Trigger warning: gruesome imagery, blood, injuries, fighting.

Camille's P.O.V.
We had given up. We were exhausted, starving, thirsty, sore, and aggravated. For miles ahead, behind, left, right, everywhere, there was nothing. Around three in the morning, we decided to go back to the door. We weren't sure if regrouping or resting would do us any good, nor were we sure that continuing would do any good either. We were hopeless, helpless, and heedless.

That is, until a little over an hour later when I received a text from Owen. I told Milly and Lori to wait for a minute while I pulled out my phone and opened my messages app. Lo and behold, on the screen were the five words that turned the search upside down and finally put us on the right track: 'Roman is in the Imagination.'

"The Imagination?" Lori questioned. "Where in the Imagination would he be?" The answer immediately came to mind—it was the place where I had lurked and resided as the dark figure, the place where Roman and Virgil had once searched in their quest to find a loophole to break their curse, the place I had been taken to only hours after being created: the cave in the mountain.

Much quicker now, we met up with the other group at the door. They seemed just as exhausted as us, and yet, also like us, they seemed to have perked up upon hearing where Roman was. I explained to everyone exactly where I thought he was, they agreed without hesitation, and off we went.

The walk, as we had anticipated, was a long one, and even longer because we were slow from exhaustion and had to stop shortly after the sun rose in a patch of abnormally tall grass to eat and sleep.

"Our old village is very near to here," Tori commented. "We used to be able to see this field in the distance on high grounds."

After our brief resting intermission, we were off again. Finally, after hours of walking, around 11:30 in the morning, the mountain came into view.

"How do we get up there?" Owen asked.

"I have constructive powers in the Imagination," Milly replied. "So I could build us some stairs to get up and down." That she did, and within minutes we reached the gaping hole in the mountain, finding ourselves right in front of the shadow-hidden door that led to the actual cave dwelling.

"Alright everyone," Anthony whispered. "Here's the game plan: Lori, Tori, you're the frontline fighters, so you go after anything that tries to attack us. Owen and Camille, you find Roman and get him out. Milly and I, we're protecting you two—" he pointed to Owen and Camille "—since you'll be preoccupied. Everyone understand?" We all nodded. "Alright, let's go."

With the Lambargnis at the front, Owen and I in the middle, and Milly and Anthony at the back, we walked quietly through the door. Immediately, we were met with the sight of a few dozen figures, all lying down in a sleep-like manner, all looking like shadows. Upon realizing what they were, I stifled a gasp.

"Henchmen," I whispered, knowing they did not hear very well but still being cautious. "The last time I saw them were in blueprints—it must have gotten enough materials to make them."

"What do they do?" Owen asked.

"They're exactly what they sound like; henchmen. Lucky for us, they have poor eyesight and hearing, as does everything it tries to create. On the other hand, they're very strong."

"Guys, shh!" Milly silenced. Echoing through the cave walls was the quiet sound of rattling chains, as though some were being dragged slowly across the stone floor. We all walked carefully around the many henchmen scattered on the ground towards the sound. We turned a corner (which had not been there the last time I was in there) and found ourselves in a long hallway. The rattling seemed to be coming from the end of the hallway, but we couldn't see that far because of the darkness—everywhere but the hallway was lit with torches.

We moved closer and closer, a bit slowly out of fear and to allow our eyes time to adjust. Finally, at the end of the hallway, we reached a door that appeared to be made of metal. The key had, rather conveniently, still been in the door, so Lori turned it and opened the door, which was loud and squeaky.

Inside the small room that was hidden behind the door, we were met with a horrific sight: Roman was sitting against the far wall, his hands chained, his skin littered with slashes and cuts, skinny, pale, and his tattered clothes stained with what looked like dirt, dust, and blood. Most frightening of all, he was slightly translucent, which is a sign that a Side is on the verge of death.

"Wait," I said, grabbing Anthony's wrist as he tried to run forward to Roman. "What if it's still not him?" But Anthony shook his head, escaped my grasp, and ran forward to Roman. Immediately, Anthony put two tentative fingers to the battered Side's neck, apparently checking for a pulse.

"He's alive," he said, his voice shaking with a mixture of fear and relief. "And look!" He held up a necklace that was around Roman's neck, and suddenly I remembered: it was the yang necklace that Virgil had given him on Valentines Day, the very one that the imposter had failed to have. At the sight of that necklace, there was no questioning it: we had found Roman.

Whether we would save him, however, remained unanswered, as a low growl sounded from behind us. We spun around and found ourselves face to face with three henchmen. Owen and I rushed to Roman while Lori and Tori quickly took out the henchmen.

"How do we get the chains unlocked?" I asked. Milly, upon hearing it, yelled, "I need a bobby-pin!" Tori, having fought off the first wave of henchmen, pulled a bobby-pin out of her hair and threw it to Milly. The latter ran over to Roman, snapped the pin in half, and started unlocking the chains with one of the broken halves.

"Where'd you learn that?" I asked.

"You never know when you need it," she explained as she unlocked the second chain. "I know another method too, but it's best to save that one for a last resort."

At last, Roman was free. Without difficulty (due to his extreme skinniness), Owen and I lifted Roman and started carrying him down the hallway. It seemed, for just a moment, that we had a clear path out, but then I saw movement in the shadows.

"Watch out!" I yelled as every one of the henchmen emerged and ran at us, suddenly wielding swords. The Lambargnis ran forward while Owen and I made a run for the door and Milly and Anthony ran behind us.

"Milly, Anthony!" Lori yelled, kicking swords to both of them. They picked up the swords and ran at some of the henchmen. For the next full minute, the sound of clashing swords and the strange whoosh noise that the Lambargnis' fog made until one sound rose above the rest: a scream of agony. Before I had a chance to look and see who screamed, I found a sword at my throat.

Owen and I slowly moved backward as the swords at our throats guided us, and as we walked I saw something that made my heart sink: we were losing. Milly and Anthony both had locked swords, and it appeared Tori was the one that screamed, as she was standing primarily on her left leg with blood dripping down her right. Next to her, Lori was on her knees, a look of pain on her face.

"Stop!" Tori screamed at her. "Stop, Lori, please, STOP!" Lori turned to her pleading sister and shut her eyes, her lips curling up in a faint smile. Then a blinding crimson light exploded from her, slamming me against the wall and knocking me out.

Owen's P.O.V.
I woke up but didn't open my eyes at first. After a few moments, I blinked and sat up—or, at least, I tried to sit up, as Roman was lying across my stomach. I pushed him off gently and crawled around him to Camille.

"Camille," I whispered. "Wake up." I shook her a little, and she blinked a few times before shooting up and looking around.

"Wake everyone up," she said. "But be careful." She nodded towards the henchmen lying all around us. We both went person to person, trying to wake them up. Milly woke up and immediately grabbed her sword, while Anthony woke up and smiled.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and I nodded. "What time is it?" I shrugged, and his smile faded. He checked his watch and said, "it's 11:30, April first, the wedding's in thirty minutes!" A few gasps followed, but suddenly I heard a quiet crying noise. I turned around and saw Tori holding Lori, who still hadn't woken up.

"Is," I said. "Is she..?" Anthony ran to the Lambargnis and put two fingers on Lori's neck, then put a finger under her nose.

"She's alive," he said. "Barely."

"What happened?" Camille asked. Tori didn't answer, only started crying harder. Anthony walked over to one of the henchmen and nudged them with his foot.

"I think the henchmen will be out for a long while," he said. "But either way, we have to go, now. The wedding's about to start, and we need to get there fast. Camille and Owen, get Roman and start going. Milly and Tori, carry Lori." Everyone nodded and did as Anthony said, then went out the door as fast as we could.

A.N.
Hey what's up I got a snack. No, no, I didn't get a snack, I just got a bad sense of humor. Oh wait, I already had that.

So, anyway, I'm back from my business trip. We were in a... sketchy place, to say the least, with a lot of 'sketchy' people, but at least we made some really good sales on the second day of the festival we were working at and we had some really good laughs.

Also, yesterday evening I was sitting there and thinking, what should I do right now? So I got to thinking on something Patton said in chapter twenty-two of this book: "Thomas' creativity is pretty dull, and so is his anxiety. If something happens to his logic, he might stop functioning properly." And I was thinking about what I was thinking when I wrote that sentence and I thought I should write it down. Long story short, I made some kind of point system that may or may not only be understandable to me, but whatever.

That's all I've got to say about that, so yeah. Adiós, guys, gals, and non-binary pals.

Ah, but wait, there's more! That's right, a part two to the author's note nobody asked for and nobody wanted. I just had to add this in because the rest of this author's note was written a few hours ago but this is being written just before it's published. Anyway, like ten minutes ago I did a thing in a future chapter that is most likely gonna make all of you hate me. I know someone's probably gonna comment something asking what I did, but it's not too far ahead and I promise you'll know what I'm talking about when you read it.

Alright, for real now, adiós, guys, gals, and non-binary pals.