“Wiffle!”
“AUGH!” Wiffle pointed his harpoon at the open door, ready to assault whatever was shouting at him.
The Admiral kicked the harpoon away. “I need your helmet.”
“Wh…”
“Wiffle. Helmet.”
“My suit’s not made to your specifica—”
“Not suit, Wiffle.” The Admiral tapped her head with the tip of her wing. “Helmet. Just the helmet.”
Wiffle stared at her.
“Just give it.”
Wiffle removed his helmet and handed it to her. She placed it atop her head and bounded away, leaving Wiffle alone with the Hex once more.
It was no longer convenient to hop to and from trees with such a bulky helmet on, but the trek to the lake wasn’t long enough to worry about stealth or the small speed advantage. It felt wrong to walk through the jungle so obviously with nothing more than a readied harpoon for protection, but she knew that was just instinct screaming at her.
She’d gotten really good at ignoring it over the years.
When she arrived at the lake, Rook was sitting on a rock, her eyes just above the water. She had wrapped a long strand of kelp around her forehead, covering the wound. The wyrd tar-blood was still leaking down her face, but it was no longer covering her eyes and blinding her. Her expression was one of… exhaustion.
Yet another face she’d never seen on a wyrd. One that showed weakness.
“It’s under the water,” the Admiral said, tapping her helmet. “Where?”
Rook looked at her like she was insane.
“They would have went through the front doors, they’ve got that avenue covered. You clearly found an alternate path. If I know anything about my ruins, the secret entrance is usually the best.”
Rook gestured angrily at her kelp bandage. With a smirk, the Admiral tapped her helmet. Considering this for a moment, Rook grumbled in defeat. Moving away from her wound, she waved her hooves like claws and let out a growl.
“I can handle a cat.”
Rook shook her head and held her hooves out wide.
“How much bigger we talking?”
Rook pulsed her gesture four times.
“...That’s a big cat.”
Rook rolled her eyes. Clearing her raspy throat, she made a noise that vaguely resembled a bark, if the dog in question had been run through a meat grinder while a static radio was playing in the background.
“Big dog. Does it have the eye?”
Rook nodded.
“Then all it’ll take is one carefully placed harpoon.” The Admiral secured her helmet and hefted her harpoon. “I’m going in. You can stay here and rest.”
Given the incredulous eyebrow, Rook probably wasn’t going to let the Admiral go alone. Fine by her.
Before the Admiral entered the water, a shadow passed over the two of them. It was the pegasus—flying directly for the golden temple, paying them absolutely no mind.
Rook looked at the dark form with longing.
“...Used to be a pegasus, huh?”
She responded with a slow nod.
“Who knows, maybe Vespid really will find that cure.”
Rapidly, Rook shook her head.
“You don’t want to go back? Why not?”
For a moment, Rook glanced at the receding pegasus. With a shake of her head, she bore her sharp teeth with an amused grin. She gestured at herself and laughed like a scratching record.
“You want to be a sea monster?”
Rook nodded vigorously.
“...You know, I wonder if that’s why you’re not completely off the deep end.” She took a step into the water. “Every pony I know would lose it if that started happening to them. You… like it.”
Rook shrugged, tapping herself in the side of the head.
“Vespid did say you probably had a condition.” For some reason, this made the Admiral chuckle. “But then again, who doesn’t?”
The scratchy laugh came to her ears once again. With a silly salute, Rook dove into the water - leading the Admiral across the lake.
~~~
Sparkler’s faith in Granite was falling rapidly.
“You sure you can find another entrance?” She asked, tracing the edge of the temple with her massive hair.
“There must be something,” Granite muttered, carefully examining the stepped temple’s exterior. “I’ll find it eventually.”
“We’ve walked around it twice,” Sparkler pointed out. “Nothing. Considering how quickly you saw those traps, I’m beginning to think there’s nothing here.”
“Impossible… how did those cats get in, then? There has to be another way.”
“Magic? There’s more than enough here to do some crazy crap.”
“No one has ever found a teleportation construct,” Lob reminded them. “They probably won’t start now.”
“Thank you, Lob,” Granite said, smiling. “We just have to find i—”
“Up!” Sparkler shouted, pointing her harpoon gun into the air. A… pegasus was flying overhead, approaching them but not going right for them.
“A pegasus that can fly…?” Sparkler dropped the harpoon gun. “What in…”
“That’s a wyrd,” Lob said, aiming his weapon.
“That’s not a seapony.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“...It’s not after us,” Granite observed. “I’m sure it can see us, but… it doesn't care.”
Sparkler twitched. “Oi, everypony, Imma magic island, none o’ th’ rules matter on me! Lemme just right screw with ya’ ‘till your noggins esplode! BOOM!”
The pegasus flew over top of them and landed on the temple a few levels above them. With open jaws, they watched the wyrd tap a brick with its wing and reveal a secret passage. It waltzed right in.
Sparkler twisted her hair into a hand, pulling herself up the stepped temple to the pegasus wyrd’s previous location. Carefully, she tapped the brick on the wall.
It opened up a secret passage without much fanfare.
“Well. I think we have a way in.”
“Little help?” Lob asked, trying and failing to climb up the massive temple wall.
“Oh. Right. Hold on…”