I was originally just gonna include the episodes which held even the smallest bit of Archie and Atlanta evidence, or Archlanta as I've been informed their relationship is named, then I decided on including every episode in which Archie and Atlanta were both present, then just after I chose to do that, I changed my mind about it once again and turned my decision around by changing the storyline of my fanfiction, 'The Warrior of the Friend Zone and the Oblivious Huntress', back into a fanfiction that only included episodes of the 'Class of the Titans' series which included evidence of Archlanta in their plotlines. I know, crazy, isn't it? one minute, I decide to include all of the episodes as chapters; the next, I go right back to Plan A for 'The Warrior of the Friend Zone and the Oblivious Huntress'. I suppose I'm just really looking to please my readers, after all.
there will be a lot of evidence of Jay and Theresa's relationship in this chapter as well, or as I like to call it, Jayresa. I know, I know. most of the fans call it Jaresa or Jeresa or whatever the rest of the audience calls it, but I prefer my own far less confusing name for the relationship between Jay and Theresa.
there is a total of seven-thousand-six-hundred-twenty-one words of full of storyline to this fifth chapter which takes place in the tenth episode of the 'Class of the Titans' series, give or take a comment or two written by yours truly as an author's note and hidden within said storyline. the storyline doesn't, however, include the three explanatory headnotes, including this third and final headnote, right here. it also doesn't include the (mandatory) disclaimer which makes up the very paragraph following this third and last headnote. I called the disclaimer mandatory because, as you all know, I hold myself to write a disclaimer in all of my fanfictions these days.
disclamation: I don't own the 'Class of the Titans' series in any way, shape, or form. believe me when I say that if I had, I would have continued the series into even a few more seasons instead of full on just stopping it in its tracks after just two seasons. but I don't even live in the same country in which the series was made in the first place. I'm always happy to write fanfictions about the show, like this one right here, though. um, the 'Class of the Titans' series is owned and produced by Teletoon, Nelvana, and Studio B Productions all the way up in my own US of A's neighbors to the north, Canada. I live in California, to give a specific state in the US of A.
After a few other adventures had come and gone, my next most memorable adventure with the rest of the team had to be when the underground tunnel tours were being attacked by a beast of strange origin.
Atlanta, Theresa and I were practicing our punches on a punching bag that Herry happened to be leaning against at the time, but we wanted to prove we could still beat up, punch and kick at it. Atlanta gave a swing at it. Then, Theresa punched it twice. I lifted my whole body and kicked it.
Atlanta rushed at it and once again punched it… repeatedly, that time, and at her usual top speed, too. Then, Theresa got a few kicks at it. I took a swing at punching the punching bag that time.
Then, we all concluded that we stood a better chance of bringing it down as a team. I started to count.
Yours Truly: One, two…
Then, the girls joined in my counting up to the perfect number to try bringing the punching bag down.
Atlanta, Theresa, and Yours Truly: Three!
On the three, the girls and I all rushed towards the punching bag. When we all rushed into the punching bag at the time, however, we also fell to the floor and groaned in pain. On the other side of the punching bag, Herry looked like he was reading the newspaper.
Herry: Get this. 'Mystery Monster Terrorizes Tunnel Tour'.
Atlanta just groaned further at Herry for being in the way of all three of us when we rushed the punching bag.
Atlanta: Yeah, right. And Elvis married my alien stepmother.
I got it. Theresa, Atlanta and I were all in pain from trying to rush the punching bag while Herry was leaning against it. She did not have to bring up that Canadian stepmother of hers she did not even like. Then, we suddenly heard Odie's own, far more cheerful opinion.
Odie: It's true! Two tourists went missing this week. I read it on the Internet.
I picked myself up and tried to get my spinal column back into alignment while commenting on Odie's input of what Herry had been reading from the newspaper.
Yours Truly: And we all know that Internet rumors are way more reliable than the tabloids.
Theresa just grew slightly nervous at what they said.
Theresa: Monsters in the sewers?
Then, the drama queen sighed in annoyance.
Theresa (continued): That's just an old urban myth.
She then blew her bangs out of her face. Jay stepped into the gym and snatched the newspaper out of Herry's hands only to get a better look at the story the brawn of our ragtag team of heroes' descendants was reading.
Herry: Hey!
Needless to say, Herry was not very pleased by the theft of his newspaper.
Jay: Around here, myths have a weird way of turning into reality.
Then, Jay asked the rest of us about volunteering for an investigation mission.
Jay (continued): So, who wants to check it out with me?
I did not know what it was about, but Odie suddenly started looking slightly pale, especially for an African American-looking guy.
Odie: The underground tunnels? Now? Uh, I have a chemistry paper due.
I saw that he was scared to go into the underground tunnels for one reason or another. I followed suit and included my strawberry redheaded crush in my own excuse.
Yours Truly: Atlanta and I have, uh, advanced weapons training.
Herry was the next one to come up with an excuse for getting out of going into the sewers after whatever the monster even was with Jay.
Herry: Health and hygiene.
Then, Herry took back his newspaper from Jay.
Jay: Well, that leaves you and Neil.
Theresa: I guess one of us should go with Jay, in case the sewer monster slimes him. Neil?
Neil was busy lifting his dumbbells when Theresa asked him about going into the sewers with Jay. He was also looking at himself in the mirror when he turned his head around to answer her question.
Neil: Flip you for it.
I would have told Theresa that it was an idiot's errand to even challenge Neil to a coin toss, but I sort of hoped that she could have figured that out on her own.
Theresa: Sure.
There went any hope I had that Theresa would be smart enough to at least stay out of any coin toss against Neil. Atlanta and I both groaned at her apparent stupidity. Odie walked up to Theresa, reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter for their coin toss.
Odie: Call it.
Odie then flipped the shiny coin of pure silver into the air. Neil called for 'heads', while Theresa took the call for 'tails'. Odie caught the coin and placed it on the back of his other hand.
Odie: Heads it is.
Theresa went up to Odie… probably to inspect the coin and confirm that it really did land in Neil's favor. Then, the drama queen looked at Neil pretty bitterly.
Theresa: Lucky guess.
Neil just chuckled after winning the coin toss. Then, the vain blond went back to lifting his dumbbells in the mirror, while I walked up to Theresa followed by Atlanta.
Yours Truly: Neil never loses a coin toss.
Atlanta: Never.
A short while later, Jay and Theresa finally came back, after all. Not only did the two of them make it back to the school in one piece, but they also managed to bring Odie back a present to do his own investigation on the tunnel attacks; a video camera with footage of the latest attack in the sewers. All seven of us then went into Chiron's study to view the footage from the camera.
Odie: OK, guys, here it is.
Odie played the video footage on his laptop while projecting it onto the wall for the rest of us to watch, as well. The footage showed a man being dragged off while screaming by the shadow of something that was like nothing I had ever seen before. Herry was the first to comment.
Herry: I've heard of alligators in the sewers, but that is a lot of bull.
Atlanta almost immediately became the next to say something about the video.
Atlanta: Those horns don't come from any animal I've ever hunted.
Then, I replied to her comment while providing my original skepticism into my own comment.
Yours Truly: Hm, maybe they're fake.
Odie added a follow-up comment to my past skepticism.
Odie: And the so-called missing tourists are just trying to pull off a hoax!
That was when we all heard someone else come into Chiron's study. It was Miss Persephone.
Persephone, the goddess of spring: I don't think so!
Joining us along with the goddess of spring was Chiron, the horse man, himself.
Chiron: I concur. Only one creature could cast a shadow like that.
The centaur then brought himself over to Odie's computer where he showed us just what we were all up against only by pressing one key on Odie's keyboard.
Chiron (continued): The minotaur; half man, half bull. With an appetite for Greek. The people, that is, not the food.
So, this minotaur was a monster, after all.
Yours Truly: Cannibalistic cattle? Sounds like something Cronus would cook up.
I was ready to go beat up whatever was in the tunnels when Miss Persephone had an argument for the information.
Persephone, the goddess of spring: But, Chiron, Theseus killed the minotaur long ago.
Theseus? As in…
Theresa: My ancestor, Theseus?
Yeah, that Theseus. Herry punched his own knuckles, as ready as I, myself, was to get whatever it was in the sewer system attacking innocent tourists.
Herry: Let's hit the tunnels and find out!
Odie suddenly interrupted our determination with some of the most troubling news possible about the tunnels.
Odie: Hold on, Herry. I found this in the city's online archives.
With the city's archives, Odie showed us exactly what we would be heading into. The online archives from the city's master plan showed us that the underground tunnels, which were projected onto the wall from Odie's laptop computer, had a ton of twists and turns throughout them going every which way… except for up, of course.
Herry: Whoa! It's like a maze down there.
Chiron: This venture could prove hazardous.
Chiron was right about one thing. If the city's sewer system really was just like a maze, we could probably get lost easily inside it even if we could defeat the minotaur.
Persephone, the goddess of spring: Yes, Theseus had a magic clew of yarn to find his way out. You don't.
Odie: We need a clew?
He just chuckled at this.
Odie (continued): I'll get us a clew.
That was when Herry stepped behind the brains of our team and grabbed onto Odie's shoulders. That had to hurt.
Herry: The minotaur's gonna be history, again!
Persephone, however, gave all of us a slight little nugget of last-minute advice.
Persephone, the goddess of spring: Take care. On this quest, strength can be a weakness.
Then, the goddess of spring turned her head to face her own protégé, Theresa, along with Herry and Odie. She held a piece of cloth in her left hand.
Persephone, the goddess of spring (continued): Something to share, Theresa?
Theresa: Back in the tunnel, I had a vision.
Then, the drama queen just crossed her hands over her arms as she continued speaking to the rest of us.
Theresa (continued): Of something bad happening in a maze. Something very bad.
Jay then grabbed onto Theresa's shoulders and held onto them, tightly, I might add.
Jay: Don't worry!
Then, our fearless leader took his left hand off of his supposed 'girlfriend's' left shoulder and placed it in the air as he continued speaking to her.
Jay (continued): If the minotaur is back, we can finish the job Theseus started!
Just after Jay had given that necessary 'pep-talk' to Theresa that the rest of us needed just as much as she, herself, had, Chiron just had to add in his own comment about the minotaur.
Chiron: Or be torn limb from limb and consumed by the ancient world's most vicious predator.
Neil was the first to comment on Chiron's own comment.
Neil: I knew this would happen.
I bet the vain blonde guy on our team really did know that it would happen.
A while later, we were all headed to the site of the attacks where the theorized minotaur had struck. We were split into four teams on the way there. I took my motorcycle to the 'Tunnel Tours' spot; Jay and Neil travelled to the place with Theresa in the car her dad gave her; Herry drove Atlanta there in his truck, much to my jealousy when she insisted on riding in Herry's truck with him; and Odie arrived last on his motor scooter. Jay even had a net with him.
Herry: What's the net for, Jay?
Jay had already told Theresa and Neil what the net was for on their way to the site. When they got there, he told me, myself, what the net was for. I guess he wanted to tell Herry and Atlanta what it was for… just so that everyone could know, I suppose.
Jay: To capture the beast alive. You know, if it turns out the 'minotaur' is just some escaped zoo animal.
That was when Odie finally showed up on his motor bike. Once he took his helmet off of his head, his hair sprang up like an afro. Then, he shook it back to an acceptable look.
Odie: Here it is…
Odie held up something and handed it to Theresa. I suppose he thought that the descendant of the man who originally did the minotaur in should have been the one to handle whatever he was giving to us for the mission.
Odie (continued): … the cartographic laser enhanced wayfinder. Acronym; CLEW. By integrating a 3-D map of the tunnels with micro-radar technology, it_
That was as far as Odie got at explaining the primary purpose of his own 'CLEW' invention, however, since he was quickly interrupted by Theresa.
Theresa: Uh, that's, uh, fascinating, Odie. What does it do?
Luckily for Theresa, Odie quickly understood that he needed to use smaller words to explain to the rest of us exactly what that invention of his did, and not a minute too soon. Even I was starting to feel some pain in the head with Odie's explanation, and I was even the second smartest member of our team just after Odie, himself.
Odie: Touch any two points on the map and the CLEW shows you the most direct route.
The brains of our team then grabbed the duffle bag from behind him on his motor scooter.
Odie (continued): Just follow the beam of light.
Odie then handed Neil the duffle bag. When he handed the lucky one of the team the duffle bag, however, Neil nearly fell straight down with the duffle bag like whatever was inside it weighed a ton. At least, the vain blonde guy managed to keep his own footing… though, he still had a total attitude about whatever he was being told to carry without it even being said.
Neil: Uh, what is this; a bag of hammers?
Of course, Odie, however, even had an explanation or two for exactly what he had handed to Neil, of all the members of our team, too.
Odie: Some hardware that should come in handy down below. Everyone, stick close together. Your personal mobile radios should work short range, but due to the density of_
Unfortunately for the brains of our ragtag team of Greek heroes' descendants, that was as far as Odie got in warning us all about the density of whatever since it was my Atlanta who had interrupted that brainiac blabbermouth, this time.
Atlanta: How about telling us on the way, Odie? Let's go hunting!
Yep, she was as awesome as ever! Odie, however, was not anywhere near as awesome as my Atlanta was by then when we had all heard what he said as soon as she told him that. He just scoffed at her, but it sounded a lot more hesitant as a far as a scoff went than it did indifferent.
Odie: I'm not goin' with you.
Jay was more concerned about Odie's sudden reluctance than him just shoving my Atlanta onto the shelf.
Jay: Why not?
I waited for Odie's explanation of why he could not go into the sewers with us to help the rest of our team stop the minotaur from abducting anymore tourists.
Odie: I've got claustrophobia. I can't handle enclosed spaces.
That was it? That was Odie's excuse for scoffing at my Atlanta like that? He was scared of tight fits? I had a thing or two say about it, alright.
Yours Truly: Well, get over it, Odie. We need you!
Odie just remained afraid of enclosed spaces.
Odie: I can't. I try visualizing myself in a happy place, but it doesn't work.
Once again as our leader spoke, Jay took Odie's side over Atlanta's and mine.
Jay: It's OK, Odie. You coordinate things from up top and keep track of us through our PMR signals.
Odie was more than grateful to Jay telling him to take it easy for this mission.
Odie: Thanks.
That was when we all heard Atlanta notice something.
Atlanta: Guys, look at this.
We all looked towards her to see what she had noticed. It turned out to be a 'closed-for-public-safety' sign on the gate which led to the 'Tunnel Tours'.
Atlanta (continued): The city finally got around to closing this place down.
Of course, I, myself, had a comment or two to give my Atlanta about her keen observation in regards to that kind of foolish business plan.
Yours Truly: Kinda like shutting the barn door after the horse got out.
Herry then walked up to the gate to rip the lock off…
Herry: I got it.
… only for yours truly to steal the moment from the big guy and cut the lock and chain off of the gate with my Hephaestus whip in hand.
Herry (continued): Hey!
Herry then turned his head in my direction like I was being a jerk.
Yours Truly: No, I got it.
I would have easily said that it had served the big lug right for standing against the punching bag while in combat practice earlier, even if everyone looked in my direction like I was being a jerk. Even Neil looked like he thought I was being a jerk, which was really saying something about the vain blonde pretty boy of our team. I only had a smirk on my face which I could not take off my lips even if I tried.
A little later in the tunnels, we had all finally happened upon the manhole that Jay and Theresa left open on their prior visit to those sewers. I bent down and smelt it just before coughing up a tornado of coughs.
Yours Truly: Jay, let me be the first to say it; this mission stinks!
Atlanta took a sniff at the manhole, herself, and exclaimed in complete disgust.
Atlanta: It's an animal, alright.
Wow, a new chance to impress my Atlanta presenting itself to me just like that… and that quickly? How could I ever say 'no' to it?
Yours Truly: Don't worry. I'll take care of it.
Atlanta just took it as a challenge, instead, though.
Atlanta: Not if I see it first!
Then, she jumped down feet first through the manhole. I jumped down the manhole after her. Neil jumped down after me. Then, Jay tossed the duffle bag back down to him. Theresa was the next to jump down the manhole. Jay became the next person to jump through the manhole. Finally, Herry jumped through the manhole. All of us landed on our feet as agile, flexibly, and reflexive as cats… all of us except for Herry, that was. The guy still just chuckled at having landed on his butt, anyway.
Then, we began looking around only to find out the hard way just how little light entered the place. Theresa was the first to comment on the darkness in this tunnel.
Theresa: I forgot how dark it is down here.
I was the only one to reply to the drama queen having a point… at the time.
Yours Truly: We can't hunt what we can't see.
I knew that I was right about that much in our venture that was stopping the minotaur. Atlanta, however, turned on her PMR to contact Odie for a solution.
Atlanta: Odie, we need some light. Any suggestions?
Odie talked to Atlanta through her personal mobile radio.
Odie (over the PMR): Check out the duffle bag.
That might as well have been Neil's cue. The vain blonde dud of our team reached into the duffle bag and pulled something out.
Neil: And these are?
Neil pulled out what looked a lot like glow sticks. Odie had an explanation for what they really were, anyway… just as I knew he most likely would.
Odie (over the PMR): Promethean fire glow sticks. Brighter than flashlights.
We all cracked them at once, but it was not the best thing to do with them when Odie gave us his advice on how to use them properly.
Odie (over the PMR, continued): Make sure you light them up one at a time so they'll last longer.
It was too late for Odie to give us his advice about the glow sticks by then, though. We had already turned on all of the Promethean glow sticks at the same time.
Yours Truly: Oops.
That was when I heard Jay walk past me.
Jay: We better get a move on.
We all began moving forward on our mission when Neil suddenly shrieked out like a banshee. That was when we all turned back around to help the vain pretty boy against whatever it was that was going on with him.
Jay (continued): Neil! What is it?
Neil: I stepped in something.
Then, our vain blonde teammate exclaimed in disgust. We all should have guessed that that was all there was to Neil's shriek at the time.
Yours Truly: Your luck is holding, Neil. Thanks to you, we're headed in the right direction.
A few short feet later, we all came to our first fork in the road.
Herry: Which way?
Jay: What does the CLEW say?
Theresa pointed the CLEW in the direction of the fork, and the device analyzed the route with its red beam of light.
Theresa: These two tunnels meet up ahead.
Jay: Let's split up and cover more ground. Theresa, Herry, with me.
At least, I was with Atlanta… and Neil. Thanks a lot, Jay, for sticking Atlanta and I with the job of babysitting the only vain one of our team. Why did Odie have to have claustrophobia? Sure, I, myself, was scared to death of water, but at least it was not like my fear of water was the same as Odie's fear of enclosed spaces and tight fits.
Before we knew it, however, the three of us wound up good and lost. Atlanta sighed in aggravation.
Atlanta: We'll have to backtrack.
That was when Neil began complaining about our situation like it was mine and Atlanta's fault we were lost.
Neil: I told you we shouldn't have taken that turn back there, but NOOOO! Let's not listen to Neil.
Atlanta then started on her way back out of the dead end and got even more annoyed with Neil like I was.
Atlanta: Yes, let's not listen to Neil.
I, for one, could not help but just smile at that remark from my Atlanta. I suppose that would most likely put Neil in his place… if we were not lost at the time, that was.
Atlanta (continued): Which tunnel did we come from?
Both my Atlanta and I were already out of options. For the first time in my life, I was no longer too proud to beg for help from anyone. So, I turned to Neil and decided that we needed some of his luck to be lost no more.
Yours Truly: Uh, Neil, care to flip a coin?
Neil only smirked at me just before all three of us suddenly heard something growling nearby.
Atlanta: Hear that? This way!
Atlanta directed Neil and I to the right.
Yours Truly: I hear it, too! Let's go!
Before Neil and I knew it, however, we had managed to lose sight of Atlanta. Where had she gone off to? I called out for her.
Yours Truly: Atlanta, where are you?
I had to admit, however, that calling out for my Atlanta in the maze-like sewer system of the city while we were all still searching for the minotaur was probably not my smartest decision ever, considering that when Atlanta answered me, she sounded desperate to stay quiet…
Atlanta: Oh, I'm just over here…
… just before she suddenly screamed out what was going on with her at the time.
Atlanta (continued): … WITH THE MINOTAUR!
After hearing the screaming voice of my favorite girl… on the team… , Atlanta, I immediately after heard that same growling from before following her sweet voice.
Yours Truly: You found the minotaur?!
Atlanta (over the PMR): Here it comes! Wish me_
That was when her signal was completely lost. Not even Odie could track her from up top.
Odie (over the PMR): Atlanta! Come in!
Yours Truly: Odie! Where's Atlanta?
I was desperate for Odie to say that he knew where she was, but it was foolish hope.
Odie (over the PMR): I've lost her signal! I've gotta get down there!
It was about time Odie could find the courage to get over his claustrophobia.
Odie (over the PMR, continued): No!
I guess that hoping Odie could get over his own fear was nothing but foolish hope, too. That was when I vaguely heard Atlanta's voice through my personal mobile radio.
Atlanta (over the PMR): Guys, are you there?
Then, it sounded an awful lot like Atlanta had quickly sprinted straight into a run for her life. She was probably being chased by the minotaur, itself.
Neil and I were already nearing another tunnel along the way as we searched for our lost teammate when something was flung over the vain blonde pretty boy of our team. Someone had also grabbed onto him while he was still trapped by whatever it was that was flung onto the guy.
Voice: Gotchya!
Another person tried to kill Neil. As cool as I would have been if they had killed Neil, I could not let them slice up even just one of my teammates… not without the risk of an insanely guilty conscience, even if it was Neil I had to rescue.
Before the swordsman could chop up my teammate, however, a duo of hands suddenly stopped the person with the sword. There went my need to protect Neil.
A/N: I bet Archie would've preferred for Atlanta to have been in Neil's place at the time. Tee-hee!
We both heard a girl's voice following the flashing of one of those Promethean fire glow sticks which Odie had given us all to light our way in those totally horrific tunnels.
Girl's voice: Neil?!
It was Theresa, and, just like before we split up to cover more ground, she was still with Jay and Herry. The big guy had Neil held in his arms and wrapped up tightly in the net Jay had brought earlier, which I had to imagine for Neil, was not anywhere near as pleasant as it probably sounded.
Neil: If you want me to carry the net, just say so!
I finally joined the rest of them once I saw it was the other team of three we ran into and not the minotaur like poor Atlanta had… or worse times infinity, Cronus, himself.
Yours Truly: Jay, we got us a good news-bad news type scenario here.
Jay sheathed the sword back into the handle on his gravitational blade.
Jay: What's the good news?
Yours Truly: Atlanta found the minotaur.
Theresa: And the bad news?
I was almost far too scared and ashamed to even admit to the bad news. I just could not bear the very idea of having to relive the occurrence. Someone had to let the rest of them know, however, and Neil was easily the last person I was willing to let tell the other three the bad news.
Yours Truly: We lost Atlanta.
Jay then tried to contact Odie on his own personal mobile radio.
Jay: Odie? Odie, are you there? Odie, can you hear me?
There was no answer right away. Our signals probably got scrambled as we searched for the minotaur all over that underground maze that made up the city's sewer system.
Jay (continued): Looks like we're on our own.
That was when we all heard something or other from beyond the walls of the horrid underground tunnels in which we were by then. The sounds turned out to be voices… of people, no less. They all seemed to be calling for help from beyond a rock covering a particular section of the wall.
Yours Truly: Over here! I got this.
I struggled to push the boulder out of the way, but it was a lot heavier than I had calculated.
Herry: No, I got this!
Herry touched my shoulder to make way for him, and the strong man wannabe of our team moved the boulder out of our way quickly and with complete and total ease. No doubt, that was obviously his revenge against me for using my Hephaestus whip on the front gate and taking away from his chance at getting the rest of us into the tunnels. All I could really say about that time was that at least I had someone that I wanted to impress, someone for whom I wanted to show off even a little ; ahem, Atlanta.
Herry: Hey, it's the missing tourists! And some… dude in a lab coat.
Jay almost instantaneously grew alarmingly suspicious of the guy that wore the lab coat in the first place.
Jay: Something tells me you're responsible for this.
The guy who donned the lab coat quickly got slightly defensive against Jay's suspicions towards the man.
Guy in lab coat: No! It's not my fault! I'm just a scientist.
Then, our 'friend' in the lab coat suddenly began explaining himself to us all for one reason or another about his role in our mission, more or less.
Scientist (continued): A man named Cronus came to see me. He hired me to engineer a superior breed of cattle using prehistoric bovine DNA. At first, I was only to isolate the gene for rapid growth, but then he asked me to clone the beast, itself. Unfortunately, I succeeded.
Cronus may have been the one who asked him to do it, but apparently by then the scientist was our mission's own writer's convenience.
Yours Truly: Cronus! I knew it!
The scientist continued to explain himself and his role in Cronus' plan regarding the minotaur.
Scientist: After the escape, I tried to lure my project back with sacks of feed. But I was captured, instead.
A/N: talk about getting killed by your own work!
Herry then came up to the scientist.
Herry: I don't get it. Why hasn't it killed you, yet?
Scientist: The minotaurs are intelligent. They're storing us to eat later.
Judging by what he asked the rest of us following the words from the scientist, Jay sounded pretty alarmed.
Jay: Did he say 'minotaurs', with an 'S'?
That was when I had suddenly remembered just who it actually was of our team that was not present by then to hear the scientist's warning, but was still in the tunnels, just the same.
Yours Truly: Atlanta! She thinks there's only one! We have to warn her!
I was perfectly ready to do just that, too. I did not care how long it would take to find Atlanta. She simply needed to learn what the scientist had told the rest of us… and quickly, too. I was even well enough on my way to go look for Atlanta so that I could warn her when I heard Theresa call out for me to stop where I was.
Theresa: Archie! Wait! Danger! All around!
I had no time to listen to the drama queen's little spiels of foreboding forecasts. I had to find Atlanta and tell her that there were more minotaurs than just the one that she, herself, was dealing with by then. I would have been on my way, too, if it were not for the entire pack of minotaurs showing up from out of the shadows. Needless to say, I suddenly felt the need to just stay with the group.
Neil: There's a whole herd of them!
That was around when Jay readily brandished the sword of his gravitational blade from the handle.
Jay: Form a circle!
Then, our fearless leader gave the orders for the tourists and the scientist to stay completely protected from the minotaurs.
Jay (continued): You! Into the middle!
Then, Herry pushed the scientist into the middle of our circle as Neil helped the two tourists into the middle, too. The minotaurs were closing in on all of us, tightening a noose around us. To make matters even worse, our Promethean fire sticks' glowing warranties all but expired on us before our battle against the pack of minotaurs could even begin.
Jay (continued): Oh no.
The tunnels were once again just as dark as we remembered them from before we turned on the Promethean fire sticks all at once. Odie was right. We should have lit those glow sticks up one at a time, for more reasons than just their collective brightness. That was when Theresa flashed Odie's CLEW for some light in the otherwise pitch black underground tunnels in which we all were at the time.
Theresa: Follow the CLEW!
She shone the red beam of light downwards and noticed another manhole cover just underneath us.
Theresa (continued): Down here.
Herry moved the rest of us out of the way of the manhole cover.
Herry: Stand back!
The big guy of our ragtag team then removed the manhole cover for us all to jump through the hole. Theresa went first. Then, Herry flung the scientist into the manhole, followed by the two tourists. Then, Herry jumped down the manhole, himself, after he flung the civilians down there. Neil jumped into the lower level next. I jumped through the manhole after Neil. Finally, Jay followed me down.
The minotaurs still chased after us all regardless of the manhole. Once we were down to where the manhole led us all, Herry caught all of us one after another. When Jay finally arrived, Herry caught him and set him onto his feet. The minotaurs arrived not long after and continued pursuing us.
We finally heard from Odie for the first time since our signals got scrambled.
Odie (over the PMR): There they are!
Theresa: We need to find the nearest exit!
Jay: Can't keep running!
We kept running, alright… into another dead end and even down a deep and steep drop into a shaft-like pit. Theresa fell into the hole first.
Theresa: Watch out!
That was when we all fell down the shaft like a crew of lemmings. I looked up at the top of the hole while trying to keep my spine in its basic alignment.
Yours Truly: Guess this wasn't on the map, either.
Herry: We're all trapped.
Jay: Wait, where's Neil?
Neil was still at the top of the shaft…
Neil: Whoa!
… only to decide to jump down and join the rest of us when the minotaurs sounded like they were closing in on him. Herry shoved Theresa out of the way for Neil's landing. The CLEW broke and the infra-red light from it went completely out upon Neil's landing.
Herry: OK, now we're all trapped.
It was then that a light was suddenly illuminated for us all. Neil was holding one of Odie's Promethean fire glow sticks in his right hand.
Jay: Where'd that come from?
Neil just grunted in pain and frustration before answering Jay's question.
Neil: Bottom of Odie's duffle bag. I landed on it.
Neil just continued rubbing his butt in pain while he held onto the Promethean fire glow stick in his hand.
Neil (continued): That's gonna leave a mark.
Back at the top of the shaft, the minotaurs had encircled us. Son of a gun, the scientist was telling the truth when he called his monsters 'intelligent'. Theresa just looked completely terrified of the literally bull-headed creatures.
Theresa: This is a total nightmare!
Yours Truly: I hope Atlanta's having better luck with her minotaur than we are with ours.
A little later, we all heard some kind of tapping from the other side of the shaft in which we seemed trapped.
Yours Truly: Huh?
Theresa was the first to comment about the tapping sound from the other side of the shaft.
Theresa: There's someone on the other side of this shaft!
It definitely sounded familiar to me, like I had heard tapping just like it somewhere before then.
Yours Truly: Sounds like… Morse code. Anyone here know Morse code?
Only Herry responded to my question about Morse code.
Herry: Only one person I know; Odie!
He then felt around for a good place to punch the wall, which he did. Then, the big guy pulled the wall straight from the shaft to reveal that someone was indeed on the other side of it. Low and behold, it turned out that the person on the other side of the shaft was none other than…
Herry, Jay, Theresa, and Yours Truly: Odie!
Odie: I lost your signals when you hit the shaft, but I calculated that since this section of the wall is composed of a weaker_
Jay interrupted him before he could finish that time while gratefully taking the extra Promethean fire sticks he had brought down with him.
Jay: Save the explanations, Odie! We're just happy you're here!
I noticed a helmet with shades on his head.
Yours Truly: Uh, what's with the hi-tech head gear?
Odie had a response to my question about his helmet, alright.
Odie: I had to find a way to get over my claustrophobia, so I rigged up a virtual reality visor.
Of course, that was exactly what he did to get over his claustrophobia just because it was.
Odie (continued): I'm in my happy place! This way, ma'am. Sir.
Odie pointed outside the shaft to some green fire leading all the way back to the tunnels' entrance.
Odie (continued): Just follow the trails of Promethean fire drops back to the surface.
The two elderly tourists and the scientist were more than happy to escape simply because all three of them were just civilians. Jay, Theresa, Herry and Neil, themselves, almost followed Odie back out of the tunnels. I, however, was not even close to being ready to leave just yet. I grabbed onto Jay's elbow, begging him to wait.
Yours Truly: We can't just leave! Atlanta's still out there!
Not to mention that she still did not know the minotaur she was fighting, herself, had friends and brethren.
Jay: Archie, we're outnumbered. We have to regroup and come back with heavier equipment.
Theresa: You know if anyone can take care of herself, it's Atlanta.
Of course, I knew Atlanta could take care of herself. It was only one of the many things I liked about her, as more than just a teammate or a friend.
That was around when Odie finally began to direct the team out of the underground tunnels following the elderly tourists and the scientist.
Odie: It may be the claustrophobia talking, but I wouldn't wanna be here if this structure collapses.
Theresa: Just how unstable are these tunnels, Odie?
Odie: Very. If you ask me, the city oughtta slate 'em for demolition.
Theresa then turned back to Jay and I, though I bet she wanted mostly to talk to Jay.
Theresa: Jay! What if Miss Persephone meant that the minotaurs' strength is their weakness?
Jay just smirked at his girlfriend with the notion in mind. I could think of only one thing he was going to say to Theresa about what she thought of our situation by then.
Jay: Sounds like a plan.
Theresa: My intuition tells me I can do this, Jay.
That was when Jay lifted Theresa off of her feet and placed her feet onto Herry's hands to jump back up the shaft. Then, the drama queen made a leap back up to the top of the shaft with the boost from the big guy. Then, she ran off and led the minotaurs away from the top of the shaft, giving the guys and I the chance to climb to the top of the shaft, starting obviously with Jay.
Jay: Our turn, guys.
A bit later, Jay, Neil, Herry and I all showed up in Theresa's area to help her deal with the minotaurs. Jay brandished the sword of his gravitational blade.
Jay: Spread out! Do whatever it takes to bring down the support pillars.
I pulled out my Hephaestus whip, Herry chose to rely on his bare hands, while Neil approached the minotaurs holding tightly onto our net. One of the minotaurs charged at Neil, just in time for the vain, but lucky pretty boy of our team to fling the net onto it. He got bucked by the minotaur's left hoof, though, and groaned twice in pain.
Neil: Low blow!
Another minotaur sped past the vain blonde pretty boy of our team, and the minotaur Neil had managed to catch in the net tore the thing in half. Meanwhile, Jay fought off two whole minotaurs with his gravitational blade. Both the minotaurs Jay hit just missed Theresa by several feet and into two support pillars, as Jay, himself, called them.
Herry threw another minotaur into another support pillar. Then, however, another minotaur beat him into one of the support pillars, with a rock landing just on the big guy's head. I knew Herry was thick-headed, but that was just ridiculous.
Herry: OK, now I'm mad.
Herry was in fact mad at the minotaurs… just mad enough to wrestle the one which had just beat him into the support pillar right into another one of the support pillars. Neil moved himself out of the way. Then when a giant boulder from the ceiling was about to fall on him, Herry shoved Neil out of the way.
Theresa: Jay, it's working!
Jay was still fighting the minotaurs he was up against. That was when Theresa called out to them.
Theresa: Hey, over here! Toro! Toro!
What the hey was she thinking?
Theresa (continued): Olé!
By that time, I saw what it was all about. The drama queen was using her shirt to provoke the minotaurs into the support pillars. It was then that Jay figured we were done luring the minotaurs into our trap.
Jay: Time to check out, right now!
But what about Atlanta? The walls all began to crumble around us. Never mind. We can always just hope that she was already outside. Theresa led the rest of us out.
Theresa: This way!
We all ran all the way to the front gate, post haste. Jay felt the need to encourage us all out along the way.
Jay: Go, go, go!
Once we were all outside, we finally reunited with Odie, but Atlanta was nowhere to be seen.
Odie: Where were you?! I thought you were right behind me!
Odie then grabbed onto Theresa and hurried her out of the tunnels.
Theresa: We had a little unfinished business to take care of.
The rest of us hurried out as the drama queen told the brains of our team why we had stayed in the tunnels longer than he had. That was when the tunnels collapsed as soon as we had all gotten out. Jay was the only one to comment on the building basically saying 'no more' when it collapsed.
Jay: Just think. A minute ago, we were under all that.
I knew she was not there when we all got out from the underground tunnels, but my Atlanta still had to have made it out somehow. Where was she?
That was when I heard a groaning sound. I looked at Odie as our team genius began to faint from the realization that he had faced his own claustrophobia for the team. I guess he also probably could have fainted from the happiness that it was all over and done with.
That was when I saw someone speed by and catch Odie in their arms. It was Atlanta.
Atlanta: Gotchya!
Odie: Thanks!
I almost could not believe my eyes. Was it really her? Did she really make it out of the tunnels just like I had initially hoped she had? I just had to gasp at the sight of her.
Yours Truly: Atlanta! You're alive!
I almost even headed up to her for a hug. I would have embraced my Atlanta, too, if she did not have to go and patronize me about being so concerned about her the entire time she was gone from all of our groups.
Atlanta: Archie, you weren't worried about me, were you?
That was it! My Atlanta was definitely trying to test me. I had to think of a reply, any reply… and fast. I just chuckled nervously, though. After that, I finally had something to say to her.
Yours Truly: Who me? Nah!
I admit that it was a bit touch and go for a minute or two, but I think that I had successfully managed to evade my favorite teammate, Atlanta's, suspicions of my crazy and stupid crush on her.
You would probably be thinking that I would have wanted Atlanta to find out about my crush on her right away. You would definitely be wrong about that. I absolutely could not let my Atlanta know that I liked her, liked her… at least not until I knew without a doubt that she liked me the same way I liked her.
Atlanta: Good news, guys. I got the minotaur!
Theresa just chuckled at my Atlanta, her best girl friend's, words.
Theresa: What? Just the one?
Atlanta: Huh?
Then, Atlanta groaned slightly in mild frustration.
Atlanta (continued): I miss all the fun!
That was when the rest of us just laughed at what Atlanta seemed to have considered to be 'fun'.