Chihiro groaned and rubbed her head as she finally came to. "That was one rough landing," she remarked. "Everyone here still?"

Groans and moans came from all around, and Chihiro sat up as she tried to get a sense of where she landed. The walls around were rocky and made of some mixture of stone and earth—a cave or tunnel, perhaps? It wasn’t an uninhabited one, as simple lanterns stood nailed to the walls and provided a faint sense of light. Around her, everyone else laid down and tended to their wounds. Well, save for Seraphina, who was happy to skip around and examine the odd drawings on the walls.

"These drawings are strange," Seraphina remarked as she tapped the walls. "Wilikin did not make them."

Tree Rex frowned as he leaned down and examined the drawings. "Strange," he remarked as he rubbed his chin, "I feel like I recognize this style…"

Tree Rex hummed in contemplation for a few moments longer, yet the sound of squealing from behind sent him back up! He turned around and readied his laser cannon, but lowered it as he found that it was just Whirlwind, Cynder, Eruptor, and Terrafin bouncing around on the floor.

Chihiro sighed and lifted the cage that fell from her back from the ground as they growled and snarled. "I know, I know, we need to get going," Chihiro remarked as she slid the cage onto her back. "Just let me heal everyone up, and we'll be on our way."

Chihiro clapped her hands, and a faint orb of light emerged from her palms. The orb hovered above her for a moment; it fluttered up next, and sent waves of light pulsating through the tunnels and into everyone else's bodies. Their wounds sealed themselves up as blood retracted back into their bodies, and bruises vanished like they never appeared!

Thumpback and Eye-Brawl both got up and stretched, but Tree Rex only wandered up to Swarm and helped Swarm back up.

"How're you feeling, Swarm?" Tree Rex asked, his eyes gentle as his hand twitched in anticipation of Swarm's answer. "Any better?"

Swarm jumped out of Tree Rex's arms and grinned as he flexed his own. "Better than ever, boss!" Swarm cheered. "That poison's gone now!"

"Then I suppose we can get going!" Chihiro remarked as she skipped ahead and crafted a torch to guide them out of magic. "Seraphina, lead the way!"

Seraphina chuckled, and beckoned to the others before she skipped away. The others were quick to make chase as she skipped and disappeared down the halls; the cyan light of Chihiro's torch was their guide as they followed Seraphina down the stone tunnels. Occasionally, the torch’s cyan light mingled with the faint, warm orange and yellow that came from the torches before, but those torches’ own light was faint and weak as if they hadn't been tended to in a while. That being said, it was enough light to showcase the drawings on the walls!

They were all fairly simple drawings, but they had enough detail to tell a story. They showed beings gathered in villages, singing songs, harvesting from fields, and playing games, a window into the past in its own right. Chihiro herself lingered on one of these drawings, and Tree Rex did as well. While Chihiro grinned as she ran her hands along the cool, bumpy walls, Tree Rex just seemed discontent. His eyes fixed on them in cold analysis.

"Something bugging you, Rexy?" Chihiro remarked as she lifted her torch to his face.

Tree Rex sneezed as the embers touched his nose, chuckled and wiped it off. "Ah, it's nothing, Chihiro," Tree Rex replied as he stood tall and wandered down the path. "Just felt a bit familiar, that's all."

Chihiro frowned. Something about the way Tree Rex talked seemed like it was bothering him a little more than that, and the somber look in his eyes seemed far too great to be ignored. He didn't really seem as if he wanted to press the matter further, so she just sighed and trailed along.

The torches left them behind quickly, and the cavern turned a cool blue, illuminated by the warmth of Chihiro’s torch. Soon, though, it turned red as well! The red light that beckoned for them came from up ahead, and it was too strong to have been anything from a torch. Chihiro skipped ahead as their group jolted to a stop; she herself jumped to the front, and frowned as her eyes fell on the stream ahead.

There, a mass of glowing red orbs skittered like roaches across a less elevated road that laid before them. The orbs’ group was a firm block between the path Chihiro stood on now and the path ahead. These orbs looked harmless enough, yet something about them didn't seem quite right. Chihiro frowned, jumped on a part of the path that was free for a quick second, and got slammed by an orb in that very moment!

A massive jolt of electricity rumbled through her body as it exploded into puffy red lights. "YIKES!" Chihiro cried as she hopped backwards and blew on her aching foot. "That stings!"

"That is because the red orbs are bad. They will hurt you," Seraphina explained as she patted Chihiro's aching foot.

"No kidding." Chihiro rolled her eyes, frowned and turned aside as Seraphina skipped off.

"But, we can fix that!" Seraphina grinned as she stood beside a switch not unlike the one they all saw at the beginning of the village. "Just press this switch!"

Seraphina tapped the switch, and with a quick warble, the orbs shuddered and flipped over to a bright, serene blue.

"Now, they are friends too!"

Chihiro raised a brow, dropped her still jittery, still numb foot on the ground, and dragged it across the floor. It was a lot more offsetting, having to walk when her foot fell asleep from being zapped so hard. The moment the blue orbs rammed into it, though, it woke up immediately! Even better, they filled her with a new energy too, like she just woke up and rared to go!

"You're right!" Chihiro cried as she bounced on the orbs and leaped to the other side. "This feels great!"

"It does!" Seraphina chirped! Seraphina tapped a button on the switch, and the switch shrank till it could fit in one's pocket. "Now, before we leave, I will take this." Seraphina lifted the device and skipped along. "Switch could be helpful in future."

Seraphina joined up and hopped on Chihiro's back, but Chihiro squealed as Seraphina offset her balance and sent her stumbling back and forth! Chihiro windmilled her arms as she finally caught her balance, grinned and lifted Seraphina off her shoulders. A couple of squeaks and shouts came down from below.

Chihiro craned her head down, and grinned as she met eyes with Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder, and Whirlwind. They all stacked atop each other as they tried to reach up to where Chihiro stood—but alas, they couldn't reach without fingers! So, Chihiro just levitated them up and back into her cage backpack.

Behind them, Ermit winced as he eyed the stream. He gently tapped it with his foot, and as the orbs ran over him and seeped into his body, he just grinned and strode along! He climbed up the rock and joined Chihiro at her side with a smile. A massive thunk sounded behind them all, and nearly knocked them off as the Elder Elementals crashed down behind them!

Eye flew off as he pushed everyone back to their feet one at a time, cast out a laser, and flitted down the dark caverns. With him guiding the way ahead, everyone else trailed down as their eyes occasionally trailed to the stone walls beside them. The cavern drawings remained still, but this time, they turned much more somber.

Eye paused in front of one. There, a village, surely the one the prior drawings depicted, was attacked! Other people bearing larger suits and devices chased after helpless villagers and knocked them down, and their houses and fields got set ablaze. Eye winced as he flitted away from it.

Tree Rex blinked and followed after Eye, his footsteps a steady pound that echoed within the cavern itself. Eye shuddered as Tree Rex thunked beside him, lifted himself up and shone the laser's light over Tree Rex's face.

"Is something bothering you?" Eye remarked as he spun around.

Tree Rex frowned, twiddled his fingers and looked aside. "Nothing much. Just wanted to see what happened next."

Eye flitted his wings and turned his light back on the walls, where a new illustration stood carved on the walls. The village was still on fire and bodies littered its floor, but now, the ones who threatened the village had company! Larger beings jumped in and stood in front of the villagers, and though they shared the same stick figure-like style, they had a few discerning features. One had horns like a bull, some others had wings, one had a more lopsided head, another's head was on fire…

"Hey, these kinda look like you guys!" Chihiro remarked as she popped between Tree Rex and Eye and ran her fingers across the wall. "See, this one's got Tree Rex's horns" — Chihiro pointed towards the horned figure on the wall, and dragged it across the wall — "and this guy's got Swarm's wings, and I think this one might be Thumpback."

Swarm, Thumpback, and Brawl all crept up over them, and Swarm beamed as he examined the walls.

"You're right, Chi!" Swarm chuckled as he pointed his barbs towards the wall. "I think this guy's supposed to be old Hot Head, and I'll bet this is Ninjini the Great herself!"

Swarm grinned and rambled on, but Tree Rex didn't share in his joy. In fact, his jaw dropped by the second while his eyes went wide with realization. He blinked for a few moments, and stormed down the halls with a speed no one saw out of him before! Heck, he nearly trampled Chihiro and Eye in the process!

"Hey, watch where you're going, Tree Rex!" Eye cried as he flapped his wings with a little more indignity. "What're you in such a hurry for, anyways?"

Brawl knelt down and signed to Eye. "Don't you think these look familiar?" Brawl asked Eye before he pointed towards the walls again. "These drawings, they remind me of that one village."

"That one village?" Eye remarked as he craned himself towards Brawl, and examined the walls again. "Now that I think about it, this style does remind me of something."

Eye scanned the walls again while everyone followed behind him, now a teensy bit more wary than before. His lasers skimmed over the walls, and as they did, the cave drawings grew more and more somber: the larger protectors of the village fighting against the intruders, being wounded and broken, but still fighting their hardest. Finally, the intruders' devices drove them into a corner, and the protectors fled! Eye stopped right in front of a drawing of the village residents fleeing themselves as the intruders wreaked havoc on their home, and finally, it seemed as though the realization dawned on him. He fell down to the cavern floor. Brawl scooped Eye up in his arms and let Eye snuggle close to his chest. Eye frowned the best an eye could as he wrapped his wings around his round body.

Beside them, Swarm and Thumpback examined the drawings, and Swarm started to frown as his antenna drooped.

"We'd better find the boss," Swarm remarked as he strode away from Thumpback, his usual cheer forgotten. Even his wings didn't sing with the gentle buzzes and hums they usually carried. "Something tells me he's not really happy right now."

"Geez, what's got them in a twist?" Ermit remarked as he crossed his arms. "What, did these old cave drawings scare them or something?"

Chihiro frowned as she tugged on her suspenders' straps. She didn't really understand what went on—were those really the Elder Elementals? She crafted an orb of light and examined the walls once more, and her eyes lingered on the drawings of the supposed Elder Elementals fleeing and leaving the villagers to their doom. If that really was them… Chihiro frowned, and clutched her sphere close as the series of drawings continued.

Beside her, the drawings showed that the villagers who hadn't been killed fled into what seemed like a cavern of some sort, and they all seemed to try and continue their daily lives. But, things were wrong. They no longer sang, played, or harvested; they just sat and sulked until they died. Slowly, the numbers dwindled, until all that was left was one person surrounded by the bodies of those they surely once called friends, neighbors, family, and then… Nothing. All the walls were barren and untouched, save for a couple of scratches that were probably incomplete drawings themselves.

Chihiro's spheres glimmered just a little bit duller than before as she ran her hands across the wall, but the spill of gentle yellow light from the path ahead caught her eyes. She whisked away her sphere with a snap of her fingers, dashed into the source of the light, and found none other than Tree Rex, at last!

He knelt beside the corpse of a rotting, dead tree, its leaves surely haven fallen and rotted a long time ago. Despite the death of the tree itself, the orb that its roots curled around seemed bright as ever. Its jewellike seafoam surface sparkly and bright as Tree Rex ran his fingers against its smooth surface. Stone markers stood all around the tree and Tree Rex, and on them were carvings that resembled some kind of Ancient Skylandian text—graves, perhaps?

Either way, Chihiro just sat beside Tree Rex and ran her hand against his moss-covered leg. Though her touch was probably small and unnoticeable, Tree Rex broke out of his stupor nonetheless. He looked down and forced a tiny grin.

"Oh, Chihiro, it's just you," Tree Rex whispered as he lifted his hand from the orb. "I didn't see you."

Tree Rex's voice, normally so powerful and kind, carried with it a kind of weakness. It was so hoarse and pained as he sat in the center of it all. While he turned back to the orb, Chihiro just rubbed her hands against his legs and leaned in closer.

"Tree Rex," Chihiro whispered as her eyes turned to the dying tree. "Just what is this place? What's wrong?"

Tree Rex sighed, and once again he lifted his hands from the orb and forced a smile. "Well, it just so happens that I knew this place."

He didn't seem particularly happy to have said that. Tree Rex clasped his hands, and his eyes turned a bit glossy like he would cry.

"Ages ago, when we first became the Elder Elementals, we received a cry for help from a small village in the furthest outskirts of Skylands that was attacked by Arkeyan forces. We arrived as fast as we could, but we were too late."

Tree Rex's hands started to tremble, and he clasped them tight while his solar cannon flashed in and out.

"They had already stormed the village, and though we all fought our hardest, they had us outnumbered and outpowered. We fought our hardest, but they completely wiped the floor with us. In the end…" Tree Rex just shook his hung head and rested his hand on the ground. "I panicked and ordered for us to flee."

So the stories on the wall did happen! Chihiro gasped as her eyes fell on Tree Rex's, which carried with them a somberness and tenderness she never really saw in him before. She pressed herself closer and tried to hug him the best she could. Though really, all she did was clutch the moss on his legs.

"I'm sorry," Chihiro whispered as she rubbed her head into the moss, "I'm sure you did everything you could."

"BUT IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH!"

SLAM!

Chihiro squeaked and jumped away as Tree Rex smacked his fist into the ground. Sap-like tears crawled down his face, but as he caught sight of Chihiro's shocked expression, he wiped them away and forced a smile. Even as he grieved, he always tried to save face, it seemed. Tree Rex examined the engravings on the markers, sighed and laid his hand on his legs.

"They fought their hardest to survive, but even after fleeing underground to rebuild their home, they still perished," Tree Rex whispered, "and if we, if I hadn't given up then, they might not have even had to! They might've gotten the chance to live, to be free, to not resign themselves to dying where the light didn't even reach!" Tree Rex held his head. The tears plopped down onto his knees and turned his mossy legs sweet in scent, but choking nonetheless. "All because I gave up and ran off."

"There you are, boss."

Tree Rex's eyes widened, and he turned back to the entrance to find Swarm, Eye-Brawl, and Thumpback all standing in the doorway! Swarm gave him a friendly wave, but one a bit more diminished compared to his usual cheer. He flitted over and sat beside Tree Rex. Though Tree Rex was pretty hefty, he completely melted into Swarm's grasp. Swarm propped Tree Rex's head on his shoulder.

"So, this was that place, wasn't it?" Thumpback asked as he knelt beside the monuments.

Tree Rex's eyes fluttered, and he slowly, gently nodded, just barely enough to be seen. Eye laid in his lap while Brawl placed himself beside Thumpback, and all five of them sat in a quiet vigil as they all glazed over the monuments. Their faces grew somber, their heads bowed in remembrance as frowns and tears crossed their faces, but Tree Rex grunted as he pushed himself off the ground.

"This is no time to mourn," was all Tree Rex said, his voice cold as he lifted himself up to full height and held out his hand. All eyes turned on him, yet he only frowned and laid a hand on his chest. "Everyone, listen." Tree Rex held out his hands. "We may have failed this island's residents once, but we're not going to fail them again! This island's peace, its beings’ safety, they're all being threatened just like before—and this time, we're not going to run away! We can't let history repeat itself!"

Tree Rex extended a hand and a smile crossed his face. "This time, we're going to save them! Who's with me?"

Swarm blinked, but grinned and sprung to his feet as he slapped his hand on Tree Rex's. "You can count me in, boss!"

"I'm in too," Thumpback replied as he placed a hand over the others and squeezed it tight.

"And eye as well!" Eye remarked as he popped on top of the hand pile, and grinned as Brawl waved.

Chihiro beamed, floated up and slapped her own hand on the pile! It was tiny compared to the others, and probably not much to remark on, but the quiet show of bravery was enough to earn her excitement.

"Same here! We'll all make sure to save everyone!" Chihiro proclaimed as she swung from the hands, while Eruptor, Terrafin, Cynder and Whirlwind cheered from their place on her back.

Behind them, faint panting echoed around the halls, and Ermit and Seraphina came bursting right out!

"What, what's going on here?" Ermit panted as he sat down.

Seraphina twirled around and giggled. "I don't know, but it looks fun!" Seraphina chirped as she skipped ahead. "We should be by Lower Facadeville now!"

Seraphina gently tapped a wall, and beside them, the stones rolled away as light poured in from the outside world! Everyone around gave each other cold, determined glances, and with one last nod, they all burst out the door and into the outside world. Their weapons bared as they landed on the grass, in full expectation of the armies or tricks that awaited them…

But all they found was a ghost town! Though it didn't look too ravaged, the windows stood coated in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs, and tumbleweeds ran through the grassy paths. The stone fountains in the heart of the area were completely dry, and no sort of sound came but the rustling of wind.

Chihiro frowned and lowered her sword. Beside her, Seraphina frowned and clasped her hands.

"This village has no more friends in it," Seraphina explained. "They have all become chompies."

Though Seraphina's words were simple, they set a feeling of melancholy through Chihiro’s humble little team. Frowns and aside looks came about everywhere as they all looked away, and even Cynder, Whirlwind, Eruptor, and Terrafin seemed a bit more sad than usual as their eyestalks drooped.

Chihiro knelt down and smiled as she patted Seraphina's shoulder. "Don't worry, Seraphina!" Chihiro said as she lifted her hand and beamed. "We'll make sure we save everyone and turned them back to normal, I promise!"

"Really?" Seraphina's eyes glistened with awe.

"Indeed. We're going to stop this Chompy Mage's evil ploys once and for all!" Tree Rex vowed as he cocked his arm like a gun and glared over the surroundings. "Now, where is his hideout?"

"Follow me!"

Seraphina's early sorrow completely vanished as she hummed a tune and skipped along, and the others warily followed her. The icy breeze ran across their heads and sent chills down their spines as they passed through the barren ghost town. Soon enough, even that left them behind in favor of a single cliff face, but whatever it rested over seemingly vanished! Its surrounding were blocked off by a gigantic castle front made of leafy vines and a single dark opening where a door should have been. The faint sound of squealing chompies came from within the castle. No doubt about it, this had to be the place!

With a shared nod, everyone trailed inside the open gate, the cover of the leaves above a shield from the sunlight outside. Specks of light peered in from gaps in the leaves, almost as if they traveled into an actual forest, and the gentle rustles of a cool breeze paired with the song of chompies served to accentuate the feeling. If that wasn't enough, the massive walls of leaves and vines, and the carpet of thin moss underneath really set the mood!

Yet, nobody was at ease. Their hands clenched as if they prepared to attack at any given moment, and with every slight noise, they turned their arms right at the source! A birdsong? Arms bared at the walls from which it sung! The faint skitter of tiny feet? Weapons pointed towards the ground! The massive rumbling of the ground below them?

Well, they actually didn't touch upon that at first, for something massive jumped out of the ground and knocked them all backwards! A roar shook the leaves right off their vines as a trine of massive, green flying worms with a vague resemblance to chompies hovered in the air. They roared and set their eyes right on the heroes!

"Chompy worms?" Ermit cried as he cowered behind Chihiro. "How can they survive outside of the desert?"

"I don't know," Tree Rex cried as he staggered back to his feet and cracked his knuckles, "but I'm not letting them stop me!"

The chompy worms snarled and gnashed their teeth as they came in fast, but Tree Rex only chuckled and waved at them.

"Come and get me, you oversized parasites!" Tree Rex chuckled as he charged off!

The chompy worms snarled and growled as they zipped off after Tree Rex, but he just took a sharp turn left! While two of the worms were quick to change direction, one wasn't as lucky and crashed right into the wall! Tree Rex took a glance back and scoffed as the leaves came down and coated it,. The other two chompy worms were hot on his tail, but as they ran, one of them flew ahead and intercepted Tree Rex where he stood. Just before it could bite him, Tree Rex dashed away and let the remaining two ram into each other!

With the three chompy worms down for the count, Tree Rex wiped his hands. "Looks like I took them to the wood shed!" Tree Rex cried as he laid his palms on the ground. "And just to make sure they stay down…"

Tree Rex closed his eyes and hummed while a green glow surrounded his body! The glow pulsed for a few moments, spread across the ground and formed veins of green light in the earth. These veins flickered and shuddered, and out from them sprouted vines that wrapped tight around the chompy worms!

"Come on!" Tree Rex cried as he lurched up. "We need to get going!"

Tree Rex stepped forward, but before he could go forward, the walls rumbled and an entire swarm of chompies burst out! They tore though the leaves that shielded them, and snarled as they leaped forward with teeth glistening in the light! Tree Rex snarled and readied his solar cannon, fully prepared to fire.

Just before he could, Chihiro leaped in front of him! She summoned a massive laser cannon, spun around and fried the chompies to a crisp! The first wave fell down, but the others were more than raring to go. Tree Rex backed up just inches from Chihiro, and shot off blasts from his own cannon as well yet, the chompies wouldn't relent despite the intense light show. More flooded in every time a wave went down, as if there were an infinite amount spawned!

"There's too many of them!" Chihiro cried as she punched a chompy away just before it could bite her face off. "We need more power!"

"Just leave it to us!" Swarm and Eye-Brawl cried.

Behind Tree Rex and Chihiro, Swarm and Eye-Brawl grinned and held out their arms! With a cock of Swarm's barbs, a massive swarm of bees rushed out from underneath him, scattered around and stung the chompies. The chompies turned from fighting to panicking as they tried to escape the bees' stingers! While they panicked, Swarm just stepped back and nudged Eye-Brawl's shoulder.

Eye popped right off of Brawl's head, and spun around as thick lasers shot out from his pupil! Smoke wafted to the ceiling as a dizzy Eye popped right back onto Brawl's head, but the damage he did was more than enough—for the chompies were completely fried! Brawl just patted Eye's top while Eye panted and snuggled into his seat.

With the chompies no longer a problem, the journey continued once more. The forest canopy grew bright as Chihiro’s team sneaked past the front gates, and the leaves and vines turned more condensed and more akin to an actual building's walls. They passed by halls lined with rooms full of chompies: egg-filled nurseries, gardens where full-grown chompies played, and even specialized habitats for all sorts of rare varieties! It was a veritable chompy sanctuary, and it would have been quite the pretty site anywhere else, but it still seemed a little eerie at a time like this. After all, the sound of gnashing chompy teeth and faint, jilted cries came through the air. The smell of blood wafted in from the leaves, and melded in with the scent of maple syrup and flowers in a way that churned stomachs.

As the halls came to a close, their last segment got blocked off via a flower-covered open door flanked by two particularly large, armor-bearing chompies. The chompies themselves only seemed half-alert as they half-heartedly turned their heads around and yawned. They paid not a single moment of attention to the intruders that stood right before their faces!

Ermit trembled and stumbled backwards as his eyes fell on the massive chompies. A squeak slipped from his mouth and bounced around the halls! The chompies jumped up and snarled as their eyes fell on the floors, but Tree Rex whisked everyone behind a particularly large flower before the chompies could spot them. The chompies blinked, shrugged as they sat back down, and scratched their backs.

"This has to be where the Chompy Mage is," Tree Rex whispered as he peered up from behind the gigantic flower.

"Then just leave the guards to me," Thumpback remarked as he popped up beside Tree Rex. "I'll leave them washed up!"

Thumpback whipped out his anchor, spun it around and wrapped it around the first chompy guard! Both chompy guards squawked as they witnessed the sudden attack, but they didn't linger on it for long—for Thumpback slammed them right into each other and against a wall! The disarmed chompy guards collapsed onto a pile of leaves that was once a wall, and Thumpback reclaimed his anchor.

Everyone nodded as they rushed up to the gate, and Tree Rex punched it open. They all rushed inside, paused, and peered down to find that the ground below their feet was no more! No, all that laid underneath was a massive tunnel comprised of leaves that twirled in the breeze and accompanied the sound of whistling grass! A few blinks came in that moment, and everyone screamed as they collapsed onto the tunnel's floor and went sliding down.