Trying desperately to hold his breath as he swam and followed the staircase up, Aerrow looked and saw with much dread that the surface was still out of reach. He needed to breath, his lungs couldn't hold on any longer. Reluctantly, knowing what it would mean, Aerrow slowly opened his mouth. But impossibly he found that he could somehow still breath, the water surrounding him kept from entering his mouth by some unknown force. Below Piper and Starling, who had also been trying to hold their breaths, also found that they didn't have to as they looked towards Molly, who was looking relaxed and at home under the water, and realised they were in no danger of drowning.
"Of course, you can do anything you want to here" Starling said, her voice still able to sound as good as if it was on dry land. Molly nodded.
"Come on I'll take you on at the same time" She said jumping up from the flooded beach and into open waters whilst Entei watched from below. Starling drew her blade and Piper drew her staff, loaded with various crystal attacks as they also jumped up and floated level with her. In response Molly materialised a single crystal into her hand, though Piper and Starling knew it could probably do more than both their weapons combined. Molly moved first, creating a large wind current which, being underwater, kicked up a large whirlpool and sand storm as the base of it reached the beach, blocking Piper's and Starling's view of her. This enabled Molly to take a free shot at them, sending a wave of energy at them from the multi-ability crystal. But it missed as it's bright light among the duller colour of the sand gave away it's position, giving Piper and Starling the chance to dodge it as Piper countered by activating her own wind stone, embedded into her staff, which cancelled out the current and sandstorm, calming the waters and allowing a clear view once again. Starling then took her opportunity and fired her own blast at Molly, who only just avoided it by kicking and swimming upwards.
"Wow you two are good" Molly said, still sounding like an impressed child despite her older appearance.
"Not bad yourself" Piper replied, having been impressed by Molly's skills as she knew it was one of the few things the Unknown couldn't have given her. Deciding to try and add more power to her blast, Starling held back the blast for a few moments, making the light turn a even darker shade of purple, before twisting her blade and releasing it, causing it to hurtle towards Molly. But Molly countered by creating another whirlpool which picked up the blast and spun it around so that it boomeranged round and headed for Starling instead. "Starling watch it!" Piper tried to warn. But it was too late as the blast knocked into her, sending Starling down and crashing into the sandy floor below. "Are you ok?" Piper asked, seeing her sit up.
"I'm good" Starling winced back, rubbing her back as she slowly got to her feet but knew at the same time that it would be reckless to get back into the fight.
High above Aerrow was swimming higher and higher as he saw the surface draw closer before he broke through and climbed up the submerged stairs until he was completely out of the water and saw that the final few stairs lead up into a small opening. Reaching the top he found himself, for the first time since entering the mansion, in a somewhat normal room, which looked as if it had once been a bedroom. To add to his relief, Aerrow saw Ace sitting on the edge of the bed along with another, smaller figure laying on it, who had to be Molly.
"Ace!" Aerrow called as he ran up, dripping water everywhere as he went.
"Aerrow, you made it!" Ace replied with relief, standing up and putting a hand on Aerrow's shoulder when he bent over to catch his breath after the swimming and running up the stairs. "Your soaking wet!" Ace added in surprise, thinking he should have dried off from the waterfall by now. Aerrow stood straight again, his breath caught back.
"Long story, you wouldn't believe half of it" He said, shaking his head. "That's Molly isn't it?" He asked, indicating the sleeping girl on the bed.
"Yeah, that's her where are the others?" Ace asked worried.
"Holding the dream Molly off, she's become older and challenged them to battles both in the sky and on the ground" Aerrow explained. "It's the Unknown that's done this, they've created Entei and everything else from Molly's imagination" He continued.
"Right, we need to leave then and quickly" Ace replied as he went over to Molly and gently shook her awake.
"I was dreaming about flying" She said happily but her face changed to puzzlement as she saw Ace's serious one.
"Molly listen to me, we have leave here now" He told her.
"But why?" Molly asked before she noticed Aerrow. "Who's this?" She asked.
"This is my nephew Aerrow, he's Sky Knight of the Storm Hawks, the squadron you saw earlier" Ace told her.
"Another Sky Knight?" Molly asked in puzzlement.
"Molly, about that..." Ace began to explain. "I'm not a Sky Knight I never have been, Entei, your father got mixed up" He told her.
"But in that photo.." She started, pointing at it. Ace shook his head.
"My brother was in charge, Aerrow's father" He said, once again indicating Aerrow as Molly slid off the bed, looking at the teenage boy with wet messy red hair and emerald eyes, who looked very much like one of the squadron members in the photo.
"Molly you have to trust us, we're in danger if we stay here any longer, we have to go" Aerrow told her gently but firmly.
"But..." Molly tried to say, her face falling and her voice starting to shake as she stepped a few paces away from them.
"We'll explain later Molly but we have to go now" Aerrow said a little more urgently before turning back to Ace as they started discussing possible ways of getting out of the mansion.
"I won't.." Molly tried to say, though she remained unheard. Down below in the dinning room, the Unknown were getting restless as a light appeared once more in the middle of the ball. Upstairs Molly began shaking her head more forcefully as far below, the light in the middle of the Unknown turned red and expanded sharply. "No!" Molly suddenly cried out, tears starting to flow out of her eyes. But that wasn't all as spikes of crystal shot up through the floor all around her, forcing Aerrow and Ace to dive in separate directions to avoid them as the spikes grew and grew whilst outside the structure grew more rapidly than before. Aerrow soon found himself in the middle of a cluster of the spikes.
"Ace!" He called, out having lost sight of him in the confusion.
"Over here" Ace called, sounding not too far away. Following his voice Aerrow eventually saw him through the gaps on the opposite side of a wall of spikes.
"You ok?" Aerrow asked. Ace nodded.
"Yeah, you?" He replied. Aerrow nodded back.
"Where's Molly?" He asked. Ace shook his head looking round.
"Hold on, I'll climb through" He said, starting to make his way up and over base of the spike and through the gap.
A distance away Molly, who was stood huddled in the middle of the spikes, saw them trying to leave as behind her Entei materialised.
"What is it Molly?" It asked in concern, having felt her growing upset.
"Dad that boy's trying to take the Sky Knight and me away!" She cried, pointing at Aerrow, who saw this and knew he was in trouble as Entei's eyes narrowed dangerously.