Chihiro frowned and brushed her hands against the portals as she sat in the dimly-lit depths of the portal room. Though the Skylanders were gone for some time now, she couldn't really bring herself to leave the room just yet, so she just sat on a portal's cold stone rim and sighed. The rim was colder than usual thanks to the chills of autumn escaping into the portal building, but Chihiro didn't really pay attention to that. Something else far more important preoccupied her mind, something that had her so worried that she couldn't bring herself to think about or do anything else until it was put to rest.

"You've proven that you really do have the heart a portal master should."

Those words stuck with Chihiro ever since that holographic Eon clone left them with her the other day, and yet, she still couldn't wrap her head around why it said them. What does having the heart a portal master should mean? Did portal masters have something special about them beyond all that fancy magic and portal making, something that made them perfect for portal master stuff in the first place? Was it even important when she wasn't nearly as strong or smart as she should be?

After all, with all the trouble she caused, she couldn't help but wonder—why was it her that ended up in this situation? Why was it her that found them and turned out to be a portal master? Surely the Skylanders could benefit from having someone stronger, faster, smarter, just plain better than she was? Why was it her that found them, when she obviously couldn't fulfill the role they needed? She could lie to herself and say she needed to work just a little harder, just a little more, but she knew it was just a lie in the end.

Someone like her couldn't possibly be the one they needed, right? Especially not after all the times she failed! Surely there was a mistake, and she wasn't really meant to be the portal master who would protect them all! The one they really needed would show up any moment now, they'd get the hero and the proper friend they needed, and she'd go back to being the lonely kid from earth she was always destined to be.

But, Chihiro didn't really like that idea at all! She couldn't bear the thought of being apart from her closest friends, and yet, it would be selfish of her to stick around and cause trouble for them. That was even if this weird destined to be a portal master thing was true to begin with… Ugh, so many complicated questions and worries and no easy answers. Chihiro let out another sigh as she traced the ruins on the portal.

"Young Chihiro, is something wrong?" Master Eon asked as a soft, brighter light filtered into the room. "Why are you sighing?"

Chihiro gasped, perked up and turned her attention to the doorway, where sure enough, Master Eon and Spyro stood.

"Master Eon! Gold!" Chihiro called as she hopped off the portal and forced a smile. "What're you doing here?"

"We came to see if anyone had called in to return from the pie buffet," Master Eon replied as he floated up to Chihiro. "Any signals?"

Chihiro just shook her head. "'Fraid not. Haven't heard a thing since I came here to check myself."

Spyro frowned, and the way Master Eon's light dimmed showed that he shared Spyro's concerns. Chihiro couldn't help but feel a little worried too, but not by much given her existing concerns nearly ran her numb. After all, it was a while since they left…

"I'll go check the docks," Spyro said as he flew outside. "Maybe Flynn got back without us noticing."

Spyro flew out the door with a smile, though everyone knew he was probably bargaining at this point. With Flynn's piloting skills, if he came back, everyone on the island would have heard it! Still, though…

Chihiro frowned and wanted to follow after him, but before she did, she turned her gaze to Master Eon and toyed with her vest.

"Anyways," Master Eon replied as he laid on Chihiro's shoulder. "Getting back to my first question, is anything on your mind, young Chihiro?" Master Eon gently nudged Chihiro. "You seem quite troubled."

Chihiro breathed a soft, barely-notable hum as her eyes trailed back and forth, but finally she sighed as Master Eon flew off her shoulder.

"Master Eon," Chihiro said at last while she looked down at her feet, "what exactly made me a portal master?"

Master Eon paused while his glow turned still with contemplation, but he chuckled while his glow brightened. "Young Chihiro, nothing can make you a portal master!" Master Eon swirled around Chihiro. "Not bloodlines, riches, spells, or even being descended from a portal master!"

Master Eon stopped spinning and floated away from Chihiro as he made a sagely nod.

"Ultimately, it was purely by fate's decision that you were one!" Master Eon looked back at Chihiro while his glow turned to a gentle yellow. "You just happened to be lucky enough that the universe gave you the gifts it did."

Chihiro clenched her teeth and hands, because to be honest, hearing that didn't exactly ease her worries any. So something in the big, wide universe just decided out of the blue that she'd have these magic powers and all this responsibility? Why her, and not somebody who could be better for this?

"Why do you ask?"

Chihiro let out a sharp gasp and twiddled her shaky, clammy fingers. "Well, when I was fighting that hologram during the last exam, it said something about the heart of a portal master or something like that."

"That's not something you're born with, young Chihiro." Master Eon hummed, shook and glowed once more. "Rather, it's more about what a portal master should be."

"Then what is it?"

Master Eon let out a gust of magic, and from that gust formed an effectual theater of silhouettes in action! Those silhouettes fought villains, saved others from harm, offered aid to those that couldn't help themselves and more, all against a backdrop of sparkling blue light.

"With the great powers they hold, a portal master carries not just the responsibilities of a hero, but the fate of the entire universe on their shoulders," Master Eon explained as he examined this magical theater. "Thus, it stands to reason that they should use their powers for the good of the world around them."

Master Eon flew over an illusion of a humanoid figure fighting against a giant robot and floated back to Chihiro's side.

"Portal masters should be courageous, fair and wise—" Master Eon turned to Chihiro "—but most of all, kind and compassionate. A portal master should fight not out of malice or a lust for power, but out of a love for the world around them and a wish to protect it from harm."

Master Eon turned to Chihiro and softened his glow.

"Does that make sense?"

"I guess," Chihiro said with a shrug as she ducked under the fading magical theater and ran towards the door. "I'd better go outside, I've been here for too long."

Chihiro dashed out the door and down the halls before Master Eon could respond, and slowed to a walk as she held her head low. To be honest, that conversation also left her with more questions than answers. On one hand, she guessed it would be a good thing if she had the heart of a portal master, but on the other hand, did she really? A part of her couldn't believe that she could really be someone like that with all her faults and flaws. Even if she was, would just having the heart be enough? Cause she wasn't getting strong enough or smart enough to beat Kaos and his armies anytime soon, that was for sure!

Well, she mulled on this long enough. Chihiro sighed, pushed the portal building's door and strode outside with her head still hung low. The cool, refreshing autumn winds hit her face as Chihiro stretched up to the sun, and the life returned to her just a bit. Even if it wasn't enough to make her worries disappear, getting out of that stuffy building and in the open did help a bit.

"Ah, I can't believe I'm saying this," Chihiro remarked as she rested her arms down at her side, "but boy, have I missed you, chilling winter cold!"

Chihiro made a soft smile, but it quickly faded away as Spyro flew in—and judging by the way he was muttering, it seemed as though Flynn hadn't returned.

"Should I really be worrying this much?" Spyro mumbled as he flew back to the portal building's door. "Maybe they just—"

"They still aren't back, Golden Boy?"

Spyro gasped and froze in place while he looked into Chihiro's eyes, but sighed and looked aside. "Nope."

Chihiro frowned as well, but nonetheless grabbed his paw and squeezed it tight; it was as a way of showing she shared the same concerns he did, in a sense. Thankfully, he did seem to understand this, for Spyro's frown turned to a smile as he squeezed her hand back. Chihiro smiled in tandem with Spyro and both made small chuckles, but their joy seemingly vanished as they looked around the island. Without everybody else around, its overwhelming size seemed much bigger and definitely much more lonely than it usually did. There was no chatter, no laughter, and the only other sounds were that of the whistling winds as they blew leaves to and fro. It was a bit creepy, to be honest.

"Feels kinda weird with just us, doesn't it?" Chihiro remarked as she looked back up at Spyro.

"No kidding." Spyro shuddered as a couple leaves blew past, grabbed one from its path and rubbed a toe against it. "Say, how long was this banquet supposed to last? It's almost evening—" Spyro turned to the skies "—shouldn't they be back by now?"

Chihiro frowned as she followed Spyro's gaze. Sure enough, the bright blues of the afternoon skies that marked the moment the others left dipped to a brighter, yellow that soon poured into oranges and purples and red, all trademarks of the early evening.

"It does seem a little weird. Maybe they just lost track of time?"

"I'm not so sure about that."

Chihiro yelped as a whisperlike voice carried around her from the winds, turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. There behind her, Hex stood with Cynder close by.

"Phew, just you, Hex," Chihiro sighed as she wiped cold sweat from her brow. "For a moment, I thought you were a ghost or something!"

"I'll choose not to remark on that."

"Oh, right, you're technically undead and all," Chihiro chuckled and hung her head, her voice trilled just a bit. "I'll shut up now."

Hex shot Chihiro a very tired look, but then again, it was hard to tell just what she was feeling with her blank white eyes and perpetual frown. Thankfully her burns more-or-less healed, save for some faint scars that only made her seen even more ghastly. Not that it was a bad thing, to be honest, her creepy looks made her seem kinda cool, but…

"You're out now, Hex?" Spyro asked as he flew up to Hex, a glint of surprise in his golden eyes.

Hex only nodded as she turned to Cynder.

"Since Hex's feeling better, we were going on a quick walk," Cynder explained.

"And as I was telling Cynder," Hex said as she manifested a skull from nowhere and spun it around like a toy, "I couldn't help but feel that something was strange about this whole event."

"It was way too sudden, right?"

Spyro and Hex both made nods of agreement.

"And besides," interrupted a shrill voice as a ghastly presence manifested between Hex and Spyro, "if they wanted pies, I could've baked some twice as good as whatever junk they're serving over there!"

A warble sounded off as a purplish ectoplasmic formed between them, and finally grew more colorful and visible! Its gooey form solidified into Ghost Roaster, who grunted as he wiped what seemed like sawdust from his chains. Guess what Whirlwind said was right.

"I thought you still needed to rest," Chihiro remarked as she tilted her head. "Especially after you got stuck in the ceiling and nearly busted your head open again trying to get a spider off—"

"Did Whirlwind seriously tell you about that?" Ghost Roaster groaned. He flicked Chihiro's nose with a skeletal finger. "Well, don't go telling anyone else. It wasn't one of my proudest moments."

Chihiro's face flushed with the warmth of slight embarrassment, giggled and looked aside. "Sorry, Roaster," Chihiro chuckled as she scratched a sudden itch.

Ghost Roaster rolled his eyes, but turned those big orange peepers back to Spyro and Hex.

"Anyways, whatever they have there probably paled in comparison to my own cooking, so it's not like anything of value was lost because I didn't go." Ghost Roaster swirled his bony hand around. "What's the worst I'd miss out on? Food poisoning?"

"It might be worse than that, I'm afraid," Spyro said as he looked down at his paws. "It has been a while since they left, and I don't want to expect the worst, but…"

Hex made a grave nod of agreement.

"If something happens, it's their fault for getting takeout," Ghost Roaster scoffed, though the small, aside frown he made as he looked away spoke all the words his mouth didn't.

A flicker of concern rose in Chihiro's chest as they all shared looks of worry. She never liked assuming the worst, but just hearing what they said was enough to make all the worst-case scenarios flood into her mind! They could've gotten hurt, or attacked by rabid sheep, or turned into mindless zombie servants of an underworld overlord. Okay, maybe those only came about because she read too many of Hugo's novels, but still!

"Well, if you're so worried," Chihiro suggested with a shrug, "why not go check on them ourselves?"

"Oh, right!" Spyro chuckled as he looked to Chihiro. "You can just portal us there, right?"

Chihiro, however, just shook her head. "Not quite. I wanna make sure they're alright too, and I have been meaning to practice channeling warp magic!"

With a snap of her fingers, a small rift opened above Chihiro and a round, disc-like warp start dropped into her hands. Its dull blue metal only further chilled from the cold autumn wind, and the fact that the massive orb on its top was dull and dark showed that it had yet to be used. She’d wanted to try making a warp ever since the Mabu Defense Force dropped these warp starts off, just in case the Skylanders needed some alternate transportation...

Spyro, Ghost Roaster, Cynder, and Hex, however, all looked at each other and gulped.

"It's fine, don't worry!" Chihiro gestured with her hands for emphasis. "If Spyro, Hex and I start it up together, we should get there safe and sound—" Chihiro lowered her voice to a hushed whisper as she looked aside "—or it might blow us up in the process, but let's not think about that."

"Yeah, I think I'll pass," Cynder said as she stepped back. "Besides, somebody needs to stay here, just in case."

Though Spyro and Hex seemed reluctant, they all gathered together nonetheless and placed their hands on top of the warp start. As all their hands gathered, Chihiro closed her eyes and focused the magic in her heart, with hopes that Spyro and Hex did as well.

Alright, Chihiro thought as she scrunched her face tight. Take us all to Darklight Crypt!

While Chihiro focused her heart and mind, the rushing noises of magic around her grew greater while the light grew bright and warmer, and for a moment, it felt like everyone's hearts were as one!

Whoosh!

Just like that, the disc spun out from Chihiro's hand and slammed onto the ground, right in the center of their little huddle. It shuddered for a few moments, and a bright pillar of orange light erupted from its center and rained sparkles down onto the ground!

"Welp, seems like it worked!" Chihiro proclaimed as she leaped on the disc, spun around and grinned. "Last one to Darklight Crypt's a moldy pie!"

Chihiro's vision completely overrode with warm orange light as the warp whisked her away.

§

Chihiro smiled as the light faded and she got full view of Darklight Crypt, but yelped and reeled back!

"What happened here?" Chihiro exclaimed as she examined the wreckage before her. "It looks like somebody partied a little too hard!"

Chihiro's description wasn't entirely inaccurate. All across the front lawn, picnic tables were tossed aside while their tattered, worn cloths strayed the grassy outdoors, half eaten pies were smashed against the dirt, their tins bright against the fading afternoon light, yet oddly, the entire premise was vacant. No signs of the other Skylanders, any patrons, or chefs were to be found!

"Where is everyone?" Hex asked as she, Spyro and Ghost Roaster appeared behind Chihiro. Hex herself floated ahead and examined what remained of one pie.

Spyro seemed hesitant as he veered his head around the party site, but finally pushed himself to walk ahead and sniff a pie. "Ugh, these things smell awful!" Spyro exclaimed as he veered back and gagged. "If they taste as good as they smell, I'm glad I stayed behind."

"Where did everyone else go, though?" Chihiro remarked as she went to one of the few intact tables and picked up a pie. "It's like they just vanished into thin air!"

Chihiro tilted her head as she examined the pie, hummed and tapped her foot. "Is it really that bad?"

She slid her finger through the filling and got ready to taste, but someone snagged the pie straight out of her hands!

"I wouldn't eat that if I were you," Hex warned as she placed the pie back on the table. "There's something wrong with these pies, they've all had curses laid on them!"

Chihiro made a grunt of shock, as did Spyro and Ghost Roaster around her, yet shook her head and frantically wiped the filling from her finger.

"A curse?" Spyro repeated as he flew up to Hex and sat on the bench. "What kind?"

"I'm still trying to find out," Hex replied as she waved a hand over the pie. "It won't afflict you unless you actually consume it, at the least. But…"

Hex grew silent and stiff, and with a few blinks, she turned around and glared down a slightly-torn array of potted plants.

"Someone's here!"

Low growling rumbled from the tiny corner of potted plants, low yet alarming enough for everyone to step back; save for Chihiro who tripped on a picnic bench and fell backwards onto its table. While she groaned and pulled herself back up, Spyro, Hex and Ghost Roaster all readied themselves to attack!

A faint silhouette of beady red eyes and a solid body crept out from the shadows as the growling grew louder and louder, and something jumped in for the kill! Everybody else jumped out in the nick of time, and looked back as whatever tried to ambush them crashed into a nearby picnic table! The picnic table crushed under its weight, but that was hardly of concern to the creature as it staggered up and lunged around—wait, hold on a second! That creature looked like…

"Flynn?" everybody else exclaimed at once.

Indeed, the creature that hulked down before them did bear a very strong resemblance to Flynn, but something was very wrong. His normally sunset orange fur was a dull, vaguely greenish color and fell out in patches to reveal graying skin, his eyes were blank and bloodshot while drool poured out from sharp, twisted fangs within a gaping mouth, and even his clothes were ragged and torn. This was definitely not like the Flynn they all knew, who took a good bit of pride in his carefully-kept appearance. What happened to him?

"Flynn, calm down!" Chihiro exclaimed as she stepped forward and shielded the rest of her body with her hands. "It's us! We're your friends, remember?"

Flynn looked up at Chihiro and lowered his growling, as if he hesitated for a moment. Could he have recognized them at last? Everybody else bated breath as Flynn sniffed the air, his arms drooped to his sides, but it was for naught. Flynn, instead, lunged forwards with his eyes fixed on Chihiro!

Before he could take even one bite, however, Hex pushed Chihiro down and cast a wall of bones that Flynn bounced off of! Flynn slammed straight into another picnic table and overturned it, but shook his head and dropped to all fours. His eyes still fixed on Chihiro, but this time, she was ready! Chihiro immediately crafted a shield out of magic, and flung it straight towards Flynn! The shield flew so fast that Flynn couldn't scramble back in time to escape; instead, it slammed straight into his gut and tossed him into a couple dead hedges!

"Alright," Ghost Roaster groaned as he cracked his skeletal knuckles, while his body slowly fell underneath green flames, "I've had enough!"

In a flash of green fire and a cackle, Ghost Roaster transformed into a flaming, gigantic green skull and charged towards Flynn.

"It's time I took a bite out of all this!"

Ghost Roaster opened his jaw wide and got ready to bite down, but before he could even snap, Spyro tackled him from the side! Instead of stopping Flynn, Ghost Roaster just got a mouthful of leaves as he crashed into the shrubberies and shrunk back down to his normal size.

"Spyro, what was that for?" Ghost Roaster questioned as he plucked leaves off of his body. "I almost had him!"

Spyro winced as he stomped his paws, formed a magical barrier around Flynn, and whipped his head around to Ghost Roaster's.

"We can't hurt him, Ghost Roaster!" Spyro insisted. "The real Flynn's gotta be in there somewhere—" Spyro clenched his fangs as Flynn pounded away at the barrier "—we've gotta get him out!"

Ghost Roaster just scoffed and crossed his arms. "And how exactly are we supposed to do that?"

Spyro froze as Ghost Roaster shot his terrified glare right back at him with scorn, and winced again as he looked towards Flynn—who nearly broke through Spyro's barrier! Spyro yelped, rushed over and placed his paws on the barrier while his eyes turned purple.

"I," Spyro winced as the cracks in the barrier healed, hung his head and flew away, "I don't know."

"I think I do, however."

Spyro turned around and frowned as Hex floated forward and ushered everyone closer.

"I have a plan," Hex said, "if you're willing to listen."

Ghost Roaster clenched his jaw as he hopped out of the shrubs, as did Spyro and Chihiro who both shot glances with tense frowns and tight brows. Finally, they all crowded close to Hex and whispered to each other for a few short moments before they nodded. With their objective finally determined and their huddle broken, all four of them turned back to Flynn as he continued to fight away at Spyro's shield.

Spyro gulped, slammed the ground with his tail, and grimaced as the plates of his barrier slide down one by one!

Flynn snarled, fell to all fours and chased right towards them, but panicked and turned tail as Hex shot a bunch of orbs at him!

"Oh no you don't!" Chihiro shouted as she skidded in front of Flynn and slapped the ground beneath her feet! Chihiro giggled, and dashed off as the world around quaked.

Flynn whimpered and stumbled back as the ground below him grew violent, but fell face-first as Hex's orbs conked him right in the noggin! Flynn grumbled and shook his head as he pulled himself up, but before he could escape, magical rock pillars popped up all around him! Flynn groaned and scratched against the pillars, but not for long; Ghost Roaster crashed right through them and tackled Flynn straight towards Spyro!

As Flynn barreled towards him, Spyro grinned and summoned a magical pile of rope, whipped around Flynn and tied him up tight! Flynn grunted as he fell to the ground, yet snarled and snapped at Spyro as he tried to break free of the ropes. Spyro, however, just frowned and summoned a magical cloth that he tied around Flynn's mouth before he flew back.

"What could have possibly happened to him?" Spyro asked as Flynn struggled against the ropes.

Chihiro, Hex and Ghost Roaster shared Spyro's confusion as they joined him in examining Flynn, but finally, Hex summoned an orb with a faint glow and floated up to Flynn. She held the orb up to Flynn with a frown, a frown that grew deeper as the orb's glow became bright.

"I knew it," Hex proclaimed as she floated back. "This is the same curse that afflicted those pies!"

Spyro, Chihiro and Ghost Roaster gasped as they took a step back.

"So you're saying the pies are what made him like this?" Chihiro exclaimed as she pushed her face in Hex's. "But how? Why? Who could've done this?"

Hex didn't meet their gaze, and instead turned around and summoned a skull. As the skull chirped in Hex's grasp, she merely patted it and in response it glowed with an eerie white halo.

"Find Cynder, tell her what has just occurred, and bring her to my study. There should be curse-relieving antidotes within my potion chambers."

With another pat from Hex and a nod from the skull's end, the skull vanished in a flash of shining white light! While the light faded, Hex just turned her attention back to Spyro, Chihiro and Ghost Roaster.

"As for your questions, I am not entirely sure—" Hex pushed Chihiro away and looked back at the crypt doors across from them "—but I have a feeling that whatever answers we desire lie in the crypt itself."

They all watched the door for a few seconds, and Chihiro shrugged and teleported up to the crypt's door. She yanked on the handles for a few spells, twisted them like knobs, even scanned them for some kind of doorbell, but no matter what, they wouldn't open! So, Chihiro frowned and rapped her fist against the doors.

"Hellooooooo? Anybody home?" Chihiro shouted as she knocked even faster. "HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—"

Ghost Roaster snarled as he floated up Chihiro, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and yanked her away from the door.

"Are you trying to wake the undead or something?" Ghost Roaster shouted as he gestured towards the door. "Whoever these curse-placing beings are, something tells me they don't want us here! We can't draw attention to ourselves!"

Chihiro grunted, shot Ghost Roaster a miffed look as she wiggled out of his grasp, and hopped beside him with crossed arms. "But how else are we supposed to get in there?"

Chihiro's lips trembled as she took one last glance at the gates, yet her eyes trailed over to a strange, circular switch.

"Unless…"

Chihiro skipped over to the switch, and leaped on the button in its center as the world around them warped and shuddered.

As the shuddered stopped, they all found themselves in a different realm entirely! The grass withered into the ground while the ground itself became cold, hard stonelike dirt, the tables' wood rotted and their cloths became tattered and dull, the trees and shrubs withered until there was nothing left but dry, dead wood, and even the skies shifted from evening yellows and oranges to a midnight blue painted with black clouds!

Chihiro didn't seem to care about any of that. She shuddered as a burst of cold wind carried off some dead, crunchy leaves behind her, but she quickly shook it off and grinned as she gazed up at the crypt's door—which were now wide open!

"Huh, turns out the key was right here all along!" Chihiro chirped as she marched forward. "Now, if you'll excuse me~"

Spyro, Hex and Ghost Roaster frowned as Chihiro disappeared down the crypt's pathway, but gasped and jumped out of the way as Chihiro stormed back down the path; this time, with a bunch of tiny green monsters latched tight onto her back like sticky moss!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! GETTHEMOFFMGETTHEMOFFMEGETTHEMOFFME!" Chihiro cried as she spun around and shot off a round of magic blasts!

These blasts not only seared into those little green things that latched onto her, but they slammed into everything else and exploded all around! Dents formed in the stone walls around, and rotted tables and trees exploded to bits. As for those those little green monsters? They turned into flaming purple fireballs that slammed against the ground and passed out!

"Chihiro, it's okay!" Spyro cried as he flew over to Chihiro and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Those things are gone now, you can stop freaking out!"

Chihiro completely froze, and jerked her head towards Spyro as her eyes fluttered. "They are?" Chihiro looked down at herself, and giggled as a blush coated her cheeks. "Huh, guess they are!"

Hex just sighed and shook her head while Ghost Roaster buried his face in his hands, but nevertheless, all four of them glazed over the looming crypt doors before them and proceeded down the open path.

It didn't seem very abnormal, well, any more abnormal than usual for the undead. The cold stone paths were cracked and dry moss coated their surface, the flora was dead while fauna was nowhere to be found, and a thick, blue fog coated the area and made the sights around much harder to see. Still, those sights were generally normal for the underrealms. Though they trained their eyes for any sight of abnormalities, of creeps lurking in the shadows, or odd figures in the night sky, nothing seemed to show!

Chihiro sighed and ruffled her hair as she passed through the fifth thick cloud of mist—or maybe it was the fourth? There was a stunning amount of mist here and surely everyone had lost track by now. Chihiro just groaned and hung her head, yet pulled it back up as everyone came to a stop. Did they finally found something, a hint or a clue hopefully?

Well, they found something alright, but it wasn't a clue. Rather, the path ahead of them completely diverged into two split paths!

"Now, where should we go?" Chihiro mused as she rubbed her chin and looked over both paths, but stopped as Hex grabbed Ghost Roaster by the collar and drag him down the leftmost path.

"Ghost Roaster and I will take this one," Hex said as she floated away.

"When did I agree to that?" Ghost Roaster shouted as he struggled against Hex's grip, though it was fruitless given that she completely ignored his protests while they disappeared into the mist.

"Good luck!" Chihiro shouted as she waved goodbye to them then turned her attention back to the rightmost path. "Guess that means we're taking this one, Golden Boy!"

So, they both sprinted forward and dove headfirst into the cold, foggy pathway that awaited them…