Deep below the golden church, within ancient ruins of a pyramid, Crimson cut the darkness of the hallways with a light on his arm.
“Just look at this place. It’s so old.” He ran his light over cut stone walls.
Fiero scoffed as she passed him. “Yeah, I know. I read the mission briefing. I thought you already came here.”
“Sure. I was all over this place. I even took a tour with a guide and group. Got this cool snow globe that...”
Fiero pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t care about that. What did you find?”
“Oh, uh, not much.” He walked onward, still checking the halls with his light.
She shook her head. “Then...why are we back here? Even Lord Dragon said that he hasn’t seen this Quayz...Quetle...”
“Quetzalcoatl.”
“Whatever. He’s been off their radar for a long time. What makes you think this is still the right place to search?”
Crimson crouched through a short doorway and stopped in a sizeable room. “Because. After I took the tour, read all the information from the archaeologists, and asked some questions of the locals, I came to this area. This is the lowest excavated location in this pyramid.”
She looked around the dirty, old room. “And?”
“They stopped here, completely believing it was the end. Something struck me as odd. Archaeologists don’t just stop. They will go until they are certain it is the dead end. Yet, everything I read, everyone I talked to, all said they just wanted to stop and not look any further. They believed this was the end of it all. That didn’t make sense to me.”
Fiero stood there for a moment. “That is a rather logical deduction... coming from you.”
“Thanks...hey, wait.”
Fiero searched around the room, looking at carvings on the stones. She would press on protruding stones and then stand back and look around.
Crimson joined her as she stood by a wall. “I’ve tried that. No trap doors, no hidden passageways.”
“Then, what’s your plan? I don’t want to blast through a wall hoping to find something. This is still an international treasure of history.”
Crimson held up his arm. “I scanned every sensor device I could find at BADGE. My tech allows me to adapt tech I scan into my systems. I’m hoping that something will shed light on this.”
She stood back and held out her hand in invitation. “Give it a go.”
Crimson held up his arm, and several scanners appeared. Each created a fan-like beam of light that scoured the surfaces of this ancient room. One after another swept across the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Fiero waited patiently, watching the walls with intense scrutiny as each light passed over it.
“Wait!” She held his arm. “Use that blue one again.”
Crimson turned off all the sensors but a bright blue beam. He swept across the walls and then the floor. All at once, a symbol appeared over the surface of the floor, one that had not been visible to the naked eye, or twenty other sensors. It was a circle with symbols on it that did not look like anything else on this temple.
“I’ve seen these before.” Fiero looked at one symbol.
“Where?”
“Lord Dragon showed me scrolls that dated back to before they were on Earth. These symbols are from the language the mythics used before they were mythics.” She knelt down and brushed a hand over the surface.
Crimson, maintaining that beam, asked, “Can you read them?”
“Of course not. I didn’t take a language course with him. But I can surmise that they mean something. There are two symbols here, each on opposite ends. Stand on that one, and I will stand on this one.”
Crimson huffed. “This isn’t one of those old adventure movies. Just standing on...it moved!” He had just stepped on it when the floor rattled.
Fiero stood up and spread her feet slightly to maintain balance. “Yup. And...it’s still moving. Hold on.”
The circle on the floor turned slowly as the disc descended downward, beyond anything uncovered by humans thus far. Soon, they found themselves on that disc of stone suspended in the air, still slowly moving toward the ground below.
“Look!” Crimson pointed.
Fiero turned her head as the disc turned. There was an unnatural shaft of light bathing a single seat next to a rock wall. On it sat a person, his head down.
The disc met the ground and both had to gather their wits before moving. Fiero was much more stable, Crimson had that green face again.
“Hello, we are from BADGE.” Fiero approached.
The man on the stone seat did not look up at her. “I have sensed the evil power that once tore my world apart. Once again, one of my own has obtained forbidden strength. Great confusion riddles this world. It grows in the darkness and will soon consume everything. Now, coming to me, are those sent to destroy. A creature not of this world, and one who has tasted our power.”
Crimson approached, still recovering. “Sir. I don’t know what you are talking about?”
The man looked up, a sneer on his deep red face. “Whatever the schemes of the enemy are, I will not allow this.”
Fiero smiled. “Sir, you are right. I am not of this world. I am not technically human. But that doesn’t mean...”
“DO NOT TRY TO FOOL ME! I SENSE THE MAGIC OF MY KIND IN THAT ONE! HE ONLY PROVES THAT THIS IS A PLOY AGAINST ME!” He rose from his seat.
Crimson frowned. “Magic...in me?”
Fiero gasped. “The chocolate you ate! Did it come from that big egg?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. So?”
“EB made it. It was made by their magic.”
“Oh, crap.”
Fiero tried diplomacy one more time. “I don’t know what Jinn has told you, or what you are talking about. We are here to help.”
“I know nothing of this Jinn. I will not be made a fool. You, insignificant creatures, shall die!” He transformed into a large green serpent with feathers along his body.
Fiero jumped back while Crimson charged his arm cannon. The giant snake lashed at them, slamming Crimson against a far wall. The beam he shot before the attack missed and cut a long slice against the rock-face.
Fiero jumped and dodged to avoid being hit by the writhing tail. She then got a good grip on it and pulled the snake away from chomping down on Crimson. With a guttural scream, she punched the serpent in the face. In return, it whipped its body and slapped her away again.
Crimson came running at the serpent, firing wildly. It screamed as the disruptor blasts showered its body. Tumbling to the side, the serpent went down. Crimson stopped for a brief pause, but it was long enough to be ensnared by the serpent’s body. He gasped as the coiled snake held tight.
Fiero hit the serpent in the face with a blast of energy. It screamed again but did not let go of Crimson.
“WE CAN’T HURT HIM!” She yelled.
“Tell him that!” Crimson wheezed out.
Fiero flew up just in time to avoid the giant maw of the serpent. She flew left and right, dodging the quick strikes. He was huge, strong, fast, and seemingly immune to permanent damage. “I have to figure this out. I could go all in, but I don’t want to hurt him. But he will kill Crimson.” She said this to herself as she continued the dance with the angry snake.
“STOP MUTTERING AND DO SOMETHING! I’M GONNA BARF!” Crimson yelled while being slung left and right.
Fiero gasped and smiled. She gave the serpent a solid kick to the face and used the energy to dive backward, far enough away to give her time. She searched through her uniform and quickly found a small jade pendant. Quickly returning to the angry serpent, she held it up. “LOOK AT THIS!”
He yelled in fury, but then paused at the sight of the object. “Lord...Dragon?”
She nodded. “Lord Dragon gave me and my friend there his favor. We are not here to hurt you, we are here for your help. Please calm down and stop attacking.”
The Serpent spent a long moment looking intently at the medallion. Then, in a flash of light, he transformed into a human again. Crimson, halfway up to the ceiling while in the serpent's grasp, came crashing back down.
“OW!” Crimson yelled and almost sat up, then stopped and laid back down. “I’m gonna just...take a breather.”
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