And with that, the search begins. They arrive at the first cage, "PTM-28." And the Phantom inside is making a racket, banging against the cage and such.

"The Phantom in this one's really kicking up a fuss," Jamil says.

"Sure is making a racket in there," Jasper says.

"Let's just take it out before it tries anything," Leona says.

"Understood. I'll open the cage," Jamil says.

"And I'll blast it away," Leona says, "No promises I won't hit you, though."

"Gee, thanks for the heads up," Jamil says.

"Let's forget the remarks and blast that thing," Jasper says.

Jamil steps forward, "Okay, here goes nothing..." and casts his magic at the cage, "Hrah!"

With that, the cage opens, and the Phantom is soon let out. Soon, Leona and Jasper fire their magic at the Phantom. Jamil does the same as well, seeing that demon is strong. Soon enough, with all three together, the Phantom is defeated.

Jamil says, "That was a tough one. Any key in here..."

Jamil and Jasper look inside the cage.

"It doesn't seem to be here," Jasper says.

Leona scoffs, "Tch. Not even worth the effort." He then lets out a yawn, "...I'm startin' to feel a little sluggish." and sits on the cage, "Whew..."

Jamil questions, "Leona, why are you sitting on top of the open cage? Are you seriously about to fall asleep?"

"So what if l am?" Leona responds.

"That's not funny. We need to hurry," Jamil says.

"He's right. This is no time for a cat nap," Jasper says, sternly.

"Oh, relax. I'm not fallin' asleep, but times like these are when you need breaks most of all," Leona says, "You should take five while you can."

Jamil and Jasper turn to each other, and decide to rest a bit before continuing.

After resting, the group heads to the next cage, "PTM-58", and like the first cage, this one has been making a fuss.

"The Phantom in that cage has been acting up for a while now," Jamil says. "It might burst out the moment I open the door. Better be careful. Okay, here goes." And Jamil casts his magic, "...НААН!"

With a single attack on the magic, the Phantom comes out and lets out a, "GRAAAGH!"

Leona and Jasper then fire their magic at the Phantom. And for some reason, Leona almost hit Jamil, but mananges to graze his hair.

Jamil cries out, "Hey, that grazed my hair! I was already on my guard, but I didn't think he'd aim a literal hair's breadth away from me..." And soon grows annoyed. He's totally enjoying this. Argh; I better just deal with this Phantom!"

The three continue to fight the Phantom and manage to defeat it, and it melted into a puddle.

"Is the key there?" Leona asks

"Not that I can see. But I'd like to go back to something for a moment...." Jamil says.

Then glares at Leona, "May I ask why you're firing spells at me?"

"Yeah. What was that for?" Jasper questions.

"Simple —if you relax your guard and assume someone's gonna cover you, it could be the last mistake you ever make," Leona answers. "So I'm remindin' you to stay alert at all times. It's my way of bein' nice."

"That's you being nice?" Jasper mutters, doubtful.

Then Jamil says, "Your concern is unwarranted. Rest assured, I exercise PLENTY of caution when I turn my back to you."

"Glad to hear it. Then keep it up and don't let your guard down," Leona says.

They continue on to the next cage, "PTM-38."

"All these fights are wearing me out. And we've still got more cages to go through..." Jamil says, and lets out a sigh.

Leona crosses his arms with a smirk, "What's this? You're lookin' pretty tired."

"Why yes, I am. A certain someone's been running me ragged," Jamil says.

"And we've been at this for a while," Jasper says.

"Heh. At least you've got the energy to mouth off, Jamil," Leona says in remark. "I'll take over opening the cages. Be grateful you have such a generous upperclassman," He then approaches the cage and fires his magic at the cage, causing it to open after the lock brakes.

The Phantom inside lets out a, "GWAAARGHGH!"

Like before, the three have to fight against the Phantom. They use their magic and are able to defeat it. And the Phantom dissolves into a puddle.

"Any key?..." Leona questions as he searches around, "Nope, nothin'. Oh well, onto the next."

Leona then walks to the next cage. Jasper decides to follow without another thought.

Jamil remains behind and says in thought, "...I have to admit, I'm impressed. He doesn't waste any magical energy when fighting or opening the cages. He's certainly irritating, but working with him has been a real eye-opening experience. He's got more than magical talent, too. He also has a vast breadth of knowledge and calm judgment. He might be a housewarden, but he couldn't be more. He might be a housewarden, but he couldn't be more different from my own."

Then follows the boys to the next cage. Leona arrives at the cage, "PTM-47".

Leona then uses his magic to break open the cage, "There, it's open."

"That was quick," Jasper says.

So far, nothing is coming out.

"No Phantom's coming out. Is the cage empty?" Jamil replies.

It's either cowerin' in the shadows or waitin' to ambush us. I'm not sensing anything near us, though," Leona says.

"I suspect the latter. Those Phantoms are getting smart," Jamil says.

"It could be holed up in the back of the cage," Jamil says, "Fine, I'll-" as he begins to approach the cage.

"You'll what?" Leona questions.

Jamil remains silent.

Leona then says, "You go lookin' in there, and that thing'll bite your head clean off."

If it won't come out, we'll just have to make it..." And then casts his magic at the cage, "...like THIS."

And with a strike of his magic, Leona is able to take down a Phantom with one shot.

"Well, that one didn't have the key. Tch, real waste of my time," Leona says, annoyed.

"You think it hid in the cage so it could catch us off guard?" Jamil questions.

"Who knows?" Leona answers, "Maybe it just wanted to survive, even in that state. Not our problem, though. Either way, it's safe to say that some of these Phantoms are intelligent."

"Then we can't assume things will be as straightforward as before..." Jamil says.

After defeating the Phantom, they continue their search for the key.

"The Phantoms are getting stronger the further down we go. The cages are more heavily reinforced too," Jamil says. "We'll need to conserve our magic. What part of the cage would be most effective to hit? If we're trying to reduce magic consumption, I think we should go for the area that looks weakest. We'll need to have surgical precision -" as he approaches the cage.

But Leona interrupts Jamil by casting his magic at the cage, breaking it. However, he almost hit Jamil in the process.

"What are you yammerin' on about?" Leona questions in remark, "Sheesh, it's like you're tryin' to give me more work.

"LEONA! You aimed at me on purpose, didn't you?!" Jamil cries out.

"An agile snake should have no problem dodgin' that, right?" Leona responds.

But says, "Oh hey, there's the Phantom."

"Oh, for... You are driving me nuts!" Jamil says, annoyed.

Jasper groans and facepalms his forehead in response.

Soon, two Phantoms come out and begin to cast their magic. Jamil, Leona, and Jasper use their magic for offense and defense. They continue fighting back until they gain the upper hand and defeat the Phantoms. The Phantoms soon melt into puddles.

Jasper looks around and says, "They didn't drop the key."

Jamil looks inside the cage, "No key in this cage either."

Then turns to Leona, "You know... Your spell left a deep gash on the side of the cage. What do you think it would've done had it hit me?"

"If you're so worried about that, then you shouldn't turn your back on me," Leona says.

This makes Jamil question, "Are we really on the same team here...?"

After the little incident, the group continues forward.

They soon reach the cage, "PTM-73". And like a few cages before, it's making a lot of noises.

"That's some racket..." Jamil says.

"Sounds like this one's not playin' around," Leona says, "It's only a matter of time before it breaks out of its cage."

"Then let's hit it as soon as it emerges. That'll give us the initiative and help save our reserves," Jamil says.

"Might as well, we've been doing it a lot," Jasper says.

"Sure, why not. We'll do it your way," Leona says, annoyed.

The three approach the cage, and plan to unlock the key. Jamil does just that.

But then, the Phantom breaks out and lets out a, "GWAAARGH!"

"Sheesh; took ya long enough: Way to keep me waitin'..." Leona says, and casts his magic at it, "Hrgh!"

The magic blast strikes at the Phantom with full force. This blast is enough to destroy the Phantom.

Leona scoffs, "Hmph, barely broke a sweat."

"There's no key here either," Jamil says.

Suddenly, Leona chuckles, "Heh..."

"What? Is something funny?" Jamil asks, confused.

"It's just you're showin' your emotions more. You're not bothering to hide your annoyance," Leona says.

"Yes, well... I'm pretty worn out. If l've offended you, I apologize," Jamil says.

"It's a lot better than your usual sycophantic attitude," Leona says.

That has Jamil offended, "My what?! I don't act that way toward anyone...Let's just move on to the next cage!"

They soon walk to the next cage, "PTM-72."

"Looks like this one's next," Jamil says.

"Yeah," Leona says.

He then casts his magic, "...Hngh!"

"I see you've finally hit your stride, Leona," Jamil says.

Then Leona says, "I got a good warm-up from all the extra work a certain sophomore and freshman dumped on me."

"What?!" Jasper questions with a frown.

"Wait, this is our fault?" Jamil questions.

Suddenly, they hear a sound, "Grrr...!"

"Hah. Looks like we got no time to chat. Let's take care of this," Leona says.

The three then fight against the Phantom with full force and are able to defeat it. Once the Phantom is defeated, it dissolves into a puddle of black ink.

"Now where's that key...?" Leona questions.

He searches and doesn't seem to find the key.

He scoffs, "Tch. Not in here. So much for that cage."

"... Leona," Jamil responds, "If I've inadvertently made things more difficult for you, um..."

Leona sighs, "Now you're mopin' like a scolded puppy? You can't let some random quip destroy your self-esteem. You know better than that."

"...Yes, sir," Jamil says.

"I can't tell if he's thick-skinned or just the opposite," Leona says, annoyed, "Man, what a pain..."

They soon arrive at the next cage, "PTM-65." When they arrive, they don't seem to hear anything coming from it.

"I don't hear anything comin' from that cage..." Leona says.

Leona then casts his magic at the cage, and makes the cage break open.

The Phantom coming out of it says, "FrEe... WaNT tO bE fReE..."

Suddenly, they notice a strange shine.

Jasper is the first to notice, "Look, there's something shiny among that Phantom?

"You're right," Jamil says, "Is that the remote key?!"

"Bingo. Let's grab it," Leona says.

However, the Phantom says, "FrEEdOM... WAnT... WaNt... FReEEEeeDOoooOM!"

The three get their magepens once more and begin to fight against the Phantom. The three fight against the Phantom with full force. However, the Phantom is trying to run away from them.

Leona is growing frustrated, "Would you quit runnin' around?!"

And strikes at the Phantom with full force.

The Phantom screams in agony, "GYAaaAAaaGH!" And soon begins to melt, "LiGHt... OUtSidE... FrEeDOm..."

"Nothin' personal. We're all just fightin' for our lives," Leona says.

Soon, the Phantom has melted, dropping the key in the process.

Jamil says in thought, "Leona's magic really is incredible. It's so potent and efficient. And I thought I could protect this guy?"

Leona says to Jamil, "Hey, quit spacin' out. I told you to get your head in the game."

"Oh, right..." Jamil says.

Leona looks around, "Where's the key?"

Jamil soon finds it, "...Found it! That Phantom had it after all. Now we can seal off the containment facility."

"Then let's get out of this place before the other Phantoms wake up," Jasper says.

Then Leona says, "That Titan's gonna be headin' up top. We'll run into it sooner or later. Unlike the rest of these guys, that thing's no joke. Be prepared."

"...Yes, sir," Jamil says.

"Right," Jasper says.