Long Lost

Chapter Eight

(Ty's POV)

     I wait outside of Seto's tower-house-thing. Mitch, Jerome, Jason, Quinten, and Ssundee wait with me. They all got the same message from Seto that I did: 'Wait outside until I tell you to come into my tower'.

     I really hope I didn't do anything bad. Freeing the person from stone seemed like a good idea. No one should be trapped like that. He looked just like the statue, so is this person really Sky? The rightful leader of this army? Would he replace General Ant? Actually, I'd be happy if that happened. I know that I was the one to free Sky from the statue, but what about the other five? What do they have to do with this?

Just when I'm about ask them if they know, I hear Seto's voice in my head. "Ok, you guys can come in now. Just don't act crazy, like you usually do", he says. I wonder how he new Jason and I acted weird sometimes? Seto barely knows us.

I slowly push open the door to Seto's house. The entrance is a small room with a desk and two doors. One is already open. A full book shelf is off to one side, all the books having different titles and dates. Some of the books have dates from hundreds of years ago, but look brand new. Papers liter the desk and a small lantern with purple flame is set to the side. Before I can snoop any further, a small shape darts out from a doorway. I duck as Phantom flies over me and lands on Jason's shoulder.

"Cool, hey little guy", he coos to the bat.

"This place is a bit of a mess", Mitch mumbles.

"Seto can't possibly have books this old", Ssunndee mumbles while he pulls out a book from the shelf. Phantom immediately hisses, making him put it back. Quinten stands at the desk and looks at the papers as we're talking.

"Where is Seto?", Jerome asks. Phantom suddenly jumps off of Jason's shoulder and flies back through the open doorways.

"I guess we're suppose to follow him?", I think out loud. The rest just kinda shrug as I walk over to the door. I almost strip over my feet when I'm met with almost a pitch black staircase.

"So, who wants to turn around and pretend that we never saw this?", Mitch nervously laughs. Nobody answers him.

"Well, I guess I'll go first if no one volunteers", Ssunndee sighs. He then walks forward without any hesitation and is swallowed up by the darkness.

"Show off", Jerome mumbles before going after him. Mitch quickly follows.

"Come on guys, Seto wouldn't hurt us", Quinten reasons before stepping into the stair well.

     I swallow before nervously following behind. Jason grabs onto the back of my shirt and steps forward with me. I have to carefully feel out the stairs with my feet. How does Seto have this whole underground structure built in? More questions, but no answers. The stairs go down about 30 feet before the ground levels out. A passage is laid out in front of me, with light from a doorway up ahead.

"That looks nice....", Jason mumbles sarcastically.

"I think I see Quinten up ahead", I tell Jason, urging him on. I pull him forwards and walk down the stone corridor. I have to stop in the doorway where Ssunndee, Jerome, Mitch, and Quinten have all stopped. The room in front of us actually looks well decorated. The space is like a mix between a living room and a laboratory. But that's not why we stopped. The stran-, um, Sky? Is standing near the opposite wall of the room. He glances over at us when we stop in the doorway, but he quickly looks away again. I'm staring at Seto.

The Sorcerer has dragged about five different crates out of a nearby closet. Seto keeps going to different cates and throwing little cubes all over the ground. They're barely an inch tall, and by now there's at least 50 scattered all over the floor.

"I know I have them somewhere......", Seto thinks out loud, abandoning the crates where they are. He hasn't even noticed the six of us standing in the doorway. Seto goes to a shelf and looks around before quickly snatching up a ornate, purple box. He doesn't even look at it before slipping it into his pocket. That's when he finally turns around and notices us.

"Oh good, I was wondering if Phantom got you guys to come here. We have lots of things to discuss", Seto says, acting all formal.

"Um, Seto? I..... I still don't know what's happening", Sky suddenly speaks up. He seems uneasy and a little scared.

"Yep, that's the problem. I've been left here to explain this to to you guys all by myself. But before we do that, I have stuff to give back to you", Seto continues. He goes back to a different chest, snatching up one of the small cubes. "Catch", he simply says, chucking the cube at Mitch. Purple trails of whisky magic follow the cube as it changes right before my eyes. Mitch yelps, barely reacting in time to catch the slender object that the cube transformed into. It's somehow transformed into an unstrung bow. It's made of dark spruce wood, ornate pattens carved down the sides. The grip is leather with slightly worn finger marks. We all stare at it in amazement. Sky shifts on his feet, sheathed gold sword at his side.

"Ty, this one's yours", Seto says next. He throws a cube, and I stumble to catch it. The cube's now a double sided spear. The long grip has a dragon carved into it. One end is blade, the other a longer arrow head. Seto keeps throwing cubes while everyone scurries to catch them. Jerome received an axe and Quinten is thrown a pair of short swords. Six different cubes are hurled at Jason, and he's suddenly buried in some kind of armor. "And Ssunndee, give me a minute to find something for you", Seto mumbles. He digs around for a few minutes before chucking a few more dark colored cubes. They transform into a belt and throwing shurikens.

     But what does it all mean?