A/N Hi guys, happy Friday the 13th! A bit of a short chapter for today, I have stuff going on making it hard to write, but I won't give up! So I hope you enjoy this!

R&R

Chapter 12: Searching The Temple

Jordan stuck her head out from the alleyway, scanning the crowds of people for their target. "He couldn't have gotten that far," Before her eyes fell on a figure dashing through the crowd, pushing away innocent bystanders as he made his wait through.

Jordan steeled her gaze, while Lincoln scooped up Lily and secured her to his back. "Err, what are you doing?"

Lincoln just looked at his little sister and nodded. "Trust me, after what I've seen Jordan do, you're gonna wanna hang on."

Lily gulped, before Jordan jumped up and seemed to bounce off a nearby wall and dive into the crowd. In the next moment, Lincoln gave chase, forcing his way through while Lily held on for dear life. "Haha! This is fun!"

"I don't know why we're following this kid, but hey, if it has a chance of helping us find the next seal then… I guess it couldn't hurt, right?" He shook his head as Jordan landed at the next intersection and turned, causing her jaw to drop. "Whoa."

Lincoln panted as he caught up to his partner. "Heh, what?"

Lily jumped from her brother's back. "Ooo!" Before she pointed at a rather small building when compared to the skyscrapers that surrounded it. It was ornate, decorated with simple stone and built like a stacked pyramid. "Do you think that's the temple he was telling up about?"

For a moment, Jordan rubbed her chin, before scanning the area. The momentary lapse in her concentration was more than enough to allow that kid to break away and disappear into the crowd. "We're not gonna find him at the moment. What do you think?"

"I think we should visit it! It probably has a gift shop!" Lily pulled her body in in excitement. "I can't wait!"

Lincoln turned to his partner. "What do you think?"

"Not like we have much of a choice in the matter," She pointed at his chest. "Your key seemed to react to the crystal shard right?"

"Yeah, from what I saw," Lincoln sighed. "Well, as much as I'd like to find and ask that kid more questions, let's have a stop," Before he stepped forward and began to approach.

At the moment, the temple was sparsely populated by tourists and grounds keepers alike, allowing the trio to step right in without hassle. For a moment all seemed calm. Despite the busy city surrounding them, this pocket of it was separate, untouched by the business of the world

Truth be told, it was odd seeing something like this in the middle of the city. Usually monuments like these would've been destroyed years prior by the settlers of old on their conquests. Yet, despite its age it seemed to be in pristine condition.

"Welcome to the temple of the stars, a highlight of our city! Gaze upon the beautiful gems that can only grow here!" A woman's voice filled the air as Lily hopped forward. "Ooo, ancient ruins!"

Jordan looked around as well, her eyes following along the old, yet oddly pristine bricks laid out before her. "Weird…"

Lincoln meanwhile listened along, his mind focused on uncovering the puzzle.

"While most of the ancient temples like these were destroyed after centuries of war, this one was rebuilt over two hundred years ago."

Lincoln slowly stepped over and placed a hand on one of the ruined carvings, its images depicting what appeared to be giant men building the temple with shards of crystal poking out from the ground around them.

"According to legend, the original creators of this and many other temples received a power unlike any that had been seen before. What the source of this or what happened to the original creators however, remains shrouded in mystery."

"Because of course it does," Lincoln stepped over to a set of stairs, and motioned for his companions to follow. "Come on, it couldn't hurt to have a look around, right?"

They nodded, and followed. The stairs dug deep into the earth. Though the temple above was rather small, it seemed as if this lone tunnel could stretch for miles. Yet, eventually, they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Their eyes went wide as it came into view. A massive opening carved deep into the ground. It's roof was flat , while its walls were pierced by light crystals

"Welcome to the catacombs. In the ancient times this place was meant to house the bodies of the deceased. In these days the bodies have decayed and yet, some remain in mummified condition."

"Whoa…" Lily began to look around, wasting no time jumping over to one of the platforms. And rubbing her hand over it.

"Lily! No!" Lincoln rushed over and grabbed her. "You don't wanna get… the curse of the mummy!"

She looked at him in surprise for a moment, before flaring her arms. "Lincoln! There's no such thing as curses! Lisa told me so and you know you can't beat how smart she is!"

Lincoln pulled back and chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, that's true."

"So, uhh… what's this place?" Jordan glanced at her side, only to catch a glimpse of a still standing body. "What the…"

"Not sure," Lincoln reached into his shirt wasting no time pulling out the key. "But… it's not reacting," He turned to his partner. "Err, what're you doing?"

She crouched down. "Lincoln… look at this," She tilted her head, inspecting the body for a moment. "It's perfectly preserved."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, duh! Lisa said that the things that usually cause bodies to decompose don't exist in places like these! So of course I body wouldn't disappear even after a few hundred years!"

"I know that," Lincoln took a knee before the body, taking in its features. Of course it was dead,n and yet… it was had to believe it to be. It's skin, though slightly pale from lack of sunlight seemed to have only aged a few years at most, while the face was disfigured the rest of the body seemed uninjured.

It was as if the man was simply sleeping along, his eyes glazed over in the same way they were when he died.

Slowly, Lincoln brought the key closer to him, coming as near as he could.

Then, the man's chest began to glow, its light overtaking the trio before dying down as quickly as it appeared.

"Well… I guess we can definitely say that this place is connected to the key somehow… but how?"

Lily stepped back and began to prance around the room. "I dunno, maybe there's a keyhole or something!" She turned and stopped at the altar that decorated the end of the room. "Like this one!"

Lincoln took a breath and stepped over, glancing at the table, and lo and behold, there it was, a small key way perfectly fit just for his key. Wordlessly, he inserted it, and a column of light burst through.

Yet the orb didn't react.

A/N Hey guys, I know there's a word limit I'm supposed to hit each day, but I just couldn't reach it today. I've been busy. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though! As always, feel free to drop ideas and stuff!

Review Replies (C11):

DreadedCandiru2: Oh definitely, especially since they're along for the ride.

Ronniecoln 4Ever: Yeah? I've done a lot of writing in the past two years mate, and my feeling towards any ship in general is: indifference. I prefer writing over anything in general, which is why my favorite ship is! Buncoln.