Komet and Lua are woken up by loud meowings at the door. The lass opens her eyes confused, while the bunny kicks up, looking very angry.
"Gooooood moooooorniiiiiiing!" says Bastemon
"What's wrong with you, stupid cat?" says Lua
She grins. "Meow"
While a fight between a cat and a bunny is close to breaking out, Komet checks the time while still looking sleepy. "Oh, it's 8 in the morning already, huh…" She rubs her eyes and gets up, looking around. "Time to get our hands dirty then. Where is Sonne…?"
"He is outside, getting ready for the expedition, meow!"
"Oh, alright! Expected from him" She gets the notepad and opens on the page with the questions. "Do you mind answering some questions to help us with the expedition?"
"No, of course not!" She sits down. "Go ahead, ask everything you need!"
"I'd like to know more details about the pyramid and the location it appears. Is it even more dangerous than here? What does the pyramid look like?"
"Oh! Oh! I like these questions, meow! The pyramid! I used to guard Pharaohmon's pyramid with my sister Sekhmemon in Menefer. It was so beautiful, so big, so majestic! Imagine a 3D triangle built in white blocks, rising to the skies, painted in blue holographic Digimojis in the base, and a smaller floating pyramid at the top, made of very light yellow Gold Digizoid! Not only that, four big obelisks surrounded the pyramid! The tip of the four pillars shone even during the night, showing its grandeur to everything and everyone that approaches the city! It was a great and beautiful landmark to find Menefer…"
While Bastemon keeps gushing about the pyramid, Lua approaches Komet and whispers. "Isn't she getting a bit sidetracked here…? Maybe we should pull her back to the subject"
"No, it's fine. Watching her enthusiastically talking about it is adorable, don't you think?" says Komet. "Besides, we never know if any of this information will be game changers, right? We need to consider all variables and stuff"
The Lekismon raises one brow. "Are you sure this won't cause a short circuit in your head instead…?"
"...and everything was symmetrical. The pyramid in the center, the four obelisks standing farther from it, but at the same distance from each other. Aaaah… We love symmetry, we love to make everything proportional… It's so harmonic, meow…!" Bastemon looks at the girls very excitedly, and while Komet is paying full attention and taking notes, Lua is almost falling asleep. The cat woman quickly moves her hands towards her mouth. "Oh, oops! I talked too much and gave too little, right? Sorry!"
"You can keep going" says Komet, while discreetly poking Lua to wake her up.
"Right, back on track! The pyramid, like you heard yesterday, teleports around in Northeast Werushat. But be very, VERY careful with the big quicksand that swallowed Menefer! It will kill anything that gets too close! We call it the Quicksand of Eternal Death. But worry not, we will give you a map, so you won't accidentally trespass that forbidden zone!"
"So whatever destroyed the city still lives there, huh…? How big is that quicksand…?"
"Uuuuh… I think it's about, hmm… 30 or 40 km long…?"
Lua snaps out of her sleepy state. "Wait, WHAT? What the heck, that's huge!"
"Yes, it is! Don't approach it, don't fly over it, because the unknown entity WILL try to kill you!"
Komet nods while writing. "Understood. Can you give us more details about the threats?"
"Sure! Mummymon are the most common, after all they are the monsters that didn't go to the afterlife after the mummification because of the curse. They are usually slow, so it's easy to escape from them. Sand Yanmamon is the most dangerous, but they won't attack you as long as you don't fly into their territory. Gokimon is mostly a nuisance, but watch out for them too. Careful when you approach a pyramid, a horde of them will be guarding it"
"Noted"
"Do you have any more questions for meow?"
She closes her notepad and stores back in the smartwatch. "Nope, I'm done for now. Maybe some questions will arise later, but I'd rather start the expedition ASAP"
Bastemon turns around and heads towards the exit. "Well then, then follow me-eow!"
The girls follow her. Outside, the sun already started to show its fierce rays. Some people have started their daily duties. Some walk, run around or just talk to other Digimon. She sees something that looks like caravans getting ready to leave, with four-legged Digimon wearing the same accessories and saddle of Aquilamon, equipped with lots of bags - most of them empty - and a Crimson Bird kite.
"Are they going on a journey or something?" asks Komet
"Ah, those are the Gatherers! After the Sandstorm Cycle passes, they go out and gather food and water to Waset. After all, we don't have a water source here… And it's very hard for us to grow anything in this region. More often than not, they go so far for supplies that don't come back in time, getting swept away to a random place"
Lua looks at Bastemon, worried. "Are you sure your people are happy living this way…?"
"Well, I wouldn't say 'happy living like this'… It's more like we are happy that we can still live our life and culture despite the adversities! But if you are really going to help us end this curse… Then this will be the happiest day in everyone's life, and we will all be eternally grateful…!"
Komet looks at the Werushatans doing their thing. They laugh and smile. "They seem to do the best to see the positive side of things despite the curse"
Lua gives a thumbs up to Bastemon. "Then just wait, because Team Twilight won't stop until it's done!"
They arrive in front of Babamon's house and see Sonne wearing the same accessories as the four-legged Gatherers - including those just for decoration - except that all the bags have supplies. Babamon and Nefertimon are putting the finishing touches on the equipment.
Komet looks surprised and opens a big smile. "Oh wow! You look so rad!" She approaches Sonne and pets his mane.
The lion nods. "Thank you for the compliment, Komet. This is not solely for good looks. I will be carrying essential supplies for our expeditions. Manage it with care"
"Hmm, that means big puss can't engage much in battles, huh… That's fine, I can do it alone!" says Lua
"Maybe during the night," says Babamon, approaching Lua. "But only by looking at you, I can tell you are not the kind of monster that resists heat" Nefertimon positions herself in front of Lua, and the pharaoh climbs her, while holding blue cloths with golden decorations. She dresses the bunny with a headscarf and a shawl. "This will protect you from the merciless sun. You are looking pretty!" she says while holding her own hands together, with a satisfied smile on her face.
Lua opens her arms and starts spinning. "Look at me! I'm looking pretty, am I not?"
"You sure are! This is a good idea by the way" Komet says, as she covers her head with her hoodie.
Babamon approaches Komet and gives her a Crimson Bird kite. "Fly this after being swept away by the Sandstorm Cycle. The Crimson Bird will find you and take you back to town" Then she gives her golden ribbons. "Attach this to the kite only in case of emergency, like a severe injury. You will be prioritized over other kite-fliers. A warning: they avoid flying close to Northeast Werushat, so leave the area in case you need their help" Then she gives her a piece of papyrus. "And, of course, a map of Werushat!"
Komet gets the papyrus, opens it and gives a nervous smile. "O-oh, a traditional map. Awesome"
"With that, the preparations are done!" says Bastemon, excitedly raising her arms with a big smile. "All you need now is to head towards the gate and leave. Good luuuuuck!"
Komet grabs the lead rope that's attached to Sonne and starts walking towards the gate, while waving at them. "Thank you! We will do our best!"
As soon as the team starts leaving, Vulturemon lands in front of the pharaoh and the cats. "Sorry in advance for directing my word at you like that, but… Why…? Why are you doing that again…?"
Babamon holds his hand. "Young one, we attended to your demands already. They went through the challenge, and they passed it. It's our chance, our hope!"
Vulturemon shakes his head. "The last one had passed the test too, remember? Do I need to remind you of how devastated everyone got when we found out that that group had just eaten our supplies and men just to abandon everything like cowards? We lost people that day… And it took months to get our people smiling again!"
Babamon sighs and looks at her necklace, holding tight to it. "I understand your feeling, but I don't know what else I can do to satisfy you. Every time there's a sparkle of hope, I'll hold on to it. Our people deserve better, after all!"
The birdman clenches his beak and shakes his head. "I know! But trusting strangers like that again-" He looks down and sighs. "I… I'll go back to my position…" He spreads his wings open and flies towards a watchtower. Komet walks away after eavesdropping on them.
Team Twilight crosses the gate. Ahead of them lies the scorching orange desert. Komet gets her notepad and opens it. "As per tradition, before we begin, I'll brief you with our goals. We will get the times and places the pyramid appears and disappears. The idea is that we have enough data to predict where and when it will appear next, so we can work on an attack. Important observations: it takes about 6 hours to get to Northeast Werushat if Sonne flies at full speed under good conditions. We have enough supplies for three days. We should be close to each other when the Sandstorm Cycle happens. Today it happened at midnight, which means the next cycle ends… In two days, midday. Keep in mind this operation might take a long time, way longer than I wish for…" She sighs. "That said: Operation 'Curse of the Pharaoh', active!"
"Yay, so fun" huffs Lua. "So, where should we go?"
Komet opens the papyrus. "That's the map. We go… Uhh… Northeast… Which is… Ahm…"
Both Digimon look at her, waiting for her instructions. But all they see is the lass clearly confused, tilting the map left and right.
"Komet…?" asks Sonne
The lass grimaces. "I was hoping I'd figure out how to use that ancient thing… But I guess it didn't work, huh!"
"What? You can't read the map? Why didn't you say that earlier or asked them to help?" Lua facepalms. "Sometimes you are unbelievable, you know?"
She looks away, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I'm sorry for growing up with GPS. I've seen my parents using paper maps before, so I thought I could try it by myself. But without knowing directions, I can't do much… Hell, I can't just tell the pharaoh 'I will put an end to the curse! Oh, by the way, I have no idea how to use that piece of paper'" She shakes her head. "They have high expectations on us, we can't let them down"
Sonne sighs. "There is no shame in not knowing how to use antiquated devices, Komet, and I do not think they would judge you for that. But we have left already, and knowing you, you will not return just for that. So allow me to teach you how it works"
Komet sighs in relief and smiles. "Being my lifesaver as usual, aren't you?"
Sonne goes on explaining to her how to read a paper map and how to find the north using the sun. Lua joins and teaches her how to find the north at night, using the constellation as guidance. Then, they finally start their expedition.
First Cycle. Two hours goes by and they are somewhere in the desert. Since it's almost midday, the sun gets more unforgiving with its heat. Lua and Komet take cover under Sonne's wings, since the heat never bothered him anyway.
"Gods, that's awful…" says Komet while sweating a lot
"I'm gonna melt… I'm melting… I'll revert back to Lunamon for excessive water loss…" says Lua, also sweating a lot.
She gives a nervous smile. "Aren't you being… A bit too dramatic?"
She pants and wipes her sweat. "Komet, let me get in your smartwatch pleeease! I need some shade!"
Komet stretches her left arm towards the bunny. "Okay, have fun"
Lua grabs her arm, lifts the sleeve and squeezes her face against the device. The lass knows she is just being silly. The bunny keeps doing it, then suddenly she whips her head up, smiling as if she had an awesome idea. "What if you actually try to send my data to the storage? Like, send enough data that will make me devolve back to Lunamon!"
"Huh? Do you want to actually try it? Did you forget the part where storing Digimon is not possible?"
"Of course not! But we would be just sending data, not the Digimon! Heck, transferring data between us is something we've been doing since day 1 after all!"
"That's true, but… It's still technically Digimon being sent, isn't it? Besides, why would you revert back to a weaker form? There's no reason to try it"
Lua excitedly holds Komet's hands. "Of course there is! Komet, think with me, I know you will love it: what if there are situations where getting smaller is more optimal? There sure will be moments where this will be the case!"
Komet shakes her head. "What if your data corrupts midway?"
"Then I lost my data and my evolution I guess" she shrugs. "If that happens, then it's totally on me"
She sighs, still not confident about the idea. "We are in the middle of an expedition, you know? What if an enemy just appears and attacks us?"
"Not gonna happen. We are in the first hours post-Cycle, remember? And even if it eventually does happen, I'm sure you are stronger than I am at this moment, considering we are in the middle of the desert in the middle of the day"
The lass just shakes her head
"I think you are just making up excuses to not try it!" Lua whips her head towards Sonne. "Big puss, please! Back me up!"
"I would rather not take part in this discourse, but I believe I have no choice. Even though our circumstances are not the best, Lua is still correct. I do not believe we will get an actual good opportunity to test this, considering that attacks might happen anywhere we go. If Lua's statement turns out to be true, that would mean another layer of strategies that we could add to our missions. I cannot present any examples right now, but I am sure opportunities will arise" says Sonne
Komet looks pensive. "I don't disagree with you, but… Still, lots of things can go wrong. Corrupting data, no signal instances, my smartwatch breaking… I wouldn't like you to lose something you fought hard for, you know?"
"Ha, who is being dramatic now, huh?" The bunny places her finger on Komet's forehead with a big smile. "Sure, accidents happen, but you know you are better than that! Who is the one that is always thinking through our plans?"
"W-well…"
"Do not forget that, as our commander, the final word is yours to say" he says
"Yeah! You can always choose to be stubborn for the sake of it as usual!" Lua says, with a big grin on her face
Komet squints at her, then groans in defeat right after. "Okay, fiiiiine… You won for multiple reasons. I still believe it's not gonna work, but let's just get it over already. But keep in mind that if it works, you won't stay as Lunamon, okay?"
"Deal!"
Komet projects the interface of her smartwatch, selects 'Storage' and touches the empty slot. Then, she touches Lua, and the bunny starts to shine bright while sending a flow of 0s and 1s towards the device. After about 15 seconds, the ball of light dissipates, revealing a Lunamon still wearing the blue headscarf, but because of her smaller size, the shawl falls from her body. Komet looks impressed, and when she looks at her device, she sees a minimalist icon shaped like a Lekismon head. "I-it… It actually worked!"
"My clothes are falling!" yells Lua trying to wear the shawl back
Sonne raises a brow at Lua's reaction. "The first part of the experiment was a success, at least."
The lass raises one eyebrow for the same reason. "Don't worry, I can help you with that!" Still a bit nervous that it might not work, she presses the Lekismon icon and sends the data back to Lua, which envelopes her in bright light and changes her back to her bigger form.
The bunny wears her clothes back, fixing some parts. "Oh, can you look at that! It actually worked and nothing bad happened! You're welcome. Thanks for the help too, big puss!"
Sonne nods.
Komet stares at her smartwatch. "Notes to take: it's a large volume of data, so it takes more than 10 seconds to be stored or released. Now I wonder how much space there's in it…". She looks back at Sonne. "Oh, by the way, maybe we could store all these supplies too, then you don't need to carry unnecessary weight!"
"I would not recommend doing that, at least not with all the supplies. Whenever there is a sandstorm, there are interferences, which means we would not be able to access them in case of an emergency under these circumstances" says Sonne
She scowls. "Why are you mentioning that only after the experiment with Lua?"
"Becaaaause he knew you wouldn't try anymore as soon as you knew that! Why think about that anyway? It all worked out, right?"
Komet stores only half of the supplies, relieving Sonne from some weight, then the trio presses on with the expedition. Since there's no wind and no enemies, they continue the journey by flying. The girls still complain about the heat from time to time, but aside from that, they don't talk much. Almost 4 hours pass when they see something in the distance. Something that's shaped like…
"If my eyes are not deceiving me, then we might have found the pyramid!" says Sonne
Lua and Komet look in the direction he is looking. "Look! Look! It's there! It really is there! It's the top of it, isn't it? Let's go, quickly!" says Lua
Sonne flies towards it, but after a few seconds, they see the structure fading away. The trio looks shocked and then disappointed.
"That… That wasn't just a mirage, was it?" asks Komet
But no one can answer this for sure. All they can do is to keep moving, hoping they are going in the right direction. Their goal is to reach an oasis that's marked on the map, so they can rest in a somewhat safe spot. About one hour passes when suddenly a dark projectile is shot at them, but Sonne dodges it just in time. Another projectile is shot at them, and all they can see is it's coming from the sand.
"We need to land!" says Komet
"Wait!" warns Lua. "Do not land! This sand looks weird!"
Sonne looks at the ground with more attention: the sand has a different texture. Sonne doesn't see another shot aimed at him, but Lua counters it with her ice projectile in time. The explosion caused by the impact pushes the lion a bit, so he starts to just fly out of the area. "I believe we reached the Quicksand of Eternal Death. We are certainly in Menefer right now"
"What a heartwarming welcome" says Komet, while gritting her teeth. "We must leave the area immediately!"
She looks behind her back to try to get a better look at whatever is attacking them, but all she sees is that some kind of dark energy is being charged. Her eyes widen, and by instinct, she shouts for Sonne to skydive, in which he follows immediately. They hear the noise of the laser beam going just over their heads and disappearing in the sky.
"Okay, we got the message already!" she says, still gritting her teeth
But whatever is attacking them doesn't seem to be done. A mist of darkness appears out of thin air and starts to slowly surround them. The trio feels a chill running down their spines. It's something extremely dangerous, even more dangerous than the laser beam.
She swallows hard. "Sonne, use all your energy to escape, or we are not making it out alive!"
Sonne nods, while Lua and Komet hold on tight to him. He flies as fast as he can, dodges all the mist and distances themselves enough from the quicksand. But the mist still pursues them for some more time, until it finally dissipates in the air.
"Holy crap, that was scary!" says Komet, feeling her heart beating very fast
"Did you feel it too? The pressure from that mist? I think touching that is instant death!" asks Lua, still frightened
Sonne lands. He growls a bit, but seems relieved. "Whatever lies there, it gave us a good reminder that we should be more aware of our surroundings"
Komet opens the paper map. "Oookay, I guess that means I didn't navigate us well, huh… Well, at least we can find ourselves again, now that we now the danger quicksand is right there"
They locate their position, but not very accurately. They move towards a place where the map indicates the existence of an oasis. They see it, but to their disappointment, it turns out to be a mirage. They still try to find the oasis, but they fail. Fortunately, the sun is starting to set, so it's not as hot anymore. On the other hand, because it's almost night time and enough time has passed since the beginning of the Cycle, void monsters start emerging from the sand.
Komet swallows hard and summons Ogremon's bone club. "Oh, great, something to spice up our trip. Let's keep going, but more carefully…"
They head north. The wind gets stronger, so they keep going by land. Some Mummymon get in their way. These monsters - which is basically a mummy with long black claws, wearing a purple headscarf and lots of belts around its body - slowly move towards them and attack them with its bandages, which move like fast snakes, and try to constrict them. But since they are not attacking in groups, they are easily defeated.
It's now night, and the temperatures dropped by a lot. Since they've been traveling 10 hours non stop in a harsh environment, they start feeling fatigued. Lua gives Sonne a piggyback ride, since he was responsible for most of the 'moving around'. They walk up a very high dune, still hoping they find the oasis they are looking for.
"Hey, what is that?" asks Komet, pointing in a direction
The two Digimon look at where she is pointing. It's a bright point on the horizon.
"A light source?" asks the bunny. "It doesn't look like a star… Maybe we should check it! We are not finding the stupid oasis anyway"
"Good idea. Getting a little more lost won't hurt us anyway" Komet says
They slide down the dune and start running up the next one. After 30 minutes, they have a slightly better view of the bright structure.
Komet points at it and opens a smile. "That IS a pyramid! I'm sure it is! It can't be another mirage, correct?"
Sonne shakes his head. "Mirages need the sun to occur, which means this is what we have been looking for"
"Good news, finally!" She summons her notepad and notes the time they find their first pyramid: 18:42. She also marks a big circle, since they don't know their exact position, but it's their best approximation.
Since they had no luck finding the oasis, they decide to jump camp on top of the dune. They assemble their tent and decide when they will take turns for the night watch.
Komet yawns. "I didn't sleep much today, so I'll crash down already. Don't forget to wake me up when it's my turn, okay? Also…" She removes her smartwatch and ties on Lua's wrist. "If the pyramid disappears in your turn, don't forget to write the time!"
"Yes, ma'am!" she says, saluting
Komet goes to the tent, closes her eyes and falls asleep in an instant. Some time later, she opens her eyes, and sees herself in an empty space. She looks around. Everything is white. No floor, no sky, nothing, all white, while she is in her normal human self. Suddenly, a giant sea serpent emerges right in front of her with its mouth open, with dark goo slowly dripping from its body. In a fraction of second, it lunges towards Komet, biting her left arm off.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Aaaaaaaaaah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" says Lua
Komet quickly sits up and looks around, breathing hard. "L-Leviathan!"
The bunny tilts her head. "Huh? Leviathan? What are you talking about…?"
Sonne gets up, stretches his body and sits beside Komet. "Another nightmare?"
She checks on her left arm. Fortunately for her, it's still there and whole. "Oh, this time it wasn't 'the' nightmare… It was… I don't know, some kind of continuation of yesterday's bad dream… Which felt as if it's something I should remember… And then that name came: Leviathan…" says Komet
"I recall you calling for Hydra when you woke up yesterday, but we have not actually talked about this. Could you tell us more about it?"
The lass nods and tells them both bad dreams, which doesn't take very long.
Lua puts one hand on her waist and the other on her forehead. "Wait a second… Leviathan… Leviathan… Leviathan! Isn't the name of the shitty cracker of whatever that was leaking information to Don 'Sonofabitch' Werisley? I'm sure it was!"
"Yep, that one. Don Werisley was way too good at kidnapping his targets and being out of the police's radars. There was no way he did it without having someone, a high level cracker in that case, leaking all the information for him" she says
"Now that you mention it… I recall that name too…! It is related to one of the last clues we got before you got attacked for reaching the answer you were looking for" he says
"So you two already had something that's been missing in my head…! Why didn't you mention that earlier?"
"How do I explain it… You integrated us with hacking tools to attack other systems. Because of that, our focus lied on breaching, while information gathered by it was passed directly to you. Let's say it is like we are breaking the walls while you read the debris. We know the debris exist, we sometimes read a bit of it too, but the content gets registered very deep in our minds, since it's not our focus nor 'important' for us at that moment"
"That was a shitty analogy, but I can't think of something better" Lua shrugs
"No, no, I think I get it! But now I wonder why I remembered that now… Is my lost bit of memory recovering…?" wonders Komet
"Didn't you say you accessed our memories and stuff when we fused? Maybe that's the answer!"
"I did, but only the recent ones. Hmm… Maybe I can try to remember the rest…?" Komet closes her eyes, thinking about the moment she found out about 'Leviathan' and tries to follow the path of what she did next. But when she starts to approach the final answer, her head hurts a lot, just like the first time. She puts her hands on her head and shrieks in pain.
Lua grits her teeth. "Something screams it didn't work!"
"This is no time for jokes, Lua!" berates Sonne
"I-I swear it wasn't intentional!"
Komet shakes her head in disappointment. "I'm still getting a headache for that… But that's fine, really! We now have a little bit of lead of what are we gonna look for when we get back to my world" She gives a confident smile, gets the bone club and gets up. "It's Sonne's and my turn to watch over, right? Then have a nice sleep, Lua!" She takes her smartwatch back and gives a quick kiss on Lua's forehead.
Lua gets overjoyed by the kiss. "Sonne, if you let Komet get hurt, I will make you regret everything! Now, good night!"
"Worry not, if that happens, I can make myself regret 'everything' more than you are capable of" says Sonne
Komet raises an eyebrow. "C'mon team, no one will need to regret anything, I'll be fine!"
Time passes. Sonne and Komet beat some Mummymon, and as the twilight calls dawn, the threat becomes less and less frequent. Then, when the clock hits 6 in the morning, Sonne sees the pyramid disappearing. He is quick to inform her about that, who is quick to note it down. She wakes Lua up, disassembles the tent and stores the rest in her device.
It's seven in the morning. They resume their journey, with no idea of where to go next, but they go regardless. To make everything harder, a sandstorm kicks in, but after about one hour, it subdues again. Sonne waits for the dust to settle, so he can start flying again. But to his disappointment, Sand Yanmamon are already flying in the area.
"Nope, we will stay grounded! Bastemon said they are very dangerous. We've seen what coordinated bugs are capable of. I've had enough of fighting evil bugs" says Komet, quickly shaking her head with her eyes shut
"Have we fought any coordinated bugs? I don't remember it" says Lua
"Don't you remember? We had to deal with Dokugumon and his hatchlings!"
"I should remind you that spiders are not bugs, Komet" says Sonne
"Yeah, yeah, I know! But my points still stand. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not afraid of… What are they? Dragonflies, but giant? Whatever. The danger lies on the swarm"
"We get it, you are scared" teases Lua with a big grin
Komet goes on a big lecture explaining herself, while Lua just keeps adding more fuel to the fire. Sonne observes the interaction while they keep walking. "I do not condone disrespect towards her, but… I feel like this is something different… It feels… Positive. Is this part of friendship…?" he says to himself. "Maybe I… Could break some protocols… And when everything is over…" He looks at the horizon, daydreaming about their future.
Many hours and arid landscapes pass. They are back to not talking much, aside from complaining about harsh heat. They keep moving for hours, sometimes flying, sometimes fighting more threats in their way, sometimes getting lost and then finding themselves again thanks to landmarks. They are less than 24 hours away from the Sandstorm Cycle, so the number of void monsters is higher, regardless of the time of the day.
The sun starts to set. They are all frustrated for not making more progress. They don't know how many times the structure has teleported yet or if it appeared somewhere they left not long ago, but the idea of the latter being the case haunts Komet's mind the most. Sonne keeps flying. They see some cactuses wearing red boxing gloves. They have no idea if it's just a weird cactus or a Digimon, but they prefer to not find out for now. Then, luck decides to smile at them again: they spot a pyramid at the horizon.
Komet smiles. "It was about time!" She opens her notepad, writes the current time - past 6 in the evening - and their estimated position using the last landmark as reference. After two hours, the light fades away, indicating that the pyramid has disappeared.
They keep moving. Some more hours pass, and unfortunately for them, the current night is more hectic than the previous one. The combo of being nighttime and the current Cycle getting close to end makes their life hell, as more and more void monsters appear from the sand. They avoid engaging as much as possible, and after a mix of running and flying away, they finally find an oasis to rest. And again, they sleep for a short time.
It's now 7 in the morning. They get up and start their journey again. They have 5 hours left, before the cycle ends. They run, they fly, but they find nothing. One hour passes, becoming two hours, and then three. At the fourth hour, they have the impression they see something triangular. As much as they would love to take to the skies and fly close, they decide to keep themselves grounded, since a swarm of Sand Yanmamon is flying around.
Komet shakes her head, disappointed. "Do we have any reference points at least?"
"I believe we lie west of the quicksand" says Sonne
"Hmm… We didn't really leave that side, right…? Let's figure out the position of that stupid thing based on your supposition then. Risky? Susceptible to big mistakes? Yes, but better than nothing" She checks the time. It's 11:26. She swallows hard and takes the estimated direction and notes on her notebook, making sure to write it's very imprecise.
Half an hour later, a breeze blows in their faces, getting stronger not long after. Sonne, Lua and Komet get very close to each other, get low to the ground and embrace themselves, ready for the Sandstorm Cycle. "Here it comes!" yells Komet
They feel the sand hitting very hard on their bodies for several seconds, until it suddenly stops. They look around to see a slightly different landscape. The first thing Komet does is to get the Crimson Bird kite and fly it, since they are completely lost now.
Some minutes pass. They are sitting down, both girls under Sonne's wings, since it's a bit past midday, the best time for the sun to test someone's heat endurance. They wait for an Aquilamon to arrive.
"Do you remember how I've always despised how much it rained in my city? Yeah, I take that back. I'd give anything to have Soutriver's rain here" huffs Komet
"Wouldn't that ruin the kite though? Especially if the rain is like the one Anomalocarimon summoned, which is the first time I felt rain in my life, by the way" says Lua
"Oh, I don't mean right now. And don't worry, rain there is not thaaaat bad, unless it's a strong storm"
As usual, Sonne just observes the two girls complaining about the weather again. He feels like this will always happen every hour if nothing else catches their attention. Fortunately, he doesn't mind the complaints. "It surprises me how you can keep your kite soaring with little wind. I assume it is not your first time doing it"
"Absolutely not" she says. "When I still lived with my parents, it was pretty common for kids in the neighborhood to fly kites. Of course I was part of the group too- well, to some extent. They liked to have kite battles. Obviously, I hated it, but they forced a battle once you fly it and I always cried when I lost my kite, which was every time"
Sonne tilts his head, his expression changing to worry. "Perhaps I am mistaken, but your parents reside in a big city, correct? Unless these activities were performed in a big, open and safe area, those kids were at risk by flying kites close to dangerous hazards such as power lines"
Komet chuckles. "Do you really think they care about that? They know it's not safe, but that- Hey, is that Aquilamon?"
The crimson dot in the sky starts to quickly approach them, rapidly changing to a shape of a big horned bird. The avian starts to decelerate using its wings to brake, until he lands in front of them with a thud. He bends his body, waiting for the lost travelers to mount on him. "I'm sorry, but I can't take all three at the same time. I suggest the lion stays for now"
"Ugh, really…?" Komet looks disappointed, but then she is reminded of the new discovery. "Wait, now we have a way to solve this problem!" She looks at Sonne. "Ready?"
The lion nods. The lass touches him and sends his data to the smartwatch, making him revert to little Coronamon. Aquilamon's eyes widen in shock.
"I-I don't know what kind of power or magic is this, b-but this will suffice. Come quickly, we have more work to do!" says the bird
They all mount the Crimson Bird, who quickly takes the skies and flies towards Waset. The bird is extremely fast, probably three or four times faster than Sonne at full speed. It doesn't take long for them to get back to the city. As soon as Aquilamon lands, the trio jumps off him, thank him, and Komet sends the data back to Sonne, making him evolve back to Firamon. Aquilamon quickly leaves the city, in search of more flying Crimson Birds kites.
"Welcome back, younglings! I see the desert was nice enough to teleport your group close to Waset. Do you have any stories to share from your first expedition? I'm willing to hear anything you have to say!" says someone behind them.
The team turns around and sees pharaoh Babamon walking in their direction, with a big smile on her face. Nefertimon accompanies her, looking stoic as always. As soon as they get close enough, Komet tells them about their findings, challenges and their instant fear when accidentally approaching Quicksand of Eternal Death.
"Oh! Isn't that great! There are a lot of findings already! You have no idea how that makes me look more forward to the future" the pharaoh says, very excited
"I'll admit, your group endured it better than I expected. Your findings were above average compared to older groups, but you still follow the standard. Whenever you go to your second expedition, I'll analyze if your group is exceptional" says Nefertimon
Komet nods, not knowing what to say about that. Then she turns to Sonne and Lua. "Team, if you don't mind, I'd like some time alone to analyze our results and plan our next steps. You can do whatever you want in the meantime. Have fun!"
Both Digimon nod without questioning. After all, they are aware of her preferences for planning. She goes to her tent and sits down. Bastemon is curled in a ball inside. Since she is apparently sleeping, Komet decides to not bother the catwoman. She summons her notepad and pen and starts reading their findings, getting ready to make better plans.
Lua sits under a tree and starts complaining about the heat to herself. She sees different Gatherers getting ready to leave to bring more supplies to the city. She also sees one Aquilamon coming back with a small group - Gatherers that didn't return in time. Then she sees Sonne walking in her direction and sitting in front of her. "So, do you think Komet is gonna burn her brain more than the harsh sun over our heads?" she asks with a grin on her face.
"Beforehand I would like to ask you a question" he says
"Okay, sure!"
He looks away for a moment and looks back at her. "How are you capable of disrespecting Komet while making sure that disrespect is not going to negatively impact her? It somehow has a positive effect most of the time"
Lua scowls. "Disrespect? What are you talking about? I don't disrespect her!"
"Like right now, or all the other instances where your counterargument is used to provoke her. Mentions of her stubbornness or her supposedly fear of bugs are the examples that comes to my mind at the moment"
"Oooh, that! That's teasing, big puss! Teasing!"
"Oh"
"But why are you asking that?" She frowns and shakes her fist in front of him. "Don't you dare think about scolding me for that, because I'll not stop, okay?"
He shakes his head and closes his eyes. "I would like to know how you do that. I would like to learn more about 'the art of friendship', so that we can strengthen our reliability and dependability. This way, I will be capable of helping her with non-technical issues. Her heart issues"
Lua opens a big smile. "Am I hearing that right? Big puss wants to get more intimate with people? I abso-heckin-lutely can help you with that! But this is not something you learn like how you learn calculus for example, but it's not hard either!"
"Please, teach me" eagerly says Sonne
"Well, it's 'simple'! All you need is to know her weaknesses and 'bad' things, and use it against her. And the most important part: be yourself! You don't need to drop your courteousness or knight-like attitude or try to mimic me. She likes you the way you are. Remember that we are not tied to any protocol anymore, and as long as you don't mean to harm her, it's all fine!"
He tilts his head. "I… Am not sure if I comprehend it… If I make a mistake, do not feel afraid to punish me for it"
Lua rolls her eyes. "Keep talking about being punished and I'll start to think you have some kind of kink"
Sonne blinks. Then he looks around and sees people working, playing or just talking. Living their lives as usual. Then he looks at the clear sky. "Lua. Do you have any plans in mind for when we finalize all the pending missions? Regarding what you will do afterwards"
"Huh? I always assumed we would stay with Komet forever, why?"
Sonne smiles. "I am glad we are on the same page"
Lua smiles too. Then she realizes the way he said it. "Huh? An idiom from Sonne?"
"Nnnnnnmmmeeeeooooow…"
It's been 30 minutes since Komet started planning. She looks behind her back and sees Bastemon stretching her body like a cat. "Good afternoon!"
"So, any good results?" Bastemon asks while approaching the lass
"'Good' is an overstatement" she says, clearly looking dissatisfied
"I don't know, there's a lot of things written in your notepad. It looks like it was very good, meow!"
Komet stares at her notepad. Maybe it wasn't that bad. Or maybe it was the worst outcome possible. But thinking about the quality of it will take her nowhere. "At least I have better ideas for our second expedition. It's high risk, but higher reward" She looks at the catwoman. "Can you tell pharaoh Babamon to get supplies for us to go?"
"Huh? Already? But you just came back from your first expedition, meow! You must be exhausted!" protests Bastemon "Not even Gatherers go two Cycles in a row!"
"I'm fine, don't worry… I'm 'getting used' to our hectic routine at this point. Besides, I have things that needs to be done as soon as possible" She gets up and walks towards the exit
The cat woman follows her. "What kind of things? I'm curious"
"Ahm… Important things"
"Okay! Then I'll go get the permission to get the supplies" She runs ahead of the lass, quickly disappearing between the houses and tents
Komet blinks, then she keeps walking, calling her friends from her smartwatch. "Team, let's regroup in front of the pharaoh's house"
Five minutes pass, and Team Twilight plus Babamon, Bastemon and Nefertimon are gathered in front of said location. "Are all three of you in accordance with that idea?" asks Babamon
Lua puts her hands behind her head and leans on them. "This is the first time I'm hearing this, but I already expected it, and I'm more than ready to go again! The sooner we finish all this, the sooner we leave this hell after all"
"Watch your words Lua!" growls Sonne. "Forgive her rudeness, pharaoh. Her words were not directed to your people or city, but to the harshness of the scorching desert"
Babamon laughs sweetly. "Don't worry younglings, I know. A Seadramon would say the exact same thing or even worse"
Nefertimon looks at Bastemon bringing the supplies and looks back at the team. "So you are seriously going to your second expedition already… Impressive"
"Feeling hopeful, Neferti?" teases Bastemon, while tickling her mask's chin
The winged cat steps away. "Never said I had no hope. Sometimes some things need to be dealt with skepticism"
"And meow this skepticism is fading away! Ha ha ha!"
This makes Komet feel more determined. "I can't fail them. I must put an end to this as soon as possible, for us and for them!"
Twenty minutes pass. The team is stocked with more supplies, enough for three more days. Babamon wishes them luck, and the group steps out of Waset. The searing desert awaits them.
Second Cycle. Komet opens her notepad and the papyrus map. "Before I begin with the brief… You probably noticed it, but this time I decided to not spend too much time on planning. Now you can be proud of me!"
"We are not disappointed, but I can tell the reason behind it is that we could start our second expedition sooner. I know you will polish your plan as we head towards our destination. We will take hours to arrive, after all" says Sonne
"Uuh…" She scratches her head and looks away. "Okay, alright, you got me. Time for the brief then. The first strategy kinda sucked… We wasted too much time trying to find landscapes or oases… So now we are going to use Quicksand of Eternal Death as our main reference. It's a big circular thing after all, very easy to find, despite the danger. Another big change is that we are going to spend more energy looking for pyramids at night.. It's easier to find things when we can see them glowing, after all. I know, it's more dangerous, but it's at a cost that will bring more benefits"
"Good luck sleeping during the day" says Lua, already displeased
"Some achievements comes at the cost of some sacrifices" says Sonne
"You are only saying that because you are not the one suffering!" she yells. "I'll make sure to say the same whenever we go to a freezing place!"
Komet frantically waves both hands. "Nope, let's hope no one will need to say that ever again, okay?" She stores half of the supplies in her device, mounts Sonne and pulls Lua up. Before even starting, she groans in annoyance. "It feels like we are in an action RPG trying to solve a stupid puzzle quest…"
"I thought you liked challenges" says Lua
She grimaces. "I do, but I never asked for an augmented reality version of an RPG quest, you know?" She looks at the sky, and then at the map papyrus. "Anyway, the sky is clear, no enemy will appear anytime soon, so let's head towards as somewhat close to the quicksand as possible!"
Sonne takes to the skies, and towards Northeast Werushat they go. Just as expected, Komet spends her time 'perfecting' her plan, while Lua is the one guiding. The change of navigator results in a better job locating their destination. It's now almost seven in the evening, and just as expected, they don't find anything, so they start walking.
Sonne and Lua take turns in carrying each other, while Komet changes between 'riding Sonne' and 'not riding Sonne'. When it hits eleven in the evening, they decide to stop before they get too exhausted. It's a flat surface, with no oases nearby. All three set their tent there, and Sonne and Komet are the first ones to go to sleep, as usual. Lua keeps the smartwatch in case something out of the ordinary happens.
The Lekismon watches the stars while muttering. "Stargazing is cool and all… But it would be nice if I could just watch random videos on Youtube too after that… I don't care if big puss calls it 'poor use of time' or 'misuse of memory capacity'. It's my time and my memory, I do whatever I want with- Wait a second, that star wasn't there!" She stands up and squints, just to widen them in surprise a few seconds later. "It's a pyramid! Yay! Quickly, the notes!" She quickly grabs the notepad and writes on it. "3:03… Southeast… Should I wake those two up…? If a pyramid is that close, then monsters will appear near us… No, I'll let them sleep, they deserve it! I'll deal with whatever comes!"
Fortunately for Lua, she just had to deal with one Mummymon. The fourth hour arrives and she walks towards the tent and shakes both Sonne and Komet awake.
"Gooood mooooorniiiing~ It's time to take over! Also, I have good news!" she says excitedly
Komet rubs her eyes and taps her hand around. "Where's my phone…?"
Lua grabs her by the arms and shakes her hard. "There's no phone, girl! Wake up!"
Sonne opens his eyes, yawns and stands up. "What news do you bring to us?"
"The pyramid! It appeared right before my eyes! We will have the full time for this one!"
This information is the caffeine that Komet needed to make herself fully awake. She yanks the smartwatch from Lua, quickly gets up and leaves the tent, looking around and getting shocked as soon as she spots it. "My gods! It's so close, too!"
Sonne also leaves the tent and confirms it by himself: it's close enough to get there in 10 minutes by flying full speed. He looks at the lass, and notices a determined look in her eyes. "Komet, you are not considering-"
"Yeah, hell I am! But not right now, obviously. Lua needs to rest first, but aside from that, it's gonna to dawn soon, and we are still in our first 24 hours of the Cycle" She smiles confidently. "I don't think we are getting a better opportunity"
"Oh crap! Komet is getting pumped up! I love it! I don't mind going now, you know? After all, we don't know if the pyramid will vanish soon"
She shakes her head. "Nope, you will sleep first. I don't think I need to explain why resting is important, right?"
"Now go in front of a mirror, point at it and say these very same words!" Lua says, showing a very clear smirk
"Excuse me? I slept already, you know?"
"Case of exception. I should set a mirror next to your computer, it will make it easier for you to exercise that whenever you refuse to follow your sleep schedule" says Sonne
She frowns with a smile. "Sonne! You too?"
Sonne laughs. That surprises Komet and Lua, since it's the first time they see him actually laughing. Sonne immediately stops and returns to his neutral face. "My apologies for my rudeness. I will not let-"
Komet closes his muzzle shut and smiles at him. "It was adorable"
Lua gives him a thumbs up. Sonne closes his eyes, and then opens it back with a nod and a smile.
"We are going at 8. If it disappears, then tough luck, but better safe than sorry"
"Understood!" Lua nods and gets in the tent to rest for four hours.
Komet summons the bone club, and Sonne sits next to her. As the time passed, they had to fight a few Mummymon and destroy a few Gokimon - brown cockroaches with a skull pattern on their wings. As soon as the sun rises, their resting spot gets quieter, with most of the monsters concentrated around the pyramid, as expected.
Lua wakes up and gets up doing a kick up. She walks towards the duo while stretching her body. "Good morning you two! I'm ready to rumble!" Then she throws some punches in the air.
"Don't lose that enthusiasm when we get there, because we will need it" Komet says, pointing towards the big structure. Then she walks towards the tent, disassembles it and stores it away. She walks towards Sonne, which Lua is already mounted on, and summons the cleaver. "Time to slice some ribbons. Onwards!"
The Firamon flies as fast as possible towards the pyramid, but he is forced to land halfway through due to the sudden surge of enemies appearing from the sand, some of them being Sand Yanmamon. The girls quickly dismount him, getting ready for battle. Lua doesn't waste time. "Tear Arrow!" She shoots down two of the giant dragonflies. A Mummymon takes advantage of Lua's distraction and launches bandages from both of its arms and restrains her, like a snake constricting its prey. But Komet quickly reacts to this and cuts the bandages off, freeing the bunny.
"Careful! These monsters seem to be much smarter here!…" Komet says. She grits her teeth and goes back to riding Sonne. "Stay on defensive! I'll think of a plan before we press on!"
Both Digimon nod and stay close to each other. Komet observes the enemies' behavior, their offensive and defensive choices. She also pays attention at the time it takes for them to reemerge from the sand - unfortunately for them, it's not very long. Sand Yanmamon - the giant gray dragonfly - flies around very unpredictably, and tries to skewer its prey whenever it gets close. But whenever it goes far enough, it flaps its wings so intensely that it generates a small sandstorm, in hopes to blind the group.
They move away from the blinding attempt, with Sonne attacking with his fiery claws whenever a Mummymon tries to restrain him, burning them. Some Mummymon draw firearms from the sand and fire dark energy at them. Lua counters their attacks with her icicle-shaped arrows. Some of them blow up too close to them.
"If we are quick enough, we can ignore the aerial threat. Sonne, you will press forward cloaking your body on fire, lunging on any Mummymon it comes your way"
"Understood"
"Lua, you'll piggyback me and protect Sonne from any projectiles coming his way. I believe you can keep up with him, right?"
"Of course I can! Those strong legs are not for decoration, after all!"
"Alright" Komet holds the cleaver with her mouth and summons another weapon: Sepikmon's boomerang. "Let's put it to good use. I'll be watching your backs!" She jumps to Lua's back, getting supported by two of her six protrusions. "Let's go!"
Sonne rushes forward. He cloaks his body on fire and strikes any mummies that get in his way, burning them down. Every time one of the mummies tries to hit the Firamon with their projectiles, an icicle is fired back, nullifying the attack. Some Mummymon respawn behind them and try to restrain Lua with their snaking bandages, but Komet swings her cleaver and cuts them off. Then a pair of Sand Yanmamon flies towards them, quickly catching up. The lass throws the boomerang at them, but like the dragonflies they are, they quickly dodge it and keep chasing them. Fortunately for her, they are not smart enough to know how boomerangs work, so not even seconds later, the weapon hits right on one of Sand Yanmamon's back, staggering it. Somehow the weapon still returns to Komet's hands, but since she has no experience properly catching it, her hand hurts when grabbing it.
The imposing structure made of big white blocks and adorned with golden details rises in their viewpoint as they get closer and closer. From the distance, they see big golden doors.
"We are very close! Keep going!" shouts Komet
It is all going well when suddenly a spray is shot at Sonne's face, making him cough and go to a complete halt. The mist quickly spreads through the area, blocking the view of the trio, and probably of the enemies around too. Lua stops running to not leave the lion behind, and Komet quickly leaves her back. The lass starts to feel anxious, as if she is feeling something bad is about to happen. "Sonne is helpless! We need to do some- SONNE! FLAP YOUR WINGS!"
Sonne immediately does as commanded, while she, in an act of bravery or foolishness, instinctively jumps in front of Sonne, trying to use the cleaver as a shield. But a bladed tail, which is suddenly launched towards them, skewers through her right arm and quickly returns to its original position.
The wind made by Sonne's wing is enough to dissipate the fog, revealing not only one, but two skeletal scorpions with bladed tails. They stand on two large legs and have two pairs of red blades coming from their rib cages.
"Of course we get some nasty surprises… Lua! Identify!" she says as she navigates through her smartwatch's menu. During that time, she starts to feel her right arm getting hot, as if it's burning, so she places her hand on that arm.
Lua focuses on the scorpion. "Scorpiomon. Stage: Perfect. A creature referred to as 'The Assassin of the Desert' due to its ability to kill its victims before they know its existence. Its poison is so potent that it acts faster than the nervous system's response to the attack, degrading the Digicore before any pain can be felt and killing the victim"
Sonne grabs Komet by the hoodie and jumps away from the scorpions, who try to hit them with the bladed tail.
The lass grit her teeth. "We are so close…! If only we could fly over them…" She looks at the sky. More flying void monsters are appearing. On land, hordes of Mummymon start to corner them. She shakes her head, disappointed. "We have to retreat! We have no chance, especially when two Perfects are in our way!" she yells while she mounts Sonne back. "Lua, come! We are going to fly low!"
As soon as she motions for Lua to return, she notices that her hand is red. "What the hell? Blood?" She looks at her own arm and gets shocked when she realizes was actually stabbed. She presses her arm to stop the bleeding.
Sonne flies over the mummies' heads, keeping his claws on fire in case any of them tries to attack with the bandages. Lua shifts her focus to attacking the projectiles again. However, one of the Sand Yanmamon quickly flies in their direction. Komet tries to react, but the dragonfly is too fast: it uses its stinger to pierce Sonne's wings, making it go numb. Because of that, he falls, and the trio rolls on the sand as soon as they hit it. Mummymon shoots at the lion, which he shields with his numbed wing, damaging it further. He grunts in pain
Lua quickly gets up and runs towards him. "SONNE! Are you okay?"
He gets up, shakes the sand off him and growls. "We must keep going. Ride me!"
Lua nods, runs towards Komet, helps her get up and mounts the lion again. The temporary numbness on the wing makes him not feel much pain, so he runs as fast as he can.
Komet holds her right arm and winces. "That was a horrible idea, wasn't it? I-I think I'm losing m-my adrenaline rush now" she says, as she starts to moan in pain more and more.
Sonne runs for as long as he can. After they are far enough from the danger, he stops to get some rest. Lua takes her time to patch up their wounds using her shawl.
Komet shakes her head, sweating a lot. "I'm sorry team… I really should have thought of that possibility… Ugh…"
"Hey, there's a silver lining in all that! Let's celebrate our new discovery and the fact that we survived it! We knew it wouldn't be easy, right?" says Lua
The lass grunts and moans. That's all the answer the bunny gets from her
Lua crosses her arms and frowns. "You better not be blaming yourself again! We agreed to the plan together, did you forget it already? Hell, there's no blame at all! Isn't our goal to end this curse? We gotta try something, and things will not always succeed!"
She groans. "I-I know, I know… I'll try to celebrate the new piece of information…" She shakes her head, still disappointed
"Komet, I do not approve of your action of using yourself to shield me! I would never forgive myself if I had let you die because of your it" rebukes Sonne
"Hey, stop you two! We don't need two people blaming themselves for no reason!" yells Lua
The lass frowns in worry. "H-hey! I tried using the butcher knife to protect myself! Even because if the attack had hit you, you would probably be dead by now! And if that had happened…" She shakes her head and lowers it, feeling a bit guilty. "I'm probably not dead because I'm no Digimon, so I have no Digicore…"
The lion looks down and sighs. "Apologies… I believe you are correct…" He looks at her, feeling guilty for calling her out like that. He opens his mouth to start talking about being punished, but Lua quickly gestures to him to not do it. Then she motions other things, hoping he will understand. Sonne tilts his head, a bit confused.
The lass continues. "But in the end you are right… This is my-" She winces again in big pain. "Fucking hell… This shit sure hurts a lot…"
"Komet, your current situation does not give you the right to use or abuse of profanities"
She frowns. "C'mon! I should be allowed to swear at times like this!"
"You have programmed me to watch your mouth and call you out whenever you make use of swearing words. If you wish to change that, then you should set the new rules by reprogramming me. While this action is not taken, I will keep running the current setting" he says, smirking at her
She looks at him with an incredulous smile. "You son of a- This is bs and you know it! Lua is really being a bad influence to you, isn't she? Or is it the side effect of the attacks?"
Lua gives a thumbs up with a big grin on her face, and both Digimon start laughing. Then Komet joins the laughter, shaking her head in disbelief. Deep down, she is very happy to see Sonne starting to act more like a friend rather than a servant. This lightens their spirits a bit.
"So, are you calling the Crimson Bird? You two are injured after all!" asks Lua, worried
Komet shakes her head. "We can't, we are in the 'forbidden' area and it's past the safe time…." She looks at the sky. "There are too many flying enemies, that would just put them at risk. But even if we could, I still wouldn't call them for myself, only for Sonne if he wanted. I won't stop because of a silly injury"
After that, the trio walk to the top of a dune and set their tent there to watch the time the pyramid will disappear. Minutes go by, and they become hours, until the sun starts to set. And at that moment, the pyramid finally disappears.
"Alright, we have the full time of at least one pyramid! Fifteen hours!" says Komet
Lua takes notes of the observation. "This is all so stressful! We need to be alert to enemies or sandstorms all the time, not fall for stupid mirages and survive the heat on top of that! This is so mentally draining! At least it's nighttime now, so the temperature is nice"
"Do not forget that we are past 30 hours of the Cycle, so more void monsters will appear" says Sonne
Lua scowls. "Oh geez! Thanks for the reminder, now I dislike nighttime too!"
"Glad to help" says Sonne, actually meaning it
Komet looks at Lua, worried about her. "If anything, next time we go you can stay in Waset-"
"Nope, never gonna happen. I'll follow you wherever you go. It's just that complaining is my favorite sport, you know?" She winks at Komet
"I can confirm this" says Sonne, shaking his head in disapproval
Komet giggles. "If you say so… As long as you always remember that following me is not an obligation, it's all fine!"
The team rests. Then they keep moving. Because of the injuries, they go much slower and more carefully. They walk, run and complain about the heat, but all they find in the way are the wilderness of orange sands. And for their disappointment, that remains unchanged, until the breeze becomes a sandstorm, announcing the end of another Cycle.