Author's Note; And the fun begins.
'Come on, come on...' the black haired teen's brows furrowed as he crouched lower in the tall grass, blue Scanner held at the ready. He crept forward as quietly as possible, blue eyes fixed on the elusive, garishly purple creature in front of him. He let himself grin just a little, excitement already building as he clicked the button that would start the scan. Finally, finally, after so long, he'd get-
"What?" Tom jerked upright in shock as his Scanner informed him the scan failed; two seconds later, he was watching Yokkis laugh like a maniac and flee through a face full of purple goop.
"Maybe next time, Tom." A familiar voice chuckled, the owner helping Tom to his feet. Needless to say, Tom was not amused; but shamelessly, Kaz was. After all, how many times had Tom tried and failed to get a scan of Yokkis now?
"Someday," Tom wiped the majority of the goop from his face, watching it slowly fall of his hand in minor disgust, "Someday I'll get that scan. And then we'll see who's laughing."
"It'll be Yokkis. Again. Cause after you get the scan he'll nail you with that purple poo-goop."
"Please don't call it that." Tom looked up from the cloth he was using to clean his face – he'd gotten in the habit of carrying a few on Yokkis scan quests – as he heard the grass rustle. Kaz was making his way over to what Tom had mistaken for Yokkis just seconds earlier.
"Awww, come on. There are worse things!" Kaz grinned over his shoulder, pulling his foot free from some tangled weeds.
Spitting out some of the goop that had regrettably dripped into his mouth, Tom hazarded a question, "Like what?"
"Oh, you know. Toe fungus. Moldy bread. You right after you wake up." Kaz gestured nonchalantly as he listed off his examples, watching Tom with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Yeah well I guess that..." Tom stopped and gaped at Kaz, "Wait...HEY!" throwing the cloth to the ground, Tom jumped into action.
With a whoop, Kaz took off toward the nearest tree, Tom hot on his trail. Unfortunately for the orange haired boy, Tom was much more adept at navigating the lush Overworld landscape; he tackled Kaz over in no time, and the chase degraded into a wrestling match on the ground.
"Nonono! My precious style!" Kaz managed to get out between his laughter, struggling to get out of the noogie Tom had trapped him in.
"All the hair gel in the world is no match for my technique!" Tom gave his best impression of an evil laugh, which turned into a squeak once Kaz remembered he was ticklish. And with that, Kaz made a successful escape.
Still laughing, the two boys sat in the dirt patch they landed in for a little while to recover their breath. Eventually, Tom got up to go collect his backpack. Kaz stretched in place and followed suit, though he headed over to the fake Yokkis to examine it.
"Bark and berry dye. Creative." Smirking, Kaz looked over at Tom. "I think he likes you. You're like a playmate!"
"More like an unfortunate babysitter." Haphazardly shoving the goopy cloth into his pocket, Tom slung his still open backpack over his shoulder. He gave Kaz an exasperated half-smile, "So what's up? Maybe a reason to drag me away from my epic, unpaid babysitting quest?"
"Epic fail quest." With a laugh, Kaz jumped back to avoid a jab to his ribs. "Peyton wants to show us something. Or, at least I think he does – you know Peyton. He was all cryptic about it. We better hurry, though; Sarah's getting way impatient about it and I've been out here looking for you for about ten minutes!"
"Meet you in the Port Court then?" Tom laughed again as Kaz gave a goofy thumbs up and disappeared, the other teen following suite.
"Tommeh boy!" came the jovial cry as the two boys approached their usual table, waving at the two occupants. Peyton threw his arms up in the air in greeting; Sarah settled for a much subtler quirk of the brow.
"It took you long enough." Sarah tapped her nails on the tabletop restlessly as Tom and Kaz seated themselves. As usual, Kaz opted to turn his chair around and sit on it backwards, resting his head on his crossed arms. "Okay, now that we're all here, Peyton can finally stop teasing and spit it out. So, what's the big-"
"Ah, ah, ah, Sarbear." Peyton cut in, ignoring Sarah's seething glare as he waggled his finger. "Gotta get the scoop on Tommy's scan quest first! So, how'd it go MajorT?" Peyton leaned back in his seat, one arm propped up on the table. And again, Sarah's impatient nail tapping started up.
Tom chuckled weakly, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, uh...not so well. But I did get clo-!"
"There you go." Sarah cut in, "Tom's quest ended like it always does; with nothing to show. Just like every other time! Now get on with it, Peyton."
"Sarahhhh, let the man finish his storyyy. Go on, Tommy." Peyton leaned foward, resting his chin atop his hands. He grinned; Sarah seethed.
Unsure for a moment, Tom glanced between the two and continued. "I got close, this time. He got me with a new trick; a fake out with bark and berry dye." Tom grinned, "It was obvious now that I think about it. Guess I celebrated too early. Probably made way too much noise in the tall grass, too."
"A wild Yokkis appeared. Wild Yokkis used purple-poo flibmmphg," Kaz teased, only to get a handful of fries shoved into his mouth to shut him up.
"It's not. Poo." Tom's eye twitched as he wiped the fry-remains off on his shirt.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk Tommy boy...you gotta focus more. Think like a hunter. Think like Intress!" Peyton's eyes narrowed as he leaned down toward the table, as if stalking something close to the ground. "Be silent, one with nature...you ARE the grass!"
Kaz snickered after swallowing what remained of his fry gag, "Gonna dress the part and everything, Tom?"
"First of all, Kaz, don't ever make me picture that again. And second; get on with it, Peyton." Sarah all but growled, tapping the table ferociously.
"Geeze Sarah. A little touchy are we?" Kaz frowned, only to jump in his seat as Sarah glared at him.
"You didn't have to sit here and listen to him blabber on about how 'amazingly awesome ' this big secret was."
Putting his hands up in defeat, Peyton cut in. "Chill, dudes." His constant grin turned to more of a smirk as he leaned in, building suspense between the other three. He lowered his voice a little, "It's nothin' much; just the biggest discovery in Perim history!"
Tom sipped the soda a serverbot had just given him, only to have it stolen by Kaz a second later. "Uh huh, I bet."
"No, really! I don't have all the details yet, but I got the scoop from mah main Mipedian, Marquis."
"Who's Marky?" Kaz blinked in confusion, giving Tom enough time to snatch his drink back. "Hey!"
Sarah rolled her eyes, "Marquis Darini, Kaz."
"Oh. ...I knew that."
Peyton continued, looking between his three friends –Tom and Kaz currently caught up in staring each other down over that soda – and continued. "Anyway...The Mipedians dug something huge up in some old ruins outside the Oasis! I don't know what the deal is yet, but it's enough to get the Elite alerted...and guess who has a first-class ticket to the dig site, granted by none other than Marquis Darini himself!"
With his bombshell delivered, Peyton folded his hands behind his head and grinned in triumph as the other three gawked at him. Why, it was even enough to put a stop to the soda wars!
Tom was the first to recover, "Wha...Holy crap! Peyton, the Mipedian Royals are gonna let you go snoop on their newest dig site?"
"Not let me, bro – they invited me, right up front."
"Why...would the Royals invite a human?" Kaz inquired, face scrunching up in thought. "I mean, maybe a worker would help you in if you bribed them..."
Peyton whistled and shuddered for show, "Not with Ifjann overseeing the work. The guy's a workaholic; needs to mellow out, y'know what I'm saying?"
"Kaz is right, Peyton." Sarah crossed her arms on the table loosely, suspicion in her voice. "That is weird. Particularly for someone like Marquis to invite you personally. Did he tell you anything at all?"
"Just that Tiaane had vouched for me and Tommy, and to bring my Scanner. Speakin' of which, he should be waitin'...riiight about now." Pulling the yellow Scanner out from his pocket, Peyton got up and slowly started to walk away. "Sooo...anyone wanna come with?"
In an instant all three shot up from the table, signalling a unanimous 'hell yes!'
A sleek yellow tail swept across the sand elegantly, leaving trails akin to that of a desert snake. But the owner of said tail was not a snake by far; royal blue cape sitting atop his weathered shoulders, the proud Mipedian Royal stood in wait. Sharp golden eyes surveyed the area, picking out details with practiced ease. The ruins had just been revealed by the desert, hidden for who knows how long under the ever shifting sands. Since Ankhjya's discovery of the ancient temple ruins, the Mipedians had been hard at work digging out its secrets.
An inexplicable shiver went up Marquis' spine, his tail flicking rapidly. Somehow, this place gave him a bad feeling...call it a warrior's intuition. Some secrets should remain buried.
The old Mipedian warrior's fin-like ears twitched as a familiar sound hit them, followed by a soft blue light. He turned gracefully, taking a moment to observe the newcomers as they approached. Marquis let his hand fall from its usual place on the hilt of his sword, not wishing to scare the humans. But, from what he'd seen, at least one of them seemed rather unflappable.
"Yo, Marquis Darini! How's the desert treatin' ya, dude?" Peyton lead the way up to the quiet Mipedian, a wide grin on. Marquis tore his eyes away from studying the other three to acknowledge Peyton.
"You are late. Was there trouble?" He asked calmly, tail resuming its slow sweeping path across the sand.
"Nah; just had to wait for a friend to catch up, bro." He gestured over his shoulder to Tom, "This here is Tommy boy, another one of Tiaane's recommendations! And these two are Kazzer and Sarah. Ah, heh..." He gave a nervous laugh and apologetic smile, "The more the merrier, right?"
Marquis tilted his head in a moment of silence, looking over the four humans one at a time. "We only require the presence of one human." One last look over, "But I suppose it won't hurt to have a few. The more...the merrier?" Marquis repeated the saying with some confusion as he turned, gesturing for the four to follow.
"Now you're gettin' it, bro!" Peyton grinned at his friends, and with a wink he was running to catch up to Marquis.
"So, uh..." Kaz cut in after some silence as the odd group entered the half-collapsed ruins. "What's the deal with...this place? Why do you need a human?"
"Or a Scanner, in particular." Sarah added in, suspicion lacing her voice. This was a little fishy – and there was no way she was letting Peyton or any of the boys get their Scanners stolen.
"I promise you this; we mean no harm to you. Nor will any harm come to you, if we can help it." Marquis glanced over his shoulder briefly. "As for the 'deal...' Some runes and carvings were found in the deepest chamber, along with what seemed to be a door. But, the door led nowhere."
Kaz's eyes couldn't help but wander as Marquis spoke, taking in the deteriorating building. They were inside the ruins now; the ceiling was all but gone in most places. Walls and archways were crumbling, and all around them Mipedians were digging out the buried chambers. Whatever this once was, it appeared to have only one floor; that was strange, to say the least. Maybe there was a basement?
Kaz paled at the thought. Great; no roof to cave in on them, but they could fall through the floor at any second. Oh brain, why must you think?
"When this place was found, Ankhyja felt a strange presence. It seemed to have faded once more Mipedians came...but he was still anxious. And so he requested for Tiaane to come and have a look around. Besides some lingering energies, there was not much to be said-"
Marquis stopped abruptly, causing Tom and Peyton to slam into his back and fall in a pile. Kaz and Sarah jumped back in time, only to get caught in a plume of dust as some of the ceiling caved in...right where they would have been had they kept going.
The Mipedian's tail flicked soundlessly. He stood perfectly still, but if one looked close they could see his ears were in constant motion; listening for any more cracks or anything that could signal a cave in. Luckily, it was only the last bit of an archway that had fallen.
Ears folding back once more, Marquis turned to look at the humans. Peyton was shaking dust from his hair as the one called Kaz helped the one called Tom up. The girl, Sarah, was coughing to clear her lungs still.
"Is everyone alright?" He inquired, watching Peyton stand.
"I think everyone's okay," Tom brushed his front off, Kaz's hand still resting on his shoulder. "You guys?"
After nodding an affirmative, Marquis turned to lead them onward. Ifjann, the overseer of the project, gave the human troupe a dirty glare; in return, Marquis hissed at him. The damn Muge really needed to learn some respect, even for those he perceived as lesser than him.
"So, Marquis!" Peyton called, calling the Royal's attention to the humans again. Marquis chuckled lightly; the human pronunciations of his name could be quite comical. "What'd Tiaane say?"
"There wasn't much to say. The same as anything else that had been revealed by the sands; any residual energies could be from spirits that died there, or Mugic still buried. That is, until the hidden chamber was uncovered."
"Hidden chamber?" Tom parroted, interest growing by the second.
"Yes. It was still buried under a small sand dune; the back wall appears to be a natural wall of stone, with the rest built around it. Tiaane just happened to be here when the wall blocking off the chamber crumbled.
"I don't know why, but he was instantly drawn to the room. And from the looks of it, he did not like what he felt. Unlike the other rooms, this one is perfectly intact; no sand filled it in, the stone is a darker reddish tone. And it is decorated with carvings, ancient runes.
"The runes and images carved into the walls of the chamber seemed to trouble Tiaane further; one in particular. And that same one is the reason you were asked to come, Peyton. And...the rest of you."
"Why was Tiaane worried about a cave drawing? Or, uh...Rune. Sorry." Tom added sheepishly, now leading right after Marquis.
If the boy was worried the words cave drawings would offend the Royal, he was mistaken; of course, Marquis noted, the case would have been much different had it been Prince Mudeenu guiding the humans. Thus why Marquis had volunteered to do so himself.
"It's quite alright, human. As for the image itself, it resembles..." Marquis trailed off, stopping at the faded purple curtain that was being used as a makeshift door to the chamber. "Well. See for yourself." With that, he stepped to the side and pulled the curtain back for the humans to pass through.
"Whoa," came the collective gasp from Tom, Kaz and Peyton. Sarah walked toward the wall to their right, squinting her eyes against the darkness in the chamber. Marquis followed after them, letting the curtain fall closed behind him. Picking up a torch mounted beside the entry way, the Mipedian Royal snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the room was lit up by several torches; this time even Sarah made a sound of awe. Though faded by time, the painstaking detail put into this chamber was obvious. Wooden beams supported the ceiling, one in each of the four corners and two larger ones nearer to the middle. Between them was a crude stone altar, decorated with faded runes. The walls were lined with intricate patterns made of tarnished gold and some kind of deep blue stone that resembled lapis lazuli; the torches were mounted in gold cages on the red stone walls.
Decorating the walls even further were painted carvings. Sarah's eyes wandered over the wall she stood before. All of the figures were Mipedians, some clad in uniforms, some in what resembled the hoods Mipedian Muges wore today. Tom and Peyton stood near Marquis, taking in the whole sight; Kaz moved to the wall opposite Sarah, trailing his fingers along a carved crevice as he studied a drawing.
"This one looks like a conjuror." Kaz commented, touching a particular painted carving. It showed an anonymous Mipedian in a flowing purple cape, letting out a mighty roar as a great red beast exploded from his hands, ferocious claws extended.
Kaz looked up as he felt a clawed hand on his shoulder, "I believe it is, yes." Marquis commented, gesturing to the other drawings. "As you can see, warriors, Muges and Royals...they are all present. Along with those black runes." Letting his hand fall from the human's shoulder, Marquis walked toward the stone altar.
"Tiaane did not like the feeling he got from this room. It was one image in particular that troubled him; Prince Mudeenu arrived just as we were inspecting the chamber. Unlike Tiaane, the image thrilled Mudeenu. He believes that we may have found some clue about the Cothica, but...Well. We shall see."
Gesturing for the humans to join him by the altar, Marquis held the torch over the stone surface. "This image...is the reason we needed a human, at least by Mudeenu's orders. Truthfully, I'm not sure what he expects you to do."
"What the- It looks like a Scanner!" Tom exclaimed, touching the single carving on the altar. It was deeply etched into the gray stone, and not painted like the wall carvings. "Well...kinda, anyway. A little. Maybe."
"Artist's impression of a Scanner, maybe? It's missing the buttons at the bottom." Kaz crossed his arms loosely as Peyton went to poke at the carving, bending down to look at the black runes painted onto the sides. Kaz looked over at Sarah; the girl looked just as bewildered, and shrugged at him.
After a pause, Sarah's eyes fixed on the wall beyond the altar. "What is that?" Pointing to the farthest wall, Sarah directed the boy's attention to a strange sight. All the walls, including the back wall, were painstakingly decorated; all except for a space about six inches around a perfectly rectangular hole in the wall. In fact, the area around that hole was almost blocked off by a spiralling line of black paint marking the six inch border. Underneath it was a pile of gray rubble, the evidence of old black runes on some upturned bits.
"Tiaane tried to convince Mudeenu otherwise, but no avail; he mentioned you, Peyton and Tom, as trustworthy humans. Currently he has gone to see Najarin with some concerns." Marquis continued from where he left off, taking a few steps toward the back wall. "And, yes. This rubble here was a stone door; but it lead to nowhere, as we found. I would have preferred to keep it standing, but Mudeenu called the order to pull it down...However, I digress."
"I'd like to know why, actually...why you wanted to keep the door up, that is." Sarah asked, rubbing her arms uneasily. A big part of her had a very bad feeling; and it grew the longer they stayed there, the more they learned.
After a moment, Marquis nodded. "The door, as you may be able to see, was more a slab of stone stuck in place. It was covered in Runes, every inch...much more than that altar, or the few decorating the walls; if you notice, all of the Mipedians in the other carvings," Marquis made a wide sweeping gesture, "All seem to be on the attack. And they are all facing that doorway."
It was true; almost obvious, really. The paintings on the walls were all going toward the black lines surrounding the door, almost like an advancing army.
"Perhaps it is not reasonable, but...it is worrisome, at least to myself. As for you four, I am not quite sure what Mudeenu expects for you to do. The carving loosely resembles a Scanner, I am told? You seem to agree with that, so I suppose it is true."
"The resemblance is mighty uncanny, dude." Peyton reached into his pocket, producing the Mipedian-yellow Scanner. "This here is just one variety, but the only difference in colo...Huh?"
"Why is your Scanner flashing, Peyton?" Sarah voiced the question for the whole lot of them, each one looking dumbly confused.
"I! ...Have no idea." Peyton confessed, looking his Scanner over for any damage other than the usual scratches and dings.
Digging into his many pockets, Kaz located his scanner and pulled it out, "Uh...mine is too." Taking a moment to look at each other, Sarah and Tom followed suit. Lo and behold, their brown and blue Scanner screens and Chaotic Symbols were flashing. "What's going on?"
Sarah frowned; something wasn't right here. She didn't like this at all. The fact that their Scanners seemed to be reacting to something, the carving on the altar, the drawings on the walls...and that creepy door. Unfortunately, the boys acted before she could voice her concerns.
"Guess there's only one way to find out," Tom spoke up at last, tapping on his own scanner anxiously before he pocketed it.
"Guess so." Peyton clicked the blinking red Chaotic symbol. They waited with baited breath; Tom inched closer to Kaz, Peyton and Sarah in a protective gesture. Marquis' ears stood straight up in attention, tail completely still behind him. And...
Nothing happened.
"Huh." Peyton let down his guard first, glancing around the room, "Guess it was just a glitch or somethin'. Oh well! Who wants to go get some nachos?"
"I would ask you to stay until Prince Mudeenu returns, but he left to the Oasis indefinitely..." Marquis rubbed his dragon-like chin, "But I suppose you may leave for now. You will need to return to-"
The Mipedian was cut off as a large tremor tore through the area. In an instant, the seasoned warrior drew his sword and shielded the humans; something was wrong. And a second later, the four humans could feel it too. The tremors ceased, and the area was unnaturally quiet. It almost felt as if all the warmth was draining from the chamber. The ruins on the walls lit up as the torches dimmed.
The darkest point seemed to be the area around the door-shaped hole; the Mipedian took a step back, the humans behind him followed suit. A sound, like sucking in a big breath of air, started to fill the chamber. It got louder and louder...the sound of crumbling stone met the Mipedian'd sensitive ears. With it, the tremors started up again.
Marquis wasted no more time, "Go. Go, run!" He pushed the humans into action, all but ripping the purple curtain down as he followed after them "EVACUATE! EVACUATE THE SITE IMMEDIATELY!" Running ahead of the humans just slightly, Marquis yelled orders over the din of the already panicked Mipedians. Order started to restore itself, but it was still a mad dash to escape the shaking ground and crumbling walls.
Tom paused only once, signalling for the other three to pass him. He had to make sure his friends stayed safe, and there was no way he was gonna lose any of them. Kaz stayed close beside him; for that, Tom was infinitely glad.
Movement behind them caught his eye. Moving to look over his shoulder quickly, the next thing Tom knew he had a face full of sand. Beside him, Kaz skidded to a panicked stop and nearly fell over himself.
"Tom!" Two pairs of hands grabbed his arms, Sarah having come to join Kaz in helping Tom up. Kaz tugged on his arm, "Come on, we gotta-"
"What the hell is that...?" Peyton asked weakly, the other three giving him a strange look. Peyton was completely pale; his eyes were wide and horrified, staring up at something. Slowly, the other three followed his gaze.
A dark mist was pouring out of the chamber they had just left, making the entire area grow darker; it almost seemed to be sucking the light from the sun. But...there was something moving within that mist. And it was growing, almost towering above the humans. And, bits of it seemed to be...solidifying?
Tom gave an alarmed yell as something shot out from the cloud and grabbed his ankle, pulling him down to the ground once again. Kaz dove to get a hold of Tom as Marquis ran to the humans, alerted by the yell; the Mipedian held is sword at the ready, only to have to scramble to a stop to avoid being crushed by remnants of a large archway.
"No!" He jumped to his feet, trying to get to the humans before his way was closed off; the last thing he saw were Sarah's terrified eyes meeting his, and a white streak out of the corner of his eye. He prayed that speeding figure was who he thought it was.
A cloud of sand was kicked up beside the humans as a brilliant flash of white streaked by, and with a quick roar whatever had grabbed a hold of Tom was slashed in half. A five-tipped tail snapped in front of the humans, leading to a sleekly built and pure white Mipedian in elegant royal garb. He stood between the humans and the mist, sharp green eyes challenging his ethereal opponent. The creatures forming within the mist shrieked; he responded with a hiss, showing needle-like teeth.
And behind him, Sarah and Peyton gawked. "No way..." Sarah whispered, looking the new Mipedian up and down.
"No way what?" Tom shuffled away from the fight, subtly keeping Kaz behind him.
"Who is that?" Kaz asked, looking between Sarah and Peyton.
"That, bro, is the one and only Mipedian Crown Prince!" Peyton exclaimed, excitement showing despite the situation. The Mipedian in question looked at the humans over his shoulder, "It's Iflar!"
Nodding in affirmative, Iflar turned his studying eyes away from the humans. There were more important things to deal with now. With another roar, the Mipedian Crown Prince rocketed toward the mist, stopping right in front of it. The black aura moved to encircle him, and he held up his hand; within it, a brilliant golden Mugic shone.
"Illuminating Fanfare!"
A bright light instantly filled the area, causing the humans to wince and squeeze their eyes shut. A piercing shriek ripped through the air; and suddenly, the area started to regain its warmth. Opening his eyes slowly, Tom saw that the mist was dissipating, the solid moving figures within melting away...but not disappearing. It was almost as if the mist was...running away?
He seemed to be the only one that noticed that. Besides Iflar, anyway.
"WHOOP, YEAH!" Peyton cheered, punching his fist into the air. "You are the lizard, mah man! The go-to Albino!"
Iflar turned to face them, not saying a word as Kaz helped Tom stand up. Sarah rolled her eyes at Peyton, horribly tempted to step on his foot. Hard. The rubble behind them shifted and fell as a pathway was made through it. Marquis Darini was the first to step through, giving a respectful bow to his Prince.
Receiving a curt nod from Iflar, the General turned to the humans. "Are there any injuries?"
"I think we came out in one piece." Sarah answered, fighting the urge to add 'no thanks to clumsy here' as she glanced at Tom. But, that would be a low blow; it wasn't really his fault.
"What was that thing though...?" The aforementioned Chaotic player asked, troubled look on his face. "I mean-"
"You will let us ask those questions." Iflar cut in, the air around him calling for immediate obedience. "Marquis. What happened?"
Marquis bowed as more Mipedians started to collect around the area, eager to hear the story and awaiting the orders that would follow. "I took these humans to the red chamber as per Prince Mudeenu's instructions; as you know, Mudeenu is not present. He went to deliver his report to you." Iflar nodded a yes as Marquis continued, "I told the humans they could leave, as long as at least one returned later. I informed them on what had happen so it would not be necessary to explain later.
"What happened next is beyond me. This one here, Peyton, took out his Scanner to show me. It was doing something out of the ordinary, or so I believe. And then the tremors started; the runes in the chamber began to glow. I called for an evacuation; after that, I was cut off from these four."
"That's when that creepy fog-stuff grabbed Tommy and tried to pull him in." Peyton added, "Woulda been a goner if you hadn't intercepted like an expert!"
Iflar regarded Peyton silently, then turned his attention to Marquis once again. "Marquis, call for Qwun; tell him to retrieve Tiaane. You will return to the Oasis and retrieve Mudeenu and Na-inna. Bylkian is already heading to the site. I shall remain here until you return. The rest of you," Iflar made a wide sweeping gesture to the surrounding Mipedians, "Back to work. Clean up this mess as best you can. But leave that hidden chamber buried, for now."
Glancing around the two Mipedians, Tom found that the red room they had been in was now buried by sand, almost as if on purpose. But...maybe he was just being paranoid. Looking back at the two Royals, Tom found Iflar's intense gaze on them.
"You humans may leave for now; speak of this to no one. We don't need anyone prying in our business; and I will hold all of you responsible should word get out. You are to report to the Mipedim Oasis immediately should we call for you. Now, go."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Kaz pulled out his Scanner, and in a flash of blue he was gone. Sarah and Tom followed suit, though Tom gave one last troubled look around the ruins.
"Our lips are sealed, bro!" Peyton gave a thumbs up, clicking the button that would send him back to the Port Court.
Iflar gave Marquis a last nod as he passed by the aged general, silently sending him on his way. And, with a last bow, Marquis obeyed. He sheathed his sword and walked off into the desert, attempting to mimic the stuck-up-thumb gesture that Peyton had done. His eyes shone curiously; what did it even mean? A good thing, he assumed.
Humans were strange creatures.
Kaz nearly bombarded Peyton with questions as soon as the bigger boy appeared at the Port Station. "So? Did you get a scan before you went? What was that Mugic? I've never even heard of it before! Do you know what it does? Ohohoh! Did you get a scan of that?"
"Whoa! Slow down, Kazzer." Peyton slung an arm around Kaz's shoulders. If the orange-haired boy had a tail, he would have sprained it wagging a mile a minute. "I have no idea what that Mugic was. Some kind of new or rare one?"
"Tiaane probably knows." Tom added in, though his tone was thoughtful and distant. Sarah scrutinized him as Kaz continued his questioning.
"Okay, fine. But did you get a scan? Of Iflar? He's like, ultra super rare right?"
"No scan, bro." Peyton replied, smiling as if it were nothing. Which, of course, to Kaz it was far from nothing.
"WHAT? But...but he was right there! You coulda gotten a quick scan then scrammed!"
"Patience, bro! I'd rather stay on Iflar's good side, know what I'm sayin'? Might get a lot of good scans in the future!" Peyton pulled up a chair, flopping into it lazily. "Two buckets'o nachos and one big soda, mi amigo!"
Kaz grumbled, slumping into his own chair between Tom and Peyton as the serverbot whizzed away to get Peyton's food. Patience. That made sense. Unfortunately. But Kaz reallyreallyreally wanted to see that scan! "Patience is for chumps."
Sarah laughed, "Spoken like a true Underworlder, Kaz. Now." Resting her arms on the table, she gave Tom a look. "You gonna tell us what's up, or are we going to have to let Kaz play twenty questions again?"
Groaning uncomfortably, Tom looked between his three friends. He hesitated momentarily, then sighed. "I think I should tell Maxxor. About what happened."
Kaz rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Tom, Maxxor doesn't need to know everything! Besides, Iflar told us not to tell anyone. Mipedians like their secrets."
"I know, but..." Tom trailed off, looking to Peyton as he put in his two cents.
"It's true, bro. The desert dwellers are all about secrets; and they keep them close."
"Just don't worry about it, Tom. If Tiaane is involved, Najarin will find out eventually. Tiaane will probably inform him on purpose; and that'll get back to Maxxor. He'll find out eventually." Tom didn't look convinced; Sarah sighed. "Look, Tom, I know you're worried about what happened. I have a horrible feeling about it all myself, and I didn't get grabbed like you did. But there's nothing we can do."
"For now." With the tone he used, it was more a decision than a statement. And Sarah conceded.
"For now."
"And for the here and now..." Peyton grinned, "You have much bigger things to worry about!" Taking the large soda that was handed to him, Peyton slid it between Tom and Kaz. Immediately, the two boys stared intensely at the drink. Then at each other.
"Let the soda wars begin!" Peyton announced, proceeding to 'dum-dum-da-dum' his rendition of the Darth Vader theme as Sarah broke into laughter.