Author's Note: Finally, it's time to get to the real mission.

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The party stepped out of the elevator and into a cave with torches lined up on the walls. The group walked along the path, looking at the train tracks and trolleys that were strewn about chaotically.

"This appears to be a mining area," Jay said.

"All right!" Norma yelled. "A mine is a treasure hunter's best friend!"

"And also their worst enemy," Will said flatly.

"Norma, don't forget why we're here," Chloe said.

"Vaclav kept his monsters hidden down here," Senel said. "There's no telling what we'll encounter."

"We must proceed with caution," Will instructed. "Especially you, Norma."

Norma stomped her feet. "Why is it always me? It's not fair!"

The party ignored her protests and continued down the path. The exploration was uneventful; there were no enemies or obstacles to pass. After turning a few slight curves, they came to a large steel door and went through.

Now the heroes found themselves in a large room with stone walls and a steel floor. The group walked to the center of the room and looked around.

"Do you think Solon will send those monks after us?" Chloe asked.

"Solon still doesn't know our objective here," Jay said. "I doubt that he even knows that we're down here."

"Which means that we won't have to worry about him," Will said.

"That's good news for us," Senel added.

Just then, they heard a soft growling noise from the door at the back of the room. Slowly, everyone turned their heads in that direction.

"What the hell was that?" Moses asked.

They listened for the noise again, but the room was dead silent.

"Oh, you guys are just hearing things," Norma said. "Come on, let's get going!"

The party shrugged and followed her to the gigantic door at the back of the room. Norma studied the door carefully, tapping it a few times.

"I wonder why this door is so big?" Shirley asked.

"Something tells me that what we just heard wasn't just our imagination," Jay said.

"Ah ha!" Norma spotted a control panel next to the door. "It's time for Operation Kick-the-Door!"

She pulled her foot back, preparing to kick the control panel.

"Wait!" Will called.

Norma stopped and faced them. "What?"

The others took a series of large steps backwards, stopping at the center of the room.

"Okay, we're ready," Will said.

Norma kicked the control panel. The door slid open, and two giant ogre creatures stepped into the room. Norma screamed as she staggered backwards, falling on her rear. The party staggered backwards as well.

"What the hell?" Moses exclaimed.

"Are those...ogres?" Chloe asked. "Are those the monsters we've been looking for?"

"Are ogres supposed to be that big?" Senel asked.

One of the ogres lifted its foot, preparing to stomp on Norma. She quickly rolled aside as the foot slammed into the ground beside her.

"Ahh!" Norma ran over to the rest of the party, embracing Senel. "Protect me, Senny! I'm frightened!"

"Norma..." Chloe and Shirley both glared at her with fiery eyes.

"Heh heh..." Norma laughed sheepishly as she released Senel. She then studied the current situation. She gestured to the ogres, then to herself. "Big...small...I don't like these odds, Teach."

Will stared at the ogres in awe. "Yet another fascinating specimen! What luck! I hope I can acquire a sample!"

"Teach! Hello! Those things will, like, kill you!"

"All right!" Moses yelled. "Time to get those eres stones and save Elsa! Yeehaw!"

"Try not to ruin it for the rest of us, Moses," Jay said.

"Here they come!" Senel yelled. "Everyone, spread out!"

The giant ogres began to advance on them. The group quickly ran in different directions, stopping at opposite ends of the room.

"We'll need the crystal erens to unleash every eres they have!" Jay called. "The rest of us will back them up!"

"Right," Senel agreed.

Will, Norma, and Shirley ran to the walls, keeping as far away from the ogres as possible.

Senel raised his clenched fists and cautiously approached the ogres. Before he could make a move, one ogre kicked him with its giant foot, sending him flying across the room. Senel slammed into the wall, then hit the ground next to Shirley.

"Senel!" Shirley aborted her spell and knelt down beside him. She began to release her healing energy on him.

"Coolidge!" Chloe joined Shirley at Senel's side.

"Chloe, hold up!" Moses cried. "You could help us out, y'know!"

"Moses!" Jay called. "I'll distract the ogres while you unleash your raining attacks!"

Moses nodded. "You got it!"

Jay rushed towards the ogres in a speedy zigzag motion. The ogres threw various attacks at him: foot stomps, ground punches, hand slaps and grabs, and kicks. Jay dodged all the attacks, moving from one evasion to the next seamlessly, as if it were a dance.

Moses stood in awe for a few seconds, then remembered his duty. He threw his flaming spears into the air, and they rained down on the ogres like missiles. The ogres roared in agony, trying to slap the spears away.

"Extension!" Will unleashed his crystal eres; a green energy ball with a black aura formed around one of the ogres. The ogre roared in pain as it tipped over, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Jay quickly climbed onto the monster's back, slashing its neck repeatedly with his dagger. Before he could slash all the way through to the throat, the ogre stood up again. Jay balanced himself on the monster's back until it stood upright, then flipped off, landing on his feet.

"Ancient Nova!" Norma unleashed her crystal eres at the other ogre. Explosive flames rained down around it, blasting it to the ground.

After seeing Jay's move, Chloe climbed onto the ogre's back and sliced its neck with her sword. As her sword was stronger than the dagger, she was able to slice all the way to its throat, effectively slaying it. The ogre dissolved into the thick brown sludge, leaving the glowing blue stones strewn about.

"One down, one to go!" Moses launched another volley of spears into the air.

"Tractor Beam!" Shirley unleashed her crystal eres; a beam of yellow energy shot out from underneath the remaining ogre, sending it several feet into the air. However, it landed on his feet and turned its attention towards her.

Grune stepped in between Shirley and the ogre.

"G-Girl, what are you doing?" Norma cried.

Grune stepped right in front of the ogre. The monster slowly lifted its foot.

"Grune, no!" the group shouted at once.

As the monster brought its foot down, Grune grabbed it, lifting it into the air.

"Whoa..." the group muttered, amazed by her superhuman strength.

Grune threw the monster's leg into the air, throwing it off balance. The monster hit the ground with yet another thud that shook the entire room.

Chloe and Jay nodded to each other, then climbed onto the monster's chest and slashed at its neck with their weapons. It took a moment to penetrate its tough hide. They eventually slashed its throat, killing it for good. The body dissolved into the brown sludge, leaving the eres stones in its place.

"Did we...win?" Senel asked.

"Yes...we did it!" Chloe said.

"Somehow that seemed really easy," Norma commented.

"That's because we all worked together as a team," Will told her.

"I'm glad I was able to help," Grune said.

"Hey, how come you're so strong, Grune?" Moses asked.

"Hmm?"

"Yeah, G-Girl, what's your secret?" Norma added.

Grune scratched her head. "I wonder..."

Everyone dropped their heads. "Never mind..."

Will approached the eres stones and began picking them up. "Damn, I missed my chance to get a sample..."

"Oh, that's too bad, dear," Grune said.

"Well, now that we've got the eres stones we're looking for, let's go back and cure Elsa!" Norma declared.

"If only it were that easy," Chloe pointed out. "We don't even know where we are."

The group looked around, just now realizing that they had gone quite deep into the castle.

Will pointed at the door from which the ogres had come. "The path continues beyond that door. Let's follow it and see where it leads us."

The group nodded, then went through the door, which led to another path. It was another long, empty path, eventually leading to an outdoor field. The group walked a few yards out, then turned around to look up at the castle.

"We made it!" Norma exclaimed. "We're out of the castle!"

"Talk about a stroke of luck," Senel said.

They looked up at the sky; the sun was starting to rise, turning the sky bright blue.

"It's morning," Will said.

"The sun's warmth feels so good," Chloe said.

"All right, let's head back home."

The group nodded as they walked farther out into the field.

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Solon stood on a balcony of the castle, watching the group through some binoculars.

"So they're leaving," he told himself. "Oh well, no matter. I shall deal with them later. The Radiant girl will do me no good here on the mainland anyway. Rest assured, they have not seem the last of me."

Solon put the binoculars away and calmly walked back into the castle.