(14) Recovery...

Winter Lake, seven hours ahead...

"Well, what's our next move?" DK repeated, crossing his arms.

Michael went into one of his "heroic thinking poses." "If I remember my ancient history correctly, all of the chaos that started in our time was because of some type of artifact."

Lara nodded. "Yeah, the Ankh of the Ancients."

Jay's eyes lit up. "Did you say Ankh of the Ancients?"

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, why?"

"I...I think I've seen it before," Jay replied, feeling awkward as the group stared at him with heightened interest.

"You have? What'd it look like?" DK questioned.

"It sorta looked like...wait. Why do you ask?" Jay replied.

"No one's ever actually seen the Ankh. There's no pictures or any type of visual information on it at all. Even in our time." Michael said.

"Well, I did. I had it in my hand right before I came here."

"Wait a sec... how did you say you got here again?" DK questioned.

"Uh, I didn't." Jay struggled to find the words to describe what it was that had transported him 3,000 miles in less than half a minute.

"I guess you could say it was some sort of light-energy portal, triggered by the ancient technology Rufus and I found."

Michael's jaw dropped. "You're joking, right?"

A confused smirk spread across Jay's face. "No, I... why?"

"Where was the Ankh when you traveled through this portal?" Michael queried without another breath.

Jay scratched his chin in thought. "Well, it was in my hand, but Rufus pulled it away as I entered the portal. He... he must still have it, back where I came from."

Michael shook his head. "That's just great. Things just got a bit more complicated."

"You don't have to tell me that," DK started, "The Oracle told me something like this would happen."

Rachel frowned. "Hey, Lara and I never spoke with the Oracle. Would you mind bringing us up to speed?"

Michael let out a sigh. "We were told that to prevent all that dark matter from being released, we had to destroy the Ankh before it was exposed to that portal, known as the Ultima Warpgate."

"But apparently," DK continued, "we're too late. If that Ankh got anywhere near the warpgate when it was open, then that exposure has already occurred..."

"So what you're saying is-" Lara began.

"- It has been released," Rachel finished, "and it's all because of Jay."

"Um... yeah. That about sums it up." Michael sighed, massaging his temple.

"Hey, Mike, the Oracle also said that Jay was the key to stopping this thing," DK let out hesitantly, knowing that bit of information was supposed to be a secret. Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, you mean, I'm..." Jay began. But Rachel interrupted with, "-the chosen one, the hero, the key to success - whatever you call it, don't let it go to your head."

Michael glared over at Rachel. "What she means to say is that you are the only person - according to the Oracle - who can put a stop to this thing. And I'm assuming - well, hoping - this means you can stop it before or after it is released."

"But that's only speculation...?" Lara questioned for clarification's sake.

"Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?" Michael said with a tinge of impatience in his voice.. An awkward silence broke in.

Finally, Jay piped up, "Well, there has to be some way to beat this thing, right? Uh... maybe if we find Mason, he can help us."

"Who?"

"Mason Biggs. Father of Rufus Biggs. He's the guy who Rufus and I were looking for before. He's the reason I went through that portal. I think Mason may have gone through it himself."

"How would finding him be advantageous to us?" Michael asked curiously.

"Well for starters, he knows more about that dig site (where I came from) than me and Rufus combined."

"Maybe his knowledge of the Ancients can help us," Lara finished, realizing the connection.

"Possibly," DK admitted, "but do we even know where to start looking?"

Suddenly Lara cocked her head. "Sshh... I hear something."

"What is it?" Michael said, quite louder than neccessary. Everybody glared at him.
"Sorry, my bad." Michael breathed out, quieting down.

Everybody froze. The rest of the group only heard the droning of a mild wind that was starting to pick up again. But Lara's bionic ears - a cybernetic modification which she had chosen to install in the recent past - picked up something else entirely.

Bzt, Bzt, Bzt... Bzzzzt, Bzzt... Bzt, Bzt, Bzt...

"Morse code... It's a call for help," she finally responded, "a S-O-S, but it's weakening rapidly."

"I guess it could be Mason," Jay suggested, "but I have a bad feeling about it."

Michael stepped forward. "Probably just motion sickness from your ride through the warpgate. C'mon already. Let's find the source before it fades out."

And they were off...