Quest for the Golden Puffle 2 (1): Bitter Reunion

Alaska made her way up the stairway of the prestigious university.  It should have taken her less than a minute.  However, as she went, aspiring archaeologists, who were merely students at the moment, came to talk to her.  Scratch that - came to goggle over her.  She was their idol.

A lot had changed since her discovery of King Ra-Ra, Boris, and the rare Golden Puffle statue.  Her groundbreaking uncovering of them had teed off a whole new phase of archaeology on Club Penguin.  She had written several acclaimed books and articles and had recently became a keynote speaker.  Her star had risen considerably; she was now a household name.

Source: Talintadeh101 

Alaska had been called here by the president of the archaeology department on Club Penguin.  His name - rather hilariously - was Mr. Sir.

That being said, Mr. Sir was no laughing matter.  Sir had the power to crush your archaeology ambitions with a single signature.  He could cut off your funds before you had time to gasp at the news.

Alaska had only spoken to him twice.  The first time was when she had signed up for the University.  The second occurrence came during an unfortunate time she very much tried to forget.  He had never acknowledged her existence otherwise.  She was very worried about what this meant for her career.  She could see nowhere she had committed a wrong but Mr. Sir never missed a detail.  He could find something wrong in his tax return before the leading expert could.

Alaska walked into his office, located on the highest floor.  "Hello there, Sir," she said politely.

"Hello, my dear," he said curtly, sitting calmly behind his neatly sorted desk.  "I'm sure you find the circumstances of your summoning rather peculiar.  However, there is a very vile threat that I'd like you to investigate."

Mr. Sir opened his desk drawer.  He searched through the files, which were alphabetically sorted and perfectly straight, until he finally came to one he wanted.

Projection Seven, 22/98/1947 (Key Code: R498)

He passed the file to Alaska.  She took it and flipped it open.  There were coordinates on several papers and a DVD placed in a slim case.

Mr. Sir emerged from his chair and took the disk.  He placed into the computer and the two watched a video.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

There was a penguin giving a play-by-play commentary about an old temple he was filming.  His voice sounded very excited, which reminded Alaska of someone she had long ago locked out of her mind, barring him from ever returning to it...

The penguin suddenly stopped.  The sound of a great gust of wind could be heard.

His excitement was gone.  "Oh no!!!  No - it can't be!  No!!!" he screamed.

The camera fumbled around as he began to run through the tunnel he had came in from.  He continued to scream "NO!" along the way.

A green mist with sparkles could be seen trying to engulf him.  And, eventually, it did.

The camera dropped to the ground with a large thunk, barely audible over the heavy winds.

Then, the voice of the cameraman was heard, though you had to strain to get anything from it.  "No....no....this can't be the end....."

The green mist fully covered the camera's lens.  There was a great crack and everything went dark.

Alaska looked at Sir.  He remained quiet for a moment and then began to speak.

"We received this video via the wireless software installed on the camera," he commented.  We want you to go in and analyze this anomaly.  This could blow the gold puffle thing right out of the water.  So, given the circumstances...."

There was a thunk outside.  Alaska turned and saw that man she had locked out of her brain, that the cameraman had reminded her of...

Yukon hunched over to pick up the scrolls he had dropped.  His pants ripped from the crouching, though he took no notice.  He hummed to himself as he slowly got a grip on the scrolls.  Some dropped each time he put more in his hands, causing a cycle of picking up and dropping.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

"No, Sir.  With all due respect, I can't work with him.  I mean, we were partners for awhile and all, but after that last incident......I am most inclined to reject this-"

Mr. Sir held up his hand for silence.  Alaska immediately stopped her speech.  Sir began to speak.

"You two uncovered one of the greatest discoveries ever together!  There is no reason to suggest you can't do it together again!  And...it might help to have a giddy attitude along - an emotion you lack immensely.  Perhaps the fog maker has its types and will be reminded of the excited cameraman when he lays eyes on this young boy?"

Alaska looked out the window.  Yukon had finally been able to pick up the scrolls and was standing back up.  Then, two of them fell.

She knew there was no saying no to the Sir.  She sighed.  "When do we start?" she said.

"Now," said Mr. Sir, curtly opening the door for her.

Alaska left the office and approached Yukon.  If anything was going to finish her off, it wouldn't be the fog.  It would be him.

To Be Continued