Thetis

Enlisting Thieves

Water... Aqua... H2O.

Whatever you wanted to call it, Thetis loved it. Minas didn't seem as enthused. She did try though, she didn't wade very far out though, but that was all Thetis requested of her. He knew that she wasn't quite built for underwater play like he was. He knew it would have been pretty stupid of him to force her to do something that she didn't like.

But the water just felt so nice, how could she deny just one little dip?

It was because of Minas that Thetis stopped playing around in the water like a happy dolphin. Grateful as Minas was, she decided to take him around the boardwalk. There were plenty of arcade games to play, a cinema playing the latest films from around the world, and even a small carnival area with its own Ferris wheel. Minas didn't feel like playing at the moment, and Thetis was too distracted by the glass tiles on the boardwalk itself to even notice.

"What's up with all these glass tiles along the boardwalk?" Thetis curiously asked Minas, staring down at view underneath. "Is the view inside holographic?"

"No." Minas said to him with a shake of her head. "Below us is Kirjath Arba, can you see it? It's rather large, they say that it used be a small isolated area called Area Zero some time ago. Cinq Ville is currently the center, oddly named Area C by transport services and other mail carriers. You can't see it very well from here though... You see, there are two separate areas in Kirjath Arba, the Inner and Outer; the Inner is labeled with Latin numbers and the Outer is labeled with Greek letters. The Outer is much more susceptible to Maverick outbreaks than the Inner too. It's... not a very happy place for them down there in Outer Kirjath Arba."

"What about us," Thetis then inquired, looking up at his sister, "How do we get mail and stuff when we're in the air?"

"Well, technically, a lot of the systems here are digital, so we have no need for true mail men and such. Even then, we are not considered a part of Kirjath Arba in all said and done, so if there is incoming mail from below, there is a special dock for the mail to come through while we are stationed near it."

"So this place... this city... travels all around the world?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't it?" Minas agreed with a kind grin. "It didn't use to, of course, it used to be situated in the ocean."

"The... the ocean?!" Thetis exclaimed, feeling a certain part of him die inside. "Why'd they move it?"

Minas shrugged. "I never found out." she admitted. "The Professor mentioned something about the pollution surrounding the area made it unlivable to both Reploids and humans. The solution was to raise the city into the sky. Since Reploids were the only inhabitants of the city, no one really bat an eyelash at the time."

"But...! It was in the ocean!" the Reploid boy argued. Minas gave a reserved nod and shrug.

"There could have been a real ocean here instead of collected rain water!" Thetis continued as he grew more and more disturbed at this revelation.

"The view below is worth it..." Minas mumbled, understanding that he was growing more and more angered at the situation.

"I wasn't made to be in the air!" Thetis declared. "And neither was this city at some point! Why didn't the Professor make me sooner?! I could have helped with the... the pollution! I might have been able to keep the city in the ocean! I could have... could of..."

Minas didn't say anything, instead shrinking a bit as if she knew that all of this was wrong. She was acting as if Thetis would pick something up to toss at her without a moment's hesitation. He didn't plan on hurting her, but he was very, very angry at this development.

"I'm going to put this place back in the ocean." Thetis then declared, speaking a thought more than considering it. Minas's eyes grew wide, and her body froze completely.

"You can't do that!" she told him. "The humans blocked off the area immediately after Giga City took off. All life around there is unsustainable! Believe me when I say, Thetis, that the professor did all that he could to save the area. Nothing worked. You likely wouldn't make a difference either."

Thetis looked down at the ground, the tops of the green trees in Kirjath Arba made him feel sick. "The Professor had a dream, and he built me. Maybe subconsciously, he knew his mistakes, so maybe... maybe I have the power to change what he couldn't."

"Thetis..."

"You're not going to stop me." the young Reploid asserted in a low tone. Minas knit her fingers together as if she were about to pray.

"Thetis..." she softly whispered, "I... I'm not going to stop you."

"You're not?!"

"No... but I think I know someone who will help us."

. . .

"Well Minas, I knew you were going to have a brother, but I didn't think he would be this... short." Marino teased, giving Thetis a small push on his forehead, right where his marker was. It didn't hurt the younger Reploid, but he sure didn't like it either.

According to the laws in Kirjath Arba, that slowly started to be integrated into Giga City's laws, Marino was an illegal Reploid. This meant that she didn't have a marker like Thetis did, and she didn't have a set lifespan due to that marker. On top of that, Marino was also a thief. She made a living off of stealing valuable information, then trading it off with very little compensation as reward. Minas trusted Marino, perhaps a bit too much, and considered her a friend. The more Marino teased Thetis, the less he liked of her.

"Please Marino, you have to help us." Minas begged politely. "Being in the ocean is all Thetis knows. I hate to see him this upset after being activated for a few hours. Please Marino!"

Noticing Minas's distress, Marino retracted a bit to think.

"Cleaning that ocean is going to be near impossible..." she thoughtfully informed them.

"Only because no one's tried that hard!" Thetis rebutted. Marino looked at him before placing a hand over his mouth.

"I'm not done talking yet shorty." she told him with a teasing smirk. Thetis moved out of her grip and glared at her before Marino continued, "As I was saying, cleaning that ocean is going to be near impossible. However, I was told to filch some things from this group called the Guardians awhile back. I 'accidentally' forgot to give one to the receivers because... well, I don't know why I did it. But with the current circumstances, I could easily say that it was done for a reason."

Minas and Thetis exchanged the same look before turning back to Marino. "What was it?" the Reploids asked at the same time. Marino gave them a bright smile before motioning for them to follow her. Giving each other another confused look, Minas and Thetis followed Marino to her small apartment-like home. Waiting for them on its own little platform, a light blue object floated on its own, seeming to look directly at them. Thetis made eye contact with the object and nearly froze in his spot.

'Aren't you a cute little thing?' the object seemed to gush at him, 'I am the Biometal of the Ice, Model L.'