The Vanguard Oath: SkyVault Heroes!

[OPENING SCENE — NIGHT, SKYVAULT CITY STREETS, POST-COLLAPSE ATMOSPHERE]

The wreckage of previous battles still lingers across the city. Floating billboards flicker. The broken remains of old Nullborn constructs drift slowly in the upper winds.

[SCENE — VAN HQ, RECOVERY FLOOR]

Suki (Petalblade) tightens her twin buns in a mirror, hiding a subtle tremble in her hands. She takes a deep breath, her eyes flicking to a small, wilted cherry blossom pinned beside the mirror.

Suki (softly):

"He said I wasn't strong enough..."

Kael knocks on the open door.

Kael:

"You are. Just give it time. Strength isn't how hard you hit. It's when you still get up after someone knocks you down."

Suki offers a weak smile. Behind her, Veya watches from a corner, arms crossed.

Veya:

"Besides, if that fox-faced freak comes back, we're blowing him to kingdom come."

[SCENE — CENTRAL DISTRICT, CITADEL PLAZA]

Crowds gather. A small festival returns to life. Food stalls, neon lanterns, laughter. The first warmth SkyVault has seen in months.

Suddenly, the festival lights flicker. A shadow zips across rooftops.

Tari (from a high perch):

"Movement. Fast. East quarter. Tracking."

Echo-7 blips in, voice crackling over comms.

Echo-7:

"Unknown encryption just pierced the security dome. Cyber-stealth class. Not Nullborn. Something... older."

Irion:

"Deploying now."

[SCENE — ROOFTOPS, EAST QUARTER]

Kael, Yuna, and Suki confront the intruder: A black-cloaked figure wearing an old Oni mask. His name is Sendo, an elite rogue assassin once believed dead.

Sendo (coldly):

"You stole the last cherry bloom. The spirit weeps. Return it... or your petals fall."

Suki stiffens. She recognizes the sigils on his blade.

Suki:

"You're from the Crimson Grove..."

Sendo:

"And you are the defect who poisoned it."

Suddenly, he lunges. Battle erupts.

[BATTLE SCENE — CINEMATIC BREAKDOWN]

Sendo moves like liquid shadow, deflecting Kael's Inferblade strikes.

Yuna conjures a vine wall, but Sendo blinks behind it with smoke-tagged kunai.

Suki leaps, blades clashing mid-air with her former clan's enforcer. Petals spark against steel.

Suki (yelling):

"This is MY city now!"

Sendo (snarling):

"Then let it be your grave!"

Echo-7 hacks the local skycam grid, projecting mirror decoys to confuse Sendo.

Irion emerges from a ripple in space, catching Sendo off-guard with a gravity blast.

Tari snipes a flashbomb at Sendo's feet. Veya slides in, guns blazing.

[TURNING POINT]

Sendo slashes Suki across the shoulder. She collapses, bleeding. Yuna rushes to shield her with a bloom barrier.

Suki (gritting teeth):

"I won't run again. Not this time."

Cherry petals begin to glow, brighter than ever. Her Bloom Guard warps into a full petal storm. Energy builds.

Kael:

"NOW! ALL IN!"

Jax thunder-roars through the alley, smashing debris.

Tari marks Sendo with a sigil. Irion and Kael charge in together.

With one final scream, Suki releases her new technique: "Sakura Typhoon" — a spiraling explosion of petal blades infused with pure Flux.

Sendo is caught in the vortex. His mask shatters. He vanishes in a final swirl of pink and light.

[AFTERMATH — VAN HQ, OBSERVATION ROOM]

The team patches up. Suki lies in bed, arm bandaged. Yuna braids a strand of her hair.

Suki:

"Thanks... big sis."

Yuna:

"Always."

Outside, the city lights rise again. The petals fall. And in the sky, a quiet new threat begins to stir...

[TO BE CONTINUED…]