[HIATUS] The Tide Rises

Chapter 19

It was a typical casual day, one that didn't impose any sign that there could ever be a threat, and the agents and henchmen of GHOST were bored.

Maybe it was the fact that SHADOW had been silent, thus giving them the reassurance that they didn't have to be so cautious... and maybe being cautious was what was wrong. The act of being cautious on its own gave them something to worry about, something to do. SHADOW, in a way, was their steady source of entertainment.

So, when an emergency SOS signal was sent to a certain five earpieces, those five agents were ready to jump straight into action.

Emergency SOS signals that weren't sent straight to command were rare. They were important, and meant something or someone important was under attack. They were instances where henchmen on their own could not be enough; they were instances where someone of higher rank would better know how to handle a situation. They were built specifically for those six very important people, which were now five, to specifically contact each other, because they were each other's most trusted.

Of course, with the addition of a new leader and the return of their loyal engineer, adjustments were made. And with one mastermind gone, it was decided that programming his signal into their earpieces was unnecessary, and vice versa.

It was through TNTina they had heard the signal first as they walked along the peaceful docks for a chat, and it was through Tina they realized that their own earpieces had yet to make any sounds. There was nothing but the calmness of the rustling waves and the ambience of the sky and wind, and as far as they knew, no one had been sent out. There was no reason anyone could have been sent out.

It wasn't until after a minute of confusion and waiting for Jules's and Ocean's earpieces to go off that they realized they weren't going to go off, and they made their way to command. Brutus was already there, staring intently at a projected screen of the map. It was locked onto coordinates of an inconspicuous spot in the middle of the ocean near the shores of Sweaty Sands.

"None of us sent out the call," Brutus said, and it was a statement rather than a question as he turned to Ocean.

She simply shrugged. "I'm not even getting it. Neither is Jules."

He turned back to it, and it was clear to see the gears were turning in his head, as well as everyone else's. There was something unsettling about the situation, which she could see through Jules's eyes themselves.

It only took moments before the last three agents filed in, and Skye, with wide, anxious eyes, took one look at the screen and answered everyone's echoing suspicion: "It has to be him... right?"

Brutus scanned the room, making sure to look everyone in the eyes. "Unless somebody wants to fess up and say they did it, we need a scout team. Now."

~•~

All it took was one look at the ghost flag flying high in the air through the eyes of Ohm for everyone to decide that this had to be their missing leader. It was also decided that, of the ones who volunteered, they would send the ones with the closest bonds: Brutus, Meowscles, Maya, and of course, Jules. For as much as she simultaneously longed for and dreaded the idea of seeing her brother again, she knew that if their hopes were true, she had to be there. It was in his letter, assuming any of it was genuine. He had hopes of returning for her, and when he wanted something, he would do whatever he could to achieve it.

She wanted to let him know that she was alright and that he didn't need to worry about coming for her, even if it meant she had to face him again after all the struggling she had endured because of his unannounced departure. But he was her brother, and she loved him. So, though she sat through the entire boat ride with labored breaths, she was eager to get it all over with.