"Molten, hurry up we're gonna miss it!"
"I am coming 'Digger! I am coming!"
The sound of rapid steps could be heard throughout the forest as two kids ran down the dirt path leading to a village. Surrounded by trees and bushes, their voices rang all across the land, scaring away birds from their nests with their loud noises.
These two boys were rather unusual bunch. The one dashing in front had green ruffled hair and pale skin, whilst the one struggling to keep up had bright orange locks almost akin to flames that complemented his darker skin tone. Both were dressed in hand-me down clothes, patched with different colored fabrics. They buzzed with adrenaline and excitement. To experience their first battle was something unreal and to sneak out of their grandfather's castle heavily guarded at all times was even more unheard of.
As soon as they got closer to the exit opening to a wide field used for agriculture, gun shots echoed making their blood run cold. They froze, slowly creeping to a bush on the hill above the battlefield.
"I told you this is where he was!!" said the green haired one, proudly.
His brother however, wasn’t as ecstatic. His eyes were firmly kept on ongoing battle. On one side stood a mighty man, with long dark hair and sharp features, his blue eyes alone could make one's soul leave their body. The 'Titan' held his head up high, towering over the many zombies before him, his crystal crown shining brightly in the afternoon sun.
On the other side, a whole army was preparing to attack. A man in dark blue military attire yelled orders to his troops, to fire or to stand back. Soldiers ran around, fighting off waves of zombies, one after another.
The green haired boy known as 'Gravedigger', turned back to his brother who had yet to say anything about the affair. His face softened, seeing his older brother so scared always tugged at his heart.
"Oh Molten, you know titans and towers always fight! Did you think father never joined in?"
"I know... But still...why does he have to hide from us?" whispered Molten, his eyes still away from his brother.
"Probably didn't want to scare you" shrugged Gravedigger.
Molten blinked, "... Me?"
"I mean yeah.... I kinda suspected this is where he goes off to... "
"Oh." whispered Molten.
Silence settled between them. Despite knowing Fallen King often left to fight off Towers just like their other titan kin, it hurt Gravedigger to accept the fact that their father was blatantly lying to them. No wonder whenever he came back he was exhausted and sometimes even injured. Although he never showed it in front of them, his younger child always saw right through his facade.
Another loud bang followed by a yell broke Gravedigger out of his thoughts, looking back to see his father kneeling, holding onto his side in pain. Rangers targeted him albeit the Guardians being closer, this precious moment could bring them yet another victory against their enemies.
After the initial shock went away, Gravedigger bolted down the hill with Molten yelling after him to stop. It took a moment for Molten to gather the courage to run after his bold brother, but he did. He was the eldest, he had to protect his young sibling at all cost. One of the rangers saw the boys and called the Commander franticaly. Harming a child Titan or even Tower could mean breaking the truce created after the War of the Ancients. Which in turn would start a whole new one.
"Commander, there are children running in the line of fire!" yelled the Ranger as he set his weapon down.
"WHAT?!"
The man pulled out his binoculars, and watched the kids enter the Titan's side. He waved his arms wildly towards the shooters,"STOP THE FIRE! THERE ARE CHILDREN!"
Taking advantage of this sudden turn of events, Fallen grabbed onto the wooden post surrounding the field and pulled himself up. Heading towards the towers' base again, he noticed some troops staring behind him. Out of curiousity he glanced behind as well. He was mortified to see his own children running between his undead soldiers. He kept his eyes on Gravedigger who was speeding towards him with a determination unlike he had ever seen on the boy. His eldest son on the other hand was struggling quite a bit, Molten couldn't keep up with his younger sibling, trying to carve his way through the zombies to not avail.
Panic overwhelmed Fallen and for a moment the world froze. He didn't care what was happening behind him, if the Towers were about to shoot him down. With the bleeding wound he couldn't run, he couldn't even yell, he felt himself go numb... all he could do was watch.
Gravedigger advanced quickly down the field, without much of an issue, However, through the obstacles laying around, his brother was having quite the trouble. Molten could barely breathe, he felt like his heart might pop out of his chest if they went on any longer.
"Grave'! S- Stop! Please!"
But he got no response. Grave's focus was on reaching the other side with shots still being fired from all directions. Loud bangs going off every where around him but the last one he heard was too close for comfort. All it took was one second in which Molten stopped to gasp for air...
.
.
.
*BANG*
.
.
.
Gravedigger was no longer hearing his brother's voice. He stopped, pieceing together what had happened in his mind. His eyes locked with Fallen's, who stared in disbelief...
And for a moment the world was quiet. No one moved, no more yells, no more shots...Grave turned around to see his brother collapse onto the field, bleeding heavily. With new found strength Fallen made his way to Molten despite burning ache on his side. Gravedigger having already arrived to his brother's side, kneeling beside him.
The boy was alive, holding onto his leg as he let out soft whimpers, blood driping from the gun wound. His father gathered him into his arms, hugging him tight as the child cried softly, still hardly breathing from all the effort. Grave hushed his brother as Fallen was preparing to make their troops retreat.
The Commander watched the scene unfold, ordering his team to call the Medic and pack up their weapons. He left his spot to talk with the Titans himself even with his soldiers' strong objections. He was the leader for crying out loudly, if anyone had to settle this it was him.
A few feet away, Fallen lifted his sword glaring at the man and shielding his injured child who continued quietly crying. Commander lifted his hands in the air, "I mean no harm!.. I just... never knew you had kids.."
"... Leave us alone. "
"Your kid needs medical attention ASAP! I am not going anywhere."
He closed the distance carefully as Fallen watched his every step, he kneeled adressing the boy.
"I called the Medic to come take a look at the wound, okay?"
Molten sunk further into his father's embrace, the older Titan's arms tightening over him protectively. He nodded swiftly out of politeness.
Standing up, he saw Gravedigger sitting to the side.
"Are you hurt as well?"
"No."
"Um..good!"
He gave him a nod with a forced smirk before heading back to his team, giving instructions left, right and center. Grave turned his gaze towards the man for a few more seconds, he seemed more respectful than Towers usually are when it comes to Titans...Interesting.
Soon enough the Medic, the Tower leader had talked about, arrived. With her med kit and a keen, experienced eye, she looked over Molten's leg, bandaging it up temporarily. She gave some words of encouragement to the boy as she went along, promising it won't last much longer each time it hurt. After finishing, she pulled Fallen slightly to the side for a quick word.
"We need to take him to the base, I can't fully take care of his wound here.. It's far too deep for me to just bandage it. It needs stitches and to get the bullet out fully first."
Fallen kept an even gaze towards her, calmly speaking, "I do not want you taking him anywhere near your base, madam..."
Medic scoffed, "Do you want that bullet out of your son's leg or not!?" she put her hands on her hips.
Fallen sighed in defeat. There was no going around this. Lifting his son up, he gently placed him on the stretcher at the Medic's comand. Reluctantly, he allowed them to take Molten to their base' infirmary for extra care.
The Towers had decided on a whim it was best for Fallen King to be escorted by some of the Accelerators just in case he got any ideas, with Gravedigger joining him too. The ride was quiet, not a word was being said by anyone. Tensions were high... After all, having an enemy with weapons in their vehicle was not exactly ideal. However, the soldiers' glares were enough to cut through the air that felt as thick as wool. Which meant they were enough of a warning for Fallen, who was not actually going to try any heinous thing they thought about.
.....
The waiting room was dimly lit with the same white light shining against the white walls as any other hospital... Black plastic chairs were set next to the walls, with a plant in a white pot in each corner. The surgery to take the bullet's remains out took quite some time. With Fallen insisting he wanted to be by his son's side during it, Gravedigger was left all alone in the pale, lifeless waiting room for what felt like hours... Eventually, his father stepped out of the room being followed by the Medic. The lady departed down the hall but not before shooting the boy a smile. Gravedigger immediately went to his father to ask about his brother's condition but his upset expression stopped him abruptly. Grave could practically feel the man's eyes almost stare through right him.
"Why were you there?"
"H- Huh?"
"What were you thinking?!
He grabbed the boy by his shoulders firmly but not hard enough to hurt.
He crouched, his eyes being at level with Grave's, " Your brother could have died... And I know he is not the one who came up with this 'bright' idea, Gravedigger.. "
" All w- we wanted was to s- see were you were going..! "
"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THE TOWERS! HOW CLEAR DO I HAVE TO MAKE MYSELF!?"
Gravedigger backed away, eyes wide at his father's outburst. The older man piched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He hated being loud. He also hated how much it scared his children.
"...You almost got your brother killed because you chose your curiousity over him.. And for what?"
"I didn't mean to-"
"I do not want to hear excuses. This is not the first time you pulled him into your dangerous plans.."
"But-"
"If you keep this up, I will keep you away from him, Gravedigger. There are enough problems going around, I don't want you to be one of them. Do I make myself clear?"
The boy nodded as his father let go of his shoulders. Fallen entered back into the room that housed Molten, leaving Gravedigger with tears streaming down his cheeks. He sat back against the wall, covering his face with his hands as he sobbed.
.....
Author's note: This is my first story so there may be some spelling mistakes here and there since my native language is not english but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! If you have any questions regarding certain headcanons or relations between titans/ towers feel free to ask in the comments. Or check out my other book specifically for headcanons!
Update: Hey guys, I just updated some stuff and fixed some mistakes, just refreshing some older chapters!