Ruth leaped up to reach the cages, but couldn’t quite reach it. There had to be a way to get up there somehow. That was when Ruth remembered something, didn’t Bertha tell him to look for sources in different angles? That’s it!

He did a headstand beside a wall as Maggie climbed on him to try and balance on top of them. The two uncontrollably shook as she tried to reach for the cage but could barely miss it.

“Um, are you sure this will work?” Maggie asked, glancing down.

“I’m not sure, just try it,” Ruth replied weakly, trying to stay in balance.

He looked down at the ground, noticing pebbles nearby the walls at the corner of his eye. Ruth and Maggie lost their balance and fell. As the two rubbed their heads, the Orso Looba thought up another idea.

He walked over and grabbed some rocks; looking over at the cage and aiming carefully, the bear threw the stone at an angle. The rock ricocheted and hit another cage beside Tommy, causing it to topple and sink to the ground. Ruth and Maggie could now make it out of the pit. The two jumped up on the chain and climbed.

“Hurry, guys, we need to get out of here!” Tommy exclaimed, extending his hand. “Come on and grab my hand!”

Maggie gulped. She could feel her palms profusely sweat as she tried to eye the distance between both of the cages while holding on to the edge of the cage. Maggie swallowed her pride as she leaped off from the chain to reach the other cage. She tried to pry for the bars but could barely miss it, Tommy reached over with his hand and grabbed her before she could fall. Maggie climbed back up and held on to the bars as tight as she could.

Ruth inhaled and exhaled before getting ready to jump as well. Tommy and Maggie moved aside to give the bear enough room to grab and climb back on to. Ruth released his paws from the chain and jumped off to reach the cage. Tommy and Maggie caught hold of him just in time while hanging onto the cage bars with their legs wrapped around.

Amy tried to put up a big fight against Kira, the dark void, but the purple beam moved closer to hers, as she formed up a shield around herself to prevent herself from getting hit.

Tommy, Maggie, and Ruth went around the cage to jump off and land back on the ground while Kira got distracted. Amy glanced over at the others but soon got hit and knocked back, falling hard on the ground.

“Oh no, are you all right?” Tommy asked.

“I'm all right, but you guys need to get out of here!” Amy exclaimed.

“But we can’t do that—”

Screeching occurred in which everyone covered their ears in the process.

“My powers are getting stronger than I could ever imagine,” Kira boasted. “Now, I’m better than Aehaby in every way imaginable!”

“Are you talking about Amy?” Tommy guessed. He shook his head and glanced up at the dark. “What’s your obsession with her, you crazy cloud? And where the heck is Antonio?”

Maggie didn’t think before shouting. “Wait, he’s—”

“Oh, but you’ll see him again soon enough...” The voice that pierced through the dark mentioned. “Now look into my eyes...”

“No, don’t do it! Stay away from—” Amy was too late, Tommy and Maggie noticed the swirls in the dark void’s eyes and became motionless. It seemed like the two got hypnotized, as they stood motionless and turned their heads towards Amy. “Oh, no!” She cried as they walked closer towards her, backing her up against the wall.

With more loud noises rang out in the area, the place rumbled and shook, causing Maggie and Tommy to snap out of their trance. Boulders fell as the location fell apart.

“What’s going on?” Maggie asked, looking around the area frantically.

“Come on; the situation’s too dangerous to handle right now! We need to get out of here, or else we’ll cave in or worse!” Amy yelled out.

Amy, Maggie, Tommy, and Ruth rushed to the mineshaft and made their way towards the exit while the darkness, presumably Kira, looked over at them.

“We’ll let you go for now, but this will not be the last we see each other...”

.-.-.-.

Meanwhile, Antonio, along with some Miletis, stood in front of a mountain. They looked over some snowy hills and a crystal tower at a distance. A vibration in Antonio’s pocket moved about as he reached down to grab out a walkie-talkie and turn on the device.

“Hey, Antonio.” The voice said through the mechanism.

“Yes, Kira?” Antonio asked.

“Where are you right now?”

“On our way to collect the next gem.”

“Excellent work. But beware, for the others will—”

“Try to stop me? Please, I doubt those guys could even touch me. I’d love to see them give it their best shot, though...”

“Wow, cocky much? I like it, but do you still want Tommy to join?”

Antonio looked over at the horizon, unsure of how to respond to the question. Then again, there wasn’t enough time to absorb the atmosphere. There was a gem to collect, and he needed to be sure to get it before Maggie did.