Safehouse

Rain poured down as the night sky loomed dark and cloudy, lit only by the occasional flash of lightning, each one followed by a low rumble of thunder. The three ran through the shadowy alleyways of the city, the soldier leading the way.

They emerged from the alleys into a forest clearing. In front of them stood a dimly lit warehouse. Soldiers clad in black surrounded it, standing stoically with their guns close to their chests, waiting.

"We're here," the soldier said, tagging his comm. "Sergeant Cooper Morgan reporting. I've arrived at the safe house and have two survivors with me."

One of the nearby soldiers stepped away from his post and approached.

"Copy that, soldier," a low, static-filled voice replied through the comms.

"You two, come with me," the soldier said, nodding to Cooper, who nodded back before silently heading to his position.

The group walked toward the warehouse. Two guards flanking the door glanced at Zero and Ozai before giving a nod and sliding the doors open.

Inside, they were met with the low murmur of voices. A group of people huddled together in the large space—some crying, some whispering, others curled up in corners. A small girl clutched a teddy bear, tears streaking down her cheeks, head bowed. The soft sound of rain tapping on the metal roof echoed through the warehouse.

As the doors opened, nearly every head turned toward them.

"Look—it's more survivors," a girl in the crowd said.

"It's only two… were they the only ones found?" a shaky voice replied.

The soldier turned to Zero and Ozai, his voice firm and low.

"You'll be safe in here," he said with a nod, then slowly walked off.

"An evacuation unit will arrive in the morning," the soldier announced loudly, his voice cutting through the quiet. "You'll be transported to another location until the situation has been dealt with—"

"But—there are still people out there!" a man interrupted. "M-my mom… I haven't seen her since this morning!"

"Yeah, what about everyone else stuck out there? Are they just going to be left behind?" another voice chimed in.

The soldier paused, then responded calmly, "Soldiers have been sweeping the city since dawn. They'll continue searching through dusk. Any survivors found will be gathered at a different outpost."

"But they'll be transported to the same location you're all headed to," he added.

"What about those monsters roaming around?" someone else asked.

"Tsk--- I bet those things came from Orpheum," an old man said bitterly. "Those damn lab freaks and their rabid experiments."

"Please, Lord, forgive us for our sins," a woman whispered, kneeling and clutching a cross, her eyes closed in prayer.

The warehouse erupted in noise—shouts, arguments, questions all layered over each other. Amid the chaos, the soldier quietly slipped out through the doors. They closed behind him with a metallic echo, sealing the uneasy calm inside.

"Hey… Zero?" Ozai glanced at him.

Zero didn't answer. He was scanning the room, eyes sweeping across the sea of anxious faces—until he froze. A woman with dark black hair stood quietly in the middle of the crowd, her back turned.

His heart skipped a beat.

He stepped forward slowly. "Tia—" he called out.

The woman turned around.

It wasn't her.

Zero's shoulders slumped slightly.

Ozai sighed. "Do we really have to wait here until morning? That's too long…"

"You know you can always leave, right?" Zero muttered.

"Can't you just, I don't know, make a rocket launcher or something out of thin air and blow your way through the city? You shouldn't feel inconvenienced at all…"

"…What's a rocket launcher?" Ozai asked.

"…It's a gun."

"…What's a gun?"

Before Zero could respond, an unfamiliar, deep, guttural roar rumbled in the distance.

The warehouse lights flickered, the air suddenly buzzing with unnatural energy.

"What the hell was that?!" Zero stammered, glancing over at Ozai whose eyes widened.

"I… I'm not sure."

But the certainty of one thing was clear--whatever was out there—

Was no Ragnar.

"Oh god, the monsters are here!" a woman cried out as the warehouse erupted into panic.

"We're gonna die!" a man shouted.

The little girl clutching her teddy bear sobbed harder. Zero instinctively moved toward her, but before he reached her, the sharp crack of gunfire echoed in the distance.

The crowd fell silent for a beat—then the chaos doubled.

"Hey—hey, it's gonna be okay." Zero knelt beside the girl. "What's your name?"

"I—I want my mommy!" she wailed.

Ozai tapped Zero's shoulder.

"Z… I'm heading out there," he said, voice steady.

Zero stood. "What? No—the guards, they'll know you're not human…"

"I know," Ozai said. "But even so, I'm not gonna sit here while innocent people get slaughtered."

His expression softened. A quiet smile crept across his face.

"This is what I was made for, remember?"

Zero hesitated, then nodded.

"Come with me," he told the little girl, gently reaching out.

She lifted her arms without a word. Zero picked her up and disappeared into the crowd, weaving toward cover.

Ozai watched him go for a second, then turned.

He walked to the warehouse doors. As he opened them, the crowd fell silent, eyes locking on him.

He stepped outside, the doors shutting behind him with a metallic thud.

Ozai stepped into utter chaos.

Soldiers were firing wildly into the trees as Ragnars slinked through the shadows, darting between trunks and rushing their lines. Their eerie, broken laughter echoed from all directions.

"Hey, you! What are you doing out here?" a soldier shouted, sprinting toward Ozai. "Get back inside—!"

Before he could finish, a sleek black tail coiled around his leg and yanked him off his feet, slamming him onto his back. His rifle flew from his hands.

The Ragnar crept forward, its fanged jaws wide open.

But just as it lunged, a glowing red shield formed in front of the soldier, slamming into the creature's face and forcing it backward. The shield hovered, then launched skyward—before crashing down like a hammer, obliterating the Ragnar in a burst of scarlet sparks.

The soldier gawked. "You—"

But Ozai was already gone, sprinting into the dark.

A red rifle manifested beside him mid-stride. He grabbed it and fired into a Ragnar pinning down a group of soldiers. The shots hissed with heat—each bullet punching clean through the beast and lighting the night with glowing streaks.

The Ragnar collapsed into dust.

Two more surged from the gloom, flanking him. Ozai spun—throwing up a shield to block one, while jamming the rifle's barrel into the second's gut. He pulled the trigger. Red-hot light pierced through, arcing into the sky.

The creature dropped, smoking.

He whirled, transformed the shield into a spear, and hurled it. It struck the other square in the chest, pinning it to a massive oak.

Soldiers nearby stopped firing, stunned by the red blur weaving through the battlefield—flickering through the rain, carving a path through the monsters.

But then—

A pale-white Ragnar barreled into Ozai from the side, sending him crashing through the warehouse wall. The entire structure trembled.

Inside, screams rose again. Zero said nothing—just held the crying girl tighter, sweat beading on his brow as he listened to the chaos outside.

"Shit…" Ozai groaned, clutching his head as he sat up. The pale Ragnar towered over him, its pack slinking out of the undergrowth behind it.

They inched forward. Ozai braced himself.

Then—

A sharp crack split the air.

A bolt of lightning streaked in from the trees, blasting a hole clean through the pale Ragnar's chest. It dropped instantly, smoke curling from the wound.

The others hissed and recoiled as Cooper Morgan stepped forward through the mist, holding a massive railgun humming with electricity.

He lowered it to his hip, recharging. "What the hell are you sitting there for? Get up!"

Ozai blinked, then laughed.

He jumped to his feet, rushing to Cooper's side, their backs pressing together.

The Ragnars glanced at each other, before rushing forward, surrounding them.

The soldiers joined in, firing bursts of gunfire that lit up the trees. Cooper launched crackling arcs of lightning from the railgun, electrocuting anything that came close—some beasts bloated with steam before bursting, others were reduced to ash.

On the opposite side, Ozai constructed and fired glowing red rifles like a living turret, while simultaneously conjuring spears and hurling them with lethal accuracy.

His eyes burned orange. Then—his entire body did.

He looked down at his hands, aglow with flame and stardust. "Ah… here we go."

He bolted forward, streaking through the horde like a meteor.

He leapt into the air.

Sparks of red and orange danced around him like fireflies.

"Signature move," he called out, his voice calm and resolute. "Hellraiser."

The earth glowed blood-red.

Massive spears and swords of light violently erupted from the ground, impaling every Ragnar in sight. The air thrummed with energy as the beasts hung there—silent—before dissolving into dust.

Ozai landed smoothly, his glow fading.

Around him was nothing but silence.

The weapons of light vanished. Dust scattered in the breeze.

The soldiers stared, speechless.

"Who… who are you?" Cooper finally asked.

Ozai looked back at him, a proud grin on his face. "My name is Orion. The Hunter."

The silence lingered—but then another roar tore through the night.

The same one from earlier.

Only now—closer.

Cooper's railgun fizzled. Its blue glow flickered to violet before shutting down entirely.

"What the hell?" he muttered, checking the weapon.

Inside the warehouse, the lights blinked violently—then died, shrouding the people inside in darkness.

A deep hum filled the air.

Then something stepped from the trees.

Tall. Sleek. Black as oil. Nearly the height of the warehouse.

Its body sparked with purple lightning, bolts crawling up its limbs and around its claws. It looked down at them. Slobber dripped from its jaws, hissing as it hit the earth.

Ozai stared up, eyes wide.

The creature opened its maw.

"You've got to be kidding me."