| Temple Crashers | |
|---|---|
 Keene confronts Pete in the temple. Comic: "All That Glitters" (click for full size) | |
| Info | |
| Number of Comics | 20 |
| Dates Published | September 3rd - October 17th 2012 |
| Featured Character(s) | |
| Keene, Sabrina, Karishad, Daryl, Zach, Pete | |
Previous Arc The Retroactively Continuous Adventures of Spot Following Arc
All Hallow's Ween | |
Temple Crashers is the 63rd arc in Housepets!.
Characters
Plot
Thomas is out in the desert looking for an ancient temple of some sort. He is stopped dead in his tracks when a tipster he is on the satellite phone with describes it as looking like "the one Henry Milton imported". Cut to Daryl telling Keene that all the woodland critters know about that temple, which is now in the woods.
Later, Keene is making phone calls. He doesn't trust Steward to do the work for the project he is doing. He was trying to reach a psychic, but when he mentioned gryphon and dragon glyphs on the temple, she "screamed and hung up". Jeeves suggests someone local, so Keene puts down his phone. Suddenly it rings, with Tarot on the other line.
Tarot sends Sabrina to the Milton mansion to arrange a raid party for the temple. She says temple raids are beneath Tarot's experience. She says the correct way to enter the temple is through the "Adventure Portal". She needs all participants to take roles, and suggests the Bard for Keene.
Elsewhere, Zach is writing in his journal about persistent dreams involving Pete. Zach mentions not believing in the "Opener of Ways" stuff. In the dream, Pete says he's jaded about mortals always getting their happy endings. Karishad eavesdrops on his writing, then brings him to the Milton mansion. Keene found about about Zach's spiritual connection of the temple, and presses him to be in the raid party.
She explains the roles. The hats will create a power channel with Tarot that will give them powers to face the temple on its own terms. She suggests that Daryl be the Warrior, but he refuses, claiming to be a coward. Karishad takes the Warrior role instead.
She assigns Archer to Daryl instead, and makes Keene the Thief. That leaves Zach to take the role of Medic. He accepts begrudgingly when she notes he's the most heavily-protected of the party.
When they get to the temple, Karishad opens it. Zach is shocked when he finds the temple strewn with labyrinths, not the single room he was in when he first opened it.
Keene tries to split the party up to cover more ground, but Sabrina refuses, lest any minions in the temple prey on isolated members of the party. This disheartens a nearby gargoyle. Keene has Karishad lead them in a new direction in the temple. Sabrina is surprised to find out Karishad has been in the temple and survived.
The party is chased by gargoyles. The party runs, and Sabrina teleports them over a chasm when it blocks their path. But as the others battle the gargoyles, Zach runs away, unwilling to continue. He ends up in a dark hallway, where an unknown voice says he will likely be eaten by a Grue. It is scared away by light, but Zach has none that he knows about. Karishad arrives, and mentions playing cornhole, which disinterests the Grue. He finds Zach fainted after turning on a light, and uses him to re-enact What's Opera, Doc?
The rest of the party catches up. Sabrina tells Zach he has a light spell he can use. He inadvertently uses "Cast Light", and makes one of his feet glow. They reach a glyph, and Sabrina paraphrases it. The glyph says that its intention is to united man and beast, and its writer wishes it were somewhere other than the desert.
Keene is discouraged that the glyph has no specifics. At that point, he bumbles through a trap, and the party ends up in a treasure room. But as they prepare to loot it, Pete stops them. The presence of the gryphon is described as "soul-deadening".
Pete tells them their adventure is over, but Keene identifies himself as the heir to Henry Milton. Sabrina tells Keene that Pete cannot use all his power for the promise he made to Henry Milton because of the Cosmic Game. The disagreement that led to the game was because of the degrees of devastation Pete and Spirit Dragon were willing to risk for the end of human-animal reconciliation. Zach realizes the connection to his dreams.
Keene says he cannot ask for what Pete wants; he doesn't want realization of his goal to result in him being known as a monster. So he asks merely for Pete's assistance, inadvertently agreeing to become Pete's minion. Pete makes him wake up in his own bed, leaving a bit of mana to somehow use.
Keene seeks Sabrina, and asks if they are now enemies. She says only technically. She says two sides in a battle do not have to be "good" and "evil", though his alliance with Pete will make it impossible for him to get further help from her master. Extra scenes include Keene having scientists study the bit of mana.
Events
- The temple changes interior, as it is no longer a single room shown in Oops I Arced.
- Keene becomes Pete's minion in exchange for a bit of mana.
- Keene learns of The Cosmic Game.
Trivia
- Karishad reenacts a line from the famous cartoon "What's Opera Doc" of the original Looney Tunes.
- Zach's ability to 'cast light' with his feet is brought up again in Rabbit's Foot.
- The mana Keene receives from Pete plays an important role in Housepets 5000 BC, Part 1.
- This arc has a sequel: Temple Crashers 2: Temple Crashers.