~Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, Alexandria Egypt, June 1996~

Two men are walking through one of the tunnels, when suddenly the shorter man stops. The shorter man, who is still only a couple of inches below 6 feet, is holding a map. Only something isn’t right…

Edmond:Cecil! Stop!

Edmond looks to his left. There is a tunnel that shouldn’t be there. At least from the map one of his friends had given him. This tunnel wasn’t on the map. The other man, Cecil is holding a torch. His job was to lead the way while Edmond guided them with the map. Cecil stops when he hears his name and he turns back to Edmond. Edmond points towards the tunnel. There is a look of excitement plastered on his face.

Edmond:A tunnel that hasn’t been discovered yet! It could have something! Maybe even some treasure..

Cecil walks back towards Edmond and he smiles.

Cecil:Well what are we waiting for?!?

Cecil enters the tunnel and Edmond follows closely behind him. The farther they go into the tunnel, the dustier it seems to get. Cecil starts coughing, but Edmond insists that they push forward.

Edmond:This could be a new discovery! We could find jewelry or art, or if we’re lucky we can find a tomb!

Cecil didn’t really enjoy the thought of seeing a mummy, but either way they would still get paid for it. They kept walking and eventually they stumbled upon a room. This was not like any other on the level. It didn’t look like it held any dead. It didn’t have any Egyptian writing on the walls, and there was no gold that littered the floor. There was only dust  Lots and lots of dust. Their boots sunk into the ash, and it left both men bewildered.

Edmond:Dust? What…

Cecil sighs
Cecil:This was a waste..

Cecil turns back to head the way that they just came. Before he can walk completely into the tunnel, Edmond stops him. In a corner of the room, there is a crimson colored stone. If it wasn’t for the dragon-like scales that covered it, it could have been mistaken for an egg. Edmond walked over to it to get a closer look.

Edmond:This can’t be Egyptian or Greek, I don’t even think this could be Roman..

Cecil takes a step back into the room. He thought his ears had deceived him.

Cecil:Then what the hell did you find? Just trash?

Edmond:No…

Seemingly in a trance, he bent over to pick up the stone. When he touched it, he felt a sharp pain running throughout his body. After letting out a blood-curdling scream, Edmond fell into the ash. Cecil ran towards his friend and he called out.

Cecil:Edmond what the fuck! What’s going on?!?

He felt a hand grab his leg, and with inhuman strength, Cecil was pulled into the ash. The room began to fill with the muffled screams as Cecil began to choke on the ash. Until it finally stopped. Out of the ash stood Edmond. His eyes were different. They didn’t look human, and blood colored tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked down at his friend. His gaze was broken by the stone once again. He turned away from his friend and he grabbed the stone. Without looking back, Edmond walked out of the room.

~Present Day~

Aaron and Taylor are standing inside the Rotunda building that leads into the catacombs. Taylor’s body is still burnt, but he is now able to move. In the hole in the wall is the entrance into the Catacombs. Aaron motions for Taylor to go inside, and Taylor reluctantly does. They begin to walk on the first level, and Taylor tries his best at small talk.

Taylor:I still don’t know who you are, or why you need my help?

Aaron presses his Stone Gun against the back of Taylor to keep him moving while they talk.

Aaron:I am looking for something. Since I am not an Aurean, I can’t do what I want to do. That’s why you’re going to do it for me.

A sly grin forms on Taylor’s face. He had never helped anyone but himself, and he wasn’t about to start now.

Taylor:You think you can just pull a gun on me? You must not know what I can do..

With that, Aaron fires the Gun into Taylor’s back. Taylor reaches behind him and he feels his back while he falls forward onto the ground. He starts to breathe heavily while he does his best to tend to the wound in the center of his back.

Aaron squats down over Taylor, getting right into his face.

Aaron:I know exactly what you are. I know what you can do. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am not scared of you…

Aaron presses the gun against Taylor’s cheek and he fires again. Although Taylor feels a sharp pain in his cheek as the beam of energy hits him, he feels a lot better. His stone also began to glow faintly again.

Aaron:I am not scared of you, because I know how to handle you.

With that, Aaron stands up again.

Taylor’s breathing is still heavy as he tries to steady himself.

Taylor mutters under his breath and he gets up.

Taylor:Fuck...fine, I guess I will help you. I don’t have another choice..

Aaron smirks

Aaron:Good, because we have a stone to find…

~New London, England~

After finding a VCR and making sure his office is locked with the new door he had to put in, Brian puts the tape into the TV in his office. When the tape plays, it is Dr.Stone sitting at his desk. There are fireworks going off in the background, indicating that this was recorded the night he left.

Dr.Stone has his hands clasped together on the desk. Although there is no emotion on his face, Brian could tell this was going to be hard. He sat straight in the chair as his mentor began.

Dr.Stone:Brian..I know you don’t want me to leave. I know you feel that you need to learn more, but the truth is that I have taught you all you need to know.

His knuckles turn white as he clasps his hands together tighter.

Dr.Stone:In the coming days, weeks, months, and years, you will hear things about me. Things that, you don’t want to know..

Dr.Stone:I gave this tape to Connor, because I wasn’t sure how you were going to handle things. I want to clear the air, because it’s not right to let you think of me in such high regard. You shouldn’t. You should resent the man that I am. You should strive to hurt men like me. I don’t want you following in my footsteps.

The man on the tape looks down and away from the camera. He can’t bare to share the things he has done. He never told Brian, but maybe that was because it was easier to let Brian think highly of him.

Dr.Stone:It’s true. I knowingly let scientists torture kids like Dennis. I needed to contain him. Kids like him were born evil. Evil like me…

After a long pause, Dr.Stone finally built up the courage to look back up at the camera.

Dr.Stone:I have tortured and I have raided, and yes I have even murdered. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I can say that I am proud of one thing...and that’s you…

For the first time ever, Brian saw his mentor shed a tear. Dr.Stone began to say something again, but Brian couldn’t hear anymore. He shut the TV off and he just sat there. He leaned back in his chair and he just stared at the ceiling, thinking about his mentor’s words to him.