ConQuest (The Quest Saga) (15 page)

“Why?” Elizabeth asked.

“I just think they can handle themselves while you can’t,” Chris concluded.

What a way to say that, Q thought. She couldn’t have said it blunter than that.

They decided to go with the new decision and headed towards the temple.

You may be wondering why they needed to split up. The reason was that Q had sensed the energy radiation of huge creatures out there in the temple. If they split up, they wouldn’t be drawing too much attention to themselves.

Q took out his Durendal and sliced through the plants and in a matter of minutes they were at the entrance.

The Temple of Time was huge! The top of the temple extended a hundred metres into the sky.

Q kept to the walls to remain undetected. He didn’t even know if anyone or more importantly anything was lurking around.

They entered the temple walls. There was a huge stone building in front of them.

Q kept following the walls of the building till he hit an opening. He put his hand through the opening and tried to pry it open. Elizabeth helped him and they were able to get inside.

They looked around the room. It was well-lit because of the bright Egyptian-style fires.

The door suddenly closed behind them and the lights went out, shrouding them in darkness.

“Any time now, golden boy,” Chris said.

Q tried to make his suit glow. “It’s not working,” he said.

Elizabeth was busy feeling the walls looking for the odd switch or lever. She needed it to get them out.

She found a bump in the wall and pushed it. A familiar click sounded.

They heard a creaking noise followed by moaning.

This is not good, thought Q.

They heard stone doors open all around them. No light came in though. The doors didn’t lead to the outside. They were passages to deeper within the temple.

Suddenly a hundred fireflies emerged from the darkness.

Q’s suit instantly started to glow.

“About time, goldie.” Chris unsheathed her sword and turned around.

She gaped at the sight before her. Fear gripped her heart. Her sword clattered to the ground.

Those things weren’t fireflies. They were eyes.

Whose eyes?

Try mummies.

Kronogravia

There were about fifty mummies in the room and they sure didn’t look friendly. They never do, do they? Being wrapped in toilet paper does wonders to your grumpiness!

The trio hacked through the mummies but it looked like they weren’t getting affected. The swords went right through them.

The mummies kept moving forward, cornering Q and co.

Q suddenly had a brainwave. “Duck!” he said and activated his lasers.

Q didn’t even know that he had lasers. His mind just activated them and he kept twirling around till the only remains of the mummies was about 100 yards of shredded paper.

A stone door immediately lifted and light flooded the room.

“Guess we had to defeat the mummies,” Q said.

They rushed out as if they were animals that had been caged for a long time.

They were welcomed by an unfriendly sight.

A forest so large that you’d feel like an ant.

They ran into the forest hoping to find some way into the temple. They had only gone a few miles when they heard a loud bellowing noise.

Not wanting to find out what it was, they climbed a tree. Which was not easy, mind you. If you think it is, just try climbing an 80-foot tall tree.

They had climbed the tree when they heard the noise again, now much closer than before. They could hear large and heavy steps coming toward them.

A few seconds later they heard trees collapsing.

“What was that?” Elizabeth asked nervously.

“I don’t know and I don’t wanna find out,” Q said.

Q and Elizabeth climbed down quickly. Their desperation showed the fear they had within them. They waited for Chris to follow but she just hung on to a vine.

“Drat! My foot is stuck in some vines,” she said.                

“I’m coming up,” Q offered.

“I’ll do it myself.”

Q didn’t wanna let her do it herself but her tone suggested that he would be in more trouble if he helped her than if he didn’t.

The sound came closer. They could see the top of the beast. It was a monster all right. It was a huge beast!

It walked on four legs. Each seemed to be thicker than even a tree trunk. It was completely blue with shades of lighter blue appearing in streaks. It seemed to be wearing some sort of armor.

“Anytime now,” Elizabeth told Chris.

The giant was only metres away when Chris pulled free and jumped down. You’d have thought it was the ‘all clear’ for her but it wasn’t.

The monster hadn't seen them yet but it was still knocking down the trees around it like they were bowling pins.

Fortunately Q and Elizabeth avoided getting crushed by the trees but Chris was paralyzed from her jump. A tree was falling down and Chris was right in its path.

“Chris! Move!” yelled Q, but yelling wasn’t going to solve the problem.

Just as the tree was about to crush her, a shadowy figure pushed her out of the way. Q and Elizabeth ran to Chris.

She was looking at the guy who’d saved her.

“Hi guys! You okay?” a voice asked.

Q and Elizabeth were astounded. It was Kai!

The guy had never even fought a battle before and now he was going around risking his life.

So much for splitting up, Q thought. But he realized it was good that it happened; else they’d be short of Chris now.

Kai suddenly fell to the ground. It was only when Q went closer did he realize what the problem was. His leg was stuck under the tree.

“We’ll get you out of there, buddy,” Q said

Taylor unsheathed her sword and in a blurry motion she hacked him free.

Luckily Kai’s suit had protected his leg from being crushed and he managed to get up.

“What was that thing?” Elizabeth asked.

“It’s a kronogravia. A time beast,” Taylor informed.

“A time beast?” Q asked.

“It can see the future and read the past. It’s supposed to be a deity for a few Zyxians.”

“So a time beast in the temple of time, huh?” Kai said “Can't say I didn't see that coming.”

“Is it dangerous?” Chris asked.

“It’s quite a calm creature. It attacks when provoked,” Taylor said.

Q was back on to the main topic. He needed to get the map.

“We’re not going to split up anymore. That isn’t working right now. We’re staying together. Let’s go get that map!” he suggested.

They walked towards the tower. Q talked to Taylor on the way.

“So how did you find us?” he asked.

“We followed this huge monster until Kai spotted Chris on the ground,” she explained.

“We were fighting these mummies. Let me ask you something. Are those mummies this planet’s animals or are they Zyxians?”

“They’re animals. You shouldn’t be surprised that mummies exist though. Most of the myths we know all are real. The mummy, wyverns, dragons. All real. They’re just animals from different planets. They probably visited Earth at one point in time, and giving rise to the so-called ‘myths’”.

Q sighed a breath of relief as they reached a huge door. The entrance to the tower.

“You suppose we should break it down?” Taylor asked.

“We’ll just knock,” Q said.

And yes, he did feel like an idiot saying it.

The others just stared at him. He ignored them and knocked. Believe it or not the door actually opened!

Q turned and smiled cheekily at the others. The others were still staring at him.

They went in to find a long, long staircase that probably led to the top.

“Looks like we have to go up that way,” Q said, pointing to the stairs.

“Aww man!” Elizabeth sighed.

“You got that right,” Kai joined in.

And so it began. The second most important climb in the history of mankind. Mt. Everest was first because it was more
dangerous
. Yeah right!

They climbed and climbed. Q smiling, Kai frowning, Chris grinning, Elizabeth groaning and Taylor laughing.

All that disappeared when they realized they were going to learn the real meaning of danger.

Pyrophate

It seemed to be a never-ending climb. Each step they took drained more and more energy out of them.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the opening.

They entered a large stone room. The golden stones glistened in the light.

Suddenly, Elizabeth started flailing about.

Q held her by her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Elizabeth dropped to the floor unconscious.

Q and Taylor knelt beside her. Q didn't dare take off her helmet and expose her to the atmosphere. They needed to get her back to the ship as soon as possible.

“Guys?” Chris pointed to a rock in front of them.

Only it wasn't a rock. It was a huge rhinoceros. Or at least it resembled one. It had a grayish body and a huge horn coming out of the top of its head.

They slowly walked around the animal. Kai tripped over a stone and fell to the ground with a thud.

The ‘whatever it was’ got up and bellowed with a loudness that would’ve scared even King Kong away.

“It’s a pyrophate. Get away from it, it can breathe fire!”

As though it could understand what Taylor said, the pyrophate blew fire straight at them.

They scrambled around, desperately trying to get away from it. There was no way they could defeat the giant even if they attacked it all at once.

Chris glanced at its head. It looked really angry, which wasn’t a good thing, but there was something behind it that aroused her interest. There was a huge metal lotus on the ceiling and inside it was a stone tablet.

“I found it! I found it!” cried Chris, jumping up and down in the air.

Taylor looked at her quizzically. “Found what exactly?” she asked.

“The map,” she said pointing to the metal lotus.

Q saw it as well. It was at almost a hundred feet above them. “How are we supposed to get up there?” he wondered aloud.

He was still thinking when he heard a distinct voice calling out to him. He turned in its direction.

He could see Taylor charging him. She was saying something that he couldn’t make out quite clearly.

He waited for Taylor to stop but she just kept on coming at him. She caught him and dragged him ten feet away.

“What was that for…” He was interrupted by a loud crunching noise. The pyrophate charged into the wall, crushing it into pieces. Q would’ve been killed if Taylor hadn't saved him!

Taylor looked through the hole. She could make out that they were about 200 feet in the air. Not the place you want to be trapped with a cranky fire-breathing giant.

“Thanks,” Q told Taylor. He didn't know what he would’ve done if Taylor hadn’t saved him.

“Don’t mention it,” Taylor said.

Q focused on the situation. The pyrophate was in a daze after crashing into the wall. He had to make a move now.

He kept looking at the ceiling and back at the floor. He needed another idea.

“Give me a rope,” he told Taylor.

She gave him a rope. He tied one end to one of his Durendal discs and the other around himself.

He got ready to throw the Durendal. He had to make sure his Durendal got caught in the rocks in the ceiling. Not fun.

He threw it as hard as he could. It went and attached itself to the ceiling, taking Q along with it. Q shimmied up the rope to the photon disc.

The map was right next to him, but it was just out of his reach. He started to swing himself towards the map. In a few swings he was able to get it.

That was the good news. The bad news? The disc detached from the ceiling. Q yelled out as he fell. He flailed mid-air desperately trying to fly.

He looked down. The pyrophate was right below him. He could see its mouth open. A huge blast of fire emerged from it.

There was no way Q could survive that. He braced himself.

Suddenly a huge shield appeared between him and the pillar of fire. Q floated down towards the ground perfectly safe. He had no idea what was going on.

A cry echoed through the tower and left the floors shaking. The side of the tower blasted open and in the gap was a huge eye. Q was terrified at first but then he realized what the thing was.

“The kronogravia!” Taylor exclaimed.

The pyrophate immediately went to a corner and curled up into a ball. The kronogravia bellowed once more and went away.

“That was awesome! I can’t believe the kronogravia created a shield for Q! It must really like you,” Kai said.

As usual Q completely ignored him and showed the others the map.

“That’s awesome too!” Kai said. “Now can we go home?” he acted like a kid whose mom had dragged him to the supermarket.

“Only three more to find,” Chris said.

Now the only problem was getting down again. The staircase was out of question, the giant standing right on top of it.

The Orion, Q thought.

“The Orion is our only option,” Q said. “Can we get it up here?”

“Now why didn’t I think about that?” Kai chuckled. He took out a remote and pressed a few buttons.

They heard a loud whirring sound and the Orion appeared at the hole the pyrophate had made.

“Oh wait... I guess I did!”

The pyrophate uncurled and looked around. It seemed to realize that the kronogravia was gone. It turned around and bellowed.

“Go go go!” Q urged. He picked up the prone Elizabeth and jumped into the ship. The Orion immediately flew away from the tower. Q could see the pyrophate trying to hit them with its flames. Luckily they were far from its reach.

“Where to, captain?” Kai asked.

Q closed his eyes. He waited for an image to form.

Nothing happened. He tried again but the same result.

Nothing.

Q shook his head “I’m getting nothing,” he told Kai.

“Are you sure?” Chris asked, looking a little nervous.

“Nah. I just think it’s because I’m tired. I’ll try again in a little while,” he said.