A/N Man, NaNo continues to be difficult, but hey, I think I'm improving! I hope you guys enjoy this!

R&R!

Chapter 14: Revealing The True Seal

"Ugh, that was the best meal I've had in a long time," Miguel groaned, holding his stomach as he waddled out of the restaurant.

"Heh, really?" Lily tilted her head in curiosity.

He nodded. "Yeah, usually mom has trouble providing for all of us so we just make do with just a little. Thankfully, mom was able to study up north for a few years which is why I know english…" he rubbed the back of his head. "That and they try teaching it to us in school…" He looked away, before quickly perking up and pointing in a random direction. "Anyways the first temple you asked for is that way!"

Lincoln nodded. "Great! Lead the way!" He looked up at the sun. "We're burnin' daylight and people are probably gonna wonder what that light burst was… and we need to be clear of this place before someone starts asking questions."

"I know a scenic route!" He turned and bolted down a nearby alleyway. "Come on!"

"Great!" Lily flared her arms, before giving chase.

Lincoln and Jordan then looked at each other once more, before shrugging along and following. Quickly, they bolted up a set of rickety stairs and up a rusty ladder, making their way to a rooftop. Miguel motioned for them to follow. "Check it out!"

From their small perch, they could see a small part of the city, just the top of the surrounding buildings for the most part. "Wow, it's so follow of clothes!"

"Yeah, some of us use the rooftops to dry our clothes and to get around the crowds below," He calmly stepped over to the building edge and hopped the small gap. "Watch your step!"

In reply, Lincoln scooped up Lily and followed, before offering his hand to Jordan. "Need help."

She chuckled. "I'm the one doing all the parkour brainiac," She chuckled, before taking his offer and stepping over the gap.

Miguel gave a small chuckle, before stepping along and continuing to jump over the small gaps that separated the buildings. "Come on you guys! There's more cool stuff once we get out of downtown!"

And with that, they followed.

It took close to an hour for them to make their way out of the city center, their small steps seemingly insignificant when compared to the size of a sprawling cityscape. Yet, eventually, the large, run-down buildings and the impeccable modern skyscrapers gave way to smaller villas and houses and in some cases, simple rundown shacks.

Eventually, Miguel was forced to climb down a ladder and step forward, motioning towards the clear road ahead. "All right. Welcome to the outskirts!"

"Ooo!" Lily's eyes went wide. "It's just like back home!"

"If back home was more run down," The thought crossed his mind. He looked ahead, his eyes glazing over the seemingly ruined area. It was a stark contrast, the wild trees, the emancipated animals and livestock. Truth be told though, it seemed somewhat peaceful at least.

"So, is the next temple up ahead?" Lincoln tilted his head in curiosity.

"Yep!" He stepped ahead, pausing, before shaking his head. "Come on!"

"I wonder what's going on with him…" Jordan's eyes brushed over in concern, before she followed along. "Say… where do you live anyways?"

"Oh, by the third temple you marked," He began to twiddle his fingers. "Ya know, if you want, you could spend the night with us. I know we don't have much, but…"

Lincoln raised his hand. "It's all right, thanks for the offer though," With that, he stepped along quietly, while Lily decided to explore the sides of the road.

The rest of the journey was relatively quiet, with the quartet just making their way along the roads. Of course, they received plenty of stares from the townsfolk- what would you expect after all?! Yet, they paid it no mind.

Lily even ran over and joined in a game of soccer with some of the children that were playing along!

"Haha!" She cheered as she kicked the ball around.

Two boys tried to get it from her, only for her to easily jump over them and launch it into the nearby net. "Haha!"

And the children laughed along.

But aside from that, the remainder of the travel was uneventful. Truth be told, Lincoln and Jordan felt a bit disappointed as well as relieved. After all, they'd been running from crazy agent guys and some collector man for the past week! No doubt everyone in the city would be out looking for them.

But for just this lone walk, that didn't matter. Lincoln and jordan walked along.

"Hey, Lincoln…" Jordan wrapped her arm around Lincoln's.

He glanced at her, a softness filling his voice. "Yeah?"

"Do you think… after we find whatever's at the end of this mystery, we'll finally be happy?"

Lincoln seemed to ponder that question for a moment, his eyes following Lily as she cheerfully skipped at their side. A part of him wanted to vent his uncertainty, to wonder about just how the heck they had managed to get themselves into such a situation. Yet, it was something about watching his baby sister that gave him some hope.

"Maybe," He answered. "I don't really know what we'll find, but I just…" he turned away, before looking into her eyes. "I know we'll find what we're looking for."

"Hey! I found a leaf!" Lily cheerfully declared, causing Jordan to laugh.

"Do you think our daughter's gonna be like that?" She giggled.

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you think we're gonna have a girl?"

Jordan shook her head. "Does your family have anything else?"

He thought that over, before shaking his head. "You've got a point there."

"Hey! We're here!" Miguel declared, before brushing aside a set of bushes, allowing a new temple to come into view.

Lily promptly ran up to it. "Last one in is a rotten egg!"

"Haha! No fair!" Miguel shouted, before giving chase, prompting the two adults to give chase, climbing up the ancient stairs before entering the sanctuary.

Just like before, the interior was old, with similar engravings to that of the first temple. However, there was no tunnel down to catacombs. Rather, just a simple altar with the keyway ready for Lincoln to simply insert and unlock the door.

Wordlessly, he did so, causing the second pillar of light to appear, which quickly died down. "Mission accomplished on this end," He went.

"Aww boo," Lily pouted. "I wanted to see some crazy stuff!" She crossed her arms and shook her head. "I thought we'd see something like in that dead person place!"

Meanwhile, Miguel simply blinked in confusion, unsure of just how to react to what he had seen. "Err, what was that?"

"We'll explain later," Lincoln shoved the key back in his shirt. "Let's get to the third temple quickly, we need to be home before dark or else our family is gonna burn this whole city down looking for us."

Miguel tried to comprehend the sight of some random people causing a pillar of light to appear by just putting a key into a hole… but he quickly shook his head, forcing the though to the back of his mind. He had promised to lead them and there wasn't much that was dissuade him from doing so. "A-all right," he gulped.

"So where is the last temple anyways?" Jordan tilted her head.

And in reply, he pointed at a nearby mountain. "Up there."

A Few Minutes Later...

"Well, I didn't expect this…" Miguel stared out the window as the tram ascended the mountain's length.

"Why not?" Jordan tilted her head in confusion. "Do you usually walk up the mountain?"

"Yes," He answered. "It usually takes a whole day… I don't usually have enough money to take this."

Lincoln hesitated, "Anyways, we're here."

The cart soon stopped a few meters away from the third temple. Thankfully it was nearing sunset at this point, meaning that the usual crowds of tourists were on their way out, leaving the quartet able to enter the temple.

Yet, this one was unlike the rest. Its construction was complex, with several different platforms and ropes ascending its height.

"Whoa!" Lily cheerfully jumped onto on of the tables before attempting to jump to the next ledge… only to fall flat on her face. "I'm ok!"

"So, what do you think?" Jordan looked to Lincoln in curiosity.

He scanned the area in reply. There was nothing else in this temple aside from those platforms… meaning that if they were to find anything, they'd have to scale it some way. "I'm not sure…" he turned to her. "From the looks of it, the altar is carved into the ceiling, meaning the key will have to be brought up there somehow…"

Jordan smiled, before offering her hand. "Give me the key."

Lincoln complied. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, before pulling back and jumping. She hopped up, moving platform to platform as she made her way out. Though many were ready to give way, she did not relent, and eventually was able to reach the top and the altar the waited for her.

Calmly, she shoved the key into its entryway. "Done!" In the next moment, the final pillar of light engulfed the room, causing the occupants to glow, before slowly beginning to levitate. "What the?!"

Lincoln shouted "Swim down! Before the effects wear off!"

In the next moment, Jordan pushed herself through their air, bringing herself down from the perch, before landing before the group, and returning the key. "Mission accomplished."

Suddenly, the orb began to glow, before a golden pillar engulfed the sky.

"Whoa! What's that?!" Lily rushed outside, taking in the sight of the massive column, which soon died down.

The man stepped over and glanced out, "Hey Miguel, do you know if there are any temples there?"

He nodded. "Yeah… there should be one."

Lincoln nodded. "Good, because now we know where the next seal is hidden."

With that, they began to make their way down the stairs and back onto the tram to continue their journey.

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A/N Man, I really need to get caught up. I'll keep trying to do a double update day to get back on track, don't worry! I hope you guys enjoyed!

Review Replies (C13):

DreadedCandiru2: Thanks for understanding!