Almost eleven hours later, Dyamion and Atromitos were coming up the path towards the large building.  The team had decided to separate into three different groups and do an extensive search of the entire civilization to search for Igetis. It had been nearly three days according to the rise and setting of the suns on the unknown planet. There had been no sign of him.

“He would not just get up and leave,” explained Tharros when they found he was gone. “Not after everything we have been through.”

“He would have not left unless he was forced to do so,” responded Filos. “I know Igetis, and he would not abandon us.”

They spent the entire first day looking through the first level of the large building. They checked every room where they were able to open the doors and check inside. It was difficult learning a civilization’s technology, especially an advanced one at that. Simply learning to open the door took some time.  After they figured out the process, they were able to check the entire first floor.

The next day they checked the second floor and found that was much more difficult. Many doors would not open, and everything seemed to be locked down. They were surprised being that there was nobody here why have everything locked. The team began to become very frustrated because nothing was making sense and their leader, that seemed to have all the answers, was missing.

Now we come to the third day, where they had ventured outside.  Dyamion and Atromitos were almost to the steps of the large building when they heard a sound coming from up above.  They looked up, and at first, they did not see anything. After searching around, they saw an approaching ship which was descending to an area near the large building that was open and flat which looked to be a perfect landing area.  Others from the team had seen the ship as well and were running back towards the large building.  Dyamion and Atromitos approached the ship carefully but kept their distance because the design of the ship was one, they had never seen before.

The door of the ship opened and lowered to become the platform to exit the ship.  Then an individual began to walk down the platform.  Dyamion could not believe his eyes, and Atromitos stood stunned.  The individual walking down the platform, who seemed to be in perfect health, except for a slight limb, was Igetis.  The rest of the team had now arrived as well at the location, and they all too stared in disbelief.  Finally, Tharros ran up to meet him as he exited off the platform to the unknown planet once again.

“Igetis, is that you?” asked Tharros as she approached him.

He held up his hands to show that he was fine.  “Yes, it is me and I know I have a lot of explaining to do but we do not have time for that now. I have returned with someone that may be able to answer all our questions about this place, but we must investigate something first.”  He pointed to the exit of the ship and there stood the red-headed passenger that looked very much like the people that they had seen in holograms, statues, other pictures, and symbols. Everyone’s jaws dropped open and again they could not believe what they were seeing.  Three days ago, everyone was worried about their friend as he lay in a deep sleep due to a frightening vision of something he saw.  Now he stood perfectly healthy after deboarding a highly advanced space vessel and a new individual from who knows where was with him.

 “Igetis!” shouted Tharros. Her wings fully extended. “You are gone for three days and return on a ship with someone new and the first thing you say is you do not have time to explain.”  Igetis could sense the anger, but everyone could tell that she was angry from the sound of her voice.

“We thought you were dead!”  yelled Dunamis. His eyes were a darker red.

“We were about to return to the crashed ship to look for you!” cried out Atromitos. Her tail was swinging rapidly back and forth.

“We had almost given up all hope because we could not find you anywhere!  You had just vanished!”  shouted Filos with his leathery skin changing to all colors.

“Yes, I know my friends, and it will all make sense when I can explain it.  But first,” Igetis’s tone switched to that of sympathy and genuine concern, “how is the team?  Everyone ok?”.

Tharros was a little confused at the question at first, but then she answered,” All scared, as you can hear, because we have been searching for you, but we are all in good health.”

“I have to admit that it is wonderful to see your pudgy little fish face again,” said Gelio, her tongue flicking.

“I second that!” yelled Makarios. All eight legs fidgeting.

“That is wonderful to hear,” Igetis said with his smile.

As they were talking the red-headed passenger had descended from the ship and was now standing next to Igetis taking in the conversation.  “I hate to spoil your reunion Igetis, but I have things I need to check.” 

“Everyone this is…”  Igetis began to say.

“No time for introductions, I have to find out what has happened here,” interrupted the red-headed passenger.

She continued past Igetis and Tharros, making her way towards the large building that the team had used as a shelter for the past three nights.  Atromitos stood in front of her wanting to stop her and ask her questions, but the red-headed passenger held up her hand, and then there was a yellow flash. Atromitos was seen flying, landing on her backside.  This surprised everyone, and there were members of the team that went into an attack stance, ready to retaliate.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” yelled Igetis.  “I promise you that she is a friend. That’s all follow her, and I can begin to explain what has happened.”  Everyone stood around confused except the red-headed passenger who was still heading towards the large building.

“I have to admit,” said Gennai to Tharros, “I like her style.  She reminds me of you.”  Tharros shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Igetis,” Dyamion interjected, “it might be wise to introduce us and ask questions before we go exploring.”

Igetis patted Dyamion on the shoulder and put an arm around Tharros and said, “I am so happy to see you all again.  But believe me when I say that we need to walk and talk before she gets too far ahead.”

“What happened to you?”  asked Tharros as they entered the large building they now knew so well, so they thought.  The whole team was following the newcomer as she was showing them that she knew her way around.  She opened the main entrance without any troubles, which took the team without Igetis, an hour or so.  She was now heading back towards the great marble staircase that led to the second floor, not paying any attention to the holographic displays that filled the large first room.

“It will probably be better to show you than tell you right now because quite honestly, I am not sure myself,” answered Igetis.  “The best guess is that I was overtaken by a powerful creature or spirit, and I was forced to do his bidding.”

Dyamion, who was walking right by Igetis, gave a shocked look and yelled, “What!?  That makes no sense!”  He shook his head trying to understand the explanation.  “What did this creature have you do?  Steal a ship and bring back a visitor to this unknown planet?”  Dyamion’s face turned back to a look of concern.  “Are you still under its control?”

“I know it sounds like an incredible doubtful story,” Igetis answered as they walked up the marble staircase towards the second floor.  “We are still trying to piece everything together.”  He then pointed ahead at the new visitor and said, “Rose, that is what she told me to call her, was somebody that this creature wanted to find.  I do not know why, and she is not saying much until she is certain that this creature has escaped.”

“Escaped!” blurted out Tharros, who was walking on the other side of Igetis.  “Escaped from where and who?”

“And why?”  yelled Atromitos who was walking behind Igetis, also listening to the conversation.

“All wonderful questions that I hope can be answered very soon,” Igetis said trying to keep everyone calm.

“This voice or images in your head,” Dyamion said looking directly at Igetis, “have anything to do with what is going on here.”  He already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Igetis.

He stared back at Dyamion with a look of concern on his face as they arrived on the second floor, still following Rose. “It has everything to do with it.  This evil voice and the creature are the same, I believe.”

“Then that takes me back to my original question that you never answered,” said Dyamion.  “Are you still under its control? Are you still hearing things in your head?  Can we trust you?”

They all arrived behind Rose who was opening the glass door and paying no attention to her followers.  No one could open this glass door when they were searching for Igetis and now they all stared in amazement when they saw what was on the other side.

Igetis patted Dyamion on the shoulder and said, “For the last twenty hours, I have not heard a thing and I have been the happiest I have been in a while.  I promise that I will not leave the team alone again.”  Dyamion nodded and the team proceeded through the glass door following the new visitor.

The whole team, even Igetis, was looking at the new surroundings because they had not been in this area of the building and Igetis could not remember being in this area.

“Wow!” yelled Gelio.  “Look at the crystals above, it lights up the whole area.”

“Look where we are heading!”  screamed Makarios.  “We are going inside the mountain!”

“Look at these walls!  The design on them must have been done by a master artist,” stated Filos.

With all the excitement, no one noticed Rose opening the large gold-plated doors, except Tharros.  She nudged Igetis and the group ran to the now open gold-plated doors.  Rose stepped through the barrier and then turned around to face the group.  She held up her hand and everyone in the group stopped.  Igetis and her locked eyes and she could tell that it would be a fight to stop them from coming.

“I feel it best that all of you should stay here and let me check out the War-Room above,” warned Rose.

“The War-Room?” asked Tharros, Dyamion, and Atromitos at the same time.

Realizing her mistake of mentioning the actual room name, she tried to calm them down.  “This room is a lift that will take me to the top of the mountain.  I do not know what is up there.  For your safety, I believe it would be best for you to stay here until I can check it out.”

“We are not letting you out of our sight!”  growled Atromitos.  Rose rolled her eyes knowing that she was not a threat.

“We do not even know you!  How can we trust you and not think that you are going up there to launch something that will kill us all down here?”  yelled Tharros.

Dyamion looked at Igetis and waited to see what he would say.  Rose, realizing that they were waiting for his answer, looked at him as well.

A sly smile came to his face. “I know I have gained your trust.  I trust my team.  They will do you no harm and they can protect themselves.  Please let us come with you.  We all need to see what has happened.”

The whole team looked at Rose and she knew that she could easily push them all away with a nice energy blast and quickly close the door.  But Igetis was right.  He had gained her trust.  If he felt they should come, then she could accept that.  She calmly put down her hand and stepped back.  The other nine crossed over the barrier of the gold-plated door, and the door closed behind them.  A large mechanical sound was heard, and the large room began to lift towards the top of the mountain.  Everyone looked at the incredible sights as they pushed upward.  Igetis and Rose locked eyes and with his famous smile, he told Rose, “Thank You.”

 

 

As the lift arrived at the top of the mountain, Rose asked everyone to step to the side.  She then lifted her arm and from her hand emitted a yellow glow that seemed as if her hand was on fire.  She pointed her hand at the gold-plated doors as they slid open, and she scanned the now viewable room.  The room was lightly lit from the glow of crystals that hung from the mountain walls and emitted light through the glass ceiling.  There was a large, massive table with holograms still spinning above the table, just like before when Igetis last entered.  The room looked like the rest of the building, mysteriously untouched but working normally as if today was just another day.  An eerie silence emanated from the room as Rose carefully entered and walked down the steps to the large table, her arm still extended with her hand ready to fire an energy blast at anyone that she deemed an enemy.  The rest of the group followed behind her, taking in the sights of the gigantic room that had the most advanced technology they had ever seen.  Large glass screens hung in midair that displayed more signs and symbols.  Large holograms displayed maps of galaxies and planets.  Different types of weapons were found locked away in containers around the room, easily available to grab for any situation.  Armor of all types was found in different containers as well.  The walls were filled with artistic drawings of what looked like characters from the past.  Signs and symbols were portrayed next to them, seeming to tell their story.  It looked exactly like a “War-Room”.

“This is amazing!” cried Gennai. His whiskers were fluttering because of his excitement.

“Unbelievable!” shouted Tharros. Her glowing yellow eyes scanning every detail.  “Why would anyone leave this place?”

“The amount of weaponry here would supply a very large military,” said Dyamion. His face clearly showing his shock.

“This room just adds more questions,” stated Atromitos while she too examined every detail. Her golden eyes showing her immense curiosity. “Everything untouched but working like normal.  Where is everybody?”

“Whoever these species were, “said Dunamis looking up at the exquisite artwork, “they were powerful warriors.”

“I think they were more than warriors,” responded Filos while scanning every detail on the large table.  “Their technology is very advanced.”

“It is hard to take everything in,” Makarios screamed, his eight eyes looking in each direction.  “There is so much to look at!”

“What does this do?” asked Gelio as she reached out to an object on the table.

“Please!”  yelled Rose still scanning the room. “Do not touch anything.”

Igetis gave a nod to Gelio, and she withdrew her hand.  “Do you sense anything?” he asked Rose.

“I sense nothing,” she stated with obvious frustration on her face. “But we haven’t checked the most important place.”  She lowered her hand and walked down the hallway to the right of the room towards the large silver double doors at the end of the hall.

“You mean there is more?” cried Tharros.

Everyone followed Rose and they stared in amazement at the huge doors as they approached.  Rose began to study them carefully to see if there was any damage to the doors or if they had been opened in any way.

“Do you remember going through these doors?”  Rose asked Igetis.

“There are scattered images in my head of what happened.  I do recall seeing doors like these, but I cannot be certain.”

“These doors are not any ordinary doors,” Rose said pointing at the huge symbol found in the middle.  “This symbol is a memory lock.  No one can get past these doors unless they have three distinct memories.”

Igetis looked at her with amazement in his eyes.  “That means the only individuals that are getting through those doors are ones that know and have these memories?”

“Precisely,” answered Rose.

“That is extraordinary,” spouted Gennai with his whiskers still fluttering.

“That means whatever is behind these doors is quite important or extremely dangerous,” Dyamion said with a look of caution on his wolf-like face.

“Or both,” smirked Tharros.   

“The only thing,” remarked Rose, “is when you were describing to me what you remembered after we fought on Nycakor,” the rest of the group began looking at each other with shocked looks because of what they just heard, “you described images of items that are only found behind these doors.  So, I believe you have been through these doors.”

Igetis shrugged and shook his head.  “I only remember small details. As I said, I remember images, but I do not remember if I opened them. And how could I?  I have no idea what the memories are needed to open them.”

“The voice in your head could have told you,” remarked Gelio with a wink.

“But even that could not get you past this memory lock,” specified Rose.  “The memory has to be found in your mind.  If you do not have that memory, then the doors will not open.”

“Is there another way in?”  questioned Filos.

“No,” replied Rose.

“So, the only way to know is to open the doors,” observed Tharros.

“I believe she is hesitant to do so,” commented Igetis, “because it may be a trap to get her to open the doors and let this creature escape.”

“You are doing your trick again,” Rose said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “But you are right.”  She looked directly at Igetis.  “What if he made you think you have done all this.  Break him free, being possessed by him and then sending you to get me and make me believe all this, and then I open the doors and we set him free.”

“Possible,” Igetis pondered.  “But I do not feel that is what happened.”

“How do you know?”  inquired Rose.  “You cannot remember half of what happened from when you were overpowered by him until I beat you in the fight.”  Again, the rest of the team shrugged and looked confused because they do not know what they were talking about.

Igetis shrugged again.  “I guess you will just have to trust me.”

Rose lowered her head and gave out a heavy sigh.  “I am glad that I am not the only one that he makes feel like you do now,” smirked Atromitos to Rose.

Rose smiled. “He can be annoying, that is for sure.”

She turned toward the large silver doors and placed her hand on the memory lock and closed her eyes.  “It would be best to step back because I do not know what may come out once they open.”  Everyone took a few steps back.  Rose began taking large deep breaths and then she did not move at all.  Suddenly her hand rotated the symbol right and then stopped.  A large mechanical sound was heard.  Igetis felt he remembered hearing that before.  A few minutes later, her hand rotated the symbol again to the right and then stopped.  Again, the same mechanical sound.  Then, a few minutes longer, and the symbol again rotated right.  It then stopped and the same mechanical sound was heard, and the doors began to swing inward.  A large mechanical motor could be heard pulling the doors open.

Once the doors had completely opened, Rose stepped inside the room, carefully walking forward examining every detail.  After a few steps, she began running forward.  She stopped suddenly and saw a large glass dome broken into pieces, and the remnants of a broken glass orb that she knew held the creature that they thought would never escape.

“This is impossible!” she shouted.  “How did this happen? We planned it perfectly!”  Everyone else gathered around looking very confused. Igetis looked at the broken shards of glass and saw a curved broad sword lying on the ground a few feet away.  He walked over and examined it.

“I remember holding this sword and swinging it at this large glass dome.” He held his head and closed his eyes as he tried to recall previous events.  “Scattered images are beginning to come back to me.”  He pointed at the shattered orb and walked back over to it. “I can recall seeing a creature forming from the light that escaped from this orb.  It said that he was god,” he paused and then looked at Rose with his large eyes, “and that he was my master.”  No one spoke or moved for a long moment, shocked at what they just heard.  Still looking at Rose, Igetis continued, “He told me ‘I created all this and now I will seek vengeance on those who tried to take it from me and stop their evil deeds from happening’.”  Fear came to Rose’s face and Igetis could sense it.  “Why did you imprison him,” he demanded.

“Igetis,” Rose calmly stated knowing that he felt that she was in the wrong.  “It had to be done.  I cannot tell you why right now, but all I can say is that if we didn’t then…”  she looked down and tears could be seen flowing from her eyes.  She looked at him again and he could sense her goodness.  “I promise you that it had to be done.”  She looked around at the others, trying to see how they all felt, then she looked back at Igetis.  After a long pause, she asked, “Do you trust me?”

Igetis smiled and said, “What do we do now?”