SNF 2016.07 - SNF: We Were Soldiers (Hijacked!)

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Description: Hello boils and ghouls! It’s the witching(?) hour, and it’s time to play soldiers! Some place in time, whether future or past or even right now, America has found itself in conflict. It has found itself in battle. And in these battlefields, you know you are gonna find the ghosts of wars past, lingering and clinging to thoughtless conflicts and fear! And to help bring these fears to life is the jaw-dropping I-No(Is she?)! More like I-meko! So, I know that you all are thinking, what can this "witch" bring to the table? Well, it looks like we got two takers! The undead heart-throb Scorpion, and where’s the wolf? There’s the wolf, Azumi! Both are gonna be paired up to take down the 'witch', all while the spectres of wars past, present, and future drift around! Witchin’! (Unfortunately for all involved, a few thousand souls join the party, and things get dangerous!)



[HIMEKO]
So... This is different. This is very, very different.

Himeko Kashiwagi didn't have plans today, mind, but when she overheard (somehow) that a highly anticipated battle was having trouble, she smelled opportunity. Opportunity for a bit of fame and an opportunity to promote Saikyo Ryu! But one thing.. She didn't expect to end up in the middle of a warzone! Look at this place.. It's a mess!

More importantly, however, is the script. ".. Um. Hmn. This doesn't appear to be particularly... Accurate. But for the sake of the Hibiki Dojo, I must endure a bit of historical inaccuracy!"

WHICH BRINGS US TO NOW

Amidst the devestation there are cameras set up ready to capture the fight and all in view at the moment are architectural remains, and clouds of dust. But when one particular cloud sweeps by, there's the sudden ear-piercing squeal of an electric guitar, proudly played by a woman adorn in a witches hat.

"Double, double, toIl and tRoUBle! FiRe bUrn anD cALdrOn BUBBLE!" bellows the anything but sultry and sing-song tone of tonight's star, followed by another massive squeal from the guitar.

"FilEt oF a fEnNy sNakE! In tHe cAlDron bOIl and baaaaake! o/~" *CHUNK CHUNK* %r
"Eye of newt and toe of frog! Wool of bat! And TONGUE! OF!" CHA-CHUNG "DOooOOoooOG!"

With a clack of heel on stone, out from the dust stands a red-clad student with a broad grin and of course a far more conservative version of the expected witch's attire. "Thank you! Thank you! Ladies and gentlemen I present to you, me! I-No! The Ordinary Magician! And tonight, I will battle against to amazing foes,"

Beat.

"Uh, my favorite.. Foes.. Uh...." ... "Hmn."

[SCORPION]
It was unclear exactly where this was, but it was known that, with the constant machine gun and mortar fire, this was not a place for civilians. In the unnatural morning fog, the atmosphere was tense and nerve wracking, one never sure if a stray bullet or bomb was going to claim their lives simply for trying to pass through.

It might have been surprising to some, then, that Scorpion had been perfectly at 'peace', kneeling in the bombed out wreckage of a building for the past hour. In front of him, a crack had appeared in the long destroyed apartment building, and through the floor, were green thorn-covered stems. On top of those flowers, a bloom of vivid red flowers, something thriving even in madness like this. Scorpion did not flinch at the sound of explosions, or the whistling of dropping bombs, or the screaming of men or things that used to be men. No, Scorpion's milk-white eyes were transfixed on the growing plans, his mind gone and wandering.

He'd used to find such flowers not far from the village, always taking one with him to bring to Kana. He knew she'd love them, used to act like it was a surprise every single time. If she'd ever grown tired of it she never told him, and he'd loved her for it but now he had wished that she had. If he'd known how it would have ended he'd never waste her time while she pretended otherwise. He would have told her how he felt. He would have taken her and Jubei away from the village, he would have given it all up, move them to safety he'd never let it happen to them again no this time would be different, he would-

The wailing of a guitar, and the high-pitched screaming of a cheap microphone caught his attention, cutting right through his train of thought and instantly, his featured hardened into one of rage. Picking up his sword, he stood up instantly.

The "witch" might be surprised by the appearance of the one behind her. The cameramen were certainly shocked, some jumping back in pure reflex, other cameras whirring violently to get a sight of the man in black and quilted yellow, face hidden behind a black hood and a yellow mask. But they picked up those eyes, unnaturally white and unblinking. And they'd pick up the man's stern voice as he spoke suddenly.

"You...are the great witch I am to fight? The being of unimaginable power? The woman who the fools told me I could not fight alone? I do not see it."

He gave a sneer even as he fastened that compact ninja's sword to his back, tightening the sheath to make sure it did not fall off or flop around. It seemed he had come prepared!

[AZUMI]
Warzones were never fun for a Ninja.

The art of stealth relies on misdirection, shadows and keeping tabs on all enemies at all times. An open warzone had plenty of opportunities for the first, but with enemies everywhere and no intel, it was hard for any one ninja to keep track. Azumi sprints along the various dilapidated rooftops of buildings, leaping from one to another with ease. Her new form in addition to wind chi made maneuvering the uneven buildings. As she runs up the side of a tilted over apartment building she stops as soon as she overhears a suspicious guitar twang. In an area full of explosions, screams of agony and gunfire, a guitars were a acoustic oddity.

The werewolf, clad in dark blue ninja gear with no insignia, takes a moment to look over her well prepared supplies. She had tailored Zukin to go over her nose to help kill some of the overpowering smells, a few kunai, a bottle of water and a few smoke bombs. Enough to travel light, get in, assassinate this lady and get the hell out. The presence of cameras was curious but not altogether unheard of.

She slides down the slanted side of the building with her feet, using her gained momentum to leap onto a roof of a one story building, heading in the direction of the electric instrument. She finds it after a few more long jumps, leaning over the edge of a former pharmacy to look down upon the witch. Azumi reaches inside of her vest, drawing out a small card of information on I-no. Looking it over and peering down at Himeko, she grumbles, rolling her eyes.

A fake.

Growling mostly to herself, she somersaults off of the building, wrapping her arms close to herself as she spun. She lands a few feet away from Scorpion and Himeko, giving the latter a bit of an odd look. A solid sniff was enough to tell that this ninja was...not a normal ninja. There were *alot* of things going on there. Things that could be explored later.

She crosses her arms towards Scorpion, raising one of her brows. "So you are here for that witch as well? I don't think this is her, though why the hell anybody would be out here with an instrument is beyond me. So lady, you want to explain why you are dressing up like an extremely dangerous woman in a battlefield?"

[ERMAC]
In the distance, the constant rattle of chained explosions echo between the buildings. it is difficult to tell if these are real, or if perhaps this entire setup is nothing more than an elaborate re-creation of the horrors of war. But when it comes right down to it, that hardly matters. Whether this be real, or merely a plastic mask laid over the bones of a once horrible battle, the ghosts of the past are here.

Beneath the ear shattering squeal of Himeko's guitar, a bone-deep thrum begins to build. Fuzzy and indistinct, it could at first be confused with feedback building in the enormous speakers scattered throughout the rubble.

This notion is dashed as misty lime-green energy suddenly coalesces around each of the 5 towering boxes of noise. For half a moment they glow, grungy rock cords continuing to pound from their fronts.

Then they implode in a spray of electrical guts, letting out a piercing squeal that quickly cuts to crackling, then silence. Where once thousands of dollars of sound equipment stood,there remain only dog-sized balls of crumpled scrap, floating in a green haze of swirling energy.

The ruined speakers crash to the ground as the distorted hum continues to grow in volume and intensity. The ground begins to vibrate, loose stones bouncing across the cement as an oppressive force begins to press down upon the shoulders and minds of all present. It is as if an invisible blanket has been dropped over the area. A tarp of power and raw will.

An ominous green glow seems to roll out of the red-clad witch's form, haloing her in more of the crushing energy that made such short work of the speakers. Could she be the one who is doing this? perhaps there is more to this seemingly innocent girl than meets the eye.

The witch floats slowly into the air, levitating a good 10 feet off of the ground.

And is flung violently away, witch hat spinning away from her head and guitar strings humming as she is hurled like a cute, misguided cannonball out over the shattered tops of the nearby buildings. She is bound to land somewhere, but it wont' be anywhere close to this fight.

In a burst of brilliant power, a new figure appears where Himeko once floated. it is lean and menacing, wrapped from head to foot in black cloth with hints of gold and carmine. Ragged tatters of dangling cloth swirl about it in currents of glowing energy, its eyes blazing a bright, ghoulish green.

"Your presence here has awoken the spirits of the dead," the voice of the being growls, though it is not one voice. From behind the shifting cloth of its mask comes a torrent of overlapping cadences and tones. A furious crowd chanting in sink, all turned to a single purpose. "We will make you regret your transgressions."

As the figure speaks, vague shapes begin to shift in the shadows. Formless and slow, they none-the-less radiate discontent as they begin to stretch toward the light.

Above, the floating figure extends its glowing right hand toward scorpion, bone-deep thrumming rattling through the air between them as a shell of green force begins to close around the spectre's body. Unless he can escape the monster's grip, its fingers will close, and the invisible hand of a giant will swat the ninja backwards into a stone wall, buckling it with his body. The floating figure will then lift his hand above his head and tilt his palm, tearing the yellow-clad being out of the rubble and hurling him in a 30 foot arc through the air to partially demolish another crumbling building a ways off behind him.

COMBATSYS: Ermac has started a fight here as a boss!

                               ERMAC                                
  [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------------===                



COMBATSYS: Azumi has joined the fight here.

                               ERMAC                                
  [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------------===                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Azumi            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Scorpion has joined the fight here.

                               ERMAC                                
  [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------------===                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Ermac knocks away Scorpion with Relinquish.

                               ERMAC                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|--------=======                


[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Scorpion         0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0            Azumi


[HIMEKO]
*TWANG* Himeko glances left and right. Not only are there not any cue cards, but she doesn't see her opponents anywhere at first! All she sees is destruction and an obscene amount of spoopy. The confusion of her opponents is understandable, even Himeko herself couldn't truly explain what's on her mind right now- Well, aside from attempting to be entertaining even in the face of horror. And speaking of horror.

"WAH!!"" She nearly leaps right out of her red boots when she hears Scorpion's voice. Not out of her boots, but certainly a couple feet forward so she can turn around and face the guy. Talk about creepsy-ville! But in a moments notice she regains enough composure to force a laugh. "Ah ha ha, *ahem*! 'Great', yes, but not exactly a witch, I'm more of an 'ordinary magician'," she replies as if it clarifies things at all. "As for unimaginable po- YEEZY CHEESY!!!" that time it's Azumi's voice that catches her by surprise which causes her to twirl in the other direction with a single fist raised to defend herself.

"WOULD YOU TWO *MIND*??!!"

After a couple of heavy puffs, she straightens once more and tips down the brim of her hat. It just so happens to be the exact moment that she starts to raise from the ground. Behold. Behold the power of SAIKYO! "The answer to your question, it's simple, really. My purpose here is to spread my love for the martial art of Saikyo-Ryu. And you *will* succumb, which will prove, once and for all, that love CAN bloom on the battlfie-EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa...."

Welp. There she goes.

[SCORPION]
Completely disregarding the woman in red, Scorpion instead looks down to study the creature in garb. Clearly not human, but the girl also, clearly had training as well. Ignoring Himeko, Scorpion paces around Azumi even as he spoke lazily.

"Interesting stance, girl. Whatever village you came from clearly taught you well, and you should be proud. However, I do not believe this is the fight we've been promised. Whoever this woman is-"

As if on cue, the humming started, and that soundspeaker explosion of green energy caused the bigger of the ninjas to whirl around in surprise, right fist raised in pure instinct. And then the 'witch'...no, excuse me. The 'magician' was surrounded by that ethereal green glow, and flung over the hills and far away. Scorpion watched her go soaring, right hand scratching the back of his hooded head as the embarrassing scene unfolded.

And then the figure appeared, all tattered and ragged, and once again Scorpion was taking things very seriously. He spoke low, so that the wolfgirl could hear, even as he started inching toward the figure.

"Ermac! Stay behind me, girl, you'll never survive if-"

He was interrupted, by being scooped up much like the early witch, flying backward into a stone wall so hard, he went limp in the invisible grasp. All of his training, all of his power failed to protect him against the sudden telekinetic assault, and soon after he was launched upwards as well, smashing through thick(but battle damaged and very old) floors and ceilings, being flung away into the air like a discarded bit of trash.

Unfortunately for Ermac, sometimes littering had a way of biting you later.

Very suddenly, Scorpion wasn't flying away from Ermac, he was flying towards him! Somehow, the yellow-clad ninja was flying in from Ermac's left side, a flying punch aimed directly for the cheek and jaw of the many-souled construct. All around them was the smell of Brimstone, and the taste of ash in the air. Some camera men were leaving at this point, but a brave few eager for their paychecks stayed, hunkering down and continuing to record this fight in progress. Was that wise? Possible not, but they did it all the same.

[AZUMI]
Azumi watches Himeko for a moment, the woman clearly not being held up to the standard of crazy powerful witch. And just as she's ready to say something about it, Himeko is literally swatted away, clearing a significantly huge section of the battlefield. Azumi watches her for a moment.

....Surprisingly aerodynamic.

The burst of power gets her attention next though, the werewolf ninja slightly covering her eyes with an arm. The accompanying waves of power pull at her, briskly carving through her fur and pulling at her tail. Still though, she remains standing when the figure appears, Azumi looking up towards him with wide eyes. She'd not quite encountered one that looked like him. But even so, there was little question that this creature had once been a man but now looked to be nothing more than a sick, hungry monster.

The speech directed at Scorpion gets a side glance, as she could only see the

man clearly now without a distraction. The light tinge of smoke? The yellow garb? The white eyes? Only one ninja fit that description. She'd read a file on Scorpion once; he was on a potential list of targets for the Red Cloud to destroy, but very few back home were even close to being qualified for taking him on.

She doesn't get to look at him for long as the amber ninja is sent flying away, seemingly with..force? Was it wind? Azumi shakes her head. She controlled wind and this was more precise than that. This was telekinesis. Which meant things were going to get rough.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. Just put this monster -DOWN- Scorpion!"

She does a few hand signs and leaps backwards, the werewolf ninja disappearing from sight. She reappears just above Ermac and timed her appearance just as Scorpion returns to the fight. Just after the punch was delivered, Azumi grabs Ermac's head between her legs and wrenches herself back, bodily tossing the forsaken man into the ground.

COMBATSYS: Ermac blocks Scorpion's Torment.

                               ERMAC                                
  [     ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-------========                


[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Ermac dodges Azumi's Medium Throw.

                               ERMAC                                
  [     ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-------========                


[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0            Azumi


[ERMAC]
If the hovering menace known as Ermac recognizes Scorpion in turn, he gives no sign of it. Unless attacking the hellish ninja first is his way of acknowledging the other warrior as a threat. If that is the case, then smashing him through a couple of buildings is probably a firm handshake with direct eye contact. A very warm and manly greeting indeed.

"We are Ermac," the hovering monster both confirms and announces, the roaring masses within him full of disturbed anger. As he speaks he lowers his viridian gaze to Azumi, the entire weight of his presence baring down upon her. "We enforce the will of the Emperor Shao Kahn. We will break you."

And then Scorpion is lunging in from his left, and the soul construct is forced into furious motion.

The spectre's flying punch meets an uplifted hand, gauntleted fist smacking into glowing cloth-wrapped palm with a solid 'thwap.' Tattered wrappings swirl about in his wake as the enforcer spins away from the blow, guiding scorpion past and twisting about just in time to meet Azumi's descending legs head on.

In a swirl of radiant green souls, Ermac vanishes. Azumi's feet pass through the spot he had occupied a fraction of a second before. But before she has time to wonder where he has gone, he re-appears directly above her, their rolls reversed.

Completing the twist he had started when blocking Scorpion, the lean warrior hurtles down into the werewolf with a twirling axe kick, attempting to drive his heal hard into her left collar bone. If he can speed her progress toward the ground, he will then drop down out of the sky in an attempt to smash knee-first into the center of her back and drive her masked face into the cement, before levitating off of her prone body to land with both feet planted firmly on the ground, not 10 feet away.

Lifting his glowing hands into a ready position, he squares off with both challengers, right foot forward and fingers spread. Around him, the once amorphous blobs of shadow have stretched into the light, gaining vaguely humanoid shape as the souls of warriors lost begin to rise.

Through it all the gut-wrenching hum has grown only deeper and more intense as the soul construct summons his full potential. It is not unlike a sleeping giant, stretching and awakening once more to the full extent of its muscles.

COMBATSYS: Azumi blocks Ermac's Kombo.

                               ERMAC                                
  [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-------========                


[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Azumi


[SCORPION]
His punch is blocked, and even Scorpion's eyes widen in surprise as the construct seemed to anticipate what he could do. The two spin but Scorpion quickly breaks himself free, stepping away and letting Azumi attempt to whittle down the creature. All around the the fog began to thin out a little, but that humming was getting worse. Something like Ermac was a beacon. And although they didn't need to worry about it now...that beacon was attracting everything around them. Even Scorpion felt it calling, though a man of his iron will, he could ignore it easily enough. But that didn't mean it wasn't unsettling.

He watched Ermac and the lupine assassin square off, but he was just picking his moments. He waited until Ermac was away from the two of them before Scorpion ran in, leaping up and extending out his leg, snapping it outward in the air to hopefully give that bandaged face of their enemy something to think about.

[AZUMI]
Azumi gasps in shock as she comes down and finds no perch to start her throw. Similarly, she looks up after noticing a shadow hovering overhead. She spins and blocks the axe kick with her an arm, the shock of the motion being enough to cause her a good deal of pain despite it not hitting cleanly. The knee was met with both arms, the werewolf simply pushing herself away from it to avoid taking more damage. She hits the ground a mere second or two before he does, leaping back to better position herself. She speaks loudly over the sounds of battle to get his attention.

"Says the man covered in bandages to keep himself together. I will take great pleasure in putting you in the ground, where you belong."

She starts her way back towards Ermac again, sprinting as fast as she could manage and leaping over high over his head. The after image of the leaping ninja soon fades revealing itself to be a farce, replaced with the actual Azumi, who comes down for a flying roundhouse kick aimed directly at Ermac's chest.

COMBATSYS: Ermac dodges Azumi's Heaven's Claw.

                               ERMAC                                
  [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-------========                


[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Ermac fails to interrupt Front Kick from Scorpion with Uppercut.

                               ERMAC                                
  [          |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------=========                


[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Scorpion         0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Azumi


[ERMAC]
The moment the construct's feet touch ground, both ninjas are upon him, charging from different directions. But beneath their padding steps the ground continues to shake./

Spectral faces begin to push their way free of the rubble, mouths open in silent screams. their forms cast a ghoulish glow over the surroundings, matching that which now spreads across the enforcer's body, rising up his arms to smother the entirety of his form in a swirling mass of enraged soul power.

In silence, the cloth-wrapped terror steps backward, allowing Azumi's clawed foot to tear through the empty air where he once stood. But he has no time to deal with the brash young ninja, for Scorpion is almost upon him.

Ermac's left knee is already buckling as he begins to turn, power rolling off of his right fist as he descends into the infamous posture that many a kombatant has learned to fear. However, before he can complete the turn, the spectre's flying kick drops down, missing his face but crashing solidly into the side of his bandaged head. The force of it is enough to throw the leaner warrior off balance, forcing him to tumble once over the ground before rising smoothly to his feet.

Now caught squarely between the two ninja, the enforcer drops his body into a defensive stance. Both hands curl into fists, one forward, one back, and his knees bend as he prepares to fend off blows from two directions at once.

All around them the shadows of soldiers long dead drag themselves out of the darkness. They stand, their hollow eyes staring bleakly into the fray, with spears, rifles, and muskets clutched in lifeless fingers. These are the ones that were left behind. The forgotten warriors that no one has claimed.

[SCORPION]
Around them, there was only one cameramen left, and he was so intent on capturing the footage, that he didn't notice at first, the looming threat around him. Though he trembled at the sight of those lost souls swarming around Ermac, this was a veteran crewmember who's seen similar extravagant showings of power from powerful fighters. True, this particular flavor of power was something that set the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up and the pits of his stomach to do somersaults, but he was determined to stand his ground.

The second he notices the army of the dead starting to loom around them...that's when he decides that he's done his duty, and runs away as fast as he possibly can back to the SNF vans, hoping that they didn't leave him behind. In his haste the last operated camera falls and lands on it's side, recording bits of the fight, but certainly not all of it.

Meanwhile, back at the fight, Scorpion looked around as he rose to his feet, eyeing the deadmen but saying nothing. He's seen worse. Hell, he WAS worse. If they wanted to do more than watch, he'd deal with them then. But for now, he had a -real- threat to deal with. He looked past the enemy, over to his 'ally'. After a moment he gave her a nod, and that was all the warning Ermac got before Scorpion rushed in, leaping and throwing two kicks one-two at the construct. This was just to distract and trick the creature, though, once on the ground Scorpion began a flurry of rights and lefts, straight karate-taught punches that emphasised power and speed, aimed at the ribs, throat and even the side of Ermac's face, if he wasn't careful. Those hard wooden and leather gauntlets were painful, but even without them, the fists of the Scorpion would sting if struck!

[AZUMI]
Azumi's kick misses, the ninja recovering from it pretty easily. She digs her claws into the ground to slow herself down, sending a few sparks skittering off across the concrete in the process. The werewolf has enough time to drop into a ninjitsu stance, her hands placed in front of her face. With a single hand sign, she sheathes both of her hands in light blue energy and exhales, drawing her eyes onto her opponent.

The zombies rising from the earth beneath her get a quiet look, Azumi cursing underneath her breath. The last thing she needed was more opponents to fight. This guy was tough enough. She meets Scorpion's eyeless gaze and nods quickly, understanding him.

This was gonna get nasty and if they wanted to survive, they'd need to cover each other. To the end, if nessessary.

She sprints at exactly the same moment Scorpion does, coming along from his opposite side of her ally. She also throws a flurry of punches and kicks, but after a few of both, she raises a hand to throw a burst of chi energy in his face and following it with a bite that catches the necromancer in the shoulder and throwing him directly into the ground in a feral manner.

COMBATSYS: Scorpion successfully hits Ermac with Rapid Jabs.

                               ERMAC                                
  [                  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|---<<<<<<<<<<<<                


[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Azumi successfully hits Ermac with Charged Combo.

                               ERMAC                                
  [                         ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<                


[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0            Azumi


[ERMAC]
All throughout the ruins, the dead begin to rise. But not as zombies, no. The forms that drag themselves out of the ground are luminous and partially transparent. The fleeing camera man passes directly through one as it turns to face the kombatants, joining its fellows in an ever thickening ring around the fight.

And then the spirits charge. Rushing in behind the charging ninja, the lost souls begin to slide past them and pour into the pulsing green aura that surrounds the construct. With each new soul it brightens, and the shaking of the earth grows more intense. Soon faces can be seen within the swirling mass. Glaring eyes and challenging sneers.

But the ninja do not stop their advance.

Ermac deftly ducks Scorpion's opening kicks, weaving away so that the feints touch only the wraps that trail behind his every movement. However, as Azumi joins them he is forced to twist and deflect her first blow with a solid forearm, opening him briefly for a kidney punch from the bulky ninja behind him.

Fists and feet fly in from every direction, the enforcer deflecting some with hard blows of forearms and shins, though the majority manage to slip through and impact the body beneath his wraps. It is as solid as any human form might be, with bones that groan with each heavy impact and flesh that is likely to be badly bruised if it could be seen. However, he seems to be weathering the assault well until the sudden blast of chi takes him hard in the right side, tearing ragged gashes in his wraps and staggering him sideways into a heavy punch to the temple delivered by one of Scorpion's reinforced gauntlets.

A deep, many voiced snarl escapes the monster then, and it turns violently upon Azumi. Her jaws dart forward, teeth sinking into flesh with a spray of blackish blood. The liquid tastes awful, corrupted and full of dark energy, but that is the least of her problems. For as she attempts to throw him to the ground, the construct braces its feet and attempts to grab the left side of her skull with bony fingers.

Leveraging inhuman strength, Ermac attempts to pry the werewolf off of him and force her to her knees, briefly losing sight of scorpion as he bares down upon her. Meeting her eyes with his he insures she can feel every inch of his hate and malice, as energy spreads across her head, encasing it in bright green light. What would follow is intense, mind numbing pain as her skull is compressed from all sides, crushed beneath forces impossible to under stand, before she is lifted from the ground one-handed and hurled far away toward a crumbling stone statue.

COMBATSYS: Azumi dodges Ermac's Lucidity.

                               ERMAC                                
  [                          |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|--<<<<<<<<<<<<<                


[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0            Azumi


[SCORPION]
Scorpion noticed the dead joining the figure in the middle, but he couldn't let himself dwell on the fact. He was too busy in his onslaught, too busy battering the enemy before them and keeping him off balance. He only backed off when the beast made her attack, sinking her sharp teeth into the shoulder of the decidedly unnatural creature.

Really, all three of them stood opposite to what nature wanted, and as the sun in the sky finally started rising and shining, the light it cast upon them was not a comforting one. Filtered through the haze of artillery smoke and the unholy aura that filled this awful battleground, it did nothing but shine truth on the horrors of today.

Scorpion watched Ermac charge at Azumi, and he didn't have time to see if she could get herself out the way, he had to act fast. Ermac's back was to him, and that was just fine with Hanzo. Quickly his sword was unsheathed and slashed downward, trying to tear open the construct's bandages and back with that dangerous blade.

"Perhaps if we put enough holes in you, monster, the souls you lure and devour might find their way out!"

Scorpion doubted it, but as far as threats went, it was a fun one.

[AZUMI]
Mental note: Buy a metric shit-ton of mouthwash after this mission. Bloody hell this guy tasted terrible. Somewhere, someone noted a very serious connection between dark connection and gingivitis. And with as many teeth as she had, keeping them clean was probably for the better.

She's caught off guard by Ermac's strength in preventing himself from hitting the ground, as she pulls back from the throw. She feels the sensation of someone grabbing onto her skull and realizing that this might be...an absolutely terrible situation to be in, she turns her head to the side, throwing off the hand entirely. The werewolf spin in place once, leaping up slightly to drop a nasty clawed axe kick directly on Ermac's head. She follows up with a meaty looking roundhouse kick aimed for his chest, the blow packing a burst of wind chi intended to knock Ermac off of his feet and sent careening in the opposite direction, timed to hit just after Scorpion's sword slash.

COMBATSYS: Scorpion successfully hits Ermac with Doom Slice.

                               ERMAC                                
  [                              |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<                


[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Azumi successfully hits Ermac with Strong Kick.

                               ERMAC                                
  [                                         ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|-----------<<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<                


[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Azumi


[ERMAC]
Diffuse sunlight falls through the smoke and hits the glowing form of Ermac, causing his ghoulish form to appear grey and washed out. The ghostly faces do not retreat from the light, however, seeming instead to grow only more furious as Azumi slips the construct's grasp.

His right foot is in the process of shifting backward for a neat back step when the first kick slams him full in the face. His body jolts backward, right hand swinging out in an open palm toward the sword that descends from behind. Scorpion can feel a force, an otherworldly pressure that begins to grip the blade, but with effort it is powered through and the hellish weapon carves a deep gash down the back of the monster, spraying black blood in all directions.

The final insult comes in the form of a leaping kick to the chest, which hammers into Ermac center mass and hurls him backward past the spectre , form on a collision course with a nearby pile of rubble. But before he strikes the barrier his backward momentum is stopped, and he floats, blood pumping from his body to join the tattered wrappings in a slow orbit around his ragged form.

No souls gush out. No energy is lost.

But the jarring pressure of energy abruptly peaks.

"HRAAAAAAAAH" Comes the throaty roar of a thousand thousand souls, bellowing as one in unholy rage. The built up energy around the monster spreads outward, his hands lifting slowly into the air. And as his hands rise, so does the earth.

Half-shattered buildings are torn apart, their skeletal frames rising away from the foundations amidst a cloud of dust. Cement boulders shoot into the air, rebounding off of floating walls in chaotic patterns.

And both Azumi and Scorpion feel a god-like pressure grasping at their bodies, closing around them and squeezing viciously before they are hurled straight up. If they are not both nimble and skilled they will be smashed against and through the floating rubble, ground into it like a giant blender of vanished civilization.

The entire mass will rotate around the monster, picking up speed before being crushed together into a single mighty meteor, and whether the two unfortunate souls find themselves lost in the press or not, the entire giant mass will be brought crashing down, to crater the earth and send out an enormous blast of dusty air in all directions.

The wind blows back Ermac's wrappings, causing them to slither through the much diminished cloud of souls that still drift about his damaged form.

COMBATSYS: Ermac knocks away Azumi with Controlled Chaos.

                               ERMAC                                
  [                                          |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-------<<<<<<<<                


[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Scorpion endures Ermac's Controlled Chaos but gets knocked away!

                               ERMAC                                
  [                                          |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-------<<<<<<<<                


[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1            Azumi


[SCORPION]
When Ermac stumbles away, Scorpion steps back to join Azumi, that Hellfire-forged blade of his dripping black sludge, sludge that he removed by flicking the blade and letting it splatter against both ninja. Scorpion himself didn't look much worse for wear, his bare biceps and yellow uniform both covered in Ermac blood, with the faintest bit of splatter across that yellow facemask, but as he sheathed that sword, he spoke in a low tone of voice meant only for the ninja next to him.

"What happens next...is going to hurt. If you survive this, be ready to act when I give the signal."

His attention was on the construct when it screamed, his fists clenched and his stance low. But right away he could tell that this was going to end in disaster. All around them a windless tornado swept up battle-ravaged landscape, dirt and rocks and trees and buildings, soil and the stone of makeshift graves all sweeping into the sky in a show of destruction Scorpion had not seen before. And soon he felt the familiar, awful tugging of Ermac's terrible power. His muscles bulged, his bones rattled, and even as he flexed and stood his ground, the spectre could not keep from screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH" And before he knew it he was flung into the sky along with everything else, banging off of boulders, smashing into gravestones, and pebbles and blades of graze tore through his flesh to let steaming hot blood flow. But through it all...Scorpion kept himself in tact. And in the funnel of destruction, the ninja opened his eyes and snapped his head over toward Azumi.

"Now, creature! NOW!"

That was all he said before his form drained completely of color before dissolving into ash. It would be up to Azumi. What was going to happen?!

[AZUMI]
Azumi lands her final kick, dropping down into a battle stance right alongside Scorpion. She nods towards his assumption. They'd dealt alot of damage to this monster and it still wasn't quite done. And what came next...she has literally never seen before.

The grip upon her body was absolute as she struggled to regain control. She's lifted up into the air and thrown into the blender of whirling concrete, steel and mortal. Unlike Scorpion's tougher constitution Azumi doesn't hold up anywhere near as well, as hit after hit battered bone, tore skin, and sliced through fur. A concrete block shatters against her ribs, causing her to cry intensely in pain. A steel beam catches her in the back, knocking her for a loop a second later. A bolted stop sign catches her upside the nose, sending a spurt of blood out from it. And just when the whirlwind had slowed and she opened her battered eyes, she sees the true face of what might be her last. A meteor. A big one.

And she was right in front of it.

She flattens against the meteor as it falls, her body spread out across it's uneven mass. A silent lick teases the back of her mind. She could always give in again. To the monster in her head. Succumb to her baser instincts. That might get her out of this situation. But she growls in frustration at the idea. She didn't need help. She had this. She had to.

Summoning up all of the chi she could muster, the werewolf's body begins to exude a fantastically bright blue aura as she not only starts to push herself off of the meteor with tremendous effort, but starts to pour it into her hands. As she comes down towards the ground, she angles her feet to catch the meteor and redirects all of her power, her skill, her energy, into catching the ball.

And goddamnit, she was going to catch this fucking thing.

She screams at the top of her lungs as her body wretched itself in protest, the werewolf ninja channeling all of her wind chi into the meteor itself, covering the entire surface of the meteor in a thick sheet of blue tinted air. Her feet hit the ground, scraping and tearing at the ground beneath her as she holds this monumental pile of city back. Her entire body felt like shattering but she somehow holds it together, the whirlwind of tempest being loud enough now to cut through the sound and deafen it. She slows the meteor to a stop, though the werewolf certainly looked like she might fall any moment with her clothes mostly in tatters and blood oozing from several spots. She chokes out a violent scream, cutting through her own quiet.

"TRY HARDER!"

[SCORPION]
Ermac had problems. The plummeting sphere of debris that he had created were being aimed at him by turbulent winds caused by the werewolf, her abilities throwing the after effects right toward the bandage-wrapped construct. Unfortunately for him, Scorpion appeared right in front of him, ripping that mask right off of his face, and revealing the flaming skull beneath. It stared hatred at Ermac before opening its mouth, and the flames of Hell pouring out in a horrible cone aimed straight for Shao Kahn's bogeyman. The continuous flaming assault continued until the wreckage smashed Scorpion from behind...but by that point the figure had already been an ash 'copy', exploding into nothingness and adding to the conga line of misery headed toward the unfortunate construct.

Scorpion appeared beside Azumi, masked once again, and down to one knee, the pain of what happened wracking his body. He was sure the wolf had it even worse, though.

COMBATSYS: Scorpion and Azumi successfully hit Ermac with Scorched Earth.

                               ERMAC
                               
  [                                                             ]
                 1|-----------<<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<                


[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Azumi

[ERMAC]
Drifting slowly back to the ground, the faintly glowing construct allows his hold over the rubble to fail, allowing the entire mess to come crashing down under its own weight.

Or, not?

A gust of powerful wind strikes the mass of rubble as it tumbles out of the sky, knocking it off course. Ermac's blazing eyes consider the whole mess, left hand lifting as if to catch it out of the air...

And then there is fire.

A raging storm of hell slams into the distracted enforcer, charring away cloth and the skin beneath in a scorching conflagration of hate and revenge. The inferno builds and turns in on itself, causing the figure within to shrink to a shadow, a flicker of green, and then nothing. Nothing as the wave of destruction rains down upon the area where he once stood.

For a beat, there is silence.

A blast of swirling souls erupts between the two ninja, bringing with it the feeling of smothering oppression that follows the construct wherever he goes. Out of the mass of ghostly images flies a living skeleton, nothing more than charred muscles stretched over bone, writhing and glistening wet.

The beast's skull is lowered as he rockets forward, attempting to smash the top of his dome squarely into the masked face of the exhausted ninja. But there is no pause there, the skeletal monster immediately twisting its body about to drive a spinning heel kick toward the spectre's chin, to further damage his hopefully mangled visage.

The ground vibrates, energy roiling up from Ermac as he clenches his fists, causing a giant pressure to attempt and seize Scorpion, then hurl him like a missile over the monster's shoulder to collide bodily with Azumi.

As his power crests, the last bits of flesh holding the construct together burst. The souls once trapped within rush outward in all directions, scouring the ground and blasting away any rubble that happens to have landed too close to ground 0. Unless Scorpion and Azumi are quick enough to evade, the roiling explosion of soul energy will sweep over them, filling their minds with torment as it attempts to tear them limb from limb.

it is the last gasp of an exhausted monster.

The last gasp, for now.

COMBATSYS: Ermac can no longer fight.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Scorpion dodges Ermac's Lost Souls.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Azumi


COMBATSYS: Azumi parries Ermac's Lost Souls!

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Azumi


[SCORPION]
To the left of them, what should fall back down to earth, but an SNF camera, more durable than an airplane's blackbox and harder to kill than Dan Hibiki's fiscal debt, it hit the earth in just the right position to get the shot of two ninja, exhausted and at their absolute limits. For his part, Scorpion's blood was flowing freely, running down wounds in his arms and neck, his uniform ripped, the yellow of his tunic absolutely filthy and grimy, ripped clean off of his left shoulder even as his jet-black pants bore a few tears as well. His mask was ruffled, his eyebrows drooped in exhaustion. But even there, even on one knee, looking like he was about to keel over, the ninja knew that it wasn't over. Ermac erupted from the ground as a ghastly looking sight, and only at the last second did Scorpion manage to dodge. That flying headbutt missile was avoided by the ghost suddenly dropping flat to the ground, letting himself get small before scrambling out the way of the rest of that onslaught, watching as it turned to Azumi. Unfortunately, the girl would have to sink or swim on her own, Scorpion was in no position to help anybody at the moment.

COMBATSYS: Scorpion takes no action.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Azumi


[AZUMI]
The werewolf eyes wanted to do nothing but close at the moment. To embrace sleep or death, whichever came first. She was successful in her halting of the attack but the cost was intense. Every single nerve ending she had hurt. She likely had multiple injured that'd need addressing almost immediately and her consciousness was flickering. As soon as the other ninja had knocked the death ball away, the werewolf crumbles, falling flat on her back with a gasp of pain.

It might have been fine to just lay here forever. Plant a garden, enjoy the property value, maybe even just hang out here for all eternity. She might have enjoyed that.

Unfortunately, Ermac didn't seem to be done, much to her annoyance. She whines loudly as she rolls over on her side to avoid the animated skeleton, and cranes one creaky neck to see what he was doing. She was near Scorpion still and an attack might have not only injured him but pushed her off into into a final rest. She shakily reaches inside of her completely completely destroyed garb and pulls out a single Kunai. She spins it into her hand and lazily throws it in any direction she could manage. The kunai flies through the air with the grace of a cow, spiraling uselessly a dozen or so feet in the air.

Wanting to avoid damage she performs a simple hand sign, replacing her body with the current location of the kunai, avoiding what might come next entirely. Unfortunately that left her limp body in the air.

She falls from about ten feet up, slamming loudly into the remains of a bombed out, blown up car, shattering what little glass it had left and leaving the werewolf ninja flattened against it. She gurgles a small response towards her ally.

"Grryth. I'm okay..t-truss me."

She throws a very weak thumbs up before just laying there, absolutely at some point beyond exhausted.

COMBATSYS: Azumi takes no action.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Scorpion         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Azumi


[SCORPION]
Scorpion watched the girl evade the final throes of a horrible creation, nodding as he took a moment to compose himself. After a moment, the spectre stood tall, and started to stagger and limp toward the girl. It took great effort, but finally, he found himself standing over the prone form collapsed in an alley. He spoke softly through the pain, forcing himself to block it out and stand tall.

"You fought well. You have made your clan proud today. But it is best not to linger in a place like this. The dead will do more than passively observe if they can get away with it."

He wasn't asking the unconscious girl's permission, just kneeling down, grabbing her by a wrist, and propping her over a shoulder as he unfastened his sword sheath and held it in his hand, to make room. With that done he'd continue his journey, shuffling out of here at a pace that did not fit an injured man like himself.

COMBATSYS: Scorpion has left the fight here.

[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Azumi            0/-------/------=|

Log created on 22:25:53 07/06/2016 by Scorpion, and last modified on 09:50:13 07/07/2016.