The door slud open, and Annus had to put his hand in front of his face to shield it from the fluorescent lights of the hallway. They followed Norbert to the left, past seemingly endless rows of doors that looked exactly the same. That's what being on a spaceship must feel like, Annus thought. The walls were as smooth as they were white, and the off white ground, connecting to the walls with round corners, felt as soft as a carpet, yet the material was not different from the walls. The source of the light was not visible. It came from above, but there were no lamps. Neither did he see any fluorescent tubes. It didn't look like the ceiling itself was glowing either, the light was simply there. Annus wondered how much of 'not being part of time and space' applied to these halls already.
They stopped at a room. The door looked the same as all the other doors around them, but when Norbert pressed the small rectangular metal plate next to it, it opened up to reveal a familiar face.
»I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me,« Rouge grinned, jokingly boxing Annus in the outer thigh.
»I assumed the Illuminati would like to talk to you as well. After all, you were the one responsible for our breach in security.«
For the first time since they knew him, Rouge was flustered. »Well, I know this may seem inconsiderate, but it really is a big compliment for me. Not that I wanted to harm your secret or anything, but Atlantis is kind of the holy grail of adventures.«
»I'm sure the people of Atlantis would take great interest in your home as well,« Norbert said in a stern voice, before relaxing and shooting him a smile. »Come along now, small adventurer. We don't want to keep the Illuminati waiting.«
»On my way, big priest,« Rouge responded. The trio, now complete again, followed the man down the unchanging hallways.
The minutes seemed to stretch further and further as they walked on. Annus couldn't tell if they were walking in circles, or if they had passed by here before.
»Excuse me, Mr. Moses, sir,« he said as polite as possible, »How long will it take us to arrive in Atlantis?«
The priest seemed amused at his question. »We have been walking through it's halls for quite some time already,« he explained. »The biggest secrets are best hidden in plain sight.«
»That's clever,« Rouge chimed in. »Portals or magic or any other means of transportation would be like aflare pointing towards the city. But the walls of El Dorado are so full of magic that it's impossible to single out the one string that allows you to pass through to Atlantis.«
»You are very clever, my friend,« Norbert Moses responded. »I understand why the Illuminati want to see you as well.« He turned towards Unus and Annus. »As for you two, you will probably see some familiar faces in a few seconds. Just treat them with the due respect, and simply adress them as 'your highness.'«
The door, not looking different from the others, slid open and revealed a dark room. Annus raised an eyebrow, but Unus already followed the priest into the dark.
The door closes behind them, and the room lit up, revealing a long, semicircular podium. Annus nearly choked on his own saliva. Familiar faces, my ass.
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In Memoriam - An Unus Annus Fanfiction
Fanfiction365 days. Unus and Annus have one year left until their death. Trapped in strange machine, relentlessly hunted by Blank and Dark, a fight against the clock begins. Will they be able to find their way out, or will their story be lost in the sands of...
