A Very Twisted Journey

~ Second, Last Chance ~

Once Mr. Crowely and Madame Eva were alone, Madame Eva turned to her husband with a nasty hard glare, "What, in the name of the Great Seven, were you thinking!? The Dwarfs mine has been mined out for years! The chances of finding a perfectly good magic stone are one to none. Not to mention a stripped mine is dangerous! Why would you send them there?! Lia hardly knows anything about this world still!"

"This is merely a matter of testing them my dear," he reassured her.

"A test of what?"

"A test of teamwork. Remember how Miss Lia was able to get Grim to comply with her orders and work with her Pokémon?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with,"

"If she can get those boys to comply with each other, then there's no doubt that she's what this school needs. As a counselor yourself, you must have noticed the behavior of the boys, yes?"

Madame Eva sighed, "I have, most have even stopped coming in to see me. They're becoming an image that most believe NRC teaches."

"Exactly, and how Miss Lia changed Grim's behavior since the orientation ceremony. I believe she can do the same for them too, with the help of her unique friends. . .. Also, she might be the only one, who can find Brandel in a way where we cannot."

Soon, the group found themselves in the Mirror Chamber. While walking up to the Dark Mirror, Ace broke the peace. "Dang iiiiittttt. How the heck did I end up in this cruddy mess? It's like I'm getting hit by bad luck."

'That's because technically this is all your fault.' Lia and her Pokémon thought at once.

Deuce snapped. "If you have the energy to complain, save it for the mines. Now let's hurry!"

"So, how are we supposed to get to these mines? Cause I'm curious as to why we're here." Persian questioned.

"Other than summoning and sorting students to their ideal dorms, the Dark Mirror can also teleport anyone to anywhere they want to go." Ace explained.

"Not exactly anywhere you want," Lia muttered lowly with a sad look in her eyes.

None of the boys heard her as Deuce went up to the mirror, "Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarf's Mine!"

A bright light flashed from the center flashed and all of them were sucked inside. Once they regained their vision, Lia saw they were now in a different location. In front of them was a small cottage. She would have thought it was cute if it weren't for the dark and creepy aura it was giving off. It looked like it hasn't been used in years. And seeing that it was dark inside from the windows made a shiver go down her spine.

"This is the Dwarf's mine?" Deuce questioned.

Lia shrugged, "I think this where the Dwarfs use to live, and the mines are nearby."

"Long ago I heard that the mine flourished with magic stones. It was so bright and dazzling, you didn't need a light." Deuce looked explained.

Looking at the state the cottage was in, 'dazzling' would not be a word to describe it. The group headed over, but no one saw anything out of the ordinary. Deuce tried to knock on the door. "Helllllooooo? Is anyone here? . . . . Hmmm, seems like no one's here. The place must be abandoned."

Persian whipped off the dust from his paws. "You'd think they would have dusted the place before they left,"

"Gah! Bwah! Spider web in my face! Phoo! Phoo!" Grim gaged.

"Pi, Pikachu!" (Yucky! It feels gross!)

"Hold still you two." Lia took out a handkerchief and whipped their faces as Ace stated something else.