Chapter 46: Charged Conflict, Pt 1
"So... you've finally arrived," a female voice drew Max's attention to the 2 figures cloaked in black, hovering just a few meters away from him, her voice cold. "That's good. It means casualties will be minimized... Not that I care too much about harming innocents."
Max narrowed his eyes.
"Don't look at us like that," the male figure spoke, his tone jovial, as if he hadn't just desecrated Max's home. "It is your fault your friend was targeted. Your actions have rewritten fate itself. If you hadn't changed canon so much, your friends would still be alive. This is on you."
"You have garnered the eye of The Hand of Nature. You failed to heed our warning. You deliberately defied The Plan..." the female continued. "You have only yourself to blame."
An inky black magic began igniting from the male's hand at the same time as thunder rumbled and blue lightning began rumbling around the girl.
At this, Max's Superior Intuition activated on its own. 'That inky darkness is explosive to lightning,' he realized. 'The lightning the girl generated is more of a superpower than a magic — Scratch that. None of this is magic. Its superpowers. Does this mean that the Hand of Nature are all reincarnated, superpowered souls?'
But, despite this realization, Max still grinned, sharp and cold. "This just means I can go all out."
Max willed the world around them to shift — The regular world became darker in shade, grim in tone. He had just shifted the territory into his private dimension. He didn't want to destroy the city of Mystic Falls. Now, he can go all out without restraint.
As the man's inky darkness began spreading across the environment and the female's thunder ability caused the skies above to blacken, Max willed the dimension around them to disrupt their abilities, causing the blackened skies to brighten to the shining Sun and the inky darkness that had been completely engulfing the environment to suddenly vanish with no source to re-generate.
The two cloaked figures, startled, could only look puzzled as their powers — strong enough to subdue Travellers, Originals and even some of the weaker gods of this world — was suddenly unresponsive, as if someone had flipped their off-switch.
"If you think," Max began, still hovering, but not by fire phoenix wings or even a phoenix aura — Just by dimensional force of will. "I'll show you even an ounce of mercy, after what you've done..." In his right hand, the golden flames of his phoenix side burned strong and, in his left, the crimson-orange flames of hellfire was alike imposingly. "Then you are sorely mistaken. I'm gonna enjoy this, very, very much. You, however, will not, at all."
"For Kaleb."
And, with that, Max vanished from his spot, appearing directly between both attackers, igniting both fires at the exact same time, maximum output.
The fight was surprisingly swift — barely taking 15 minutes. The two cloaked figures had an unnatural durability that was resistant to physical force and, to an extent, magic. Their flight ability and strength greater than even a 800 year old vampire made them exceptionally difficult to face alone.
Thankfully, Max was faster and had better hax to his name. Between utilizing his two forms of fire magic and his own combination of magic plus physical superiority, he was able to kill the cloaked individuals, trapping their souls in the hell layer of his dimension.
He intended to break their souls before interrogating them, but, first, he had a cousin to find — Or the soul of one anyway.
After returning to the real world again, Max set out to find Kaleb's soul.
Why?
Because, unlike his Westphall instructor and the dozen maids who ceased to exist due to the duo's earlier attack, Max sensed something off — Kaleb's body was indeed obliterated, but his soul still held a connection to the Verbatim Stone rune — Something that even his instructor, Miss Aubrey Westphall, and her soul didn't have despite possessing the same rune.
'Despite his young age, Kaleb was a master at protection magic,' Max thought as he used his magic senses to reach out to the world at large for any trace of what he was looking for. 'It isn't illogical to think that he used some last ditch effort to protect his soul, probably using his own life force to act as fuel.'
In just a few moments, Max sensed what he was looking for vanishing in a smoke of violet-blue.
[Salvatore House]:
[General POV]:
"So we go to the dance, then and find him," Damon said with a slight frown.
"Really?" Stefan questioned sarcastically. "How are we going to do that. We don't even know what he looks like."
"Something tells me he's not going to be 16 and all pimple-y," Damon snarked back.
He, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie had just gathered together, explaining what happened at school — How they discovered Klaus would be at the Dance and that Klaus is saving Elena for the last dance.
"He could be anywhere at anytime," Stefan said, trying to get his brother to see reason. "He compelled somebody at school. Guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"
The last part were directed at the women. Bonnie was about to protest this when a knock at the door garnered
All eyes turned to the door as Alaric let himself in.
"There you are," Damon exclaimed as Alaric closed the door behind him, beaming brightly.
"Sorry, I'm late," Alaric scoffed.
"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone tonight," Damon commanded. "Klaus made his first move."
Alaric said nothing.
"So we find him and then what? Hm?" Elena questioned. "What's our plan of attack?"
"Me," Bonnie said simply, shrugging. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. You can find him — I can kill him."
This seemed to intrigue Alaric, who tilted his head slightly before speaking. "It's not gonna be that easy," he chuckled. "He's the biggest, baddest vampire around."
"Alaric has a point," Damon began, calmly. "I mean, what if he—"
In a blur of movement, Damon rushed towards Bonnie, who simply raised a hand and sent him flying backwards with her magic. Damon crashed loudly into the furniture.
"Well, that was impressive," Stefan genuinely looked impressed.
"It doesn't matter if he's an Original," Bonnie claimed, making her way to the center of the room. "I can take anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."
Elena smiled, looking ready to say something when the room began to quiver and, behind Bonnie, a violet-blue smoke screen suddenly appeared, startling everyone present, even the false Alaric. The two vampires appeared protectively infront of the girls, unsure what would happen, but certain they would protect them.
"What's going on?" Elena asked as the concentration of magic power caused the lights to begin to flash.
"I don't know!" Damon exclaimed.
"Look, there!" Bonnie pointed at the mass of smoke with squinted eyes. "Someone is in it."
Sure enough, as all 5 of them looked through the magical smoke, someone stepped out of it — And moments after the smoke disappeared, the lights stopped flickering and the vibrating home calmed once more.
The man had caramel brown skin, youthful unblemished face, hazel-amber eyes and auburn-brown hair dyed black from the roots. He was dressed in a black longsleeve shirt, black sweat pants and black tennis shoes. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
His sudden presence caused a silence to befall the room, but it was Bonnie who broke it. "Cousin? What are you doing here?"
Max stared at the 5 assembled before him, his eyes looking briefly on Alaric. 'Hmm… It would be about that time, isn't it…? Not gonna lie, I want a taste of that… Perhaps not right now, though… I do have a soul to find…'
"Maximus?" Bonnie questioned, and Max finally shifted his gaze to his cousin. "Is something wrong?"
Max considered what to say, before deciding exactly what he would say.
"Kaleb… is dead… He was murdered alongside the males of Westphall Manor and my instructor," Max dropped a bomb. The news caused a gasp to be released from Bonnie. "My house was destroyed in the process… Though I'm not worried about it, I'll magic fix it—"
"What about Jeremy?" Elena asked, to which Max waved out.
"He's with Tyler — completely unharmed," Max said dismissively. "He's fine."
Elena released a brief sigh, while Bonnie looked at Max concerned.
"What about you? I know you and your cousin was pretty close," Bonnie tried to comfort. "How are you holding up?"
"I slaughtered the perpetrators," Max said, causing the 3 vampires present to side-eye him and the witch to look even more concerned. "I paid them back in blood… But that's not why I'm here."
"Then why barge into my house like an uncouth barbarian?" Damon challenged.
To which, Max looked at him, head tilted, as he focused his magic, lifting the vampire by his throat through magic, choking him while giving him repeated aneurysms. All without lifting a finger, using just his mind.
The move startled everyone and even "Alaric" seemed taken aback by Max's power.
"I don't like you Damon," Max spoke calmly, his voice dripping with disdain. "You annoy me, and I'm not in a mood to tolerate your bullshit right now. Learn some respect…Misquito. Do you understand?"
"I U-u-u-understooood," Damon struggled out.
"Please! Stop! You'll kill him!" Elena tried.
Max paid her no heed, magically throwing Damon across the room, through the front door and into the driveway with a loud crash.
For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone was shocked at Max's display of power — All without even lifting a finger. Even Klaus — through Alaric — seemed to pale at Max's display. He wanted to know who this witch was and why hasn't he heard of him. For he needed to know if such a warlock could be an ally… or a foe.
"I don't care about what you guys have planned, I'm only here because I'm sensing Kaleb's soul somewhere in this house — Or an aspect of it anyway," Max brushed off. "He was a master at defensive magic and a prodigy at soul magic. I'm betting he put part of his soul in an artifact in here… After all, what is a more safer place than a house lived in by two vampires?"
The others seemed to go silent at this. Bonnie seemed ready to come across the room to hug Max, though she knew Max wasn't naturally a feel-y person. Elena looked bored despite the faux concern on her face. Damon was still planted face first in the driveway, likely unconscious. Stefan seemed almost contemplative and Klaus (Disguised as Alaric) was looking inquisitively at Maximus, clearly intrigued by such ruthlessness in a warlock and curious as to what else he could do.
Max ignored them all.
Eyes closed, Max channelled his extradimensional mystical senses for the soul fluctuations that was Kaleb's soul… It didn't take long to find what he was looking for.
Walking up to the fireplace, Max reached behind the displayed artpiece, his hands grasping around a circular blue crystal — Specifically a Blue Agate crystal that had a slight vibrant glow to it no other Blue Agate could've possibly possessed — At least, not naturally, anyway.
Within it, Max could sense the partial, incomplete presence of a soul — A warlock's soul. Kaleb's soul… Or what was left of it anyway.
"Is that—?" Bonnie gasped, sensing the familiar magic from the stone.
"Kaleb… Or whatever is left of him," Max nodded, already beginning to plot his vengeance on the Hand of Nature, now that the current problem of Kaleb's soul had been solved. "With this, I should be able to bring him back eventually."
Walking up to his cousin, he pecked her cheek before heading out. "I won't interfere with your beef with Klaus, dear cousin," he spoke behind him. "Just try not to die. Klaus Mikaelson is known for being many steps ahead. Underestimating him may have lethal consequences — For you and all your loved ones.
"Plus, it'd be a hassle to resurrect you should you actually die and I'd rather not incur Nature's wraith if I can help it."
"You say that like you know him personally?" Klaus — Alaric chuckled lightly.
Max paused, looking directly at Alaric with raised brows and a sharp gaze. "I am a seer, psychic and telepath, Alaric Saltzman," Max said, slight smirk on his lips — Just noticeable for Klaus to notice. The vampire began to sweat slightly as he realised what Max was alluding to. "I'm not limited to time-related sight… If that is all, good day."
Exiting the house, Max walked past a dazed, only just waking Damon Salvatore. He walked with such purpose, such direction — For he had a secret organization to hunt… But first, it was time to get stronger — And to do that, Max needed to learn how to traverse the multiverse outside of TVDU, gather otherworld spells and magic that his own arsenal alone couldn't keep up with currently.
Internally, Max blamed himself for Kaleb's death. And he knew that, even if he resurrected what remained of his cousin's soul within a new body, it wouldn't be the same.
The soul itself was damaged during whatever incantation Kaleb performed before his fall. And Max read enough novels about soul damage and knew instinctively through both his book knowledge and what he assimilated from both Cade and Qetsiyah that soul damage — no matter how minor — was a serious affliction. A single minor crack could hold a great many swathes worth of one's entire personality and identity — And Kaleb's soul was, by his sense, only 20% complete.
'He'll never be the same even if I succeeded in resurrecting him into a new body,' Max paused, the realization settled deep within him. 'It may actually be more merciful to allow his soul to pass on — Beyond the Other Side, to Peace.'
The realization that his intuition was right caused something ugly to rear its head in his heart. Something that had already taken root when Max had sensed Kaleb to be dying at the start — A deeply burrowing guilt that clogged his throat and caused the warlock to breathe heavily.
A single tear falling down traitorously from the eye down his cheek seemed to herald the breaking of a dam — A dam whose waters broke free like a hurricane.
A river of tears flowed down Max's cheeks as his heart — which was typically void of emotion or just dulled to it — ached like an open wound.
Max fell to his knees where he stood, shaken with grief and guilt of extreme levels. He once believed that he could control the narrative — That there was not a variable he couldn't defeat.
How foolish was he?
The world is cruel. It doesn't like being controlled. It doesn't yield — Not even to him. He knew that, didn't he? Experienced it? Hell, he died already to a disease he had no control of — If anyone knew helplessness, it'd be him, wouldn't it?
And yet, he thought he could control what was too wild to be tamed?
His grief was suffocating — So much so that he nearly had not noticed their presences until they were right up on him.
By instinct, he used a phasing ability — Something he acquired by absorbing all of his multiversal doppelgangers, one of which had a phasing ability — just as a fisted blade of bone passed through him.
Then, quicker than a blur, Max backstepped, completely putting distance between himself and his assailants, allowing time for evaluating the situation.
His attacker was a hulking, burly figure of at least 12 feet tall dressed in a similar cloak as the two Max had captured earlier, so he couldn't see beneath the hood. What he could see, however, was a green 7 etched into the chest of his cloak on the right at the center of the symbol symbolizing the Hand of Nature.
Behind him were 3 other cloaked figures who, while not quite as tall, carried a formidable presence — They were also dressed in similar cloaks, though their numbers were 6, 5 and 4 respectively.
"Congratulations, Worm… on surviving 8 and 9, but they were only the warm-up," the brute said in a menacing voice. "They had strength comparative only to the physical peak of mortal supernaturals in this verse. I have strength on par with Prometheus."
Max's eyes widened in horror as he realized something.
'The Hand of Nature isn't natural to the plot of TVDU story,' he realized. 'They're an organization, yes, but not one that is full of canon characters — It's an organization of transmigrators…'
"By that look of horror, it would seem you've realized," chuckled #4, as #7 stalked forward with the intent to kill. "You stand no chance against us, young reincarnator. Submit and you may live."
"I… think the fuck not," Max's gaze sharpened as he quickly got into battle stance, raising his fists for combat. Passively, he changed the environment so that they were in his dimension, slightly surprising his would-be attackers. "You killed my cousin. And while I can't bring him back, I can sure as hell avenge his death."
"What I'm about to do is for Miss Aubrey. For my home…And for Kaleb," Max's eyes glowed fierce orange hue, as his palms ignited in a mix of hellfire and phoenix fire. "I'll burn you and your pathetic organization to cinders, bitches."
And, with that, Max charged the charging bone-armed behemoth.