"TSSSHAHAHAHAHA! We meet again!" Serpentine hisses, his voice booming from the Roboskorp's external speakers. "Prepare for annihilation!"
"Bring it on, snake-man!" the Scarves bellow in unison.
The Roboskorp halts; a hatch opens underneath; a horde of Cacteon, Magmeon, and Turretus spill from the Roboskorp's hold; they head directly for the Scarves.
"Same as last time: spread and flank!" Danny commands.
Danny sprints right, Rob and Maria sprint left; Xander charges the horde directly. Unlike last time however, the advancing horde divides and targets each Scarf directly.
"There's no escape this time!" Serpentine gloats.
As the robots bear down on the Scarves, Rob suddenly switches direction, attempting to divide and thin the horde further. However, it is Maria who is first to engage; her tekko-kagi make light work of the first few Cacteons, but soon the lynx finds herself surrounded by Magmeons; without the reach of a sword, Maria is forced to fight defensively, slowing her down.
Danny is next to engage; taking full advantage of the length of his makeshift hanbo, he disables four Turretus. However, the weapon was weakened during the battle with Hideyoshi; as Danny strikes the fifth Turretus, the joint between jokon and kikon fails; the makeshift hanbo splits clean in two. Danny drops the ruined staff and switches to the nunchaku; while he's able to stand his ground, his unfamiliarity with the weapons hinders his progress.
Rob fares better when he engages; he cuts a swathe of wreckage right through the middle of the horde charging him down. Breaking through the other side, he turns to head directly for the Roboskorp. But Serpentine is wise to the move; he unleashes a barrage of rockets, halting Rob's charge long enough for him to be surrounded and driven back.
As Rob engages, so does Xander; like Rob, he also powers through the middle of the robots charging him, aiming to reach the Roboskorp. But Xander's lower speed leaves him vulnerable to the Turretus; a shell strikes the centre of his back, knocking him to the ground; by the time he has recovered, he is surrounded.
Desperately, the Scarves fight to break the robot horde so they can assault the Roboskorp; slowly, despite regular rocket strikes from Serpentine, they begin to turn the battles to their advantage. After a few minutes, they finally triumph; as the last robot dies in a shower of sparks, the Scarves, panting heavily, turn their attentions to the Roboskorp.
"Is that… all you got?" Rob challenges Serpentine.
"You may have defeated the cannon fodder, but you'll be destroyed by my new, improved Hunter Snakes!" Serpentine retorts.
Hatches either side of the Roboskorp open; from them come four upgraded Hunter Snakes; each snake targets a separate Scarf and begins its attack.
This time Rob, being the closest to the Roboskorp, is the first to engage; rolling out the way of the first charge, he turns just in time to intercept the second, sinking his sai deep into the snake's head. But the snake doesn't slow; it slams Rob into the ground, breaking a few of the hare's ribs in the process; it then pulls up again, taking Rob for a ride. Grimacing, he inches his way around the head of the snake; once on top, he hacks away until the snake sputters and dies; the snake throws him clear as it crash-lands; Rob comes to a rest, his breathing laboured as one of his broken ribs punctures a lung.
Maria is quick enough to lead her snake to the Kyuden's wall; when close enough, she leaps, scrambles up a few extra feet, then jumps off, landing on the back of the snake as it flies under her. Maria then tries to pilot the snake; however, the snake resists, and she is unable to stop or turn in time; the snake slams into the wall; the head explodes on impact. Maria tries in vain to shield herself from the shrapnel; distracted by the pain of hundreds of lacerations, she slips; she comes to rest, pinned against the wall by the wreckage of the snake, her left arm broken by the impact.
Xander and Danny engage simultaneously. Danny dodges the first and second charges; having set himself up, on the snake's third charge, he leaps onto its back; the snake bucks and writhes, but it cannot shake Danny, who attacks the joints between the body segments. In comparison, Xander's more direct; he manages to get a firm hold of his snake's tail, and is pulled along the ground for several yards before bringing the snake to a halt. With an almighty heave, Xander starts to spin with the snake; Danny guides his snake onto a collision course, leaping clear just as the two snakes collide; he lands and rolls several times before returning to his feet.
Danny hastily takes stock of the situation; he can immediately see neither Rob nor Maria are in a fit state to fight. "Looks like it's just us two," he comments to Xander.
"You may have defeated my Hunter Snakes, but you are no match for the Roboskorp!" Serpentine cackles.
The Roboskorp charges.