The Ammo Baron was hunched over his desk, grumbling over blueprints for the next round of anti-magic tanks. The last one should have worked, but that stupid genie kid had suddenly gotten a power boost, one that his calculations hadn’t accounted for.
Now that he knew this was a possibility, however... oh, the next designs would be something to behold, and then all the extra firepower in the world wouldn’t come anywhere close to stopping him.
The door to his office banged open, then slammed shut.
The Ammo Baron looked up from his desk.
The Hypno Baron was pressed against the door, holding it closed and murmuring frantically under his breath. Eerie green sigils lit up the room and phased into the metalwork, but to what effect, he wasn’t sure.
“What’s got you all panicked? This ain’t like you, Hypno.” Calmly, he walked to the skeletal Baron and set a hand on his shoulder.
The other wheeled around to face him with a startled shout. There were enormous clawmarks gouged through his skull, and his eyes were mere pinpricks of light, staring fearfully from his sockets. “The project... we have to call it off. We can’t... I can’t do this...” Gone was his usual calm bravado - he spoke like a frightened child. “First pirates, and now this...”
A golden light shone through the crack in the doorway. It didn’t match any of the hallway lights, as far as the Ammo Baron could remember, and stranger still, seemed to slowly be growing brighter.
“The tanks! The anti-magic tanks. I... I can’t deal with genies anymore. Especially not that one.” The skeletal Baron reached for his companion, his bony fingers digging far too tightly into his uniform.
The Ammo Baron took him into his arms, carefully. “What, the kid?”
“No, no, no...!” He shoved his companion away from the door, heaving the both of them behind the desk. It was surprising how strong he was, though part of it may have come from his fear. With a shaking, bony finger, he pointed toward the door. “Her...”
The golden light was stronger, now. Something slammed into the other side of the door, followed by the horrific sound of something tearing through the metal, making it groan.
The sigils that the Hypno Baron had applied to the door briefly flickered to life in a burst of green light, but quickly fizzled and died. The horrific sounds came again, bashing, tearing, bashing, tearing...
The metal let out a final moan and buckled inward, and the golden light on the other side flooded the room. But it was no comfort, only serving to blind the Barons despite their hiding place.
For a moment, there was silence. Then a voice rasped from somewhere within the blinding light. It did not sound human - it was as if some sort of beast was straining its throat in a horrific mimic of speech. And yet its words were unnaturally clear.