Episode 21: No Rest for the Virtuous
The skies above Hekseville were no longer serene. Smoke curled into the heavens, black plumes twisting into the clouds like ink dropped in water. Alarm and distant screams echoed through the scyscrapers and brownstone buildings of Vendecentre as chaos grew in all directions. The once-bustling heart of the city now teetered on the edge of devastation.
Above it all loomed the Sea Anemone—a colossal, nightmarish sphere of metal and circuitry, suspended in the air. Once hailed as the military’s crowning achievement, the superweapon had gone rogue. Its core pulsed with a sickly red light, and its red outer plating hummed with unstable Nevi energy. Without warning, it unleashed a barrage of missiles, each one flying through the air before detonating against rooftops and walkways in fiery eruptions.
People scattered in terror below, their cries nearly drowned out by the thunder of explosions. Buildings groaned under the strain, and glass rained down like glittering shards from the heavens. Amidst the debris and rising panic, you stood frozen—unsure whether to run, fight, or simply survive.
Yunica, the military soldier who seemed more machine than human; even her heart wasn’t human, flew in and attacked the Anemone with a sharp jab from her prosthetic arm that transformed into a sharp lance, before changing it again to a cannon—firing energy at the Sea Anemone. To which it barely left a dent in it.
Then, in a sudden gust of spiraling wind and shimmering crimson light, she arrived.
Kat, and her cat — Dusty.
Her descent was like a comet, slow at first, then resolute—gravity bending around her form as she touched down on a raised platform nearby. Her long black scarf fluttered behind her like a battle flag. Dusty, the mysterious black cat that gave her power, padded closely at her heels, tail flicking in agitation. Gravity shimmered faintly around her high-heels, a gentle distortion in the air that hinted at the impossible forces she commanded.
Kat’s wide, red eyes swept the destruction in disbelief. Her fists clenched as the latest missile struck a nearby building, shaking the ground beneath you both.
“What is the Sea Anemone doing? Why is the military’s superweapon destroying the city?!” she shouted, voice cracking with panic and confusion. Her brow furrowed, lips parted as she tried to make sense of it, but no answers came—only more explosions.
She turned to you, urgency written across her face.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but if we don’t stop it soon, Hekseville will be lost forever!”
As more missiles lit up the horizon, Kat’s gravity aura intensified, the crimson field rippling with rising power. Dusty gave a low growl, ears pinned back as if sensing something even darker ahead.
Yunica hovered nearby, blasting energy at him with rapid and calculated precision. She requested stingers from weapons control; a few small drones circled around her, and taking the brunt of damage for her.
Kat took a breath, steadying herself.
“We need to stop it! Let’s try to hurt it to get to the core..”
She floated inches above the ground now, eyes locked on the monstrous shape in the sky. She hesitated for just a second, her brows shifting into doubt. Dusty meowed at her, his tail curling against her ankle for a second as a reminder of why she’s doing this. Kat nodded and gave a confident smile, she leaped off the roof—gravity energy surging throughout her body as she hurled towards the Sea Anemone heel-first!