Chapter 3: A Story Long Forgotten

[ST]

The fireflies were flying around you without a care. You all stood in front of a tall mossy wall--taller than the usual walls in this labyrinth. There was a rotting statue right next to it and it was hinting a feeling that there was more to this place than what it seemed.

[Bun]

*dies laughing @ Stardust's last post* XDD

---

"I'm sure it's not a dead end," Polaris told Hadrian. "That statue might be able to tell us something."

"Other than the fact that it has no legs?"

Polaris threw Sho a scowl. "Beyond that, Miyavi."

Sho shrugged. "Just throwing out ideas." He pulled out a rolled-up Timber Maniacs from the front pocket of his hoodie and opened it, scanning the pages. "Tell me when you find something."

"Thanks for the help..." Polaris tilted her head back to peer at the tall wall. "Well, we could try to climb onto the wall, see if we can gather our bearings from there," she said out loud.

[Diego Stanton]

Deo scrambled to his feet when the wall he was leaning on began to rumble and cause hoards of dust to flake all over his body. He sneezed and began to shake himself rid of the dust, undoubtedly making it spray all over Vanesse and Jamie. When he looked up he noticed that the statue he had touched was the secret trigger. A passageway had opened.

"Damn... I'm on fire today!" Deo bragged, stood up straight and looked at the girls as if expecting them to applaud. Just as he was feeling pretty cocky, he heard a distant noise.

THUD

"SON OF A--"

"HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHHAHA!!"

"AHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAAH!!"

Deo's smug look melted away in seconds. "Hurry! Someone's right behind us!" he said, and all three of thm hurried foward into the darkness. The wall thudded shut as soon as they went through, almost as if on cue and a huge layer of dust fell from the ceiling onto Deo's head.

"Hold on.. I have a flare," Deo said and dug through his sack to retrieve one.

Shit.. I'm running low on explosives

Deo lit a flare and threw it out into the hallway. It hissed a neon red and then green, and then blue. The colors kept changing and the amazing pearl palace seemed to turn into a disco floor.

"I had some left over from New Year's," Deo explained and shrugged. With the palace brimming with neon colors, Deo saw that there were torches lined up against the wall, as well as a huge painting up ahead.

"You guys go look up ahead. I'll light these," he motioned towards the torches and went up to them to light them.

[Blaze Sanaku]

"Move out of the way," Blaze demanded and pushed her way to the front of the wall. She stared at her opponent meacingly.

"RAH!!" Blaze yelled and reared up her leg to kick the wall. A ton of dust floated down and Blaze squashed a couple of fireflies up against the wall but otherwise there was no noticable change.

"Well... I've done all I can." Blaze said matter-of-factly and stood over to the side for someone else to try.

[vanesse]

*spanks Stardie* >.o The SeeDs sure don't give up easily HAHAHAH
****************************

Vanesse looked at the high ceiling now being filled with various colors from Deo's flare. She couldn't believe he still had them from last New Year's celebration. For a split moment there, Able, Lawric, and Signe flashed in her mind. She wondered how they were doing back at Arland's place.

Whatever it is, everything will be all right once we get back with the Ruby, she told herself once again.

"You guys go look up ahead. I'll light these," Deo instructed and continued lighting the torches. Vanesse gave him a nod and pulled Jaime further along the palace.

"Hmm...Come on!" she said, not missing any steps. She lurked her eyes around. This was one amazing palace--old, but beautiful. They turned on a corner and followed the path. The hallway seemed to follow a circular pattern. It was weird how this palace didn't have any windows at all.

"Deo hurry up!" Van shouted, still looking ahead. Moments after, she saw an opening at the end of the hall. She saw a glimpse of a spacious lobby past it. Would the ruby be there?

/Let's hope so./

[Hadrian D'arcell]

Hadrian looked up and tried to view the top of the wall. Seeing that they were underground, it was too dark to see even with his flashlight. It was like the thin light of the flashlight was being devoured by the darkness. "Hmm...I don't think we can climb this thing..." he said to Polaris, finding himself frowning at the thick wall.

He tried to touch the statue, feel for some button or something, but nothing happened.

"Damnit..." he whispered. Just then, he heard someone kick the wall with a loud thud.

"Well... I've done all I can." Blaze announced and stood near him and Rayden. Was it his turn now?

Grunting, he said. "I can always blow it up." He glanced at the wall, frowning. If the previous guys could do it, so could they.

[Polaris Lyn]

Polaris blew a stray lock of hair out of her face. "If the people who came before could blow it up, we wouldn't have this problem of trying to get through it in the first place," she noted. She scowled. "The statue's our only clue."

[Diego Stanton]

"Deo hurry up!" Van called urgently.

"Okay... okay I'm coming!" Deo lit the last torch and and looked back before jogging after the two girls. With the newly lit torches flickering, the hallways casted long moving shadows across the floor. With no windows and cobwebs everywhere, it was kind of like being in a haunted mansion.

When Deo entered the next lobby he was taken aback. Three huge statues sat in the middle of the circular room, each one a beautiful woman. Their faces and bodies were carved of pure white granite and they stood tall and elegant, almost godesslike. Unlike the rest of the room, they were untouched by age and had no sign of visible corrosion or cobwebs on them.

The statue in the middle was clothed in red and carried a baby in her arms. On her left was a woman in blue, entranced in playing her harp and on her right the statue wore green and had a pot of gold by her side. They all had long, flowing hair and hollow eyes that stared straight ahead.

[stardust]

Impatience caught up with Stardust. Time was ticking and while it did, the intruders were getting closer to the ruby. Heaving a loud grunt, she marched towards the statue and kicked it forcefully. "What's special about this stupid rotten statue!?" she spat. The impact shoved the statue at an angle and before she knew it, there was a cracking sound.

/Uh...oh.../ Diwata murmured.

The statue fell to pieces. It was quiet for a while and Stardust was about to scold herself mentally when the ground shook. A silhouette of a door appeared on the sturdy wall and it was pushed open.

What the? Stardust blinked.

[miyavi]

Sho blinked and raised his head as Stardust started ranting all over again. A swift kick to the statue, and it crumbled, pushed in an odd angle that revealed a hidden door in the wall. Sho rearranged the goggles on top of his head.

"Wow...you're actually good for something!" he said in wonder, looking at the stupefied Stardust. "And here I thought all you did was bitch til tomorrow."

He snuck a glance through the open doorway. "I see light," he reported. "I think it's either flares or fireworks. Whatever it is, it's bright pink."

[ST]

seeDs

Sho was right. There was a light up ahead that kept flashing neon colors and there were lit torches lined against the wall. Now you were sure that someone was already here. There's nothing left to do but just follow the torches. You see a circular lobby up ahead but nobody seems to be in there.

Opps
You heard the wall that Deo just opened, open once more. There were over a dozen doors with different insignias on them surrounding the circular room you were in but none of them would budge open.

There's no escape so you decide, as a last resort, to hide behind the statues and ambush the seeDs when they inevitably arrive in the room you are in right now.

[Bun]

Sho picked up a dying flare and watched it turn a faded green before sputtering into nothing. He frowned at it. It looked like your everyday celebration flare---he remembered setting some off last Christmas and New Year to the obvious agitation of the rich, snobby, next-door neighbors. They were sold practically everywhere, which didn't help anyone deduce how they were strewn about a centuries-old edifice like litter.

"It's creepy." Sho raised his head and glanced down at Polaris, who had broken the eerie silence. "In a beautiful, pseudo haunted mansion kinda way."

"Got that right," Sho muttered. He wondered who else was here...and why they were using celebration flares to light their way. It was like holding up a glaring neon sign that screamed, "WE'RE HEEEERRRRRRREEEEEE!!!"

Then again, it wasn't like the SeeDs were any better at being stealthy. Sho winced inwardly at the throbbing pain on the back of his skull and the bright Firaga spell that Blaze had cast earlier.

<We all suck.>

<You figure that out just now..?> Ah yes, supportive Guardian Force his ASS. Zephyr was just mean.

"Whoa," Polaris breathed, stopping. Sho blinked, and stopped as well.

"What the hell...?" Sho looked around. They were in a magnificent circular lobby, surrounded by doors marked with weird signs, and in front of them were three statues of beautiful woman. Sho scratched his head. "Why are they dressed in primary colors?" he asked out loud.

[stardust]

Stardust hurried towards the wide lobby, expecting to see the ruby. To her surprises, there was no ruby but an elegant statue of three goddesses--each holding a harp, a baby, and a pot. Whatever symbolism the scupltor was trying to use, Stardust didn't care enough to reminisce about it.

"Why are they dressed in primary colors?" Sho asked aloud. Stardust ignored him and surveyed the area. There were several doors behind the statues. Considering the fact that they weren't alone inside this unbelievable palace, the place felt so quiet.

Maybe they already passed through one of those doors, she surmised.

/If so...then...all we gotta do is look behind each doors, right?/ Diwata concluded. It sounded so easy, but if you think about it, it wasn't at all. It wasn't like those people would leave a trail behind the door that they picked.

"Those people couldn't have gotten far," Stardust spat, continuing to stride towards the goddesses statues to get to one of the doors. "They probably went through one of these doors."

[Polaris Lyn]

Stardust was gung ho again, and Polaris felt that she should point something out.

"Stardust? Amazing as your detective skills may be, none of these doors look like they've moved in any way lately. They're still around, I'm sure of it."

<That's good, Lyn, keep it calm, keep it cool, don't tell her to go to hell. You're the levelheaded one between you and Blaze, remember?>

[vanesse]

Vanesse leaned her head against the back of one of the goddesses statues, her palms coming in contact on the tip of her boomerang. Why did they have to get in so soon? she whined. The lines of them snatching the ruby were getting blurred. The situation was starting to get more complex.

The SeeDs were already inside the same room as them. If they went any closer, she was going to attack. She chucked a knowing glance at Deo and Jaime. She really was going to do it. She could only guess they were as ready too.

Seconds later, the thing that she had been expecting happened. She heard a woman's voice and footsteps that were getting closer and closer. Taking a deep breath, this was her cue. Afterall, sooner or later, they were going to get busted anyway.

Without any warning, a huge black boomerang zoomed towards the direction of the SeeDs--Stardust being in the front line.