The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)
Chapter 40

In the main chamber of the mountain, the two-headed dragon identified as the Protector is unlike any beast ever seen by either James or Tina. The Protector flapped its wings and began to fly to its perch high above the chamber, and James and Tina both jumped as high as they could, grabbing the Protector’s talons and hitching a ride with it. Tina hung onto James’ legs and screamed as she was lifted into the air. The Protector tries to shake them off, but they hold on tight and persevere. The Protector lands on its perch and James and Tina disembark onto it then jump off of the perch and help one another up onto a cliff nearby, which overlooks the burning flow of hot molten lava below in the center of the mountain’s violently active volcano. The Protector then flew back down. Smoke and sulfur fumes rise up causing James and Tina to cough and gag.

“We’ve got to get out of here or we’ll suffocate” cried Tina coughing and covering her mouth.

James felt the same way as tears fell down his cheeks and the sweat dripped from his brow. He took a breath, sighing heavily as he saw another cave entrance above them one level and yelled out, “that’s our way out.” But then he saw the Protector flying toward them, preparing to attack again, spewing fire and blowing it hard at them.James grabs Tina and rolls over on the ground away from the flames. James notices as the Protector got close that it has a strange symbol on its underbelly, a giant gold breastplate, big enough for the Protector, with the familiar five orbs also etched on the breastplate, glowing as brightly as the hot fire below.The same symbol is etched on the cavern behind them, glowing in sync with the Protector’s breastplate, now visible to the two adventurers.They realize the Protector is coming about for a final assault and as it cocks its heads back and forth again growing frustrated over its previous failures and wanting to make the kill this time, it readies its talons to land on them and crush them with its massive weight. James holds out his right hand and uses his power on the gold breastplate on the underbelly of the Protector and turns it like a dial clockwise, and then he grabs Tina and yells “jump on my back and hold on tight.”Tina jumped on his back, holding on for dear life as the Protector zoomed down, pulled by the power in James’ hand which is rotating the beast’s breastplate, creating an invisible shield around the duo.As the Protector’s flaming breath shoots towards James and Tina, the flames strike the invisible energy barrier and scatter away from them.James jumps atop the Protector’s back with Tina on his own back just as the Protector comes level with them, and in a huge leap, they land high up the mountain, falling off the beast’s back and grabbing ahold of a convenient ledge. They look down, watching as the Protector drops like a stone, and falls into the spewing abyss of the volcano.

A loud cry of fury echoed through the entire chamber as the heads of the mighty Protector were completely enveloped.

“Yes!” Tina yells. And James, hanging like a thread from the upper level cliff with Tina on his back used all of his strength and grunted crawling up onto a flat area as the lava erupted. He rolled onto the ground with Tina tucked under him, barely missing being burned alive by the eruption of fire and lava.

James and Tina ran out of the chamber’s entrance and remained staring into the deep darkness below from a distance. They turn and walk through the new corridor before them, but know it is not over for them yet. The corridor reached another dead end, but there is another gold etching on the cave wall before them. They found a small orb like device in the center of the five orbs symbol on the gold etching. James tried using his powers to lure it to them, but nothing happened.He tried to grab it, but it would not budge.

They wanted to happily retreat to the exit and leave, but they could not, as the door had locked behind them. Then Tina noticed something odd as the sack she still held, black with soot and ash, the supplies within completely destroyed but for one thing: the object given to James by the Chief, which is suddenly glowing very, very fiercely and brightly.They stand in shock.

“What is making it do that?” Tina asks.

“I thought you were the expert here?” James inquired jokingly. He held the object to the gold etching and orb like device and there came a bright flash of hot white light from the object and the gold etching and orb became a temple door made of metal like the others they saw with the five orbs symbol on it in gold writing. James held the object to the door and the door opened. The duo passed through and to their shock they saw a raised up circular platform, silvery in color and about three feet in diameter with lights and diodes all around it like some sort of advanced technology they have never seen. It is connected to a series of poles that circle it and when they approach, the poles started moving in all directions and finally curve up and form an image of a person about the size of James and Tina. It opens, as if allowing for passage onto the platform, and the lights and diodes turn bright red. Nothing else is present in the small enclosure. James moved forward but Tina held him back.

“Wait, we don’t know what that thing does.” Tina uttered.

“Well, we came this far. Do you want to turn back?” asks James.

“We came this far and this might be the only way out,” reasoned Tina.

“Come on, let’s do it together, it looks like it can fit both of us.” James adds, reaching out his hand and Tina feels reluctant, but she takes it, trusting her friend.

“Let’s do it” says Tina. They hold hands and embrace, stepping into the pod together, James still holding the object. Within nanoseconds, the poles close around them and the lights turns from red to green and they vanished in a swirl of bluish light.

James and Tina felt the sensation of strange insects crawling on their bodies and within seconds found themselves in a room standing on a platform.

“Nothing happened” says Tina.

“No” says James. “Look around,” he pointed to the room being similar, but it is not a cave wall , but stone masonry, brickwork, grayish in color, and hard as cement. “We are definitely someplace else, but where?”

“It felt weird, like insects crawling on me. What is that thing?” wonders Tina.

“Some kind of transportation device,” replies James, “we’re in another place.”

“Just like when…we somehow appeared on the plane?” Tina adds.

“Exactly like that, only different, kind of.” He looks at her and remembered their conversation on the plane and they stare at one another blankly again.

“What do we do now?” Tina says.

“I don’t know, but we need to replace out more. I have a feeling we are getting close and that this object is the key.” James held out the object that the Chief gave him.

“James, look.” Tina pointed to a glowing insertion point in the wall behind the platform. “This looks like the inside of an ancient temple, maybe Olmec?” Tina says. It is glowing bright green as the key was. “Looks like we know what it wants, James.” Tina says.

“Yes,” James walks up to the insert, Tina staying a few feet behind him. James turns to her and she nods hesitantly, but realizing it is their only shot, hunched over fearfully in anticipation of a further attack. “Here goes nothing,” James lifted the key and inserted it into the hole and let go. Within seconds, there is another hot white flash of light and a metal door appeared suddenly with the familiar gold symbol of the five orbs. James and Tina were amazed as the door opens and they entered to replace a large stone altar in a small enclosed room.