From a distance, the Ratakyan Pyramid seemed to be the same size as the Giza Pyramid. However, on closer inspection, it was taller than the other Egyptian structures.

Made from almost the same-bricks and metal as the temples constructed by ancient tribes, the pyramid stood at 40 meters tall, more so than the usual 20-meter-tall pyramids of Giza, Cairo and all of the other cities in Egypt.

"So, how long did construction take?" Sonic quipped.

Kalanda chuckled, "Oh, this pyramid was built by a Ratakyan sect here a few years before it became the resting place of the key located in there."

"Huh, fascinating." Lara scratched her chin, "The ancients really knew where to go and how to build, if only I brought a camera to snap a photo of this."

Tails got out a camera from out of nowhere and handed it to Lara, "Here you go, you can snap pictures if you want."

Lara began snapping as many photos of the pyramid as she could.

"Ah, tourism." Starasa chuckled.

"So does the temple have any locked doors or is it always opened door?" Sonic asked curiously.

"It's open door, people can enter and exit at any time."

"So, since we're taking the key, does that mean your guard duties are over?"

"Not really," Starasa replied, "the pyramid is home to other treasures only those related to Ratakyans can access."

"Will you let us have the key?" Sarah asked.

"Of course, just go on in, avoid the traps inside and you'll have your prize."

Sonic headed towards the entrance to the pyramid, beckoning Lara, Tails, Oskar and Sarah to follow. "We'll watch our step in there then." The hedgehog told the merchants, "Thanks for the warning, you guys have been very helpful."

Kalanda and Starasa nodded and waved farewell to the brave, intrepid adventurers, blessing them with good luck in the Ratakyan way as the group entered the pyramid and descending the stairs into darkness below...

Inside the pyramid, the group cautiously made their way through the darkness that surrounded them, their slow footsteps echoing across the stone floor, gloved or bare hands feeling the sides of the walls for any trap triggers.

So far, they'd found nothing but somewhere close by, there were traps and beyond those traps lay one of the ancient Ratakyan keys.

While Sonic, Lara, Oskar and Tails seemed unfazed by the darkness, Sarah shivered with nervousness. "I-I-I-I..." She stammered, "H-h-h-hate d-d-dark places. I'm s- scared of the d-d-dark, hence wh-why I sleep with n-nightlights."

Tails took Sarah's hand, "Sarah my love, with me at your side, I shall be your shining light." The shapely fox kissed the kitsune on the cheek and happily thanked him for his assurance. "So, Lara?" Sonic asked, "How is it you're unfazed by the darkness and not scared at all?"

Lara grunted, "I've been trekking through dark places since I was a little girl, the first time, I was with my mum and I was scared that day. Now, I am definitely not afraid of the dark. You?"

Sonic laughed and said with a small hint of sarcasm, "Oh, I'm scared of the dark so badly, I have to go in there with somebody by my side all the time."

"Is that so?"

Sonic dropped the sarcasm and yelled, "WHAT DO YOU THINK? I'M NOT FRIGHTENED ONE BIT; I'VE BEEN TREKKING THROUGH PLACES COVERED IN DARKNESS MY WHOLE LIFE AND I HAVE NOT BEEN AFRAID ONE BIT AS THERE'S ALWAYS A BIT OF LIGHT TO SHOW THE WAY!"

The hedgehog's yelling was enough to make dust fall from the ceiling.

"Let's be careful." Oskar whispered, "We might set off a bunch of traps."

"Speaking of which," Tails hissed, holding up his hand, "STOP, I hear something close by!" Everybody stopped, put their hands up to their ears and listened carefully, hearing sounds in the dark.

For a second, the noises sounded like... scythes and buzz saws?

"I think we might be close to the key if the traps are just ahead." Sonic whispered, "Too bad we don't have a map of this freaking pyramid to show us the way, I can't believe them Ratakyans have the guts to actually not leave any helpful clues behind. Does anybody have a flashlight?"

Oskar pulled out a black flashlight from his pocket and turned it on, illuminating the darkness, "I got one, I always carry this wherever I go." Lara gave him a pat on the back and a thumbs up, commending Oskar for his usefulness as the group scanned the darkness, listening to the noises.

"I'll tell you this," Sarah said, sounding less scared, "The ancients really knew how to build stuff and set up defenses. I can smell some ancient traps close by."

The group passed through a red colored cloud of mist and stopped when they were on the other side of the mist, finding themselves in a wide-metal room that was dimly lit with a few torches on either side.

This was where they discovered the source of the noise and their suspicions were confirmed; Swinging back and forth from side to side and attached to the ceiling were two Chinese-made scythes and just beyond the scythes were two enormous statues holding megaton hammers.

Besides the statues and the scythes, the room was made of marble and metal that had not decayed over the last thousand years.

"Must be some sort of test or trial for those seeking to obtain the key." Tails scratched his chin, "But can we get through this?" He, Sarah, Oskar and Lara all starred at Sonic.

"What?" The blue hedgehog shrugged, dropping the whispering tone, "Why are you looking at me?"

Then it dawned on him. "Oh, you think I can get ya through this. Of course I can. Lets just avoid the traps. I'm sure there's a switch that deactivates 'em, maybe its on the other side, lemme check!"

Sonic walked across the room towards the other end, making sure to duck, jump and dodge whenever he got near the scythes to avoid being chopped up. At one point, a huge buzz saw appears and tried to dice the hedgehog.

Only with his quick reflexes was the hero able to get out of the way just in time before the buzz saw cut him in half. 'Man, that was close.' Sonic thought.

Passing by the second scythe, the hedgehog was about to breath when he heard a creaking noise and took cover in a nearby corner just in time, the enormous statues with hammers were alive and had just tried to smash him!

"YOU OKAY?" Lara called, "That looked like a close call there!"

The hedgehog coughed, "I'm fine, way past okay." He got to his feet and looked to his left, his eyes falling upon a large, wooden lever next to him.

"Found the switch!" Sonic pulled the lever. In an instant, the traps shut down. The scythes and statues stopped moving.

The door next to him began to open. The blue blur held down on the lever in case the traps reactivated on his friends who walking across the room past the scythes and ducking to avoid hitting their heads on the statues' hammers.

"I'm so proud of you, Sonikku!" Lara exclaimed happily, hugging the heroic speedster, who let go of the lever. Sonic hugged Lara back, even kissing her, "No prob, Lara. Now let's get that key and get outta here!"

Sarah was shivering from the cold temperature that was in the room, "Yeah, before the traps reactivate or we're ambushed by malevolent spirits."

Tails hugged his girl-friend, "What makes you think ghosts are here?"

"I-I-I can h-h-hear v-v-voices. Sp-spooky v-v-voices! Just listen..."

Sonic, Lara, Oskar and Tails put their hands up to their ears and began listening for what Sarah might have been hearing this whole time, sure everything felt a bit cold in the area but nobody else was here. The group listened for three minutes before Sonic shrugged, "Nope, not hearin' a thing."

Lara nodded, "I agree." She turned to the open corridor they stood next to, "Anyways, let's keep moving. That key awaits on the other side. More time we spend here, it gives our rivals more time to find the statue."

"That's a valid point, hunny." Sonic kissed Lara on the cheek, "Valid point, now let's get going. That key is not gonna get outta here by itself you know!" They all nodded and got moving, walking through the archway and down the dim corridor, using Oskar's flashlight to make sure there weren't any traps.

Thankfully, there weren't any traps in this corridor and none of their concerns mattered as the group entered a lit chamber almost similar to the one inside the shrine back in South America as it had Ratakyan banners and… the key!

Yes, the Sunny Day Blue Key of Senga was here and it was right in front of the group, sitting upon a grey colored dais beneath a crystal-clear container and behind it was a locked door that apparently lead to treasure that could only be accessed by those of the Ratakyan tribe.

"We did it!" Sonic exclaimed, "That was almost too easy."

Lara nodded in agreement, "Yes, now all we gotta do is just grab that key and leave this place before something happens."

She walked up, lifted the glass off the dais and gently lifted the key off its holder that looked like a claw before tossing the key over to Sonic. "Now lets get out of here," Oskar said with a shiver, "This place is starting to creep me out."

"Oh, so now you're sensing and hearing ghost voices too?" Sarah rolled her eyes, "Well its about time somebody took notice."

Tails was slapping his ears as if he was trying to shoo off a bug, "Fascinating! You know, I think I'm starting to hear a bit of the ghost voices myself too." Sonic shoved the key into his pocket and, listening very closely, heard a low rumble and a ghostly ancient whisper in the darkness.

"Oh boy." He said, "We better leave. It seems we've attracted attention."

"RUN!" Sonic yelled and they made a run for it, down the corridor, through the room with the deactivated traps and back the way they came, heading straight for the exit just as the pyramid began to quake and ghosts with spears appeared out of thin air.

"Why are these spirits suddenly out to attack us for no reason?" Oskar asked, covering his ears.

Lara shrugged, "They're bandits who invaded this place and tried to get the key for their own gains and now they're mad at us for taking it for no reason."

The brave adventurers kept running, the ghosts trying to catch them and actually trying to slice them with swords and shoot at them with arrows.

"THE EXIT'S JUST AHEAD!" Tails yelled; he was flying instead of running with his legs. Seeing the doorway, they'd used earlier, Sonic zipped ahead and made it outside where he stopped to breath.

Tails emerged shortly after, dropping to the ground and gasping for breath.

Oskar, Lara and Sarah, who did an amazing job trying to keep up, all got out and joined Sonic and Tails. When the ghosts emerged, they all shrieked when the sun shone down on them and vanished into thin air. Sonic fist bumped Tails and kissed Lara just as Oskar and Sarah were hugging.

"Well, well, how heartwarming." A snide female voice remarked. A gun went off and the group took cover, when the gunfire stopped, Sonic got to his feet and helped Lara up before Tails helped Sarah and Oskar up.

The heroes looked around and found themselves face to face with a tall, shapely blonde-haired woman, wearing a cowboy hat, short shorts, combat boots, a revealing tank top, dark gloves and a green open vest.

Accompanying this apparent rogue were seven uniformed men and a purple female hedgehog wearing a black cat suit and sunglasses, also carrying guns. Lara's face contorted with anger; she obviously knew who this woman was.

"Montana Jane!" The British archeologist growled.