Chapter Fifteen: Information

As it turned out, Daniel did return with several trees under his mechanical arms, dumping them outside of the cave before disintegrating the top half of his suit and then entering. When Daniel entered, no one noticed except for Exodus, who raised his hand in acknowledgment and muttered, "Hey Terrel." Terrel, who sat next to Exodus, shrugged and replied, "Hello." Exodus snapped his head toward Terrel, and then back to Daniel, who looked as though he was trying not to laugh. "We're twins," Terrel explained, and Exodus made an 'ah' sound, now feeling idiotic for not noticing it immediately. "It's fine," Terrel said, laughing loudly and patting Exodus on the shoulder. Exodus nodded, chuckling slightly as Terrel leaned forward, his expression suddenly turning serious. "There has been something I have been wishing to talk with you about. Both of us," he said, his eyes flickering to Daniel as he added the last part, and Daniel nodded.

"What is it?" Exodus asked curiously, he, Rachel and Henry all leaning forward too, watching Terrel intently. "I overheard Catastrophe talking with his brother, Destruction, a day or two ago," he said, "They were both discussing headed to something called the Angel's Lake, where they whispered they were going to raise the Angel and use the Power of Heaven itself to destroy everyone who dared stand in their way." Chuckling Terrel leaned back, all eyes still fixed on him, "They are both clearly delusional." Exodus was the first to move as he shook his head quickly, and Terrel's face fell. "Where could this Angel's Lake be, then, if they are telling the truth? The only lake I have seen is the one just outside!" Exodus sighed, and now Terrel's eyes widened, his mouth falling open in horror. "Why don't we raise it first?" asked Henry from the other side of the room.

Exodus was ready to answer, but then a deep but caring voice that he had known his whole life filled the cave. "They cannot do it without the Powers upon which Heaven are based on." They all turned to find Nathaniel leaning against the nearest wall of the cave, battle-worn and his suit bloodied yet he looked ready to fight again. "What do you mean?" asked Terrel, his eyes focused on Nathaniel now as Nathaniel took a shaky step forward and half-collapsed into a sitting position, holding his side in pain. Exodus went to help his brother, yet Nathaniel shook him away impatiently, a glint in his eyes as he looked around the room. "The Powers of Heaven are created as a combination. He needs to take a power from one member of each House, and when he combines them at the Lake, the Angel shall rise and be used of service in any way that the summoner deems necessary. Including destroying everything."

They all stared, opened mouth, as Nathaniel finished speaking, their eyes wide in shock. "He can…take Powers?" asked Daniel quietly, and Nathaniel slowly nodded, "The only way he can abstract a Power is by killing the one who holds the Power. He absorbs it into his body, and contains it there, and when he collects another Power, the process continues." Exodus ran a nervous hand through his hair, hunched forward and trying to think. "How is you know this?" Terrel asked, and Nathaniel sighed, his voice sounding strained and exhausted as he spoke. "Catastrophe told me as much. He believed that he was going to kill me when I gave up the location of the Angel's Lake, which I do now know is just outside of here. The only reason I was kept alive was so he could obtain the location, and then I am sure he would have killed me and taken my Power. Unfortunately for him, my little brother came to the rescue."

Nathaniel chuckled and nodded at Exodus, flashing his iconic grin yet again, and Exodus half-smiled back, his mind still racing. "What if…he needs the Power of Heaven to create the Angel?" he asked thoughtfully, and now all eyes turned to Exodus, surprised. "The Angel's Lake…I touched it earlier today. It seemed to react to my Hope, and it made someone appear and talk to me," he took a deep breath before adding, glancing at Nathaniel as he did, "That person was your master." Nathaniel's eyes were wider than Exodus had ever seen before, and his mouth hung open in shock. "Chloe?" he whispered, and Exodus nodded, "She showed me an image of a mechanical creature with fists of fire for hands with glowing yellow eyes, the red sparks of Rage running around its body, tough mechanical skin and its feet seemed to vibrate at super speed like Rachel does sometimes."

Now everyone looked shocked at Exodus' discovery of the Angel, and Nathaniel clapped his hands together, "That would be why the Angel will serve whoever summons it! It would not serve if it has already been alive. But if it has been brought to life then…it would be bound to serve the one who has control over it!" They all nodded, and Exodus felt his stomach twisting again nervously. "How can we compete with this? If he succeeds, those of us who have survived the Hunt will instantly be eliminated!" The others seemed to realise this problem as Exodus did, but Nathaniel stood, hissing in pain but then standing tall, as to prove he could carry on. "We can only do one thing to stop this, and that is take him out." Exodus wished he shared his brother's optimism, yet he only saw doom and loss in the coming days.

"He has the Flame House on his side, both of them, as well as my brother, Tough and Destruction! It is too great a risk with his little army," Rachel exclaimed, her voice high in exasperation as she shook her head, but then Terrel stood, his expression almost hopeful. "Actually, there is a way we can turn the tides of this war," he said softly, and after looking at everyone in turn, he pressed his hands together softly. "Fury and Hellfire are both in the same situation I and my brother were in. They too are beginning to doubt their safety if they remain with Catastrophe, and rightfully so. They do not know of the plan with the Angel, or that Catastrophe will kill one or both of them to gain the Power of Flame. If they believe us, I have every belief they will turn to us to help destroy Catastrophe."

They all nodded, and now they all stood as one, united in their belief as they looked to one another. "How are we going to get to them without Catastrophe or his minions around?" asked Henry curiously, and Terrel chuckled. "Leave that one to me and my brother. We believe that they will only listen to us." Exodus cocked his head to the side in concern and, before he could stop himself, he asked, "And how do you know that they will listen to you." Terrel and Daniel both nodded at Exodus' question, shot a glance at one another, and then Daniel spoke. "We know because we are their brothers by marriage." Everyone raised their eyebrows in surprise, and Terrel nodded, backing-up what his brother had just announced. "It is true. Our eldest brother Simon illegally married their eldest sister Nicola, so by blood we are bound, and they know it."

Exodus let out a low whistle, but he knew that Terrel was right. If the Tech brothers were brothers-in-law to the Flame brothers, then there was without a doubt a chance that the Flame brothers would indeed listen to them. "We do…have some more unfortunate information," Terrel continued, a grim look upon his face. "What is it?" asked Rachel, her eyes wide at the sound of more bad news. "Catastrophe had me and my brother build a weapon to keep you all at bay. To us it is just a simple machine, to him it is a weapon through which he can destroy us in moments." Exodus took a glance at Nathaniel, whose brow was furrowed as he wore an expression of concern. "What is this thing's name?" Nathaniel asked, and this time Daniel was the one to answer. "He calls it…. Armageddon."