Episode 8: “Frost and Firelight”
1537 Words
[Cold Open – Stella’s Former Mansion, Nighttime]
The mansion sits entombed in jagged frost. Once regal and gilded, now a frozen carcass.
Torches flicker dimly, swallowed by Andrealphus’ unholy magic.
A guard trudges down a hall, his breath visible in the air.
Guard (muttering):
“Damn place is cursed… this frost ain’t natural…”
[—BZZZT!] The chandelier light above him dies.
He whirls. Only silence.
Servant (off-screen scream):
“AAAGH—!”
[CRASH. DRAGGING.]
The guard raises his spear—
Two glowing golden eyes pierce the dark behind him.
WHAM! He’s yanked into the ceiling, vanishing without a sound.
The camera pans down as blood drips onto the frost.
Cue: Title Card — “FROST AND FIRELIGHT”
---
[Cut to: I.M.P Van – En Route]
The van bounces over rough roads of Wrath Ring. Inside, chaos as usual.
Loona (on her phone):
“Breaking news: Stella’s palace just hit full Elsa-mode. Whole block’s an ice cube.”
Blitzo (snorting):
“Pfft, maybe she finally froze her bitter ass solid. One can dream.”
Millie (loading her revolver):
“Stolas, sugar, you’re sure we’re ready fer this? Stormin’ a palace full o’ ice demons sounds like one of Moxxie’s bad ideas.”
Stolas (voice low, simmering with fury):
“She stole my title… my daughter… my dignity. Tonight, I reclaim them all.”
[Everyone goes quiet at the weight in his words. Even Blitzo doesn’t crack a joke.]
---
[INT. Throne Hall – Stella & Andrealphus]
Octavia sits cross-legged near a frozen throne, visibly miserable.
Stella (snapping at her):
“You’ll thank us when you’re free from his incompetence!”
Andrealphus (grinning smug):
“And the child does seem to appreciate snow.”
Octavia (deadpan):
“Yeah. I hope an avalanche buries you both.”
The doors SLAM open— I.M.P storm in, guns blazing. Stolas strides behind them, regal and seething, purple magic crackling at his fingertips.
Blitzo (pointing):
“Alright, you frosty skanks, time for a meltdown.”
Millie (to Stella):
“You done messed with family, hon. Big mistake.”
Stella sneers— until all the lights suddenly die.
---
[INT. Dark Corridors – Horror Sequence]
Panic erupts. Guards scatter.
Flickering red emergency lights paint the halls in blood-shadows.
One by one, guards vanish into darkness— strangled screams echo.
A butler runs for the exit— when a massive armored hand slams against the wall beside him. The figure emerges from the shadows. Towering. Cat-eared hood. Cloak like raven wings.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE (Daniel, voice modulated, low):
“Run.”
The butler bolts, leaving his spear behind. Daniel picks it up… snaps it in half like a twig.
The sound echoes like a gunshot.
---
[INT. Throne Room – Chaos Breaks Loose]
The double doors EXPLODE inward. Guards tumble in, broken and unconscious. Behind them steps Daniel, cape sweeping frost, armor steaming. His golden eyes glow through the mist.
Stella (shrill):
“What—WHAT ARE YOU?!”
Andrealphus (stammering):
“Y-You! You’re the one haunting the city!”
Daniel doesn’t answer. Instead, he tosses a runed orb into the air. It projects Stella & Andrealphus’ previous confession, their scheming voices filling the chamber.
HellNet sigils pulse — broadcasting LIVE across the Wrath Ring.
Stella (screaming):
“TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!”
Andrealphus (snarling):
“You DARE—”
He summons jagged ice spears, hurling them. Daniel smashes them apart mid-air with his lightning greatsword.
Daniel (growling, deep):
“Your reign ends tonight.”
[Climax Build – The Dragon Awakens]
Andrealphus, cornered, slams both palms to the frozen ground.
The entire palace trembles.
The ice itself splits apart, forming a colossal Leviathan Dragon — blue, jagged, shrieking with unholy cold.
Octavia (flat, sarcastic, but worried):
“Of course he has a dragon.”
Stolas shields her as the beast roars.
Andrealphus (exultant):
“Witness my age of frost!”
Daniel doesn’t flinch. He kneels, pressing his sword tip to the ground. Fiery sigils explode outward.
Daniel (calmly, incanting):
“Then let fire answer.”
From the rune-circle behind him, a portal of molten flame rips open. Emerging from it: a Fire Elemental, horned and leonine, wings of living flame.
The two titans clash above the palace — ice vs. fire, each impact shaking Hell itself.
---
[Side Battle – Daniel vs. Striker]
From the shadows, Striker steps forward, trench coat half-burnt, rifle in hand.
Striker (grinning):
“Well, well… city’s ‘Dark Knight.’ Thought I’d cut you down myself.”
Daniel doesn’t break eye contact. Sword hums with thunder.
Daniel:
“You’ll break like the rest.”
They collide. Sparks and blood fly — Striker’s twin daggers clash against Daniel’s electrified blade. The brawl is brutal, close-quarters, fists and steel.
Striker lands a cut across Daniel’s armor — Daniel answers with a vicious elbow to the jaw, sending him sprawling through ice shards.
Striker (coughing, smirking):
“Yer tougher than you look, kitty knight.”
Daniel (low, grim):
“I am more than you’ll ever be.”
He hurls Striker into a frozen statue, knocking him unconscious.
---
[Final Confrontation – Andrealphus]
The Fire Elemental SLAMS the Ice Dragon into ruins, both fading into smoke and steam.
Andrealphus, drained but still defiant, staggers. His eyes glow with spite.
Andrealphus (snarling):
“I was meant for greatness! For dominion! For a throne eternal!”
Daniel strides through the mist, cloak torn, armor scarred but unstoppable. He lifts Andrealphus by the throat, eyes burning into him.
Daniel (voice rising, resonant like thunder):
“You were meant for judgment.”
The entire hall shakes as Daniel’s voice echoes deeper, layered with eldritch fury.
Daniel (snarling):
"I am Judgment.
I am the Crusade.
I am Karma
I am… ARCH DARK CRUSADE.”
He slams Andrealphus to the ground with bone-shattering force, crimson chains locking him down.
---
[AFTERMATH – Sunrise over the Ruins]
Steam rises from the battlefield. The Fire Elemental bows to Daniel before vanishing back through its flaming portal, leaving silence and smoke.
Andrealphus lies defeated, chained and broken. Striker groans somewhere beneath rubble, unconscious and bleeding.
The chaos has ended.
Blitzo, Millie, Moxxie, and Loona regroup, staring in stunned awe. Their weapons hang limp — even they can’t quite process what they’ve witnessed.
In the center of the ruin, Stolas kneels, exhausted, his feathers scorched and robe torn. His gaze finds Octavia, who stands frozen in the pale glow of the morning sun.
The mansion’s ice begins to crack and drip around them, melting away the lies Stella and Andrealphus spun.
---
[Emotional Beat – Stolas and Octavia]
Stolas (softly, hoarse):
“Via…”
Octavia doesn’t speak at first. Her eyes glimmer with a mixture of anger, shame, and hurt. Then, trembling, she steps forward.
Octavia (voice breaking):
“I—I was so stupid. I believed her… I thought you were the monster, Dad.”
Stolas (shaking his head):
“No, my star. You only wanted to protect yourself from more pain. I should have been the one protecting you.”
Tears well in Octavia’s eyes. She clenches her fists, then suddenly collapses into him, burying her face in his chest.
Octavia (sobbing):
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry for hating you—”
Stolas wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. His own tears fall freely as his voice cracks.
Stolas:
“No, no, you never hated me. You only wanted the truth… and I failed to give it to you. But if you’ll still allow me, I will spend the rest of my life earning back your love.”
Octavia (sniffling, muffled against him):
“You already have it, Dad.”
Blitzo, standing with the rest of I.M.P., actually looks away for a moment — expression soft, conflicted.
Millie (whispering to Moxxie):
“…That’s beautiful.”
Moxxie (nodding):
“Maybe family really can survive down here.”
---
[Cut to Rooftops – ARCH DARK CRUSADE Watches]
High above the ruin, on a crumbling tower, Daniel watches. His golden eyes flicker softly in the shadows of his hood.
The sight of father and daughter embracing cuts deep into him. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t speak. His armor hides his face — but behind it, his throat tightens.
Inside, he feels the sting of something he cannot show — grief, envy, and hope all at once.
Daniel (V.O., internal):
“…That’s what was stolen from me. What I’ll never reclaim. But if I can give it to others… then the fight is worth it.”
The camera lingers on him a moment longer, cape billowing in the cold wind. Then, like a phantom, he vanishes into the rising mist — no sound, no trace.
---
[Final Shot – Rooftop Exit]
Daniel steps outside onto the rooftop ruins. Steam rises around him. His cape flutters against the red morning sun of Hell.
Stolas and Octavia’s reunion echoes faintly behind him.
He doesn’t stay. He never does.
The camera closes on his glowing eyes as his voice rumbles in his head:
Daniel (V.O.):
“From frost to flame… from lies to truth… I am the shadow that delivers balance.
I am Arch Dark Crusade.”
He vanishes into the mist as the screen cuts to black.
TO BE CONTINUED…
- Writer
