Chapter 14: Harrowing in the Haunted Tombs

Upon entering the portal to the Haunted Tombs there was nothing but black and blue skies. No landmarks, no clouds, it was all an empty void as far out as the eye could see. Even with the stone enclosure they were approaching, the place had a hostile air to it, and Alex let out a slight gulp. There was one hole in the enclosure that they were just able to slip through, and they landed inside of the tomb safely.

Torches along the walls kept the sights alit, revealing numerous hieroglyphs on the stone pillars, a trembling gold sarcophagus, and a door marked with an orange ankh. Alex closed his eyes once he lazily sight-seed and sighed.

"A Chinese factory, Greek ruins, and an Egyptian tomb? Pretty diverse for a fantasy world…" Spyro looked back with a curious glance.

"What are you talking about?" Alex widened his eyes and murmured hesitantly as his glance erratically moved about, but Shina's clap put an end to that.

"Oh! It's just some terms from our world!" Her timely jump into the conversation got the dragon nodding his head acceptingly, and he focused back on what's ahead. Shina looked to Alex with a chuckle, but he just lowered his head and let out a humph with cheeks looking a little pink.

The three looked at a mysterious purple dog, who wore a white pharaoh's cap and skirt along with some golden jewelry. His eyes were closed, and not even his chest moved. Spyro tilted his head and nudged the chest of the dog with a horn.

"Uhhh…are you ali-"

"WELCOME!" The dog came to life in good cheer, and Spyro leaped back in a heartbeat.

"H-Huh…! So you're not dead!"

"Of course not! I'm quite young in dog years I'll have you know." His voice was very stoic yet dignified, and it had a slight Egyptian accent. While Shina snuck behind the dog, Alex forced his driest smirk ever while saying hesitantly "…You don't look a day over 40?" The dog's face squinted into a subdued glare towards him after.

"For YOUR sake, I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Beyond some fur standing up on his neck, he was unaware of Shina kneeling behind him as he went on to mention "Now then, if you're willing to brave the dangers of our ancient tomb and solve our riddle, we can offer you our greatest treasure. The riddle is-oh…ohohohohoho!" While he suddenly broke into a giggle fit, Spyro let out a confused murmur while Alex saw that Shina was scratching all over the dog's back.

"Shina!" The girl perked her head up and looked at Alex, saying with her usual innocence "What? I thought he was an animatronic!" Alex gave her a glare, and she after waving her hands she stood up. The dog caught his breath then twisted his head back as much as his spine would allow to follow Shina with his own piercing glare.

"As I was saying…My riddle is…'I am a vessel without hinges, lock or lid, yet within my walls, a golden treasure is hid. What am I?"

"A Dragon Egg." Alex's immediate response made the dog hunch forward with his face contorting in teeth gritting irritation, only for him to pull back and take a deep breath before saying "Ah, but an answer is nothing without solving the trials of this-" Alex snapped his fingers and a staircase made of stone appeared behind the dog, and it led to another dog on a ledge.

"Alright, lets go guys." Alex puts his hands in his pockets and advanced towards the staircase, with Shina shaking her head with fingers on her forehead while Spyro cracked a smile.

"Nothing like a good shortcut!"

The dog, who had been hunched over for the last few seconds, broke his silence with a sharp turnaround and a clap of his hands, a frustrated doggy growl coming out as a stone slab dropped from the ceiling and blocked the ledge. As Alex looked back, Shina held a hand to her lips and said playfully "Uh Oh!"

While Spyro was handling the angered expression, Alex laid a hand on the wall and tried to make it budge to no avail, which led to him gritting his teeth and swinging a fist out beside his body as he once more faced the dog.

"Alright mutt, what sorcery is this?!" The dog grinned behind his almost glued together paws, blowing away all pretenses of stoic to deliver his menacing stare.

"Perhaps I did not make myself clear…Do the trials, or face the consequences." Spyro puffed some flames out and smirked in response.

"I'm feeling pretty hungry right now. Can't say I ever had a hot dog before!" Spoken with the utmost bluntness, not even that was enough to make the dog flinch.

"You're brave, young dragon, but lets see that bravery survive when I've shown you the full force of my ancient Egyptian magic!" Shina finally put on a shocked expression and swerved her head back.

"Alex, I don't think we have time to go to the Shadow Realm. Can we NOT escalate this forward?" Her plea was an earnest one, a little joking sprinkled in sure, but it was enough to ease some of the anger on Alex's face. He unfurled his fist and grumbled "The universe is just conspiring to drag this out, isn't it?" while looking at the dog.

"Fine, we'll do your silly trials." He begrudgingly pushed the stairs back into the ground and made his way towards the ankh door, and the dog put on a smile while clapping his hands to open the way for the group.

"Splendid, splendid! Have fun now, and don't go running into trouble!" The dog gave a wave that was mocking, but Alex's responded by casually swinging his right hand up and displacing the floor beneath their feet so they were knocked onto their back. The door slammed shut right after, and Alex grumbled while following his allies down the stairs. Shina looked back, her lips curled into a curious pucker.

"Probably could've handled that better Alex…" Alex lifted his head up and with some irritation in his glare he replied "You can't tell me you're not getting tired of this."

"W-Well…" Shina scratched her head with a nervous grin, following up after a giggle "I don't really care much for this place. I mean what's there to look at? Rocks, darkness, more rocks, some mummies, a giant rock snake…" Alex heard her out until some giant brown bandaged mummies got his attention, where he then lifted his burning hand up and launched an exploding fireball to take it out. He then looked at the scenery and saw more of same things he saw in the first room, just arranged at different elevations and a river flowing through the middle of it all.

"I'm surprised you have it in you to dislike something."

Shina looked Alex in the eyes, stammering "W-Well I mean, no one can like EVERYTHING there is out there. I dislike brussel sprouts, for example! And you dislike…" before giving an encouraging gesture.

"Wasting time here." Was the answer given quite bluntly, but as Alex smiled with some pride Shina just shook her head and let out a prolonged sigh.

"Now you know that's not fair, come on." She said with a frivolous grin. Alex pocketed his hands and with a slight hunch forward mumbled "D-Don't laugh, but…I'm not a big fan of mountain goats" then looked aside with a blush in his cheeks. Shina blinked a little and hunched her face before a hand to keep her smile concealed.

"Alright, you can tell me more about that later." She then turned ahead and kept a steady pace forward, keeping up the purple dragon as he passed through a room where boulders fell from the dark ceiling and crumbled out of existence upon impact. Alex blinked a little and thought "Geez, didn't even realize we got this far. It's almost as if talking with Shina makes this more tolerable." He widened his eyes and with a blush looked aside.

"N-Not that I'd ever actually admit that…" With a shake of his head he kept up with his comrades as they moved on through the dullard sights of this rocky tomb, though Spyro was able to find a Dragon Egg upon one of the ledges along the way. On the way down though he let out a yawn and turned to Sparx.

"Hey buddy, how you holding up?" His lips smacked and his voice was partially tired, but the dragonfly spun around full of energy and cheerful buzzes.

"I'm a bit envious. Maybe we should get some of that magic and switch bodies for a day." The dragonfly shook his head and let out a couple distressed buzzes, Shina looking at him and asking "Oh I wish I could understand what you were saying Sparx." She then rested a hand upon her chest while holding another out, protruding a familiar air around her that led Alex to groan before she began.

"Alas, to be a dragonfly. So whimsical, so sly. To fly through the air so freely…Humble dragonfly, won't thou speak to me?" Her elegy ended with her holding a hand out with a welcoming smile, and with a couple happy buzzes Sparx flew besides Shina's ear and spoke for a little. His wings fluttered her hair aside for his safety, and she nodded while murmuring a few things in an intrigued tone. While those two went at it, Alex looked to Spyro with something on his mind.

"Hey, does Sparx sound clear when he speaks to you?"

"Nah, we've just learned to communicate over the years." Spyro's answer was direct yet had a hint of nostalgia. He looked to his friend as he flew away from Shina and back to his side, with the girl giggling as she had no subtly in glancing at Alex. Even he could see something was up.

"Heeeey, what exactly did he say?"

"Oh nothing, nothing." Shina twirled innocently around and then went deeper into the tomb with Spyro while Alex's mind was plagued with ideas of what the dragonfly might have said, none of them flattering. Along the way, there was a portal to the right in the center of a mausoleum entrance. Alex and Spyro paused between the steps to that and some going further into the tomb.

"Might be an Egg there." The two spoke together, sharing a glance while Shina earnestly chuckle and said "Guess we can split up here. See ya guys at the end!" She swiftly sprinted up the other stairs, the two she left sharing a puzzled glance before nevertheless walking into the portal.

All by her lonesome, Shina finally reached the chamber that she saw from the beginning of the tomb, a lone dog standing there waiting with a smile on his face.

"Ah welcome! You managed to survive the trials of the tomb! I'm quite sorry our partner's behavior. He is a real son of his mother that one…" After an embarrassed sigh the dog perked up and continued "I heard that boy answer the riddle already, but for the sake of tradition…'I am a vessel without hinges, lock or lid, yet within my walls, a golden treasure is hid. What am I?'"

"A Dragon Egg!" Shina perkily replied, the dog clapping for a few seconds before he swung a paw against his forehead and moved to take his hat off, a Dragon Egg hid underneath.

"Thank goodness! Now I can finally retire to the Spooky Swamps! It feels like I've been in this place forever! I will never forget this…" The pleased pooch gestured for an answer, Shina replying "Shina Aurora good sir!" a thumb pointed at herself.

"Very well! Perhaps I shall meet you again someday, Shina Aurora." The dog then ran through a nearby portal while the egg hatched in front of her. All alone, she held her arms back and stretched her body forward, letting out a sigh as her expression looked a little melancholy.

"Geez, what are you doing Shina…? You're letting this world get the better of you." She looked back at a nearby Agent 9 portal, cracking a wide genuine smile as her eyes twinkled.

"I mean it's sooooo much fun to be here, but…" Closing her eyes with restraint caused her to see Kairi standing in front of her with such smile on her that as a big sister, was the thing that inspired her the most. Opening her eyes, Shina reached for her pocket and murmured "…I can't forget my priorities" while pulling out the note her mother gave her. Looking at the bottom, she focused on a line that she hadn't told Alex about.

"Your first step should be to explore the land of dragons…A clue will be there if you can exercise patience. Beyond that, the aura will be your guide."

After a close examination of the note, Shina held it against her chest and whispered "For the sake of our happiness as a family, I'll make this right…Mom, sis…" The note was put away, and Shina ran into the Agent 9 portal while thinking "Two worlds left, then we can confront the Sorceress."

On the other side, Shina ended up in a tunneled cavern with some electrical walls splitting it all up. More importantly though, Agent 9 was there, cocking his laser gun at a dog with trembling knees.

"Aaaaaaalright you mangy mutt! I'm giving you 'til the count of three before I set my blaster from stun…to kill." The dog had the tip of the blaster on his forehead and could only focus on it.

"I-I'm telling you! You cannot fix your tail unless you complete the trials!"

"3...2..." As the trigger was tugged, Shina got beside Agent 9 and announced her presence with a fantastical "Hello!" The monkey stopped and looked to her with a grin.

"Oh hello again strange gunner gal! Wish I could talk but this MUTT has cursed my tail to turn into a snake…and now it demands REVENGE!" The dog gulped a mouthful of saliva.

"Y-You can't even do the trials without handling my riddle you unevolved lunatic! 'I follow you wherever you go, but the more of me you take, the more you leave behind'! It's simple!"

"Those are footsteps, right?" Shina gestured out, the dog looking to her with face frozen stiff in a mixture of surprise and fright.

"C-Correct!" He meekly spoke, and Shina smiled to him and asked "If I helped Agent 9 out, would that be ok? I mean, he just has to get through the trials to stop the curse right?"

"Well, the trials aren't picky…I suppose we can allow that. Not that this primate will learn anything from it." The dog's forehead is prodded by the tip of the blaster while Agent 9 exclaimed "Yap yap yap! All that matters is getting my tail back to normal, so open up!" With a pitiful whimper followed by a clap, the dog opened the electric gates.

"Thaaaaaat's more LIKE IT! Alright gun gal, lets blast through these trials! Whoop, whoop!" The monkey pumped his fist while walking down into a small arena filled with sarcophaguses, Shina activating her Gunslinger Drive as she followed. After five rooms of mummies that stood NO chance, the two end up finding a Dragon Egg near a portal and nothing else.

"WHAT?! This was a rip-off, a sham! There's no curse cure here! Just another stinkin' egg!" The monkey swung his fist into the sky and continued furiously and dramatically "Curse you pharaoh dogs! Curse YOUUUUU!" After watching the egg hatch, Shina looked back at the monkey and couldn't help but giggle.

"You could always go find Bianca. Maybe she'd know a spell to stop the curse." The monkey raised his eyebrows and said with some puzzlement "That loony bunny working for the Sorceress? What, ya saying she's on our side now?"

"Yeah! She shouldn't be hard to find!" Those optimistic words got the monkey nodding his head and slapping his knee in joy, and with a bulging of his eyes he responded "I'll get RIGHT on that! Thanks for your help gun gal, catch ya later!" He then broke into a sprint and left the room, Shina joining him not long after. Alex and Spyro had already returned by that time, and having gotten everything else in the realm they left through the portal to Midnight Mountain…

Next Time: The New Age of Dinos