Panic Room

The young kid led his visitors into his massive home and the three of them walked through the halls with their mouths left agape due to the marvellous decor of the house.

"You should see your faces," Micah teased.

The living room space was wide and it was filled with a sort of ancient artefacts from all over the world hanging on the walls or sitting on pedestals for display.

The most important of the artefacts were placed in bulletproof glass display cases to preserve and protect them from ruin. Everything felt exotic and rare, packed with historical richness and cultural uniqueness and it made the house feel like a foreign museum.

"Wow! Joe, check out this crib," Kurt said to his friend.

"I'm checking it out, Kurt. Believe me, I'm checking," Joe said as he looked on.

"Come on, this way. My dad's study is just along this corridor," Micah said and they followed him.

"Is there anyone else in this place?" Lydia asked Micah because she couldn't believe that just he and his father lived here.

"We do have a butler but my dad gave him the week off so he could attend a family gathering or something," Micah answered nonchalantly.

They reached the study and Micah opened the doors and went in but he asked the trio to wait by the door until he calls them in.

When Micah went into the study, he found his father backing the door and he was scribbling some things down on a notepad. He was so focused on what he was writing that he didn't even hear the door open and thus, he was unaware that he wasn't alone anymore.

"Dad?" Micah called out to him.

"In a minute, Micah. I think I've managed to decipher the coordinates of the gateway and if I'm correct, we'll finally be able to travel past the inter-dimensional barrier and prove to those small-minded insects at the academy that I was right," He said without looking at his son.

"Yeah, about that, dad. I don't think that's necessary anymore," Micah said.

"And why would you say that?" His father asked, his back still turned.

"...because I found all the proof we need,"

His father put down his notepad and turned around on his rotating chair to face his son.

"What are you talking about, Micah?" Mr Philip asked.

"Guys, you can come in now," Micah called out to them.

The door slid open and the kids walked into the study and waited for Micah to introduce them to his father.

"Micah, how many times have I told you to always inform me before you bring friends over to the house? Our home is way too far from the city and..."

"Dad, relax," Micah cut him off, "they're not friends from school,"

"Then, who are they?" Mr Philip asked, confused.

Micah walked over to them and brought Joe and Lydia closer to his father.

"This is Joe and this is Lydia...and that's their friend, Kurt," Micha introduced.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Lydia said and put her hand out to shake him.

He was about to take it when he saw the mark on her palm. Mr Philip was shocked and stood up from his chair. He couldn't believe that they were standing right in front of him.

"Are they...?"

"The twin seeds of Eyah? They are, dad." Micah finished his sentence.

"But how, did you find..."

"It's a long story, dad but they're here," Micah said excitedly, anxiously waiting for his father's full reaction.

"I cannot believe it. The twin seeds of Eyah, in my house," Mr Philip said with sparkles in his eyes.

"Okay, that's the third time you're calling them that. What does it even mean?" Kurt asked and moved closer to them.

"You both aren't aware?" Mr Philip asked them.

"Aware of what?" Joe asked.

The archaeologist took both their palms and looked at the mark on them before he continued speaking.

"This mark has appeared on many Troleyadian objects for generations. Books, statues, tapestries, monuments and so on but never has it appeared on people.

"The both of you have the mark which means you were both born with great powers and the massive responsibilities that come with it. The two of you are destined for greatness but the road to achieving it will be long and filled with adversity and opposition.

"And being the twin seeds of Mother Eyah means that the two of you are...Twins," Mr Philip told.

"That can't be true," Lydia said and looked at Joe who was also shocked by this revelation.

"We have the same birthday, we're the same age, we have the same birthmark and similar abilities...It is true. You are my sister," Joe said to her.

Lydia didn't know what to say or how to feel about this. It was just too much information for a single day and she couldn't wrap her head around it all. She took a seat and rubbed her temples with her hands.

"Okay, so if we are twins and were both born in Troleyadia, how and why did we get sent to Earth and why were we separated?" Lydia asked Mr Philip.

"I don't have the answers for that but what I do know is this," Mr Philip said and ran over to a large blackboard with wheels attached to the bottom.

"Let me help you with that," Micah said and they both rolled the board out of the corner and out into the open for everyone to see.

The blackboard was filled with pictures of Troleyadian objects and writings that Mr Philip and his son had managed to transcribe over the years.

"This had been my life's work ever since I discovered the existence of Troleyadia twenty years ago. From all the research I've done, I've discovered evidence all over the world that the Human world has had visitors from Troleyadia for centuries now. You two are not the first, and the Troleyadians that came to Earth all those years ago also brought their art and culture and everything," He said and pointed at all the objects he had unearthed.

"That doesn't explain why we were sent here!" Lydia said.

"I think I can figure out why," Mr Philip said and grabbed one of his notes, "I took an expedition to Egypt about eight years ago and that was when I first found out about the Twin seeds of Mother Eyah. I found a broken tablet and after many years, I managed to transcribe what was written on it. It was a prophecy that two children will be born with the mark in time of great darkness and they were the ones to bring forth the light," He said.

"What does that mean?" Joe asked.

"I think you two were born at a difficult time in Troleyadia and were probably sent here to keep you safe." Mr Philip answered.

"But, if they were born with a destiny to save their realm, how will they do that if they're stuck here?" Kurt asked.

"We believe that just as there are gateways that lead from Troleyadia to Earth, there also have to be gateways that lead from Earth to Troleyadia and...I'm pretty sure we were close to finding one when we went to The Amazon jungle," Micah said.

"But we couldn't find it because the coordinates were a bit confusing but I'm so close to figuring them out. But, when we do find them, opening it might be a bigger challenge because, and I'm pretty certain of this, it has to require some sort of magic to unlock it. Magic from a Ginx or maybe even more," Mr Philip said.

"Magic from us?" Lydia asked.

"Yes, and maybe from someone like that Ginx that was trying to kill you guys," Micah answered.

"What? A Ginx tried to kill them? Why didn't you tell me this, Micah?" Mr Philip shouted and ran out of the room.

The kids followed behind him and wondered what was wrong with him.

"If a Ginx is after them, he'll find them here so we need to activate our security," Mr Philip said and entered his security room.

He went to sit by the computer and typed some commands into the system and the gates outside became electrified and the doors were all locked with titanium bolts.

"That won't be enough! We have to get you both into the panic room," Mr Philip said and left the room.

"We'll be safer there?" Joe asked.

"Yes, it's a special room I designed for an emergency such as this. I never thought I'd ever need it but alas, the day has finally come. It's surrounded by high-grade steel and is practically impenetrable and it also has ancient Troleyadian runes on it and they'll repel whatever magic a Ginx tries to use to break into it,"

Mr Philip arrived at a safe in his bedroom and typed in the combination. The safe opened and he took out the key to the panic room and handed it over to Micah.

"Take them there and lock it up. I need to set up a few more security measures and after I'm done, I'll join you," Mr Philip told him.

"Ok, dad," Micah said and asked the trio to follow him.

After the kids left, Mr Philip went to the closet in his bedroom and opened a secret back door behind it. He walked into the room and closed the door. The lights came on and it revealed his Kingsguard armour hanging on the wall.

Mr Philip Jameson was actually Phileous, King Darth's most trusted Kingsguard that had followed the kids from Troleyadia seventeen years ago to kill them.

He walked over to his armour and touched the metallic fabric around the chest area. It brought back all sorts of memories and he was lost in them.

"Alas, it begins," He said.