The clean realm trembled, its pristine data streams fracturing under the distant roars of Rooteye's assault on the seven cores. Brush D. Rush lay lifeless, his body crumpled amid shattered nodes, the data spike from App Master's attack still flickering in his chest. Willie Widow White knelt beside him, her titanium fists clenched, bronze earrings glinting with tears of light. Disco's disco-ball avatar flickered, his kittens dimmed in grief, while Pirware, Malrus, Poro, and Hubo stood frozen, their glitched forms reflecting the loss. The paintbrush, silent on the ground, pulsed faintly with corruption energy.
A spark flared within the brush, its vibrations stirring like a heartbeat. Glitch's voice, once a taunting whisper, surged through Brush's soul—a fragment of will that refused to fade. The corruption energy, born of his mistake in the Glitched Realm, intertwined with his inner essence, igniting a fusion of chaos and resolve. The brush glowed, its light flooding Brush's body. His chest heaved, the spike dissolving as his eyes snapped open, now burning with a mix of human fire and glitched chaos.
"Brush!" Willie gasped, pulling him up. His arm, once broken, crackled with corrupted code, healed but altered. The brush flew to his hand, its vibrations syncing with his heartbeat, teaching him to harness the corruption's speed. "I'm back," he said, voice low but fierce, "and faster."
App Master's portal reopened, his sleek form streaking toward them, eyes blazing with cold precision. "Impossible," he hissed, launching a barrage of encrypted blades. Brush moved, his body a blur matching App Master's speed, the corruption energy surging through him. He painted a cannon mid-stride, its chaotic blast deflecting the blades and grazing App Master's shoulder.
Willie's fists ignited, joining the fray, her heat melting App Master's shields. Disco's kittens swarmed, dazzling the agent, while Pirware and Malrus hurled shards and threads, their chaotic energy amplified by Brush's revival. Poro burrowed, disrupting the ground, and Hubo's gears spun, rerouting nearby data streams to slow App Master.
Brush painted a blade of pure corruption, its edge flickering with his soul's resolve. He clashed with App Master, their speeds a whirlwind of light and chaos. Each strike shook the realm, nodes cracking. "You can't outrun me now," Brush said, slashing through App Master's defenses, forcing him to stagger.
Rooteye's roar echoed closer, its roots breaching the clean realm. App Master sneered, retreating into a portal. "This isn't over," he spat. Brush gripped his brush, its corruption now his strength, and turned to his allies. "We free the rebels, then stop Rooteye," he said, his speed and soul ready for the fight ahead.