A burning star rushes across the beach, leaving a trail of glass behind. The field of coral-shaped flowers comes into view. "The reef," Lahar whispers. She looks up to see water falling from massive corals growing off the cliffside. Below that coral is the entranceway to a cave that Arena marked in his book as "Unexplored."
Lahar's grip on Pie's hair tightens. Her eyes widen as Pie stops in front of the reef. Lahar jumps off his back and reaches into her backpack. Because of the storm, the bag is soaked, but the contents inside remain perfectly dry.
She pulls out Arena's book and starts to flip through the pages. The raindrops roll off the pages, leaving no wet streak. The book remains undamaged. She stops on a page where she folded the top right corner.
With every thunderclap, Lahar flinches slightly. Crew jumps off Pie's back and walks toward her. His body slushes with every step he takes. One raindrop passes through his sand body and drips onto his flame. He jumps slightly in pain. Crew tightens his hands, and then his body turns to stone.
Lahar crouches down and taps the image of the flower on the page, showing it to Pie and Crew. It is a small, oddly shaped ivory flower. Not many notes are scribbled down on the next page. Just details of the appearance of the flower, its general location in the field, and the fact that only two exist on the reef.
Arena has already taken one and used it for his experiments to find out what this plant can do. There is only one thing written down in Arena's sloppy handwriting that Lahar cares about: "Medicinal qualities. Boosting ingredient." Doc was there when he was experimenting with it. She noted its potential to help with her cure.
Lahar will do anything if it will raise the chances of helping Arena, even if it's a small chance. Crew and Pie stare at the image for a moment. After digesting the image, they begin to scour the field looking for the flower.
Through the thunder and the rain, Lahar's mind focuses on just two things. The first is the task at hand. The second is flashes of Arena lying on the bed, pale with blue lips. Guilt is the chain shackling her to the weight of her own incompetence.
Pie and Crew are spread far out, with their sights fixed on the flowers, not her. Lahar wipes her face, allowing herself to indulge in self-pity for just one short moment. She won't allow herself to cry. Now is not the time for that, not when so much lies on her shoulders.
The storm rages on as they continue to search. "Think this is it?" Lahar yells. Pie and Crew look up to find her crouching over the elusive flower. In a field of brightly colored flowers in a dim atmosphere stands a small ivory flower. The petals look like coral but feel like a rabbit's fur.
Lahar digs her fingers into the sand around the flower. She starts to chant a spell, and then the raindrops around her stop right before they touch the sand. The droplets float toward her hands and then into the sand. A soft crunching sound is heard. Then she picks up a bowl made of ice filled with sand, the flower perfectly intact. Lahar feels Crew's hand on her shoulder.
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Lahar's eyes fixate on the raindrops falling off the petals. For a moment, she feels hope spark inside her—a spark quickly engulfed by a more powerful, cold-feeling fear. She can feel the prying eyes stare deep inside her. Pie burns bright as a cloud of steam surrounds him.
Lahar looks back and sees the Beasts surrounding her. She quickly looks for one of the two who hide in the back. She finds him, but not in the back, idly watching. In front of them all, patiently sitting as the other Beasts starts to show their teeth and step closer, is the one Lahar calls Statue.
His eyes pierce through Lahar's being. Then his eyes shift their gaze toward the flower. Her fingers grip the bowl firmly. She doesn't need to speak; she knows why they are here. It's no shock that Void has had them watching her, waiting for her to step past the barrier.
Crew slowly crouches down and places his hands into the sand. Soon, stone copies of Crew rise from the sand, each an exact replica minus the flame inside its head. They move in front of Lahar.
Her fingers squeeze tightly around the grip of the water gun as she pulls it out of its holster. She holds the plant close to her heart, with the gun pointed right at Statue. They all stand there, waiting for the other side to make the first move. The hoof of one Beast fidgets and moves back and forth. They grow impatient.
Then the first move is made. A Beast charges toward them, its horns aimed at Lahar's chest, until a Crew grabs it by its horns. He lifts the Beast up and slams him to the ground, ripping the horns off its head and shattering its mask.
They all make their moves. Chaos ensues as the Crews battle the Beasts. The Crews are lower in number but greater in skill and strength. Statue's ivory mask stretches and covers his body in an ivory tusk armor. He charges toward Lahar, but before he can get close, Pie slams into the side of his body. Statue is flung off the reef and into the mushy sand.
Through the flames, a single stream of his blood flows down on Pie's head. The area of impact on Statue's side is cracked. He stands up, unaffected by the blow. Pie charges forward.
The storm grows stronger to match the intensity below. With the wind and rain pounding on Lahar, she can't get a decent shot in. Her hands are full, preventing her from reaching into her bag for the potions she packed.
She feels a bump behind her and quickly aims at the feeling. Suspecting a Beast, she aims high, but for a moment she sees nothing. She aims lower and finds a Crew copy. Then an idea pops into her head. Lahar crouches down and hands the plant to the copy. She points toward the house.
Instantly the Crew understands. His chest opens up, revealing a space inside himself. The Crew carefully places the flower inside his chest. He uses the chaos to hide himself in the masses and slips toward the house without notice.
Lahar turns back to find herself in the view of two of the Beasts. She pulls the trigger, but the force of the wind skews the trajectory. She moves back as she continues to fire a flurry of shots. Soon she finds herself backing into the cave, with them coming closer. Then a burning comet slams into the Beasts, knocking them into one another.
Lahar smiles as Pie wags his tail in pride. Then, in a split second, twisted ivory horns are under Pie's body. The Beast lifts and hurls Pie across the beach. Lahar steps back, deeper into the cave. Statue steps into the cave and then stops. He turns to see Pie sprinting back to the cave, with a small group of Crews following.
Seconds before Pie reaches the entrance, a wall of ivory rises from the ground. The wall traps Pie and the Crews outside with the army of Beasts. Lahar wishes she were on that side. Now she is trapped, alone with Statue.