The people watching the fight from the surrounding streets were not the only ones who had gone silent.
Far above the avenue, inside a commandeered observation room overlooking the lower districts, Doctor Julius Kintobor, Guinevere, Patch, Buns, Boomer, Sir Armand, Mary, Victoria, Snively, and Lord Abraham Tower watched the confrontation unfold across several battered monitors.
Nobody had expected it to look like this.
The largest screen showed Arthur and the black-and-red hedgehog facing one another in the ruined street. Arthur was breathing hard, his clothes covered in dust and grime, while his opponent looked as though he had barely begun to warm up.
Doctor Kintobor stood directly in front of the main monitor with one hand resting against the console. For once, he wasn't talking.
His eyes followed Arthur carefully as the young hedgehog threw another punch, only for Project Sparkles to slip around it with insulting ease.
"He's playing with him," He finally muttered.
Guinevere stood beside him with her arms folded tightly across her chest. She had been trying to convince herself that Arthur still had a chance, but every exchange made that argument harder to maintain.
"I noticed."
Another impact shook the screen.
Arthur was thrown backward.
Buns winced.
"Oh, come on, Arthur."
Patch stood behind her with his fists clenched. He looked ready to charge downstairs himself, but even he understood that running blindly into that fight would accomplish nothing.
Boomer watched the monitor without blinking.
"He's still standing."
"That's what worries me," Buns replied.
The fight continued.
Arthur moved.
Project Sparkles moved faster.
The difference wasn't merely speed. It was experience. The black-and-red hedgehog seemed to understand exactly when Arthur would strike, exactly where he would move, and exactly how much force was necessary to stop him.
Guinevere's fingers tightened around her arms.
"How much longer can he keep doing this?"
Kintobor's expression hardened.
"Long enough to keep getting back up."
Guinevere looked at him.
"That's not the same as winning."
"No."
He didn't look away from the screen.
"It isn't."
Victoria, meanwhile, had barely spoken.
She stood farther back from the others, watching Project Sparkles with an expression of fascination rather than fear.
"So that's him."
Mary glanced toward her.
"Who? You know who that copycat is?"
Victoria didn't take her eyes off the screen.
"Project Sparkles."
The name immediately caught Sir Armand's attention.
Victoria stepped closer to the monitor.
"I've spent my entire life reading about him. Or, more accurately, reading what was left of the reports about him. Most were heavily redacted. The surviving documents contradicted one another, and everything important was classified."
She watched as Project Sparkles casually avoided another strike.
"And now I'm finally seeing him in person."
Mary stared at her.
"You sound impressed."
"I have to admit that I am."
Victoria's eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"I'm also very glad Arthur is the one fighting him."
Sir Armand gave her an incredulous look.
"You sound remarkably cheerful about that."
"I'm trying to focus on the part where we don't all die."
She pointed toward the screen.
"Arthur was made to deal with threats like this. If the reports are accurate, this is exactly what he was designed for."
Kintobor's eyes narrowed.
"Designed for?"
Victoria glanced at him.
"You know what I mean."
"No," He replied. "I don't think any of us do anymore."
Before Victoria could answer, another impact shook the monitor.
Arthur disappeared behind a ruined wagon.
Buns immediately stepped closer.
"What happened?"
The camera struggled to focus through the dust.
Then Arthur emerged.
Still standing.
Barely.
Buns exhaled.
Boomer finally breathed again.
Patch shook his head.
"He's going to kill him."
"No," Kintobor said.
Patch looked toward him.
"Not yet."
That answer somehow made the room colder.
Victoria's fascination remained, but her expression became more serious.
"Come on, Arthur."
She leaned toward the screen.
"Kill the artificial Anarchy Titan."
Sir Armand frowned.
"Artificial Anarchy Titan?"
Victoria nodded.
"That's what the classified files called him."
Mary looked back at the screen.
The name didn't make the creature look any less frightening.
Then Lord Abraham Tower spoke.
"My God."
Everyone turned.
Tower had been silent since the fight began.
Now he stood rigidly against the wall, staring at the monitor with an expression of genuine astonishment.
Not just fear.
Not anger.
Recognition.
He looked as though he had just seen a ghost.
Snively noticed immediately.
"You know him?"
Tower didn't answer at first.
His eyes remained fixed on the black-and-red hedgehog.
"Forty years."
Sir Armand frowned.
Tower finally looked away from the screen.
"It's been a little over four decades since the Ark Incident."
He looked back.
"He was only ten years old then."
Mary's expression changed.
"Ten?"
Tower nodded slowly.
"I saw him when he was a child."
Snively's eyes narrowed.
"So that's what all the fuss was about."
His voice carried a bitter edge.
"If Abraham and I had reached the chamber first..."
Tower glanced toward him.
Snively smiled thinly.
"He would have been on our side."
Tower's expression hardened.
"You're assuming he would have obeyed."
"Everyone obeys eventually."
Tower said nothing.
Perhaps because he remembered the child Project Sparkles had been.
Perhaps because even then, there had been something about him that made obedience seem like a dangerous assumption.
He looked back toward the screen.
The child was gone.
Whatever stood in the street now had four decades of experience behind him.
"He is the exact same creature I remember," Tower said quietly.
Another impact shook the monitor.
Arthur went flying.
Mary flinched.
Sir Armand stepped forward instinctively.
"Arthur!"
Guinevere covered her mouth.
Buns swore.
Boomer's hands clenched.
Patch looked ready to move.
Doctor Kintobor closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them, his expression was grim.
"We need to assume Arthur can't win this alone."
Guinevere turned toward him.
"Then we help him."
Kintobor nodded.
"We don't know Project Sparkles' limits. We don't know how much effort he's actually using. We don't know what else he can do."
Buns immediately grabbed her equipment.
"Then we don't give him time to show us."
Kintobor looked at her.
"That is exactly the sort of sentence that gets people killed."
"Maybe."
Buns looked back at the screen.
"But sitting here while Arthur gets thrown through half of Terminus isn't exactly safer."
Boomer nodded.
"She's right."
Patch stepped closer to the monitor.
"Arthur's learning."
Victoria looked at him.
"What?"
"Watch his feet."
Everyone looked.
Arthur had changed his stance.
He was no longer trying to match Project Sparkles' speed. His movements were smaller, more deliberate. He was trying to anticipate rather than react.
Project Sparkles noticed.
For the first time, his grin changed.
It became more interested.
Victoria's eyes widened.
"He's adapting."
Guinevere swallowed.
"Can he win?"
Victoria hesitated.
"I don't know, Arthur's body may be too imature compared to Project Sparkles."
Nobody liked hearing that.
The building shook again.
A distant explosion sent smoke rising over the city.
The monitors flickered.
Doctor Kintobor looked toward the windows.
"That came from the lower district."
Another explosion followed.
Closer.
The city was deteriorating around them while Arthur continued fighting alone.
Sir Armand slowly reached for his sword.
Mary caught his arm.
"Armand."
He looked at her.
"I know."
"You aren't going down there."
"I haven't said that I was."
"You reached for your sword."
"I frequently reach for my sword."
"Not while standing in a control room."
Sir Armand sighed.
Mary's grip remained firm.
"I know what you're thinking."
He looked back at the screen.
"Arthur needs help."
Mary's expression softened.
"Yes."
Snively scoffed.
"This is ridiculous."
Patch looked at him.
Snively adjusted his uniform.
"If we'd found the chamber first, Project Sparkles could have ended this conflict before it began."
Patch's expression hardened.
"We're not talking about controlling him."
Snively shrugged.
"I'm simply pointing out the obvious."
"No," Patch replied. "You're pointing out what you wanted."
Snively glared at him.
Patch didn't look away.
"Arthur needs help."
Tower's voice cut through the argument.
"Enough."
Snively fell silent.
Tower stared at the screen again.
"I remember Project Sparkles as a child."
His voice became quieter.
"He was a monster surrounded by people who thought they understood what they had created."
Another impact.
Tower's face darkened.
"Perhaps they were wrong."
Doc moved toward the door.
"We're leaving."
Guinevere looked at him.
"You're changing your mind?"
"No."
Doctor Kintobor opened the door.
"I'm accepting reality."
Patch followed.
"We can't defeat Project Sparkles ourselves."
"Probably not."
"But we can help Arthur."
"Exactly."
Buns slung her equipment over her shoulder.
"Then let's go."
Boomer cracked his knuckles.
"I'm in."
Guinevere nodded.
"So am I."
Sir Armand drew his sword.
Mary followed him.
Victoria gave the monitor one last look.
For years, Project Sparkles had been nothing more than a name buried inside redacted files.
Now she had finally seen him.
And somehow, seeing him in person was even better.
Patch stopped at the doorway.
Everyone looked toward him.
On the monitor, Arthur had just been thrown across another street.
Project Sparkles stood untouched in the middle of the avenue, smiling as he waited for Arthur to rise again.
Patch's expression hardened.
"I'm not going to stand by and let Arthur get his ass beat."
Guinevere immediately nodded.
"Neither am I."
Buns grinned.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Boomer gave a determined nod.
"Let's go, I'vegot some experimental inventions to test out."
Kintobor sighed.
"All right."
He stepped through the doorway.
"Let's go get him."
Mary had barely taken a step toward the door when Sir Armand moved with her, already reaching for the weapon at his side. Victoria turned from the monitor, apparently prepared to follow as well, but Doctor Kintobor raised one hand.
"No."
Sir Armand stopped.
Mary frowned. "Arthur needs every capable fighter he can get."
"I know."
Kintobor's gaze moved between them before settling on Snively and Lord Abraham Tower, both still restrained against the far wall. "Which is precisely why neither of you is going."
Sir Armand's expression hardened. "Doctor—"
"Someone has to stay here."
The room fell quiet. Kintobor gestured toward the prisoners. "Victoria cannot watch both of them alone while simultaneously monitoring communications and whatever else is happening outside. If Project Sparkles reaches this facility, those two become liabilities we cannot afford to leave unattended."
Tower's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. Snively, meanwhile, looked thoroughly offended by the implication that he required supervision.
"I hardly require a babysitter," Snively muttered.
Patch glanced at him. "That's exactly what someone who needs a babysitter would say."
Snively's face twisted with irritation.
Mary looked toward the monitor again. Another distant impact shook the image as Arthur was sent tumbling across the street.
Her expression softened.
"I don't like leaving him."
"I don't either," Kintobor admitted. "But we aren't helping Arthur by abandoning our only prisoners and leaving Victoria to deal with them alone."
Sir Armand reluctantly lowered his hand from his weapon. "Then go."
Patch looked back at him.
"Don't worry. I'll be careful."
Sir Armand gave him a skeptical look.
Patch smiled faintly. "I'll come back."
Kintobor stepped beside him and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.
"You will."
Patch glanced up at him.
Kintobor's expression was unusually serious.
"And I'll make damn sure you do."
-------
The walk to D'Coolette Manor was conducted at a pace that was just short of a run.
Nobody had much to say.
The distant sounds of Terminus followed them through the streets: sirens, shouted orders, the occasional heavy explosion, and beneath all of it the low, continuous rumble of a city trying to decide whether it was still functioning.
Doc kept his eyes forward, his coat pulled tightly around him as they moved through the damaged streets. Guinevere stayed close beside him, repeatedly glancing toward the smoke rising above the rooftops.
Patch walked a few steps ahead, scanning every intersection before they crossed it. Buns and Boomer followed behind, both carrying whatever equipment they had managed to grab from the observation room.
None of them needed to say where they were going.
D'Coolette Manor was close enough.
And Boomer's room was closer still.
"How long until Arthur can't keep getting back up?" Guinevere finally asked.
Doc didn't answer immediately.
He watched another distant plume of smoke rise above the buildings.
"I don't know."
Guinevere looked at him.
Doc sighed.
"That's the problem."
Patch glanced over his shoulder.
"You think he's going to lose?"
"I think he's fighting something we don't understand."
Doc adjusted the strap of the equipment bag on his shoulder.
"Project Sparkles has forty years of experience that Arthur doesn't. He's faster, stronger, and apparently capable of treating everything around him like a stage."
Buns grimaced.
"That's putting it mildly."
Boomer gave a nervous laugh.
"I've never seen anyone move like that."
"Neither have I," Patch admitted.
He looked toward the distant skyline.
"And I don't particularly want to see it again."
Buns gave him a sideways glance.
"You're still going."
"Of course I'm still going."
"Even though we don't know what we're walking into?"
Patch stopped for half a second.
"Arthur's in there."
That was enough.
Buns nodded.
"Right."
They continued.
D'Coolette Manor eventually appeared beyond the next row of buildings, its familiar silhouette standing above the surrounding streets. Compared with the rest of Terminus, the manor looked almost untouched.
Almost.
A few windows had been boarded over, and one section of the outer wall had suffered damage, but the main structure remained standing.
Boomer immediately broke into a faster pace.
"Come on."
He practically jogged up the front steps.
Guinevere followed.
"Boomer, wait."
He was already reaching for the door.
"I need my gear."
"Your gear?"
Boomer pushed the door open.
"Most of it."
Doc raised an eyebrow.
"Most?"
Boomer gave him a sheepish look.
"I have a lot of inventions."
Buns snorted.
"That's one way to describe it."
They hurried through the manor.
The normally familiar corridors felt strangely empty.
Boomer's footsteps echoed through the hall as he led them toward the stairs.
"Why is everyone so quiet?" Guinevere whispered.
Patch glanced toward the windows.
"Because everyone who saw the broadcast is probably watching the same thing we are."
Buns looked down the corridor.
"And because everyone knows Arthur is fighting that thing alone."
Boomer stopped at the top of the stairs.
His expression tightened.
"Then let's make sure he isn't alone for much longer."
He turned down the hallway.
His bedroom was at the far end.
Boomer reached the door and threw it open.
"Okay."
He stopped.
Everyone nearly collided with him.
Doc leaned around his shoulder.
Then froze.
The room looked as though a workshop had collided with an armory.
Tables had been pushed against the walls to make space for machinery. Shelves were filled with half-assembled gadgets, coils, tools, batteries, wires, metal components, strange containers, and inventions that Doc didn't even recognize.
But that wasn't what caught their attention.
Someone was already standing in the middle of the room.
Collin.
He was wearing a collection of Boomer's inventions.
A reinforced harness covered his torso, with several compact mechanical devices mounted along the shoulders and sides. Two small cylindrical units were strapped around his forearms, each connected to a network of wires running into the harness. A pair of mechanical goggles rested over his eyes, their lenses glowing faintly as they adjusted to the room's light.
Collin looked up.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Boomer blinked.
"Collin?"
Collin glanced down at himself.
Then back at Boomer.
"I saw the broadcast."
Boomer stared.
"You saw Arthur's speech?"
"All of it."
Collin's voice was unusually serious.
"I saw the roof get destroyed. I saw that thing attack him."
His hands curled into fists.
"And then I saw Arthur get thrown through half the city."
Guinevere stepped into the room.
"How did you get into all of this?"
Collin gestured toward the equipment.
"Your brother keeps everything labeled."
Boomer looked around.
"My stuff isn't labeled."
Collin pointed toward a shelf.
"That one says 'DO NOT TOUCH.'"
Boomer frowned.
"That's not a label."
"It was clear enough."
Buns laughed despite herself.
Boomer walked over and examined the harness.
"You put the kinetic braces on backward."
Collin looked down.
"I did?"
"Yeah."
Boomer crouched and began adjusting the straps.
"The pressure distribution is going to hurt your shoulders."
Collin held still.
"Can you fix it?"
"Obviously."
Boomer tightened one of the straps.
"There."
He stepped back.
"Much better."
Collin flexed his arms.
The mechanical units hummed.
"How much can these actually do?"
Boomer's expression became more confident.
"Enough."
Doc raised an eyebrow.
"That isn't particularly scientific."
Boomer pointed at him.
"You're not allowed to complain about my science when you're wearing three different pieces of equipment you stole from my workshop."
Doc looked down.
He was, in fact, wearing three pieces of equipment.
He cleared his throat.
"Fair."
Guinevere moved toward another workbench.
"What do we have?"
Boomer immediately switched into his element.
"Power amplifiers, kinetic stabilizers, emergency shields, short-range communication units, grappling systems, impact dampeners, and a few things I haven't finished testing."
Buns looked at him.
"Untested?"
Boomer smiled nervously.
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Okay, some."
Patch picked up one of the devices.
"This?"
"Pulse launcher."
Patch looked at him.
"What does it do?"
Boomer paused.
"Depends."
"On what?"
"On how much you charge it."
Patch slowly put it back down.
"Right."
Doc examined one of the larger devices.
"And this?"
"Portable barrier generator."
Doc looked impressed despite himself.
"How long does it last?"
"Depends on how much energy it absorbs."
"That's vague."
"That's because I haven't tested it against a super-fast artificial Anarchy Titan."
Doc nodded.
"Fair enough."
Collin watched them prepare.
"I want to come."
Guinevere immediately looked toward him.
"Collin—"
"I can help."
"You don't know what you're walking into."
"Neither does anyone else."
That silenced her.
Collin tightened one of the straps on his harness.
"I watched Arthur stand up every time that thing knocked him down."
His voice was quieter now.
"I'm not going to sit here while everyone else goes to help him."
Boomer looked at him for several seconds.
Then smiled.
"Good."
Guinevere sighed.
"Boomer."
"He knows what he's doing."
"He knows how to use your inventions."
Boomer looked at Collin.
"Mostly."
Collin gave him an annoyed look.
Boomer grinned.
"See? He's fine."
Buns shook her head.
"You two are impossible."
Patch was already fastening one of the impact dampeners around his arm.
"Then we're agreed."
Doc looked around the room.
"Everyone takes only what they can actually use."
Boomer immediately began distributing equipment.
Guinevere received a compact shield generator and a reinforced communicator.
Buns strapped two kinetic amplifiers to her arms.
Patch took the pulse launcher and a grappling device.
Collin adjusted the mechanical harness across his chest while Boomer made several final modifications.
Boomer himself pulled on a reinforced utility vest and secured several inventions around his waist.
Doc took a compact energy scanner and a small barrier generator.
Guinevere looked around at the group.
"Everyone ready?"
Patch checked his equipment.
"Ready."
Buns tightened her gloves.
"Ready."
Collin nodded.
"Ready."
Doc looked toward Boomer.
Boomer stared at the door.
Beyond it, the distant sound of another explosion rolled through the manor.
He took a deep breath.
Then his nervous expression disappeared.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
He grabbed the largest piece of equipment from the workbench and secured it across his back.
"All right."
He looked at the others.
Arthur was still out there.
Project Sparkles was still hunting him.
And Terminus was still burning.
Boomer stepped toward the door.
"It's time to go in with a bang."