The massive, two-hundred-foot-tall black steel doors slammed completely shut. BOOM! The sound was incredibly loud. It sounded like the heavy lid of a giant coffin slamming down. The heavy metal locks clicked into place with a terrifying, final clack sound.Landon Hale and Claire Arden were trapped inside Bastion. They were completely cut off from the freezing, snowy world outside. They were cut off from their friends. They were cut off from the massive civilian army they had built. Landon stood in the absolute, pitch-black darkness. He was breathing heavily. His massive chest rose and fell. His body was completely exhausted. His Kinetic Echo magic was entirely drained. He was just a normal, tired, broken man. But he did not feel alone. He felt a small, warm hand gently grab his thick fingers in the dark. "I am right here, Landon," Claire whispered softly. Her voice was steady, brave, and full of deep love. Landon squeezed her hand tightly. "I know, Claire. Stay close to me." S

"Ayo!" Marcus called out to the brave teenager. "Did you see any heavy vehicles when we marched here?" "Yes, Mr. Marcus!" Ayo nodded quickly. "There is a broken Iron Order hover-tank stuck in a snowbank about a mile back down the road! The soldiers abandoned it!" "Take me to it right now!" Marcus roared. Marcus and Ayo sprinted away through the deep snow, heading to steal the heavy tank. "Jin, Sera!" Kade commanded. "Get your computers ready! When Marcus gets back with that tank, I need you to hack the door's magical frequency. Find the weakest spot in the steel for us to shoot!" "We are on it!" Jin said, sitting in the snow and typing furiously. Kade stood in front of the massive black doors. He held the glowing golden rocket in his hands. He stared at the thick steel. "Hold on, Landon," Kade whispered to the freezing wind. "We are coming to get you." Inside the terrifying, red-lit courtyard of Bastion, Landon Hale was fighting for his life. He swung the heavy, fifty-pound st

The freezing winter wind howled violently across the ruined courtyard of Bastion. Thick, white snow fell heavily from the dark sky of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The icy air bit at Landon Hale’s face. Landon stood perfectly still in the deep snow. His heavy black boots were planted firmly on the cracked concrete. His left arm was wrapped in a tight, bloody bandage. He breathed heavily. White clouds of steam puffed from his lips with every breath. Right in front of him stood the fifteen-foot-tall stone Guardian. The monster had one glowing red eye. It held a massive, heavy stone broadsword. "KA-THAR. MOK-RAH," the stone Guardian rumbled in a dead, ancient language. Landon raised his glowing white fists. He was ready to fight the stone beast. But suddenly, the smooth, evil voice of General Kade Rauth echoed from the hidden loudspeakers on the high black walls. "You are so impatient, Landon Hale," General Rauth laughed softly. The voice echoed from deep underground, where Rauth was hidin

Landon jumped off the giant robot and landed safely in a deep snowbank. He quickly rolled behind a wall to hide from the archers. “Great hit, Landon!” Kade cheered in his mind. But the Iron Behemoth was not dead. It was incredibly angry. The giant monster spun around. It still had its massive left arm. The left arm did not have a laser cannon. It ended in a gigantic, solid iron hammer-fist the size of a small house. The Behemoth raised its massive iron fist and slammed it brutally into the ground exactly where Kade was hiding. CRASH! Kade dove out of the way just in time. The giant iron fist completely pulverized the concrete block Kade had been using for cover. The concrete turned to gray dust instantly. "It almost flattened me!" Kade shouted, running through the snow. Up on the high black walls, the Iron Order archers saw Kade running out in the open. "Shoot the rocket man!" the enemy captain ordered. Dozens of glowing red magic arrows rained down from the sky. Kade dodge

The heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed up from the dark, underground stairs. Landon Hale stood in the freezing, snowy courtyard of Bastion. He held his breath. The winter wind of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, howled angrily around him, but he barely felt the terrible cold. His dark eyes were locked completely on the giant, open hole in the ground. General Kade Rauth was gone. The evil leader of the Iron Order had been completely consumed by the ancient monster he tried to control. Now, the true nightmare was climbing up to the surface. "Landon," Claire Arden whispered softly. She stood right beside him, gripping her empty silver pistol. Her hands were shaking. "What is coming up those stairs?" "The end of the world," Landon answered. His deep voice rumbled with grim certainty. The pitch-black shadows inside the underground stairwell began to twist and swirl. The toxic, dark purple magic that usually powered the Iron Order was completely gone. In its place was a magic so dark, so incredibly