Chapter Nine: The Phantom Hourglass
The eight of us were in the T-Ship on our way back to Titans Tower. The other Titans had been kind enough to take me to Bludhaven so that I could meet with my mother, Madeline Sera, and even though I had no memory of her it was still a nice visit that made me… umm… cry a lot. None of the Titans blamed me for that though; I'm sure they would be just as emotional around their parents. Well… most of them, considering that most of their parent's are dead. We were almost back in Jump City, where we would try to find out what the hourglass that Red X had stolen for Majora and his partners was, when we suddenly heard Wonder Girl's communicator ring. Apparently it was an emergency call from her island home of Themyscira.
"Donna? Donna are you there? Please return to Themyscira! We are under attack!" The woman who called was shouting.
"Calm down! Explain to me the situation. Who is attacking?" Wonder Girl asked.
"We're not certain. It is some kind of dark monster, with… oh no! Ahh!" The woman said before she was cut off by something.
Wonder Girl shouted into the communicator, asking if the woman who called was all right. For the first few seconds, there was no response, but after a moment the voice of the woman from before was replaced with a horrifyingly evil voice. Upon the screen of Wonder Girl's communicator was the image of a hideous mask-like monster with two bulging yellow eyes. We were all able to see the message on each of the T-Ship's nav computers, and frankly I really wish I didn't have to view the message. The monster was holding the communicator in one of eight long red tentacles coming out of it's back. I felt sorry for anyone on Themyscira that had to go up against that thing!
"Hello, Titans. Wonderful to see you all again." The monster said.
"Majora." Both Robin and Link declared sourly.
Wait. That was Majora?! He looked even more horrifying than I had imagined! Did we really have to go up against that?! Just the sight of those tentacles gave me an upset stomach… and an upset everything else too!
"You all managed to survive round one of our little game last time. But now, it is time for round two!" Majora declared. "I am currently upon the Island of Themyscira. It is here that we shall resume our little game."
"Foul creature! How did you even manage to set foot on Themyscira?! It is protected by the gods and keeps out those unwanted from the outside world!" Wonder Girl demanded.
"Now, now… no spoilers." Majora taunted.
Robin demanded that Majora tell us what he was planning, but Majora just told us to 'come and find out ourselves.' The way he talked made it seem like this was all just a game to him. This thing thinks that causing destruction and suffering is a game?! As freaky as this thing was, I was looking forward to kicking it's butt! Well… provided that it had one.
"I'll be waiting. Heh heh heh." Majora stated before he disconnected the communicator.
After that, Wonder Girl had decided that she would return to Themyscira to deal with this threat. Link strongly suggested that the rest of us come with her to help in any way we could. She was against the idea at first, but Starfire went on to explain that Majora was a being unlike anything that they had faced before. If she went up against him unprepared, she and the other Amazons would be 'devoured while still alive,' as she put it. Though with a little reluctance, she agreed to let us help, and Robin altered the coordinates of the T-Ship. After being informed of the Island's location by Wonder Girl, we changed direction and flew off across the ocean. Our destination: Themyscira; and the monster that was expecting us there.
It took us nearly two hours before we reached the shores of Themyscira. I had been expecting it to be beautiful, and it probably would've been, but what I saw instead was an island where all of the greek-style buildings were wrecked and up in flames; but we all knew who was responsible for that. When we got out, I immediately felt a dark presence upon the island. The air was cold, despite all of the fire, and a foul smell hung in the air. Wonder Girl appeared to be affected the most by it. This was her home after all; it must've pained her to see it burning like this.
"Don't worry, Wonder Girl. We'll put a stop to all of this." I told her.
"I just don't understand. Why would this 'Majora' attack my island? Our kind have never even heard of the thing!" She pondered.
"Majora doesn't really need a reason to cause mayhem. He just does it." Link informed her.
"It doesn't mean he's going to get away with it though." Robin declared.
Starfire was the first to notice that there was no one in sight amongst all of the fire. Robin ordered Cyborg to scan the area for anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes, he got something; there was an unusual energy signature coming from the highest point of the island, one of the mountains that held a greek-style colosseum on top. All of us noticed that a bunch of storm clouds had gathered over top of it; that couldn't be good.
The way to the colosseum consisted of a pathway that spiraled around the mountain. Other than some flaming spots there did not seem to be any significant threats; it seemed too easy.
"Looks like a clear shot up the mountain!" I said.
I was ready to run ahead of everyone, but Starfire grabbed my arm and pulled me back. The others were wary that Majora may be setting some kind of trap. Robin suggested that we travel up the path carefully. Seriously though, there was nothing on the path, or anywhere on the side of the mountain.
"You guys are being over-cautious for nothing! I mean, what could happen? It's not like a giant monster is gonna appear out of nowhere!" I assumed.
However, right when I finished that sentence, a giant monster actually did appear out of nowhere! It was at least ten feet tall, and looked humanoid, but with only one eye. I'm pretty sure that this was a cyclops.
"Me and my big mouth…" I said.
"Heh. At least it's only one." Beast Boy said.
Almost as if some unforeseen force had heard him, six more cyclopses appeared out of thin air, snorting in a manner that sounded like laughter. BB's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of these seven monsters appearing from nowhere.
"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Cyborg asked him sarcastically.
"Okay, before anyone else blurts out something stupid, I suggest that we thrash these things so we can get to the top!" I declared.
I formed two swords in my hands and braced myself. Robin however, said that we couldn't afford to waste any time; he ordered Starfire to take me and Link and fly up to the colosseum. The rest of them would deal with these ugly things.
"What?! No way, Spikey! I'm not letting you take on these guys without me!" I told him.
"If we take too long, it will be too late. Whatever Majora plans to do here, it's already started." Spikey told me as he pointed towards the top of the mountain.
It was easy to notice that the dark storm clouds above the mountain were turing red. Robin was right; Whatever it was that was going on up there, it had to be dealt with now. I nodded, and while Robin and the others dealt with the cyclopses, Starfire grabbed mine and Link's hand and flew us up to the colosseum. A few lightning bolts shot out of the clouds at us, but Star was fast enough to dodge them; though she was also fast enough that it gave me an upset stomach.
After I had gotten all of the knots out of my stomach from the flight up here, I saw exactly what was going on within the colosseum. All along the sides were hundreds of very strong looking women, all of which seemed unconscious. I presumed they were the other Amazons, and from the looks of their battered and scorched armor they obviously put up a fight before they were subdued. In the center arena, there was a single man standing over some kind of object. It was Ghirahim, and when I looked a little closer at the object he was standing over I could tell that it was some kind of hourglass; most likely the same hourglass that Red X had stolen for them. Ghirahim was waving his hands over the hourglass in a really weird fashion, as if performing some kind of ritual. I think that the three of us could all agree that whatever ritual was being performed, it had to be stopped!
"That hourglass! That must be the one mentioned before by the Red X!" Starfire claimed.
"And whatever Ghirahim is doing to it, it can't be anything good." Link replied. "Still… what does Majora need all of these Amazons for?"
"Who cares! Let's just get over there and kick his butt before he succeeds with… whatever it is he's doing!" I said.
I once again formed two swords in my hands, and then ran towards Ghirahim, despite Link and Starfire's suggestion not to. I wasn't even halfway to the guy when a huge wall of fire sprang out of nowhere, right in front of me! The fire encircled the entire arena, including a ring of fire that sprang up around Ghirahim, keeping us from getting to him or the hourglass. I didn't know what was going on, but Link and Starfire knew exactly what was happening.
"Majora's here." Link said.
No sooner after he said that that a tremendous amount of dark fire just exploded in midair in front of us. When the flames stopped, another monster appeared in its place. This time however it wasn't just any monster, it was the one behind all of this; Majora. I have to say, he was even more horrifying in person. His 'head' consisted of an enlarged heart-shaped purple and red mask lined with spikes on the top and bottom, with eight more spikes floating underneath to make him look like he had a mouth. He had eight red tentacles coming out of his back, and also a stream of dark fire coming out of him which made him look serpentine. His very presence caused us to feel a chill, despite all of the fire. He gave off an unwelcome feeling, kind of like Link's, except even worse.
"Greetings Titans… oh, it appears it is just you two, and your new little friend." Majora said in a demonic voice. "How is your father doing, demigoddess?"
"Isn't he here already?" I asked.
"Unfortunately he is unable to show at the moment. But don't worry… he'll be here soon enough. Heh heh heh." Majora answered sinisterly. "After all, your father is key for us to break the seal of the Phantom Hourglass."
"Phantom Hourglass?" Link questioned.
That must've been what that hourglass was. But why was it called the Phantom Hourglass? And what was in it that was so important that Majora would ravage an entire island for it?
"Indeed. The Phantom Hourglass is an ancient vessel that locks away a great power. The power of the phantom god, Bellum. A being whose evil runs so deep, that it is capable of taking the life force of other beings. And once he is free, he will be mine to command!" Majora told us.
"That's how you plan to conquer Olympus?! By releasing this… this… thing from it's prison?!" I questioned.
For some reason, my question seemed amusing to Majora, for he began to laugh maniacally. Whatever sense of humor this thing had, it clearly wasn't from our universe.
"Conquer Olympus? If that is what you think my plan is, kid; then you are far from the truth." Majora said.
Majora's plan did not involve conquering Olympus? Wonder Girl had told us that may be the case, but… no, that was what Ares wanted. So if Majora doesn't want to be king of the gods, what does he want?
Whatever his plan was, it was apparent that Link wasn't going to just stand by and let Majora get away with it. He ran towards Majora with his sword drawn, ready to attack almost as recklessly as I had. Link's attack, however, had results, as he sliced off one of Majora's tentacles with his Master Sword. However, the strangest thing happened next. Majora did not seem phased from Link's attack at all. In fact, right after the attack, it was Link who was screaming in pain for some reason! He stumbled back and clutched his left shoulder, dropping the Master Sword in the process. Starfire shrieked and flew over to him as fast as possible.
"Link! Are you okay?! What happened?!" She asked him as she helped him up.
"I… don't know. Somehow, I felt incredible pain after that attack." Link answered.
They both then looked up at Majora, who had regrown his tentacle as if it hadn't been cut off at all!
"Really? Because I didn't feel a thing!" He snickered.
Link was still grasping his shoulder in pain, and Starfire was trying to help him stand up again. This Majora guy had some nerve! Link's attacks only ended up hurting himself! I didn't know if the same would happen with me, but I was more than willing to try attacking. I formed a sword in my hand and charged at him again, while he was still facing Link and Starfire.
"Well, you're gonna feel this!" I shouted right before I leapt at him.
Right before my attack hit though, Majora dodged it. I tried again and again, but he just kept dodging.
"Too slow! Not likely! Pathetic!" Majora said after each dodge.
Now he was starting to annoy me! He hadn't even struck back yet and already he was wearing us out!
"You're pathetic!" I shouted angrily. "Why don't you fight back, you coward!"
Before I could attack again, Starfire shouted something out to me, something about staying calm.
"Do not let the Majora get to you! He draws power from the anger of his opponents! The angrier you get, the harder it will be to defeat him!" She informed me.
"Staying calm in the heat of battle isn't exactly easy, Starfire!" I responded back to her.
Unfortunately, while I was distracted, Majora struck me with one of his tentacles. But the strangest thing was that the tentacle wasn't even attached to his… umm… 'body', it was floating in midair; it had come out of some kind of portal! I tried to avoid the next hit, but I wasn't fast enough, and his tentacle wrapped itself around me and lifted me off the ground.
"He… never did that the last time!" Link stated weakly.
"Since our last encounter, I have grown stronger. I'm afraid your tactics from before will not work so well this time!" Majora informed.
I struggled to break free from his grip, but his tentacle was gripping me too tightly. It almost felt like I was going to be snapped in two. Majora's hideous face hovered right in front of me, even while his tentacle was still crushing me through the portal in space.
"I have an entirely new bag of tricks up my sleeve… I can handle whatever you Titans throw at me." He gloated.
Majora's eyes began to light up. Was he going to fire something from his eyes at me. I tried turning invisible to see if he would drop me, but it did no good. I bet anything that with those gigantic eyes of his, he could see me even when I was invisible. I didn't see any way out of this, so I braced myself for the hit.
"Handle this!" Starfire said from the sidelines.
All of the sudden, a shining green laser shot out from Starfire's direction and hit Majora right in his 'head'. He released his grip on me and I fell to the ground, and so did he; he landed near the edge of the ring of fire and crashed in a cloud of dust. I looked over to Starfire, who had her sword out. The blade was enshrouded in green light, the same green color that the laser was. She fired that laser out of her sword?! Wow. Her Spirit's Sword is something else!
"Thanks, Starfire." I told her.
"My pleasure. You are alright?" She asked me.
"Yeah… I'll live." I answered.
Just then, the fire around the arena began to flare even more, and the area where Majora crashed was engulfed in flames; black flames. Majora rose out from the flames with his eyes all blank, and a big scowl on his 'face'. He growled deeply, and then looked towards Starfire. His eyes then went from blank to glowing red, a very scary shade of red.
"You. I've had just about enough of you!" Majora told her in a horrifyingly angry tone.
Faster than either me or Link could react, Majora shot himself over to where Starfire was. She managed to dodge the the first strike, but at this point Majora was attacking like a crazed psychopath. Well… more of a psychopath than normal anyway. He was shooting out everything at her; tentacle strikes, lasers, fire, anything he had that could hurt.
"You petulant little brat! My plans do not involve you in any way! Yet you choose to interfere! Just as she did so long ago!" Majora raged.
She? Who was Majora talking about? Whatever Majora's plans were, Starfire wasn't the only one who was going to interfere with them. I formed a giant hammer and leapt into action. Right now, Majora had managed to trap Starfire in a 'cage' formed out of all eight of his tentacles, and was about to spew fire right in her face. She was going to try cutting his tentacles off to get out, but she didn't need to. I swung my hammer into the side of Majora's 'head' and knocked him and all of his tentacles to the ground. I helped Starfire up, and the two of us stood next to each other, ready for Majora's next attack.
"I guess it is now my turn to say the 'thanks'." Starfire told me.
"Heh. No problem." I replied.
Majora got back up and looked really angry. However, his anger ceased when he looked up at the sky and laughed for some reason. Starfire, Link, and I looked up to see why. To our shock, the sky above us looked like it was surrounded in red energy. It was as if the whole Island was covered by a big glass dome, and the dome was cracking!
"What the heck is going on?!" I shouted.
"Heh heh heh. The barrier is breaking. The mystic barrier of the gods that protects Themyscira is about to be undone." Majora told us.
"What?! But how?!" Link questioned.
"I owe it all to you, girl." Majora said as he pointed towards me.
"I did this?! How is that possible?! I didn't even touch that barrier thing!" I claimed.
"You didn't have to. With your father's power coursing through you, all you had to do was fight; and when the godly energy from your attacks collided with me, it began to weaken the barrier." Majora explained. "Now it is only a matter of seconds before it breaks! Then your father will be able to cross over, and Bellum's revival will finally be complete!"
Overtop of us, the crimson barrier covering Themyscira cracked apart even more. Then, once the cracks had spread all over the island, the barrier came apart with a loud glass-like shattering noise. And once the barrier was gone completely, a gigantic red lightning bolt came down from the dark clouds, and when the blinding flash it produced cleared, standing right where the bolt hit was Ares; the God of War; my father.
By now, the other Titans had arrived. It looked like those cyclopses really did a number on them.
"Link, Star, Scarlette! Are you all okay?" Robin asked us.
"The whole sky broke apart! What did we miss?" Beast Boy asked.
"We fought Majora, and then the sky barrier broke, and now the Ares is here." Starfire told them.
The others apologized that they hadn't gotten there sooner. The cyclopses they faced were tougher than they had thought. Beast Boy in particular was swung around silly by them, at least six times! In fact, he was still a little dizzy.
"The god's protective barrier is gone?!" Wonder Girl asked.
Ares stepped towards us. He was as imposing as ever, and the cold wind blowing around us didn't help to make this encounter any less imposing.
"I owe it all to my daughter. It was her power that broke the barrier. Though I am surprised that she broke it sooner than I expected. I am impressed." He informed us.
After hearing that, Wonder Girl turned towards me in anger, and called me a traitor. I insisted that I had no idea that my power could do that, and that if I knew I wouldn't have come here. At first, Wonder Girl thought I was lying, but fortunately Robin came in-between us and vouched for me.
"Scarlette has amnesia. The only things about her past that she remembers right now are from her recent encounters with her mother and father. She didn't know." Robin told her.
"Yeah. And even after those encounters I still barely know anything about myself. Plus, Ares never told me I was capable of this." I claimed. "He… tricked me."
My own father… had used me. Just like almost everyone else had. I shouldn't have been surprised, but it still made me feel bad.
"Tricked is not really the word I would use, Nicole. I merely did not tell you of your potential. It is not my fault you decided to come here; it is yours." Ares claimed.
Actually, it was really Majora's fault. He attacked the island, and forced us to come here. Still, if there was a barrier keeping Ares out, how did Majora get past it? That didn't matter right now, as Majora was ready to begin his ritual.
"We have to stop him! Titan's go!" Robin shouted.
Before we could do anything though, Ares rose up his hands and summoned forth eight giant floating swords, and commanded each of them to attack us. With these blades attacking us, we couldn't get to the Phantom Hourglass to stop the ritual.
"That should hold them long enough." Ares said.
"Good. Now then, let us finish this ritual. I am sure that Bellum is starving." Majora replied.
Majora and Ares went over to the Phantom Hourglass, with Ghirahim still standing over it.
"The first part of the ritual is complete. Bellum has awoken. Now all we need is for the seal to be undone." Ghirahim stated.
"Leave that to me." Majora said.
Majora's tentacles curled around each other and formed what looked like a pair of arms. He held his two four-fingered 'hands' above the hourglass and began speaking in some weird language that none of us could understand. As we were still dealing with Ares' swords, we could not stop Majora from finishing the ritual. The black sand within the hourglass began to churn rapidly, and I'm pretty sure I could see a creepy yellow eye pop out from the sand every few seconds. A wave of dark energy came out from the top of the hourglass and sent out an uncountable number of dark energy streams that snaked their way out towards the Amazons trapped in the sides of the arena. As each stream made contact, to our horror each one of them turned to stone. The energy turned from black to a dark yellow, and then coalesced back into the hourglass. The entire island started rumbling, and even the sea surrounding us was raging. Then after a minute or two, the Phantom Hourglass broke apart, and all of the black sand inside spilled out and rose up in the shape of a pillar. The sand was beginning to take shape, reforming into whatever Bellum was supposed to look like. If Bellum was anything like Majora, would any of us be able to defeat him?