The boys glanced towards the entrance in horror as the voice called out again, "What should I be mad about, Gravedigger?
Unknown to the them, Fallen King caught Scout sneaking into the room so naturally he went to check it out. A Tower creeping around near a Titan was concerning to say the least. Scout froze, wide eyed at the Titan as Grave scrambled over his words.
" U- Umm... I-Umm... "
" The truth boys... Now."
The children looked at one another hopping one of them could come up with something to say. Seeing he got no response, Fallen took a step forward making Scout flinch in fear. Staring right back at him were two blue orbs which cut right through his very soul. He felt his blood run cold as the Titan locked eyes with him.
Fallen knew his son was a skilled liar therefore getting information out of him would be a hussle, on the Tower boy, however, he had the upper hand. With another intimidating step, Scout blurted out in a single breath.
"I told Gravedigger a story about Krampus and how he was sealed for being too dangerous into a different dimension and I thought he knew about it but he didn't so I went to ask the Commander if it was true and it was and and-"
The young man clamped his mouth shut with his hands. Gravedigger looked at his father in terror expecting the absolute worse reaction. For him to yell, to threaten him to... To keep his stern expression on... To turn around and leave?
" Wait, father! "
Gravedigger stumbled as he got up to follow the older Titan upon registering his departure.
"Wait! Where are you going?!"
He ran after him, struggling to keep up as he barely heard his answer.
"To have a talk with the Commander."
Oh no..this could not end well.
Grave froze in his tracks, watching as Fallen reached the Commander's office. The man opened the door without even bothering to knock, making the Commander jolt up from his paperwork. Grave stayed at the door, listening in with Scout who arrived soon after him. It was the Commander's annoyed tone they heard first. "You know there is a thing called knocking."
Fallen gazed down upon the slightly punier man. His expression unreadable, almost tensed as he simply asked. "Where is my brother?"
Commander stared back at him dumbfounded, "B- What?"
"What did you horrible people do to him?"
"WHAT on Creator's Earth are you on about?!"
"Krampus... Where is he?"
Commander huffed as realization hit him like a train. He mumbled under his breath, "...Creator damn it Scout..."
The Titan clenched his fist as he closed in on the man, "I ask again. Where is he?"
The Tower sneered. Oooh how he hated feeling cornered.. He really was starting to get angry at the Titan's bold behavior, "Look, I don't know. Okay? The commander before me sealed him in some magic dimension using some old as heck spells. I was never told where, when or how anything happened. That's all"
"... I do not believe you."
Commander stood up, leaning closer to Fallen's face, "That is your problem not mine... Oh and tell that odd kid of yours to stay away from Scout... I do not want that trouble maker anywhere near him."
The Titan's grip tightened on the desk as he practically spat out.
"
You tear families apart and have the audacity to call my child the problem?"
Commander slammed his fist on the wooden table, his fury really getting the better of him, "I did not tear anything! You are the one coming in here accusing ME of something I wasn't even there to witness!"
Fallen kept his cold scowl steady, Commander not backing down either, he pushed his chair away, sizing up the Titan. His glare fixated on him like he would do to disrespectful soldiers. They challenged the other at what seemed to be a staring match, and a tense one at that.
Fallen broke the impending silence, "My brother was made a monster because of people like you."
"Like ME?!! Have a look in the mirror you behemoth! Using children to gain information is monster behavior!"
"I have not touched your precious Scout if that is why you are worried."
The Commander was almost screeching in the man's face, "Listen here you freak of nature, touch that boy and you will suffer the same fate as your brother!"
Fallen kept his voice quiet, leaning in even further, "So, you do know what happened to him."
"WHAT else other than certain death can happen in a wasteland of a freezing forest!?"
"You will never be forgiven for this."
"Why be forgiven for something I haven't done?!"
And with that Fallen got up, slamming the door shut and scaring away the little eavesdroppers. Scout and Gravedigger rushed back to the latter's room. Staying there for a good while waiting for Fallen to come back. Scout bowed his head not daring to look the man in the eyes as Grave spoke out. "Father, what are we going to do now?"
The older Titan didn't even look at him as he responded, "You have done enough. I will have a meeting with our kin and we will discuss what to do accordingly."
"Could-could this mean war, sir?"
"I am afraid so, Tower."
Scout snapped his eyes up for a second, locking eyes with the Titan before he left. The young man hid his face in his hands, feeling the guilt deep in his chest, "Oh Creator, Grave', what have I done!?"
The boy wrapped an arm around his friend gently, "Wasn't your fault Scout. You tried to do what's right."
Without even removing his hands, he muttered, "... Grave?"
"Hm?"
"Your father is terrifying. You know that?"
The Titan chuckled, "Yeah. He is very...stone faced which I guess makes him even more scary 'cause you can't tell if he is angry or not.."
"What does he mean by' meeting with our kin'?"
"The Titans. Both our family and others."
"There are more than just your family? "
"Duh! Some new guys from a Solar Eclipse Kingdom, and a few from different areas of the world"
"Oh-!"
A strong warmth eminating from Grave's backpack cut their discussion short. The book gifted to Scout by the Commander lit up in a bright pink flame. It fell off the desk with the bag trailing after it, as if it had a life of it's own. Grave and Scout glanced at each other for a second, with Grave slowly picking up the book with the tips of his fingers. The crystal atop of it flashed pink again before turning it's own pages to the ones where the two portals appear.
"Scout..?"
"M-Mhm?"
"What if these are the spells Commander was talking about?"
"Huh?!"
Gravedigger flipped through more pages, one having another sketch of what appeared to be a mountain peak, a map of sorts, another with a very high-tech... building? Being surrounded by even more of those indecipherable words. The young Titan kept staring at the texts as if his mind was working on decoding them. Before his very eyes the once uninteligible symbols started to take the shape of normal letters from a foreign alaphabet. He began reading the paragraphs one by one, soon coming to a marvelous conclusion.
"Scout....This is not some random book, it's a manual! It shows the two portals connecting the dimensions, their locations, the spells used to activate them! Everything!"
Scout looked at his friend, his mind struggling to fully comprehend the information, "Oh geez t-that's a lot!!"
Grave held the book close to him,
"... Maybe we do have a chance to bring uncle back after all..."
He felt his heart beat faster at his friend's words, this truly was a monumental discovery but was it worth the cost? ..."M-maybe!..Uhh..
A- Are you going to show this to your, y'know,...father?"
Grave sighed, "No.. Not yet... I don't know how the others might react when they find out.. Dad is pretty calm but other Titans...not so much"