Part 16: Uncaged
Libra walked into the large building. The building itself appeared to be a temple made of gold and shone like the sun. Despite its age, it didn't show any traces of being ancient. The building was actually a temple. In truth, it was the Zodiac Temple. The temple had a large dome-like structure in the centre and several large spires. The inside of the temple were lined with pillars. As Libra walked through the large hall, clad in his Zodiac Armor of Libra, he walked by several statues that were lining the wall. These statues were the statues of Zodiac Knights that had come before him or even any of the other Knights in modern times. These were the ones who had wielded the powers of the Zodiac, both Greek and Oriental in origin, and had used those powers for great good, or destructive evil. Alas, they were still being honored as the Zodiac Knights were mere Avatars of balance, representing the polarity of the universe, both Yin and Yang.
Libra then arrived in front of a pair of large doors, nearly 15 feet in height and 10 feet in width. The doors were made of a shining metal, not gold, but equally valuable. On the doors were ornate carvings. One door showed the animals of the Oriental Zodiac and the other one showed the symbols of the Greek Zodiac, both arranged in circles. The Guardian of the Zodiac Knights pushed the doors open. Today he was going to pay a special visit to a very special individual. He was going to pay visit to the Guardian of the Book of Destiny.
The Book of Destiny was no simple book that recorded destiny. Rather it was the Book that could not only foretell the future, but multiple outcomes of the same present. The Book itself recorded the beginning of Time itself as well as the birth of the Universe, a well kept secret and only a select few celestials were allowed to know of these secrets. The Book also recorded the events of other alternate universes that spanned the entire Multiverse itself. The Book also held all the known prophecies of the entire Multiverse within its many pages.
Also, the Book must never fall into the wrong hands for the Book also controls Destiny and to rewrite Destiny can be a dangerous thing. That was why the Book of Destiny was guarded within these walls.
But why the walls of the Zodiac Temple, you may ask? Well, the Guardian of the Book of Destiny was also the FIRST person to wield the powers of the Zodiac Dragon as well as the Powers of Libra. The First Knight he was called, but he was simply known as Zodiac Knight Chromedragozoid.
The ancient Knight (his actual age not known nor mentioned for he hates to be reminded) sat in his chambers. The Book of Destiny sat upon a pedestal and protected by a magical energy field that not even the most powerful of beings could bypass, with an exception of God himself of course. He wore deep red robes under silver armor. He no longer wore his helmet, revealing his short black hair. His deep black eyes scanned over a piece of parchment, possibly an excerpt from the Book, but hard to tell for it was written in an unrecognizable tongue. A long wicked scar decorated his right cheek. Despite his age, he looked like he was in his late twenties.
Libra tapped his staff upon the floor and Chromedragozoid, or simply known as Chrome, looked up from his work. He smiled at the current Guardian of the Zodiac Knights and left his work, walking over to the Guardian and smiling. They stood in front of each other, Chrome being a full head taller than Libra but not showing the least amount of disrespect. This was because Chrome showed respect to those who showed him respect. If not, you were thrown out of the chambers and even the Temple. Yoshido learnt that the hard way several millennia ago and the kick he got in the butt still stung to this day.
"Greetings, Guardian Chromedragozoid," Libra addressed him as he bowed. Chrome bowed as well.
"There's no need for us to really do that, is it?" Chrome said as he stood up straight, followed by Libra.
"I was always taught to be respectful and polite to my friends and associates," Libra smiled. "So, how has your life been?"
Chrome gave Libra a stony leer. "No need for the formalities, Libra. I know why you're here."
"You do?" Libra questioned.
"Yes, you wish to take a peek at the Book of Destiny."
"So may I?" Chrome shook his head. "Why not?"
"There are rules to follow. No one but me, God and the Angel of Destiny are allowed to look at the Book. You remember how I had to kick out Yoshido for being rude?"
Libra chuckled, "Yes, that was priceless." He turned serious. "But, I really wish to look at the Book."
"This is about your son, isn't it?"
"Among other things," Libra admitted. "I just wish to know what is in store for him, that's all." Chrome shook his head.
"You've been watching over them, your children?" Libra nodded. "You and I both know that you're not allowed to meddle until the day of the Tournament."
"I just don't like the way things are turning out. I'm not even allowed to use my time powers to change things." Libra gripped his fists around his staff tightly
Chrome shrugged. "I know how you feel, Libra. I know that Destiny can be a big pain in the neck, but there is no way for us to change these things but let them flow. To fight destiny is to fight yourself, there's no way you can win."
Libra sighed. "I understand."
Chrome decided to change the subject, "Hey, you did watch how Trigon was defeated, didn't you?"
Libra smiled proudly, "You bet I did!" He was proud of his children. "My kids were a sure chip off the whole block, weren't they?"
"I saw, and even the Order watched as the Gem, Raven, the one some of them were trying to kill to prevent Trigon's arrival, wiped the floor with him!"
"It was better than pay-per-view wrestling!" The two celestials laughed.
"So…" Chrome waved his hand and a chess board appeared with chess pieces made of gold and silver and made to look like small human, or animal, figures. "How about a game of Chess?" Chrome sat at the side of silver and Libra sat down at the side of gold. Behind them, one of the pages of the Book of Destiny flipped over.
Meanwhile, back in Titans Tower, Pluto and Cyborg were giving Blackbird the grand tour of the Tower. They were also looking for a room to place Blackbird in for the time being until DT came. Double-Trouble had been busy with his job in the Sabretron City and rarely came to visit due to his busy schedule. However, despite all that he was able to send video messages every week to tell the Titans how he had been. He seemed fine so far so there was nothing to worry about.
Anyway, Jinx and Draco were on a date. Jinx was going to teach Draco how to skate. Well, good luck Jinx! The Dragon Knight had never skated in his entire life, so that would be an interesting challenge. The only descent ice skating rink was in the mall. Brimstone was sleeping in the living room, in a flame retardant doggy bed (just in case, Remember that Brimstone is a baby hellhound). Mortuary was in the gym, pumping weights. Beast Boy, of course, was with Terra on the beach. Blackfire must've gone flying off somewhere.
Pluto, Cyborg and their latest houseguest, Blackbird, walked into the living room once they finished showing the Sabretronian around.
"This is some place you got here," Blackbird complimented.
"Oh yeah," Cyborg grinned proudly.
"The home for the teenage superhero, or heroes, has to be cool," Pluto added, also proudly. "Right, T.I.T.A.N?" Pluto asked the large computer screen. The computer came to life, showing a yellow smiley face that had a black 'T' in the centre and pleasant blue eyes. This was T.I.T.A.N. (Technologically Intricate Tower Accessible Network).
"Affirmative," T.I.T.A.N replied.
Blackbird was both surprised and impressed, "An artificial intelligent mainframe. Impressive."
Cyborg and Pluto smiled proudly. Pluto told her, "T.I.T.A.N. here was designed and programmed by the two of us."
"T.I.T.A.N. has been programmed to defend the Tower from anything threatening it and us. It is also linked to the Tower's system. That means T.I.T.A.N. is the Tower's brain," Cyborg added.
"Was there any problems when you first activated T.I.T.A.N.?" Blackbird asked.
Cyborg and Pluto looked at each other and grinned nervously before turning to look back at Blackbird. Pluto confessed, "Let's just say there were a few kinks when we first turned T.I.T.A.N. on."
Cyborg muttered in disgruntled tone, "Yeah, he tried to kill us." Pluto chuckled and sweatdropped.
"Kill you?" Blackbird questioned.
"It's a LONG story. Happened a little while back. We'll tell you about it later," Pluto said to her. Suddenly, T.I.T.A.N. began to alert them. The alarms blared
"ALERT! ALERT! INCOMING EMERGENCY VIDEO MESSAGE!" T.I.T.A.N. exclaimed. Cyborg and Pluto turned to face the computer.
"Send it through, T.I.T.A.N.!" Pluto commanded. T.I.T.A.N. did as commanded, showing them what they needed to see. What they saw shocked them and chilled them to the bone.
It was Fixit's lab…his home. The place looked like a tornado had just hit. Computers were destroyed with pieces of them laid on the floor. Wiring and circuitry hung from the ceilings. Also, Fixit's tiny security bots were all destroyed. However, the most chilling thing of all was seeing Fixit, hunched over his own work table, weak and battered. He looked like he had been beaten nearly to death. Some of his circuits were exposed and there were slash marks on his arms. His robes were in tatters and only one good eye remained, flickering.
"Oh god!" Pluto gasped. Blackbird's expression matched his.
"What happened?" Cyborg questioned.
"Cyborg…Pluto…" Fixit spoke to them weakly. "You're all…in danger…" he coughed. "Two…monsters came in…they attacked me…and used my equipment to repair…themselves." He rasped. "You must…" he then fell silent as his head dropped onto the tabletop.
"FIXIT!" Cyborg roared, horrified. Pluto was struck speechless.
Pluto picked up his DOG-Phone and called the other Titans. They had a friend to save and an enemy they needed to prepare for.
(In Amity Park)
Shadow was looking over his shoulder, looking startled. This did not go unnoticed by Raven.
"Something wrong?" Raven asked.
Shadow said softly, "I don't know, but I know it's bad."
Shadowcobra, you have no idea…
One of Libra's chess pieces, a bishop, fell over. This may have seemed normal in a normal game of Chess, but in a game between two celestials like themselves, this could only be a bad sign of things yet to come. Libra eyed his one remaining knight. Maybe that could tip the game to his favor. At this, another page of the Book of Destiny flipped over.
To Be Continued…
Will Fixit die? Will the Titans find out who's responsible for this? How powerful are the H.A.W.K.S. now? Stay tune for the next chapter.
I know this is a short chap, but wait till you read the next one.