The next day, Sonovan, as per his own self-disciplined custom, went out to the cliff to simply look out. It was better to be outside than inside the refuge.
Jane followed close behind. Sonovan smiled when she found a spot next to him. Truthfully, she hated heights. The suit she and the others had worn this entire time made her light-headed, to a certain degree. She had never worn the same attire for such a long time before.
"Do not be afraid, Jane," Sonovan calmed. "You will not fall with me here. Don't be like Ryan."
Nervously glancing at him, she nodded. She was still a little unconvinced, despite being ten feet from the cliff edges on either side. "I don't know how you stay out here, this far out. Isn't it scary? It is for me."
"Yet, here you are," he replied, chuckling. "Life is funny. In fact, those who do not find humor in this reality are doomed to never fully appreciate it. Take yourself, for example." She hesitantly turned to him, feeling shaky and imbalanced, crossing her legs carefully. "You have fought the most powerful being in two universes, yet are petrified of a plain mountain cliff."
She giggled, feeling a little safer as he steadied her arm with his own. She felt herself flushing a bit pink and tried to stamp the feeling down, mentally scolding herself for such a ridiculous reaction.
"All jokes aside," Sonovan added, "What about you? What is your story? I haven't learned too much about you."
Taking in the glorious view and cool wind, she began, "Well, my parents were killed in an 'accident.'"
"You do not believe it was an accident?"
"No," she responded abruptly. "My parents were into things they were not meant to be. So, some people on Earth had them killed."
"Who committed this evil?"
"I don't know for sure," she replied, shaking her head. "Government agents? Terrorists? Criminals? All of the above? Some shroud of mystery has shrouded it. Nothing has ever been found."
"Does it make you angry?"
She nodded with vigor.
"You deserve to feel that way," he responded, turning to her. "I hate to praise him, but I am sure Titan would have rid the planet or the Tetra of someone—anyone—like that."
"Really?"
"Yes. He is not as evil as he might seem. In fact, there is some . . . justice to him. A purity—some innate goodness." Jane's eyes widened. "But this purity has only made him ruthless. He believes it is necessary for people to die in order to bring peace and justice."
"How can you see him that way?" Jane replied. "I only thought he was a psychopath."
Sonovan shook his head. "He is far from that. Just . . . misled. We both were. Chasing after things we could never attain . . ." he muttered, eyes gazing into the horizon, but seeing nothing.
Jane looked down at her hands, having a fight with her thumbs. "I understand. Maybe something terrible happened to him once. Like me."
"I do not know, but you could very well be correct in your assumption. But when I asked about your story, you mention this horrible occurrence. That does not define you, Jane Cooper. There is more—far more—to you than that." He paused for a few seconds. "Through the years of exile, I wanted to kill myself, but there was no way to do so. After I had lost everyone, only one would stay in my company for some time, occasionally. We would meet in the Shadowverse, which is where I could stay for many years, learning more about my place in existence."
"Who?"
"Titan. His primary reason was to mentally torture me over the fact he had risen, as punishment for my rebellion. Yet, sometimes, we would just converse."
Jane frowned in shock. "Converse? You? Him? About what?"
"Everything," he whispered. "I was able to understand his motives and his personality better. From time to time, Titan and I would even fight inside the Shadowverse itself, although it accomplished nothing. Sometimes, he wanted to prove his strength. Sometimes, I wanted to release my rage for what he had done.
"Then one day, I saw there was more to it. I had to let go of my anger or it would destroy me. So, I did, and we have not met since. It is sad we ended up being so different, for I believe we are ultimately after the same thing." He smiled at the thought of that, closing his eyes and turning his head. His hair blew like a flag in the wind. He sighed deeply, eyes glistening in melancholy. "I wish . . . I wish the circumstances had been different. I never uncovered what made him this way, but if only the circumstances had been different . . ."
"What do you mean?"
"We could have been brothers," he muttered. In his mind, he forced himself back to reality, away from the imagination he had found himself briefly lost inside. He shook it off.
But he felt him. Since they had been gifted with the purest form of Ooris from the Shadowverse itself, Sonovan and Titan were connected. Though their places in the universe lay separated by thousands of light-years of cold, empty space, they would always be linked—their destinies intertwined.
At that very moment, in his ship, Titan stared out into the vastness of the universe pensively. The two ancient legends sensed each other—out there among the stars—Titan in a massive ship, Emperor of the Tetra, while Sonovan meditated in exile on an almost-uninhabited, yet beautiful, world.
And yet, despite his status as the most powerful being in the universe, Titan had never found the peace a peasant-like Sonovan had. It was truly ironic.
Sonovan looked at Jane. "I am surprised you did not become a vengeful individual due to your past," he stated.
"Yeah, pills do a good job," she mumbled. "And maybe the years of heartache have toughened me."
Sonovan nodded. "You are strong. Stronger than I was."
Like many, she glanced toward the ground, unsure of what to say next. After a minute, she ventured, "Do you think we will win?"
"I don't know. Just know we will protect you. United, we will be unstoppable."
She frowned, turning back to the view. "And I will too." Sonovan smiled once again. It made her smile too.
HOURS LATER
"I am grateful that after being marooned on some planet far from here, I was able to hitch many rides across space as I wandered for years," Sonovan said. "I visited many worlds, many civilizations. Nobody even recognized who I was. But soon, I was found, and everyone was after me. So, I found a refuge here, and have been in this place ever since." The group sat in one of the bedrooms of the hideout. "I still have some leftover tech. Do you know anyone we could contact?"
"No, not really," Johnny replied.
"Only Ledarius Wepon," Dustin responded.
"What planet was he from?" Sonovan asked.
"Oh, uh, I think it was called Nexon," Dustin answered.
"Ah, yes! Nexon. I have been there! An advanced civilization."
"You can say that again," Dustin replied.
"And yet nobody can help us. I've begun to feel we might be stuck here," Ryan whined.
"No, we have a purpose," Johnny said. "Something sent us here. Z said we had to save the world, so that's what we will do."
"Wait, are there any command stations on this planet?" Sam asked Sonovan.
"Actually, there are. But far from here. The soldiers who took out earlier? They reside at one such research and exploration station. Scouting drones appear in the sky every few weeks. The place is uninhabited by native, intelligent peoples, but the Tetra has employed many bases around the globe, mostly used for training and mining. Thankfully, I have utilized the power of one of the invisibility suits and connected it to the hideout's mainframe. It allows me to cloak my place. It has proved enormously helpful."
"Well, that's neat," Johnny remarked.
"I suggest using those special suits of yours to get us to that location," Sonovan went on. "The only base on this planet is to the east, possibly three-hundred miles away, but there are numerous caves and crevasses in the terrain which would block that sort of journey by foot. The base keyword is CS0341. That code name alone should be enough information to get us there."
"OK, so once we get there, what happens?" Jane asked.
"Quite simple, actually. The first step is to cause a ruckus. This will attract attention and soldiers will come over. Johnny and Ryan will take them out. Jane, I want you with me. Sam and Dustin will freeze the other guards. Once they are taken out, the chief officer will likely recognize you, and most definitely, me. I will order him to contact the Titan. Knowing him, Titan will have a ship flown here immediately. It would not surprise me if he sends your friend. Once aboard, we go to face Titan."
Slowly and seriously they all nodded in agreement, then headed to get some rest in preparation for the confrontation ahead.