NOTE: I know that, according to the order they picked where they're going (and as such, the order I planned for the chapters), this should be Nova Terron, Doug, and Malvaron's chapter. But as I plan to have that chapter end in a cliffhanger, I decided to do Piper's chapter first.

Piper flew around Ossum pond. She was grateful for her elven eyesight, allowing her to see a rough outline of the terrain below her. While she did see the pond, the terrain was especially rough around it, preventing her dragon from having a good spot to land. She would have to find somewhere further away to land, and make the rest of the way to the pond on foot, and she would need something to help her see more of the terrain than the shapes she could currently make out.

As she flew around the pond, she reached for a flashlight that was in her backpack. She turned it on, hoping that the extra light would help her see what was on the ground in order to find a good place to land. She whimpered when she saw that what she previously assumed were rocks were actually bones, and that they were everywhere on the island.

After a few minutes, she found a small clearing. It wasn't much, but it was enough for her dragon to land. It would be a bit of a walk to the pond, but it seemed like the best option.

As she landed, she took a deep breath. It was bad enough seeing the bones through the air, but being right next to them reminded Piper of the strange bones that appeared while she was in her circus's van, causing a crash that took the entire circus, including her parents, away from her, She grabbed her phone to call the others, but then put it back. All her friends were fairly far away, and there wasn't any time for them to come.

"I can fend for myself," Piper said as she adjusted her backpack and began her walk to the pond. Zarya spent years taking care of her, and it was time that she she helped her older sister. Besides, she wasn't the same scared little elf that Zarya found in the Undercity. She was Mysticon Striker, a hero who saved the realm. Of course, she was never alone when she did so.

The short walk gave her time to reflect on everything that has happened that day. She couldn't believe that Zarya's curse came back. Part of her wondered whether or not she was responsible for what has happened to Zarya. After all, if she didn't accidentally release the lovesbreath's pollen, then Malvaron and Arkayna wouldn't have breathed it in. They may have been able to find Em and Zarya sooner, and Em wouldn't have had to fight Yaga, as Malvaron would be there to explain everything.

"Maybe I shouldn't be a Mysticon," Piper muttered to herself as she approached the pond. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a travel mug. After making sure that the travel mug was as full as it could possibly be, Piper put it back in her backpack and began her walk back to her griffin.

As she began to walk to her dragon, she saw the light from her flashlight flicker. "No, no, no, no, no," Piper said as she watched the light completely turn off. She hit the flashlight as hard as she could, and the light turned on for a second before turning back off. She hit the flashlight again, but nothing happened.

She looked at the shapes sticking out of the ground, unable to get the knowledge that they were bones out of her head. A familiar feeling of fear was over her, and Piper dropped her flashlight as the bones seemed to begin moving towards her, ready to crush her in their hard grasp.

Breathing heavily, Piper took a step back. She felt her leg being pulled into the ground, and saw bones beside her left leg.

"Let me go!" Piper yelled.

"Piper!" A familiar voice cried out. "What's going on?"

The voice sounded familiar, but Piper was too consumed by her own situation to recognize it. However, it did manage to snap her back to reality, making her realize that the ground around her leg weren't bones, but rather a crevice that she must have stepped into. As she looked around, she realized that the bones weren't moving towards her at all.

She tried to pull her leg out of the crevice, but it was stuck. If she wanted to free her leg, then she'd have to make the crevice larger.

Summoning her hoop, she hit the ground on her left side. After a couple good hits, the ground eventually broke, and Piper felt herself sliding deeper into the hole. She managed to grab the other side of the crevice and pull herself out. As soon as she was certain that she was safe, she immediately checked her backpack. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the backpack wasn't ripped or wet, meaning that the water she had collected from the pond was safe.

"Come on, Piper, answer us!" A voice called out. Piper recognized that voice as Kasey's. "Where are you?"

"Over here," Piper said.

Piper heard footsteps approaching as she put her backpack back on her back and stood up. She saw a yellow light in the distance, and as the light come closer, she saw Kitty and Kasey. Kasey was holding a flashlight, and they both had a relieved look on their faces.

"Are you O.K.?" Kitty asked as she looked around. "What grabbed you?"

Piper looked at the ground. "N...nothing," she said. "I fell in a hole, and panicked." Tears formed in Piper's eyes. "Listen, there's something I have to tell you. Zarya..." she began to cry.

Kitty put her hands on Piper's shoulder. "Zarya told me." Piper noticed that Kitty was fighting back tears as well. "She asked us to lend a hand."

"Though it looks like you didn't need our help," Kasey said.

Piper shook her head. "I got scared. If you didn't snap me out of it..."

"You would have snapped out of it on your own," Kitty said. "Anyway, why don't you head back. Once the other Pink Skulls get back on the ship, we'll meet you at the stronghold.

"O.K." Piper said. As she continued her walk to the dragon, she wished that Kitty and Kasey would go with her. She told herself that she can go the rest of the way alone, and that Kitty probably wanted to look out for her crew.

As she reached the dragon, she felt something watching her. She turned around, and saw a familiar pink sleeve peeking out from behind a bush. A smile formed on her face as she realized that Kitty and Kasey planned to show Piper that she can take care of herself, while still making sure she's safe. She thought about thanking Kitty and Kasey, but just got on her dragon and left. She could let them believe that they weren't seen.