"How deep is this damn thing..." Esco said as he and Perros descended deeper and deeper into the temple.
"So, how are you going to make it quicker then, huh?" Perros poked Esco.
"Don't you dare to talk to me like that!" Esco replied pissed off.
"I can talk to you all I want." Perros said uncompromisingly.
"And I'm also your captain." He added and stomped his foot.
Right as his foot set the stair, the whole complex started making sounds.
"What was that?" Esco said fearfully.
"Did you just put your tail between your legs?" Perros looked at Esco's tail.
"That's what I do when I'm scared, OK?" Esco explained sharply.
"Oh, someone is scared... Boo-hoo." Perros burst into laughter.
"Shut up... I---" Esco was about to continue, but the sounds stopped and the stairs collapsed beneath them, forming a slide.
"AHHH!!!" They both screamed as they were sliding down the stairs.
Meanwhile, Nazo and Bruno were defending themselves against the constant waves of Rosa's clones. After a while of fighting, Nazo came up with an observation.
"How many have you already beat?" Nazo asked.
"I don't know... I'd say a lot." Bruno replied thoughtfully.
"Although they keep coming..." Nazo said while fighting.
"They are super weak." Bruno added.
"We must use this to our advantage." Nazo thought to himself.
"Bruno?" Nazo said.
"Yes?" Bruno responded and looked at Nazo.
"Think of this as a self-defense training course." Nazo explained.
"You're right... I never had the opportunity to train or practice." Bruno mused.
"Except for training in the kitchen, that is." He chuckled.
"I get it..." Nazo said.
"Try to come up with something original... something the enemy wouldn't expect." He added.
"I'll make a good use of my pans." Bruno smiled and spun a pan in each hand.
"And hey! Cry baby!" Nazo looked at the man Perros talked to earlier.
"Aren't here any Officers?" He added.
The man sobbed and spoke.
"WE WERE THE OFFICERS!" He painfully said.
What the officer said scared Nazo and Bruno, but they had to keep fighting.
As for Perros and Esco, they were still sliding down the stairs deeper into the temple.
"This is not funny anymore..." Esco was bored.
"It's about like 20 feet down." Perros mumbled as he looked down.
After a while they landed in the water at the bottom of the staircase. When Perros stood up, the water was up to his ankles, but Esco had quiet the trouble.
"Let me guess..." Perros said.
"It would be better if you put me on your back." He said in Esco's voice.
"Glad you know me so well." Esco smiled and climbed on Perros.
Perros sighed and walked further into the hallway that connected to where they had come down from. The temple was covered with vegetation on the inside, the walls were cracked here and there. It must have been at least a few thousand years old. Although it looked old, there were lighted torches on the walls. That must have been Roza's doing.
"It's flooded everywhere..." Perros said as he made their way along.
"I bet it's from---" Esco said, but a devilish laughter they heard before echoed through the complex.
"You coming after me, or not?" Roza's voice echoed through the hallway.
"That's her." Perros said as her shadow disappeared around the corner of the hallway.
"After her!" Esco shouted and spurred Perros on.
Perros looked at Esco with a serious expression in his eyes.
"Never, ever, treat me like a horse." Perros said irritably.
"And I make the calls here." He added and quickly sped up to catch up with Roza.
"Hurry up!" Roza shouted.
As Perros and Esco walked through the flooded hallway, they came upon a wall with an engravings.
"Are those..." Perros brushed his hand against the wall.
"Elements?" Esco added.
"Indeed... It seems you're not as stupid as you look." Roza leaned against the wall.
"YOU!" Perros and Esco exclaimed.
"For the time being, I'll just explain what it means." Roza said.
"Then we'll move on." She added.
"Speak then." Perros said curiously.
"Sigh... A lot of people are born with a certain elemental energy, no matter if you they rich or poor. Of course, some people have more and some people have less. Even if it's a really small portion, if you train to control it. You can make it reach its full potential." Roza explained.
"For example, I control the wind." She added, and a small breeze of air blew around her outstretched hand.
"So, can I train to obtain my own elemental energy?" Perros asked.
Roza looked at him for a second.
"You can..." Roza said confidently.
"People who mastered it can sense others who are able to use it." She added.
"Can I use it?" Esco asked.
Rosa squatted down and looked at Esco.
"Nope." Roza answered quickly.
"How come HE can use it and I---" Esco said irritably, but Perros cut him off.
"And how---" Perros started to speak, but Roza interrupted him.
"No more talk, you slackers." Roza said and then appeared at the next corner.
"You will know when you are able to use your element." She added and ran off.
"Stop running, hey!" Esco shouted.
"It's annoying." He added and rolled his eyes.
"*Sigh* Let's go then." Perros said and followed her.
After almost catching up with her, and after a few more turns, they finally caught up with Roza. Perros and Esco were standing in front of a huge room with huge columns supporting the ceiling, with Roza standing in the middle.
"How about we begin?" Rosa smiled devilishly.
"With what, exactly?" Perros asked while his eyes observed the area.
"The true challenge. To see if you are worthy." Roza replied.
"Worthy of what?" Perros moved closer.
"And stop giving me riddles." He added.
"You'll see when we're done." Roza said, taking a fighting stance.
"If you get out of this alive, that is." She added.
"*Gulp* I'll stand back, but you have my full support." Esco rushed back to the entrance.
Perros looked into her eyes. He figured, this wasn't the first time she'd done something like this.
Roza vanished, but somehow Perros still felt her presence in the room. She was moving way too fast, he couldn't see her anymore.
"What's wrong? Can't keep up?" Roza's voice echoed through the room.
Perros fired his gun. The bullet hit the pillar next to Roza's head. Roza was shocked.
"That's not the problem. I take this as a warm up though." Perros smiled.
"Don't get cocky." Roza got angry.
She paused for a moment and began to concentrate. Rosa closed her eyes and lifted her jaw up.
"Need a break?" Perros poked her.
--- Back on the surface ---
"Nazo, check this out." Bruno was about to hit one of her clones, but it disappeared.
Bruno looked at Nazo, who seemed confused as well. Rosa's clones began to disappear.
"So she's starting to take this seriously. That hasn't happened in a long time." A voice came from the saloon.
"Who's there?" Nazo said and him and Bruno looked at the saloon.
An old man in a wheelchair rolled out of the saloon.
"Who are you?" Nazo asked.
"Haider Koon." He introduced himself.
--- Back in the temple ---
Roza slowly exhaled and looked at Perros. In an instant, she moved to Perros. This time he could neither see her nor predict her.
"It's been a while since someone had survived my first attack ." Roza said straight into Perros's eyes.
"Don't worry I ain't fragile." Perros smiled.