Amidst the chaos, two enforcers stood watch over a quiet boring hallway, rifles cradled lazily across their chests. Their old ruffled police uniforms still covered in rips and blood from before they turned, riot helmets askew, like they'd stopped caring how they looked hours ago.
"How long are we supposed to stand here?" one grumbled, his voice muffled behind his visor. The name tag still barely visible beneath the blood smears read Delgado. "Feels like we aren't going to see any action like this."
His partner leaned back against the wall, chewing on his own gums as smoke escaped his lips. "Relax, man. Sophie's just a little kid. Just relax and take it easy for once. We will get our turn"
Delgado sniffed, adjusting the rifle strap on his shoulder. "Carlos needs to make this quick already. Any longer and our old station buddies might catch on and kill us all."
They both sighed—dry, defeated.
Then they heard it.
A soft creak—just down the corridor.
Both men froze.
Their laughter died instantly as they raised their weapons in unison.
"You hear that?" Delgado whispered.
The hallway held its breath.
Then—
Snap.
They raised their guns in unison opening fire.
The ruined hallway groaned under the weight of falling debris as Aiden, Rowan, Lila, and Eri pushed forward.
The sharp rattle of automatic fire echoed ahead, but it faltered—bursts thinning as the enforcers stopped to clear the dust from their rifles.
Rowan narrowed her eyes.
Perfect.
Without a word, she vaulted upward, planting a boot against the crumbling wall and kicking off into the air. Her transformed spear unraveled into a rope dart, the frozen claw at its end whistling through the gloom.
Snap.
The claw sank into the ceiling beams—and Rowan swung down like a pendulum.
The enforcers barely had time to look up.
With a twist of her wrist, the claw shot downward, releasing a blast of frost that surged across the floor—cracking and snaring their boots in ice.
Rowan landed light as a shadow among them.
"Stay down."
She swept the clawed rope in a low arc, shattering their frozen footing and dropping Delgado hard onto the cracked floor.
Before the second enforcer could react, Aiden charged in from the left—his rapier gleaming like a shard of light.
Aiden froze for half a second— the face behind the cracked visor of the enforcer Rowan struck down was familiar.
Delgado.
He'd worked traffic detail with him three years ago. They'd shared coffee and complaints over long shifts.
But now was not the time to hesitate again.
He moved faster now, the old fear buried under cold focus. He drove the rapier into the thigh of an enforcer, spun, and cracked the overcharged taser—conjured mid-spin—into his chest.
Sparks flared. The enforcer spasmed and collapsed.
More enforcers appeared behind another door.
On Aiden's right, Lila surged forward—her two-handed sword almost humming in the heavy air. She moved with eerie precision, each strike deliberate, each fall of her blade cutting through them like paper.
One enforcer lunged at her recklessly.
Lila stepped aside with a grace that belied her condition—and drove the sword into his gut, twisting it free with a grunt.
The hall fell into silence, broken only by the whimper of defeated enemies fading into dust and ash.
A soft, ragged voice called out behind them.
"Move… hurry…"
Eri staggered into view, dark plumes seeping from a gash along her leg. Her hair clung to her face in wet strands, and the last two petals on her wrist trembled—but she still stood.
Behind her, silent and sure, the shadow-cat padded through the rubble—keeping pace like a guardian that had never left her side.
Aiden met her eyes and nodded once.
No words needed.
They pressed onward.
The doors ahead hung loose on their hinges, twisted from the earlier blast of power. As they shoved them open, a rush of heated, unnatural air flooded out, prickling their skin.
Inside—
Carlos stood at the far end of the ruined office, surrounded by what remained of his familia.
Between them and him, the room was split by an invisible wall of force—the bubble space surrounding Marisol.
She sat at the center of it, her body glowing faintly, her face tilted toward something distant, unseen.
The shadows—no longer animals, but monstrous combat forms—stalked the line of the bubble.
A dire wolf.
A baryonyx-like monster.
A menacing unicorn.
A gorilla with smoldering red eyes.
Each beast lowered its head, eyes locked onto the intruders. Waiting.
One of the familia, jittery and pale, took a step forward—ignoring Carlos's outstretched hand.
"Wait," Carlos growled. "Don't go near the edge—"
Too late.
The unicorn turned with unnatural speed. Its jagged horn glinted once—then sliced clean through the enforcer's chest. His body collapsed into smoke and ash before it hit the floor.
Gasps echoed. Another enforcer bolted, pushing past Aiden's group in blind panic.
Rowan started to lift her spear—but the gorilla moved first.
With a guttural snarl, it reached out and caught the fleeing man by the neck, dragging him back into the shadows. His scream ended in a sharp crack, a puff of smoke—and then silence.
Aiden's group froze.
The beasts weren't attacking them.
They were only punishing the ones who tried to approach or run.
The remaining enforcers hesitated, weapons wavering.
Carlos took a single step forward, eyes burning.
"Everyone calm down."
His voice sliced through the panic.
"Stay behind me. Obey—and you'll live."
No one moved again.
Waiting to see who would dare cross.
Carlos smirked when he saw them enter, but the cold sweat on his brow betrayed him. His hands twitched at his sides—too eager, too wired.
Behind him, the enforcers shifted uneasily, weapons half-raised.
Lila tightened her grip on her sword.
Rowan spun her clawed rope once, letting it sing through the broken air.
Eri stood tall despite her pale fading complexion, her unsteady fists clenching and unclenching, ready.
From Eri's side, the black cat leapt—silent and smooth—its crimson eyes flashing once as it hit the floor. From Eri's feet, two shadow-formed squirrels scrambled free, pausing briefly before climbing up her arms to perch protectively on her shoulders.
The cat padded forward without a sound, slipping through the flickering air like smoke. Aiden blinked as it quickly ran between them, then vanished into the bubble space without resistance. Disappearing into the glow as if searching for Marisol.
The squirrels remained with Eri, their heads tilting in perfect synch as if sensing her weakness—guardians watching over the fading decrepit tree.
Eri glanced at her shoulders. In her timeline, the shadows had come to fear her—she had shunned them, pushing them away, clinging only to her broken little bunny. But even now these little ones… chose to stay.
Aiden stepped forward, raising his rapier.
No speeches. No taunts.
The room felt like a powder keg, seconds from igniting.
The final fight was about to begin.