[b][u]Part Two[/u][/b] Skye could see absolutely nothing. The air was cold and damp, and she felt a light sting on her knee. She had no time to call for her brother, as a bright light from above cut through the shadows. She looked up, raising a hand to shield her face, and saw Errol shining a flashlight at her. His eyes were wide with shock. He called out to her as he slid down a steep five-foot descent in the rock of what appeared to be the entrance of some sort of cave. “Skye! Are you all right? I’m so sorry!” “I-I’m fine. What happened?” He knelt beside her, checking over her for any injuries. “You… you broke through the vines on the mountain. I guess they had grown over the door of this cave. Are you sure you’re all right? Can you walk?” “I said I’m fine, Errol. Don’t panic.” “I’m not panicking,” he said, his tone rising. “Father told me to protect you, so… that’s what I’m doing!” Skye was too surprised by his short and sudden burst and sat patiently. The only wound she gained was a scrape from a rock that had cut through the right knee of her jeans. It wasn’t deep, and she had had far worse before. Regardless, Errol made sure it was cleaned and wrapped neatly in a bandage he had in his knapsack. Once he helped her back to her feet, she pulled out her own flashlight and pointed it further into the cave. It was a long, dark hallway with no end. At least, not one visible. “It goes far into the mountain. What do you think is down there?” She asked quietly like she was afraid to disturb something within. “There’s only one way to find out,” Errol replied. “Are you up to taking a look around?” Skye looked again into the tunnel. The blackness coupled with the silence gave the cave an eerie air that would make any young girl want to run. She nodded anyway. She wasn’t ten years old anymore. She could handle the dark, though she didn’t stray too far from Errol’s side. He didn’t seem to be worried at all about what they would find. Skye wondered if he truly was unafraid, or if he was trying to play the brave big brother. They walked wordlessly, examining their surroundings in hopes of finding something interesting. But the tunnel itself was a peculiar thing. The path was wide and the walls remarkably smooth. Even the arch in the ceiling held a nearly perfect curve above them, contrary to the outside appearance of the mountain. It looked so unnatural it was almost as though someone had carved through the stone. The tunnel was long, and it wasn’t until they were about to turn back when they came to a large room. At first glance it was like any other cavern, but then a strange object caught their attention from the side and set them off guard. “Is that… a table?” Skye asked as they approached it. The table was connected to the wall of the room. Bits and pieces of metal and wire were scattered over its surface along with a thick book layered with dust. They soon discovered that there were dozens of these tables in a similar state lined up in a row. “Fascinating,” Errol whispered. “It almost looks like father’s workshop, only… in a cave.” Skye reached out to brush some of the dust off the book’s cover to reveal its title, which read: “The Theory and Possibilities of Invisibility by Means of Light Reflection”. She didn’t fully understand what half of the words meant in that sentence, though she still couldn’t contain her curiosity and flipped through the pages. She was amazed to see complicated graphs, detailed diagrams, long descriptive paragraphs and scientific words. In fact, she was so concentrated on the book that she didn’t realize that Errol had wandered off somewhere. A low hum could be heard from above. It gradually became so loud that it echoed throughout the cave like the growl of a ferocious creature. Skye screamed in terror and rain straight for the gleam of Errol’s flashlight, grasping at his arm once she reached him. Then bright lights flickered to life from the ceiling to illuminate the entire area, and the humming immediately ceased. Skye paused in surprise and turned toward Errol, who had his hand on a switch on the wall with an amused grin on his face. “Sorry,” he said, “that was an enlightening moment, wasn’t it?” “Andrew’s cross, Errol! You’re so mean!” He laughed and recoiled as she punched him in the shoulder. “Hey, how was I supposed to know that it would be so loud? I didn’t mean to scare you.” After turning off their flashlights, the two took in their surroundings. They didn’t expect to find what it was they had found. It was a laboratory of sorts, abandoned and undisturbed for years, though by whom it would have been impossible to tell for certain. Smaller tunnels connected to the room and led to other chambers. Each one appeared to have a different purpose, though the laboratory as a whole seemed to specialize in technology. There were storerooms of tools and parts, shelves of books, computer terminals, equipment and pieces of machinery that had fallen into disrepair, desks filled with logs and notes, and shops used for building and experimenting. According some of the notes, many of the experiments conducted were in attempt to improve things as “simple” as energy weapons or even inventing something as difficult as a machine that could be controlled by the wave of one’s hand. The siblings and their father only had a very small amount of basic technology. Compared to home, this cave was a whole other world. They had come to explore the mountain and everything that was in its shadow outside, but what marvels and possibilities were hidden within the shadows within? It was only the beginning. Skye and Errol returned to the mountain as much as they could between their training with Lyle and their other responsibilities. They never told their father about the laboratory, and they soon started studying from the books and fiddling with the parts it stored. To their surprise, they picked up working with technology rather quickly. They had their own experiments, even going as far as making new weapons for themselves. Errol made an upgraded version of his pistol, increasing its accuracy and range by an astonishing amount along with a truly holographic sight that appeared when drawn from its holster. Skye had apparently never given up on her dreams for a pair of daggers that could transform into a longbow. She trained as hard as ever in her dual wielding and archery, and spent many frustrating hours trying to figure out how to give the daggers the ability to successfully connect at the pommels while allowing the blades to bend enough for an arrow to fly from the string. Errol oft told her it was an impossible feat, and yet she never gave up. Finding it was true that the metal would never bend in the way required, she settled using a large variety of smaller parts that would move freely enough for the curve, but then adjust when twisted at the grip to form sturdy and sharp daggers. It took her a couple of years of studying, prototypes and testing until she at last crafted a functioning piece of artwork. After some polishing, personalizing, and tweaking, it quickly became her most prized possession, and would be with her for many more adventures.