Jurgen's Fortress, Mt. Zhatmire

Sneaking around Jurgen's mountain base, Alex found the prison shed and quietly slipped in. As he expected, Milo (as Cyclone) was imprisoned in a hexagonal cell on the other side of a flagstone-paved floor.

"Hey, Mr Walker," he greeted the horse. "Why the long face?"

Milo's equine face grew even longer at the lameness of the pun.

"Dad joke - sorry, can't help it!" explained Alex with a chuckle. "Let's get you out of here," he said as he strode forwards innocently.

Phwitt!

Alex felt a sting in his neck, and then collapsed into a puddle. A moment later, he was falling out of the sky and landing right on the snowy ground. He looked around in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. Somehow, he realised, he'd just been killed by something in the shed.

Trembling, he opened the shed door and slipped inside once more. Examining the columns of the building more closely, he spotted dozens of twining stone serpents, ready to spit poison darts at anyone daring to cross the floor. Squatting down, he observed that the floor's masonry was no random decoration either. Like Indiana Jones' JEHOVAH test, he had to determine which flagstones were safe to tread on.

"Okay," he told himself encouragingly. "It's just an obstacle course. You were good at those."

Inch by inch, Alex tiptoed his way across the grey-white floor. This was so much like the sewer passageway he'd known the last time he was here, where the slightest misstep could mean the loss of a life. Despite a single narrow miss, he quickly made it two-thirds of the way across.

"I think I've got it now," he breathed with each agonising step. "Just… stay… on… the raised ones."

Phwitt!

He was sadly mistaken, as another poison dart swiftly showed him. As he landed genuflecting in the snow for a second time, Alex was struck with a horrid and familiar feeling. Unzipping his left jacket sleeve, he saw exactly what he'd feared he'd see - a single black bar instead of two.

Oh no.

This was it - his worst nightmare, all over again. All of a sudden, he was a frightened teenager running and hiding in the forest, trying to delay the inevitable. If only he still had his treehouse. If only he'd never come back…

What? What was he thinking?! He knew that this might happen when he agreed to help rescue Spencer. He'd chosen to come anyway. What was more, he'd just given a speech to his four teammates on how they shouldn't let their lack of spare lives deter them from completing the mission. He'd preached bravery, now it was time for him to practice it.

Boldly, Alex stepped into the shed for his third rescue attempt. He'd already made it halfway across - with just a little bit more effort and luck, he should be able to close the gap. After retracing his steps from memory, he arrived back at his last savepoint.

Here goes nothing! thought Alex as he planned his last few jumps.

Jump, jump, jump, JUMP!

Alex found himself clutching the bars of Milo's cell and realised that he'd done it. He'd successfully crossed the booby-trapped floor!

Milo whinnied in joyful celebration.

"Not bad, huh?" quipped Alex, as he dropped softly into the cell. "Now we've just gotta figure out how to get you outta here."

After a few seconds of observation, he located the lock and opened it from the inside. As the cell door swung open, two halves of a solid metal floor slid out from the longer walls of the shed, meeting in the middle and covering the rigged flagstones. Alex smiled. He and Milo should be able to walk out of the shed without any more problems.

"Shall we?" he asked the older man, gently patting him on the shoulder. The move summoned Cyclone's blue character stats menu, and Alex was amazed by what he found included in the horse's list of strengths.

Wings.

Alex gasped as the implications of that one word sank in. "Now that's cool," he stated admiringly.

Slowly, Alex led Milo out of the shed and into the snow. It appeared that his piloting skills would be needed in this adventure after all.

Once they found a spot well out of sight of Jurgen's goons, Alex tried to teach his teammate the basics of flight.

"Okay, Mr Walker," he asked him gently, "are you able to extend your wings?"

Milo whinnied in a tone that suggested confusion.

"Wings," explained Alex, flapping his hands to illustrate his point. "You're a flying horse - it's one of your strengths. Is there a way that you can stretch them out?"

Milo simply shook his head.

"Come on!" urged Alex. "You can do it - I know you can! Alright, how about this - just close your eyes and imagine you're doing warm-ups. Take a deep breath and stretch out all your limbs."

Obediently, Milo did as Alex instructed him. His knowledge of tai chi served him well, and slowly, large bat-like wings sprouted from his flanks.

"Yes!" whooped Alex. "That's it, Milo! Now let's try flapping them gently in tandem. Count with me, now: a-one, a-two, a-three, a-four…"

Milo continued flapping his large wings, increasing the pace as he gradually got the hang of it. Alex calmed him down once he got a bit too excited - they didn't want to attract attention to themselves.

"Good work, Milo," Alex praised him. "Always remember to flap both wings at once and count as you do so - that's the only way you're gonna generate enough lift to stay airborne. And if you start to fall in mid-air, simply dive nose-down, spread both wings out straight and let the air currents carry you up again. Got it?"

Milo nodded and whinnied enthusiastically. He was learning something new everyday.

"Awesome!" said Alex. Now that he'd successfully freed Milo and taught him how to use his special ability, it was time to regroup with the others. And there was no better way to find them than to take to the air.

Climbing onto Milo's back, Alex tried to make himself comfortable. It was vital that he be able to hang on once the older man got airborne - plummeting hundreds of feet to his death was not how he planned to go out. Carrying Alex, Milo trotted out to a spot where he had a long stretch of snow to serve as a runway.

"Alright, Milo," said Alex confidently, "it's time for your first flight. I need you to gallop straight down that runway, and once you've gathered enough speed, start flapping your wings just like I taught you how to. Do you understand?"

Milo replied by breaking into a trot, then a canter, then a gallop. He couldn't wait to taste open sky! With Alex hanging on for dear life, the former senior citizen followed his flight instructor's directions to the tee. Leaping into the air, he timed his powerful flaps to lift them higher and higher still. Alex was delighted.

"That's the spirit, Milo!" he said, laughing. The horror of the shed was long forgotten, and up here, it felt like they could do anything. For once, Alex was glad he'd come back for another round.

As Milo circled round and round, gradually gaining altitude in the winter sky, Alex squinted as he spotted four human figures running on the stepped roof of Jurgen's fortress. With his keen pilot's vision, he was able to make out that they were their teammates. At Alex's instructions, Milo gracefully glided to a soft landing some distance behind their friends.

The horse-man stifled a giggle as he trotted innocently up to them. The others were in for a surprise.

I want to live above the world,

Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.