"The Mincing—?" Makenna started to ask, but jumped when Ash let out a frustrated yell.
He ripped Breena's slingshot off his neck and chucked it and the book he dropped across the room. They passed Makenna, so it looked like he had thrown them at her.
She was forced to duck under the book and slingshot so they wouldn't hit her.
Sniffing, Ash rubbed his nose and pulled his knees close.
Makenna narrowed her eyes and questioned, "Why did you throw those at me? All I asked was if something was wrong."
Ash peered up and inquired, "Don't you see, Miss Delling?" in a choked voice. "The Mincing has started! Our two worlds are on the verge of destruction, and you're treating it like a joke!"
"A joke?" Makenna angrily asked. "Now listen here, Mr. Know-It-All, I care just as much for these measly worlds as you do, but seeking out the Wizard Fairy and taking on Poseidon is something I must do alone! Since we've started our journey, you've turned into nothing but the annoying little brother you used to be! You're following me all over the place, which is getting on my nerves! How is it that you think I'm your only friend?"
Ash just stared at her.
Makenna raised her eyebrows. "Huh?"
Standing, Ash shouted back, "I don't! I don't want ya to get hurt! Makenna, you have no idea what you're about to get yourself into! The problem with ya is that you think you can win this war alone. Well, ya can't, and if ya don't believe me, try! You will never find the Wizard Fairy without me!"
"I don't need the Wizard Fairy!" Makenna snapped. "All I need is this transformation, my nails, and hair!" Right as she said that, her nails glowed red.
"That's not how it works!" yelled Ash. "Being a Metamorphic Fairy is not just about getting bonnie fairy wings every once in a while! True metamorphosis is not about looks—it's character! Why are you the only one who can't see that?"
"Just shut up!" Makenna barked.
Silvey hurried to the corner of the room and put her paws over her ears.
A lump formed in Ash's throat. He said nothing more and grabbed another book off the shelf. Plopping down, he turned his back to Makenna and buried his nose in it, tears fountaining down his cheeks.
Makenna knew he was in pain, but didn't care. She didn't care about any of this rubbish anymore. If Ash had a permanent brain injury, so what? When Dr. Snugglekins found out, he would definitely take him to a hospital, which would finally get him off her hands. That was if he found him at all.
Makenna flapped her wings and lifted into the air, ignoring the rules of the game. She soared past her so-called friend and out of the secret room. Once she reached outside, she cupped her hands, and a bright, blue and pink light appeared in them. Makenna aimed it at the stone wall behind the fountain. The beam slammed into it, triggering an avalanche. Barely missing the fountain and Crusader, the rocks crashed into the secret passageway and piled up.
Ash heard them and slammed his book shut. Under him and Silvey, the ground shook.
"What the—?" Ash asked. "Hey!"
Fear flashed across Silvey's face, and she leaped to her feet.
The mini earthquake blew out one of the torches. It soon stopped, and the passageway's entrance was officially blocked.
Ash hurried up the stairs, but was forced to stop halfway because of the wall of rocks. He smacked his palms on two of them and shouted at Makenna, "Let us out!"
Silvey appeared behind him and whined.
Outside, Makenna reached for her head and shook it. Something stopped her from trying to get the two out.
***
Down below in the secret room, Ash again shouted, "Let us out!" He didn't have Crusader, so he couldn't use her to break the rocks.
Grabbing a few, he began to dig through the wall. He rolled the rocks down the staircase, and Silvey jumped out of the way. Ash yelled at her, "I'll tell ya, Silvey, that wummin may be bonnie, but she's such a wain! A brat! She's bowfing—off her heid!" He didn't hate her—he just wanted her to change and realize that metamorphosis wasn't about looks. Deep down, he knew she was a good person.
Ash removed his hands from the rocks and hurried down the stairs, where he met up with Silvey. She watched as he passed her and hurried to another chest. Pulling it out, he opened it and dragged out a heavy axe. Silvey followed him as he hauled it up the stairs and smacked the rocks. He gave them each a heavy blow, but they didn't budge. It wasn't long until the axe broke, and Ash cried out again. He chucked the remains back down the stairs and hit a few of the rocks with his side. Still, he got nothing.
Eventually, Ash wore himself out, and his injured brain cried out in pain. Everything turned blurry.
Ash slid his side down the rocks and begged, "Please." He pulled his glasses off and hugged them to his chest, flopping onto his side.
Silvey marched to him and nudged his head, urging him to stand. "Ash, you can't give up," she telepathically told him. "You're Ash."
Ash eventually opened his eyes and whispered, "You're right, Sil. I can't let this concussion slow me down. Makenna needs me."
Silvey wrapped her feelers around his arm and helped him stand. She again spoke to him telepathically. "Let's get out of here together, Ash."
He nodded and slipped his glasses on, leading her into the secret room. Heading to the chest Makenna had opened, he reached inside and dug around. Pulling aside papers, Ash grabbed something and pulled it out. What he held was the scroll he and Makenna were supposed to find. It looked like any other scroll: wrapped and tied with a brown, leather string. It looked a little old and fragile, but Ash took good care of it.
He stuck it into a leather pouch on his belt and told Silvey, "If this is the way Miss Delling wants it, then too bad for her. Her trial just got a lot harder."
Silvey nodded in agreement. "That's the spirit, Ash!" She followed him to the rocky wall, where they stood beneath a ledge.
Before climbing, Ash reached around the corner and dragged out a trash can full of weapons. He forgot about the book he'd thrown and his sister's slingshot. Right now, he was desperate to find Makenna before The Mincing got out of hand.
With a serious look on his face, Ash reached into the trash can and drew a sturdy broadsword. He slipped it into the case on his back, where it joined his shield, and next drew a regular bow and quiver of arrows. Ash put those on his back as well. After gathering his weapons, he hurried back to Silvey.
Ash climbed first. Still serious, he started up the wall and peered down at the fairy dog.
She followed close behind and used her feelers to help her climb, although she slipped a bit.
Ash reached down and grabbed her under her belly with his right hand. His dominant hand gripped the rocks tightly. He was lucky that Silvey didn't weigh much. Ash lifted her to the ledge and pushed her onto it. Animals came first, and then people.
In return, Silvey helped Ash up. She wrapped her feeler around his arm again and pulled.
Before long, Ash dragged himself onto the ledge and scratched her under the chin. "Good girl." He gestured right. "Why don't you grab that torch, and I'll knock the rocks down?"
The ledge he and Silvey stood on faced a loose section of the rocky wall that led to another secret passageway.
Silvey again used her feelers—that time to grab the torch her friend pointed out—and stepped aside.
Ash worked hard, but fast. He banged his side against the loose rocks, which cracked under his force. Before the two knew it, the wall broke and opened the entrance to the passageway. Ash fell through it, but caught himself before he fell over a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff was the secret passageway, running parallel to an underground river. Screeches were heard deep within it.
Ash pushed himself up and brushed his hands off. "All right, Silvey, we're in. Now, we have to get down. Hold on to me."
Nodding, Silvey hopped onto his back and wrapped her free feeler around his shoulders. She stretched out the one that held the torch.
With Silvey ready, Ash approached the edge of the cliff and jumped off it.
Silvey held on tightly.
As they fell, Ash reached into his pouch again and pulled out a cloth glider. He opened it and grinned as he and Silvey started to glide. They landed beside the underground river just when a gush of wind swept through the area.
Silvey leaped from Ash's back, and he put the glider up. Strangely, another worried look flashed across her face. It wasn't long until Silvey put her feeler around Ash's arm again and cautiously trotted behind him while he hiked the line of the river.
They marched into the darkness of the passageway, and Ash sweated. There was something off. He felt like he and Silvey were being watched.
Just before Ash and Silvey reached the underwater river's largest pool, the screeches were heard again—much louder and closer than the first time. The sound of them even startled Ash, and he was Ash. He did not remember hearing that something was down there, but something was.
As quiet as a mole, Ash drew his sword and shield and escorted Silvey to a safe rock near the tunnel's wall. Whatever it was... He was ready for a fight.