Unveiling
Chapter 3
The soothing hum of the Keronian ship, under cloak, soared over the Pacific Ocean. Two hours had passed since the departure from Japan, and the crew was busy with tasks to obtain the thirteen skulls. Fuyuki was in his quarters reading a book about the Mayan temples, and Tamama was watching a movie and eating chips (wait that has nothing to do with the mission) in Keroro's qurters. Giroro was inventorying the weapons in the weapons bay, while Dororo, with his mask off, was meditating in his room. The green Sargent was sitting at a table with the yellow Sargent Major discussing matters concerning the skulls. With his black beady eyes, Keroro looked to Kururu with fear.
"Are you sure about this?" the Sargent asked.
"Kuku... Who is to really say; it is a legend after all," the yellow frog replied.
The green frog's brow twitched. Pressing a button, his voice was heard throughout the ship, "Emergency meeting, all please come to the conference room at once."
Tamama, with his bag of chips, and Fuyuki, with his book in his hands, were first to the meeting and greeted the Sargent and Sargent Major. Giroro was making his way from the weapons bay and passed by Diroro's quarters. He heard chanting from the room; Giroro knocked. Inside, Dororo snapped out of his meditation. He looked down at his mask contemplating on showing his friend the truth or not. 'Not just yet' the ninja thought and placed it back around his mouth. As Dororo opened the door, his powder blue eyes met with the gazed of the red corporal's onyx eyes.
"Giroro?" the ninja blushed.
"Didn't you hear the announcement?" the corporal asked.
"Apparently not," scratching the back of his head, "Sorry."
Smirking the red frog slightly bared his fangs, "Ahh... It is ok. I know how you get when you meditate."
The Lance Corporal lowered his gaze after he glanced at his friend's smirk. "Shall we?" he whispered, while closing his door.
Looking at his team member, Giroro noticed his friend's discomfort. "You know... You didn't have to come if you really didn't want to." Patting Dororo on his back, the Corporal knew how much his friend loved the planet, and the mission was against the ninja's better judgment.
Turning to Giroro, Dororo patted his platoon mate on the shoulder, "It is not that, I... I will tell you later. We have a meaning to get to." And with that, the blue ninja headed off to the meeting.
Following after his friend, Giroro pondered on the last line Dororo said. 'I will tell later.' He wondered what Dororo wanted to tell him. Shrugging it off, he hurried to the meeting. The last seat was between Kururu and Dororo. It was better than sitting next to the Sargent; having somebody in between the green leader and him was the wall of protection. As he took his seat, Giroro gave a concerning glance at Dororo. Kururu notice the gesture and gave a little chuckle. Then Keroro looked at the group and cleared his through.
"Ehm... Good to see everyone here. Now straight to business. We will be arriving to our first temple in just about an hour or so. It seems that we over looked a small detail. As Kururu was looking over the literature, he discovered more to the legend. It turns out that we may encounter the Wares." the Sargent paused. Everyone just stared at him except Kururu. Fuyuki was flipping through his book; page after page he searched the book. The pekoponian boy did not find any legend of the Wares.
"Nowhere in my book does it mention the Wares. Are you sure about this Sarge?" Fuyuki asked.
"According to the Sargent Major, the Wares are not mentioned in any know literature written today. However, Kururu discovered the legend while studying the inscriptions of the temples we are going to search. Now considering it is a legend, I am not too worried about the Wares." Keroro waved his hand to reassure his platoon.
"But, aren't legends based off of some form of true?" the concerned ninja questioned.
"Gero?... Where did you come from?" Keroro stared at his Lance Corporal in confusion.
"Wha...?" and then the forgotten blue frog's trauma switch was triggered. A dark aura enveloped him, and he balled up in the chair.
Giroro growled at his leader and balled up his fist, "Dororo has been here the whole time, and you just KNOW noticed he was here?" The Corporal looked to his sadden blue friend then back to the simpleton leader. "And you call him your friend after all these years." Giroro placed a comforting hand on Dororo's shoulder as he bared his fangs at Keroro. From a loathing gaze at his leader, the red frog looked to the blue frog. Dororo looked up at Giroro and smiled wiping tears from face and blushing.
"Thanks Giroro" the ninja whispered.
"Don't mention it... NOW!" Turning his head toward his leader, "This legend... Who or what are these Wares and do they oppose a threat to us?"
Kururu stood up, pressed a button, and a large computer screen descended from the ceiling. A drawing of a human in sequence displayed the transformation in to a panther. "Kuku... These Wares are an ancient race of pekoponians with the ability to transform into a animal called the black panther. It is said the Wares are formidable fighters. With the ability to transform, this race could easily prowl the forests, and if they feel the intruders are a threat, they attack. However, the race was supposedly wiped out nearly a thousand years ago. A few sighting have been recorded after the race had been declared extinguished from adventurers who tried to obtain artifacts from the temples. The last attempt to collect some rare artifacts was ten years ago, and the adventurers came back with delusions of people turning into panthers." finishing his little speech, Kururu pressed the button again and the screen rose back up into the ceiling. "Well I'm all done here...kuku... I will take my leave and be on the bridge."
"So ... All we have to is defeat these Wares?" the red Corporal replied.
"But Sarge, if these people still exist, shouldn't we stop this trip before it goes too far?" Fuyuki asked.
"Oh Fuyuki...like Kururu said, it has been ten years since the last sighting. So I am sure everything will be fine." Keroro scratched his head.
"Tch... A bunch of kitty cats uh? I doubt they are a match for me." Giroro smirked.
"But they are protecting their treasure from intruders like us." Dororo stated, "I do not wish to steal from the Wares."
"Where is your adventurous spirit? I was hoping to share in the fun with my adventure buddy." Giroro smiled patting Dororo on the back. Then he bent closer the ninja's ear and whispered, "Besides, one sign of danger and Keroro will want to turn back."
Dororo nodded. "All right, I will do it." placing his hand on top of Giroro's, which was resting on the table. Then Giroro blushed.
Finishing up his chips, "I will go anywhere Sarge goes." Tamama beamed.
"As long as we don't do anything to upset the Wares." Fuyuki said timidly.
"All right then, it is a go." the excited green frog hopped up on the table and laughed, "Gero Gero Gero... Those thirteen skulls will soon be ours." Just as Keroro was ablaze with excitement, the intercom screeched.
"Kuku... We will be landing in about fifteen minutes at Yucatán, Mexico, the Temple of Kukulkan." Kururu announced.
(The places mentioned in the story are real. The legend of the Crystal Skulls is mixed with myth and my own imagination.)