Sapphire looked down at Atlantis and smiled. "Home sweet home." She said and then she swam down further into the city. As she did people, stopped and stared at her. It wasn't often that they saw a dolphin in Atlantis. She felt like a foreigner from all the weird glances she was getting. Then she stopped at a small house under the water, she looked at the name on the door and smiled. This was who she came to see. She knocked on the door and then someone opened the door. It was an elder woman with white hair and tan skin with wrinkles at the mouth. She looked kind ad fragile. When she spotted Sapphire she looked at her funny.

"Can I help you?" she woman asked. Sapphire smiled.

"Are you Dolphin?" she asked. The woman nodded. Sapphire swam in and Dolphin closed the door behind her. "Hello Dolphin. My name is Sapphire; I'm a friend of your son's, Aqualad."

"My son." She repeated. "I haven't seen him in a year." Sapphire frowned.

"A whole year?" Sapphire was surprised. Dolphin nodded. "Well, that's kind of the reason I came down here. I know you're his mother, so you have some answers I've been looking for."

"Anything for a friend of Aqualad's. Please, sit down." Dolphin offered. Sapphire took a seat on a coral chair in front of Dolphin and smiled.

"Thanks you so much. Now I just want to know, why is he so afraid to come back to Atlantis?"

"He is?"

"You didn't know?"

"No, I thought he was just busy fight crime up on earth. I never thought he was afraid to return." Sapphire had to think for a little bit.

"What about his father?" she asked, "What happened to him?" Dolphin bowed her head.

"Oh, he suffered a terrible death."

"How did he die?" Sapphire asked. Dolphin spoke slowly.

"It wasn't too long ago, just a year. Tempest and I were battling off Trident and his army of clones. We were outnumbered two to a hundred, and we couldn't fight them off without help. So we put out a signal to Aqualad to help us, but he never answered. He was busy saving the city. His father and I held them off as best as we could, but it was no good. Trident and his army killed Tempest, slowly and painfully, I couldn't help him. I had no choice but to retreat. Aqualad came back after the fat and everyone turned their back on him. They said he wasn't a hero, just a coward. To this day, the people of Atlantis cannot forgive my son." There was silence.

"That's why he won't return." Sapphire said softly. "He's considered a traitor. He's afraid." And then she turned to Dolphin. "Thank you so much for telling me the truth."

"You are quite welcome." And she sighed, "Atlantis will have to pray to the gods that there are no more attacks. We are helpless against Trident's ever growing army." Sapphire stood up, treading water with her fin.

"No you're not." She stated very bravely, "You still have me. At the very least, I care about Atlantis. If anything ever happens, I will be here to stop it." And then she turned to the door and went to walk out.

"Who are you, child?" Dolphin asked.

"I don't know." Sapphire repeated with a small smile. "I've never really known who I was. I was just created actually." Dolphin just nodded.

"That's a very pretty Sapphire you have there."

"Thank you."

"It's your insignia, no doubt. Am I correct?" Sapphire turned all the way around and looked at the elder Atlantean woman.

"Yes…" she was surprised.

"I see. Well, do me the greatest favor and send my son down here to see me. I have a lot of things I'd like to talk about with him. I miss him dearly." Sapphire nodded.

"Will do." And she went to walk out, but she heard people begin to scream!

Sapphire looked out of the window and saw people swimming away from Trident and some of his clones! They were shooting people with their pitchforks and destroying buildings! Sapphire's heart raced and she turned to face Aqualad's mother again. She looked frightened, and she was too old to fight. "Hide! Hurry!" she hurried over to the elderly woman and grabbed her wrists gently. "Stay safe! I have to fight Trident!" but then the door was kicked open and Trident stood there with his pitchfork aimed at the two of them! Sapphire took a fighting stance in front of Dolphin, the former hero, and growled. "Trident!" she bellowed, "Leave Atlantis at once!" she commanded.

"Ignorant fool! There is only one of you, and a hundred of me! You cannot win! I am superior!" and he fired his weapon! Sapphire held out one hand and made a force field of water; it deflected the shot and sent it back at the clone, sending him out the doorway and onto his back! Sapphire turned back to Dolphin.

"Run!" and then she looked up and saw the ceiling begin to crack! Then it began to cave in! "Watch out!" Sapphire cried and pushed Dolphin out of the way just in time! Dolphin and her went tumbling and she helped up Dolphin as three more clones swam in from the hole. Sapphire grabbed her communicator from her hip and yelled into it. "Sapphire to Aqualad! Sapphire to Aqualad! Come in Aqualad!" she tried, but there was nothing. "Aqualad please pick up!" she cried into it. But the when he didn't answer she knew she had to fight on her own. She put the communicator back on her hip and took another fighting stance! "I'll have to fight them on my own!" she said and she created a ball of energy with her hands and threw it at the clones, hitting them with all her might! "Dolphin, you have to get out of here! Now!"

"No, I am going to help!" and she stood next to Sapphire. Sapphire created another force field around her and Dolphin just in time to block a shot from a clone! Dolphin and Sapphire grabbed hands and swam out of the hole and out into the open water.

"I'm going to create a cyclone!" Sapphire called out and she put her arms out and spun in a circle. The water began to spin and Dolphin grabbed onto a coral formation! The trident clones and loose bits of debris began to spin around with the water! The people of Atlantic grabbed onto different things to try and keep their ground.

"Wait!" Dolphin cried out and swam back to her house that was caving in! Sapphire stopped spinning and let the clones drop to the ocean floor!

"Dolphin!" she was about to go after her, but a clone grabbed her and tossed her into a rock! She hit the back of her head and rubbed it from pain. But she had no time to sit and wait! She created another Aqua Bolt and shot it at the clones, hitting them continuously until one yelled to retreat! The all swam away and Sapphire turned and looked at the city.

Buildings were now rubble, and all the commotion had caused the ocean floor to shake! She quickly swam back to the city and yelled out to the people! "Find shelter! Everybody, hurry!" and she watched as people swam away from the city! One after another, the buildings began to crumble! Sapphire swam furiously to find Dolphin. "Dolphin! Dolphin, where are you?" and then she spotted Dolphin swimming back into her house, just as it began to cave in! It went to nothing but rubble right on top of her! "DOLPHIN!" she cried and swam over to the destroyed house. Sapphire began to shift through the rubble, pushing rocks aside, looking for elder woman. But when she found her, it was too late. Dolphin lay crushed under the boulders with only her upper body showing. "DOLPHIN!" and she swam down to her and cradled her bleeding head. Dolphin was badly hurt, and it didn't look like she was going to make it.

"Sapphire…" and she gasped, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For…protecting…the city." And she drew in another deep breath, "You are…truly a…blessing. Please…" and she reached out her shaky hand and pointed to a book that was under some pebbles. "Take that…to my son…and tell him…to read it. He needs to know…you need…to know…"

"Need to know what?" Sapphire asked and sniffed, tears running down her cheeks.

"Tell…my son…I love him…no matter what." And then she drew in one last raspy breath, before she went limp and died in Sapphire's arms. Sapphire bowed her head and began to cry. Another one of the greatest heroes of Atlantis was dead. Sapphire kissed her own two fingers and placed it on Dolphin's forehead, blessing her. A tradition she had known about. And then she walked over took the book and swam up to the surface, but before she did, she turned back and looked down at the people of Atlantis. They looked so helpless and so empty of hope. So she swam back down to a small child who was crying and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not cry little one." She said. "Help is here." And she began to pick through the rubble with everyone else.