“You’ll have to find somewhere else to stay,” Victor told Scepter, and the rest of the Stolkatan Vices. She looked at him indignantly before huffing.

The Vintarics turned to leave. They were no match for Angel Heights anyways, now that they had so much more firepower.

“Was that really necessary? We could’ve made an alliance with them, just like we did the Tetni,” Ashley voiced. Victor didn’t understand her kinship with Scepter, nor did he really want to.

“Vintarics are dangerous, Ash. A Vintaric is what took Amadeus’ life,” he told her.

“Didn’t you know him a total of a single day? Why are you so attached to him?” Ash said. She left in a huff before hearing his answer.

Victor sighed. Of course she couldn’t know. And the others probably thought him insane too, all except the Levine kids.

****

Victor led a company of Wielders through the deserts. They gunned down any Vice in their sights, harvested their Seeds, and then moved onto the next location. They were done clearing out the town in just a few days with that tactic, after which came the hard part.

They’d need to station Wielders for building there. the survivors of the small town would be grateful, and Victor would get a new outpost to use for their budding communications network.

Jeffords seemed to approve too, setting wholeheartedly to ventures beyond the Gates. They brought back more Seeds than any other group Victor had, and he was thankful for the help. with it, they were able to arm and train more soldiers, all in preparation.

Victor had told Jeffords to inform him of any interesting Seeds, and the former president was steadfast in reporting. With his help, Victor was able to amass a sizable record of the various Wielders, and of their numerous Seeds.

Every week, when he had the time for it, Victor would seclude himself inside of his base and work out the interactions between them. Just so he could find the perfect grouping. He needed a specific set, for helping him punch harder, move faster, last longer and think easier. He needed to be able to fight on land or sky, blind or deaf, and from near and far.

He needed to be able to do all of those, all without knowing the capabilities of his enemy. The one who came down from the skies, four bodies in one, just to destroy everything he’d worked for in the previous loops.

Victor did all that and stretched himself thin in other projects. And not just in the matters of the survivors, but in smaller matters as well.

****

“I want my father back, you son of bitch!” Inigo Montoya spat, and the Levine kids loved it.

Most of them were old enough to see the movie now, but still Victor felt a bit hesitant in letting them watch. But Yvette knew better, and so he let her choose for the night. They were all sat together around an old LCD that Victor was powering himself.

They finished the movie and the kids yawned before Yvette shuffled them off to bed. Some of the older kids stuck around. Victor had already told them some of his plans, even if Yvette disapproved.

“You can’t be serious.”

“They need to defend themselves, Yvette,” Victor told her.

“Don’t start that with me. They’re safe in here,” she told him.

“And for how long? What happens when they encounter a Vice, and the rest of the Wielders are off on some mission?” Victor asked.

“That’s why we’re supposed to protect them!” Yvette growled.

“This is protection. The best I can think of.”

“But!.... But, it’s dangerous,” she looked terrified.

“I’ll be careful in their training, Yvette. Heal them when something goes wrong, make sure they understand how dangerous these powers are.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The next day, he took them down into the caves. There were Wielders carving out further chambers underground. One of the training rooms was done, which meant Victor could finally use it with the kids.

He brought out all the Lightning Seeds he’d stolen from the Pantheon over the ages, and some he’d collected with Jeffords’ help. then he started with the oldest kids.

The kids took to it eagerly. Who didn’t want magic powers? Victor just hoped they heeded his warnings.

“Aim it like that, and fire,” Victor told them. Jared and Jaune were the first up on the block. They fired the lightning and missed their targets entirely.

“That’s fine. You’ll learn,” Victor told them. For Jared, he’d also given the Knight’s Cavalry. It felt right to hand it over to the kid. So, the young man had a gauntlet running up his arm that protected him from some of the backfire.

Jaune and Jared practiced, growing proficient enough that they could hit a standing target at least relatively easily. So, Victor moved onto the rest. By the end of the day, there were almost a dozen kids running around shooting lightning at the walls, ground or other targets.

Some of the kids took to it easier than the rest. Dudley and Minnie could shoot the flying plates and Lillie’s panes while the rest were stuck to still targets. They tired themselves out using the Seed, and Victor had to caution them against breaking it.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Victor called it there for the day and wiped the sweat from his brow. He noticed Yvette standing at one side of the room, looking on quietly. Victor waved and she waved back, so he was at least sure she didn’t hate him.

Then Tiffany tugged at his shirt, and he looked back to find all the kids lined up together. It was a habit she had since she was young, so he didn’t think much of it. But the silence, that was new.

“What’s wrong, you guys?” he asked.

“We wanted to thank you,” Jared started.

“For taking care of us this whole time,” Tiffany completed.

“Really? You guys don’t have to do that. I’d have done it either way,” Victor said, patting Tiff on the head.

She’d grown more annoyed with that as he grew up, but didn’t stop him.

“But still. You took us in, made sure we had whatever we needed, even if it was novels for me-”

“Or cooking supplies and ingredients for me,” Jaune finished for Dudley.

“You’ve been a great big bro,” one of the twins, Minnie, voiced.

“So, we wanted to do something for you, for all you’ve done for us,” Samantha said. She was at the back of the group, and so Victor hadn’t seen what she was holding. When she brought it forwards, Victor’s heart swelled.

It was a cake. A really, really well-made one at that. Like something you’d find in a high-end confectionery store. There were two wax candles on top, spelling out 30.

“It’s my birthday?” Victor had forgotten. Who’d even told them that?

“Ms. Lillie told us about it. We had to work quick, since it was so close by,” Tiff told him. “Do you like it?”

“I… love it,” he said with a quivering voice. It was amazing. He thought the loops had dulled him to anything that could shake his resolve. But a birthday cake had done him in.

They held it out for Victor and he blew out the candles with a single wish.

Please, let these kids end up safe.

He hoped someone out there listened. And if not, he’d do it himself. No matter how many loops it took.

Then, they dug into the cake, even Yvette, before dragging Victor off for the rest of the day. Victor enjoyed whatever antics they dragged him into, and was glad for the reprieve, especially since he knew what was coming next.

****

Professor Cooper was hunched over in his desk when Victor came to visit. Papers, Seeds and even a Recon shell littered his workspace. To Victor, it looked like the ordinary, just the professor’s desired setup. To others, it might be a disorganized work of madness.

“Professor? You awake?” Victor asked.

He shook the old man in his seat until he jerked up. There was a wet document stuck to his face, and Cooper refused to open his eyes to see it. Victor had the unruly job of peeling it away, and he did so with a quick flick.

It seemed to take a few hairs with it too, and the professor finally, fully woke up.

“We’re moving the lab. Now come on, we have to take all of your research with us,” Victor told him.

“Moving?”

“Underground,” Victor said. “We’ll be safer there from the Vices.

“Now?”

“It’s finished, so yeah.”

Cooper grumbled a bit, but the scientist began helping Victor pack the equipment he’d brought along with him. It was going to take the whole day, and Professor Cooper looked like he had things to say. Victor decided to bite, against his better judgement.

“What were you working at?” He asked the professor.

“A taxonomy for Seeds.”

“The Seeds already have their names. What else do we need?”

“Many things, Victor. Their Strength, power classification, the complexity level of their use and so much more,” Cooper explained.

“And you plan on doing all that?”

“I’ve been trying, but its difficult. There are just too many factors to consider. And I’ve never been able to come up with something that works universally. We had a visitor over from Europe. Did you know they had almost a completely different set of Seeds?” Cooper asked. “When will my work ever be done?”

Victor placed one of the boxes in the corner and started on another.

“Start small, professor. Just the helpful stuff. Then we can think about power levels and whatever else you think we need to measure a Seed,” Victor replied.

“It’d be much easier if we could simply show those statistics ourselves,” Professor Cooper grumbled. “I can get a rough estimate of some of those properties from my Seeds, but it seems those are limited just to me.”

“Meaning Wielders like you and me can’t share whatever information we get,” Victor prompted.

“Unless we all have Seeds to do so. I suppose the information doesn’t really matter to other Wielders, but still…”

The professor receded back into his thoughts. He’d ask Victor a question or two sometimes but then grow quiet again. Victor didn’t interrupt him while he was in his own world, continuing to push boxes out of the room instead.

He brought them down into the cave system, which had grown so large he could barely believe it. There were lights hung up for illumination and gems made by some of the Wielders that bolstered their defences. Generators were brought down to power the entire system, and roads and sidewalks were carved right into the caves.

“I’m very impressed you’ve managed all this,” Professor Cooper offered a compliment as he went walking past.

The city couldn’t see the stars, but at least it was safe and in good hands. that was enough for him. They just needed to keep it that way for a few more years. The underground base project was wrapping up and that meant that Victor was nearing the final stage of his plan.

****

He trained Wielders day in and day out. Professor Cooper and the other scientists helped facilitate their training, assigning them to groups that worked with similar powers. Surrounding them with peers helped to spread ideas and concepts among the Wielders.

Though it did make them go a little strange sometimes, it wasn’t enough to warrant attention. Fire Wielders always became enamoured with flames, while Lightning Wielders were the same with electricity. Wielders with farming Seeds would always grow closer to the land, but never as much as the Earth Wielders themselves.

All those little quirks added up to an annoying whole, but at least it made identifying a Wielder easy enough.

Victor himself trained his Seeds to the brink. He barely slept those days, pushing them further and further while talking with Cooper and Loki. He garnered so many boosts, but they all came from sources other than his Timewalker’s Origin.

“You should really talk more,” Victor spoke while batting away another slash from Loki.

“Why so?” Loki asked as he came in for a frontal assault. He swiped his blade upwards but Victor was already gone.

“Some of the others think you’re boring. Ash, especially,” Victor told him. his new Voltaic Form annoyed Loki. The man grimaced every time he missed landing a hit on him.

“Let them think that. You’re just distracting me,” Loki said, before slashing all around him. Victor had nowhere to go, so he jumped into the air.

Loki smirked slightly and Victor realized his mistake. Loki fired another slash and this one caught Victor on the arms. it cut a line onto Victor’s skin, and he went crashing to the floor.

Loki tried to catch him with another, but Victor circled around him and grabbed his sword by the hilt. He kicked Loki in the chest and sent the man sprawling. Then he stuck the sword into the ground and fought him hand to hand.

Loki was talented, but Victor won out in the end due to his Seeds.

“So, you don’t care what they say? Seems like an isolated way to live life, Loki,” Victor said.

They were both sitting on the ground, regaining their energy.

“Do you? I haven’t seen you stop once on the order of someone you didn’t want to,” Loki told him.

“Good point.”

“It’s one of your more admirable traits,” Loki added.

“You think I’m admirable?”

“If only slightly,” Loki said without looking back at him. He took his sword out of the ground and went to sharpen it, only stopping for a single comment.

“Please don’t do that again. The blade gets dull,” he said, annoyed.

Victor sat there recuperating for a while longer, staring up at the stony ceiling of the base. He wished that tomorrow didn’t need to come, but it would, regardless of his wishes. Even the Timewalker couldn’t stop it forever.