Rolling Star
The attack ends. Eunomia huffs as she observes the battlefield.
"The purge was a success," she responded. She looks down at the fourth floor, disappointed in seeing Li Mei still standing before the surviving Locust Clan members Khameleon & Reptile. The others were disposed of. Li Mei falls to her knees in exhaustion. Khameleon mirrors her action, but for an entirely different reason altogether. The two women stare each other down.
"Why did you save us?" Khameleon asked. Li Mei shook her head.
"I saved myself," Li Mei responded. "I needed to increase the range to prevent my own capture."
"What was that just now?" Khameleon asked.
"Eunomia's Rolling Star. A translucent mirror that follows those not listed in Seido's Census records and traps them inside before forcing them over the cliffs leading to the very bottom of Seido. She told me of this before the invasion, so I had very little time to stop it."
Towards the edge of the third Platform
Kitana found herself at the mercy of Shelia, who held onto the woman's wrist. Shelia uses her strength to pull the woman onto the frozen platform connected to the edge of the platform. Kitana was visibly shaken—either from her escape from death or the coldness of the pillar she was lying atop of.
"That was close," Shelia said.
"I've always wanted to know what was below," Kitana muttered.
"You can still find out, princess," Shelia said.
"This is not the time for humor, Shelia," she said. "Eunomia is on our platform. We need to trail her quickly before she returns to the top platform."
"What about this?" Shelia asks as she held the Seidan Kamidogu dagger. Kitana's eyes widened. She'd wondered how Shelia was able to get ahold of the weapons.
"How is it that you do not hear the voices?" she asked. "Are you not afflicted by the curse?"
"I will be safe," Shelia responded. Kitana stared into her eyes. She tilts her head.
"Why is it that you need Seido's Kamidogu?" she asked. Shelia remained silent, though her expression shows she was not too excited about the idea. Kitana gasps. "The Elder Gods chose him as a champion?" she questioned. Shelia looked away. She uses her power to create steps leading back to the top of the platform.
On the sixth platform
"Waaaaaahhh!" Ferra cried as she leaned her torso over the platform. "Torr go fall!"
"Quit your whining, you foolish child!" D'Vorah fussed as she held her hand over her ears while keeping Ferra from falling over the ledge with her other limbs.
"You let Torr go!" Ferra snapped. "You killed Torr! I'll kill you!"
"If I grabbed Torr, we'd all be dead!" D'Vorah yelled. "Kotal Kahn was the priority. If you wanted your pet so badly, you should've held onto him instead."
"That's enough, D'Vorah," Kotal said. He walks over to Ferra and lifts her up.
"Let me go, no Kahn!" she yelled. Kotal placed the girl onto his shoulders.
"We continued forward," he said. "The mission does not end here."
On the fifth platform
Chan and company were spread out across the floor, breathing harshly after their scare with death. Jin and Cassie lied atop of two guardsmen they'd taken out earlier. The few surviving Justice Brigade warriors left right as the Rolling Star approached them.
"If you weren't here…," Cassie began.
"Don't," Chan demanded. "Just…catch a breath." After some time, Chan rose from the ground and the others followed.
"What the heck was that," Jacqui questioned.
"We don't know," Jin responded. "Maybe its some sort of weapon?"
"A weapon with Chi?" Takeda asked rhetorically.
"One person can't use that much chi to trap the five of us at the same time. That would kill them," Takeda explained.
"You're right," Chan said. "That's what makes it so dangerous. How were they able to do it? And how many more times can it be done? Those are the real questions."
On the second floor
Anomaly is shaken. She opens her eyes, seeing both Hotaru and Abacus leaving her behind. She stares at both of her hands as smoke emitted from her fingertips. Behind her, nothing had changed. She looked back at the men, slowly walking towards them.
"Wait!" Anomaly shouted. Abacus looked back. Anomaly looked further pass the man and saw Eunomia staring into her eyes. The woman seemed distraught before turning her back on her. "What did you do?"
"Is this woman really that dangerous to us?" Abacus whispered. Hotaru kept his composure.
"Let's go," Eunomia responded before walking off. Abacus shook his head as he followed.
"Don't walk away from me!" Anomaly shouted. "All three of you will perish at my hands. I swear on it!" However, her threat fell on death ears as the trio ignored her. Anomaly grits her teeth and rubs her hands together.
On the third platform
A portal opens. Chan and his crew walk from the other side. Kung Jin stretches as he looks around. Jacqui places her palm over Cassie's head as the girl seemed more exhausted than the others.
"I'm fine," Cassie said gently as she moved the girl's hand away. "Where are we now?" she asked.
"I don't know," Chan said. "My portals are limited here. I was able to come wherever I wanted. But when I looked up and used my thoughts to lead us to the highest point, we were led here instead." Jacqui taps on her metallic arm brace before pulling up a schematic of the realm.
"You do this now?" Takeda asked.
"Before I was only able to get a reading of our previous location," she explained. "This time my readings are showing both this location and the one we were on before." The five of them walked over to the ledge, looking down at the other platforms.
"You only have readings for two landmasses, but why aren't the others being shown?" Jin asked.
"It's strange," Jacqui commented.
"What is?" Chan asked.
"The landmasses are clearly there," she said, "but they don't show up at all. Even if I weren't able to scan the landmasses floating above, the ones below should be clear as day."
"Machines that use Chi," Kung Jin muttered as he rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's what's stopping us from reaching the top landmass. It could also be blocking your signal, only allowing you to see what they want us to see."
"We can see the landmass below," Jacqui said.
"If they wanted to stop us from advancing further, why didn't they block us from progressing further? Why allow us to go further up than they needed us to?"
"I thought I heard squabbling children," Kitana commented. The five of them were on guard as the watched the woman approach. Beside her was Shelia, who was clutching her shoulder. Chan holds his hand out, prompting the kids the lower their weapons. Kitana smiles as she inches closer to Chan. Cassie stands between them.
"Cassie," Chan says. She looks back at Chan. He could see how strained her eyes were. Just as Jacqui said, she wasn't doing so well. He didn't know the last time Cassie got any sleep. He shakes his head. She sighs and moves away from them. Kitana reaches out for Chan, but he holds his hand up. Kitana took a step back as she stared dumbfounded by his reaction.
"I thought you'd trust me," Kitana said.
"Did we forget about last year?" Takeda questioned rhetorically.
"You all invaded Outworld at the request of a usurper. You were never my enemies," Kitana said.
"Talk about this some other time. We have more pressing matters," Shelia said.
"Such as?" Chan asked.
"They've closed off the portals some how," she said. "I just used my last travel stone to leave this realm and nothing happened."
"When was this?" Jacqui asked.
"Before we heard you lot," Shelia said. "I hope my men left already."
"They probably have if she's closed the portals off," Kitana said. "She saw us kill Nightwolf."
"You…what?" Chan asked.
"Knightwolf's brother became a Seidan General. We encountered him here."
"Is that why your shoulder—"
"I'm fine," Shelia snapped. Chan and Jacqui looked at Cassie in that moment. She turned away from them.
"We're all together now," Kitana said. "So we might as well go see the ruler together."
"Oh great," Kung Jin said. "We're doing it again. Why did I swipe that stone?"
On the fourth platform
Li Mei slides back after her deflection of the metallic disc that flew near her body. The heat in her lungs was starting to take a toll on her. Not even the chi within her body was able to help repair the damage. She started to feel her arms and legs going numb the more she exerted herself. Yet she still pushed. Parts of her armor began to fall off as she could no longer repair the damage caused by her foes. Standing across from her was Kotal Kahn and his allies. Ferra hid behind a nearby building, watching from afar. D'Vorah stood with her hands behind her back, observing the fight while her foot rested atop of Khameleon. The cement beneath Reptile's feel still remained as no one made the effort to free him. It was clear that he was no longer in his right mind and no one was willing to take their chances with the Saurian.
"You are much stronger than when we last met," Kotal said. "A new rank. New armor." He picks up a piece of her shattered armor. He presents it to her before dropping it back on the ground. "Where do you stand now?"
"I stand with Outworld," Li Mei said. "But," she continued, "I can't stand against Seido. Not while Anomaly still threatens the realm." Kotal mugs the girl before stomping on the broken piece of her armor.
"You cannot serve two masters, Li Mei. You know this all two well," Kotal said.
"Kotal grants mercy to all whom accept him as they true Ruler." D'Vorah said. "You are still the only one who hasn't accepted his rule. You left the realm during a time of reparation. Instead, you gave your services to those who tried to take his rule once more. It is not often that Ko'otal would allow someone a chance after their first betrayal. However, your services to his father Kotal K'etz has granted you immunity for your abandonment. If you wish to continue living, you must pledge your allegience to Kotal Kahn and Kotal Kahn alone. If you cannot, this one will have no choice but to dispose of you."
End of Chapter 15
(Upcoming—Anti-Magic)