[COLD OPEN — DEEP SKYVAULT, VAN HQ RUINS]
Smoke and sparks fill the air. The once-mighty VAN HQ lies in ruin, its walls crumbling like paper. Flames crackle, screens flicker, and the shattered Vanguard symbol barely hangs above a collapsed command center. Crimsa's betrayal echoes in the silence that follows the blast.
Buried beneath rubble, Kael coughs and pushes debris off his chest. His suit flickers with burnt-out circuitry.
Kael (hoarse):
"...Anyone? Come in."
A faint buzz on his comms. Then—
Echo-7 (distorted):
"Y-Yeah—I'm… bzzt—up. Shaken but still coding."
Tari (grunting):
"I've got Kael's signal. Moving!"
Through broken stairwells, Tari limps with one arm around Veya, who holds a bleeding side. Jax bursts from another hallway, his left gauntlet shattered, sparks dancing across his chestplate.
Jax:
"She set the damn place up. Every level had charges. Even the med bay."
Irion (emerging from shadows):
"No deaths. Not yet. But that wasn't her goal."
Yuna (breathless):
"Then what was?"
Irion:
"Phase Three. Whatever Mother Null needs to be born."
[SCENE — TEMPORARY SAFEHOUSE, SKYVAULT'S WEST GRID]
The team regroups in a reinforced underground station once used for rift monitoring. Aurix oversees rapid repairs and triage, while Vanguard members get patched up and outfitted.
Multiple holographic screens buzz with activity. One, in particular, displays a live broadcast.
News Anchor (on screen):
"...This just in: a massive explosion has destroyed the upper levels of VAN HQ, the home base of the Vanguard Oath. Authorities are working to confirm casualties. So far, there's no official statement from the Vanguard team. Panic continues to rise in downtown SkyVault..."
Reporter (on-site):
"As you can see behind me, smoke continues to pour from the debris. Witnesses say the explosion came from within the structure—leading many to believe it was sabotage. Civilians are demanding answers... and reassurance."
Civilian (in background):
"If even the Vanguards aren't safe, then who is?"
Aurix (gritting teeth):
"They're scared. And they should be. Because now, we're fighting ghosts."
Echo-7:
"Public comms are spiking—rumors of betrayal, talk of imposters, even questions about whether we're still operational."
Yuna:
"She's not just targeting us. She's poisoning trust."
Kael:
"We show them we're still standing. Even if we're bleeding."
[SCENE — NEWSROOM SEGMENT — LATER THAT NIGHT]
Another news broadcast, more urgent.
Anchor:
"Authorities have confirmed the explosion at VAN HQ was not caused by an outside enemy force, but by someone with deep access. This has led many to suspect insider betrayal. Anonymous sources within the SkyVault military suggest it could be part of a larger plan involving... a rogue faction of enhanced operatives."
Panel Guest:
"This has all the markings of a sleeper agent strike. The psychological damage to public morale is incalculable."
Civilian Call-in (voice only):
"I used to believe in the Vanguard. Now I'm not sure what's real anymore."
[SCENE — TRAINING BAY, SAFEHOUSE]
Kael paces in silence while Veya bandages her own wound.
Kael:
"They're already doubting us. If we hesitate, if we disappear for too long, the city will turn."
Tari (sitting cross-legged, polishing her rifle):
"Then let's not give them the chance. Let them see us working, fighting, protecting."
Irion (quietly):
"Crimsa knows what the public believes is sometimes more dangerous than the truth. She's twisting perception."
Echo-7:
"Broadcast networks are compromised. They ran her footage as fact. Half the city thinks we bombed ourselves."
Yuna:
"Let them talk. We rebuild. We fight. We win."
[SCENE — CRIMSA'S HIDDEN LAIR, SKYVAULT SECTOR 11]
A cold, minimalistic room made of fractured alloy and mirror-smooth stone. Crimsa sits before a projection of SkyVault's blueprints—now overlaid with radiant red lines. Across the walls, flickering figures of Phase 3 pulse with encoded glyphs.
Crimsa (calmly):
"They're spiraling. Public trust dissolves faster than their foundation ever did."
A voice hums from a glowing pillar. It's soft, soothing, like silk and static.
Mother Null (off-screen):
"You gave them pain. That is the root. But now, my blossom must bloom."
Crimsa:
"I have one final seed to plant. After that, the garden is yours."
[SCENE — SKYVAULT PUBLIC SECTOR: NIGHTMARKET CHAOS]
Sudden blackouts hit the Nightmarket district. Panic surges as a strange, glitching fog rolls in, projected from drones hiding in the skyline. Civilians collapse one by one—not dead, but comatose. Dream-locked.
CIVILIAN (screaming):
"She's in my head! She's whispering!"
Another (crying):
"Everything's... unraveling. Colors. Faces... They're wrong."
From a rooftop, Veya watches the chaos and clicks her comms.
Veya:
"Crimsa's sending a message. I see Null sigils in the fog. It's not an attack—it's a conversion."
[SCENE — BACK TO SAFEHOUSE]
Kael slams a fist on the table.
Kael:
"We let her into our home. Trusted her. And now she's turning our city into a waking dream."
Yuna (looking at her vines, which wilt slightly):
"And the Rift is reacting. My neural bloom… it's unstable."
Tari (loading her sniper):
"Then we go in and cut this dream short."
Irion (quiet):
"Not yet."
Kael:
"Why not?"
Irion:
"Because she's not trying to destroy the city. She's trying to rewrite it."
[SCENE — NIGHTMARKET ROOFTOP — FINAL SHOTS]
Crimsa steps forward, arms open. Below her, civilians writhe in shared hallucinations.
Crimsa (softly):
"Let them sleep, Kael. Let them dream of a better world."
She vanishes into the mist.
Echo-7 (in comm):
"We just confirmed it... the fog is a mental construct. If she reaches the central rift chamber… she could overwrite all of SkyVault."
Kael (grim):
"Then we don't sleep. Not until she's stopped."
[TO BE CONTINUED...]