Ben and Greg both stared warily at the aztec man standing before them. The green liquid in vials rippled lightly. Below them, they could hear the loud crashing water of the giant whirlpool bellow. Ben let out a nervous sigh, "Either take a mysterious drug from someone from what should be a dead culture, or perish for sure in a whirlpool. Two awesome choices!"
"There is only one choice." Greg said as he grabbed the strange vial from the man's outstretched hand. In a swift motion, he released the wax in the opening and put the tip to his lips.
"Wait Greg!" Ben yelled. His cousin paused, just before the contents would have entered his mouth. "Just wait." Ben looked past the aztec man, taking notice of the temple or room they were in. This place did not look ancient and in ruin. It was almost pristine, like it was recently built or had just been renovated. There was a massive sculpture in the background. Ben focused his attention and noticed that it appeared to depict a goddess, or maybe two. There were two heads with one body. He racked his brain, trying to remember information about the culture.
Before the trip, Ben has spent a good many hours studying what historians and archeologists knew about the Aztecs. There was a lesser known, obscure goddess who looked similar to the sculpture in this temple, Quaxolotl. Ben remembered that she was the goddess of duality and twins. "We should split the contents in the vial between us." Ben reasoned.
"What?" Greg asked, confused. "If this is poison, wouldn't it be better if only one of us drank it so the other could get help. Assuming we get out of wherever we are."
"Look, that drug could be any number of things. I don't know if it is poison, but if it is, splitting it between us might be enough so neither of us die." Ben stepped closer to his cousin. "It might also be some test. Just trust me. We need to both drink it."
Greg nodded, "Alright." He lifted the vial to his mouth once more and let some of the green liquid into his mouth, as close to half as he could. He quickly handed the vial over to his cousin, who drained the rest.
At first, nothing happened. The two friends looked at each other and then to the aztec man, expectantly. The two cousins finally turned back to each other. "Is that it?" Greg asked.
"I don't know." Ben raised his hand, the one that still clutched the vial. "Maybe we passed or something..." Ben gave his friend a smirk.
Suddenly, Greg hunched over, his stomach lurched. "Ugh..." He clutched his gut. A moment later, Ben also doubled over. Pain wrapped their bodies and they struggled to remain standing. The sudden illness forced them to their knees, and they leaned their shoulders into each other's for support. The pain intensified, bring them down to all fours. Their veins began to glow green from some strange light. Sweat dripped from their faces.
Ben made a horrified gurgling sound. He could not speak but he stared in panic as his left hand and Greg's right hand melted together. It looked like tangle flesh with their fingers sticking out from a single mesh. It did not stop there though. Their wrists, elbows, and shoulders soon followed. It was more than that. Ben could feel his left leg melting, blending with his cousin's. The mess of their third arm began to shrink, disappearing into their one shoulder. "What.... is... Awww." He cried as what was their middle leg also began to disappear. Ben was not as strong as Greg, and his arm gave out. They fell onto his right side and rolled onto their backs. Ben let out another scream from the pain.
Greg clenched his teeth as the process continued. He leaned his head forward and was terrified at what he was seeing. Their clothing seamed together, as if being stitched together by magic. Greg could feel and heard the snaps as his bones broke and rejoined with Ben's. He lifted his hand, and his veins still glowed green. He was panicking, afraid at how long this pain was going to last, terrified at what was happening to them. Were they going to be completely... absorbed together. But abruptly, the pain stopped. Greg breathed hard, feeling the phantom pains of whatever transformation occurred.
The cousins rested for a moment, on the hard stone. When their breathing settled, they slowly turned to look at each other. Terror was etched on both of their faces, but they were thankful that the pain had ceased. "Up..." Ben whispered only managing to speak one word, but Greg understood. Each braced their own hand into the stone and slowly raised their joint torso. Ben gasped. Their two bodies seemed to be cleanly joined down the middle, creating a single body.
The Aztec man smiled, almost darkly. He spoke but this time the cousins could understand every word, "You are blessed by our goddess, Quaxolotl." He abruptly turned and walked towards the edge of the platform, and as he stepped away, his body vanished into thin air. The temple around them began to loose its luster. The torches, which had all been lit, went out all at once. The ranging water bellow turning into just trickles of droplets. Statues broke apart or became worn; wall formed cracks and some began to crumble. Everything returned to what it once was, except for Ben and Greg. The cousins remained, shocked and terrified with only one body between them.