Man, how long has it been since I posted the first chapter? I'll confess, I put Titans on a mini-hiatus since I wasn't quite sure what to write next. I have the basic plot down, but it's the small details that I still need to hammer out. But I'm working on it and many other things, so I appreciate the patience ;)
This story and it's characters belong to me. Any official Sonic the Hedgehog characters or plots mentioned are property of SEGA.
"Raph, Lobo, how are things?" Umber asked as the two walked on either side of him.
"My father's begun setting up a communications array so we can make contact with other settlements," Lobo answered.
"Good, once its up, I want you to start gathering as much information as you can about the Mobian factions. We don't want to accidentally make contact with someone hostile."
"Right!" Lobo cried before leaving.
"Raph?"
"We've finished moving nearly everything from the Catacombs. Alex and Phoebe used their telekinesis to move all the buildings with no problem, but we've still got a few things to bring up."
"Good, and how goes the survey of the island?" Umber asked. "A lot of things have changed since we last lived on the surface."
"Well, I've received a few reports from Kabuto and Kuwaga about some hidden caches buried in the ground."
"Caches? What have they found?"
"Mostly old journals, some things that I'm guessing are important relics, but nothing like our family ones," she said, gesturing to her Staff of Arch, the relic sacred to her family. "My best guess is that our ancestors must have buried them before or during the Purge to hide their treasured possessions. When you're running for your life, the ground is as good a place to hide something; it's where we've hidden."
"Hm, we've already lost a lot of our own history," Umber lamented. "I'll send Payne and Sepia to help search for more of these caches. Sepia's seismic sense should be able to help detect anymore hidden caches. Have the Tilasm twins bring everything they find to the Archives so we can look through them. I want you to start looking at these journals. They might help use fill in the blanks in our history and culture."
"Sure thing, Chief Umber," she said, smiling at the last part of her sentence. "Most of the documents are very old and fragile and they're in an ancient Mythsetian script. Its relatively close to the script we use now, but it'll take some time for me to get a thorough and accurate translation. It will probably be best if I transcribe everything into a new document, as well."
"I agree. We don't want to lose anymore of our history than we already have."
"So have you heard from your sisters lately?" Raph asked.
"A bit. Shamrock's therapy is apparently going well and Azure and Sapphire went on their first mission together. They've been doing well."
"Do you miss them?"
"Of course I miss them! They're my little sisters," he smiled. "But they are where they want to be and that's what is important to me: that they follow their own path. And if Shamrock gets the help she needs, then, even better. Things are finally looking up," Umber said, smiling happily to the bright sky above.
"Sis, duck!" Sapphire ducked to the ground as a light blue bolt of lightning hit a hostile robot right behind her.
"Thanks!" she cried. Sapphire waved her arms and a wave of water rose and swept away another horde of advancing robots. She jumped on the wave as it carried her forward while Azure flew above her. "Is it just me or is this gig getting easier?"
"Haha! Maybe! But we don't want to get cocky! You remember what Shadow says about cocky agents?" Azure shouted over the sound of Sapphire's crashing waves that washed away all the hostile robots in their path. They came to a dead end with a large tunnel through the ceiling. Sapphire slowly died down her waves and gently came to the ground. "Wow, long way up," Azure commented.
"Think you can get us both up there?" Sapphire asked.
"Yeah, but it'll take a little longer." Azure took her sister's webbed hand and was just about to lift her off the ground when suddenly a giant robot came falling through the ceiling tunnel and landed so roughly on the ground that the earth shook.
"And here I thought we got them all," Sapphire commented as she and Azure got into a battle stance.
The robot's chest plate opened up as it's weapons began charging when out of nowhere a giant wooden spike came crashing down from above as it pierced right through the robot's core and split its body down the middle. Azure and Sapphire stared at the robot in shock and blinked their eyes in confusion.
A little green fairy with leafy hair in cute pigtails fluttered down from the tunnel, humming lightly to herself before landing right in front of the dragon and kelpie.
"Shamrock, that was just… wow!" Azure cried in bewilderment.
"Oh thank you!" she beamed, "I saw that big mean robot about to attack you and I didn't want it to hurt you!"
"And so you stabbed it with a giant wooden spear. Very effective," Sapphire smiled.
The ground began to shake again and the sisters turned to the robot that Shamrock had singlehandedly taken down. The wooden spike fell to the side as wires and cords flooded out from each half of the robot, connecting to their other halves. The robot reassembled itself and stood over them once again.
"Figures," Sapphire muttered.
"I have a plan! Shamrock, tie that thing down with as many vines as you can. Keep it in place!" Azure ordered.
"Right away!" she chirped with a playful salute.
"Sapphire, douse it."
Sapphire turned to look at the robot as Shamrock summoned vines from the ground beneath her. The wrapped tightly around the robot's legs, body and arms, keeping it in place. It noticed the restraints and tried to pull itself loose, but Shamrock's vines kept him still. "Oh, I see where you're going with this," Sapphire grinned. Sapphire raised her arms, summoning a tsunami wave behind her as it crashed onto the robot. The robot didn't seem fazed by the attack, but the vines binding it grew larger and stronger.
"Ah, just the refresher I needed!" Shamrock sighed happily as water droplets dripped off the ends of her leafy hair.
"Ready whenever you are, sis!" Sapphire shouted.
Azure hovered above them as Shamrock lifted Sapphire out of the way and to safety. Storm clouds formed above Azure as she gathered up the lightning within her body. Once she felt enough energy coursing through her body, she shot her hands out in front of her, sending a massive and bright bolt of lightning from his fingertips straight to the robot's chest. The lightning spread all across the robot's body, carried by the water Sapphire splashed it with. The robot staggered before exploding into pieces.
"Yeah!" the sisters cheered.
"Simulation complete," rang the computerized voice.
"Great job guys!" Hope's voice rang over the intercom. "Oh, just got a message from Commander Towers. He wants to talk to Azure and Sapphire in his office."
Azure and Sapphire turned to Shamrock, who simply smiled at them with bright eyes. "Well, go on," she insisted. "You know where I'll be."
"Azure, Sapphire," Commander Towers greeted as the two sisters shut the door of his office behind them. "I've been watching your combat simulations and I have to say I'm impressed. Sapphire, you've turned out to be an exceptional agent."
"Thank you sir."
"And with how you three have performed in your most recent simulation, I'm strongly considering putting Shamrock into the field with you."
"Really?" asked Azure.
"Yes. Your sister is powerful; we've never seen anyone control plants the way she does. However, there are a few concerns."
"Which are?" asked Sapphire.
"She is powerful, yes, but a little unrefined. Driving a giant wooden spear into the simulated robot you fought was effective, but also reckless. She needs more discipline."
"Shamrock is still getting used to using her powers offensively. We can help teach her some restraint and caution," Azure answered.
"Good. I also recommend regular training sessions. But, that isn't my only concern. I've seen soldiers and agents deal with traumas they experience in the field. Some recover and head back in, but others… In the case of your sister, her trauma is quite extreme: being set on fire by her own brother," Azure and Sapphire frowned as he mentioned that. "And given the unique nature of her physiology, I'm concerned that she may relapse in the field if she's exposed to any open flames."
"I understand your concerns sir, but it shouldn't be a problem. Shamrock's therapy these past couple of months has been very effective. She's comfortable around small open flames now and she's gotten more secure about putting out flames herself. I'll even be there with her to put out anything she can't handle," Sapphire said.
"Yeah, I honestly believe the only thing that would make her relapse is if she came face to face with our brother," Azure added.
"And where is he?" Towers asked.
"We're not sure. He disappeared just over two months ago," Azure answered.
"I see," he said before leaning back into his chair and thinking for a moment. "Shamrock will be cleared to join Team Scales. We'll get her feet wet with a few easy missions - simple recon - and go from there. If she performs well, I'll consider making her addition a permanent change. That will be all."
As they exited Towers' office, Azure gleefully turned to her sister and chirped, "Let's go tell her the good news!"
They made in back to the room the three sisters shared to find the lights dimmed as Shamrock sat on the floor in the center of the room with her legs crossed and eyes closed. Around her and on their shelves and desks were a few candles that lit the room. This was part of her therapy. The doctor she began seeing months ago thought exposure therapy would be most effective for Shamrock, so they started small. Sometimes they would just sit in the room with one candle, so Shamrock could get used to the little flame but not be too overwhelmed by it. One candle eventually became two and so on. To get Shamrock comfortable, they focused on the good things about fire: how warm and bright it is. And little by little, Shamrock was coming back to her old self. But they hadn't progressed past anything bigger than a candle flame, so the sisters were cautious about what she could be exposed to.
Shamrock opened her eyes when she heard the door open and stood up. "So, what did he say?" she asked, as Sapphire turned on the lights and Shamrock picked up each candle and blew them out one by one.
"He said yes!" Azure beamed. Shamrock smiled in response as Azure ran up to hug her.
"It's just a trial run for now, but he said if you do well, he'll put you in permanently," Sapphire added. "You're part of Team Scales now," she smiled, gently placing her hand on Shamrock's shoulders.
"Thanks, sis," Shamrock smiled back.
"I'm so proud of you, Shamrock," Sapphire whispered before drawing her sister into a tight hug.
"Things are finally looking up," said Azure happily.
Pine roughly pushed the large stone slab door aside as Garnett and Ghost walked in in front of him. "What is this place?" Pine asked.
"Brother, a light?" Garnett suggested.
Ghost cupped his hands together before opening them again, releasing a swarm of little orbs of light energy that lit up the room. The floor, walls and ceiling were made up of slabs of old stone as dust covered the walls and floor beneath them and cobwebs dangled from corners. There were stone-carved murals on the walls around them and in front of them in the centre of the room lay a stone sarcophagus.
"This, brothers, is a tomb," Garnett explained.
"A tomb?" Pine asked.
"Not just any tomb, it is the tomb of our great ancestor," Garnett grinned sinisterly. As he spoke, Ghost wandered over to the murals on the wall. He raised an orb of light to illuminate the details as he wiped off some of the dust that caked over the wall, covering his white gloves in the brown and grey, ancient dust.
"Our ancestor? You mean Mythos?"
"Of course! Who else would I be talking about?" Garnett snapped.
"How come his tomb is here? Why isn't it on the island?"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but that is a good question, brother. Long ago, we Mythsetians once ruled over all of this world that they now call 'Mobius'," Garnett said with a condescending tone. "The Veil was our capital. Traces of our history, relics of the past, artwork, even our dead are spread across this world all waiting to be found, but only by those who know where to look. These surfacers may not realize it, but most of what we created long ago gave way for everything they use today. This entire world belongs to us, to me! And with Mythos' ancient relic, I will have the power to take this world. Pine," Garnett called, gesturing to the sarcophagus.
Pine made his way over and easily pushed the slab cover off as it landed on the ground with a loud thud. A cloud of dust erupted from the sarcophagus as the lid was removed, causing Pine to stumble back in a coughing fit.
"Oh, brother is it only some dust!" Garnett scolded. He moved up to the sarcophagus and looked inside. "What? It's not here!" he shouted. "Where is it? They were supposed to bury it here with the body!" he ranted as he checked every nook and cranny of the sarcophagus and tomb for the supposed missing item.
"What's not here?" Pine asked.
"The Orb! It was supposed to be here! Where could those blasted traitors have hidden it?" Garnett ranted.
"You mean Umber and Azure? How could he they know about this place?"
"Not them, you idiot! I'm talking about the other Founders, the ones that turned their back on what it means to Mythsetian! They turned their backs on our great ancestor and killed him. They dared to touch my sacred relic and now they've hidden it from me!" Garnett screamed as loudly as he could as fire shot out from his beak and scorched the wall in front of them. "What?" he snapped, sharply turning to face Ghost, who had placed his hand on Garnett's shoulder.
Ghost gestured over to the stone slab that Pine had removed off the sarcophagus earlier. It had fallen on the outer face so the interior of the lid lay face up. Ghost brought some of his light orbs closer to it, revealing some inscriptions.
"Hm? What's this?" Garnett bent down and leaned in to examine the inscriptions on the sarcophagus lid.
"What is it?" asked Pine.
"It is old Mythsetian script, much more ancient than the one we use today. But I am no stranger to this writing. Here lies Mythos, founder of the Mythsetia Veil and keeper of the Orb of Mythos," Garnett read, "If you seek the Orb, be cautious, for only Mythos and those marked by him may use it properly. Great power comes with the Orb, as does great cataclysm. For this reason, we, the Mythsetian Founders, have hidden the Orb in a secret location. Within each of our tombs, we have placed a portion of a map that reveals the Orb's location. Be wary, young traveller, for it is a dangerous power that you seek. Hmph, of course they would hide this from me! The Orb is rightfully mine; they had no right to take it!"
"Who?"
"Those other Founders: Galen, Arch, Divinus, Tilasm, Psyche and Mestaclocan. I-Mythos was planning to remake the world in our image, but Divinus saw what he was going to do - thanks to that blasted Prophet's Eye - so she and the other Founders stopped him before he could carry out his glorious plan! But now, now I'm going to finish what he started long ago."
"What are we gonna do?" Pine asked.
"We have some tombs to raid, a map to build and a relic to find. Things are finally looking up," he grinned maliciously as he and his brothers exited the tomb.
Well Garnett's not out of the game, at least not yet. He knows something his siblings don't and he plans to use it to secure his rule of not only their home, but all of Mobius.
I'm not sure when I'll be able to get the next chapter out, but we'll cross that bride when we get to it X3
Cheers, Zeph