"Kipo!"

Kipo jumped as her name suddenly echoed throughout the trees around her. She faltered, nearly slipping and falling face first in the snow before she rightened herself.

"What the..." she muttered to herself, before turning around. "What? Mabel?! Is that you? What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Luz called out, but Kipo still hurried towards them, bounding down the slope to their voices.

"We got the guy!" Tulip called out in explanation, and Kipo frowned, wondering what she meant just as the six of them came into view. Kipo quickly looked over all of them, checking for injuries, before her eyes settled on the shape they were dragging between them. Kipo suddenly stopped.

Kai shrugged. "It's... Father Arlen," he told her, not needing to shouted anymore. Kipo peered around them, and saw that he was telling the truth. That... really was Father Arlen. Not moving.

"Um, is he-?" Kipo started, just as soon as Coraline answered: "He's fine. Probably. Just knocked out."

Kipo raised an eyebrow, still concerned as she moved closer. "I... how did this happen."

"Good question," Tulip muttered.

"At least we got him," Luz pointed out.

"Technically, it was easier this way," Coraline argued, still sounding amused.

"Um..." Kai spoke up, sounding. Kipo looked over to see him kneeling by Father Arlen, poking at him. "What do we do now?"

Kipo groaned, trying not to let too much of her frustration show in her voice. It wasn't supposed to go like this...

"It's... fine," Kipo said, keeping her voice calm. "It's fine. We just need to... we continue with the plan, after he get's up. Here, give him to me, so he's not dragging on the floor, when we carry him."

Mabel gave her an odd look, but she didn't say anything as Luz and Fei Fei scooped up, Father Arlen, dropping him off on Kipo's shoulders, fireman style. Kipo grunted, her shoes slipping on the snow as she fought for purchase.

Mabel bounded ahead. "I'll lead!"

Kipo nodded at that, not trusting herself to speak, and the group started forward again, much slower than before. Kipo trained her ears upward, towards Father Arlen, but his breathing stayed steady, other than the slightest hitch here and there. Whatever Mabel did was... certainly effective.

"Here it is!" Mabel cried out, and she ducked into the familiar cave, the same one she had came out of when she was last here. The others gave it a once over, but they didn't hesitate as they stepped in after her, disappearing in its maw. Kipo was grateful they moved quickly, because, a little desperately, she scrambled in after them, relieved to have solid ground under her feet again. The little tunnel was cramped, with abandoned mining tools on either side, so Kipo had to watch her step, carefully concentrating on where she put her foot and making sure she didn't hit the pastor on either of the walls.

"Do you want a break?" Luz asked her, but Kipo shook her head.

"Better to keep moving," she said. "We don't know when he'll wake up."

"Oh, right," Luz agreed, glancing back. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Uh, Kipo-?"

All of the sudden, Kipo was thrown to the ground when the body in front of her exploded with movement. Her head hit the rock floor and rang painfully. Everyone was moving above her, and Kipo cried out as her hand was stepped on, pain exploding through her arm as she drew it back. There was a lot of yelling above her, and it all echoed around the walls and in her head.

"Oh no! Kipo!" someone cried, and Kipo felt arms on her shoulder, lifting her up. Luz stared at her, worried, but she quickly glanced away, focusing on something else. Kipo followed her gaze.

Father Arlen was up and awake, looking far too lucid for someone who just woke up, and holding Tulip in one hand, while the other hand held an old, rusted pickaxe. Arlen's arm dipped under the weight of it, but he still held it up high and threateningly. His eyes trailed over each and every one of their group, eventually landing on and glowering at Mabel.

"So, you came back with more of your demon friends," he hissed at her. He backed up, dragging Tulip along with him. The others followed, though more slowly. "What do you want here?! The others are dead, you know!"

Mabel flinched, opening her mouth to say something, but Kipo cut in before she could.

"We're only want to talk," she replied, calmly. She held up her hands in a nonthreatening way, but when Arlen's gaze changed to her, the distrust in his eyes only deepened.

"To talk," Arlen spat. Behind him, Kipo saw the opening to the large cavern that held all the walkways that Mabel only glanced at while she was running outside. "As if I'd even try talking to creatures like you. I know what you're trying to do..."

Luz's face curled up in disgust. "You really believe that?! We're just kids!"

Arlen only laughed madly at that, like the notion was downright hilarious. He had almost backed himself up to the metal walkway, and Kipo narrowed her eyes. What was he trying to do...?

Kipo's mind answered a split second before he went and did it: the same thing they were planning on threatening to do to him.

Rushing forward, Kipo brushed back luz and knocked Coraline of the way, not bothering to yell out an apology as she jumped forward, catching Tulip's hand as Arlen shoved her off the walkway beside him. Kipo landed on the ground with a grunt, hearing (and feeling) a painful pop in her shoulder and Tulip's descent jerked to a violent stop, clutching Kipo's hand like a lifeline.

Above her, Arlen growled, raising his pickaxe over his head, preparing to bring it down on her, but before he could even begin that notion, Kai, Luz, Mabel and Coraline ran at him, knocking him down and yelling various threats.

"Don't you dare!" Luz shouted.

"Hey, it's four to one, idiot!" Kai yelled at him.

"Don't even think about it," Coraline cried, and Mabel just screamed as they all charged at him, knocking him down to the metal walkway, making him cry out in pain as his back hit the floor and the pickaxe slipped out of his hand.

He glared at the three children holding him down, but no matter how much he struggled, they held him down firmly as Kipo pulled Tulip back up to solid ground.

"T-Thanks!" Tulip said, looking shaken up. She frowned as Kipo felt her shoulder, grimacing. "Is your shoulder okay?"

"It's fine," Kipo told her truthfully. As she moved her arm, her shoulder ached, but other than that, it didn't seem broken or popped out or anything like that. "I think, anyway. The more important thing is getting off of here. These things aren't too strong."

Tulip's eyes widened in alarm, and she glanced at the lava below them. "I...yeah. Where to?"

After a lot of struggle and five near deaths courtesy of Father Arlen, they were all gathered on top of the big black building, with Arlen being help by everyone else while Kipo pulled Mabel aside, just to get ready.

"Hope this works," she said, rubbing at her wrists nervously. "You know what to do?"

Mabel nodded. "I'm ready."

'I'm not,' Kipo thought, but she kept that too herself. Even after all of this, all of what Arlen had done... she didn't want to do this. Not like this. It seemed... well... evil, and mean.

Kipo shook her head, trying to physically shake her doubts away. Father Arlen was evil. No doubt about that. If anything, he deserved this, so when Kipo turned around, glaring at his hateful face, it was the last push she needed to do what she had to.

Arlen's glare of malice shifted into something akin to horror as Kipo transformed. When she turned around, Father Arlen was only the size of her leg, and he looked very, very afraid. Beside him, Tulip and Fei Fei's eyes were wide in awe, Kai and Coraline looked startled, and Luz was staring at her like it was the coolest thing ever.

Mabel, when Kipo turned to her and reached out a big paw, scrambled onto it, and couldn't seem to resist giving her a big hug.

"Ooh, you're so FLUFFLY!" Mabel cried into her fur, and Kipo felt herself smile, but she quickly tried to squash it. Though when she glanced back at Arlen, he seemed just as horrified with the smile as he was with everything else.

Once Mabel was properly seated on the back of Kipo's neck and hanging on tightly, Kipo started moving towards Arlen.

The others let go of him, moving out of Kipo's way, but none of them were worried, because Arlen was frozen in terror, unable to move even if he wanted to. The precariously perched building shifted under Kipo's feet, and she tried moving carefully without looking like she was moving carefully. It probably wouldn't have mattered, Arlen wasn't looking too closely, and anyway, all he saw was a big terrifying beast. Kipo's stomach twisted uncomfortably. She didn't exactly enjoy being scary and threatening, especially knowing what she could potentially do in this form, but Kipo forced her discomfort down.

In any case, it looked like this was going to work.

Upon reaching him, Kipo carefully picked up Arlen in one paw, and then raised him up and over the edge of the building, making sure she had a good grip on the back of the man's shirt. Father Arlen shrieked, flailing around as Kipo held him up over the boiling lava. Already, Kipo could see sweat beading on his forehead as she held him tightly.

Moving to the top of Kipo's head, Mabel shouted out to him.

"Hey!" she cried out. "My friends got you for now, but if you keep moving around like that, she might let you go! Just stay still so we can talk already!"

Either Arlen couldn't hear her over his own panic, or he didn't believe her, because he continued flailing around, screaming out wordless gibberish that sometimes sounded furious. And other times pleading.

Kipo knew she wasn't going to drop him (she made sure of it when she picked him up), but at this rate, they weren't going to get any negotiations done. Gently as she could, Kipo shook him, just as a little reminder.

Arlen let out one long shriek, clutching onto her claw, but the message must have gotten across. He stopped yelling and shaking, and Kipo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good," Mabel said, also sounding relieved. "You finally good to talk?!"

Arlen's teeth gnashed together, but he nodded.

"Well, good." Mabel grinned, self satisfied. "Good choice. So first of all: what happened to Kris and Norman?!"

Kipo frowned. That wasn't... in the original agreed upon questions. Mabel hadn't mentioned it when they were talking, and Kipo hadn't brought it up. They were all wondering... but Kipo thought that they might not like the answer they got.

And, proving her suspicions right, Arlen's face twisted up into an evil grin.

"Oh, you're still worried about them?" Arlen spat. "We thought you didn't care. You just left, after all. Didn't even stay for the big show."

Mabel frowned. "Big show?"

"We aren't the type to just let demons and monsters walk about," Arlen told her, voice now serious, though Kipo could tell he was enjoying this. She wanted to yell at Mabel to force him to stop or shake him, but Kipo found herself doing neither of those things. She wanted to hear this, too, just as much as Mabel. Even though she knew she wouldn't like what she heard.

Arlen wiggled around in Kipo's grasp, and Kipo tightened it, stomach dropping. "I'll admit, one got away, the one with the sword. But they ran deeper into the mountain, where we couldn't follow. Maybe they're still alive..."

Mabel brightened, and Arlen smirked at that. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up. No one ever comes back from there, and there's no way in or out. And if they haven't starved to death yet, that'd only mean the monsters got them. And I'm not making up those monsters, they're very real. No one's allowed down there except the ones who know they're going to die. The darkness... it consumes them."

Kipo's stomach fell. She hadn't believed him at first... but that explanation? They knew that was real. They knew what Arlen meant.

Mabel looked horrified. It seemed she had made the connection as well, and Kipo could see her mind racing as she thought about what that meant, tears beading in the corner of her eyes.

Kipo wanted to say something to her. The silence felt agonizing, and Kipo wanted to reach out and hug her friend, but eventually, Mabel seemed to gather herself together, shaking herself and tightening her grip on Kipo's fur.

"And the other one?" Mabel asked Arlen, her voice shaking. "What about him? Norman?"

"Ah, him," Arlen said, rolling his eyes. "Well, he was a demon, so we gave him a demon's death, just like every one of his kind that wanders through. We tied him to the pole so he couldn't escape and then drowned him in the river. When he was dead, we burned his corpse until there was nothing but ash left, so he couldn't rise again."

Mabel flinched at Arlen's patronizing explanation. He smiled smugly, as if he was the one in control and not dangling over some lava. Kipo's arm was shaking, but he didn't pay it any mind, a stark contrast to what he was acting like before.

"So," he continued, his eyes narrowing. "Are we done here? Can I leave? You've gotten your talk and your answers, now let me go!"

Mabel didn't answer for a long time, seemingly struggling with what Arlen had told her. Kipo couldn't believe it either. Why couldn't she... protect them? Now the two of them were dead, and there was nothing she could do anymore except regret.

Father Arlen opened his mouth, seemingly ready to demand an answer, but Mabel suddenly looked up, glaring at him.

"No, we're NOT done," Mabel said hotly. "Of course we're not done! We still have a lot of questions that need answering, and you might not like them this time! But you better keep giving answers this... detailed or guess what? You're going down into the lava!"

Mabel nodded firmly at the end of her speech, while Arlen stared at her, taken aback. He opened his mouth to complain, and Kipo shook him, effectively shutting him up.

Arlen scowled. "Fine," he spat. "What is it?"