Lillie and Isabelle waited outside with the parked car while Victor went into the suburban home. He’d brought along a Vintaric corpse with him for some reason, and neither of them wanted to ask the reason.

“Maybe there’s a monster inside and he’s feeding it?” Isabelle guessed.

Lillie shook her head.

“If it was a monster it’d be making noises like ‘Ragh!’ or ‘Grrrraaaooo!’,” Lillie replied.

“Or like bubblewrap, like the Metamorphs.”

“Those too.”

Victor came out of the house a bit later with a dishevelled looking old man. he was wrinkled and wore an old unwashed lab coat over his body. Green blood stained the edges of the coat, which made Lillie wonder what had gone on in there.

“This is Professor Cooper Leopald. Professor, these are my allies, Isabelle and Lillie,” Victor introduced the both of them. There was some hesitation in the way he called them ‘allies’ but Lillie ignored it.

“This is who we came to bring?” Lillie asked.

“Professor Cooper is a brilliant man. He’ll be loads of help to us, I promise,” Victor said.

“You put a bit too much faith in me…” the Professor said, tugging at his wiry brown hair.

“I’ve got precedent. Lillie, you’re good with driving the rest of the way to Washington?” Victor asked. He threw the keys at her and she nodded.

They went driving down the road while Victor sat in the back of the car with the Professor. The wind through the cracked window was strong, and she could hear the sound of paper being ruffled in the air.

Victor was mumbling something about Seeds or monsters that she couldn’t quite grasp over his low voice. The Professor at least seemed to be paying attention, and he was eating up the information with wide, gleaming eyes.

****

Victor explained as best as he could, Cooper’s own research to him. He wasn’t sure what he was forgetting but he blurted out whatever was still in his mind about them.

“Fascinating. And you’re saying they adapt to the concepts of the Seeds?” Cooper asked.

“Yeah. We had two monsters like the Vintaric I showed you and they looked completely different,” Victor explained.

“And where did you get all this knowledge? I’d love the meet the researcher behind it.”

Look in the mirror, why don’t you?

“I’ll introduce him someday!” was what he actually told the Professor.

They drove and Victor used Speedup on the car while charging it at the same time. it didn’t really matter where he placed his hand on the EV for it as long as it was touching. That way, they could keep driving continuously without needing to stop for a break.

Their drive took them to a familiar Gate in the middle of the desert. A Gate that had a Mariticide Vintaric guarding it.

“Take care of the Professor. I’ll handle the monster,” Victor told them.

He stepped out of the vehicle and pulled his Strengthened Rifle off of his back. Ashley had asked him about it not long after he’d started practicing with the Crystallized Lightning.

****

“What’s the rifle for?” she pulled it off the ground and looked down the sights of the M-16.

“In case things need shooting,” Victor replied.

“You’ve got a Seed for that though. And a gun’s ammo is only going to take you so far,” Ashley had told him.

“The Seed can run out too, you know.”

“It can?”

Did I not explain that already? Maybe he did need a pen and paper after all. Would help with writing down all those little details that slipped his mind between resets.

“It can, and it might if we get into a long scuffle. So, guns,” Victor told her.

He then went back to strengthening the rest of them, and got back a favourite ability of his.

****

Blue flames erupted along the M-16 while Victor took aim. He shot first before the Vintaric could finish screeching. It caused a bit of damage and the Mariticide Vintaric rushed towards him.

The Timewalker discarded his gun and waited for the bug to slash downwards. Once she did, he placed a hand against one of the scythe-like blades.

Slowdown.

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Sppedup.

the Vintaric slowed down doubly as much as it should. Victor took a glance backwards at his allies and saw them too moving slower. Without missing a beat, Victor jumped up to the Vintaric’s back and grabbed onto its head with both arms. Blades started to pop out of the monster’s body, but he was faster.

Lightning erupted between his fingers and fried the monster’s brains as it let out a deep scream. The body flailed around wildly afterwards and Victor had to back off.

He grabbed his M-16 off of the ground and sent several more rounds into the Vintaric. A moment later, it fell to the ground dead and defeated.

“All clear!” Victor shouted for his friends. They left the safety of the car and carefully approached the corpse.

All except the Professor, who witnessed the formation of a Seed for the first time. He grabbed it off of the body of the Vintaric with a gentle touch, and then receded to inspect the body.

“Professor, we haven’t the time. You can take a look at them later,” Victor told him.

“Of course, of course. Do tell, though, what is this one’s name?” Cooper asked.

“It’s a Mariticide Vintaric. Different Hive from the others,” Victor replied.

“Mariticde. Interesting name…”

The Professor started muttering to himself, and the others continued onwards to the Gate. They had their bags packed and stood in front of it while the Professor followed behind.

“You should use that Seed, Professor. That, or hand it over,” Victor told him.

As they crossed the Gate, Cooper made his decision. The Bladebody Edge Seed sank into his skin and the Professor’s eyes became alight once more. His previous depression was forgotten as he took in the world around him.

Titans stalked in the distance, blending into the horizon as birds of a thousand colours flew across the bright red skies.

The others gasped at the sight of the place, and Victor let them have their moment of awe. The Professor decided a moment wasn’t enough though, and started plucking samples of the dirt, rocks, grass and every other thing he could get his hands on. During the impromptu foraging session, a blade burst from his arms and cut through the Professor’s coat.

Without missing a step, he then decided to use it to cut down a large orange stalk in front of him.

Victor had to struggle to get the man away from it all, with the Professor eventually relenting.

“You’re to bring me back here every month, understood?” Cooper told him.

“Understood, Professor, now come along,” Victor told him.

That manic fervor of his died down slowly but surely, and the group was able to make good time on their way to Washington.

“There’s another stop here we’ll need to make.”

He might as well, since it was on his way there anyways. Victor’s group climbed up the cliff face and made it to the flat lands ahead, but their leader stopped.

“You, come out now!” Victor shouted, and a red Altesian jumped out of its hiding spot. Victor wondered how long it would take him this time to defeat the Daughters.

****

It was only two days before Victor once again sat atop a Titan with two new pistols in his hands. He was tired from the fight and had taken a bullet or two, but it was nothing compared to what he’d gained.

“You seem to be, ah, hurt,” Amit told him.

“Worry about yourself, old man. I’ve got the Altesians to heal me,” Victor told him.

“Ought to have better manners,” the man replied. He placed a hand over Victor’s shoulders and the wounds started to feel smaller immediately.

It wasn’t fast by any means, but he appreciated the help regardless.

“I didn’t think you’d stick around,” Victor said.

“I wasn’t planning to. I have a friend coming to pick me up tomorrow,” Amit replied.

“And if you’d died?” Victor asked.

“Ah, I suppose I did rely on my value too much, didn’t I?”

“Much too much, especially when the Daughters’ first move was throwing you into a cell,” Victor told him.

Lillie was beside the other Altesians, carrying them on large panes to be healed. Isabelle was rooting the trees back into the ground and Professor Cooper simply enjoyed the company of the monsters themselves.

“That scientist of yours asks too many questions,” Amit said.

“He’s not the only one. Mind telling me what that secret job of yours was?” Victor asked.

“Hmmm, No.”

And he has the gall to complain about the Professor.

Victor left Amit there as helped with the cleanup around Pepin village. Later that night, they’d go through the same motions of the ceremony and spend some time eating and resting.

Victor could see the others were tired, so he let them have their fun while he hung back besides the refreshments. He kept his eyes squarely on Amit the entire time. the old Nepalese man seemed reserved, and though he exchanged some words with the chief, he never did join in fully.

Eventually, curiosity overtook Victor. When the others had fallen asleep, he stayed awake in his little hammock. When he was sure most all of them were asleep, he jumped out and overlooked the village.

There, at the edge of it, he found Amit walking out. Silent in the night, he had hoped to keep them in the dark. Well, Victor wouldn’t have that. The Timewalker tailed him through the forest right up until they reached a bluff.

Victor stuck back in the trees near the rock instead. Amit seemed to wait for a while before someone finally showed up to meet him.

It was a man fully armoured in gold and gems who stood in front of the Nepalese Wielder. Only, the proportions of his body were all wrong. They were elongated, and his neck was more like a dog or a cat’s rather than a human’s.

An Imperial?

They talked for a while amongst themselves and prepared to leave. But before they did, Amit stopped.

“Ah, I forgot about our visitor. You can come out now, Victor Amadi!” Amit said loud enough to be overheard.

Victor sighed and dropped down from the branch he was sitting in.

“You’re working with the Imperials, Amit?” Victor asked, defensive. His dual pistols were still holstered beside him, and his fingers itched to get around the trigger.

“More they’re working with us, Victor.”

Should’ve left him for dead, Victor snarled. He placed a hand over his gun but Amit raised a hand. The Imperial stepped in between them and everyone grew still.

Victor could blitz past the Imperial with his Speedup, but something held him back.

“Ah, wait! I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” Amit stated, pushing past the Imperial.

“Explain quick, Amit, before I put two between the monster’s eyes,” Victor told him.

“He’s on our side, Victor, not theirs,” Amit said.

“Monsters usually don’t play nice with humans,” Victor said without taking his eyes off of the monster.

“Then how do you explain the Altesians? You think they’d stab you in your sleep?” Amit asked.

Victor clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“You’ve got a point, but…. Explain yourself first,” Victor said.

“I cannot.”

“Again with that?” Victor asked.

“But I can give something else. The Chrysler Building in New York, the 55th floor,” Amit said. “If you want to learn more about us, reach there. We’ll explain whatever you want to know, in a safe location.”

“And you won’t be giving me anything else?” Victor asked.

“Not until I see you there, Victor Amadi. Ah, but I’ll put in a good word for you,” Amit promised.

He and his knight then turned around and stalked off into the night. Victor let them go too, and contemplated their words for a long time. But the sun began to rise, and Victor realized he hadn’t gotten any sleep. He rubbed his eyes and let the words sink into the back of his mind.

Great, something else I’ll have to remember.