The small hospital room was dimly lit by the morning sun pouring through the red curtains. Molten watched as it shined on the wall, a warm yellow light... It felt nostalgic. Like an early training at dawn with his father. Or when he and Frost would have an evening walk through the woods surrounding their home.
He felt something poke at his heart... Almost like a needle.. He missed their family being together.. his father...his little brother... What might they be up to now? Are they ok? Did they find uncle Krampus? Have they even found each other?....Will he ever see them again?
No, Molten... None of those thoughts.. Go away... Shoo..!
As hard as he tried he couldn't shake away his grandfather's words..they haunted him... If even the Void Reaver couldn't stay positive then what chances did he have?
His heart raced again... He always hated that feeling...When one's heart is loud enough to engulf their ears in an ever going battle to breathe....to keep calm. It was hard...especially without his dear father to soothe his worry.. He always knew what to say... What to do... Did he ever felt this scared?... Or was his father just as fearless as he grew up seeing him as?
He knew for a fact Gravedigger definitely is... Ever since they met, Grave never backed down from a challenge... He loved the thrill.. But not quite in the same negligent style as uncle Sinister... And definitely not in the way Swordmaster explained it, as he berated his brother in front of everyone. He saw Grave's utter fear as Swordmaster grabbed him that day, the fury in his eyes as he yelled back.
Grave was not like him.. He was stronger, he stood his ground and next thing they knew he was gone.
Without hesitation he went into the unknown, that is not something a weak soul could do. Not with everything on the line.. And the boy that was with him... Scout. He was just as brave to follow him in the end.
He too wanted to meet Scout. Grave spoke highly of him the first few days... Then he came to visit less...and less... His last visit was cut short by the meeting between the factions.
However, it was just long enough for Molten to catch on. He could tell something was wrong with his brother... And he was right..
He hugged his pillow close as a tear sled down his cheek. Why would his brother not tell him about the plan? Why did Frost and Ducky know but he didn't? Does Grave not trust him? Did he think he was going to spill the truth if someone questioned him? Is that how incompetent his brother thought he was? How frail?
He buried his face into the soft pillow, feeling it slowly stick to his face as his tears dampened the cover. He is the older brother! He should be the one protecting Grave! Not the other way around!... Was Swordmaster right?
His hurtful words echoed in his mind, "How pathetic can you be, boy?! Lift that scythe again! HIGHER! Strike like a Titan! What would your father say? That his son can't even fight?! What a disapointment on our family's name!"
He remembered that training session.. He ran away in tears... Only for his father to find him later and comfort him... He never judged Molten.. No matter how bad he screwed up.. Or how scared he would be of the smallest of things... He could use his dad's comforting presence right now.
A light knock on the door had Molten brush his tears away. The clicking sound of Medic's heels let him know who was about to walk through. And there she was... She looked more drained than ever... Molten could only imagine how hard it must be to run an entire army on your own...
Despite the dark circles under her eyes, she greeted him warmly,
"Hello there, sweetheart! Sorry it took a little longer to come see you. I had an... 'incident' to deal with on the training grounds today. "
She put down her clip board, finally gazing towards the boy. Her smile faded upon seeing his puffy eyes. Those small rosy cheeks barely dry from his tears. It made her heart shatter." Molten, noble heart, what happened to you? "
She took a seat at the edge of the bed, cupping his hands into hers. He tugged onto her wrist, struggling to find his words, "N-Nothing, Ms."
"Ey, now! You can tell me hun'. Is the leg bothering you? I can give you painkillers if you need!"
"N-No. Not the leg.. Just..."
"Just..?"
".. I... I miss m-my father and...my b-brother" a few tears slipped down again as he swallowed back a whimper.
"Oh, sweetheart. I am sure they are fine! We will get them back in no time you will see!" she encouraged, brushing the curls out of his eyes.
"But..." he continued, leaning closer as he whispered carefully, "what about Swordmaster?"
Medic spoke under a hushed tone as well, as if his name alone could summon him, "What about him?"
"If he doesn't agree to open the portal... Then...they will be stuck there!" Molten didn't even want to know that was an option and he made it abundantly clear in his shaky tone.
"I am sure I can convince him to."
She frowned at Molten's terrified expression. "What? Is he that bad?"
Molten quickly nodded. Medic letting out a groan...Won't this be fun..
"Goodness why couldn't it be easy? You'd think the hardest part would be to get to them, not to open the damn thing!" she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Molten backtracked a little, the small outburst putting him on edge. Medic noticed, cupping his hands once more."I am not mad at you, hun'. Just hoped I wouldn't have to jump through hoops to get my man and child back." she smirked at the thought of them as she tightened her grip on Molten's hands.
Molten blinked, "Scout is your son?"
"Biological, no. By heart? Absolutely!" she winked as Molten giggled.
"Hey, that's what dad says too!" he beamed.
"Oh.. You are not Fallen King's bio' son?" she asked, eyeing him curiously.
She thought to herself, "And here I believed Swordmaster said you were the 'real child'..."
"N- No... I mean it would be kinda hard for a Void Titan to have a Fire Titan as a child..." he paused, thinking, "I was given to him when I was a baby! Now... I don't know the whole story... But he chose to adopt me and well, raised me since then!" he let out a bashful laugh.
Medic smiled warmly, "How lovely! He seems like a great father from what I have seen."
"He is! He loves me and Grave just like we were trully his own kids!!"
He paused, a small smile appearing on his lips as memories flooded his mind, "I don't know who my real parents are but... Never really needed to know either? He was everything I needed!... He played with me all the time when I was small... We used to go horse riding around the forest... We would read books in the evenings or even watch movies! But..." he sighed, trailing off, "Ever since uncle left, something was missing.. It was like a part of dad was lost that day... He became colder...he smiled less... He even shut himself in his room for a while... Not even I or Grave could enter.. And... I heard about the fight he had with grandfather... It only made things worse... "
" Oh... Hun' can I ask you something?"
Molten looked a little startled at the request, "Oh? Yes!"
"Why did Krampus leave?"
That was a part of the story she never understood. Why would he infiltrate into a Tower settlement if he didn't wish to conquer it? No one really explained the whole thing. Only the "he came to end us all", "horrible monster he is!" parts. There was never a 'why?' to it all.
Molten took a moment to answer. She could tell there was more than meets the eye behind the incident.
"I... I don't know how the whole thing happened... But dad fell ill... Like really ill... And I... I remember being in the kitchen with uncle, cooking dinner and dad walked in..." he took a deep breath, his heart was racing again having to relive that memory, "and then he just...fell to the ground. He was running a really high fever and... He wasn't waking up... And nothing was helping him..."
Medic at his point felt almost as shattered as she did when she saw him cry. He was shaking like a leaf. She let the boy take a break before he continued," He spent days bedridden and...my uncle was getting desperate so he went to the Towers for help and...he umm.. never came b-back..."
Medic was stunned... This was not the version they knew at all! The cautionary tale they were told said absolutely nothing about this.
'Poor Fallen' she thought. To have everything ripped away that quickly...
She always believed him to be cruel and distant...then again she had only seen him as an enemy. The same battle worn, calm demeanor...not what was happening behind closed doors... Not that she could anyway...
To think the intimidating, stone cold Fallen King could be such a loving father. Though, he was always by Molten's side ever since the surgery so, she could guess he at least cared about his son. With everything Towers are taught about Titans, they seemed militaristic at best. Killing machines with no mercy even down to their children. And yet, the boy's words prove that is not the case. In reality, it appeared they too had normal families, friends, hobbies everything... Not so different, huh?
"Ms. Medic??"
"Huh? Oh, heh!" she grinned, booping his nose, "Just a lot on my mind, hun'! Nothing to worry about"
He grinned a little at her gesture, letting the memories drown in the back of his mind.
Medic didn't want her visit to be all gloomy... But someone had to explain the Titans side of things to her if they wanted to aid each other... However, this was not why she came here in the first place. She got up and walked over to the small cabinet on the side of the wall, pulling out a sealed syringe and some bottles with different liquids. She wanted to ask more about everything she was just told but Molten didn't need anymore heartbreak, his recovery was more important. So, she chose to change the subject. "Now, we talked and relaxed a little but we gotta get back to business, hun'. We need to get that shot done today!"
"Nooooo! I don't wanna!" he whinned jokingly, knowing full well he had to.
"We gotta, sweetheart. I don't like it just as much you do but we have to take care of that leg, yes?"
He bowed his head, mumbling a short, "Yes, m'am."
With how still the boy sat, they were done in no time. Honestly, some grown men put up more of a fight than him. She laughed at the comparison as she wandered down the hallway. Medic took her leave soon after finishing Molten's treatment but not without some last words of encouragement and a big hug, "Don't you worry about the situation, ok? I will sort things out with Swordmaster and everything will be fine!" she recalled.
She couldn't help to admit it but she found the boy so endearing. Almost like a little nephew to her. He was always so sweet and polite. Had more respect in one finger than some soldiers in their whole body. And since she saw him almost daily it wasn't hard to start bonding with him. They always chatted up a storm about anything from food to the latest movies. He was a charm to be around and once he opened up he talked
freely and happily.
Although, most of their discussions amused her, this time it was different. If what Molten said was real... Fallen and Krampus didn't deserve to go through that.. No one does..
And if Swordmaster trully was as stubborn as Molten made him sound than it would be a problem... She knew very well how down right ruthless he could be. She was there when he screamed his lungs out at Gravedigger after all... But... little does he know she is just as stubborn if not even worse!
No one will stop her from getting back her partner and her child! Those two meant the world to her and she wasn't about to lose them! And she will under no circumstances let Molten lose his father and brother just because an old man is too sour to give up a century old war!
She will make sure everyone comes back alive... Even if it's the last thing she does... If not for herself...then for Molten.