Divine Lives - 3rd Life and Empires Crossover

Voices in Caves

"Hey babe, do you have any spare iron?" asks Joel, turning to look at his wife who jumps down from a rock and approaches him. Lizzie shakes her head.

"I used it all making buckets."

"Why?"

"Because  I needed buckets, Joel," Lizzie says, rolling her eyes. Joel looks at her, annoyed.

"I have some iron," calls Pearl, walking up the narrow passageway that leads farther into the tunnels. She takes it from her pocket and tosses it to Joel who catches it.

"Thanks," he says nodding at her. "Let's go back up. I'm bored."

"Are you sure?" wonders Pearl, looking back the way they had come.

"Yeah, are you, Joel? Seems to me you need more iron," remarks the Ocean Queen. Joel narrows his eyes at her and she chuckles, patting him on the back. Then she begins her way up the cave. Her husband follows.

"Hello?" calls an unfamiliar voice. The sound echoes up the tunnel eerily and drifts to Pearl, chills running down her back. Her wings twitch anxiously as she tries to shake off the feeling.

"Who's there?" No answer.

"Pearl?" wonders Liz; her and Joel have stopped. Pearl holds her hand up to shush them.

"Hello?" she shouts down the cave. Someone answers her.

"Oh God," says Lizzie.

"Oh hell no!" exclaims Joel, turning and half marching, half stumbling up the rocks. Lizzie grabs his arm lazily and drags him back as Pearl moves towards the drop of the cave into a separate tunnel, looking into the thick darkness.

"Are you mental?" demands Joel, struggling against his wife. "There's a demon hanging around and you're going to go investigate mysterious voices like a lunatic?" Lizzie slaps him on the shoulder.

"I thought you didn't even acknowledge Xornoth."

"I still value my life!"

"Guys... Shh," Pearl shushes them. A few seconds of silence, and in one sweeping motion, she lunges down in the darkness. There is a squeal and a few pleas for help. Then Pearl is flying in the entrance, holding a struggling man. She pushes him towards Lizzie and she grabs the figure as Pearl lands.

"Who are you?" she demands, pressing a finger into the man's chest. He shrinks away from her.

"It's me, Martyn. Don't you remember me, Pearl?" pleads the man. Pearl's eyes narrow and she shakes her head. Joel goes to Pearl's side and looks hard at Martyn.

"Oh my gosh," he says, his face bewildered.

"Joel?" asks Martyn miserably.

"You know this man, Joel?" questions Lizzie, beginning to loosen her grip on him but Joel stops her.

"No wait, keep holding him," he says. Lizzie does and Martyn's face falls.

"How do you know my name?" demands Pearl. Martyn doesn't answer. "Let's get him to the surface."

Once they reach the surface, an owl soars over the entrance of the cave and drops a scroll onto Joel's head. He lets out a shout and rubs his noggin. Pearl picks up the note.

"From Scott," she says as she hands it to him. Martyn perks up.

"Scott's here?"

"Shut up, Martyn," Joel mutters as he opens the scroll. Pearl glares at Martyn who starts to look around. He takes in the kingdom of Mezalea with curiosity and awe. Even in the dark it was still incredible. He marveled the fabulous colors and envied the architecture, he thought everything about it was incredible.

"We've got to go see Scott," says Joel, rolling the scroll up and sliding it in his pocket. Lizzie raises her eyebrows.

"What do we do with him?"

"Take him with us." Pearl grabs Martyn's arm, which startles him.

"Now hold on a minute," he says. "Where are we going?" Joel's wings unfold, he brings them up and down a few times so that they aren't stiff. Pearl does the same, before she lifts off with Martyn. He squeals.

Joel picks up Lizzie, much gentler than Pearl had Martyn, bridal style. With one big stroke of his wings, they rocket into the air. Flying side by side, Joel and Pearl soar above the Mesa towards the Mountains.

When they reach Rivendell, they fly to the highest point in the Empire. Pearl flies low to the ground until Martyn's feet touch, when they do, she releases his arms and he tumbles to the grass. Joel lands next with Liz. He sets her down as Pearl settles beside them.

"Scott said to go to the church," says Joel.

"Joel, Lizzie, and Pearl are coming," says Gem inside the church. "Did you tell them to come too, Scott?" she asks with spite. Scott shakes his head.

"I only sent for Joel." Gem huffs.

The doors open again as the four flood in, Pearl dragging Martyn along. Grian looks at them, then at Gem, his face plastered with delight. He points at her.

"It's really cool that you can do that. Are you a psychic?"

"Something like that."

"Who's he?" wonders Fwhip, nodding at Martyn. Scott takes one look at him and pales, as does Jimmy. Martyn just looks miserable.

"I know." says Joel. "It's bad."

"Hello, Joel." Joel's eyes widen at the sight of Grian.

"Hello, Grian."

"Oh wow, so all of you know each other," says Fwhip coldly. "Is he from the other world too?" Jimmy nods.

"You guys never even told us how you get there" says Gem.

"We can't control it. Once a week for a few hours, sometimes more. They take us there," answers Jimmy, to which Scott rounds on him.

"Who's they?" Jimmy withers, realizing his mistake. He glances at Martyn, who shakes his head just slightly.

"Whoever takes us there. It has to be someone," he saves. Scott narrows his eyes but he runs with it.

"I'm sorry but can someone please tell me what is going on?" inquires Lizzie. Joel opens his mouth to answer just as the ground shakes. Instead of answering her, he grabs her and pulls her closer to him as Grian jumps to his feet. It trembles again, harder this time.

"Everyone outside! Now!" shouts Gem. They book it. Outside they gather in the grass. Joel takes his wife and immediately launches into the air, hovering there. Scott lets Gem run out ahead of him, then holds his hands out, stopping the others from going any farther.

Gem closes her eyes and spins in a circle, feeling and feeling until she finds the pinprick in her gut. She stops spinning and points. The demon is atop the church, just above where the antlers hang, and it smiles that horrible, hideous smile. It twitches wildly as its hand raises, Gem can see its knife of a finger from where she stands.

"Watch out!" she shrieks as the monster swipes at the antlers. The metal groans as it detaches from the church. Jimmy stands beneath it, looking up in a panic and Grian grabs him and yanks him out of the way. The antlers crash to the ground.