The group minus Nuru couldn't believe what they were seeing. Now, Harmony had seen a lot in her years of being both a princess and crown princess of Corona. Red rocks, being trapped in a trinket, her sister and her own personality getting changed. But this temple took the cake. Never had she seen an actual building being in the clouds. And she had seen Demanitus' device in Herz Der Sonne's tunnel, and his tombs.
"A-a Sky Temple...in the Sky!" Varian stammered in awe. "I can't believe it..."
"It's so beautiful," Chang murmured at the building. The temple didn't need much decoration, as it was in the actual sky. But it had a long staircase leading to the door, and it was covered in vines. It looked to be made of actual stone, which was still baffling since only the clouds seemed to be holding it up.
"Cool!" Yong exclaimed at it.
"I've seen and been through a lot, but never did I think I'd see an actual temple in the sky."
"Uhh, just one question. How are we supposed to get up there?" Hugo pointed up at it. They flinched as they realized they didn't have sufficient gear high enough to get up there.
"We...w-we could tie a rope together?" Varian asked nervously as Harmony rubbed her chin. "Nuru, do you know a way?"
Nuru smiled sheepishly as her answer. "I'm afraid not. We only know how to get to this point, not how to get the clouds themselves...only a magic wielder can get us to the top. And the only one within your group is..."
They all turned to the girl with blue and yellow bangs, who noticed them staring. "Me?!"
"You have the sundrop and the moonstone, those count!" Chang smiled encouragingly. Hugo rubbed his chin, wondering what that exactly meant.
"I guess, but I wouldn't even know what to do exactly," Harmony rubbed her arm awkwardly.
"You'll find a way. I know you will," Varian smiled softly and she returned it.
"I'll try..."
"I'll guide you," Nuru offered her as she stepped forward. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath, Harmony." She did as instructed, feeling a bit more at ease. "Now...focus on the sundrop, as it is meant to protect. And whatever you do, don't lose focus."
Harmony aimed her hands forward, her yellow bang glowing. They stared at her in shock as she continued focusing just as Nuru told her. To their surprise, a yellow platform started forming underneath them. It lifted them off the ground, the animals chittering in alarm.
"Whoa!" Varian wobbled a bit, looking towards his girlfriend. He smiled proudly at her as they started coming towards the floating cloud. Harmony opened her eyes to reveal that they were pure yellow, just like her sister. Chang and Yong looked towards the ground in awe as they were in mid-air. Harmony blinked, still in focus as they finally reached the cloud. Everyone stepped off, everyone but Nuru surprised to find that they could walk on it.
"Amazing!" Chang bent down, touching it lightly. Harmony's eyes went back to normal as she stepped off the platform.
"We're really walking on a cloud..." She lifted up her skirt, looking at the white mass of liquid droplets. Chang and Yong ran around, laughing. Ruddiger dug into the cloud, coming up on another side. "How is that even possible to hold us up, let alone an entire temple?"
"Since we're affiliated with the sky, my ancestors utilized an ancient spell to form solid clouds to hold up the temple. It's to protect the temple from those who wish to steal its riches within. Only those of worth and power can get up here," Nuru told her and Hugo rubbed his hands.
"Riches, you say?"
"I wouldn't if I were you. Ciel will eject any who attempt to steal anything inside of the temple," Nuru warned him, earning confused looks.
"Um, who's Ciel?"
"I'll introduce you to him once we get up there," Nuru pointed up to the long...long...staircase in front of them. They all groaned as they forgot that they had to walk up that thing.
"Oh come on," Varian complained at this. "We have to walk all the way up there?"
After what felt like an hour, they finally reached the top, all of them looking pretty exhausted. Varian reached the top first, crawling onto the ground. He rested himself on his back, panting heavily. Ruddiger followed soon after, looking very tired. Daisy was already waiting for them since she was the only one who could actually fly. Harmony could have gotten them up there, but she didn't want to accidentally damage the temple.
Harmony gripped the top with her hand, pulling herself up. The others followed, sweat dripping down all of their faces. Once they caught their breath, all of them stood up, looking towards the open entryway. Yong was about to run forward until his sister stopped him.
"It can't be that easy. There's gotta be a catch."
"But what if it's not?" Yong asked her.
"Daisy, go check it out," Harmony tasked the duckling, who nodded. She flew over to the door, which immediately closed once it sensed her presence. She chirped in alarm, flying back to the group in fear. Yong winced a bit.
"I stand corrected..."
"Who dares disturb me?" A deep voice boomed and they looked around in alarm. A three-tier totem moved and Harmony flinched, looking towards it. A face formed from the totem and she stepped back a bit.
"Guys...?"
They turned around to see a rock face moving from the totem. "What is your purpose?" The face actually spoke to them.
"Ah!" Yong hid behind the group, shaking a bit.
"...Ciel, I presume?" Varian whispered to Nuru, who nodded at him.
"A talking...totem. Now I've seen everything," Chang placed a tired hand on her forehead. Harmony and Varian glanced at each other, this was nothing. After all, they were turned into birds, Varian got turned into a kid, Harmony went back in time...
"Ciel, it is I, Princess Nuru of Koto," Nuru spoke up bravely, standing in front of the group. "These travelers seek to enter the temple in regards to the second trial. Will you grant us entry?"
"The second trial? Of the seven trials? ...How did you come about this conclusion?" He demanded them and Varian took out Scarlett's journal.
"This book. It belonged to Scarlett, she came here years ago and documented it into a journal. I'm her son Varian," He said with determined eyes, gesturing to himself. "What do we have to do?"
"To gain entry of the Sky Temple, you must give up everything to find the object you seek within the temple."
"What?" Hugo asked in confusion as Varian opened up the journal.
"That same phrase was in the journal, too..."
"Give up what exactly?" Yong asked him and he shook his head.
"The journal didn't specify. Ciel, could we uh, get a little more specifics on what we have to give up?"
"You must give up everything," He unhelpfully replied to them.
"That's all he's gonna say, isn't it?" Chang deadpanned at him. "Ciel! You had one job."
"You must give up everything..."
Harmony waved a hand as she stepped away, shaking her head. The others turned to stare at her and she turned around to face the spirit.
We wanna know the secrets
That the temple holds
She took the book from Varian.
And all the magic knowledge that it brings
She held up the journal bravely.
We're the names of science!
The girl gestured to everyone around her.
We should know what's going on
Mr. Ciel, tell us everything!
"You must give up everything," Ciel simply spouted back at them in a mysterious way. Harmony rubbed a temple.
Give up everything?
Varian scratched the back of his head in confusion as he sang.
What on Earth does that mean?
Chang rubbed her chin in thought.
Could it be this Staff, that of Clarity?
Hugo grabbed the staff from Varian, who grabbed it back from him in annoyance.
We just don't get this, Ciel
Nuru gestured to the group.
We're number one
Yong held up a finger.
We're ready right now
Harmony pointed to the book.
So why the big mystery?
All of them stood firm in front of Ciel, waiting to see what he would say.
"You must give up everything."
Give up all of our apples
Chang and Harmony held up a backpack full of apples, and Ruddiger seemed pretty protective over that. He chittered in protest, lunging forward to stop them, but Daisy pulled him back.
Or idol scientist
Varian held up a sketch of Demanitus from his own journal.
Or our tickets to the Madame Carnadist psychic show
They tossed the tickets away except for Nuru, because Madame Canardist gave them the tickets. But they weren't gonna go regardless.
Could be our epic knowledge of alchemy
Mr. Ciel, tell us what to let go!
This time, there was no response, leaving them all to ponder. "I just don't get it," Varian spoke up, looking back to the journal. "Does he mean give up everything we possess? Nuru, do you have any clues?"
"Well, perhaps it isn't physical. Maybe it's a strain within your group," She suggested in thought. "To let go of everything would be to forget past tensions. Maybe like a rivalry?"
Their eyes widened as they glanced to each other. The fact that she directly said that made it a bit awkward, since more than half were against one person in the group. Hugo smirked a bit at the irony, crossing his arms. He had to beg them to join their group, and now they had to suck up their bias against him...well, except Chang.
"Well..." Harmony coughed awkwardly, rubbing her arm. "You...may be right on that front."
"You wanna start the apologies first, Freckles?"
"What?!" Varian slapped away Hugo's hand. "You started it! You wormed your way into our group by stealing our totem and then being arrogant!"
"I may be arrogant, but I'm not prejudiced against the new guy," Hugo gestured to himself, Harmony rubbing a temple. The others just shook their heads slowly. It wasn't so much that Harmony and Yong had a hatred for Hugo, or at least on the same level as Varian. They just didn't like his overconfidence. But...he had his moments. Like when he saved them from a meteor earlier. That would prove that he was in this to help him, even if his motives were a bit unclear. So maybe they just believed that his previous actions were enough to count as letting go of their grudges against him.
"Because you're condescending and only in this for yourself, not for us! You proved that when you stole our totem that we earned for whatever reason," Varian huffed, crossing his arms.
"And you're just a stickler and a novice in everything I can do!" Hugo huffed as well, crossing his arms in the same manner. Harmony sighed, stepping up to them.
"Look, both of you need to work this out. We're a team now, and we're supposed to act like it."
"She's right. We can't work together if you're at each other's throats all the time," Chang crossed her arms, agreeing with the brunette.
"We have to get into the temple. Isn't that what we want?" Yong looked up at them. Nuru glanced between the two and Varian pouted, looking up at him. Hugo then looked up at him and they both sighed in unison. Their friends had a point, the only way to enter the temple was to set aside their differences. And Varian really wanted the answers to his mom's whereabouts...
"Don't you remember how we even got to this point?" Harmony asked Varian gently and he blinked, remembering what started all of this.
Harmony and Varian were searching shelves in Corona's library, but they couldn't locate a single book related to their search. It seemed as if any information available was buried.
"It must be really hidden if it's not in a library for us to find," Varian placed a hand on his cheek after an exhaustive search.
Harmony sighed as she walked up to Varian, who tapped his chin in front of a shelf. "...Hey, what's that?"
"Hm?" He dug into his pocket, finding a note, the same one that Hugo left for them to read.
"It doesn't matter. I deserve to know about this, Dad. I'm 16, I'm not a child anymore. I wanna know more about Mom," Varian slightly narrowed his eyes at his father.
"To answer your first question, Varian, I don't know," Quirin opened his eyes to look down at his son. "Your mother could still be alive, but trapped somewhere. Even if I tried to find out, all the research in her journal are riddles to me."
"...I need to know more," Varian looked up at him, gripping the book.
"It's just...I know that this is important to you, Vari," Harmony spoke up to him while they were headed to Xaiver's. "After all, this has to do with your mom, and I support you fully. But...just be careful, okay? I might not have the ability to sense evil anymore, but...I still worry, that's all."
Rapunzel gave the two their journals and the two sisters shared a hug. Harmony and Varian left Corona, glancing behind them to see lanterns being released just like on the sisters' birthdays. They looked at them in awe, feeling more motivated to prevail in their journey.
He hadn't forgotten the reasons he was even doing all of this. Of course not, he wasn't doing it just for his mom. He was also doing it for his father and Harmony, two people he really cared about. He had to make them proud and prove to them that he wasn't the same boy who terrorized Corona before. And if he wanted to do that, he had to cease all tension within the group. It was better to have friends who helped them on their journey. He groaned in defeat, a bit annoyed. "Fine...truce?" He held out his hand to Hugo.
"Truce, raccoon boy."
Varian grunted at that nickname and they shook hands. "Hey, only I call him that," Harmony answered defensively. Then they all turned to the door, hoping that it would open, as that was their only answer...Yong crossed his fingers, and to their surprise, the stone door lifted open.
"Yes!" Chang pumped a fist, Hugo and Varian both looking relieved. It looked very dark inside, but they had to go in if they wanted to complete this trial...
"Good luck, travelers," Ciel spoke up and Harmony turned to him.
"What exactly do we have to do to complete the trial?"
"Clarity in the dark is the answer," He responded and Varian furrowed his eyebrows.
"Ah, but that was in the journal, too..."
"We'll figure it out, Varian. Now come on!" Yong grabbed his sleeve, tugging him forward. Harmony chuckled as she walked after them, followed by Chang, Hugo, Nuru, and their animal companions. The door eerily closed behind them once they were all in, and everything turned dark.
"Ahh!"
A light appeared from Harmony's hand, and it turned out that it was Chang who screamed. She was now tugging on Hugo's arm and he looked at her wide-eyed. She looked up and realized that she must have grabbed onto him when the door closed.
She stepped away awkwardly, rubbing her neck. "Sorry..."
"S'okay," He mumbled, looking away from her. Varian waved the Staff of Clarity, and the jade piece glowed so bright they had to look away. Once Varian looked back, he saw that it was lighting up the entire hallway in front of them. There were all sorts of constellations on the walls hidden with invisible ink, and there was even a drawing of Koto, in its prime. Nuru opened her mouth at it, as it looked so...vibrant compared to how her home was now. It looked so different that no one would be able to tell the difference...
Something glimmered from her dress and she looked down in shock.
"Is this what Ciel meant?" Varian murmured and Harmony shook her head, dropping her moonlight source.
"No. That'd be too easy. We'll probably find out by the time we reach where we're supposed to be."
"Speaking of, how do we know where we're supposed to go?" Yong glanced around the hall. "We don't have a map of this place."
"Maybe I could help," Nuru turned around to them, showing her dress. It had a new star chart on it and Harmony bent down to it.
"Did your dress just change to map out this temple?"
"It could be because her ties to Koto," Varian smiled a bit. "That'll be really helpful."
"Be careful, everyone. This temple has been around for hundreds of years, so there are bound to be traps."
Harmony and Varian both groaned upon hearing this. Ruddiger and Daisy also did not look pleased upon hearing this. Nuru blinked at the four in confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Well...i-it's not you, Nuru," Harmony sighed a bit as she pinched her nose. "Let's just say that Vari and I have had our fair share of traps in dark passageways. Herz Der Sonne's tunnels, for example, or when I had to go through Demanitus' maze..."
"Oh yeah!" Chang gasped in realization. "We've heard about those. Like when you had to stop those red rocks in Corona or when Varian stole the sun-" She cleared her throat awkwardly when she saw Yong gesturing for her not to finish that sentence.
"It's okay," Harmony waved a hand, knowing what she was going to say. "That honestly feels like it's been so long ago. But I myself just do not wanna go through more booby traps again after doing it so many times."
"Well...we've done it before. We can do it again..." Varian replied hesitantly. "So long as we don't set over a dozen traps in here!"
"Just do it. Once we get through them, we might find a way out of here after doing the trial," Hugo spoke up, getting slightly annoyed looks.
"When you almost die by traps in those tunnels, then we'll talk," Harmony deadpanned, her and Varian leading the way behind Nuru since he had the only light source. They decided to walk slowly since any tile could set off a trap at any time.
"Watch out for anything, you guys. We don't know the layout of this place to know what could happen," Varian warned them as they went down the hall. Chang lightly touched the markings on the wall, which looked like to be from Koto's ancestors given how the writings were almost faded. They seemed to be in an ancient language, and if they didn't have a purpose here, they'd read all of them. But Nuru could already tell they had nothing to do with their task in the temple.
"This is totally giving me the same vibes from Herz Der Sonne's tunnels," Harmony murmured, a bit creeped out.
"What are those like, anyway?" Yong asked curiously. "They sound so cool!"
"More like the opposite," Varian rubbed his neck nervously. "The memories we made there...most of them I'd rather forget."
"Well, I didn't get to explore them when my sister was stopping the snow storm, so that kind of soured my opinion at first," Harmony stated as Silver dropped an apple from his satchel. He did like apples like Max, but they weren't his favorite thing in the world. Ruddiger saw the apple fall and his tongue stuck out in delight. He scampered over to the apple, grabbing it. But when he turned around, he stepped on a tile and it sunk a bit, setting off a trap.
Everyone stopped as a tile opened right next to them. Suddenly something shot out of it.
"Whoa!" Harmony pulled Varian down as everyone else ducked their heads. They turned around to see an arrow stuck in the opposite wall. She whipped around to a sheepish-looking Ruddiger. "And this is why we have to be careful!"
Daisy rolled her eyes at him for setting off a trap. Harmony dusted herself off and they continued walking, most of them a bit on edge. Varian bit his lip nervously and then he got shook from behind. He yelped, turning around to see a smirking Hugo, who made him feel like it was another trap.
"That is not funny!" He glared slightly at the laughing Hugo.
"Oh, ease up, Freckles. They're just booby traps. Those are normal in dark, creepy temples."
"Which is why they should be taken seriously. I'm not a fan of traps," Varian looked away with a small pout.
"We'll deal with them, we don't really have a choice," Harmony told them as they came up to an intersection.
"This way," Nuru walked to the left and Hugo stared at them as they left, smirking to himself. He then snuck off to go find those riches...not to steal them, just to look at them. Harmony glanced over her shoulder from the front, seeing Hugo gone. She narrowed her eyes a bit and turned around.
"Yong, come with me. Hugo's gone," Harmony walked off in the other direction.
"Ugh," Varian groaned, facepalming. "Probably to go steal the riches in here..."
"It's mostly gold and antiques. But trust me, he won't get far," Nuru told him and Chang turned to the two.
"Do you want us to wait for you?" She offered and Harmony shook her head no.
"No, don't do that. It'll be quicker for you to keep looking while we bring him back. Preferably with some smarts into that small brain. Come on, Yong."
"Okay," He nodded his head, running after her. Daisy flew after the girl off the top of Silver's head, landing on her owner's shoulder. The others continued walking as they followed Nuru, but then Yong stepped on a bad tile. A noise was heard behind the three and suddenly a wall slammed down behind them. Harmony's eyes widened as they whipped around to see that they were now closed off from the others.
"What?!" She banged on the wall in disbelief as the others ran back, only to find themselves trapped on their side as well.
"Hey!" Varian hit his fist against the wall.
"It's just another trap. There should be a passageway to re-join them somewhere," Nuru tried to calm him down as he pressed his ear to the wall.
"Mona! Can you guys hear us? Are you guys okay?"
"We're fine!" Harmony shouted back to him. "But we still need to find Hugo!"
"Could you use your powers?" Yong looked up at her.
"The decay incantation is definitely risky in a temple like this, so that's not going to work..." She rubbed her chin. "And I definitely don't wanna accidentally blow it up with an explosive. But we're losing time, he could be risking our lives right this second. That's more important..."
"She's right," Varian sighed in defeat. "And you're sure we'll find them again?" He looked up at the princess, who nodded.
"Yes. If I'm correct, my dress will show a new star chart when it's necessary for things like this. As long as they don't set off any traps, they should be fine."
"...Alright, Nuru," He nodded after a few seconds. "We'll trust your word and hopefully find them later. Find Hugo, you guys and then find a way back!"
"Okay!" Harmony nodded in agreement and they turned around to go back to the intersection.
"This guy better be worth it," Yong grumbled as they ran off.
Hugo himself was trying to find his way through the temple, even though he had no map. And it was also very dark, he only had a lantern to light his way. He could just feel like those riches were close by, though. If he had to stick with this group of people, he might as well get something out of it. He didn't really think Ciel would notice anyway. He could hide that gold easily with him.
He slightly rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he had to set aside his beef with Varian. Though, looking back, it was beneficiary to have him on his side. The others, too, since Donella had assigned him to. He just had to figure out how to warm up to them...
Varian followed Nuru through the hall, Chang looking a bit worried for the others. With the way they didn't know how this temple worked, something bad could happen to them. And with no light source, it was easy to get lost.
"Shouldn't we go back for them?" Chang asked in concern, looking at Varian.
"We have to move forward, they'd want us to find what we're looking for," Varian glanced over his shoulder.
"But you could've used some alchemy, something that could break the rock," Chang pointed out and he paused.
"This temple is old, Chang. If I risked doing that, none of us would be alive right now. I know you're worried for your brother, but I've seen him. He'll be okay, especially if Mona's protecting them. The sundrop would activate if they're in danger."
Chang took a moment to think. Since Harmony was both the sundrop and the moonstone, he theorized that they would work in the same way that they did with her sister. And she could already use the incantations, which was why he wasn't too worried for her. He knew that she could hold her own.
Hugo reached a pathway that broke into two, rubbing his hands together. He could just feel the riches in his hands...
He was about to go down a hall when someone grabbed his shoulder. He flinched and turned around to see Harmony. Yong was standing next to her while Daisy was rested on his head. None of them looked too happy with him.
"Hey...! Guys!" He exclaimed nervously, rubbing his neck. "Thanks for finding me, it's easy to get lost here, huh?"
"Yeah right. You purposefully left just so you could go steal the riches from this temple," Harmony accused him and he crossed his arms.
"Stealing? Moi? That is so far from the truth, blueberry."
Harmony grunted a bit. "Don't call me that. Come on, we have to find a way back to the others. We got blocked off from them when we went to go find you."
"Aw, so you guys do care about me. I thought Chang was the only one."
"What does she even see in him?" Yong rolled his eyes at the reminder.
"Lead the way, Mr. Smooth," Harmony pushed him towards the left. She was putting him up front in case he tried anything.
"Gladly," He grinned, walking forward. "Surprised you're not freaking out about being separated from your raccoon boy."
"Why is that, anyway? Aren't you worried about him?" Yong looked up at the girl. She glanced down at her Harmonium, lightly touching it.
"You see this necklace?"
"Is it valuable?" Hugo raised a brow, earning a small glare.
"Apparently, but I wouldn't DARE touch it if I were you." He held up his hands in defense. "Anyway, Vari made this necklace for me the day of the Science Expo back in Corona. He did all of that just to get my attention, and I haven't taken it off since then. I don't know what it is, but...I can sort of sense that he's okay with this necklace. I feel connected with him, and I can feel that he's still alive. I dunno, maybe it's nothing, but...it gives me hope about his safety since I'm always wearing it."
Yong smiled a bit while Hugo just paused. He didn't have that kind of connection with anyone. He was only here for one reason. He wasn't doing it to find love or personal reasons like with Varian. He was only doing it because he wanted those totems. But at the same time, there was just...something about these people that almost made him regret leaving them behind. They had their own strong desires for doing what they did, even if he didn't get along with most of them.
"So you wear it to feel close to him," Hugo murmured and she blinked in surprise for his heartfelt answer.
"Well...yeah," She nodded in agreement. "We've been through a lot, but I'll always love him no matter what."
"Kinda makes you think that we'll get through this together, huh?"
No one answered Hugo's question, but he didn't feel inclined to hear an answer. Because there was just this tranquil silence within them. Harmony didn't think she'd feel this way with Hugo of all people, but...maybe he could be a team player—when he wanted to be.
"Sorry I left to steal," Hugo mumbled to them, triggering another trap as something clicked behind them. "I guess..."
"It's okay. You're not used to being just normal, are you?" Harmony replied back while they were walking.
"Being normal's boring. Where I come from, nothing's normal," Hugo responded back as something rolled behind the four.
"Um, guys? Do you hear that?" Yong glanced behind him, but they didn't seem to pay attention.
"You know, we actually agree on something," Harmony laughed a bit. "Nothing about my life has been normal, either."
"Guys?!"
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Hugo asked her and she was about to answer when a consistent noise could be heard. Harmony slowly turned around to see a boulder rolling right towards them. And it was a huge one.
"Uh oh..."
"Thief! You must be punished!" Ciel's voice boomed from the ceiling.
"RUN!" Hugo shouted as they took off down the hall, the boulder still rolling after them.
Angel: Sorry that this one also took a while to come out. Last week I was sick, and in that same week I started school. Normally, that wouldn't have been much of a problem if I wasn't sick at the same time. I was sneezing a lot, my nose was runny, I would get headaches, all within a whole week. And the particular song I used here gave me a headache because every time I listened to the song I based it on, it would just give me another headache. And once you listen to that song, you'll know exactly why it would give me headaches.
I'm fine now, thank god, because I hate being sick.
The song here is a song that I wrote—not entirely from scratch, though. The inspiration was from a Donkey Kong Country song. You know, the cartoon where it was with motion-capture and had a song in every episode. The song in question is probably the BEST song from that show, I Wanna Know the Secrets. Though, if you can, avoid looking at some of the awkward moments with Donkey Kong, some of them made me cringe because of the technology back then. Gotta admit though, Donkey Kong's singer is wasted there since he's a great singer.
If you wanna listen to that song, it's on Youtube, though have a low volume because its acoustics are louder than you think. Not everything in that song was inspired by this one, because let's face it the motion cap is horrible, but I would still check it out to get a feel for it. Coming up with the lyrics was hard, because of the second to last lyric...