Chereads / Spectres of the Past: Prince of Spectres / Chapter 12 - Choc Celeste: part 3

Chapter 12 - Choc Celeste: part 3

Prince and Ford look in shock as an old man drinking coffee walks down the road, as a single bubble stopped the massive attack fired at them

Prince

Hey, were you the one who stopped that?

Cliff

Yes, I couldn't believe that such a destructive fight was happening in Paris.

Honestly, who taught you how to fight?

It's like you were trying to destroy as much of the city as possible!

Prince

It's not like we wanted to!

We just didn't want to get anyone at the cafe hurt!

Cliff

How admirable.

But in the end, you ended up dragging the rest of the city into the fight.

Do they not matter to you then?

Prince

What!?

That's not what I'm trying to say–

Ford

Prince!

I got the things out of our hands!

You probably want to take a look at this…

Prince

Why?

What is it?

Kintsugi Soldier opens up its palm to reveal two small metal rods in its hand

Ford

From the looks of it, I'd say these are…

Prince

…lightning rods.

Ford

But when were they placed in us?

Prince

I told you, it's George.

Back when he shook our hands, he must have used his Manifesto to place the lightning rods on us.

Cliff

Ahem, excuse me.

Not to interrupt you or anything, but I wouldn't suggest talking so much in the middle of a fight.

After all, I don't need to keep using my Manifesto to protect you two.

I could always just let that thing attack you.

Prince

Wait!

You said you were looking for Prince Spectre, that's me!

So please, just give us a second to come up with a plan!

Cliff furrows his brow as he looks at Prince with suspicion

Cliff

If you really are Prince, then I want to see you come up with a plan on your own.

Here, I'll even help you.

As Choc Celeste keeps attacking, only to be blocked by bubbles, with one punch, all of the bubbles burst causing Choc Celeste to be hit with the full force of all of its attacks from before

The sky becomes illuminated, and dust begins to settle all around where the Manifesto once stood.

The building collapses beneath Choc Celeste, as it seems like a bomb had just gone off

Prince and Ford sit frozen in fear

Prince

(No way…if it weren't for that old guy…)

(...would we have been hit with enough firepower to destroy an entire building?)

(No, this is the first time it hasn't been at its best!)

(We need to use this chance)

Ford!

Give me the lightning rods!

Kintsugi soldier hands them off as Prince dashes for where Choc Celeste once was, and, before the Manifesto can react, Devil's Trill slams the lightning rods into its body

The Manifesto tries to pull them out, however Devil's Trill slams both of its fists into the lightning rods, embedding them even deeper into Choc Celeste

Prince

Alright, Ford, go and remove the last lightning rod from Wade and bring it back here!

Ford nods before running back towards the cafe

Cliff

Why did you plug the lightning rods back into the Manifesto?

Isn't it generating the electricity itself?

Prince

I had the idea when I watched it get hurt by its own attacks before.

When you released all of those attacks, it was slowed down, as if it was overloaded by the electricity.

Those lightning rods helped to channel the electricity into attacks, however, without them, it would just release it at random, which could still hurt us…

…But if I plug the lightning rods back into it, then the electricity will circle back into its body, the only one left that can still be hurt is…

Cut to Wade, as George is throwing up buckets of blood and staggering

George

(What was that pain?)

(I've been leaving Choc Celeste on autopilot because it was too much for me to handle, but it looks like I'll need to take direct control of it again!)

(hm…at least it seems my lightning rods are still active, which means I should still be able to attack!)

(Still, I can't help but feel something is very wrong–)

Anemoi: Zephyr grabs George and holds him in place

Wade

Are you starting to regret picking a fight with us yet?

From the looks of it, your Manifesto just took quite the big blow!

(What was that explosion from before?)

(Based on the fact this guy started coughing up blood, I know for a fact his Manifesto was caught in the blast, but what about Prince and Ford?)

(Was that caused by one of them, or is there a new threat?)

(On the brightside, I have this guy caught, there's no way his Manifesto could have survived that last hit.)

(I'm glad that our first fight is finally finished…?)

Why are you smiling like that?

George

You seem to have gotten pretty comfortable?

But it seems like you've forgotten something important…

I can still attack you with my Manifesto!

Choc Celeste starts to charge up with massive amounts of energy, with even electricity from nearby buildings being drawn to it

Prince

Is he really still trying to use one of those bursts even when it'll just hit him again?!

Cliff

Considering its broken and robotic movements, I'd say it's a safe bet this Manifesto is acting on its own.

The user doesn't fully understand what's happening over here other than a vague feeling.

Prince

What do you mean it's on auto-pilot?

Cliff

It was a technique popularized by European soldiers with Manifestos, where it took too much of a toll on them mentally to be able to control the Manifesto on their own, so they gave it a basic order and let it handle it on its own.

For example, if you gave your Manifesto the order "go fetch a ball," it will use all of the abilities at its disposal to fetch the ball, even if it might seem like an unconventional way of doing it, like going through people's houses to get it.

Or in this case, he probably gave it the order "kill anyone I've given a lightning rod" or something like that.

He's not directly attacking you, instead, he's letting the Manifesto kill you in whatever way it thinks is the most efficient.

Prince

Wow, you know a lot about Manifestos.

Cliff

I'm something of an expert.

Now, what are you going to do about that large attack its been charging up?

You and your friend from before might be safe, but the third mark might not be.

I think you'd be better off ending the fight here before it can launch that big attack.

Prince

Don't worry, I trust Wade and Ford.

They'll get that lightning rod out, besides, it's not like I can hit this thing right now anyways.

Those lightning rods we stuck in it are like a double edged sword.

It can't aim at us, but it's able to draw in more electricity than before.

I already was having a hard time hitting it, but right now, it would be impossible.

It would burn Devil's Trill's hand.

Cliff

Why don't you just use a Flaming Fist on it?

Prince

Huh?

What's that?

Cliff

It's…no, never mind, forget about it.

If you haven't already learned what it is, then it's not my place to teach you.

Just know, I don't exactly agree with the way you use your Manifesto.

You need to think outside the box when fighting.

From what I've seen, your strategies tend to fall back on the idea that you can just solve everything with brute force.

Try to think of other ways to use your Manifesto and its ability.

Cliff glares at Prince, as he responds with a nervous look

Wade is struggling to stand up, as small sparks of electricity still shocking him, as George laughs to himself

George

Hahaha!

Oh man, this is great.

It's awful that we lost David and Brian, but I guess if they lost to the likes of you, we didn't really need them.

Maybe they weren't even worth having on our side.

Wade

How can you talk that way about your friends?

George

Friends?

I wouldn't call us friends.

It just so happens we want the same things.

Wade

And what is that?

George smiles

George

A world where everyone is allowed to do whatever they want.

Wade

You mean anarchy?

George

I prefer the word Freedom.

Anarchy has such a nasty connotation, who could question a righteous fight for freedom?

Wade

I always thought you guys were commies…

George

Ah, that's what we call ourselves.

Our leader told us that it was better if we called ourselves communists, because it would give us more media coverage than if we were just some troublemakers.

Pretty clever of them, right?

Wade

And who is your leader exactly?

George

Wow, for a deadman, you sure do ask a lot of questions.

Well, it's not like I could answer even if I wanted to.

That man refuses to ever show us his face or give us a name.

He's a funny guy.

He always appears wearing the same black suit, while wearing a paper bag over his head with a crude smiley face drawn on it.

It kinda looks like something a child would come up with!

Still, despite all that, his information's the real deal.

Hell, he even managed to warn us about you guys and give us this chance to take you down!

I guess it's true what they say, don't judge a book by its cover.

With that, your story comes to an end.

Goodnight, fed.

You can die knowing you'll be helping us build a brighter future!

Choc Celeste!

Finish them!

Next to Cliff and Prince, Choc Celeste's head perks up as it clenches its fists, releasing the large amount of electricity.

Prince shields himself using Devil's Trill, however, Cliff creates a large bubble in front of the two of them, protecting them from any excess discharge

A stray bolt of lightning begins to quickly make its way towards Wade

As Wade starts to brace for impact, Ford appears at the last minute

Wade

Wait, what are you doing here?!

Ford

Huff…huff…s-sorry…

This is gonna hurt!

Ford steps on Wade's finger, causing it to snap, as Wade screams in pain and curls on the ground, Kintsugi Soldier touches Wade, healing him while removing the lightning rod

Wade

Huh?

What is that?

Ford

No time!

As the lightning bolt draws closer, Kintsugi soldier throws the lightning rod as far as possible, causing the electricity to arch over the skies of Paris, illuminating the sky

As Wade looks up in wonder and confusion, George suddenly screams before he starts to convulse on the ground

Wade

W-what's happening to him?

What's going on?!

Ford

Ah, he's taking two thirds of that last attack right now.

We'll fill you in on the details later, but basically…

George foams at the mouth before falling down

Ford

…We won!

Prince and Cliff watch as the Manifesto in front of them begins to fade away.

Cliff looks in amazement as Prince just smiles at him.