"Watch out!" I shouted as a huge log swung in. We all hit the floor, lying as flat as we could as the log swung inches over our heads. 

"Who the hell designed this madhouse?!" Gale yelled. Just then the floor tiles behind us began to fall. We scurried to our feet and ran ahead as every tile we stepped off of descended into a pit of spikes. 

"I hate this," Kali cried. She flew ahead of us and triggered another trap that sent hundreds of blow darts flying through the hallway.

"This is so cool," I grinned.

"Ice make shields," Storm called out. Two huge shields appeared at his hands and we huddled between them running through the blow dart hallway. As we got the end of the hall, Storm dropped the shields. We rounded the corner a little too fast and I almost stumbled into a pit of snakes. I yelped in fear as I began to lose my balance just as Reiki grabbed my arm and pulled me back from falling in. 

"Stone steps," Gale chanted. She stomped her boot and thrust her fists together to make sections of the rock walls form slats over the snake pit. We quickly followed over the pit and came to a hallway where the sections of the walls were slamming together at a rapid rate. 

"Shield of destruction," Reiki slammed his fists together and a blue energy field surrounded his body. He stepped into the walls that were slamming together and the walls crumpled around him like a soda can hitting a sledgehammer. A couple hits later and the walls were broken to the point of no longer working. We walked through the hallway and came to a massive room with a large hole in the ceiling. 

There was a clicking sound as the largest bug I had ever seen came crawling through the ceiling. I physically recoiled at the sight of the centipede as big as a bus. 

"I got this," Kali cracked. "Beast Soul: Mountain beast," Kali was engulfed in orange light. 

When she reappeared, she was as big as a house. The cat roared and pounced at the bug lashing at its shell. The insect snapped it's pincers at the beast, nearly drawing blood. Kali quickly slammed her huge paw at its head and knocked it back a few feet. Her jaw snapped around the insect's head, killing it instantly and leaving a green slime in her jowls. 

"Ew," I revolted. 

The cat let out a satisfied growl and walked over us to the door. When we caught up to her we peered through the entryway - it was pitch black. Kali changed back into her exceed form and floated behind us as I lit my fist ablaze and stepped inside. 

The torches on the walls lit themselves with a similar light as we stepped inside. The room was filled with golden treasure that glittered in the yellow flames. 

"Looks like Mr. Rich just got even richer," Storm exclaimed.

"More rich," Gale corrected. The two started arguing over grammar and I decided to ignore them.

On the far wall is what appeared to be an altar of sorts. I walked further into the room to examine it and found several carvings of the sun throughout the room. I looked closer at the flames burning in the wall torches. They weren't orange like regular fire, they were yellow like mine. The flames danced beautifully against the tan stone, entrancing me in their familiarity. 

When I turned back to the altar I saw a small wooden box on the table. I slowly approached the altar, my heart pounding at the familiarity surrounding me. I ran my fingers over the box - the wood was dusty and smooth.

"What's that Nashi?" Kali asked as she flew to my side. Everyone crowded around me with curious eyes. I picked up the box and unclasped the lock. The lid creaked open and fell on old hinges.

My mouth opened with a slight gasp at the box's treasure. 

- - - - - - -

"We've disabled all of the booby traps," I explained. "You should be able to access the vault with no trouble now."

"Thank you," Solarius said. He rested his teacup back onto its saucer and stood. "Now for your reward." He snapped his fingers and his butler came running with his checkbook. "I believe the reward was 800,000 jewel."

"Actually," I interrupted. "We were wondering if you would be willing to pay us with this instead." I held out the small box for him to inspect. He carefully opened it with an expressionless face. 

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah are we sure?" Storm questioned. "800,000 jewel is a lot of money." 

Gale smacked him in the back of the head and scolded him.

"We're sure," I answered. 

Solarius snapped the lid closed and smiled. "If that's what you want," He tossed the box back to me and I scrambled to catch it. "My butler will see you out," He stated, he sat back in his chair and waved us away. 

I grabbed my bag and carefully placed the wooden box at the top of its contents. The butler walked us to the door and as soon as we were on the porch he slammed it shut. 

My team and I shared glances.

"I can't believe he actually let us take it," Kali laughed.

"To be honest I don't think he knows what it is." I smiled. 

"Are we sure that thing is worth 800,000 jewel?" Storm asked. "I think we could still trade it back for the money." He was sweating pretty hard and praying that we would agree.

"No way!" I scolded. "This is priceless. Just think of it as my birthday present." I smiled.

"If you say so," Reiki said. "Let's go home. We'll grab lunch on the way."

"Woohoo!" Kali cheered. "Road food!"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Is it just me or did Rico's tacos taste a little funky today?" I said with a queasy tummy. 

"Yeah," Storm burped. "I think it's revenge for tipping less than 10 percent today,"

"We didn't have a choice," Gale cried. "We're almost out of money!"

"My pockets are hurting just as much as my tummy," Kali moaned. 

"We've still got some time today, we could steal another job from Twilight Ogre," Storm offered. 

"What do you wanna do Nashi? It's your birthday." Gale said with a smile.

"Another job sounds good to me," I agreed. "That tomb raid was really fun,"

"Awesome!" Kali cheered.

"We'll stop by the apartment and pick up some antacids to fight the tacos," Reiki said. 

I looked up at the sky around us. It was a beautiful shade of blue and the breeze was cool against the warm sunlight. I sighed contently in the warm sun, smiling at the beautiful August weather. 

"Can we just stay outside for a little while longer and enjoy the weather?" I asked.

"Oh great she's photosynthesizing again," Gale cracked sarcastically.

"Better leave her outside for a couple hours," Kali joked.

"Don't forget to water her," Storm added. 

"Ah yes," Reiki pointed to my hair. "As you can see the pink petals of the flower indicate she's in need of more sunlight." 

"Quick get her some soil!" Gale began pointing at a nearby garden.

"You go photosynthesize, we'll just pluck you out of the garden when it's time to go." Storm instructed. 

"PhOTosYnthEsIZe!" Kali shouted.

Everyone practically died of laughter. Gale had fallen onto the sidewalk clutching her sides and Storm was stooped over trying to hold himself up. Even Reiki was wiping away a tear of laughter as Kali posed as a plant in the sunlight.

"Ha... Ha..." I said with a stern face. "You're all... so funny."

I threw my head back and began to inhale through my mouth, consuming the sun-rich air. When my stomach was warm and full, I released it all in a roar that sent my team flying. They all cried in surprise as they skidded further down the road. 

"Now that that's settled," I stepped up to my friends who were lying in a pile at the edge of an intersection in the road. "Next time I won't hold back," I growled and shook my fist.

"Nashi look," Reiki scolded as he sat up.

I looked in the direction Reiki was pointing at and my mouth fell slightly open. 

"What are they doing here?" Storm asked.

Walking in the center of the road perpendicular to us was Wendy, Carla, Happy, Lucy, and Natsu. They were talking amongst themselves and they hadn't noticed us. We quickly ducked behind a corner wall and watched as they walked down the main road. 

"They're back," I whispered.