25 A Chilling Origin! Thea's Identity Revealed!

The girl sat lonesomely on the floor, her tears plunging to the floor like raindrops. She stayed there waiting, begging that the door would open and he'd be waiting on the other side with a tranquil smile. But he wasn't there. The door didn't open.

~o~

Riba, Gareth, and Korra crept through the damp, dripping cave. Water droplets hit the hard ground and produced tiny splashing noises. They approached a row of tunnels, all were labeled.

"There, Mystery Revealed." Riba pointed and whispered, his dim voice reverberating off the cave walls.

"Ha! Echo!" Gareth shouted down the tunnel.

His voice rang until it vanished into silence. Korra shushed him and pressed on, the others right behind her. After a time of silence, they arrived at a wooden door. Riba hesitantly reached to open it. The knob squeaked as it rotated, and the door creaked ominously upon being unbolted. He nodded and pressed forward, the door slammed the moment he entered, leaving him divorced from the others.

"Riba!!" came Gareth and Korra's voice.

"It's ok! I think we have to go one at a time!"

"OK...be careful!" Korra added, the silence returning.

Turning forward, the pedestal and scroll were in view. He approached slowly, reaching out to grab it.

"This...This is too easy..." He whispered with a scowl, reaching forward and grasping it.

In an instant, his vision was clouded by a blanket of smoke. It dispersed at a leisurely pace and revealed that he was surrounded by scrolls. Big ones, small ones, different colored ones, and torn ones. They spun around him slowly, and a soft, echoing voice astonished him.

"To find a rose among the weeds,

find a scroll among these reads;

some will kill while others don't,

some petrify while others won't;

only one is up to snuff,

like a diamond in the rough;

it might not be one of these,

it could all just be a tease."

As it finished its puzzling conundrum, it melted away into the silence, leaving his mind boggled.

"Diamond in the rough...tease.." He muttered as he looked around at the scrolls fencing him in.

He looked back to the scroll he grabbed that activated his current situation. Upon opening it, he could distinguish the riddle written inside in case he needed it. Over and over, Riba perused the riddle.

"Not much to go off of here..."

Then, out of nowhere, it hit him like one of Mr. Toruga's punches. It all made sense.

"When you have chosen your scroll, place it on the pedestal." the voice rang once more.

"Got it!" Riba rolled up the scroll with the riddle written on it and slammed it onto the pedestal.

The surrounding scrolls disappeared, and the voice returned one last time.

"Open the scroll."

Riba suddenly felt uneasy.

'What if this is the wrong one...?' he mused.

But it was too late. He made his decision and was going to go through with it. He scraped up his courage and threw it open. Bright blue streaks swirled around him and sparkled. With a flash, he was given the knowledge of 'Mystery Revealed'.

"I knew it! Diamond in the rough? Tease? It was in my hands the whole time!" He cheered.

~o~

Mr. Toruga waited with the man outside the cave.

"Benjamin Bruton."

"Hm?" Mr. Toruga grunted.

"That's my name." said the man, Benjamin.

"Koono Toruga." They nodded in acknowledgment and shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Koono...what EXACT business do you have here?"

"It's a mission procedure. A test to see if the students are capable of being going on Warrior Missions. We're here to protect Mosu from Thea and stop her."

Benjamin gasped.

"Yeah, I know. It's a lot of responsibility to place on a group of fifteen-year-olds, but if they're sheltered and don't experience what missions are like, they'll never succeed in becoming Warriors - "

"No, it's not that....it's Thea.."

"You know her?"

She's...my niece."

~o~

"Damn it! I can' believe we all got different riddles!" Gareth whined miserably, crossing his arms and pouting.

"If the caves DIDN'T do that, anyone could be told the answer by someone who already solved the riddle. It's completely fair." Korra justified with a grin.

"But I'm not as smart as you guys! I failed!"

"Look on the bright side Gar! The scroll you grabbed splashed you with water!" Riba chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Water with snapping turtles..." Gareth grumbled, drooping his body angrily.

"At least you weren't killed or petrified!

Upon exiting, they were bathed in sunlight and spotted Mr. Toruga sitting on a bench with Benjamin. They were deep in conversation and didn't notice them approaching.

"Mr. Toruga! Riba cheered and ran over like a child happily greeting their parents.

"There you are. Did you learn the Technique?" He inquired with a weak smile.

"Welll...most of us." Korra giggled.

"Hm?"

"Two out of three." Riba grinned and held up two fingers.

Mr. Toruga already knew and directed his eyes to Gareth, who looked to the floor in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry..."

"That's alright Gareth. As long as one of you knows it, it's ok." Mr. Toruga nodded and patted him on the back comfortingly

"We need to talk. Follow me." Benjamin interrupted in a serious manner, and gestured for the others to follow him.

His home was a nice, cozy place. Not many pictures decorated the walls, and it seemed a little basic. Boring even. They all took a seat while Benjamin poured them drinks, and sat down opposite them.

"Benjamin here has info on Thea that may benefit us."

They leaned in anxiously. Ben sighed and sat upright, adjusting himself and clearing his throat.

"Many years ago, This city was in an age of peace. No one had to live in fear of being attacked. Among the village people, was Markus Bruton. My brother."

A gentle smile grew on his face as the thought of his brother came into perspective.

"He married, and bore a child. A beautiful little girl. She grew up to learn powerful magic. Unfortunately, her mother died of a terrible illness, and they moved to a different town..."

His smile vanished as he sighed.

"They steadily recovered from a sickness of their own. Grief. And they lived happily once more. One night, her father left, for he had business to attend to back in Mosu. But he promised he would return in a few hours. He never did."

Everyone listened in sorrowful silence.

"The girl. Thea, found out he had been murdered, and her grief reciprocated stronger than ever. She never recovered, and was consumed by the darkness of her hatred and sorrow. Ultimately, she came to the conclusion that the people of Mosu were evil. She started her clan known as the Swift Terrors, and began her relentless attacks."

"How do you know this?" Mr. Toruga asked.

"She told me. The night I confronted, and failed to stop her."

Skittishly, Benjamin clutched his stomach.

"She...left me on the verge of death..."

Benjamin reached deep into his memories and remembered as if it were happening right at that moment...

~o~

He laid on the floor, blood splurging from his torso as he grasped it tightly. Through his grunts of pain and blurred vision, he could make out the form of Thea standing in the window.

"You and I failed to protect my father. Now I am going to make up for that. You'll see." She growled, the thunderstorm outside raging on furiously.

With her grave words, she leaped out into the night, never to be seen again.

~o~

"That's... so sad.." Korra sniffled, wiping away a tear.

"So, she's attacking this place because some guys killed her father?" Gareth disputed, "I understand that, but it's inconsiderate. Just because some people killed him doesn't mean that the ENTIRE village is evil."

Mr. Toruga nodded.

"Exactly. That's why she needs to be stopped. Her reasoning is understandable but it's selfish to terrorize the innocent."

"I hope this helped in any way..." Benjamin said, looking hopeful.

"Of course. Thank you."

"One more thing."

Benjamin held up a finger and pulled out a slip of parchment. Mr. Toruga examined it as it was handed to him.

"It's a song."

"Markus was a musician. For some reason, this was sent to his home after he died. It might have been meant for Thea, but by then she was already gone."

Mr. Toruga noted this as he handed the paper down to his students so they could all see.

"It might help, but I'm not so sure..."

"Of course it might help. We appreciate it." Mr. Toruga told him was a reassuring smile, "We'll be off now."

"Farewell. And good luck."