They could hear sounds coming from the far end of the hall. It was just like when they first arrived. Michael gripped his spear tightly as Sharon leaned on the wall. Avialian was behind her with her eyes closed and her arms on Sharon’s shoulders. Carolyn was sitting on the ground seeming more anxious than anyone else.

“So, Carrie?”

“Like, yeah?”

“Never thought we’d be doing something like this when we first met.”

“You mean when you like totally snuck up on me while I was sleeping?”

Michael sighed. “Anyway, things have gotten pretty crazy. Or I guess crazier.”

“Like life has always been crazy Mikey. It’s just like harder for some people to notice.”

“Guess I picked a lousy time to start noticing.”

“I do not believe now is a great time for such morose introspection. You sound as if you are ready to die. That kind of thinking will just lead your end to you quicker. It is much more preferable for you to deny it and fight every step of the way.”

“Aw, that’s like so cute Avy! You’ve got like such a crush.”

“What? I mean, that is just, why without…”

“That should do it…We will need to…hurry if we don’t…want to get caught…in it ourselves…”

The wall slowly slid open as Sharon sprinted forward as soon as the crack was large enough for her to squeeze through. Avialian pretty much needed it fully open to get through, and since she was right behind Sharon that meant Michael and Carolyn had to wait as well. As they finally all made it through Michael caught a glimpse of Triddian’s face as he appeared at the end of the curve of the hall. It was too late; they took too long. There was no way it would close in time so they couldn’t find it.

Sure enough, as they sprinted past the grotesque giants, Triddian and a small army poured out towards them. As soon as the army of Ancients took a step in front of the first statues though, their eyes started to glow and they sprang to life. Immediately, they lurched forward to attack the intruders. One by one, the activity reached other statues, and they sprang to life as well.

Triddian simply dodged the attacks of the giants as he moved forward, while his soldiers fought valiantly to destroy them. Their evolution had clearly changed them, with it being easy for even the lowliest of them to destroy a statue with their spears in a one-on-one fight. However, the number of giants seemed to be endless, and they were starting to slow down the army quite a bit.

This seemed to frustrate Triddian. Instead of dodging the next fist from a statue, he grabbed it with his hand, stopping it instantly. Then with a casual twist, hurled it behind him right through several other giants, freeing up his soldiers. Every second he was delayed, he seemed to get even angrier.

“So like, I don’t know if this plan is going so great.”

“Yes, Triddian is every bit as terrifyingly competent as the legends would suggest. Which means we are indeed in trouble.”

Michael looked ahead of them, where Sharon had a good lead on them. “Well, not like we can fight him off now, we just have to hope we can get to the boats with enough time to get away.”

“Like I totally appreciate the optimism, but this is so not a good time for there to only be one option.”

“There is a myriad of other options of course.”

“Like duh, but not ones where we stand like a ghost of a chance.”

A loud crashing noise from behind them drew them out of their short breathed conversation. Michael risked a look behind, and saw the Ancient’s chasing them falling into a pit that had suddenly opened. He thanked their luck before a moment later they had already started to jump out and chase them again. It seems that the slides didn’t serve to deter Triddian’s army as much as it had them.

Somehow they managed to beat them to the split in the path, but Sharon dashed down the right path.

“Wait! The boats are the other way!” Michael yelled after her, but she didn’t stop.

He groaned and turned to the right to chase after her. “Carolyn, Avialian, head to the boats and get them ready to leave. I’ll grab Sharon.”

“Michael…”

“Just go!” he saw the look of worry on their faces and sighed. In a much gentler voice he added, “I promise we’ll both make it there. We’ll figure something out, just trust me.”

“Like you hated the idea of splitting up before but are so totally for it now.”

“Carrie, please.”

Carolyn sighed as the sounds of stampeding feet got closer and closer. “Like fine, but you owe us. We won’t leave without you, because without you taking care of everything, I mean I doubt I could do all that weird water stuff or whatever.”

Not letting him argue, Carolyn gave him a quick hug before running down the left path. Avialian paused a moment and planted a small kiss on Michael’s forehead before dashing after Carolyn.

This was it. He had to figure out some way to get Sharon and make it all the way back down the left path without getting killed by Triddian. Or the rest of his army for that matter. He hoped Sharon had some reason for going the wrong way, and it wasn’t just a mistake. Still, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t get to her before he got caught himself.

After what felt like ages of running down a winding path, he stumbled into another large dome. This one was different. There was a large circular stone in the center with Sharon bent over it moving her hands all over the top of it. The walls were covered in strange obelisks with small outcroppings. The ceiling had a strange tangle of crystals in weird positions where crystal formations would hang down from the ceilings almost like rope, with some looping back up to reconnect in a different place. There was also an oppressive feeling of being somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be.

“Sharon we’ve got to go, Triddian is probably right behind me. We have to hurry.”

“No, I can’t leave…not until I finish…what I’ve started…”