When tears started streaming down Luz's face, her face twisted in horror and her eyes locked on something the rest of them couldn't see, Kipo desperately wanted to turn around and force her out of there. Everyone else was facing away from her, trying to give Luz as much privacy as possible, but Kipo suspected that their attention was more focused on Luz behind them then the unseen horrors behind them. Out of sight, out of mind, maybe, but Kipo couldn't deny that Luz was being a pretty big distraction.

It felt like agonizing hours were ticking by as they all waited for their friends, but really, it was only a couple minutes before Luz suddenly sucked in a huge breath, her eyes finally focusing on her actual surroundings.

Kipo spun around so fast she felt dizzy afterword, but she still wasn't as quick as Mabel, who turned into a small, colour whirlwind as she turned to Luz and knelt by her.

"Luz, Luz!" she cried, wrapping her arms protectively around the other girl. "Are you okay?"

Luz shuddered; her eyes wide. She looked to Mabel, then everyone around her, before dropping her head down to the floor. The crystal slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor. No one bothered to pick it up.

"Luz...?" Mabel asked, slowly. Luz still didn't reply, struggling to get herself under control. After a second, Luz got to her feet, quietly thanking Mabel for her help.

"Six..." Luz croaked; her voice strained. She stopped, then tried again. "Six is helping us. This is... her flower. She gave us this to help us."

Tulip blinked, looking surprised. "So Six is on our side?"

"We should go now?" Fei Fei asked, sounding urgent. Kipo could tell she was just as grateful as the rest of them to have Luz back, but unlike them, her anxiety was not forgotten. "Right?"

"Soon," Tulip promised her. "But first-."

"No," Luz retorted, her voice firm. Tulip looked back at her.

"Are you sure?" Tulip asked her, her voice thick with worry. "I'm sure we have a couple minutes, and you-."

"I'm fine," Luz argued, her tone harsh before she fixed it. "I already wasted enough time, we have to go!"

"Don't you need to make the smoke?" Coraline pointed out, frowning. "I hate to admit it, but it looks like we will have to wait a few minutes..."

"No, I can do it on the way," Luz told her, and in explanation, she took the shadows from the cave walls and wrapped the flower in a bubble, just transparent enough to see it resting inside. Luz grinned, triumphant, but it didn't last long before it was suddenly replaced by worry.

"No, wait!" she cried suddenly, startling everyone. "I...I don't have fire..."

Kai's head snapped up, and he was halfway to raising his palm before he seemed to remember something. He blushed, but in order to save face, or something like that, he ran his hand through his red hair. "M-Maybe I can set it on fire with my flaming personality?"

"What flaming personality?" Coraline muttered under her breath, but Kai still heard it, and his expression changed into a pout. Coraline ignore him, and louder, she said: "Isn't there a way to make fire with rocks?"

"That's flint," Kipo replied, a sinking feeling in her stomach. They had found the flower... but now their plan may come to a sudden stop before it even started, and all because they were missing the one thing that hadn't even thought to consider...

This was so frustrating!

"Don't you have any spells for this?" Mabel asked Luz, but even as she asked, she seemed to know the answer, and that was only confirmed when Luz shook her head, looking pained.

Fei Fei looked around anxiously. "We should go," she said, more urgently then the last time. Her tone made Kipo glance up in alarm. Had Fei Fei saw something...? She was already backing up, towards the way they needed to go, looking around nervously. "There's no time-!"

"Wait!" Tulip suddenly called out. Everyone froze, and watched as Tulip stepped forward, towards Kai's machine. She looked around the top of it for a second, searching, before suddenly calling out an "Aha!" and turning back to the group, holding up an unassuming red box that blended into the machine.

Everyone was surprised, but no one was more surprised than Luz.

"Matches," Tulip announced, a big grin growing on her face. "I'd thought it was weird that Six would kill herself just to help us... and the leave no way for us actually to use the tools she left."

Luz stepped forward, and awestruck look on her face. She held out a hand, and Tulip dropped the matches into it. Luz stared at the box in her palm, as if she couldn't believe it was a real, physical thing that she could hold in her hands.

Fei Fei coughed, motioning to the exit. Tulip looked up, and suddenly seemed to remember how much danger they were in.

"Oh, right," she said, looking embarrassed. She moved forward, but before she left, she put a hand on Luz's shoulder, starting her. "Strike a match now, then it can burn on the way, right?"

Luz blinked, suddenly broken out of her shock. She nodded, quickly. "Y-Yeah! Let's go," she agreed. Without further ado, she opened the box, striking a match then tossing it into a hole in the bubble in one smooth motion, closing the bubble up soon after. It was lucky she did, because soon the bubble was filled with a blazing pink fire, she strong and bright that the shadow almost seemed to melt away, and instead of a fire in a bubble, it was soon a big glowing orb, casting light over the walls.

Tulip stared at it for a moment, eyes wide, before she forced herself to turn away from the amazing sight, passing Fei Fei and becoming the leader of their strange little caravan yet again. How often had she been like this these past few months, Kipo wondered? How often was she the one at the front, with everyone else following her as if she actually knew what she was doing?

Too often, probably. Why her?

No, this probably wasn't the time for that. Kipo shook it from her mind, and fell into step beside Luz, who also seemed to have a lot on her mind, only paying enough attention to carry the orb, and to follow Tulip. She looked troubled, Kipo noticed.

"Hey, Luz," Kipo said gently, trying not to startle her friend as she moved closer. It didn't work, and Luz nearly face planted before Kipo reached out and steadied her.

"Sorry," Kipo told her, grinning sheepishly. But soon, her expression turned serious yet again. "Hey, are you okay?"

Luz gave her a look, and Kipo winced.

"Okay, fair enough," she remedied. "Well then, is there anything you want to talk about?"

"..." Luz hesitated, but finally, she slipped what was on her mind.

"Six wanted us to leave," Luz admitted. "She just wanted us to use her flower to wish ourselves to go home. She didn't want us to get involved like this, because she was certain we'd lose."

This was all information she knew, but Kipo stayed quiet, letting Luz tell it at her own pace. After a moment of collecting her thoughts, Luz did.

"When we didn't find the matches, I was scared that this was Six's way of forcing us to go home, or die," she explained. "At the time I felt hurt, and betrayed, but not surprised. It made sense, in a horrible way, because Six was just like that. She was always like that, even if usually, I couldn't see it. But then... But then...!"

Luz face pinched, like she was about to cry. She looked frustrated, and Kipo could see that her hands were clenched. "Why would she leave the matches?" Luz asked, her voice low. It wasn't a question Kipo was supposed to answer, even if she did know how. "Why would Six give us the tools to a fight she didn't think we were going to win? Is this... Is this another betrayal? Another way to kill us, like those kids before? Six said she cared about me, and yet she knowingly gave me what I needed to run into a fight she thought I would lose! Why?! WHY!?"

Kipo stared at Luz, her mouth agape. Luz wasn't looking at her, glaring at the floor in front of her, but she was still clearly waiting for a reply, but what was Kipo supposed to say to that?

Sending someone she cared about into a hopeless fight... that felt too familiar for comfort. Was Kipo not doing the exact same thing? The only difference was that she was lying about it... At least Six was upfront about it, even if Luz hated her for it...

No. No, it was NOT the same. Kipo believed they could win. Kipo was going into this fight because she had hope that they had a chance! She knew what they could do and she knew they could do this!

...Right?

Luz glanced at her as Kipo floundered, unable to answer. Kipo stared back, unsure what to say or do... but luckily, she was saved by Coraline, coming up on Luz's other side.

"I won't deny that Six is mean and horrible," Coraline told them, dragging Luz's attention from Kipo. Kipo was grateful for it. "But I don't think she was lying when she said she cared about you."

Luz frowned. "Then why...?"

"Think about the alternative," Coraline said, giving Luz a small smile. "I may not know you well, but you don't seem like the type of person to take no for an answer. If Six really hadn't given us those matches, would you really have gone home?"

Luz blinked, considering that. "No."

"Exactly." Coraline nodded to herself. "How many times, in your human realm and the demon rhelm, have adults told you something is 'too dangerous', and to 'stay out, you're just a kid'."

Luz's face twisted. "Too many times."

"And Six knew that," Coraline told her. "I don't think Six was trying to give you the tools to win, I think she was giving you the tools to try to win, because even with her trying to tell you to stay out, she knew you would do the right thing, no matter how afraid you were, or how afraid she was for you."

"..." Luz seemed to consider that for a long time. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth a set into a thin, grim line. Finally, after several long moments of consideration, she finally let out a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah... Maybe you're right. Maybe... she did care about me, in a really weird way."

"A really, REALLY weird way," Coraline agreed. "Adults are so weird."

The two fell silent, though, unlike before, it wasn't a painful silence, more of a reflective one. Luz didn't seem like she was about to cry anymore, which Kipo was incredibly thankful for. Even if she was unable to comfort Luz, she was glad someone could.

Still, she wanted to help, too. And while Kipo didn't have a big speech and point like Coraline did, she still had something, and it was something Luz deserved to know.

"Her name... her real name... was Ocelot," Kipo said, her voice quiet. But Luz still heard, and glanced over, blinking.

"...Oh," Luz said, after a moment of consideration. This time, she didn't sound sad, or angry, just... reflective. "I think I understand Six-or Ocelot, I guess- a little more, but at the same time, I don't know her at all. Maybe I never will."

Luz, once again, fell silent, and Kipo joined her. A horrible, sinking feeling was still filling her stomach, and it weighed Kipo down as she ran. She tried to ignore it, but she couldn't push the new horrible thoughts from her mind.

'Just what are we running into?'

And:

'Do I really... think we can win?'

"It's just up there!" Tulip called out to them suddenly, a much-needed warning, especially after last time. This time, the group of seven finally slid to a stop in front of a door that towered over their heads without further incident. Kipo's eyes widened as she came to a stop, staring up at the door set into the cave wall. It had no doorknob, though there were a bunch of complicated mechanisms set on it that Kipo couldn't make heads or tails out of. She supposed this is what Tulip had meant by when she had called it a 'difficult puzzle'.

However, Kipo noted that the huge, complicated door puzzle was on a door made of what looked like steel. In the end, it may not be the puzzle that stopped them, but rather the heaviness of the door. Kipo wasn't even sure she could open it, but she nervously prepared by cracking her knuckles nervously.

"S-So..." Tulip said, panting. She looked to Mabel, motioning to the door in front of them. "Give it a shot."

Mabel nodded enthusiastically, obediently stepping up to the door. Kipo watched her carefully, trying to figure out what she was thinking, but Mabel only looked at the door for a split second before she was nodding to herself, satisfied.

"Of course!" she said out loud. Tulip frowned.

"What?" Tulip asked her. "Did you figure it out?"

Mabel spun around, a huge smile on her face. "Of course! The answer to the puzzle is FRIENDSHIP, of course!"

Tulip waited, but when Mabel didn't explain, she tilted her head, looking bewildered.

"I... don't understand," Tulip said. "Is the answer the word friendship? Is this a pun thing? What-?"

"No, no, no, no," Mabel interrupted, shaking her head. She pointed at the door again, but when Kipo looked, she couldn't see what Mabel was trying to point out. "Look! All around the door there are doorknobs. These things, see? And there's seven of them, one for each of us. We all need to pull each one at the same time to open the door!"

"..." Tulip stared at Mabel, mouth agape, before turning her gaze to the door again. Kipo did, too, and now that she was really looking, she could now see what Mabel had pointed out.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Tulip grumbled, crossing her arms. "All this time, there was no puzzle all along? It was just seven doorknobs this entire time?"

"That's... pretty sweet for this type of world," Luz noted.

"And convenient," Coraline pointed out, frowning.

"There's probably something horrible waiting on the other side," Kai guessed, a small tremble in his voice.

"Don't think like that," Kipo told him, finally using her own advice on someone other than herself. Kipo stepped forward, grabbing one of the doorknobs. Fei Fei was already in position, and soon, the rest followed the two's lead, each of them grabbing onto their own doorknob.

"Be ready," Kipo warned them. "Remember: we don't know what we're running into."

"I can't believe this is all almost over," Luz whispered, more to herself than to her friends. Kipo winced at the words, almost worried that Luz was jinxing them before they even began, but she pushed that thought out of her head.

Jinxs weren't real. Kipo believed in her friends. She believed they could win.

"On three," Kipo told them.

"One..."

"Two..."

"THREE!"