Runa

A/N: This is my very first chapter story, so here's hoping I don't royally screw up. XD Emma, the Tenzin Torch and the Zenith and Nadir Mirrors belong to me, but that's all. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 1

The Warriors surveyed the landscape. What once had been a mighty city had fallen to siege, and now lay in ruins. The ancient stone held firm, though any wood had long since rotted away. The noonday sun beat down on the desolate landscape, dark clouds beginning to roll in from the East. No plant life could be seen, and an eerie silence filled the otherwise void atmosphere as they continued forward. "Kimiko?" Emma asked, glancing at the Japanese girl.

"Troy," Kimiko said. "I'm sure of it."

"Dojo?" Emma asked the dragon perched on Clay's hat.

"Yep, this is it," Dojo replied. "The ruins of Troy."

"I can feel the fire speaking through it's remnants," Kimiko murmured, brushing her hand against a scorch mark on a wall. It was one of many covering the ruins; fire had obviously been the main cause of Troy's demise.

"That's temporal resonation coinciding with your pyrokinesis," Emma said, nodding. "We're counting on that and Dojo's memory to lead us to the- what was it again?"

"The Zenith Mirror. It lets you see anywhere in the world, but only if it's partner Wu, the Nadir Mirror, is activated. Both have to be for one to work." Dojo sniffed the air, stopping as he began to shiver. "Ooh! It's this way!" He pointed to a monumental building in the center of the city.

"Let us be rolling!" Omi said, heading towards the ancient structure.

"'Let's roll,'" Raimundo corrected, following him.

"That too!" The teens peered into the blackness inside the windowless building. It was beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, they couldn't see anything.

"Tenzin Torch!" Clay held up the Wu, immediately filling the space with light. "Hoo-whee! Lookit the size a' this place!" It was cavernous, with archways supporting the ceiling. A tunnel in the back escaped the light of the Torch, drawing the newest Warrior's attention.

"Hey, guys. Check this out." Emma pointed to the nearly-hidden tunnel. The Warriors crept closer, keeping their distance just in case.

"What is that?" Raimundo asked, glancing at a strange plant growing around the tunnel's entrance. It had hooded purple-blue flowers, crowding around the tunnel but leaving a clear path through. He reached out to touch it when-

"RAI!" The Brazilian froze. "Don't! That's monkshood! It's really poisonous," Emma said.

"So... we can't touch it?" Kimiko asked. "'Cause I could just burn it away."

"Well, I know for sure it's dangerous to eat. I dunno about touch, but burning it will just make the spores spread all over," Emma admitted.

"Better safe than sorry," Clay said, nodding. "Ah'd hate t' git any a' that in mah lungs."

"How did you even know what that was?" Kimiko asked as they carefully navigated through the plants.

"Well, when I get my own place, I'm gonna garden poisonous plants so I can take care of those that would challenge my supreme reign before I get my ninja army." Kimiko gave her the okaaaaaay-you're-crazy look and Emma gave a nervous grin. "I mean, y'know, just… thinking ahead is all…"

"Dojo? Is the Zenith Mirror that way?" Omi asked, pointing down the tunnel.

"Looks like it," Dojo said. "But, uh, maybe I should stay here to... keep watch!"

"Great idea, Dojo! It'll just be you, alone in the darkness, surrounded by poisonous plants!" Kimiko chirped.

"Yeah, see ya in a few hours," Raimundo chuckled.

"Uh, on second thought, maybe I should go with you guys," Dojo said, cowering behind Clay's hat.

"That's what I thought," Rai said, fist-bumping Kimiko. The Warriors walked hesitantly into the tunnel, the Tenzin Torch's light all they had. Outside the circle of light, they couldn't see anything.

"Dojo? We getting close?" Emma whispered.

"Y-yeah, real close," the small dragon whimpered. "Here's hoping we find it before someone finds us."

"Someone... or something," Emma hissed, her hood suddenly obscuring her face. The other Warriors froze, glancing at her in a mix of confusion and fear.

"What?" Kimiko asked, creeped out.

"Uh... I dunno... it just felt right..." The Japanese girl facepalmed.

"Of course it did. Now would you try and ratchet down the crazy? Jack's probably gonna jump out at us from some shadowy corner or whatever and we don't need to already be freaked."

Emma frowned, looking repentant. "Sorry... I just can't help it..."

Kimiko sighed. "It's fine... just... tone down the you, okay?"

"Okay! Now let's find that Mirror!" They continued on, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched.

The Warriors came to a fork in the tunnel, looking around. Water dripped from the ceiling, some splashing on Raimundo's head. He moved next to Kimiko, unconsciously reaching for her hand. She grabbed his hand, staying close to the taller boy.

"Are we... in a pipe?" Emma asked. While the others had been thinking about which way to go, she had been looking around. And indeed, now that the others inspected their surroundings, they realized that the tunnel was made of metal, not stone. At even intervals you could see where one pipe fed into another, a ladder running the length of the pipe above them.

"There's no way this was here during the time of Troy," Raimundo muttered.

"Excellent deduction," Kimiko monotoned, making Rai chuckle embarrassedly. "Seriously, though, who built this? And why is it connected to that giant building?"

"Dojo, you an' Dashi his the Wu here, so you know why, right?" Clay asked the small dragon.

"That's just it," Dojo said. "We hid it in the place that would become Troy. Remember, a lot of the Shen Gong Wu we've found weren't in their original hiding places. Time changes everything, even magic things. I have no idea who built this, or why."

Emma frowned. "I can feel the remnants of a spell in the air. Someone else has been here, someone who can use magic."

"You gettin' something?" Raimundo asked, hoping she would have another backwards magic trick up her sleeve. Emma nodded and walked over to where the pipe split into two, placing her hand on a tile. A great scraping sound ensued, a worn plaque rising from the ground.

"There was a magic barrier here once," she said, looking down at the odd writing on the plaque. "It was broken not too long ago, so I used the traces left and found out where this thing was… whatever it is."

The others crowded around the plaque. The language was strange to all of them, looking unlike anything they'd ever seen.

"Emma, can you use your backwards magic to read it?" Omi asked.

"I think so. Lemme try..." The Irish girl closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were far too distant, and when she spoke, it wasn't her voice that came out, but a pained, raspy one. As she spoke, her words echoes throughout the metal pipes, resonating and reverberating until they became almost unearthly.

"For all who seek to enter here

Thy lives must be held close and dear

For when the tide comes up to drown

Trespassers will be going down

Into the ocean's mirthless black

So take the right and don't look back

Three trials are what you shall find

Succeeding will take strength of mind

Courage is the test first faced

To make it, you must be fast-paced

Secondly, a test of mind

Death is what the failures find

Last you must not ever stray

From the path you've laid today

For if you give up the fight

The water takes your life tonight."

She closed her eyes and opened them once more, stumbling back as the remnants of the spell wore off. Clay caught her, helping to steady her as she regained her balance and lost energy. "Ooh... 'd I get it?"

"You got it, all right," Raimundo said, "but I don't think you were the one talking."

"What spell did you use?" Kimiko asked.

"I sent a time vision spell into the air. Anything magically important would have responded through me, so I guess that's what you heard. Did I speak in rhymes?"

"Yes," Omi replied. "How did you know?"

"The plaque was forged with magic. Verse magic, to be exact. Verse means literal verses, so, rhymes. And I think I know who made this," she added, looking around at the tunnel.

"Who?" Dojo asked.

"... W-well, it's still just a theory," Emma stammered, trying to stand straight, but only getting halfway there before falling back. "I'll, ah, tell ya later. Let's- nng- keep going."

"If you say so," Clay said, helping her stand. "That spell took a lot outta ya. Ya sure yer gonna be alright?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I just need a little help is all. I'll be fine in a sec, no worries."

"Okay, you said to go right, so let's head that way," Raimundo said, starting down the tunnel, Torch in hand. The others followed him, eager to stay within the circle of light the Wu provided.

As soon as they had left, however, a pair of big yellow eyes emerged from the darkness. Another pair, this one amber, moved beside them, never directly looking at them. "Stop them," a voice hissed. The sound of smooth scales against cold metal echoed down the pipe as the yellow eyes glided away.

A bloodchilling laugh resounded, and silence returned as it faded into echoes.

Ooooooh. Who's been in the tunnels before? How does Emma know who built them? Who's behind them, and why do they sound so very evil? Why am I asking YOU all these questions? Stay tuned to find out! Oh, and that button down there that says Review? You should push it. Seriously. Do it. Emma will love you forever.

Emma: It's true, I will!

See? Do it. Do it. Do iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttt. Do it.