"So this is Bubastis," Saku said, looking around at the ruins.
Victory looked around, unimpressed, as the portal closed behind them.
"What a dump."
"They're ruins. What did you expect?"
"Whatever. So, what are we looking for anyway?"
"I don't know," Kankia admitted. "Something. Some clue."
Victory rolled her eyes.
"We could be here for ages with that sort of ambiguity."
"Then we'd better get started, huh?"
Serafina
"Or something that makes us tingle," Serafina suggested.
Faolan looked at her.
"Not like that, you perve."
Saku
Saku chortled and Victory rolled her eyes again. Kankia strode into the ruins of the ancient temple.
"I'm gonna go check out the cat cemetary," Saku decided. "It's said that's there's a portal to another world there. Of course, this could just be the fancy of superstitious or otherwise confused humans but you never know. Grain of truth and all that."
He started off in the direction of the cemetary.
Serafina
"I still think we're wasting our time," Victory said.
"Think of it as a family vacation," Serafina told her sarcastically.
"Shut up."
Saku
Faolan shook his head and began his own search. Clearly Victory was determined to make this whole trip miserable for everyone.
Kankia stopped in front of a still standing temple wall and her eyes ran over the hiroglyphs. Fortunately, they had all learnt ancient Egyptian as children so reading it was easy.
Saku looked out across the cat cemertary and looked over the number of graves there. He nodded.
"Cool."
Serafina
Serafina wandered around aimlessly, still wondering what had possessed her to come along on this trip. Even if Nyx was alive, Serafina wasn't even sure she wanted to see her that much. Sure, she'd given birth to her, but that didn't make her a mother really.
"Hmmm," she hummed, eyes scanning the perimeter.
Saku
Victory surveyed the ruins. Well, the humans had done an adequate job of it, she supposed, but she could have done a better one. With a shake of her head, a great deal of reluctance and a complete lack of enthusiasim Victory started searching.
Saku shifted into a cat and started scampering about the cat cemetary A couple of human tourists were nearby and Saku smiled to himself when they pointed to him.
Serafina
Serafina shifted cat and ran across the ruins, tail swishing in agitation the more ground she covered.
She poked her head into a few little crevices, mewing softly when she got dust in her eyes.
Saku
"Where do you suppose that light came from the other day?" Saku heard one of the tourists ask the other. "Didn't they say it was from around here?"
"Don't tell me you believe that story?"
Saku listened intently, but could only confirm that the locals had seen a strange light from this vacinity a few days ago. Conincidence, or related?
Meanwhile in the ruins, Kankia cursed. She had just found a reference to a portal only to find that the rest of the related hiroglyphs had been destroyed. Irritated, she tried to take in the context of the intact nearby hiroglyphs to see if she could extrapolate... something!
Serafina
Serafina shifted as she approached Faolan, peering over her brother's shoulder.
"Find anything?" she asked.
Faolan almost jumped. "Sheesh, Sera, way to be stealthy!"
She smirked. "Yeah. But did you?"
"Not sure." Faolan tilted his head slightly. "It could be nothing. But it could be something. We should find the others. Maybe one of them will know."
Saku
Victory wandered the ruins aimlessly. This was such an utter waste of time. As she ambled towards to cat cemetary, she saw an Egyptian Mau scampering amongst the graves. Saku.
"You are such a child," she scorned.
Saku looked over at her and flicked his tail in dismissal. He then started bounding off the way Victory had just come from. Victory sighed and followed him back to the others.
Serafina
"Something?" Kanika asked, joining Faolan and Serafina.
Serafina shrugged. "It looks like something."
"But we're not sure," Faolan added. "I think this is something we all need to take a look at."
Saku
It wasn't long before Saku and Victory found the others.
"Anyone find anything?" Saku asked. "I heard the locals saw a light coming from here the other day."
Faolan pointed.
"Oh cool. What is it?"
Victory sighed with half closed eyes.
"It's our portal."
Serafina
"Well," Serafina and Kanika said in unison, before grinning at each other.
"Let's do it," Faolan added.
Kanika approached it first, Serafina right behind her.
Saku
Kanika traced her fingers over the hiroglyphs, pushing in what she hoped were the most appropriate ones and a shimmering circle appeared.
"Ooh Stargate," Saku joked. "Only more static, less water."
"Dork," Victory scorned.
Kanika ignored them and stepped though.
Serafina
"Well, nobody lives forever," Serafina said, then paused. "Aside from us, I guess."
She followed Kanika through the portal.
Faolan shrugged.
"Guess this is it."
Saku
"Indeedy," Saku replied and stepped through the portal.
He caught his breath as his eyes fell on the view on the otherside. The sky was black but filled with some kind of purplish mist and there were on one of many floating islands.
"Okay," Kankia said. "This isn't quite what I expected."
"What did you expect?" Saku asked, moving aside just as Victory came through.
"Y'know something? I'm not sure."
Serafina
"So, oh wise one, where to?" Serafina turned to Kanika.
"I'm not... I don't know," Kanika replied.
Faolan looked at his siblings. "It does feel different here. Not to state the obvious. But, I feel more powerful."
"Cat form?" Serafina suggested. "Quicker to get around. More agile too."
Kanika nodded absently. "I guess so."
Saku
Saku looked around the island they were on thoughtfully.
"Do you suppose there's a bridge somewhere? Or do we have to learn to fly?"
Serafina
"Well," Serafina thought out loud. "This being another dimension... and a cat one at that, shouldn't we have particular advantages? Maybe we can fly here. Or something."
Faolan glanced at her. "You had nothing, right?"
"Yeah, I was drawing a blank," Serafina chuckled. "But my point stands. This is a cat thing. We should be more powerful here."
Saku
Saku chuckled and started turning into his feline self.
"Oh wow," said Kankia. "I thought you were just joking about the flying thing."
"What?" Saku asked, then felt a strange breeze behind him and looked behind him. "Hey where did they come from?"
For on his back were a fine pair of wings.
Serafina
Serafina shrugged and then let herself shift.
"Awesome."
Saku
"We're like gyphons!" Saku chuckled.
"We're much cooler than gyphons," Kanika corrected.
"No arguments here."
Victory rolled her eyes, then shifted into a cat too and started flying off to one of the nearby islands.
"Hey! Wait for us!"
Serafina
"Cat gryphons? Nah." Serafina started off after Victory.
Faolan looked at Kanika and nodded, in his kitten way, then flew off after Sera.
Saku
"Well, lions are cats..."<./I> Saku trailed off and flew off after them.
He looked around with awe at all the islands around them. Some were green and growing, others were bleak, and one even had a volcano on it.
Serafina
"Where to start?" Faolan asked.
"I guess we could allt ake a different island? Keep in contact and let the others know if we find something?" Serafina suggested.
Saku
"Sounds like a plan to me," Kankia agreed.
"Okay great!" Saku said. "I'm claiming this one!"
He started flying towards one of the nearby islands and Victory sighed.
"Such a child."
Serafina
"Mine," Serafina said, already heading in the direction of a tropical type island.
Faolan chuckled. "Alright, I'll take the volcanic one."
Saku
"Like we're going to find any trace of her on a volcanic island," Victory sneered.
"Vicky? Just pick an island," Kankia replied. "I'll check out this one."
"Fine, whatever," Victory dismissed.