Chapter 7

The Quest part 1

I don't own teen titans.

"So," Herald asked. "What do you suppose we have to do here?"

Cheshire looked around and saw the sphinx. "Maybe we have to collect something here," she suggested.

"That's right," the sphinx said. "You need to answer two riddles and solve one puzzle. Here is the first riddle; what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening?"

The titans stared at each other. What a ridiculous riddle. Jericho sat on a rock and started dreaming about his future with Kole. Getting married, having children and the finally dying of old age in their sleep. Hey, he thought. Wait a minute. Babies crawl with their arms and legs, adults walk on two legs until old age then they need support with a walking stick. I think I know what the answer is.

Quickly, Jericho got up and got the other's attention. Then, he started to mime out his answer.

"Um," Robin said as they watched Jericho crawl on his hands and knees. "Crawling?" Jericho shook his head and then mimed rocking a baby with his arms. "A baby crawling?" Jericho nodded then stood up and walked around a tree.

"Walking around?" Herald suggested. Jericho nodded and then grabbed a stick and walked, leaning on it for support.

"An old person with a walking stick?" Cheshire suggested. Again Jericho nodded and then drew his fingers together and pointed to himself.

"A crawling baby, a walking man and an old person with a walking stick," Herald said. "Sorry Jericho, I don't get it."

Jericho sighed silently. Then he saw some dirt. Using the stick he had found, he wrote out his answer.

The answer is a human. Babies crawl until they learn how to walk on two legs then when they reach old age, they need a walking stick to support their weight. The answer is a human.

"That is correct, young seeker," the sphinx said. "Now, here is the second riddle. What is more powerful than a god, more evil than a devil? The poor do not want it, the rich do not need it and if you consume it, you will perish."

Again the titans stared at each other.

"Well, gods pretty much created everything throughout history but has there been anyone who has managed to become more powerful than a god?" Robin asked.

"No," Cheshire said. "There have been mortals who have managed to outsmart gods before but there has been no one or nothing that has managed to over-power a god and the devil is pretty much everything evil in this world so nothing can be more evil than him."

"I know that from experience," Robin said as he remembered how he had to rescue Raven from hell.

"What about poor and rich people?" Herald asked.

Poor people often live with nothing, Jericho pointed out. And rich people have anything and everything they want. Nobody in the world wants or needs nothing. Are you guys hungry? Because I am.

The titans looked around them for something to eat but there wasn't anything.

"There's nothing to eat around here," Robin said. Suddenly Herald's eyes widen.

"Robin, you're a genius!"

"What?"

"Don't you get it? Gods are the most powerful things in the whole universe and devils are the most evil thing known to man. Poor people have nothing everyday so why would they want it? The rich can get anything they want so they don't need anything and people die of starvation and thirst when they can't get food or water. The answer is nothing!"

"Again, that is correct," the sphinx said. "Now, around this garden is a sacred item for the sea god Poseidon. Find the item and show it to me, I will give you my rose." The sphinx gestured to the cliff and the titans could see a single blue rose between four thorns.

"Are we allowed to know what this sacred item is?" Robin asked. The sphinx shook her head.

"You know it when you see it," she said and the she put her head down and went to sleep.

"Well, might as well get started," Cheshire said as she started to climb a tree. For the next four hours, the titans searched everywhere trying to find an object that would stand out from the rest but they couldn't find anything. Robin looked into the pond and saw something sparkle.

"Hey titans, I see something," he called. Quickly, the others ran over and looked in the pond. Swimming in circles was a school of fish, but these weren't just any fish. These fishes were glittering. Carefully, Cheshire reached in and touched one, her fingers brushing against the fins. Her eyes widen as an image played in her head. She was in a hospital, holding a baby with Roy at her side.

"Her name shall be Lian Harper," she said proudly and the image vanished.

"Cheshire," Robin asked. "Are you okay?"

"These are dream fish," Cheshire whispered. "I thought they didn't exist."

"What are dream fish?" Herald asked.

"They're fishes who show your greatest desire," Cheshire explained. "You have to find the correct one in order to please the God of the Ocean."

"How do we know if which is the right one?" Robin asked. "They all look the same to me."

Maybe you need to see it in a different direction, Jericho suggested. Herald nodded and stared at the fish, trying to find the one who stood out. The others copied but nothing happened. Suddenly a baby dream fish jumped out of the water and landed on Cheshire's lap.

"Call me when you need me, Jade," the little fish said. "And I'll be there." then the little fish spat something out and then disappeared. Quickly Cheshire picked up the object that the fish gave her. It was a starfish, pure white and smooth.

"Well done," the sphinx said, suddenly appearing in front of them. "You have done well. The rose is yours." Again, the sphinx disappeared; in its place was the blue rose and a secret door.

"Great," Robin said as the plucked the rose and placed it in his robe pocket. "One down, six to go." Everyone walked through the door and now they were outside a beautiful masion.

"Good luck," said a voice. Everyone turned to see Fate floating behind them, her hair, eyes, nails and clothes as dark as a storm cloud. "Remember, beauty that is skin-deep can cause vain, but people who are beautiful from their heart can be beautiful on the outside, no matter how they look. Goodbye." And then she vanished.

"What do you suppose she means," Cheshire asked.

"No idea," Herald said.

"Well, let's find out" Robin added. Jericho frowned as he thought about Fate's words. Something wasn't right.