The cave was pitch-dark; the only light that guided Isabella along was the tiny amber glow from the little creature's eyes as it walked beside her. Its feet were silent against the stone, a sharp contrast against Isabella's shuffling footsteps, and it kept its eyes low to the ground, easily hopping over the rocks that littered the floor.

"How much further?" Isabella squeaked, trying to keep her voice quiet. She didn't like that the cave was so dark; either that, or she didn't like being so confined. She couldn't decide which. Probably both, she concluded. Since her eyes weren't well-adjusted to the dark she was constantly stumbling, and in her mind she cursed the rocks that seemed to be strewn about the floor of the cave. After kicking her toes on a bigger one she hadn't seen she yelped, her voice mingling with the sound of the rock as it skittered across the floor. She frowned. That wasn't the sound a rock should make. It was too hollow. As the little animal trotted over to it, her blood nearly froze.

It was a human skull. This must have been where Bellidor had been staying since they'd escaped the first time, Isabella thought, and these were just the remains of its past kills. Just the thought of that made her shudder, and she took a deep breath before carrying on. She only hoped Moon hadn't joined the rest.

Well, it didn't really matter to her what had happened to Moon, she insisted to herself, but she didn't want to have to tell Marissa and the boys about it. Enough had happened to them already.

The creature kept alongside her as they headed deeper into the cave, but then up ahead Isabella stopped. Blocking the path ahead stood the ribcage of a long-dead giant, only bleached-white bones crammed into the small space. The cave had swallowed up the ends, making them disappear into the bare grey rock, and behind them Isabella could see only blackness - which was basically the same as all around her, considering the creature's eyes only provided the smallest light.

As the enormous carcass loomed closer, there with it came the smell of rotten meat, and Isabella had to hold one hand to her mouth so she wouldn't hurl. After a minute, the feeling passed and the creature sat, glancing up at Isabella as if expecting praise, as if to say, "ta-da."

Isabella only stood, silent. She could only see the outlines of the monster's ribs, like slender ghosts in the darkness, and slowly she approached. A sudden movement made her jump, and as she squinted closer she could see Moon huddled off to one side, stretching as far as she could out onto the floor. Her knife had been left inches out of her reach, and she sat with one shoulder crammed halfway through the bars of her cage so that she may try to grab it. Her fingers were mockingly close, but no matter how she stretched she couldn't touch it.

"Moon?" Isabella squeaked.

Moon glanced up at her, a little startled, and then blinked. "How long have you been here?"

Isabella faltered. "Um...I just got here."

"D'you mind giving me back my blade?"

Isabella took the knife by the hilt and handed it to Moon, who slid her shoulder back inside and then stood and stretched. She glanced up at one corner of the cage, and Isabella spotted a small black lock in the corner. Before she could comment, Moon jumped up to the corner and stuck her knife in the lock, using its end to pick it open. It gave a small *click!* and then Moon jumped down, landing with a quiet thud on the floor and then turning back to the bars. Grabbing one of them she pushed it open, and then another, until she could squeeze through the opening. She gave Isabella a small nod of gratitude and then turned to run off.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Isabella exclaimed, chasing after Moon and tugging on one hand. "What about Phineas? What about Ferb? What about Marissa?"

Moon turned, her eyes narrow. "What about them? What happened?"

Isabella faltered for a moment, caught a little off-guard by how intimidating Moon was. She'd forgotten the feeling she got when Moon watched her. It was like a hawk watching a mouse, waiting for a chance to dive down and snatch it up. After a moment she found her voice again. "Well, they're back at the house-"

"Then let's go," Moon turned without another word and led Isabella quickly out of the cave and up into the forest. After the darkness, Isabella had to shield her eyes for a few moments to get used to the morning light, but then she could see the red sun peeking timidly in between the trees. She was glad of that after the long night.

But then she remembered she was lost. "Moon?" she asked quietly, "Um, I don't know the way back..."

Moon shook her head. "Me neither. Let's go."

Isabella only stood silent for a moment. How could Moon say that? Then again, she reasoned, most of the time Phineas made things up as he went too. That was part of his charm. Noticing Moon had already gone, she quickly ran to catch up. The last thing she needed now was to go back to being alone. As she followed behind Moon she could see a nasty-looking puncture wound in one thigh, giving her a slight limp and leaving dark runnels of blood to soak into her jeans. She seemed to ignore it, and after a while Moon's eyes brightened. "Hey, I know where we are. This way."

Isabella knew better than to protest. She followed Moon more closely, and within minutes she spotted the back gate of the house up ahead. Moon led her into the bare living room, where she sat in the corner and stretched out her injured leg.

"What about Phineas?" Isabella asked, "Don't you want to see him?"

Moon ignored her, rolling up her jeans so that she could take a closer look at her wound. It was still bleeding a little, and she wiped most of it away with the palm of one hand, licking it up as she went. Isabella was reminded of a cat in the way she moved, although a particularly ugly one, she thought to herself. She turned away as Moon began picking small strands of grey denim from the wound, keeping silent except for the occasional flinch. After a minute she rolled her jeans back down and turned back to Isabella. "Now what was that about the boy?"

"He's upstairs," Isabella led Moon up to the room where Marissa and the boys slept. Marissa remained pale and still, although one of Ferb's feet twitched occasionally in his sleep.

"I see you've fixed him already," Moon cocked an eyebrow, "What more do I need to see?"

Isabella paused. How could she tell Moon what had happened? Would she even care? She wasn't certain. She hadn't gotten so much as a "thanks" when she had helped Moon escape from that cave. Why would she want to help them? She realized then that Marissa would die. Moon wasn't about to do anything about it. Phineas might, but his death would be no better than Marissa's. Hot tears began to creep up into her eyes, and she turned away from Moon so she wouldn't see them. "It's - it's Marissa," she choked out finally. "She's been cursed..."

Moon's face hardened. Her expression was unreadable, although Isabella had a bad feeling she was about to eschew the idea that she might be able to help.

Finally she turned back. "What kind of curse?" she asked.

Isabella dug Ferb's hastily-scrawled note out of her pocket and handed it to Moon without a word. Moon took the note, read silently for a moment, and then crumpled it up and tossed it aside. "There's nothing I can do," she shook her head, "It's Phineas' decision."

Isabella could feel her face go pale. She only stared, unblinking, at Moon. Her voice was little more than a harsh choked whisper. "You mean-?"

Moon nodded. "One of them's got to go."

"But-" Isabella protested.

Moon held up a hand and she immediately fell silent. "There's nothing I can do about it. That's it."

Isabella burst into tears.