I blinked my eyes rapidly. Waking up in pain for the second time. I groaned, attempting to sit up, but the ground felt different; soft, almost. My vision cleared and I realized where I was. I pushed myself up from Cole's lap fast, head reeling from the sudden movement.

"Woah, easy there," Cole spoke softly.

I put my face in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees. "How long was I out?"

"Only a couple minutes."

I sat silently for a minute, only to begin shaking with sobs a moment later.

"Hey. Hey. What's wrong?" Cole asked, scooting up beside me.

"I wasn't strong enough," I murmured between sobs. "I couldn't stop him. I couldn't stop any of them. And now we're stuck in this stupid mountain and I can barely walk."

I felt his arms begin to encircle my figure. Almost involuntarily, I flinched against Cole's touch. Confused, he removed his arms, but didn't question me.

"You're okay. It's not your fault."

"I feel so helpless," I breathed. "It's all my fault we're stuck here."

"It's not your fault," Cole reassured. "It's really not. If anything, you made the situation better. If you hadn't followed me and Vania into the mountain, I would have been alone."

I sniffed, "I guess you're right..."

"I just wish you would trust me," Cole said.

I sighed, "That's the problem Cole. I do trust you. I trust you all with my life, but I don't want you to know because I don't want you to take advantage of that."

We sat in silence for a moment, I leaned against the boulder in exhaustion. "We should really keep going," I began.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Cole questioned.

"We can't sit here forever."

Cole stood, and offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me up.

"Let's go."

We continued walking for what seemed like ages. I slowly felt myself regaining strength as I moved around. The caves were a collection of labyrinths and it was hard to see where we were going as there was very little light save for strange, green, crystals that poked out from the walls.

"Are you feeling loose gravel?" I asked suddenly, stopping where I was.

"Yeah," Cole answered, he froze as well.

"Can you light your hands up?"

"Sure," Cole hand's glowed with power only to reveal a drop off about 3 feet in front of us. We stumbled back a few steps.

"It's good we stopped when we did," I gasped.

"I'm gonna see how far it goes down," Cole edged closer to the point of the ledge.

"Just be careful," I warned.

More gravel fell below as Cole snuck to the edge.

"Cole, that gravel is going to be slip-" I began, but was cut off.

Cole cried out as the gravel beneath his feet gave way and he plummeted from the rim.

"Cole!" I yelled.

"I'm okay," he called back. I slunk to the brink of the rock and peered below. Cole was hanging by his feet from a protruding tree root.

"Can you pull yourself up?" I asked, "I don't know if I can reach you."

"Hang on..." Cole heaved himself up so he could grab onto the root. I sickening crack sounded from the root.

I laid down on my belly and reached over the overhang, "Can you grab my hand?"

"I don't think I can reach it," he grimaced.

I stretched my hand as far as I could. My fingers grazed his just as the root crack further, dropping Cole even lower. I cursed under my breath.

"Wait. Celine, there's a skeleton down here."

"Cole don't say that."

"No, really. There's a rope on him. If I can just reached it I might be able to get back up..."

Cole grunted in exertion as he tried to reach the rope. One final crack came from the root.

"Cole!" I screamed, peering over the edge once more.

"I'm fine!" Cole returned, "I caught another branch. Well, I caught a skeleton that's hanging from a root. Ah!"

"Oh my gosh."

I could see Cole hanging from the skeleton all right, and one of the legs just snapped off.

"Okay, I've got the rope. I'm gonna toss it up there."

I backed away from the edge, waiting for the appearance of the rope. A moment later it sailed over the edge. I made a grab for it, but it slipped from my hands.

"No no no!" I chased after the rope, but it latched onto a rock at the ledge. I breathed a sigh of relief.
but it was too late. Within seconds the rock shattered from the weight on the other end and dropped below.

"Cole!" I raced back to the ledge. Cole had managed to grab onto another rock.

"Celine, you have to go get help. Someone. Anyone."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Please, Celine."

"No. I'm coming down there." I turned around and carefully gripped the rim of the ledge, lowering myself ever so slowly down the face of the rock. I kicked my legs until I felt a crevice in the rock, which I quickly latched onto. I made it about halfway down before I froze.

"Cole?"

"Yeah."

"Did you hear anything?"

"No... Do you?"

"Wings," I whispered.

"Oh no, not the Skull Sorcerer!"

"No, different." A scream echoed through the cavern.

"Those stupid bats!" I yelled. Dyre bats flew into view and began attacking us, throwing us from the face of the rock. As we fell, another bat flew in and caught Cole as I continued to plummet. Just as I was bracing myself for the impact, I, to, was lifted up by a bat. The relief of being caught was soon dismissed as the other bats attacked us. We kicked out as best we could, trying to keep from being eaten alive. The bats flew out of the cavern through tunnels riddled with stalagmites. Using his elemental powers, Cole was able to throw some of them down from the ceiling onto a few of the bats. We drifted low to the ground, narrowly missing stalactites.

"Celine, if we can drop, we should be able to make it to the bottom without too much injury!" Cole called out to me.

"Yeah, but how are we going to get them to let go?"

"Just throw your weight around," he suggested. I wiggled as much as I could, building up enough force to sway from side to side, twisting myself in the bat's claws. Finally, I felt it let go. I plunged to the ground, barely managing a tuck and roll when I hit the bottom. Cole landed a few seconds after. The bats dived after us as we raced through the cave, desperately searching for shelter.

"Cole! Over there!" I pointed to a small cave on the wall of the cavern. We swerved into the cave and clambered to the back out of the reach of the bats. One tried to reach in, but squealed and flew off.

"Hah! Maybe you realized you were messing with the wrong ninja!" Cole gloated. "Nice try pal! Better luck next ti-" Cole trailed off, glancing down at the ground. I looked as well. The floor of the cave was covered in spider web. We tried to walk, but the sticky web slowed our movements. Backing away, we stepped into another chamber. I scanned the walls of the cavern, searching for the cause of the webs. Spider webs hung all over the walls and ceiling, but no spiders in sight...

I turned back towards Cole, "Cole, stop moving."

"What is it?" he glanced over his shoulder, only to jump back in surprise. Behind us was the most massive spider I had ever seen. It swung down from the roof of the cave and grounded itself in front of us. Hissing, it leapt towards us, red eyes glowing eerily. We stumbled out of the way just in time.

"Look, I'm getting a little tired of things trying to eat me," Cole spoke as the spider backed him into a corner. It jabbed at him with its huge legs. Cole dodged a few attacks, but managed to grab onto its front legs, holding them off of him. The spider turned, and shoved him back with its hind end, throwing Cole into the wall. He light his hands up with elemental power only for the spider to trap him in its web.

"Hey!" He shouted, "No fair!"

"Cole!" I ran over in an attempt to free him from the web, but I to, was stuck to the wall with web. We kicked as best we could to keep the spider away, but it just shot more web, holding us firm.

Just as the spider was about to suck our life juices out, a figure jumped down from a boulder, fighting off the spider. It was Vania and she was followed by a small, white dragon.

"Oh wow! Am I glad to see you!" Cole exclaimed.

"I hate spiders!" She said, "Especially huge slobbery ones with fangs! Don't make me step on you!"

"Like that would work," I mumbled.

She fought off the spider with a spear, pushing it back from the direction we had come from. The dragon also attempted to get at the spider, but it knocked the dragon away, throwing it across the ground. That seemed to piss off Vania, she hurled her spear at the spider, who simply knocked it away, backing her into the wall. She dived out of the way as the spider attempted to squish her with its leg. Meanwhile, the dragon picked itself up, squeaking out a tiny roar.

"Ok, now you've made me angry," Vania continued. Behind her, the dragon grew in size before my eyes, growing much larger than the spider. It spread its wings and growled at the spider, which sent it scurrying away into the caverns.

Vania sighed in victory, and just as quickly as it had grown, the dragon shrunk back to its original size.

"What just happened?" Cole questioned, "Did you just see that? Your dragon, he, he."

"What?" Vania interrupted.

"He, he just got bigger!"

"Chompy? Don't be silly. He just growls a bit sometimes when he gets angry." Chompy let out a small bawl as if in agreement.

"Are you sure? Because I swear-" Cole began.

"Oh dear, let's get you guys out of this," Vania began to pull away at the webs on Cole. I didn't know why, but I hated her being that close to him. I wiggled against the webs, coming free surprisingly easily.

"Huh, I could've gotten out sooner," I mused.

"We have to get to the surface and tell your father about what's going on," Cole said as he was freed from the webs. "And Celine needs medical attention. She was... hurt pretty bad back there."

"How did you know where to find us?" I questioned, staring Vania down.

"I heard you guys screaming for help," She offered.

"Uh huh."

"Anyways," Cole jumped in, "We need to find a way out. Do you think we can go back the way you came?" he asked Vania.

"I think so. I left some rope up on the ledge where I jumped from." She turned to her dragon, "Chompy, can you go throw us the rope please?"

Chompy flew back up to the ledge and, sure enough, dropped a rope down.

"Ladies first," Cole offered.

"After you," I motioned to the rope at Vania, voice probably dripping venom. She didn't notice, and gladly gripped the rope, pulling herself up. I followed suit after she was a few yards up and Cole brought up the rear. When we reached the top, I grabbed the rope and coiled it up around my arm.

"This way," Vania began, and started off through the cave. Cole followed after, but I hung back. It seemed off that the princess showed up right when she did, right where she did. I still didn't trust her, and it would take a lot for me to even think about it.

We walked in silence. I was beginning to feel my wounds again. The adrenaline of running from the bats and spiders was beginning to wear off. My muscles felt weak and strained, causing me to begin limping. Chompy flew over to me, nudging his head against my shoulder. I laughed, and rubbed his head.

"You seem pretty nice, maybe you're not so bad."

We walked for what seemed like forever. My whole body ached, and my feet hurt, but I wasn't going to say anything, no way was I admitting my weakness. The path ascended in front of us rather steeply, and I fought to stay on my feet. When I tripped on a rock, it was the last straw. I fell to the ground, groaning from the impact. Vania and Cole turned back to me. I began to push myself up, but had a hard time doing so. Cole quickly approached me and pulled me up.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Celine, I'm being serious."

"I said I'm fine," I insisted.

"Yeah, and last time you said that you passed out."

"I can take care of myself."

"And last time you said that you were-" Cole began.

I cut him off, "Don't."

"I'm sorry. Please just let me help you," Cole pleaded.

I sighed, begrudgingly giving in, "Fine." I let Cole loop my arm around his shoulder and hold me under my opposite arm. I shifted some of my weight to his body, and leaned against him.

"Come on," Vania urged, "We're almost out."

A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, presumably the grate she had entered from. Upon reaching the grate, Cole turned to me, "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He let me go and bust through the grate with a grunt. We stepped into the blinding sunlight, blinking hard at the sudden change in light. When my eyes adjusted, I spotted none other than Master Wu standing in the gardens, staring at us.

"Cole? Celine? Princess Vania? What happened? Where are the others?"

"They're not back?" Cole questioned worryingly.

"And you, Princess Vania. You gave me your word that you wouldn't enter the mine."

Vania stared at the ground, but I swear I saw her smirk. "Oh, did I," she began, "Did I actually give my word? I thought it was more of a possibility."

"It was most certainly not," Wu scowled. Now it was my turn to smirk. Good, she was being given a dose of reality. I watched silently as Chompy glided to Wu and landed on his hat, crawling around.

"I guess I'm not good at doing what I'm told."

"I'm beginning to see that," Wu exasperated. "And who's dragon is this?" he questioned.

"That's Chompy," Vania said, "He's mine."

"We've got bigger problems guys," Cole interjected. "There's an evil sorcerer underground and he's got some sort of magic skull and he commands an army of skeletons. And he," Cole glanced back at me. I was leaning against the rim of the grate, fighting to keep my eyes open, "Did something horrible to Celine." I focused my eyes on the ground, not wanting to look up at Wu.

Only now did everyone look at me. "I'm fine," I insisted, "I just need to get some healing tea, that's all."

"How," Wu stammered, "How could that all be down there without anyone up here realizing it?"

"I don't know, but we have to tell my father immediately," Vania stated. "If those skeletons ever make it to the surface, my kingdom will be destroyed."

"We need to get Celine taken care of first," Cole countered.

"I told you," I repeated, "I just need to get some healing tea from my room."

"I'll take Celine back to her room," Cole started, "Meet me on the 47th floor lobby and we'll go to the king after that."

"Just wait a second mister," I defied, "If you think I'm not going back in the mountain with you, you've got another thing coming. I'm not going to just stay up here while you guys go back down there. No way. No how."

"Okay, fine, but I'm still walking you back to your room," Cole insisted.

I conceded, but resisted when Cole tried to help me walk again. While trying to walk up the stairs to our sleeping quarters, my steps began to falter again.

Cole caught me, "Please let me help you," he asked, eyes pleading.

"I'm sure you'd rather be helping Vania," I spat.

Cole recoiled, looking hurt, "Why do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Hate her. Hate everything here, actually."

"Cole, you literally saw what was going on in the mountain. I don't know what, but something about the way she acts makes me think she knows more than she lets on. Plus, I... It makes me uncomfortable, the way she acts around you..." I mumbled. We stepped into my room, and Cole carefully helped me to my bed.

"What do you mean?" he pressed.

"Nothing," I brushed off while searching my bag for tea. I pulled out a few bags and an empty bowl. Pouring some of the contents of each bag into the bowl, I used my hands to mix up the leaves.

"Now I just need some hot water," I muttered.

"You're avoiding my question," Cole pressed.

I shrugged, and pulled out a bottle of water, "room temperature will have to do," I murmured. I opened the bottle and dropped some tea in. Replacing the cap, I shook the bottle, attempting to brew tea without hot water.

"Celine," Cole began, he gently grabbed my wrist and held them still, locking his eyes on mine, "I want you to explain. What do you mean you don't like the way she acts around me?"

I tore my gaze from his, "I, I don't like how she flirts with you or tries to get close to you. It makes me feel... ugly inside."

"Celine," I looked back at Cole, "Do you," he hesitated, "Like me? Like, like me like me?"

"I, I don't know," I stammered, dropping my eyes to the floor again. "I don't know how I feel most of the time. I don't understand what goes on in my own brain."

Cole looked down as well, his expression almost hurt, "oh, okay." He let go of my hands. "We should probably hurry."

I nodded in agreement, and drank the tea-ish water. It was a lot weaker than I would have liked, but it would have to do. After downing the entire bottle, I began to feel slightly better.

"We should go."

I returned the tea to my bag and quickly slipped a pocketknife into my belt. I had a feeling it may come in handy. We headed out to the lobby where we met up with Vania and Master Wu.

"You guys ready?" Cole asked.

"Yep!" Vania bubbled.

"Yes," Master Wu echoed.

We solemnly walked to the throne room and were granted admission immediately.

"Father we must speak with you, it's an emergency," Vania began.

Vangelis quickly rolled up a scroll he was reading, tossing it to an attendant. "Vania, Wu, Cole... Celine, was it?" he acknowledged, "What emergency? What's this all about?"

"The mines. They're not as empty as we all believed." We all walked to the center of the room, stopping in front of the throne. The attendants left and the huge ivory doors closed with a thud.

Strange I thought.

"You went underground?" The king demanded.

"I had to father!" Geez she was dramatic. "Cole and the other ninja were trapped!" She reached her hand towards Cole, and he took it, walking up beside her. My heart dipped, our previous conversation clearly meant nothing. I forced my mind to go blank, blocking out all thoughts other than the discussion at hand.

"It's true! She saved my life," Cole stated.

"I told you never to go down there," Vangelis boiled.

"Please, don't be angry father," Vania started.

"I'm not angry, just disappointed," Vangelis said, sitting back in his throne. "You have forced my hand."

"What do you mean?"

"I love you child, but why don't you ever listen? I was trying to protect you."

"I know," Vania admitted, "I'm sorry, but you need to understand, there's a dark evil down there called the Skull Sorcerer."

Wait a minute. She was never there when he said that was his name. And neither Cole nor I had mentioned that.

"Yeah," Cole agreed, "And he's got this evil magic skull that glows red and these two huge wings, and-"

"Are you certain," Vangelis interrogated.

"I saw him," Cole declared, only now looking at me, "and he did horrible things to Celine."

"Are you certain it wasn't," Vangelis paused, opening a compartment on the arm of his throne, "green?" And with that he pulled the skull out of the box. Green smoke surrounded Vangelis as he transformed into the Skull Sorcerer. Everyone gasped. I suddenly felt dizzy, my vison blurred and I trembled in my spot. King Vangelis? King Vangelis was the one that assaulted me? I didn't trust him, but I didn't quite think he would do something that extreme.

"No!" Vania agonized, but she sounded almost forced.

"You're the Skull Sorcerer?" Cole demanded.

"Why?" Wu joined in.

Vangelis flew down towards us, "Perfection, I'm afraid, has a cost. And the cost is vengestone. It comes from the mines."

"From the mountain," the skull hissed.

"The people of Shintaro might not realize it, but their magnificent city, their lives of bliss and joy that they lead, is paid for by vengestone. Fortunately, I've found a customer willing enough to pay dearly for it."

"I, don't believe it," Vania began, "You, you wouldn't."

"How could you?" Cole demanded.

Vangelis began chanting again, and the skull glowed even more before he launched it at Wu. The skull hit its mark, causing Master Wu to be thrown backwards. As Cole raced to his side, he, to, was knocked over by the skull. I tried to move to help, but I was still in shock. Staggering, I fell on my own.

"The skull," Wu called to Vania, "get the skull!"

"Chompy, go!" she shrieked, as the dragon threw himself from her arms, but Vangelis barely had to put effort into knocking him out of the way as well. As Cole, Wu, and I were just standing up, Vangelis pressed a button on his throne.

"Curse your buttons!" I screamed, as the floor beneath us gave way and we plummeted into the mountain below.