Orange energy crackled around Angelo's outstretched arms as seawater rippled by the constant thrust of his wings. His brow furrowed in concentration, sweat beading despite the cool ocean air.

"Rotate the energies... compress them together... keep spinning..." Angelo muttered through gritted teeth. The swirling ball of energy between their palms stretched dangerously. "Wait—shit, it's destabilizing!"

All three duplicates dove beneath the waves as their creation erupted in a spectacular explosion, sending a geyser of seawater twenty feet into the air. The blast echoed across the open water like thunder.

Angelo burst through the surface first, salt water stinging his eyes. He wiped his face with a soaked sleeve, glaring at Blue who emerged beside him with perfect posture despite being drenched.

"I thought your supposedly brilliant method was going to solve our problem," Angelo snapped, frustration evident in every word. "We've made zero progress."

Red exploded from the water with a wild laugh, holding something thrashing in his grasp. "Hey! Check out what I found!" He thrust his arm forward, displaying a shark clamped onto his forearm. The creature's teeth couldn't penetrate his skin, but it refused to let go. "Can I keep him? I'm naming him Steve."

He grinned at the shark, matching its predatory expression tooth for tooth. "We're going to be best friends, aren't we, Steve?"

Blue pinched the bridge of his nose, the scholarly equivalent of a scream. "Red, release that creature immediately." He turned to Angelo, his perfect posture somehow becoming even more rigid. "And you—do you truly comprehend the complexity of what we're attempting? The interaction between three opposing energies?"

Angelo crossed his arms over his chest, water dripping from his dark hair. "Obviously, I do."

"Demonstrate your understanding, then," Blue challenged, mirroring Angelo's crossed arms. "Explain the fundamental principle."

"This is a complete waste of time," Angelo growled. "We should just try again—"

"No." Blue's scholarly tone cut through Angelo's objection like a scalpel. "If you cannot articulate the problem, you cannot solve it. Explain."

Red's head swiveled between them, his wild grin growing wider with each exchange.

"For fuck's sake," Angelo exhaled sharply. "Fine! I have neutral energy, you have positive energy, and Red has negative energy. When we mix all three, the repulsion is stronger because it's three energies instead of two. Satisfied?"

Blue shook his head, disappointment radiating from his perfect posture. "Your grasp of the fundamental principles is entirely inadequate. No wonder our attempts have yielded such catastrophic results."

"What?" Angelo's eyes flashed orange with indignation. "I explained it perfectly!"

"Allow me to illuminate your misconception," Blue replied, adjusting his non-existent glasses with clinical precision. "The addition of a third energy component doesn't merely strengthen the repulsion through numerical superiority. Each energy simultaneously repels both others along different vectors, creating a three-dimensional conflict matrix. The resulting chaos cascade grows exponentially with each increase in power."

"See? Chaos for the win!" Red pumped his fist triumphantly, the shark still dangling from his arm. "I knew I was essential to this whole operation!"

Angelo dragged a hand down his face, the weight of his sigh seeming to ripple the ocean around him. "Who gives a damn about technical details? We need practical results, not a physics lecture."

"Knowledge is power," Blue insisted, his scholarly tone unwavering. "A comprehensive understanding of the underlying principles allows for more precise and purposefully directed energy manipulation." He shot a pointed look at Red. "That applies to you as well, chaos personified."

"Whatever, professor," Red waved dismissively with his shark-free hand, making Blue's eye twitch with irritation. "Are we going to try again or what? Steve's getting bored."

Angelo and Blue shared a rare moment of unity through their synchronized sighs. Mastering Trinergy was clearly going to be harder than either had anticipated.

Meanwhile, on the beach, Neiva concentrated on the metal rod hovering between her palms. Her blue aura flickered like gentle flames as she stretched and compressed the metallic creation.

"Like an accordion," she giggled, watching the metal respond to her will. She began swaying with the rhythm of her manipulations, lost in the simple joy of discovery and fond memories.

Her dance came to an abrupt halt when she turned to find five figures watching her. The metal rod sank to the sand as her concentration shattered.

"Having fun there, sweetheart?" The tallest of the group stepped forward, a nasty smile spreading across his face. Purple energy flickered around his fingers like restless lightning. The noose tattoo on his neck marked him clearly as a Cliffhanger.

"Cliffhangers?" Neiva's voice caught in her throat as her eyes darted between their faces. "What—what do you want?"

The leader, a muscular man with a jagged scar across his left cheekbone, glanced back at his companions. "Me and my crew couldn't help noticing all this... preparation going on. Almost looks like training for a fight." He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Makes us wonder who you might be planning to throw down with."

Neiva's heart hammered against her ribs. "No! Nothing like that!" She backed up a step, sand shifting beneath her feet. "I'm just their student! They're teaching me to be an Auron—that's it!"

The leader made a show of sniffing the air, his purple aura intensifying. "You smell that, boys?"

One of his crew, a lanky teenager with a voice still breaking, sniffed awkwardly. "The salt air, Spike?"

"No, you brain-dead moron," Spike snapped, his gaze never leaving Neiva. "It's the stench of pure, grade-A bullshit." His smile disappeared, replaced by something cold and dangerous. "Maybe I need to break a finger or two to get the truth out of you."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Panic flooded Neiva's system. She fumbled in her pocket, pulling out her phone and the pocket Red figurine. Her hands trembled as she held the tiny crimson doll.

"Red, HELP!" she pleaded desperately.

Spike froze mid-step, then erupted in cruel laughter. His crew joined in, their voices carrying across the empty beach.

"Did you see that?" Spike wiped a mock tear from his eye. "She's begging a toy for rescue! Maybe I should feel bad about beating up someone who's clearly not right in the head."

Their laughter died instantly as the pocket Red detached itself from Neiva's phone and hovered in midair. Crimson smoke poured from the tiny figure, swirling and expanding like a blood-red tornado. The energy solidified into a humanoid form, the pocket Red embedded in its chest like a grotesque heart. Its face was a grinning clown mask, empty eye sockets suddenly blazing with crimson light.

"What the actual fuck is that thing?" Spike stumbled back, the false bravado draining from his face.

The Crimson Puppet of Chaos tilted its head at an impossible angle, the sickening crack of its neck echoing across the suddenly silent beach. It raised its arms in a fighting stance, the grinning mask somehow promising violence despite its fixed expression.

"Don't just stand there gawking!" Spike shouted at his crew, panic breaking through his tough facade. "Take that thing down! Now!"

Auras erupted around the Cliffhangers like fireworks - purple, green, blue and yellow energy crackling to life all at once. Spike thrust his hands forward, lightning bolts leaping from his fingertips toward the towering puppet. His crew joined in, unleashing their own elemental attacks in a desperate barrage.

The Crimson Puppet twisted away from the attacks with unnatural, jerky movements – like a marionette controlled by a manic puppeteer. Each dodge seemed to mock them, its fixed grin somehow becoming more sinister with every attack it avoided.

Neiva backed away, sand shifting beneath her uncertain footsteps. Her eyes darted between the puppet and the path to safety, indecision freezing her in place. "Should I run? Stay close to the puppet?" she whispered to herself, hands trembling at her sides.

The puppet closed the distance to the nearest Cliffhanger, its arm morphing into a massive crimson hammer. It swung the weapon in wide, devastating arcs, forcing the gang members into increasingly frantic defensive maneuvers. Only the youngest Cliffhanger hung back, his face pale with terror as he cowered behind his companions.

Spike scrambled backward, putting distance between himself and the chaotic melee. His face twisted with determination as he raised both hands, fingers positioned like toy guns.

"Enough of this nonsense!" he snarled, purple energy crackling between his fingertips. "Time to end your little sideshow!"

He fired with surprising precision, each shot punching through the puppet's body. Chunks of crimson energy exploded from its shoulder, head, and ribs. One blast nearly struck the pocket Red embedded in its chest.

The puppet froze mid-swing, its body suddenly going slack. Without warning, it dissolved into billowing crimson smoke that swirled protectively around the tiny figurine. Both vanished beneath the sand like water soaking into parched earth.

Silence fell over the beach. The Cliffhangers huddled together, eyes scanning the ground frantically.

"Where'd it go?" one whispered, voice cracking with fear.

Neiva noticed it first – a faint crimson glow moving beneath the sand like a shark circling beneath shallow water. Strange shuffling sounds drifted upward, growing louder with each passing second.

Without warning, crimson tethers erupted from the sand, wrapping around the Cliffhangers' ankles like hungry snakes.

"What the—" Spike's curse was cut short as he and his crew were yanked skyward.

Their screams echoed across the beach as Red slammed them repeatedly against the cliff face. Each impact sent small avalanches of rock and dust cascading down to the sand below. Neiva winced with every brutal collision, unable to look away yet horrified by the sight.

"I'll take it from here."

The calm voice behind her made Neiva whirl around. Angelo strode across the sand, his expression cold as winter. Blue materialized beside her, his perfect posture somehow reassuring amid the chaos.

"Stay with her," Angelo ordered Blue without breaking stride. He stopped beneath the dangling Cliffhangers, their groans of pain carrying on the ocean breeze.

"Put them down," he commanded, his voice deadly quiet. "But don't release them."

Through their shared mind, Red's menacing chuckle rippled like dark water. "Heh, heh... whatever you say, boss man."

The energy tethers lowered the battered gang members to the ground, repositioning to hold them on their knees before Angelo. Their heads were forced upward, eyes meeting his unflinching gaze.

"Why did you attack my student?" Angelo asked, his tone conversational despite the ice in his eyes. "What business do you have with us?"

Spike spat a mouthful of blood onto the sand. "Just wait till Hugo hears about this." His smile revealed crimson-stained teeth. "You're a dead man walking."

Angelo tilted his head slightly. "Tighten it."

"With pleasure!" Red's voice sang through their mental connection as the tethers constricted.

Spike's face contorted with pain, but his defiant glare remained. Angelo crouched to his level, bringing their faces inches apart.

"I'll ask once more," he said quietly. "What were your intentions? Or should I start cracking bones to loosen your tongue?"

Something in Angelo's words ignited Spike's fury. His face flushed purple with rage.

"You think you scare me, you self-important midget?" he snarled, struggling against his bonds. "I was going to teach you outsiders some respect, starting with your little red-haired bitch!"

"I see."

The temperature around them seemed to plummet with those two simple words. Orange energy swirled around Angelo, materializing into flowing robes that rippled in the sea breeze. A glowing halo formed above his head, casting eerie shadows across his face. From nothing, he conjured an orange energy scythe that gleamed like captured sunset.

The transformation was complete – no longer just Angelo, but the Angel of Death himself.

"If staring Death in the face doesn't change a man," Angelo intoned, his voice reverberating with power beyond his years, "nothing will."

He swept the energy scythe in a slow arc before their faces, close enough that they could feel its heat against their skin. "You are staring into Death's face now." His eyes burned beneath his hood, twin flames of judgment. "I offer one chance at redemption. Choose your path – change or perish on this beach."

The scythe came to rest against Spike's throat. "Choose wisely."

From a distance, Neiva hugged herself tightly, a shiver running down her spine despite the warm sun overhead. She'd heard about Angelo's Angel of Death persona, but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.

"Just kill them, Angie," Red's voice echoed through their shared consciousness, dripping with bloodlust. "You really think scum like this can change? HA!"

Blue's scholarly thoughts flowed beneath Red's chaos. "Always missing the point."

Spike's face twisted with rage beneath the scythe's edge. He stared up at Angelo, hatred burning in his eyes.

"Who do you think you are?" he spat, voice trembling with fury rather than fear. "WHO?!"

Angelo met his gaze unflinchingly. "Back where I come from, they call me the Angel of Death." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Some live to learn why."

Lightning began to arc around Spike's body, his purple aura intensifying as he slowly rose against his restraints. Whether Red was deliberately loosening them or Spike's fury was lending him strength was impossible to tell.

"You really think an upstart like you can waltz into OUR territory and threaten US with death?" Spike's voice grew louder with each word, resonating with dangerous power.

Angelo simply watched him rise, tracking his movement with predatory focus.

"We are proud Cliffhangers!" Spike shouted, turning to his crew. Their heads snapped up at his words, fear giving way to renewed defiance. "When we're done with you, it'll be YOU hanging from the cliff, not us!"

His crew began shouting in unison, their voices building to a battle cry as Spike strained against Red's energy bonds, nearly breaking free.

But then, a quiet, cold voice cut through the noise:

"If that is your choice... I hereby sentence you to death."

Then the world went silent.

Angelo moved with inhuman speed. The energy scythe flashed through the air, a single swift, decisive stroke.

Neiva's eyes widened in horror as Spike's head tumbled to the sand, separated cleanly from his body. Before his crew could even process what had happened, Angelo was among them, the scythe a blur of orange light as it claimed one life after another.

Their screams echoed briefly across the beach before being swallowed by the endless roar of the waves.

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