"I don't think we can put this off any longer, Marguerite." "Challenger's going off exploring for the day, and Veronica will be in the garden another hour at least." "So you were right." "This may be the last chance we have for a very long time." "Just promise me one thing." "Anything, John." "Don't laugh." "Okay." "Yours is the first move." "One, two three, one, two, three, one, two, three." "one, two, three, one, two, three," "John!" "What?" "Oh, come on!" "Whatever is going on up there." "At least they are laughing." "One, two, three..." "Maybe we should start with something simpler." "No, I think I know what I'm doing wrong." "So do I. Everything!" "First, I think I need to hold you closer." "It's generally considered polite for... the gentleman to let the lady breathe!" "Ah yes, but the waltz is... supposed to be deliciously improper... and it should leave both the dancers completely... breathless." " John?" " Mmm?" "You could dance all along!" "Yes!" "I was born to dance!" "Something's wrong with the windmill again." "It's the electric fence." "Oh, no!" "she must have touched the fence!" "Veronica knows better than that." "What have you found?" "Nothing." " Is somebody out there?" " No, of course not." "You'd better get her up to the treehouse." " I got her!" "At the dawn of the last century" "A band of explorers searched for a prehistoric world" "Driven by ambition" "Secret desires" "A thirst for adventure" "And seeking the ultimate story" "They are befriended by an untamed beauty" "Stranded in a strange and savage land" "Each day is a desperate search for a way out... of the Lost World" "I don't know what knocked her out." "She has no burns." "Doesn't look like she touched the fence at all." "I don't know what happened." "I didn't suggest you did." "I'll go get Challenger." "No, you stay here with Veronica, and I'll get Challenger." "No, John, whoever stays has to repair the fence, before the raptors start coming around." "You know how to fix it." "Oh very well, but be back before sunset." "Don't worry!" "I know the rules." "Oh ho!" "Thought you could get away from me, eh?" "You my friend, are as contrary as my old colleague, Summerlee." "Come to think of it, you even look a little like Summerlee!" "Definitely of the family Scaribaeideae." "Smaller than a Goliath, but larger than a Cieruo aegialian." "You do look like Arthur!" "No!" "Not even on this plateau is that... transmogrification of that magnitude possible!" "*" "I know you're out here!" "I got your bloody calling card!" "Xan!" "XAN!" " Master Xan." " Approach!" "As you commanded, Miss Smith has arrived." "Excellent." "Miss Smith, your presence... honors my unworthy establishment." "You've got a funny way of making a girl feel welcome, Xan." "And you have an equally amusing manner... of treating your business partners, Miss Smith." "Or perhaps we should call you by the name you used to purchase... your ticket for tomorrow's sailing." "From here in Shanghai to Marseilles... in only 28 days." "What an age we live in!" "Thank you, Callum." "We took the liberty of removing this... from the safe at the Hotel Astor, Miss..." "Marguerite Montclair." "One name's as good as another." "An odd sentiment for one such as you." "What is that supposed to mean?" "Would you care for some tea?" "Why don't you get to the point?" "In my culture it is considered rude... to discuss business... before sharing hospitality." "In my culture, it is considered rude to snatch a woman off the street, shove her into the back of an auto and haul her off to the docks!" "So I guess we're even." "Miss Smith, we are anything but even." "You see, we gave you the gold bullion, yet you have not yet... given us the diamonds." "I told you, Xan." "That little uprising in Russia has thrown off the delivery schedule." "We both knew there'd be problems like this." "There are problems," "There are also attempts to leave Shanghai... under an assumed name, without honoring one's debts." "The diamonds are on their way, Xan" "No, Miss Smith!" "They are not!" "All right, If you're impatient," "I'll give you back your gold." "And how is that possible, considering that somehow the gold in question... has found its way to an agent from a third foreign power." "Know this, Miss Smith." "Many men have died... for not meeting lesser debts." "Could this day get any better." "Callum." "Miss Smith." "I know why you think you are here, but you are wrong." "If that's true then I've wasted five long... years of my life following your trail." "It IS true." "From Shanghai to Constantinople, to Paris," "Berlin, Leningrad." "Every mile a waste, Callum." "I doubt that very much." "Master Xan does not permit such misuse of his resources." "Oh, Xan's a madman!" " You believed him once." " Never!" "You believed him enough to steal from him." "That's a lie!" "If you do not return what you stole from Master Xan, all your friends will pay the price!" "What happened to the yellow-haired woman and... the red-headed man is your only warning." "Challenger?" "What have you done to him!" "Follow the path and you'll find out soon enough." "After that, keep in mind that you have... only until sunrise tomorrow." "Return what you stole from Master Xan, else lose everything." "How did you get here?" "How are you feeling?" "Like I went ten rounds with a trog and lost." " Do you remember what happened?" " Somebody hit me." " I don't know who." " I thought as much." "I think the same person may have used this cord... to short out the fence and start that fire." "Why would they do that?" "Disable our defences, make us more vulnerable." "Maybe the fire was just a distraction." "Distraction from what?" "Nothing's missing!" "Unless..." "Unless?" "Marguerite." "All right." "You go back to the tree house and lock the elevator." "Where are you going?" "To find Marguerite." "And you're in no condition to argue." "Challenger!" "Answer me, damn you!" "Oh, Challenger, I'm so sorry!" "No." "Callum the next time you see Master Xan, you'll both be in hell." "Little jumpy, Marguerite." "Where's Challenger?" "I..." "I don't know." "He was working here but..." "All his gear is scattered everywhere." "I think it's fair to say there was a fight." "And it's quite possible... it's the same intruder who attacked Veronica." " What?" " Just before the fire was set," "Veronica remembers someone coming up... from behind and hitting her." " Does she know who?" " No." "Do you?" " How could I?" " That's what I'd like to know." "But finding Challenger comes first." "Looks like one person walked through here, dragging something heavy behind." "Dragging Challenger." " Oh, no!" " Challenger!" "Challenger?" "He's still alive." "Cut him down!" "Careful!" "I got him!" "Got him." "What is this?" "You recognize it, don't you?" "You know what's going on here!" "You know who did this to Challenger!" "You know who attacked Veronica!" "Yes I know!" "It's all my fault." "Isn't it always my fault!" "What?" "I can't hide this from them any longer." " I have to tell you." " Tell me what?" "You answer me!" "I have to tell you the real reason I funded this expedition... the real reason I came to the plateau." "He's got a couple of cracked ribs." "The bruises aren't anything serious." "I'll sit with him a while and let him sleep." "Very good." "We have a discussion to continue outside." "All right." "Let's start from the beginning." "Now who's after you?" "His name is Callum." "He's a soldier, I guess you call him." "A soldier." "All right." "For which country?" "Maybe mercenary is a better word." "He's half Asian, half Scottish, half I don't know what." "He doesn't exactly follow a flag." "Who does he follow?" "Shanghai Xan." "The crime lord?" "More the warlord from the old school." "Oh, you try the school of Genghis Khan, Marguerite." "The Xan dynasty controls a veritable league of world crime." "They traffic in stolen archaeological treasures, opium, guns." "And I've tangled with their bravos everywhere from..." "Kenya to Tibet!" "Okay, okay, So it's no surprise that they're here to!" "Look, there are things about you that I don't know, that I have no right to knows and... to be honest, I don't want to know." "But how in..." "God's name did you get mixed up with the Xans." "It started when I heard about this Plateau for the first time." "What, three years ago... when Challenger first gave his lecture at..." " the London Zoological Society?" " No, John." "I first heard about the Plateau five years ago." "I was in Shanghai." "I was an interpreter... for some private companies... trying to keep business as usual during the war when... the Russian revolution broke out." "One of the negotiations I was I involved in... took a turn for the worse." "And to make up for his losses," "Xan made a counterproposal to me." "Behold the Ouroboros." "More like half an Ouroboros." "You know the legend?" "The snake that eats its own tail." "A representation of birth, death, and rebirth in a dozen cultures at least." "That so many people are aware of it suggests... that there could be some truth in the legend." "You believe the snake is real." "We believe in the legend of this medallion." "When the two halves are joined, the people who possess it will unlock the key... to its mystical powers to control space and time." "Are you serious?" "We have dedicated our lives and fortunes... to obtain the missing half!" "Everyone needs a hobby." "Our agents have narrowed down... the possible resting place to a remarkable... plateau deep in South America." " Why remarkable?" " It is considered to be a nexus... for supernatural forces and mythical creatures." " Creatures like the Ouroboros." " And others." "Many brave men have traveled to this lost world, and few have returned." "Oh, I can see where this is heading... and it isn't going to happen." "Indeed?" "First, I want no part of... supernatural forces and mythical creatures." "Second, I'm not going to South America for you." "As you are indebted to us, you have no further choice in the matter." "If it's gold you want." "It's gold I'll get!" "You know I can." "So if this is just about money..." "It is NEVER just about money, Miss Smith." "Yes, but we all have our price." "Exactly." "And in your case, we know precisely what the price is." "How can you." "We know the value of a name, do you?" "Excellent." "We sense... that some agreement has been reached." "Keep talking." "Your first task is make contact with one of our agents, an American scientist." "His name is William Maple White." "William Maple White." "What, the man whose journals led..." "Challenger to this Plateau is in Shanghai Xan's employ?" "He wasn't employed by Xan." "He owed Xan a... debt and needed to repay it." "That's how Xan operates." "Oh, I see." "So you thought you'd... repay your sordid little debt by folding us all into... your personal quest to find the missing half of the medallion." "I did not force any of you to come here!" "Now all Challenger needed was money." "Between the zoological society, Malone's newspaper, and the odd university or two, he would have raised enough funds." "I sped up the inevitable." "Look, I don't care how you justify it to yourself." "The fact is you lied to us all." "I still think you're holding something back." "If you'd let me finish!" "Oh, please do!" "But let's get to the point for a change." "Now what could possibly account for Xan being so... fanatical he would have someone pursue you... all the way to this Plateau!" "He thinks I have something that belongs to him." " And do you!" " No!" "No." "All right." "Very well." "We'll start fresh." "I'll accept your story... and we'll put it behind us." "As... long as you're part of this expedition, for whatever the reason..." "I'll do everything I can to help you, and the others, to be safe from Callum." "Marguerite!" "Guns are the coward's way." "Fair enough." "We'll try this personally." "John, no!" "I presume you are Lord John Roxton." "What if I am?" "Then I believe you studied at the Jokhang Temple in Tibet." "I was there for a while." "So you know the Buddha's Four Noble Truths." "I'd be happy to teach you a few lessons from the Buddha." "Teach them to Miss Smith instead." "Especially the Fourth Path." "Otherwise when I return, you all will die." "Sunrise, and no later." "Dare I ask what the Fourth Path is?" "Part of the Buddha's guide to peaceful and harmonious behaviour." "Why does Callum want YOU to teach that to me?" "Well, you're familiar with one part of it, Marguerite." "Thou shalt not steal." "Dammit!" "What did you take from Xan?" "Not only did you steal from Xan, but it was his greatest treasure to boot!" "No wonder... he's moved heaven and earth to hunt you down!" " I had my reasons!" " Oh, more secrets... if that's possible." "Or should I just accept that everything... you've ever told me from the first day we met was just a lie!" "Not everything, John!" "No more games!" "No more lies!" "I want... the truth and the whole truth, or nothing!" "I don't know what's going on up here, but you two are disturbing Challenger." "Yeah, well he will be considerably more disturbed... when he finds out that Marguerite's friend is... coming by in the morning to kill us!" "What are you talking about?" "Well ask Miss Smith, if that's her real name." "All right, stop!" "If you two are having a lover's spat, that's none of my business!" " He is not my..." " I don't care!" " Nobody does." " Well I certainly don't." "But if we're in some kind of trouble, that I do care about." "Now one of you two grow up and tell me what's going on." "The man who attacked us... is after me because I stole a simple little... medallion from his employer." "All right." "That's a good start." " I take it he wants it back." " Would he ever." "Roxton!" "Where's the medallion now?" "Now is not the time for a coffee break, Marguerite!" "Yes, I have it, since the day we left London," "I have always had it." "And I swear to you I will die before I give it back to Xan!" "Marguerite, What we have to do is obvious." "I agree, when Callum turns up... in the morning, we have to make him disappear." "No, we will give him back the medallion." "No, we will not!" "No!" "I spent my last pound... funding this expedition!" "I've endured almost three years of... of raptors, cannibals, and Challenger's bloody... shifting planes of reality, all for this!" "There's not enough gold in that medallion... to buy dinner at the Ritz what makes it so damn valuable?" "It's not valuable on its own, John," "I have to find the missing half." "Suppose you do." "What then?" "Well then I give both halves back to Xan." "This isn't about repaying a debt to Xan, is it?" "This is about something else." "Everything I told you is the truth." "But it's not everything we need to know." "You have to trust me!" "I really wish I could, but..." "Veronica!" "Give it back!" "You know what you have to do, Veronica." "This is a snake biting its own tail." "It's called an Ouroboros." "I don't care what it's called." "I've seen it before." "What?" "It's carved on the wall of a cave..." "I used to play in when my parents still lived here." "What?" "A cave?" "Where?" "Halfway to the Zanga village." "It's not far at all." "If you had told us the truth from the beginning, you would have found that cave years ago." "I still don't think we should leave Veronica... there to take care of Challenger on her own." "Callum's after you, remember..." "Veronica and Challenger will be just fine." "Marguerite and Roxton have had arguments before, but I've never seen them go at it the way they are now." "Marguerite's never been caught in so grand a deception before." "Well, she's lied and been caught at it." "It's not like that's new, Challenger." "Marguerite has led an unusual... and daring life, and done things in the... past that I suspect she regrets today." "Well, hasn't everyone?" "Well, to a degree," "But Marguerite's past actions... are no longer just her concern." "Well, why not?" "They were her actions, it's her life." "I believe she's thinking about sharing that life." "Share her life with Roxton, you mean." "I have never seen two people so much... in love and yet so determined to refuse to admit it." "Care to check the compass, Roxton?" "The Zanga village is that way!" "If you want to lead Callum directly to Veronica's... cave, you be my guest." " He's following us?" " Well, what did you think, Marguerite?" "He said he was going to kill us if you didn't give back the medallion." "So I'm certain he saw us leave the treehouse... just as I'm sure he thinks you'll lead him right to it." "You do care about me finding the missing half!" "I'm doing this for Challenger, Veronica and myself." "And what happens to you?" "Well that's not up to me anymore, is it?" " John!" " You're on your own, Marguerite." "Which is where you obviously wanted to be all along." "What's this?" "I've seen this before too." "So have I." "It's the Chinese morpheme for the element fire... it's also the symbol of the Xan dynasty." "No, not this. "This."" "Hmm, It doesn't appear to be... any language that I am familiar with." "Did you see this symbol in the same... cave where you found the Ouroboros?" "It's in my parents' journal," "The one Malone found in the hollow earth." "There!" "It's most curious," "Why would it be written alongside... these unusual Celtic runes?" "Look!" "Veronica." "What is the symbol of the Xan dynasty... doing in my parents' journal?" "I don't like the look of these old bones." "Don't worry, It's not a dinosaur graveyard." "Just the remains of one unlucky diplodocus." "But that opening is definitely Veronica's cave." "It can't be!" "Veronica said she played in it as a child." "That cave is volcanic!" "Her directions were clear enough I'd say that... ten years ago this whole area probably wasn't volcanic at all." "Let's go inside while it's still safe." "Who says it's safe now?" "I have seem this before." "What?" "This unusual mask was given to Summerlee... by the Zanga shaman." "Now look." "It's a Zanga symbol?" "No, no." "It came from a different village." "But it's utterly fascinating, isn't it?" "It's as if there's a connection between the Xan, your parents, and this other tribe." "The same connection that was responsible for... bringing Marguerite and therefore the rest of us to the plateau!" "Challenger, you and my parents... you've worried about all the Plateau's mysteries having only one answer." "Oh, my dear!" "We may have just stumbled onto the first clue... of what that answer is!" "This looks like the main cavern up ahead." "If this is where Veronica used to play," "I don't see any doll houses." "Unless of course she made them out of these, which wouldn't surprise me." "Veronica, what was the purpose of your parents' expedition?" " Scientific research." " Nothing more specific than that?" "From their journals, we learn your mother was a... is a talented botanist." "And your father a man of great scientific... and engineering expertise." "But What exactly brought them here?" "I don't know," "Unless like Maple White and Marguerite they were... forced to work for the Xan somehow." "Don't you even think that!" "Your parents expedition had more than 30 members, and enough equipment and supplies to maintain them for years." "Believe me, they came here for more than a missing medallion!" "Then how did they find out about the Plateau, Challenger?" "How did they know to come here in the first place?" "I don't know the answer to that mystery yet." "But I assure you, nothing I have learned thus far... suggests the answer that you fear." "Well, I guess we have to cross this bridge." "Of course we will, Otherwise it would be too easy." "Well, it looks solid enough." "Feels solid enough." "Let's go on carefully." "Why start now?" "John!" "John!" "Hold on!" "Hold on!" "You know, I had... figured that part out for myself, thank you very much." "Can you grab this?" "Only if you care to share a nice hot lava bath with me." "Get back now, Marguerite." "Another tremor like the last one... could shatter your part of the bridge!" "It could shake you off your side!" "I'll be fine," "I just need to find a few more hand-holds." "Don't you ever get tired of looking after everyone but yourself?" "No!" "Well, did you ever stop to think that maybe... that's why I did not tell any of you about..." "Xan and the Orubouros?" "Are you saying you're protecting us?" "None of you needed to know about Xan," "Once you start dancing with the devil, Roxton, you can't stop." "But then, you were born to dance, so maybe the devil just leaves you alone." "That bone will never hold!" "Don't you dare, Marguerite!" "Too late to complain," "If you don't trust me this time, then we're both dead!" "You are infuriating!" "And you are insufferable." "Well, get me off this?" "All in good time." "Come on!" "Thank you." "You're welcome." " Don't move." " Well, now what are you doing?" "According to the legend... having half an Ouroboros." "Makes it easier to find the other half." "We're heading in the right direction." "At last." "The Ouroboros!" "It's in there," "I know it is!" "Here, I'm not doing your dirty work." "Here!" "I've done it." "Well, take it." "Go on that's what you came here for." "Yes, but, uh..." "There's more to the legend, John." "I don't know how it's done, but who ever touches the restored Ouroboros... gains the power to be translocated to... any place they most want to be!" "It's kind of like a genie granting a wish." "And you believe that?" "Well, I'd like to." "Go ahead and make your wish, Marguerite," "Go back to London or Shanghai, or wherever it is you most want to be." "Because I sure as hell know it isn't here." "Is that what you want me to do?" "Well, don't stay on my account," "We could all do with a little peace and quiet around here." "This conclude our dealings, Miss Smith," "Since you are unable to complete your half of the bargain," "I'm certain Master Xan will burn the birth certificate... you were so eager to trade this for." "Birth certificate?" " He didn't vanish!" " That part of the legend was wrong!" "NO!" "It's over, Marguerite." "It's over." "I'll only be gone a few weeks," "And there'll be enough warriors with the Zanga party... to keep any raptors away." "If your journey with the Zanga can lead... you to discover the connection between your parents... and the tribe that made this mask, and everything else, then it will be a trip well worth undertaking." "Stay out of trouble while I'm away." "Of course I will," "Same goes for you too," " If you can." " Give Assai and Jarl our best." "I will." "You'll be back before we know it." "See you soon," "You know, I found this remarkable beetle and..." "I think I might go down to my lab and prepare some collection jars." "Then I might try and pick up its trail again." "Sounds like a full day, George," "Well, idle hands..." "I'm sorry I have to ask... but the birth certificate that Callum mentioned..." "I know what you are going to say," "You're right." "The birth certificate was mine." "I was going to trade the Ouroboros for it." "You've never seen your own birth certificate, have you?" " You don't know who you really are." " I don't know anything." "In the cave, what you needed was right in front of you." "You could have just picked it up." "Finding that medallion was the... sole reason you came to this Plateau." "But it's not the reason I stayed." "Whenever you're ready, all your secrets will be safe with me." "*"