Paralyzing Lightning. A grey bolt fired off from his fingers and hit a Metamorph. It burnt the skin of the Vice, and slowed it down at the same time.
Victor considered it overkill for such a lowly monster. He pulled out his frigustone pistol and finished it off afterwards, before moving onto the next batch of enemies. He’d been at this for a few days now, and gained some boosts to show for it. But he wasn’t satisfied still. What he needed was enough to power the vehicles they would take back to Los Angeles.
To help speed it up, he also helped a few Wielders gain more Lightning Seeds. Some of those stayed behind at Washington while the others would come along with Victor back to Angel Heights.
When he took down the next batch of Metamorphs, he gained the last boost he needed for the day.
[Ability Unlocked: Electroreception Boost]
[Ability Unlocked: Strength Boost]
His Weaponsmith Heart’s progression had fallen by the wayside this time around, seeing as how he favoured his lightning Seed more.
Going to amend that once I get back. We’ll need a lot of weapons.
Before Victor left, he gave a Communication Seed over to the Washington survivors and helped send an expedition over to Charleston. He hoped that they could helped each other, since he had his own plans in mind.
Victor drove the EVs they found across the country and back to Angel Heights, without any interruptions along the way. When he arrived, the kids wanted him to rest, since he’d been working too hard.
“Yvette says if we don’t rest, we won’t be able to play later!” Tiffany told him.
“I’ll be alright, Tif. And I’ll be able to play plenty tomorrow,” he promised.
Audrey helped take care of them while he took Leo, Loki and Ashley into the other world with him. He had a plan in mind and if it went south, it was better for him to have some back up.
****
“Still can’t feel anything,” Leo announced as he stood back up.
“Are you sure you didn’t feel any earth move from here?” Victor asked.
“Not a bit. What are we looking for, anyways?” Leo asked in reply.
“A little group of Vices that don’t like being spotted by others,” Victor replied.
“Are they dangerous?” Loki interjected.
“Not at all. They’re afraid of us. Let’s move to a different spot and camp out there,” Victor told them.
The group made their way to an open cave deep inside of Angel Falls and found a spot high above on the walls.
“There. Leo, can you make some handholds so we can climb up?” Victor asked.
The man acquiesced and they hiked up to a platform that Leo pushed from the wall. They waited there with their packs while Victor kept a watch on the sprawling system below them. Eventually, a wall no different from the others opened up, and Victor saw blue Altesians walking through it.
They carried all of their belongings on large packs surfing on waves of earth. Their beady little eyes refused to look up, and so they didn’t notice Victor or his allies. Their chief was leading the pack, and has a plus sign on his chest that was a different shade from the rest of his body.
When the monsters reached the centre of the cave, Victor dropped down in front of them.
“Run!” their chief shouted to them, but Leo raised a wall of dirt. Some of the Altesians countered his magic with their own, and they escaped through the holes.
“Wait! I’m not here to hurt you!” Victor told them, but they kept running.
Grumbling, he shouted an order to his friends.
“Don’t let them escape! But don’t hurt them either!” Victor shouted. He jumped over the crowd and reached the chief Altesian.
“Just wait a second! We just want to talk!” Victor said, holding a hand out. The chief jumped left and right to avoid him and kept forcing Victor back.
“We have nothing to offer you!” The chief shouted as he ducked under Victor. Annoyed, the Timewalker then placed a hand as gently as he could on the Vice’s back and Slowed him down.
He repeated the steps with the other Altesians behind him until they were all moving in slow motion. Ashley created walls of flame the others couldn’t cross, forcing them back into the centre while Leo carved deep cuts into the ground to scare them away.
By the end of the entire affair, the Altesians were all gathered in the middle of the cave, and thoroughly terrified of their kidnappers.
Their chief stood in front of his people, facing Victor himself.
“Please! I will do as you ask, but leave my people alone, Vicious Star,” The chief pleaded to Victor as if he were an Angelo.
“I’m not here to force you into anything!” Victor said once more.
“Oh… then why didn’t you tell us that from the start, honourable Star?”
Victor felt his blood boil in anger.
“It’s a good thing you got that Seed instead of him, Ash,” Leo said from behind.
Victor forced himself to calm down before he addressed the chief once more.
“I am Victor Amadi, a Wielder. And you are?”
“Aidano, leader of the Tetni group, honoured Star,’ the chief said.
“And stop with that Star business. I’m not an Angelo,” Victor told him.
“But you have the strength of one, honoured Star.”
“I’m not going to smite you if you just call me Victor. Got that, Vic-tor.”
“As you wish, Vic-tor. But what do you want with us?” the chief said.
“There’s Vintarics roaming outside of the Gate. Let’s get somewhere safe first,” he told them.
“We have a Haven Point nearby. Let us lead you to it,” Aidano said, though reluctantly.
****
The Haven Point ended up being a small stop. They obviously weren’t going to bring him to their home, if they even had one. But the Altesians did close all possible exits out of the little hole.
Leo even learned a few tricks from them while Aidano was introduced to the rest of Victor’s group. They served him something that tasted like tea with a more moldy aftertaste. They tasted the food as well, and the Altesians seemed welcoming, despite their paranoia.
Victor eyed the packs the Altesians left on the ground as they worked across the Haven Point patching and repairing damage. Among them was a glass container that held a caterpillar made of gems. It was about the size of Victor’s forearm, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of it.
“You’re pupating that larva, right?” Victor asked.
Aidano’s tea pouring grew shakier.
“Yes, Vic-tor,” he admitted.
“Why? Why not just leave Angel Falls entirely?”
Aidano put the tea cup down and sat on the laid-out carpet with the rest of them.
“Because the outside isn’t any more inviting. There are other monsters that roam about, that could kill my people within an instant. In here, we have the chance of true security,” Aidano told him.
“But I’ve seen the Angelos above ground. They kill each other on sight. They’re arrogant and strong. Wouldn’t they do the same to you?” Victor asked.
“They are only that way if raised wrong. You have to raise the larva with love, Vic-tor, and they shall be grateful once they pupate,” Aidano said.
“How long does that one have left to go?” Ashley asked.
Aidano’s little ears drooped downwards.
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“It has… a long while left to go,” Aidano admitted.
Victor remembered Renalo’s words all that time ago. their one ticket out of those wretched caves.
“Could we help it hatch any faster?” Victor asked.
“It requires a surplus of hallowed iron to accomplish. And all of our attempts to procure more have been sabotaged.”
“By who?”
“An Angelo by the name of Cecilian,” Aidano admitted. “He has hired out Vintarics and others to hunt us down and steal the hallowed iron from where we find it,” Aidano said.
“Is he using the hallowed iron to bolster his own strength?” Loki asked.
“Once pupated, an Angelo no longer requires the iron. But Cecilian hordes it nonetheless, to raise his own army under his command and pay off his thugs,” Aidano told him.
“So, if we take this Cecilian down, we can use his hallowed iron and pupate your own Angelo?” Victor asked.
“Take down a star, oh no… no, no, we cannot even think about it!” Aidano suddenly said. The little Altesian’s beady yellow eyes shook with fear.
“Cecilian is an insurmountable Angelo, stronger than almost all else!” he reasoned.
“Victor, he might be right. We don’t know the capabilities of this Aidano. What happens if we run in without a plan?” Loki asked.
“You’re right…” Victor thought for a moment. This Cecilian might be stronger than Altar was, or he could be weaker. But they wouldn’t know. And if they didn’t know, wasn’t it better to bring as much backup as they could?
Victor looked down at the ground. There was an ally they hadn’t called for yet, and she would be more than enough for the threat they needed to face. The only problem was that Cecilian could roam around free above Angel Falls, and Scepter would get killed if she was seen.
“We’re going to help you pupate your larva, Aidano,” Victor told him.
“You would do that for us, Vic-tor?” Aidano replied.
“Only if you promise to help us in return. We could use an Angelo on our side.”
“But how do you expect to find the hallowed iron?”
“With a little bit of acting.”
****
The Altesians had little miner hats on while they worked away at the stone. Leo was right beside them, and he searched the ground for the ore.
“Found one!” Leo announced, and the Altesians got to work. They parted the earth, solidified it around a tunnel and dug downwards to where he’d seen it.
“We found it!” one of the mining Altesians replied back.
It was a small vein only, but that didn’t matter when it had been so long. The ore lacked the rainbow sheen Aidano had told him the metal itself would have, but that would change once they processed it.
The mining crew got to work carving out the entire vein and loaded it up onto sliding waves of earth back to the Haven Point. Leo helped with waves of his own, getting in practice with the ability.
When they reached back, Ashley helped melt the ore down. The fumes were guided along ventilation channels to disperse above ground, and Ashley did her best to contain the heat to the forge.
By the end of the day, they had a whole new set of hallowed iron bars in front of them, and the group celebrated for the day. That celebration caught the eye of a few onlookers though, Metamorph Thinkers who had been spying on the whole process until it was done.
The Thinker sent his alert back upwards and to the base. They’d dispatched the enforcers immediately upon learning of the cache. And because he knew there were humans among them, the Thinker had asked for stronger reinforcements. It was only a matter of time before they arrived and reaped the metal from the Altesians.
****
A group of human-like creatures stomped through the caves of Angel Falls in their chiton. They had a head full of clouds and glowing yellow eyes, but otherwise were human. When they came down, thunder and lightning boomed around them, a gift from their Father God.
And they reached the Haven Point where Tetni resided, with the help of a large rotund Metamorph Mover.
When they arrived, the leader of the enforcers stepped forward. He had cracks along his skin filled with light, and a stronger boon from their Father God than others among them.
He raised a hand towards the sky and let loose lightning from his fingertips. It arced and spread across the Haven Point, settling tents alight and causing their residents to leave screaming.
“Bring me your chief this instant!” The leader bellowed out in a voice akin to a storm.
When he did, the Altesians scrambled around and looked for Aidano. He popped out of his tent and prostrated himself before the Pantheon Demigod, as well he should.
“I-I’m sorry, honoured Star. To what do I owe the visit?” Aidano stammered out.
“You’ve recovered more hallowed iron, and didn’t inform us. Where is it. And where are the humans you’re hiding?”
“T-t-t-the-”
“Spit it out!”
“They’re above you.”
The Demigod turned around and went blind a second later. He clutched his bleeding eyes and could only hear the next words.
“Now, attack!”
****
Victor blasted the arrogant Demigod twice in the chest with his pistols. It bit him in the chest and froze over part of his body as the rest dropped down.
The other Pantheon children started throwing lightning bolts at him. A stone wall rose in between him and them, and the lightning washed away against it.
Aidano scrambled away from the ensuing fight as thunder lit up the room. Victor was wearing sunglasses to defend against the bright booms, and cut down his enemies with his guns.
The Lesser Demigods tried to attack Loki, but he was quick and slashed them into pieces. Ashley baked the Metamorph Mover in flames while her brother defended her from the onslaught.
He raised walls against the oncoming lightning and renewed it as the bolts kept coming. But then, one of the lightning bolts curved around the wall and hit the man in the chest. Leo started spasming and fell to the ground, losing control of his powers.
“Leo!” Ashley shouted for him and let go of her flames. She raised a wall of her own and stopped the Demigods from targeting her. She picked up her brother and ran and Victor was left to take care of the rest.
He shot more of the enemies down and when his pistols went dry, he shoved them back in their holsters. Lightning crashed where he was a moment ago, and Victor sped up. He circled around a group of Demigods and let loose grey lightning.
Some of his enemies tried to wrench control of the ability from Victor, but it wasn’t simply electricity. When the Paralyzing lightning hit them, they grew slower and open for attack.
“Loki! Cut them apart!”
Loki jumped down beside him and let loose a wide slash that bisected the Demigods in an instant. The bodies fell to the ground and the two of them exchanged a look of gratitude.
That was short-lived, however. Those were only Lesser Demigods. The blinded one they’d left hadn’t been idle, and his rage was only growing worse. Lightning sparked away from him and covered everything in the area. More of the structures caught fire and even the Metamorph Mover got caught in the impact before it shielded itself.
One of the lightning bolts headed straight for Victor. When he thought he was about to take a hit, a stone wall rose up in front of Victor. Victor looked over to the side, where Leo and his sister were hiding behind another one of his walls.
He raised a unsteady thumbs up to Victor, which the Timewalker returned. The Demigod’s tantrum continued for a while longer after that, and Leo had to focus to stop it from reaching them.
When it ended, something was shining in the centre of the room. Victor risked a look behind and saw the same Demigod standing before him, but unhurt and alive.
His entire body was made of lightning, his features carved from barely restrained energy. And when he looked at Victor, he saw only hatred.
Speedup. Victor applied it both on himself and on Loki. The two of them jumped away from the wall before it was blown in by another hit of lightning. Only the lightning was thicker, stronger and came much faster than before.
Even sped up, the Demigod’s eyes followed Victor. But then they turned towards Leo and Ashley, and Victor saw the Demigod smile.
No! Victor placed himself in the middle of them. the lightning hit him in the arms and spread across the rest of his body immediately. It knocked him back and into Leo and Ashley, who were too slow to react.
The Demigod thought it had gotten one over on him. But Victor was right where he needed to be. He placed a hand on Leo and Ashley both, applying another Speedup for each.
“-ctor!” Ashley shouted as she came back into speed.
“Don’t say I don’t do anything for you. Now, get up!” Victor told them both. Leo raised another wall that didn’t last long, but enough for them to detangle from each other.
As they did, they littered the opening the Demigod had made with lightning. But the Vice flew over the onslaught and zipped right in front of them. Ash spread fire over the monster’s body, eliciting a scream, and the three of them backed away.
The Demigod threw lightning in their direction and the three were forced apart, scrambling to different parts of the room.
It caught Ashley with a bolt and made her its target. Leo raised another wall but the Demigod zipped past it. When it was about to launch another bolt, He carried his sister on a wave of earth from the striking spot. Victor got the Vice’s attention with an Infused Attack from his twin pistols and Loki jumped in front of Ash to give her time to recover.
The Demigod flinched from the pain and Victor saw wisps of light escaping his energy form. It’s like he’s living off of the stuff. Victor realized.
When the Demigod came up to him, his Speedup chose that time to run out. Victor braced his arms again but the Demigod grabbed onto them.
Victor knew what was coming next and he tried to free himself. Slowdown.
The monster’s movements slowed, but not enough. The lightning still hit Victor, and he lost his grip on his pistols. His muscles spasmed and pained and his mind couldn’t focus on a single thing.
Victor hadn’t ever felt what being struck by lightning was. but hanging there and feeling it course through his veins, he got a deeper understanding of what it truly entailed.
[Ability Unlocked: Electroreception Boost]
[Ability Unlocked: Voltaic Form Level 1]
[Ability Unlocked: Bullet Alter – Lightning Charge]
Victor called on it by accident. The Lightning that was burning him exploded out of his body. The Demigod dropped him in an instant and Victor punched him in the gut.
Slowdown. Speedup.
He grew faster, the Demigod slower. A flurry of punches knocked the Demigod’s head in every direction before Victor planted another fist into its chest.
Grey lightning, almost white, exploded from the point of impact and sent the Demigod hurtling into back into the cavern wall. The Demigods surroundings cracked and rocks came loose from the ceiling from the point of impact.
Victor took a moment to breathe then. He was still hurt, but it felt much less than before. He looked down at his hands and saw small sparks rotating around his glowing skin.
“Viiiiiccccctttoooorrrrr!” Loki shouted from beside him. He approached but a spark leaped from Victor to shock him.
Loki recoiled and Victor glanced at their fallen enemy. The Demigod wasn’t down for the count, and it was slowly getting back to its feet.
“We’ll talk later,” Victor told him before he burst forward in a run.
The Demigod released a shockwave that shook the room. Victor was hurt by it, but it was nothing compared to the pain before. It barely washed over him this time, and the man closed in on the Demigod.
The Vice realized it had no effect either, because it resorted to using its fists instead. But with three levels of speed stacked on top of each other, Victor was untouchable. He landed more hits on the Demigod as he swerved around his own punches.
When the Vice tried to grab him, Victor ducked and circled around him. Victor kicked the Vice in the back of the leg and knocked him down onto his knees.
He grabbed onto him from behind and put him in a lock with another layer of Slowdown for good measure. The Vice struggled in his grasp but Victor didn’t let go.
“Now! Hit him with everything you’ve got!” Victor shouted to his teammates.
Fire burnt, Earth rose and Loki readied a slash precise enough to behead the monster.
The Vice begged from under Victor, but he couldn’t parse his words. Instead, he waited at the last moment as the powers readied in his friends hands, and let go right as they did.
Victor jumped away from the resulting explosion and took cover behind a hole. The pressure from the blast knocked several of the tents over and caused a noise so loud it pained the ears.
When it finally cleared, all that was left of the Demigod was its Seed, another Crystallized Lightning. Victor strode over and picked it up, only for his own powers to run out at the same time.
As they did, a wave of lethargy overtook Victor and he dropped down to the floor. His friends circled around him and even the Altesians came out of hiding, as his mind grew lighter and lighter. Oh… I definitely overdid it, he thought, as he fell into a slumber.