CHAPTER THREE

It was nearly pitch black by the time Steven and Jamie returned to the town. Now clad in all black, they blended into the inky night. They silently moved towards the now empty saloon and headed for the rear entrance. Steven covered Jamie while she expertly picked the lock on the door, and a few minutes later, they were inside. Steven quickly opened the first file box and sifted through its contents wile Jamie kept watch through the window. "Got it." Steven said quietly moments later.

"Just in time." Jamie said, "'Cause we're about to have company."

Steven slowly peeked out the window and watched as several bright torches morphed out of the darkness outside. He hastily put the file inside his pack, "Okay, party's over." He said as he made for the office door. It suddenly swung open and the bar owner walked in, wielding a revolver. The man's eyes were glazed over and it seemed that he being directed by some unknown force. He aimed the gun at Steven, "You are not supposed to be here." He said with a zombie-sounding voice, "You have disturbed the rest of the Olden Ones. You must be terminated."

Jamie drew her pistol, "I don't think so, buddy." She said, and pulled the trigger.

The man fell with a thud. Both Jamie and Steven then ran out of the saloon and almost got shot by incoming bullets. Steven fished out a smoke grenade from his armor, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the street ahead. Smoke immediately began pouring out of the grenade and soon the two of them had suitable cover behind the thick cloud of smoke.

"Phew!" Steven said when they reached the ship, "That was close."

Jamie tiredly plopped down in the co-pilot's seat, "Yeah, too close. What'd we get?"

Steven retrieved the file from his pack and leafed through it, "A mining report of some kind." He read, "It says here that these miners were mining for gold when they discovered a green jewel."

Jamie pulled off her mask, "Sounds an awful lot like our Time Crystal." She commented.

"It also mentions that they also uncovered a creature that was buried along with the Crystal," Steven continued, "and that the creature was still alive."

Jamie gave Steven an alarmed look, "I think I have a pretty good idea what that is."

"A TimeSplitter." Steven concluded, "That would explain what happened in the town earlier."

"Oh, you mean almost being killed by zombies? How's that?" Jamie asked.

Steven removed his mask and sat down, "Sometimes," he explained, "when TimeSplitters, or the Olden Ones as they like to call themselves once in a while, want to protect something, but don't want to reveal themselves, they brainwash innocent civilians to do their bidding. They've done this several times during the war, and the results are often devastating."

Jamie cringed, "Lovely. Where was this mine by the way?"

"North of the town and up in the mountains." Steven replied.

"Well, let's get going." Jamie said, "I'm starting to miss our own time period already."

"No argument there." Steven agreed as he slid into the pilot's seat.

The T.P.T.'s engines warmed and it took off and accelerated into the night.

"Those two should be here any minute now." 27-year-old Aili Jordan said to herself as she sat silently behind a boulder near the mine, out of sight from the road. She had been waiting there for several hours for those two people that she followed yesterday. Walking back to their ship, Aili overheard them mention something about a "Time Crystal", and she was sure that something like that would get her a lot of money if she sold it. So she decided to go on ahead of them and meet them at the mine that Aili presumed they were headed for, make them take her to the Crystal, and take it to the nearest salesman.

A slight whine of engines caught Aili's attention. "Right on time." She smirked as she watched a ghost-like ripple of the cloaked ship flying by overhead.

"There it is." Steven said as the entrance to the mine came into view.

Jamie stood up and strapped her sword onto her back as Steven guided the ship into a tiny grove of trees. Once they landed, Steven strode to the rear of the ship, loaded his X-44, and pressed a button on the side of the rear hatch, causing it to lower slowly. Jamie and Steven jumped out and scanned the immediate vicinity. "Clear." Steven said and motioned for Jamie to move out. She nodded and they both cautiously walked towards the open maw of the mine.

They were five feet away from the entrance when a voice suddenly said, "Hold it right there."

Steven and Jamie whirled around and found themselves on the receiving ends of two revolvers, held by a brown-haired, five foot-eleven inch female. Jamie slowly put her hands in the air, "Uh…hi." She said nervously, "Why don't you just put those guns away, and we can talk this over like civilized people."

The newcomer smirked, "Not going to happen. I heard you talking about something called a 'Time Crystal'. You are going to take me to it." She replied.

"Listen," Steven spoke up, "this Time Crystal isn't something that you can keep or sell. It's part of an alien weapon that our superiors need to rebuild that weapon. If you keep it, the aliens that made the weapon, or the TimeSplitters, will hunt you down, kill you, and take it back. If you sell it, the same thing happens. Either way, you're signing you own death warrant if you take the Crystal for your own."

The woman turned to Steven, "I'll take my chances."

"The TimeSplitters aren't something you can face alone, and they will not just forget." Makoto broke in, "They won't rest until you, or anyone else that has the Crystal, is either dead or horribly mutilated beyond all recognition."

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for it?" The woman questioned, raising her guns a bit higher so that they were level with Steven and Jamie's faces.

"Yes." Jamie replied matter-of-factly.

The woman faltered for a brief moment before finally lowering her weapons, "I suppose you could be right. If I did take the Crystal and those TimeSplitters do what you say they do, I'll more than likely never be able to forgive myself."

Jamie sighed with relief, "Now that's better." She stated.

Steven held out his hand, "Name's Steven O'Niel." He told the woman, "And this is Jamie Banes."

"Pleasure to meet you." The woman said as she shook Steven's hand.

"And you are?" Jamie asked as she shook the woman's hand.

"Aili." She answered, "Aili Jordan."

"Well, Aili." Steven said, "We're kind of tight on time. You can come with us if you want to."

Aili nodded, "Sure, why not. Got nothing better to do."

Once Aili joined them, they began their decent into the mine and the darkness that lay beyond.