[OPENING SCENE — VAN HQ, POST-ATTACK MORNING]
The camera pans across the broken western wing of VAN HQ. Emergency bots weld sparks into damaged walls. Rain has stopped, but the sky is still heavy — as if holding its breath.
Kael, bandaged and grim, stands over the holographic map in the War Room. Beside him: Yuna, Tari, Echo-7, and Jax.
Echo-7 (projecting hologram):
"We isolated the signal Krakk used to exfil. It pulsed again — four hours ago."
Yuna:
"Still in SkyVault?"
Echo-7:
"No. Under it."
The map folds into a hidden level: forgotten industrial tunnels under the city known as The Maw — decommissioned and sealed decades ago.
Tari:
"That zone was quarantined. Vaulttech didn't want people down there."
Kael:
"Which makes it perfect for Krakk's nest."
Jax (cracking knuckles):
"Let's knock."
[SCENE — VAN TRANSPORT, NIGHTFALL]
The team rides silently in a dark transport shuttle, its interior glowing with amber HUD lights. Outside: cold wind and black fog.
Yuna (softly):
"He hit our heart. Let's not forget that."
Kael:
"We won't. But we're not here for revenge. We're here to finish what he started."
[SCENE — ENTRANCE TO THE MAW]
The team descends into the lower grid. Rusted gates creak open. The tunnels hum faintly — as if remembering sound for the first time in years.
Echo-7 (scanning walls):
"Residual heat… someone's been here. Movement signatures in Sector Delta."
Kael:
"Stay tight. No soloing."
They move as one — lights flickering, boots echoing. Something drips in the distance.
Jax:
"This place smells like dead power."
Tari:
"Even light avoids these tunnels."
[SCENE — THE TRAP]
They arrive at a wide chamber. Machinery hums in a ring, lighting up with stolen VAN tech. In the center: a crystalline core flickers.
Echo-7 (whispers):
"That's our core drive. They did steal it."
Suddenly, steel plates SLAM down behind them. Doorways collapse. Violet gas hisses into vents.
Kael:
"Scatter!"
From above — Bratz drop like insects. They're armed, masked, and upgraded.
Krakk (echoing through speakers):
"Welcome to the gutter, Vanguards. Where the light don't shine. Hope you brought coffins."
[FULL BATTLE SEQUENCE — TRAPPED IN THE MAW]
Kael takes point, his plasma blade flaring like a comet in the dark. He cuts through two Bratz, his fire flaring from the pain of betrayal.
Tari uses short-range burst shots, summoning sigils to deflect bullets. One Brat gets too close — she teleports mid-breath and reappears behind him, placing a bolt straight through his armor.
Jax roars, unleashing sonic waves that shake the rust from the ceiling. He's surrounded — and laughing.
Jax:
"Surround me more, please!"
Yuna creates a protective bloom barrier around Echo-7, vines wrapping like muscle. She sends thorns piercing into gas vents, dispersing the poison.
Yuna (strained):
"They're trying to disorient us. Don't let it break you."
Echo-7, though glitching from interference, reroutes the Bratz tech with his own systems — hijacking turrets and turning them against their masters.
Echo-7:
"Bratz firmware: 3/10. Would not recommend."
[SCENE — ENEMY TURNING POINT]
A sudden quake ripples the room. The walls breathe. The ceiling groans.
Kael:
"That's not Krakk."
The core in the center fractures — releasing a pulse of Null energy. A strange shimmer passes through the room. The Bratz scream — some of them crystallize and shatter. Others vanish.
Krakk (distant, furious):
"You idiots! You activated it—"
From the core: a humanoid shape begins to form. White eyes. Skin like void-marble.
Yuna (terrified):
"What… what is that?"
Kael (gritting teeth):
"Not Bratz. Not human."
Echo-7 (flatly):
"Nullborn signature confirmed."
[ESCAPE SEQUENCE BEGINS]
The Maw begins collapsing. Krakk flees into deeper tunnels. The Nullborn figure says nothing — just watches.
The team runs. Vines and plasma shield them. Tari marks a path using starlight. Echo-7 disrupts the traps as they flee.
They barely make it out. The Maw entrance seals behind them with a sonic slam.
[SCENE — VAN HQ, MEDBAY]
Everyone's bruised. The team sits in silence. Even Jax is quiet.
Kael:
"We were never supposed to win that fight."
Yuna:
"We walked into it blind."
Echo-7:
"And woke up something worse."
Tari:
"What was that thing?"
Kael (looking at the skyline):
"Our next war."
[FINAL SCENE — KRAKK'S NEW LAIR]
Krakk throws a Brat through a wall. He's raging.
Krakk:
"She wasn't supposed to wake up. Not yet."
He stares at a glowing shard — shaped like a fang.
Krakk (growling):
"Nullborn's rising. If the Vanguards don't die soon… none of us will matter."
[TO BE CONTINUED]