Flamslinger and Ignitor gasped as they stared over Prism Break, or more accurately, the golden statue that was once Prism Break! He was completely frozen in fear; his mouth and eyes were wide open and screaming while his arms hung up in the air for what would probably be the rest of eternity, and his normally brown and green rock body was coated in a firm layer of gold. The diamond dust from the ceiling shook down and coated his body in a glittery film, which might've seem pretty to most…

But not to Flameslinger and Ignitor, who looked on on in horror at the statue that was once Prism Break, that was once their friend!

"Hmmmm," the dragon hummed as it rubbed its chin and grinned, "you know, that loud-mouthed rock monster looks quite nice this way. In fact—" the dragon's grin stretched wider as it swooped down towards Prism Break and reached out its claws "—I think I'll make him the new crown jewel of my collection!"

Flameslinger and Ignitor let out short, sharp gasps, dashed in front of the dragon and created a wall of fire as they flung themselves in front of Prism Break! As the dragon stumbled back and screeched, the two of them shot glares that pierced through the dragon's soul and raised their weapons high.

"OVER OUR DEAD BODIES!" the two of them vowed at once!

Ignitor slashed his sword in midair while his flames burned hotter and brighter with rage. "I demand thee turnest our friend back to normal, you accursed monster!" Ignitor exclaimed as smoke churned from the top of his suit. "Or else!"

"Exactly!" Flameslinger affirmed as he loaded his bow with flaming arrows. "Prism Break is a living being, not something for your treasure horde!"

"Oh, how scary, the elf and the walking fireplace want to steal away my treasure!" the dragon crooned as it snarled and let out a few snorts of glittery golden dust. it leaned down and made the kind of wild grin that someone itching to fight did. "I'll tell you what, I'll give him back…"

The dragon screeched forward and opened wide a mouth that shone with brilliant white light.

"IF YOU CAN DEFEAT ME, THAT IS!"

The dragon roared as it shot several rounds of massive, crystalline darts that lodged into the floors, the ceilings, everything around! Cracks formed in the cavern around as these crystalline darts bored forward, and from them came a rain of rocks from above!

Flameslinger and Ignitor both dashed out the way of one ceiling boulder, and Flameslinger backflipped away as another crystal dart nearly pierced him in half! He snarled as he whipped out his bow and shot a couple of flaming arrows towards the dragon, but they just bounced off of the dragon's golden body like they were flimsy sticks! Flameslinger grimaced and stashed away his bow as the dragon continued its rain of crystalline horror. Seems as though it was far too sturdy for something like that! So, Flameslinger just leaned in and dashed around the dragon while a trail of embers formed underneath his feet!

"Let the flames," Flameslinger whispered as he finished circling around the dragon, "begin!"

With those words spoken, the embers around erupted into a full-on circle of flames! As this wall of fire circled around the dragon, it screamed and stopped shooting off the crystal darts. It tried to turn around and escape, but it was no use by then, for the flames completely encircled it and left it with no possible escape methods! However, it didn't really seem to realize this yet, for it looked every way for a possible escape route.

While it was distracted, Flameslinger himself dashed underneath the dragon and ran circles around its paws, which created rings of fire that latched onto those golden paws!

"AUGH! HOT, HOT, HOT!" the dragon cried as it yanked its front paws off the ground, and screamed as it realized those paws were literally on fire! The fire rings turned into a full-on wildfire that ate away at its scales!

The dragon smacked the ground below and flapped its wings at such an intensity that it completely extinguished both its fiery prison and the flames that ate away its paws, but by then it was a little too late. The fire not only singed a good part of its legs, but its paws started to melt away as well! The dragon let out a low, guttural snarl, and turned its fang-filled snarl and shiny golden eyes towards Flameslinger.

"YOU INSOLENT ELF!" the dragon cried as its slammed down and shoved its face in Flameslinger's, all while it snorted out shiny golden dust that coated the cavern floors. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

"I WOULDN'T BE SO SURE ABOUT THAT!" Ignitor cried.

The sound of clanking metal turned Flameslinger and the dragon aside, right as Ignitor leaped in the air and bashed the dragon right in the head with his shield! The dragon wailed as it jolted its head up and held it tight, growled and swerved its gaze across the floor.

"WHO DID THAT? WHO HARMED MY BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN HEAD?"

Ignitor fell down and rolled across the floor, turned around and leaped straight out of his armor! While the dragon was distracted, Ignitor dashed forward, slammed into the dragon's wing, and ground against that wing until a bright, flaming hole formed in it! As the flames from his little hole spread from it to the rest of the wing, and then, the rest of the dragon's body as well, Ignitor dashed away and hovered over the ground.

The flames extinguished themselves fairly quickly, but the damage they left was more than lasting; it started to completely melt away the dragon's body! The dragon gasped as it noted the seeping gold liquid that dripped from its shoulders, and frantically blew its golden laser over the shoulder while the gold froze and stabilized.

"Alright, if you're going to turn up the heat," the dragon snarled as it turned to Flameslinger and Ignitor and raised its jaws wide, "maybe I should crank things up a notch, too!"

Golden laser blasts shot out from the dragon's mouth, slammed against the ground and patched the ground with shimmering golden spots, but unfortunately, it wasn't a very pretty sight!

Flameslinger and Ignitor both jumped out of the way as one laser slammed right between them and turned a part of the wall to a bright, sunlike gold, and the two of them split paths and dashed aside! While Ignitor raced in front of the dragon and dodged its blasts, Flameslinger rolled behind some rocks, turned around and raised a bow loaded with extra-potent flaming arrows. Surely, it was so focused on Ignitor that it wouldn't see those arrows coming, right?

Wrong! The dragon jerked its gaze towards Flameslinger, and shot another golden blast straight at the rocks Flameslinger hid behind! Flameslinger ducked behind the rocks and rolled away as the golden lasers burned them with a golden glaze, dashed forward and tried to shoot once more. Once again, the lasers threw him off! A trio of lasers screeched towards him, and he jumped away from one, dashed away from the second and third, and he readied his bow once more. With a pull and release of his string, a trio of arrows that burned like comets shot straight at the dragon, but it just slammed them with golden lasers and turned them to solid gold!

Flameslinger winced and dove behind another collection of rocks as his arrows clattered around the ground, turned around and frowned as he tugged his blindfold just a bit downwards.

Ignitor jolted out of the way as these solid gold fire blasts fell onto the floor and made harmless clanks, shuddered and burst into a gigantic ball of fire! From that ball of fire came two more flaming souls identical to his own!

"Can thou possibly fight off this, foul demon?" the three souls cried in unison as all three of them swirled around the dragon and shot bursts of fire at it, but the dragon just shot off a gigantic flare of golden lasers!

As the lasers seared against the walls and ceiling, the fire mortars tried to get away, but they weren't nearly as fast as the original—and that turned out to be their downfall! Both mortars were slammed with lasers, turned to gold in short time, and clacked against the floor as steam poured from their surface.

Ignitor hissed as he floated well above the dragon, and his whole body turned blue with a shudder! Ignitor shot back into his suit of armor, pulled his flaming sword off the cavern grounds and held it high.

"Seems it is time to SLASH AND BURN!" Ignitor cried as he dashed towards the dragon and slashed his sword against its golden legs!

The flames seared into the dragon's golden body with a sharp hiss and melted away, and the dragon howled and swatted away Ignitor! The two of them were so preoccupied with their fight, however, that neither of them noticed something strange.

While the majority of the dragon's body was still that golden color, the paws that were supposedly melted didn't actually melt at all! Their gold dripped away, yes, but underneath that golden liquid was a bright, white paw! Could it be? Was that golden dragon not actually made of gold like they thought?

Ignitor seemed to have noticed this at last, for he gasped and stumbled away as the golden waterfall pooled onto the floor. In his shock, he was completely wide open for attack! The dragon grinned and prepared another golden beam, all while it fixed its eyes on Ignitor.

But, before it could fire, Flameslinger shot a row of golden arrows between them and sent a wall of flames between Ignitor and the dragon! With the dragon distracted, Flameslinger zoomed out, grabbed Ignitor, and pulled him behind the rocks that Flameslinger himself took shelter under not that much earlier. The flames receded, but thankfully, the rocks were piled so high that their hideout couldn't be spotted!

"Wait, where'd that living campfire go?" the dragon hissed as its eyes drifted around the cavern floors. "Get back here and face me!"

As the dragon spewed out all sorts of insults, however, Flameslinger and Ignitor both just turned to each other with a kind of wonder.

"You saw that too, didn't you?" Flameslinger asked as he pressed a hand against the earth.

"Indeed, Sir Flameslinger," Ignitor said as his flames crept just a tiny bit over the rocks. "Surely, that gold art an armor suit for that loathsome beast. If we were to meltest it away, it shall be rendereth completely defenseless."

Flameslinger grinned and turned back to where Prism Break laid on the floor, still frozen solid and amazingly completely unaffected despite the ongoing fight. He smirked as he glazed over Prism Break, and he sheathed his eyes with his blindfold.

"And I know just how to do it!" Flameslinger leaped onto the rocks, jumped off of them and dashed right towards Prism Break. "Follow my lead, Ignitor!"

In one burst of speed and flames, Flameslinger yanked Prism Break off the ground and winced.

"Geez, even for a statue, you're way too heavy," Flameslinger groaned as he got a good grip on Prism Break and looked up at the dragon. "HEY, YOU!"

The dragon blinked, gasped and dropped its jaw the moment it caught sight of Flameslinger with Prism Break!

"I've got your little crown jewel right here!" Flameslinger made the most mocking grin he could muster as he lugged Prism Break around. "Now catch me if you can!"

Flameslinger dashed towards the entrance, and the pound of footsteps so mighty that the entire ground quaked and leaped showed the dragon was quick to follow.

"GIVE BACK MY TREASURE, YOU STUPID ELF!" the dragon demanded as it pounded forward and prepared another laser blast. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

"Who said anything about getting away?"

Flameslinger smirked, and veered right just as Ignitor flew in front of the entrance and created a gigantic burnt of flames! The dragon screeched and skidded to a stop, turned tail and raced down the path Flameslinger took! It shot a laser ahead and completely glazed over the floor with solid gold, but Flameslinger just leaped onto the golden floors and slid down them like it was an ice rink!

While the sliding and skating was fun, it ultimately came to a quick stop. After all, that short path ended in a ramp that led to a completely closed off golden room! Flameslinger grunted, then tossed Prism Break ahead! For a statue, Prism Break was a pretty good skater; he slid across the floor on his own, leaped off the ramp and landed feet-first on the room's floor!

His teeth still clenched tight, Flameslinger turned back and snarled as the dragon slid down behind him and tried to swat away Ignitor, who dashed and spun around it like an annoying fly.

"IGNITOR!" Flameslinger cried as he withdrew his bow and leaped off the ramp. "NOW!"

Flameslinger spun around in midair and drew his bow, shot a round of flaming arrows into the ground and smiled as they lit the end of the ramp on fire! However, those flames hardly stretched to the tunnel's top.

So, Ignitor zipped away from the dragon and dashed through the tunnel as he tossed a trio of flaming mortars onto the flames! These mortars stoked the fire as they landed, and soon enough, that little flame ignited into a gigantic wall of fire!

Ignitor zipped out of the way, and the dragon slid right through the wall of fire and slammed headfirst into the cavern's wall! It groaned as it slid down and lurched up, shook its head and splattered liquid gold all across the walls.

"AUGH, MY HEAD!" The dragon wailed as it patted its head, and gasped as it realized that its head was no longer gold, but rather normal scales! It looked down at its body, screamed and pressed back against the wall; its golden armor seeped off its body and unveiled the body of a decidedly normal white and gold dragon!

"NO, NO, NOT MY ARMOR!"

The dragon hissed and shot out another blast of golden lasers down at its melting armor. Except, that golden blast didn't come! Rather, it shot out a pillar of fire and completely melted away the rest of its armor! The dragon's eyes went wide as it released short, shallow breaths, and looked down as the thin, golden liquid that was once the armor it bore so proudly…

"What're you gonna do now, huh?" Flameslinger asked as he readied his arrows. "Your shiny armor's all gone, buddy!"

The dragon snarled and twitched its eye at Flameslinger, leaped up and flew in place. "You haven't won yet, elf!" the dragon hissed as it went to fly back up the tunnel. "I'll just reapply my armor manually! In fact, I'll make it even stronger than before, and then you'll be sorry!"

"I'm not so sure about that!"

Flameslinger released the string of his bow, and a trio of arrows shot out from his bow and smashed into a trio of crystals that just barely hung from the ceiling on cracked bases! The arrows' blow was enough to shatter the crystals' base completely, and one by one, they fell on the dragon's head! The blows struck it so fast that it completely veered off course, smacked headfirst into the walls, and crashed back down onto the floor while its wings twitched.

"Ugh, curse, you," the dragon groaned as its eyes drooped up and down, "you, you stupid—"

And just like that, the dragon fell completely unconscious while its tongue lolled out of its muzzle!

But, Flameslinger and Ignitor couldn't bring themselves to celebrate this victory, not just yet. Rather, the two of them turned back to Prism Break, who was still golden and statue still. If melting all that gold away had worked for that dragon, then maybe, just maybe…

The two of them knelt down beside Prism Break, and Ignitor jumped out of his armor suit and sat next to Prism Break. His flames lapped against Prism Break's body while thin smoke seethed off of it, and the gold melted away to reveal none other than Prism Break's signature brown stone! Ignitor gasped with glee, leaped onto Prism Break's chest and cast his flames across Prism Break's body! The gold bent under the heat of Ignitor's flames, and melted away entirely while Prism Break's eyes flickered open.

Prism Break let out a massive scream as he sat back up!

"Prism Break, calm down!" Flameslinger exclaimed as he patted Prism Break's shoulders. "Take a look around, we won!"

"Wait, we did?" Prism Break asked as he looked back at the firmly unconscious dragon, and let out a sigh of relief as he held a hand against his chest. "Guess we did."

The three of them stood up and grinned, and Flameslinger withdrew the sparkling gold hearthstones from his pocket. Though they were pretty like this, they all doubted the hearthstones be functional otherwise, so Flameslinger grabbed an arrow from his quiver and set it alight! As he moved the arrow towards the pile of hearthstones, the gold melted away in his hand and unveiled a pile of warm, red stones flicked with golden specks that radiates with a pleasant warmth!

With their treasure unveiled and stashed back away in Flameslinger's pocket once more, the three of them leaned one by one across a pile of rocks underneath the ramp, climbed back onto the ramp and made their way out of the cave.

§

The mist that rose from the broken fragments of the statue shuddered and stretched as it grew larger and larger, and finally formed into a swirling vortex with cackles for lightning. Whatever was inside that statue, it was definitely a lot more powerful than Chihiro thought it was!

"FINALLY, I CAN GET OUT OF THAT STUPID STATUE!" the vortex boomed with the thunder around as its misty form solidified into something that vaguely looked like a body!

Everyone else around gasped and stepped back as the mist packed tighter and tighter, until it finally seemed somewhat solid in appearance. It took on a vaguely humanoid form with a misty trail for feet, while glowing white eyes that radiated with pure magic opened up on what was presumably its head.

"You may have interfered with my first plan to get a nice, powerful body," the misty ghost said as it rubbed its fingers, "but I'll at least thank you for releasing me."

The ghost narrowed its eyes as it slid forwards, and summoned entire handfuls of glowing, magenta spheres that vaguely looked like bombs.

"Now, you've made things a LOT easier for me! I can finally take my new body by force!"

A lot easier? What was that weird ghost talking about? Chihiro wanted to drill it further, but before she could, Eqoihr yanked her backwards as the ghost threw out those mist bombs!

"Take cover!" Eqoihr cried as he teleported behind a large rock!

Chihiro, Fluffy and Tallmane quickly heeded his words and stumbled back as the bombs slammed across the stone platform they stood on and exploded! As the bombs vanished, the entire battlefield coated itself in a thick, magenta smoke that particularly choked out anything else, a veil that kept anyone and anything from being seen!

Chihiro winced and flailed her arms around in some desperate attempt to feel her way through the battlefield, but it wasn't very useful when they were out in such an open space.

"Hey, where is everyone?" cried Eqoihr from across the fog, though his voice felt more distant than it actually was.

"Forget that, are we even on the mountain still?" shouted Tallmane. "I can't see a thing in this place!"

Though Fluffy couldn't say any proper words, the whimpers it made were more than enough to show its concern and confusion!

Chihiro winced as she wandered around, but no matter where she went, more thick, magenta fog greeted her! What was she supposed to do? Chihiro stepped back and winced, but a chill struck her spine and she whipped around!

"Who's there?" Chihiro demanded as she instinctively threw up a shield!

However, instead of getting a proper answer, something just smacked into her shield and tainted it from its usual cyan to a bright, rich magenta! Chihiro screamed and stumbled back as a menacing face appeared on her shield, but the shield just jumped off the ground and flew into the fog! Chihiro gasped, chased after it, yet froze as a familiar whimper hit her ears.

"Fluffy!" Chihiro called as she dashed back into the fog. "Fluffy, Fluffy, where are you?"

Chihiro winced as she looked around, but it was still no use. This fog was so thick that it blanketed everything away from sight! She could try and blow it away herself, but at the same time, she couldn't risk wasting a spell slot. She forgot what number she was at, but she was sure it was pretty low. What could she do, what should she do?

Chihiro went to check her bracelet, but before she could, a mighty gust blew the wind away! Chihiro dug her heels into the stone cold earth as the last of the winds whipped away, and when it faded, her eyes turned to Tallmane! Tallmane just smiled as it stopped spinning its tail, while a dizzy Eqoihr groaned and sat down beside it. Thankfully those two seemed okay, so that just left Fluffy, whose back was turned as it stared at the night sky.

"Hey, Fluffy!" Chihiro called as she raced up to Fluffy. "Are you alright?"

He he he…

Chihiro froze and stepped back as that creepy voice sounded off in her ears, all while Fluffy shuddered and shook. She gasped and jumped back as Fluffy turned around and flashed its magenta eyes!

This isn't quite the form I had in mind, but it'll do!

The ghost-possessed Fluffy snarled as it pounced on Chihiro, but Chihiro was so shocked that she could only stand frozen and watch as Fluffy drew closer and closer in. Before it could land, another magic blast shot it aside and rolled it across the stone floors!

"Are you okay?" Eqoihr asked as he raced in front of Chihiro with a magically charged staff in one hand and a scowl on his face. "I'll take this thing down, you just stay there!"

But while Eqoihr bolted off, Chihiro gasped and grabbed onto his cloak! "No, don't hurt Fluffy!" Chihiro exclaimed as she pulled back Eqoihr just before he could strike. "The real Fluffy's in there somewhere, I know it!"

However, Eqoihr just snarled and yanked Chihiro off of his cloak! "You don't know what you're saying, kid! That thing's way too strong to just talk it out!"

Chihiro fell onto the cold, hard rock from sheer shock, and her whole body started to shudder as she shook off the unexpected blow. That's right, that little possession attempt seriously took a bit out of her. Her whole body turned numb as she gazed up, and her head followed as Eqoihr shot a magic blast right at Fluffy's chest! The blood rushed to her ears and blocked out all sound, but she didn't need sound to know that hurt!

Fluffy skidded across the mountain path and over the cliffside, but luckily, it grabbed onto the top by its front paws and backflipped back onto the path! It snarled and closed an eye as it looked back at Eqoihr, who only scoffed as he drew closer and closer with his magically-charged staff held high.

What do I do now? Fluffy's gonna get hurt because of that monster and it's all because of me! Chihiro thought as her heart started to pound in her ears. There's no way I can stop him, and no way I can stop that ghost, either! This is all my fault, I got way in over my head! Chihiro's breath became a little faster as Eqoihr drew further and further. I should have never tried this! I'll just end up failing again, all because I'm too weak and stupid to do anything! How can someone like me fix all this?

Chihiro shuddered as she curled up into a ball and buried her head into her legs. A part of her wanted to end things right now and get the failure out of the way, but she couldn't bring herself to speak! All she could do was sit there and freeze, as a set of words she never expected rang into her head.

You, heck, we all managed to get as far as we did because of how much you cared for everyone and everything!

As Spyro's words from that time rang in her heart and her head alike, Chihiro paused and pulled her head out of her legs. The numbness relented as Fluffy and Eqoihr scratched and smacked and casted spells at each other, but this time it didn't seem nearly as overwhelming as before.

Your heart is your biggest strength, Chihiro. All those enemies we've fought before, those nasty clones, Kaos, all of those guys could never match up!

Chihiro blinked and stood back to full height. She was still a little numb, and her balance was off enough that she swayed from side to side, but she steadied herself quickly enough.

And that's how I know you'll be able to stop this, because the Chihiro Hatsuki I know cares so much about everyone around her that she'll do anything to save them.

That's right! What was she saying? Chihiro shook her head as the numb, terrified feeling completely vanished and turned back to Fluffy! Forget the exam and playing the blame and shame game, right now her friend was in danger! She wasn't just going to stand around and watch while Fluffy got possessed by some awful ghost—no, she was going to save it no matter what! Chihiro clenched her brow as she teleported before Fluffy, who grunted as it tried to pull itself up from the sudden blow Eqoihr just threw at it.

"KID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Eqoihr exclaimed as he lowered his staff while its glow faded in response. "You'll get—"

Chihiro shot Eqoihr a glare, and that glare seemed to get the message across as he shut his mouth and stepped back. She had the floor now, and she was going to use it to her full advantage!

"Fluffy, Fluffy! It's me! I'm here!" Chihiro called as she turned to Fluffy and cupped her hands around her mouth; for a moment, those tears she thought she was going to cry finally spilled out. "Come on, you can shake this thing, I know you can! If you can get me to come back to my senses, you can do it, too!"

There's no use crying, child! Your little friend belongs to me now!

Chihiro gasped, screwed her eyes shut and shook her head. "You're wrong! I know it's in there somewhere!"

Fluffy finally lunged up and charged at Chihiro, but Chihiro just teleported away and hovered in midair.

"When I completely lost myself to that statue, Fluffy didn't give up on me! It was the one who brought me back, and now I'll do the same for it!" Chihiro gritted her teeth and clenched her fist as tears stung her eyes.

"FLUFFY, REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! You're a good hyena, you love steaks and running around in the forest and belly rubs and, and, and, most of all, you're my friend, and I'm not going to stop until I bring you back!"

Fluffy groaned as it went to attack, but then, as Chihiro's speech ended, it completely froze despite the trembles of its legs, almost like it wasn't in control of its own body.

Chihiro gasped with glee, and her expression turned determined as she rushed forward and placed both her glowing hands on Fluffy's face! From this spell came a bright light and a scream so harsh it forced Chihiro to cover her eyes, but when she opened them, well, she found herself staring into the decidedly normal, slightly confused face of Fluffy! Chihiro blinked back tears of shock, and grinned as Fluffy snorted and licked her face! Chihiro broke into gentle, relieved laughter, but unfortunately, it wouldn't last for long!

A harsh scream pierced the heavens above and yanked Chihiro's attention across the field right as the ghost plunged itself into Eqoihr's chest! She gasped and held out a shield as Eqoihr fell to his knees, but stepped back as he staggered up with full magenta eyes.

Chihiro grunted and held up her shield as the ghost-possessed Eqoihr shot a cavalcade of misty magic blasts at her, and stepped back as Tallmane charged into Eqoihr and knocked the ghost right out of him! The ghost shook its head and snarled as it raced to possess Tallmane—but before it could, Eqoihr blew it back with a magic blast! It screeched across the air and screamed, yet snarled and dashed back.

Oh, you'll pay for that!

As Fluffy, Tallmane, Eqoihr and the ghost all traded blows, Chihiro bit her lip and winced. For a moment it seemed like that rushing feeling of fear would take over again, but she she stomped the floor and shook her head.

"I've gotta stop this thing," Chihiro whispered as her brows clenched tight and her hands twisted her bracelet just a bit slightly without her realizing, "but how?"

Chihiro winced, held out her hand and shot the bright, rainbow light of a purification spell at the ghost while it hovered in midair. But, the spell just bounced off and disappeared into the night!

HAH! FOOLISH CHILD! The ghost turned its attention back to Chihiro and sneered. Your measly purification spells are powerless against me!

So purification was out of the question by far. Chihiro hissed and clenched her teeth as the ghost laughed in her face, and turned back down to her bracelet. Surely, she'd have at least a few spell slots left, right? Wrong—somehow, she only has two spells left! With just two, there was no way she'd be able to pass this thing on her own! Chihiro winced at first where her legs started to go numb, but as she caught sight of Eqiohr, Tallmane and Fluffy, she steeled her gaze and nodded. True, she couldn't pass on her own, but, she wasn't on her own!

"You guys!" Chihiro shouted as Eqoihr, Tallmane and Fluffy looked back at her. "Keep that thing distracted for me!"

Eqoihr nodded, held out his staff and tossed a magical sphere right at the ghost! The ghost broke out of its cackling fit, snarled and rushed in to attack. Before it could, Fluffy tackled it down and bit into it like a chew toy! The ghost screamed as mist seeped out of its body from every angle, but even so it still tried to creep away, so, Tallmane snapped its tail and bound the ghost tight with a series of magical ropes!

Chihiro grinned as the ghost struggled against its bonds, all while its screamed and screeched like a bat out of the underworld. Now was her chance, but she was gonna have to cut it close; there was no time to procrastinate! So, Chihiro rushed forward and plunged her hands into its misty depths, while the ghost only screeched and squirmed even further!

LET GO OF ME, CHILD! IF YOU DON'T, I'LL POSSESS YOU AND EAT AWAY AT YOUR VERY SOUL UNTIL NOT EVEN A CRUMB OF YOUR ORIGINAL SELF REMAINS!

"Alright!" Chihiro shouted as she splayed out hands that glowed with bright flares. "YOU ASKED!"

Chihiro jumped back as a group of bright, cyan lights shot out of the ghost's misty body, all while its screeches grew more bloodcurling and shrill like it was in am unimaginable amount of pain…

NO, NO, IT CAN'T END THIS WAY! THIS WON'T BE THE LAST YOU SEE OF ME!

The spirit claimed this, but the moment the final light flickered on, a huge explosion of cyan magic flared out from its body and fell all around the area!

Chihiro shield her face from the bright lights; as the spirit's cries faded and the ground underneath her feet vanished, she popped those eyes open to find that everything evaporated! Now, it was just her and her friends as they hovered in the fading lights, but even they started to flicker out of existence. It was an almost bittersweet parting, to be honest. The mission was won, but now they'd part ways, never to see each other again.

Eqoihr and Tallmane both nodded in approval, but Fluffy couldn't stop itself from bounding over and giving Chihiro one last lick! Chihiro chuckled as she nuzzled its face, turned back to the others and beamed.

"Thanks for everything, guys!" Chihiro shouted as she released Fluffy, who rejoined the other two. "I'll miss you!"

And with one last nod, her allies faded away with the rest of the light, while Chihiro herself just smiled and closed her eyes as the world became a cold, spacious void like when she first entered.

"Simulation…" beeped a voice above her, "End!"