Author Note: All right, here is the second chapter, though I may discontinue the story for lack of reviews, or I may continue, I haven't decided. If you want to keep reading, please say so. Thank you.
Chapter Two: Time's Chaos
Roman sighed as he turned from the window. He had watched Nathan go into the dense jungle until he could no longer see the boy. He ran a weathered hand through his gray hair and closed his eyes.
His mind returned to what he had seen fly by him past the railing. He had only caught a quick glimpse of it, but the form looked human. However, that confused him because all of his men were on the ground and none were that agile. Also, those jaguars…nothing like what he had seen on previous trips to South America. Not even the African cats came close to that size.
His mind shifted to the skeleton. All his life he had searched for something to bring greatness to him. In his other quests he had found astonishing items, but they only brought him fifteen minutes of fame. He snorted. Fifteen minutes was for common people, of which he was not. He wanted to be remembered in history for his findings.
The old British man glanced around the square room that made up his lookout tower. It was small, maybe forty feet corner to corner. There was a window on each wall, making it seem larger. In the center was the table that could sear four people. On each wall, there was a desk and some shelves containing many artifacts he had collected on his travels. These lay amongst books of civilizations, curses, and much more. On the far wall was the cot he had been using as a bed.
Roman leaned back in the wood chair he had seated himself in and listened to the sounds of the men working. It had taken some yelling to get them to work, but they eventually relented and grudgingly went back to work.
He stood again from his chair and went to the door and down the unsteady steps. He noticed that the sun's rays were already dying, had he been that lost in his thoughts? He shook his head and focused on his destination.
He walked swiftly across the soft dirt to where his workers were just finishing cleaning up. He scanned the area, taking in everything that made up the dig site.
The area was circular for the most part. The old streambed was positioned against the towering red cliff, which served to amplify any of the sounds created. Dense jungles on the remaining sides surrounded the strange cliff. The tents, which the men slept in, were at the far side of the cliff, the last tent being near the jungle's edge. A short distance from the tents was the actual dig, which had a roof over it to block out rain and sun and there was a shed to the right (the tents being on the left of the dig) that held all of the equipment. Directly across from the cliff was his lookout tower that was set against the tree line.
His eyes were drawn to the corpse of the jaguar. It had been moved to the edge of the site, but that was as far the creature could be carried; it's immense size making it difficult for his men to carry. He also noticed the grave that had been dug for the man who had fallen the night before. It was placed in the center left side of the site.
It stuck out in the scenery, but the old man ignored it. He made his between the men that were making their way to their tents for the night. They still seemed nervous, glancing at the jungle now tinted red with the dying sun's rays.
Roman nodded to those who mumbled a good night. He waited for them to settle in for the night before going to the skeleton. He was drawn to it, by something. He didn't know what it was, but he went anyway, heeding the silent call.
He flipped on the backlights and quietly pulled the tarp off. The skeleton seemed to shimmer in the dim light, the symbols glittering in the light. It appeared human…almost. The height was much larger, about seven feet and the bone structure appeared different.
He knelt down and ran his hand over some of the symbols. As he did so, a tingle ran up his arm and down his spine. Causing the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. He smirked slightly as he stood and moved over to the cliff wall, where more symbols were located. He touched one symbol in particular. He hesitated slightly before be he placed his hand on the exotic marking.
At first, nothing happened, the air was still and silent as it had always been. But the sky suddenly turned murderous, opening into a swirling torrent. Roman's attention was shortly drawn to the sky before his attention snapped back to the wall as it began to glow, the symbols turning with shifting hues. He stepped back, his senses returning along with an overwhelming sense of fear.
He stared wide-eyed as the symbols moved about, as though it was forming a code. Then, it all stopped, building suspense before a bright blue beam shot out of the wall. The light stream pierced his heart.
"Lord…what have I done…?" Was his last thought as he lost all sense of himself.
The stream of light flowed through him and into the sky, lighting the entire area and obliterating everything, yet leaving everything.
The light faded and the sky turned calm once again, as though nothing had ever happened. The sky was clear and no sounds emanated from the deep jungle…
Nathan sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time. He had arrived earlier that day to a small village, which weren't very accepting when it came to strangers.
The villagers had set up elaborate traps and he had just barely missed being caught in one. He had almost fallen into a tiger trap but he had grabbed onto the edge and managed to pull himself up. That's when the villagers came out and took him to their elders.
He was slightly surprised by their kind nature, with all of the traps and by their appearance; he would have assumed them to be cruel. But instead, they let him explain that he wished to speak with their leader or chief.
So, he was sitting in the hut of the chief. It was large compared to he other homes he had passed. The homes appeared to be made of clay and branches and were rectangular in shape, though some were more circular.
The Chief had weapons lying about in one side of the hut, skins and animal hides beside them. On the other side of the hut, there were what appeared to be beds and on the back wall were cooking utensils. In the center of it all was a fire pit.
Nathan had been sitting there for the past few hours trying to find out what these people knew, but they knew nothing of what he spoke. The black-haired chief had been telling him about his tribe's way of life. Were it any other time, he would have been intrigued, but he had a sick feeling sitting in his stomach, something wasn't right…
Koenma sat at his desk with a stack of papers taller than him hat has to be stamped and a smaller pile that had already been stamped.
He let out a frustrated sigh and threw the stamper at the door, which had opened at the same time.
"OW! Koenma, sir, do you have to throw things?" Ogre asked as he rubbed his forehead, the seal of King Enma marking his forehead. Koenma just glared at the demon, though he couldn't help but laugh.
"What did you want, Ogre?" Koenma asked.
"Well, sir, I think you should take a look at this." Ogre answered the prince as a large screen came down.
The screen flipped on and showed an aerial view of a black jungle. There was a full moon in the corner and a cloudless starry sky. Koenma's eye started to twitch after a minute of nothing happening.
"What am I looking for!" He shouted angrily at the ogre.
"Just be patient, Lord Koenma." Just as he finished his request, the sky turned violent, clouds of deep blue covered the clear sky as streaks of blue light danced across the sky.
Koenma's mouth dropped open at the spectacular display. But he jumped slightly as a bright light engulfed part of the darkness and a bending beam of blue energy shot to the raging sky.
A moment later, everything was completely calm, the sky was once again clear and calm and the jungle standing untouched.
"What was that!" Koenma asked.
"We're not sure, sir." Ogre answered the prince nervously. "But the energy was demonic in a sense."
"In a sense, Ogre? What do you mean?" The Reikai prince asked, slightly confused.
"Well, sir, we haven't really seen energy like that before, especially not in Ningenkai. There isn't much to go on." Ogre sighed, why did he have to be the one to deliver the news?
"Get me Botan." Koenma ordered as he flopped back into his chair.
Ogre had given the prince some papers with information about the area and the energy. Brazil was where had happened but…
"Yes, Lord Koenma?" Botan's cheery voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Botan, I need you to gather Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, and bring them here quickly." Koenma informed the deity.
Botan bowed slightly, and headed out the large doors. She wondered why he didn't give her the mission to tell them like he would normally, but she didn't argue, nor did she mind. It was simply a fleeting thought.
Within a few minutes the entire Reikai Tantei were entering Koenma's office.
"So, what's our next mission?" Yusuke asked. He was somewhat glad that they had something to do. As of lately, things had been quiet, and they had gotten restless.
"I need you four to go investigate an explosion of demonic energy." Koenma answered, leaving out where the explosion occurred.
"Why do we need to go?" Kuwabara asked.
"Because, the energy released has not exactly been seen before. We aren't positive about what we're dealing with." Koenma explained, his voice serious.
"All right, so we go to some place and come back in time for my date with Keiko." Yusuke shrugged, making it sound easier than it was. "Where do we have to go?"
"Brazil."
"Okay, that's cl-What!" Yusuke gaped. The location causing even the stoic fire demon to acquire a surprised look.
"Yes, you four are to go into the jungles of Brazil." Koenma said. "We couldn't exactly open a portal right at the area. So, you'll have to do some bush whacking." Koenma explained, as he laughed at their expressions. He shouted good luck as a portal opened beneath them.
The next morning, Nathan headed out early in the morning; he used his map to find the path he had already beaten. He had been sure to locate the existing traps and mark them on the computerized map so he would not be caught once again.
He found his previous path easily and followed it back with little to no hindrances. The path was clear, making his trip back faster than when he had originally gone.
It was late afternoon by the time he reached the dig site. He pushed some of the vines and undergrowth that had fallen back into place out of his way. As he pushed aside some of the branches and stepped into the clearing, the sight he was met with froze him in his tracks…
