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Apollo and Sophia weren't able to catch up to the Twins who disappeared into the trees without explanation.
"Are they going back to the lake?" Apollo asked Sophia as they raced past the tree house.
"I don't know, maybe?" Sophia glanced back at her. By the time they got to the edge of the cliff overlooking the lake, they were both out of breath. They didn't see the Twins anywhere. They opened their wings, stepping off the cliff together and glided in circles about the lake, until they got close enough to the little beach and landed somewhat smoothly on the sandy shore.
"Did they go in the lake?" Sophia asked.
"They took the charms, so they probably did."
They stared at the surface of the lake for a minute, wondering if they really did. Maybe they were worried about Teri and didn't bother telling them that they wanted to check on her after the sudden earthquake.
Just then, the ground shook beneath them once again and they both stumbled. Sophia landed on her knees and felt the vibrations running up from her palms on the ground to everywhere in her body. It felt closer. Whatever this was, it had to be happening somewhere around here. It didn't stop just like that, but it ceased. Slowly. But they could still feel something moving beneath their feet.
"What's going on around here?" Sophia asked out loud.
"I don't know. But I'm gonna go after them." Apollo said, staring at the lake.
"Wait, what?"
"If something's happening down there with Teri, we need to go after them and see what's up."
"But it's getting dark. It's probably not safe to go down there. Maybe the earthquake just triggered something?"
"That's why I'm gonna go down there. They might need our help."
Sophia hesitated, but couldn't find the words to stop her friend. Apollo walked up to the brim of the water and suddenly stopped. He began to think. It's getting dark, and his eyesight is already bad enough if he can't see anything in pitch black darkness. Not even the charm would be of much help. And even Sophia wouldn't be much better either. If the temperature didn't make her freeze up and sink to the bottom, she definitely wouldn't make it down there in time. She's too slow.
"Maybe we should just wait here in case they come back." Sophia thought. "It's almost sundown and I don't think we wanna get caught in another ambush again."
Apollo sighed out loud, "Yeah... I guess so."
"Maybe nothing actually happened and they were just worried?" Sophia shrugged.
"No. We've had earthquakes like this before. And they've all happened near here. I don't think they're aftershocks either..."
Apollo began to think of all the rational things that it could be. But nothing really stuck. There didn't seem to be a good explanation for what was going on. But on the other hand... Sophia was probably right. It'd be best to wait on the beach and see what pops up first.
"Okay... we'll wait and see if they come back. But if they're not back soon, I'm going after them."
"Okay." Sophia agreed. They both waited by the shore for any sign of their friends, or anything that might give them some sense of relief.

Meanwhile, down in the water tunnels. The Twins wiggled and twisted their way through the dark waters. Without the light of day, it was a little harder to see and the temperature of the water itself was a little harder to bear. The only stopped when they heard nothing. The sudden silence made them freeze in place. They looked around, wondering if it was just their minds or if what they heard was real. They moved steadily onwards, pushing back their fear, but uncertain of what they would face. When they finally made it through, they were faced with the big emptiness of the water.
However, their vision was more cloudy this time. They weren't sure if they were seeing things right because it almost looked darker...
They stuck close together, making sure neither of them was out of their sight. Swimming downwards, but the longer they pushed through, the more fear began to build up. Wondering how far the bottom was, or if there even was a bottom.
Something about this... just didn't feel right. Not in the slightest.
They kept going, the sandy sight beginning to settle. And strange, floating debris became more visible. When they got closer to the bottom, strange shapes appeared before their eyes. They thought by now, the castle Teri lived in would be visible, with those twisty looking towers and bright lights making it glow. But they didn't seem to see anything. Just a large pile of broken rocks and whatever else they could see floating around. Beside the huge, dark clouds of black looming above them. But they weren't sure if that was always there before.

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