Titan Turn; A TDS Story

Chapter 8

It has been almost a week since the news of Krampus's unfair demise rose to the surface. Making both Towers and Titans uneasy, some even full blown paranoid. The rumors of such unimaginable power capable to seal away someone for eternity scared many brave souls. If it turned out to be true it could mean certain death for the Titan race, unless they somehow got it for themselves meaning death for the Towers instead.

Gravedigger noticed early on the tension that settled between the sides despite there not being many battles...
His father's cold demenor and steel-sharp glare was enough to make even the strongest men cower in fear. The boy could tell the sudden news opened old scars that hurt just as bad as when they were first made for him. Fallen was quiet in general, but the silence he had taken on now, spoke volumes.

The Commander himself was exasperated by the story being made public, he knew it would cause chaos and he was upset to find out he was right. He distanced himself from Scout, from everyone really, always sulking in his office writing reports. Refusing to talk to people, even brief chats down the hall couldn't get him to stay still for long. He was avoiding Fallen King like the plague.

With all of the eyes being taken off of them, Scout and Gravedigger could work in peace on their new plan. Having translated the whole book, Grave learned where the portal was, Scout's theory proving to be correct.
Hidden behind many crates and old unused parts stood a peculiar structure. It had a hexagon shape with a small circle cut in the middle of the top metal bar. A palm sized, blue crystal proudly shined in the dim light as the protective bar around it rusted away. When Scout asked Engineer about it, she said it had been there for longer than she has been apart of the army. Thinking it was just a piece of junk she kept it in the storage area.
With the portal-finding out of the way, it was time for step two. Making the preparations for the trip.

Going into an unknown land was no easy task, especially into a tundra of all things. So, winter equipment was a must. Luckly Scout kept his gear from their old camp somewhere in the North. He had an older version of it too which no longer fit him but fit Grave quite snuggly. They prepared their backpacks with the necesary items, eventually hiding them under Scout's bed. The young Tower paced back and forth as Gravedigger ticked everything off the list.

"So we have clothes, walkie-talkies, water, food-" counted Scout on his fingers.

"A vehicle could come in handy" swiftly added Gravedigger.

"A vehicle? For what?"

Grave snapped his eyes up from the paper, "Transportation, duh. We don't know how big that land is, finding my uncle would take forever if we walk"

"Well, after the soldiers are done with the ATVs they do put them in the garage... Sooo" he smirked.

The boy nodded, "Sooo we could take one of them... There is only one problem"

"...What?"

The Titan clicked his tongue as he tapped the pen against the list,
"They run on gasoline"

"What are they supposed to run on? Coal?" asked Scout, his joking tone making Gravedigger lift his eyes to look at him.

"We are going in a land with seemingly no human life. When we run out of fuel what are we going to do? Push the ATV?"

"Well...we will take extra" he offered.

"We don't know how long we will stay there, Scout. No matter how much we take other than weighing us down, it won't really be much help!"

The Tower threw his hands up in the air, "Fiiine, then what?"

"I was thinking about what the Commander said to you. The fact there was only forest there, right?"

"Mhm" he nodded.

"So what if we use something that runs on wood instead? There will be plenty in case we run out"

He paused, pressing his palms together, "OK but.. We are no longer in the 1800s..where will we find a wood burning car that y'know actually runs?"

"I was thinking... if I could get my hands on an ATV for a couple of days I could technicaly modify it... "

Scout paused, blinking curiously at Grave who smirked uncomfortably, from the sudden staring contest.

"... Explain"

The boy sheepishly fiddled with his pen as he spoke, "Weell... Ever since I was small I enjoyed engineering. Machines and stuff.. y'know?... Coming from a family of lumberjacks and all... I know my way around logs and.. we had a car that used wood instead of gas soo.. in theory I could create a system for the ATV to run on fire wood... I actually made a few blueprints for something similar just.. never had the chance to test them... "

Scout stopped fully in his tracks, staring at his peculiar companion.
"

.... You amaze me more and more every day... That's so awesome!!"

Grave perked up at the beaming Scout, "  Wait.. Really?! "

"UHH YES?! What do mean 'really'?!! I wish I knew how to do stuff like that!!"

He giggled bashfully, "Umm...Thank you!"

The Tower kneeled next to him, skimming over the list, "Does your family not know you do stuff like this?"

He shook his head, "Not really.."

"But why!?! It's such a cool talent!"

"My other father wasn’t too excited about it.."

Scout felt the air stuck in his throat, "OOh-Oh.."

"B- But hey! It's ok! If it helps now then all the better!"

Scout felt the urge to ask more but seeing how Grave was not being so thrilled about it, stopped him.

"So...how do we get an keep an atv for long enough to modify it?" murmured Gravedigger quietly.

"There are a few 'spare parts' ones, I am sure we could snatch one out of there"

"Alright... Cool"

The conversation dried up pretty quickly... With curt responses and too many questions going unanswered. Grave looked as upset as he felt which is something Scout was observant enough to notice. He sat down next to Gravedigger on the floor, pulling him into a side hug. Despite at first being taken aback and a little awkward, the small Titan wrapped his arm around his friend as well.

"We will find your uncle.. I promise."

"... Thanks, Scout. I appreciate it.. "