The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)

After several hours of trekking up the side of the mountain, their bodies sweating profusely, Tina and James shed their outer garments, and walked up in their undershirts, with their outerwear tied around their waists. They arrived at a clearing and stopped to rest.

“It sure is hot up here” says Tina.

“Now we know why they call it Hellish Mountain” replies James.

“You mean Devil’s Mountain” corrected Tina.

“Whatever, water?” He reached in the sack and removed a canteen. He takes a sip and hands her the canteen.

“Please,” she grabbed it and takes a huge gulp.

“Save some for later, will you?” scolded James

“Sorry…” says Tina wiping her mouth, “I am not used to rationing. On the streets we just lived moment by moment.” Tina stopped abruptly when she saw James glaring at her. “Of course you knew that too, being on the streets yourself”, she corrected.

James looks straight ahead, shocked.

“What?” She saw he had calmed down.

“Nothing, let’s keep moving. We don’t want to get stuck in the middle of the road when night falls. We should at least make it to one of the caves up there.” He pointed.

“Yeah, I can see them now. Hopefully we won’t have any company.” As soon as Tina finished speaking, a pair of ferocious looking mountain lions came out from behind some rocks, and crossed their paths in the clearing. “Uh oh, you spoke too soon.” Tina uttered.

“They look hungry.” says James.

“Hopefully not for us,” Tina smirks. James looked at her and gave her a wink.

“Maybe you should try the old rope a dope maneuver.” James joked, and Tina recognized his attempt at mimicking the old boxing style of great champion fighters of the past.

Tina ran over to the other side of the mountain as the lions started closing in, growling. The lions turned towards Tina, and James ran the other way and encircled them, each of the duo running past the other as the two lions growled more ferociously and turned like dogs chasing their own tails. One lion finally lunged at Tina pouncing from its powerful hind legs, and James waved his hands, trying to use his new powers on the lion, but failed. The lion fell on Tina, clawing for her face and scratched her cheek growling, as it moves in again and the other comes closer. With a quick thought looking above him, James dropped the sack and waved both his hands at the mountain above, and within seconds a single rock the size of a human head falls and strikes the lion attacking Tina,and both lions run away as a barrage of similar rocks comes falling down atop them.Tina got up and ran away towards James, and they embraced.

“Oh my God, that was close!” yells Tina.

“Yeah, let’s continue.” He wipes the blood off of her face and holds it with his dress shirt he has tied around his waist and now removed. “Put pressure on it. Let’s go before we have more guests.” James says, and Tina nodded emphatically in response. James picked up the sack and they continued up the mountain.

They walk up further sweltering in the intense heat and lucky to have survived so far. The surroundings are wild and harsh up here, they noticed, as trees blew wildly about in the wind. They snacked on berries and fruit from the sack as they headed up. The heat from the baking sun and fire, soot, and smoke from the mountain top grew heavier as they ascended.

“As we ascend, there will be less oxygen. We need to breathe deep and slowly, James.”

“Right, Doctor Prescott.” Joked James and Tina smiled in return.

The minutes turn into hours and soon they were approaching the entrances to the first set of caves. Tina’s wound has begun to clot and has left jagged markings on her right cheek. They walk together to the edge of the clearing overlooking a cliff side.

“The view is breathtaking” says James looking over the cliff side and the long way down into the trees.

“I have no more breath to take” Tina joked. The wind blew fiercer now and it was hard to keep to their feet.

“It’s getting dark, now.” James says looking at the sun set over the horizon.

“It’s incredibly romantic” says Tina. “Don’t you agree?” she smiles.

“Hmm, maybe we should get inside. It will get much colder and windier as the night goes on up here.”

“OK, which cave? Door number one or door number two?” Tina asks.

“Does it matter?” James asks in response.

Tina shrugged and they headed in together and were in the dark of the first cave. They hear the noise of small creatures within it.

“What is that?” Tina asks.

“Probably bats,” says James.

“Bats that would make me go bats” says Tina.

“Don’t worry, I’m here.”

“My hero again,” she sighed.

They walk in closer and James pulls out a torch from the sack he carried and lit it with the lighter Alexa gave him.

“Now let there be light” he smiles as they walks in and saw a bright red light at the end of the cavern on a jagged rock wall. They approached and found it to be a dead end.

“Looks like we entered the wrong cave” Tina turns and then the floor beneath them started to move and they were going down as the floor is becoming fluid like and moving in all directions sucking them in.

James dropped the torch and sack into the liquid floor before them.

“It’s like quick sand?” Tina screams.

“How?” asks James.

“I don’t know. Do something” screams Tina.

“I can’t move my arms.” James has dropped his arms and struggled to get out. He couldn’t use his powers. He tried to think of ways to move them out, but it is futile. “I don’t think my powers work on living things. Every time I try…” then suddenly he interrupted himself as he saw the red mark on the cave wall turns to writing like the picture diagram they saw in the cave connected to the dome. It is a language that looks similar to the way the other diagrams were written. “Tina, can you read this?”

“Uh” she struggled to get her arms and head above the sinking floor. “I don’t know.” She screams.

“Try or we’re dead.” He screams back.

“Uh” She squinted at the wall.

Both of them tried to struggle to keep their heads above the sinking fluids.

“Uh… What… What makes no sense and all sense, controls empires, but controls nothing, is invisible to all, but keeps the world moving, its hands on a clock or hourglass keep it as destiny proves? It’s a riddle. I am clueless and I can’t feel my arms. We’re dead, James. It’s been great getting to know you again… I regret we won’t be able to…” she says, panicking.

“The answer is Time!” Yells James just as their mouths and the last part of their faces were going to be completely submerged and then suddenly they were atop solid ground again crawling on all fours.

“What the hell?” Tina muttered.

“We solved the riddle” says James. “See, nothing to it buddy.” He smirks as he patted her on the back and headed towards the entrance of the cave, exiting it.

Tina followed him out. “Time, what kind of riddle is that?” She gasped.

“It worked, didn’t it?” asks James.

“Yeah, just barely” replies Tina.

“You do know multiple languages, even old ones” commented James.

“I studied a lot like I told you. I guess I am good at remembering something after all” replies Tina.

“You have a photographic memory or something. Good thing for us”, James says.

As they walk through the cavern James teases her that she’s the next Indiana Jones.

“I had a very good teacher, sort of a mentor who taught me a lot” says Tina.

“Dr. Schiester?” questioned James.

“And I envisioned a full college career to the doctorate level, but stuff happens you know and it wasn’t meant to be. Knowing Dr. Schiester, a multi-doctorate holder and world-renowned archeologist, I felt I picked up the knowledge of his education myself, but didn’t have the degrees to back it up.” Tina says.

“I can only imagine” says James.

“I already told you how he was, the true nature of his dark side and that whole story” says Tina.

“I remember” says James.

“I really don’t want to talk about it anymore. I will probably never see him again and that is just fine with me”, Tina said.

They look at one another and walk into the second cave, James holding the torch and Tina following with the sack. They had walked several meters in when they came to a large cliff overlooking a pit and a chamber that rose up as they entered forming a circular enclosure with a solid metal door sealing tightly behind them. James noted the strange five orbs on that door as well.

“Well, this is interesting. We have nowhere to go.” James whispered.

“Story of our lives, huh?” asks Tina.

In the main chamber they currently occupied, there is a suddenly a huge gust of air and the sound of wings flapping, and something descended through the wall before them. There is a large, scaly snout, long pointy eyes, horns as long as scimitars and just as sharp, a long body covered with scales, razor sharp talons on its hands and feet, and a pair of wings like a large bat. The face of this large dragon beast is scary enough, but to the surprise of the duo, a second horned head emerged from the opening as the body and wings fully submerged through the wall liquefying like the floor that nearly sunk the duo earlier. The large dragon before them speaks in a dark and cursed tongue, crinkly and loud like multiple voices speaking at the same exact time, “We are the Protector!”

“What is it you protect?” asks James, trying to be fearless for Tina’s sake as she stood shaking in the presence of the giant flying reptile.

“Return from whence you came or die” says the Protector.

The duo starts to look around the room, keeping an eye on the dragon and trying to find another way out.

“What do we do, James?” asks Tina.

“Try to find…look”, James pointed to the metal door opening again.

“Let’s go, James.” She starts to go, but James stops her.

“We came all this way and survived so much. I don’t think we can turn back…” says James.

“But we could die, James.” Tina shivered.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise, but for me there is no turning back.” James says to her.

Tina smiles and brushes it off. “We fight together, always. I’m with you to fight by your side proudly and die if necessary. I promised you that before.” She nodded.

Then they recognized the purpose in one another and knew what they had to do. They turn to face the beast and James proudly proclaimed, “We’re not going anywhere.”

“Then die!” The Protector shouted. It began to unleash a barrage of attacks, maneuvering in an assault pose to strike at them and lunging down in a swoop, one after another, while the duo ducked and evaded its determined assault, barely missing each one, sweltering in the heat of the chamber so close to the center of the mountain. The Protector roared ferociously unleashing a scorching line of fire from both of its heads, then blowing even more fire at them. The duo scattered.

“Use your powers,” yells Tina.

And James lifts his right hand and as the flames approach he holds the flames back with some kind of force centered in his hands. The flames stop in mid-air as if striking an invisible barrier. James then tries to strike the dragon with his powers using his free hand, but nothing happens.

“It won’t work on living things” James whispered.

The flames from both mouths continue and the duo is growing tired of trying not to get deep-fried.

“We can’t keep this up much longer” yells Tina.

“I know,” replies James.