Story:Operation Titanic Discoveries

Prologue
...aboard the Batra

Ahrganot had been laying unconcious for the past hour. The GSSOC had just barely escaped Infra from Alk'charis. Galiana was also aboard as the Batra had went back to the Bunker to pick her up for the next mission.

"Infra," Sol I Dor uttered. "I can't believe it. Why would he do such a thing? Exploiting the greed of those lowly Harvesters. He's responsible for your kidnapping, Galiana."

"Hmph." Galiana said. "Why would he do it though? What does he want with the Harvesters? What did he want with me?"

Tholker said, "By the way Sol and Pyro, if it hadn't been for your quick thinking, we'd probably be dead right now."

Pyro replied, "Well, we're just doing our jobs after all."

Sol I Dor said, "It's the way of the Delson to protect others."

The COM began ringing. It was a message from Admiral Cinder. Pyro pressed a button that executed it.

''New Message. Status: Encrypted. Description: For GSSOC's eyes only...Decrypting...Done! Message playback.''

"This is Admiral Cinder, and I have some urgent information to relay. We are aware of this Infra character that appeared during the ongoing battle of Asylum. He is who he says he is: a god. He plans to become more powerful during the next 30 days, and even you, GSSOC, will not be able to stop him. That is, unless, you agree to accept a highly classified mission. Whatever you find from completing this mission may be our only chance in averting the potential disaster that awaits us. Fleet Commander Pyro will know where to find us. Message over."

Pyro spun 180 degrees in his chair to face the other GSSOC members. "Guys, you heard the Admiral. We've got another mission."

Tholker replied, "Well, I hope Ahrganot will be awake by the time we get there. I'm sure he wants his revenge."

"Our revenge," Galiana added.

Part 1: The Briefing
...two hours later...Arckasium Drive Yards...

Admiral Cinder, accompanied by Fleet Commander Pyro walked into the briefing room where Ahrganot, Sol I Dor, Tholker, Galiana, and Etah already sat, waiting; behind them followed two armed GHD guards who stayed at the door, and 3 other GHD personel, who each sat at the long table. Pyro hit a button on a console near a wall mounted screen, turning it on, and navigated to a presentation prepared in advance.

"Good evening," Cinder began, "I have called you all here to reveal to you a very very important piece of information that my supperiors have prior felt should be kept secret. What you are all about to see and hear is classified as the highest of secrets within our military; however we will explain that much of this knowledge is... hard to keep secret. I ask you to please wait patiently and listen before asking any questions, as there is a lot of information and... we'll likely be answering a lot of your questions before we're finished."

"As you all know, our federation arrived in this galaxy by means of an intergalactic transportation device; and the information on said device has been kept from you and your empires, as well as its origin. We have also made you aware of the chaos that has begun to ensue in our home galaxy, and I can inform you that this conflict has exploded into an all out civil war, which... is partly why you're here. What you did not know is that the transportation device was not built by us, but in fact, discovered. We are currently in control of the device and keeping instantaneous travel by our enemies from galaxy to galaxy impossible, but Tyrannis's forces are coming here anyways by convential means of space travel. While they are at a bit of a disadvantage, they have an undeniable foothold in this galaxy, and our intelligence reports that they have already established permanent military colonies on several systems at the edge of the galaxy.

"What's more, the origin of the device has been kept from you as well. Generations ago the device was discovered; at first, we thought it was simply an object of worship by a god fearing race that achieved space travel long ago, however... those theories were all shot down when our scientists managed to turn it on. It was then we discovered what the device was.

"You all know of our advanced "Core Matter Reactors" and that we have offered to share the workings of the technology after short negotiations, but what was most startling about further research into the transport device was the fact that it was powered by several of its own core matter reactors, many times more advanced than our own. In addition, the interior of the device, which appears to be a giant stone ring, is marked with an unfamiliar text, which has only ever been discovered on rare artifacts scattered throughout the universe with no reasonable explanation as to their origin. Further studies reveals many of these objects, and the transport device itself to date back literally billions of years. To make it relative... our greatest ancestors were swimming in primordial soup when these things were made; they are thousands of times older than any known race in the universe.

"This brought forth a number of questions: who were they, what other fascinating and highly advanced technologies did they leave behind, and most importantly, what happened to them? How could a civilization so far advanced left no more than a few statues behind? The answer was more simple than we thought: our assumption is simply not true. The earliest travels through the "ring" were explorations in search of whoever might have constructed it in the first place. We no longer believe that it is coincidence that Arckas, an impossibly large planet, larger than its own sun, is the planet that the transportation device exits near.

"After many years of research of all kinds, we have begun to uncover the mystery of who these beings were. Their identity baffled us more than anything else we had discovered yet. Some of the objects we found were referenced in ancient myths and legends among several races, dating back to before they even developped naval travel. The writings that we found confirmed what was only a hunch. This ancient race... is quite simply put, the race of the gods.

"We call them the Titans; and their history predates anything else we have ever discovered. We don't know much about them, in fact we hardly know anything about them; we have yet to even meet them and confirm what all of our research points to. At any rate, once our Federation split, the race began. For the past few years, both sides have been trying to secure Titan technology for themselves, particular anything that might be able to be used as a weapon. Luckily... both sides have managed to come up empty...

"Now... here's where it gets good. Pyro," Cinder motioned to Pyro, and he got up from his chair and flipped to the next slide in the presentation. It displayed various scans and readings which he was going to explain. Before he began, Cinder sat at the end of the briefing table, watching.

"What you're seeing," Pyro began to explain, "Are thermal, sonic, radio, and seismic charts and scans of a particularly interesting cliff-face of Mt. Arterius, the largest mountain in the known universe. What these show is that there is a large, hallow cavern on the other side of a 3 foot thick wall of solid rock. Now, normally this would be no cause for alarm, however, it's the shape of the cavern that we found most interesting."

The next image was a wire frame graphic, which looked like a very large opening into a room of gargantuan size, lined with columns. "This," he continued, "Is a graphical representation of the shape of that cavern. In case you don't know, this does not happen in nature. The hollow area is what appears to be the opening to a very large structure. Our scans cannot even reveal where the end of this one massive room is, but it is more than 250 yards away from the cliff face. But that's not all."

The following slide showed an image of a thermal scan next to a radio scan matched up to the graphical wire frame model shown previously. The walls and columns appeared to have intricate paterns along them giving of huge amounts of energy. "The structure of this compound is practically alive. There seem to be... wires and structured pathways within the walls and columns, but the impressive part is that the contrast in the energy signature is so great, that there is barely any leaking of energy outside of these... lines you see. Such a feat is practically impossible with our technology."

"After finding these readings we began to examine the cliff face itself," Pyro continued on, flipping to the next slide which showed another chart, "What you're looking at here is very small energy patterns being emitted from the stone. We began to run tests to determine more about the energy level by introduce other types of energy, and as a result, the energy patter in the stone changed." Clicking a button, a separate line appeared on the graph, this one in some smoother, more recognizable pattern. "Once we turned off our own energy emissions, the pattern changed back to its previous state. What we think we have here is... in essense, a door, with some kind of combination lock."

"We believe that the key to opening the 'door' is the emission of some very specific energy pattern at a very specific range of the cliff face. After experimenting with various tests and several different wavelengths of light, sound, and all sorts of energy, we believe we have discovered the way to open it. By introducing an energy pattern than effectively cancels out the 'normal' pattern, the energy within the stone wall will vanish, and it was our hopes that it would open the 'door'

"Unfortunately, that's not what happened; something did happen though. The stone cliff face lit up and what was described as a beam of light shot from its center and wisked away one of our researchers. We haven't heard from him since. Now... since the incident has occured, all of our scans of the cavern have simply stopped working; we turn them on, and they tell us that it's solid rock for miles. We brought in and excavation team; they began blowing through the stone which no longer showed any energy signal of any kind, and after a day of blasting through the cliff face, all they aver found was solid rock.

Pyro sat back down at the table, and Cinder got back up, flipping the screening over to the next image, which showed a very large anomoly in space. "This," Cinder began, "Is some kind of dimensional portal, and it was discovered by one of our ships right outside of our atmoshpere. We can't know for sure but we matched up an unidentified energy signature that was recorded some time ago, estimated to have originated from the same spot this anomoly is located, with the time that the first energy readings were read from when the 'door' was discovered. We believe that they are related, and somehow when this anomoly, this... gateway was activated, it turned on this Titan technology on Mt. Arterius.

"We sent a recon drone through the gateway, and the images we got back were... difficult to understand, and difficult to explain, so we'll just show you," Cinder said before going on to the next slide, showing them all pictures of the other side of the gateway. "We have no idea what this place is supposed to be, but when the recon drone entered the portal, an energy signal pulsed from it just as it did when we believe the portal was first opened. When that happened, at the exact same moment, another 'door' popped up. Our scientists have a theory... that the anomaly is not supposed to be there; that whoever caused it tried to force open a gateway that they couldn't originally find, which has caused the real gateway to appear whenever anything travels through the anomoly."

"Which brings us to what we have in store for you. What we ask is that you travel through the real gateway, and take with you a special transmitter which will initialize a temporal signal that will travel through every location in any particular universe instantaneously, and our drone from within the other side of the anomoly will pick it up. From there, we can identify where exactly in this... other dimension you are, or if you're in there at all. Be warned... we may entirely wrong about this. The 'door' that you travel to may take you somewhere entirely different; and whatever you find on the other side may be a being so far advanced that you wouldn't be able to comprehend their technology as anything other than magic. Once we locate you, we will begin a search and rescue mission to extract you but, if you are not met with hostility, we have a side mission for you; search the place, see if you can find anything of interest, and report everything you see back to me.

"Now," Cinder said, wrapping up the long speech, "Any questions?" "A race of gods?" Ahrganot questioned. "I'm curious. Gods as in Krayhan?"

"Or Marana?" added Tholker.

Cinder replied, "Oh your gods? Well, the most powerful are the most worshipped. Weaker ones are far more common."

"What about Uszaroth?"

Cinder said, "Well, we're still familiarizing ourselves with your culture, but yes. Uszaroth is a Titan, most likely one of the weakest."

"So, you are saying that Uszaroth, that thing that wrecked Malisk II...is a wimp?," Tholker sarcastically replied.

Galiana added, "My first mission on this team and we're dealing with creatures of divine power. Brilliant."

"Yes," Cinder replied, "These Titans are unimaginably powerful. This is the reason why you, and no one else, were picked for this mission. You're the best of the best. Whatever you find down there could be our only hope in stopping Infra and potentially changing the course of all existence."

Ahrganot asked, "And Arckas. This planet is supposedly larger than its own star, correct? How exactly are we going to survive there?"

Etah answered the question for him. "Anti-gravity suits, of course. A well-crafted Sauran piece of technology."

Cinder said, "Ah, but you shouldn't underestimate Arckas's gravity. It tooks years to create the colonies we have on Arckas to create pockets of gravity adjusted to something we can deal with. We still live predominantely in the Drive Yards, though we have a few colonies in the moutainous areas. It would be too risky to build another low gravity bubble around this region of interest. It could damage whatever you find down there."

Etah answered, "Well, how long would you expect Sauran anti-gravity suits to last?"

Cinder replied, "The settlements on Arckas can adjust gravity to be more comfortable, though a personell with an anti-gravity suit can survive for two hours outside a colony."

The look in the entire GSSOC team's eyes was obvious nervousness. They all knew that this mission could result in death. They were dealing with beings capable of destroying cities without effort, a physics defying dimension, and a planet that could crush them with sheer force. However, none of them backed down. No one else could do this mission.

Admiral Cinder said, "So to sum it up. The mission: Enter the portal, so that we can turn on the Titan technology. Then, you go down to Mt. Arterius and tell us what you find."

Pyro calmly answered, "Whenever you are ready, Let's go through the Gateway so that we can get down there."

Part 2: Through the Gateway
Pyro guided the Batra steadily cruising towards the gateway. Nearly everyone on the team had some sort of look of apprehension. Another dimension. A universe with physics greatly differing from the regular world. They could clearly see the distortion in space through the front windshield as it continuously twisted and warped.

"So this is the kind of work the GSSOC does?" Galiana asked. "Dealing with galaxy-wide problems and saving the universe?"

Etah said, "If you want to put it that way, yes. And as you already know, being in GSSOC will test you both mentally and physically. But I do have to admit. This is probably our most dangerous mission as of yet."

Tholker said, "Well, they say the first mission is always the hardest."

"Alright, guys," Pyro said. "Here goes nothing." He pulled a lever that activated the wormhole key to protect the ship from being destroyed from the distortion. Then, they went through. Everything outside the ship turned to white momentarily before warping to a completely different landscape unlike any they had ever seen. It could be described as a junk yard of floating pieces of planets. Deserts sharply transitioned to snowy ice capped mountains. Nothing made sense geographically.

"Computer, is this area habitable?" asked Pyro.

"Error message 726: Failed to calculate atmospheric pressure and temperature."

Ahrganot then spotted something strange among the landscape. "What is that?" He pointed out the window. "That structure over there. That looks exactly like my old combat institution."

"What? How's that impossible?" Tholker interjected. "Wait, what's that over there? Is that...the hotel on Herit? Just what the heck is this place?"

Etah thought for a moment. "It's just as I thought. This must be the actual dimension of warpspace. You see, the Omni warp drive distorts the time-space fabric so that it can cover vast distances in a short time. Essentially, it compresses it into a smaller area that can be travelled. What we're in now is most likely that actual compressed space that has collated over millions of years of many other species using warp drives. Essentially, this place is a miniature version of the entire universe - and by miniature, that's a huge overstatement."

"So finding Arckas in this place will be easy then. We just have to locate Mt. Arterius or some other landmark unique to the planet," Galiana said.

"Hopefully. But there's billions of planets that are massed together in this junkyard, but that GHD device should be a great help."

The alarms began wailing. "We have to land. The ship can't handle the anomalies in the air pressure," Pyro replied.

"Great. I was hoping we didn't have to walk..." Galiana replied.

Moments later, the Batra made an uneasy crash landing in a desert several miles away from a replica of the Castle Hall on Ucharpli. They each equipped their life suits and stepped outside onto the sand. In the sky were chunks of what seemed to be Amaselva and Pelietta. Beyond was what seemed to be dark clouds with occasional sounds of thunder.

"The gravity here. It seems the same as back home," Tholker said.

Pyro replied, "Same here."

Etah concluded, "Well, it seems gravity doesn't matter so much in this dimension. We better keep an eye out for any more strange anomalies."

"According to this device," Pyro said, "Arckas should be...that way." The rest of the team looked upon floating chunks of volcanic rock. There were even some miniature planets floating around.

Sol I Dor's psychic senses went active. "Something's wrong. I sense...darkness. And terrible, terrible evil. I can't tell where it's coming from, but all I can say is someone got here first. We're not alone."

---

The trip for the most part was relatively uneventful. It was like a vast field of nothingness as they jumped across some of the floating rocks to cross some of the gaps. As they travelled further, Sol I Dor perked up and spotted what seemed to be a stronghold in the distance. It was like a city but with dark and twisted. The architecture was completely warped and otherworldy. A wormhole was situated just above the city.

"The evil is coming from over there!" Sol I Dor said.

Ahrganot said, "Infra...I know its him."

Tholker replied, "That twisted looking fortress over there is where Infra lives?"

Ahrganot said, "We can go after him in his own base now!"

Etah said, "No, Ahrganot. We're not ready yet obviously.  We barely survived our last encounter with him.  We're going to have to come back later.  Wherever Pyro is leading us is our only hope."

Pyro said, "I'll mark the location of that castle, then."

-

They continued forward. Pyro looked up to the sky and spotted a recognizable ship racing across the sky. There was no mistakening it. It was the Dark Titan, a massive GHD flagship, and it was on its way to the Milky Way galaxy.

"Tyrannis..." Pyro uttered.

"Tyrannis?" Galiana asked.

Pyro said, "Long story short, Tyranis is also one of those evil overlords who wants to become ruler of the universe. He's been my archnemesis for a long time."

Tholker replied, "Hmm...two people trying to take over the universe? This ought to be fun..."

Etah said, "Obviously, whoever this Tyrannis guy is will most likely not want to share the universe with Infra. That is...assuming they aren't on the same side."

Pyro replied, "Most likely not. Maybe we can use that to our advantage somehow.  But let's keep going.  We're almost there."

Part 3: The Lost City
The GSSOC had reached the base of a replica of a gargantuan mountain. "We're here," Pyro said. "Ready to be transported back to Arckas?"

Etah said, "Wait. Let's put on the gravity suits first. You guys wouldn't want to get crushed to death, right?"

Each of them proceeded to put on the suits and Pyro readied the device. After a brief flash of light, they found themselves amidst some underground ruins. The gravity felt like a giant starship was pressing against them even with the suits on. The architecture however, was unlike any they've seen. Statues of creatures with squid-like beards sat in giant thrones. A long hallway followed.

Curious about the gravity, Tholker tried to lift a pebble off the ground. He couldn't. "Geez, this place is kind of ridiculous!"

They proceeded down the hall. Several pebbles fell from the ceiling and slammed against the ground as if they were cannonballs. However, it was not long until they saw a massive door. Etah, using his strength, pushed it open. A flash of bright light followed. They all stepped through into a large circular sanctum. In the middle was a collection of brightly glowing shards orbiting around a larger shard.

"What is that?" Pyro asked.

"It's been a long time since a mortal has walked the grounds of the city of Arckadium," said a spectral voice that seemed to originate inside their own minds.

Tholker noted, "Those floating chunks of...shards? It talked?"

Etah said, "I subjugate myself to you, entity. Will you identify yourself?

"There is no need for such formality. I have known each of you as you will know this one and its kind. Etah Owar, Immortal Colonel and the god in flesh. Tholker Zheviet, man and machine and father of legends. Ahrganot Skizgo, troubled warrior and exarch of shadow. Pyro Charr, champion of his people and slayer of chaos. Sol I Dor, the exile no more and whispered legend. Galiana, young soldier and harbinger of cleansing. The name of Na'zrah has been bestowed unto this one. Na'zrah is a spiritual guide of the Guardian of Secrets. This one was given a blessing that Na'zrah's light would always shine the brightest in times of great darkness. You seek aid in a quest to stop darkness. You have come to the light to find such aid.

Pyro said, "You must be a Titan then. It is an honor. However, I'm afraid we must delay formal introductions. We're in a bit of a crisis. Can you offer any such aid?

Na'zrah replied, "Artifacts left by the Creator's loyal subjects are scattered throughout the galaxy. To defeat the darkness, find the sacred objects on each of your homeworlds. Obtain these artifacts and you shall triumph."

Ahrganot said, "Care to be a bit more...specific?"

Na'zrah glowed a bit brighter. "Na'zrah knows many things. He can tell you where to find these artifacts. The Ring of Shadow, hidden from the light, buried deep in the Frozen Wasteland of Ucharpli. A cache of Starbolts, munitions of the gods, under a base on Zerevst. The Sword of 1000 Lights, forged by the Creator himself from a thousand shards of light, deep in the Sepulchur of Kings on Karnas. Amulet of the Tokarthi, closely guarded, a powerful creation that momentarily grants the powers of our kind, found within an ancient facility of Ashadra (insert more artifacts here)"

Tholker said, "Thanks, Na'zrah. But not to be rude or anything, but why are you speaking in third person?"

"Much like the rest of the Titans, Na'zrah speaks this way so that the master, "I", can never be forgotten. You will eventually meet Him when the time is right."

Pyro said to the comm, "Admiral Cinder, we're ready to go now. Beam us up."

"Go on ahead, I have questions to ask Na'zrah." Etah interjected.

The rest of the team stared a moment, and Pyro gave an affirmative. The rest of the team beamed up, leaving Etah to speak with Na'zrah.

"What did you find down there?" Admiral Cinder asked.

"Well," Pyro said, "We met a Titan."

"So they do exist then. Incredible!" she exclaimed.

"We didn't find anything in particular down there that could combat Infra, but we were told the locations of six different artifacts that can be used to defeat him. Each are on six different planets."

"Keep in mind, Pyro, that we don't exactly have a lot of time. It's only a matter of weeks before Infra becomes more than we can handle. And worse. Tyrannis will probably have found a way to get over to this galaxy."

Etah replied, "How shall we assess this?"

Admiral Cinder said, "We'll worry about Tyrannis for now. You, GSSOC, go find those artifacts. We could do with one less madman with the powers of a Titan. Oh, and while you were away, we managed to get the Batra back from the Home Dimension. It wasn't easy, so you better thank us."

"So where are we going first?" Galiana asked.

Etah said, "Ucharpli. It's the closest planet to here."

Ahrganot said, "I can't go. I vowed to never go back there, so that I could put the past behind me."

"Ahrganot," Etah said, "We don't have much of a choice. We have to obtain these artifacts if we're going to stand the slightest chance against Infra. You saw up close yourself what he can do." Ahrganot's face crinkled and he lost eye contact. Etah instantly recognized it as doubt. "Dammit, Ahrganot. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to confront your past. All of us are going to be doing much the same so there's no sense in complaining about it."

Ahrganot replied, "Hmph. But just a fair warning to the rest of you about what we're going to be facing. The name 'Frozen Wasteland' isn't just for show."

"What is that place anyway?" Sol I Dor said.

Ahrganot said, "It's on the world's south pole, making it the coldest spot on Rauch, and even to this day, it's not colonized. The average temperature: 50 Fahrenheit below."

Galiana said, "Ugh, I always hated the cold."

Ahrganot said, "Oh, the cold is the least of your worries, Galiana. The real danger is the flesh-eating monsters that want nothing more than to feast on your corpse. They range from creatures the size of wolves all the way to behemoths as large as a starship. It's like a frozen-over hell. Long story short, it's suicide for the average traveller."

Sol I Dor intervened, "Geez Ahrganot, you're starting to scare me a bit with those details."

"I'm just telling you what you should be ready for. I grew up right outside that area. I've even camped there for several weeks while at the academy."

Etah replied, "All the more reason you should go, Ahrganot. Your always constantly trying to prove yourself, but now's your chance. Go back in there and see if you can survive it again."

Ucharpli
The Batra made its way to dock in a spaceport on Aurora. Ahrganot gazed out the window at the familiar sight. Hardly anything changed. The frost-covered industrial buildings still stood after many decades.

Each of them put on some white-camoflauge coats. Then they all took an elevator to the ground and were instantly greeted by biting cold. Contrasting to the biting cold was a beautiful vista. The sky was clear. A twilight backdrop was painted behind a group of snowy peaks that dotted the horizon along. Several of these mountains reached far beyond the clouds, and even the famous Mt. Umageishi was visible in the distance.

Galiana asked, "So, where are the roads?"

Ahrganot said, "Well, there are none. Back then, we had to walk or take the train. Fortunately, Gemichi Pass is not that far away, only about a mile. That place is the only feasible way to get past those mountains and into the wasteland."

Upon arrival of Gemichi Pass, they saw a gigantic frost covered metal gate. It almost looked like a fortress. A single Dhragolon guard stood just next to it.

"Halt! You're not seriously considering entering these forsaken lands, are you?" asked the guard to the gate.

Etah said, "We are on official Galactic Senate business. It's classified. Let us in."

"Look, we weren't stationed here to keep people out. We're just here to warn bumbling idiots what's on the other side of this gate."

Etah said, "Well, are you going to let us through or not?"

"Go on in. Suit yourselves," said the guard. "Better you guys than me. Just remember that the daimyo isn't responsible for your deaths."

The massive metal gate lifted open and the GSSOC went through. Then, the gate slammed down. There was no turning back. This was the Frozen Wasteland.

The Ice Trek
Pyro pulled out his compass. It was specifically designed to detect the direction of objects that resembled those on Arckas. "Okay, the trip is about ten miles in...that direction."

Ahrganot said, "We better move quickly...and quietly."

The GSSOC walked for just a few minutes. The wind was picking up was piercing against their faces. Ahrganot, Tholker, Pyro and Etah were doing just fine. They had plenty of experience in this type of weather. However, it was not long until Sol I Dor and Galiana began to struggle a bit. Sol I Dor was from a desert planet - he could handle extreme heat, but not the cold so well. Galiana was a human. Her face began turning a pale white. They still managed to keep up.

Tholker said, "The current temperature is -50 Fahrenheit. In the next few hours, the sun will dip down and the temperature will drop further."

Etah said, "Then we best pick up the pace."

Not long, the sun had completely disappeared. The moon wasn't visible in the sky either. Galiana had stopped in her tracks.

Sol I Dor said, "Galiana?"

"I...I can't feel my feet. Or my hands," she said. She had frostbite. Humans, much like the Delson, were better adept to warmer climates. On Earth, humans had never permanentely lived in the continent of Antarctica. The area was lifeless inland. And on Ashadra, Aurarctica, its South Pole, was not much better.

"Pyro, start a fire!"

Ahrganot said, "That's too risky. The light attracts the predators. We have to keep going. As Admiral Cinder said, we don't have much time and we still have a long way to go to get this artifact."

Sol I Dor replied, "Are you kidding? C'mon, let's just stop for a moment to catch our breaths."

Ahrganot said, "Hmph. Fine. But stay alert."

Pyro dug a hole in the ground and placed some fire started. Then he let out a flame from his mouth. They all gathered around it to warm themselves up. The fire glowed amongst the darkness. Pyro kept the flame alive while Sol I Dor and Galiana gathered around it. Etah, Tholker and Ahrganot stood in a triangle formation looking out in all directions. They rotated every once in a while.

It was not long until they heard footsteps coming elsewhere. Ahrganot whispered, "Put out the fire!" The footsteps drew closer. A pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the distance along with some feral growling noises. "Don't move," Ahrganot said. Each of them stood perfectly still, though Galiana and Sol I Dor were shivering. Tholker readied his gun just in case.

The pair of eyes came closer and closer and came into view. It was a tiger-like creature with white fur and sharp fangs. It circled them trying to find its easiest target. However, the creature was still intelligent. It knew that it alone would be no match for alll of them. The creature slowly backed away noting each of their scents, then quickly turned around and ran off into the distance.

"What was that thing?" Galiana asked.

"Arkleons," Ahrganot said. "They hunt in packs so it will likely be back with some friends. Let's move it now."

The GSSOC continued for several more hours of pushing through the cold. The moon Athen became visible overhead and its red glare reflected across the frozen landscape. Ahrganot looked up to it - it was like a crimson, watching eye. As the GSSOC approached what seemed to be a large field of ice, they heard more footsteps. More numerous than their last encounter. More growling and roaring echoed across the horizon. Packs of Arkleons emerged from the darkness and begun circling them. The single Arkleon from before was nothing more than a scout. This time, it brought the whole pack with it. Each of them readied their weapons as the Arkleons begun pouncing them.

They were quite easy to ward off. The corpses of the Arkleons began piling up. But it was not long until the earth began trembling in bits. All of them stopped the fighting. The Arkleons turned in the direction from where the trembling was coming from. The Arkleon pack fled into the distance while the GSSOC stood in place. A gargantuan white furred, four-legged creature with two sets of frosty tusks came into view. It stood 30 feet high and towered over them.

"Uh...Ahrganot? What is that?" Tholker asked apprehensively. The creature lowered its head to give a taunting roar.

Ahrganot replied, "Ice Behemoth...the top of the food chain in Aggateya...Run!" Each of them sprinted at top speed while the Ice Behemoth followed merely at a steady pace. The ground trembled with each step the behemoth made. They sprinted and sprinted and sprinted. The monster chased them over the top of a frozen lake. As the Ice Behemoth stepped on it, the ice cracked and bits of ice began separated into islands. The Ice Behemoth, as much of a brute as it was, thought cleverly. It backed away from the cracking frozen lake and begun stomping the lake with its front feet in an attempt to break up the entire lake. Ahrganot was separated on a small floating island from the rest of the GSSOC.

"Ahrganot!" Sol I Dor said.

After the Ice Behemoth broke up the lake, it waded through. The lake was deep enough that only the Ice Behemoth's torso was visible above the surface. It's fur kept it from freezing, but none of the GSSOC would possibly stand a chance in the water. The Ice Behemoth made its way towards Ahrganot and made some large waves in an attempt to knock him off. Out from his belt, Ahrganot's communicator slid off and into the water, but Ahrganot held on tight, but he was further separated from the rest of the team. Then, Tholker decided to fire his pistols at the beast to distract it.

"Ahrganot, just keep going. We'll deal with this thing," Tholker said.

The ice chunk Ahrganot was on continued floating down the lake and eventually into a a smaller stream. Ahrganot jumped back on land and continued in the direction Pyro's compass had been pointing. He was on his own now. He had to conquer the Frozen Wasteland himself. He had to conquer his past.

Conquering the past
About half an hour had passed. He heard no word from the rest of the team. As Ahrganot travelled on, a roar echoed throughout the sky. He looked up and spotted what appeared to be a large bird in the sky circling around them.

He kept at a steady pace. The creature roared a few more times. But then, the it began descending, and it swooped overhead, Ahrganot feeling the rush of wind. It had jet black scales and a set of terrible teeth. This was a Yoltox, the deadliest predator on Ucharpli. It competed with the Ice Behemoth for the top of the food chain. Ahrganot readied his sword to confront the monster.

The Yoltox circled around one more time and hovered. It opened up its gaping maw, then a shockwave of fire came bolting from its mouth. Ahrganot just barely dodged it, but the force of the shockwave sent him sliding across the ice against a nearby rock. Ahrganot decided to make a run for it, dashing as fast he possible could towards the destination. The Yoltox followed from behind and continued circling him. Ahrganot kept dodging the blasts of fire as he took cover behind some frozen ice spires. He kept dashing and dashing for his life. But he could only run so far. Moments later, he came to a sliding halt towards the edge of a cliff. The Yoltox landed right behind him cornering him.

Ahrganot turned around to face the beast. He noticed a scar on the Yoltox's eye. Memories of many years ago flooded him. This was the same Yoltox he encountered as a child. He had to run away from it. It was a monster he could not defeat. Ahrganot's face tensed up. He knew he had to slay this beast to prove that he got stronger since the last time he saw it.

The monster blasted another shockwave sending him right over the edge. However, little did the beast know, Ahrganot was gripping by his fingertips just at the edge of the cliff. He hoisted himself up quickly and surprised the Yoltox by leaping onto the Yoltox's head and landing a solid hit with his blade. The monster violently waved its head around trying to shake Ahrganot off, but he kept grip of its horns. The Yoltox took off into the sky and Ahrganot began tumbling down the monster's rough scaly back leaving Ahrganot cut up with bruises. However, he managed to grip onto the monster's tail so he remained aloft.

Thinking quickly on how to stop the monster mid-flight, Ahrganot climbed his way back up the monster's back. He readied his sword again and jabbed it through the monster's left wing. The Yoltox roared in pain. Ahrganot continued stabbing the creature's wings until it eventually began a dive towards the ground.

The beast came crashing into the icy ground, but Ahrganot lost his grip and let go, landing in front of the creature. The Yoltox got back up and lunged forward to bite him. Ahrganot narrowly dodged it, but he noticed a weakspot - there was an unprotected area just above the Yoltox's juggular. Ahrganot rolled to the side as the Yoltox sent another shockwave blast which crashed into the side of a hill. Realizing that Ahrganot was getting exhausted, the Yoltox tried to go for a quicker kill and raised its wing-claw and swiped at Ahrganot. It hit him sending Ahrganot to the ground and temporarily stunning him.

As the beast reared its head up about to deal the finishing blow with its jaws, Ahrganot suddenly reenergized and quickly got up, lunging his sword at the weakspot. He drew the sword back out again and the Yoltox collapsed to the ground causing a short tremble. Ahrganot stopped for a moment to catch his breath after the intense battle. He defeated the Yoltox. He had finally conquered his past.

The Ring
As Ahrganot regained his strength, he noticed the spot where the Yoltox had shot the shockwave into the hill. Some of the ice was transparent and he could see something behind it. He slammed the hilt of his sword against the ice and broke it, revealing a hidden cave entrance.

Ahrganot stepped through. It was a long winding, icy tunnel. As he got further and further he came to a large frozen door with some torches. No doubt this was the same one he encountered as a child. He never knew what was behind it since he was not strong enough to open it. This time, Ahrganot gathered his strength and pushed with all his might. The door broke free of its frost encasing and slid open. Then, he stepped through to finally find out what was on the other side. It was an icy sanctum with a frozen pedestal.

"Ahrganot Skizgo..." said a voice. "You have come a long way." Ahrganot did not say anything. He approached the pedestal and did not see a physical ring, but its shadow. As he turned around he saw a red cloaked spectral figure that looked familiar. "You have passed the last of the challenges. You've finally conquered your past."

"Dominion?" Ahrganot asked.

"By defeating the Yoltox and opening the door to enter this sanctum, you have proven yourself ready against the one you seek to confront. However, you'll need the help of your friends to defeat the darkness."

Ahrganot said, "Friends? Are they...safe?"

Dominion replied, "Yes, they are. They were bestowed the knoweldge that you were safe and they have returned to Aurora to await you. But before you can face your great foe, each of your friends must pass Dominion's challenges. They too must conquer their pasts to be just as ready as you are. This one has finished speaking." Dominon vanished.

Ahrganot turned and grabbed the invisible ring and put it on his left middle ring. The shadow of a serpent figure appeared against the wall and a different voice boomed.

"You bear the Shadow Ring, Ahrganot Skizgo," the serpent said. "The ring comes with a price."

Ahrganot replied, "A price of what?"

"You will not be told, mortal, until the time is right," the serpent said. "You may freely use it for as long as you need."

"So what does this ring do anyway?" Ahrganot asked.

"It grants the same powers as the one you speak to. You have powers over shadow. They are your medium to travel with and hide with. You are a shadow."

"Like darkness?" Ahrganot asked.

"No. Darkness is emotion. Shadow is reasoning. Do not confuse the two."

Ahrganot replied, "And one more question before I go. How do I get out of here quickly? It took a lot of effort just to come all this way."

"Well, why not try the ring to see if you can make your way back to the city of Aurora? The sun is gone right now."

Ahrganot replied, "Hmph. Alright."

"We shall meet again, Ahrganot Skizgo." Ahrganot felt himself become one with the shadows. He could move almost anywhere. He virtually warped back to the city of Aurora to meet back with the rest of the GSSOC.

"Schoslung! Ahrganot where did you just come from?!" Tholker asked as he jumped.

Ahrganot replied, "Behold...the ring of shadow." He demonstrated it a bit showing him warping to different spots.

"That's...that's incredible!" Etah replied. "Na'zrah was right! Who knows what the other artifacts are like? This is exactly what we need to defeat Infra!"

Pyro replied, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get back on the Batra and go to the next planet."