The hard swat Peggy had received left her lying in a heap. Dazed, she shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Though tempted to stay down, Zdenka's scream of terror had Peggy lurching to her feet.

Limping toward Zdenka, Peggy looked around for Dmitri and saw that the last hit had been too much. In a corner, he lay unconscious on the dusty floor.

Becoming more aware as well as pissed, Peggy neared Zdenka. She arrived just as the statue raised its club-sized fist to pummel the Russian doctor.

Before it could bash Zdenka, Peggy grabbed the statue's upraised golden arm and swung herself onto its back. As she scrambled upwards, she roared, "Enough is enough."

Wrapping her legs around the statue's thick, crimped bearded neck, Peggy yanked her survival knife free from her ankle sheath. She growled through barred teeth, "Get back to work, Doctor."

A stunned Zdenka snapped out of it and hurried to the bas relief of the Giza Pyramids.

As the statue's stunted arms tried to reach her, Peggy got to work. Obstinately, she rapidly struck its shell and lapis eyes with the knife hilt in hopes of shattering it. But unlike the hard projectiles of fired bullets, her strikes were not strong enough.

Changing tactics, Peggy attempted to stab the sharp blade behind its eyes. If she could pry this ornate plate free, then the statue would be just as blind as its friend. The problem was she had to duck its swatting hands continuously.

Peggy leaned her body closer to the statue's head so it could not hit her. While doing so, she was surprised at how hot the statue had become. The SSR Agent swore that she could even hear a simmer of something percolating within it.

She also felt the heat and sweat trickled down her back and arms. All the exertion and warmth from the multitude of lit braziers and fiery torches made her perspire like the devil.

Peggy grunted when she hunched further so as not to be seized by the giant groping hands. If she moved anymore closer, she would have pitched herself right over its head.

Seeing the groggy Dmitri force himself to his feet, she yelled, "Keep the blind one away from Zdenka. I'll take care of this one." After more effort, she finally got most of the knife's edge behind the statue's eyes and began to pry it loose.

Her success was short-lived.

Now instead of trying to swipe Peggy off, the statue suddenly backpedaled in an attempt to crush her against the nearest wall.

Cursing, Peggy instantly gave up her plans so not to risk getting flattened. Just before it could ram her into the hard surface, she slid down the statue's arm.

The statue abruptly halted its course and grabbed one of Peggy's dangling legs.

It then swung her around and slammed her back into the wall. Stunned, Peggy groaned from the impact and leaned against the icy surface as she got her bearings.

Surprisingly, the golden guard stepped back.

As Peggy recovered, she was grateful for the respite. The agent also appreciated the cool relief against her hot and sweating back.

Suddenly, this cold comfort changed into a sharp, biting chill that quickly seeped through her clothes. This piercing ache became excruciating agony as if it gripped her damp flesh tightly like a fist.

With a yelp, Peggy began to tear herself away. But the clench of the freezing ice refused to let go. It felt as if it was trying to suck her into the wall!

She fought harder.

There was the sound of ripping cloth, and Peggy staggered away free. Luckily, only the back of her wet blouse had stayed behind, not her skin. The room's heat assailed her bare flesh, and the painful chill across her back slowly dissipated.

Peggy turned and glared at the wall.

Eyes widening at the sight before her, Peggy watched amazed as the torn piece of shirt was absorbed into the icy surface. In moments the fabric was transformed into a decorative piece on the wall. Her surprised gaze then focused on a nearby life-like carving.

Staring at the pleading frozen form dressed as a conquistador, the grim reality struck. This could have been her stuck in this deadly fly trap like all the other participants. Peggy shuddered at the thought.

Now that she was clear of this treacherous snare, the tenacious statue attacked once more. Peggy ducked under a golden fist and backpedaled, doing her best not to get close the adhesive wall.

Dodging another punch, a nasty thought occurred to her. She wondered how it would like a taste of its own medicine. But Peggy knew this statue would not linger long enough to get caught. She needed something to make it adhere faster to the freezing wall.

Grinning, she yelled to Zdenka, "Toss me your canteen!"

The Russian had learned to do as Peggy said, and she pitched it to her without comment. Peggy threw herself forward and caught the canteen. Triumphant, she got to her feet, the whole time smiling dangerously at the statue.

Evading another swipe, Peggy danced around it. Then putting her back as close to the wall as she could tolerate, she encouraged the statue by shouting, "Come here, you oversized paperweight!"

When it had neared close enough, she splashed the contents of the canteen into its overly large face. As the water dribbled down its creepy features, it hissed against the hot metal.

Thinking she was cornered, it raised a fist to smash her head.

Just as it came down, Peggy dived between its massive legs. Then, using both feet, she kicked the back of its knee. Had the statue been human, Peggy's strike would have shattered the bones. Instead, the blow was just hard enough to cause the knee to buckle.

Losing its balance, the statue bent forward, its face nearly touching the wall.

Scrambling to her feet, Peggy slammed all her body weight into the statue's head, forcing it face-first into the icy wall. It hit with a bang. Quickly the freezing wall latched onto this new wet surface, and the statue struggled to pull itself away.

Even as the golden sculpture flailed, it was being absorbed too fast. With a piercing metallic scream, the statue began to rip itself free. But still, it could not escape this icy trap in time.

In moments, the entire statue was frozen and became part of the wall. With a critical eye, Peggy judged it to be a gaudy bas relief.

Seeing his friends' victory, Dmitri tiredly cheered, and Zdenka grinned, pleased.

The seated man clapped enthusiastically at Peggy's actions and looked at her appraisingly, "Well played, Amazon. You might survive this yet."

Ignoring him, an exhausted Peggy slowly limped to Dmitri's side and helped him keep the blind statue busy. Both were wounded and worn out, but neither agent would stop until they had gotten through this final test.

Though no longer under duress, Zdenka was still mystified about how to solve this conundrum. She kept darting from one bas relief to another. Finally, she turned to her friends and pleaded, "I don't know what to do. There are no clues."

"Come on. I know you can do it," Dmitri encouraged as he stumbled to the swiping statues right.

Peggy made a noise that drew the statue to her, and then Dmitri did the same. It was like a game of Marco Polo, sans the pool. She felt almost bad for the pitiful, blind thing.

Hoping to get Zdenka back on track, Peggy yelled, "Focus, Doctor!" Zdenka was as bad as Howard once he lost sight of the end goal. "Tell us what you see."

The frustrated Russian woman rubbed her locket as if for help, "These are all Babylonian stylized representations of the Wonders."

Alright, she needed more prodding, so Peggy asked, "Anything different about them, anything that stands out?"

Zdenka shook her head, "Other than the Wonders themselves, no."

"Fine, then what are the similarities?" Peggy slapped the back of the blind statue, causing it to turn toward her.

Studying the reliefs, Zdenka focused on the details, "Well, all of the backgrounds are the same."

"Then describe what you see," Dmitri suggested as he tapped the statue on the shoulder. It spun around to confront him.

"There are crowds at the base of the Wonders, admiring the spectacle before them." She sighed and then frowned in recognition, "Wait, I also see the number seven represented multiple times. Seven people in the crowd, seven stars, plants, trees, notching in the frame. With that number so prominent, it had to be the answer, but in what way?"

Peggy noticed the seated man react slightly, and she grinned. "I think you are right about the use of that number, Doctor. But perhaps the answer this time is what is the context of that number is instead. So, what can you tell me about the number seven itself?"

Zdenka mentally put on her scholarly hat, "Well, seven is prevalent throughout history and in many cultural beliefs worldwide. To most, it is considered sacred."

Peggy watched the seated man from the corner of her eye and saw that he rested his chin on his palm as if to cover a mocking grin.

She'd have boxed his ears if she hadn't been busy already.

As Dmitri easily swatted aside a golden fist, he proposed, "Besides the cultural significance, what else is that number linked to, lyubov moya?"

"Well," as Zdenka walked to another Wonder bas relief, she began to rattle off, "on the more pragmatic side, there are seven oceans, seven continents, the rainbow has seven colors, sound has seven notes, seven days in a week, seven classical planets and celestial bodies—"

Peggy saw their host move subtly and recalled his similar reaction to the bas reliefs description earlier. She had thought it had to do with the number seven being so predominant but realized it was when Zdenka mentioned stars.

Throughout this entire quest, they had yet to use astronomy to solve any puzzles. And it made sense since the stars were a constant throughout the ages.

A memory tugged at her thoughts, and Peggy closed her eyes as she tried to remember something she had seen in those reliefs.

Recognition had her eyes flaring open, "Wait, Zdenka, those spectators are not gazing at the Wonders in awe, but upon the heavens themselves! And didn't you say that those protective Lamassu statues above also represented the stars?"

"Yes, of course, comrade Peggy, that's it!" Nearing the first Wonder that they had been to, Zdenka stopped in front of it.

Enthused, the Russian gazed at the Giza relief, her nose nearly pressed upon the surface. Perplexed, she murmured, "But I see nothing special about the stars." She pulled back a bit and then gushed, amazed, "Oh, but there are five planets on here, too. And including the sun and moon, that would make seven celestial bodies present."

Grinning, Dmitri murmured, "Yes, of course, the classical planets. Those were the ones easily seen with the naked eye by ancient astrologers. That is what we should focus on."

As she stared sharply at the celestial background, Zdenka's fingers brushed over the planet Saturn. She was surprised to see that it moved downwards. Triumphant, she yelled, "I think that I can press the planets in."

With a way to solve this puzzle, Peggy smiled. They just might get out of this alive yet, "We'll go ahead and try it, Doctor."

Dmitri also echoed the encouragement.

Zdenka was about to do so but then stopped, "With this being part of the test, I assume that these cannot be pressed "willy-nilly," as the Americans would say. Instead, I bet each Wonder must correspond with a specific planet." She dropped her hand, "But, I do not know which one the Pyramids would be associated with."

"Well, what ones do you know?" Peggy asked as she shoved against the back of the blind statue.

"Hum, well, Jupiter could be linked with Zeus," Zdenka explained, "the lightning God was known as Jupiter to the Romans."

"Give that a go, then," Dmitri suggested.

Nodding, Zdenka raced over the Wonder that depicted the mighty Zeus statue. Quickly finding Jupiter, she pushed it down. As she began to exclaim victorious, it popped back out.

Before Peggy and Dmitri could ask what happened, they heard a familiar grating noise as if metal was rubbing against stone.

The man seated stated, bored, "Every time you guess wrong, another statue awakens."

Just as he finished stating this, a third statue rumbled to life. It was the one closest to Zdenka, and the gilded sculpture cupped its raised hands over its head to strike her down.

Rushing forward, Dmitri and Peggy beat on its back, hoping to distract the statue from attacking the Russian doctor. Finally, they diverted it away from Zdenka so she could do her job.

Zdenka's voice trembled as she murmured, "But I know I was right."

Peggy growled as she dodged a swing from this quicker statue. Though it was slightly smaller than the others, it made up for it by being more agile and faster.

A horrible thought occurred to her, and the SSR Agent growled, "It is not just which planets correspond to what Wonder, but also the sequence to press them in. Think about it. The planets are in a certain order, correct?"

Worriedly, Zdenka replied, "Yes, of course. But which sequence do I use? It could be arranged by what planet is the brightest in the night sky. Or even the biggest one. Hence Jupiter would be the last one, or would it be the first? Maybe how they were viewed by Copernicus or perhaps the heavenly belief instead."

Peggy winced when Dmitri tried to duck a surprise hit from the faster statue. Though he had evaded most of the strike, a portion of it clipped across his head, and he staggered backward. Worried that all the hits had slowed him down to the point of vulnerability, she ordered, "Dmitri, go help her while I keep this one busy."

The Russian Agent reluctantly did as she said, and he lurched over to Zdenka's side.

Peggy tried to trip the quicker statue up when it lunged after Dmitri's retreating form. But it was too solid, and all she did was bruise her shin.

Quickly she twisted away from its replying punch, "Think, Doctor."

Snatching her knife free from its sheath, Peggy then jabbed the point of the blade at its eyes. Quickly the statue grabbed the knife. Before her eyes, it crushed her prized weapon between its hands and dropped its crumpled shape onto the sandy floor.

Peggy grumbled, upset. That knife had been with her all through the war.

As the statue chopped at her head, Peggy grabbed the descending golden arm with both hands. She groaned from exertion as it easily shoved her downwards. As she struggled, the SSR Agent grunted, "There must be another clue in those reliefs, doctor. Take it down to its most rudimentary level and work your way up."

Zdenka closely studied the Zeus bas relief as she began to ramble off the facts, "Well, the reliefs are in a Babylonian style, as was the Lamassu statue above, thus—" she suddenly grinned and stated excitedly, "That's it! That is the link between the planets and the number seven."

She turned to Dmitri and nearly kissed him then and there. Instead, she explained quickly, "The Babylonians were the first civilization to use a seven-day calendar! Each day of the week was assigned to a specific celestial body. So that must be the sequence that we should press them in."

Peggy let go when the statue tried to toss her off its arm. She eluded a kick to her middle and yelled, "So we go with what classical planets are linked to Sunday, Monday, and onwards? That sounds good to me, doctor."

Dmitri held up a hand, "Wait. How do we link up the other Wonders when only one of them was Babylonian?"

Now once more in her element, Zdenka grinned suddenly, "I believe it links to the cultural belief of those who had built the Wonders. Thus Giza would be the Egyptians, and the Hanging Gardens would be Babylonian. The others should be Greek and Roman ideologies."

Though a lot was riding on the correct answer, Peggy had learned to trust Zdenka's judgment. Leaning back from the faster statue's quick jab, she snarled, "Well, I'm willing to give it a try."

Zdenka looked to Dmitri, who sighed, "Yes, of course. You know best, lyubov moya."

Smiling her gratitude, Zdenka then rubbed her locket as she thought aloud, "Now which Wonder portends to the sun… ah, Colossus was known as Helios, the sun god, so that has to be it."

Peggy wanted to watch, but the speedier statue continued its relentless attack, and she found it more and more challenging to dodge its bombardments.

Then hearing shuffling from behind, Peggy remembered she still had the blind one to contend with. She limped around the sightless effigy and tried to keep it between her and the faster one. But she was slowing down.

It did not help that the air in the room was stifling, making it harder for Peggy to catch her second wind. Of course, neither of the statues was affected. Actually, the heat seemed to increase their speed and maneuverability.

While Peggy retreated from the two statues, Zdenka raced over to the bas relief of Colossus.

Holding her breath, she pushed the sun's image in, and the large orb stayed compressed. She exhaled, relieved. Her beaming smile to the others soured when she saw that Peggy was still fighting for her life.

"Monday, or Moon-day… should be Artemis. She was Goddess of the hunt and Moon." Zdenka nodded to Dmitri, who limped over to the Temple Artemis. In moments he pressed down the crescent moon.

That one stayed flushed as well, and Peggy gave a silent cheer. Just five more to go, she thought as she spun out of the way of the statue's roundhouse kick.

Zdenka rubbed her locket absently. She mumbled, "Now Tuesday may be trickier. Some Wonders can be interpreted in different ways."

"Then you best use deductive reasoning. Tell us what the remaining orders of the planets are," Peggy asked in hopes of getting this over with fast. Now the quicker statue was learning her moves and easily countering them.

Taking out her book, Zdenka fanned through the pages until she found what she was looking for. Muttering as she read, she stated, "Ah, here it is. Those corresponding to the remaining days of the week in order are Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn."

"Mars, like the God of war. I would guess the Lighthouse in Alexandria since it was built in honor of the most legendary military general, Alexander the Great," Dmitri suggested.

From the corner of her eye, Peggy swore she saw the seated man sit up straight. She could not comment on it, for the blind statue was suddenly in front of her. Instantly, it began a hacking motion toward her head!

"Go on, give it a shot, lyubimaya," Dmitri encouraged, but Zdenka had stopped. Two of the planets were very similar in appearance. She did not want to risk awakening another statue.

Zdenka shook her head in consternation, "These two planets look the same. I don't know which one is Mars or Venus."

With her attention split in multiple directions, Peggy realized too late that the blind statue and the more agile one had been working in tandem. When she leaped back from the blind statue's chopping motion, she was suddenly grabbed from behind in a bear hug by the quicker one.

Her squeak of breath alerted Dmitri. As fast as he could, he hurried toward her.

As the statue squeezed the life from her, Peggy saw Dmitri lurch to her side. She wondered what he hoped to accomplish, but whatever it was, it had better be quick. As she struggled for breath, her vision was already dimming.

Dmitri watched, horrified as Peggy's face reddened from lack of oxygen. He tried yanking on the statue's thick arms, but it proved too strong and would not yield.

The blind statue turned on him, and he barely evaded its strike.

Even weakened, Peggy fought to free herself from the strong Sumerian effigy's tight grasp. Unfortunately, this just caused it to squeeze her middle all the harder. When she felt her ribs painfully compress, she frantically pounded on the golden fingers. Somehow her hits had flattened them somewhat, but not enough to break away from.

At least the blind one had stopped chopping at her head, she hazily thought, and then groaned when her ribs were squeezed harder.

Desperate, Dmitri started kicking the back of the quicker statue's leg. He stopped when the golden calf became slightly imprinted with his boot's tread mark.

Surprised, he realized that somehow the room's increasing temperature had made the gold more malleable than solid. This was the opposite of what heat should do to refined gold. But then all facts flew right out the door when normally rigid statues could somehow come alive and attack them.

Dmitri mumbled critically, "Perhaps it is nearly pure gold, with barely any copper or tin to help keep its shape intact. Without those other metals, that might explain how it can move as it gets warmed up."

"Peachy, comrade," Peggy gasped, her face starting to purple.

With a plan in mind, Dmitri staggered to the center of the room where the largest fire pan was. "And if that is the case, a higher heat source will affect its molecular structure. Though pure gold can't be destroyed, it can become more pliable. But you'll be dead at this rate before it melts to sludge."

Kicking the flaming kindling over, it tumbled off as the heavy pan crashed onto the floor. "So we'll need something hotter."

Hoping that his bandaged hands would protect him from the blistering heat, he grabbed the rim of the piping hot metal plate and stumbled back to the statue. Then with all his might, he slammed the scorching flat pan against the statue's arm that held Peggy tight.

The hot plate sliced through the weakened metal like butter. The arm and Peggy dropped to the ground. After rolling to rest on her knees, she gasped in pain, holding her injured ribs.

While Peggy struggled to her feet, the statue calmly leaned over and grabbed its arm. Straightening, it pressed the melted end against the part where it had been sheared off. Amazingly, once both ends touched, they melded back together. But it had not been perfectly lined up, so the arm hung crooked.

Witnessing this, Peggy sneered. It was not going to patch itself back together on her watch.

She nodded to Dmitri, "Thanks, comrade. Keep helping, Zdenka," she glared at the statue, "while I finish this up."

Recognizing the malice in her voice and the fact that he was having trouble staying upright, Dmitri stuttered a nod. He then staggered back to the vacillating Zdenka. She was still hesitant on which of the two planets to press next on the Lighthouse relief.

While they worked together, Peggy quickly poked at the large pan that Dmitri had dropped. Unfortunately, it had already cooled.

Holding her sore ribs, Peggy limped over to one of the six smaller metal hot plates in the chamber. Using the loose fabric of her torn shirt sleeves as a barrier from the heat, she grabbed the smaller disc-sized saucer. The cloth momentarily helped insulate her hands from the intense temperature that seemed to pulse from the metal pan.

As it began to burn through to her hands, Peggy growled in anger. She would not be deterred. Ignoring her aching ribs and hands, she charged at the recently healed statue. It lunged for her, but she slid between its legs just before it could strike.

When it began to twist around, she vehemently hacked the scorching hot disc repeatedly into its golden calf.

The sizzling metal pan easily sliced through the shiny gold. Unfortunately, the disc cooled too quickly. Once more, Peggy grabbed another hot plate. It took going through two more of these extremely hot pans before she had carved up the statue into a mass of twitching pieces.

Standing over them, she watched as the whittled torso reached out with its lone arm to call its severed limbs home.

Appalled, Peggy saw the discarded appendages slither their way slowly back toward its body.

Snarling, Peggy kicked the closest approaching limb into the path of the nearing blind statue. It tripped and barely righted itself.

After knocking a few more discarded limbs in the sightless statue's route, Peggy figured she could take a moment for a quick break. She looked at the Russians and saw they were still arguing about which planet to press in for the Lighthouse.

She'd give them a moment before she yelled out motivations. Honestly, Peggy would do it sooner, but she was overheating from the exertion. It seemed that all the activity of hacking up that statue was exhausting and making her injured ribs throb worse. And even with fewer lit braziers, it still felt hotter than hell itself.

Noticing that the severed limbs were getting closer to the one-armed torso, Peggy grabbed the fourth small brazier. Tiredly, she began chopping and could finally detach the last arm. She had just finished tossing that appendage away when she heard a shuffle behind her. Spinning around at the ready, she then groaned from pain and frustration.

The blind statue loomed over her. Sneering, she whacked its grasping fingers away with the disc. Though the round metal object had cooled to the point of only being a good shield, it worked just fine in its new role.

Her periphery caught movement as she continued to knock the blind statue's hands back. Turning her head, she watched, irritated, as the nearest sliced-off arm continued to creep back toward the limbless body. Even its two disembodied legs had inched closer to the struggling torso.

While Peggy snarled in exasperation, Zdenka looked glumly at Dmitri. She pointed to the similar-looking planetary discs and explained, "Besides either of these planets being Mars or Venus, there is another problem. Most of the remaining Wonders could link to any of these planets."

Dmitri placed his burned bandaged hand on her shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze, "Then let's cross off the ones that we are sure of. What is after Mars?"

She pointed to the smallest planet, "Following the calendar, that would be Wednesday, Mercury. But which Wonder is it?"

Not having a clue, he suggested, "We'll come back to it. What about Thursday?"

Zdenka exhaled, "That would be Jupiter, which I am sure is Zeus."

In the middle of the room, Peggy glanced at the limbless torso. She growled when she saw that one of the arms had reattached itself to the statue's body. Though the golden metal had cooled, it could still miraculously reassemble itself.

Peggy nearly pulled out her hair when it began to drag itself toward its remaining appendages.

Lurching around the blind statue's grasp, Peggy limped over to one of the last two hot pans. Returning to the crawling statue, she hacked off the newly reattached arm. Smug, she placed her hands on her hips and declared, "There that should keep you put."

This time when she saw the recently discarded limb suddenly twitch, she punted it far across the room.

After she sighed out a breath that reminded her of her aching ribs, she overheard the Russians muttering from across the room. They seemed stuck, so she asked perturbed, "And what about Friday?"

Zdenka yelled back, "We were just trying to figure that one out. Friday is Venus, beauty."

"Wasn't the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus considered the most beautiful of all the Wonders?" Dmitri asked hopefully.

Peggy countered, "But so was the Hanging Gardens."

Zdenka shook her head, "Actually, I think Saturday is the Hanging Gardens because the Babylonian God for Saturn was Ninurta, and he was the God of farming. And if I am wrong about using cultural ideologies, then the Roman Deity Saturn was also a God of Agriculture."

Exhaling through pain gritted teeth, Peggy muttered, "Works for me."

Watching the determined arm drag itself back toward its body, Peggy shook her head. Then, picking up the appendage, she tossed it at the seated man's feet. With all the squirming limbs distributed about the room, she had time to contend with the blind statue.

She should have known not to expect things to stay easy. That familiar grinding noise came from one of the nearby darkened corners. Squinting, Peggy tried to determine which sized statue had caused it, but she had already used the fire pan that illuminated that area.

Then from the shadows, the newly awakened statue suddenly charged at her.