High up in the executive section of the building, the Red Phoenix stood in the corner of the room with her arms folded as Westwood rummaged around in the filing cabinets and bookcases pulling out documents and reports from files and folders and dumping them on the broken oak desk.
"All these reports must be preserved if we want to this plan to go smoothly," Westwood said as he scurried backwards and forwards shifting masses of sheets of paper.
"All that paperwork is pretty much useless if there is no one around to read them," the Red Phoenix muttered dismissively.
"Now that's where you're wrong my dear. This paperwork will insure the next stage of the plan is set for when I take hold of this industry back before the super-virus annihilated everyone. I'm going to need a few more resources besides your magic power. Fortunately the safe remained untouched before that brat kid of yours infiltrated the building and compromised the entire thing," Westwood said without raising his eyes to her.
"So the boy was curious; so what? Shame I had to end it so soon though. Poor tyke didn't even get to realise his full potential."
"What are you saying? Your son could have just as easily obtained the power you have now?" Westwood said stopping and looking at her finally.
"Naturally. Any one of them could have. I gave the Warrior's Heart Ruby to Jason on that day he escaped to hide it from you. It was on that day I truly believed in the legend but looks like I was a little too late. I was hoping at the time Jason would realise it too but he was a bit too young," the Red Phoenix said.
"You can remember all of that from seven years ago? Not most people who are brought back from the dead can remember their past in such detail. I was almost afraid that your subconscious would not return fully once I revived you," Westwood said flatly.
"Even though I was killed in one sense, I lived on in another. These jewels are much more than just pretty stones. I believe a certain amount of essence from my dying spirit transferred over to Jason. I can't place it exactly but somewhere between me giving him the pendent and you shooting me…something happened."
"Humph…well let's hope that you can utilize your son's hidden power and use it to our advantage," Westwood said with an evil smirk as he returned to his files. The Red Phoenix smiled back but she then twitched as if something foul was in the air.
"Hmm?"
"What is it?" Westwood asked stopping his shifting for a second time. The Red Phoenix closed her eyes for a brief few seconds, opened them again and turned to the director with a sinister twinkle in her eye.
"They're here. I can sense the other two essences very close by," she announced.
"They certainly took their time…Wait a minute! TWO essences? I thought you crushed Littlefoot earlier? How can he still be alive?" Westwood blurted out.
"I did. He must have survive somehow," the Red Phoenix said blandly, "don't worry about it. I'll give our little trespassers a guided tour." She smiled malevolently.
"Good. It will give me time to pack these files and get to the Chronos Doorway up and running. I'll call you when I need you to re-activate the doorway," Westwood said hurryingly.
"No rush, I want to enjoy this," the evil woman drooled as she levitated off the ground and floated out the room.
Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Red Phoenix building, Jill, Sergeant Stone and the dinosaur children wandered slowly and cautiously further and further in.
"This place spooky…" Petrie said through chattering teeth as they trudged passed the broken golden phoenix fountain as it lay in pieces.
"This is were it all started…the virus, the experiments, all of it. It was all happening right under our noses but only a few really knew the truth about what was going on here. Even we were oblivious to the evil works undergone within these walls," Stone said as he approached the reception desk.
"This is also where Jason's mother worked. She was one of the top scientists in the energetics department and it was her who first discovered the first Stone of Essence. I read her profile and countless dossiers on her works. She was greatly admired amongst her colleagues," Jill said as she checked the lifts which were inactive, "Lifts are down. Looks like we're taking the stairs."
"Where is Westwood? Is he even here?" Ali asked as they climbed the first flight.
"Yes…Jason's mother is here so Westwood must be here too," Littlefoot announced immediately.
"How do you know?" Cera asked whirling around and staring at Littlefoot a little shocked.
"For some reason…I can sense Jason's mother around here. I can't explain it very well…I just know…" Littlefoot replied looking back at her with a serious expression.
"But where? Where could he be?" Ducky yapped. Just as she finished her question, the stairwell trembled slightly.
"W-ww-what was that?" Ali chattered nervously as she regained her balance but was quickly thrown around by another, stronger set of tremors.
"What going on? Is it an earthshake?" Petrie suggested landing on Jill's shoulder.
"Dunno…" Stone replied. Suddenly, there was a tremendous crashing from below them. Turning to face the noise, the group shrieked as they saw the stairs tumbling down, one by one, from behind them.
"Whoa! Run for it! The stairs are collapsing!" Jill shouted as she took off up the remaining stairwell. Flying further and further up, the dropping stairs continued to chase them as they climbed higher.
"I…don't know…how long I…can't keep this…up…" Cera wheezed.
"It is not stopping! Keep going Spike!" Ducky chanted as the hefty, young Stegosaurus tried hard to stay ahead of the tumbling steps just under his heels. As the numbers of the floors blurred passed, everyone continued to fly up the stair but the steps were gradually catching them. Jill then looked up at the stairs and saw a door at the top of them.
"Everyone! Follow me!" Jill ordered as she jumped up the last few steps and shoulder-barged the door open throwing it inwards. Stone and the gang promptly followed suit as the crashing stairs stopped on the floor they had gotten off at. Breathing a great sigh of relief, Littlefoot and his friends collapsed on the ground as Jill and Stone propped themselves up against the walls panting heavily.
"What…in…the world…was…that…about…?!" Cera gasped completely sprawled out on the marble floor.
"Probably one of Westwood and the Phoenix's tricks. My guess is that there are plenty more around," Stone said slowly standing up straight again.
"That was very scary, it was, it was!" Ducky said as she rubbed Spike's back as he recovered.
"Well, looks like we won't be going back the way we came up. May as well press on," Jill said dismissively. Once everyone had recovered the majority of their stamina, the group stood up and followed Jill and Stone deeper into the building.
Wandering down the dark corridors, Jill and the sergeant led the gang through the maze of meeting rooms and laboratories.
"Where exactly are we going?" Ali asked breaking the silence.
"Are we looking for Westwood?" Ducky followed feeling a bit more comfortable about talking now someone else had started.
"We're taking a quick detour. Our office is on this floor so we can stock up on some ammo and other equipment. Something tells me we are gonna need as much help as we can get when it comes to the showdown with Westwood," Stone replied glancing over his shoulder. Turning the next corner, the group found themselves strolling down a narrow hall with labs alternately positioned either side. The lights had been destroyed and the gang were starting to feel nervous as the area grew darker and darker.
"Kinda dark down here…" Littlefoot said a little shakily.
"Lights probably got wrecked in some of the previous bombings years ago," Stone replied feeling his way along the wall.
"So why are some working but others aren't?" Ali asked.
"Maybe this section's had its power severed from the main generator. Back up ones have probably blown out too," Jill answered calmly.
"Arrrggghhh!" Cera screamed suddenly causing everyone to jump forward.
"What is it Cera?!" Jill called urgently.
"Something's got me! It's on my head!" she shrieked.
"That me Cera! Me on your head!" Petrie announced from out of the darkness. Realising it was a false alarm, everyone sighed.
"Petrie! Don't ever do that again?! Did you want to scare me to death?" Cera scorned.
"Sorry…" Petrie said sheepishly.
"C'mon kids., let's keep moving. And no more surprises please," Jill asked sweetly. No sooner had Jill spoken, there came a husky breathing sound from around their area.
"Wh-whh-what was that ss-sssound?" Ali said trembling at the noise.
"What sound?" Ducky asked nervously.
"That low hissing sound…" Ali replied shrinking up so she could feel someone else pressed against her.
"I didn't hear anything," Littlefoot said but was now feeling incredibly insecure.
"If this is some sort of a joke, it's not funny Ali," Cera muttered bitterly.
"Do you think I'd be joking at a time like this?!" Ali blurted a little louder than she meant to. Jill hissed them silence as she felt something crunch underfoot.
"Uh oh, there's broken glass on the ground. You lot can't come any further or you'll slice your feet up," Stone said cautiously stepping on the shards of glass littering the floor.
"What?! You're just gonna leave us here?!" Cera bellowed.
"Well……yeah…" Stone replied dumbly.
"Oh please do don't leave us alone in the dark Mr. Stone. I do not like it here, oh no, no, no," Ducky whined.
"If you walk on the glass you won't be walking for much longer after that," Stone barked harshly causing Ducky to groan unhappily.
"Hang on a sec. I'll see if my Laser Blade is charged enough yet," Jill suggested feeling for her blade's handle on her hip. With a hand on it, Jill quickly switched it on as the luminous, machete-type blade appeared but flickered almost instantly from yellow to a faint red.
"Battery powers still weak. Hurry up before it goes out," Jill said holding the red light to the ground and sweeping a path clear with her foot for the dinosaurs to get safely through. In a single filed line, Littlefoot and the others waddled along the cleared path keeping a sharp eye out for the glistening of glass fragments dusting the floor. When they reached about half way, Jill's blade crackled and flickered before going out completely.
"What happened?" Ali asked bumping into the back of Spike having not realised the line had stopped moving.
"Dammit…battery's died again," Jill cursed slapping the handle trying to get it working again.
"What do we do now?" Ducky asked feeling claustrophobic.
"I dunno…grrr…if only the lights were on so we could see," Stone mumbled irritably. As if to respond to his plea, the narrow hall's lights suddenly snapped and cracked into life illuminating the area.
"Wow…now THAT…was freaky…" Jill said looking around to see what could have activated the lights.
"How did you do that Mr. Stone?" Littlefoot asked expecting him to know. Stone just shrugged his shoulders and put on a dumbfounded expression.
With the lights now functioning, the gang felt much more comfortable as they leapt over the final, glass-littered section of the ground and continued towards the Red Phoenix Squadron's office. No one said a word as they progressed down the still very eerie corridor. Strangely, even though the area was clear of any signs of life besides themselves, Ali couldn't tear her mind away from the sound she heard earlier. It kept giving her the spine-chilling sensation that something was watching them. To her horror, another low, icy hissing grew around her forcing her to gasp and glance behind.
"What is it Ali?" Petrie asked being the only one to pick up on her frightened, little squeal.
"I…erm…thought I heard something…" Ali replied tensely as she felt her heart drumming inside her.
"What sound?" Petrie asked hovering above her as she examined the empty hallway behind them.
"I don't know. It sounded like a hissing but…" Ali started but stopped as she felt a soft gust of wind breeze past her face and caused the viewing windows of the labs either side of the corridor to rattle slightly. Gasping, Ali whipped around trying to locate the source of the disturbance.
"Hey! What's the hold up back there? Come on," Stone called to the two of them standing a few metres behind. Ali stood frozen in place still looking around.
"Ali? What's wrong?" Littlefoot asked reading the distressed expression carved on her face.
"Something's here…something's watching us…I can sense it…" Ali mumbled anxiously. The gang all looked at each other in confusion.
"Ali, are you feeling okay? Do you want to stop for a bit?" Jill suggested but was shocked to see Ali's head snap around to stare directly into blacken laboratory through the window.
"Ali? What's…" Jill started but was interrupted as Ali suddenly turned tail and darted back the way they came.
"Ali!!!" Littlefoot called after her.
"Where's she going?" Cera barked indignantly. As they all began to give chase, the window where Ali was looking suddenly shattered and a massive, sickly creature leapt out into their path.
"Aaarrrggghhh!!! What is that!?!" Ducky screamed in panic. Staring down at it, the creature was easily nine feet long. Its skin was a sunburnt red and stood like a gecko with its body hanging a few inches off the floor but it looked like it was some form of a human with razor sharp claws as front feet. The monster gave its characteristic husky breathing sound as a snake-like tongue hung out of its drooling mouth and wrapped around its jagged jaw line hungrily.
"What the hell is that creep?!" Stone yelled. In response, the lizard-type human charged at him lashing its tongue around like a weapon. Screaming, the gang tried to dodge the creature as best they could in the narrow hallway as it rapidly shifted its sickly body along the floor ripping great chunks of marble out of the polished surface. Barely escaping a dangerous slash to his legs, Stone leapt to the side as the creature then stopped again.
"Jeez! What the…" Stone panted but the creature quickly turned in his direction again and attacked again. It leapt up and tried to claw at Stone's head but he ducked it as the swipe past treacherously close to him and tore large slash marks into the wall. Just as it finished its attack, it then picked up on Ducky screaming and it then turned towards her and Spike. Horrified, Spike tried desperately to leap out of the way before the monster charged for him but he wasn't fast enough. As the creature approached them, slithering across the ground, Jill then shouted out to it.
"Hey! Over here you sick tree frog!" Forgetting its original target, the creature then turned towards Jill.
"Yeah! That's right! I'm talking to you freaky lizard! Come get some!" Jill taunted to it. Instantly, the beast launched itself directly at her but she slapped the wall a few times making a rippling echo down the hall before rolling to one side. Thinking Jill was still in the same place, the monster began roaring and clawing at the wall viciously.
"What the hell was…" Stone started but Jill thrust her hand over his mouth to silence him.
"Be quiet you moron! It will hear you otherwise…" Jill hissed lowly as the echoing over her hand slaps slowly dissipated. Ripping Jill's hand from his face, Stone looked at Jill extremely ticked off.
"What are you babbling about?!" Stone whispered back hotly.
"Everyone keep your voices down and don't make too much noise…that thing can't see us coz it's blind but it can hear every sound you make," Jill warned as the creature suddenly stopped attacking the wall having nearly pawed all the way through it.
"That mutant thing is sensitive to sound and vibration…watch…" Jill whispered as she slowly bent down and picked up a shard of broken glass and rolled it down the corridor. As it rattled and clattered down the hall, the monster quickly took after it and attacked the ground repeatedly where it stopped. Everyone looked on in shock as it dug its way through the thick marble slabs and into the concrete.
"What do we do? We can't run away otherwise it will chase us," Cera hissed. As the monster continued its assault on the ground, Jill bent down and picked up another piece of glass and threw it a little further down the hall. Like a bullet from a gun, the beast clambered along the floor to its next target leaving gaping holes with its erratic movements. Following her example, Stone picked up another shard and threw it even further to trick the monster into moving further away. Once it was a reasonable distance away, Jill signalled for everyone to move out.
"Let's get outta here," Stone said taking the lead.
"But what about Ali? Where did she go?" Littlefoot asked. To his terror, he heard thundering crashes coming from behind him. Turning around, he could see the lizard creature heading for them. Unable to remain calm, Littlefoot broke into a run in order to escape it. Still a considerable distance away, the monster sat down, opened its mouth and shot its tongue out at Littlefoot like a missile. Its tongue latched onto Littlefoot hind leg and pulled him off his feet. As he felt his chin hit the hard floor, Littlefoot felt his body being dragged across the ground back towards the creature's open jaws.
"Aarrrggghhh!!! Help me!!!" Littlefoot yelled terrified. Everyone shouted out to the monster in order to distract it but it ignored them and continued to inch Littlefoot closer and closer to its face.
"What now?!" Cera cried helplessly. Jill, then, quickly darted towards Littlefoot as he tried frantically to pull himself away but the slippery surface offered no traction. Taking his feet, Jill tried to pull him back and managed to halt it from pulling him in. As she struggled with Littlefoot, Jill failed to notice creature spitting at her angrily. Jill flinched and released her grip as some of its saliva made contact with her arm as it sizzled and burned on her skin.
"Uurrrgghhh! It's saliva is concentrated sulphuric acid!" Jill said as winced at the burning.
The creature showed no signs of slowing at Littlefoot continued to panic as he approached its jaws. Helplessly, Jill tried to think of a way to rescue him but time was running out. Suddenly, Stone jumped down next to her.
"Here, take this!" he said handing her a bottle, "it's from one of the labs. Use it! You said that thing's saliva is pure acid right?" Jill nodded and looked down at the clear, glass bottle that contained a colourless liquid with a label on it reading "Ethanol".
"A little bucket chemistry! Let's go!" Stone said to her with a sinister smirk. Smiling darkly, they both ran towards the monster and threw the bottles into its mouth. Still with its grip on Littlefoot, the creature chomped on the bottles breaking them open and spilling the liquid into its mouth and onto the floor around it. Suddenly, a loud hissing erupted from the monster's mouth as the liquid and its acidic saliva reacted with each other causing it to bubble and froth. With the creature momentarily subdued, Jill took hold of Littlefoot and grabbed a piece of glass and sliced through the creature's tongue releasing him. As the monster squealed in pain, Stone took a lighter from one of his pouches and flicked a flame up. The monster writhed whilst Jill pulled Littlefoot to safety; Stone dropped the lighter on the ground which instantly ignited the ethanol the monster was drenched in. The lizard creature roared as the flames tore over its body and engulfed it as its sulphuric saliva continued to sizzling in its mouth. As Jill, Stone and Littlefoot rejoined the group, they watched as the flames continued to crackle menacingly and worked its way inside its mouth.
"Littlefoot! Are you alright?!" Ducky called to him as he flopped down exhausted.
"Yeah. Thanks Mr. Stone…Jill…" Littlefoot said to them smiling which they replied with smiled of their own.
The monster started to scream louder as the fire made its way down its throat catching the gang's attention immediately.
"Erm…Jill?" Stone said slowly but potently as he watch the creature pawing gingerly at its belly.
"What's up?" Jill replied airily also watching the monster squirm in agony.
"You don't suppose that thing's stomach is filled with sulphuric acid do you?" Stone asked curiously. Before Jill could answer, the lizard collapsed and gave one last ear-splitting squeal before exploding throwing pieces of its flesh all over the corridor in a massive bloody cloud. Having taken cover on seeing the monster fall to the ground, everyone stood up slowly and cringed at the unsightly mess the explosion had caused.
"Ewww…that is so disgusting!" Cera said indignantly unable to look at the walls and ceiling that dripped and trickled blood.
"Well…that's the end of that creepy crawler," Stone said turning around to continue towards their office but he stopped when Littlefoot hissed in pain.
"What's wrong kid?" he asked him from over his shoulder.
"My back leg is really stinging…I think some of that funny watery stuff from the monster's mouth fell on me," Littlefoot said limping. Jill knelt down to examine his injury.
"Oooooo…that looks nasty. Some of the sulphuric acid has singed your skin. There isn't an awful lot I can do about it because it has already been absorbed. You'll just have to bear with it, the pain will go eventually," Jill told him softly. Littlefoot nodded bravely but looked at his slightly blistered leg concerned before following Jill and Stone.
"Hey! What about Ali? We no going to find her?" Petrie asked urgently.
"We'll have to find her later. I'm sure she'll be alright since all she has to do is follow this corridor down," Stone said rather brutishly which made the gang shuffle uncomfortably.
"Don't worry guys, we'll find her again. We just need to kit up and then we'll search for her. I'm sure she'll be okay," Jill said a little more sincerely. Still a little unsure, the gang pressed on with their minds firmly planted on Ali's safety.
Meanwhile, Ali found herself wandering an area of office cubicles feeling extremely self-conscious. Everything looked the same with nothing to show her the way back to her friends.
"Oh…where am I? Why did I run away from everybody like that? I wish I didn't now…" Ali whined silently. With her head low, she moved from one cubicle to the next trying to find a way back. Suddenly, Ali stopped and found two, black objects directly under her nose. Gulping, she slowly looked up and gasped as he looked at what was in front of her.
"Hello sweet child…Fancy meeting you here. Enjoying your stroll around the office blocks? Allow me to show you some of its more interesting features…" Westwood drooled. Ali stared deep into his cold, grey eyes fearfully but he smiled malevolently down on her forcing her to curl up. Unable to stare at him any longer, Ali turned tail and tried to flee the area but she skidded to a halt as the Red Phoenix floated down in front of her boxing her in.
"Hey cutie! Where you off to in a hurry? Lose your friends did ya?" she said sweetly whilst wearing an evil smirk. Ali slowly backed away from her terrified as the evil woman stepped towards her. Unknowing where she was going, Ali walked backwards into an office cubicle where the Red Phoenix psychically shut the doors around her trapping her inside. Paralysed with fear, Ali stared up the Red Phoenix pleading with her not to kill her.
"Don't worry…I wouldn't harm you but you will be coming with me. Now sleep…no more tears…you'll be fine," she assured her as she raised a hand to Ali's head. Still petrified, Ali felt a gentle, sweet breeze brush over her face which she drew into her lungs with each panic-stricken breath. The air made her free incredibly dizzy and drowsy as her world grew brighter and brighter until see could see anymore. Once her vision was a sheet of brilliant white, Ali felt something snap and she quickly fell unconscious. Once she was completely tranquillised, the Red Phoenix lowered her hand and signalled to Westwood who stood outside with his arms folded across his chest having no moved from his place. Picking Ali's cataleptic body up effortlessly, she followed Westwood up a flight of stairs and deeper into the building.
Chapter 58: Humans and Dinosaurs DividedStill in the laboratory section of the decaying building, Jill and Sergeant Stone continued to lead the way down the glowing hallways to their office closely followed by Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike. Since their attack from the hideous human-lizard mutant, none of them had spoken a word. Both Jill and Stone knew that the five of them were desperately thinking of Ali's welfare and nothing assuring could be said to take their minds off of her.
"Not far now. Just a few more corners to turn then we'll be at our office ready to kit up," Stone said merrily trying to break the tension that had flooded over the group like a suffocating blanket that had robbed them of their voices.
"Hey c'mon. Chin up you miserable lot! We'll get you friend back once we sort our equipment out, which won't take two minutes, we'll be hot on her trail in no time. So come on! Put on a happy face!" he continued to chirp. The gang looked up at Stone giving him a variety of expressions. Littlefoot, Ducky and Spike, after a few seconds, all smiled weakly, Petrie looked around unmoved by his words and Cera just grunted and held her head high mumbling something along the lines of: "What an idiot…" Stone dropped his fake smile and turned back to the way he was facing. He glanced over at Jill who was also wearing a rather downfallen mien.
"Don't tell me you got the hump as well Lieutenant," Stone grumbled rolling his eyes.
"Nah. Just trying to imagine how hard this is for those little guys," Jill said softly so the others couldn't hear.
"What d'ya mean? They seem fine to me," Stone argued dismissively taking another look at the gang whose heads had swiftly returned to their gravity fighting, hanging position.
"They must feel so lost. Millions of years from their own rightful place in the world fighting a battle that will ultimately seem fruitless to them despite its magnitude," Jill sighed almost mournfully.
"So you're saying that saving the entire fabric of time and history as we know it is not as important as we're making it out to be? What could possibly have a much higher importance then that?" Stone said blandly. Jill looked at him with large eyes as he locked onto her with a dumb face.
"They have experienced enough hardship in their young lives without having to participate in a battle that they not really supposed to be involved in. This is supposed to be between us humans, not them. It was just unfortunate that a certain catalyst forced them to join us."
"What you getting at? You mean the kid who was killed back in the dinosaur era?" Stone bellowed a little louder than he meant to. With a quick check to see if they had picked up on his sentence, which none of them seemed to have done, Stone turned back to Jill.
"Exactly. I was torn to pieces but the way they wept over Jason's death. I have been trained to kill, something I have witnessed and dealt to living, breathing people countless times and I always shrugged it off as part of the mission…blocked it out and ignored all the tears and pain others were feeling. Even when we lost men on assignments, the very people I had trained and learned from as well as lead as a commanding officer, nothing got to me more than seeing those kids nudging and pleading with Jason's corpse to move again. I tell you Serge…that really did crush me. Everything I had trained and worked hard for in order to get my ranking seemed…futile and pointless. I've never felt such raw emotion before…not even when my parents and boyfriend were killed in the virus outbreak."
"Don't tell me you're going soft all of a sudden Jill. This isn't the time to be getting all mushy and teary-eyed. The fact remained that we were trained to do a job; that's it. It was just all profession and not to be taken home with you at the end of the day. We both knew what would be involved and we made our decisions in what we wanted to do. Right now, this is the most highly classified mission of our careers and it will undoubtedly be our last. I mean c'mon. We're waging war on our own employing company for gawd sakes. Once we complete this one…we won't have to think about any of this crap anymore. Everything will be as it was…"
"I guess so. It's just that I never would have suspected that our own supplier of weapons, medical equipment, the lot, would all be the one we have to then turn around and use those same weapons on in order to fight against. This is not how I wanted to end my career as a serving militant and upholder of law and order. Destroying the very thing that taught me all that in the first place. To be strong and fight for justice. I…I just don't know what 'justice' is anymore. Our captain, numerous dinosaurs and even a teenaged aged child were killed in what we classed as a standard extraction and interrogation mission." Jill turned away from Stone sighing defeated but Stone thrust his hands to her shoulders and lifted her head to meet his eyes.
"Pull it together Jill! Get a grip! If you fall apart now we're already doomed to fail. Despite all the crap that Westwood has laid down in front of us we have to overcome it. We have to fight for those lost, especially our leader and Jason. The best we can do is avenge their deaths and prevent a madman in succeeding in the destruction of the world as he remember it. This may not be the ideal mission to end a spotless career on but by hell it is definitely one worth fighting for. We have to do our utmost to protect this planet from Westwood's evil hand," Stone barked fiercely yet compassionately.
"……Ss-s…Serge……!!!" Jill gasped breathlessly but Stone shook his head as he dragged his arms off her shoulders and rolled into her hands.
"I want to bring that maniac down for what he did to our squadron. Our teammates…our leader…and above all…what he is about to do to our home but I know that I can't do this by myself. I need to be strong but I need someone else to be strong with me…" Stone said boldly holding up their cupped hands to eye level. Jill's expression instantly switched from despaired to a spirited smile as his words sunk in. Stone smiled as well seeing Jill's face light up as they stood there gazing at each other.
"Err umm…if you two are quite finished…we have an insane human to stop. Not to mention finding Ali!" Cera tutted barging past them. Having shattered the atmosphere like brittle china, Stone immediately snatched his hands away from Jill's and placed them in his pockets feeling a little uncomfortable. Jill gingerly lowered her arms to her side and looked back at the young sergeant who seemed to be deliberately avoiding her eyes. Smiling again, Jill looked back at the rest of the gang who were all beaming with glistening eyes.
"What? What is it?" Jill asked curiously.
"Oh…nothing…" Littlefoot said airily as he marched past with an unfading smirk closely followed by a merrily humming Spike complete with Ducky and Petrie giggling on his back.
"What? What's so funny you lot?" Jill asked watching them walk away still smirking and sniggering. Hands firmly planted on her hips, Jill shook her head and started after them. She didn't get very far when the viewing windows of the labs either side of her erupted at exactly the same moment throwing slivers of glass everywhere. The surprises didn't stop there as the doors burst open and more zombified creatures flopped out into the corridor. Stone and the gang whirled around to see Jill struggling with one zombie wearing a technician's white lab coat.
"Jill!" Littlefoot cried as he saw the monster trying to sink its teeth into her ankle. More zombies picked themselves up from off the glass littered floor and started towards Littlefoot. Shrieking, Littlefoot hopped backwards distancing himself from diseased creature as Stone jumped forward to take his place. The sergeant then lifted his leg and delivered a heavy kick to the zombie's head sending it spinning and somersaulting wildly down the corridor knocking over all those next to it.
"Jill!…Jill come on!" Stone shouted to her and he shoulder barged another one back through the window from whence it came.
"Get going! I'll catch you up!" Jill said thumping an approaching zombie in the chest still tussling with the other zombie hanging onto her foot.
"Come on Jill! Let's go!" Cera hollered as she saw Spike tear past her.
"I'm…I'm coming!" she called back finally freeing her leg from the living shackle which fumbled to get it back. Jill then stomped her foot down with all her might on the zombie's skull. The decayed head made a sickening crunching sound as Jill's heavy boot ploughed straight through its cranium shattering it like an over-ripened fruit. Jill broke into a run, knocking down the surrounding creatures blocking her way as she charged after Stone escaping with Littlefoot and his friends.
"Where did those guys come from?" Cera called as she skidded around a corner ramming Spike into the wall as he ran parallel to her.
"Me no know! They not there a second ago then BOOM!" Petrie exclaimed throwing his hands into the air.
"Where's Jill?" Littlefoot asked urgently.
"She is coming up behind us, she is!" Ducky replied pointing to her from her perch atop Spike.
"C'mon kids! Our office is around the next bend!" Stone announced as he waved to Jill to hurry up.
Racing around the final corner, Stone and the gang pulled up outside the squadron's office. As Stone pulled out his keycard to unlock the door, Jill slowed to a halt next to them. Stone passed his card through the reader and the blinking light flickered from red to green and the lock was released. Jill pushed her way to the front and followed Stone into the small room filled with numerous desks, a weapons rack, filing cabinets that were as high as the ceiling and loose documents floating around on the hurried breeze Jill and Stone made with their rapid movements. Littlefoot was the first one to poke his head through the doorway and into the office as he watched Jill and Stone snatch various items from around the room.
"This where you live?" Petrie asked naively finding a clear spot to land on Littlefoot's head.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Stone said without looking at them as he grabbed some more ammunition and stuffing it into his already full ammo pouch.
"Human stuff is so weird! What do you need all this stuff for anyways?" Cera said almost in disgust.
"Well it's…" Jill started but was stopped by a trembling sound coming from above them.
"What was that?" she asked eyeing the ceiling suspiciously.
"Dunno," Stone replied as the shaking suddenly increased.
"It feels like an earthshake is happening in this very small space!" Ducky chattered nervously. Just as she finished her sentence, the whole area shook violently and the rumbling grew until it was deafening. Suddenly, the ceiling split and gave way allowing debris from the floor above to come crashing down into the tiny office. The gang screamed in terror as one of the massive filing cabinets buckled under the impact of a marble slab landing on it and it toppled towards them. With nowhere to run, the gang all huddled up in the corner as the cabinet tumbled down on them. A few seconds later, tremors had ceased and the gang, who sat still trembling in each others company, looked up slowly as the dust slowly settled in front of their eyes. To their shock, they saw the metal cabinet had formed an awkwardly positioned bridge over them supported only by the wall on the other side.
"Phew! That was too close," Littlefoot sighed unfurling from in between Spike and Cera.
"Humph! Petrie no scared! Petrie knew that would happen!" Petrie boasted standing upright and puffing himself up. He then cringed slightly at something groaning.
"What that sound?" he quickly asked as the groaning grew louder. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Petrie was struck from behind and sent flying from his perch on top of Littlefoot to land on his face on dusty carpet. Shaking his head to rid himself of the daze, Petrie looked up to find the gang laughing at him.
"I guess that huge shiny thing showed you Petrie," Ducky chuckled. Petrie looked up at the cabinet and saw that one of the drawers had rolled out and hit him from behind.
"Ooooo…me never see that one coming….oowwee!" Petrie groaned rubbing the back of his head. Whilst he massaged his injury, a shuffling was heard just across the way from them. The gang gasped as something emerged from under the rubble that laid sprawled across the floor in random positions. As the rocks levitated off the ground, everyone was relieved to find Jill and Stone standing up covered in a fine, white powder.
"AHHHHH!!! GHOSTS!!" Cera screeched diving for cover.
"Cera, get a hold of yourself girl! It's just us you nutter!" Jill laughed as she slapped the dust off her clothes. Cera slowly looked up and saw Jill standing in place where the phantom had been a second ago.
"I knew that!" Cera said pouting her lips trying to re-establish the dignity she threw away in her cowardly dive. The gang sniggered but instantly straightened their faces when Cera threw them a deathly look.
"Enough fooling around," Stone said picking up his rifle, "we've got to…" His was cut short by a clanging sound ringing from down the corridor.
"What's that now?" Cera asked glancing in the direction of the sound as it gradually came closer and got increasingly louder.
"It sounds like metal on the marble floor…" Stone analysed but he was quickly drawn to Jill who gasped with the sound nearly upon them.
"Oh God! The emergency fire shutters! They're sectioning off the area because of the cave-in!" Jill called fretfully.
"The what?!" Littlefoot asked as he followed everyone's gaze outside.
"It's the shutters! Quick! Get outside!" Jill ordered flapping to the dinosaur gang to flee the room. Still confused, the gang looked to see a heavy metal door sliding down over the exit.
"Hurry!" Jill shouted. Everyone took off to get through the doorway before it sealed them in. Petrie slipped through chased by Cera, Littlefoot and Spike sliding under it with Ducky clinging on for dear life. Before Jill or Stone could get to the door, the metal shutter slammed in place sealing them in their own office.
"Great!" Stone growled pounding on the metal security door.
"Jill, Mr. Stone! Are you alright?" Littlefoot called to them.
"We're okay Littlefoot but we are trapped in here. You have to go on without us," Jill told him. Littlefoot couldn't quite believe what he had just been told.
"Wha?…Go on without you? B-but…how?!" he stammered. Before he received a reply, Littlefoot then heard the same sound of more fire shutters starting to close and seal off the area.
"Littlefoot! Listen to me! We don't have much time! You've got to find Westwood! He'll probably be up on the top floors somewhere! Get going!" Jill shouted through the thick, steel door.
"But…" Littlefoot stuttered.
"Littlefoot come on! We're gonna get shut in here! We've gotta go!" Cera beckoned to him from the other side of the slowly closing shutter.
"Littlefoot go! You've gotta stop Westwood!" Jill called again.
"But what about you? We can't just leave you in there!" Littlefoot protested.
"Don't worry about us. Just get yourselves up to the higher floors and get Westwood! Prevent him from using those sacred stones!" Jill said. Littlefoot looked anxiously from his friends and back to the sealed doorway into the office.
"Jill…I…I don't know if I can…" Littlefoot said nervously.
"You can! Just believe in yourself! You and your friends can defeat Westwood and the Red Phoenix. Just trust your instincts and nothing else! Now GO!" Jill yelled until her voice went hoarse. Littlefoot backed away from the door apprehensively.
"Come on Littlefoot! Move it!" Cera bellowed to him as the fire shutter glided closer and closer to the ground. Littlefoot nodded and then turned and sprinted to the shutter. Still with a considerable distance to go, Littlefoot felt a cold chill shudder down his spine as the door approached the floor.
"LITTLEFOOT!!!" Ducky cried as she lost sight of him. Littlefoot, responding to her call, leapt to the shutter and slid the remaining distance to the door. The shutter was almost touching the ground as Littlefoot lowered his head and slipped under it. The heavy metal door crashed to the ground as Littlefoot pawed the polished floor trying hard to stop himself from colliding with the wall.
"Phew!….Made it……" he said breathing heavily as a wave of excited energy continued to course through his body making him jittery.
"You took your time," Cera scolded.
"Well, at least he is here now," Ducky said smiling.
"Erm…Me hate to be rude but those big, shiny things are still coming down," Petrie said pointing to more shutters starting to fall.
"Okay. Come on guys! We've got to get up to the top," Littlefoot said leading the way.
"But where are we supposed to go? We're gonna end up getting lost!" Cera snapped as they narrowly passed under another metal security door.
"Don't worry, we can find Westwood. Jill told me the way," Littlefoot replied as they turned the corner and slid under the last shutter. As it came down behind them, the gang sat panting heavily at the base of a long, wide staircase that seemed to constantly lead upwards into darkness. With no way to turn back, the gang lifted themselves up and, nervously, one-by-one, walked up the steps to the executive suites and to where, they were guessing, Westwood would be waiting for them.
Chapter 59: Some Things You See With Your EyesNerves were running raw as they slowly climbed the wide, dark staircase up to the executive suit of the Red Phoenix Labs building. The area was deathly silent apart from the clapping of their jittery footsteps and their shallow, forceful breathing that rang out bouncing off every surface around them like dry, rasping snakes crawling on the ceiling and walls. They had been climbing for a while now and there didn't seem to be an end to the miles of steps that continued to rise up and up.
"Me getting tired…" Petrie sighed forcing his body to stay airborne.
"Where exactly are we heading?" Cera asked abruptly through breathless wheezes.
"I don't know. Jill said that we should get up as high as possible and we should find Westwood there," Littlefoot replied.
"But what will we do when we get there? I do not think he will stop doing all these bad things if we ask him," Ducky said rather glumly.
"I…don't know…All I do know is that we have to try…" Littlefoot said boldly. Despite his strong words, Littlefoot could feel an overwhelming sense of dread springing up deep inside him. The sheer magnitude of the emotion was like a raging fire burning in the pit of his stomach which made him feel very nauseated. Still, in amongst that flaming inferno that scorched his insides, something was driving him to press on and confront the evil that was awaiting them up ahead. For the life of him, he could not tell what it was but he knew it could not be allowed to survive.
The scaling of the never-ending staircase went on and on, still with no signs of coming to an end. Strangely, the temperature of the area dropped sharply and a chilling wind swept the hall.
"Brrrr…why it suddenly get so cold?!" Petrie exclaimed giving in to the cold and perching behind Cera's neckshield.
"It is soooo chilly…" Ducky shivered blowing into her hand to warm them.
"What's going on? It's suddenly gotten really cold and these stupid rock steps just keep going and going," Cera moaned puffing great clouds through her mouth.
"It no look like we going anywhere. It like we standing in one place," Petrie cawed draping himself in his wings like a cape. Littlefoot stopped and looked around for a moment. As Petrie had described, the exit at the top of the stairs didn't appear to be getting any closer despite draining themselves climbing more and more steps. It took a few moments for the gang to realise that Littlefoot had stopped as they glanced back and retraced their steps to draw level with him.
"What is it Littlefoot?" Ducky asked rubbing her arms to keep the blood flowing through them.
"Something's wrong. How can we have climbed all this way and not be out yet? It doesn't make sense," he said puzzled.
"Hey look! It that big shiny thing that shut us in; it right behind us. But we climb for so long. How can it still be right there?" Petrie said scratching his head in confusion.
"It looks like it is following us. Lookie!" Ducky said as Spike walked backwards up the stairs. A little perplexed by their peculiar discovery, all of them copied Spike and to their shock, the fire shutter that had sealed them in was the same distance away from them from where they started despite having climbed a few step, rather awkwardly, in reverse.
"Ducky's right. It IS following us. We are just moving in the same place," Littlefoot announced stopping.
"So what then? Are we just gonna keep walking in here forever in the dark?" Cera grumbled unhelpfully. At that moment, Spike lost his footing and he tumbled down a few steps coming to an graceless stop a little way from the sturdy, fire shutter. Ducky, who had managed to abandon her seat on top of Spike, quickly hurried down to his aid.
"Spike?! Are you all right? Are you hurt?" she cooed sympathetically. Spike found his feet again and hummed in response. Ducky, however, was stood gaping at Spike's back end.
"Spike! What has happened to your tail!!!" she squeaked gawking at him. Intrigued, the hefty, young stegosaurus turned to find that the last five or six inches of his stubby, little tail had completely disappeared. Panicking, Spike wiggled his tail as best he could but strangely, he could feel every inch on it working. He quickly retracted it and examined it closely for any signs of damage in the dim light but to his relief, it was still in one piece.
"What the…?!? How did you manage to do that Spike?" Cera exclaimed with a hanging jaw. Spike simply shook his head in greater confusion as Littlefoot approached.
"It was like Spike's tail went right through the wall!" he called out in astonishment.
"Do it again Spike," Ducky urged. Apprehensively, Spike raised his tail and slowly moved it towards the wall again and as before, his tail pierced the darkened wall and was going through it.
"Just what is going on here? Is this some sort of weird human thing?" Cera suggested. Ignoring her question, the gang all slowly walked to the wall to investigate it.
"Maybe we can do it too," Ducky said as Spike pulled his tail out of the wall again and moving away from it as it made him feel very uncomfortable.
"I'm not touching it!" Cera snapped bluntly.
"So who will then?" Littlefoot asked looking at the others but none of them met his eyes. Cera then got a rather sinister idea. With Petrie clasping loosely to her neckshield, she dipped her head suddenly catching him off guard. Rolling with her sharp head movement, Petrie then felt Cera flick her head up again violently. With no time to react, Petrie was thrown from his position, shot straight through the wall and landed with a loud thump on the other side. The remaining four looked at each other anxiously.
"Did he make it? Is he okay?" Littlefoot asked openly. They then heard a groaning sound coming from the wall.
"Ooooooo!!! When me get hands on you Cera!!!" Petrie voice rang out cursing threateningly through the bizarre wall.
"Are you all right Petrie?" Ducky shouted to him.
"Me fine but Cera won't be when she get over here," he replied forewarningly.
"I guess that means it's okay then," Littlefoot said shrugging but Cera was still not fully convinced.
"After you then," she said bowing and stepping backwards to allow him plenty of room. Cocking his head and glancing at her with a slightly irritated expression, Littlefoot turned to the wall, took a deep breath and shut his eyes as he nervously stepped through it. After a taking a couple of footsteps, Littlefoot opened one eye and then the other to find himself in an identical corridor to that of the previous except for the bright, gleaming lights that were fully functional. To his immediate right, Petrie sat on the step wearing a spiteful looking mien, eagerly awaiting Cera to appear.
"It's okay guys! You can come through. Nothing bad happens!" Littlefoot reported. On hearing his verification that it was safe, the rest of the gang emerged one-by-one from the fake structure as it rippled and folded as they passed through it. Once all safely on the other side, Petrie instantly dive-bombed onto Cera's nose horn and began bickering with her causing the others to laugh wildly. However, their laughter was cut dramatically short when a strong breeze blew down the stairwell and whistled piercingly around their ears. With one final glance at each other, the gang pressed on up the staircase which, to their great relief, was actually enabling them to progress up to the bright doorway at the top.
It didn't take the gang long to reach the top of the staircase and into the executive area of the building. The room was decorated in colours of royalty with red carpet and golden-laced patterns elegantly scrawled across the walls. On the far side, an emblem of the company was mounted as a massive, beautifully crafted medallion positioned over a large stone archway sealed with thick oak doors. Between them and the door they had to get to were numerous desks and office appliances enclosed in cubicles turning the room into a miniature maze which was especially confusing for the five, young dinosaurs as they stepped nervously onto the warm, red carpet that cushioned the balls of their feet and felt much more comforting than the hard, marble floors of the halls and stairs.
"Is this the right way?" Ducky asked eyeing the glowing walls of flaming red.
"I…I guess so. This is the way Jill mentioned I think," Littlefoot said hesitantly.
"It definitely looks much nicer than the white places back down there. Could this be where Westwood is hiding?" Cera followed up examining the area.
"Me no know. So what we do?" Petrie said impassively.
"Keep going until we find him I suppose," Littlefoot suggested.
"Well, we're all right behind you," Cera said sarcastically.
"Oh gee…thanks," Littlefoot replied rolling his eyes. Taking Cera up on her word, Littlefoot led the way into the thicket of cubicles but they didn't get far when they were all forced to stop suddenly. A strange, whistling wind was blowing in between the cubicles and the more they listened to it, the more distinct it became.
"Where that wind coming from?" Petrie squawked alarmed as it sailed passed them.
"Dunno but it sounds…it sounds almost like music…" Littlefoot said pricking his ears up and listening to the breeze. As he described, the rushing air appeared to be whistling a peculiar melody. A melody that all of them recognised the more they heard of it.
"That song…it sounds like Jason's song he played on his musical stick," Ducky said airily as the tune shrilled on the wind.
"Yeah, so it does," Cera agreed.
"But how could Jason's song be playing here? Could Westwood be close by?" Littlefoot asked searching for some means of a source to the music. No one answered him as the music was soon overpowering the wind as it rang out over the entire area. Snapping out of the slight trance they were locked in, the gang continued to move through the cubicles. Ducky sat atop Spike and started humming the tune merrily.
"Ducky! This is no time to be singing songs! We're in the middle of something very important!" Cera scorned looking at her with a tight, angry face.
"I am sorry Cera but I just like this music so very, very much. It makes me feel happy," she replied now rocking back and forth in time to the melody. Just as the song started over again, the gang heard something approaching them as they moved through a fourth cubicle.
"What's that coming?" Littlefoot breathed hastily freezing on the spot.
"It sound like footsteps," Petrie announced.
"Who could it be? Mr. Westwood? Jill or Mr. Stone?" Ducky inquired shaking a little.
Frozen in the centre of office cubicle, the gang stood awaiting who, or whatever, it was to show itself. To their surprise, as the footsteps grew louder with its approach, the music also became louder. Standing their ground, they looked on anxiously as a figure emerged in the exit doorway. The gang were speechless at the sight of the figure as it had been someone who they would have never expected to see.
"I don't believe it! It's…it's…" Cera stammered.
"It is Jason!" Ducky said finishing Cera's sentence.
"Jason?! Is that really you? How did you get here?" Littlefoot asked softly with his mouth hanging open in astonishment. Jason was standing with his piccolo in one hand and was staring at them with a huge smile on his face. He appeared to be so cheerful and full of energy despite his untimely death back in the dinosaur era and out of all the things they expected to see in this future, alien world none of them were prepared to witness Jason resurrected and wandering in front of their eyes. Littlefoot took an unsteady step towards him and after a little apprehensive pause, the others followed him up. Eager to get face to face with him, Littlefoot's footfall quickened and as the distance between them shortened, he was shocked to see Jason's bright expression instantly die. Littlefoot stopped at his sudden drop in mood and tried to examine him but Jason turned away breaking eye contact.
"Jason? Jason what's wrong?" Littlefoot asked slowly but he didn't answer.
"What's wrong with you Jason? Why don't you say something?" Cera snapped as she pulled up level with Littlefoot but his reaction did not change. He remained looking at the ground with a crushing, downfallen mien.
"What is the matter Jason? Are you sad?" Ducky asked him but again he didn't say a word. The gang looked at each other utterly perplexed. They couldn't understand why Jason was refusing to talk to them. They all moved closer towards him but they were amazed to find Jason backing away from them.
"Huh? Jason! What's the matter? It's like you don't remember us at all!" Littlefoot said very hurt to seem him react in such a way.
"Jason? You know me! It Petrie," he announced taking flight to approach him but Jason flinched as he came closer. Petrie hovered in mid-air as he read Jason's terrified expression as he cowered behind his piccolo unable to face them.
"Why is he acting so weird?" Cera whispered to Littlefoot. He shrugged and quickly returned his focus to Jason as he began to unravel from his defensive ball. A hurtful twinge soared through his mind and made his senses burn a fierce flare indicating something was out of place. Slowly, he took a few backwards.
"Guys…back away from him…" he said tugging on Spike's tail.
"What? Why?" Cera asked abruptly but followed anyway.
"Just do it…something is telling me that is something different about Jason," he continued with his mind still buzzing with thoughts.
"Oh yes, yes, yes. There is definitely something different about Jason. He does not seem like the same Jason we knowed back in the Great Valley. No, no, no…" Ducky mumbled a little distraught.
"Just keep going back. He should stand up if we get far enough," Littlefoot murmured softly. To their surprise, just as Littlefoot had predicted, once they were back to where they were when they first saw Jason, he stood up and readjusted his focus on them. With one final step back to their starting positions, the wide, warm, friendly smile had returned to his face.
"What the…? It's like he's scared of us!" Cera exclaimed. She turned to Littlefoot but he seemed distracted by something. His face was twisted with a mixture of fear and mystification.
"What is it?" she asked him cautiously but he didn't answer her. She knocked him in the side to grab his attention, "Hey! Don't you ignore me as well! What's up with you?"
"This…something is telling me that…this isn't the Jason we used to know…" Littlefoot said darkly.
"This…isn't the same Jason? But who else could it be? He's standing right there in front of you!" Cera argued. She then heard Spike whimper to her left.
"You can tell as well, can't you Spike…" Littlefoot said across the lateral line. Spike looked at him nodding with a painful expression.
"Me feel it too…" Petrie said shivering fearfully.
"I can too," Ducky said looking at Jason standing in their path unmoving and still wearing his heart-warming smile, "it is like there is nothing there at all, even though I can see him…"
"I have no idea what you guys are going on about but you're all saying that this human is not who we think it is?" Cera asked trying to piece everything together.
The five of them suddenly flinched as they saw Jason shuffling out of the corner of their eyes. Jason had placed his piccolo he was holding to his lips and he began playing his melody he always played. The gang watched him in wonder as the sweet sounding tune spun around them making them feel light and bubbly inside. Littlefoot gasped as he saw Jason suddenly take off down the neighbouring aisle and out of sight.
"Jason, wait!" Littlefoot shouted after him and quickly followed him around the corner.
"Littlefoot!" Cera called sprinting after him immediately pursued by Spike, Ducky and Petrie. Littlefoot tore around the corner creasing up the carpet as he smashed into a cubicle wall. Stabilizing himself, Littlefoot skidded to a halt having lost Jason's trail.
"Littlefoot! Don't run off like that! Do you wanna get lost in here by yourself?!" Cera scolded as she pulled up behind him but he wasn't paying much attention to her. He was busy searching the area for any sign of Jason.
"Where'd he go?" he breathed urgently.
"Who? Jason? I thought you said it wasn't him. Why are you looking for him?" Cera said indignantly.
"Even though it didn't seem like Jason, there was something about him that…" Littlefoot started but he was interrupted by Spike hopping up and down ecstatically.
"There Jason!" Petrie exclaimed pointing to him running through another cubicle. Having re-located him, they all charged to where Petrie had spotted him. Still with his music playing, the gang stopped to find Jason had disappeared again.
"Where is he now?" Littlefoot shouted slightly out of breath.
"There he is!" Cera called pointing in one direction.
"No, he is over there!" Ducky said pointing in another direction.
"Look! Jason over there!" Petrie squawked signalling in another place.
"What's going on? How can he be in more than one place at the same time?" Littlefoot asked whipping his head around to all three directions.
"Is this kid real? He doesn't seem real!" Cera said watching a blur shoot past them again.
"That's what I'm saying Cera! Maybe he's like that strange wall back on those rock steps," Littlefoot said.
"So why are we chasing him around in circles?" she barked becoming annoyed.
"Maybe he will take us to Westwood and that human Jill always calls the Red Phoenix. You know…Jason's mother," Littlefoot said still searching the place for Jason's whereabouts.
"But how do we catch him?" Ducky asked inquisitively.
"Me got idea. Me think we should split up and look for him," Petrie advised taking to the air.
Taking him up on his suggestion, the gang separated into three groups and set off to track Jason down. Littlefoot set out on his own as he watched Cera and Petrie go one way and Ducky and Spike go the other. Despite him being on his own, he didn't feel afraid because he was hunting someone that he knew even though something was constantly eating away at him, telling him it may not even be the real thing. It only took Littlefoot a matter of seconds to find Jason, playing his instrument, in the corner of another cubicle. He hadn't seemed to have noticed Littlefoot standing in the doorway as he remained seated and continued to perform his song. Trying hard to ignore the haunting melody, Littlefoot crawled up to a reasonable pouncing position right behind him as he sat unmoving on the carpet. Poised to attack, Littlefoot leapt upon Jason but he had taken off like a shot forcing Littlefoot to crash into the desk uncontrollably. Determined not to lose him again, Littlefoot scrambled to his four feet and gave chase. Weaving in and out of the cubicles and aisles, Littlefoot stayed on Jason's trail as he heard the others shouting from opposite ends.
"Guys! I found him!" Littlefoot called to them but quickly reverted his eyes to Jason who had nearly given him the slip again. Not too far from him, Littlefoot could hear the pounding footsteps of his friends heading towards him. Approaching each other at a crossroad, Littlefoot looked up and gasped to see the others both chasing Jason clone of their own. At the centre of the crossroad, all three versions of Jason merged into one and disappeared. As the now single copy of Jason shot out of view, the gang squealed as they all looked up and saw each other heading straight for one another. Digging their heels as deep into the carpet as possible, the three groups slid frenziedly directly into each other and ended up as a crumpled mass of bodies on the ground.
"Uurrgghhh! What happened?" Cera gurgled kicking Spike off her and rolling onto all fours.
"We had him," Ducky said as she climbed out from between Littlefoot and Spike's knotted tails.
"No, I had him," Littlefoot said unravelling himself from Spike.
"What are you talking about? Me and Petrie had him cornered before you guys came in!" Cera announced irritably.
"Wait a second! How could we all be chasing Jason if we were at different ends?" Littlefoot then realised as Spike uncoiled his tail from the little brontosaurus's.
"Could there be more than one of him?" Ducky asked innocently. Before anyone could answer her, Jason's melody was heard again but this time, it was coming from a specific place.
"Listen…Jason's song…" Petrie said airily listening to the unnatural wind that was blowing around them again.
"It is coming from over there," Ducky said pointing to the large archway with the phoenix medallion hanging at its peak. Cautiously, the gang trudged over to where the music was emanating from and were shocked to discover Jason standing at the base of the solid wooden doors. As they came to a standstill a few feet away from him, Jason stopped playing his song and lowered the piccolo from his mouth to look at them and for the first time since his arrival, he spoke in a peculiar voice which none of them recognised.
"You are all indeed brave to have ventured this far into the lair of the phoenix. You have escaped and survived many hardships and triumphed over adversities that many have fallen victim to. However, you're greatest challenge lies ahead of you where you will require much more than physical strength and mere luck to surpass. You have crossed the line of no return and as the door of fate opens…you must enter and face you're greatest fears…"
The gang looked at each other unable to speak a word. They simply looked on as Jason fell silent. They were all shocked to see his eyes glowing an electric yellow as he raised his piccolo up to the medallion hovering above him. Gasping in astonishment, the gang watched as a hollow, white spiral encircled Jason's body and forced a raging wind to erupt over the area. Anchoring their heels into the ground as hard as they could, all five of them watched through shielded eyes as the white vortex grew brighter, illuminating the entire executive suite. The roaring winds picked up speed as a beam of light passed from the energy engulfing Jason's body up to the golden medallion that began to glow. With a crack, the light slowly died and the gang refocused their eyes to where Jason was standing but to their amazement, he had completely disappeared from sight.
"What is going on?" Cera yelled above the slowly silencing wind that rushed passed her ears.
"Jason gone again!" Petrie whined.
"Look up there? That golden flyer is staring at us!" Ducky said pointing up to the phoenix medallion. Heads tilting upwards, everyone watched as the gold symbol, which had been struck by the wave of white energy, was glowing. The eyes of the bird immersed in the loops of metallic fire were blinking slowly with a dangerous shade of red. Jumping at the sound of a click, the gang lowered their gaze to the large oak doors that were creaking and gradually swinging inwards to reveal a long, carpeted hall decorated with marvellous marble statuettes and priceless paintings. A thick mist flowed around their ankles as they stood hesitantly at the entrance. Suddenly, the great booming voice that seemed to possess Jason's ghostly figure bellowed over them one last time.
"Enter and discover where you're path of destiny leads…" With all the supernatural events going on around them, none of them knew what to trust.
"We're not seriously going in there are we?" Cera blurted out anxiously.
"I guess we have to Cera," Littlefoot replied still finding it hard to budge his shaking legs that seemed firmly cemented on the spot.
"Me no like the looks of this," Petrie hummed warningly as he sat next to Ducky on top of Spike.
"Me neither Petrie," Ducky agreed hugging him close.
"Well, I'm not going in there! Nothing in the world could make me walk down that creepy tunnel," Cera snorted. No sooner had she said that, there was a deafening crash from behind them. Whirling around, the gang gasped in horror to see the room behind them disintegrating and behind sucked into a bizarre, swirling purple vortex.
"What that!" Petrie cried in terror as the destruction ripped through the cubicles and gradually made its way over to them.
"Quick! Let's go! Will you move now Cera?!" Littlefoot called over the howling wind but Cera didn't answer him, "Cera?! Cera! Where'd you…" Littlefoot looked around to find Cera already sprinting down the hall. She slid to a stop and turned to face them.
"What are you doing standing there?! C'mon! Get moving! Do you want that purple thing to swallow you up?" Cera screamed down the dark corridor. The rest of the group blinked in amazement at the immensely impressive distance she had managed to cover in such a short space of time. The room gave a terrible shake as they stood there admiring Cera incredible speed and they quickly followed her example as they charged through the colossal oak doors. Once they were all shooed inside, the doors slammed shut behind them but unknown to them, the decaying room they had fled had miraculously returned to normal and the whirling vortex had completely vanished from view as if it never existed to begin with.