The Legacy of Lothevis: Awakening

"Uhm... I vote for beating Lothevis up until he tells us what the doo-hickey does. Now I'd really like to hear someone come up with a plan for that though... ", Erin starting releasing the safety locks on some of her suits weapon systems, hoping that when the fight inevitably broke out it wouldn't result in the roof caving down on their heads.

Barometra remained silent as she watched the other heroes gathered. She had absolutely no idea what sort of things this creature Lothevis was capable of and that scared her. After all, he was obviously confident enough to believe he could draw them all here and still win. Whether that was a result of whatever knowledge he had of them or just villainous stupidity was left to be answered.

Instead of speaking she focused on the static in the air around her drawing in an electrical charge.

Vincent shot a glance to Kinetica and nodded, his light reflected off of her armor so that he could easily make out her form.

"I'm gonna have to agree with you Kinetica. Lu Lu here needs a VICIOUS tail kicking."

Vincent brought his eyes from the device that was visible to the group, back to Lothevis' tail.

"So I'm starting to think this is the part in the comic book where you explain your plans for world domination to the group of heroes before the heroes beat you senseless. So how about you hop to it?"

Vincent's hands were beginning to build energy into his fingertips, even his arm was glowing faintly through his cloak. If Lothevis came at him, he'd be prepared, and so would all of the heroes around him. They weren't going to lose. Not like this.

Not to him...

Lothevis began to laugh. A deep, malevolent, hollow laugh that echoed off the chamber walls.

"You still don't understand what you're facing. The power I now wield."

A pair of eyes appeared in the darkness, hovering high in the air. Burning, red eyes that shined with evil fire. They were huge.

"Perhaps that is what I should . . . enlighten you on."

In a near-blinding flash of light, the darkness vanished, and every torch in the room blazed to life, casting a light far brighter than any simple fire should. The heroes could finally see the chamber in its entirety.

It was obviously ancient, with markings and architecture similar to Oranbega. It looked to have once been some sort of prayer temple, or ritual chamber. In the light, it could now be seen that every surface, from floor to ceiling, was completely covered in runic glyphs that had been recently added, drawn in some kind of strange ink that had actually partially eaten away the stone in precise lines. To the south was a very large sigil, a protective ward. The more magically-inclined in the room could feel the power still in it, protecting this place from scrying and magical detection. The chamber was decidedly large. It had to be, to contain the creature that now stood within it.

That it was Lothevis, there was no doubt. The features that had once belonged to Darkthorne still existed within this thing, but it was a small imp warrior no longer. Some of the more experienced heroes gathered here may have heard of the fearsome Baphomet, the Behemoth Prime . . . this thing looked capable of giving Baphomet pause for concern. He was frighteningly tall, his massive horns nearly grazing the curved ceiling above him. He looked much like a Behemoth, but with more draconic features, and was easily larger and stronger than the old monster Baphomet, with massive, jagged spines protruding from his shoulders and key locations on his body. His grinning jaws, easily able to swallow any of the heroes present, seethed with steamy breath of black smoke. Instead of the usual hooved feet of the Behemoth, this creature had almost feline feet, complete with gargantuan claws. Behind him spread his massive wings, made purely of shadow and cold mist. Just like the room around him, this thing . . . Lothevis . . . was covered in glyphs. These ones actually seethed with a black aura that shifted and danced as he moved, spreading his large arms wide.

"This . . . this was the destiny of your small Darkthorne. He was a Demon Prince Ascendant, with the power in his royal heritage to rule surpreme over all demonkind, to be the . . . patron saint of the Circle of Thorns. I now have that power, and I have awakened the potential in his blood with my magic."

He gestured toward the machine.

"As for my unique device . . . rather than tell you, I would prefer to show you. After all . . ."

The device suddenly beeped, activating on some preset control timer.

". . . the sequence has begun."

The demon began to laugh again, but he was quickly drowned out by a keening howl that came from the machine. With a wave of force that could be felt throughout the room, a web of energy extended from the device, shattering the stone wall behind it and carving into the rock in a horizontal oval that nearly matched the diameter of the chamber. The purpose of the machine became immediately clear as a massive portal extended out beyond the chamber, a vast tunnel of fire that extended out to some distant, unseen location. The sound lessened some, allowing Lothevis to speak above it.

"This, heroes . . . is a highway to Hell. In a matter of minutes, an army of demons will overtake this timeless place, and in the year that my spell shall last, they will entrench themselves so deeply it will make the Rikti war look like a schoolyard softball game. If the machine is tampered with, it could detonate with the force of the Wheel of Destruction, destroying a vast swath of this world."

Lothevis suddenly entered a combat pose, his eyes flaring, his wings spreading, his claws flexing.

"You are the only obstacle, and you have to deal with me."

The fear, nervousness, and uncertainty in his allies was palpable to Hunter, but as Lothevis advanced, he knew that combat was inevitable. The outcome of this one was far less known, however.

Without even moving, his cybercytes extended outward from him to instantly build a floating sensor drone that linked with his internal scanners, immediately pinpointing a weak spot on Lothevis with laser accuracy. His cybernetically-enhanced firing arm stabilized, matching the demon’s movements. For every biological creature, there was at least one weak point that was all but universal. The eyes.

Hunter fired his most powerful blast, and Lothevis reeled from the hit, uttering a roar of pain and clutching his face. He then laughed again, revealing his pierced eye filling with blood . . .with then congealed and solidified into a new, perfect eye, which caught Hunter completely by surprise. Responding to the shot, Lothevis threw out his arm, and a volley of spines as big as tree-trunks raced toward their task of impaling Hunter on the spot. With a diving leap, Hunter blinked across the room before the spot he was standing on was perforated.

Instantly, the room exploded into action as his allies rushed to the fight, raining blasts of energy and force upon Lothevis, who only grinned, healed, and gleefully met them head-on, slashing with his claws, throwing spines, and hurling his massive fists as the jumping, dodging heroes.

Hunter leapt around the swirling combat, finding places to take aim and shoot, blasting Lothevis with plasmatic fire, pelting him with smoke grenades and bombs of adhesive web. The demon seemed almost not to notice, inhaling his smoke, tearing through his webs, and healing every burn and bullethole, taking notice only so often to fling spines at him or to attempt to stomp him into the stone. Only Hunter’s quantum relocation matrix saved him, as he continued to blink around the chamber and out of Lothevis’ reach. His energy systems would not be capable of maintaining this pace for long.

It did not look good.

Chaos erupted, and Noelle took to the sky, hovering above the carved floor, tossing ice at Lothevis ineffectually, hoping something would stick. But no -- nothing.

An ice slick laid before the giant melted almost instantly, and even her strongest holds had no effect. She brought forth Jack after Jack, who each ran to the winged monster and took swipes at him with their ice swords, only to be tossed back against the walls, shattering into icicles. She didn't dare get closer, didn't know if she had the strength to be useful. Didn't know how long she could keep this up.

Her force bolts bounced off him like snowflakes.

Noelle continued throwing every bit of ice at Lothevis that she could pull from the hot air around her. Barely able to keep up with the others in offensive maneuvers, she felt her energy draining away from her, and reached again and again for a new reserve, hoping she'd have enough to last through the fight. Hoping that she'd last the fight. That any of them would.

She raised another Jack, gritting her teeth with the effort, and was thrown back for an instant with the electrical force Barrie loosed at the demon. Needing the extra energy she was spending to keep herself aloft, Noelle dropped to the ground, and was on one knee when she saw Barometra fall.

With a curse, and a silent plea, she wrapped Barrie in a protective bubble as she saw Scorpia rush to her side, tending to her injuries.

Turning back towards Lothevis, Noelle tried again to chill. Even if she could hold him for a second, for a moment... it might be enough time. It had to be enough.

"Get 'em, Jack!"