A/N: It's time. Brace yourself. This is it. The apocalypse. Whoa.
Gracepunk
Jen woke up in a blank white room. Her head was aching, and she was handcuffed to the wall. She was sitting on a bench against the wall, and to her right was Josh. He was still unconscious.
She knew they were in the Gracebeast prison.
Instead of feeling afraid, she felt pissed.
"Josh, wake up," she said, nudging him with her shoulder. "I need you to help me bust out of here."
Suddenly, the door slid open.
"You won't be escaping any time soon," said a menacing voice. Rogue stepped into the room with an army of drones. "The Baron's ready to see you."
The drones unhooked them from the wall but kept the cuffs on. Jen struggled against them, and they dug into her wrists. The other drones hoisted the drowsy Josh to his feet, and they dragged them both out the door.
Several drones were lost along the way, but Jen and Josh were eventually dragged kicking and gagged into the main hall. The Baron sat at his throne laughing.
"There's no need to do a blood test with this one," said the Baron, standing up as Jen was brought forward. He took a step towards her and bowed, almost mockingly.
If Jen hadn't been gagged she would have spit on him.
"Jennifer McHale," said the Baron, smiling widely and looking calm. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from your brother."
A red haze descended over Jen's vision, and she spun around and kicked the drone holding her. She sprinted towards the Baron, but she was tackled by three more drones. They dragged her back next to Josh, who was still too drugged to do anything.
During the skirmish, Jen had managed to spit out the gag.
"You bastard!" she shouted. "You son of a bitch! Take these fucking handcuffs off me so I can murder you!"
The Baron simply laughed. "I appreciate your spirit," he said. "I really do. That's why I think you'll make an excellent addition to our team."
"I'll never join you!" screamed Jen, her face red with anger. "I'd rather die!"
The Baron's smile widened. "I'm glad you feel that way, but you don't actually have a choice." He looked up at the Gracebeast leading the drones. "Take them to be Reprogrammed."
The Gracebeast nodded and led them away, Jen spitting curses at the Baron the whole time.
The later it got, the more worried James got. He knew something was going to happen, thanks to Caleb's warning, but he didn't know when. And he didn't know what. But something was going on.
Around five in the afternoon, he made sure none of the Gracebeasts were nearby, then he destroyed all the bugs in the room.
Knowing he only had a few minutes until the bugs were back online, he quickly leaned over to Red.
"Something is going to happen today," he whispered. "Make sure everybody is ready to escape."
Red didn't question him. He simply nodded and passed the information along. By the time the bugs started working again two minutes later, everyone in the tech lab had been informed.
James just hoped they were ready.
It was a bit more chaotic in the medical ward. Ben had told them about the escape that morning, and they were all just a bit frantic. They had spent the entire day packing backpacks in secret, and as it was getting later, Ginger was going through her mental checklist.
"Frankie, do you have your extra glasses?"
"Yeah, they're in my bag."
"Duncan, did you get enough insulin?"
"Would you mind not saying that so loud?"
"Does everybody have enough water?" asked Ginger. "And food. It'll take us a few days to get through the forest. Dammit Duncan, is that seriously what you're going to wear? You'll freeze to death."
Ben was standing back from the chaos. The other three Healers would be escaping as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Ginger had taken care of all of her patients, and the ward was empty. They had all shed their lab coats for jackets.
The reason Ben wasn't going with them was because he had to find his friends. He had to stay in this horrible prison and fight until every last Gracebeast was dead. Or until he was dead.
He really hoped it was the first option. But either way, he was ready.
It was sunset by the time Andrew, Christopher, and the twins made it past the guards and up to the side of the enormous building.
On the side of the building, at the very bottom of the wall, there was a small barred window. Andrew went up to the window and looked inside. He saw what looked like a prison cell with five people sitting inside.
"Hello?" he said quietly.
All the heads snapped towards him.
"Hi," said one of the people in the cell – a guy with spiky black hair.
"Hey, just a warning," said Andrew, a bit surprised at how nonchalant the prisoners were about seeing a stranger at the window. "We're gonna blow up the wall, so you guys may want to take cover. Make a barricade out of the beds or something."
"Will do," said the boy.
Andrew nodded, then he and Christopher gathered several large drums of oil and stacked them up against the wall.
"Ready?" Andrew asked through the window, seeing nothing but a fort made of the metal beds. A hand popped out and gave them a thumbs-up.
Nodding, Andrew ran back to Christopher and the twins. Erika rummaged through Caleb's bag and pulled out what looked like a large firecracker. She handed it to Sam, who held it out to Andrew.
Using his thumb in place of a zippo lighter, he lit the fuse on the firework. Sam turned and threw it, and it landed right in the center of the barrels.
"Nice throw," said Christopher.
Sam nodded. Then they all took cover.
The fuse burnt down.
Inside the building, Melody came walking down the hall. She stopped at the last prison cell.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, kicking the cell door.
Electro's head popped up, and he looked at Melody. "Can I help you?"
"What are you doing?" she exclaimed.
"Nothing you need to be concerned about."
"What?" she demanded.
Electro smiled. "Happy Halloween, bitch." Then he ducked his head back behind the beds.
A split second later, the wall exploded.
The Reprogramming room was large and dark. There were sharp things and wires hanging down from the ceiling in a hundred different places.
Jen was terrified.
They brought her and Josh to the center of the room, where a bloodstained and burnt chair sat waiting, the cuffs on the arms and legs open.
The Gracebeast in charge pointed to Josh first.
Josh was still too sedated to fight, and no matter how hard Jen struggled, she couldn't get free to help him.
They cuffed him to the chair and attached wires and electrodes to his head.
He only realized what was happening just as they pulled the lever.
The lights flickered and sparks flew off the machine. Jen had to look away because of how bright the sparks and arcs of electricity were.
After a minute, it was over, and Josh was slumped over in the chair, his eyes closed, smoke rising off of his temples.
"Her next," said the Gracebeast.
Then the explosion happened.
The drones had been in the process of unlocking her handcuffs when the blast rocked the building. Jen took the opportunity and decapitated all of the drones in the room. Then, using the arm of a drone that she tore off, she stabbed the Gracebeast through the chest and left him to bleed out on the floor.
Running over, she quickly went to Josh and started to pull the electrodes off of him.
"Josh, can you hear me?" she asked as she worked.
Suddenly, as soon as she freed his right arm, his hand shot up and grabbed her by the throat, holding her off the ground.
That was when Josh opened his eyes and looked at her. His blue eye had turned red.
Josh stood up, snapping the constraints on his other arm and legs.
"No..." Jen choked out, more sad than afraid.
Josh had been turned.
He was a Gracebeast now.
"I'm so sorry..." she whispered. There was nothing she could do to help him now.
In one smooth movement, she brought her leg up and kicked him in the throat. He was so shocked that he dropped her.
She landed on her feet and ran.
As soon as the explosion rocked the building, the Healers made a run for the door.
"That came from the prisons!" exclaimed Ginger.
They ran through the corridors, but not two minutes later, several drones and Gracebeasts appeared.
One of the drones grabbed Duncan's backpack, but luckily, Duncan only had one strap of the bag over his shoulder, and the drone pulled it right off.
They ran for their lives, but several more drones appeared in front of them.
A Gracebeast grabbed Ben, but Ben wasn't having it. He whipped around and slammed the Gracebeast against the wall, his hand on his throat.
Suddenly, blood started to pour from between his fingers, and the Gracebeast started to choke. Quickly pulling his hand away, Ben saw that all the skin on the Gracebeast's throat had peeled away where his hand had been, and the Gracebeast was bleeding out.
It took him a moment to realize that he had done this. It was his Grace. He had somehow undone what his Grace would normally do.
His Grace was evolving.
Suddenly, a scream from Ginger shocked him back into reality. The drones had them surrounded. There was no way for them to escape.
He was wrong.
All of a sudden, a tall figure swooped in out of nowhere. Thirty seconds later, all the drones were dead.
It was Warren.
"You're welcome," said the Gracebeast, sounding out of breath.
"Warren, you crazy bastard!" exclaimed Ginger, going up and hugging him. "We're getting out of here. Come with us."
Warren shook his head. "I can't," he said.
Ginger stared at him for a moment. "Why not?" she asked.
Warren kept shaking his head. "I can't go yet... I've got other stuff to deal with." Then he turned and ran off, Ginger shouting after him.
"Warren!" she shouted as he ran down the corridor. "Warren Sparks, you are crazy!"
He didn't even turn around.
The workshop had turned into complete chaos. As soon as they heard the explosion, everyone rushed the door, completely overwhelming the guards. Well, almost everyone.
James didn't run to the door. Instead, he ran around the room destroying the devices the others had been building. He glanced over and saw Simon standing uncertainly by the door, waiting for him.
"Simon, go!" he shouted.
Simon nodded and turned to run, but he stopped with a scream and jumped back away from the door. James froze, halfway between the door and his own workbench, where the only remaining weapon lay. Then he saw why Simon had screamed.
Rogue stood in the doorway, pointing a gun straight at James.
James froze. He could easily destroy the gun, but Simon was standing too close, and he was afraid the shrapnel would hit the boy.
"Thanks for the help," snarled Rogue, his finger tightening on the trigger. "Your service is no longer required..."
James closed his eyes.
"Dad!" screamed Simon.
Rogue pulled the trigger.
And Simon jumped in front of James and took the bullet to the chest.
The force of the bullet's impact made Simon stagger back. James' eyes snapped open when he heard the gunshot, and he saw what happened. Simon collapsed on the ground, and James went down with him, catching him before his head hit the ground. His glasses fell off his face and shattered on the cold hard floor.
"NO!" cried James. He then looked up at Rogue, who was starting to edge back towards the door. Without another thought, he made the gun explode. The force of the explosion sent Rogue flying across the room, where he smashed headlong into the wall and hit the ground unconscious.
James immediately turned his attention to the small boy in his arms. Simon was looking up at him, his eyes wide and terrified. His hand was weakly clutching the bullet wound on his chest, but blood still leaked through his fingers.
"I-it's gonna be okay," James stammered, blinking back tears.
Simon slowly shook his head, tears of pain and fear leaking out of his eyes. He knew he only had minutes left.
James gulped, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "Y-you called me dad..." he whispered.
Simon weakly nodded. Then, with one bloodstained hand, he reached up and tugged down the turtleneck. James could see a long scar stretching across his throat. His eyes widened.
"T-they t-t-tried to s-slit my throat..." Simon gasped, his hand falling back to his chest.
"Shh," whispered James, cradling the small boy in his arms. "W-why didn't you t-tell me...?" he asked quietly.
"H-had to m-make s-sure it w-was you..." Simon whimpered, his eyes starting to lose focus as he lost more blood. He coughed a bit, and blood started to trickle out of the corner of his mouth.
James couldn't help but let out a small sob. He thought he had lost his son nearly five years ago, but he hadn't. And now, after he had finally gotten him back, he was going to lose him again. And this time there would be no miracle. His boy was going to die.
"Daddy..." whimpered Simon. "Can I see the sunlight...? I-it's been so long..."
James smiled sadly, tears freely running down his face. He nodded and gently picked Simon up, careful not to stress the wound. He stood up, his bad knee protesting, but he didn't care. He carefully walked through the door, carrying his son up the stairs.
Once they reached the landing, James walked down the hallway until he came to a part where a large section of the wall had fallen away. Orange sunlight poured through the hole in the wall, illuminating the entire hallway. The sun was setting, turning the sky a brilliant red. Here, James stopped and gently leaned Simon against the wall, so the setting sun could warm his freezing body. James sat next to him, holding his blood-covered ice cold hand.
"Dad..." gasped Simon, his voice barely more than a whisper.
James leaned in close so he could hear him.
"How old am I...?" whispered Simon.
James bit his lip, trying to keep from breaking down. "Y-your b-birthday is today," he said. "Y-you turned eleven..."
A small, weak smile broke across Simon's face. "Eleven..." he whispered. "T-that's my f-favorite number..."
By now, the entire front of Simon's shirt had been stained dark red. His time was almost up. Simon's freezing cold hand tightened around his father's hand. James tentatively felt Simon's forehead and found him to be burning with a fever as his body shut down. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his green and silver eyes had gone completely unfocused as he watched the sun set.
"Daddy...?" whispered Simon after a minute.
"I'm right here," James whispered, gently stroking Simon's dark hair out of his face.
"Daddy..." he whispered again, his voice quieter and his eyes starting to close.
"Shh, it's okay," whispered James gently.
"Daddy..." His eyes were fully closed now, and his body started to go limp.
"I'm here," whispered James.
"Dad..." was all Simon could manage to whisper. Finally, he let out a long sigh and went completely limp. The pain disappeared from his face, and the bloodstain on the front of his shirt stopped spreading.
It was over.
James had lost his son for the second time...
Andrew approached the hole in the wall, unaware of the chaos they had caused inside. He stepped into the building, over the large chunks of wall that had fallen. Christopher and the twins were right behind him, and Christopher noticed a hand sticking out from under the rubble.
"Who was that?" he asked, gesturing to the dead body under the rubble.
"That was Melody," said Danielle, who had emerged from the fort and shoved the damaged door to the cell open. "She was a Gracebeast, so don't worry."
"Good," said Christopher.
With the door open, Electro, Icy, Martin, and Jacob all came out into the hall.
"Freedom!" exclaimed Electro, both hands in the air.
"Okay, do any of you know how to pick locks?" asked Andrew frantically.
Both Martin and Jacob raised their hands. Jacob signed something, and Erika responded before pressing her hand against Andrew's forehead and telling him that Martin and Jacob are deaf, but they read his lips and understood him.
"Okay," said Andrew, looking to Sam and Erika to translate for him, "tell them to get everybody out as soon as possible."
"Why as soon as possible?" asked Danielle, looking down the corridor as if she were waiting for the drones and Gracebeasts to come charging down at them.
Andrew smiled menacingly. "Because we're going to start a fire."
Right at that moment, the door at the end of the corridor burst open, and someone came barreling down the hall. That someone ran directly into Andrew.
"Jen!" exclaimed Andrew.
"Andrew! We've gotta get out of here, he's right behind me!" exclaimed Jen, looking panicky.
"What do you-"
That was when Josh charged around the corner and sprinted at them.
"They brainwashed him!" shouted Jen as Josh ran straight for the group.
It was Erika that saved them. She quickly reached into Caleb's bag and pulled out the last remaining jar of Skysparks. Not having time to hand them to her more athletic sister, she threw the bottle at Josh.
It hit him and smashed over his head.
The electricity arced all over his body, and he collapsed, twitching and convulsing.
Cautiously, Christopher motioned for everyone else to stay put, and he moved towards Josh. Slowly, he knelt down next to him and shook him by the shoulder.
A minute later, Josh groggily opened his eyes. They had reverted back to his normal color.
"W-what happened...?" he mumbled dizzily.
Christopher breathed a sigh of relief, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Nothing happened," he said. "You're fine."
Josh slowly nodded, and Christopher stood and helped him to his feet.
While this happened, Electro leaned over to Andrew.
"Do you think that will work for everyone?" he asked. "Electricity? Because... my brother..."
Andrew only shrugged.
Just as Josh was regaining his balance, they heard footsteps and shouting outside. The drones had finally found them.
Only two drones ran in, but they didn't make it past the door before they both stopped, convulsing with electricity. They both dropped, and standing behind them, covered in blood, was James.
They were surprised again when Christopher ran forward and hugged James. Even James looked shocked.
"Are you okay?" asked Christopher. "What happened to you?"
James only shook his head.
"We should all get out of here..." he said quietly.
"Some of us can't actually leave," said Danielle. She gestured to the silver bracelet around her ankle.
James moved forward and knelt down, examining the bracelet. Then he touched it, and it fell off.
"There's a glitch," he said. "Give it exactly 26 volts and it'll short circuit and fall off."
"I have an electricity Grace," said Electro.
"Perfect," said James, zapping Electro's bracelet as well. "Then you can release everybody else."
Andrew shook his head a bit. "Okay, but we can't leave yet. If we leave, the Gracebeasts will just come back. We have to end this," he said.
Everybody stared at him.
"Okay Andrew, you probably haven't seen the Baron, but he's pretty fucking terrifying," said Jen. It meant a lot coming from her.
"We need to cut them off at their roots," said Andrew. "If we don't it'll never stop. And besides, we still have to find Ben and-" He stopped. He had forgotten for a moment that Caleb was dead.
Jen still didn't know.
Before she could ask any questions, Andrew turned and headed for the door at the end of the corridor.
Ben came running around the corner and slammed right into him.
"Ben!" exclaimed Andrew and Jen at the same time.
"It's about time!" exclaimed Ben, breathing hard.
Jen stepped forward. "Ben, have you seen Caleb...?"
All the color drained from Ben's face. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "A... a while ago..." He looked down at his feet and refused to make eye contact.
Jen looked back and forth between Ben and Andrew. Neither of them would make eye contact with her.
"No..." she said quietly, shaking her head.
"Jen-" Andrew reached for her arm, but she swatted his hand away.
"No, you're lying..." she said quickly, her eyes wide with desperation.
"Jen, he's dead," said Ben quickly, still not making eye contact with her. Andrew noticed that his hands were clenched into fists. "He died in my arms, and I couldn't save him..."
Jen shook her head, stumbling backwards a bit. She leaned on Andrew for support.
Andrew watched her expression. In almost a second, she went from grief to rage. Standing tall again, she shoved past Ben and walked out into the corridor.
"Where do they keep the weapons around here?"
Warren nearly fell down the stairs to the Cold Room. He had to hurry. He only had a few more things to do before he could escape.
He reached the Cold Room. As he suspected, the door was unlocked. Rogue had left in a hurry.
He opened the door and ran inside. He quickly picked the lock for the chain around the prisoner's neck. Then, without waiting to be attacked, he turned and sprinted back upstairs, leaving the door wide open.
Back in the prisons, Icy clung on to Danielle's arm, watching as the two deaf boys picked or broke every lock on the cells, and Electro destroyed the ankle bracelets. Slowly, the corridors filled with Gracelings, and Danielle had to keep directing them towards the giant hole in the wall, telling them to run.
Finally, the last cell was empty and all of the trapped Gracelings were freed.
"Okay, let's get the hell out of here!" exclaimed Electro. The others nodded, but when they turned around, they all stopped cold.
Icy was standing no more than five feet away from the giant King Cobra that had belonged to the Seamstress. It's hood was open and it was in attack mode. Icy was too scared to move, let alone protect herself with her Grace.
Then the snake lunged at her leg.
Warren came out of nowhere and jumped between her and the snake. He turned and lifted Icy off of the ground and out of the way of the snake.
Then Icy watched in horror as the Cobra sunk its venomous fangs into Warren's left leg.
Warren let out a cry of pain, and Danielle pulled out her knife and stabbed the snake through the top of its head, killing it instantly.
Warren dropped to his knees, trembling in pain from the venom. He set Icy down as gently as he could before collapsing against the wall.
"Oh shit," muttered Electro, kneeling down on Warren's left side, seeing as Icy was on his right. "Danielle, keep a look out. Jacob, go find help."
Jacob and Danielle nodded; Danielle pulled out her knives and Jacob sprinted down the hallway as fast as his speed Grace could take him.
Warren had gone dead pale and he was hyperventilating. Icy had tears streaming down her face. She tried to calm Warren down by stroking the hair out of his face, but that only worked a little bit.
Suddenly, Jacob sprinted back into the corridor.
The rest of the Healers are gone too, he frantically signed.
"They're gone?" exclaimed Electro. "Then what are we-"
He stopped. For just a split second, he saw a flash of green, and he remembered something. The Seer. He had given him a vial of antivenom.
Fumbling in his pockets, he pulled out the vial and, with some difficulty, he poured the contents in Warren's mouth.
As soon as Warren swallowed it, his breathing became easier, and the color returned to his face.
"Thanks..." he muttered, slowly pushing himself to his feet. He staggered a bit before regaining his balance. "You guys better get out of here fast. Before more drones come."
"What about you?!" exclaimed Electro, standing up too.
Warren shook his head. "I have to go..."
He turned to run back towards the main part of the prison, but Icy stopped him. Standing on her tippy-toes, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Warren blushed, and then he was gone...
They found the weapons room with relative ease. In fact, they found several. They were scattered all over the place.
Several times they had to hide because drones came by. Jen wanted to kill them all, but Andrew made her stay put. They hadn't been caught yet, so they had an advantage. Andrew also pointed out to Jen that a big fight would draw more drones in, and they would be outnumbered.
After they were all geared up, bristling with knives and spears. All of the guns were gone, though.
They were only a few turns away from the main room when they rounded a corner and saw a dark figure standing at the other end of the corridor.
They all froze. The figure was just standing there, barely visible in the darkness. Slowly, it started to move forward.
Jen, Andrew, and Josh slowly moved to the front of the group, ready to fight if the approaching figure was hostile.
They stepped into the light.
It was Caleb.
"Oh my god..." whispered Ben, nearly falling over from the shock.
Jen dropped her spear and rushed forward, hugging Caleb as tightly as she dared. He was pale and covered in blood, and the skin around his wrists and neck was raw and bleeding. He wasn't putting any pressure on his right leg, and his clothes were torn and bloody.
"Oh my god, Caleb..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "I thought you were dead..."
"Poisoned..." said Caleb quietly, his voice hoarse. "Just poisoned..."
Jen shook her head a bit and took a step back from Caleb. That was when Ben rushed forward and hugged him.
"Caleb, I'm so sorry..." whispered Ben. Caleb only nodded, his face still emotionless.
Ben stepped back and shyly retreated back into the group.
"Caleb, go with the twins," said Jen. "They'll keep you safe. We still have some business to deal with."
"Are you going to kill the Baron?" asked Caleb, his voice still eerily emotionless.
Jen nodded.
"Good," said Caleb before turning and limping to the back of the group to stand with the twins. However, when he walked past Andrew, he caught his arm and stopped him. Caleb looked up at him with dead, haunting eyes. Andrew pulled his key out and handed it to him. At this, Caleb's eyes lit up and he grabbed the key, smiling for the first time. He smiled up at Andrew before returning to the back of the group with the twins.
Jen looked at Andrew and Ben. She nodded, and they all moved forward.
A few minutes later, they reached the main room.
The Baron was waiting for them. He was standing in front of his throne, staring directly at them. When they saw this, they all hesitated. Then Andrew moved forward and walked into the room, his expression determined.
The Baron smiled when he walked in. "Tell your friends they might as well come inside," he said. "My drones have the entire room surrounded."
Glancing over his shoulder, Andrew saw he was right. The others had moved into the room behind him, and there were drones hidden in the shadows of the entrance behind them. There were more drones hidden in the shadows of the enormous room itself.
They had walked right into a trap.
They had no choice but to move forward.
Andrew strolled forward until he was only fifteen feet away from the Baron. As he walked, fire sprung from his feet and remained where he had stepped. It simply sat there burning, not spreading or doing any damage. The others walked up behind Andrew, stepping around the small flames on the floor.
"Well isn't this an interesting twist," said the Baron. "All of you alive, and half of you still sane."
From the back of the group, Caleb flipped him off.
"You know, I've been after you for a while now," said the Baron. "I actually feel a bit ridiculous. All I needed to do was capture one or two of you and the rest of you would all come."
"And why, exactly, were you looking for us?" asked Andrew, flames flickering around his clenched fists. The small fires on the floor began to glow brighter and started to move. After a minute, they surrounded the group. Felix, who was off to the side, noticed this and started to slowly moved forward as the little fires spread further out.
The Baron laughed a bit, ignoring the little fires, even though they terrified him. "At first I didn't even know you or your little group existed. I was just after him."
He pointed at Christopher, who was standing behind Andrew. His face became pale.
The Baron's smile became twice as menacing when he saw Christopher's fear.
"Christopher Sparks," said the Baron. "The son of the man who created the Gracebeasts. You should be proud. After all, you used to be one of us."
Christopher only glared at him.
Andrew's reaction was a lot different. He turned to face him, his eyes wide with shock. Warren, who was hiding in the rafters above them, was so shocked he nearly fell from his perch. Jen simply grimaced. Of all the times for Andrew to find out that Christopher was his uncle, now was probably the worst.
The Baron chuckled. "I was hoping for a more dramatic reaction, but I guess that'll do." Then he signaled for the drones to advance.
Andrew saw this and snapped back into action. The little flames had now created a large ring around the entire group, expanding all the way to the edges of the room. As soon as the first drone came near one of the small flames, all of them exploded in a burst of blinding fire. The fire formed a massive burning ring around them, destroying at least half of the drones and blocking the surviving half from getting to them. Everyone else was trapped inside the ring.
Then the drones started to come through the fire. The first one that made it through, Jen ran at it and sliced its head off.
Andrew ran at the Baron, fire surrounding his hand and the spear he was holding. He swung at the Gracebeast, but at the last second, the Baron whipped out a long sword-like dagger and blocked Andrew's attack. They began fighting, Andrew moving quickly and avoiding the Baron's lethal blows, knowing that one hit from the giant would probably kill him.
Less than a minute later, everyone started fighting. Jen and Josh went on a rampage, killing every drone and Gracebeast in sight. James and Ben stayed close to Caleb and the twins, killing anyone or anything that got too close to the younger Gracepunks.
Christopher was fighting with Felix. The younger, stronger Gracebeast had the advantage, but he wasn't as skilled with a blade. Christopher managed to keep Felix's back against the wall before his age finally caught up with him, and he stumbled.
Felix took this opportunity and sliced Christopher across the chest, opening a long but shallow wound. Christopher stumbled backwards, and Felix kicked his leg out. He collapsed, but when he tried to push himself back to his feet, Felix stepped on his left hand, crushing his fingers with the heel of his boot.
Christopher screamed and clutched his hand close to his chest.
Felix raised his foot, aiming to bring his boot down on the back of Christopher's neck and kill him.
But that was when Jen saw him. She saw Christopher on the ground, and she saw Felix about to kill him.
So she pulled out a dagger and threw it at Felix.
The dagger hit Felix directly in the throat.
He stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. Blood started gushing out of his mouth and the wound on his neck, and he collapsed.
There was a scream, and a thin shadow swooped down from the ceiling. Warren landed hard next to his friend, but he was too late. Felix was already dead.
Warren didn't even get a chance to do anything before someone appeared behind him and grabbed him. It was Rogue. He was barely recognizable because the left half of his face was covered in burns and cuts. His left eye was gone.
He quickly dragged Warren out of the room, and they disappeared.
When Christopher had screamed, Andrew had looked over. His moment of distraction cost him. The Baron hit the spear in his hands and sent it flying, splitting it in half at the same time.
Andrew stumbled backwards and increased the heat of the fire in his hands. The heat was so intense that the flames turned blue, and his sleeves burnt away even further. His nose began to bleed violently from the stress of maintaining all the fire.
He advanced closer to the Baron, and whenever the Baron would swing at him, he would try to light his mechanical arms on fire.
Then he managed to grab the Baron's left arm, and the fire on his hands spread instantly to the oil-covered prosthetics.
The Baron started to panic, but he couldn't put out the fire. Andrew pulled out a dagger and lunged at him.
Then the Baron turned and stabbed Andrew through the chest.
Andrew froze, the fire disappearing from his hands. The ring of fire around them started to grow brighter and larger, and the heat became more intense.
Andrew couldn't speak. He couldn't scream. He could only look down at the blade piercing his chest. Blood started to drip out around the edges.
The Baron smiled, even though the fire on his arm was spreading across his shoulder and back, burning him. Then a green light started to surround the dagger and creep into the wound.
The light started to burn through him and drain all of his energy. He painfully reached his arm up and pressed the first button on the talisman.
The fire was growing stronger, and the heat was growing more intense. Andrew was starting to get tunnel vision, and he lost the ability to breathe. The green light was glowing brighter, sucking away more of his soul.
He hit the second button.
Then he collapsed, and with his fading vision, he looked up at the Baron, who was smiling menacingly.
Then it happened. The Baron's face went blank, and the green light stopped completely. He pulled the dagger out and stumbled backwards.
Andrew used the last vestiges of his energy to let go of his control on the fire.
There was a deafening SNAP and the fire backlashed, collapsing in on him before exploding. The explosion sent a massive burning shockwave out that set the entire room on fire. Not only that, but it blasted through the entire fortress. The ground floor of the whole place began to burn. Anybody outside the main room spontaneously combusted.
When the fire cleared from around Andrew, Jen ran to him, followed by Ben.
She looked up and saw the Baron. He had fallen back down on his throne, and he was completely on fire. Even through the flames, Jen could see he was still alive. He was staring at them, not moving as he burned to death.
Andrew was covered in burns, many of them bleeding. He wasn't breathing either, and he was dead pale.
Ben started trying to heal him, but the wounds wouldn't heal.
That was when Jen noticed the talisman, sitting on Andrew's chest. Two of the three symbols were glowing green. She looked at Ben, and then she pressed the third button.
The talisman snapped open, and a blinding green light shot out of it. It flew forward and hit the Baron. The light was so intense and bright that Jen had to look away.
A moment later, the light disappeared. Jen opened her eyes and saw that the Baron was slumped over, most likely dead and still on fire.
Then Andrew started breathing again.
Jen breathed a sigh of relief as Andrew cracked his eyes open.
Ben healed the stab wound enough so that he wouldn't bleed out, then he looked at Jen. "We have to go," he said.
Jen knew he was right. The fire was burning too hot, and the structural integrity had been compromised by the explosion. The whole place was going to collapse.
"Josh!" exclaimed Jen, waving him over. He came over with an unconscious Christopher slung over his shoulder, and without needing to be told, he picked up Andrew, careful to support him without stressing his injuries.
Jen nodded to the others. "Let's get the hell out of here..."
Then they ran for their lives.
A/N: Well guys, only one more chapter of Gracepunk to go, then we'll be onto Gracebeast! Is anybody else really excited?
So let's reflect what we've just seen. Melody the Gracebeast is dead. Duncan is diabetic. Simon was James' actual son the whole time, but he's dead now. Caleb is alive. Jen killed Felix. Rogue escaped with Warren. And the Baron is dead and the Gracebeast fort has burnt down. And Christopher is Andrew and Warren's uncle. Which makes Andrew and Warren brothers. How about that?