The group got to talking a bit as they made their way to the pyramids. "So, Susumu," Neal asked. "Do you live around here? In the desert, I mean?"

"Wha- Oh no, I couldn't," Susumu answered. "I can't stand heat. Or cold. Or heights. Or..."

Susumu was interrupted when something suddenly jumped out at her. "Augh!" Neal had to keep her from falling backwards onto the sand. "W-what is that?!" Picking herself up off the ground, she got a good look at what had attacked her: Some sort of cobra with a face stuck to it.

"Susumu, be careful!" Neal warned, swinging his claws at the cobra. "That thing has Milo's face! We've gotta get it back!"

Susumu nodded, and stepped back a bit. "Alright, time to see what my new powers can do!" She was a bit startled by this, but suddenly some sort of screen popped up in front of her face. Without even having to think about it, she knew exactly what to do, and began typing furiously. As she did, the cobra seemed to flicker slightly, somehow causing it damage.

Samuel, however, stood back slightly, not fighting very much at all. He did spring into action, however, when the cobra reared up to attack, hitting Neal pretty hard. "Neal, look out!" he warned, raising his staff to the sky. Before long, Neal's injuries were completely healed.

Susumu looked back, catching a glimpse of how worried Samuel looked. "Thanks, Samuel!" she exclaimed, swinging her ketchup bottle at the cobra. "You may not think it, but you're doing a lot for us!"

"Really?" Samuel started smiling at Susumu's words. He knew he was better at healing than fighting, and he was always worried about helping people because of that... But he was doing good, right? Suddenly, he felt a rush of energy. "Susumu! This is for you!" He charged up and swung his staff at the cobra, taking it down easily.

"That was great, Samuel!" Neal praised him. "But... Is this the pyramid? Do you think Azamir is in there?"

As Susumu looked at the pyramid, she could've sworn she heard a voice in her head. "Kukukuku... I see you've come to fight the Dark Lord."

"Huh?" Susumu looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Did... You guys hear something?"

"Hear what?" Samuel looked around, confused.

"It's probably just the heat getting to you, Susumu," Neal pointed out. Come on, you can cool off once we're inside." He then darted into the pyramid, with Susumu and Samuel following.

"Y-yeah. Inside," Susumu agreed. Before following Samuel and Neal, however, she noticed something shiny on the ground. "...Some kind of jewel?" She picked it up and put it in her bag. This could be important later...

Once the three got inside the pyramid, they came to a split pathway. Neal stood back to assess the situation. "Well, which way do we go?"

Looking at the two paths, Susumu began to hear the voice again. "Kukuku. Take the left path. I'll handle things on the right. Don't be afraid, I'll guide you."

Susumu instinctively went down the left path. "I guess we're going left," Samuel remarked, as he and Neal followed Susumu.

The group came to another path, and the voice came back to Susumu. "Go right this time. Then left, left, right, left, right. Don't forget, okay? Right, left, left, right, left, right..."

"Right, left, left, right, left, right..." Susumu repeated, going down the right pathway. She then followed the rest of the voice's directions. As the group got closer, Susumu could swear she heard a very familiar song. "Ra ra ra ra..."

In the final room, the group came across... A floating painting? With Ariel's face on it, no less? "Ariel's face!" Susumu exclaimed, popping up the screen in front of her again.

After Susumu launched her attack, Neal wasted no time. "Just a second..." He began sharpening his claws on the stone floor.

"Neal! Susumu!" Samuel called out. "I want to help too!" He pointed his staff straight in front of him, and a beam of light came down from the sky and hit the painting.

Neal, meanwhile, had finished sharpening his claws. "Stand back, you two!" He jumped up into the air, letting loose a flurry of slashes on the painting, dealing a ton of damage.

After a few more hits, the painting was almost finished. At that moment, Susumu began to try something. "Let me see if this works!" She gave her ketchup bottle a good shake and pulled off the lid, spraying some sort of red liquid at the painting and finally taking it down.

As Ariel's face flew away, that strange laugh could be heard again. "Kukuku... I knew you all could handle it~"

"It's that voice! It's coming from..." Susumu was interrupted, however, when yet another face came flying down the hall, followed by... A person? A girl with short black hair wearing some sort of lacy purple outfit again. "You... You were..."

"Priff." The girl said. "My name is Priff. And yours is Susumu."

"Y-Yeah, it is!" Susumu exclaimed. "How did you..."

"Kukukuku... It's kind of hard to explain," Priff began. "But, I was inside your head. I... Can do that to people. I can change people's feelings and thoughts... Hey, don't give me that look. I can't control people or change them permanently or anything. And hey, I did help you, didn't I?"

"Uh..." Susumu was confused, but she simply shook her head. "What are you even doing in this pyramid anyway?"

"Same thing you are," Priff explained. "At least, I was. But... It's oddly calming in here, kukuku~"

Samuel then spoke up. "Um, if you're here to fight the Dark Lord, then... Does that mean you know where he is?"

"Sure do," Priff confirmed. "And I can take you there, too. ...Only thing is, we need to get a few items first. Well, I'm sure you can handle it, hey? Let's go."

"Uh... Okay. I guess we're working with Priff now," Susumu stated, following her down the next hall.