A New Old Foe

Crimebot and Ross burst into the arboretum car. "Hands up, villians!" yelled Ross, brandishing his pistol menacingly. But the villians did not put their hands up. Nor were they even there! Crimebot and Ross instead were met by the intense din of life that existed in this dense contained wilderness. Crickets chirped, birds let out their exotic calls, and somewhere deep in the lush growth a lion let out a powerful roar.

Ross and Crimebot took a couple steps cautiously into the vast green ahead of them. "Be careful," Crimebot said, "and make sure to not get mysteriously murdered," he finished, bleepingly.
"Do you think they've set up an ambush?" Ross asked Crimebot, as he cut down vines with his machete.
"Most likely," replied Crimebot. "See those cliffs over there? That's where I'm betting we'll be jumped. Be ready!" he warned.

Crimebot and Ross came nearer and nearer to the cliffs, until finally they loomed over them like some sort of sheer rock face, which is appropriate as that's exactly what they were. Ross struggled hard to make sure he didn't give away his suspicions of an ambush, he wanted to let the ambusher think he had the element of surprise, when in fact it was Ross who had the element of surprise! Ross grinned at his devious plan.

Unfortunately for Ross, his plan never came to fruition. Crimebot and Ross passed the steep cliffs without incident, and the way now seemed clear. "Hm," Crimebot blooped, turning around to face Ross, "I can't believe we didn't get ambu-" he began, but was cut off mid-sentence by a large object leaping onto his chassis!

Tumbling to the ground locked in mortal combat with a goblin-looking man with a large nose, Crimebot tried to activate his lasers but couldn't, the palpable moisture in the air flooding his electronics. Ross trained his pistol on the beast, but could not take a hasty shot as he may hit Crimebot's near-indestructable titanium shell with his 9 JHP pistol rounds, which wouldn't have done any damage, but Ross was no doctor of metallury so he didn't know that! He took his time aiming at the rolling pair of combatants, making sure to line up the shot and time it just right. He began to squeeze back the trigger when suddenly, out of the trees, a boomerang flew and hit Ross' pistol clean out of his hand. Turning to face his attacker, Ross was greeted by the face of the old woman he had passed in the hall earlier.

"I knew it was you!" he exclaimed at her.
"You did not you big liar!" the old crone responded.
"I did so!" Ross yelled indignantly.
"Yeah, whatever!" said the old woman, "It doesn't even matter! My tengu is going to rip your robot friend to shreds, and then he's going to rip you up, too!"
Ross was at a loss. They had faced a tengu once before, and it was only... of course! Zero Caspian! They needed his help desperately, but he was still fast asleep in his cabin.

Ross gritted his teeth and charged at the old woman, who jumped out of the tree over his head with surprisingly agility. Turning around, Ross saw the old woman stan erect, losing his hump, and then proceed to take off the shawl that obscured her face. She wasn't an old woman at all! No, in fact, she was a young man! Well, middle aged, really, with a pointy goatee and close-cropped black hair. "Surprised, Ross?" asked the man with a flourish.

Ross was surprised. "Who are you?" he asked the man.
"I am Julia Hernandez the Third!" yelled the goateed man.
"Isn't Julia a girl's name?" asked Ross.
"SHUT UP!" yelled Julia. "My parents were stupid so I killed them! I am a brilliant inventor, and will be your demise!" he continued yelling.
Ross was confused, but accepted Julia's explanation, leaping at his to attack.

But Julia simply stepped out of the way, letting Ross fall on the ground. The tengu fighting Crimebot had finally gained the upper hand, and was about to plung his dagger into Crimebot's mechanical heart, when he was knocked back by a bolt of ice. Standing a few feet away from a rested looking Zero. "Thought you'd get in a tussle without me, eh chaps? Well think again!" he said saucily, throwing another icebolt at the tengu.

The tengu stood, however, seemingly shrugged off his races inherent weakness to cold. Julia laughed menacingly. "You fools! That's no ordinary tengu! It is a Cybertengu Mark II!"
"Cybertengu?" said Ross.
"Mark II?" said Crimebot, who was now standing, dusting himself off.
"That's right, you fools!" exclaimed Julia, "Perhaps you remember a certain battle with a tengu in the forest, you fools?" he then asked.
"Yeah, we remember. Could you stop calling us fools? It's just mean," said Ross, hurt.
"Sorry. Anyways, that was my Cybertengu Mark I! All the strengths of a tengu, but all the weaknesses, as well. Unfortunately, his brain servos messed up after an unfortunate boating accident which caused him to lose his fighting ability, but I decided to test his lethality nonetheless! That fight made me realise it was foolish to try to recreate a normal tengu when I could instead make them better than before! Thus, we have the Mark II! Stronger, faster, and totally resistant to cold, the tengu's one natural weakness!"
Ross, Crimebot, and Zero all exchanged glances quickly, and worriedly. Julia laughed. "Have fun fighting my powerful friend, here! I'll see you- or rather, I'll see your corpses- in Omegalopolis!" he exclaimed, then laughed again. "Muahaha!" he cackled, insanely. He then leapt into the thick brush and headed for the front of the train, dissapearing into the deep jungle of the arboretum car.

Crimebot, Ross and Zero exchanged another set of glances, and squared off against the mechanized tengu, who stood motionless yet clearly prepared to attack. Ross had retrieved his pistol, and held it at his side, ready to aim and fire. Crimebot's lasers were fully active, and his elbows were bent in anticipation. Zero stood stalwartly, one hand free for magic-casting, the other tightly gripping his glowing sword.

Our three heroes locked eyes with the monster, awaiting his first strike. This tengu, without his weakness to ice and his increased reflexes and strength, promised to be the most deadly foe they had faced yet, and our heroes knew they were in for the fight of their lives...