MTF Omega-7 was briskly jogging down a hallway towards the facility entry hall. Normally, such a group charging headlong in such a direction would end in a lot of bullets and electric nets flying their way. However, most staff were distracted by the active threat only a short way away. The few staff guards who held them up quickly turned towards other priority at the waving of a credential card by Crow at the font of the pack. Clearly, whatever was wreaking Hell upon the facility was a heavy hitter and pissed off. The ground every few moments would rumble as though a meteor had impacted the Earth. Dust shook from the ceiling, mounted ceiling lights swaying. An intercom was blaring throughout, the warning being broadcast repeated often enough to turn into a drone on the ears. Eventually, the lights were dimmed to save on power in the event of an outage, with only just enough to see down hallways, and red emergency lights flashing as a warning.

Crow was relaying any new information that came over the pager to the team as they ran to meet the threat.

"Ok, currently, the security breach is located in the Entryway Atrium. This is a low-risk to medium-risk facility with a public front as a prison, so the lobby is primarily decorative. There's a large room with two floors of balconies overlooking the ground floor. Inside the lobby is a singular anomalous entity. No other assailants have been reported. They're saying the entity has a tendency to throw its body weight around to attack in addition to some sort of energy shot. Contact with this energy is extremely hazardous."

Iris responded with calm breath "So, why can't we seal off the lobby and lock it in until we find a way to take care of it properly? Why risk fighting it?"

"Unfortunately, we attempted to close the hidden blast doors to the outside door and it tore right through them. The interior ones are thicker but we don't know the full limits of its abilities yet. And aside from that, it's not trying to get in deeper yet. It's targeting personnel and property. And most importantly, if it pounds the floor with enough force, it could threaten structural integrity over the Euclid section."

"Alright, can you find more information on those energy attacks? I'd rather not go in blind."

"They're saying it damaged the actual power infrastructure in that zone so most of the equipment we'd use to gather information is down and can't be brought up by emergency generators. There's currently about two dozen guards in the room engaging with it, but they might be too busy to respond. I'll try though."

"The power infrastructure is damaged? Do we have to worry about live wires?"

"No, the standard protocol in the event of a natural disaster that effects utilities is to isolate damaged sections, and the same procedure would apply here. Water, power, and gas are all shut off to the damaged section."

Iris turned around to begin commanding the team

"Crow, Cain, you two stay just outside of the scene and try to record whatever information you can. I don't want anyone getting caught up in this who won't fight. Daniel, as soon as we're in, I need you to pick up a firearm. I'll tear down some concrete to get you up to a balcony. You'll be distracting fire, bullets are clearly ineffectual. Have a makeshift knife ready in case it gets close. Han, you'll need to assess once you're in there how effective you can be. Try to be an annoyance on top of it if possible, but disengage if there's too much risk. Alexei, Vessel I need you two to be front and center. Grab whatever guns or blunt weapons you can scrounge on short notice and try to get some damage in. I'm going to hang slightly back and fling rubble at it, that'll likely do the most, so just make sure I get a good line of sight on it."

Alexei shot back "Why do you want us to charge it? It would be safer to shoot from cover!"

"Shooting from cover is standard procedure and its getting the guards ripped to pieces as of right now! It's not thinking rationally so we need to get it mentally off kilter if we want the best chance to come out intact!"

"That is moronic, but, fine, fine."

The rest of the group nodded and remarked their ascension as they continued to the fight. They had to be getting close, the rumbling was beginning to feel more like an earthquake with every moment. The lights were now completely shut off, with only the red emergency lights casting a blood red glow over the halls, powered internally. The air conditioning which kept the facility at a constant cool temperature was no longer functioning, the ducts in the ceiling quiet save for the echoed thunder coming from the lobby. Dust was now beginning to choke the air, as well as the acrid scent of smoke. Eventually, they came to an enormous set of steel blast doors, the true doors to the facility from outside. They were sealed shut to prevent the invading force from accessing further, but the whole structure was knocked off of its mechanical rails. It was free standing, more like a wall than a door at this point. Gunfire and the sounds of battle filtered through steel.

Crow, being familiar with the standard layout of sites reached the blast doors first. Once there, he shook some dust off of his suit and began to communicate the situation,

"Alright, we've reached the blast doors between the lobby and the rest of the facility. Just beyond is whatever threat is currently assaulting the facility."

As if on cue, a thunderous explosion rocked the hallway from beyond the door, and small cracks began to form where the door was resting on the wall. Everyone quickly steadied their balance as the floor shook for a moment beneath them.

"We are currently on high alert, I'm handing the reigns over to you Iris, show me what your team can do."

She walked forward to the front of the group and turned to face them, analytical eyes glaring up and down at everyone assembled in front of her.

"Alright, we've got a situation right before us. We've never worked together, and all of you are untested. I'll handle most of the heavy lifting, you all focus on staying alive. Remember your roles. If you stick to the plan, you'll have a good chance of making it. Cain, on second thought, I want you in the hot zone even if you don't fight."

Previously content with others taking the show, Cain hastily responded, "Wait, what, why?"

"I don't have to worry about you getting yourself killed, and you being able to directly observe this threat will undoubtedly improve your ability to analyze the situation. Just be able to relay information to Crow."

"Alright, got it. New plan's been noted."

"Alright, give me my camera, Cain."

Cain moved to open the briefcase. A loud explosion rocked the floor again, followed up by three thuds against the door. Every eye shot towards the doors as they shifted ever so slightly, then back towards Cain as he fumbled around a waistbelt.

Han called from atop the crown between Vessel's horns, "You good? It would seem that you're in a jam."

Others in the group began to get impatient, the threat was so close and now they were taking their sweet time as people died.

"Look, the key got bent in the lock, I can't move it, just give me a moment to get it back into-"

Alexei snatched the case from his hands, an audible hiss emanating from him as he accidentally pressed Cain's knuckles the wrong way for a moment. He declared to him, "We do not have time to waste."

He promptly placed the case on the ground, raised his leg, and stomped hard on the padlock on the front. It gave under his force and springs and the lock's pins flew out as the twisted metal was pried off. He pulled out a polaroid camera and gingerly handed it over to Iris. She breathed heavily and snapped a picture of the doors, the flash briefly illuminating the dim room. After a second, a mechanical whirring churned out a picture. Another second passed as the crowd was beginning to get even more anxious. She pulled the picture in front of her, judging it. After it was exposed enough, she held it straight up.

"Everyone, please stand away from the doors."

After the crowd moved an acceptable distance away from the groaning steel, she breathed deeply once more. Then, she plunged her hand into the photograph.

Instead of punching through the paper, an enormous, disembodied hand appeared in an instant, cut off at the wrist. It folded the wring finger, pinky, and thumb back to form a three-digit grip and pushing the steel to the side. A cloud of fire-extinguishing gas and smoke rolled forward, fully obscuring the room ahead. Iris was beginning to pour sweat as her arms shook. She shouted, "GO! Get in there now! Remember your positions!"

The crowd ran in rank-in-file as they charged forward to meet the threat. As soon as everyone except Crow was in, she pressed hard and pushed the steel monoliths forward so that they rested on the walls just outside the door from where she stood. She pulled her hand out of the photograph, and the remains of the doors fell towards the middle of the room, colliding at their peaks and forming a tunnel beneath them. Iris began to bolt down her makeshift cover. Eerie silence was left as even the emergency sirens lost power, broken only by a single uttering from Crow.

"Godspeed."

The crowd charged in, the smoke and gas parting with their movement. Gunfire still popped from around pillars, makeshift furniture cover, and balconies, but there were not two dozen guards anymore. Three bodies were slumped against the tracks where the steel doors once stood, rust red trails leading to varying heights above them. A few bodies were twisted into unnatural positions and littered around the floor. A couple especially unfortunate ones had their body armor burned away revealing scorched flesh beneath. The skin on the chest cracked apart on the surface as they still breathed ragged air. A chandelier hung by only a wire above the center of the room, cheap crystal taking the light from smoldering fires around the room and reflecting it like a disco. They had entered a small hallway with the blast doors behind them which opened out into a semi-circle room with a balcony. The room was once clean and orderly, but conflict had destroyed any semblance of civilization. Despite the magnitude of visual information to take up in the room, every eye from the newly formed MTF was trained on one thing and one thing only.

In the center of the room, an enormous entity rotated around to greet the new entertainment. If it were to be described in a single adjective, it would be "inflated". Its form was round as though it had swallowed a globe. Vestigial limbs hung limply below it, their purpose long ago exhausted as it floated through the air. An immense heat emanated from around it, but not the entity itself. It was as if a hot air balloon had landed and began killing. The waves of heat fluttered the ornate but tattered cape clasped around it, pocked by bullet holes and apparent slash marks.

But most of all, inflated described the immense ego it practically exuded in its every mannerism. From the obvious way it held itself physically higher than those that it had smothered merely moments before with care, to the subtle gesture in its eyes lowering down upon those surrounding him.

Each party sized the other up until two pairs of eyes matched. The Vessel and The Soul Tyrant locked eyes. The Vessel in their limited capacity flashed anger and hatred over their face and pulled their pure nail from their chest, drawing a moment of disbelief from some of those around them. The Soul Tyrant felt recognition, but it was distant. They knew this strange creature, and it obviously knew him, but when he tried to place them, it seemed distant and unimportant. And if his mind deemed something unimportant, then it must be so. He heaved a great breath and rolled his eyes, before speaking.

"And this gathering, I presume, are the reinforcements. You are certainly a bizarre lot, I would certainly hope that you all can do combat better than these frail and stupid jesters that responded first. I would certainly detest to become bored while-"

He was cut off by a strange thing bouncing up and down on the familiar being's head. It looked like a sliced off claw of flesh, and it moved a few digits to shout up at him. Every word escaped his understanding. As it presumably made a joke, judging what he could from its tone, The Soul Tyrant could practically feel the pressure of his hemolymph rising within their ducts. His eyes narrowed like a beast from Deepnest as his temper flared violently. They were far beneath his noble station, and yet they dared speak over him, and with such casual tone in gibberish speech. It was too much for his temperament to bear, and he released a savage roar.

Han made a gulping sound and nervously wondered, "Note to self. Do not ask strange people about playing soccer as the ball."

At the end of the roar, the entity before them teleported a few feet above itself, relocating and startling all but one. The team kicked into action, this is what they were here for. The entity summoned an array of six balls of white and yellow energy orbiting around it. Whispers from nowhere began to fill the room, their speech undecipherable. Alexei and Vessel charged forward, Han riding on Alexei's shoulder now. Alexei reached down while running forward to meet the entity and pulled up a burned-out couch, holding it forward over him and the two teammates like a shield. Several blasts of energy impacted the front of it, the scent of smoke in the area becoming stronger. Vessel channeled their strength once more into the blade they carried, and upon meeting The Soul Tyrant they had already slain twice before, unleashed a Great Slash. Unfortunately, the entity dodged backward in the air and they fell short, choosing to dash forward and reassess from just past the entity. Alexei guided Han onto the couch before heaving the couch with all his might at the entity. It collapsed into splinters and fabric remnants, and a shout of pain and a teleport indicating that it hit its mark. Han waved from the entity's shoulder, having teleported with it, revealing that the true purpose of the throw was reached.

While the three fighters were doing battle with the entity in the atrium of the lobby, Iris had reaffirmed the camera and quickly took another photo of the room. Due to the room's shape, she would only be able to interact with half the room at any given time. Enough to form a makeshift stairway from some rubble, but not quite enough to get full coverage of the battle. After the photo was exposed enough, she held it aloft in perspective with where it was taken. She reached through the veil and summoned forth the disembodied hand. She grabbed hold of the cracked stone balcony using the hand and sheared off one of the prefab slabs, creating a steep but manageable ramp up to the second floor. Cactusman began to clamber up with unsure footing, grabbing a rifle from one of the corpses that was slumped over the doors' rails.

With her first objective complete, she turned towards the entity. It really was weird looking, like a cross between a balloon and a beetle. Whatever, what exactly it is was for the eggheads to find out later. Right now, she needed to get to work. Scanning the environment, she made a quick measurement of environment. Alexei was continually lifting up new pieces of damaged furniture to use as shields against the entity body slamming him and Vessel. Vessel was counter attacking with extreme vigor, dashing in and out with deep gashes. Han was exceedingly ineffective as the entity was not using its limbs to attack and seemed to just ignore them. Cactusman was not shooting, as Cain had climbed up just behind him and was showing him how to fire the rifle without messing up his shoulder. There were four guards who were continuing to shoot at the entity from around cover. Thankfully, the balcony opposite of Cain and Cactusman was completely empty, only populated by corpses. No one was sheltering beneath it either. She prepared a second photo.

"Stand clear! Han, get off!"

The disembodied hand grabbed around the edge of the balcony and twisted it in the palm of its hand, the already compromised concrete crumbling like chunks of dry clay. A pile of rubble was left, a magazine of small boulders. Forcing her hand through the veil, the hand pulled up a boulder between the thumb and middle finger, flicking it at the entity floating high enough to be just out of reach of the front and center brawlers. Though the hand carried and flung it with ease, the massive chunk of stone collided with the entity midair and slammed it into the outer wall, plowing through it into the storm outside. A flash of light trailed forward, and the entity was back, glowering with anger but seeming to float with a limp, if such a thing was possible. Its ire turned towards the hand, and Iris retracted it before it could attack it. Its attention returned to the three fighters on the ground in front of it as the green one that looked most like the Bugs from Hallownest, though still very different, threw a heavy punch at him. Being distracted for merely a moment ensured that the blow connected and staggered him back for a split second. The Soul Tyrant would have to calm his mind and strategize, the assailants had played their hands. The smallest one was a nonthreat, as were the feeble things which threw small metals shards at him, but the one who could wield magic from the back was too covered to be struck at. They would throw objects at him, and they would do serious harm to his health. But they would not dare throw if their compatriots were in line with him, and despite stinging with pain, the blows and slashes of the ones who had charged him head on were simply not comparable. Eventually he would have to evacuate from their attacks, but he should be able to kill them before that point. So, the plan was to rush the main two on the ground and then rip the one hiding in the rear to shreds.

The Vessel was having a hard time fighting the Soul Tyrant. Before, they had been in the open arena of the Dream Realm. Now, they were in a tight and active environment. Their partner for the fight, Alexei, had a habit of picking up heavy objects and hefting them at the Tyrant. He had attempted to use one of those metal tube weapons but something about it wouldn't let him shoot and he had to resort to other methods. All of that, and the Vessel still had no Soul to use spells. They had no idea how the Tyrant was able to, he should have been empty of Soul as well. But, that was something to deal with after the fight was over. They just had to focus on not getting killed now.

Alexei was getting irritated at the fight. He was having a difficult time landing his blows. The bug thing kept floating just out of reach, and whenever he got too close it would teleport back and away. The best he could do to hurt it was to throw things at it. There were so many more effective methods at combat than that, but every gun on the ground was either empty of bullets or only had a small handful left, and he couldn't reload it with the entity bearing down on him. Vessel would not be able to cover him, especially as it began to focus upon them. Even if the bug thing was an annoying opponent, he did feel catharsis whenever it slipped up and overextended briefly, allowing him a chance to unleash his rage upon it.

Iris was getting concerned with the way the fight was going. One of the first rules of anomalous combat was to always be able to adapt to changing situations, and evidently this entity had that one down. It was flying low and as such was out of her range for boulders. It was refusing to fly high after she knocked it out of the building. She could throw low, but she'd risk jeopardizing the mission by injuring her teammates. She had no safe way to attack the entity. Han was unable to do anything to harass the entity and them hanging onto it was just a liability. She had no clue where they went, either. And on top of all that, Daniel was still being shown how to use his rifle by Cain.

She called up, "What the Hell is taking so long? There's a battle going on!"

A reply shouted back in exasperation, "I'm sorry! I've never used a gun! I've only seen them in movies and I'm telling you they make it look way easier than it is!"

A ball of energy flew by and singed the concrete mere inches from her face. She pulled herself further behind the pillar she had covered behind.

"Quickly, what's the hold up?"

"I fired a few shots, but I can't figure out how to get it to shoot more! I got the old clip out but the new one won't shoot!"

A shout came from one of the guards as he was body slammed by the entity and his legs were shattered, collapsing next to the weakened balcony. He crawled underneath a coffee table to shelter.

"Cain couldn't show you how to reload? Make sure the magazine is all the way in and seated, then on the left hand side you should see a small handle along a rail. Pull that back all the way, you should hear a click. Then you should be set."

For a moment, no sound came from Cactusman until several loud reports rang out followed by a shout of joy, indicating that he figured out the reload. Not long after, Cain slid down the balcony onto the first floor with her, bumping into a trash can which had been knocked over in the fray. One problem down, now Iris could focus back on the primary issue. She needed a way to force the entity up so she could hammer on it. She wasn't entirely sure what to do, it had been ages since she was in a combat situation, and she was rusty.

"Alright, Cain. Do you recognize the entity?"

"No, the Foundation's never seen it before. What do you want to do here?"

In a very hurried tone, "I'm trying to make sure all of us walk away in one piece, but I can't confirm the status of Han, the guards are dropping like flies, Vessel and Alexei are holding their own for now but won't be able to under the onslaught forever. I put Daniel up there because I wasn't sure what he could do in a fight and I wanted him safe, judging by how it's going, I want him to stay up there. Now, the problem is that I'm currently the only one who can do any real damage and the entity knows that. It's currently pushing hard on our teammates while using them as body shields so I can't attack it. We need a way to force it upwards so I can rain Hell on it."

"I might have an idea. I'm going to try to find a first aid kit. Over on that table I saw an ash tray. See if you can get a lighter there."

"What are you trying to do?"

"We have no time, just go!"

They each rushed to different sides of the room, Iris reluctantly. Cain overturned a chair behind the administrative desk and saw a medical kit. He opened it up, hoping that it was stocked recently. Thankfully, it was, and lo and behold, he found what he was looking for: a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Right next to it was a clean rag. He ran back. Iris made it to the table that Cain had indicated. The ash tray was used recently, the remnants of old cigarettes staining her hands and sleeves, but no lighter. Looking around, she saw someone in civilian clothing slumped over on the couch, their eyes rolled back into their head and a cigar still hanging on their lip. One of the two remaining guards caught an energy blast to the face and went down screaming before going limp. Her attention turned to the entity, who was still trolling around the center of the room. It had gotten several hits in on the team. Alexei was slowing down, presumably from exhaustion. He did not throw his shield this time, holding it up until it was eroded away in his hands. Vessel looked even worse for wear; their head looked almost cracked as something that looked like smoke evaporated off of them into the air. They were fully on the defensive now, not even trying to attack, solely defending themselves. With urgency and desperation, she jumped on the corpse and searched its pockets until she found a lighter. One flick proved it still had fuel. She ran back towards the back of the room where she met up with Cain.

Wordlessly thanking her as he took the lighter and pocketed it. He set a bottle on the ground and began to dumpster dive in a trash can that was lying on the floor near their feet. Iris's eyes flicked between her teammates and Cain who was throwing random pieces of trash out behind him.

"Cain, you need to hurry up, now!"

"I've got it!"

Cain stepped out onto the floor, a glass bottle in hand. He took the bottle from the ground a transferred the liquid into, filling it up to the neck of the bottle. He stuffed a rag down the neck and turned the concoction upside down until the scent of alcohol fumes filled the air around them.

"Tell them to get out of the way and group up with us. We want a clear line of sight once you can fire at it."

Filling her chest with a deep breath, Iris commanded loudly, "Everyone! FALL BACK!"

Alexei turned his head to acknowledge the command, then held his arm out to Vessel, transferring something from his shoulder to between their horns. Cactusman made it down the far side of the balcony, rubble blocking the path he came from following an attack from the entity. He began to jog towards the group past destroyed couches and coffee tables, before stopping. Vessel ran back to the group, Han in tow on their head. Alexei had placed his arms out to body block their retreat, the entity teleporting up for just a brief moment, before rushing down and forwards at him with murderous intent. It collided with him, and it seemed for just the briefest amount of time that Alexei actually caught the entity, before it plowed forward with him through the floor, dragging him and uprooting concrete in their path. Wires snapped, water mains burst spraying them both down, and a blue pipe was knocked clean loose. The entity teleported backwards again to line up another run. Alexei painfully dragged himself up, his insectoid armor severely damaged, and began to move as fast as he could on a limp towards the blast doors.

Making it back, he said through ragged breath, "I could… smell it. My back broke… a… gas line."

Realizing an opportunity, she took the photograph out and reached through the veil. She pulled on the edge of the blast door and walked it forward to the end of the hallway before it opened out into the semi-circle, leaning it over the aperture. There was now a blast door covering the entrance in front of them with only a small amount of room spare. Just besides her, Cain was doing a headcount, having realized her plan. With her firebomb cover prepared, she grabbed the Molotov and lighter from Cain as Cain looked outside the newly formed structure. His eyes widened as Iris held the bottle aloft over her head and ignited the rag.

"WAIT, IRIS, DON'T!"

Startled by the shout as Cain ran out into the field she accidentally reacted and flung the bottle over the blast door. Cain began to walk into the safe area with Cactusman, a guard leaning on both their shoulders, completely unable to walk independently and in shock from pain. The entryway was only wide enough for one at a time, so Cactusman went in first, pulling in the guard behind him. Cain began to rush in before a loud explosion rocked the whole lobby and Cain's back was engulfed in flames as fire ripped past the entrance and over the top of the door, everyone else spared by the shadow in the Hellfire carved out by the door. Cain was thrown to the ground in agony as the rest of the MTF looked on helplessly.

The Soul Tyrant watched in amusement as the group retreated backwards after he had torn through the floor with the surprisingly resilient member of their team. They all cowered in a corner near the doors at the back of the foyer he had been tearing through. The magic user on their team had used their projection to pull a ruined mass of metal and create some form of makeshift wall between them and himself. He was disappointed, they seemed smarter than that, believing that that silly little thing would be able to protect them from him.

His view shifted to the member of their team who did not attempt combat, the one who had replaced their limbs with some strange blue metal. They rushed out of the-! His attention quickly changed towards a small object which had been thrown at him from behind the cover. It soared towards his face with great speed. And then he caught it. His limbs were still functional, even if he didn't need them. It was a good habit to keep himself in good health by exercising every part of him, both mind and body. He studied the object, a small glass creation. Water appeared to slosh around inside of it, probably to give it more weight for impact. How odd, they had stuffed some fabric down the open end of it and had set it alight. Truly a bizarre weapon. Have they resorted to the most primitive of methods of combat, flinging every near item in some vain hope of striking a vulnerable point? How pitiful. He dropped the glass creation on the ground and prepared to charge once more. But The Soul Tyrant did not receive the opportunity.

The bottle he had dropped fell through an odorless cloud that he himself had inadvertently creation, the fire from the rag igniting the gas. A roaring whoosh, as if every gale on the planet converged on the one spot muffled every other sound before the room was consumed in fire. He had burned himself in experiments before, but they were nothing compared to this. He was in so much pain he could no longer maintain his spells, and even if his mind was clear, the very essence that composed him was being burned off. He fell to the floor, the fire scorching him to his very soul. His nature as a being of essence ensured his end was not quick, feeling every agonizing second as he burned away and dissolved into energy over the course of several minutes. The floor crumbled around him, falling through with loud sirens going off. A slab of stone fell on the floor with him as a passenger, deflated. Doors down the halls around him powered down, and his vision blurred. Tortuous agony to the last moment, The Soul Tyrant dissolved into the energy that composed him, motes of essence being carried out of the facility on the updraft the fire had created.

All the while as The Soul Tyrant died for a third time, a small security camera mounted on the ceiling watched, a red transmitter light blinking.