Lydia turned around when she heard her name, allowing Lily, Ryder, and the pups to see her clearly for the first time. She looked as old as Lily, with a straight nose and an oval face. Her blonde hair reached her shoulders, and she wore large, pink headphones.
Skye gasped quietly as her mind flashed back to the blonde-haired gal with the same headphones Lydia was wearing. The others seemed to have the same thought.
"Ah, Eleanor," Lydia said in a distinctly British accent with formality. "Of course, it's you." Then she noticed the rest. "And who are these?"
"Lydia, you won't believe it, but today I'm a tour guide!" Eleanor dramatically announced. "And this is the group I've been taking on!"
Lydia walked closer to them, and they saw she had bright, green eyes and bore a silver necklace with a six-pointed star pendant. She stopped and looked at each of them with interest. She chuckled. "Of course, you would lead this tour, Eleanor," she commented. "After all, this is your sister, if I'm not mistaken." She gestured to Lily.
Lily groaned. "Is it that easy to notice?" she asked, glancing at Eleanor, who shrugged.
Lydia chuckled again. "It's an honour, Lily Cadieux," she said, bowing. Then she turned to the others and noticed Skye among them. "Ah, hello again," she said suddenly to her. "You like my headphones a lot, don't you?"
Skye turned to her with surprised eyes, but Lydia simply smiled. She turned back to Eleanor. "Have fun, Eleanor," she said before walking down the stairs and out of sight. The others stared at her until she was gone. Lily turned to Eleanor.
"That's the Lydia you've been telling me about?" she asked her. "She seems quite strange."
"And she remembered me!" Skye added. "But she was on her phone the entire time!"
"And didn't I tell you to not stare at her headphones too much?" Ryder asked crossly. Skye mumbled an apology.
"To think we met her again!" Rubble remarked. "Wait. There was a family with two kids at the airport, too, right? I think they might be the same one downstairs!"
"Let's not overthink it," Ryder said hastily. He turned to Eleanor. "Can we continue with the tour?"
Eleanor nodded and presented them with the time capsule. Upon glancing at it from a short distance, they felt as though they were back at the cavern where they had found it. The pictures engraved on it were much clearer without the moss; showing the masked person, the palace, and several other inscriptions now visible. At the bottom part of the glass separating them from it, there was information on its name, origins, the date it was found, and more, similar to the info on the other artefacts downstairs.
Marshall quickly noticed something. "Um, Eleanor, why is the name shown as 'large prophecy disk'?"
"Ah, well, some things can't be explained," replied Eleanor. "I don't know why. Red Nexus probably thought that should be its official name."
"But what happened to 'time capsule'?" asked Rocky. "That should be its official name!"
"It does sound rather cooler," said Chase.
"But it's fine," Lily reassured them. "It doesn't exactly need an official name anyway."
"But then how will people know what to call it?"
Lily seemed unable to answer this, as she turned to Eleanor and asked, "What has Red Nexus managed to make of it?"
"Read for yourself," replied Eleanor, and showed her the info displayed on the glass:
"'A large, round metal plate with highly detailed and precise engravings.
Age: circa 3200 years
Origin: Unknown
Dimensions: 10 meters tall
Located: Adventure Bay (2014)
An anomalous disk-shaped object uncovered in an unexplored cavern in Adventure Bay, California, this artefact resembles the prophecy disks, albeit in a much larger size. Its intricate engravings also appear to depict potential future events, although discerning their precise nature and timing presents a significant challenge.'"
"It seems to be as old as the smaller disks," Lily began.
"And it's as tall as the monument we saw earlier," Zuma added.
"It is?" asked Skye. "Wow!"
"Hey, Eleanor, do you think there's any way to find out what most of the pictures on the capsule are?" inquired Chase, peering closely at the mysterious inscriptions on the artefact's surface. "I mean, it's quite hard to tell."
"Apart from the masked man and that palace," said Marshall. "Oh, and those." He pointed to the bottom part of the capsule, where two figures stood, easily distinguished as wearing a sort of armour. In between them was a small animal, with its head and flappy ears drooped down.
Rocky suddenly noticed something. "Huh, why does that small creature look a lot like a pup?"
"You're right, Rocky," said Ryder, staring at it closely. "And those ears..." He quickly stopped himself and shook his head at his thoughts.
"What, Ryder?" asked Zuma.
"Nothing, Zuma."
Lily stepped forward with her finger on her chin. "This is rather mysterious," she remarked, glancing up at the upper part of the capsule.
"What is?" inquired Eleanor.
Lily pointed to the palace, which was the biggest illustration on the large circle, besides the masked person, which could easily be dismissed as an Ancient Walker in Lily's opinion. The palace had two long, winding staircases that met at the facade, three big fronts, many windows, and two doors, one from the staircases and one at the bottom.
"That is a very grand palace," Eleanor commented. "What were you thinking about it?"
Lily paused, still gazing at it, but then sighed. "Nothing much," she replied.
"Hm?"
"Hey, Eleanor," Chase repeated. "You forgot to answer my question."
"Oh, right, sorry!" said Eleanor hastily. "Well, much of what the engravings could be are based on how we think of them. For example -" she waved her hand at the person in the mask, "- I feel like this could be a woman wearing the mask, in my opinion."
"It doesn't look much like a woman," admitted Ryder.
"Well, that's your opinion," said Eleanor. "Different people have different opinions on things like these. Perhaps that's why Red Nexus didn't dive deep into the meanings behind the pictures."
"Either that, or they're just lazy," Lily theorised. Eleanor laughed.
"Well, I suppose that's all I have to give you guys," she said. "Thank you so much for visiting the Walker Excavations. Especially you!" She hugged her sister. "You're always so busy with your research, this is the first time you've ever been here!"
Lily hugged her back before releasing her. "You're welcome, Eleanor," she smiled. "And thanks for a very good tour."
"Yeah, our experience here wouldn't have been the same without you," Chase commented.
"You were amazing!" Skye added.
"Aw, thanks, you two," said Eleanor. "Now, come on. Let's get you all out of here before I have to cry."
They all laughed and left the room with memories and experiences they will never, ever forget.
