A/N Heyooooo last chapter for Temple of Doom! We've still got two movies, the in-betweens, and our fateful WWII drama portion to go so hold on tight kids, we've got a lot to see.
Also can you tell I got my hands on a copy of the movie again cause...
This wouldn't have happened properly without it. Thanks Steven for your extensive action sequences.
So much fun.
But so difficult write without visual reference.
Anyway, have a good weekend everybody!
It was Indiana Jones, of course they were gonna handle things in the most dramatic way possible. She waited around the bend with Shorty while Indy made his entrance into the mine and as soon as the children started turning on the guards they came out, finding the keys and unlocking as many wrists and ankles as they could reach.
The kids swarmed the guards as they ran towards the passageways leading up to the palace and that was about the same time their friend, the leader of the guards crept out from a side passageway, making for Indy who went for him with a sledgehammer that did about as much good as pool noodle.
Shorty ran forward to help him but Sophia wrenched him back. "Bad idea, bad idea!"
"I've got to save him!" Shorty yelled back, struggling in her arms.
"He can take care of himself…I think…" She mumbled the last bit as the fight decidedly didn't go in Indy's favor.
"He needs me. I've gotta save Indy!"
The guard heaved Indy onto his shoulders and started heading for a mine cart. Shorty was right, and Sophia was sick of this shit. She wanted some payback, so she was gonna get it. Several of the guards had been knocked unconscious by rocks and they'd also been armed
"You stay here, I'll get Indy." She told Shorty, letting him go and reaching for the belt of the nearest guard. There was no way she, a full grown adult, was tossing a kid into the fray before she went into it herself.
He chucked Indy into the mine cart as she hurried across the room, saber in hand. "Hey!"
Did she know how to properly wield a sword? No. Was the man twice her size and practically made of adamantium? Yes. But the red blood that flowed from his arm when she sliced at him was a good start.
His hand caught her wrist when she swung again and he used the momentum of her swing to toss her to the side, the sword clattering away over the rails. His real interest was in getting to Indy but that put her at an advantage. His back was turned and Sophia went after the sword, but before she could run after them two more guards showed up and Indy screamed as the Maharaja pulled out his doll.
"Shorty! Get the kid!" She yelled, slashing at the guards and downing both of them with more ease than she'd expected. Then again, if she'd been slashed across the bare stomach by a saber she'd probably back off too.
Indy was up on the conveyor belt now and he flopped over the side long enough for her to hand him a gas can with some heft that he swung at the guard. It made him pause but with the doll being stabbed Indy couldn't get the upper hand.
Sophia found a handhold on one of the supports, tossed the sword up onto the belt above her, and climbed up to join them. The guard definitely didn't expect that, just like he didn't expect the tip of a sword to come out from his stomach either.
The ease that it had gone through his back surprised her and she held the blade there with nearly as much shock as the guard who looked down at the blood soaked sword.
Even that didn't seem like it was going to be enough to take him down, at least not in the moment, and he turned with a heavy arm, throwing her back onto the belt and grasping for the hilt of the sword.
Up in the alcove, Shorty got the pin out of Indy's back and he took the opportunity to smash a rock into the guard's head, further throwing him off balance. Then the tail of his robe caught the belt and he was pulled back towards it.
He grasped the rope on the pulley and Indy grabbed the other side, trying to help, but it was too much force.
Indy held out his hand. "Sophia!"
He grabbed her and tried to use her weight with his to offset it but it didn't work. The man rolled under the wheel as they rose into the air and nothing was left but a dark red streak.
The pulley got them high enough to reach the scaffolding above the mines and he pushed her under the makeshift railing. Her sword had gotten left in the guard and without a weapon, Indy pushed her ahead of him, pausing to kick more guards who were coming after them.
"Short Round! Quit fooling around with that kid! Get down to the cart, now!" He yelled across the room.
"Okay Dr. Indy!" He said, giving a thumbs up.
They ran one way, then met guards and ran another, smacking into each other as they kept switching directions. Then more guards came in from below and this time they had guns. Because of course they had guns.
Frantically trying to find a way out, Indy trapped her behind him with one arm while gunshots went off below them and guards approached from the side with swords. He snapped his whip around the cord of a lamp, grabbed her, and swung them across to the same part of the scaffolding they'd started on.
Below them, Shorty was fighting off guards and pushing a cart towards the passage. With one last flailing chance, Indy grabbed a hook hanging from the ceiling and they swung off the platform.
"You know this would be romantic if we weren't about to die." She yelled with her arms wrapped around his neck as they gained on the moving cart.
Timing it perfectly, Indy let go of the hook and they fell into the cart with a heavy thud. He popped up, wielding a shovel from the cart and switched the tracks.
"Indy no, left tunnel! The left tunnel!" Shorty yelled.
"Why the fuck did you choose the demon tunnel!" She added. "It's red and evil looking for a reason!"
Worst roller coaster ever. Made all the better by rickety steep drops and-
"We've got company!" Indy yelled as another cart gained on them and bullets glanced off of the metal around them.
"Let her go!" Indy said. "Let go of the brake! Let her go, it's our only chance to outrun them!"
Indy switched places with Shorty at the front. His plan went well until they propped up on two wheels going around a curve over a boiling lake of lava. Then Indy went ahead and switched back and let Shorty handle things again.
They chucked the log inside the cart onto the tracks and it caught on the wheels of the one behind them, eventually hitting the sides of the cavern and sending them careening through the air. Then they just had the second one to worry about.
That and Indy's penchant for going right when they were supposed to go left, this time crashing through danger signs for good measure. The other cart came up beside them on perpendicular tracks and Indy grabbed at their gun, losing it into the lava below.
Sophia shoved Shorty behind her, remembering the tug of war, and they made it through that portion without any more trouble. The Thuggee that landed in their cart was a whole different story though. Indy held the knife wielding man's arm still but the struggle was definitely there. Least until she took a chance, dodged around it, and punished the man right in the nose.
Indy took the moment to chuck the knife over the side, and then the man. The body derailed the second cart and they were safe…at least from mine carts.
Indy's eyes widened as he looked behind her and before she knew it he was shoving them all down into the bottom of the cart and they became airborne. It seemed to last for eons before the wheels slammed back onto the track
"Alright." He said once they'd gone a bit further. "Brake! Slow us down!"
"Okay!" Shorty said, pulling back on the lever.
Sparks flew and the wheels squealed, then the lever broke off in Shorty's hand.
"Uh-oh! Big mistake. Big mistake, Indy!"
He crawled up out of the cart and hung off the front, pressing his foot against the wheel as the dead end came into view. Indy bore down on the wheel and smoke billowed up but as his back reached the end and he yelled they bumped to a stop.
"You're a fucking mess, you know that?" Sophia laughed as he grinned back at them.
His face fell seconds later and he started stomping around. "Water! Water!"
She jumped out of the cart and started kicking dirt onto him but his shoe was still smoking. Then the rushing started and he got his wish. The giant wall of water coming towards them put them all in a panic and he grabbed Shorty.
"Water! Come on!"
They ran, cutting down a side passage and laughing when they saw daylight in front of them…and then more water behind them. This whole final adventure sequence was really getting on her nerves.
They slid out onto the cliff side as the water blew out beside them, eroding the walls behind them. She grabbed Shorty and pushed him up ahead of her, trying to get as far away as possible while Indy clung to the other side.
"Head for the bridge! Go!"
"Come on Sophia!" Shorty yelled. "This way!"
Coming out onto dry, sturdy ground under the sun was a fucking godsend and even the bridge didn't seem unwelcoming.
"Go!" She urged. "And don't start jumping to prove it's sturdy just go!" The last thing they needed was him falling through and her not getting to him in time.
But of course, even that brief relief of sunlight wasn't going to last, and reaching the other side they came face to face with Mola Ram who came out of nowhere. Seriously, he hadn't been there five seconds before but now…What the hell?
A guard took hold of the two of them and they watched as Indy was surrounded on both sides while he stood in the middle.
"Let them go, Mola Ram." He called.
"You are in a position unsuitable to give orders."
Knowing the position they were in, Indy did the one thing he could and held the bag of stones over the edge. "You want the stones, let 'em go!"
"Drop them Dr. Jones." Mola Ram laughed. "They will be found. You won't!"
Indy raised his sword above the rope threateningly and it made the guards pause, but Mola Ram had an answer for that too and pushed them onto the bridge.
The bridge that was about to break.
That they were about to ride down.
Shorty didn't complain as she grabbed his hand and pulled him in front of her so at least he wasn't right in front of Mola Ram.
Sophia watched Indy carefully as he wrapped his foot in a rope with a mischievous look and said something to Shorty in Cantonese. Shorty nodded and began wrapping his wrist in a rope. "Hang on Sophia, we go for ride."
"I think I'm done with rides." She grumbled, wrapping her wrist and leg into the edge of the bridge.
"Mola Ram. Prepare to meet Kali, in hell!" Indy said smugly before bringing the sword down.
The rope unraveled and snapped, sending them flying towards the cliff wall to the screams of guards as they fell into the river below. The bridge was shaking too much for them to climb as Indy fought with Mola Ram and Shorty yelled down when the man's hand clawed towards him.
"Indy, cover your heart! Cover your heart!"
Indy struggled, then got the upper hand and threw Mola Ram's fist into his own face. Seeing he was on the losing end now, Mola Ram began to climb and threw one of his guards out of the way to get up further. They stomped on his hands and made him lose his grip but he took Indy as he fell, both of them nearly falling.
But Indy had it covered and had a better grip on the bridge than Mola Ram so Shorty urged her up. They crawled away from the edge just in time to meet Captain Blumburtt and his troops who set up their position to take out the bow wielding Thuggee across the chasm.
The bad guys well in hand, she and Shorty watched as Indy's hand popped up from the edge, followed by his hat, and then with a grin, the village's stone.
The entire village was a cacophony of cheers and laughter as they led the children back. Indy unwrapped the single stone he'd saved and passed it to the elder.
"We knew you were coming back, when life returned back to our village. Now, you can see the magic of the rock you bring back."
"Yes," Indy nodded with a smile. "I understand its power now."
Glad for it all to be over, Sophia looped her arm through his as they wandered away from the village center.
"So," He said, laying his hand over hers. "The future, huh?"
"Doesn't seem so far-fetched now?"
"No, it's definitely still far-fetched. But two days ago I didn't think a man could get his heart ripped out through his chest with the magic of Kali either."
Letting go of him she leaned back against a stone wall with a smirk. "Think you might find it in yourself to believe me?"
He frowned, thinking about it. "I wouldn't say that. But I might be more open to the idea." He shrugged. "I mean anything could happen, it's a long way to Delhi."
"And what about after Delhi?" She asked cautiously. "Whether you think it's because I'm from the future or not, I don't have anywhere to go. No papers, no identity, nothing."
"Papers are just papers sweetheart, you can find those anywhere if you know the right people." He put his hand down on the wall next to her and leaned in, a glint in his eye that made her lean in closer.
"I'm guessing you know the right people?"
He leaned in a bit further. "Maybe."
"You can get me back into the States?"
"If that's what you want."
His lips were a hair's breadth away and her heart thudded in her chest. "And after that?"
"All up to you, doll." He whispered, tilting his hat back.
She brushed her lips against his and sighed. "You're going to be a problem, aren't you?"
"Oh I hope so."
Suddenly water splashed over them and Shorty laughed from on top of his elephant. "Very funny!"
Sophia laughed and shook her head at him but Indy caught her chin and kissed her. She may have been coming off the heels of an extremely traumatizing event, but damn, he really was one hell of a consolation prize.
It was the middle of the night when they got back, dropped off by taxi. Her new heels clicked over the sidewalk and she followed Indy up the driveway with Shorty sleepily shuffling between them. He unlocked the door, pushing it through a pile of mail as he flipped on the hall light.
He tossed their small handful of bags into the living room and started discarding his hat, jacket, and tie while she looked around, feeling unsettled by how familiar it all looked. Shorty didn't bother to investigate much and just flopped down onto the couch and started falling asleep.
India had felt like a movie, a dream even. Travel had been busy enough she hadn't had time to feel anything but movement and planning. But now being back in America…being in a home with safety and more familiar comforts and…It hadn't all ended when the last frame was shown. It kept going and she had to figure out what to do with that.
Indy grabbed a blanket from the closet and draped it over Short Round, then kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, you'll feel better once you get some sleep."
They went upstairs and he led her into the bedroom, dusty from disuse during his weeks abroad. In the bathroom across the hall she changed into her one night gown and came back to find him dressed for bed and staring at her.
"What is it?" She said tiredly, sinking down to sit on the edge of his bed.
"You really are beautiful, you know that?" He said standing in front of her and gently touching her face.
It made her smile, but only slightly with the worry knotting in her chest. Wrapping her arms around his waist she pressed her head into his stomach. She thought it was bad knowing what was going to happen in India, but not knowing what was going to happen now was even worse.
"Wanna tell me what's on your mind?" He asked, curling a strand of her hair around his finger.
"Too tired for that." She mumbled into the terrycloth of his robe.
He pulled back the covers and crawled into bed beside her and threw the blankets over them both once she'd laid her head on his chest. "Maybe tomorrow, then." He said quietly.
"Mhm." She grunted, starting to drift off as soon as she closed her eyes. "Tomorrow."