"I can't find Ace." Dashie raced over to the rest of her winglet, which sat in a circle in the Jade Winglet's sleeping cave.

Des twiddled his talons. "I'm a bit worried now. What if Antag took him again or something? Oh I'm feeling an existential crisis coming on..."

No one really took this second half seriously, but they did think: What if Antag HAD taken him again?

"Hey, I know!" Señor Tonto said, "Let's go back to that cave where we met Antag!"

"Would they really hide there again?" Thor asked, "I mean, we've been there twice now?"

Des sighed. "It's worth a try. I mean, where else would we start?"

No one could argue with that logic, so they went to the cave where they met Antag.

Upon arrival they noticed that there were about a thousand more tunnels than there were before.

"No. Way."

"What is it Des?" Dashie asked.

"There are more animus dragons. There have to be."

"WHAT!?" Thor yelled, "NO, NO WAY. NOPE. NOPETY NOPE NOPE NOPE."

Des sighed. "Well let's get to it. Time to find Ace I guess."

And so they split up, searching the tunnels for Ace.

- - -

Meanwhile Ace was having an existential crisis.

What if he really wasn't helpful? What if his friends thought he was useless?

But he shouldn't have been thinking about that, he should have been looking for another way out.

He also SHOULDN'T have believed Trick, as her name was LITERALLY Trick, meaning LIE.

And of course Ace can't hear the author and won't hear all the hints I'm dropping that idiot. WAIT! I have an idea...

So the author started drawing in the dirt, writing Ace a message...

"HEY! What, no, not okay!" Trick bounded over and messed up the author's message. "We're waiting for help!"

And so Ace resumed waiting.

- - -

"This way," Irre led Des down a tunnel.

"So, um, Irre, I've been wondering," Des said, "What are you supposed to be? Your costume, I mean."

"The white wolf sun god."

"Okayyyy," Des said.

Irre sighed. "I'll change when we get back."

"No, it's fine."

There was a moment of silence. It was broken by the rumbling of Venge's stomach. "Sorry," he said.

"Do you think we go left or right here?" Des asked.

"Right," Irre responded, taking them down the passage.

"So, do you think it's Antag again?" Des asked.

"Maybe. I don't know."

Des sighed. He was worried about his sibling, more than he'd ever been before.

- - -

Thor led Señor Tonto and Dashie down a passage.

"What do you think Irre was supposed to be for Moon's Eve?" Señor Tonto asked.

Thor shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?"

"I don't knowwww..." Señor Tonto said.

Suddenly they heard an echo-ey growl.

"Wha- what was that?" Señor Tonto asked, jumping behind Thor, "Was it a ghost?"

"If it was a ghost it could come from behind us too you know," Thor said.

Then they heard voices.

Dashie breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's probably just Des, Venge, and Irre."

"Or it's Ace and the kidnappers," Thor said.

"UNNECESSARY!" Dashie scolded.

Then Señor Tonto tripped, and he grabbed the wall to stop himself from falling. "Close," he said. The the wall came loose and he fell to the ground anyway. Thor rolled his eyes.

"You're too heavy- maybe stop eating so much," Thor teased.

"I am not!" Señor Tonto protested.

"Whatever you want to thi-" Thor was cut off by a grinding, clinking noise as a piece of wall slid away. "Three moons..."

Then Des came bounding down the tunnel, with Irre and Venge close behind. "A secret tunnel..."

"Do we go in?" Venge asked.

"Of course," Thor responded, promptly entering the tunnel.

Des nodded. "Let's go."

And so they entered the tunnel...