"God it's freezing out here. . . from a scorching desert to a freezing wasteland, can't any of these places just be nice and tropical?" Quin huffed as they slowly made their way through the empty valleys of the asteroid.
"Missing Xarder already?" Fischer jested in an attempt to keep their spirits up. However Quin's frowned reply was proof enough that maybe he was better off silent.
"Of course I do. I hope Trikka's doing alright."
Fischer bit his lip as thoughts of home began to swirl around in his head. Sitting on the couch with Ko next to him while Quin, Kori and Trikka all made jokes and sang drunkenly. Memories he really wished weren't as far away as they seemed. But he was quite literally solar systems away from any of that. From a proper sense of safety and comfort. It wasn't a nice feeling. His nerves were at least partially put to rest however, knowing that Quin and Ko were right here by his side, even if all he wanted was for them to be safe back on Xarder.
And besides, now that Spatch and Tonner were here, he was beginning to think it might not be so dangerous after all.
"How long do we have to walk for? It's been forever!" Spatch groaned as he trudged along besides Quin.
"It's been forty minutes, Spatch. And I have no clue. I'm assuming if this riddle of yours is true, we'll know it when we see it," Tonner replied.
"Can't see it soon enough," the veranah huffed.
There was still a question burning through Fischer's mind as they walked. It had been there for a little while now, but he'd never gotten the chance to ask. Either that or he was too fearful of what might happen if he did. But right now there wasn't exactly a whole lot going on. Just a group of misfits walking through a barren landscape with no idea what they were searching for. Seemed like now was about as good a time as any to ask though.
"So. . . Spatch, how did you meet Tonner?" He asked.
There was a moment of silence as both Spatch and Tonner turned to him with confusion in their eyes. An uncomfortable tension suddenly filled the silent air.
"We uhh. . ." Spatch stuttered, looking over at the griflock who was eyeing him sternly.
"We used to be partners. That's it really. We drifted apart. Not much to it," he stated cautiously.
Fischer rolled his tongue inside his mouth as he listened. It was clear there was something more to the story than that. But it was also clear that neither of them seemed to be very interested in sharing it.
He briefly opened his mouth to reply but held his words when he caught a glimpse of Quin shaking her head at him. Instead he closed his mouth and nodded slowly.
As they walked, the wind seemed to grow slightly stronger than it had before. It was already cold, but the addition of a strong gushing wind wasn't helping any of them. Ko's cloak started flapping in the breeze, as did Spatch's coat.
"Doesn't look like the weather's happy to see us," Spatch grumbled.
"No. It doesn't. Where the hell are we even going?" Quin shuddered as the wind blew past her. She didn't have any sort of warm weather clothing on either and so the wind was sharp on her skin as it whipped past them.
The group continued pushing through for a few more minutes. Every step was now beginning to feel heavier as the gale grew stronger and stronger.
"What is this, some kind of storm?" Spatch yelled over the roar of the wind.
"If this keeps up I don't like the idea of staying out here any longer! Find a cave! A rock! Anything that we can use as shelter!" Tonner bellowed.
Fischer turned to Ko and was surprised to see her looking right back at him, pointing off towards something in the distance. Her mouth was moving but he couldn't hear what she was saying.
"What?" He yelled.
She quickly closed the distance.
"Over there! Look!" She yelled.
The group turned to where she was looking and were just able to make out the silhouettes of what appeared to be monoliths or pillars of rock that were sticking up from under the ground.
Spatch's eyes suddenly lit up. "Is that what we're after?" He exclaimed.
"Don't know! But it beats sitting out here! Hurry!" Quin yelled. The group followed her advice and all began booking it towards the structures off in the distance. By now a huge sandstorm had settled in and visibility was extremely low. Everywhere they looked was the same shade of deep purple, and Fischer's skin began to sting wildly as small grains of sand were blasted towards him by the wind.
They quickly managed to close the gap between them and shelter and arrived at the structures. There was a small hole cut out in the ground, almost like a man-made crater. It sat in the middle of all the pillars and had circular stairs cut out around the sides, descending into a dark hole.
The group paused for a second and regained their bearings.
"The- the hell? What was that? You ever see a storm like that before?" Fischer asked, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"We're on an asteroid, not a planet. Lot smaller, probably spinning a lot faster as well. Weather is all sorts of messed up probably," Spatch explained, brushing the dirt from his feathers.
"Is the ship going to be alright out there in the middle of all that?" Ko asked.
"She'll be fine. She's dealt with a lot worse than a bit of wind," Tonner stated.
"Well. Looks like there's only one way to go from here. Down," Quin said, peering down the stairs into the black hole.
Fischer let out a heavy groan, "Great. More underground stuff. That went so well last time," he huffed.
Ko felt her heart sink slightly as she heard his protests.
"Guys, look. It's that symbol again," Spatch exclaimed. The others turned to see him pointing at a carving in the wall of the crater. Sure enough, there was the symbol with two triangles pointing down.
"Looks like your theory was correct, kid." Tonner muttered.
"Seriously not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Spatch interjected.
"If it gets us closer to answers, it's a good thing. Now c'mon. This cavern isn't going to explore itself," Quin said. She began descending the stairs, her bio lights illuminating in the dark. They were now a deep blue, almost grey. It definitely wasn't great having her emotions plastered on her sleeve like that. But there was no shame in being nervous. Despite her feelings, she continued on down the stairs, the rest of the crew following close behind.
The stairs creaked under their weight as they descended, clearly not having been used in a long time.
"I'm surprised these stairs can even hold us. When was the last time they were used?" Spatch asked.
"By my guess, around a few hundred thousand years ago. They're not made from wood though. This feels like metal. How they were shaping metal back then I have no idea," Tonner said as he inspected the stairs. He was right, they weren't built from normal wood or even stone. There was a slight reflectiveness to them.
"There's no way this wasn't the Archangels," Spatch stated.
"You guys got any torches or lights on you? It's gonna get real dark real fast down here," Fischer asked.
"Yea, I got it."
Spatch tapped a button on his wrist device and a small light flickered on. Shining it down the stairwell, they could just barely see the bottom.
"Oh wow, that's. . . deep."
Fischer noticed Ko gulp slightly as she looked down. He wished for nothing more than to be able to give her some sort of comfort. But right now nothing was going to change the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere, once again descending underground. Xarder felt like it was an entire universe away at this point.
The group continued descending down into the depths, the stairs groaning and creaking with every step. Eventually though their feet touched solid rock. They had reached the bottom. There was only one way forwards. A small tunnel carved from the stone. Unlike the previous temple however, this one looked as if it had been worked on for much longer. The walls were decorated in strange patterns and symbols, there were small pillars of stone keeping the ceiling up. They looked as if they had been forged with the upmost care, only showing slight signs of ageing.
"Wow. Someone spent a long time down here," Spatch stated.
"Yea. These Archangels sure knew how to decorate," Quin replied, "Oh, look. Torches. Might be useful." Lining the wall were sconces, each filled with an unlit torch. Quin seized one for herself, inspecting the item.
"Any of you got a lighter? Something that can make a spark?"
"Yea. Here," Tonner reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small lighter. He struck the side and a tiny flame began to glow, igniting the dry material on the torch. A sudden ball of flame erupted from it, Quin recoiling slightly but holding it steady nonetheless.
"Thanks."
With a much brighter light source than Spatch's wrist gauntlet the walls became much easier to see. Hints of gold, copper and silver were now also visible alongside the patterns, weaved into the small crevices and cracks. They sparkled and shimmered as the light shone over them.
The group continued down the hallway as it twisted and turned. Eventually they came to a rather familiar sigh.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Quin muttered.
The hallway opened up into a larger room, similar to the one in the temple, only slightly smaller. Once again however there was a small bridge leading across a rather deep looking chasm.
"Huh. Well, originality certainly isn't their strong suit. . ." Spatch jested.
"I'm going first this time," Quin growled.
"Wait. . . are. . . are you sure?" Fischer asked.
"Well I sure as hell ain't going to end up like I did last time. Besides, we all have to get across anyway. Like last time, wait till the other is across before you go. We don't want too much weight on it at once.
"Just take it slow ok?" Spatch added. Quin nodded before taking a nervous but determined step onto the bridge. Her bio lights were now fully black.
She slowly edged her way across the chasm, making sure not to look down, keeping her eyes right in front of her. She could feel her heart racing like a jet, but she didn't let her fear show. Well, aside from her bio lights. Step by step she made her way across the bridge, edging closer and closer to the other side until-
"Made it. Who's next?"