The Daunting Affray! (Round 1: Temple in the Sky!)

"Father, We have to get these people out of here!" Luis looked around as the monks and prayers began to panic. "There's an entrance to the catacombs..." "Well tell THEM that!" "But...there might not be a way out..." "We have to act quickly, we can think about that later!" Leonardo hesitated for a moment before a look of cold certainty settled onto his venerable features. "EVERYONE INTO THE CATACOMBS!" he shouted. "SPREAD OUT! ESCAPE! HIDE!" The panicking churchgoers, recognizing his voice and authority, rushed towards the far end of the sanctum. The Archons continued to advance on the three figures remaining. Leonardo barely managed to get out of the way as the sword that had incinerated the kind monk returned to its owner's hand. Luis backed off slowly, firing several shots from his plasma pistol, but left little more than scorch marks on his opponent's robes. The girl stood stubbornly in the center of the hall, as though refusing to give up ground. The Archons moved forward, slowly, but inevitably. The girl just whispered something into her glove. A blinding flash of amethyst light filled the room, and in its wake the girl seemed...different, as though imbued with powerful arcane energy. An Archon struck at her but she easily avoided its attack, another thrust was blocked by a bright flash of purple light. Luis hurried over to where Father Curiosity had fallen and lifted him to his feet. "We have to move! Hurry!" he shouted grabbing Luis' arm. "But...the girl, she might need help" "She seems to be holding her own" Curiosity commented dragging Luis down a corridor, "My world is at stake and she's giving us time!" Luis relented and the two rushed up a staircase into a smaller room above. Down below two Archons managed to slip past Samantha's attacks and slowly made their way to the stairway. Meanwhile Leonardo was tearing the room apart, searching for something. "where is it...where is it AH!" he pulled a long dusty box from underneath an ancient battered tapestry. "Here we go!" Just then the Archons pounded up the final steps and into the room. Luis looked around quickly. An Archon blocked the stairs, there was only one other exit. A blast from Luis' plasma pistol made short work of the door's lock and the two tumbled onto a wide mezzanine that wrapped around the perimeter of the sanctum. By this time Samantha's fight had moved to the central chamber. She was landing powerful blows, but they seemed to have little effect on the robed creatures. "There's no way down! That was the only stair!" "Then we're going to have to jump. Hold on." "No wait this is MAaaaaaAAAAAAaAH!" Luis grabbed Father Curiosity around the waist and leaped from the mezzanine. Time seemed to slow down, the fall crawled forward at an agonizing pace. And then Luis' foot collided with something. An Archon fell to the ground under Luis' momentum, its sword flying from its hands. Another was thrown off balance and Samantha took full advantage of the distraction, knocking it to the ground and tripping its upright companion. Luis stood up dusting himself off. Leonardo and the box were, remarkably, intact but there was no time to praise his good fortune. "Come on, they're invincible, we have to get into the catacombs" Luis shouted. "I never run from a fight!" Samantha yelled back "We can't fight them now, but we have a weapon, we just need time to plan, come on please!" Leonardo was already running towards the catacomb entrance, the box held close to his chest. Samantha looked down at the Archons slowly recovering, and the other two marching back along the mezzanine. She hesitated for just a moment before turning and racing after the duo. Once they were all safely inside Leonardo quickly sealed the passage behind them. "That won't hold them for long" he said rushing down the dark tunnel. "So what about this weapon of yours?" Luis asked "Well, it's not exactly a weapon..." "Will it take care of the Archons?" "Yes...but we have to get all of them together at one time!" "Then I have a plan!" Luis grinned. Before long they were darting down a very familiar passageway and through a small door. If one could read Angelic they might certainly decipher the sign painted above it in Leonardo's flowing script. A single word, 'Hangar'.