“Gus, I know you are going through a lot, but you can do this,” Nick encouraged.
Gus had been mulling over his own thoughts so much that he had forgotten about Nick. “I don’t know, buddy. I’m beginning to wonder if I really can.”
“Nothing’s ever easy, right? That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. You’ve just got to choose how you are going to respond. Give yourself a break once in a while. You can’t let the thought of making a bad decision paralyze you into inaction. It’s easy to break down, quit, and let the situation win. Don’t worry about the far future, just focus on tomorrow. What can you do to make the best showing that you can when Basileus shows up?”
“Well, I should figure out what defenses I can use. I should throw everything we’ve unlocked in the manor at him. No use holding things back if he overruns me and takes the manor away.”
“What are you going to do about Aurora? Are you going to try to save her?”
“I don’t know, Nick. She wouldn’t want me to, I know that. It’s hard to accept, even though I know she has much more experience working on teams. She escaped their headquarters, so she should be able to handle whatever limited restraints they have here.”
“Do you trust her to take care of herself?”
“Part of me says no, since she let herself get captured. The other part thinks that I have to. Even if I wanted to, the stakes are too high. Aurora’s words burned me the last time we argued, but I think they hurt so much because she was mostly right. I can be too optimistic about things, and I’m not dealing with honorable people. Basileus might not be mentally stable from what she told me before, so how do you negotiate with someone like that? I’ve always avoided confrontation, but I’m going to have to face more and more of it. Especially if I’m going to change anything when I get back home—if I get back home. Anyway, I might as well build those skills now, and part of that is making hard decisions and trusting those who follow me. Hell, she made me promise I wouldn’t overdo the heroics at the cost of the mission.”
“So what’s next?”
“Let’s give this bully a fat lip,” Gus declared, his eyes glinting. His knuckles popped as he clenched his fists with his resolution. Gus made a beeline for the control center. He had trouble figuring out what Aurora had done until he selected the ‘Recent Updates/Unlocks’ tab hidden among the multitude of open facility info tabs. He smiled as he read the devious little things the invaders had in store when they returned.
An hour later, Gus headed to the Foundry and programmed the items he needed. Once they were finished, he placed everything in its proper place, preparing for Basileus’ return. He fiddled with placement, until things seemed just right as the light for the day faded.
He took a long shower, and thought that Basileus must think that he was dreading the upcoming fight. He was actually looking forward to it a little. For a chance to stand up, instead of folding in defeat. Gus knew he would get roughed up, no doubt, but it would be worth it to see that smarmy smirk wiped off his arrogant face. That vision accompanied him as he drifted to sleep.
New abilities assimilated!
Dick in a Box (Level 12) [25 MP]: Encase an enemy in an invisible, impenetrable box. Duration at current level: 5 minutes.
It’s All in the Tips (Level 22) [10 MP]: Fire beams of energy from fingertips.
Kitty’s Got Claws (Level 7) [20 MP]: Increased damage and poison transmitted to wounds for continued damage over time.
Shapeshift (Level 18): Change your physical form at will by temporarily reconfiguring connective and hard tissues. Mass must remain constant and may result in condensation as matter is temporarily converted.
Meld (Level 8) [40 MP]: Temporarily gain properties of a selected item. Duration depends on the type of material utilized and energy requirements to affect transformation.
Ice Shard (Level 16) [15 MP]: Use ambient moisture to create dagger-like weapons. MP cost doubled if insufficient ambient moisture and ether must be converted to water to create effects.
Amber (Level 8) [20MP]: Create a viscous substance that rapidly hardens, trapping enemies inside.
Command (Level 17) [10MP]: Compel targets to obey instructions. Success rates increase with higher levels of Intelligence.
Mimic (Level 5) [20 MP]: Impersonate others by adopting their outward appearance. At higher levels can match vocal patterns and mannerisms.
Photoelectric Shielding (Level 11): Energy below a certain threshold state will be absorbed by shielding, sufficient energy will result in a retaliatory burst of photoelectrons causing radiation damage.
Lightskate (Level 8): Move effortlessly on any surface on photonically charged ether.
Drafting (Level 34): Creates a wake behind you that allows teammates to travel at the same speed. Cannot be utilized without an established team and is unavailable to enemies to exploit.
12 new abilities assimilated.
12,000 XP awarded.
6,000 FP awarded.
LEVEL UP! Congratulations, Level 20 reached!
1,000 FP awarded.
You have (5) additional stat points to assign.
19,700 XP to level 21.
Gus hesitated with anticipation as nothing happened. He got up and looked in the mirror.
“I expected it to happen when I hit level twenty, but I guess not,” Gus said as he looked at himself. The silence drew on. “Nick, are you there?” Still nothing. There was a sudden vibration and his watch came to life, flickering on and off. Finally it formed a familiar oval window to the side of his body. A voice he now recognized as his mother’s said:
Requirements met…
Dimensional unfolding progressing…
Fractal unfolding level two…
Gus felt the tight feeling of compression again but was not scared, knowing what to expect this time. He braced himself for the upcoming pain.
It hit him like a brick wall, even more intense than
