Silver led them across Academy grounds and to the hangar, where Captain Jameson was waiting for them at the desk. He rose, grabbing his mask from the table and fastening it over his face.

“You’re heading off on Magistrate Dalliah’s orders, are you?”

“We are,” Silver said. “Keep my spot in the hangar open. You never know when I’ll need it again. But, at the same time, maybe forget I took this chopper. If it blows up, I’d rather not have Dalliah coming after me for the cost.”

“I’ll treat you the same as all of Magistrate Dalliah’s other agents.” Jameson led them through the metal halls toward the hanger at the top of the building.

Silver rubbed his hands together when they got to his chopper. He hopped into the captain’s seat and rocked back with a sigh. “Ah, I’ve missed this.”

“You’re cleared for takeoff,” Jameson said, giving them a sharp nod. “Make sure to keep the doors closed and windows up so the harmful gas doesn’t get in your lungs. You could get sick.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Angel said. “Stay safe, Captain. Thank for your service.”

Jameson saluted and marched back into the hall. Silver pulled his mask off and tossed it onto the dash, then made a face and lowered a window slightly before bringing the chopper to life.

“Choking on the exhaust is half the fun,” Silver proclaimed. “Everyone ready?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Angel said. “Take us up.”

“With pleasure.” Silver pressed several buttons on the console, bringing dozens of screens to life. With dramatic flair, he slid a lever forward with a single finger. The blades beat to life above them and the chopper lifted into the sky.

Molten Ridges shrank beneath them. A wave of heat washed through the chopper as it passed over the air rising from the bubbling pool of lava behind the city. Angel watched it start to shrink in the distance, then turned back to the console and shook his head.

“Right. Can you bring a map up? I’ll show you where we need to go.”

Silver tapped a button on the console and a map of the Barren sprung to life. Angel scanned it, then pointed at an area northeast of Churning Sands. “It should be in this area. It’s been a few weeks, but Great Catacombs don’t move particularly fast, especially if dumb Seekers are still killing themselves in it.”

“If I recall, that’s where you slipped my grasp,” Silver observed. “Did you already have some sort of an agreement with the catacomb? For that matter, is that even possible? I didn’t realize Catacombs had any level of intelligence.”

“Great Catacombs do,” Angel said. “And no, I didn’t have a preexisting agreement. I’m just very persuasive and managed to convince it that killing me wasn’t worth the hassle.”

“So you narrowly escaped, and we’re headed straight back to it now,” Silver said. “What makes you so sure that the Catacomb won’t just eat you this time?”

“My incredible charm,” Angel replied. “Besides, it’s not like you’ll be in danger. You’ll have to stay with the chopper so someone doesn’t make off with it. Lilian and I will be the ones that go inside.”

“And if you don’t come out, then I’ll have to go in after you,” Silver grumbled. “My very generous paycheck largely depends on you not being dead.”

“Well, I’ll do my best to avoid hurting your finances,” Angel said with a chuckle. “How long is the trip?”

“A few days,” Silver replied after quickly checking the map. “I hope you brought some thumbs to twiddle.”

Angel sighed, pushing a lever near the bottom of his seat to tilt it back, and crossed his hands behind his head. Despite his words, he wasn’t very confident in his plan. He had even more relics than he did the last time he’d been in the Great Catacomb. There was a very good chance it would do everything in its power to kill him.

It wasn’t like there was much in the way of other options, though. He needed a place with high magical energy for Blue to reconnect with the System, and a Great Catacomb’s core room had the highest magical energy out of all the locations he could think of. He closed his eyes and yawned. There was a long flight ahead of them.

True to Silver’s word, the trip took several days. They swapped out manning the controls so that they could all rest, but nothing of any interest happened during the trip other than a few monsters on the ground eyeing them with interest.

When Churning Sands came into view, Angel and Lilian breathed a sigh of relief. Silver glared at them.

“Don’t sound so happy. There’s nothing wrong with traveling in a chopper. It’s vastly superior to scurrying around on the desert floor, dodging every creature that wants to take a bite out of your juicy posterior.”

“It’s cramped,” Angel said.

“And smells like exhaust,” Lilian added, sending a pointed glance at the open window. Silver rolled it down another inch, then sent her a challenging stare.

Churning Sands passed beneath them some time later. Angel flipped his eyepiece down and scanned the desert as it sped beneath them, searching for any signs of magic. He had Silver fly the chopper in a zigzag pattern so he didn’t accidentally miss something.

After several minutes, Angel spotted a tiny mote of orange light. He directed Silver towards it and the former bandit lowered the chopper, bringing them closer to the desert floor.

Angel directed Silver as the mote became a line and then a dark mass deep in the desert beneath them.

“This is it,” Angel said. “Bring us lower so Lilian and I can hop out.”

The chopper dipped further. Silver brought them down until they were just a few feet above the sand. Wind from the aircraft’s blades kicked up the sand beneath them, spraying it in all directions.

“Any guess on how long this will take?” Silver asked as Angel and Lilian double checked their gear.

“It could be anywhere from a single day to a week,” Angel said. “It depends on if we have to fight our way over to the core or not.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Silver complained. “Am I supposed to fly around for a week doing nothing?”

“If we aren’t out today, you can always head to Churning Sands and stay there for a little,” Angel suggested. “Although you’d have to worry about people stealing the chopper then.”

“Nobody steals from Captain Silver.”

“Captain Silver is dead,” Angel reminded him.

“It’s the thought that counts,” Silver replied. “I’ll figure out a new name and impress it on anyone that feels like trying me. If you aren’t out of there by the end of the week, I’m going to tell Dalliah you found a Vyrg and jumped inside its mouth to see if you could fit. Maybe she’ll only dock my pay instead of cutting it.”

“What’s she paying you, anyways?” Angel asked. “From the way you talk about it, I feel like it’s more than a few Vei a week.”

“Let’s just say I’m a very wealthy man,” Silver said with a chuckle. “I’ve got enough coin to live comfortably for the rest of all of our lives, if I was a boring old sod that valued safety over fun.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when we’re figuring out who has to pay for something,” Angel said. Before Silver could protest, he pushed the chopper’s door open and hopped out. Lilian followed after him, landing on the sand a short distance to his side.

“Make it quick!” Silver yelled over the chopper. It rose back into the air.

“Are you going to attack the ground again?” Lilian asked once they could hear themselves think again.

“No need,” Angel replied, continuing to examine the ground with his eyepiece. “It’s headed our way. Any minute now…”

The ground rumbled right on time. Sand bucked and shifted beneath their feet, turning into a sinkhole. It expanded around them and vanished beneath their feet, sending both plummeting into the darkness.