A/N: I have two more chapters in reserve to post, so expect updates all this week. I would post them all in one lump but I've found when other authors do that I have a tendency to miss chapters and get confused. Which is another reason for putting the posted date here so you can track where you got to the last time you checked! Posted 11/07/2017.
Mutt jerked awake and immediately groaned. The first light of dawn was colouring the sky on the horizon, when he knew that it had been fully dark when he last remembered being coherent. By his estimation he must have slept at least two hours, and had left the camp completely exposed.
However a short distance from him Indiana sat upright, still staring ahead.
"You would have dealt with any problems though," Mutt muttered.
He was unsurprised when he failed to get an answer, and instead he focused on trying to work the kink out of his neck. It was only as he finished stretching the rest of his spine and arms that Mutt realized they weren't the only two awake. On the other side of Indy, hidden by the stronger and taller frame of the man, was Oxley.
"Morning Ox," Mutt called quietly.
"Through eyes at last I saw in tears," Oxley replied with a gesture in the direction Indiana was staring in.
Mutt turned around, and although he had to squint a little to see through the gloom of the morning he could see a faint outline of a rocky outcrop with a waterfall.
"Is that the entrance?" Mutt asked.
He was surprised when both archaeologists nodded in agreement.
"Well that solves a few questions, but does throw up a whole heap of problems," Mutt said.
The three of them watched the sun rise and the world brighten, eager to see what new details would be uncovered by the light. When the sun was fully above the horizon Mutt started to rouse the others so that they could set off quickly.
"The entrance to Akator is through that waterfall there," Mutt told them all once everyone was awake and alert.
"How can you tell," Havok asked as he stifled a huge yawn.
"Two things. One, both Oxley and Indy have been staring up there for the last three hours or so," Mutt started and nodded towards the pair. "And two Ox repeated the 'through eyes at last I saw in tears'. And it looks like a skull so how much more convenient could it get?"
"We'll have to swim over, then climb up," Erik noted as he searched the banks for an easy access to their goal.
"There is probably a safer way, that water is way too fast for Ox to have swum over the first time," Mutt said.
And whilst everyone was searching for answers he quickly walked over to Oxley and Indy. Indy had moved a bit that morning, eating the food given to him and helping pack up equipment as Marion asked. But Oxley had pretty much stayed where he was, staring up at the skull-like rock formation.
"Oxley? Ox?" Mutt tried to get his attention.
After a pause Oxley did turn to look at him, so Mutt seized his chance. "How did you get there Ox? Can you show us?"
Mutt couldn't help but grin as their oldest teammate struggled to his feet and started wandering along the shoreline towards the huge waterfalls. Indy followed without hesitation, and Mutt trecked along in their footprints. They were a good twenty metres away before anyone noticed their absence.
"Mutt, where are you guys off to?" Havok called.
"Ox knows the way in, he's been there before. So I asked him to show me," Mutt called back without breaking his stride.
Soon all of them were easily following the slow progress of Oxley as he led them on a seemingly winding and pointless route. However they slowly inched around the river to the waterfalls, where many expected them to stop. However Oxley forged onwards through the torrent and disappeared. It was only as they moved through the almost unbearably strong downward torrent that the pathway beyond became obvious. It was precarious and slime covered, but there was a rough trail that rambled upwards behind the falls.
Even Erik and Havok were feeling the strain of the climb up and the constant wrenching as their feet occasionally slid out from underneath them. They stopped at least three times before they actually got out from under the waterfall to the small island where the rock skull jutted out between the falls. From their vantage point above it the group marveled at the view given to them of the miles of undisturbed jungle. However they didn't rest for long, for as soon as Oxley was ready to go again he forged on, scrabbling down the cliff easily down to the mouth of the skull. Mutt made sure to go next to make sure that the archaeologist didn't disappear off before the entire group was together again.
"Look at these paintings," Mystique called once she had made it into the passage of the mouth. Mutt was preoccupied checking Oxley was alright so he hadn't explored, but once everyone was together they stopped to see what she had pointed out.
"It's too dark to really appreciate them," Charles said sadly.
"Hang on," Marion rummaged through her backpack until she pulled out a couple of flashlights. "There should be a few in each of these bags I would have thought, it would be stupid to go anywhere without one."
"Good thinking Mom," Mutt grinned as he dug through his pack.
With multiple torches shining on each panel the group could finally see what had been painted. The colours were vibrant and crisp, as if they had been painted just a year ago.
"I thought El Dorado was an ancient city, long lost?" Havok asked as he stared at the mural of a group of humans worshipping their sun god.
"It was ancient, and it was lost. But maybe not to those who already lived there?" Charles suggested.
"And apparently it might not be lost to us for too much longer," Erik said as he quickly dashed to catch up with the two men who hadn't stopped to look at the paintings.
There were numerous pathways and routes leading off of the route they took, and more than once someone in the group stopped to look down one or another. However Oxley never hesitated and continued to lead them down a specific route.
"Something doesn't feel right," Erik muttered to Charles as they moved ever onward.
"How so?" Charles said mildly.
Erik knew that although the telepath seemed to be paying little heed to his warning, Erik knew that Charles was focussing hard on everything around them.
"It feels like we are being watched and followed, I can't shake this feeling that there's eyes on us," he replied as he glanced around.
"That's because we are."
"Well that's not reassuring," Erik hissed.
"I'm keeping tabs of them," Charles pointed out. "So far they are just following us and sticking in the shadows. They aren't happy we are here though so get ready."
"Anything I can work with?" With anyone else it would have been a vague question, but both knew the meaning in the words.
"They don't use metal, despite supposedly having advanced technology they aren't beyond the stone age level. Some are wearing metal in jewellery but nothing more," Charles reported.
"Well I have bullets," Erik unconsciously shoved a hand into his pocket to grab the clip of projectiles.
"We don't want to start a massacre, if it truly looks like they are going to win then it might be worth it," Charles said quickly. "But let's try to get through without violence to start, then let me try my way before we start killing innocents."
"How are they innocent if they attack us?" Erik whispered.
"This is there home, they've probably not seen an outsider before. They are just going to be defensive of their land from invaders," Charles pointed out.
The men that were following them didn't appear fully until they were emerging from the cave system into the daylight again. And the first warning they had that their pursuers were emerging was a strange whistling sound. Charles and Erik turned around with no small feeling of trepidation to see some heavily muscled men smeared in white clay, twirling what looked like rocks wrapped with vines. The weapon looked primitive but Charles didn't want to see how effective they were.
"Run!" he shouted, and thankfully everyone did.
They burst out into the sunlight as one large group, and at first some of them had to halt as the bright light of the sun dazzled their gloom-adjusted eyes. However Oxley and Indy had continued to charge ahead down the wide stone staircase, so the others found themselves having to dash to catch up with them.
At the bottom of the stairs was a large flat expanse of grass that gave them a great view of all the hundreds of tribesmen charging towards them. A few of the weapons twirled by the men behind them whizzed past their heads, making an ominous sound as the stones clacked together.
Soon they were huddled in a group, with the teeming mass of angry locals surrounding them and brandishing a variety of weapons.
"Oxley how did you get through the first time!" Marion shouted.
"Do something Ox!" Mutt hollered a second after.
"Indy!" Mystique called out too.
Charles grabbed Erik as he saw the other mutant reach for his pocket. "Remember what we agreed?"
"Sorry, but you've got to act fast on this one," Erik replied as he raised his hands in surrender, both to Charles and to the tribesmen that were now aiming spears at their throats.
"There's a lot more people here than I thought, this won't be easy," Charles grimaced.
"Well don't knock them out, make them lose sight of us or something," Erik suggested warily.
The two were still bickering over the most feasible illusion when suddenly the warriors around them started to drop to their knees. Like a ripple going outwards all the people surrounding them slowly dropped and lowered their weapons.
And then above the low murmuring of the crowd a loud voice spoke out. Charles and Erik whirled around in time to see what exactly had caused the halt in proceedings.
Indiana stood facing towards the huge pyramid structure ahead of them, and towards the largest portion of the warriors surrounding them. In his right hand was grasped the crystal skull, removed from the sack it had been shoved in to for the first time in a week. The light glinted through it and seemed to burn around the eye sockets. He was also the one shouting something in a completely foreign language. It made no sense to the group, but apparently it made sense to the locals as they shuffled backwards to give them space. A wide pathway started to be formed between the men as well, giving them free access through the centre of the city to the pyramid.
Oxley fearlessly carried on walking as if there was no problem, and that they weren't surrounded by hundreds of angry warriors. Indy followed behind, the skull still held above his head as if to keep on giving the locals the message. Mutt, Marion, Havok, and Mystique followed on in a huddle, leaving the last two to catch up and bring up the rear.
"What just happened?" Erik asked the group.
"Whilst you two were bickering back there Oxley came through and gave the skull to Indy," Mystique started.
"Like before they seemed to have a silent conversation and Indy took control," Mutt added.
"I have no idea what language he was speaking though, and I doubt he did either. I guess it was their language," Marion nodded towards the tribesmen cautiously following them at a safe distance. "But how Indy knew it I have no idea."
"Maybe the skull told him," Havok gave the object an uneasy glance.
"Either way, perhaps it would be best to not look at it," Charles said quickly.
After that they saved their breath for climbing the steep steps. Around them they could see many structures, some chanelling water like streams between what could have been houses. Fields were unmistakably established further down the hidden valley they had found. And although there were a few pyramidal structures, the one they were climbing was the largest by far, and had some kind of obelisk at the top.
The warriors halted at the bottom step and seemed reluctant to climb the pyramid, which gave them a bit of a breather. However none of them felt happy enough to stop and rest for overly long, in case the men below found their bravery and decided to follow them. Surprisingly the six of them found it almost impossible to keep up with Oxley and Indy anymore, and the two were forging ahead to the top.
"Where did he just find his energy from?" Havok panted as he paused to wipe sweat from his forehead.
"I don't know, I would have thought he would be boiling in that poncho in this weather," Mutt grumbled as he fought to keep his leather jacket on in the humid air.
"Maybe they both know they are nearly at the end, or maybe the skull is powering them on?" Mystique chipped in as she breathlessly overtook the two youths.
"Either way, we can't afford to lose them," Erik interrupted and gently nudged Havok upwards.
"When we get home I am sleeping in for a fortnight," Havok grumbled, but he did start off again.
It seemed to take them an age but finally the group made it to the top of the pyramid where even the two archaeologists were pausing to rest. All of them stopped and took a few minutes to gaze at the view in awe as Akator was finally revealed to them.
"No one is going to believe we made it here," Mystique grinned.
"No one will know we got here unless we get out, and to do that we need to return the skull," Havok decided to crash her back to Earth. "So how do we do it?"
And with that they turned to look at the obelisk that rose above them. With one part of their journey over, they were secretly looking forward to seeing what was hidden within Akator.