(Welp! My bad for this late late update. Really really late update)

(3rd Person PoV)

Owen couldn't believe his ears.

He knows for a fact that Magic definitely saw the figure! So why is she lying?

Lying directly to his face.

"Owen?" Apo seemed like he wanted answers.

"..." Owen glanced at Magic who was giving him a concern look.

"............I'll tell you later," Owen got up and left the bunker.

He went to the spot where he and Magic got shot at. The arrow was gone.

Someone must have moved it while he was sleeping. He isn't sure who though although he can take a pretty good guess of who did it.

He glanced at the bunker.

Owen then crouched down to trace his finger on the spot where the arrow was.

If it wasn't for the hastily small hole where the arrowhead sunk in, he might have believed Magic that there was no figure at all.

She's lying...he thought. But why?

Why would she lie? What reason would she lie for?

Things just didn't make sense to Owen.

"Owen!" Magic suddenly appeared.

"Ah!" He jumped and turned around quickly.

"You scared me."

"Sorry but I decided to leave a present for you at your house. Just something for you," Magic explained.

"Huh, why?" Owen asked.

"No reason," Magic gave him a grin.

"Uhhhh ok...?" Owen left to go to his house.

There was a barrel there with a sign that read: 'For Owen.'

He checked what was inside and there were two things. A note, some pie and a book.

He checked the note first and it was from Apo.

'I'm going off to fish for a while. I made some Apo-pie for you to take in case you decide to go into the maze.'     -Apo

Owen smiled softly at this. He knew him too well.

He took the pie and placed it in his inventory, carefully.

"Alright Magic...let's see what you gave me," he muttered and opened the book.

"..."

'Someone wants him gone from clearing'

The writing looked rushed and there were some holes in the pages like Magic was in a hurry to write this.

Him? Who is him? Owen didn't have a clue as he slammed the book shut.

His voices were theorizing about who could it be and many of them were suggesting Apo.

It seemed more than likely that's who Magic was writing about but he'll never know if he doesn't confront her.

Owen ran out to look for Magic. It wasn't that hard since she was waiting for him.

"So?" She asked.

"What the heck is this!" Owen held up the book, gingerly.

"Did you read it?" Magic asked, twiddling her thumbs.

"Yes I did! And you need to tell me what does this mean? Is Apo the 'him' in your note?" Owen asked, angrily.

"L-Look...I heard from someone close to me that someone wants him gone. She...she didn't specify who, she just said that someone wants him gone. Not dead but gone from the clearing," Magic explained quickly.

"Who is this person? Beks?" Owen asked but Magic shook her head.

"She's not important at the moment. J-Just know that...ummm...k-keep an eye on Apo," Magic said awkwardly.

She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Magic you....why are you keeping things from me? Why are you lying? Did you leave the bunker while I was asleep?" Owen asked.

"N-no! I didn't leave the bunker and I'm not lying!" Magic yelped.

Owen narrowed his eyes and turned away from Magic.

He walked away, muttering under his breath.

"I can't believe her. She's lying to me, directly to my face. And what does she mean that someone wants Apo gone from the clearing? Is she warning me? What is going on?" He wandered onto the trees and sat down on top, holding onto the sides of his head.

He stayed like that for a while until he heard someone call his name.

"Owen?" He looked up to see Soup, standing over him with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh hey...," he slightly waved.

"You ok? You look like you're having a crisis," Soup asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just that....Magic has been lying to me a lot and I don't really appreciate it," Owen explained.

"That is a bit out of character for her," Soup sighed.

"So she hasn't lied before?" Owen asked and Soup nodded.

"From the time I known her, she was always a honest and levelheaded leader. For her to lie it would be...," Soup seemed to hesitate in thinking about her next choice of words.

"............it would be unusual," she finished before adding on, "what has she been lying about?"

"Lied about Beks being the leader of the second clearing, lied about leaving the bunker, lied about this figure that we saw and is keeping crucial information regarding the safety of A-...someone I care about. By the way there is something that I need to discuss with you," Owen explained.

"A figure?" Soup asked and he nodded.

"Magic and I both saw a dark figure on the wall. On top I mean. I poorly shot an arrow at them, to see what they would do. Not completely aiming at them by the way. Then they shot an arrow at us which scared the two of us and we ran to take shelter in the bunker," Owen explained.

"Oh! Oh that's terrifying," Soup noted.

"Yeah...we took turns keeping guard. I fell asleep for a while and when I woke up and asked about the figure, Magic said that there wasn't one," Owen added on.

"Yeah...out of character for her," Soup sighed.

She jumped down and Owen followed her.

Soup went over to her house and grabbed some mushroom stew for the two of them.

"Here, to keep your mind off of the lies," she said.

"Thanks," he nodded and took it.

"Good soup," he muttered after eating it.

Soup nodded at this and Owen stretched.

"Want to go in the Maze with me? I still need to continue graphing it and I feel like a run through could...I dunno, clear my mind," Owen suggested.

"Yeah sure, let me go grab some armor because I don't have any," Soup said.

Owen gave her a disappointing look.

After Soup got her armor, the two of them walked over to the entrance of the maze.

Owen glanced at Magic's lever. It was down.

"Guess Magic is in the maze," he muttered.

"Yeah...," Soup nodded.

The two of them were exploring the maze, sometimes messing around, but usually taking it seriously.

Owen was at the bottom of the wall while Soup was climbing over the top to see what she should find.

"Uhhh Owen...," she said.

He immediately began to panic.

"Soup, what is it?" He asked.

"I think... you might want to come see this."

A/N: cliffhanger >:3

I procrastinated on this for far too long! You all deserve an update of sorts!

Yeah so here's that.

Idk when the next one will come out but I won't take too many months off from this book.

It'll be full of fluff and angst!

Cya in the next one -Flare