lt_blade | plot: home 2011 *backdated to 2/26*

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homeplot: 2011

plot: home 2011 backdated to 2/26

Five days..

Five days since they woke up. Five days since they started on this mission to save their realm (again). They should have woken up by now: five days into this and Sonya had to almost daily shove back the worry that maybe they were going to be stuck here-no, it wasn't for her, it was for Lipton. He shouldn't have been here, this wasn't his fight, and most of all, he had a wife and kid back on the island. Least with her and Scorpion, they didn't have anyone back there waiting for them, especially in way of kids.

Their time spent traveling wasn't long, not by comparison, but it was by no means easy. Physically, because every so often they would run into a band of mutant or centaur warriors, and mentally because nearly everywhere there were remains of people having had their souls already taken. Sonya was only grateful that they hadn't lost anymore people. Indeed, just before they left for the journey, they'd actually..according to her story..gained two more warriors: Kitana and her friend Jade, both 'former' assassins for Shao Kahn. Liu Kang and Nightwolf were willing to give her a chance, but Sonya couldn't bring herself to really let her in so easy. It was true that the damn video game booklet said that Kitana was now on their side-but how could much could she really put her faith in that book, especially when Kitana herself wasn't too keen on giving details as to 'why', only asking that they trust them. It was only because they needed the 'manpower', and out of respect for Nightwolf and Lui Kang that Sonya kept her mouth shut, but she wordlessly kept an eye on the two women.

It was evening on that fifth day when they finally reached the city, the fortress of Shao Kahn jutting against the dark purple sky. For once, they didn't stop to set up camp as evening set, as Kitana had told thm that the security around here would be extremely tight. If they were to find shelter anywhere it would have to be within the city. Centaurs were the hardest to defeat, but they were also naturally claustrophobic, and so a building would offer some protection.

Sonya was past caring about physical comfort. Several days of on and off fighting and her body was already bearing bruises and scrapes. Nearly all of them were bruised up, and that wasn't counting the exhaustion that was threatening them. She had to put faith in that their endurance could carry them through all of this-for every one's sake.

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He should have woken up by now.

When he'd somehow woken up in West Virginia with Jane last year, they'd lived out the two days they were asleep for and woke up just fine back on the island. Not only had it been five days, but Lipton had a very real fear of what would happen if he died here. He'd kept in shape on the island - the ITF's various drill sergeants made sure of that - but his body had forgotten the weary ache that went all the way down to your bones from continuous fighting and no real rest. He'd kept it up for months in the ETO, they all had, but that didn't help him any now. He was dirty, banged up and bleeding, but nothing life threatening.

Maybe people dying in these sleep journeys was the reason they disappeared on the island. He had nothing to support it - everyone had woken up last time, as far as he knew, but the great mystery of how people came and left the island would never stop bothering him.

He'd had an estranged wife and a younger brother and sisters back home when he'd fought in the war, but now he had a wife, a daughter and another child on the way - he needed to return, and couldn't take solace in the fact that his death would at least provide for them through Uncle Sam. Jane was resiliant, resoureful and wonderful; she'd get on without him just as she had when Stuart Redman left, but he didn't want her to have to.

He shoved a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck, eyes and mind keenly aware of their surroundings despite his thoughts and exhaustion. He didn't know what to think of their new two arrivals, but he could tell that Sonya hesitated in fully accepting them into the group, and that prompted him to feel similarly. He'd been friendly enough to them, but he knew how to be suspicious and alert without giving it away.

"So what's the plan once we're inside?" Lipton quietly asked the others.

Being a specter did not mean that Scorpion was not invulnerable. His manifestation had its limits. It was not the same as being physically tired, but the fighting had taken a toll on him. He had been resting to gather his strength for the push into Shao Khan's fortress.

Scorpion allowed Sonya to answer Lipton. This was not his plan. He was merely an ally.

It was Jax that spoke up first. Even though normal 'ranks' didn't really quailify here at the present time, Sonya fell into it by habit-and she felt she owed him for having to put up with it.

"Kitana says she knows how to get to Kahn's throne room without running into much trouble. The plan is to split up into groups. Liu Kang, Kung Lao and Nightwolf will follow Kitana and Jade over to his Fortress, the rest uf us will stay as back up around the primeter. We've more than a few explosives to take out any sort of calvery Kahn tries to summon, or atleast slow them down. Just remember that our objective is to buy the others enough time to challenge and defeat Kahn."

"Not to play the devil's advocate." Kung Loa spoke out. "But suppose neither myself or the Chosen warrior," For all his respect of his friend and fellow monk, Kung Loa didn't really care all that much of the burden placed on Liu's shoulders. It wasn't something he wished on him, or anyone else. "can defeat the Emperor, what then?"

Jax handed him a small electronic device about the size of a garage door opener. "If anything like that happens, this will activate a distress signal that will be picked up by our wrist comms. Rest assured, we'll come."

"Nice to see American tax dollars at work." Lao quipped as he took the device.

"Let's keep going." Sonya finally spoke up. All of this made it sound like a suicide mission. It was usually not something that bothered her, but-given the circumstances-she felt more cautious than usual. "Cover of darkness works both ways."

Lipton gave a curt nod, committing the plan to memory. Cover fire he could do, even to this grand a scale. If the five of them, and Kang in particular, couldn't take down the Emperor... well. As tough Sonya, Scorpion and Jax were, it didn't bode well. Still, Lipton just rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck back and forth, resettling the rifle in his grip. After all, Easy had always come through, even when behind enemy lines and surrounded. Currahee, and all that. Still, Jane, Liddy and the baby on the way were imprinted permanently into the back of his mind.

Lipton quirked a smile at the device, envisioning Luz and Perconte with their hefty radios strapped to their backs. He'd always wondered why the two smallest guys in the company were the ones with the backpack-sized devices, but the world - and the army - worked in mysterious ways.

"Yessir," Lipton said, gun barrel up and eyes on the aforementioned darkness.

The plan sounded exactly the same at this point. It was a good sign. By not reminded Sonya or telling the others he knew how this turned out previously, Scorpion believed that he was helping to ensure victory for the side he was currently supporting. The thought of letting this knowledge slip to Lipton to boost his spirits did not even occur to him in his inhuman form.

Scorpion simply stood and readied himself. He looked forward to more fighting. If he could not avenge himself on the correct people, he could at least let someone feel his fury.

Sonya managed to hide the disappointment when they reached the city. As dark as it was, the earthquake and merger had not only caused the destruction of the city (which was to be expected), but also resulted in several fires going every few yards or so. The shadows created would help them blend in, but the light they gave off still put them at risk.

Jax motioned for them all to get some cover, just in time for a patrol of centaurians to pass by them, the sounds of their hooves a dead give away. For herself, Sonya hugged a nearby wall around a corner, using her clothing and cap to blend in. If they were going to find shelter, it'd have to be fast.

Maybe it was a change in the wind, or maybe a straggler, but Sonya just barely had time to react as she quickly dove herself and Jax onto the ground and just barely missing a blast of metal shooting in their direction. Looking behind her, Sonya quickly got to her feet just as Sub-Zero froze the mutant who attacked them.

The ice ninja shouted at them to watch out, just as the commotion sent a squad of centaur warriors came charging at them.

"Suppressing fire! Try to stay together!" Jax shouted, getting his rifle ready. The centuars heads and necks seemed to be their weakest part, and suppressing fire was less 'revealing' than saying 'aim for their heads'.

Somewhere in Sonya's head, she shut down. As she fought and dodged the enemy, the physical discomfort became only a passing thought, while the drive to fight started feeding into the adrenaline that seemed to be a part of her by now.

One of the centaurs grabbed at her arms and tried to shove her into a brick wall. Sonya responded by kicking up against the brick, flipping herself up and twinsting so she was nearly on the creature's back, her sleeves tearing from the force of his grip on her. Before the centaur could react, Sonya cut into his neck with her knife, sliding to the ground as the beast bleed to death.

Even after his year in the ITF, taking cover under actual fire had caused Lipton to slip back into old patterns of reaching for his helmet and having calls for Easy on the tip of his tongue. But now, five days into this war over a world that wasn't his own, he'd acclimatized to fighting with ninjas and all the rest.

He pressed his back into the wall, down a ways from Sonya and using the greater shadow to limited advantage in hiding his bigger frame, but it benefited him in being out of the range of the metal blast. He'd had enough shrapnel lodged into him for one lifetime, that was sure.

When their opponents started to charge, Lipton moved up to lean against to the corner with his rifle up, near to Jax, sighting and shooting for their heads. He'd seen enough horses put out of their misery that way to feel it was somewhat appropriate, even if he hadn't seen enough boys shot through the forehead to know how fragile the skull could be to a bullet.

He dropped one, and in its flailing fall another tripped, prompting Lipton to reaim and finish off the one that was down.

Scorpion went into action immediately. One centaur made the mistake of trying to gallop past him. A line shot out and the barbed blade embedded itself into the creature's neck. The centaur screamed out, and Scorpion changed direction slightly and pulled. It was difficult to discern the chunk of torn flesh from the blood erupting from the severed artery.

A second centaur had thought he had an advantage by charging Scorpion from behind, but was dismayed to find it's strike sailing through thin air. Scorpion shot out of thin air and landed a flying kick to the beast's face. Before it could recover, the fighter unleashed a series of blows that the centaur was unable to recover from. As it fell, a dropped heel to it's skull caused it to lose consciousness before it even hit the ground.

In the continuing chaos of the fight, it was almost inevitable that the group would get split up.

Along with Lipton, Sub-zero was spent most of his time trying to take out the centaurs before they could sneak charge at anyone. The outside heat was affecting him more than the others, and while he was able to freeze some of the centaur warriors on occasion, he was compelled to pull back or risk exhausting himself further. He found it easier to freeze the ground before him to make them stumble before delivering a killing blow.

"Jax, behind you!" Sonya called out, just as a centaur warrior was about to pummel him with his forelegs. He didn't get the chance to, as her warning was enough for Jax to turn around and deliver a punch strong enough send the creature off his feet, a second one crushing his neck.

One of the other centaurs caught her warning as well and charged over, grabbing her by the back of her jacket before she could react and swinging her into the window of an 'abandoned' shop before she could react. Sonya just had time to yell out as she crashed through the window and onto some shelves. It was only luck and training that she was able to fall in a way that she was still conscious when she crashed, though the attack left her momentarily stunned and her back stung as some shards of glass managed to tear through the back of her clothing. Struggling to pick herself up, Sonya heard before she saw the centaur about to charge into the shop, supposedly to finish the job, and she only had a few moments to come up with a plan.

Amongst some of the debris where she'd fallen, Sonya carefully picked up a screw and held it between her fingers, hoping that the creature couldn't see it against the darkness.

The centaur charged inside, taking in the woman's bluff in her attempted to 'look' defeated. Grabbing her by her jacket, Sonya forced herself to remain still as he lifted her up to his eye level, and holding his fist back to deliver a killing blow. But before he could, Sonya quickly threw her own fist and shoved the screw right through one of his eyes, causing the beast to scream out in pain and let her go, instead trying to find and pull it from his eyes. Unfortunately, the blood and eye fluid pouring from the wound made the thin object even trickier for him to pull out.

Landing on her feet, Sonya delivered a high kick right to the creature's mid section, followed with an upper cut and the sound of a loud crack as the force of the blow broke the creature's neck.

Not giving herself a chance to relax, Sonya ignored the pain in her back as she ran out to rejoin the others, picking up her knife and rifle from where they'd fallen.

Lipton was used to watching the field, watching the boys' backs, keeping an eye on the enemy and ready to spring into action if one of the guys got hit, yelling for a medic and doing whatever he could to help Doc Roe or Spina get the kid to a medic. As much of a loner as he'd been before the war, Lipton had always kept a hellova eye on his family, and that had easily transfered over to his company. Here, it was no different, even if the individuals changed, the tendencies were the same.

Still, he was the one at the definate disadvantage in these parts. Aside from lacking the top-notch hand-to-hand skills, the rest of the fighters had something of a home-field advantage, what with Scorpion's undead ninja guise, Sub-Zero's freezing ability, Jax's part-cyborg arm, and Sonya's bands.

Even so, his watching eyes had been elsewhere when Sonya was tossed, his head only snapping around to the crash of shattered glass.

"Sonya!" He leapt from around his cover and sprinted over to the window, rifle up to get a few shots off on the way, both to clear a path and keep any oppertunistic centuars from getting ideas. Over the spiked remainder of the window he could see the creature lift a prone Sonya, but Lipton couldn't get a clear shot. He kicked away the spiked remainder of the window, and had just gotten a foot on the sill as she drove something into his eye and clawed her way free.

"Need a hand?" He said, almost ironically, despite the mess of battle around them, and after glancing over his shoulder to make sure there was no imminent charge, he offered her his hand.

Scorpion took a moment to survey the field. He had two goals. He had to assist both Sub-Zero and Sonya. Sub-Zero had fallen back near the other Earthrealm warriors, while a centaur had began attacking Sonya.

He materialized inside the shop just as the door began to be kicked in. The centaur kicking int he door was some kind of officer since he was shouting out commands as his forelegs crashed in the door. Scorpion was ready.

He had pulled off his mask and revealed that his human form was merely an illusion. There was a flaming skull where his head should have been, and as the centaur officer burst in, Scorpion breathed hellfire on him. The hellfire consumed the officer's entire body. It screamed as it fell to all four knees, as more than just flesh burned.

Scorpion simply replaced his mask. He was satisfied that the screaming corpse was now blocking the doorway. Turning, he saw that Sonya had successfully repelled her opponent and that Lipton was offering her aid.

Sonya had to give it to Shao Kahn, the bastard knew how to train his armies: divide and conquer after all.

It was only a few minutes since she'd been split up from the guy, but that didn't mean she wasn't relieved to see him alive. She also wasn't surprised to see Scorpion appear in the middle of the room, after all, it wasn't like her own entrance was a quiet one, and it was only sheer luck and timing that she'd survived the enoounter.

She almost accepted the offered hand when another centaur-there must've been a back entrance to the shop-crashed his way through the shop. Sonya figured he would've heard his comrade's screams even over the dinn of the battle and went in for reinforcements.

If that wasn't a 'oh shit' sort of moment (she saw that she and her friends could easily be surrounded in the building), the sight of Scorpion's 'eyes' glowing with fire definitely was. His 'aim' was focused and accurate, but damn if the centaur wasn't a big target and the fire didn't spread.

It was almost sad how used she was becoming to the smell of burning and rot, because she was more concerned about getting out of the area rather then the sight of the centaur turned extra crispy.

Quickly, she accepted his hand and climbed out of the window, immediately heading towards some sort of cover, her mind working on a plan. As high as her adrenaline was up, they couldn't keep fighting like this-there could've been other enemy combatants in the area and they were only a small group.

Well, that flame busines wasn't something you saw everyday, but it just underlined Lipton's earlier thought that he was definately out of his league around here. That, and gave him some eerie flashes of memory of D-Day and the C-47s engulfed with flames and containing the other stick barrelling towards the ground. He hadn't seen anyone burn to death up close, but he'd imagined it against his will plenty - and here it was in reality, with just a few extra hooves and hellfire. It wasn't a sight he cared to look on twice.

He ducked down and followed Sonya to cover, rifle up and ready, knowing Scorpion could damn well find his own way. That whole skull debacle was something he didn't want to currently consider.

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