AN: Hello and welcome to another installment of ROTLON! I'm happy to hear you all enjoyed the last chapter :-)

So without further ado, let's get on with the fic!

"Okay, kids, that's the end of today's lesson!" Miss Jenson, one of my Science teachers, announces. She has blonde hair tied in a bun, green eyes and wears glasses. "If you'd all like to start packing away your things now."

I begin to put away my things in my backpack before Miss Jenson suddenly calls, "And don't forget we need to check who'll be taking Cutie home!"

The entire class goes silent with anticipation. Cutie is a brown and white guinea pig who definitely lives up to his name.

Miss Jenson walks over to the calendar which has pictures of every student on it to indicate who will get to take Cutie home each weekend. "No, it can't be!" she exclaims. "No, no, no!" She picks up Cutie's cage and walks over to the front of the classroom before holding it up and looking up at us. "It's Toby's turn to take Cutie home for the weekend!"

Immediately everybody starts groaning in dismay. I don't understand why everyone seems so worried. What's the worst that could happen?

"Not Toby!" someone complains.

I look around and see everyone frowning at me. I groan before saying, "What's the problem here?" I fold my arms and add, "I'll take good care of him."

The bell suddenly rings which distracts everybody as they fight to be the first to leave the classroom. Miss Jenson attempts to shout over the ruckus, reminding everyone about the homework she'd set us for the weekend and that it had to be completed by Tuesday.

I walk over to the front desk after everybody else has left and Miss Jenson reluctantly hands me Cutie's cage. As I make my way to the door, she starts babbling about what I need to do before finishing with, "If you lose Cutie, you'll be in detention for the rest of your life!"

Never mind detention! If I lose Cutie, I'll be grounded for the rest of my life!

I head over to my locker and immediately notice the heart-shaped note attached to the door. "See this, Cutie?" I address the guinea pig who lets out a squeak. "That's the twenty-ninth note she's left me this week!" Inwardly I groan as I remove the note and toss it into my bag. Madison has been attaching love notes to my locker, despite the fact that a) it's not Valentine's Day yet and b) I thought I'd made it obvious that I wasn't interested.

"Awww, cute!"

I whip my head to see Nick, Jessica and Lucas approaching me. Jessica, who is slightly in front, appears to be the one who said it.

I blink at her in confusion. It takes me a few moments to realize that she's talking about the guinea pig, not me.

Still, an opportunity to tease her is something I can't pass up, best friend or not. "Wow, Jess, I'm flattered that you think I'm-"

"N-no!" Jessica squeaks, embarrassed, as her face glows like the setting sun. "I d-didn't mean - not that you're not - n-no, that's not what I'm saying! I j-just meant that..."

She says all of this very fast and I decide to put her out of her misery by quickly saying, "It's okay - I know what you meant." I hold up Cutie's cage and add, "He is pretty cute, right, guys?

"Oh dear," Nick says, amused. "Toby with the classroom pet?"

"We all know how this is gonna end!" Lucas chimes in as we start to leave the school and head home.

Once we get home, we make our way through the kitchen to the back garden when Mom stops us, "Dad's making us a barbecue today, kids!"

"Sounds great, Mom!" Nick tells her.

Mom looks up suddenly. I guess she can hear Cutie squeaking. Her gaze eventually lands on his cage which I am holding. "Oh no," she mutters, going pale, before saying in a louder voice, "If you lose another classroom pet, young man, you'll-"

"No, wait, don't say it!" I interrupt cheerfully. "I'll be grounded for the rest of my life!" I begin to lead the way to the back door before stopping and saying, "Relax, Mom - I'm not going to lose Cutie!"

"That's what you always say!" Nick quips under his breath and the others quietly laugh.

I frown as I walk outside. Just wait 'til I prove everybody wrong! We'll see who's laughing then.

I gently place Cutie's cage down on the grass and flop myself down into one of the nearby deckchairs. Nick and Lucas sit down on the grass while Jessica takes the other deckchair.

Lucas opens the cage and carefully takes Cutie out, petting his furry head, as we watch Dad at the other side of the garden attempting to light the barbecue.

"It's time for the barbecue master to strut his stuff!" he announces as he lights a match, only for it to promptly go out. "Hey!" he exclaims before lighting another one, only to have the same thing happen. "Hey!" he protests. "This can't be happening!" he says after lighting a third match which also goes out.

Needless to say, it's not going too well.

"It was so weird!" I tell the others. "They were acting like I couldn't take care of it!"

"You can't, Toby!" Nick responds. "Every time you get the class pet, it escapes!"

I frown. "Not every time!" I say indignantly, folding my arms.

"Uh, yeah, what about the snail?" Jessica asks.

I groan at the memory. "Who has a snail as a class pet anyway?" I respond.

"And don't even mention the snake!" Nick says, causing me to unwittingly flashback to the time that I had to look after a snake. I recall being engrossed in a video game, only to hear Mom and Dad screaming. I had then looked up from my game to discover that the snake tank was empty. "Mom and Dad grounded both of us and I wasn't even in town when it happened!" he adds as Jessica walks over to Lucas to get a closer look at Cutie.

"Do you know how hard it is to keep a snake in a tank?" I ask. "That could have happened to anyone!"

"But it didn't!" Nick points out. "It happened to you!"

"You have to be careful this time!" Jessica insists as Lucas passes Cutie to her. She then says with the kind of voice girls tend to use when they find something - usually babies - extremely cute, "He's so much cuter than a snake!"

"Oh, forget it!" Dad exclaims suddenly, causing us all to gasp. I guess he hasn't had luck lighting the barbecue. "I could start waiting for that stupid thing to light!" We watch him walk frustratedly into the house

"Don't worry," I say as I walk over to Jessica who hands Cutie to me. "Nothing's gonna happen to Cutie!" I place him back in the cage and fasten the door.

Suddenly I gasp as a gray tabby cat pounces on top of the cage, meowing aggressively. I scream as Jessica yells, "Hey! Get outta here!" while waving her arms.

I have an idea and rush over to the grill, pulling a red cloth out of the basket and hold it out to one side. "Hola, gateau!" I say as the cat jumps down on to the grass and dashes at me, only to crash into the bush behind me. I drop the cloth and look at the others who are laughing. "See?" I tell them. "It's obvious that I know how to handle animals!"

I soon find myself eating my own words as the cat jumps onto my back, digging its claws in, causing me to fall over as I let out a pained cry.

Hey, those claws are sharp, okay?

I hold the cat away from me as it furiously struggles and swipes its front paws at me, trying to scratch me, meowing angrily the whole time.

"Since you know how to handle animals, I guess you don't need our help!" Lucas says, amused.

"That's not what I meant!" I exclaim, wishing somebody would get this crazy cat off of me already.

"Mr. Fluffy!"

Wait, that voice! No. Not her. Not today.

The others gasp as Paula Pinkney pokes her head out of a bush and lets out a cry when she sees what is apparently her cat in my arms. She marches towards us while angrily saying, "Get your hands off my baby!"

I let out a sigh of relief as the crazy cat is finally taken from me and cradled in Paula's arms, looking completely calm and innocent. I stand up as Paula glares at us after giggling at Mr. Fluffy. "Paula Pinkney," I say, dusting myself off. "For once, I'm actually happy to see you!"

Paula narrows her eyes at us. "I know you guys are up to something," she says. "But you'd better leave my precious kitty out of it!" She turns and walks away huffily, Mr. Fluffy once meowing aggressively and swiping its front paws at us.

"Did she say precious?"

The four of us scream as we look down and see Razzle standing on the grass next to us. This, of course, causes him to scream too.

Nick looks around in a panic before saying in a hushed tone, "You know, Razzle, you've got to be careful that no one sees you!"

"No kidding!" Razzle tells him. "Would I be here if there wasn't a problem in the Gorm?"

"Let's get outta here!" Jessica says and we start walking back towards the house. Suddenly I hear a loud and indignant squeaking noise and walk back to get Cutie, sheepishly chuckling at him as I take hold of the cage.

We head into the pantry and activate the panel to access the Primal Pad. As usual, we stand in front of the control panel while Razzle tells us what's happening.

"Our friend Magmion is back!" he begins. "And he's hooked up with Drakkon again!" The image on the screen shows Volcano Mountain releasing dark red smoke while Magmion laughs evilly before jumping onto Drakkon's back. "Worse - he's met up with Electricon and that noisy creep, the Screaming Guardian!" The image changes to show said Lava Gormiti kneeling before Magmion. "Then he attacked the Water Gormiti with a weird spell! Now there's some sort of sickness spreading under the sea!" The screen shows an image of the underwater plants wilting and dying.

"Turtle the Seer can see the future and she is really worried!" Razzle continues, the image on the screen now showing some Sea Gormiti - one of them being Hammer, a Sea Gormiti we had met previously and the other is obviously Turtle. "So she sent Hammer to find me...so I could find you guys!"

"They look so weak!" Jessica says as we watch them marching out of the sea onto the shore onscreen. "No way they can beat Magmion!"

"We'd better go to the Gorm!" Razzle tells us.

The four of us run to stand around the Gorm Gate and cry out, "Elementals!"

"Air!" Jessica begins.

"Water!" I yell.

"Forest!" Lucas calls.

"Earth!" Nick finishes.

"Reveal to us the Keeper and give to them your chair!" we say together as the chair starts spinning around.

"And the Keeper is..." Razzle announces as the chair slows down before a green icon with the Forest symbol appears on the back, "...Forest!"

Razzle climbs up on Lucas' shoulder and says to him, "Lucas, you da man!"

"Hey, Razzle," I say as he takes hold of the handle on Cutie's cage. "When we go to the Gorm, how about you take care of Cutie?" I let go of the cage and Razzle screams as it drops. Luckily Lucas grabs him by the tail before the cage can hit the floor. "I knew I could count on you!" I add as I kneel down to his level.

"But I don't know what to do!" Razzle protests, still clinging to the handle for dear life.

I stand up and tell him, "All you have to do is feed it and make sure it doesn't get loose!"

Razzle peers down over the side of the cage which Lucas had set on the ground and eventually says, "Alright, but you'd better be on your best behavior!" before letting out a cry as Cutie scurries over and licks his face.

Lucas jumps into the Keeper's chair while I join the others. "Okay, guys, ready when you are!" he tells us. Without wasting any more time, the three of us run to the Gorm Gate and jump in. "And...touchdown!" he announces as we land on a rocky ledge. "So, according to the Travel Tome, you should be near where Magmion cast his spell!"

Judging from the familiar evil laughter I can hear, I'm guessing the Travel Tome is right. As we look down, we see a fiery blast being fired at three fleeing Sea Gormiti. Drakkon opens its mouth and releases a stream of fire while Magmion steps forward and says smugly, "You think you can stand before Magmion? Think again!"

"We got here just in time!" Nick exclaims just before Lucas projects his image beside us.

"Let's get you powered up and fast!" he says. After a few seconds, he announces, "Good to glow!"

"Elemental powers flow," the three of us yell together. "Gormiti - Lords of Nature, go!"

"Powers of the Sea!" I cry as I transform, letting out a roar.

Nick runs forward and jumps down onto the beach, slamming his fist into the ground, causing shockwaves that knock Magmion off his feet. Drakkon, however, flies up into the air and escapes the impact.

I decide I can't let my little brother have all the fun and call out, "Time for a swim, Magmion!" I raise my arms in the air and use my control of water to create a huge wave that towers above Magmion.

Before I can even do anything with it, though, Drakkon flies in front of Magmion and releases a stream of fire from its mouth, causing the water to evaporate and a lot of steam to form as the wave shrinks away completely.

"You've been lucky in the past!" Magmion says. "But that changes today!" He raises his left arm which is surrounded by yellow lightning and miniature volcanoes start sprouting out of the ground, all of them releasing lava blasts into the sky. To the horror of myself and Nick, one of them hits Jessica, causing her to fall into the churning water.

I jump down onto the beach and run to the edge of the shore along with Nick, seeing Jessica struggling to stay above the water. "Help me!" she calls to us desperately. "Please, guys! Help!"

Magmion laughs as Jessica continues to call to us. Nick looks at me and I dive into the water, Jessica seeming relieved as I easily reach her, swimming through the choppy waves. I drape my arm around her and we start making our way back to the shore.

Suddenly Magmion's laughter stops abruptly as two of the Sea Gormiti attempt a sneak attack from behind, trying to hit his legs but he jumps forward and sneers, "Think you're sneaky? I don't think so!" He then hits one of them with two blasts of fire, knocking them to the ground.

As Jessica and I finally reach the shore, Nick shouts "Incoming!" in warning, before raising his hand and firing several sharp rock projectiles which hit Drakkon, causing the dragon to let out a screech as it tumbles in mid-air before flying in the opposite direction. It must have been waiting to attack us from behind. "That thing will be back!" Nick tells us as we walk over to join him.

We look over and see Magmion firing at the Sea Gormiti. "Stand back, guys!" Jessica calls, much to their confusion. She creates a blast of wind and sends it towards Magmion while Hammer and the other Sea Gormiti - Tongs, if I remember rightly - wisely running back to avoid being hit. However, Magmion punches the attack away, sending it up into the air.

That could have gone a lot better!

I spot Turtle standing alone near the edge of the water and run over. "You're too weak to fight," I tell her. "You'll be safer in the water!" I lead her into the water but I find myself gasping and I double over, holding my legs. What's going on?

"But you are weak too," Turtle points out as I try to catch my breath. "Perhaps you have the tired sickness that has spread through the realm."

I straighten up. No way am I going to let that stop me! "It's okay - I'll be fine!" I insist. I look over to see Tongs walking towards us.

"Hammer, join us!" he calls to his companion.

Hammer, apparently, is very stubborn. "No!" he refuses before rushing towards Magmion, saying, "I will fight on until the end!" I get a sinking feeling that the end may come sooner than he thinks.

Sure enough, as Hammer charges forwards, Magmion trips him up and he lands hard on his back, dazed. "You won't have long to wait!" the Volcano Gormiti sneers as he runs over to a fallen Hammer, Drakkon landing near them.

Magmion lowers his voice and I cannot hear what he's saying to Drakkon but I can guess it's nothing good. Suddenly he raises his hand which is surrounded by a yellow glow and fires a beam at the ground in front of Jessica. Immediately a cage made of molten lava rises up around her, effectively trapping her as it solidifies.

I watch as Nick runs over to her, yelling, "Hang on!" I still can't shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen.

"Get me out of this thing!" Jessica yells as Nick starts punching the cage to try and break it apart.

I gasp for breath as Magmion decides to seize his opportunity, approaching us while Nick and Jessica are distracted. "Drakkon, smokescreen!" he commands.

Drakkon obediently opens its mouth and releases a stream of fire that hits the water, creating a huge cloud of steam that obscures us from view.

I cannot see them approaching but I can hear Magmion's evil laughter as he and Drakkon walk towards us. Now would probably be a good time to run, except I don't feel strong enough to do that and I don't want to abandon the others.

While I try to think of my options - which are incredibly limited-, I look up and see Magmion leering at me. There is an unpleasant gleam in his eyes that makes me feel uneasy as I try to back away from him.

However, I don't even get the chance to move as he grabs me without warning and tosses me onto Drakkon's back. I don't have the strength to struggle or even fight back.

"They've got Toby!" Jessica exclaims, I presume, to Nick since his back is turned and I'm pretty sure I know I've been captured!

Drakkon turns its head to glare threateningly at me, as though daring me to move. Meanwhile, Magmion uses his tail to drop Hammer - who is still unconscious - onto Drakkon's back as well, saying loudly, "I've got my hostages!" He begins laughing as he runs and jumps up onto Drakkon's back, sitting in front of me as the dragon takes off into the air.

Drakkon lets out a triumphant screech as it flies away. I decide not to worry about what is happening right now. The best thing to do is to focus on something important. But what? Oh, yeah!

"Take care of Cutie!" I call to Nick and Jessica, who seems to have been freed from the cage she had been trapped in.

I know it will probably confuse them but thinking about anything other than the fact that I am in a hostage situation is preferable right now.

Drakkon continues to fly and I guess we're heading to the Lava Nation. I mean where else would ol' Magmy take us?

I look back at Hammer who seems to have woken up, though he seems to be as weak as I feel.

Eventually, Drakkon lands in front of a towering rock with smaller rocks attached to the sides by rock walkways. Magmion jumps off onto the ground before dragging us off of Drakkon with his tail. I wince as I hit the ground with a thud.

"Get up and get moving!" he orders, pointing in the direction of the tower. "And don't even think about trying to run away," he raises his blade-like arm threateningly before adding, "because I have the advantage here!"

Hammer and I find ourselves sandwiched between Magmion and Drakkon as we are marched inside the tower. We are led to what I assume is the main chamber where the Screaming Guardian and Electricon are waiting and shoved against the wall. I kneel down and support Hammer who still seems pretty stunned from earlier on.

Magmion begins to pace in front of us before coming to an abrupt halt and announcing, "I have a proposition: if the Water Gormiti agree to serve us in the mines of Klugart, I will reverse my spell and allow the Water realm to survive."

I've never even heard of the Klugart mines, though I don't think Hammer will take too kindly to this offer Magmion's making. Sure enough, he snaps angrily, "We will never be your slaves!"

"Oh, a most unfortunate choice!" Magmion says as we gasp defiantly. "Now the Water Gormiti are doomed!"

He steps back and nods to his accomplices who move forward and grab me by the arms. "Hey!" I yell in protest. "What do you think you're doing?" Out of the corner of my eye, I see two Lava Soldiers grabbing Hammer.

I want to help him as he is being dragged away but Electricon raises his hand which is surrounded by blue electricity and points it at Hammer. Screaming Guardian lets out a scream, causing me to wince. "Okay, okay, I get the message!" I snap irritatedly, their grip on my arms is so tight, it's painful.

They roll aside a round door and toss me inside a small chamber, which I realize is a cell. The door slams shut behind me and I look around. This is just the best day of my life! Who wouldn't want to be trapped in a prison cell belonging to an evil maniac?

"Hammer, are you okay in there?" I whisper in a hushed voice as I stand up and walk over to a small hole in the wall. I look down and see Hammer sitting, slumped against the wall. He seems pretty out of it, though he doesn't appear to be hurt. "Be strong," I tell him. "I'm sure Nick and Jessica are on their way!"

Speaking of which, I find myself wondering what they're up to. I figure that they must have gone back to the Primal Pad to recharge their orbs. I don't blame them. They're going to need all the power they can get if they want to rescue Hammer and I from this place. After all, with the way I feel right now - exhausted, breathless and achy - there's just no way I'd be able to take on a bunch of Lava Gormiti and come out on top. I seriously even Hammer would make a difference in our chances of escaping, despite him being one of the strongest warriors in the Sea Nation.

I decide to wander back to the window - for lack of a better word - that looks out onto the outside of the prison. For now, I figure it's best to wait for the others to show up. They will. I know they will.

Sure enough, after a few moments, I see a couple of specks in the distance, walking along the winding pathway. As they get closer, I cannot stop the wide grin on my face as I recognize them as Nick, Jessica and the two Sea Gormiti: Turtle and Tongs.

They came. I knew they would!

I walk away from the window and head over to the hole in the wall separating my cell from Hammer's. "They're here!" I whisper. "Just hold on, Hammer!"

Hammer stands up and turns to face me. When he speaks, his voice sounds a lot stronger than before, less breathless. "I am fine now!" he declares, raising his arms. "Perhaps the sea has returned to life!"

I ponder his words. I certainly don't feel as weak and breathless as I had before. However, I don't have long to think about what could have happened as I hear a rumbling sound. I turn to see the door to my cell being rolled aside as Magmion marches in, looking angry. Well, what else is new?

"Be warned," he says to me. "As soon as one of the invaders enters the prison," he pauses as Electricon and the Screaming Guardian step up beside him, chuckling evilly. I gasp and back away slightly as Electricon raises his fist and the Screaming Guardian raises his hook-like hand. "You will be destroyed!" Magmion finishes threateningly.

I back away even further. My destruction is not something I had anticipated but I probably should have. "Tell them to leave the prison or you and your friend are finished!" Magmion commands. "You have three seconds! One!"

I stand against the wall. If I say anything, I get the feeling Magmion will destroy us anyway. "Two!"

However, if I don't say anything, Magmion will destroy us. I can't think of a way out of this one - not without somebody getting hurt. "Three!"

"Farewell!" Magmion says as he raises his blade-like arm, pointing it at me. I brace myself for the pain that is soon to come but, to my surprise, I hear a rumbling sound. I glance to the side and see Hammer emerge from the cloud of dust. He must have broken the wall between our cells to help me.

"It's Hammer-time!" he declares. Electricon lets out an angry cry and shoots a jolt of blue electricity at him but he jumps out of the way. I watch as he charges forward and throws Electricon back with one hand, causing the Lava Gormiti to hit the wall hard, before announcing, "You're next, Magmion!"

As Magmion fires a blast at Hammer, sending him flying backward, I get the feeling that things still won't be so easy for us. Hammer sits up and clutches his shoulder, steam rising from it. "Hmmm, let's see - Water Gormiti - ah, yes!" Magmion says, looking thoughtful. He marches closer to Hammer. "Too weak outside the water to take us on!" he boasts, raising his blade-like hand for another attack.

I decide I cannot stand by and just watch Hammer be hurt again. I rush forward and grab Magmion's hand, holding him away from Hammer. He struggles to escape my grip and I struggle to hold on.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hammer trying and failing to hit the Screaming Guardian. "Hold still!" he yells frustratedly as the Lava Gormiti moves back and forth on the spot before moving aside, allowing Electricon to run behind him and hit Hammer with a jolt of electricity.

I let out a cry as Hammer crashes into me, sending us both flying backward until we hit the wall. "I'm keeping a special place in the mines for you two!" Magmion declares before firing a beam of fire from his blade-like hand.

Lava begins to form, trapping our feet. Hammer lets out a cry of pain and I know I have to act fast before the heat evaporates what's left of our power. I quickly hit the lava with a continuous stream of water until it solidifies into molten rock. I struggle to pull myself free - if we remain incapacitated like this, we will soon find it hard to fight back.

"I'm afraid that surrender is no longer an option for you!" Magmion informs us as we struggle to free ourselves. The rock is still hot and it hurts to try and move against it.

Suddenly the room begins to shake, leaving us all confused. I don't know what's happening - unless it's the others, in which case their timing couldn't be more perfect!

Magmion marches over to the window as the shaking continues. "What?" he exclaims angrily. So it is the others! "Just get out there and distract them!" he orders the Screaming Guardian and Electricon. "Drakkon will be here soon enough!" Oh, I was wondering where that overgrown dragon had gotten to.

Screaming Guardian lets out a screech, pointing his hook-shaped hand at Hammer and I. "These two, I can handle. Now go!" Magmion commands and the two Lava Gormiti obediently run off. The shaking starts to get more intense and Magmion lets out a nervous cry as small chunks of rock from the ceiling start raining down.

"Looks like you bit off more than you can chew this time!" I tell him. With a cry, I release a blast of water which sends him crashing backward into the opposite wall.

I attempt once again to free myself. This time the rock is cool enough that it breaks apart with some effort, allowing me the freedom to move my feet once more. I raise my fist and punch the rock trapping Hammer's feet, causing it to break apart. "Thanks!" he says gratefully, stepping forward.

Punching rock is not really my strong suit. I rub my aching fist slightly before turning to face Magmion who takes a menacing step towards us. With a cry of effort, I release another stream of water but Magmion counters by releasing a stream of lava from his hands. I struggle to hold his attack back.

Hammer runs forward, probably to attack Magmion but he never gets the chance. As he charges, Magmion trips him, causing him to cry out as he crashes headfirst into the wall. Ouch!

Magmion increases the intensity of his attack and I do the same but I soon find it difficult to keep up this level of power. Sweat begins to pour down my face as I struggle to even continue attacking. My orb must be almost empty by now - if I lose my powers, I'll be completely defenseless! I let out a scream as I continue to hit Magmion with everything I have left. If I'm going down, there's no way I'm going without a fight!

Eventually, however, I simply cannot keep it up any longer. I slump down on my hands and knees, panting with exhaustion. "Being my slave probably seems better than this!" Magmion says smugly, stopping his attack. He laughs as he advances towards us.

I tense up as he approaches, only for him to move past me and grab Hammer, holding the Sea Gormiti in a choke hold. "Let him go!" I snap, trying not to let my exhaustion show in my voice.

Hammer struggles in Magmion's vice-like grip. "Being my slave..." he begins, acting like he didn't hear me.

"Never!" Hammer yells defiantly. I summon every last bit of strength I have and force myself to stand before letting out a determined cry and releasing a powerful blast of water. It hits Magmion, forcing him to let go of Hammer as it sends him flying through the doorway. I hear a thud and a pained grunt as he hits a wall.

By this point, my body is aching and I just want to sleep for a million years. My shaking legs don't seem to want to support my weight as I collapse onto my knees. I don't think I could manage another attack.

"We can't rest!" Hammer tells me as he walks over and helps me to my feet.

"I've wasted too much time on you!" Magmion declares angrily as he storms back into the room. He begins to glow red as he starts to chant some weird spell. As he does so, the prison begins to shake and the ceiling crumbles.

I guess this is it. I guess this is the end. It's not how I planned on leaving the world but I'll take it. Magmion continues to chant as I say regretfully, "Sorry, looks like I failed!"

The shaking gets worse as the volume of the chanting increases. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a crack appears in the ground beneath Magmion's feet as he's about to fire a yellow beam at us. He lets out a cry as he falls into the crack, shooting the beam at the ceiling instead.

"Toby, I'm on my way!" I hear a voice call my name in the distance as the ceiling starts to crumble.

I know that voice! I can't believe it!

"Nick!" I yell back, unable to keep the relief out of my voice. "You made it!"

I look up as my brother runs over to join us. "Hey, that's what brothers are for!" he tells me. "Now hop on and hang on!"

He easily lifts both Hammer and I up, using one arm each to support us. By this point, the small chunks of rock falling down have evolved into medium-sized chunks of rock. It's pretty obvious by the shaking that this place is coming down.

Nick runs toward the exit, holding onto us, which I'm kind of glad about. After the battle with Magmion, I don't feel like I have the energy to walk, let alone run.

We approach a wall and Nick charges straight through it, his rock-like body breaking the wall apart, forming a hole large enough for us to escape. I hear bangs behind me as Nick runs up the walkway away from the cell.

He stops when we reach Jessica and the other Sea Gormiti before turning around as we all watch the cell break apart from the main tower, crashing to the ground with a cloud of dust rising up where the cell had once been connected to the walkway.

"It is over," Turtle says calmly.

"Looks like the good guys won again!" Jessica exclaims.

Suddenly we hear a grumble from near us. "Beware!" we hear Magmion call up to us. I guess he's clinging to the broken walkway. He starts to cough. "The Water Gormiti will-" He lets out another cough before exasperatedly exclaiming, "Oh, you haven't heard the last of me!" He coughs for a third time before letting out a cry which is followed by a thud. I can hear him grumbling to himself as he presumably leaves.

"May I thank you now?" Turtle asks politely.

"Yes," Nick tells her, "and you're very welcome!"

I suddenly remember something. "Hey, how's the guinea pig?" I ask. I can't believe I almost forgot about Cutie!

Jessica's head snaps up, her expression nervous. "Um...uh..." she utters with the tone of someone who has bad news to give but doesn't know how to break it to the person.

"Maybe Lucas will know!" Nick says a little too quickly. I get the feeling they know something I don't.

"Hey!" Lucas says indignantly as he projects his image beside us.

I step forward. "Lucas, where's Cutie?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I don't know?" he replies, though it sounds more like a question than a statement.

"You must know!" I say desperately. This cannot be happening!

"Well, that's just it, Toby!" Nick interrupts and I turn to face him. "We don't know!"

Jessica steps up. "He disappeared when we went back to the Primal Pad!"

My mind hears the word disappeared and I feel like I am in a trance as I start to imagine Miss Jenson and my parents scolding me as well as the angry looks from my classmates.

I don't even notice Lucas gating us back to the Primal Pad until I look around and see that we are somehow in the back garden, obviously in human form. The sky is rosy-pink in color, indicating that it's sunset and Dad is apparently having more luck with the grill as he successfully manages to light it. He starts to do a strange dance, chanting, "Grill town, oh yeah, uh-huh, grill town, that's right, uh-huh!"

Right now, however, I have more important things on my mind. "You lost the guinea pig?" I say angrily to Lucas who leans away from me before holding his hands up.

"Don't blame me," he says calmly. "It's your fault for putting Razzle in charge!"

I look up and see Razzle walking along a branch towards a hole in the tree trunk. "Cutie," he calls into the hole, his voice whistling slightly, "where are you?"

"I am gonna be in so much trouble!" I exclaim as I hold my head in my hands.

"Wonder if Mr. Fluffy knows what happened to Cutie?" Nick muses thoughtfully.

I feel like my stomach has dropped out of my body. "Oh no!" I exclaim frantically. "The cat could have eaten the guinea pig!"

Just then, there is a scream coming from inside the house. "Mom found him!" Nick and I say together. We both run into the house and find Mom standing on a chair in the kitchen.

I approach the table and see Cutie sitting in a bowl of lettuce. "Just...take it away!" Mom tells me as I pick up the bowl and carry it, leading the way back outside.

Once we're back outside, I place the bowl down on the lawn. "He sure is hungry!" Lucas comments as we watch Cutie munch on the greens.

"But...Razzle was supposed to feed him!" I exclaim, confused.

"It all makes sense now!" Jessica says as she turns and looks inside Cutie's cage. "It ran away because it was looking for something healthy to eat!"

Razzle says rather huffily, "I just fed him what you guys like to eat!"

Clearly, Razzle doesn't know that what humans like to eat and what guinea pigs like to eat are very different things altogether.

"Okay, Cutie, let's get you back to your cage!" I tell the guinea pig who is still munching away. I reach my hand into the bowl to pick him up but he lets out a loud and angry squeak, causing me to quickly pull back.

I frown as he goes right back to eating when suddenly a leaf gets thrown in my face.

A guinea pig just threw a leaf in my face. Yeah...

"I'll...just let him eat for a while!" I decide after pulling the leaf off my face. The others start laughing at my expense as Cutie squeaks contentedly.

The weekend passes by and soon it is time to head to my next class with Miss Jenson. I stand at the back of the queue as we walk into the classroom, holding Cutie's cage behind my back. I haven't let anybody look in the cage yet - it'll ruin the moment!

Right before I enter the classroom, I look at Cutie who is peering out through the bars of the cage. "Well, it's been good, right?" I say and he lets out what I think is a confirming squeak. "Now it's time for me to take you back to your real home!"

I walk into the classroom. "Ladies and gentlemen," I announce and the entire room goes silent. Everyone, Miss Jenson included, seems to be holding their breath. "I present to you..." I hold up the cage so everyone can see it, "...Cutie!"

The silence continues for a few seconds and I actually start to feel a bit worried before I hear:

"It's Cutie!"

"He brought him back!"

"It's so good to have you back, Cutie!"

Miss Jenson approaches me, looking like she's fighting the urge to start crying. "Thank you!" she says to me. "Thank you for bringing Cutie back in one piece!"

The whole class starts applauding me and I take it in before turning to Miss Jenson. "So does this mean I don't get a detention for forgetting to do the homework?" I ask eagerly

Judging from the grim expression on her face, I'll take that as a no!

AN: And we're at the end of another chapter! Hope you enjoyed the read and I apologize for it not being as long as usual.

This is something I want your opinion on. Many reviews I've had seem to express a wish for another Gormiti Love so here is my idea:

You guys send a review on here or an ask on Tumblr (gormitifangirl) with a word and a couple/shipping e.g. snow - blizzardstormshipping.

Let me know if you guys would be interested in doing something like that.

Obviously, it won't be alphabetical but it will have the same premise - a book of romantic Gormiti oneshots :-)

So thank you once again for reading and supporting this story and my others! I'll see you all in the next chapter