Tommy entered through the door and stepped into the spacious blue room with a white podium sitting in the middle of the area. He noticed the place covered in light blue rocks, dust, and glitter, just like some other places before. He put his finger on the ground as the sand trickled into his skin. Abruptly, a voice called out to him, interrupting Tommy’s thoughts. He looked around, wondering where the sound occurred.

“Well, well, hello there.” The voice said. Silence lingered in the air. “I said, hello?” It repeated.

Tommy turned to the source of the voice and noticed the person looking familiar.

“Antonio, is that you? And you’re alive?”

“I sure am,” Antonio replied, placing his hands on his hips. “I never thought I’d see you here of all places.”

“But how—?”

“Uh, it’s hard to explain, especially to someone like you, but I’ll try my best to explain in good and short detail...”

“Hey, wait—”

Antonio took out a device with a radar and a bunch of colored buttons on it.

“I used some technobabble to get back at those jerks, not to mention getting used to the powers of the teleport crystal, so I’ve been able to fight back and — hey, are you listening to me?”

Tommy blinked. “Ok, so anyway, it’s great to see you again.”

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“Same, but where is everyone else?”

“Oh, well, they’re in the middle of something important, but Amy told me to go on ahead.”

“Is that so?” Antonio creased his eyebrow and grinned.

Tommy glanced over at the blue rocks. He was about to ask something when Antonio took something else out of his pocket to draw his attention.

A blue gem?

“Oh, Tommy, look what I found.”

“Antonio, is that the gem of this place?”

“Not exactly. If you look closely, the jewel is fake.”

“Fake? I don’t see it.”

“Well then, observe.” Antonio lifted the gem in the air and then threw it on the ground, causing it to break and shatter into multiple pieces. Tommy’s mouth gaped open, surprised at the outcome.

“Did you seriously...?”

“I saw and examined it on the podium up there while you were away,” Antonio explained. “We need to look for the real one together, so what do you say?”

“You need not ask me twice. However, I wanted to ask you—”

“If you’re wondering about the rocks, then I don’t know. It was like this when I arrived here.”

“Oh, I see.” Tommy bit his lip. “But, you know, I wanted to ask about something else...”

“Oh, then go ahead, what is it?”

“Um, is it true that you’re siding and working with the Miletis?”

Antonio’s smile quickly faded as his eyes shrunk in fear. He shook his head and tried to regain his composure before continuing with the response.

“No, of course not. Like I said, I tried to escape from those guys. Who told you that?”

“Maggie, why do you ask?”

“So, do you trust what she says over your best friend?”

“What?” Tommy raised his arms in disbelief. “But I never said that!”

“You’ve only known her for how long?” Antonio snapped.

“Why are you so upset? I don’t understand—”

Abruptly, Antonio pushed Tommy out of the way as he rushed over to spot a door opened by a crack with an emblem on the side.

“A-ha, I can see the secret passage! That must be where the real gem could be!”

Tommy stood there, wondering what was up with him. “Oh, um, that’s great but—”

“Oh, right, sorry about that explosion earlier...”

“It’s all right, I think?”