Sunday afternoon passed quietly. In the largest apartment of a building we see Tyron and Antonio sitting on separate sofas in front of a flat screen, playing a shooter game with fierce concentration. When they finally win their match, they take their characters into a house to ride out an explosion. In that small pause, the redhead says, "Weird that you agreed to play on a Sunday —aren't you always busy?" The dark-haired boy takes a sip from a soda nearby and replies, "Well, normally — but oddly I have to rest these three days." Antonio's character spots an enemy duo through a window, so he alerts his teammate; they snatch up their rifles and start a firefight for the glory. At dusk on a good day of video games, Antonio walks Tyron to the building exit.
Tyron: "Hey… how's your hand?"
Antonio, with a somber look: "Much better. After three weeks I'm doing better. Thanks for asking."
Tyron, pensive: "It's nothing. Hey, what did your mom say about it? I mean, why did it happen at the same time we haven't seen Erinios?"
Antonio, a little sad: "I don't think she noticed. After all, she works a lot."
Tyron, smiling at the redhead: "Sure. She must be busy running her own tech company. Besides, that lets you do whatever you want at a place like that."
Antonio, a bit happy: "You're right. Thanks to that she didn't notice the vase we broke during that experiment."
Tyron: "Hahaha—I still remember your downstairs neighbor barging in worried, and us trying to clean everything before he came in."
They both laugh remembering the moment. When they part, the boys bump fists, promising to meet again. Antonio returns to his apartment and cleans up, rearranges the furniture, finishes his homework, and does other chores. At night a woman in a suit opens the door, feeling ashamed to find everything clean and tidy. In the kitchen a delicious aroma hangs in the air; a plate sits with a note: "I love you, Mom." She smiles and goes to her son's room, finding the lights off and a lump on the bed. In a sad voice she says, "Thanks for being so wonderful, my angel. Forgive your mother for being a total mess," and blows a kiss to the lump. With the door closed, under the sheets, there's only a bunch of pillows, a phone, and some kind of balloons connected to a machine that simulates breathing.
On a rooftop, Erinios runs trying to evade Plata. He comes to a jump to another roof and hesitates. Seeing the gray-clad woman closing in, he takes a needle and injects himself. Strength and energy flood his body; he takes the leap easily, leaving Plata far behind. Emily sees that the masked man has taken the route she expected and calls Alexa: "Alex, he's heading toward you." Erinios runs to keep them from following. Rounding a wall, he is thrown to the ground by a powerful strike from the light-blue-clad girl. He grabs his pistol to aim, but a kick knocks it from his hands. He injects himself again and rushes toward her; Alexa dodges skillfully, spins, and delivers a side kick that slams him into a corner. He uses the opportunity to escape. Alexa lets him go and calls, "Tyron, he's coming to you. Remember: let him go to the right and chase him for two blocks. Fran and Detective Matias will be waiting there."
Erinios keeps fleeing. From above, the yellow-clad girl heel-kicks him in the head. He tries to aim his submachine gun but is disarmed and knocked down with such force that the roof cracks. The masked man injects four more doses, lands two blows to Tyron's abdomen, then pushes him away with a kick. He fastens his brass knuckles. Tyron scrambles up and gives chase. Two meters from the trap, the masked man attempts to veer left, forcing Tyron to close the distance. Drawing his wooden sword, Tyron places it at the man's throat and tries to choke him unconscious before he can escape. The armed man struggles, dizzy from lack of oxygen. He strikes the yellow-clad girl on the back, but lacking strength he reaches his belt and injects two more doses. With that surge he overpowers Tyron's hold, throws his full weight forward, and sends Tyron flying.
Matias: "Hey — why didn't you go as backup?"
Francesca: "The others said I crossed the line in our last encounter with him, so they relegated me to support in the capture."
Matias: "I understand." He checks his wristwatch and grabs his weapon. "Based on the time, he should be close."
A loud crash comes from behind them. They turn and see Tyron, badly beaten, sprawled on top of a destroyed patrol car. The blonde looks up and notices Erinios has escaped; she helps the detective lift the dark-haired boy.
Matias: "You okay?" he asks, examining him.
Tyron: "Yeah. That crap he uses makes him really strong."
Matias notices a large shard of metal embedded in the boy's back. "Francesca—could you cover Tyron's mouth?"
Tyron: "Why…?"
The blonde covers his mouth as he writhes in pain. After the metal fragment is removed, Tyron can only say, "Thanks for noticing!" Matias wraps a bandage along the wound to stop the bleeding. Minutes later the others arrive and begin arguing while the detective asks each of them if they're all right. When none of them say yes, he looks at his patrol car and mutters, "Now how do I explain this?" He glances at a dark alley and asks the kids, "What do you plan to do now?"
Francesca: "We can only find out who he is. In the meantime, wait." She leaps to a nearby building.
Tyron, thoughtful: "Thanks for looking out for us. It's good to have a real adult watching our backs."
The youths leave. Matias opens his patrol car's glove compartment and pulls out a small metal bottle. He takes a swig, then walks toward the dark alley. "If you care so much, you should watch over them openly," he says aloud, "not play grumpy and bitter while hiding in the shadows. After all, I know the damned Rule Zero." A strong gust of wind sweeps through, tousling the officer and leaving his car as if nothing had happened. The detective takes another sip from the bottle and thinks, "Good thing you're always around, Jayden. Tomorrow we'll have the masked man's bloodwork. Maybe Fran went too far, but it gave us a solid lead—I can help the kids."
In a large building labeled "Fall Gym," all the lights are off except in the storage room. There, a green-haired man loads weapons into different cases. "So they beat you up, huh, Antonio?" The redhead removes his metal mask, revealing his face. He tosses the wooden sword he had taken from the yellow-clad man and puts on his glasses. "Mr. Maximus, I need a new pistol and another submachine gun. Those damned vigilantes won't leave me alone," he says. The man closes the last case, hands the weapons to the teenager, then sits. "This is your next target. Your final mission: kill this woman so she stops poisoning the city." The boy nods, drops his suit, and stuffs the mask and weapons into his backpack. His hand trembles; his body feels weak. He needs another dose, so he approaches the man. The elder sneers at him and tosses him a handful of needles.
Maximus: "Remember: you can only attack that target in the afternoon. Not at night. So end her life and stop poisoning Guarly."
Antonio leaves with everything the man gave him. The green-haired man lights a cigarette, calls someone, and cradles the wooden sword. "Hello, boss? Yes, I'm Maximus. I think I was right—there are sword users. I hope there are many, because after the big hit tomorrow, Guarly will be easy to conquer."
The next morning at Forte, Tyron has a worried expression as he watches the empty desk where his friend just went to the bathroom. When his teacher calls his attention back to the blackboard, he notices a glint from inside Antonio's backpack and decides to take a closer look when no one is watching. He spots something large and metallic inside, but the redhead returns to the classroom and Tyron has to focus on the lesson.
At recess, Tyron walks the halls trying to banish the thought that his best friend might be the masked man. He runs into Alexa, who's walking the other way carrying a couple of drinks. Seeing his distressed expression, she joins him. "What's wrong, Ty?" she asks. He answers, "I feel like I'm always wrong." The brunette gives him a sympathetic smile and looks him in the eyes. "Don't worry about last night. It wasn't that bad. All this just stresses us out since he beat us."
Tyron: "Tell me—what would you do if someone you care about might be on the wrong path?"
Alexa: "Is it about Antonio?"
Tyron, nervous: "Why would I talk about him?"
Alexa: "You're always with him. You do everything together. You admire him because he forgave you after that stupid thing you did."
Tyron, downcast: "Maybe. But I'm not talking about him—I mean… a family member."
Alexa, remembering her grandmother, eyes darkening: "Oh. I see."
Tyron notices her expression — it's the same emotion he'd seen when he tried to ask Antonio about his injuries. Hoping this isn't the truth, he asks, "Alexa — what do you feel right now?" She tries to dodge the question. "It's none of your business," she replies. Still, he presses on, and she begrudgingly answers, "Right now I feel anger. A lot of rage. I hope that helps with what you're looking for." She walks away. Tyron is grateful but more convinced than ever that Antonio could be Erinios: rage is one of the motivations they'd identified. Throughout the rest of the school day he tries, at every opportunity, to peek into Antonio's backpack, but fails.
Tyron sits before the waterfall where they keep their vigil suits, feeling ashamed. "How can I help people if I can't resolve my doubts about my best friend?" His phone buzzes: a message from Matias reads, "Kids, I have Erinios's bloodwork. Blood type B positive. Drug analysis came back positive for steroids, cocaine, and heroin; also traces of sports proteins — consistent with accelerated muscle gain and extraordinary strength…" The rest fades for Tyron. He tucks the phone away and remembers the monstrous change in Antonio — the same blood type — from when Tyron saw him once at the hospital after Kiev beat him up. Feeling very responsible for what Antonio has become, Tyron grabs his vigil clothing and bolts. Now it makes sense why Antonio stopped taking the usual route home.
In an alley opposite a restaurant, the bespectacled boy paces, watching his target and her children, knowing what he plans will scar the innocents and ruin lives. He trusts Maximus's words about purging the city of its stain. He slings his backpack on and takes a step out of the alley when a mysterious voice calls, "Stop—you mustn't do this!" Tears in his eyes, Tyron cries, "…or I'll have to end this, Antonio!" The redhead turns and smiles. "Wow! You're one of the vigilantes, right? Wait till I get my notebook—then you can sign it for me. It's great that one of you knows me." Tyron, full of regret, shouts, "Don't play dumb! I know it's you! I know you're Erinios!" and approaches with his hands up, showing he comes without the intent to fight.
Antonio rummages through his backpack: "Erinios? Is that your hero name?"
Tyron: "If that's true, hand over the backpack so I can check. If I'm wrong, this will be a bad memory for both of us." He speaks almost in a whisper.
Antonio, injecting himself with a needle, brightly: "You want my backpack? You're making me so happy!"
Tyron, serious: "Hand it over. This doesn't have to end in a fight."
Antonio: "…I think it will!" He draws his pistol.
The redhead tries to aim; Tyron springs forward with his left hand to shove the barrel aside, and with his right hand pushes on Antonio's chest and drives his hip to throw him. He forces him with such strength that Antonio falls. Before he can grab his weapons again, Tyron's left leg kicks the gun away, then he flips the backpack open with the same leg to check its contents. He sees a submachine gun and — worst of all — a metal mask. Before he can grab it, Antonio shoves him and the bag flies away. The teen pulls out the submachine gun and aims, but Tyron kicks it with a spinning circular kick and shouts, "Enough! We don't have to do this!" He feels a powerful blow on his cheek; before he can react another strike lands. Blood trickles down his glove as he touches his face. Tyron dodges a right punch, counters with a straight to the redhead's face, then a right-leg kick to the chest, and finishes with a sweeping leg that knocks him down.
Antonio lies on the floor for a few seconds, then fumbles in his pants for a needle, injects himself, and rises stronger. He lands two blows to Tyron's face. Tyron grabs one of Antonio's arms with his left hand and rains two elbows into his abdomen, finishing with an elbow to the chin and a knee to the stomach that drops him again. Antonio sweeps Tyron's leg to take him down, but Tyron jumps and avoids it. The redhead scrambles for his backpack. Tyron rushes him and is met with a brass-knuckle smack to the chin and another to the nose. The heavy blows force Tyron back into a brick wall. With both knuckles on, Antonio swings again. Tyron ducks and the impact chips the brick. From that crouch Tyron launches elbows into Antonio's abdomen, then a rear-hand blow to the nose that makes him bleed. Antonio regains balance and fires a left jab; Tyron uses it to grab the arm with his right hand, deflects the attack, then slams the back of his other hand against Antonio's face and hurls him into another wall.
Antonio, spitting blood: "Is that all you got?!"
Tyron, wiping blood from his cheek and nose: "It doesn't have to end like this!"
Antonio pulls two last needles: "Yes it does, you son of a—. You won't interfere with the city's progress!"
He charges. Tyron meets him with a direct kick to the face. Antonio spits blood and continues the assault. Tyron sees a low left that Antonio intentionally misses, then is struck by a right hand. Blood splatters the wall. Tyron tastes blood in his mouth. Still not fully recovered, he takes three more punches, forcing him to spit blood again. Finding a bit of footing, Tyron uses three incoming blows as momentum to deliver elbow strikes to his best friend's face, opening wounds on his cheeks. Both boys step back, wiping blood from their mouths. Tyron, exhausted, says, "Don't make me keep hurting you, Anto." He hears a scream of anger and Antonio lunges again. Tyron grabs the back of his opponent's head, slams his face into his knee with a sickening crack; drops of blood speckle the floor. Worried for a moment, Tyron is shoved out of the hold. Antonio takes the chance to lock him by the shoulder and savagely pummel his face with brass-knuckle shots.
Tyron is brutally beaten. His face is a mask of blood as consciousness slips. His mind flashes perhaps his last memory before death: himself as a child fishing with his father. He'd caught something big; his father helps him draw the fish out. It's a lasting struggle. "Dad, why doesn't the fish want to leave the water?" the child asks. The man, still straining, replies, "Because it doesn't want to leave its habitat. It's its nature to fight to stay safe. We're trying to pull it out of that." The boy asks, "So are we bad for trying to take it out?" The father, kindly and certain, answers, "No. We'd be bad if we took it out just to leave it to die. But we're going to eat it… so this isn't about killing and leaving to die." He finally draws the fish: "It's about who has the strength to survive!" The memory fades. Tyron, numb, finds his will returning and headbutts Antonio, pushing him back. When Antonio recovers, Tyron lands a side kick to the neck.
Antonio gasps for air. He cannot counter and is struck brutally in the gut, vomiting blood. He tries to shove his attacker off with a headbutt, but Tyron evades, then lands a ferocious, rapid flurry on Antonio's face and slams him into a wall. Tyron finishes with a direct kick to the ribs that makes the redhead scream. Antonio tries a counter straight punch, but Tyron dodges it, and Antonio receives multiple rights and lefts, powerful enough to strip him of the strength to hold his weapons. The redhead collapses, and a knee sends splatters of red across the floor. Tyron prepares to finish the fight with one last blow, but hears a faint groan: "Sorry, Ty…" The apology halts his final strike. He gently pushes Antonio to the floor instead.
Tyron props himself against the wall and strips off his bloody scarf that covered his mouth and nose. He staggers to Antonio's backpack, takes the mask in one hand, and calls Emily with the other. When she answers, he spits blood into the phone and says, "Plata—I've got… Erinios. Come get me." He sends his location, then collapses onto the ground to recover as blood pools around them.
They arrive at the forest thanks to the detective, who brought them in his patrol car to the warrior's cabin. Alexa and Emily help Matias lift the boys, while Francesca runs to fetch the warrior to heal them. She pounds on the door with no answer, then goes to the backyard and finds the man practicing sword movements — the arc of his steel tracing an "X" in the air, finishing with a stab and a reverent bow: "I told you not to come for three days." Francesca, worried, blurts, "Hurry — come! They need your help!" Jayden looks at the two teens lying on the lawn, places his hands on them, and heals all their wounds. Only Tyron stands up without difficulty, which makes everyone fear the worst. Jayden lifts the boy's eyelids, opens his mouth to check his breath, and says gravely, "Good thing you stopped him. He was about to overdose." The radio in the patrol car crackles. Matias picks it up and listens to a message the others can't hear; he drops the radio and, voice breaking with grief, says, "They're reporting more than fifteen school shootings today… so far fifty dead."