30 INT. GANG HIDEOUT - DAY

A loud bang rouses Maria from sleep immediately.

MARIA

Dammit.

She leaps to her feet, yelling.

MARIA

Up! Now!

The others, already half-awake, shake themselves to their feet, and Aether looks around in confusion.

AETHER

What's happening?

MARIA

Pilate. Joseph. Take her upstairs.

PILATE

Already on it.

JOSEPH

Come on.

The two direct Aether to the stairs, and the other thieves draw knifes and firearms.

PETER

How many are we looking at?

One of the bricked-up shelves forming the walls of the vestibule is thrown to the ground. Solomon steps onto it.

PETER

Holy crap.

SOLOMON

Where is she?

Peter, shaken by the imposing figure, raises his PISTOL to take the first shot. In the time that it takes him to squeeze the trigger, Solomon has already grabbed his wrist, causing him to shoot into the ceiling. With one hand, he effortlessly flings the gunman across the room, splitting a table with his body. Solomon evades the line of sight of another pistol with blinding speed, grabbing the shooter and holding them up in front of another gun's barrel. The third shooter, unable to fire through their ally, is made short work of.

SOLOMON

(louder)

Where is she?

Two more thieves, armed with knives, rush him. He dispatches them with his bare hands without blinking. Maria turns, rushing to her SHOTGUN at the back of the room. Solomon charges her, grabbing her just as she grabs her weapon.

SOLOMON

I won't be ignored!

Gripping her collar, he swings a punch at her. Maria swings back with her shotgun, deflecting his fist. The force of the punch snaps her weapon in two, but it does push back his hand long enough for her to wrap her legs around his arm. She pulls on his body, causing him to crash into the wall - it cracks, and she twists herself free of his grip and gain some distance.

Solomon straightens his back, turning to face her, seething. Maria's steely expression has not changed, her limbs in a defensive stance.

MARIA

You're going to have to do better than that, gorilla.

Solomon cracks a grin, genuinely amused.

SOLOMON

We'll see about that, monkey.

The pair trade blows, evenly matched. Solomon's superhuman advantage in size, speed, and power is not enough to overwhelm Maria's skill and her quick thinking allows her to predict attacks she shouldn't even be able to react to. Neither of them can land a decisive hit on the other. Just as Maria is about to, though...

PILATE (O.S.)

Where are you going?!

AETHER (O.S.)

Solomon!

Solomon looks to the flight of stairs, only to see Aether glaring down at him.

AETHER

What on earth do you think you're doing to my hosts?

Solomon winces a little, like a worker answering to a manager or a child answering to a parent as Aether strides up to him. She barely comes up to his abdomen.

SOLOMON

Nothing in particular.

AETHER

They've offered me perfectly passable hospitality, and I come down to see you doing this. Apologise immediately.

SOLOMON

I didn't know where you were. I thought they'd kidnapped you.

MARIA

Are you serious?

SOLOMON

Always. I don't do jokes.

AETHER

Apologise!

SOLOMON

(to Maria and the thieves)

I beg a thousand pardons. I must have somehow... misconstrued this entire situation, despite my reasonable assumptions.

Peter hasn't moved, and isn't starting now.

PETER

I think you did my back in, man.

SOLOMON

My sincerest.

Maria relaxes her stance and sighs.

MARIA

Pilate, go check on Peter.

PILATE

Well, this has been a ridiculous turn of events.

Pilate does as instructed.

31 INT. GANG HIDEOUT - UPSTAIRS - DAY

Maria and Joseph stand face to face with Aether and Solomon up on the first floor - a storehouse of miscellaneous equipment such as camping supplies, pots and pans, coats, firearms, and so forth. There is notably very little food up here compared to downstairs.

AETHER

I must apologise for my little brother.

JOSEPH

Little?!

SOLOMON

We were finished at the same time.

AETHER

Solomon is my secondary. That makes him my little brother. I don't know what he's doing here though.

SOLOMON

You left on your own. That's an incredible danger, given how important you are.

JOSEPH

That's no reason to attack everyone!

MARIA

Joseph.

JOSEPH

What would you do if you'd killed someone? Anyone who dies won't be here for the perfect world, in case you forgot!

SOLOMON

How touching. Unfortunately for you, Aether and I were created to take part in The End. I am already a perfect being, the pinnacle of man. So until such circumstances that I am to replace my sister, that perfect world of yours has nothing to do with me.

JOSEPH

Says who?!

Maria places a hand on his shoulder, soothing him somewhat. It's too little, too late - Solomon immediately smoulders at the challenge.

SOLOMON

Says the Hierophant, and say the long line of Magisters who created the Grand Shrines. You have no authority on which to argue otherwise, you who have not touched the mysteries.

AETHER

Solomon.

He immediately pretends to cool off.

SOLOMON

I understand if you aren't familiar. Regardless, we intend to take our leave.

AETHER

Speak for yourself. I have plenty left to do.

MARIA

You're staying?

AETHER

Of course. I haven't seen anything of value just yet.

Maria and Joseph look at each other, but neither of their expressions betray their emotions.

32 EXT. FIFTH CITY - STREETS - DAY

The four wander the streets, showing the twins around town.

AETHER (V.O.)

Besides, I have four days left until I need to return.

SOLOMON (V.O.)

We really shouldn't wait. The End begins tonight.

They come across a pair of children with a broken TOY, which Maria repairs for them.

33 EXT. FIFTH CITY - SQUARE - DAY

The digital countdown CLOCK is still ticking. It has just passed the four-day mark.

JOSEPH (V.O.)

No, hold on, it begins in four days.

SOLOMON (V.O.)

It reaches here in four days, imbecile. The First Grand Shrine receives its Star tonight.

It steadily continues to tick down, closer to zero every moment that passes.

34 EXT. HILLTOP - DAY

A large grated vent, wide as a football field, built into the hilltop begins to glow and spew high-pressure steam into the sky.

AETHER (V.O.)

Our Shrine is the last to receive one because of the position of the planet relative to the Stars as they pass. You should be able to see them in the night sky as they arrive if you look.

In the distance, a ring of vents around the perimeter of the city are doing much the same.

35 EXT. FIFTH CITY - SQUARE - DAY

The Tower looms.

JOSEPH

Just make sure you get back in time. We need The End to happen properly.

The sun moves behind it as it begins to lower in the sky, casting a shadow like an eclipse.

36 EXT. GANG HIDEOUT - EVENING

A gathering of police officers, led by Herod, is standing outside. Herod is staring up at the warehouse in awe.

HEROD

I can't believe my daughter's been staying in a place like this the entire time. I have to thank you for your help in finding them, Holiness.

Sophia steps forward with a trio of Warpriests.

SOPHIA

I should be thanking you. Without the information you provided us, we would never be able to trace the trail properly.

She turns to her Warpriests.

SOPHIA

Burn.

WARPRIEST #1

As you command.

The Warpriests step forward, preparing flamethrowers. The officers look horrified.

HEROD

What are you doing?

SOPHIA

I cannot sense either of our quarries in here.

HEROD

There are still people in there!

SOPHIA

Thieves and rats. They lack in virtue. We have no duty to them.

HEROD

If they die, they won't be with us for The End!

SOPHIA

That, faithful one, is exactly the idea.

She snaps her fingers and the torching begins. Sophia turns to leave. Herod pulls his gun and fires four times at the back of her head. The rubber bullets halt centimetres before reaching her, and fall to the ground. The other officers have pulled out their firearms too now, and the sound of gunfire has caused the Warpriests to halt - their flamethrowers are trained on the officers now. Sophia has stopped, and takes the helmet under her arm in both hands, raising it up.

SOPHIA

Congratulations.

She places it on her head, and the crown sparks to life as she turns to look at Herod.

SOPHIA

You have become acceptable targets.

The officers begin to fire uselessly at the Warpriests. The Warpriests begin to torch their new enemies.