I would make an excuse for why I haven't updated this story all summer, but I really don't have one. I'm not a big fan of this chapter/the previous one, but I had to finish it, so here it is. I may rewrite these two chapters in the future, or just delete them altogether. If I do, they will be posted on my livejournal account that I have created to store all of my neopets fanfiction, in case the site ever stops working or my stories all get deleted. You can find the link on my profile if you're interested. Hopefully the next few chapters will be better.

Unfortunately I can't say I'll be back to updating somewhat regularly again, because tomorrow I start university to get a Bachelor of Design in illustration. I'm not sure what the workload will be like, because I've never been to a university, and I'm not going to a regular university. However, the good news is that I have no classes on Thursdays all year, so I maybe be able to update some Thursdays if I'm not too busy. If you want to see my other neopets related stuff I have also put links to my neopets tumblr and deviantart account on my profile.

Anyways, enough rambling. Here is the chapter that too way too long to write. I hope you'll still enjoy it.

Hanso's Girl (Part 2)

"You're trying to convince me that a statue waltzed up behind us and knocked me out."

And so Hanso found himself in the hotel lobby at seven fifteen the next morning. Brynn was irritated with him for taking so long to get ready, and apparently Roxton was too.

"You two are late again." Roxton crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation.

"We would have been on time if somebody hadn't taken so long in the shower," Brynn glared at Hanso as she spoke.

"Brynn, it takes time to make hair look as good as mine does. It's all about the proper hair products, you see." He smiled at Brynn, hoping the joke would put her in a slightly better mood, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Well, now that Hanso has decided to grace us with his presence let's get going. Clara, lead the way." Roxton slung the backpack he had set on the floor over his shoulder. Beside him, Clara pulled a book out of her bag, and opened it.

"Based on the information that Brynn has given me, I suspect that the artefact is hidden somewhere in the tombs of Geraptiku. The smaller ones have all been explored before, but no one has tried setting foot in the largest one, yet ...that I know of. Therefore, the artefact will most likely be hidden in that one. If it weren't, it would have been discovered already. The hike there won't take us too long, but I'm not sure how long it will take us to explore the tombs. I've heard of pets being trapped in there for weeks, even years; many of them never returned."

"They're also full of traps," Roxton continued. But I suppose we can always send Hanso in first to set them all of for us..."

"No way. I'm not being sent first into a dark, creepy tomb again. I think it's Brynn's turn."

"You volunteered to go in first the last time we went into a tomb. Besides, whenever you're in dark places you 'explore' them by flailing your arms around! You'll set off all the traps regardless of who goes first, so we might as well make you the first person."

Hanso sighed. "I suppose I could take one for the team. But if I survive this you owe me, Brynn, I hope you realize that.

Having decided who would be sent first into the tomb, the group of neopets set off towards Geraptiku.

- x -

"The path splits of into two different directions," Hanso stopped walking, and announced to Clara, Brynn, Jordie, and Roxton; who were behind him. He had stayed true to his word and entered the tomb first. Thankfully they hadn't encountered any traps yet.

"Maybe this is a trap." Jordie peered into one of the tunnels. "Maybe if we go into one of the tunnels the floor will suddenly disappear and we'll fall into a huge hole. Then how are we going to get out?"

Clara consulted one of her books, and after flipping through a few pages she gave up, and decided that they would have to split up into two groups. "I'll explore the right tunnel with Brynn and Jordie, and you and Roxton can explore the left one. Is that all right?"

"I... I'd rather go with Brynn," Hanso said. "If that's okay with you, Clara." Brynn rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to him." Turning to Hanso, she said "How many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself? Clara and Jordie don't have weapons, so they need me to go with them. You have your dagger, you and Roxton will be fine together."

"But-"

"We are not going to argue about this. You are Roxton are going into the left tunnel together, and that's final. We're wasting time." She, Clara, and Jordie then entered the right tunnel. Hanso watched her walk further into the tunnel, and didn't turn back to Roxton until she had disappeared completely.

He knew she was capable of taking care of herself. She reminded him at every chance she got, after all. And if it weren't so easy to get lost in the tombs of Geraptiku, he would have been fine with being split up. Well, almost fine. Roxton was one of the last neopets he'd want to be stuck alone with, next to King Jazan. As he followed Roxton into the left tunnel he debated about which would be worse - being blasted by King Jazan, or stuck in a tomb forever with Roxton. At least he could annoy the former until his demise.

"Look-"

"Hanso, shut up. The less we talk to each other, the better. I'm no happier about this than you are." And with that they continued their exploration of the tomb in silence, broken only by their footsteps, and an odd, occasional guttural noise that seemed to be coming from somewhere in the walls. Their flashlights barely cut through the darkness.

- x -

An hour later, Hanso tried talking to Roxton again. "Um, I know you told me to shut up earlier, but-"

"What do you want, thief?"

"We've been going down these stairs for an hour now. Doesn't that strike you as a bit... strange?"

Roxton paused, and then nodded in agreement. "You have a point there. This has got to be the longest set of stairs in all of Neopia. I can't even see the bottom, can you?"

Behind them, the sound of stone scraping against stone could be heard. Hanso turned, hoping that the others had caught up with them, but all he could see were stairs. Roxton turned to investigate as well. The sound ceased, starting up again only when they were facing forward again.

"That's pretty weird as well," Hanso muttered. I have no idea what it is, but I don't particularly want to find out. Let's keep going."

"Maybe it was a door opening?" Roxton suggested. We could go back and check. We might even run into Clara, Jordie and Brynn."

Hanso shook his head. "I can still hear it, what kind of door takes that long to open?" The sound was getting louder, but Roxton still hadn't moved. Hanso briefly considered leaving him behind, but before something hard hit the back of his head before he could take another step. The last thing he felt before blacking out was Roxton grabbing hold of his coat.

- x -

"A statue. You're trying to convince me that a statue waltzed up behind us and knocked me out." When Hanso had regained consciousness, he found himself with Roxton in a large chamber lit by a few torches mounted on the walls. Roxton was currently trying to convince him that a statue had brought them here.

"It was being controlled by some sort of voodoo! It knocked you out, but before I could get a good look it knocked me out as well, and then it must have brought us here." He had a serious expression on his face, and Hanso noticed that somehow Roxton had not lost his hat during all of this.

"Roxton, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. It couldn't have brought us here. Do you know why?" He gestured to the walls surrounding them, and then yelled "Because they're aren't any fucking doors!"

"Holy shit, calm down! Do you want it to come back here and hit us again?"

"Stop making shit up! You know what I think? I think you knocked me out so that you could drag me back upstairs to see what that noise was. I don't know what happened after that, but somehow we ended up here."

"What the fuck would I do that for? I'm not lying about the statue. I know it sounds like I've gone crazy, but I'm being serious!"

"Whatever." Hanso replied. He leaned back against the wall, trying to figure out how he could get out of the room. If he spent any more time with Roxton he was going to lose it. "You know what? You're the most arrogant, annoying neopet I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, and I thought I was bad. Fyora, I can't imagine how Clara must feel about dealing with you; I don't even know why Brynn puts up with me sometimes."

He fell silent, and after a moment of hesitation Roxton sat down next to him.

"You're worried about her, aren't you?"

"I'm sure she's fine." He stuck his hands in his coat pocket, and to his dismay he found that his both his flashlight and his dagger were missing. He must have dropped them after being knocked out by Roxton... or whatever it was that had knocked him out. He still wasn't sure if he should believe the lutari.

"Maybe it was a good thing that she went with Clara and Jordie after all. If the statue tries to attack them, she has her sword with her."

"How are they going to find us? I mean, if they do get the artefact, how are they going to know where to look for us? Hell, we don't even know where we are or how we got here. I... I didn't even say goodbye to her. We've been arguing with each other all day."

"You two must be really close friends," Roxton said.

"More than friends," Hanso admitted.

The lutari turned to look at Hanso. "What do you mean by that? You... are you and Brynn... together?"

He nodded. "We... wanted to keep it a secret. Technically I'm a hero now and neopets are starting to realize that I am good, but there are still plenty of neopets out there who hate me. You, for example. And some of them... probably wouldn't mind seeing me dead. I've done things that I'm not proud of..." He trailed off, but continued again after a few minutes. "I just don't think most neopets would approve of Brynn and I being together. We saved Faerieland together, but at the end of the day she's Captain of the Faerieland Guard, and I'm some thief who couldn't be trusted until the very end of things."

"How long have you been together? Romantically, that is."

"Three years. I was thinking of proposing to her at the end of this year, but... that doesn't look like it's going to happen now, is it? We're stuck."

"You'll see her again. We'll see everybody again. There has to be some way out of here. A Colchester never gives up!" Roxton stood up, and began to examine one of the walls. "Hey, did you notice these markings earlier?"

"They're probably just decorative," Hanso replied, tracing one of the designs with his index finger. He stopped when it began to glow, and slowly back away from the wall. "Uh, Roxton?"

"Yes?" The lutari was too preoccupied with another wall to notice the glowing design.

"One of the markings is glowing."

By the time Roxton had come over to investigate several other markings had begun to glow as well. The sound of stone being scraped started up again, and the both of them cast a nervous glance behind themselves. "The statue must be coming back Roxton whispered. It's going to finish us off!"

"There is no statue!" One of the stones making up the wall opposite of them had begun to slowly slide forward. Hanso pointed to it. "It's just a stone."

"The statue is moving the stone. That's how it got us in here."

The stone fell to the floor with a thud, and was soon followed by another three stones, creating a hole in the wall. Hanso walked over to get a better look at what was on the other side, followed by Roxton who was babbling about how the statue was going to climb through the hole.

"I don't see anything," Hanso said, sticking his head into the hole. "I reckon we could climb through it, though." Removing his head from the hole, he looked back at Roxton. "What do you think?" When the explorer didn't respond, Hanso grabbed his wrist, and began to drag him towards the hole. "Since I went first last time, you can go first this time."

"What? No! It was your idea, you go in first."

"I don't think so," Hanso responded. He watched as the lutari reluctantly began to climb through the hole, which was just big enough for him to fit. Hanso figured he'd had an easier time, since he was somewhat skinnier than Roxton. Living on the streets of Brightvale for a few years had its benefits.

- x -

Once Roxton was through the hole, Hanso climbed in after him. It wasn't until he set his down on the floor that he realized it was covered with small bones. Piles of them.

"Pleasant in here, isn't it?" Roxton said sarcastically. At least the other room didn't have bones... though this is more of a hallway, I suppose."

"It reminds me of the catacombs in Neopia Central," Hanso replied. "The public areas are bone-free, but once you get deeper it's like a mass grave. There's a reason why it's illegal to explore anything beyond the areas open to the public..."

"So what were you doing down there? I didn't think you were the grave-robbing type."

"Brynn and I were artefact hunting, of course. We had a guide who maps out the catacombs for a living with us, and Fyora gave us the order so technically it was legal..." The bones crunched underfoot as they made their way through the hall.

"I really hope the Jordie and the girls were able to find the artefact. I haven't seen any sign of it. Then again, you're supposed to be the artefact expert."

"Honestly I don't really care about the artefact anymore," Hanso admitted. "I just want to find Brynn and the others." They turned a corner as he spoke, and after entering a doorway they found themselves face to face with Brynn, Clara, and Jordie, all of whom were completely soaked.

"Well that was easier than I thought it would be," Clara said after a few minutes of stunned silence. "We found the artefact pretty quickly, but we thought it would take us ages to find you guys again."

"You found the artefact?" Roxton repeated.

"I found it!" Jordie piped up. "It was on a pedestal, and I was the first one to touch it!"

"Of course once he picked it up the whole room started to flood with water," Brynn added. "If Clara hadn't found a secret door way we would have drowned."

"The one time a pedestal holding an artefact is booby-trapped and I miss it. Of course," Hanso joked. He then pulled her into a hug, despite the fact that her clothes were still wet. "I'm glad you aren't hurt, though."

"And I'm glad you're not stuck hopelessly wandering around the tomb, flailing your arms about like an idiot," she teased.

Roxton was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Was all of this really necessary? "Couldn't they at least wait until they got out of the tomb to start acting sappy?" he muttered to Clara.

"I think it's cute. You're just jealous because you wish you had somebody like that."

Jordie then interrupted their argument by yelling "Ew, they're kissing! Make them stop!"

Clara chuckled. "Jordie's right, you two. You should probably save that for when we get out of the tomb.

"How are we going to get out of here? They path we're on leads to the flooded room you three just escaped, and Roxton and I just came from a room with only one way out."

"If there's only one way out then how did you two end up there in the first place?" Brynn asked.

"A statue brought us there!" Clara, Jordie, and Brynn exchanged confused looks.

"What?!

"What?"

"What."

"It's a long story..."

- x -

Roxton would later claim that how the group got out of the tomb was a long story as well, and that it involved Jordie, several belts, a bra, and Clara's stack of books, but in reality the group of neopets just wandered down a the hallway some more until they found a door leading them out of the tomb. He would also claim that he was actually exploring with Brynn and Clara and that Hanso had been with Jordie the whole time, but Roxton often... embellished stories of his adventures. (Why do you think he got more credit for his last two adventures than Clara and Lillian combined, hmm?)

As for the others, Brynn and Hanso departed for Faerieland to bring the artefact back to Queen Fyora - after a much-needed rest in their hotel room. Brynn promised Jordie that they would visit again, and Jordie promised he would keep quiet about Hanso and Brynn's relationship. (A promise he would forget a week later)

"Spending time with Hanso wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, was it?" Clara asked Roxton as they watched the boat depart Mystery island's harbour.

"I still don't like him," Roxton said. He felt like the time he'd spent with Hanso in the tomb should have changed something. Like being forced to work with him would have changed Roxton's views and made Hanso likeable, or at least tolerable. But in the end Hanso was still more popular than Roxton. He had found someone that cared for him, and despite his annoying attitude and the things Hanso had done in his past, he was happy. Unlike Roxton.

"I still think you're jealous," Clara replied.

And maybe he was.