So, here is my first oneshot. All is from Aaron's point of view. Set after 'Di-Gata Dawn'. Aaron and Kolt's living conditions were inspired by Avacadolove's Avatar oneshot 'One'.
BlackLizard, this is dedicated to you, being the only one to even pay attention to my Di-Gata stories, and for answering a to my quiz question at the end of 'Shadow or Light? Continuation'. I appreciate the appreciation!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Di-Gata Defenders. But I do own Kolt and Myrolon.
WORD COUNT: 2753
Aaron tried to keep his head up, but it was no use. His neck was in enough pain already from today's beating. His friend and comrade-in-arms, Kolt, chained to the wall across from him, wasn't as bad off. They were always gentler - or rather, just not as rough - with him. That was for one sole reason: he never fought back. He'd long since lost hope in the idea that they might one day be rescued; they were only keeping the two of them alive of they could suffer. Aaron still trusted in the friends who'd escaped capture, and he trusted that they'd come for them. It didn't matter how long it took. If the enemy could capture him, the leader of the Defenders, then rescue would certainly not be easy. But they would come.
The cell was dark, damp, and reeked of a sewer. Its cylindrical walls stretched above their heads, suggesting they were at the bottom of a tall tower of some sort, and were covered with slimy moss and fungi. There was enough room for a couple dozen prisoners to be shackled to the walls, but Aaron and Kolt were all alone. Every day, Yin-tos soldiers would come to torture them, using whips sometimes, but mostly their bare fists and harsh words, and then left them in their pain. Bland, rotten food was forced into their mouths twice daily, as was dirty, lukewarm water.
Aaron had lost track of how long they'd been kept there; minutes seemed to stretch into hours. He wondered how his son was doing. Seth had been two years old the last time he'd seen him. Kolt's little boy Adam had been twice that age, yet the two were inseparable.
Then it happened.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Only minutes before the final battle against the Order of Infinis, he'd taken aside several of the Gata-shin Monks and given them a very important task: take the children of the Defenders and hide them somewhere safe. The youngest, Rion, would be kept separate from the others. Against his parents' wishes, the baby had been infused with Ethos energy only a month prior. He would be put in special training for his unique powers. Each monk had picked up a child and made a run for it as the enemy approached. Most got away before the fighting started. But before he was captured, Aaron had learned that Adam was unaccounted for, and his mother Nykki was dead. Kolt was inconsolable upon receiving the news.
A long time had passed since their imprisonment. Then one day, Myrolon, the Lord of Infinis in charge, 'graced' them with his presence, accompanied by four guards.
"Aaron and Kolt," he greeted them curtly. Neither prisoner acknowledged he'd spoken, but both were listening intently. "Let's just get this over with. It has been twelve, almost thirteen years since you first came to live in my humble dungeon."
"Get to the point," Aaron spat.
"After all this time, surely you must be missing your families. You have a new cellmate - young Adam, I believe."
Kolt's head shot up. He hadn't seen his son in over a decade. Aaron could barely make out his face in the dim torchlight, but the emotion on it was clear. Disbelief, sadness, and a tiny bit of hope were all mixed in there at once. The boy would be about sixteen or seventeen years old now. How much had he changed?
The sounds of a struggle could be heard from beyond the doorway. A guard tumbled in, moaning. A moment later, a second Yin-tos soldier and a young man rolled in, locked in an intense fist fight. Myrolon cuffed the boy hard over the head, and the latter dropped to the dirt floor. He reached up to his head, but his arms were grabbed and twisted behind his back. Myrolon personally dragged him over to the wall and shackled him in.
"They always fight back," he muttered aloud as he and the guards left, "When will they ever learn?"
"Are you alright?" Aaron asked the boy.
"Mm-hm." Adam stared back and forth between his fellow prisoners. "I can't believe this. I mean, everyone in RaDos thinks you were destroyed in that war."
Aaron was shocked. All these years, he thought his friends were fighting for his freedom, but they'd actually given up on him from the very start. Had they completely forgotten him? "Since we have been imprisoned here," he mumbled, "I have always believed the other Defenders were right at Myrolon's gate. And now you tell me they've given up?"
"No," Adam insisted, "I may not remember them, but I know that the other old Defenders wouldn't do that. Officially, they were all lost in battle, too. But you guys are alive, so maybe some of them are, too."
"And Seth? How is he? What has happened to my son?"
Adam smiled a bit. "He's our leader. I wouldn't be surprised if he and the others were already on their way here to bust us out right now."
"And what if they think you're gone, too?"
"Even after we lost Kara, Erik didn't give up looking for her until he had one hundred and fifty percent proof that she was gone. The others weren't there when Myrolon's goons grabbed me. They'll know something's up when they see what we did to the place. Even though I go off on my own half the time, they'll definitely realize this time is different." He turned his head towards Kolt. "Dad?" No response. "You know, I never thought I'd ever see you again." Kolt looked up at him, but almost immediately turned away. His son's face fell. "Dad?"
"He doesn't believe it. He lost all hope of rescue when you went missing. What happened there, anyway?"
Adam stared at the slippery, filthy floor. "Brackus kidnapped me, tried to raise me like his own son. Don't worry, though. He failed miserably. I have no loyalty to him. Not even before I knew he wasn't my real father."
Barely a week had passed since Adam's arrival when Myrolon re-entered their cell. Aaron and Adam glared at him with daggers in their eyes while Kolt stared at the floor. Myrolon nodded to the six guards accompanying him, and they proceeded to unshackle the prisoners. "We're making a trade," he announced, "You three for the four Pure Stones."
The Pure Stones. Aaron remembered that the Megalith had been sealed away within them. They'd been scattered to the four corners of the Realm so that the Order of Infinis wouldn't be able to reach them. If this trade were to go down...
"Come on, Defender," one of his guards sneered, pushing him forward. The three Defenders were led down a dank corridor that Aaron only vaguely remembered. The guards shoved them around a corner, revealing a heavy wooden door. When it was wrenched open, Aaron and Kolt gasped in awe.
Sunlight. They hadn't seen in twelve years; they'd almost forgotten what it looked like. Their view of it was short-lasted, however, as the guards roughly threw them into the back of one of their vehicles and slammed the door shut. They were back in total darkness, save a small window on the side.
"Don't worry about it," Adam whispered, "The Pure Stones have been destroyed. I saw it myself. Seth's up to something."
An hour later, the vehicle slowed to a stop. Adam slowly got up and peeked through the tiny window. "It's Seth!" he cried, "I knew it! We'll be home free in no time!" Aaron tried to get up, but twelve years in a dungeon hadn't done much for the strength in his legs. Adam did his best to help him over to the window, and Aaron finally caught a glimpse of his son.
Seth had grown tall and lean, and he stood grimly, arms crossed, next to an odd-looking red and grey machine. He was dressed all in black, the exception being the red Di-Gata henge emblazoned on his chest, and wore a strange metal glove on his right hand.
Myrolon stepped out and walked over to Seth. "Do you have the Pure Stones?" he asked.
Seth held up a white case. "Where's Adam?" Seth's tone was dark and threatening. Myrolon snapped his fingers and two guards wrenched open the doors and dragged Adam out. Far too weak to stand on his own, Aaron sank to the floor, still listening intently to the conversation outside.
"Now that we're here, I was wondering if I couldn't raise the stakes a little."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that I have two other prisoners taking up space in my Keep. Offer me a little more, and I'll consider handing them over to you."
"No. We made a deal. The Pure Stones for Adam."
"You might want to reconsider that. One of these prisoners is the once-mighty Aaron of the Di-Gata Defenders."
A gasp. "Adam, is he for real?" Seth's businesslike tone was beginning to falter, and worry was creeping in.
Adam's voice now joined the conversation. "Yeah, he is. And the other one is my dad."
"Bring them out." Silence. "If you want these Pure Stones, you'll show me the others." Aaron and Kolt were both brought out. Seth locked eyes with his father, for a second, then tore his gaze away and faced Myrolon again. His glare looked so much like a more intense version of the one his mother had worn that time Aaron had come home late on the boy's first birthday. "Now, what do you want for them?"
Myrolon grinned evilly. "The greatest treasure of all: knowledge. You're going to tell me the name of the last Wizard of Yan. I extracted much information from your friend here, but he was too stubborn to give up that one name." Seth glared at Adam, although this look had far less hatred in it. Adam, who'd been staring at the ground, looked up at him apologetically. "I see his 'punishments' haven't been healing very well." Aaron glanced over at Adam and was surprised to see many wounds on his arm, neck, and face. Some were starting to heal, but most were covered in too much grime and dried blood to tell. Seth's expression softened considerably when he noticed them as well. Myrolon pulled out a small knife and ran it along Adam's shoulder, adding a fresh new cut to the collection. Adam gritted his teeth in pain, and Seth clenched his fists. The Lord of Infinis smirked at him, eyes narrowed.
"Fine." The blade was pulled away. "It's Melosa. She's one of us. Ask any Lord of Infinis, any beggar on the street, they'll tell you the same thing. It's no secret. Now let them go."
Myrolon's smirk grew. "Very well. Men, give the Defender his comrades. Unless you'd rather dig their graves yourselves."
Dig their graves?
The guards all pulled out their blasters, evil smiles on their faces. "No!" Seth shouted, "Leave them alone!" Right before one guard was about to shoot Adam, his blaster suddenly froze - literally. Aaron looked up, and was surprised to see a girl high above the, a small ice dragon Guardian holding her up by the shoulders. She looked somewhat familiar.
"Mel!" Adam called to her weakly. Now Aaron remembered her. She was a Defender, too - Melosa, the last Wizard of Yan. Mel jumped down, landing on one of the guards that held her friend while her Guardian attacked the other one. He was frozen solid. Adam, no longer strong enough to stand on his own, collapsed into her arms. The other four guards aimed their blasters at them, but were interrupted once again, this time by a pair of stone-wielding boys. Aaron recognized them as Erik and Rion. Erik took out Aaron's captors while the younger Defender assisted Kolt. Both displayed a sense of ease in their casting. They were very talented for their ages. Aaron was impressed.
"Let's go!" Erik shouted, slinging Aaron's arm over his shoulder. Mel and Rion nodded and began pulling their charges towards the cover of a nearby forest. Seth, however, remained behind, locked in combat with Myrolon.
"You guys go ahead!" he called to his team, "I'll hold him off!" Good thing Myrolon wasn't a very strong caster.
"ARVENGUS, ARISE!" Aaron tore his gaze away from Seth just in time to see young Rion summon a magnificent Guardian; a lion bearing the Nega-Yan henge. Erik helped Aaron onto the creature's back, along with Adam and Kolt. Rion sat in front patting Arvengus on the head.
"We'll help Seth," Mel announced.
"Good luck. Time to go, buddy!" With a roar, the huge Guardian took off into the woods at an amazing speed. Aaron hung onto the beat by its thick fur, afraid of falling off; Kolt did the same.
"So where exactly are we?" Adam asked Rion.
"Only a couple miles from the dojo," they boy replied breezily, "That Myro-whats-his-name dude is completely out of touch with reality. He had no idea!"
"There's a good reason for that. When he questioned me, I told him the dojo was practically on the other side of the Realm. He's got most of his men on their way to an abandoned ghost town I came across a couple years ago!" The young Defenders laughed.
"And let me guess: you told him the Pure Stones were still around, and he believed you?"
"Yep. Turns out he gets no new information out here. Didn't even know Nazmul was gone until he made me tell. And I left out the Ethos bit, too. As much of an idiot he is, the less he knows, the better. I can't help wondering what Nazmul was thinking when he hired him. By the way, since the Pure Stones are gone, what'd you guys put in that case?"
"Just some of Erik's fresh Tofu Sigil-ghetti. It'll stink up his entire Keep for a whole week!" They cracked up again, and even Aaron couldn't resist chuckling.
It was only five minutes later when they arrived at the dojo. The building looked as if it had recently suffered some major damage. "What happened?" Aaron asked.
Adam shrugged nonchalantly. "Sigil Slayer attack. Just a couple weeks ago. We got rid of 'em."
Aaron had to wonder how much the world had changed for a sixteen-year-old to mention a Sigil Slayer attack on his home so casually.
Seth, Mel, and Erik arrived only a minute behind them. Mel hurried over to Adam and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're back," she whispered. She began to lead him away. "Come on, you three. You need rest." She sniffed. "And a shower." Adam stopped suddenly, turning to Kolt.
"Dad... Come on, we're out. We're free, now. At least try to smile." Aaron noticed that Kolt had only glanced around in confusion. He showed no joy in being rescued at all.
"What's up with him?" Erik whispered to Rion.
"Kolt has been like that since he heard Adam went missing," Aaron replied in an equally hushed tone, "He lost all faith in everything: rescue, freedom, and any chance of his only son being alive."
"Whoa. Poor guy."
As Adam sadly hung his head in defeat and continued inside with Mel, Kolt suddenly reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. Adam turned to face his father. "Adam?" It was quiet, but Aaron could clearly make out the first word his friend had uttered in the past twelve years. More was to follow. "Is that really you?" Adam nodded silently, tears leaking from his eyes. Father and son stared at each other for a long moment, then hugged.
"Dad." Aaron turned at the sound of his own son's voice. Seth stood next to him, gazing at him happily. Both of them pulled into their own tight, long-overdue embrace.
THE END
So, that was my first ever oneshot. I like the idea of Seth and Adam being best friends when they were really little, so I thought I'd add that bit. And if you think it's wierd that Kolt suddenly made a vast mental recovery, or that it went by too fast, I just had a sequel idea last night, so we'll se a bit more of that. It's not over yet.
Question: Sigil-ghetti was mentioned during one of the many times in the series that Seth throws up. Which one?
a) The Key to Victory.
b) Cast-Aways.
c) A Flaw in the Ointment.
or d) The Horn of Neglos.
BONUS Q: Which of the above choices is a trick answer, and why?