"I will turn off the barrier to the cell when you are ready. Are you sure you can take this creature on in your state?" Spyro questioned.
Vatra pulled one of her godkillers free and snapped her head up. "Someone's helping me, right?" Her jaw slacked.
"I'm no good in a fight. Remember, love?" Enyalius chuckled.
"What was that 'in this together' bullshit? Revna?" Vatra looked over to the woman. "If you don't help me, you two get the controls for the cell, and I'll have Spyro help me kill the thing."
"They do not know the controls," Spyro whispered.
"Spy!" Vatra shouted. "Someone better step up, now! It's not like the thing can kill you two, anyway." She added her last words under her breath, directing the comment toward Revna and Enyalius.
Revna hesitated, but then stepped forward and slipped Vatra's other godkiller from its sheath. She held it out in front of her, knuckles tight around the hilt. "All right. I will help you."
"Thank the gods," Vatra said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the cell.
Why Revna and Enyalius were suddenly acting so weak-spined was beyond her, but there wasn't time to question it. Vatra had a duty to kill the monstrous creature on her ship.
By the time they'd turned their focus back on the cell, Laverna had completed her transformation. She'd sprung to her feet, or at least what used to be them, and ripped through the remains of the fleshy bindings of what made Laverna recognizable as the goddess she was. As the flesh and clothing tore away from the gray hide, it faded away into ash; much like what happened when a god or goddess was killed with a godkiller. Except, what remained behind of Laverna was worse than nothing.
The creature before them was different from what Mercury had turned into. Over half a dozen legs tapped and slipped against the metal floor. Dozens of eyes darted around, peering out over a mouth lined with sharp fangs. Thick saliva dribbled from its open maw.
A piercing scream ripped from the creature's throat. It warbled and grew in frequency, vibrating and clattering Vatra's teeth together.
Groaning in pain, everyone in the room doubled over until the sound dissipated. Hands fell away from ears, and they all looked around with confusion.
"The hell was that?" Vatra seethed. She clutched her godkiller even tighter, willing the pain away that rattled around in her head.
"Kill it, now!" Spyro yelled. At some point, he'd made his way over to the controls for the cell door. Without hesitation, he turned off the barrier.
Vatra was surprised by his reaction. He must have realized something she didn't piece together. She gathered her bearings and rushed to the cell door.
Tight on her heels, Revna pushed in through the door with Vatra. The two of them used the door itself as a barricade to gain proximity to the beast, but also remain at a safe distance.
"Get out of here!" Vatra yelled over to Nat.
They'd created enough room behind them for Nat to slip through, which she did as soon as the opportunity was granted. The beast's flailing legs tried to claw at her as she ran, but Nat avoided them with agile movements and dove for safety. Once Nat was free, there wasn't risk within the cell.
Vatra and Revna let go of the cell door. The godkillers were too short to stab the beast through the bars, and holding it back any longer was pointless. They had to take it head-on.
Having been able to be close to the creature for even a few moments, Vatra had scanned it for any weak spots. There were many, thankfully. Its hide wasn't as tough as the other one, and there was a significantly lighter colored patch at the nape of where its neck should have been.
"We need to strike it on the back of the neck, near that light gray colored spot," Vatra said. She shuffled away with Revna, the two now face-to-face with the snarling creature.
"I can lure its attention to me while you get the strike," Revna offered. "I think your aim would be better than mine, even with one arm."
Vatra gave a small nod, and side-stepped slowly from Revna. She watched for the beast's reaction. Expectedly, its eyes followed her movement.
A sharp tap sounded to Vatra's left. Revna started drumming the godkiller along the bars of the cell, and the beast turned its focus on her.
So, it's drawn more by sound than movement? Vatra thought. Her continuous movement away proved her theory. We never shut up on that other planet with Mercury, but he certainly did seem more drawn to us when our mouths were moving.
That didn't mean they were completely blind, as her fight with the god-turned-beast had been particularly difficult. But, she would certainly take into consideration the advantage of their weakened sight.
Moving ever so carefully, Vatra readied her blade. She noticed the creature clawing and stabbing at Revna, who parried the attacks as best as she could with such a short blade. There wasn't much time to waste.
Once there was an opening, Vatra took a running start and used the cross-point of the cell bars to launch herself toward the beast. She raised her godkiller and drove it directly into the target she'd pointed out. The blade sliced through the soft flesh with ease, cutting down the length of its back as Vatra's momentum brought her down to the floor.
Another cry, much like a wounded animal, ripped from the beast's lungs. A last, guttural howl. Vatra pulled her godkiller away and the beast flopped to the ground, legs flailing around with no real aim or intent.
"That was easy enough," Vatra sighed out. She wiped the blade on her jumpsuit leg and exited the holding cell.
Revna followed her. "You did most of the work."
"Yeah, I'd actually like to talk about that," Vatra started. She turned to say more, but there was a steady beep over her watch.
Someone was trying to patch in a radio communication to the Agkistrodon.
"I was worried about that beast's cry," Spyro paused, watching his own watch in passive thought, "I am not sure this is just a coincidence."
"I don't think so, either," Vatra said. She connected through the communications to her watch.
Static followed for a moment. Then, Lorenzo's voice shouted through the small speaker. "Vatra! Shit, I didn't know who else to contact. Something's happening out on Tau Honnor. People are changing."
"Let me guess, they aren't exactly mortals, but not aliens, either?" Vatra asked.
"No, that's why I wanted to reach out to you. There's dozens of them, all over Tau Honnor. They're killing anyone in their way, and our weapons aren't doing a thing against them," Lorenzo said.
Vatra lifted her gaze and looked around the room. "No, I'd expect they wouldn't. Give me a few minutes."
"Wait, Vatra!" Lorenzo's voice was cut off when she disconnected the communications system from her watch.
"It looks like there were a lot more gods out in hiding here than we thought, and Hephaestus had their godkillers this whole time. What a dick move," Vatra said.
"Well, looks like we have no choice but to leave, now. Can't say I'm not sad I didn't get to do a little more on Tau Honnor." Enyalius frowned.
"Hisato and Geb are still out on the station, and we're the ones who caused this mess for Tau Honnor. It's our duty to help clean this mess up," Vatra shot.
"All right," the god said, raising his hands up in front of him. "What do you want us to do?"
Vatra took a moment to consider her options. Tau Honnor was a large station, and she wasn't sure of the exact numbers of gods and goddesses that had been changed. The creatures, much like their pre-changed forms, could only be dispatched with godkillers. But she did know of one way to draw them in, and that was by the use of sound.
"We need to attract them to the Agkistrodon," Vatra said.
"How do you expect us to do that?" Revna asked. "There's enough people on this station to draw their attention, we'll barely be a fly on the wall to them."
Grinning, Vatra pointed to the door leading out of the holding cell. "First, let's grab Set and Fulgora. We need everyone we can get. Then, we'll make sure everyone has a godkiller and a good speaker before we leave this ship."
"What do we need speakers for?" Spyro inquired.
"To play some kickass music, of course."