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Episode 28: Checkmate

  (Meanwhile, back inside Aegis Headquarters, Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke lead the others through a corridor on their way out of the base. The soldiers accompanying them consistently fire at the masked shadow soldiers that stand in their way as they quickly make their escape, and Jax, Proxy, Pulse, and Gauntlet support them as well, clearing a way for the evacuation effort. The Sparks — Boltix, Jackpot, Mistrick, and Sylvia — simply walk alongside each other, still in disbelief, while Shay allows himself to be escorted with sorrowful silence. During this moment, Commander Cromwell is surprised when none other than Hunter establishes contact with her while fighting through hordes of shadow soldiers.)

  Hunter: (via communicator) This is Hunter. Do you copy?

  Commander Cromwell: (via communicator, surprised) Hunter? I thought we lost contact with one another.

  Hunter: Apparently, whatever Infinity pulled off must have worn off somehow. No matter. What you must know is that Infinity is onto the Fire Surge Beacon, now gone out of control. Several troops of ours are also dealing with the shadow army outside headquarters. We’re at a risk of losing out on both.

  Commander Cromwell: (firmly) We’ve made our decision regarding that. We’re set to retreat immediately. We can’t risk going after the Fire Surge Beacon and recovering our troops, not when it guarantees an encounter with Infinity. Meet us at the hangar.

  Hunter: Understood.

  (Hunter ends the transmission as he encounters several more masked shadow soldiers, and so, he runs at them, firing several blasts from his dual guns their way. Elsewhere, Focus eavesdrops on this transmission, hearing the part concerning Infinity and Red Flare, leaving him stunned.)

  Focus: (internally, with urgency and subtle panic) Infinity’s onto her, and she’s lost it! I have to stop this! He can’t capture her!

  (He dashes off through gritted teeth as fast as he reasonably can, taking several sharp turns and using the watch to find his way out of the base and to Flare. Soon, Hunter finally loses the masked shadow soldiers standing in his way, and as he takes a look at his watch, he sees another red fly that represents Focus heading for Flare at high speed, to which he reacts with a grim scowl.)

  Hunter: Focus.

  (Meanwhile, the soldiers outside Aegis HQ struggle against the shadow soldiers, getting taken out one by one with nowhere to hide in the military camp. As that unfolds, Infinity and Red Flare finally confront one another, the latter cracking her knuckles with an excited and wicked grin.)

  Infinity: (thinking to himself) I had to use Eclipse to get Hunter out of the way, meaning that the effect of my initial Semi-Eclipse has been canceled out. They can communicate now, but no, I don’t think they’d risk going after me. Focus, however, might, given that he’s basically gone rogue. In any case, I have to make this quick.

  Red Flare: (chuckling) What’s with the silence? I thought you were clever enough to run your mouth a bit more. In any case, I heard you wanted to see me.

  Infinity: Indeed. I made all that effort for the mere sake of this meeting.

  Red Flare: (her dark grin widening) Someone’s a big fan.

  Infinity: (still calm and collected) As much as I’d like to converse with you further, there’s a time and place for that. I’d like you to join me for the meantime. We can discuss this elsewhere.

  Red Flare: Heh, thanks, but no thanks. I don’t think I’m interested. (lighting up her fists with fire) Feel free to back off.

  Infinity: Hmm… how unfortunate. Oh, well. I was hoping to settle things rather peacefully. We can talk sometime later.

  (Infinity charges up a faint shadowy aura as he regrows the shadow tendrils on his back and takes a firm stance against Red Flare, while she charges up her fiery crimson aura and takes a fighting stance as well, a crooked grin on her face. The masked shadow soldiers nearby stand over the bodies of all the fallen enemy soldiers, and with their job done, they turn to watch the impending battle between Red Flare and Infinity. As the silence hangs over them for a moment, Red Flare lets out a single chuckle and dashes at Infinity at high speed, leaving behind an energy trail of flames and lighting up her fist with fire. However, before she lands that fiery punch, a shadow construct stands in her way, absorbing the punch and breaking as a result yet knocking her back regardless, leaving her surprised.)

  Red Flare: (surprised) Huh?

  Infinity: Hasty. And predictable.

  (She then gets struck laterally by a shadow tendril, sending her sliding. Infinity then launches several more shadow tendrils at her, but upon steadying herself, she knocks them back with several fire lances. Infinity moves in on her for a punch, and as she swings her fiery fist at him in response, he uses Shadow Quickstep to phase through her and get in behind her, landing the punch at her back and knocking her away. She quickly turns to him and propels herself sideways to gain some distance, now gritting her teeth.)

  Red Flare: (tightening her jaw) You’re a big deal, alright.

  (She dashes at Infinity once again, who launches a pile of shadow constructs at her, but she propels herself upwards with just a little push and then lands behind him. She continues jumping around Infinity while dodging his shadow tendrils, waiting for an opening to attack. She gets one when she moves in on Infinity and fires a flurry of fire lances at his shadow tendrils from close range, knocking them back, and then she lands a kick at his gut, sending him crashing into one of the smaller camps in the area. She follows that up with a burst of fire while simultaneously propelling herself upwards, and as Infinity blocks it with his palm, he looks up and sees Red Flare preparing another burst of flames from above, her wide grin returning.)

  Red Flare: (with a wide, wicked grin) Think fast!

  (She launches that beam of flames right at him from above, and he jumps upwards at it, leaving Red Flare subtly surprised. His shadow tendrils curl into a sphere and shield him as he pierces through the flames, only adding to her disbelief. She quickly uses both of her palms to hold back Infinity’s sphere of shadow, but it’s too relentless, and despite giving it all her effort while groaning through gritted teeth, she gets knocked back in the air. Infinity then flies over her, still enclosed in his curled-up shadow tendrils, and he strikes Red Flare with that sphere once again, sending her plummeting into the ground. As she regains her footing, she glances up at Infinity through gritted teeth, who remains curled up in his shadow tendrils.)

  Red Flare: (clenching her teeth) He’s got tricks, that’s for sure.

  (Infinity then drops down on her while curled up in his shadow tendrils, and she jumps out of the way, getting knocked back by the power by which he stomped the ground. Before regaining her balance, she gets struck by a shadow tendril, sending her sliding. However, she launches two bursts of fire from both of her palms, knocking back more shadow tendrils and leaving a momentary window for attack, and she makes the best use of it, landing a fire lance at Infinity’s chest and knocking him back. She stands opposite to him through gritted teeth, recharging her fiery aura.)

  Red Flare: (determined, a slight rasp in her voice) You gotta do better than that, you hear me?!

  (Red Flare lunges at Infinity once again, and he slides backwards while reforming his shadow tendrils. They take the battle outside of the military camp and into the surrounding rocky area, and elsewhere, a portal opens up on top of a cliff, one through which Hollow and Ethan pass through. Upon their arrival, they get to watch the ongoing battle between Infinity and the Fire Surge Beacon. They watch her fire a barrage of fire lances at Infinity, who blocks it with several shadow constructs. She moves in on him for a fire lance at point-blank range, but then his legs get submerged in shadow.)

  Infinity: Anchor.

  (By utilizing Anchor, Infinity firmly steadies himself in the face of the fire lance, taking it on with ease. The firmness of his stance knocks Red Flare back, and then he wraps a shadow tendril around her leg and throws her into a rock butte. He joins his shadow tendrils together and uses them to fire a barrage of blasts at Red Flare, and she forms a quick fire barrier to block it, only for it to dissipate after taking on all those blasts and for her to get knocked back.)

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  Red Flare: (internally) He’s tough!

  (She looks up and notices Infinity above her, charging up a massive, dark energy beam with his shadow tendrils. Without any sort of hesitation, he launches the energy beam right at her from above, and she joins her palms together to launch her own fiery energy beam at it. The two energy beams clash violently, pushing back one another, and Red Flare grunts with all her effort, firmly planting her feet on the cracking surface. Infinity gets slightly pushed back by the intensity of Red Flare’s fiery energy beam, but he doesn’t lose his calmness.)

  Infinity: This has gone on for long enough.

  (As some of his shadow tendrils join together and continue strengthening his energy beam, four shadow tendrils are launched at the surface around Red Flare, firmly anchored to the ground, and while surrounded by her own crimson flames, she struggles to notice that. With that, he activates Anchor, firmly holding himself in place in the face of Red Flare’s attack, who growls and continues pushing through with her fiery energy beam. As this moment of stalemate continues, Infinity charges up his shadowy aura, energizing his entire body. The purple infinity sign on his mask narrows and glows with energy as he gets ready for his finishing move.)

  Infinity: Impact Amplifier.

  (Upon the activation of Impact Amplifier, He uses the shadow tendrils anchored to the ground to grapple down into the surface at high speed, energized with an electric and shadowy aura. Adding to all of the energy he’s piling up in the process, he pulls the Catalyst out of his pocket and energizes it, further amplifying his own energy, which gets supported with several electric sparks of the crystal’s green energy.)

  Infinity: Fierce as ever, Red Flare, but I’ll win!

  (He pierces through his own dark energy beam, getting further energized by absorbing it, and then he pierces through Red Flare’s fiery energy beam as well, leaving her shocked. She momentarily notices one of the four shadow tendrils anchored to the ground and then quickly looks around, noticing that they form a perfect square. It’s then that four shadowy energy barriers form to represent the four sides of a square, leaving her with no room to escape.)

  (Ethan and Hollow watch this exact moment from afar on the top of a cliff in anticipation, and so do the masked shadow soldiers back at the camp. With the trap set, Infinity full cancels out Red Flare’s fiery energy beam and drops down into the ground, with the latter’s eyes narrowing and her mouth gaping in shock, and upon stomping the ground with his feet, he triggers a massive explosion in the surrounding area, forcing Ethan and Hollow to cover their eyes and look away from its sheer intensity. After that shocking finishing move, silence takes hold.)

  (After a while, the dust settles on the ruins. The aftermath of Infinity’s attack shows a wide crater filled with rubble, with him solely standing over it. He looks around, with Red Flare nowhere to be seen. His purple infinity sign stops glowing and widens a bit, returning to its usual form, and then he levitates above the crater, forming numerous shadow tendrils and using them to lift all of the rubble. After a while, after clearing all of the rubble, he finds Flare lying unconscious on the ground, now returned to normal and comprehensively defeated.)

  Infinity: (calm and collected) There you are.

  (He drops down into the ground once again and slowly walks towards the unconscious Flare, his hands behind his back. Upon reaching her and towering over her, he lifts her up with a shadow tendril. After a while, Ethan and Hollow join Infinity in the large crater, and he turns to them with a firm nod, one that they return.)

  Infinity: We got what we came for. Our job here is done.

  (He extends his palm and energizes it with shadowy energy, which opens up a portal for them. He lifts that same energized palm up, and as a result, the masked shadow soldiers inside Aegis Headquarters condense into shadow orbs and fly out of the base. Elsewhere, and Commander Cromwell and the others close in on the hangar, they notice a few shadow orbs phasing through the walls, much to their surprise.)

  Jax: (surprised) Huh?

  Commander Cromwell: (grimacing) Now what?

  (Meanwhile, Focus finally gets out of Aegis Headquarters and arrives at the military camp outside, quickly looking left and right then at his watch in search of Flare. It’s then that he sees not only the masked shadow soldiers in the area ignoring him, but also turning into shadow orbs and flying away.)

  Focus: (shocked) What is this?

  (Soon, all the masked shadow soldiers accompanying Infinity fly in the air as shadow orbs, and they all rally together around him, getting absorbed into the palm of his energized hand. He promptly signals both Ethan and Hollow to step inside the portal, and they oblige, slowly approaching the portal and passing through it. Shortly afterwards, Infinity turns to the portal, lifting Flare up and carrying her unconscious body with a shadow tendril, and it’s in this moment that Focus jumps into the crater and into the scene, his pupils narrowing and his lips parted in shock and panic as he sets eyes on the unconscious Flare.)

  Focus: Flare!

  (As Infinity arrives at the portal, Focus dashes at him with all his effort in a vain effort to stop him. He extends a hand towards the unconscious Flare, hoping to at least grab ahold of hers, but Infinity passes through the portal while carrying her with him, and upon doing so, the portal closes, leaving Focus stumbling and falling on his knees.)

  Focus: No!

  (He remains on his knees during the aftermath of everything that’s happened, his narrow pupils shaking in shock. His hands tremble, and his mouth is agape in disbelief. His memory takes him back to the moment he stood in Flare’s way, trying to make her stand down. He recalls the devastated look on her face the moment it all went wrong, and as the image refuses to leave his mind, he starts violently hyperventilating and clutching his chest, which feels tighter with every passing instant.)

  Focus: (internally, hyperventilating) I did this! Me!

  (His thoughts get cut off when he receives a taser shot at the back, causing him to collapse on the ground unconscious. It’s none other than Hunter who fired that shot, standing over his unconscious body with a grim frown. He only glances at him for a short moment before carrying him along and jumping out of the crater.)

  (After a while, back inside the hangar, Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke wait up with the soldiers, with a few aircrafts inside ready for takeoff. She takes a look at her watch, seeing one of the red dots fade away, shortly followed by the other one fading away as well. Gauntlet stands alongside Commander Locke, crossing his arms as the two grimly wait, while Jax, Proxy, and Pulse join the Sparks, feeling distressed as well. Shortly, Hunter enters the hangar, carrying the unconscious Focus with him, and he approaches the two commanders, while the others glance at the unconscious Focus in disbelief, especially Shay.)

  Shay: (shocked) Focus?! (gritting his teeth) What’ve ye done t’ him?!

  Commander Cromwell: (coldly) This is our business, Mr. Ghallagher. Stay out of it.

  Hunter: (grimly) The enemy has left with the Fire Surge Beacon.

  Commander Cromwell: I’ve discovered that much. The Ice Surge Beacon has escaped as well.

  Shay: (muttering) Flare…? She’s… gone?

  Commander Locke: (crossing his arms) With Aegis HQ too damaged for us to utilize, we’ll have to relocate to the IRU’s main headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area to continue our investigation.

  Commander Cromwell: (noticing the unconscious Focus) And… that’s Focus, I see. (to the others, firmly) Alright, now get into the aircrafts, everyone. Just as you were arranged.

  Jax: (shocked) And we’re really capturing Focus?!

  Commander Cromwell: (turning to him, sternly) Yes. Do you wish to object?

  (He’s stunned by this harsh reply, opening his mouth yet failing to speak any further. With a dismissive grunt, Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke lead several soldiers into one of the aircrafts, with the rest of the troops heading with Gauntlet into a separate one, while Hunter leads his team into a third aircraft while carrying the unconscious Focus with him, to which they silently oblige. As they enter the aircraft, Hunter sets down Focus beside him then cuffs his hands and places a collar around his neck to keep him unconscious, and Shay watches that while cuffed and escorted by a pair of soldiers into another aircraft, too shocked and distressed for words.)

  (The arrangements are complete, and the gate to the hangar opens, allowing the aircrafts to head to the runway one by one, ready for takeoff. Inside one of those aircrafts are Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke, sitting beside one another with grave expressions. Gauntlet remains standing with the seated soldiers in another aircraft, grimly crossing his arms. In the third aircraft, the team of Surge users sit together with a mix of dread, disbelief, and distress. Jax. Proxy. Pulse. Boltix. Jackpot. Mistrick. Sylvia. Shay. They all sit together with unease in their faces, while Hunter sits beside the unconscious and captured Focus looking sharp as ever. While the others do pass glances at Focus in disbelief, Shay especially sets eyes on Focus with concern, clenching his fists with a devastated frown.)

  (Soon, the aircrafts begin takeoff, one after the other, departing from the damaged Aegis Headquarters. They leave behind destruction, rubble, and several fallen soldiers lying dead on the floor, the aftermath of Infinity’s sudden and effective attack. The recent events have left their mark on everyone. The soldiers are discouraged. The Surge users are distressed. Ethan’s parents back at Alaska silently and tearfully grieve their lost son inside their home. Meanwhile, a few minutes later, inside a dimly lit room in an unidentified base, Ethan slowly walks Infinity, who patiently waits for him, with Hollow too watching. The thirteen-year old Ice Surge user now wears a dark blue hooded outfit that covers his entire body, his expression showing detachment and no signs of emotion.)

  Infinity: (calmly) Embrace your new identity… Rime.

  (Infinity extends his hand, offering Ethan a mask. It contains an icy blue cracked halo split down the middle, and Ethan inspects it for just a moment, his expression unchanging. He takes that mask, and after looking at it one last time, dons it, concealing his face. After pulling down the hood on his head, the icy blue halo on his mask glows with energy. Flare is captured by Infinity. Focus is captured by Aegis. Ethan is no longer who he used to be. Infinity is nearing his ultimate goal, with his enemies clearly in disarray. What hope is there left? The end is upon us. Get ready for the final season, the final bout. Get ready for Power Surge: Season Three.)

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