Chapter 7

Harumi swung her pickaxe up again, then down onto the rock in front of her. Her hand was starting to feel sore from the pickaxe's handle, her shoulders feeling tired. Fortunately, her prosthetic had stayed in its place, though the repeated impact as the pickaxe hit the rock didn't feel amazing...

She looked up as Cole came back to their group. He had inched closer toward the creatures, Geckles and Munce, and spread the message of a peaceful discussion about the blades after the next meal.

That plan was the only one they had, so it had to work. Even though Harumi didn't quite believe in it working, as the dispute between the two tribes seemed quite bad... If Harumi put herself in their shoes, the idea of working with someone who stole your tribe's most prized and honored possession sounded dreadful. But as they had deduced, neither of the tribes probably stole the blades, but the Skull Sorcerer.

Just the thought of him brought shivers down Harumi's spine. The skull that had floated next to him was so familiar to Harumi for some reason. She couldn't quite grasp why, which made the situation that much more frightening. Also the thought of Vania being captured with him, alone, in that base of his, made Harumi feel anxious. There was no way of telling what he was doing to her...

On top of that, Harumi still had woozy episodes. Her eyesight blurring at times and her ears ringing. She had come to the conclusion that it must be the Vengestone. It seemed to have a similar effect on everyone else around her as well, from what Harumi had noticed.

That is why this plan had to work. So they could escape and save the princess. Then they could return to the surface, alarm the king, the sorcerer would be defeated and the day would be saved.

That's what Harumi at least wanted to believe in.

"I've planted the seed, let's see if anyone shows up," Cole said as he returned to his normal post.

"Let's hope so, my whole plan depends on it..." Lloyd sighed.

It felt like an eternity had passed, as the bell finally rang. Harumi sighed a sigh of relief, immediately dropping her pickaxe. Her shoulders were aching, her right arm sore and her socket felt loose.

"Finally," she groaned, as she straightened her back and turned toward the line of tables, readjusting her prosthetic.

Her stomach was growling loudly, as she hadn't eaten anything all day. She was hungry, but not hungry enough to eat that booger soup. She would rather eat the rocks around her...

"You good?" Kai asked as they walked toward the line of Munce and Geckles waiting for their portion of food.

"My prosthetic hasn't started chafing yet so we're good," Harumi scoffed, rolling her shoulders. "Pretty much everything hurts though," she added.

"Real, haven't worked out my arms this much in a while," Kai chuckled as he stretched his arms behind him.

"We've only been here for a few hours, but those guys have probably been here for months. I really hope they bite our bait, so we can get them the hell out of here," Nya joined into the conversation.

"Yeah, I can't even imagine what they're feeling..." Harumi sighed, as the creatures took their booger-soup bowls and sat on the ground to eat.

Harumi took her portion and sat next to Lloyd on the ground. She noticed that the Geckles and Munce were eyeing them quite a lot.

"They're looking at us," she whispered toward Lloyd.

Lloyd turned his attention to Harumi, then at the Geckles and Munce around them. "I think that's a good thing? Maybe they're waiting for us to do something?" he pondered.

"What if we go over there?" Harumi pointed at a big rock, right at the edge of the stone platform.

Lloyd looked at said rock and nodded: "That's perfect," he smiled at Harumi.

As a blush started to creep onto her cheeks again, as Lloyd's soft eyes looked at her, she quickly turned her head. She looked around at the creatures, noticing their bowls were mostly empty. "They're done eating, I think we should go now," she said, her voice quieter, as she tried to hide her blush.

"Okay, it's go time guys," Lloyd said, looking around at his team and standing up.

As the team got up, they all tried to make eye contact with the creatures around them, walking over to the big stone.

"What if no one shows up?" Cole asked, anxiety in his voice.

"Don't say that..." Jay scoffed.

They walked over to the stone, hiding from the skeletons' sight. They were right at the edge of the stone platform, the heat from the lava lake pushing onto their skin.

They waited there, anxious if anyone were to show up. Then, steps were heard. Multiple steps. Heavy steps and lighter steps. The steps turned a corner, and almost every Munce and Geckle had come.

Harumi let out a silent breath, a flame of hope igniting in her heart. A small smile even lifted onto her lips.

They stood divided, Munce on one side and Geckles on the other. They eyed each other, when suddenly one Geckle yelled: "When do we start the fight?"

"Yeah, let's get it on!" Another one yelled with a cheer.

"Fight? What fight?" Kai scoffed.

"Against the Munce!" One Geckle answered.

The Geckles cheered, as the Munce growled at them.

"Wait, no there's no fight!" Lloyd quickly said, taking a step toward the divided tribes. "Who said anything about a-" "You said we were gonna have a fight!" one geckle pointed at Gliff, the geckle they had spoken to, cutting Lloyd off.

"I said, a secret meeting about the blades, no fighting!" Gliff said with annoyment in his tone.

The Geckles and Munce growled in annoyment and at each other.

"Look, guys, do you want your blades back or not?" Lloyd asked, the crowd quieting. "We think the Skull Sorcerer's got them both and if you promise to stop fighting, we might be able to get the blades back for you," Lloyd explained. "Do we have a deal?"

The Munce and Geckles looked at each other, then whispered something amongst each other. Then a Munce spoke up.

"How will you get out of cage?" she said.

Harumi's heart jumped into her throat.

"Out of cage? What cage?" Cole asked.

"They lock us in cages after second Glop time," the munce said calmly.

"Glop time? That's what you call your food!?" Jay scoffed, Nya quickly nudging him.

"Jay, sush, that's not the point right now!" Lloyd shushed. "Has anyone ever broken out of the cage?" Lloyd asked, turning his attention back toward the crowd.

A geckle raised her hand: "One time, I accidentally dropped my Glob onto the cages front steps and then a Mino ate the steps!"

"Minos are the big rhinos right?" Kai raised his brow.

"Mino is Mino," a munce commented.

"Okay, maybe we could use one's help then..." Cole said, glancing down at his uneaten booger-soup.

After that they returned to their post, but were immediately approached by skeletons. Harumi now knew they were just going to take them to a cage, but the sight of ten skeletons approaching them was still quite intimidating.

They ordered them to stand in a line and then walk into one of the wooden cages. There were Geckles and Munce in the cages that were let out, as if shifts were swapped.

They walked into the cage, and the skeletons shut the door, a chain wrapped around the door and the bar next to the door, locked with a huge metal lock.

"It's a good thing they warned us..." Nya sighed, looking around the empty cage.

"Get ready, as soon as we get out of here, it's go time," Lloyd said, looking at his whole team, his gaze lingering slightly longer on Harumi.

Which she noticed. But then convinced herself she was imagining it. Still a small blush pushed onto her cheeks.

Cole waited for the skeletons to walk further away from them. Then he stood next to the bars, and followed as one Mino walked by them. He whistled at the giant rock creature. "Here, Mino, Mino, Mino," he cooed quietly. The Mino looked toward Cole, that's when Cole poured his food onto the chains. "Come and get it," Cole whispered.

The Mino approached them rather quickly, stomping to the cage and quickly devouring the Glop, and a part of the chains! The rest of the chains dropped to the ground with a thud.

"You go release the Munce and Geckles, Cole and I will go find the blades and Vania," Lloyd instructed everyone, Harumi giving him a determined nod.

Cole and Lloyd slipped out first, disappearing into the shadows. Then the rest of them sneaked out. "Zane, come with me, let's climb up and release those hanging cells," Kai said, pointing upwards where small cells hung.

As the two started climbing upwards, Nya turned toward Jay and Harumi. "Okay, I'll go get the keys, get to the cells I'll be right there!" she said, and then sneaked toward one skeleton, holding all of the keys.

Harumi and Jay walked to the other cages, Harumi standing in front of one, Jay in front of the other.

"After we release you, I need you to be quiet, but run away as fast as you can," Harumi instructed the Munce as quietly as she could.

She anxiously glanced behind her, fortunately approached by Nya. She threw Harumi one key and another to Jay. She then turned back around, approaching the working Munce and Geckle. Harumi quickly unlocked the cage, letting out the Munce. She pressed her finger against her lips, as the Munce flooded out of the cage.

"Go!" she instructed, the Munce quietly walking toward one of the exits.

"We were able to release all of them," Zane said as he and Kai jumped back down to Jay and Harumi.

"Where's Nya?" Kai asked.

"Being the badass she is," Jay smirked, pointing at Nya releasing the working Munce and Geckles.

"Ugh, you're gross," Kai grimaced.

Suddenly a loud yell was heard behind them. They all quickly turned, to see Lloyd and Cole running out of the center base, Vania's hand linked in Cole's and a swarm of skeletons following them!

"They do not appear to have found the blades!" Zane yelled.

"But they sure found a lot of those skeletons!" Kai commented, Harumi quickly noticed that they were being approached by a big group of skeletons as well!

"Run!" She yelled, as they quickly bolted toward the Glop table.

Nya ran toward them, quickly yelling: "Throw the Glop onto them, I'll get the gate!" she yelled, bolting past them.

Harumi didn't have time to think what gate she had meant, as she quickly ran toward the giant cauldrons full of booger-soup. She and Kai grabbed one cauldron, Zane and Jay the other.

"One, two, three, lift!" Kai counted, as they lifted the cauldron and threw the glop onto the approaching skeletons, Jay and Zane doing the same.

The ground beneath them started to shake, as Harumi noticed that three Minos were approaching them! They quickly jumped away from the Glop table, the Minos chasing the skeletons away!

"Good thinking!" Harumi commented as Nya returned to them.

"Thanks, now let's get everyone to safety!" she replied with a determined nod.

Chaos reigned around them as Munce, Geckles and Minos ran around in panic. There were three exits out of the cage. Harumi quickly glanced upwards, seeing that Lloyd, Cole and Vania were hanging off of one of the smaller cages!

"We need to help them!" Harumi quickly yelled, pointing at the trio.

"Here, take my rope and throw it to them," Kai said, handing Harumi a rope off his tool belt.

"Thanks," Harumi quickly said and then ran toward the hanging cage.

She dodged the Geckles, bumped into a Munce, and crouched under a Mino, as she finally reached the cage.

"Lloyd, here!" she yelled, Lloyd looking down at her.

She threw him the rope, which he fortunately catched. He quickly tied it around the cage's bar, and helped the princess slide down.

"Are you okay?" Harumi asked as Vania reached the ground.

She looked to be just as dirty as before, Harumi couldn't notice any new bruises or cuts.

"Yes, I'm fine, we just need to get out of here before the sorcerer-" Vania's explanation was cut short, as the Skull Sorcerer's yell was heard behind Harumi.

Harumi quickly turned, seeing him and the skull approaching them. Lloyd and Cole quickly slid down the rope, immediately pushing Harumi and Vania forward.

"RUN!" Lloyd yelled behind them.

The four of them dodged the chaos around them. Harumi's ears rang, the Minos stomping around her, the Munce and Geckles screaming.

"Where did the others go!?" Cole asked as they approached the three exits.

Harumi's heart sank to her stomach as she realized. She hadn't checked. "I'm... I'm not sure!" She said, panic trembling her words.

"It doesn't matter, we'll find them!" Lloyd said, grabbing Harumi's hand and pulling her into one of the tunnels.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Through here!" Lloyd yelled as he turned a corner into yet another tunnel. He was still holding Harumi's hand, pulling her behind him. Cole and Vania were hopefully right behind them.

"Do you know where you're going?" Harumi questioned behind him.

"Far away from that crazy sorcerer!" Lloyd answered, the adrenaline in his veins pushing him forward. His heartbeat was in his ears, deaf from the adrenaline. He just needed to go forward, just needed to get her to safety.

"Lloyd, stop!" Harumi suddenly yelled behind him, and yanked him backwards.

Lloyd fell to his butt, realising that he had been running toward a cliff. He panted heavily, his heartbeat faster than his steps had been.

"It's alright now, I think we got away," Vania's voice said behind him.

"Yeah, I don't hear him anymore," Cole's voice added.

Lloyd turned to find the trio behind him, all panting. Vania sat on the ground as well, Cole leaning against the cave wall to catch his breath up. Harumi stood right next to him, panting as well, her brows furrowed together.

Lloyd looked around him. They had exited the tunnel into an enclosed ravine. The cave continued high up and down low, stalagmite sticking out at the bottom. They were right at the edge of a cliff, if Lloyd would've kept running he would've fallen.

"We need to go back," Lloyd said, standing up as his breathing had leveled. The ravine was a dead end, if you didn't wish to go down that is. He turned toward Vania. "Do you know a way up?"

The tired princess looked up at him with her big eyes and shook her head. "Unfortunately not, I've never been allowed to enter these mines, no one has for two decades," she said with a sad sigh.

"Why?" Harumi's voice asked, her tone purely curious.

Vania looked up at her, her sad expression deepening.

"Of course, you don't have to tell us, we und-" "No, no it's fine," Vania interrupted Harumi, raising her hand toward her.

She let out a deep breath. "I don't even remember the accident myself, I was only 1 or 2 years old. But my father told me that he and my mother had ventured into the mines after my birth. They had wanted to expand the kingdom and see what lied beneath our sacred mountain. But... but only my father came back..." Vania's eyes watered, a tear rolling down her cheek. "He had told only his closest servants that my mother had been killed by 'an ancient evil' and that the mines shall never be entered again..." she sniffled.

"I'm so sorry about your mother," Harumi said, her expression sad as well.

Cole sat down onto the ground next to Vania, and wrapped her into a hug.

"That's awful..." Lloyd sighed. He truly felt awful for the princess, losing her mother that young. That's something he could relate to as well... "We all know what it's like to... lose someone close to you at a young age," he added, looking around at Harumi and Cole.

"My mom passed away when I was just seven years old... I still think about her everyday," Cole said, letting Vania out of his hug.

She wiped her eyes. "That's horrible. No child should lose their mother," she sniffled. She then let out a sharp sigh and seemed to calm herself. "I don't know if the Skull Sorcerer is the one who killed my mother, only my father would know. He never told me the specifics, only that I never should enter the mines. But we need to tell him, we need to bring that man to justice. If there's even a chance that he killed my mother, I need to do this for her. So she could finally rest in peace," Vania said, determination growing in his voice.

They were quiet for a while, but then Harumi spoke up. "I hate to say this princess, but vengeance is never the path to peace. Believe me, I know..." Harumi said, her tone tense.

Vania looked up at her. "I don't wish for vengeance, I only wish for justice."

"Then justice is what you'll get," Cole said determinedly, standing up. "We have no idea how long that guy has been terrorising this mountain, could have for decades! We need to bring him down and free all those creatures, and bring peace back to the mountain."

"You're right. We need to find a way out of this cave so we can tell the king to send his troops down here," Lloyd added with a nod. "I wonder if the king's patrol is out there somewhere. If we can find them, we'll find a way out."

"They could be anywhere, this mountain is huge with thousands of tunnels and caves," Vania replied, Cole helping her stand up.

"Then we better get to it, right?" Harumi prompted.

"Right," Lloyd nodded, turning to look at Harumi.

They left the ravine and walked back to where they had come from. They entered a cave with two different exits. One led them back toward the Skull Sorcerer, so the choice was easy.

Lloyd tried to create an energy ball in his hand, but failed. They had to make do in the dim lighting.

"Did you see the blades?" Harumi asked, breaking the silence that had settled upon them.

"No," Lloyd sighed. "We entered and first found Vania in a cell. Then we tried to look for a treasure room of sorts, but ended up finding the skull that then alerted the sorcerer..." Lloyd explained.

"Did he... What did he do to you?" Harumi asked carefully, directing the question at Vania.

"After he grabbed me away from you, he locked me in the cage. He said something about 'of course this happened' and that 'he had business to attend to, but would be back with the truth'? He spoke very cryptically, but he never made it back before you guys rescued me," Vania explained.

"Did you see him take off the mask?" Cole asked.

"No, he was only with me for a small while before leaving, just mumbling the whole time," Vania sighed.

"Well, it's a good thing he left you alone. But what could've he meant that he was 'coming back with the truth'?" Harumi wondered.

"Maybe he was going to reveal his identity to Vania," Lloyd pieced together in his mind.

"But why would he do that?" Vania's voice was hurt, her voice cracking slightly.

Lloyd stopped. He knew the answer to that question. He knew that Harumi knew the answer to that question and that Cole also knew the answer to that question.

He's someone she knows. He wants to hurt her with his reveal, wants to see the optimism drain from her expression. See her die inside even if it's just a little.

He could feel Harumi's and Cole's look on him. Waiting for him to tell the horrible truth to the princess. But Lloyd couldn't bear to say it.

"I dunno," Lloyd just shrugged, continuing to walk forward.

They walked into- another ravine!? Or it probably was the same ravine, just another entrance...

"Great, we have to go back to the crazy guy?" Cole scoffed, the tension of the previous conversation still lingering above them.

"There were still some other tunnels earlier that could lead us out," Harumi said, turning back.

"But what if he's waiting for us there?" Vania added, fear on her features.

"We'll kick his ass!" Cole smirked, rolling his shoulders.

"Yeah, 'cause that went so well the first time around," Harumi scoffed.

"I didn't know what to expect back then! Now, I do," Cole said with determination in his voice.

"Harumi does have a point, we could just be walking into a trap," Lloyd added.

"We can always just check if he's there or not. If he's not, then great, if he is, we'll just hide until he leaves," Harumi proposed.

"I think that's our only choice, there's no way but down he-" Lloyd's words were interrupted as the ground beneath him started to rumble. He looked down at his feet, realising that the small cliff they stood on was indeed shaking. "BACK IN THE TUNNEL NO-" Before Lloyd could push anyone off the cliff, it grumbled beneath them, making the fall down!

They all screamed as they plummeted down.

"Quick find something to grab!" Lloyd yelled, eyeing at the bottom that was approaching them way too quickly for his liking.

He looked at the stone wall next to them, seeing roots sticking out of it. He reached his hand toward them, but failed to grab one!

Suddenly he was yanked up, as something metallic wrapped around his wrist. His neck jerked, but he quickly looked up to see that Cole had been able to grab a root, holding Vania with his other hand, Vania holding Harumi and now Harumi holding Lloyd.

Lloyd quickly looked around, trying to come up with a plan. They still had about 5 meter drop below them. They could survive it. But they had no way of getting up.

"The root's pulling out!" Cole grunted, as Lloyd could feel himself inch lower and lower again.

As a snap was heard, Lloyd felt the free fall begin again. Harumi's prosthetic was still wrapped around his arm, Harumi screaming loudly.

They were falling in a link, the spikes at the bottom reaching them, way too fast!

Lloyd tried to gather all the elemental power left in him, and shot an energy ball toward the spikes they were falling toward!

Lloyd curled himself up to a ball, covering his head with his free hand. He braced for impact, as they fell to the ground.

The ground.

Not on spikes!

Lloyd was sure he broke a rib, his right side aching badly. After his body was certain that he wasn't falling anymore, he relaxed his muscles and opened his eyes.

Everyone grunted around him, but they were alive!

"Is everyone alright?" he asked, painfully straightening himself into a seated position, and scooching over to Harumi.

"I've seen better days, but I'm alive," Cole grunted.

Harumi coughed as she sat up. Lloyd assisted her, holding her back with his hand. "I'm okay," she coughed out.

"I never want to do that again," the princess groaned as she sat up.

"Does it hurt somewhere?" Lloyd asked Harumi, not even trying to hide the concern in his voice.

She coughed out once more and then breathed in deeply. Her head hung low as she peeked up at Lloyd. "Little bit everywhere, not much anywhere," she answered.

"Tell me if anything gets worse," Lloyd said with a small smile, but a hint of worry still in his tone.

Harumi's lips stretched into a small smile as well, her gaze gentle toward Lloyd. He swore he could've melted right then and there.

But he quickly snapped out of it, looking over to Cole. He had an annoying smirk on his lips. It was annoying only because Lloyd knew what it meant. He rolled his eyes toward the man, then eyed their surroundings.

He sighed heavily. "Now, how the hell do we get up from here," Lloyd eyed at the stone wall erecting before them. It was at least 10 meters tall, and smooth all around. They had no way to climb up. "Cole, do your powers work?" Lloyd turned toward Cole.

The amusement in his expression faded away as he turned to look at his hands. He closed his eyes and touched the ground. He started grunting as he tried to use his powers.

Cole managed to create a small staircase of about 30 steps up the wall, before he opened his eyes with a pant.

"Can't do more than that, the vengestone's too strong..." he panted.

The staircase led to about halfway of the wall, not high enough that they could make it back up.

"We'll have to find another way," Lloyd said as he stood up with a grunt. He felt a stab in his right side as he did, reminding him of his broken ribs.

"Are you okay?" Harumi's voice asked, as she stood up. Her eyes were wide, worry swirling in them.

Lloyd gave her a quick smile. "I'm fine. Let's just find a way out of here," he said, eyeing around the ravine.

"Wait, look!" The princess suddenly pointed at something behind Lloyd.

Lloyd quickly turned to see a cave tunnel opening just across the stalagmite ocean on the other side of the ravine.

"Maybe we can find a way out there?" She proposed, her voice optimistic.

"It's worth a try," Cole said, as he walked past Lloyd and toward the cave.

They weaved through the stalagmite spikes toward the cave tunnel entrance. Lloyd was now able to create an energy ball into his hand to work as a light.

"I think I see light on the other side!" Cole excitedly chirped as they reached the entrance.

He walked in, the rest behind him. Lloyd glanced at Harumi every once in a while, making sure she wasn't lying about her condition. But she really seemed to be okay, not wincing at every step or even every other step. Unlike Lloyd...

The small flame of hope inside Lloyd diminished as they walked into what Cole had thought was a light source.

Or yes, there was a light source, but it was from a glowing crystal. But the cave they walked into?

A giant spider's nest.

The walls were covered with spider web, cocoons made of spider web, the wall also sticky from the web.

"This is not a normal spider nest..." Cole said, his voice shaking with fear.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Lloyd said as panic took over him as well. "Before the owner comes ba-" Lloyd turned around quickly. But was interrupted by said owner walking toward them from the tunnel they had just walked along.

Lloyd froze, his muscles tensing up. The spider was huge, two times the size of a human. It hissed at them, walking toward them slowly.

"Let's stay calm..." Lloyd spoke, his voice soft, but tense. "Let's back away slowly, and maybe it won't attack us..." Lloyd started walking backwards, hoping the spider would just leave them alone.

"Uh... Hate to break it to you, but I think we're its favorite meal..." Harumi's shaking voice said, as she pointed at a human skeleton draped in one of the nest's corners.

The spider growled at them as it entered its nest.

"Okay, it's just one spider and there's four of us... We can handle this, right?" Vania said.

Just then, two more spiders appeared from the tunnel, all three of them approaching the group slowly.

"Cole, your power's better be working right now!" Lloyd said, his voice less soft now, more panicked.

"What do you have in mind?" Cole's stressed voice asked behind him.

"You need to break us out of here," Lloyd said, swiftly turning around to look at Cole. He nodded his head down at the ground beneath them.

"Duck!" Harumi yelled, grabbing Lloyd's shoulders and pushing him down.

Lloyd quickly turned to see that the spider had shot a spider web ball toward them! It landed on the wall behind them, making a squelching sound.

"NOW!" Lloyd yelled, and Cole laid his hands onto the floor.

He closed his eyes and grunted. The floor beneath them started to rumble, the spiders stopping their approach. They started to squeal as the floor beneath them all crumbled again. The spiders quickly climbed up with their webs, but Lloyd, Harumi, Vania and Cole fell down, again.

"What now!?" Harumi yelled.

"Didn't think there was going to be a drop this big!" Lloyd answered, seeing that there was at least another 5 meter drop until they hit... something!

"I'm getting tired of falling!" Cole yelled.

Lloyd looked around the narrow hole they were falling down, realising there was nothing for them to grab, again!

Wind howled in Lloyd's ears as they fell, but then he started to hear something else. A rush. Rush of water.

He couldn't see where they were falling, it was too dark. But he could hear the water. "Brace for impact!" He yelled as he once again, curled up into a ball and protected his head.

Then he hit water. The cold water sent shockwaves through his body, but he quickly opened his eyes and tried to swim up. He gasped as he reached the surface. Cole, Vania and Harumi appeared around him, but then he realized the current was taking them somewhere. No, not somewhere, down! It was a whirlpool!

"What do we do!?" Vania yelled in panic.

"Swim in the other direction!" Cole instructed.

Lloyd started swimming against the strong current, but it was no use! The current still pulled them down. Lloyd looked around the new cave they were in, realising there were stalactites above them.

"Cole, the stalactites!" He yelled, quickly looking at Cole. "Break them off!" Lloyd instructed.

"How!? I can't reach them!" Cole yelled back, his voice panicked.

"You can do it!" Lloyd yelled back. "You're surrounded by earth, connect with your element! Your powers should be stronger than ever, right?!" Lloyd encouraged.

Cole seemed to look like he had more to say, but didn't. He just closed his eyes, and placed his hands in front of his heart.

For a moment Lloyd was saddened by the fact that it hadn't worked, but then, he heard loud cracking above him and then... A splash!

Cole dropped the huge stalactite in the middle of the whirlpool, blocking its current!

Lloyd quickly swam to the stalactite, climbing on top of it. He helped Harumi and Vania onto it as well, patting Cole on the back as he swam up to it. "I knew you could do it, great job," Lloyd smiled with a breathy chuckle.

"Thanks," Cole chuckled with a pant.

"Are we... safe now?" Harumi asked carefully.

"I think so. Now we need to find a way out of here," Lloyd looked around the room they were in.

"Let's just avoid going any further down," Vania said with a chuckle.

"How could we even get any lower?" Cole asked with a scoff.

Then.

Cracking.

The stalactite they were on was cracking!

Before Lloyd could do anything, the stalactite broke down, they fell back into the water and the current flushed them.

Lloyd felt his body hit water, again. He opened his eyes, finding himself in another black pool of water. This time the water was just as cold, if not colder than the last body of water.

He quickly swam up, looking around the dimly lit cave. He noticed that there was finally a shore! Cole, Harumi and Vania also swam up around him. Lloyd used the last of his power to swim up to the shore, collapsing as soon as he touched the ground.

He closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath again.