" Nelson, logically, if you think about it, you do have earth powers." Blackie said.

" How?"

" You have the element of shape-shifting."

" So?" 

" So you can just transform into the person and bam! Elemental powers are there!"

" Let's try." Nelson said, doing the thing Cole usually does when activating his powers. He tried to punch the earth, but only hurt his wrist.

" Well, it was worth a try!" Mia encouraged, bandaging her boyfriend's wrist.

Blackie watched Nelson wince as he cradled his injured wrist, a frown creasing his furry brow. "Honestly, human," he grumbled, "sometimes your lack of imagination is astounding."

Mia, finishing the bandage, shot Blackie a glare. "Easy for you to say, Mr. One-Million-Year-Old-Know-It-All. Why don't you enlighten us with some wisdom?"

"Logically," Blackie began, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "if you think about it, you can't just transform into a ninja and magically acquire their powers. You're not some sort of mystical shapeshifting chameleon, Nelson."

Mia, who had been carefully wrapping Nelson's wrist with a torn piece of fabric, shot Blackie a pointed look. "But you just said-"

"I said," Blackie interrupted, his voice rising in pitch, "that he has the element of shapeshifting. That doesn't mean he can steal someone else's elemental powers! It's not a costume party, humans!"

Nelson, wincing at the sting of the bandage, sighed. Blackie's logic, while harsh, held some truth. He wasn't Cole, the master of Earth. He may have inherited some shapeshifting abilities, but replicating an entire elemental power set was likely beyond his capabilities.

"Alright, alright," Nelson conceded, rubbing his wrist. "Maybe shapeshifting won't solve this problem. But there has to be another way."

Mia, her brow furrowed in thought, scanned the cavern. Her eyes landed on a small, loose rock protruding from the wall. An idea sparked in her mind.

"Nelson," she said, her voice filled with newfound determination. "Maybe you can't control the earth directly, but can you... manipulate it indirectly?"

Nelson's eyes widened as he understood her meaning. He looked at the loose rock, then back at Mia, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"You might be onto something," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Focusing his remaining energy, he visualized the rock, picturing it detaching from the wall and flying towards a specific target.

With a grunt of effort, he unleashed his power. The rock, seemingly defying gravity, ripped free from the wall and shot across the cavern, its trajectory aimed directly at a cluster of hanging ice crystals.

" Woah!" Mia cried, jumping on top of Nelson to duck from the rock.

The impact sent the ice crystals cascading down, creating a miniature avalanche that rained down on a specific section of the cavern floor. A plume of dust rose, briefly obscuring their vision.

As the dust settled, they cautiously peered around the corner of a rock formation. Their eyes widened in surprise. The concentrated weight of the ice had created a small, makeshift passage in the floor, leading downwards into the darkness below.

Mia and Nelson exchanged a surprised look. Blackie, even he, couldn't help but let out a low meow of curiosity. This unexpected development, while risky, offered a potential escape route.

"Well," Mia said, her voice barely a whisper, "that worked better than expected."

" Actually, that wasn't him." A familiar voice said.

" Cole?!" Mia screeched, turning around. 

It was the Falcon. 

" Where are you guys?!" Another voice asked. Kai.

" We're..... um...." Mia looked around for an excuse.

" In a cave. We think we know where Master Wu is. Meet at Chen's in half an hour." Nelson said calmly.

There was a silence, then Cole said, " Okay."

Then, as soon as they heard the click sound which signified they had signed off, they immediately switched the falcon offline.

Then, Mia and Nelson let out a collective sigh of relief, the tension leaving their shoulders like a deflated balloon. Blackie, however, didn't seem so impressed.

"That was close," he grumbled, his voice muffled by Mia's hair where he'd taken refuge during the Falcon conversation. "You humans are terrible liars."

"Hey," Mia protested, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "We pulled it off, didn't we? Besides, it wouldn't be much of an adventure if we told them everything, right?"

Nelson chuckled, a sound that held a hint of nervous energy. "Right. But..." he glanced worriedly at the newly formed passage in the floor. "What about this? Are we really going to explore a random hole in the mountain with no idea where it leads?"

Mia, ever the daredevil, shrugged. "Why not? It could be our way out. Besides, who knows what kind of secrets this mountain is hiding?"

Blackie let out a dramatic sigh. "Of course, you'd choose the mysterious underground passage. This is why I can't have nice things." Despite his complaints, however, he didn't seem entirely displeased by the prospect of a new adventure.

"Alright then," Mia said, her voice gaining a note of determination. "Let's do this. But first, we need to be prepared."

She rummaged through their dwindling supplies, grabbing anything that might be useful – extra bandages, a couple of protein bars, and a small vial of luminous fluid. She carefully dabbed some of the fluid onto their backpacks and clothes, creating a faint, eerie glow. With this makeshift illumination, they wouldn't be completely blind in the darkness below.

"Ready?" she asked, turning to Nelson and Blackie. Their eyes met hers, a mix of apprehension and excitement glinting within them.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Nelson replied, offering her a reassuring smile.

Facing the door, Mia took a step. Then Mia sighed. " We're doomed." She said.

" Why?" Nelson asked.

" We're gonna get killed if they find out."

Nelson, however, remained surprisingly calm. He turned to Mia, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Our little detour just got a little more complicated. Not a biggie."

Mia couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh. "You could say that again." She looked at the Falcon in her hand, its sleek design now a symbol of their predicament. Turning it off had bought them some precious time, but they knew their friends wouldn't wait forever. They had to decide – continue their descent into the unknown darkness below, or retrace their steps and face the consequences of their deception.

Blackie, perched atop a nearby rock, flicked his tail dismissively. "Well, you humans can dawdle all you want, but I, for one, am not opposed to a little adventure."

Mia shot him a withering look. Blackie, ever the instigator, seemed to thrive on chaos. This situation, however, was far from a thrilling adventure. The weight of responsibility pressed down on her. They were in a treacherous cave, injured and running low on supplies. Meeting their friends meant revealing their lie, potentially facing punishment, and most importantly, jeopardizing their mission to find Master Wu.

Nelson squeezed her hand, his touch grounding her racing thoughts. "We'll figure it out, Mia," he said, his voice firm yet reassuring. "Together."

Mia took a deep breath, forcing herself to think clearly. Looking at the dark passage below, then at the worried crease in Nelson's brow, she knew their time was running out.

"Alright," she said, her voice filled with newfound determination. "Here's the plan. We explore the tunnel best we can. Then, if we encounter anything, and I mean, anything, we go to our second plan."

" Run away, I might guess?" Nelson asked.

Mia nodded.

" How'd you know?"

" Mia, if you're girlfriend is a dream chaser like you, you get used to these things. Also, it seems to be out second option a lot these days." 

Mia smiled.

" That we do, fair man. That we do."