Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR here, saying that I didn't give up on this story, contrary to popular belief. I'd also like to say I'm really, really, really sorry, and I should've said something. Since I expect that many of you are either mad and/or don't care about this story anymore, I guess I'm the only one to blame for that. But, I sincerely hope you'll give this story another chance. Anyway, since I know it's been a while since you've even looked at this story, this chapter requires some backstory. Remember in Chapter 6, when the miner told Heric Graun about a flash of light in a mine? Well, this is a continuation of that plot line. Just so we're all on the same page. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, even though none of your favorite characters are in it. And, even though I'v let a lot of you down, if you could review that would be amazing, and it would make my hours of writing worth it. Do I need to say I don't own Total Drama Island if there are absolutely no elements of TDI in this chapter? Well, I don't won it anyway. Happy Reading!

The Mulka Mine, as it was told to little ones around the fires, was filled with monsters of the most evil manner. The storytellers invented monsters that could turn you to stone with a glance, or even suck out your soul if you got too close…

Of course, these are but tales told to amuse and scare, as well as to prevent children from wandering where they should not go, as the little ones often seem to do.

The truth of the matter was the Mulka Mine was not monster infested. The mine itself held the important title of being the grand city of Nabudis' only supplier of copper, iron, and in rare spots, steel. Between the miners, there were even legends of veins of what could only be described as pure magic in the lowest levels of the mine itself.

But of course, no one who ever went down to those fateful lower levels ever came back to tell about it. So, those tales of magic and monsters could only remain as they were. Stories to tell in whispered conversations, or even at the potential funeral at an unfortunate miner who hadn't come back from his expedition to figure out the legends, and become a hero.

Of course, these days, heroes only belonged in fairy tales. If there were such things as heroes, they would have already shown themselves, and the once radiant city of Nabudis would not have had to suffer as it had the past year.

But no matter how bad the city folk had it within the city's walls, the miners had it worse.

When the city folk had little to eat, the miners had next to nothing, scrounging on the little rations they were given by the "gracious" King Lucien.

A miner's life was a hard life, after all.

They, as a rule, were never dealt a hand of prosperity or good fortune.

Fate was seemingly never kind to them. This, coupled with the ever-present despair that they would never rise above this poverty, made miners working at this particular mine anxious for gold riches, or even just a hasty glimpse of it, away from the familiar sights of darkness and hardships.

Well, one of them anyway.

Scarcely a day ago, the old miner Grik went missing. Most assumed that he had "taken the plunge", or in other words, attempted to find the "magic" on the lowest levels of the mine.

In fact, the miners were right in the middle of preparing a funeral service for the unfortunate old miner, when a discovery halted their plans.

Found when one young miner decided to look at Grik's last journal entry, the last page mystified miners of all ages.

Dear Diary,

A strange thing happened. A great flash of light appeared while I be working my shift. Deep in the mine, it was. The lower levels, perhaps? This could be the mumbo-jumbo that's got the king riled up these days. Perhaps he'll have a coin for old Grik, eh? I'll be leaving this life for good!

Needless to say, this journal entry caused a slight uproar with some of the more overzealous miners.

"Damn that Grik!" one miner shouted bitterly.

"He'll have taken all the reward for himself," another complained.

However, there were those certain miners who applauded Grik's attempt to escape to leave this life behind.

Finally, one miner suggested the inevitable tactic: to investigate the strange flash of light themselves.

Of course, that would mean to venture to the lower levels of the mines, where no one had ever come back alive.

To investigate a flash of light that could possibly have been the delusions of an old man.

Nevertheless, a team of five miners was chosen to attempt this daring quest.

And, on the same day that they had found the old miner's journal, and apparently the day after the strange light appeared from the depths of the mine, the five brave miners, each with a lantern in hand, entered the pitch-black entrance of the mine.

And, of course, they were armed with their trusty pickaxes. To the miners, being without one was like being without an arm.

The rest of the miners gathered just outside the mine's darkness, and wondered if they would ever see them again.

A few wondered what the flash of light could possibly mean.

And one particularly imaginative miner named Faros thought that the flash of light in the mine brought two humans from another world for a purpose: to save the world. That those two humans had a power, power that could be for good, or for evil. That particular power could be used to defeat an evil ruler, or help him achieve world domination.

Faros thought about that scenario for a moment, and then let it slip through the cracks of his imagination, to where all of his "absurd thoughts" (as the other miners called them) went.

However, this wasn't an absurd thought at all.

In fact, he was completely right.

The five miners chosen for the expedition descended into the caverns of Mulka, intent on finding the source of the flash of light, and what importance it could have. Also, a possible reward lingered in their minds, a promise of fame that the discovery promised that allowed them to take step after step; to proceed further and further into the mines.

They eventually made it to the archway that led into the core of the cavern itself.

Glancing uneasily at each other, the miners noticed the particular feeling of discovery and fame fade away rapidly, leaving them with only their raw courage to press on.

One miner motioned towards the arch with his lantern, which was the only thing keeping the natural darkness of the mine at bay.

"Do we really have to go down there?"

A silly question, really. The miners were at the precise point that is commonly labeled as "the point of no return". To return back now would label them cowards, and life would become insufferable for all of them. On the other hand, if they delayed their descent much longer, their lanterns would not last the potential trip back up.

That would mean they would be stranded in the mine with no light to guide their way back to the surface.

In short, it was a death sentence.

It was this thought that propelled the largest miner forward, and it was the fact that he had been first that made the other four also step forward.

The largest miner summoned his courage, and started the long trek downwards, towards sights that had never been seen by those still alive. The other four, reassured mightily by his show of bravery, also descended, taking are not to rush a step, for they were a long ways up, and there was only empty air on either side of them.

It was a long way down.

While climbing down the treacherous path, the miners had completely different thoughts about the trials that potentially lay ahead of them.

The foolish one (the one who had spoken at the archway) thought constantly about the safety of the surface. He thought of the sun, and the light that it gave off. He also occasionally remembered the times where the sun had blinded him because he had stared into it too long (he was not the smartest of miners). Of course, this daydreaming made it impossible to concentrate on his steps, which, it can successfully be argued, were much more important than remembering when you were blinded by the sun.

The miner with the long nose could not stop thinking how dreadfully high up they were, and how it seemed (to him) that they were never getting any lower. His fears kept preying on his mind; he couldn't keep from glancing side to side, over the edges of the abyss. When it was probably smarter to be watching his footing.

The blind miner followed obediently, thinking how strange it was that the miners were hesitating over lunch. Although, he had to admit, the lunch line seemed much longer today. And, for some reason, he needed a lantern and pickaxe to eat. The blind miner shook his head, and kept staring straight ahead, into the infinite darkness that consisted of his world.

And yet, somehow, he was stepping quite accurately down the ledge, and never once making a costly error that would plunge him, probably most unexpectedly, to his doom.

The fat miner, coincidently, was moaning to himself about the lunch he was missing. Even if it was only going to be a crust of bread, if that, he hated to miss meals. As if it was agreeing with his sentiment, his stomach grumbled loudly. The fat miner then proceeded to have a conversation with his stomach, which mostly consisted of, "We'll be back soon" and "You'll get your fill soon enough". Which, of course, is an odd thing to do at any time, but especially if one is many, many feet up in the air, where one wrong step could send you plummeting to your doom.

The largest miner, at the front of the group, was not concentrating on the sun. He was also not concentrating on how high up they were, or why the lunch line was so long. He was also definitely not carrying on a conversation with his stomach. What the largest miner was thinking of was, in short, the mission. The act of placing one foot in front of the other, and making sure he didn't get distracted. He was determined to survive this trial, and become a legend in his own right.

With the aid of his bright lantern, the largest miner saw, in the distance, a point where the abyss simply disappeared. A place where the ground was ground, and they wouldn't have to worry about making that one wrong step.

Not risking the dangers of turning around, the largest miner called out, "Men, halt where you are."

He heard the shuffling stop behind him, so he figured that they had done as he had asked.

He continued, and tried to be the definition of a fearless leader. "Men, we're going to be reaching the end of this abyss soon. The light that Grik saw probably flashed around here somewhere, and we're going to find it. But, remember, it's only a light. Take no unnecessary risks."

The blind miner responded back. "All right, but this seems silly. What's a flash of light got to do with lunch?"

The largest miner turned around to question this odd statement, but the words died on his lips, as he noticed something even more troubling.

The other three miners that had been a part of the team were nowhere in sight. And since he was reasonably sure that they had followed him down to the lower parts of the caverns, there was only one possible explanation for what had happened.

And that explanation wasn't pretty.

With a mighty effort, the largest miner pulled his mind away from that depressing thought, and, in an act of kindness, direct the obviously confused miner to safety.

While it wasn't a long distance, the largest miner breathed a sigh of relief when they made it back onto solid ground. He glanced back at the treacherous ledge, and then at both of their lanterns. The way it looked, they were going to have to find the source of light soon.

The blind miner said, to nobody in particular, "I hope there's some mashed potatoes today."

The largest miner, despite the gravity of their situation, laughed uproariously, and then looked around at their surroundings. The last time they'd had mashed potatoes was...wait, what were mashed potatoes?

Deciding that some things were better left not thinking about, the largest miner surveyed their surroundings.

From where they now stood, there were three paths. Two led left and right, and the last led straight into the wall beside them.

The largest miner paused here, as if sensing that this decision would cause either the success or failure of the mission.

The left and right options seemed to glow with a strange power. In fact, they seemed to literally glow. Whispers of fame and glory reached his ears, and while he felt drawn towards them, he felt, in his heart, that he shouldn't listen to them.

The blind miner, however, had no such reservations. Getting up, and slowly walking off to the left, the blind miner shuffled away, without a single stumble or wrong placed step.

The largest miner cried out to him, "Stop, man! Think of what happened to the others!"

The blind miner paid no attention to his words, and instead, said clearly, "They are promising me…great things. They will give me what I want most. They will grant me my sight."

The largest miner called out again, desperate to dissuade his companion. "That is all a lie! Do not listen to it!"

The blind miner simply walked away, and traveled swiftly towards the glowing power. Soon, however, he was lost to the largest miner's sight.

The largest miner stared in disbelief in the direction the blind miner had exited in, half expecting a death cry of some sort.

It never came.

Sighing, the largest miner looked towards the last path.

With resignation, he started down the ominous road through the crack in the wall.

"Rod," he asked himself, "How do you get yourself in these situations?"

With no one left alive to answer that question, the only thing to do now was to continue on.

The passageway Rod walked through was nothing special. It was the normal cramped, dark, and ominous sort of passageway.

However, it did not last this way for long.

Rod himself could not believe his eyes when the cramped and dark passageway gave way to a room.

The room in question was apparently one where the rocks gave off an eerie glow.

However, despite that startling fact, Rod was not focusing his attention on the walls of this strange room.

He was staring at the center of the room.

Where a boy and a girl lay, sleeping peacefully.

Rod blinked, and then blinked again. However, even after that second blink, the two figures were still lying prone on the cavern floor.

Hurriedly, now filled with a sense of purpose, Rod walked over to the pair, and checked, obviously, to see if they were still alive. Men with more worldly experience than a pair of kids had met their end in this mine.

However, despite his initial disbelief, the two were alive, and sleeping peacefully.

Rod's mind spun. Neither teen wore any sort of clothing that he could recognize, and if their reaction to his desperate shouts was any indication, they were really heavy sleepers.

He sighed, and looked back through the crack in the wall, and then back at his two charges.

This was not going to be easy.

So, how was it? Was this a welcome addition to the chapter? And, I'd like to point out that I've finally reached double digits! Even though it was months after I originally planned to reach it...

Anyway, I ended with another mystery! So, just who exactly are those two teens? Remember, they're a boy and a girl. I already know who they are, but I'm adding a poll to see what you guys think!

If you review, and you've stuck with this story for so long, I truly thank your dedication. I'm so sorry for making you wait three months for an update.

The reason for that being Total Drama the New Challenge, a competition story that I started a few months ago. It took longer than expected to get it off the ground, and I apologize.

But, this chapter is done! I don't know when the next chapter will be done, and I won't give you an estimate. This is only to be fair to you guys. I can definitely say that it will be after the third elimination of TDNC!

Until next time, guys and girls!

Thanks for reading and if you could review that would be absolutely amazing!