'This isn't working...'

The more Teen thought about her plan the more she began to doubt herself. Hunger was starting to eat away at her confidence.

'If we can't find any food this plan is a totally bust...'

Teen now realised another flaw with her plan. One they couldn't wait out.

'I guess Navy was right about something...'

Navy had pointed out a lot of flaws in her plan. From whether the beast would actually leave its cave to how fast they would be able to nab the stone. Teen knew her plan wasn't the greatest, but the alternatives were either too risky or plain foolish. Take Navy's plan for example. What would happen when the beast wondered out of its smoke-filled cave and found three presences next to it? Teen wasn't sure of the beast's ability to sense them, but she didn't feel the need to test them.

The rustling of leaves sounded next to her as she spotted both Gol and Navy.

'Please have good news'

As much as Teen hoped she already knew the search was a failure by the face worn by Navy. A small proud smile that seemed to say, 'I told you so!'

'We need a better plan quick'

"...so, in conclusion. We should go with my plan"(N)

Navy was sat opposite Teen in the same tree branch with an air of superiority around her. Thirty minutes of Teen's time had been wasted on an explanation that could be summed up in five. Teen was a little annoyed. It didn't help that Navy kept subtly praising herself and her own plan throughout.

"No"(T)

"I knew you would finally see reason and-"(N)

Teen's hand stretched out and covered Navy's mouth. Navy was fully lost in her own world yammering away about a plan they weren't going to use. At least, not in its current form. It was beyond exhausting.

"You know, I thought of better way to conduct this plan"(T)

Gazing at the orange berries dotted with yellows spots Navy had handed her as proof of her words. Teen still couldn't believe their luck.

'I guess somethings just work themselves out?'

Teen liked to believe she was brave but walking into that cave again was posing to be a real challenge. After all, they couldn't really tell if their plan was working, and they didn't really have the time to find out. They all knew how important it was to be quick in this operation. A failure to do so would render all of them victims to their own plan.

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Gol was the first one to take a step forward to the entrance. Taking a deep breath and giving them a confident smile.

'Focus, we can do this!'

Teen needed to believe her own words and have a little faith in her own plan.

She turned to see Navy taking a deep breath. If Teen could have it her way, Navy wouldn't be joining the operation. She was too weak and would become a liability if things went south, but Navy's pleading, which turned into begging, eventually swayed her decision. It would be kind of crude to leave her out completely especially with how eager she was to help. Plus, it would benefit the plan to have more eyes searching for the stone as their time inside was limited. By Teen's own admission, she didn't exactly know where it was.

'That's right, think about the pluses'

Holding her breath and mustering up her courage, Teen stepped into the cave.

Laid in the middle of a cave was a slumbering beast.

'I-it worked!'

Teen had taken the best bits in both Navy's plan and her own plan. Making something greater than the sum of parts. Navy's plan was dangerous, quick and hinged on the hope the beast wouldn't detect them while Teen's plan was safe, long and hinged on the hope the beast would come out soon. Both their plans had faults too large to ignore so Teen had made a compromise of sorts. The new plan was safe, quick and was almost guaranteed to work.

The Wasteberries were the central key to this operation. A name they gained from growing in land subject to mana poisoning, these berries had the powerful ability to knock out just about anything. So powerful that even smelling a freshly cut one could knock you out cold. The scary part about this is that they don't even have an odour. They were generally hard to come by reliably because most mana poisoned sites don't last longer than a couple of months.

'Well at least that explains the funky trees'

The plan required them to lightly cook the fruit in order to release its smell. The toughest part of the plan was placing the berries close enough to the cave entrance that the beast would inhale the odourless fumes. Teen couldn't count the number of times she felt like they were almost caught. Her heart had never beat faster, but in the end, their efforts had paid off.

They only had a few seconds while holding their breaths to search for the stone. They would have had more time if the leaves they had tried for masks didn't keep breaking at the slightest movement. Since the beast didn't directly consume the fruit, its affects were much weaker. Teen guessed they had about thirty minutes before it would start to regain proper movement. Time that could be used to run far, far away from this shady place.

Focusing back on the current situation, Teen faced her brother.

Gol made a circle motion with his hand. The meaning was obvious. Search the place.

The cave was not particularly large, but neither was it small. It was what one would imagine when someone asked them to picture a cave. A mostly dark cavity in a wall. A few rock formations painted the ground and ceiling making the search harder than it needed to be. The group of children searched the cave's expanses before one of them finally came upon the stone. It was Navy, who proudly lifted it up and began waving it around.

'So far so good'

The stone was a little distance away from where they had slept in the cave. All they had to do now was take the stone and get the heck out of here.

Navy was position behind the beast with its body acting as a guard. She just needed to make her way over to where the exit was.

'I can't believe how smoothly this is going'

And as if to spite her thoughts, the sound of tearing rang out within the cave.

Navy had gotten stuck.