Back with the stitched man—

The officer kept firing.

Rounds chipped away more of its arms, tearing chunks loose with each impact. Flesh broke apart under sustained fire, pieces dropping away as the creature was forced to adjust its stance.

He used it.

Stepped back.

Created space.

Don saw it.

Adjusted.

He released the hold on the pincers.

Immediately redirecting everything—

Toward her.

Both his hands snapped forward.

Palms open.

The force intensified.

The woman's body jerked violently mid-air as the telekinetic grip tightened, locking her in place despite the anchors still embedded into the ground. Her limbs strained against it, hair thrashing outward in chaotic bursts as she fought to break free—

Didn't matter.

The man with the knife closed in.

Five meters—

Three— 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

One—

—

Above—

The snipers recovered from the ringing as well.

CRACK—!

CRACK—!

Rounds tore downward again, striking the stitched man with devastating force. One shot punched through its shoulder, tearing a massive section free—

Another slammed into one of its pincers, blasting away a chunk of it entirely—

CRRSH—!

The creature staggered back under the renewed assault, forced into defense again.

—

Don held.

Every muscle in his body strained now, the pressure building rapidly as he forced his ability to maintain control over her. His breathing grew heavier, chest rising and falling as the effort mounted.

In his vision—

Warnings flickered.

Stability dropping.

Output nearing threshold.

Still—

He held.

The snipers adjusted.

Two shots fired in quick succession—

CRACK—! CRACK—!

Both aimed carefully.

One toward her arm.

The other toward her leg.

Her head and chest remained obscured behind that moving mass of hair—

Too risky.

—

Then—

Something brushed past Don.

Light.

Fast.

He barely caught it.

A shift in the air—

WOOSH—~

Don's head turned slightly—

Just enough to see him.

Charles.

He shot past at high speed, wings pulled tight against his back as he cut through the air like a blade, body angled forward as he drove straight toward the restrained woman.

No hesitation.

No pause.

—

For a second—

It looked contained.

Controlled.

Like they still had it.

Then—

Don felt it.

Through his feet.

A vibration.

Subtle.

But steady.

The ground beneath him trembled faintly, small bits of debris shifting along the fractured surface—

TRRRM—~

His gaze dropped.

Locked onto it.

"…Wait—"

"Don!"

Elle's voice hit hard through the comms now.

Urgent.

"You need to get out of there. Now!"

The urgency in Elle's voice cut through everything.

Don's head turned instinctively, his eyes sweeping the area for the source of whatever she had detected. That single moment—

That split-second shift—

Cost him.

His grip slipped.

Not completely—

But enough.

The woman reacted instantly.

Her body twisted mid-air as the pressure around her eased, and her hair snapped outward in a violent lash—

VOOSHH—!

The strands shot toward the approaching officer with the knife, stretching into hardened spikes as they tore through the space between them.

At the same time—

Her hand started to rise.

Toward Charles.

But Don's force still held her just enough, her movement stuttering as the telekinetic pressure resisted her.

He felt it.

The resistance.

The shift.

His focus snapped back immediately.

"Charles!" Don shouted, voice cutting through the chaos. "Something's wrong! We need to fall back!"

Charles was already within striking distance.

Close enough to end it.

His body angled forward, wings ready to flare out for a finishing strike—

Then Don's words hit him.

He didn't hesitate.

Didn't question it.

His jaw tightened—

And he pulled up.

WOOSH—!

His trajectory shifted upward instantly, body cutting into the air as he abandoned the attack and rose above her instead.

The woman's hair didn't follow him.

It stayed focused.

On the immediate threat.

—

The officer with the knife moved just in time.

He dropped low, rolling hard across the broken ground as the spikes tore through the space where he had just been—

THK—! THK—!

The strands punched into the pavement, embedding deep before retracting slightly.

He came out of the roll breathing hard, boots sliding as he pushed himself back and created distance, knife still clutched tight in his grip.

—

Across the street—

The assault on the stitched man continued.

Relentless.

THUD—THUD—THUD—!

Sniper fire rained down from above—

CRACK—! CRACK—!

Chunks of its body tore away under the combined assault, its frame staggering under the sustained damage as it struggled to advance.

But it didn't fall.

One of the officers paused briefly, pulling a fresh magazine from his belt with a sharp motion, slamming it into place—

CHK—!

"I'm almost out of ammo!" he snapped, frustration bleeding through. "Why won't this fucking thing die already!?"

Another officer who'd been firing from behind and came to assist after the other died didn't look any better.

"Me too!"

He fired another burst before speaking into comms.

"Sir! We're going to need more firepower—!"

He didn't finish.

Because above—

Charles saw it.

From his height, clearing the line of nearby buildings, his view extended further out into the city.

And what he saw—

Stopped him cold.

His eyes widened.

His head snapped downward immediately—

Ready to speak.

But someone beat him to it.

Mr. Olynk.

His voice hit the comms—

Gone was the measured control.

"Everyone fall back now!! Now!! Code Blackfall-9!!"

The command rang out sharp and immediate.

No explanation.

No delay.

Don didn't recognize the code.

Didn't need to.

The tone alone told him everything.

He moved.

The blue glow around his pupils flared brighter as he redirected his focus entirely. His arm snapped back from its extended position—

Then drove forward again.

The woman's body jerked violently as the telekinetic force surged—

WHUMPH—!

She was ripped free from her anchored position, the strands of her hair tearing from the ground as she was launched backward once more.

CRAAASH—!

Her body slammed into the same building she had struck earlier, this time hitting a different section of the structure. The impact blasted another crater into the surface, concrete collapsing inward as glass shattered outward in a wide spray—

KRRRSH—!

She disappeared into the debris again.

Don didn't stop.

He turned.

Locked onto the stitched man.

And pushed.

The force hit it like a truck.

BOOM—!

Its massive frame lifted off its feet, launched backward across the street before slamming into a ruined vehicle—

CRAAASH—!

The car crumpled under the impact, metal folding inward as the creature's body crushed into it, dragging it several meters before coming to a halt.

That was enough.

The two remaining officers near it didn't hesitate.

They broke immediately, turning and sprinting back toward the tower, boots pounding hard against the fractured ground.

Behind them—

The tremors grew stronger.

No longer subtle.

The ground shook in uneven pulses now—

TRRRM—! TRRRM—!

One of them glanced down mid-run.

"What the hell—why is the ground shaking?!"

The other didn't slow.

"It could be another one of those vine trees!" he snapped. "Just move!"

—