"It's kinda dark in here…" Lia said as she, Maxwell, and Gavin walked into a large room.
"Yeah, you're right. I can barely see a thing." Maxwell agreed.
As they moved, torches began to suddenly light up along the walls of the room. Pillars lined the room, some five feet from the walls of the rectangular shaped room. The roof could not be seen, once again shrouded in darkness that the torchlight could not tread. Light sand, painted orange by the torches' glow covered the floor. A decorative boarder lined the lower-most parts of the wall, some of it being covered by the mini-plateau created by the sands lining the floor. The further the group walked, more torches would light, two-by-two. Soon, they had wandered all the way to the opposing side of the room. A lone doorway rested there, opening into a room that contained an object on a sort of pedestal. The three of them gazed in on this object for only a moment before the door came shut quite suddenly. A large stone slab of a door blacked the entrance.
The floor began to rumble slightly. They all turned to look back, as the sand in the center of the room began to shift. It seemed as if a large object had begun to surface. The rising mound of sand parted, the grains of sand running off the top of this object, as if its surface was circular. Slowly, a strange object began to emerge. It looked to be a hard object, solid as a rock at least. Gavin dropped his torch as more of the object was revealed. It seemed that a few feet in front of the object which appeared to be a shell, a large pole… or rather, a horn was surfacing, it was several feet high, and very large. Slowly, more and more of the thing was revealed, until it was in complete sight, and the ground stopped rumbling. It took the form of a giant insect, much like a beetle. Its head almost looked like a helmet, with a giant horn protruding from the top center. It looked to be the size of a wood shack – maybe larger. The large beetle-like monster certainly startled the group.
It dawned only two eyes beneath its helmet-like exoskeleton, clearly on the area of its head. Beyond that it had only a body, a few feet taller than the three humans. Its body was covered in a thick shell, six legs carrying its form. Its shell was orange in the torchlight, but due to the dark shade, one could assume it was a darker colour, such as blue or green. Its eyes were like two black, beady orbs that glittered in the light. Its most dangerous feature, though, were the giant pincers that jut out before its 'face.' It snapped its pincers, like two giant blades of a pair of scissors, and let out a loud screeching noise that made the humans wince.
"What IS that thing!" Lia exclaimed.
"I don't know, but it's coming this way!" Maxwell stated, drawing his green moonstone blade.
"Watch out!" Gavin shouted as the monster rushed towards them. Its legs made scratching sounds against the sand, and it moved unnaturally fast over the grainy floor. The three treasure hunters had to jump out of the way as it rushed at them. It rammed head first into a wall, probably as fast as an airship… or faster! Gavin rolled on the ground, his sunglasses sliding off. He rolled into a crouching position, drawing his blade from the scabbard on his back. Maxwell tumbled as well, rolling and standing up quickly, wile Lia just hit the sandy floor, getting up slowly and brushing herself off as the giant beetle lashed around to face them again. It reared back for another charge, taking towards the two teens on the left side of the room with that same, astounding speed. Maxwell was ready, rushing towards Lia to push her out of the way. They barely managed to avoid the monster as it ran past, bashing into one of the thick columns lining the room. The force managed to put cracks in the stone – which was as thick as an old oak tree.
Gavin quickly turned his sword so that he was still holding it by the handle, though the blade was facing downwards. He held the blade out from his body, as if using the small red moonstone on the hilt as an aimer. The moonstone began to glow a bright orange, and as Gavin aimed at the monster, bright orange flashes, something like balls of fire, began to shoot from the end. Just as the first one hit the monster, it let out a loud screech, being hit in the side of the head. It took off again, weaving its way through the pillars, going left to right, turning and running as fast as it could, making it difficult for Gavin to continue to hit it. He tried though, running about the room to try and get a clear shot at it. He would stop occasionally, to fire another ball of fire from the hilt of his sword. Occasionally he would hit it, making it release another loud screech, or he would barely miss.
Maxwell and Lia were at a loss. Long-range combat seemed to be the only alternative against this monstrosity, and with Maxwell having a Swashbuckler's blade, and Lia having only a whip, it didn't seem like they could have done anything. But that didn't stop them from trying. The monster was a threat, and it had to be stopped. Maxwell and Lia took off in different directions. Maxwell tried to run and intercept the monster, but he only stumbled back to avoid being trampled over, and then had to duck as fireballs whizzed past his head. The giant beetle was on a rampage, and it turned towards Maxwell, rushing towards him. Maxwell gasped and tried to defend himself before the stampede of insect legs came upon him. Its head hit him at first, sending him to the ground to be tramped over by several large legs. Maxwell was rattled, lying upon the sandy floor, taking a moment to realize just what hit him, and how much pain he was in. Gavin rushed to him and helped him up, still firing at the monster.
"You alright, kid?" Gavin asked in a hurry.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Maxwell groaned.
The monster stopped, turning towards the two males then. He was preparing to strike. Gavin noticed this, and knowing that it had him and Maxwell in its sights, he didn't see any way of avoiding the attack. Gavin let Maxwell go and stood before him, blade raised to strike back at the thing should it have decided to charge. It let out a large screech, ready to charge. But then something stuck it in the head. Its head jerked a bit, and it looked to the side to see Lia, whipping at it to draw its attention away. The whip cracked against its head once again, making it turned towards the young woman and charge instead.
"Leave them alone you big – Uh oh!" Lia shouted as the thing began to charge at her.
Lia acted with haste. She more than likely did not know what she was doing until it was too late. She turned to see a pillar behind her. With no time to worry, she ran at it, placing her feet upon it and running up it slightly before pushing off in a leap. She flipped back in the air, whip following her movements. She then landed as the giant beetle rammed its head into the pillar, the same pillar as before, sending more cracks into it. Though what Lia didn't expect, was to land on the monster's head. She shrieked as it began to move beneath her feet, making her wrap her arms around the horn on its head in order to stay on. It thrashed and flailed its head, Lia barely holding on as her body was sent this way and that. Her ship was dropped with a dull thud into the sand as the beetle took off again, flailing its head about to try and throw Lia off.
"Max!" Lia shouted, stomping her foot into the monster's eye, releasing another loud shriek from its own vocals. "Help me!"
"Hang on!" Gavin shouted back as he let Maxwell go and continued his pursuit.
Gavin ran to get into a decent position, raising his sword hilt again in order to fire at the monster. He had a perfect shot at its head, but before he could fire, he felt a stinging pain shoot through his arm. He yelled out in pain, his shot being taken away, only to find another of the smaller kind of beetles with the red shells, had latched onto his arm via its pincers, and was cutting into his forearm. The treasure hunter grit his teeth and shook his arm frantically, trying to throw it off. At last, he punched it with his other arm, cutting his flesh as it slid off and fell to the floor. It quickly regained itself and rushed at Gavin, making the man dive out of the way, landing on his shoulder. He was holding his forearm securely with his free hand, blood oozing down the length of his arm. He rolled over and got to his feet, cursing his luck.
Maxwell noticed that Gavin was busy, and had to think fast. He tilted his goggles up to rest on his forehead as he flicked his eyes from Lia, who was calling for his help, to Gavin, who was too busy to help. Somewhere between that, he caught sight of Lia's whip. An idea popped into his mind. It was a farfetched idea, a one-shot deal, but it was all he had. He ran quickly, diving to avoid the loud stomping of the beetle, picking up Lia's whip and tumbling forwards. He stood up slowly then, holding Lia's whip in his hand. He sheathed his sword again and waited. When the beetle began to trample past him again, he lashed out the whip. Of course, his skill with it wasn't quite as good as Lia was, but he managed to wrap the tip around the horn on the monster's head. He grinned triumphantly, but his arms were suddenly jerked forwards, and he was taken off his feet, dragging along the floor. Sand rushed up into his face unfortunately, giving him a hard time concentrating. Though, with eyes closed and head turned, he began to pull himself up the whip, climbing it like a rope.
"Lia!" He shouted as he climbed onto its back.
"Maxy!" Lia smiled as she saw him.
"Lia, you'll have to jump off of this thing!" Maxwell shouted to her over the noise, standing up slowly, using the whip to try and keep balance.
"Jump? Are you crazy!" Lia shouted back.
"Trust me!" Maxwell shouted, blinking as he noticed the giant beetle was rushing towards Gavin, who was too busy trying to defend himself in order to get out of the way.
"Now!" Maxwell exclaimed. Lia did as he asked, leaping off the beetle and tumbling on the ground. She stood up to watch Maxwell then. Maxwell was a little worried. He gripped the whip tightly and pulled to the side quite harshly. The giant beetle screeched and tilted its head. Like a sores, its body followed, sending it head first into that same pillar as before. Its entire surface became riddled with cracks, and Maxwell had just barely noticed this, uncoiling the whip in a hurry and leaping off the monster. The pillar began to crumble, large chunks of stone falling from it. The entire pillar came down in pieces, landing on the beetle. The force picked up a lot of dust, blinding the three of them. When the dust cleared, the beetle was buried under rubble, its leg twitching. It was undoubtedly dead. Maxwell grinned to himself as Lia ran over to him, hugging him around the neck firmly in glee.
"Yeah! You did it, Maxy!" She proclaimed with joy, snatching her whip back. "Thanks for saving me, Mr. Hero."
"Aw it was nothing." Maxwell smiled brightly, rubbing the back of his head.
"And stay down!" Gavin shouted as he sheathed his blade again. "How agitating."
"Gavin, your arm is bleeding." Lia pointed out as she looked to him.
"Ah don't worry about it." Gavin smiled, looking around the floor until he found his sunglasses. He picked them up, dusted them off good, and then put them on again. "You guys okay?"
"We're okay." Maxwell nodded.
Just then, the door that had slammed shut suddenly opened again, revealing that same object.
"Whoa. Heh. It must have been guarding that treasure." Gavin grinned as he walked into the room. "Here treasure"
Following Gavin, the two Air Pirates walked into the dark room. The only thing lit was a lone pedestal in the middle of the room. A hole in the ceiling seemed to bring in sunlight from the outside in a sort of spotlight. On the pedestal was an awkward-looking object. It was a cube that hovered above the surface of the pedestal for a couple of inches. The cube was a translucent teal colour, with strange marking etched into its surface that seemed to flow with its own light. Gavin moved to it and examined it, the two Air Pirates seemingly taken back by it. They hardly knew what it was… In fact, none of them had the slightest clue. Gavin picked it up and studied it further. It seemed that when he held the cube, it did not float. It was as large as his hand, and he was fascinated by it.
"Gavin, what is that?" Maxwell asked.
"I'm not sure." Gavin responded, turning to them. "But it looks like its valuable. Some sort of weird technology or something."
Gavin threw it up to catch it again, but as he threw it up… it didn't come down. The three of them watched as the cube floated weightlessly up, hitting the ceiling and bouncing off. Slowly, the now spinning cube floated until it hit the wall. It bounced off the wall towards the floor. Then it bounced off the floor towards the ceiling again. Lia reached out and snatched it into both of her hands, staring at it in disbelief.
"Did you see that?" She asked. "It floated, like when a Moonstone fuels a boat… But this isn't a Moonstone."
"Hm… you're right. But it must manipulate Moonstones somehow…" Gavin walked over to her and took it. "It doesn't seem to run on fuel from a Moonstone… It's very strange."
"I don't know." Maxwell said as he took it. "It looks pretty small… I don't think it would be useful for anything."
"Let's keep it just in case." Gavin suggested. "If it is a treasure, we could sell it for thousands!"
"We could be rich!" Lia said, smiling brightly to Maxwell. "We could have anything we want!"
"Alright." Maxwell nodded as he pocketed the cube. "Let's get out of here, we can talk more on the ship."
Getting back out of the pyramid was just as difficult as getting inside. The twists and turns of the corridors confused the treasure hunters. They seemed to be far under the ground as well, as nearly their entire trip was uphill. It was far more tiring than getting inside. But eventually, they made it outside, greeted by bright sunlight. They hadn't known how long they were inside, but it seemed as if they'd been in all night. Maxwell and Lia shielded their eyes, while Gavin was fine thanks to his sunglasses. Unfortunately, it seemed that the men had been awake for some time, and knew they had gone down below. It was a nasty surprise to Gavin, Maxwell, and Lia to see them waiting. One man approached them alone, which seemed rather bold of him.
"You were ordered not to enter the pyramid before the rest of the men…" He said, his voice seeming quite stern and full of cold emotion.
"Uhh… Well…" Maxwell thought, trying to think of a response, while Lia and Gavin were both stumped.
"What did you find?" He asked.
"Nothing." Maxwell shot back quickly.
"Nothing at all!" Lia added.
"Absolutely, positively, indubitably nothing." Gavin added again.
The man looked cold, and emotionless, and very serious. He had mild-length brown hair, his bangs only slightly over his brown eyes. He seemed to be fit, but it was hard to tell with his pale-skinned body was hidden beneath a purple coat that was buttoned up the middle, its collar folded down, lined with gray, having a gray interior shown by his folded-back cuffs. Resting on a slant on his hips was a belt that held a pair of goggles on his left side, and a sword scabbard on his right. His legs were covered in white pants, and on his feet he wore brown boots that came up to just under his knees. He was only slightly taller than Maxwell, and probably weighed in only slightly more. Within his scabbard shined a golden handle to a concealed blade.
"… Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Search them…" The man said, three men from the camp hurrying to them and beginning to search them.
"Watch the hands, pal." Gavin grumbled.
"Don't touch me there!" Lia scolded during her search, smacking the man's hand away.
"Sir, I found something." One of the men said, catching the man in the purple coat's interest. He walked over to Maxwell and reached into his pocket, grasping the strange cube and pulling it out.
"… This is what we came for." The man in the purple coat said.
"Well we took it fair and square!" Maxwell responded, snatching the cube back and pushing the man who had searched him over. Lia and Gavin did the same. Maxwell then drew his blade, pocketing the cube he held yet again.
"… That is an important artifact. Give it back!" The man demanded.
"And we should care why? As far as we're concerned, it's worth gold. Air Pirates never give up the chance to get gold." Maxwell smirked, menacingly pointing his blade towards the man's throat.
"… If it's a fight you want…" The man stepped back, drawing his own blade slowly. "… I ought to get paid extra for this."
"Stay back!" Maxwell warned as the man drew closer.
Nobody knew where it came from, but a sort of laser came from nowhere, striking the ground at the man in the purple coat's feet. He stepped back cautiously, and all eyes were drawn towards a sand dune in the distance. There, slightly masked by the rippling heat waves from the sand, stood a figure. A slight breeze picked up, making his long white hair blow in the wind gently. Maxwell recognized him as the man he'd seen at his home village when it was attacked. His right eye gazed from the distance, his long back vest swayed in the wind as well, his scarred chest was visible, his pale bright under the desert sun. The man in the purple coat glared at him, gritting his teeth. Forgetting Maxwell for a moment, he ordered his men to get the white-haired man.
The man ran at him, all of them at once. There was a good eighteen of them in all, against one man. The man said nothing, and stood still as a stone as the men, all with swords, rushed him. Maxwell, Lia, and Gavin surveyed the odds, and they were definitely not in the man's favor. Gavin acted quickly to make a distraction, drawing his blade quietly while the man in the purple coat was distracted. He turned it upside-down, holding it towards the man in the purple coat. Maxwell grinned and stepped aside, out of the man's line of sight before Gavin shot a small bullet of fire. Like a bad ember, it caught to the man's coat, and set it aflame. The man began to panic, and most of his men catching this and turning to go help. Maxwell, Gavin and Lia took off then, as fast as their legs could carry them towards one of the Dhabu. They quickly untied it and Gavin quickly helped Maxwell and Lia onto it. Gavin himself climbed on the back, and Maxwell took the reins and turned the Dhabu towards Maramba, and took off over the sand. Of course, the Dhabu didn't run… It was a lazy animal. But it was still quicker than human feet.
"Damn." The man in the purple coat muttered as he threw off his coat, revealing he was wearing a black, short-sleeved undershirt. "Leave him alone, go fetch the airship."
The man who used to wear the purple coat gazed towards the white-haired man just as he finished off the last of the four men that had tried to take care of him. He sighed, the other fifteen running towards the airship they had brought to the site in case they needed it. As the man who used to wear the purple coat watched, the white man turned away, raising one hand in a little two-fingered wave, mostly hidden behind his silver katar. He soon disappeared out of sight over the sands.
"Hmph." The man who used to where the purple coat quietly scoffed. "We'll get it…"
He turned away towards the airship then, walking towards it, his arms still crossed.
"There'll be no rest for those Air Pirates."
It was a long journey back to Maramba. The Dhabu moved slowly, and it was scorching. Lia slumped against Maxwell and sighed heavily, reaching back to take her hair out of its braid. While she worked, Gavin was deep in thought. Maxwell didn't know what to say or do. He dismissed the strange cube he held simply as a treasure. But now someone wanted it, and it seemed pretty important. Nobody had ever seen it before… And why did that strange man help him? Maybe it was to return the favor, he thought. Still, it was quite strange. Lia complained about the heat, as her long hair was free to sway in the wind gently. Gavin was silent for a long moment before he blinked in realization.
"Lone Wolf…" He muttered.
"What was that?" Maxwell looked back at Gavin.
"Lone Wolf Lawrence…" Gavin spoke.
"Who's that?" Lia asked, looking back as well.
"That man we saw before, his name is Lawrence." Gavin explained. "He earned the name 'Lone Wolf Lawrence' because he is a mercenary, who will take any job as long as it pays well. But he's also famous because he was part of Vyse The Legend's crew… He helped save the world on the Delphinus. Little is known about him, but I heard that there's no job he's ever failed…"
"What!" Maxwell and Lia exclaimed at the same time.
"But… we don't want someone like that not to like us!" Lia said.
"I know, but it seems that we're doing something that gets in his way." Gavin said. "And he'll do anything to get this little cube."
"Well… should we just give it to him then?" Lia asked.
"No way!" Maxwell said. "As I said, we stole it fair and square, and who knows? This thing could be something that's useful to us. And who knows what he wants it for? Unless he tells us what he needs it for, it's ours. And even if he tells us, and it's something we don't like, I'm keeping it anyways."
"Heh, good idea." Gavin said.
"That's my Maxy." Lia giggled. "Good thinking."