOU'LL DIE!" Yang exclaimed "What about your Clan? Can't they have any time to at least grieve!?"
"I agree with her sentiment. Is it wise to attack now, Grandmaster? We have many injured members to tend to and many to bury." The lasher asked.
"None of that will matter now that they have Shinnok's Amulet. Elder Gods forbid if they release him from his seal. If that happens, none of us can stop him." Hanzo explained "That fool Ozpin has been deliberately holding us back from attacking the Queen. Whether or not the world knows about her matters not. What matters is that the battles must be won. We must win."
Ruby's shoulder sagged and Takeda nodded with hesitance.
"Get the injured to the safehouse and make sure a few stay behind to tend to them. Tell the rest to gear up for war. I shall call upon the Legions of Netherrealm." Scorpion ordered.
Hanzo opened a portal and went through it, leaving a conflicted Yang, Ruby and Takeda to themselves. Ruby sighed before following him through the portal.
The ronin however, did not wish to see others die in the battle. Maybe the separation from the Kingdoms was not that bad of a thing. They wouldn't have to worry about the casualties if they have the Legions backing them up.
People should not die for the battle they did not finish many millennia ago. Turning to Yang, Takeda changed the subject in hope of distracting her.
"Hey, Yang. Your mother is found. You should go and visit her." Takeda spoke.
"Really? Damn, is she alright?" Yang asked.
"She's alive. You should go speak to her. She's in Beacon." The ronin stated.
"Alright. Don't you dare leave me behind, okay? Don't think I don't know what you're doing. I'll be back in a few days. I'll join your Clan in this fight." The blonde brawler declared.
'Damn, she knew.' The ronin cursed in his head.
"I don't know why you put your missing mother in the backseat, but that's a bit cold. Aren't your folks going to be worried that you are going to do something dangerous?" Takeda asked.
"They're gonna keep coming at mom, no matter what we do. It's best to bring the fight to them and take them down now so they won't come after us anymore. I'm doing this for her, but don't let her hear that, capiché?" Yang smiled brightly.
"We will still be here until the end of the week. Take your time." The ronin lied.
The blonde huntress then got onto her motorbike and pointed back at Takeda.
"If I come back and you aren't here, you're gonna get your head knocked off!" Yang warned before driving away.
From behind the lasher, a feminine chuckle rang out.
"C'mon Takeda, why would you lie to a girl like that?" Coco chimed in
"This suicide mission might be our last. We are most likely not coming back from this battle. I don't want you guys to be involved in a battle that we didn't finish eons ago." Takeda warned.
"You don't get to decide for us, or the girl, dude. Besides, this might as well be the end of the world. I don't see why we would not join in the fight?" Coco snarked "Amirite?"
"Yeah." Velvet agreed.
Yatsuhashi grunted in approval.
"Don't you have to go back to Beacon? Not that I'm complaining about extra hands, it's just that there are obligations you have to follow in the Academy." Takeda tried to change the subject.
"Look,... I understand your worry for our safety, but we might as well be dead if the battle is lost. You're gonna need all the help you can get." Yatsuhashi explained.
"We can hold our own. B-Besides, we are older than you. W-We can join i-if you're joining." Velvet reasoned.
"What Velvet meant to say was, don't count us out. We're helping, whether you like it or not." Coco stated firmly.
"Very well,..." Takeda relented, but added a joke "You're gonna have to try to keep up with us, and seeing as you can keep up with Fox, I'd give you guys a solid."
"Pfft, that's your standards? Seems like you're gonna have to keep up with us." Coco declared.
"I'll take that as a challenge." Takeda paused, "Speaking of Fox, I think we should visit him."
5 minutes later
Takeda and the rest of team CFVY sat next to Fox's bed staring at said injured man as he played with his knife.
"So,... Fox, how did you even pass Beacon's initiation?" Takeda asked.
"How could I not? We're Chunin. We should pass with flying colors." The blind fighter asked.
"No, I mean, you have to make eye contact with your partner to enroll and, considering the thing about your eyes,..." The ronin trailed off.
"Dude, I almost died, the Kingdoms are in peril and the whole world's about to go to hell, and you still have time to make fun of my eyes?" Fox deadpanned.
"… Yes."
"Fuck you Takeda." Fox grumbled.
"So does that mean Fox hasn't actually passed the initiation?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"I sure hope not. I don't want to see myself getting dragged down with him." Coco joked.
"Ableist! All of you!" Fox declared exaggeratedly.
"Chill, don't be that guy right now." Takeda added.
"Oh, I'm gonna be that guy right now." Fox replied.
The group snickered. Deep down, they knew this momentarily jest might be their last.
Netherrealm
Ruby and Hanzo walked towards the furnace once again, to Ruby's confusion. They had everything they needed. Why would they return to the shack?
"Why are we here? I thought you could summon Netherrealm's army at any point." The red reaper asked.
"If we're going to war, we must wear a uniform." Hanzo answered.
"Wait, don't Chunins have to make their own uniform?" Ruby asked.
"Correct. Takeda leans more to the modern side while I lean more to the traditions. The point is to make the Chunins rely on themselves when they're separated from help. We have not finished your training yet, but we don't have a choice but to push it faster now.." The ninja explained.
"Hm,... I think I have a design in mind." Ruby beamed.
"As long as it is functional." Hanzo nodded.
Silence reigned once more. The only sound was from the molding of metal as they worked. Ruby sneaked a couple of glances at Hanzo when she thought he wasn't looking as she worked. Having had enough, Hanzo turned to her instead.
"What ails you, child?" Asked Hanzo.
"Uhhh,...I have some questions, if you don't mind." Ruby spoke.
"Ask away." The yellow ninja nodded.
"Do we really have to go next week? Some of our Clan members are still injured from the fight and I don't think they'll survive being left to fend for themselves." The little Rose stated.
The shinobi only looked at his daughter ruefully.
"I understand your concern. Believe me, I do." Hanzo stated "But unfortunately, time is not on our side. The longer we wait, the more dangerous they'll become. If we do not attack now, we may have no hope of defeating her."
"I know, it's just,... I can't help but feel bad for them. Leaving them because they can't fight makes me feel like we're leaving them behind because they're deadweight." The red reaper claimed.
"I know. It's good to feel for others. It makes you human." Hanzo smiled.
Ruby nodded and went back to work.
After a while, Ruby put the suit on. It was cool, she thought. She could've sworn she saw it somewhere, but couldn't make heads or tails as to where she saw it.
Somehow, she remembered its name, though.
It was a black Nightingale armor.
It had a mouth piece, a hood and black plated armor from her shoulders to her foot. The only parts of hers that were not armored were her biceps, for mobility, and thighs. However, her thighs were covered by an armored dress.
And as always, her signature red cloak.
"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea where this design comes from, but I'm totally stealing it." Ruby joked.
"I can see the appeal. It is an archery suit. Fitting for a modern archer." Hanzo smiled.
"Uhhm,... But I'm a sniper." Ruby stated.
"Exactly. I know what I said." The yellow ninja smirked.
"But-"
"Hush. I know what I said."
The red Rose grumbled in defeat as she walked away from the changing room for Hanzo to enter. Before she knew it, he had already put the armor on.
It was a traditional samurai armor consisting of a yellow two piece torso armor accompanied by shoulder plates that are covered with sharp teeth and armor plated boots and gauntlets.
"Cool,..." Ruby spoke up.
"It's the traditional Shirai Ryu armor. It is simple and functional." Hanzo agreed.
"Yeah, but it's not as cool as mine though!" The red reaper declared.
"Each to their own, I guess." The Hellfire shinobi chuckled.
"Now that we're all dressed up, shall we summon the Legions?" The little Rose offered.
"There's no rest for the wicked." Hanzo replied.
The Grimmlands
"Do you take me as a fool, Quan Chi? We both know your devotion towards that mad god Shinnok." Salem stated.
"We know the reason why he was locked up. I have no wish to release him. Not when I am within his way."
The Revenants growled.
"That wasn't part of the deal." Quan Chi frowned
"Of course it is." Salem smirked "Our deal was that I get the Relic of Choice, you get your master back. And as it is, this amulet remains with me."
"You wretched WITCH!" The albino sorcerer snarled.
"Ah-ah,... Do you not remember who is in control here?" As she said this, Geras appeared right next to her "The Relic of Destruction is in my hand. One wrong move, and you will be annihilated. Do not test my patience."
The Sorcerer ordered his Revenants to back down at the threat.
"This will come to your hand at the right time. Now leave my presence." Salem continued.
"You'll regret this." Quan Chi snarled as he turned to leave.
Salem sat there on her throne as she watched him leave through the portal. Undoubtedly, he would return to try and steal the amulet and he'll be dealt with when he comes.
But for now, she must focus on her goals.
Salem walked in her dungeons and stopped at one room. She opened it to reveal an empty room. With a wave of her hand, a crown appeared mid air and floated to her.
The dark queen grabbed the crown and placed it onto her head. The crown would kill any mortal if they put it on, but Salem was no mere mortal. Her powers could compare to a god on its own and with the crown, she would be unstoppable by all but the Elder gods.
Soon, she would finally have fate in the palm of her hands.
Soon, time would be hers.
The final step was to enter Beacon and claim the Relic of Choice.
Guess we who livesss?
No one?
Awwwwww,...
Fine. I live.
12th Grade's really given me a hard pounding, but I survived. Now to survive the College entrance Exam now that all of it is over.
Then it gets worse. But hey, you have to start climbing up somewhere, right?
Hanzo's outfit is his MK movie outfit and Ruby's outfit is the Nightingale armor in Skyrim.