Johnny, Sonya, and Winter were shooting at the incoming Tekunin drones with all they had, which was, at the very least, uncomfortable as they had to remain still while clumped together and with one hand firmly holding on to the handrail, keeping the robots and Sektor at bay. Their control zone, however, was getting smaller by the second and they would be either maimed or pushed out of the platform.
Sektor himself watched with pleasure as his enemies were soon to be killed, considering himself the victor.
"How long!?" Winter screamed in desperation, but before Johnny could answer a series of powerful explosions occurred on the lower floors. So strong were they that the platform and bridge began to shake violently, and shortly after, some of the tubes and wires had snapped. Seconds later, and before Sektor or the Tekunin could react as to what had just happened, the three Atlas members began shooting at the remaining things that held the bridge in place until the weight from the drones was enough for the grid floor to give and made many of Sektor's troops fall to their fiery deaths.
The platform itself lost one of the wires holding it on Sektor's side, inclining it and making everyone fall on the grid while some of the Tekunin were sliding towards the loose corner, being safe only because they were holding the handrail.
With all the commotion, it was then easy for Sonya and Johnny to dispose of the drones, killing them with a well-placed shot to the head, or at least making them lose their balance and sending them towards the growing pile on the lower floor.
Sektor himself was confused as to what was going on, but then he managed to hear the handrail giving in. "Grab onto the floor!" he ordered his drones, knowing what would happen next.
Indeed, the handrail gave in, and most of the remaining drones fell to their death and more explosions occurred, making the platform swing in all directions.
"Right now, or immediately would be the best time, Winter!" the cyborg heard Johnny scream as he looked up and was able to see that only three of his troops remained. The assault from the humans did not stop, however, as Sonya and Johnny kept shooting until one of the robots blocking Sektor was hit and fell. That, in turn, allowed him to see Winter, tired but attempting to use glyphs once more.
"No, you won't!" Sektor yelled, having locked on to Winter and firing one of his rockets. Johnny, however, saw the attack and jumped right in front of the woman while enveloping himself in his green aura and taking away most of the damage. The attack still hurt Johnny and pushed him towards Winter. The white-haired woman reacted fast, however, and was able to catch Johnny before he fell off the platform.
"Johnny!" Sonya screamed in panic, looking at Sektor with pure rage. That changed, however, when she noticed the cyborg had finally run out of missiles, but instead of relief, she then saw the robot look at an adjacent cable that was about to give out; and in what she could only describe as desperation, he threw one of his pulse blades, while active, towards the wire.
Time felt eternal as she saw the weapon spin in the air. Her shot had come too late, and in an instant, the cable was cut. Winter had seen that as well, and held on to the unconscious Johnny with the same hand she was holding her sword while the other grabbed onto the handrail. Sonya herself also grabbed the rail, and the remaining Tekunin grabbed onto the floor with a tighter grip.
The platform then swung once more, and now it was being held perpendicular to the ground by the remaining wires, with the Atlas team on top and the Tekunin at the bottom. The situation only grew dimmer as the remaining wires were beginning to break as well, meaning that if the drones did not get them first, the fall would definitely kill them.
With everything that was happening, Sonya was not thinking straight and just kept shooting without hitting a target. Winter herself was unable to concentrate and follow the plan, that is until an idea popped into her head; a stupid one, but hey, it wouldn't be the first brash decision she made tonight. "Blade!" she yelled, gaining Sonya's immediate attention. The blonde woman was about to yell back, angry at being distracted, but stopped when she then saw Winter throwing Johnny's unconscious body at her with a simple "Catch!" being her only instruction.
"The fuck are you-?!" Sonya then tried to ask but was cut by Winter once again.
"You'll know what to do and when to do it!" Winter told her before pulling herself up and cutting the wire immediately close to her.
The effects were instantaneous, as the platform swung once again, but it also played to Winter's advantage as the drones stopped climbing to hold on tight. But once it was no longer moving violently, Winter let go of the rail and grabbed her saber with both hands as she fell toward one of the remaining drones. With a loud battle cry, she pushed the blade all the way through the robot's faceplate and sent it down the drone's spine as she landed on its shoulders. Immediately after, she jumped once more before the now limp body fell. As the other drone saw its companion fall, Winter arrived next to him, using a black glyph to hold her free hand and feet to the dangling platform before cutting the robot's arms at the elbows, allowing gravity to then take the robot towards the fire while the remains of the arms dangled with hands firmly grasping the grid.
Winter had not time to celebrate, however, as a rocket-propelled Sektor jumped in front of her, ready to stab her with his remaining pulse blade.
Winter managed to jump out of the way, dissipating the glyphs and making them appear again while Sektor positioned himself where she previously was. Soon after, they both then began a duel of blades, trying to stab the other, cut off the supporting hand, or make the other lose balance and fall.
Their duel fell to a stalemate as they pressed the blades forward. There were no comments or witty remarks, however; just two opponents pushing each other. That was until Sektor felt the slight shifting of the platform, remembering there was another person.
'Impossible!' Sektor reminded himself. 'Not while he is hurt and she-' he thought, trying to convince himself before looking up just in time to see the sole of a combat boot hitting him right in the middle of his faceplate. That attack alone was not enough to make him let go of the platform, but unfortunately for him, Sonya knew that as well, kicking four more times and finally making him lose his grip; but before they could both fall to their doom, Sonya shot a power ring which pushed herself and Johnny upwards and made Sektor fall even faster towards the inferno.
Before Sonya could fall again, however, another black glyph appeared pulling her by her free hand. Looking down, she then saw Winter pointing at her, and with a smirky grin, both women nodded at each other in victory.
That was short-lived, as another explosion occurred, making the platform swing once more and making the final wire break slowly. "What did Johnny say? 'How about now!'" Sonya then yelled, and as the final wire snapped and all three began to fall, the black glyphs disappeared.
Sonya held tight to Johnny while Winter concentrated, and soon, a white glyph appeared and a horde of small nevermores appeared once more with each of the humans being grabbed by one of the ghastly birds. Those, however, were not strong enough on their own, so they needed to find the last member of their group before the birds fell as well.
"Do you see Briggs?!" Winter asked.
"Three o'clock" Sonya yelled back, looking at the now bruised and shirtless Jax, on top of a motor and surrounded by fire as burning Tekunin drones threatened to take him down with them.
"BRING IT!" he screamed while shooting the last remaining bullets from his shotgun and mini-gun. "IF I'M GOING DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU WITH-" he added, stopping when a nevermore came down to swoop away one of the drones before he was grabbed by another that pulled him up towards the others. "ABOUT DAMN TIME, GIRL!" he managed to say as the birds were now gliding towards the broken windows and everyone got ready for impact.
They smashed through the glass, and began their descent once more; and when the nevermores were gliding at a survivable distance from the ground, Winter's aura depleted and the summons disappeared, making everyone fall and roll on the ground.
All three conscious people were now gasping, overrun with exhaustion, lying on the ground until Johnny groaned in pain, making them get up and gather around him.
Sonya then cradled Johnny, giving small slaps to try and wake him up. "Come on, Cage, don't you give up on me!" she insisted.
On his end, Johnny finally felt able to open his eyelids again, and was he saw was a lovely blonde woman looking with concern at him. "Ha… it seems I made it to heaven". Soon after Jax came into the picture. "Oh no… we got stuck in hell" he then lamented.
Jax, however, laughed at that. "If you are trying to piss me off, then you are alright. But don't push it, Cage". To that, Johnny just offered a thumbs up.
A moment later, everyone felt their scrolls ringing and vibrating, shortly followed by the echoes of all available prompt screens activating, and with a final sigh of relief, the members of Eartheralm's Special Forces felt at peace. They had won.
Winter, however, was far from feeling relaxed as she immediately called General Ironwood. "General, sir! The mission was -ssss! No… We are alive sir… it's just… we require evac and a strike unit to our coordinates!" she instructed.
Evacuation? The others understood that, but a strike force?
"It's over girl! Chill" Jax suggested as he pointed towards the burning building.
"Give me a moment, general…" she then said with a more monotonous tone as she covered the microphone. "We know Sektor is gone, but how can you be so sure that the antenna is-" she began to argue until a giant explosion cut her off. This one was different, however, in that it seemed to have originated from the back of the warehouse on the side where the antenna should have been before said section came crumbling down.
After that, Winter returned to her call. "General… yes, we are still here… strike force is no longer needed, just send evac," she told the other man, ending the call soon after.
As they all sat on the cold concrete floor, Sonya and Winter looked at each other. They fought well together, but they still annoyed each other, and that was fine.
And everything felt calm at that moment.
"Wataaah!" Liu Kang screamed as he threw another shot at the red Triborg who answered with a fire blast of his own. The result, however, only amplified his current issue: being surrounded by blazes of fire.
To some extent, it was Liu's element. Then again, he developed resistance and tolerance, not invulnerability. His white shirt was already burnt off, there were some bruises from times when Triborg was able to land a hit on him, and to top things off, the heat and exhaustion were starting to get to him.
Things then changed when Triborg stopped shooting fire and hovered back into the flames, disappearing from Liu Kang's sight. He, however, knew better.
Although all he could hear for the moment was the crackling of the fire, he waited and slowly looked around, never dropping his fighting stance. It took a while before he finally heard a soft but clear swishing from his right. Instead of confronting it, Liu just rolled out of the way, quickly getting on one knee as he saw Triborg's head flying into the fire once again. He was confused for a moment until he remembered the robot had already used a similar strategy once, and at the last possible second, he was able to roll out of the way again as the headless body of the red Triborg emerged from behind him with a pulse blade deployed from its left wrist, rolling in the air. It would have successfully decapitated Liu Kang had he not moved out of the way.
Triborg did not stop, however, and kept on flying forward, disappearing into the flames once more.
Liu Kang was left shocked, but at least now he was aware of the tricks Triborg could use and how to spot them. Indeed, Triborg's head emerged from the fires once more, heading straight towards Liu Kang's left side. Aware of this, Liu did a flip spin in the air, going over the flying head, and when he landed, he jumped and delivered a flying kick to the right after hearing the whistling from Triborg's rockets. His plan worked, and Liu delivered the attack directly on the robot's chest, but when they both landed, he was confused when he saw his defeated opponent; just a normal Tekunin drone. His brain realized he had been tricked, but he was unable to turn around fast enough to avoid the explosive palm strike of the red Triborg which ended up leaving a burning mark on his chest and sent him back directly at the rim of the fire circle.
Triborg's body stood still for a moment until his head returned and locked itself in, turning to see where Liu Kang had landed. The Shaolin Monk was in pain, but thankfully still breathing. Things turned worse, however, when Triborg's foot landed on his chest, and gazing up, Liu saw that the robot was ready to drive the pulse blade straight through his head. Triborg would have succeeded had a light clone not landed a flying kick on the side of the robot's head, stopping the attack and making Triborg roll away.
The light clone, however, soon dissipated, leaving Liu confused as to what had happened until he saw the actual Sun land in front of him. And pointing his staff at the robot. "Hope you don't think I forgot about you?" he asked, managing to sound both cocky and incredibly nervous.
"Better late than never" the Shaolin answered back, slowly rising back to his feet and standing next to his ally before assuming his fighting stance.
"What happened to your nun chucks?" Sun asked when he saw Liu Kang was weaponless.
"Got blown shortly after your clone disappeared" Liu answered.
"Should we continue where we left off?" Sun then asked.
During their fight, Liu had picked on some things about Triborg and even had some ideas as to how to fight him given the new developments. They then quickly got back-to-back and began to move around in circles, partially to keep an eye on their blind spots, but mostly so Liu could tell Sun a quick plan without risking Triborg being able to read his lips (if he was even capable of doing that).
"Got that?" Liu asked.
"Already on it!" Sun answered the seriousness in his voice a noticeable change that Liu welcomed with some reserve.
For a long time, all both of them could hear was the crackling of the flames and the grass they stepped on as they walked around; but sure enough, Liu was able to see the glowing eyes of Triborg on his left.
"On your right!" Liu yelled as he rolled away and the Triborg emerged from the flames, flying with the help of his back rockets. As Liu rolled out of the robot's path, Sun did a cartwheel as Troborg's pulse blades slashed the ground where his enemies had previously stood. Triborg was then forced to land to block Sun's swing with his pulse blades, but knowing Liu Kang was still standing, Triborg decided to jump backward and hide among the flames again. And with that, Liu and Sun stood back-to-back once more.
"Hold!" Liu instructed.
"I am aware…" Sun whispered back.
After another moment of silence, both of them heard a clanking they identified as the one the flame throwers made when deployed. Not wasting any time, both rolled out of the straight path of the flames that appeared which stopped only when Sun undid his weapon to activate the gun modes and shot in the direction from where the flames came from. The blazes stopped, but both Liu and Sun knew that had not taken care of the red Triborg.
Both of them then realized, however, that the real intent of the attack was to separate them, with a wall of fire standing between the two and their area of action now reduced. Nonetheless, both of them turned away from said firewall, waiting for the next attack.
The fire, however, was now taking its toll on both Liu's open wounds and Sun's lack of aura. They began to breathe heavily while a thick layer of sweat kept growing all over them.
'It better happen now…' Liu thought to himself.
Not soon after, Liu was able to see Triborg's neon blue eyes through the flames, followed shortly by the robot himself, emerging from the flames while spinning like a drill with both pulse blades deployed. Unable to do much, Liu crouched and rolled out of the robot's path; but instead of continuing forward, Triborg went up before deactivating the rockets, grabbed both blades facing downwards, and began falling rapidly as Liu Kang was just getting up; but before he could stab the monk, he felt the impact of two bullets on his side, making him spin once and land next to Liu Kang.
It didn't take much thinking to realize Sun was the source of said shots, but Triborg was counting on it, as Sun was now facing back the outer rim of the fire circle with both his guns deployed; all according to Triborg's plan.
Before Sun could shoot again, Triborg jumped to land in front of Liu Kang, using the Shaolin monk as a shield for once, but also targeting him as he was weaponless. Triborg began to slash his blades against Liu Kang, and during the commotion, Sun was unable to get a clear shot. In addition, and unknown to the monkey faunus, was that a Tekunin drone hid behind him, deploying a buzzsaw and getting ready for the command of the Triborg. The red robot then decided to purposely deliver an easy attack for Liu Kang to block, delivering two vertical slashes and allowing the Shaolin to grab both wrists while they were still up. With everything in place, Triborg transmitted the signal to the Tekunin unit that activated the buzzsaw and flew towards Sun.
Everything was going according to Triborg's calculations, but just like his Grand Master, he underestimated organic life beings. "Now!" Sun yelled as he quickly retracted one of his guns and threw it next to where Liu Kang and Triborg were fighting he then turned the other into its nun chuck form, quickly turned around, and jumped sideways, using the momentum to increase the force of the weapon's strike against the head of the flying drone.
If Triborg were able to express shock, then he would have certainly given a physical reaction. More surprising, however, was that Liu Kang went from pushing Triborg's wrists to holding them tight to using them as leverage to raise his legs and deliver a double kick powered up by a fire blast. Triborg flew back for a moment before landing on his back and losing both pulse blades in the process. Asserting damages, he found that his chest plate had been broken; and when he looked up, Liu Kang had grabbed Sun's nun chuck, spinning it until he assumed his fighting stance. Analyzing the situation, Triborg had figured out where his plan went wrong, "Faunus hearing…" he deduced out loud.
Liu Kang didn't answer and just went for the offensive; running towards his opponent, jumping and spinning before hitting the ground where Triborg was. The robot, however, had managed to roll out of the way and was now kneeling.
Both of Triborg's pulse blades landed apart from each other, but before he could make a plan for retrieval, Liu did a back handspring and landed on top of one of the blade handles, breaking it in the process before throwing a charged fireball at the other handle, melting it and rendering it useless.
On the other side of the firewall, Sun's attack on the Tekunin drone had damaged its head, but not disposed of it. That, however, is what both Sun and Liu Kang wanted. Sun's job right now was to keep the drone active as a way to distract Triborg. 'Allow him to think he can have his full attention on me' Sun remembered Liu Kang telling him. 'Hold in place until I give you the signal'.
Given his current situation, Liu had to work fast. Other Tekunin drones might already be on their way to the park. Although the weaponless scenario was now switched, Triborg activated his electric palms as Liu Kang began his offensive. The weakened chest piece was the obvious spot that Triborg would protect, so Liu needed to break his defenses before going for it, but with a nun chuck in hand, that was now easier to accomplish.
A swing from the left was blocked by Triborg's right hand, which also fired an explosion to push the weapon back. Liu Kang used that momentum to then swing the other side, but Liu decided to go low and aimed for a leg. Triborg was able to see that, so he raised his foot and prepared to fire a blast from his foot propeller. Liu Kang, however, did not stop after the hit was avoided, he kept turning until he was facing Triborg once more, but in the process, he grabbed both sticks with both hands and used them as a partial shield from the explosion.
In turn, said explosion did push him back a few feet while allowing Triborg to go up in the air and perform and quick spin before landing on the ground in a kneeling position. Liu Kang used that window of time to sprint up and run before jumping and performing his bicycle kicks. Triborg was able to block them, but the suddenness of the attack didn't allow him to have a proper footing on the ground and ended up pushing him backward until almost reached the firewall. While his armor was able to handle the heat at first, the now exposed chest alerted Triborg that the fire was a dangerous hazard to the more important pieces of his inside mechanisms.
Liu Kang did not deliver the last kick. Instead, he used the power in his leg to jump backwards and spin in the air, landing on his left foot as Triborg left his arms fall down, believing the attacks to be over; but in reality, that was far from over. Immediately as Liu Kang's foot touched the ground, he used it to jump forward, covering his right foot on fire and extending it, aiming it towards Triborg's exposed chest. On instinct, Triborg escaped by flying upwards, far from Liu Kang's reach, not aware he was just where the Shaolin monk wanted. "Now!" Liu shouted, and the sinister grin on Sun's face did not go unnoticed by the remaining optic of the Tekunin drone.
Before what remained of the robot's brain and processor could figure out what was happening, Sun smacked one of its legs with his nun chuck, and when the drone knelt, Sun grabbed it by the shoulders, spun once, and threw the limp body in the air.
As soon as that happened, Liu also jumped in the air, faster than the drone, and as the robot was facing downwards, Liu landed on its back, feet covered by fire; with one loud shout, Liu propelled himself at an incredible speed towards Triborg while the drone was split in half. Liu then managed to spin in the air without losing momentum, extending his leg to deliver another flying kick.
Triborg's mind was so busy calculating his next move that he never noticed Liu Kang until just a fraction of a second before his kick connected. Fortunately for Triborg, the kick landed on his chin, breaking parts of the metal plate, but not harming the vulnerable parts in his chest. Liu's attack was far from over, though, as Triborg noticed the Shaolin's other leg was also covered in fire.
Liu's final attack came when he once again spun in the air after the first attack connected, delivering another kick on Triborg's back which sent the robot towards the ground. As he fell, Triborg recovered his sight and was able to see Sun, loading up his nun chuck gun and pointing it at him. Triborg managed to cover his chest once more just as the monkey faunus began shooting, harming all pieces of Triborg's armor; and just before he landed, Sun turned his weapon into a small staff and used it to bat the robot.
The impact landed on Triborg's left arm, finally breaking the metal shell and sending the robot flying and then rolling until it went beyond the firewall. Moments later, Liu Kang landed, his feet still emitting smoke and once Sun arrived next to him and both saw that nothing was coming from the fire, they released a deep sigh before falling to their knees, exhausted by the fight that had taken every bit of energy they had.
"Did… did we… actually do it?" Sun managed to ask, looking at Liu Kang for assurance.
"I think… I think we… Look out!" The Shaolin managed to scream as he pushed Sun aside before launching a fireball.
Sun was puzzled as to what had just happened until he saw the rocket that the fireball managed to make explode less than three feet away from Liu Kang. Sun watched in horror as Liu's body landed with a strong thud, followed soon after by a weak thunder.
The explosion did not mortally wound Liu, but it had managed to knock him unconscious. Confused, Sun then looked in the direction from where the projectile came from and saw in horror that what remained of Triborg was being carried by two Tekunin drones.
"Do YOU thiiink that-that was go-ING to woooork AGAINST meeee?" Triborg managed to ask, whatever part of him that allowed him to talk having been clearly damaged. "Ac-ac-activate, OR-der WASP neeeest!" Triborg then said, and to make matters worse, Tekunin drones began to walk through the blazes, weapons deployed and ready to strike. To emphasize the horror, the thunderstorm grew more powerful, covering the robots in flashes of light.
With the last of his strength, Sun managed to drag himself next to the unconscious body of Liu Kang, waiting for the worst, and just before the first Tekunin drone could attack, two of them were suddenly decapitated with the weapons getting stuck on the ground in front and behind Sun who soon after smiled, realizing who the fan and the hat belonged to.
Indeed, from a blue flash emerged the spinning figure of Kitana who recovered her fan while Kung Lao jumped from the ground, grabbing his hat. Both assumed a fighting stance to protect their allies, with Kung Lao being in clearly better shape.
"You… but…" Sun tried to reason, remembering his previous conversation with the two warriors.
"Whatever you did, it made Triborg desperate. All Tekunin drones are converging here. Glad to see we arrived just in time" Kung Lao told Sun.
Triborg, on his end, was asserting the situation. If anything, it grew better. Liu Kang was out, Sun was too weak, Kitana was wounded and only Kung Lao remained. "There WILL be-eee no chANCE to surrender huMAns!" Triborg warned but grew more annoyed when he saw Kung Lao's smug grin as the sound of another thunder shook the ground. Annoyance turned into confusion when he and Kitana then stored their weapons.
"Before you do anything, have you noticed the weather?" the Shaolin asked.
Triborg was unaware of what he meant but he then noticed Kitana and Sun looking up behind him. Turning around, he was then able to identify a cloud that was blinking, and zooming in, he was then able to see in horror as a storm cloud grew bigger and bigger with every thunder they heard.
"Now you answer me this, abomination?!" Triborg heard Kitana scream at him. "If all your drones are here, who is watching over the antenna?!".
A computer might be faster than the human brain, but no matter what scenarios Triborg ran, the chances of the storm cloud destroying the antenna were almost all zero; 'Unless that cloud is…' he managed to theorize as with one final thunder, a translucent serpent dragon emerged from the bright cloud that quickly descended to the ground and then sharply turned and headed towards the warehouse that Triborg was using; and seconds after the collision, the inside of the building exploded, destroying the windows and making the antenna fall as it tore through the front wall. Immediately after that, every Tekunin drone, whether at the park or running towards it, stopped and shook in place while their heads were producing electric shocks. Soon after, all robots were still standing, but their torsos were now limp and hunched forward.
Neither Triborg nor the Mistral team dared to move, not knowing what would happen next. Time felt eternal until all Tekunin were activated once more and sprung back up. What came next was a victory for the Mistral team but at a terrible cost.
Most, if not all, of the drones began to produce a deafening screech. Some grabbed their heads while others looked around in panic at their bodies and at those that surrounded them. They were now self-aware, and if what the ninjas said was true, they were being bombarded with memories of when they were turned into robots and what they did after that.
A considerable fraction of them then deployed their saws and blades to destroy themselves. That only caused more commotion and panic among the drones, making them run in any direction available while others turned their weapons against each other.
Sun was speechless as to what he was witnessing; feeling confusion, anguish, pity, and disgust as to what was happening to people who were more likely to have been faunus at one point.
Kung Lao and Kitana, however, were focused on the matter that the red Triborg was still alive. "Keep an eye on them!" Kung Lao told Kitana as he began to go against the current of drones.
As the Shaolin got further away, one of the drones suddenly fell on the ground, half the faceplate gone and leaving one misty eye looking intensely at Sun before becoming dilatated. At that moment Sun could not hold it anymore and vomited in disgust. As he panted, he then felt Kitana's hand patting his back.
"Sun! Sun! Listen to me! Sun!" She kept saying until he looked at her with eyes wide open. "I know it is horrible, but…" she continued but considered her words carefully to not sound disinterested in what happened to the people that were turned into robots. "We all knew this would happen… Focus! We just saved your world and your people from suffering this same fate, do you understand?" she insisted, trying to alleviate the situation.
That was true, but it didn't make all of this any easier to witness and understand, so he instead decided to sit and look down.
Their conversation was then followed by grunting; a grunting that originated from Liu Kang. Kitana immediately knelt to place the Shaolin monk in her arms, looking at him with much concern. "Liu! Liu, can you hear me?!" she asked as he slowly, but surely, opened his eyes.
"Kitana…? Did we… SUN?!" he managed to ask as he tried to sit up, only to fall back when the pain of the explosion came back.
"We did it Liu!" she told him as she removed her mask, allowing Sun and Liu to see her smile. "And he is also here" she added while pointing with her head towards the monkey faunus.
Their sweet moment, however, was interrupted as Kung Lao's voice was heard yelling "Found him!". And it didn't take long to arrive at where both he and the red Triborg were. Curiously, however, was that the cyber ninja was just standing still and facing Kung Lao backward.
Unknown to the Mistral team was that as Triborg was escaping due to the commotion, he had received a message with instructions, but because of the severity of his damages, it took Triborg a while to come back. And once that happened, he managed to turn around just as both Kung Lao and Kitana arrived to fight him once more. "Not-t-t-t… O-ver!" Triborg assured them as he struggled to type a command with his broken arm on the panel from the still-working one. That was followed by a portal opening, which Triborg then quickly ran into before disappearing.
Kung Lao and Kitana did not have enough time to process what just happened or what he meant before they noticed all drones in their direct vicinity suddenly stopped moving altogether and their eyes began to change between red and yellow which was soon followed by beeping and their chest opening, revealing their cores.
"I don't like the look of that!" Kung Lao pointed out as he and Kitana began to run towards Sun and Liu Kang.
"Call him!" she ordered.
"On it!" Kung Lao answered back.
It didn't take them long before they reached the other two, with Liu Kang now being able to stand while resting on Sun. "What is going on?!" Sun managed to ask as more and more robots began to stand still while their eyes switched colors. Not soon after he asked that, they all then heard a series of explosions; separated at first but increasing in number and happening faster.
"Please, hurry!" Kitana asked in a panic, knowing that Sun and Liu were in no condition to run.
One of the drones soon exploded not far from them, pushing all four to the ground.
"Isn't the explosion supposed to be big though?!" Sun asked his companions.
"Not enough time to heat up" Kitana theorized as more and more robots began to explode. "He wants to dispose of us quickly" she then concluded.
"Great! What now?!" Sun yelled as soon as another explosion happened in front of them; but not one coming from a robot as Raiden stood where a lighting had just hit, his staff in hand.
"Close to me!" Raiden ordered and they all followed as he called for another lighting that took them to a street outside of the park and next to one of the glowing solid light walls. Not soon after, a big explosion happened in the middle section of the park, where they were, and was shortly after followed by a series of smaller explosions; when the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but charred dirt and some pieces of melted metal, the solid light wall being able to hold the blast.
"Thank you, lord Raiden" Liu Kang said as he, Kung Lao, and Kitana bowed. Surprisingly to him, Sun did so as well.
The bowing from the monkey faunus, however, was soon followed by a question that just popped into his head. "Wait, how did you know where to find us? Wait! How did you know we needed your help?!".
Kitana and Kung Lao had to hold their laugh as Raiden got a scroll from his vest. "The gray version held the scrambler," Raiden told him. Looking left, Sun was then able to see another scroll held by Kung Lao.
"I still prefer to use talismans; but who am I to go against technology" the monk explained.
"He was able to get ahold of Ozpin, who then carried the message to me. We then decided to simplify the communication network" Raiden added, finishing the explanation.
In time, all that seemed to be left from the invasion were rogue Tekunin drones running around and the army retaking control of the city. The light walls that surrounded Haven seemed to have been turned off and the academy secured.
The Mistral team then decided to rest on a bench nearby. Sun was able to find a broken soda dispenser and took advantage of the situation, gathering some cans and heading back. When he arrived, Kung Lao was taking care of his wounds and talking with Raiden while Liu Kang was laying his full body on the bench while his head was on Kitana's lap.
Looking at that and remembering what just happened, made him look at the night sky and wonder 'How are Blake and the others doing?' before opening a can and taking a zip.
"Stay down!" Kollector roared as Smoke successfully deflected another of his mace's spring attacks.
'I can get used to this' Smoke thought as he twirled the knife through his fingers. Once he grabbed the weapon's grip again with his right hand, Smoke ran towards Kollector, deflecting a chakram on his way that was followed by another spring attack, and then two scythe attacks once he got close enough.
Kollector then managed to push Smoke before trying to cut the ninja using horizontal slashes. Smoke managed to lean back and avoid being sliced in both his neck and belly before he proceeded to deliver a slash of his own that landed on Kollector's top right hand. The Naknada dropped the scythe and hissed in pain, but answered with a kick that pushed the ninja further back.
Smoke then took advantage of the little window of time he had before looking at his allies and analyzing his situation: Jade was still busy on the lower level, trying her best to prevent as many of the new Tekunin drones from coming up as she could. Kenshi, on the other hand, was now beginning to get crowded by three drones that forced him to go into defense. That, however, allowed him to at least slowly get into position as well.
With that done, Smoke faced Kollector again, only to then see his opponent gone. Quickly, however, he ducked and rolled as the chained mace went over him. He then turned around and blocked the incoming knife stab with his own knife as he also grabbed Kollector's middle left hand and made it point the mace away.
"Good! Fear me, yokai! Know that you cannot win!" the Naknada taunted.
Right now, both Kollector and Smoke were fighting on the edge of the metal platform, next to the handrail and away from the console. Smoke was considering how to move Kollector further to the center and next to the computer when a female scream broke his concentration.
Jade kept fighting using her staff to first block slashes from either pulse blades or buzzsaws. She then did a swipe that took down three drones and then threw her boomerang which some drones stepped out of the way from while she then blocked an incoming slash, only for the weapon to decapitate two of the fallen drones as they were standing up. Surprising her, however, was when a group stepped out of the way and allowed three drones to fire their flamethrowers. She managed to dodge, but not quickly enough as they managed to hurt her left shoulder.
Kenshi heard her, and managed to get a projection of her location and where the drones that could have hurt her were. In a desperate attempt to save his ally, he then turned around and used a telekinetic punch that managed to send the drones back towards the others. He knew the risks, though, and indeed, the drones Kenshi was fighting ganged up on him and managed to get some cuts on his back, torso, and right shoulder plate.
These new developments, however, were worrying. Not only were Kollector and the Tekunin willing to use fire now, depleting oxygen and risking the equipment, but the numbers just kept growing and both Kenshi and Jade were starting to get overwhelmed.
"Soon, yokai. Soon!" Kollector insisted as he unlocked their weapons and went for wilder and less predictable moves that Smoke was forced to block until they reached the handrail. Smoke then grabbed it and used it as support to get himself up and kick both the mace and the scythes out of Kollector's grip. But he was not safe yet, as when he landed the Naknada grabbed the hand that held the knife while he tried to stab Smoke who also managed to grab the hand with the knife as it was about to stab him in the middle of his eyes.
Smoke could feel the breath from Kollector and the horrifying orange eyes looking at him, yet he didn't give up. As a gamble he then looked at Jade, slowly getting cornered, but in place all the way on the back of the lower floor; then at Kenshi, who had finally arrived in place and even managed to stab a Tekunin through the face. It was now up to Smoke, and he would take the shot.
"RAAAAAAH!" Smoke yelled as loud as he could before delivering a headbutt as good as he could, not having the best angle to do so. The impact broke his nose, but it also made Kollector close his eyes and stop applying force. Smoke used that chance to push Kollector, kick the Naknada with his knee on the chin, and then tackle him. But instead of taking the Naknada to the ground, Smoke kept running.
Kollector was more than confused and tried to free himself by stabbing Smoke in the back, but the Lin-Kuei wouldn't give up until they reached the center of the command computer. The impact hurt Kollector, who then fell to the ground face-first. "Now!" Smoke yelled as he turned to look at both Kenshi and Jade.
To free some space from her attackers and herself, Jase slammed her staff on the floor, creating a small green wave that delivered the desired effect. That was immediately followed by her sticking one end of her staff on the ground and using it as a pole to jump in the air.
Her attackers then got ready as she reached the peak of her curb, but they were unaware that up on the platform, Kenshi had just finished counting down from the moment he heard Jade perform the green energy wave. He used most of his energy performing a telekinetic push and immediately turned around, using Sento to figure out where Jade was and using his powers to make her float in the air.
None of the Tekunin drones could figure out what was happening until they saw Jade use her boomerang to break important connecting tubes of the ventilation system, which caused bigger tubes to fall, blocking access to the platform and breaking parts of the master computer, and crushing some of the robots standing on it. Kanshi himself was having a bit of trouble keeping Jade afloat and avoiding said tubes, but the moment came when Jade had a perfect shot available and threw a powered-up boomerang toward the main screen.
While all that happened, Smoke grabbed Kollector's bag, jumping around to not get crushed, but remaining close enough to the main screen. Finally, the moment came when Jade threw her boomerang, but as Smoke got ready to throw the bag in the boomerang's path so that the energy of said weapon combined with the explosives most likely stored inside the bag and the electric shocks from the broken computer would destroy both the bag and the scrambler.
Smoke, however, did not count with irrational rage from Kollector. Before he could throw the bag, the Naknada tackled him to the ground, and before he could stab Smoke, the boomerang crashed with the computer, causing a powerful explosion that pushed everyone.
Smoke managed to regain his consciousness fast; the buzzing in his ears being the last to go. He then noticed he still had the bag in one hand and soon after the inferno that was coming from the console. He managed to stand up and hissed in pain at the burn on his right arm, the one that suffered most from the explosion most likely, but he now just had to get to the fire and throw it.
Unfortunately, a green fire suddenly appeared in front of him and before he could find the source, Kollector ran at him, stabbing Smoke in his weak arm with a knife and slashing wildly with what remained of his scythe. Smoke was forced to jump away, but Kollector had managed to grab the bag with his two top hands and used the ones in the middle to slash. Smoke managed to avoid the attacks and even parry a few with the knife tightly grasped on his weak hand. He would not let go of the bag, but he only had strength in one arm; and thanks to the knife's charm, he was unable to transform, so he feared it would be a matter of time before Kollector gained the advantage he needed.
Before the explosion occurred, Kenshi had managed to get Jade on the grid platform and used one of the fallen pipes as a shield. The blast however had still managed to push the metal structure back, forcing him and Jade to push it away before they could do anything.
"Do you see him?!" Kenshi asked Jade, worried about Smoke.
"Kollector! He is fighting him!" Jade told him as she saw both of them through the flames.
Kenshi felt the heat and knew it would take them time before they could walk around and help Smoke. "Unless…" he wondered out loud as he faced the sword in his hand. He didn't have much time to think, as the cave suddenly began to shake and drones emerged from the fallen metal.
"Whatever you are going to do, do it now!" Jade ordered as she got ready to fight weaponless. Luckily, Kenshi began to act immediately. He levitated his sword and then made it spin from the guard like a saw. Without Sento in hand, the images of Kollector and Smoke were fainter than normal, so Kenshi hoped his calculations were correct. As Sento reached the highest spinning velocity possible, Kenshi then pushed it away, basically sending a flying buzzsaw toward the Naknada and the Lin-Kuei.
Jade had seen all of that happening as she delivered a nitro kick, but looked towards Smoke as he had almost lost his balance when Kollector managed to do a harsh pull with three hands. "Smoke!" she yelled at him, "he is open on the left!" she then warned him as he managed to regain his balance and then kicked Kollector, making him almost fall had his top hands not grabbed the bag for support.
What happened next, both Kollector and Smoke were able to see it perfectly in slow motion as Sento sliced through Kollector's elbows of the top hands.
It took a moment before either was fully able to comprehend what just happened, and it wasn't until Kollector looked at the gushing wounds on his arms that he screamed loud enough for his voice to echo through the cave in absolute pain before falling to his knees in disbelief and pain.
"Tomas!" Jade yelled once more, and it was then that Smoke realized that he was now in possession of the bag. Surprisingly, however, was that Kollector's hands were still holding onto it.
Not wasting any more time, Smoke then quickly turned and threw the bag into the fire of the main screen, and sighed in relief when the entire thing was quickly engulfed in flames.
Unfortunately, that relief became horror as another explosion, more powerful than any before it, sent Smoke flying back; having to depend on both Kenshi and Jade to catch him.
More explosions were then coming from the main computer, and powerful enough that it made the cavern start to crumble.
"You will pay! You will all pay!" The three of them then heard Kollector yell as they saw him retrieve a gem from a ring that created a red portal and he smashed it on the ground. "Mark my words: I will have my revenge!" he screamed one last time before jumping in.
With Kollector being taken care of, all members of the Vacuo team were now wondering how to leave, especially when more drones began to circle them. "How can they still be standing?!" Jade wondered out loud. "How can the antenna still be functioning?!" she added. As all entrances began to crumble.
"Antenna?" Smoke then remembered as he remembered that the record shop was the coverup business, 'And to get there…' he thought as he turned his head up and looked around until he saw what he was looking for. "Up there!" he yelled while pointing at a locked hatchet on the roof of the cave. "That is our way out!"
"And how are we supposed to get to it?!" she asked as she crouched to dodge a right hook and delivered a roundhouse kick in return.
"Get down!" Kenshi ordered as he used his powers to retrieve both Sento and Jade's boomerang which sliced through two Tekunin drones before landing on their feet.
"I got this!" Jade remarked as she threw her bladed projectile to cut the doors open. The impact also managed to make the two doors fall with a loud thud on the ground while the stairs that should have come down broke and created a temporary wall.
"Kenshi, Jade to the platforms. There is still a piece of the ladder you can grab onto!" Smoke ordered.
"What about you?" Kenshi asked as Smoke threw the knife at a drone that had jumped to attack from above and stuck it right in the middle of its eyes.
"That should take care of it!" Smoke remarked as he once again turned into a cloud and went up, followed soon after by Jade and Kenshi who used one of the doors as a platform.
The climb was fortunately relatively fast and Smoke was able to open the lock from the other side thanks to his enenra powers. Luck was running out, however, as the building was collapsing on its own weight and a piece of the roof was now blocking the door.
The three warriors, however, ran towards the next best thing: A small window. On their way, the floor finally began to crack and then sink. Jade almost fell through a piece of floor that suddenly gave in and would have been a goner had it not been for Smoke pulling her up.
They were almost at the end, when another piece of roof collapsed, forcing Kenshi to hold it up with his powers, but clearly struggling to both move and hold, and being the only one close enough, Jade managed to tackle grab and fireman carry Kenshi.
Within mere feet, Jade placed Kenshi down and They all jumped through the now broken hole, landing as safe as possible on the concrete floor of the street. It was not over though, as the pavement also began to crack, forcing all three to get up again and keep running until the entire block had sunken into the ground just as Smoke jumped and rolled, landing inches from the sunken ground.
With that done, Jade, Smoke, and Kenshi finally noticed all of them gasping heavily as they were covered head to toe in dirt. But they all had the same question: 'Did we make it?'.
Their answer soon came as the patrolling drill emerged from a corner, but instead of turning it crashed into a building before Tekunin drones emerged and set themselves on fire.
Soon after, Fujin landed in front of them, pointing his crossbow at the drones but not shooting as he waited for the flames to consume them.
"Lord Fujin?" Smoke asked.
"You made it!" The wind god said, filled with joy as he managed to hug all of them. "We won! Shade is safe!" he then assured them as he let go.
"For how long?" Kenshi then asked.
"Some minutes ago. I came to look for you when I noticed the buildings collapsing. I was not sure where to find you, but kept an eye open. Also".
Before they could tell Fujin what happened, fireworks began to come from Shade.
"No! It can't be!" Smoke said in disbelief until Fujin placed his hand on the ninja's shoulder.
"Do not despair, Tomas. Professor Theodore did tell me he was going to celebrate the return of his students with a sky full of colors" Fujin said with a smirk as all rested, and those who could, watched as the sky was covered in bright lights as the sun began to rise in the horizon while Hotaru's recording began playing soon after.
The ships might have been stopped, but that did not help Qrow, Raven, and Penny in any way. As a matter of fact, it made things worse as it apparently angered Onaga so much that he devolved into animalistic rage.
There was no more taunting, no more all-knowing looks, he didn't even give an order to Hotaru after the Seidan confirmed the reason why the alarm was sounding. Onaga just roared and released blazes of fire every time. Pain was also not an issue as a failed flying tackle from the dragon king was avoided by both twins while Penny and Hotaru fought in the air once more. As Qrow and Raven jumped out of the way, Qrow managed to slash Onaga on the shoulder, but he didn't expect the giant monster to turn in the air and kick him in the middle of his face, and with such force that he was sent flying into one of the metal walls, denting it in the process.
Raven had landed safely and witnessed in horror what had happened to her brother and Onaga then prepared to take flight once more. Fortunately for her brother, she decided to become Onaga's target and shot a lightning bolt at the dragon king's back. The attack had no effect, but it worked as intended as Onaga was now focused solely on Raven.
While that happened, Hotaru had just blocked a flying kick from Penny. He then grabbed her leg and spun twice before letting her go flying towards the roof. He then looked at Onaga blocking slashes from Raven who was now using inhuman speed, only to stop when he jumped in the air and slammed the floor, making the woman fall and almost get crushed by his tail. Hotaru then looked at the rooms and remembered that Ruby and the others were still hiding there, and as he managed to calm himself, he was able to hear Penny coming at him again.
Penny was ready to finish this fight, getting her eyebeams ready to fire at point blank while she had full power on her propellers. Hotaru seemed distracted, so everything was going according to her calculations. Unfortunately, at the last moment possible, Hotaru flew up and away from the energy beams; but he did not keep going up, it was just a quick boost that allowed him to then twist in the air and deliver a lava-powered kick directly on the back of her head, followed by four more kicks.
Hotaru was not done, however, as he managed to grab one of Penny's legs with one hand while he charged a lava beam with the other. Penny was only able to block her face and torso as the blast managed to break her arms, leaving them as just metal skeletons while her left leg was detached from the rest of her body.
Penny's broken remains landed in the dragon room, breaking the meeting table in the process. Jaune and Blake hid behind the desk out of instinct, but as soon as they saw Penny they went to assist her.
"Penny, what happened-" Blake tried to ask, but was immediately cut off by the redhead.
"Blake… Jaune… you must… you must know… he can… he can be defeated!". Before any more interruptions. She explained everything to them, giving Jaune an idea.
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Lots of big life changes, but trust me, updating was always in my mind. A bit of writer's block was also present.