Ben and Vivi were sleeping in each other's arms. They heard voices.
"He works quickly," Mikita said.
"That`s my love," Alvida said.
"You said he was with you though," Mikita said.
"My love was with four girls in total last night," Alvida said.
"I wanted a turn then," Mikita said.
Ben woke up to Mikita and Alvida talked between each other. "Good morning girls," Ben said.
They greeted each other. Vivi opened her eyes and saw Ben, then she looked around and saw Alvida and Mikita. They both had smiles on their faces.
"Hey," Vivi screamed.
Mikita and Alvida giggled. "Good morning to you as well. It's almost midday so we came to see you," Mikita said.
"We got worried," Alvida teased.
"Worried?" Vivi said.
"You were facing a beast and we came to check on you, to see if he was treating you well," Alvida said. Vivi blushed once she connected the dots.
"I need to shower," Vivi said. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her and went to the shower in her room.
Ben was now naked. "Beast?" Ben said.
"Only teasing my love but that is a beast," Alvida said.
"You are right there," Mikita said, who then threw a bathrobe at Ben. Ben got up and put it on.
"Do you need help in the shower my love?" Alvida teased.
"I can help as well," Mikita offered.
"If you both do then I will be there all day," Ben replied.
They both nodded. "That is true my love," Alvida said.
"Also the quest is completed, gather all the girls we got some exploring to do," Ben said.
"New lab my love?" Alvida asked.
"Yes, maybe but for sure there will be something special there," Ben said.
"Okay, we will gather them," Mikita replied. Mikita handed a fresh pair of clothes to Ben. It was a black shirt and blue pants and a pair of black shoes.
They exited the room. Alvida and Mikita went to get the girls. Ben headed to the shower room. He headed back to the guest room where Marianne was at. He walked past a few people who bowed down. Ben bowed back.
He entered the room and saw no one was there. He put his clothes on the bed and took off the bathrobe. He took a bath and cleaned himself. Ben got dressed and headed to the dining hall.
Ben saw Kaya, Alvida, Mikita, Honey, Nojiko, Vivi, Marianne, Zala and Robin were sitting around the table.
"Morning girls," Ben greeted.
The girls looked at Ben and greeted back.
"Ben, it's afternoon," Nojiko said.
"Lost track of time," Ben replied.
Mikita and Alvida giggled.
"Pervert," Kaya said.
"My love was busy with four girls," Alvida teased.
"Three and a half," Honey corrected.
Alvida smiled, "Okay three and a half," Alvida said.
"My Captain is certainly capable," Robin said.
"He is just a pervert," Kaya added.
"But it does take some skill to handle this many women," Zala said.
"It does, however we need to support each other," Mikita said.
"That is right," Alvida said.
"Marianne is glowing," Honey commented.
"So is Viiv," Nojiko noted.
Marianne and Vivi looked at Ben and then each other and looked at their food. The girls saw this and giggled.
"Okay girls, I have told Alvida and Mikita to gather you around so I can tell you some important information," Ben said.
"Mikita and Alvida filled us in," Kaya said.
"Yes, it is wonderful to hear we are making progress Ben," Nojiko added.
"Captain, the walls have eyes and ears here," Robin said.
"That's why we told them individually," Mikita said.
Ben was impressed with the forward thinking of Alvida and Mikita. They both seem to natural leaders,"
"Good job you too," Ben said. Alvida nodded.
"SInce we are all on the same page, I will request King Cobra or your dad Vivi to let us see the Tomb of Kings," Ben said.
The girls nodded. "Captain, do we have to come with you for the visit?" Marianne spoke up quietly. She sounded nervous.
Ben walked up and sat next to her. He looked at her. Her eyes were filled with love. Ben smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I will never force any of you to do something against your will. I might must you outside your comfort zone but never go roof far without your consent," Ben said.
Zala and Robin smiled.
"Was there any reason you did not want to come right now?" Ben asked.
"I feel tired Ben and my legs are weak from yesterday," Marianne said. The girls giggled at that.
"Sure, you can rest," Ben replied.
"Ben, I can be with her and look after her," Honey said.
"Okay, take care of my precious cutie," Ben said. Marianne got embarrassed and buried her head in Ben`s chest.
"Ben, I will meet you later there," Vivi said and added, "I need to do something first."
"Sure," Ben replied.
"I will go with Vivi," Nojiko said.
"Me too," Kaya added.
"Sure good luck you three," Ben said. The girls sighed in relief. Ben was curious to see where the trio were going and up to however since they did not want to tell, he would respect their privacy.
As they were chatting, Cobra came in and saw Ben and the girls around the table. "Good Afternoon," Cobra said.
They greeted back however no one stood up to greet royalty. "King Cobra, thank you for your hospitality," Ben thanked.
"It was the least I could do for the protectors of my country, we owe you a great deal and much more," Cobra said. At this moment Nami came downstairs, she was tired from her fight and wanted to sleep in. She saw Ben and Cobra talking.
"As we spoke yesterday, we would like to visit the Tomb of the Kings today," Ben said.
"Of course, when would you like to go?" Cobra asked.
"Right now, it is a nice place however we would like to carry on with our adventure," Ben said.
Ben knew it would be a few more days however he wanted to see the Tomb of Kings as soon as possible.
"I will insist you stay here for a few days," Cobra said.
"Thank you for the offer and we may take you up on that," Ben said. Nami heard this and was curious to see why Ben wanted to see this place.
"Very well, meet me in the front in 10 minutes," Cobra said. Ben and the girls nodded. Cobra left the dining hall.
"Okay, girls let's go," Ben said.
"You should eat something to keep your energy up," Robin said.
"She is right, my love," Alvida agreed.
"But," Ben said.
"No buts," all the girls said in unison
"Okay," Ben replied. He did not want to fight them.
Ben ate some food on the table. The rest of the girls finished their meals.
"Okay let's head out now," Ben said. The girls nodded. Ben, Zala, Robin Mikita and Alvida headed for the palace entrance to see Cobra.
Marianne and Honey stayed on the dining table, taking their time to eat. Vivi, Kaya and Nojiko headed to Vivi`s room.
Ben`s group arrived at the palace entrance where they saw King Cobra and a carriage ready. They all boarded the carriage and headed to the Tomb of Kings. They rode in the carriage for twenty minutes until they reached their destination. There was small talk made. At the button of the carriage Nami held tightly.
"Here we are," Cobra said.
The carriage stopped and the all exited. In front of them were multiple towering columns. The massive columns were each carved with patterns and symbols that either support the structure or were standing there as a path to guide people to the entrance. The columns were mainly made from a stone material and were grey and white. They stood tall against the backdrop of the desert, creating an imposing silhouette that could be seen from a considerable distance.
As they walked towards the entrance of the tomb they saw various statues. "This is impressive," Mikita commented.
"Yes it is," Zala added.
"The statues look like they were created over 1000 years ago," Robin noted.
"Yes, some of them are even older," Cobra said.
"We take care of them and they have been built expertly, however we cannot replicate this level of skillmanship anymore," Cobra added.
Ben looked at the guardian statues. They were flanking the entrance and scattered throughout the exterior grounds. They resembled mythical beasts and animals, such as the anubis dog. These statues looked like they were carved in a very particular way. They stood as silent sentinels, guarding the sacred site from intruders. Some of the statues were at least 50 metres tall. Ben thought about before the void century and which other civilisations could have Alabasta knew that could have built this.
They continued to walk until they got to the grand entrance. The entrance to the Tomb of the Kings was marked by a towering archway, embellished with detailed sculptures of mythical creatures and ancient Alabastan royalty.
"Interesting, the pictures depict a friendship," Robin said.
"Friendship between who?" Mikita asked.
"I am not sure," Robin replied.
"This place is mysterious, my love," Alvida said.
"It sure is but in a good way," Ben said. Robin smiled and nodded. Zala was fascinated by this place. She thought back to Crocodile who said he had something bigger.
Cobra looked at Robin, "You certainly are keen on history," Cobra said.
"I'll do my best," Robin replied.
"My love, look at that one," Alivda pointed to.
Ben looked over and saw one of the statues not like the rest at all. While most of the statues depicted mythical beasts and animals, this statue was different. It was about 10 metres tall and it was made of the same stone material. The other status had a historic element however this had a futuristic angle. It had two hands and arms and a helmet on its head.
A mech statue, Ben thought. "King Cobra, what do you know about that one," Ben said.
"Nothing I am afraid, we had checked the records and there is nothing on that," Cobra replied.
"Its one of the mysterious which we have not found anything about," Cobra added.
"Interesting," Zala said.
"Indeed, interesting," Robin added. She looked at Alvida and Ben who knew something.
"Okay," Ben replied. Ben looked at Alvida. Alvida knew and decided not to talk too much about it. Ben did not trust Cobra too much. First of all, he is stealing his daughter and secondly, he could not be sure of his intentions. He was being a bit cautious.
They walked to the entrance and saw the front facade of the tomb adorned with ornate carvings and hieroglyphics. These designs depicted tales from Alabasta's past, showcasing heroic battles, cultural achievements, and the kingdom's close connection with the desert.
"These pictures add a bit more to the story however nothing much," Robin said.
"You sure like history," Mikita commented.
"My home used to study it," Robin said.
"You can do all the studying here and my love and all of us will support you," Alvida said.
"We sure will," Ben added.
They walked into the entrance of the tomb and saw an empty room with a flight of stairs leading down.
"I presume you want to take a look down," Cobra said.
"Yes, we do and could we go by ourself," Ben asked.
Cobra looked a bit surprised at the request however he had no reason not to trust them. Vivi spoke highly of Ben and the rest. They also saved his country.
"Sure," Cobra said.
"I need to head back for some business, Pell and Chaka will be wondering where I went. You can get back by yourself?" Cobra said.
"Yes, we can manage," Ben replied.
Cobra nodded and left. Ben, Zala, Robin Mikita and Alvida stood in the room.
"You can come out now," Alvida said.