At Full Strength (Episode 2)

The sound arrives wrong. Muffled. Like hearing it through water.

ARCHIE WILSON stands a few steps behind him.

Younger. Unmarked. A champion's build.

He has stood here before.

He has stood here every night for years.

Aaron stops mid-sentence.

Looks down.

ARCHIE: "No—"

Archie is already moving.

He is always already moving.

He never gets there in time.

Aaron falls.

The square erupts, and the sound stays underwater.

Archie drops beside him. Presses both hands against the wound.

ARCHIE: "Stay with me."

A shadow crosses them.

MICHELLE BROOKS is standing over Aaron.

Nobody saw her arrive.

Archie never sees her arrive.

ARCHIE: "Michelle—"

He rises into her path.

Lumen floods through him.

He strikes with everything that ever won him anything.

She turns it aside without effort.

He comes again.

The air tightens—

and he is on his back, twenty feet away, the sky white above him.

He cannot move.

He can only watch.

Michelle kneels. Lifts Aaron without touching him.

ARCHIE: "Don't—"

They rise.

Michelle looks back at him.

Michelle looks back at him.

Just once.

Then—

She and Aaron vanish.

Archie's hand closes around empty air.

Archie JOLTS AWAKE.

Heavy breathing.

His eyes search the darkness.

CUT TO BLACK.

OPENING THEME

HARMONY CITY — NIGHT

Harmony City glows beneath the night sky.

The monumental buildings and pristine avenues of the city center give way to narrower streets.

Older buildings.

Crowded signs. Back alleys.

Still beautiful.

Just a different kind of beautiful.

A hooded woman moves through them.

She stops people who look like they do not want to be stopped. Questions are exchanged quietly.

Most send her away.

Finally, one man points deeper into the district.

She follows his direction.

Eventually she finds a place that almost disappears between the surrounding buildings.

She enters.

The interior is strange. Objects she does not recognize crowd shelves and walls.

The hooded woman looks around.

Creeped out.

But fascinated.A figure watches from deeper inside.

Their eyes fall upon the small portion of a House crest visible beneath her cloak.

PRACTITIONER: "Why would a House candidate be snooping around this part of town at night?"

The woman freezes.

PRACTITIONER: "Don't you have enough things already?"

She lowers her hood.

Soraya Venn.

SORAYA: "I have enough things that don't serve me.

"

She steps closer.

SORAYA: "I need knowledge and truth. And the power to do something about it if I don't like the

"

answer.

The practitioner studies her.

SORAYA: "My entire life I've been playing other people's game. Living by other people's rules.

"

SORAYA: "I want to make my own rules. Decide on my own terms what my life and the world

should look like.

"

A faint smile.

PRACTITIONER: "So you want to be God even though you were born human.

"

Soraya does not flinch.

PRACTITIONER: "You're already blessed by Lumen. You've bonded with a Voran. And still you

come looking for more.

"

The practitioner moves closer.

PRACTITIONER: "Don't you know limits are a good thing?"

SORAYA: "Again…

"

Soraya meets their eyes.

SORAYA: "I have to decide that on my own.

"

The practitioner grins.

PRACTITIONER: "Your choice.

"

A hand disappears beneath their cloak.

PRACTITIONER: "Your life.

"

Something emerges.

A small vessel.Blackness churns inside it.

PRACTITIONER: "Take it.

"

Soraya takes it.

Her arm immediately drops several inches from the unexpected weight.

She steadies herself.

The thing feels impossibly heavy.

Not merely physically.

PRACTITIONER: "No charge.

"

Soraya looks at it.

SORAYA: "Then what do you want?"

The practitioner suddenly bursts into laughter.

Loud.

Unrestrained.

Then—

PRACTITIONER: "A front seat.

"

Soraya's expression changes.

Something moves beside the House crest beneath her cloak.

A tiny eye materializes.

It settles into the shape of a pin.

The practitioner smiles.

PRACTITIONER: "And one for your friend too.

"

Soraya freezes.

Another eye pin appears in the shadows of the room.

The camera pushes toward it.

Slowly.

The darkness around it begins to take shape.

A shoulder.

A face.

A body.

CAEL MORROW MATERIALIZES FROM THE SHADOWS.Soraya locks eyes with him.

Cael looks back.

Then both turn toward the practitioner.

Gone.

The shelves are gone.

The objects are gone.

The strange lighting is gone.

The room is—

Empty.

Clean.

Fresh lights overhead.

Ordinary.

Soraya slowly looks down.

The vessel is still in her hand.

She looks back at Cael.

SORAYA: "It's too early for you to be taking such a risk.

"

CAEL: "Yeah, but I don't like to be out of the loop.

"

A beat.

CAEL: "I was curious.

"

Soraya studies him for a moment.

Then the vessel.

CUT.

BRANNOCH — NIGHT OUT

KELLAN: "I still don't get it.

"

Mica sighs.

MICA: "Here we go.

"

Darsa walks beside them carrying food and shopping bags.

KELLAN: "Everybody acts like they're unbeatable.

"

DARSA: "They won two of the last three.

"

KELLAN: "So?"Darsa shrugs.

DARSA: "Nothing. Seems relevant.

"

KELLAN: "I could beat Lyrian.

"

Mica looks at him.

Kellan catches it immediately.

KELLAN: "What?"

MICA: "I didn't say anything.

"

KELLAN: "Your face did.

"

He looks toward Darsa.

KELLAN: "Big sis.

"

DARSA: "Hm?"

KELLAN: "You think I can beat him?"

Darsa actually considers the question.

DARSA: "Maybe.

"

Kellan stops walking.

KELLAN: "MAYBE?!"

DARSA: "You asked if you could beat him now.

"

That shuts him up.

Darsa keeps walking.

DARSA: "Ask me how good I think you're going to be.

"

Kellan catches up.

KELLAN: "How good?"

DARSA: "No idea.

"

His face drops.

Darsa smiles.

DARSA: "That's the exciting part.

"

She keeps walking.

DARSA: "Now can we eat? Believing in you is exhausting.

"

Mica laughs.

Kellan complains.The night becomes a blur of Harmony City.

Food.

Stores.

Lights.

Kellan dragging them toward anything interesting.

Mica dragging Kellan away from things he should not touch.

Darsa enjoying all of it.

Eventually—

They nearly collide with someone.

Soraya.

Cael is nowhere to be seen.

Mica looks her over.

Soraya casually points toward her House crest.

SORAYA: "I got a cool pin.

"

The little eye sits beside it.

MICA: "Let's head back to our room. We have to leave really early.

"

He starts walking.

MICA: "We need to get home and start training.

"

The four Brannoch candidates disappear into the nighttime crowd.

CUT.

AURELIS — TRAINING ARENA

BOOM.

Seraphina and Lyrian are already fighting.

Hard.

No sightseeing.

No shopping.

No relaxing.

Their ceremony clothing is gone.

They are in training gear, exchanging attacks at nearly full intensity.

Seraphina presses.Lyrian answers.

Another exchange.

Faster.

Harder.

Neither backs down.

Light tears across the arena.

Lyrian accelerates.

Seraphina catches the line and counters.

They collide again—

JACE: "ENOUGH!"

Everything stops.

The former Champion stands at the edge of the arena.

Seraphina and Lyrian disengage.

Both are breathing hard.

JACE: "Shower. Food. Rest.

"

He turns away.

JACE: "We're departing early.

"

Then, almost casually:

JACE: "And we have a night training session back at House Aurelis that we are not missing.

"

The team disperses.

AURELIS — MASTER ROOM

Jace enters.

Another Aurelis leader is waiting.

Far below the enormous windows—

Harmony City glows.

AURELIS LEADER: "Seraphina?"

JACE: "Ready.

"

AURELIS LEADER: "Lyrian?"

Jace pauses.

JACE: "Getting closer.

"The leader nods.

AURELIS LEADER: "And the younger two?"

JACE: "They'll be ready when the time comes.

"

Silence.

Jace approaches the window.

JACE: "Twenty candidates.

"

AURELIS LEADER: "Twenty possibilities.

"

JACE: "You really believe six months is enough?"

AURELIS LEADER: "It has to be.

"

Jace turns toward them.

JACE: "And if Aurelis wins again?"

The leader continues looking down at Harmony.

AURELIS LEADER: "Winning isn't what concerns me anymore.

"

Jace's expression changes.

JACE: "Then what does?"

A long pause.

AURELIS LEADER: "Choice.

"

AURELIS LEADER: "Our predecessors made theirs.

"

"Their children lived with it.

"

"And their children's children.

"

The leader finally faces Jace.

AURELIS LEADER: "Eventually, every generation deserves the opportunity to decide what it will

inherit…

"

A beat.

AURELIS LEADER: "

…and what it won't.

"

JACE: "That kind of choice has consequences.

"

AURELIS LEADER: "All choices do.

"

Harmony continues peacefully beneath them.

JACE: "Do you think they're strong enough?"

AURELIS LEADER: "No.

"Silence.

AURELIS LEADER: "But they might be.

"

JACE: "In six months?"

AURELIS LEADER: "We'll find out.

"

The leader turns back toward the city.

AURELIS LEADER: "When the time comes, I want Aurelis strong enough to choose its own

future.

"

The camera moves toward the window.

Past the glass.

Over the edge—

And DROPS.

Down the side of the tower.

Past hundreds of illuminated windows.

Down.

Down.

Down—

Back into the streets.

KEST: "FROST! GO! GO! GO!"

Frostmane TEARS THROUGH HARMONY CITY.

Kest is right there with him, having the time of her life.

IRIA: "KEST!"

Iria races after them.

IRIA: "CALM DOWN!"

KEST: "I AM CALM!"

IRIA: "THAT IS NOT CALM!"

Farther behind—

Nalin and Edrin follow.

They are laughing.

Nalin looks toward Edrin.

NALIN: "How do you think you'll do this year?"Edrin watches the sisters.

EDRIN: "I don't know.

"

A smile.

EDRIN: "Hopefully worse than those two.

"

Nalin looks at him.

EDRIN: "They're the real future.

"

His expression settles.

EDRIN: "Our House leaders are getting restless. We haven't won in a while. We need the

funding.

"

EDRIN: "I don't care about the rest, but you know the elders do.

"

He gestures vaguely toward everything around them.

EDRIN: "They want to be known as one of the strongest Houses. They want prestige.

"

Ahead, Iria is still yelling.

Kest is still not listening.

Edrin watches them.

EDRIN: "Nothing is promised.

"

EDRIN: "We could be hit by a Veyr attack at any moment.

"

He shrugs.

EDRIN: "A freakishly powerful Aruunai could be on their way right now to blow up the city.

"

Nalin laughs slightly.

But Edrin's point is sincere.

EDRIN: "So we've gotta enjoy these moments.

"

He watches Kest and Iria.

EDRIN: "They're young.

"

EDRIN: "They've got a ridiculously hard six months ahead.

"

A small smile.

EDRIN: "Let them enjoy tonight.

"

Then:

EDRIN: "Because soon, they find out the future of our House rests in their hands.

"

Something crashes ahead.IRIA: "KEST!"

Edrin starts laughing.

CUT.

VERIDIAN

A door quietly opens.

Cael slips inside.

Careful.

Quiet.

Almost—

ZAHRA: "Where were you?"

Cael freezes.

The others are waiting.

ZAHRA: "We've been waiting on you. We're heading back now.

"

ZAHRA: "We're only half a day from home. If we leave now, we can be back early tomorrow.

"

CAEL: "Yeah. I'm ready.

"

He glances toward the window.

CAEL: "Just getting one more look at the beautiful view.

"

He blushes.

Hakeem looks at him strangely.

Cael notices.

Hakeem keeps staring.

HAKEEM: "

…Let's just go.

"

CUT.

UWG HEADQUARTERS

Archie stands over an incoming report.

Seven figures have been identified on the outskirts of Harmony City.

Aruunai.

They are already engaged with UWG forces.

And they are advancing toward the city entrance.

Archie calmly studies the information.ARCHIE: "I'm going.

"

He presses a button.

Jace's device alerts.

He checks it.

A message from Archie:

FOR OLD TIMES' SAKE

Jace smiles.

Light Lumen begins pouring around him.

It intensifies.

Then—

JACE MOVES.

HARMONY CITY — OUTER PERIMETER

Archie and Jace arrive.

Before they can even get all seven figures in view—

A horrific SCREAM tears through the night.

The air visibly buckles.

A sonic wave races toward them.

ARCHIE COILS.

His body compresses—

BOOM.

He launches upward.

Jace disappears in a flash of Light Lumen.

The sonic wave tears through the space where they were standing.

Archie is still in the air when he looks up.

A shadowy figure is already above him.

Fully powered. Bone ridges crown its shoulders, fused into the skin.

A fist reinforced with Lumen.

Archie cannot move in time.

He braces.

CRACK.The punch lands.

It hurts.

But now the attacker is in range.

Archie coils around it.

Grabs.

CRUSH.

He returns to the ground.

Looks to the side—

Another one is already on him.

A flash of light.

JACE APPEARS IN FRONT OF ARCHIE.

A manifested sword of Light Lumen burns in his hand.

Straight through the attacker.

Before Jace can remove the sword—

The one that made the first screech is suddenly in front of both of them. Its throat is wrong -

ridged, distended, built for the sound it is about to make.

Point blank.

SCREAM.

The blast blows Archie and Jace away.

Another Aruunai runs beneath their airborne bodies.

Dark energy projectiles erupt toward them.

Several land.

Jace raises the sword and blocks the rest.

Archie twists and evades.

Archie snaps into Sync for an instant.

His mass increases.

He drops back to the ground faster.

Jace is still falling.

Fast.

Too fast.The ground rushes toward him—

A tiny light appears.

A firefly.

Flying straight toward Jace.

His Voran.

Jace sees it.

Smirks.

JACE: "I guess I'm a little rusty.

"

The firefly reaches him.

JACE: "Time to get serious.

"

SYNC.

SYNC ABILITY - BLINDING LIGHT.

FLASH.

Two of the Aruunai recoil, temporarily blinded.

Archie takes advantage.

He launches.

Coils around another.

Two seconds.

CRUSH.

Dead.

Archie releases it.

ARCHIE: "Damn, that screech was annoying.

"

Back to Jace.

SYNC ABILITY - LIGHT SPEED WING SLASH.

A massive wing of Light Lumen manifests from Jace's right side.

One ferocious flap.

Then another.

WHUMP.

WHUMP.

The attacks rip across the battlefield.Two more Aruunai are dismantled.

Archie and Jace regroup.

Back to back.

ARCHIE: "Two more.

"

They look around.

Nothing.

Trees.

Darkness.

Silence.

Then—

BOOM.

Something erupts out of the trees.

Another Aruunai.

FULLY SYNCED.

It charges head-on.

Screaming something—

Inaudible.

Unintelligible.

Its synchronized form resembles some horrifying convergence of crow and humanoid.

Frail.

Almost skeletal.

But the power coming from it is unreal.

ARCHIE: "Thought these were the smart ones.

"

Another step.

ARCHIE: "Why is it charging straight in?"

Jace studies it.

JACE: "The corrupted Lumen.

"

A beat.

JACE: "It's destroying this one from the inside.

"

The figure keeps charging.JACE: "Lucky for us.

"

Light begins gathering around him.

JACE: "At full strength, this might've been a real problem.

"

He looks at Archie.

JACE: "I'll take it from here.

"

Archie smirks and retreats.

Jace faces the charging figure alone.

The firefly shines.

JACE: "Absolute Awakened Sync.

"

Light erupts around him.

JACE: "Awakened Ability — Light Beam Crush.

"

A ridiculously powerful beam of light tears across the battlefield.

The charging figure disappears inside it.

For a moment—

Nothing exists but white.

Then silence.

The beam fades.

Jace undoes the transformation.

The firefly separates.

Archie approaches.

They look at the battlefield.

Then at each other.

They laugh.

JACE: "That was tougher than it would've been five or ten years ago.

"

ARCHIE: "You noticed too?"

JACE: "Sign of age?"

ARCHIE: "That would be the preferred answer.

"

They begin to head back.

Behind them, UWG forces move in.

UWG SOLDIER: "Wait.

"Archie and Jace stop.

The soldier is staring across the battlefield.

Counting.

A beat.

UWG SOLDIER: "That was only six.

"

CUT TO BLACK.

Silence.

Episode over.

...

...

OSEI: "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Osei Meren is furious.

OSEI: "A whole episode and no Osei?! Is this some kind of joke?"

He throws his hands up.

OSEI: "I spent the whole night at the spa getting massages and being fed by the local guys and

girls!"

OSEI: "That was way more fun than these boring old men fighting freaks.

"

Then something else occurs to him.

His expression becomes even more offended.

OSEI: "And why the fuck was Cael sneaking around with Soraya?!"

He shakes his head.

OSEI: "She could've done better.

"

Beat.

OSEI: "I'm better.

"

Another beat.

OSEI: "Absolutely ridiculous.

"

Osei settles back, still annoyed.

OSEI: "Hopefully next episode is all about me.

"