Chapter 25: "Mobius."

As everyone in the cell began to get themselves ready for the big escape, I saw that Dr. Mobius, was not so eager. Instead he sat at his desk, grumbling to himself as he looked at the diagrams he had posted in the walls around his desk.

Concerned, I went over to engage the old stallion in conversation. "Dr. Mobius?" I asked.

He didn't look at me, but after a moment he spoke. "Fancy seeing you here, Ms. Meir."

"I'm sorry?"

"You came all this way for your parents, right? I hadn't imagined your plan would've involved getting captured and thrown into these cells with us." He said gruffly. "Still, it seems your plan is working...so far." He turned and looked at everyone packing their things, shutting off their monitors and generally just chatting happily about finally getting to leave. "And it looks like you have everyone else celebrating as well."

"You can't blame them," I said gently. "They probably haven't had anything to celebrate in quite a while."

"I know that." said Dr. Mobius irritably. "But that's no reason to let our guard down. For supposed geniuses, they must find it very easy to throw caution to the wind." He threw a sharp sideways glance at my father here, as though hoping he would say something, but my father was busy helping my mother clear her station, so he went on. "A fine thing it would be if, one day, we wouldn't have to deal with all this supernatural world-ending nonsense. Wouldn't you agree, Ms. Meir?" He asked turning to me.

"Very much so." I agreed with a smile. "But, if you don't mind me saying so, you sound like you speak from experience, Dr. Mobius." I added, curiously.

"I suppose I do." Dr. Mobius said with a wink. "Let's just say that my profession isn't just centered around scientific pursuits."

My curiosity skyrocketed, as I asked, "Well, we have time before Quill gets here. I'd love to hear about them!" If I sounded eager, it's because I was. I was very interested to hear the exploits of another pony who dabbled in other pursuits, like I did.

Dr. Mobius gave me a searching look, but smiled anyways. "Very well." He said calmly. "Let's start at the beginning."

Dr. Mobius's Story

"It was many, many years ago; back when I was a young stallion. I was a daring man, full of recklessness and a lust for adventure. I traveled all over the world, pursuing undiscovered dangers and fantastic fortune, along with the ever-looming thirst for scientific knowledge."

My eyes went wide. "You were a treasure hunter?" I faltered.

"Treasure hunter, Inventor, a little bit of both." Mobius stated. "But, yes, I was always chasing some legend or another and every day was a new adventure for me. And of course, I published every one of mys discoveries for the scientific community to learn from." He said proudly. "It was truly the most exciting time of my life." Mobius added dreamily.

"What sort of discoveries did you make?" I asked, more than eager to hear more.

"Numerous treasures, a lost civilization in the south Pacific, and all forms of mythical artifacts, such as The Belest Stone, The Deathless Ark of Kyrat, The Red Grail and most notably the Crystal Skull Of Shamballa." Mobius said proudly. "I've held the title of Inventor, Archaeologist, Professor/Head Scientist, Soldier, Intelligence Agent, Heretic, Sentinel and Waiter."

At that I jumped up from my seat. "Wait! What did you just say?" I asked quickly.

"Waiter? Well, in my youth, I worked at a Diner called Crabby's-"

"No, not that!" I said, grinning from ear to ear. "Y-you...you were a Sentinel!? With The Circle?" I asked, practically yelling now.

Nevertheless, Dr. Mobius only smiled as he said. "Once." He said proudly. But then his smile faded. "But...not anymore."

I couldn't believe it: I was finally meeting one of The Sentinels! I was so excited I had to tell myself to calm down enough to hear that last part. "Not anymore? What happened?" I asked politely.

He motioned for me to take a seat at his desk while he borrowed a chair from one of the other desks. It seemed that Dr. Mobius had finally reached the point he was most anxious to discuss. But part of him seemed crestfallen as he began.

The year was X011, about 7 years ago, and I was exploring the jungles of the Yucatan. I had been tracking the trail of a lost treasure known as the Dagger Of A'dacic: A legendary dagger said to be mightier than any sword, despite being broken at the blade.

I tracked the dagger to a temple hidden deep in the lowest marshes of the jungle. The path within was lain with countless traps, pit-falls, and dart walls that fired faster than I could see in the dim lit corridors.

After making it through all that with only minor scrapes and bruises, I entered the treasure chamber, where I had learned the Ponish explorers had hidden the dagger when they stole it from the Yuca Tribe.

But what awaited me within was not the dagger I came for, but a tall cream colored unicorn mare who had no mane nor a tail. She was dressed in a very well-tailored beige suit, and in her hoof, she held the Dagger Of A'dacic out for me, as if tempting me over with it. I approached and demanded to know who she was. She told me nothing, other than that she and her friends had been watching me, and had known of my exploits in my younger days. "We could use somepony like you", she said in the calmest yet most serious voice I had ever heard.

I had to admit, I was interested. A day later, I was one of The Sentinels of The Circle.

My mind overflowed with questions, and before I knew it I had already blurted out half of them. "Who are the other Sentinels?" I asked quickly.

"Them? Well, besides me and Nair, there was Zeneda, Absolute Justice, Hampton Indigo, Archimedes-

"What are they like? Do you still stay in contact with them?!"

"No, I-"

"What was it like being a Sentinel? What can you tell me about Nair, Who is-

"Morning!" Mobius exclaimed, making me cease my onslaught of questioning. "Take a breath, now. You'll pass out if you keep talking that fast!"

I stopped to catch my breath. "Heh. Sorry, about that." He was right. I was starting to feel light headed from suddenly forgetting how to talk and breathe at the same time. But I couldn't help it. I hadn't found out anything about the Sentinels since my case in Nawlans, where I got to see The Golden Circle Tailor Shop with Nair. But she had never told me anything else about The Circle or the Sentinels! Only that I would meet them someday.

And It looked like today was the day!

I took another moment to calm down and apologized once more for my behavior. "It's fine." He said calmly. "I don't blame you for being excited to finally learn about us, er...them. I'm not surprised in the least that stubborn mare didn't say anything to you about us, er, them. She was always so secretive, I was never really sure if I could trust her."

"And that's why you left." I stated for him.

"Indeed." Dr. Mobius confirmed. "I began to question her about things. Things like who she was, where she came from, how she herself joined the Sentinels. But she never told me a thing, instead saying "I prefer to keep my past to myself." And I respected that." Mobius said calmly.

But then I saw him narrow his eyes behind his goggles. "But what sort of pony won't even talk to a friend, to a member of her team about herself? It was weeks before she even told me her name! We were all so close to one another, we talked about our hopes, our dreams, our past adventures. Hell, even Absolute Justice was chattier to me than that mare! But she was always in her office when I was around, always planning things, always working that "mysterious pony" angle. I began to wonder what she even saw me as. Were we a team or was I just a tool to tag along whenever it suited her?" Mobius said angrily.

I didn't blame him for being upset. Nair was the most mysterious pony I had ever met. But I didn't think she was like that with the other Sentinels. Why was she like that with Mobius? "What happened then?" I asked.

Mobius sighed as he leaned forward in his chair. "We had a falling out. Questioning became demands, demands became arguments, and finally I just couldn't stand the secrecy anymore. I didn't feel like part of a team, I felt like a last minute addition, meant to tag-along and only do what was asked of me. I told her I had to leave, to follow my own path."

"What did she say?"

Mobius looked down at the floor as he said "I understand. I'm sorry it had to be like this. Please, be safe." At that Mobius gritted his teeth. "The nerve of that mare! Telling me it had to be this way! She might as well have just told me she never needed me anyways!" Mobius shouted, drawing the attention of some of the scientists. But they quickly turned away to prevent being caught up in whatever argument they thought it was.

I myself sat in my chair, with questions buzzing around in my head. Why was Nair like that with Mobius? Did she really single him out from the other Sentinels? If so, for what reason? Nair was mysterious yes, but she wasn't the king of person to simply ignore a member of her team without explanation. Mysterious as she may be, she held no reason to keep secrets from her own team. So...why all the secrecy with Mobius? It didn't make sense.

"After that,' Mobius continued, "I came to the Emerald Keyes, and found Simon, and Benny working on the most amazing projects I had ever seen. Technology, hundreds of years ahead of the rest of the world; Flying carriages, Hover boards, Laser sabers, Advances towards the discovery of extraterrestrial life, portal technology, even methods of a pegasai being able to travel at light speeds without trouble! All being made right before my eyes. Every day was a new discovery, and a new step towards a bright future. How could I not sign up?" Mobius said with a grin.

But then his eyes dimmed. "And then....we found that temple." Dr. Mobius had a mixed expression, one of both tremendous anger, sadness, but most of all....regret.

So, Dr. Mobius really had been working with Simon on his plan. But why? He certainly wasn't a psychopath like Simon was, and I didn't peg him as a devoted worshiper like the rest of Simon's cult. In fact, Dr. Mobius was very clearly downright brilliant! So why work with Simon at all? I had a feeling I was about to find out.

"We had made an expedition into the jungle. Simon had been raving about this 'world-changing discovery' he had located; The Temple Of Tezcatlipoca. I had heard of the terrible curse surrounding that place, and I advised everyone to abandon the expedition. But Simon insisted that we were only going there for scientific discovery. We had no reason to doubt him, after all we had spent over a year on the Cobalt Team." Mobius narrowed his eyes, as he looked over at the pictures on his desk. "If I had known what that bastard was really up to, I never would have helped him, let alone helped build him the technology to unearth that damn place."

"You couldn't have known." I said heavily. "None of us did..."

"No. I was right there. I should have had some suspicion at least!" Mobius exclaimed angrily. "After...it happened, after Simon forced his father into leaving, I was outraged. Years of hard work, building up a team again, dashed because of Simon and his negligence. I went to Simon and demanded he stand down, knowing full well that Tezcatlipoca was just using him to get what he wanted and remake the world as his. I knew he would destroy Simon the same as everyone else."

"But the bastard just laughed at the notion, completely buying into all his 'righteous-destiny' bullshit." Mobius swore, gritting his teeth. But then he looked at me. "Sorry. It's just..."

"No. Please continue."

Mobius nodded before continuing. "I had to stay, make sure he wouldn't put anypony in danger with his plans. Then, I heard him talking about a village of tribals that held the secret to resurrecting Tezcatlipoca. And he was going to destroy it and everyone in it if they resisted. I was furious at myself for helping that madman, tried to leave the island to contact Nair and The Circle to warn them of Simon's plans. But Simon had me shadowed and after he found out what I was going to do, had me imprisoned here. When other scientists began showing up down here, I knew Simon had started with his insane plan, and I had to formulate a way to escape. Months went by, and I began to worry about what was happening up above. Simon would also come by, to gloat, or make a speech about how this was for the best, or some other nonsense."

He looked over at my father, who seemed to be having a rather pleasant conversation with my mom. "Then, a few weeks ago, your parents showed up down here." He continued. "But trying to tell them about Simon and what he was really up to? Your father just said I was crazy. So did everyone else I tried to warn. Heh. Maybe I am." Mobius said solemnly.

"Well, after we get out, maybe you can try talking to them again? See what they really think?" I asked, trying to put the conversation on a lighter tone.

"Heh. I suppose so." Mobius said finally, his frown turning to a slight smile.

I smiled back, but then I felt eyes on the back of my head. Turning around, I expected to see Quill, ready to bust us all out.

But it wasn't.

It was Simon.