The Forgotten Sibling

Chapter 17

Skrill watched with narrowed eyes as the humans scrambled down the cliff.
Carlos jumped down the cliff with ease, his knees not even buckling. The blonde girl, Sam, followed behind him, an aura of green trailing after her.
Those two were the ones he was most concerned about. They bonded with two of the Triplets, Clauchice and Lhrioun. They hold a lot of power, and Skrill couldn't imagine what that power will do to a human.
The other two, Tommy and Marissa, stumbled down the cliff and tripping over their feet.
He sighed. The two were great friends, but they were a few claws short of a hand; in the sense that they didn't always have common sense.
"Are you enjoying your trip?" Skrill called.
Carlos glared at him. He would never admit this to anyone, but Skrill was intimidated by the burly Hispanic boy. Not only was he friends with the literal Underneath, but he also had the tendency to turn manipulative against his enemies.
Skrill didn't want someone like that opposing him.
"Yeah, we are definitely enjoying it," he snapped. "Thank you so much for your concern."
"Carlos," Sam whispered.
Kypolita flew down and sized them up. The other two backed away quickly, but Carlos and Sam stood their ground, crossing their arms as if saying Really? This is the best you got?
Carlos looked at him over Kypolita's shoulder. "For a Galaxion, your friend here sure is doing a bad job at intimidating."
Skrill held back his laughter. "She tries her best, but you do bring up a good point."
Kypolita lashed her tail, clearly frustrated that her plan to intimidate failed. She stepped aside and let Carlos and Sam pass, with Carlos flashing a smug look at her. Skrill saw her clench her hands and glare at him with hatred.
"Now that she's out of the way," Carlos said, "why did you bring us down here?"
"I heard about your quest," Skrill said. He wanted to appear as friendly and welcoming as possible, but based on how Sam was looking at him, he realized that was not going to work.
So he decided to be blunt.
"Oh really? I suppose Star Tail told you?" Sam asked.
"Well, not exactly. Anything that happens down here gets reported to me," Skrill explained. "So I wasn't surprised when I heard that you got a quest."
"Then you should know that we learned where the gem is," Carlos said, crossing his arms.
"And we won't reveal it to you either," Kympolita snarled.
Sam turned and glared at her, and Kympolita stepped back. When she turned back, her eyes were glowing green.
"You should keep her in check," Carlos said, gesturing toward Kym.
"It's kind of hard to when she is older," Skrill complained.
Carlos rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. "Do you know where the gem is?"
"It's with me," Skrill admitted, ignoring Kym's cries of protest. "I'm the only one trusted with it."
"Exactly why are you trusted with it?"
"Because I'm the one who was first Contaminated," Skrill said. "And Star Tail apparently decided that that was a good reason to trust me with it."
"Hmm." Carlos eyed him suspiciously. "What would you give up for it?"
Skrill always wanted them to ask that question, but he tried his best to remain calm and collected. "The truth."
Sam looked confused while Carlos's eyes widened. Aha, he thought. I knew he had something to hide.
"Um... what would you rather have?"
Skrill knew that Carlos was planning something, but he didn't press him. What was coming up was incredibly noble, and he didn't want to make the stress Carlos had compile even more.
"Hmm... actually, I'll give it away for free," he decided.
Sam blinked. "Wow. You changed your mind that fast?"
He smiled. "Think of it as a generous offer, a way to make peace." He reached behind him and withdrew the gem.
"Be careful with it," he warned. "This contains a piece of Comet's power, just a sliver. If you misuse it, chaos will erupt like nothing before."
Carlos nodded grimly and took the gem, carefully storing it in his shorts pocket.
"It's time for you to leave," Skrill said, studying his claws. "Make sure to hide the gem from Jhaufyther, or else he'll take it back. It's his, after all."
Marissa gasped. "That's his?"
"I'll tell you later." Carlos turned back to him. He looked at him like Thank you.
Skrill waved them off. "Now, go. You don't have too much time."

Carlos turned and walked away, feeling Skrill's gaze trail after him.
After climbing up the cliff, they made their way through the towering rock walls until they arrived at a hole that gaped above them.
He turned to his friends. "Well, I guess it's time to go back up."
They walked up the hole and into the sunlight that was waiting for them.