Meanwhile, down in the mines, Matt had gone back to digging away at the rocks. He wasn't getting very far, but it was getting a bit more loose. Steph was pulling at the rocks, trying to help. Finally, Matt's pickaxe lodged a particularly tight-fitting stone out from it's place. Water started trickling out from it, shocking both of them. 

"Maybe we shouldn't dig this way anymore." Steph said. Matt nodded in agreement. 

Above, Skip and Herve finally reached the mind. 

"Please don't tell me she's in there." Skip said. 

"Um... Okay... I won't tell you."

Skip sighed and hopped off of Herve's back. He would have to be a dog for this one. He put his nose to work. He sniffed around, spinning in circles. "Oh, I'm getting... I'm getting..."

"Uh... Dizzy?"

"No, a scent!" Then, under one spot on the ground, Skip could smell it. That familiar rose-scented perfume. Anyone could smell it from a mile away, but in this spot... it was slightly stronger. The ground was weaker, thinner here. 

"There's another way in." He said. Skip started digging. The ground started giving a bit, before all falling apart, revealing an old mine shaft. "Hey, hey, hey, down here!" 

"Oh, you are an excellent digger." Herve said.

"Thank you. But look!" He motioned to the mine shaft. "I bet I can get to them this way."

"You're going down there?" 

"A cat always lands on it's feet. Even one that barks." Skip had to take a running start, but he flung himself down the mine shaft, falling to the bottom on his back. He landed in the room where Stephanie and Matthew were trapped. 

"Skip!" Happy to have any sort of friend, she scooped him up, giving him a hug. Matthew meanwhile was more interested in the mine shaft. He stood underneath it. 

"The old mine shaft. Skip must have broke it open." He turned to Steph, who stood under the shaft too, finally seeing sky above them. 

"Hello? Anyone up there?" She shouted. She turned around, looking for anything that they could signal with. She caught sight of the water again. 

"Matthew, I have an idea." She said. She set Skip down as she started removing more stones. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Getting us up." She said. "Help me move these. We're going to let the water reach the top. If we can get it to fill enough we can get all the way up." 

Matt paused for a second, but he trusted her. He started whacking at the rocks again, causing more and more water to flow. There must have been some sort of underground lake behind that wall, because when Matt finally broke open the wall, the water came out like a geyser. The water was at their ankles almost instantly, and rising faster. Steph and Matt quickly went under the mine shaft as they waited for the water to rise. 

"How long can you swim, Matt?" She asked with a nervous giggle. 

"Um... not very long. But something tells me that I'll be able to do it on adrenaline alone. You?" 

"Well... I can say that at least the dress won't hold me back." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. 

"And Skip?" They both looked over. Skip was embracing the dog side of himself, already swimming. 

"Your cat is weird." Matt said. 

"He has a style all his own." Steph said. The water rose up, now resting at their chests. Steph took another deep breath, preparing herself to tread water until they reached the top. Under the water, Matt grasped Steph's hand tightly. The water reached the lantern hanging from the roof, at first teasing the flame, letting it flicker, before the water extinguished it. By that point, the water rested at their necks.

Matt and Steph squeezed hands, the only light coming down from the sky above them. Despite the sunlight shining down onto them, they were still in the dark, casting a horrible doubtful feeling onto them both. 

"Ready?" Matt asked. 

"Ready." 

The water rose above their heads, and then higher, letting Matt, Steph and Skip rise up with the water level. As the water lifted them up, Steph and Matt held onto beams of wood and stones that jutted out from the walls of the mine shaft. It allowed them to rest their legs long enough to keep swimming. 

"It's working!" Matt laughed with celebration. "Your plan is working!"

"What do we do when we get out?" Steph asked. 

"We get you to your mother. Then we stop Preminger." He said.