The Four Elite

And then there was chaos.

When the wisp and cat saw her on the ground, just thinking she was a regular pile of sand, she remained still...
Up until the two fused. Dust couldn't quite help with the laser, but she had to try and stop whatever the hell this thing was.

As such, suddenly the sand moves toward him, almost flying up as if trying to consume him, in an attempt to cover and immobilize. If successful, she'd at least leave his face uncovered, letting him breath.
"Not happening, cat burglar!"

Cortana was about to electrify the tiger, before hearing the buzz of the laser sweeping across the ground.
In response, she dodges around it and takes out her chakram to throw it at the camera in hopes of destroying it.

Just in case, she wouldn't make it return to her just yet.

The cat was on edge from Cortana’s attack, so  he was able to jump away enough he wasn’t fully captured by Dust, but his lower body was stuck.

“Grgh… Have a taste of shockwaves magic sand!” The cat shouted before rapidly playing his bongos, sending wave after wave of concussive sound at Dust.

The tiger was really getting frustrated, he pulled out a kunai dagger with a leather grip so it wouldn’t conduct electricity through his hand. With one hand still facing the entrance, he went for an overhead stab at Cortana’s head as he shouted,

“NOW ZITH!”

Suddenly a green chameleon with robotic arms, left leg, tail, and eyes appeared behind Cortana with his hands outstretched towards her. Two more laser blasts erupted from the cyborg chameleon’s palms.
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Screech from her hiding place still in the vent watched as all of this unfolded. She wasn’t sure if she should reveal her presence yet, or if Cortana and Dust could handle it. That is until the chameleon revealed himself. She immediately stood back from the vent cover and summoned her energy spear. She wedged it underneath the bottom of the cover and began to press down on the spear. She grunted as she started to slowly pry off the cover of the vent.

The force of the soundwaves knocks her sandy form away and seems to destabilize her, making it difficult to reform. Regardless, in the sand pile form she could still move.
If she's going to help Cortana, she needs to get as far away from the cat as possible!
Dust starts moving to a corner of the room, trying to form a new plan fighting from a distance...

Well, this was becoming a very sticky situation quite quickly.
First things first, as she was about to be stabbed and blasted, she disappeared, a collection of sparks flying at her core disk, where she'd reform, clinging against the wall, unless it was metal, she'd be slowly sliding down.

Maybe they'd even hit each other, but either way, it was time for one of her newer tricks.
She puts a hand out at the static field that the chameleon and tiger were in, and fires a lightning bolt at it, violently increasing the intensity inside!

The cat now had a proud smirk on his face. "Don't like that, do ya magic sand?" He stood still where he was, and stretched his fingers out in front of himself. "Well that was just a warm up." He started slowly following Dust into the corner, lightly tapping his bongos, and sending tiny shockwaves her direction. That is until he heard the crash of something falling to the floor.

Screech had finally gotten the vent cover pried off, and jumped out. She rolled into her landing before hopping back up and quickly sending her own scream of shockwaves at the cat. The cat was swept off his feet and sent rolling across the floor. Screech ran over to the corner where Dust was and knealt down. "You okay Dust?"
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The tiger swung down and missed, falling to the floor while the chameleon's lasers hit the wall. The tiger knealt back up, lifting his hand towards the door again. The chameleon quickly tracked where Cortana had gone as he turned around. When Cortana shot the lightning at them, the chameleon slammed a fist into the ground as a blue glow went from his shoulder to his hand. Then a wall of blue, glowing crystals erupted from the floor to block the lightning.

Dust was quite literally being backed into a corner - being forced into this state for so long and having to fight it was exhausting. It felt like drowning.
It felt like she was dying again.

When Screech saved her- the extra sound waves didn't help too much, but knocking him away did.
Dust reformed shortly after, clearly worse for wear.
Despite this, she closes her eyes, and tries her damnedest to calm down.
"I- I'm alright. Thanks Screech." She says, before looking toward Cortana- the tiger, and the new figure.
She quickly takes advantage of the situation, using her shifting to grab the cat with a massive fist and throw them at the chameleon.

Damn, the chameleon had some sort of... Geological ability. Those crystals seemed familiar, but she didn't have time to analyze.

Cortana runs towards her field again, She wasn't much for physical strength, so there was not much she could do about the crystals, but if she could just get to the barrier, she could at least finish the job!

The cat got up from the floor, rubbing his head a bit as he groaned. “Alright… Where’s the person that challenged me?” He said as he looked around the room before he was grabbed by the giant, sandy hand. “Hey, what gives?!” He said as he tried to play his bongos, but he was already trapped and being flung through the air.

The tiger was now on his knees, grunting in pain from the shock of the static field. He still tried his best to keep a hand towards the door while propping himself up with the other. The tiger then happened to notice Screech. He reluctantly swung his free hand shakily through the air. A few moments later, Screech’s ears started ringing before she suddenly felt like she couldn’t move. “Aaah! Dust! something’s happening! I feel weird! Like I don’t have control over my body!” The tiger then swung his hand over towards the cat who was still flying through the air, and Screech suddenly was running towards them, and jumped into the air. She grabbed the cat and redirected their fall to avoid them landing in the field. Screech’s ears were ringing like crazy. She clenched her eyes shut and screamed in pain, sending out a shockwave. The tiger twisted his hand around, and Screech now moved her head towards Cortana, sending the shockwaves towards her.

 The chameleon stood back up, but then dropped down onto his non synthetic knee. The organic parts of his body finally starting to feel the effects of the electricity. His eyes looked like they were zooming in and out as if they were focusing on Cortana, trying to find a weak point. The chameleon did a quick twist at his hip, and his tail, which had two energy tipped axe blades on the end, extended to try and slice at Cortana at a downward diagonal angle.

With the static field up, and not knowing how well sand and electricity interacted, she was a little scared to get close. Sadly, not only was the very dangerous cat intercepted by Screech of all people due to being controlled, but... well, Screech was being controlled.
Things are looking pretty bad for the girls right now. Dust looks around for something, anything that could help, and she sees large boxes on shelves. Quickly she starts grabbing at them and throwing them at the chameleon and tiger.

Currently Dust's only plan is to throw shit, cause she's already found out she literally cannot get close to the cat, getting close to the field seems like a really bad idea, and her only other ranged options... are shooting herself at them...

It took a little while, but it seemed even the chameleon was starting to give, if she could get to the barrier, she can finish it and help Dust!
However, the chameleon was about to strike her as she got inside again, if she got hit directly by that, she'd likely be destroyed.

She had to focus, this function was still in beta, but she had to try.
She mumbles a sort of incantation...

"The spark that flickers like a star-"

In an act of desperation, she slides under the attack, but it still gets her right arm, making it disintegrate from the shoulder down.

"NGH!"

However, she still got inside! She'll have to recover later, but first:

"W-Which threatens to purge all that violate its realm!" "ASTRASPHERE!"

As Cortana shouted that last bit, she raises her remaining hand to the ceiling, shooting a torrent of lightning that would hit the top of the field, and skyrocket the voltage to astronomical levels!

The tiger screamed in pain from the shock before he finally was unconscious. The chameleon hunched over, clenching down from the amount of voltage going through his body. After a few seconds, they fell down to the ground on their hands and knees, a few sparks coming from their cybernetic parts. They then shakily slammed one of their hands on the ground as another glow came from their shoulder to the floor. A ring of blue, crystalline spikes came up around the chameleon and tiger, blocking them from the various items that Dust was now throwing. There was an opening at the top and center of the ring of spikes, about eight feet off the ground.
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Screech finally stopped screaming once the tiger was unconscious. She panted as she hunched over, finally able to move again before she felt the ringing in her ears again. She looked up just before the cat was playing his bongos once again, sending Screech flying backwards into a pile of empty boxes from the shockwaves.

"Thanks for the save missy, but I'm not taking any chances." The cat said before turning to Cortana, now sending shockwaves at her while slowly walking towards her.

Well...
Great.
She manages to hold herself together a bit better this time, stepping back regardless and unable to act.
"Jeez, this is so... difficult..." She holds her ground, but not much else. She was starting to get angry with herself...

After the Astrasphere was over, Cortana's power waned as she had overworked herself to do that.
At least now she had a moment to breathe... Or so she thought.

The static field had to ramp up again after being overcharged, she was missing an arm, and there were shockwaves being fired at her, only being barely canceled by the field's "thunder".

Wisp fusions couldn't last forever, right? She just needed to hold out a little longer before she can strike.
All she could do is wait, and try to reform her arm.

The cat was still sending out soundwaves at Cortana before suddenly, the soundwaves stopped. The cat's wisp partner had unfused and looked tired now. "Really? You're tired now?" The wisp nodded before it plopped down onto the cat's bongos. "C'mon! I was in the zone!"
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The chameleon after having a moment to rest, stood up slowly before looking down at the unconscious tiger, then up to the opening in the crystalline cylinder. The chameleon activated his cloaking mechanism, then he began climbing up the crystal wall towards the roof of the factory.
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Screech groaned as she crawled out of the boxes, rubbing her head a bit before scowling at the cat. She summoned her spear, then rushed at the feline before jumping into the air and swinging the spear vertically downward. She slammed the cat in the head with the flat side of the spear head as the cat fell to the ground.

"Where'd you get a spear from?!" The cat said before getting a slap in the face from Screech's tail and a shoe on his back.

"That's none of your business, criminal." Screech said before noticing the wisp flying away trying to find a place to hide, clearly scared of what was happening. The wisp flew over to one of the storage shelves and hid behind a box. "Hey Dust! Get that creature, quick!"

The cat quickly shouted, "PLEASE, DON'T HURT THEM!" Screech looked down at the cat's face which was looking towards Dust. He genuinely had a look of sadness on his face. Screech could tell that the cat really cared for that little creature. She looked at Dust and gave her a nod, hoping she would understand that she didn't need to hurt the wisp.

Dust was glad to see he was done, but she still didn't feel too happy about anything.
Screech quickly took care of the cat, but when she told her to get the wisp, the cat cried out, pleading for their safety.
Regardless, she stretches her arm out to grab the box they were hiding behind, likely pushing some boxes off the shelves as she formed a hollow dome around the poor alien.
"You don't need to worry about me hurting it. I'm not one to cause undue harm..." There was a hint of bitterness in her voice as she looked at the cat with a small pout, while pulling back the sand dome with the captured wisp.
She then looks up at Cortana - though it seemed everything had calmed down a little, she was uncertain about the chameleon. Regardless, she calls out to Cortana. "Are you okay? We should get these criminals into the hands of the police, right?"

Cortana was relieved to see that the fusion had ended, and the cat and wisp were effectively neutralized. Apparently, it cared a lot for the wisp... Perhaps he wasn't as cold-hearted as his comrades.

Her arm starts regenerating as she makes a sudden realization: The chameleon didn't go down!

"Dust! Seal the top of that crystal cylinder! The chameleon I was facing is not neutralized, it can cloak, it may be trying to escape!"

Cortana then proceeds to shut off her field, and channel energy into her core disk, she had to take care of that arm.

The wisp peeked around the box and watched as Dust's hand gets closer to the shelf. When Dust pushed the boxes out of the way, the wisp squeaked in fright, covering it's eye with two of its tentacles. It was too scared to fly away and find another hiding place, so it was easily captured in the sand ball. If they listened closely, they could hear the wisp quietly whimpering inside the ball.
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Inside the cylinder, the chameleon overhears that they were going to try and seal off the top. The chameleon begins to start climbing faster, quickly nearing the top of the crystal wall.

Though the whimpering was sad, it was an accomplice to a crime and it really hurt her when paired up with the cat.
Then Cortana called out about the chameleon and she quickly rushed into action again, moving in closer before sealing the hole with her other arm. Her middle was becoming very light colored, as the 'stretching' and shifting was now revealing her sandy makeup.

"Alright, so what now?" She says looking to her arms, both being used to make up a prison of sorts, so she really can't move. It'd have to be Cortana or Screech to get the police quickly, unless they wanted to take time to interview them...

"Screech, could you help me neutralize it?"

Cortana finished charging up, and attempted to crash inside the crystal by compressing herself into the core disk and bashing herself inside and then attempt to strike the chameleon, judging by the last climbing noise she heard.

"A little busy here Cortana!" Screech said as she motioned to the cat under her boot. The cat now seemed to be talking to the wisp through the sand ball now that they were closer to each other.

"It's gonna be okay buddy, you're gonna be okay! Don't worry, there's no need to cry- Yes, I know you're scared, but everything is going to be fine!"
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The cloaked chameleon was almost to the top, when the core disk smashed through the side of the crystals right under the chameleon's left foot. It caused him to lose his grip for a second, but they slammed their tail into the wall to help them grab on. Once they regained their footing, the chameleon looked down to see what caused the slip up. Seeing Cortana inside, they swung their tail axe at them again, the only sign to Cortana being a faint glow of the energy tips of the blades. The chameleon then kept climbing to the top. Then they realized that Dust had covered the top with their giant, sandy hand. They had no hesitation though as they placed one hand up to the sandy roof, and released a continuous laser blast in their palm to get through.

"AH!" She yelped, her hand - or what's left of it - recoiling back and shrinking down to a less-than-normal state, looking shriveled up and small.
Chunks of glazed sand would likely fall in the hole as the chameleon shot her, with a chance to hit them had they not been careful.

Dust was irritated, and a little scared, staring intensely at her hand.
Despite the failure, she'd walk closer, and try again, this time slamming her somewhat less enlarged fist around tbe crystal walls to punch them down or knock them off the wall. If she got shot again, so be it.
"I'll be fine,", she says despite her low growl implying otherwise, "nothing a nice walk on the beach can't fix..."

Or just grabbing a bag of sand, but they'll take care of that later, for now?

It's quite easy to dodge while in her disk form, in fact, the glowing axe-tail only made it so Cortana knew exactly where it was!
As another desprate gamble, she attempts to latch herself onto the chameleon soon after Dust's strike in hopes of electrocuting it!

The chameleon covered their face from the glass fragments falling into the cylinder, and was about to jump out when Dust slammed her fist into the side of the wall, causing them to slip and fall back down into the crystal cylinder. While they were back at square one with getting out, their unexpected drop was able to help them avoid Cortana's attack. The Chameleon knealt up onto one knee as he decided to try something else. He pushed a fist onto the floor, as a crystal dome surrounded them and the tiger, who was just now starting to wake back up.

"Urgh... What happe-" The tiger was cut off by a robotic tail pressing down on his back to hold him down. "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU KNOCKOFF TERMINATOR?!"

The chameleon didn't respond. They simply placed their hands on the sides of the dome and released multiple laser blasts from his hands. The crystal dome refracted the lasers, causing them to go in random, undeterminable directions.
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Screech felt the ringing of her radar sense once again as her eyes widened. "TAKE COVER!" She shouted as she jumped out of the way of a laser and dove behind one of the factory machines. The cat noticed what was happening and quickly and carefully tried to make his way towards a door that led to a generator room. He got grazed on the shoulder by one of the lasers, wincing in pain as he placed a hand over the injury. He made it to the room, and opened the door to run inside, closing the door behind him. "Chaos, what does Zith think he's doing?! He could have killed me!" The cat said quietly as he leaned his back against the wall.

Dust wasn't sure what to think when Screech suddenly went into a panic, still feeling the need to block off the hole when suddenly lasers started firing off everywhere.
She immediately starts moving, removing her hand from the cylinder as she tries to move. She got hit a few more times, chunks of sand and glass falling off her body as she starts looking worse for wear, sandy 'gashes' in her side and shoulder.
She gets behind a machine along with Screech, having seen the cat run but not being able to follow safely before the door closed again.

She still has his friend.

"This is so tiring...! Wait, where's Cortana? Is she okay?"