“Still the same room?” Jak called out with a teasing smirk thrown towards Jenny as they flitted through the empty halls of the orphanage.

“I only had to change rooms one time…!” The fennec mouse complained with a pout, the grin beaming on her face only pushed away for a moment before it returned. Giddy excitement and adrenaline was rushing through her veins as she rode atop Myra’s shoulders. Before she had been piggyback riding as they shot upwards with the grappling hook. Ooh, she wanted one as well!

They had just rounded around the next corner when things went clearly wrong in some way. A sound echoed from below, a sharp noise that pierced their ears painfully as it quickly began to swell in intensity. And as it did the whole building rumbled and shook, stone shuddered and cracks began to spread through the paint.

““W-what the…?!””

Jak and Myra echoed in synch, eyes wide and worried, while Jenny flailed her arms desperately to stay balanced atop Myra’s shoulders. Her mouth opened but any words she may have said were swallowed by the deafening sound following a moment later.

A blinding white light cracked through the storming sky above, piercing through ceiling and floor, and the thunder that ruptured through the air deafened them while more and more cracks rapidly spread along the walls, ceiling and floor. Everything was shaking and vibrating as a cacophony of noise filled the air. Parts of the building started to break off and crumble at places, the Amber Lights flared and flickered chaotically in a pattern of blue, yellow and red.

Jak whirled around, adrenaline rushing through his veins and burning through the terror flooding into him.

“We have to get out!” Jak screamed over the cacophony but Myra was already well ahead of him. Grabbing his shoulder roughly, Myra fired her grappling hook through the nearest window. It crashed through the glass and hooked into the sidewall. A moment later Jak and Jenny felt their stomachs drop at the sudden acceleration, eyes wide as the crashed through the remaining glass into freedom. Just in time. A moment later the window crumbled to the streets below behind them.

And more cracks and crumbling sections continued to spread across the building. Lightning danced around it in a haunting play.

———

But while the trio had managed to flee above, the sight within lunch hall was much more precarious. Panic was paralysing effective action as the kids screamed and cried.

“GET OUT! WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!” Hailey’s voice howled with a sharp crack over the noise of panic and crumbling building. She had already been in motion after Graam’s warning, hurriedly grabbing anyone close and rushed towards the exit. Adrenaline and sheer will pushed her far beyond her normal limits. For a second the phantom image of a pair of Halos flickered around her wrists before quickly dying again.

Tears were glistened within her eyes as she rushed onwards, unable to pull along any more of her wards. Her breath hitched in regret.

Even with her back turned, the flash of white light behind her still blinded her as it pierced through the entire building. But Hailey just pushed through the burning light filling her vision. Shocked cries echoed through the air behind her as others weren’t as enduring. Children stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to see. Tears of pain and terror blinding what little vision they had left.

A small relief filled the lemur’s heart as she saw from the corners of her eyes some of the older orphans rushing around to help carry the younger ones out. Others were fleeing for their lives as the hard cracks of stone crashing into stone surrounded them all.

Old lady Tiffany pulled herself along with grim determination, her old legs not allowing her to stand steady anymore under the chaotic rumbling of the crumbling building.

And into this chaos ran three figures, away from safety directly into danger.

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“Miss Hailey…!” Mina cried out as she, Geen and Vee found themselves suddenly caught in the crumbling building as well. The parrot weasel instinctively rushed further inside to help out the other kids. Pure, unadulterated terror and desperation pushed her forwards. Geen had flitted reflexively after her, the raccoon fidgeting in tears around as he didn’t know what else to do.

“GET OUT OF HERE!!!” Hailey screamed, a sentiment echoed by Vee.

“Damnit…!” The chameleon girl cursed as she rushed after the two kids, her hands reached out to pull them back along with her.

“No foolish heroics!!” Vee growled out, her aunt’s words pounding within her head.

None had noticed the crackling of white that had been dancing around the crowd of children protectively. They were quick and flashed away from one instant to the next, easily dismissed as a trick of the eyes. Bolts and wind flickered between the falling fragments of the crumbling building, cushioning the fall of the stones, pushing them aside as best they could away from anyone. But even then, there was only so much this protective cage could. Bodies buried beneath rocks. Broken bones and bloody scrapes the least of some injuries. Death had already struck despite this field.

And Vee was outside even this mitigating force.

“LOOK OUT!” A voice suddenly cried out from somewhere and Vee could only stare wide eyed and terrified up as a massive piece of the ceiling broke off above her. There was no way out. No way to escape this fragments irresistible fate to crush her beneath itself.

—Moments earlier—

Graam gritted his teeth as he leaped down the stairs instead of walking, the bright glow of his Halo burned vibrantly behind him. Hues of turquoise intertwined in the shapes of waves and clouds.

With a heavy thud he landed at the end of the stairs, at the bottom of the basement. Already he could feel the pure malice as it screeched at him from below. His gazed flitted across floor, rushing forward to the spot he had sought out to be directly above the screaming. The ground rumbled and vibrated as if an earthquake was hammering into it.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Graam bit out and wound fist his fist back while his Arc gathered rapidly around him.

Dampfstadt was Graam’s home turf, the air heavy with steam and clouds fell right under the power of his Arc, Storm’s Child. Surging through the ambient Amber and thick air it had pulled together the clouds above into a whirling vortex. And now the compacted steam crackled and hummed with energy as they formed a pitch black storm cloud that cast all beneath into darkness. At his call the cloud ruptured and a massive white bolt of lightning came crashing downwards.

It punched straight through the building and into his fist. The blinding light radiated around it as he then crashed his fist into the ground just as the stone floor crumbled downwards under the baleful glare of crimson now meeting the bright white glow.

Haggard screamed, his eyes streaming with nightmarish energy as he poured his power to protect him against the sudden attack. A shockwave hammered against the underside of the orphanage, cracking everything in its wake. The destruction was eminent as stone began to rupture, crack and crumble. But the explosion that the raging wolf had intended had been extinguished for the most part by Graam’s doing.

And now the destructive force that had engulfed Haggard had shattered.

“FUCKING. BRATS. LIKE. YOU. ARE. THE. PROBLEM!!!” The shark howled out, his voice cracking with anger as his hand shot forwards to grab Haggard by the throat. Only for him to grasp through empty air, the wolf falling away through nothing.

“Muh, spoilsports…” Flizz pouted, an amused glare in her eyes as she floated up behind him. Haggard was breathing heavily, held up at the scruff of his neck behind her. The wolf looked dead on his feet, the last remnants of the Pearl’s power sparked along his body before they began to slowly recede.

Graam whirled around with a growl.

“The Demon Witch…” He muttered, eyes glaring back at her.

Flizz just giggled in response, squirming happily under all this anger, this rage, this hate directed towards her.

“Yup~ And here I thought I wouldn’t see any action until at least tomorrow but it seems that I got lucky~” Flizz purred with a wide grin as she flitted around the air as if swimming through water liken overly narcissistic fish, her eyes twinkling with playful malice. “So, what’s a member of the Babylon doing around a lowly orphanage like this? Oh, don’t tell me! You’re here for that fascinating brat my little Demon wretch discovered, aren’t you? Well…”

Her words were cut off by a blast of wind and electricity as Graam hand’t stayed idle just listening to her voice. Well, that had nearly been close if she hadn’t dodged!

“Ooh, I hope you can fight while also keeping those above safe~” Flizz giggled with a manic smirk and Graam’s eyes widened. The building around them groaned and creaked as its shattered structured crumbled. Anger and desperation rushed through him as he leaped forwards, his concentration splitting to protect children above. Not for the first time was he glad that his Arc was able to act more on his intentions than finicky control.

Under cheerful mocking laughter the gecko girl danced around his attacks while the building collapsed around them. She was enthralled in this delicious play of hate and tragedy~!