Chapter 1: The Blind Phoenix

Her flying kick scatters bodies like a strike in bowling ... if you can call them bodies ... Lacy follows through using the momentum of the kick to swing back up with the zip line to her position on top of the rocky formations in preparation for the enemy's response.

As soon as Lacy's feet alight on the pillar, she feels her chest tighten, and her bones crackle. Looking over at T̵a̸i̷z̵o̸ and the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷, L̶a̴c̵y̴ could see similar looks of discomfort on their faces, and also a sense that they've lost some distinctiveness to their features. A change in facial structure here, a change to their clothes there. No doubt, she also was victim to the same effects. The C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ growled, huffing through clenched teeth. Then they smiled.

""̴͉̭̇I̶̙͌̌ṭ̶͒́ ̸̟̈́s̵̻̲̊̏ẽ̷̳̕e̷̟̅͛m̴̧̔̌ŝ̵̟͂ ̶̝̤̅t̴̢̯͑͛h̴̭͋͜a̶̻̋t̴̖̣̓̄ ̸̜͒w̶̗̌ë̶̦̼́̌ ̷̣̠͑͛ş̷̉͋t̴̗͚͂i̷͒̕ͅl̵̮͗l̷̙̊ ̶̙͑h̸͓͇̾ọ̶͛̀l̵̹̒d̸̠͙̑ ̸͇̥̑̈́s̶̩͉͊̿o̷̡͇̐m̷̬̉e̷̬̘͑͌t̸͖͝ḫ̴̥͛̑i̶͕̩͠ǹ̸͈͠g̴̳̍̿ ̴̟̰̿̽d̸̙͒͌ĕ̴̲͖̔á̵̱̳͝r̷̗͈̀̌ ̸̡͍̑́ť̸̘͋o̸̢̗͗ ̸͑ͅũ̴͔s̸̛ͅ.̷͈̐͂ ̷̩̘͂W̷̜̋͜ȇ̸̹ ̶͔̬̄c̸̱̐̎á̴̧̹͑n̵̛̦̥̆ ̷̘͗n̴̫̽ó̵̲ẗ̵͖́̊͜ ̶̤̀͜s̸͍̀t̶͉̒̑a̷̞̙̓̕ỳ̷͔͓̚ ̸̻̬̎̀a̵̧͇͌͗n̶͍̲̉̎y̴͚͖̆ ̵̤̦͋l̷̫͉͊ó̵̗ṇ̴̳̍g̴̬͈͒̀ě̴͙͛r̶̡͖̚̚.̸͎̳̽͛ ̸̗̖̾S̷̛͕͎ọ̶̃,̸͚͙͒̀ ̵̨̉̐ȅ̴̮͕x̴͙̭͗͒c̸͕̿u̶̧̥͌̑s̵̞͐̔ė̴̤͓ ̵̗̄ȗ̷̘̚s̸̪̊̕,̵̮̓ ̸̫͙̌́w̵̻͓̓́ẻ̴̘ ̷̡͇̃w̶̧̛̞i̵̟͔͆͛l̷̩̉̓ļ̶̊ ̸̝̎̐n̶̺͝o̴̤̒̎ẃ̵͚̈́ ̷̩͓̀̐h̵̰͋̎ą̷̖͛v̵͚̈͝ȩ̸̢̉̈́ ̵̛͙̈́ŷ̶̜͠ò̸̭͑ŭ̸̀͜ ̶͉̆d̶͉͒ĩ̸̳͜é̴̛̥.̸̩̽ ̷̣͐͛"̵̺͕̊"

With a unified flick, a fleet of ritual knives are whipped out from the wrists of their suits.

""̸̝̤̿ͅA̶̡̡̞͌̑͝ņ̶̥͊́ͅ ̴̝̠̖͐è̷̞̕n̷̝̯͗̿d̷̩̭̠̄́̑ ̸̫̼̔̈́̉t̷̺̣̒͜o̴̢͊͘ ̶̡̤͚̔e̵̱̰͚̊̇n̸̡̯̉̔͌d̶̖̣͓͋͊͘ĺ̷̘̼͛̀ḙ̷̬̪͝s̴̘͖̲̈̏̍s̷̭̜͖̀̈̕ ̴̢̠̜͘s̴͎͂̆̒t̷͕̖͛͗ř̴̦̖̚͜i̶̙̮̖̎̌f̷̙̂ē̶̗͘,̵̘̀̍͜ ̴̛̭͓à̴͕̈ń̶̟͓͍d̶̖̋̽ ̷̗͑̀a̷͎̙̘̾̽ ̶̜̭̈͛b̷̢͖͎̈́́ë̸̪͗g̶̪̈́̑̈i̴̫̇̆̚n̸͙̉̉̚n̵̪̿î̷̖͙͒̑n̷̤͕̠͒̇ḡ̷̻̯̭͝ ̴̺͚̖̓t̷͕̐͐ǫ̸̭̀ ̷̟̰͆t̷̺̋h̸̨̲͙́́ẹ̷̓͋̍ͅ ̸̣̮͌̉̇i̵̧̝͐̉͝m̷̝̰̆͠p̶͙̖͉̓͋͊o̷̺͉̿͗͛ͅś̵̞̽ṣ̵͆̾͝i̶̮̫̊̎̄b̵͍̊͐̐l̸̠͈͗é̷̱͇͍̇͝!̷̰͋͗̄ ̷̡̞̼̈́̈́̚T̵̖͙̂̑͝h̸̭̺̞͗î̴̘̑ņ̸̬̱͋k̸̪̠̈́ ̷͖̆͜ó̸̫̅f̴̲̈́͜ ̵̧̐y̷̺̼̖͒o̶̰̜͐̇͗͜ú̸͓͉́͋r̵̛̦̄s̷͇͈̘͗̏̑e̵͕̼͗l̷̢̥͆̇͝f̴̣̫̆͒͝ ̶̹̺̟̎à̵̙s̵̤̫̩̎̒ ̶̬̭̍a̷͕̙͇͘l̸̼̞̊̄r̸̠̣̋̑͊é̸̤̗́̉ͅa̸̘͉͗̀͘d̶̯̞̈́͊͑ͅÿ̷̧͕̈́́ ̴̺͔̐̏d̷͈̉̔̕͜e̴̳̬̐ā̴̡̙͚ď̷̪,̴̢͍͙̃̍ ̸̡̽͐ǎ̴̢̩̉n̵̢̼̔̈d̴͉͆̈̀ ̶̟̹̭̇̌͘o̵̧͈̞͒̆f̴̟̩́f̴̼̫̾͜e̴̬͍͒̌͆͜r̵͇̩̫̊͑̕ ̶͚̖͉͐͠t̴̬͇͒̊o̷͔̔ ̷̨͚̰̌̏ú̴͈̲̠́̕s̵̖̭͜͝ ̶͙̃y̵̼̯̑̿o̴̠̐u̸̟̖̎̐ř̸͇̋ ̷͎͛͝t̵̞̹̘͋̃͘r̷̢̘̀̒î̷̦̱̜b̶͕̂̒͛ụ̵̀̿͂t̶͖͉͒̿ë̶̫̗́!̷̻͌ͅ"̴̭̈́̔́"

They flick their wrists. The knives disappear from their hand. Out of the corner of your eyes, you see a flash near your left hand, and see your pinky fall off.

L̶a̴c̵y̴ 's breath catches and she collapses down to one knee, her hands catching her from completely collapsing, as her chest constricts in pain.

Gasping for air once the sensation passes, she barely has time to recover before screaming out in pain as her finger is severed. She grabs her injured hand with the other, blood trickling down both her forearms. She takes a deep breath to steady herself and refocuses on the fight. Her attention is drawn to one of the prominent less-faded C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ below. It's trying to scramble up the stone towards her.

The memory of an ancient weapon from the salt water kingdoms of legend fills her mind and her clasped hands suddenly begin to morph, melding together and changing in shape and size as they transform into a massive two-handed mace extending from her wrists.

Standing on the edge of the pillar, L̶a̴c̵y̴ swings the mighty scepter down towards the climbing figure like a hammer, the giant conch-shaped head on the end just in range to smash the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵'s head against the stone surface.

The club cleanly smashes into the side of the facet of the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷'s head. It explodes and coats the stone pillar with its contents. The rest of the group reeled as the pillar reacted to the gory offering, which was absorbing into the stone like water into a sponge. Meanwhile, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ was staring dumbfounded at the loss of his pinky finger. However unlike Lacy, he was more contemplative than he was anguished by what should've been an immense pain. He presses the open wound against one of the hotter components in order to cauterize it, while muttering quietly to himself.

"Shit. So it's gotten this bad."

Taking a deep breath, he flexes his shoulders, causing twin jets to pop out from the back of his exoskeleton. Tongues of white flame spat out from the exhaust, propelling him towards the disoriented C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ faster than a bullet. T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ whipped out his leg, the momentum turning him from a rocket into a whirling tornado of white phosphorus.

His outstretched limb accelerated to breakneck speed, and was about to slam right through the group. However, they once again let out a shout.

"B̷̬̣̺̈r̷̟͇͎̅͛̚a̶̠̼͘̚t̶̨̝̑͜ ̵̙̾c̸̢̭̲̍͗͘l̴̫͖̚͘a̵̹͔̝̍d̶̮͑͗ ̶̬̠̹̉i̸̡̛̼̓́n̶̦͈̅̕ ̵̳͖̪̈̋̕s̷̙̓͝t̶͙̜͌̌ͅe̴̘̻͎̿͗̇e̵̻̍͘l̴̹͝ͅ ̶̨̮̓͠ͅâ̴̤͜͝n̷̛̰͒͘d̴̻̽̿ ̷̪͑̔̎f̴̨͓̋̽̔l̶͓̳̰̈́̇a̷̖̓m̴̳̘̯̊ẹ̶̐̚͠,̸͕̬͗ ̴̼̗͊w̶͎̹͈͋̄̂e̸̞̍̈́ ̶̹̣̭̚̕d̶͉͔̼̂͌͌i̵̙̤̍s̴̹̔͗p̷͇͔̺̈́l̸͔̳̯̓̿ä̶̲́c̴̭̾̾e̸͖̯̔̐͠ ̴̛̪̟͂͂y̴̢͙͙̐̌́o̶͓̒̇́ǔ̶̦r̴̨̢̫̓̒̎ ̶̨̎̇̂è̶̞͜x̷͓̗̄i̸͕͇͔͛s̶̛̤̊́t̴̨̿̈́e̵͎͑̂͗n̴̲̉̿c̸͓̫̞̋͌̅e̴̖̥̍!̸̝̲̓̓ ̶͉̱̗̂̋T̸̤̺͍͆̄͠h̸̭̣̲͝e̴͓̍͊͝ ̴̛̯̬̩̀U̶̫͋̂͠l̷̨̢̳̔̓̑t̴͔̐̆͝ị̵̾͆͑m̴̛͇̾a̵̛̺͉̕ț̷̔͝͝ḙ̴̏̀ ̸̞̺̅̈́P̴͎͙̎̈͝â̶̘͈̣͝t̶͎͔̏̒̚h̶̡͓̀̔͜ ̴̧̟̙͗̕L̶̦̃͗͘Ĕ̸̺̾̍Â̵͉̬͊D̵̙̾̒S̴̢̖͖͠ ̴̥͓͛̕U̸̬̽̒̄S̵͖͙͉̑̍!̸̜̾̕"

And with that, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ found himself on the other side of the shrine, launching towards the forest. Cancelling boosters, and twisting his spinning kick into a backflip, he managed to kick off one of the trees, landing on the ground.

"Fuck!"

A hiss could be heard, and soon after, the pop of an empty canister flying out from the arm of his exoskeleton.

L̶a̴c̵y̴ let's out a satisfied grunt as she pummels the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ with her Mace. Standing upright, her hands morph back into their normal form, minus one pinky, but she doesn't notice as much after the retribution of her attack.

As the kid flies across the shrine, the attention of the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ seems to follow, so she takes the opportunity to drop down the backside of the pillar and sneaks towards the back of the shrine where she notices a stream babbling down the mountain. The presence of the water fills her with confidence as she prepares her next attack.

Biting his lips, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ glared at the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷, frustrated that his attempts were fruitless.

T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. Opening his eyes, a newfound sense of determination shone, shaped like the edge of a blade.

"I am who I am."

An aura began to pulsate from the chest of his exoskeleton, the birth of a blue star. The energy expanded gradually, infusing the metal with the light of its mystic power.

"The fire of the heart, the wild beast of the soul. Strength, trapped within a prison."

The metal was now completely saturated with energy, the excess spilling out of the metal like the steam from dry ice. The machine itself was spewing smoke from all of its vents. Taking one step after another towards the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ began ripping off the limiters on his suit, one by one, tossing them away like garbage.

"I am who I am! The flame in my heart burns strong, and the wild beast inside hunts all!"

T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ halted, and took on a wide stance. With the bluish flames rolling off of his flame, it was as if he were channeling a great spirit. But it was not power borrowed from another realm.

"I AM STRENGTH!"

With deftness, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ raised his leg in the air.

"I AM TAIZO MINAMOTO! OVERCLOCK STRIKE!"

T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ slammed his foot into the ground, injecting a frightening amount of energy into the ground. The mighty blow displaced a massive chunk of the shrine's ground, sending it into the air. In the blink of an eye, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ lept up, and punched the boulder towards the earth, launching it right into the middle of the C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ like a meteor.

L̶a̴c̵y̴ has to shield her eyes from the blue light cast by the kid's exo-suit until she hears the earth literally crack releasing the boulder towards the C̵̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷. The shock wave of the impact knocks her backwards into the water. From her submerged position she easily sees the blade coming for her this time like a torpedo. A quick burst of her powerful swim strokes allows her to jump and flip out of the water like a dolphin evading the knife as it streaks by.When she splashes back into the water, she floats under the surface for a few seconds gathering her strength and then uses her power to reach out both up- and down-stream pulling all nearby water towards her. As the water surges, she emerged at the surface, now the peak of a tidal wave that crashed forward into the shrine and flushes the few remaining C̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ down the mountainous slopes. L̶a̴c̵y̴ surfed the wave calmly to the center of the shrine as the excess water drained away. She lands behind the altar, the Phoenix lying before her. Looking across from her was the kid whose eyes were also fixed on the Phoenix.

Hmmm, this could get complicated ...

Leaping on top of one of the stone pillars, T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ watches as the rest of the C̵̵o̵n̸c̷e̷p̸t̵ ̴o̵f̷ ̸Y̵a̷k̵u̶z̴a̷ washes down the hill, an undignified end to the enigmatic entity. That threat dealt with, his eyes turn towards the Phoenix, and Lacey standing beside it.

He jumps down, and walks towards the altar, steam rising every time the white hot metal of his skeleton came close to the wet stone.

"Sorry, but I'm going to need that Phoenix."

L̸̬͎̓a̵̧̪̓̆c̷̦̏̍y̵̮̔͘ cringes as the strange power of the shrine sends a shock of pain down her spike. Her identity ripping further from her soul. She grabs onto the altar to steady herself as the sizzling steps of the mechanical suit approach.

Recovering her composure, she stand up straighter and looks at her fellow shinobi. "I feared as much ... I'm sorry it has to come to this. In other circumstances, I think we could have made a good team," L̸̬͎̓a̵̧̪̓̆c̷̦̏̍y̵̮̔͘ suggests in reflection of their battles against the strange Yakuza clan.

Before she allows herself to get too sentimental, she jumps over the altar with a somersault to land between the kid and the Phoenix in a posture ready for action.

T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ leaps away as soon as L̸̬͎̓a̵̧̪̓̆c̷̦̏̍y̵̮̔͘'s feet touches the ground in front of him.

"I'm warning you. I won't hold back."

Smoke rises as T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ clenched his fist.

"I can't hold back."

"You might not be able to hold back, but let's see if I can hold you back!"

L̸̬͎̓a̵̧̪̓̆c̷̦̏̍y̵̮̔͘ raises her hands causing hundreds of undulating globules of water to slowly float up into the air from small puddles left over from the tsunami attack. Suddenly with a clap of her hands, the droplets streak towards the metal exoskeleton seeking to short-circuit whatever electronics they can find.

T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ doesn't bother dodging. Instead he takes on a horse stance. With a pulse of the exoskeleton's ki, a burst of heat radiates outwards like a miniature supernova, vaporizing every droplet of water that comes near.

"Nothing can keep me down!"

T̴a̷i̷z̷o̸ leapt forwards, jets bursting out of the back of his exoskeleton. His fist flies towards L̸̬͎̓a̵̧̪̓̆c̷̦̏̍y̵̮̔͘.