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Episode 3 Part 1: Will Ember City Survive the Night?
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Aamon lifted one clawed hand and dragged it slowly over his face. His shoulders trembled. A low chuckle slipped out, rough and wet, then grew louder. His head tipped back and he laughed openly, the sound rolling across the ruined streets and rattling broken windows.
"Eleven against one?" he said, voice thick with amusement. "And you call yourselves heroes?"
He lowered his hand, eyes glinting as he looked from one fighter to the next. His lips peeled back, showing rows of burning teeth.
"How funny," he continued. "All of you are a fucking joke."
Mindstorm flinched at the sound of it. His jaw tightened. He drew in a breath through his nose, forcing his shaking hands to steady. His eyes flicked across the team, then locked forward again.
"Ignore his taunts," he said, voice tight but controlled. "Guys. Gravity. Do your thing."
He slashed his hand forward, fingers trembling despite the motion.
"Thunderstrike. Frostbite. You know what to do."
Gravity planted her feet wide. Her boots cracked the pavement as she threw both arms out. Veins bulged along her neck and forearms. Her face twisted with effort. The air around Aamon warped as a shimmering pressure field snapped into place around him. The force multiplied instantly. The ground beneath the demon spider-webbed, concrete groaning and splitting outward in deep fractures.
Aamon barely reacted. His head tilted a fraction. One ear twitched.
"…Oh?" he said softly. "How cute."
Thunderstrike took off to the left, hammer dragging along the ground and throwing sparks behind him. Frostbite bolted right, frost racing up her boots and hardening under each step. Rock-man shoved himself upright with a grunt, face slick with sweat and blood. He clenched his teeth and reshaped his remaining arm, stone crawling and grinding into a jagged blade. He staggered forward, then broke into a run.
Mindstorm raised his arm again, muscles straining as psychic pressure locked onto Aamon. His nose began to bleed.
"Spectra," he barked. "Your turn."
Spectra pressed two fingers hard against her temples. Her pupils shrank to pinpoints. Her breathing stuttered once, then steadied. Twin beams erupted from her eyes with a violent hiss, carving the air in straight burning lines. The sound screamed through the battlefield as the lasers tore into the pressure field around Aamon.
Photon stepped in front of Mender, shield snapping up with a metallic clang.
"Stay behind me," Photon said quickly. "Just in case."
"O-okay," Mender replied, hands shaking as he pressed them together.
Echo slapped a palm against Inferno's shoulder, fingers digging in.
"Go," he said.
Blue static cracked. They vanished and reappeared behind Aamon in a blink. Inferno barely had time to plant his feet before Hydroblast swept his arms outward. Wind screamed into a tight spiral, dragging water and debris into a roaring funnel. Inferno thrust both hands forward, dumping a massive fireball straight into the vortex. Flames and wind fused, the attack swelling and screaming as it slammed down on Aamon's position.
Thunderstrike brought his hammer down hard.
BOOM.
Lightning surged upward, cracking through the vortex and wrapping it in violent arcs of white-blue energy. Frostbite followed immediately, hurling a storm of razor-thin icicles. They pierced into the spinning fire, vanishing inside with sharp cracks.
Smoke ballooned outward, thick and choking. Burning debris whirled through the air. Heat washed over the heroes in heavy waves. For a brief moment, no one spoke. No one moved. Every set of eyes stayed fixed on the roiling cloud.
Then something moved.
A long black arm shot out of the smoke, blurring forward faster than anyone could track. Claws sliced the air with a wet SCHLKK and plunged straight into Mindstorm's chest.
His eyes went wide. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Blood sprayed across Frostbite's cheek, warm and sticky. She shouted "fuck" and jumped backwards, throwing up a shield of ice around her. Her hand shook as she wiped the blood from her face. She shouted "guard up we didn't take him down."
The arm yanked back, tearing free. Mindstorm's heart came with it, ripped out in one brutal pull. Aamon's hand closed around it. The heart crushed in his fist with a dull, wet pop. The arm snapped back into the smoke.
Mindstorm dropped to one knee. His fingers twitched against the gaping hole in his chest. His body swayed once. Then he fell forward and hit the ground face-first, motionless.
No one had time to scream.
Aamon burst out of the dust cloud. Fire exploded outward from his body in multiple blasts. Psychic force rippled with it, reflecting their own combined attacks back at them.
Photon slammed his shield up, bracing as a fireball smashed into it. The impact shoved him back a step, boots skidding. Frostbite leaped away, slamming her hands into the ground as a frozen wall surged up in front of her. It shattered under the next blast, ice spraying everywhere.
Thunderstrike did not retreat.
He roared and charged straight in, hammer spinning over his head. He brought it down with everything he had.
CRACK.
The blow smashed across Aamon's jaw. Black blood splashed out and sprayed across the ground. Aamon's head snapped to the side.
He turned back slowly, grinning wide as blood dripped from his teeth.
"You're mine," Aamon said.
He lunged forward and sank his teeth into Thunderstrike's shoulder. Flesh tore. Thunderstrike screamed, body convulsing as black veins spread outward from the wound. His skin grayed. His eyes burned red as corruption crawled through him.
Aamon released him and straightened, turning his back on the others.
"Deal with them," he said calmly. "Minion."
Thunderstrike's breathing slowed. His posture stiffened. He turned toward the remaining heroes, eyes glowing.
"…Yes," he said hoarsely. "My lord."
Mender cursed under his breath, boots slipping slightly in blood and ash as he tried to move toward Mindstorm's body. His hands hovered uselessly in the air, light flickering weakly around his palms before dying out.
"Fuck," Mender said, voice breaking. "We need to strategize. I cannot save Mindstorm. He is go—"
Aamon vanished.
There was no warning. No buildup.
One moment he stood pinned under pressure and ice, the next his jaws clamped around Mender's throat.
CRUNCH.
The sound was wet and final.
Mender's body jerked once. Blood burst outward in a heavy arc, splattering across Photon's raised shield and spraying hot across his forearm. Aamon tore free with a sharp pull, flesh and spine coming with it. Mender's headless body collapsed backward, hands twitching once before going still.
Photon roared, a raw animal sound tearing out of his chest. He lunged forward and swung his sword with everything he had.
Aamon dipped low, spine bending unnaturally as he twisted aside. His claws snapped upward.
CLANG.
Photon barely managed to angle his shield in time. The impact rang through his arms and launched him backward. He slammed into a parked car. The hood folded inward. Glass exploded outward. Metal shrieked as the frame buckled under his weight.
Photon slid off the wreck, coughing hard, blood dripping from his mouth and chin.
"Shit," he rasped, forcing himself upright with shaking legs. "He killed our healer. And our strategist. We are losing…(coughing)- Badly."
Rock-man screamed and appeared behind Aamon, face twisted with grief and rage. He drove his stone drill forward with his remaining arm. The rotating mass slammed into Aamon's back. Sparks burst outward. Stone chipped and shattered. Black blood splashed across the pavement.
Aamon glanced over his shoulder.
"You again?" he said calmly.
He pivoted and kicked.
BOOM.
The impact crushed into Rock-man's chest. His ribs cracked loudly. He flew backward across the asphalt, bouncing once, then skidding. Blood smeared the ground in a long streak behind him. He rolled to a stop, coughing thick clots onto the street.
Inferno roared and planted his feet, veins standing out along his neck. He unleashed a sustained beam of fire. The battlefield washed orange as heat slammed outward.
Aamon opened his jaws.
Hellfire poured out, darker and denser, swallowing Inferno's attack instantly. Inferno's flames collapsed inward, crushed and consumed. The force slammed into him and hurled him backward.
Inside Aamon's mind, irritation flickered.
These pests are getting on my nerves.
Gravity screamed as she forced her arms higher. Her knees shook. Blood ran from her nose and dripped off her chin.
"Take him down," she yelled, voice cracking. "Now."
The pressure spiked. Asphalt crumpled inward under Aamon's feet. The ground sank several inches. His knee dipped slightly.
"…Her?" Aamon muttered, glancing sideways. "Tsk."
Frostbite kept firing without stopping. Her hands snapped forward again and again. Ice shards tore through the air and slammed into Aamon's side and shoulder. Flesh split. Black blood spilled down his fur and steamed against the cold.
Thunderstrike charged her.
His footsteps hit heavy and uneven. His eyes burned red. His jaw hung slack as corrupted saliva dripped onto the ground.
Frostbite barely sidestepped his first swing.
"Jeez," she shouted, breath sharp. "Snap out of it, dude."
She drove an ice spike straight into his leg. The spike shattered. Thunderstrike did not slow. He did not react.
Aamon moved again.
He drove his heel into Inferno's chest.
WHAM.
Inferno smashed through the side of a collapsing building. Concrete slabs fell inward. Flames and dust blasted outward as the structure gave way.
Aamon turned toward Hydroblast. Thick saliva dripped from his jaws, glowing as it stretched and snapped between his teeth.
Hydroblast slashed both arms forward. Compressed air blades ripped through the street.
SHHING.
One blade cut clean through Aamon's serpent tail. The severed section hit the ground with a heavy slap, still twitching. Black blood sprayed outward.
Aamon did not scream.
His expression did not change.
He stepped forward and planted his foot directly onto Hydroblast's face.
The pressure came down slow and absolute.
CRRSHK.
The skull caved in. Blood burst outward. Bone fragments and brain matter splattered across the cracked asphalt and up Aamon's leg. The body collapsed inward under the weight.
Aamon lifted his foot. Hydroblast's head was crushed into his torso, unrecognizable.
"That is for my damn tail," Aamon said. "One more down."
He wiped blood from his nose with the back of his hand, smearing it across his fur.
Photon spit blood onto the ground. His hands shook as he wiped his mouth with his wrist. He shoved himself away from the crushed car as metal groaned behind him.
He broke into a sprint toward Aamon, sword clenched tight.
Frostbite slammed both palms into the street. Ice surged outward, crawling fast. Thick layers wrapped around Aamon's legs and locked him in place. The ice cracked loudly under his strength, fractures spreading with each step he forced.
Gravity collapsed onto one knee. Her hands shook violently. Veins bulged across her forehead and neck.
"Hh. Hngh," she gasped, struggling to stay conscious. "Even with all this pressure he is still moving. I feel like I am going to black out."
Rock-man planted his remaining hand into the ground and forced himself up. His breath came in ragged pulls. Stone crawled over his arm again, grinding into a sharpened shape with a harsh GRRK.
He staggered forward beside Photon.
"Come on," Rock-man said, voice hoarse. "Before Gravity drops. We lost too damn many already. We cannot afford to lose anyone else. This demon is beyond us."
Echo sprinted forward, teeth clenched. His body split mid-run into two identical physical clones. All three moved at once.
"Go," Echo shouted, extending a hand toward Photon and Rock-man. "Stop Thunderstrike. Do not let him reach Inferno."
The two clones nodded and lunged at Thunderstrike. Their boots dug into the ground as they collided with him. One wrapped an arm around his shoulder and neck. The other locked onto his weapon arm, fingers digging in hard.
Thunderstrike shook violently, muscles bulging as corruption pulsed under his skin.
The Echos stayed locked on, grunting with effort, feet sliding inch by inch across the blood-slick pavement as the battlefield burned around them.
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