Several metres from the battle, the loud sounds of rocks breaking could be heard from the direction of Luke and Rose.

Max would, occassionally, while travelling with Tiffany, look back after hearing an exceptionally loud blow.

Tiffany: Come on!

The pair walked further and further away from them. The loud sounds had by that point stopped, either because the battle was over or because they were too far away to hear what was going on.

Max: Are we there yet?

Tiffany: Almost....

They were then in a small cave. A dark one, to be precise.

Max: Where are we?

Tiffany fumbled in her backpack and pulled out a glowstick.

Tiffany: This is a cave I found around the first time I was here.

Max: Oh..... Ok.....?

The pair silently continued their trek through the cave until the silence began to bother Max.

Max: So..... what are we gonna do here?

Tiffany: I'll explain later.

Max: (sighs) Ok.....

The cave was, for the most part, empty and dry, with little to no signs of life.

Even under the white glowstick, one could see how barren it was.

Max: This place is really something.

But Tiffany did not reply, much to Max's chagrin.

Max: (sighs) Whatever....

Tiffany suddenly paused, and Max bumped into her from behind her.

Tiffany: We're here.

Max: Huh?

In front of them lay the end of the cave, as well as some odd cave paintings.

Max: Woah.....

He walked closer to take a better look at them.

There were four paintings on the wall. Each painting being that of what looked to be four petalled flowers, with all petals sporting different colours and sizes.

The four paintings were all drawn in different styles. From the left to the right, the first was drawn the way one would expect one from Asia to draw a flower, with a few strokes of a brush.

The next was drawn somewhat hastily and shabbily, nowhere near as artistically as the first.

The third was drawn almost autistically perfectly, with several details left and right, all of which made it look almost perfect, seeming more similar to a picture out of a book than any of the others.

That flower took Max's attention for quite a while.

As for the fourth, it was drawn very simply. Nothing special. Just four petals of different sizes.

Max: What are these....?

Tiffany was, in the meantime, rummaging through her bag.

Tiffany: Promises.

Max: Promises?

Tiffany: Yeah....

She pulled out a paint brush and some markers and motioned a purple one to Max to take them.

Max: Huh.... ?

Tiffany: Here...

Max: Wait.... hold on.... what am I doing here?

Tiffany: This is all part of joining the team. Think of it as a sign of your commitment.

Max: (thinking: Commitment?)

It would only take Max a few more seconds to rationalise that all four of those paintings had been made by all other members of the team. After all, there were four of them, and there were four of them.

Max: Wait.... you mean...?

She simply nodded.

For a moment, Max felt a rush go through his chest. Making this pledge pressured him a lot more than he'd thought it would. But, being him and being a teenage boy, he sucked it up and...

Max: Ok...

.... grabbed the markers.

Tiffany: You can use the paint brush too if you'd like.

Max: No... I'm good.

He nervously fumbled around with the marker.

Max: ... just gotta....

Tiffany: But before you do.....

Max: Huh?

Tiffany: ... we need to talk.

Max: Talk about what?

Tiffany took a moment to walk towards the paintings, so she was directly next to them.

Tiffany: To talk about what it means to be a part of this team.

Max: (thinking: Part of this team?) Whaddya mean? And wait, does that mean I'm a part of the team now?

Tiffany: No.

Max: Awwwwww....

Tiffany: And also, being part of this team means more than just fighting and having superpowers. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

Max: Ok....

He looked directly into her eyes.

Max: I'm ready.

Tiffany: Good. Let's begin.

She turned to an open space next to the right most painting and motioned to Max to come closer.

Tiffany: First off, the purple petal.....

Max: Purple petal?

Tiffany: And before I allow you to paint this petal, I have a question for you. That question being a question of refinement.

Max: Huh?