Lightning crackled through the air like angry snakes, making Angelo's hair stand on end. The enemy Auron's power lit up the night around them, his anger turning the electricity wild and dangerous.

  "Enough playing around," the lightning Auron snarled, sparks dancing between his fingers like tiny fireworks. "Time to send you to whatever god you pray to, Luminian dog!" His voice boomed like thunder across the square.

  Just then, Red appeared behind the massive Force Auron like a ghost materializing from thin air. With perfect timing, he delivered a kick right to the man's backside. Even with all his muscles, the Force Auron stumbled forward, his face a perfect picture of surprise and outrage. Red jumped away quickly, landing next to Blue on a nearby roof with the grace of a gymnast.

  "Hey there, big guy!" Red called down, his trademark troublemaker's grin spreading across his face. "Nice muscles! Trying to make up for something? Maybe a little empty up here?" He tapped his own temple mockingly.

  The Force Auron's face turned an alarming shade of purple, a vein popping out on his forehead like a angry worm. His aura flared around him in waves of deep violet energy. "You miserable little bug," he growled through clenched teeth. "What kind of freak show reject are you supposed to be?"

  Red's laughter rang out across the square, echoing off the buildings like bells. "Aww, did I hurt the big bad Auron's feelings?" He pressed his hands to his cheeks in mock concern. "Don't strain yourself trying to think up a comeback, buddy. We wouldn't want you to pull anything important... if there's anything important left to pull!"

  His eyes sparkled with pure mischief as he added, "You know, with that purple face and those bulging muscles, you're looking more and more like an angry bunch of grapes. What's wrong, Grape Ape? Feeling a little pressed?"

  The Force Auron's muscles bulged even larger, if that was possible, his face twisting with rage. "I'll squash you like the bug you are!" The words exploded from him like a volcano erupting.

  Red's grin only grew wider, like a kid who'd just found the perfect way to annoy his older sibling. "Ooh, hit a nerve, did I? Don't get your stems in a twist! Come on, you overgrown fruit basket – let's see if you can catch me!"

  The Force Auron launched himself upward with so much power that the ground cracked beneath his feet. Red and Blue moved like dancers, using their energy ropes to swing from building to building. The glowing tendrils looked like streams of smoke as they carried the two brothers safely away from their pursuer's massive fists.

  "That's right, you oversized turnip!" Red's voice floated back, dripping with satisfaction. "Follow the bouncing smartass! Bet you can't catch me!"

  "Red, maybe antagonizing him more isn't the best—" Blue tried to reason with his fiery aspect, but had to duck as a chunk of building went flying past his head.

  "When I get my hands on you little rats," the Force Auron roared loud enough to rattle windows, "you'll be begging for death!"

  While Red and Blue led their angry pursuer on a wild chase across the rooftops, the battle in the square reached its peak. The lightning Auron watched his partner disappear into the maze of buildings, muttering under his breath.

  "That hot-headed idiot," he grumbled, but before he could turn back to his own fight, Angelo appeared in front of him like magic. His fist connected with the lightning Auron's stomach so hard that the man went flying backward, leaving a deep trench in the ground where he skidded to a stop.

  Angelo jumped high into the air, ready to strike again, but the female wind Auron had other plans. She sent a blast of wind that caught him mid-jump, sending him tumbling through the air like a leaf caught in a storm.

  "Ah ah ah," she scolded playfully, wagging her finger like a teacher catching a student misbehaving. "Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to ignore a lady? I'm not done playing with you yet, handsome." Her voice carried a dangerous edge beneath its sweetness.

  Angelo twisted in the air, using his orange energy to right himself. He landed in a crouch so powerful it cracked the ground beneath him. His eyes, glowing like embers, locked onto the wind Auron with laser focus.

  Her smile grew wider, reminding Angelo of a cat who'd cornered a mouse. "Ooh, I just love those scary faces you make," she giggled, the sound sending chills down his spine. "Come on, sugar, don't disappoint me now. Show me what the big, bad 'Angel of Death' can really do!"

  Without warning, she attacked. Though her wind blades were invisible to normal eyes, Angelo's special energy vision let him see them coming like waves of distorted air. Each one could cut through steel, but he moved between them like a dancer avoiding raindrops.

  "That all you've got?" he called out, not even breathing hard. "I've felt stronger wind from a desk fan!"

  Her playful mask cracked for just a second, real anger flashing in her eyes. "Oh, honey," she purred, her voice dropping dangerously low, "I'm just getting started!"

  Meanwhile, the lightning Auron had pulled himself up, electricity dancing across his body like a living lightning storm. His face twisted with rage and wounded pride as he charged at Angelo.

  "You cocky little brat!" he snarled, sparks flying from his mouth with each word. "I'll fry every nerve in your body!"

  Just before he could reach Angelo, Jack stepped between them. His arms were covered in rock gauntlets that he'd formed from the ground itself. When the lightning Auron grabbed his hands, electricity crackled in the air between them like miniature lightning bolts trying to eat through Jack's stone armor.

  "Not happening, spark plug," Jack growled through gritted teeth, holding his ground despite the strain showing on his face.

  They broke apart, trading punches and kicks in a deadly dance. Jack was careful never to touch the electricity directly as it sparked around his opponent's fists like a crackling shield.

  "You think a little pebble like you can stop me?" The lightning Auron threw his head back and laughed, his eyes wild with battle-joy. "I'll grind you down to sand!"

  Angelo weaved between the wind Auron's attacks like a runner dodging raindrops. Each step brought him closer, his feet barely touching the ground as he moved in a zigzag pattern. At the last moment, he faked going left – and when she took the bait, he dropped down and swept her legs out from under her with a kick that whistled through the air.

  She started to fall, surprise flashing across her face. But even as she went down, she wasn't finished. With a twist of her hands, she sent out one last blast of wind that hit like an invisible wall. The force sent them both flying apart like magnets repelling each other.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Angelo crashed through what was left of a market stall, wooden planks splintering around him like matchsticks. His training kicked in as he rolled with the impact, coming up to his feet in one smooth motion. But his heart dropped when he found himself staring right into the lightning Auron's face rushing straight towards him. Somehow, the man had finally broken past Jack's rocky defenses.

  "Playtime's over," the lightning Auron growled. The air around him crackled and sparked like a live wire, making Angelo's skin tingle from several feet away. "Time to finish this!"

  Electricity gathered around the man's feet as he ran faster and faster, building up speed like a storm gaining strength. Then he leaped into the air, leg extended and wrapped in lightning as he shouted, "Thunder Crash!"

  Angelo's muscles locked up – he was caught completely off guard, with no time to dodge. Everything seemed to slow down, like time itself was stretching on forever. He could feel every hair on his arms standing straight up, could smell that sharp, clean scent that comes right before a lightning strike. His mind raced: This is it. This is where it ends.

  But then movement caught his eye – a familiar shape jumping out from behind some rubble. Bill's young face was set with determination as he thrust both hands forward. The wind that erupted from his palms was like a miniature hurricane, catching Angelo broadside and shoving him clear just as the lightning Auron's attack screamed past.

  The lightning-wrapped kick missed Angelo by inches – so close he could feel the electricity making his teeth buzz. Instead, it slammed into a nearby building with the force of a bomb going off. Chunks of concrete rained down around them like deadly hail.

  Angelo hit the ground rolling, the impact jarring every bone in his body. When he looked up, he saw Bill standing there breathing hard, like he'd just run a marathon. The rookie's face was a perfect mix of "I can't believe I just did that" fear and "Did you see what I just did?" pride.

  "Nice save there, rookie," Angelo said, managing a small smile despite everything.

  Bill's answering grin was shaky but real. "Just following orders, sir."

  Red's smoky form came rushing back like a crimson fog, melting back into Angelo's body. His frustrated voice echoed in their shared mind: "Man, if I could just move faster in that smoke form, we wouldn't need saving from the kid!" The words carried both annoyance and reluctant gratitude.

  But they didn't have long to celebrate. The lightning Auron pulled himself from the crater he made and roared with rage, his power exploding around him like a lightning storm packed into human form. The electricity dancing around his body grew bigger and wilder with each passing second.

  "ENOUGH!" he screamed, his voice hardly sounding human anymore. "I'll burn this whole square to ash – and all of you with it!"

  Angelo's special vision let him see the enemy's power building up like a pressure cooker about to blow. It was more raw energy than he'd ever seen one person hold – like trying to contain a power plant's worth of electricity in a human body.

  "He's really going to do it," Angelo muttered, his mind racing for a way out. "He's going all out."

  Suddenly Red's voice cut through his thoughts, excited and urgent: "Angelo! I've got it! We need to hit him with everything we've got, right now!"

  "Are you crazy?" Angelo thought back, even as his body started gathering energy like muscle memory. "Remember what Albert said? My power's always at half strength – we can't match a regular Auron's power, let alone this guy!"

  He could practically feel Red's wild grin in his mind as his other self answered: "Listen, he's tough but he's no elite! Together we're at 75% power – that should be enough to at least slow him down. We don't have time to argue about this!"

  Angelo could feel the desperate excitement in Red's thoughts, and looking at the lightning Auron's growing power, he knew they were out of options. "Fine, let's do it," he decided. "But if we die, I'm going to kill you."

  "That's the spirit!" Red's laugh rang through crackling air as he materialized next to him, shifting into position.

  They moved as one, each stretching an arm behind them like drawing back a bow. Energy gathered in their palms – Red's a deep crimson, Angelo's a bright orange – growing and swirling together like paint mixing in water. The combined power was so intense it made the air ripple and bend around them, like looking through hot air rising from summer pavement.

  The lightning Auron saw them gathering power and threw his head back laughing – but there was something wrong about the sound, something that didn't quite sound sane anymore. "You really think you can match MY power?" His voice barely carried over the crackling electricity that filled the air like angry static. "ENOUGH OF THIS! DIE, YOU INSECTS!"

  He thrust both hands forward like he was pushing open a heavy door. All that built-up electricity rushed to a single point in front of his palms. The sound hit like a thunderclap right next to your ear, and a beam of pure lightning shot toward Angelo and Red. It was so bright that night turned to day, casting harsh shadows behind everything in the square.

  Angelo and Red moved together like they'd practiced this a thousand times, bringing their hands forward as one. "You want to see real power?" Their voices mixed together into something bigger, stronger, making the ground shake beneath their feet. "THEN TAKE THIS!"

  Their swirling ball of orange and red energy followed their hands like it was attached by invisible strings, exploding outward into a beam that crashed head-on into the lightning. When the two attacks met, it was like someone had set off a bomb made of pure light. Energy and lightning danced across the ruined square like nature's own fireworks show. Every window for blocks shattered at once, and the air itself felt thick and heavy with power.

  Angelo's feet dug deep tracks in the ground as the force pushed him back. Sweat ran down his face as his arms shook with effort. "This isn't working!" he growled through clenched teeth. "What's your brilliant plan now, genius?"

  Red's answer came way too calm for comfort: "Now I'm letting go, and you're going to hold him off by yourself for a second."

  "WHAT?" Angelo's eyes went wide with disbelief. "Have you completely lost it? We can barely hold him back together! How am I supposed to do this alone?"

  "Just trust me on this one!" Red's excitement made him sound like a kid with a secret. "Push harder! Ready... Now!"

  Before Angelo could argue more, Red's presence vanished like smoke in the wind, flowing back into Angelo's body. The full force of the lightning beam slammed into him like a truck, shoving him back even further. His feet carved deep trenches in the ground as he fought to hold his position, watching the edge of that deadly lightning creep closer and closer.

  "Is this really how it ends?" The thought flashed through Angelo's mind as his arms trembled from the strain of keeping his energy wave going.

  But Red had one last trick up his sleeve. His smoky form poured out of Angelo's back like red mist, completely hidden from the distracted Infernians. He streaked toward the lightning Auron like a shooting star, turning solid at the last second to wrap around their enemy like a monkey grabbing a tree.

  The effect was instant – with his concentration broken, the lightning Auron's attack weakened enough for Angelo to push back. Their enemy thrashed like a wild animal, trying to shake Red off while keeping his lightning beam going, but he couldn't manage both at once.

  "Get off me, you son of a bitch!" he roared. Lightning sparked wildly around him like a broken power line, dangerous and out of control.

  Red's laugh was pure joy with just a hint of crazy. "Oh, calling me a dog, are you?" His grin turned wicked. "Well then," Without warning, he sank his teeth into the Auron's ear like a puppy with a new chew toy.

  The lightning Auron's scream of pain and rage echoed off the buildings. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He tried desperately to reach back and grab Red, his lightning attack wobbling dangerously as his focus split.

  Angelo saw his chance and knew he had to take it. With a battle cry that tore at his throat, he gathered every bit of power he had left – everything he could scrape together – and poured it into his energy wave. The beam surged forward like water breaking through a dam, growing bigger and brighter as it pushed through the lightning.

  The last thing Angelo saw before impact was the lightning Auron's eyes going wide with fear as he finally realized what was about to happen. Then the energy wave hit like a tsunami, wrapping both Red and their enemy in an explosion that shook the very ground.

  When the dust finally settled, Angelo dropped to one knee, gasping for air like he'd just run ten marathons back to back. Through eyes that didn't want to focus, he saw the lightning Auron sprawled unconscious in the rubble, his ear a bloody mess where Red had chomped down. Red's physical form had popped like a balloon in the blast, his essence streaming back to Angelo like red fog coming home.

  Nearby, Jack stood over the fallen wind Auron, his rock-covered fists stained dark. The grim satisfaction on his face said everything about how that fight had ended.

  But this wasn't over – not by a long shot...