//------------------------------// // Detonation // Story: Coming to terms // by The Infinity Doctor //------------------------------// "What did he steal?" I asked, looking around the vault. 'If she says 'The Phantom Hourglass', I'm going to bust...' "We have no name for it, but it is an ancient artifact passed down from our ancestors" "What is it?" "The hourglass was utilized by our shamans to predict the future, only myself and a select few know of it" "Then how did he know about it, and why did he take it?" "I know the answer to neither" "He could have taken it in order to use it the way your oracles did" I suggested. "Impossible, the hourglass chooses who uses it, only those with the gift may access it" "That's one possibility..." "What is your guess as to why one of your 'humans' would steal this specific artifact from our treasury?" "No clue, Nev..." 'Unless it's the Doctor...but why would he take something like that?' Nevra sighed as she turned and walked down the hallway, myself following her. "You know, Zero-" she began "if it were up to the nobles of the court, you'd be hanging from the gallows" "Wh-what?" "The nobles believe this to be some sort of conspiracy, I, myself am not far from believing them, but since you were with me during the robbery, and you must be honest with me- what happened here today, was this truly a plot to pilfer our treasure?" "If it was, highness, I wasn't a part of it" I replied whole-heartedly. "That is good to hear" she said, placing a hand on my shoulder "come, let us look further into this" She and I walked through the halls, past an open window, which looked down into the square of a small city, some buildings made with regular materials, bricks and wood and the like. Though a few looked like they were made out of the sand of the desert, baffling me. There were a few Anubites loitering in the square itself, even fewer of those wearing a cloak, despite the desert heat. 'Still so much to learn...' "So, how do you suppose we track the criminal?" I asked. "The Hourglass contains an energy signature, which can be tracked" she replied. "Good to hear, so...how do we track it?" "One of my subjects has a special connection with it, we may go to her to find our thief" "Alright, so where is she now?" "Only a bit further, we shall be there before long" "Oh..." We soon reached what looked like an ordinary door, I was about to reach for the doorknob, when Nevra stopped me. I looked to her, confused, as she held out her staff and lightly touched the door with the head of the staff. The door glowed as it slowly creaked open, Nevra pushed the door open the rest of the way. "Crystal Belle?" 'So close...' I thought. "You may enter" a feminine voice responded. We complied, and my nose was filled with the scent of burning candles as I followed Nevra into the room. An Anubis was seated at a desk in the corner of the room, scribbling on a piece of parchment with a quill. "Please be seated Highness, I'll be finished in a moment" she stated, not looking up from her work. We did, and I sat on the couch on the opposite side of the room as Nevra remained standing. The anubis finally finished- setting her quill across the page, she stood up to greet the queen. "Highness, hello, what brings you here this evening?" she asked, doing a small curtsey. "Belle, the Hourglass was stolen earlier today, we need you to track it, so we might find the perpetrator" "This is unfortunate..." That's all she said. "*Ahem* Alright, let's get going, then" I said, standing up. Nevra nodded, and the three of us left the room, we walked a good ways down the hall before Nevra stopped us. "The thief ran through here" she stated. Belle walked forward- kneeling down, she placed her hand against the ground. A short while later, her eyes glowed a dark shade of pink. The glow stopped as she stood up again, she then turned to us. "The thief is male, and he most certainly did pass through here" she said. "Where is he now?" I asked. "I don't know, we must follow the trail to find him" "Lead the way then" I said. Nevra and I followed Belle as she took off down the hall, leading us deeper into the winding halls. "We're nearing the catacombs" Nevra stated as we ran "we might want to split up and look for the thief" "Wouldn't we want to stay together?" I asked. "We may find him quicker this way, and if you get lost in the labyrinth, just call for help- you'll be transported to the beginning of the catacombs" "Good to know- good luck" "And to you as well" she said as I ran into a hall that branched off of the current one. X X X X X X X 'How did it come to this?' I wondered, struggling to keep my eyes open as a man approached, a wicked grin on his face. "You know, thought you'd at least be able to dodge those traps" he commented, grabbing the collar of my shirt and lifting me. "Y-you? What..." "Introductions later, right now, I've got business to attend to" he said, dragging me down the now-darkened halls of the castle, towards a storage closet. He kicked the door open, where I saw my Tardis sitting. He pushed the doors open as he walked in, and set me against the console. "Wh...h-how..." I groaned as he went about the console. "A Tardis is a Tardis" he said simply, passing me. "Why did...you steal...the Hourglass?" "It contains certain properties, that when amplified, can- well...let's just say, it appeals to my interests" "Like...what?" "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" "Why do you need me?" "In all honesty, I don't- but I'll take great pleasure in this- "What are you-" I didn't get much farther than that, as the Tardis halted, the man dragged me out, and tossed an object next to me. "Enjoy yourself" he said coldly, running out of the house. 'Where am...I?' "Zero? Are you okay?" 'Lyra?!' "Lyra- stay away from that thing!" her mother shouted, yanking the filly backwards. 'Oh perfect...' I hacked as I pushed downward, and rolled over, feeling something hard poking into my back. 'Why'd he leave the Hourglass here?' I wondered, picking it up. The glass then burned red, then reverted back to its original color. 'What?' *Beep* *Beep* 'Oh please don't tell me...' *Beep* *Beep* 'It's a bomb...' I was filled with dread as my head shot to the three ponies. "...run..." "What?" "RUN! NOW! Run- because your life depends on it!" I said, putting the Hourglass on the floor. "Why-" Lyra's father began. I whipped out my Screwdriver and pointed it at him. "I swear, if you don't run now- you don't even want to know" The two ponies eventually left the house, taking Lyra with them. They had positioned themselves a good distance away, over in a field someplace. I laid down on the Hourglass, covering it with my body. I locked the Tardis with the Screwdriver and put it in my pocket as the beeping sound progressively got faster. I screwed my eyes shut as a few tears escaped, waiting for the inevitable. 'I don't want to go...' *Beep Beep* *Beep Beep* '...this is going to hurt...'