Henry and Lily were being swept down the underground river at breakneck speed, clinging to whatever rocks or debris they could reach. The current was relentless, tossing them around like ragdolls in a violent storm.
Henry, struggling to keep his head above water, shouted, "Okay, okay, this isn't the worst thing to happen today! We've been in worse situations, right?"
Lily, her face frozen in a mix of panic and disbelief, shot back, "You really want me to list them, Captain? Because I can!"
Before Henry could respond, a massive whirlpool appeared ahead, spinning like an angry vortex straight out of some cursed folklore.
"Ah, great. A whirlpool. Just what we needed," Henry muttered, trying to swim toward the edge of the river.
The thief, who had landed a few rocks ahead, waved a dagger toward them. "You two need to move! Get to the side or you'll get sucked in!"
Lily pointed at the whirlpool, her voice filled with disbelief. "What part of 'sucked in' did you miss?!"
Henry gritted his teeth. "If we're going in, we're going in with style!"
Lily gave him a deadpan look. "We're gonna drown with style, then."
Suddenly, the water beneath them shifted—something big was coming. And it wasn't friendly. The glow of massive, yellow eyes flickered in the murky depths.
"Ah, of course. A monster," Henry muttered. "I've had enough of those today."
The giant, serpentine creature lunged at them from the depths, its jaws wide, ready to snap them up like a snack. But before it could reach them, the thief leapt forward, her daggers flashing in the dim light.
"Out of the way, idiot," she shouted at the serpent, her blades sinking into its scaly hide. The creature recoiled in pain, but its eyes narrowed, more angry than ever.
Henry barely managed to pull Lily out of the way, both of them tumbling against the cavern wall.
"Well, she's definitely not boring," Henry observed with a wince. "But I'd rather not have the giant death snake for dessert."
Lily, still panting, gave a thumbs-up. "Good call, Captain. Now we just need to—"
"LOOK OUT!" shouted the thief.
The serpent lunged again, but this time, Henry had a plan. He grabbed the Azure Pearl from Lily's pocket and tossed it with surprising precision—right into the mouth of the serpent.
The creature hesitated, its glowing eyes widening in confusion.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Lily muttered as the serpent swallowed the pearl. "Now what?"
The thief grinned. "Now we swim for our lives!"
Meanwhile, Above the Chaos…
Scarlet, Boggart, Marrow, and Shade stood at the mouth of the cavern, staring down into the chasm.
"We're going in after them," Scarlet said firmly, drawing her sword.
Boggart hesitated. "Uh, what exactly is the plan here? We don't even know where they are."
Marrow tossed a grenade up in the air and caught it. "We blow a hole through the roof. That should make finding them easier."
Shade spoke up, eyes scanning the dark waters below. "The current's too strong. We'll be swept away before we can find them."
Scarlet clenched her fists. "Then we'll have to do it the hard way. Let's get down there and find them."
To be continued...