A battlefield made valiant, blazing and torn was littered with broken trees and smoldering earth. The once-pristine clearing filled with breath-robbing air scents the burning smoky ashes.
Riku and Kaito turned back to back and faced the masked bomber, Daikuro (Deidara replacement) as Mira and Kira fought against the twisted puppet master, Soraku (Sasori replacement).
"Keep it up, focus!" Kaito barked. "They're trying to split us!"
Daikuro was chuckling maliciously as he threw another clay bird in the air. "Too late!" he called, his voice wild with joy. The bird grow enormous while it dived toward them.
"Kaito, cover me!" shouted Riku, as he made a rapid series of hand signs. Nearing the sparkly eye, Kaito's right eye shifted - the energy around it twisting like a downward spiral.
KAMUI!
With the whirlwind of powers of dimension, Kaito sucked in the bird to a void that ultimately made it disappear before impact. Eyes widened in shock, Daikuro called Kaito focused again toward the left arm of the bomber.
In an instant, Daikuro's arm got torn off right then and there, disappearing into the vortex of Kaito's Kamui.
"Gahh!!" Daikuro shrieked in rage, holding onto a shoulder gushing red. He jumped up to another clay bird and started flying into the sky, retreating as fast as he could.
"We'll meet again, fools!" Daikuro screamed into the sky as he disappeared behind plumes of clouds.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield—
Mira and Kira closed in on Soraku. Everywhere around them was the wreckage of the puppet army. Shattered wood and steel lay scattered. Lightning crackled in Mira's hands; meanwhile, Kira's dragon-fire aura blazed around her.
"You...you think this is over?" Soraku rasped. Blood spilled from his mouth.
"You lost," Kira said coldly. "Surrender."
"Well, we already have what we came for," soraku scoffed.
Porerty stroke before either could land a blow, Soraku encountered a jerk in his body and then collapsed dead on the spot.
Mira blinked. "He...could be a puppet too?"
The dust was still settling when Kaito and Riku rushed in.
Close to dead center of the battlefield lay Sora: unconscious, battered, and eerily quiet.
Riku sunk to his knees beside him. "Sora! Wake up!" he shouted, shaking him.
Kaito laid a firm hand on Riku's shoulder. His face had become grim. "It's no use...they already extracted the Spirit."
Everyone fell silent.
"But, no... too late?" Mira's fists quivered with anger.
Riku looked at Sora's still body with tears about to fall. He could sense it just under the surface: the Spirit that once radiated inside Sora was now totally gone. Powerful energy that made him special and gave hope was ripped away.
"They'll kill him if we don't get him help!" cried Mira.
Kaito nodded sharply. "We'll save him. Move!"
They lifted Sora carefully and began retreating toward Aetheria. Behind them, the shattered battlefield whispered of the disaster they had failed to prevent.
And within the dark clouds at the top, hiding, the agents of the Dark Syndicate looked on, holding one more spirit now closer to their terrible dream of domination.