The heat was unbearable. Flames licked the walls, and the smoke had thickened, swirling into dense clouds that choked the air.

Bell stood at the threshold of the room, her breath shallow as she focused on the scene in front of her. Through the thick haze, her OD sharpened her senses, guiding her steps through the fiery chaos.

Her eyes locked onto the family-- a mother, desperately clinging to two unconscious children. The woman's face was streaked with soot and tears, her voice was barely a whisper as she sang a lullaby, trembling as she tried to keep her kids close. The smoke was overwhelming, making it hard for her to see, let alone think clearly.

Bell pressed forward, the flames curling toward her but never touching her. Her OD surged through her, wrapping her in it's protective aura as she marched through the inferno. She couldn't afford to hesitate. Each second counted.

"Help... please, help my children!" The mother's voice cracked, her desperation cutting through the roar of fire.

"I'm going to help all of you. No one is dying today," Bell responded, her tone firm, leaving no room for doubt. She was resolute--she would save them. No one would suffer, not while she was here.

Bell moved swiftly, kneeling beside them. The mother flinched at first but quickly realized that this stranger was there to save her and her children. "Stay calm," Bell said, her voice steady despite the chaos around them.

The beam of wood that had fallen across the mother's legs was heavy, pinning her down, and Bell wouldn't be able to lift it. But she didn't need to. She'd work around it. He fingers glowed faintly as her OD channelled into her palms, and from them silver began to weave into existence.

With a quick gesture, she formed a small cage around the debris, locking it in place to keep it from shifting further. She moved quickly, crafting silver keys in her mind's eye, clicking them into place and securing the stable room around them.

"Hold on," Bell said, her eyes focused as she shaped a series of silver boxes around the mother's legs and the unconscious children, the boxes were more like cages with steel beams covering them from the outside like a prison. The cages expanded, encasing the family and protecting them as the flames grew.

The mother stared in awe, her eyes wide as the fire raged around them but never breached Bell's constructs. "What... what is this?"

"Protection," Bell replied, her hands moving deftly, "I'll get you out of here."

The children stirred slightly, their tiny forms safe within the silver cages that held them, shielded from the flames and falling debris. The mother clutched them tightly, tears of relief spilling down her soot-covered cheeks.

The building groaned as more beams collapsed, Bell's heart raced. She knew time was running out. Sweat dripped down her brow, but she forced herself to stay focused, carefully creating a silver lock around the entrance.

Bell urged the cage to move forward. She was outside of it while telekinetically carrying it out to safety. OD flowing through her body fuelling her power and strength.

They moved together, Bell's silver locks clicking and shifting with each step, keeping the fire at bay. The mother kept her arms around her children, too overwhelmed to speak, but her gratitude was palpable. Every breathe Bell took was heavy, the smoke burning her lung, but she pushed on.

Finally, they reached the exit. Bell unlocked the final barrier, breaking the silver locks with a flick of her wrist. Fresh air flooded in as they stumbled out into the night.

The mother collapsed to her knees, clutching her children, sobbing. "Thank you... thank you."

Bell nodded as exhaustion was creeping in, her eyes suddenly felt a stinging sensation as she truly took in what was in front of her. The dark night sky, the sound of fire crackling behind her and a family that was brought out to safety together.

She had saved them.

"You're safe now."

One of Theon's dragons had come and took them away to safety.

!

Bell turned around in an instant.

She could feel it, the ominous presence of demons that she was so keenly aware of from the moment of her parents demise.

"Chimera."

They were coming. And the number of them was high.

She looked around to see Theon and Jon coming to her side.

Her team was here, "Just in time." She said with a bit of relief.

She pointed toward the sky, and they followed her gaze. Towering above the city, one of the chimera caught their attention-- a grotesque fusion of creatures. It resembled an elephants head, perched on a humans body with the hulking build of a gorilla and height of a giraffe. It bounded toward them, crashing through the buildings as though they were paper.

It bounced toward their location, foregoing the buildings in its path, Bell shook just as the ground did.

"Don't worry, Jon and I got to everyone." Theon said.

She looked to Jon for confirmation but instead of that what she seen was him building up a surge of OD, his blood swirling around him, forming into a thick lance.

Without a word, Jon pulled back and hurled the blood spear with a force that caused the air to shudder. It flew fast and precise, aimed at the charging chimera. The creature raised it's massive hand in an attempt to block the attack but it was futile. The spear tore through it's palm, piercing it's chest.

"Bullseye!" Jon pumped his fist in celebration, then his hand moved in a strange motion. "Now..."

With a flick of his wrist, he manipulated his blood that was within the chimera, shrinking the spear just as it burst inside the beast. Shards of blood erupted from it's chest and belly, with a deadly spike driving through it's forehead.

The chimera staggered, letting out a guttural groan before collapsing. It's massive form disintegrated into ash.

"Amazing." Bell couldn't believe what she saw, and she couldn't believe she gave Jon a compliment. But she had no time to dwell on that as more chimera were coming in similar fashion.

"Get ready!"

___

From Theon's perspective, the world had devolved into a hellscape of carnage. Every breath he took burned with an acrid taste of smoke. The night was suffocating, the air thick with ash, making his lungs feel like they were filled with razors. His pulse raced.

The first chimera had crumbled into dust under Jon's assault. But there was no time to savour that victory. More of them emerged and spilled onto the street like a flood.

'Is it really this bad?' He thought as he glanced at Bell through his periphery. Her curse had probably summoned all of these, but he didn't think it would be this bad. He wondered what it would be like if she felt like running away one day.

But the thought didn't last long as he ducked low and slid out of the incoming grip of talons, gleaming under the moonlit night. A wave of monstrous intent flooded over him.

Theon's heart pounded in his chest. The city's air was charged, alive with a dangerous aura from every corner, like the earth itself was screaming.

"Spread out!" Bell's voice sliced through the chaos, sharp and urgent. Theon's eyes flicked toward her--her stance firm, her silver hair wild in the smoky winds. She extended her arms, and silver cages shimmered into existence, trapping chimera that had been close enough to charge at her.

The cages closed and she pressed her hands together watching the cages clamp down and crush the beasts.

Theon's hands moved on instinct. He conjured his dragons, each one materializing with a crack of energy. They slithered through the streets, serpentine bodies of light twisting between the rubble and screams. One swept low, it's claws raking through a chimera's flesh, splitting it open in a spray of blood. Another coiled around two of the beasts, crushing them in a flare of light.

A feral grin tugged at Theon's lips as one of his dragons then ripped through a colossal building, the roar of stone and metal crumbling barely audible over the din.

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The other's couldn't hear it but Theon could, screams echoed from within the building, the screams of chimera. Moment's later, his dragon emerged, cradling a family in it's glowing claws.

Theon gave it an order to take them to safety and watched his dragon move in blinding speeds away from the growing battlefield.

'Thought we got everyone already.'

And then, the earth trembled beneath them. A deep primal rumble that resonated through Theon's bones. The feeling felt similar to his previous mission but on a much grander, darker scale. As if something had crawled into the very core of the city. The ground didn't crack, no horrors emerged from the depths but Theon felt it in the pit of his stomach that something big was coming.

"The hell was that?" Jon asked, sharp and wary.

Bell, who stayed alert, her senses fine-tuned to sense these creatures, had already closed her eyes, reaching out into the dark trying to find a source. For a moment there was nothing, just an unsettling quiet. Then her scream tore through the night raw and piercing.

Theon and Jon spun toward her, bodies moving before their minds could catch up, instincts propelling them. They rushed to her side, hearts pounding, but when they saw what loomed ahead they froze.

Before them, coiled around two shattered skyscrapers, was a creature of nightmares. It's body slick and wet with a legendary sheen, stretched impossibly high, it's girth wide enough to crush buildings in it's grasp. The air around it pulsed with a sickening humidity, as though the beast carried a storm within it's slimy skin.

Long venomous fangs gleamed under the feint light, and it's tongue lashed out like a whip, slithering through the air before snapping back to it's mouth like a frog.

But it's eyes, burning yellow eyes, held them captive. They were vast, cat-like, glowing with an eerie luminescence that seemed to pierce their very souls. In that instant, time ceased to exist.

Theon felt something in his reality shatter, like a fragile mirror falling to pieces. He didn't know what he was seeing anymore, shadows danced, screams filled the air, and a sharp scent of blood flooded his senses overwhelmingly. He could feel the fear clinging to the atmosphere like a suffocating fog, and the bitter tang of tears stung to his tongue.

Then it melted back into the reality of the city around him melting into chaos. The serpent was now swimming in the ruins, it's immense form cutting through the night bearing down on them.

'An illusion.' He realized what he was previously seeing, and feeling was just that.

"Theo, grab her!" Jon shouted out urgently. Theon didn't hesitate. He summoned a dragon and with a flick of his wrist, Bell was lifted up into the air. The two of them then leaped off the bridge where they had stood. Thumbling through the air before landing atop one of Theon's dragons. They soared over the ruined high-street, the city in tatters.

Bell was trembling, her eye's wide, her body wracked with violent shudders. She wasn't just afraid; she was shattered and caught in agony.

Behind them the slithering monster gave chase, it's massive form crashing through buildings as it closed in. Theon didn't dare look back. He couldn't. Not with those eyes waiting to ensnare him in their misery.

"What the hell happened?" Jon asked. His voice was barely audible over the rush of wind and the sounds of destruction.

"The chimera, it put us in some kind of illusion," Theon answered, his voice strained. His own words feeling hollow, like the lie he was telling himself now. It was more than an illusion, he knew that, it felt too real, so deeply familiar, like a nightmare he had lived before. Something he didn't want to live again.

"So don't look in it's eyes."

"Yeah, no shit!" Jon said.

Theon's dragons circled overhead in the faint light as they darted towards the chimera. He willed them to strike, to aim for the creatures eyes, but as they neared it, the beasts mouth opened wide. A thick toxic green smoke rolled out, coiling through the air like a serpent of it's own. The smoke began to envelop them, one by one.

Theon's heart sank. His dragons began to harden, their bodies petrifying mid-flight, the green smoke turning them to stone. And then with a gut-wrenching crack, they fell, shattering on the ground upon impact and turning to dust.

"Shit!" Theon muttered under his breath, his mind raced for a plan.

He jerked the reins of his dragon, shifting it's trajectory just before the chimera's massive tail slammed into the ground uplifting the debris to obscure his vision.

"Bell!" Theon called out, there was an urgency in his tone that went beyond fear.

The chimera lunged, it's massive mouth unhinging as a new wave of toxic green smoke poured out. With a fluid motion, he directed one of his remaining dragons to swoop low, sweeping beneath the creatures line of sight. As the chimera lunged, distracted by it's quarry.

"Jon, to the left!" The command was issued almost instinctively, and Jon followed without question. His blood shot out, creating a thick barrier that deflected a strike from the chimera's fangs just as they snapped down where Jon had been.

Bell's crystal blue eyes begun to blink rapidly as if she were trying to shake away a nightmare.

The chimera's tail whipped again, but Theon already had his next move set in motion. He didn't wait for the threat to manifest fully. Instead, he moved his hands in a blur as he landed on another one of his dragons leaving Bell atop of the same dragon moving out of range.

He summoned a trio of dragons all of similar size and each one darted to the underbelly of the chimera. They cut through the air with deadly precision. One latched onto the chimera's scaled hide, digging into it's flesh with it's sharp claws.

"Theo!" Jon's shout snapped Theon's attention back to the chimera's mouth. It's jaw opened wide, and for a split second Theon could feel that usual familiar tug again.

The beast reared back, preparing to unleash something much worse that the green smoke that turned one to stone.

Without thinking, Theon threw himself from his dragon, dropping down with alarming speed. His body twisted in the air, dodging just as the chimera spewed a violent torrent of corrosive bile. The dragon that had carried him had already turned into stone mid-flight and plummeted.

He landed with a roll beside Bell and Jon as the creatures venomous breath corroded the air.

"Sorry for holding you guys back." Bell said, her voice was strained.

"Don't worry about it." Theon said to her without taking his eye's off the beast.

"Just try again. Job's not over yet." Jon told her.

Bell's wide eyes sharpened, the terror that plagued them turned into something fierce. Her trembling ceased and in a single, fluid motion she extended her arms. Theon and Jon looked to each other and gave a silent nod, 'Now!'

Silver light shined from Bell's hands into a giant silver bar that was in the shape a torii gate, it had appeared over the colossal snake like creature before collapsing down into the ground bringing it down with terrifying strength.

The chimera hissed, it's bulging head thrashing, Bell created one more to wrap around the lower end of it's slithery body, while panting and blood was leaking out of her nose.

Jon didn't wait for his invitation. His blood surged forward, thick bloody tendrils wrapped themselves around the maw of the beast binding it shut. The chimera's growls turned into muffled, desperate snarls.

Theon without a word, was stood by the sides gathering up large amounts of OD within himself, he summoned his biggest dragon yet, a towering ethereal creature with soft golden fur and long flowing whiskers. Sharp elongated claws and a sharp pair of teeth ready to chomp down whatever came in its clutches.

Theon's mind raced-- No, it flowed like a river. Everything felt so clear to him now.

His dragon flew overhead far above the clouds and was aimed downwards ready to rid the earth of the demon that lay trapped below it, all he had to do was give it the signal.

"Hurry up!" He heard Jon shout out as he struggled to keep pulling its mouth closed.

So Theon gave the order. [Pierce!], and the dragon dove.

It's talons were glowing with a fierce, radiant heat. As it dove at immeasurable speeds it eventually crash landed into the chimera plunging into its upper body all the way to it's head.

The ground trembled as the chimera let out it's last deafening roar, it's massive body convulsing violently as it collapsed. Leaving dust and debris to erupt from impact.

For a moment, everything was still. The chimera's form shimmered, it's yellow eyes dimming as the last vestiges of life drained from it.

Theon exhaled, his body sagging from overwhelming exhaustion, but the weight in his chest lifted. Jon stumbled back breathing heavily, his blood retracting slowly as the chimera crumbled to ash.

Bell... Bell was on her knees, staring out as her bindings had disappeared along with the chimera. She then held her head in her trembling hands and was muttering something...

"I did it... I saved people..."

She began trembling intensely, her words wavered, shaky and fragile. Theon could then hear the silent soft sobs follow. It wasn't just relief that poured out of her, but pride, a rare precious sense of accomplishment she could finally call her own.

Theon smiled faintly, watching her.

But then a sudden sharp *crack* broke the moment. The sound of bone snapping, coming from Jon. Theon's smile faded.

"Jon?" Theon called out, his voice uncertain.

Jon didn't respond, he hunched over and gripping his fingers, the cracking sound got even louder. Theon's heart skipped a beat and then he heard it again, this time from Bell, but instead of snapping it was the grinding of her teeth.

She had risen to her feet but something terribly wrong was going on. Her eye's were bloodshot and unfocused, burned with an intensity that hadn't been there moments ago. She turned to him, her expression twisted as if she were struggling against some unseen force. Theon turned his gaze back to Jon to see his bloodshot eyes mirrored Bell.

'The hell is going on?'

Before Theon could react, Bell lunged at him, her movements sharp and erratic. He darted forward closing the distance between them, his hands reaching for her shoulders to steady her. But in a blur of motion, she swung something at him. A massive key, gleaming and sharp, the size of a sword. He barely managed to dodge the blow.

"Bell Stop!" Theon shouted, he dodged another hit. Jon was stood still bent over and clutching his head.

"It's... happening." Jon choked out, his voice strained and broken.

And then Theon felt it—a creeping, slithering sensation that crawled into his mind, like a worm burrowing into his brain. It twisted everything, warping his senses, filling him with a sudden and overpowering desire for violence. Theon’s fists clenched involuntarily, his thoughts darkening with an all-consuming need to hurt, to destroy. His vision blurred, and his instincts screamed at him to lash out.

It all clicked in place in his disfiguring mind. The child they told them all about. Oscar Dempsey and his power to turn people like this.

If it is effecting them now all the way out here. That means the paladin still haven't retrieved him.

Theon fought it, clutching his head in agony, trying to block out the venomous influence poisoning his mind. But it wasn't enough, he twisted barely dodging another brutal strike from Bell, only for her next blow to land solidly against the side of his head.

Pain exploded behind his eyes and Theon staggered, feeling the edges of his consciousness begin to fray.

'Oh no.'

He tried to focus, but the world around him was spinning, his mind turning in on itself. He collapsed to the ground, his nails digging into his scalp as he writhed, helpless against the overwhelming urge to lash out. He could feel it—the slithering, vile presence gnawing at his sanity, dragging him deeper into darkness. His body twisted like the chimera they had just slain.

He was losing consciousness. With every hit he got he would black out.

Bell's strikes kept coming, each one pushing him further into black. His vision flickered with each blow, and then—

Darkness.

Everything went black.