Nina Vale: Ok. There is that part in "Let's kill Hitler" after Melody regenerates into River, but she doesn't know who she's going to be.
D. N. S Akina: Keep reading and find out.
Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."
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Chapter 6: Memories and Plans
The next morning, the team was slow to wake up, preferring to sleep in. But,eventually, their stomachs forced them out of their cozy beds and into the kitchen. They ate pancakes, courtesy of Zhalia, with sliced strawberries and bananas, courtesy of Sophie, and discussed their mission.
"Grier said Wilder's supposed to lead us to the titan," Zhalia began, "but I don't think the guy's going to be very willing to help us."
"He's still there on the beach," Harrison pointed out for them. "Either he hasn't moved since yesterday or he just really likes that spot."
"Someone needs to go talk to him," Cherit said, "but who's going to do it?"
"Let me," Sophie said as she finished her breakfast and took her plate over to the sink. "I have the most experience with just talking to him."
"We'll be here waiting for you when you get back," Lok said, finishing his last pancake and heading for his room.
"Oh, no, you don't," Zhalia said as she grabbed his shirt before he could escape her reach. "You, Den, and Harrison, are going to do the dishes."
"I'll put them away," Den said, claiming the easiest job.
"I'll dry," Harrison said, following his brother's lead.
Lok groaned. With the brothers taking the other two jobs, he was left to wash. Zhalia handed him her plate and walked into the room she shared with Sophie. Lok looked over at the Casterwill girl standing by the door, his familiar "Help me!" look on his face. Sophie laughed at him and shook her head. Lok groaned again as she walked out of the house, then he turned to the sink.
Might as well get it over with he thought.
Sophie walked down the beach toward the figure standing there as still as a statue. As she got close, Wilder looked up from the picture in his hands and at the approaching girl. His eyes widened a bit when he saw her, and a strange look crossed his face, but it didn't even last a full second.
"Hello, Sophie," he said in a low voice.
He sounds like he wishes I was somebody else Sophie thought. "Long time, no see, Wilder."
"Not long enough." With that, Wilder went back to looking at the picture.
"What do you have there?" Sophie asked, trying to start up a conversation.
"The only thing I have of my daughter," was the response she got. She gave Wilder a curious look.
"I didn't know you had a daughter," she said. "What's she like?" Sophie was surprised to see Wilder smile a bit.
"Actually," he said, turning to her, "she was. . . is a lot like you." Sophie caught his little slip-up and stored it away for future reference.
"Clever, kind, and not afraid to stand up for what she believes in," Wilder continued. "Whenever we went somewhere new, she walked around with a guide book spouting out random facts and was fluent in the language within a few days. She was an awesome cook, too. I would come home from a long and tiring mission, and she would have dinner ready for me along with a dessert that would last a week. She would help me with some of my missions, researching legends and historical accounts. Her language skills came in handy quite a bit there.
"When I adopted her, she already had an amulet of her own. I kept it for her until she was thirteen, when I finally told her about Seekers and Titans. Within a few years she was the strongest Seeker I had ever known. I never told the Organization about her, though. I didn't want them recruiting her like they'd recruited me. She was just so innocent; I wanted her to stay that way for as long as possible. She was the only reason I kept moving forward, the only reason I got out of bed every morning. She was my life."
Sophie was silent for a minute, taking it all in. Then she spoke.
"You keep talking about your daughter in past tense," she said. "Did something happen to her?"
Wilder got a scared look on his face, realizing what he had said. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He took a deep breath, trying to get up the courage to answer.
"I lost her," he said in a quiet voice. "Two years ago. She disappeared, and I don't even know if she's still alive."
"What do you mean 'she disappeared'?" Sophie asked. Wilder closed his eyes.
"It was painful enough for me to say as much as I have," he said. "I don't even know why I brought her up at all. Please don't push it any further."
Sophie wanted to know more about Wilder's daughter, but she was afraid that he might not tell them what they needed to know about the Titan they were after if she asked any more questions. This didn't mean she was giving up though. She would ask Wilder more after they got the Titan. For now, they had a mission.
"Grier said that you're supposed to be our guide to the Hippocampus," she said. "Shall we get it over with?"
Wilder tensed up when she mentioned the Titan's name, but he shook it off. Nodding, he turned and followed Sophie back to the house. They entered, and the three boys in the kitchen turned to look at him.
"Wilder," Den said as he took a plate from Harrison. "Long time, no see. Don't try to kill me this time, okay?"
"He tried to do what?" Harrison asked, pausing in what he was doing to stare at his brother. Den stared right back.
"Nothing less than what you tried to do to me," he said. Harrison turned red and went back to drying the dishes.
"So what do you know about the Titan?" Zhalia asked as she walked into the room. Cherit had gone to get her when Sophie and Wilder were walking up to the house. The boys, thinking that listening might get them out of work, stopped what they were doing and turned around, acting like they were paying attention. Zhalia turned to them. "Don't even think about it," she said, pointing to the dishes and smiling as the boys groaned and got back to work.
"The amulet of the Hippocampus rests in a cave on a small island just off shore of Sutos on the east side," Wilder said as he, Sophie, and Zhalia sat down in the living room. "Well, it's more like a giant rock than a small island. The cave entrance is under water, so we'll have to do some swimming to get inside. Beyond that, there's little information as to what else we'll find in the cave besides the amulet."
"What else would there be?" Harrison asked. "It's not like it's a legendary Titan or anything."
"The Hippocampus is able to travel huge distances at great speeds through water," Wilder explained. "Anyone riding it would be able to breathe as easily under water as they can above it. The Titan also has deadly control over that element. If an enemy is in the water, or evennear it, and someone invokes Hippocampus, they'd better run. There's also a rumor that bonding with the Hippocampus will allow the Seeker the ability to communicate with marine animals, but that's never been proven."
"Good thing we brought our wetsuits," Den said. "Let's go."
"Shouldn't we wait a while before going?" Lok asked as he handed the last dish to Harrison. "I mean, you're supposed to wait an hour after eating before going for a swim."
"That's a myth," Zhalia said. "I've gone swimming right after eating plenty of times and I was fine."
"Nice try, Lok," Cherit said. The girls and Wilder laughed.
Harrison finished drying the last dish and handed it to Den, who put it away. All three boys joined the group in the living room. Wilder stood up.
"Grab your gear and meet me at the dock," he said. "I need to get a wetsuit of my own." With that, he walked out of the house and closed the door behind him.
"So what did you two talk about?" Den asked Sophie as soon as Wilder was out of hearing range. "You were out there for a while."
"I'm not saying," Sophie answered. With that, she walked out of the room to get her swimming gear. Everyone stared after her.
"Weird," Lok said. "What the heck did Wilder say to her that she doesn't want to repeat?"
"Obviously something that you lot shouldn't try to find out," Zhalia said, following Sophie's lead.
The boys looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged and went to get their own gear.
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How was that? The Hippocampus isn't an actual Titan from Huntik, as far as I know, so I just made up what kinds of powers it has.
Please review.