As Zelenia healed Tegen's broken leg, he and Geryon stood on guard at opposite ends of the tunnel. Aeris sat watching the Moon heal Earth—leather pieces hung from her arm wrap where the Terrave's claws (from the surface) had slashed through it. She said she would re-wrap her arm to hide the robotic arm when she could see better. Other than a shallow cut on her slim face, Air was unhurt. Zelenia had a large bruise on her right temple, Geryon appeared to have no injury, and Helian's armor was the only reason he hadn't been sliced open by the Terrave's claws that had fallen into their tunnel.

He glanced back at the blackened corpse of that Fangril demon. Some of its skin was still red, burning. His nose wrinkled because of the foul odor lingering around its body. Aeris began to blow away the smell, but Air wasn't with her.

It took a few more arrows, slashes of Aeris and Geryon's blades, and Fire completely engulfing it in flames to kill the Terrave.

His gaze returned to his end of the tunnel. Since Geryon wasn't in full command of fire, he couldn't maintain a steadily burning fire on some rocks or those strange blue glowing mushrooms for extra light. So, the foreign fungi provided sight in the practically pitch-black tunnel... even though dim.

Helian was worried about the others. They had Pica, so being unable to see wasn't a problem. But if they had been hurt from the fall, they didn't have Zelenia to heal them. And, if he was brutally honest, those three weren't the strongest fighters in the Elementals group. Kalisa and Renuo had the potential of becoming fierce, but because they weren't in tune with their elements yet, they were weak.

Aeris and Geryon weren't true Elementals either, but they could fight—Fire seemed like a trained soldier and need pushing Air to wield blades made them great warriors. He wondered how ridiculously expert they would become once they were anointed.

Something snapped Helian to.

He peered into the darkness, trying to see what gave off that sensation. It didn't feel like an imposing presence... more familiar. Cheerful.

Recognition clicked.

"Pica's close," he announced.

"I feel her, too," Zelenia said. "But she's distant; something's blocking her aura."

"Is she coming down the tunnel?" Geryon asked, followed by Aeris asking, "Are the others with her?"

Helian's mouth opened, but Tegen spoke. "No, she's under us. And, yes, Kalisa and Renuo are with her. Something chases them." The big Kemiji had his hand on the floor, feeling vibrations.

Fire headed to him with his sword out. "Can you lower us so we can help them out, Tegen?"

"I have a better idea." He stood and looked at Helian. "Join us, Helian."

Wary and intrigued, Helian did so, stopping beside Zelenia.

Tegen stood completely still for a while before he suddenly jumped a few feet forward and came down hard with a fist. Earth rumbled all around them; rocks began to fall. Kneeling, he threw out his hands to either side with his fingers splayed. The rumbling stopped—he re-fortified the tunnel to keep it from collapsing.

Rising, he turned and, like he was shoving an invisible pillar into the floor, pushed down. A perfect circle appeared, and light shone up through the hole as the platform of rock descended.

Helian, Zelenia, Aeris, and Geryon moved closer to the hole in the floor to see; within seconds, three heads appeared, looking up. A beaming smile broke out on Pica's face, Renuo's body deflated some in relief, and Kalisa didn't seem surprised at all.

"Hey, guys!" Pica called.

"I'm guessing Tegen caused the ceiling to crumble onto the Gway chasing us?" Renuo asked.

The Kemiji moved over to the hole. "Yes. I could smell them and felt their vibrations."

"Could you smell us? What do I smell like?" Light asked in her rapid-fire way.

Tegen nodded. "You are like sweet taffy."

"Cool! I've always liked that candy!"

"Can you bring us up?" Kalisa asked, cool and unaffected by Pica's innocent babbling like usual.

"Yes. Step within the circle."

The three below did so while Tegen told their group to step back. Once they moved, Tegen turned his hand palm-side up and raised it as if he was lifting something heavy. In moments of rock grinding against each other, Light, Water, and Spirit emerged through the hole; their elevator stopped on their level—the edges of the lift blended with the floor. Pica's small sun came up with them and lit their tunnel.

"Are any of you hurt?" Zelenia immediately asked, stepping forward.

Pica answered, "No, we're all fine."

"How did you three escape unscathed?" Geryon asked—he seemed baffled like Helian was. How was that possible?

"Just lucky, I guess." The pink haired Rovaneim shared a look with the gypsy and fisherman; Kalisa rolled her eyes as Renuo gave her a small smile.

Even as unlikely as it was, those three had some sort of secret agreement. Helian was both miffed about being kept out of the loop and relieved that they were bonding.

Pica's clap echoed loudly. "Alright, so how do we get out of here? Tegen, can you do that rock-lift thing again?"

He nodded. "I believe so. I do not detect a body of water above us." The Kemiji looked at Renuo. "Do you, Renuo?"

He spent some time gazing at the ceiling. "I don't."

"Then gather close."

The Elementals bunched around Tegen. Drawing himself up to his full seven-foot height—Helian felt power building up—he punched at the ceiling. A perfect circle appeared and continued to drill up. After a while, daylight shined into the hole. Clumps of dirt and rocks cascaded down, but Tegen opened his hand and they shot into the walls, sticking, so nothing rained down on the group.

Just like how he raised the others, Tegen turned his hand over and pulled it up. The rock under Helian vibrated; there was no uneasiness as they ascended. It wasn't fast so his stomach didn't drop, nor did he get any thrill out of it, so when they reached the surface—not being blinded by the evening sun—Helian was disappointed.

Aeris inhaled deeply and breathed it out in relief. "It felt like I was suffocating down there."

Helian looked around—the path they had been on wasn't in sight. The rolling hills around them appeared to belong to the same landscape as before the cave-in.

"Which way now, Tegen?" he asked.

Seeming to already know, he pointed west.

They weren't walking long before they came across the original dirt path. The sun was setting before them and, fortunately, a cluster of trees was close to their road. Hurrying, the Elementals scavenged for food—berries and small critters Geryon roasted—before night fell. Tegen used his command over earth again by surrounding them in a rock shelter.

Pica provided another sun—dimmer than the last—for light. Now able to see, Zelenia healed the cut on Aeris' face, making it flawless again. Helian took off his armor to inspect the damage but amazingly found it untouched. Renuo and Kalisa sat the furthest from the light, quietly talking.

After their hectic day, all were drained and fell asleep quickly.

***

Helian awoke in the morning refreshed as the sun rose for another day. After Kalisa used her heightened awareness to search outside for evil auras and didn't find any, Tegen lowered their rock shelter. After breaking their fast with more berries and their canteens of water, they headed out.

No more Terrave ambushed them to alter their boring walk, but at midday, the landscape changed. Ahead, the road forked: the left leading to open grasslands and probably more lakes or ponds, and the right delving into narrowing cliffs close to meeting above it. Tegen led them to the right; the rest had fallen into step behind him. A sharp intake of breath had Helian turning to see Aeris frozen, face pale and eyes wide and trembling—she recognized the split, and it wasn't a good memory.

Geryon stepped up beside her. "Aeris?" he asked.

She looked at him, glanced at the left pathway, then back to him. Some secret understanding passed between them before he offered his hand. After further deliberation, Aeris hesitantly took his hand. Geryon gently tugged her along; she took a few steps before moving in close to him, wrapped her free hand around his arm and laid her head on his shoulder, refusing to look back at the path again. They passed him without a word or glance.

Helian cautiouslybegan walking again, not irritated this time because he didn't know—for itobviously wasn't good—but wondering what had just happened.