Blitz slowly got to his feet, groaning as his damaged body screamed in protest. But there was no time to recover; the Gumon was getting away. Ori tumbled to the ground from Blitz's lap, mewling in protest. But the little spirit eventually got to his own feet and followed behind Blitz. Blitz stumbled through the chamber, around the corpse of the tyrant worm. The Gumon's eyes widened with fear and he dashed away, but he didn't cackle. It seemed he was finally taking the situation seriously.

     Blitz chased the Gumon out of the tunnel and back into the main cavern, falling far behind as his injuries slowed him down. Ori, on the other hand, was practically nipping at the Gumon's heels. The little spirit was fueled by anger. The Gumon had tried to kill them, more than once! And it had stolen the water vein for absolutely no reason!

     But as they reentered the cavern, the Gumon dashed over the wooden pontoons spanning the underground lake, and leapt up to the lintel above a particularly tall tunnel entrance, quickly gripping into it and clambering up it. He bounded upwards towards another opening, higher on the cave wall. He gripped the sill, hauling himself up and into the opening. Then, he dashed away into the tunnel, disappearing.

     Ori ran after him, trying to leap up to the lintel as well, but he wasn't nearly close enough. The opening was simply too high. He looked to the sides of the opening, wondering if he could leap onto the jamb and wall jump upwards to the opening the Gumon had disappeared into. Ori stepped over to the edge of the wooden pontoon, glancing down at the putrid waters with a hint of hesitation. He recalled how the water had stung when he touched it. Ori took a deep breath, and leapt from the catwalk to the jamb. "Ori, don't!" Blitz and Sein shouted, but they were too late. Ori had already leapt off of the pontoon.

     But the distance was simply too great. Ori plunged into the putrid, purple waters just short of the jamb. He felt an intense stinging sensation over all of his body, as if he had dived into a vat of acid. Ori resurfaced, desperately flailing his limbs in the putrid water in an attempt to swim. He screamed in pain and fear as he flailed helplessly, unable to swim properly in his panic. He felt something else dive into the water and swim up to him. He felt a hand, Blitz's hand, tightly grip his arm and hoist him out of the liquid. Most of the liquid sloughed off his body, but several clumps still stuck to his fur, steaming and sizzling.

     As Blitz tossed Ori out of the water and back onto the pontoon, Ori landed on the wood with a hard thump and writhed in pain. Though he was out of the liquid, the clumps that remained on his body were still stinging. Ori screamed again, tears in his eyes from the unbearable pain. He felt Sein float close to him, whispering words of comfort. The wisp levitated close to the clumps of decayed water, and the water instantly evaporated as she got near. As the wisp evaporated the clumps of putrid, stinging liquid from Ori's fur, the pain faded away. Then, Sein floated over and rested upon Ori's back. Small trickles of light leaked out of the wisp, and were absorbed into Ori's body. The light acted as a pain reliever, relieving Ori's agony enough to keep him from passing out.

     As the pain ceased clouding Ori's mind, the little spirit slowly opened his eyes, wheezing panting. He saw Blitz climb out of the water and back onto the pontoon. The liquid quickly sloughed off of his body, not a single droplet sticking to his suit. Blitz quickly ran to Ori's side, kneeling next to him. Though his face was obscured by his helmet, he was certainly concerned for his little friend's well-being. As Blitz stroked Ori's fur in an attempt to comfort him, he felt patches of bare, burnt skin where the clumps of decayed liquid had stuck. Blitz felt a pang of pity. His gaze turned up to Sein, who was still on Ori's back but no longer leaking out light energy. "Is he okay?" Blitz asked with a worried tone.

     "He will be fine," Sein answered with certainty. "A little shaken, but fine."

     In response, Ori lifted his head. His tail and ears were limp and drooping, and his body shook in fear, but the little spirit had a brave face on. "I'm... okay," Ori piped up in a shaky voice. The spirit shakily and unsteadily got to his feet. "We need to get up there," Ori said after a beat, his body and voice slowly calming down. He gestured up to the opening above the tunnel entrance at ground level. "The Gumon went that way."

     Blitz nodded, slightly impressed at how quickly Ori had recovered. "I'm guessing it's too high to reach, considering what just happened," Blitz analyzed. He began to ponder on how to get above the tunnel entry and to the higher opening where the Gumon had fled. After a few moments of thinking, an idea popped into his head. He turned to Ori. "Can I throw you?" Blitz asked. Ori's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but he slowly realized Blitz's intentions. "Sure!" Ori replied eagerly.

     Blitz scooped Ori into his arms, holding the spirit behind him and standing in a throwing position. After a moment, he took several steps forward in a windup, before flinging Ori towards the lintel of the opening. Ori reached his paws outwards towards the lintel, but felt himself quickly losing momentum. His paws barely brushed his target, but it was not enough. He fell back down to the ground in an arc, landing hard on the stone floor. He tumbled for a moment before coming to a stop several meters into the tunnel. Ori felt a little hurt, but he was mainly frustrated. All he needed was a little push, and he could've made it!

     Blitz quickly jogged to Ori's side. "You alright, Ori? That looked like it hurt," Blitz questioned, placing a concerned hand on Ori's shoulder. But Ori shook his hand off, giving Blitz a reassuring smile. "I'm fine," Ori responded warmly, dusting himself off. "A little disappointed, though. I almost had it!"

     "Yeah. All you need is a little boost," Blitz said, gazing down the tunnel. "And I get a feeling there will be something down there that can give you that boost."

     Ori followed Blitz's gaze and nodded. "I guess we don't have any other options. Let's go." Ori and Blitz started down the tunnel. Sein hovered along with them.

     The tunnel led them down a small way, before opening up into yet another chamber. This chamber was different, though, as it had green flora growing along the walls, ceiling, and floor. It was illuminated by a dim blue light, which originated from yet another Ancestral Tree in the center. Sein hovered over the Ancestral Tree, gently pulsating as she spoke.

     "An Ancestral Tree... Leru lay here. She was swift, agile, used to cut through the air," Sein said, her voice echoing off the cavern walls and making it sound even more ethereal than it already was.

     As usual, Ori stepped up to the Ancestral Tree, while Blitz stood a safe distance away from the intense light that was to come. "She used to cut through the air, huh?" Ori muttered to himself. "Surely, she can help with our problem."

     Ori placed his paws onto the bark, and once again felt light surge into him. He was lifted into the air, and his consciousness pulled into the Ancestral Tree.

     Blitz sat and watched the process. Though he had already seen it twice, it still amazed him. The tendrils of light absorbed into the spirit's body, and the glowing orb at the top of the tree dissipated. A moment later, the light exploded outwards, and Ori dropped to the ground. He looked mentally exhausted, but even less so this time. Although, he looked quite shaken this time, even more than the last few times. Blitz stepped forward, concerned for his friend.

     Ori's gaze turned to Blitz, and his eyes suddenly widened in fear. "Wait!" Ori shouted. Blitz stopped. "What?" he asked, scanning the chamber for any potential threats. Then, he saw it: a single, thin tentacle, dangling from the ceiling and coated in a strange substance. Blitz's gaze followed the tendril up to its source on the ceiling. Though, it seemed to simply blend into the ceiling. But the more Blitz stared, he noticed small protrusions jutting out of the ceiling. On top of that, the tendril connected to what looked like fleshy gums. It was a mouth, and that tendril was likely its tongue. Blitz certainly did not want to see what would happen if he touched the tendril. Instead, Blitz drew his sword and sliced it cleanly through the tendril. There was a loud screech as the severed tendril fell to the ground, the liquid that coated it splattering onto the flora below it. The mouth shut like a clam as the thing hissed in pain.

     "Thanks for that, buddy," Blitz said to Ori, giving him a thankful smile. "But, how did you know?"

     Ori's ears drooped, and his voice became sad and pained. "That... thing... is what ate Leru. She managed to escape its jaws, but..." Ori shut his eyes, clearly shaken from witnessing Leru's last moments. "She was really badly hurt. The digestive juices that stuck to her... finished her off..." A small tear flowed down Ori's cheek. "Her last moments were nothing but pain..."

     Blitz felt pity for the little spirit. That could not have been a pleasant or quick death. He stepped over to Ori's side, kneeling down to be eye level with him. "Do you need a moment?" Blitz asked softly, not wanting to push or rush his friend in his vulnerable state.

     Ori sniffled again, but wiped the tears from his eyes, putting on a determined look. "No. We need to move," he said. "Every second we waste is another opportunity for that Gumon to get away with the Water Vein." With these words, Ori started back up the tunnel to the main cavern.

     Blitz was a little surprised, but followed the little spirit.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, readers! I just wanted to say thank you for reading my little story! If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. I would really like some feedback on how to improve my writing if you have any!