And with that, the three boys begin their search for the ID Card, and to find Grim. They both arrive at the first cage "PTM-603."

"This cage looks way more heavy-duty than all the others," Leona says.

"And it looks like it's locked tight," Jamil says."

"I suppose that means there's a particularly powerful Phantom inside?" Jamil replies.

"Probably," Leona says, "All righty then..."

Just then, Leona approaches the cage, leans his leg back, and gives it a hard kick that goes flying across the room.

"What the-?!" Jasper exclaims.

"Did you seriously just KICK the cage across the room?! What is WRONG with you?!" Jamil adds in shock.

And the Phantom inside lets out a roar in anger, "GRRR!" and starts to get riled up.

"Now the Phantom in there's all riled up. I think it's going to bust out of the cage!" Jamil says. "...Here it comes!"

And with that, the Phantom busted out of the cage.

"And there it is," Jasper says, and without a second thought fires his magic at the Phantom.

Jamil and Leona do the same. They continue fighting it until it dissolves.

"Nothin', huh? I've heard of paper tigers, but sheesh," Leona comments.

"No ID card, and no sign of the little shadow either," Jamil says.

"Which means, there's also no signs of Grim either," Jasper says.

"Chasing that slippery little jerk is a waste of time," Leona says. "Make it mad, lure it out and get it to lower its guard, whatever. We gotta take a different tack." and walks away.

"That's dangerous..." Jamil points out. "But that's what he just did, and we beat the Phantom easily. Still, it wouldn't kill him to share his plan before jumping right into it! He's just being reckless."

"Tell me about it. Let's head to the next cage and find that card," Jasper says.

The group continues their search, and soon hear noises coming from one of the cages, "PTM-477."

"I hear noise coming from this cage. Perhaps the Phantom with the ID card is in here?" Jamil replies.

"Let's take a look," Jasper says.

The group begins to approach the cage, but suddenly goes silent.

"...It went quiet," Jamil says.

"Must've sensed us," Leona says, "It's probably gonna attack as soon as we open the door. You good to go?"

"Yes, sir," Jamil says.

"You got it," Jasper says.

And Leona is right, as soon as they approach the cage and open the cage, the Phantom comes out and begins the attack. The three attack with their magic, and the Phantom dissolves into a puddle.

Once the Phantom is defeated, Jamil searches around, "...No luck, I'm afraid. There's no ID card in here."

"And no Grim either," Jasper adds.

Leona groans in frustration, "Ugh, this is startin' to get on my nerves. If it really is the furball, I'm gonna make sure he pays for wastin' my time."

"I'd normally feel bad for Grim... but I'm right there with you," Jamil says, just as annoyed.

He then smirks, "I say we make Briar compensate us appropriately."

"Now THAT'S a good idea," Leona adds with a smirk.

Jasper frowns and crosses his arms, "Hey, why are you talking it out on Briar?"

"It's logical because she's Ramshackle Dorm's housewarden," Jamin says.

Jasper grumbles and walks to the next cage that reads, "PTM-296."

Jamil stops them, "Guys, hold on a moment. That cage is slightly open."

"You're right," Jasper says.

"Yeah...Looks like we got a winner," Leona says.

"The Phantom might've gotten out. I'll check around, if you could wait here..." Jamil says.

But Leona says, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't think that'll be necessary."

And with that, the Phantom lets out a roar, "GWAAARGHTH!"

And begins to attack, the three boys attack fast as they dodge the Phantom's attack and fire their own. Luckily, the Phantom isn't that powerful so they're able to defeat it without it causing too much trouble.

Jamil searches around and confirms, "The Phantom didn't have an ID card on it."

Jasper looks inside the cage, "There's nothing inside the cage either."

"So we came up empty again," Leona says.

"Yes, but still..." Jamil says, and re-examines the situation, "That Phantom snuck out of its cage, hid in the shadows, and waited to ambush us from behind. It was more clever than the other Phantoms we've encountered thus far."

"True. And they're getting tougher the farther down we go," Leona adds.

"You're right. And their goal appears to take us down, and some are even stronger," Jasper says.

"Which means we could wind up fighting even stronger ones after this..." Jamil says.

The group decides to head to the next cage, which is labeled, "PTM-924."

Frustrated, Leona says, "...I'm gettin'real sick of this. I'd sooner just sand all the cages in one go."

"I think it sounds like a good idea. Better than having to deal with these Phantoms. But I worry about Grim if he's nearby..." Jasper says.

"I know how you feel, believe me. But nonetheless..." Leona says.

"Yeah, I know," Leona says, "Wouldn't wanna sand the ID card, and there's still a chance Grim's here. Here's hopin' this one's it."

"I'll take care of this one," Jasper says and fires his magic at the cage, making it open.

Then the Phantom inside begins to attack. Jasper fights off multiple times until the Phantom dissolves into a puddle.

"Nice work," Jamil says.

"Those Phantoms were getting on my nerves so I needed to blow off some steam," Jasper says.

"You and me, both," Leona says.

Jamil searches around and says, "No card.

"Right," Leona says, and is getting frustrated, "Ugh, just how many more times are we gonna have to do this?"

Then Jamil says, "...I must say, I'm surprised."

"Huh?" Leona replies, confused.

"You seemed truly worried about Grim a minute ago. And here I thought you couldn't care less," Leons says.

"I ain't worried. I just don't wanna deal with all the grief I'd get if I accidentally sanded him," Leona says, "S'all there is to it."

Jasper crosses his arms and puffs his face.

Suddenly, they hear a very loud noise. They turn their heads and see the cage labeled, "PTM-749." are being riled up.

"Something's making a real ruckus inside this cage," Jamil says.

"Maybe it's getting upset to hear we're taking down its allies," Jasper suggests.

"Perhaps," Jamil replies.

"I'll open it." Leona says, and begins casting his magic at the cage.

But suddenly, the cage shows signs of melting and dissolving.

"Wait... The Phantom in there is already melting and evaporating," Leona says. "And I bet I know who's responsible..."

And they hear a chuckle, "HeEEee HEE hee!"

Suddenly, something dooms past them.

"There it is..." Jamil says.

Soon, it's revealed to be a Phantom.

The Phantom says, "YoU aRE aLL MInE! AnY WHO OpposE mE wiLmE peRiSH!eRiSH!"

"Let's hurry and take that thing down," Jasper says.

"I agree," Jamil says.

With that, the three boys begin to attack the Phantom with their magic, and it's proven to be tough. However, soon enough, the Phantom have been defeated and dissolve into ink

As it melts, the Phantom screams, "NoOo! It'S nOT fAiR..."

And soon, the Phantom melted, and dropped the Id Card on the ground.

"After all that, the black shadow wasn't even Grim," Jamil says.

"So does this mean that Phantom pretended to be Grim to throw us off?" Jasper asks.

"It's possible," Jamil says.

Leona scoffs, "Stupid furball, makin' me do extra work... He's gonna pay the next time I see him."

Soon, the three boys rush to the doorway.

The Styx Staff notices them and asks, "Are you all okay?!"

"We're fine. We managed to retrieve the ID card.

"Let's clear out before the rest of the Phantoms wake up," Leona says.

Soon, Jamil uses the ID Card, and it opens the door. With that, the three students and staff escape out and the door closes soon after.

"Whew. I don't know what I would've done if those Phantoms had cornered me..." The staff says and turns to the boys, "Thank you so much, Subjects B and D! And young intruder."

Leona becomes annoyed, "Oh, for cryin'... I don't care if you call us X or Z. Just scram already. We're headin' down."

"What?! No, it's too dangerous!" the staff cries out in shock, "Come with me, and we'll get out of here!"

And Leona says, "You expect me to run just 'cause you all are fleein' with your tails between your legs? Yeah, right. I'm way stronger than you, remember? Just get as far away as you can. It'll lessen the chance of you gettin' dragged into one of our fights.

Eona

The staff remains silent, but then says, "...You know what, you're right. Warning a mage as exceptional as you is like telling a merman how to swim. I apologize. The Phantoms sleeping down below are even more dangerous. I'll cross my fingers for you three."

Leona huffs, "Hmph. Don't matter what you cross: Just use that energy to worry about yourself."