THE SHADOWVERSE

Reminiscence

Sonovan Lung and the group exited the Einstein-Rosen Bridge on a cool, dark planet hundreds of light-years from the Titan. The weather promised doom and gloom. Rain fell sadly and without relent. The gravitational field was not as prevalent as that of Nexon, only a little stronger than Earth's gravity.

Sonovan had built a hideout on this world, known to the Tetra as Herook. The ecosystem only produced plants and alien animals, but no intelligent life. Sonovan clearly did not wish to be found. He had left everything: his planet, his calling, and his people.

Titan had wanted his soul to be tortured and his mind to undergo deterioration. Thus, his current predicament served as his penance—his ultimate destiny. No more, as Titan had declared, could he terrorize and inhibit the negotiation and aid Titan brought to planets and their inhabitants, although some could say there never really was any negotiations.

The hideout sat in the mountainous region of the planet, with the mountains providing natural camouflage. Their landing spot was clearly on one of the taller mountains, as the air was noticeably thinner. A thin layer of snow blanketed the peaks as far as the eye could see.

As soon as they dropped out of the wormhole, Sonovan limped to the hideaway's door. The rest followed, unsure of what to do next.

Ryan was angry. He had just left Rose there, on the ground, unconscious. How could he be so stupid? Why hadn't he grabbed her, freeing her from Titan's grasp?

Opening the door, the ancient warrior shuffled across the dark room inside. Paying no heed to his new followers, Sonovan strode on to a far door, leaving the people he just rescued standing around, bewildered and puzzled. He shut the door behind him. They heard a bolt thunk firmly into place.

"What the hell?" Sam objected. "He's just going to leave us here?"

"I don't know," Johnny responded. The thunder lent an ominous background to the already dismal place, high above the valley floor.

"This is the place I foresaw in the vision," Jane said. "It's all coming together."

Johnny activated the Edge VX's illuminative extras, and the white serrated stripes on his suit once more glowed azure. He didn't activate bulb mode this time, as his eyes adjusted quickly to the dim light. Looking about, there was nothing much to see in the dingy hideaway.

"What are you doing?" Dustin asked.

"Investigating my surroundings," Johnny answered. His thoroughly wet feet left watermarks on the ground.

The green-lit Ryan ambled through the sullen, blue-hued darkness to the closed door. Placing his ear against it, he tried to hear a sound, but no noise had been emitted since the moment Sonovan had barred it. "This is not going the way I had thought," he grumbled, turning away from the locked entry.

Walking back, Ryan found a place to sit among the others. The former college students all awkwardly sat looking at each other, not knowing what else to do. They sat like this, in extreme confusion and misery, for nearly thirty minutes, sometimes pacing aimlessly or staring out into the gray expanse of rain. Eventually, Dustin spoke.

"What the hell happened back there?" he exclaimed, finding a seat and sitting again. "I'm bamboozled."

"Don't ask me," Sam responded, cracking his spine methodically.

"I think we'll find out soon enough," Johnny answered. His face was scuffed with dirt and a few cuts.

"All I know is that these things sure as hell do protect us," Dustin said, patting his suit like a favorite pet. "I think I had told her one too many jokes. Rose was really pissed."