Nothing about the home had changed since the last time Aang was there. The large, sickly and distorted thick tree trunk was still present, unchanged while the sky above them became a yellowish brown, clouds of thick mist looming overhead. The opening of a cave stood before them beneath the root of the tree. A light wind blew in their direction. Crystal had never heard of Koh but by her friends reactions, she knew he was bad news. The dragons were staying tense for any sign of danger.

“So, this is it.” Mai said, already shuddering.

“What are the chances Koh turns out to be awkwardly sweet and funny like the last three?” Nori asked hopefully, tugging into a strand of her purple/green streaked Mane.

“Slim to none.” Akari answered, somewhat bluntly.

“I thought blunt honesty was Mai’s thing.” Nori said, earning a slightly annoyed glare from Mai.

“Okay, Iris, what's the plan?” Gallant asked.

Iris tugged on her father’s scarf, taking in a deep breath before addressing to the rest of the team. “We go in."

"Could you be a little more specific?"

"This place works the same way as the forests. The caves inside are prison cells, so the spirits can't leave unless the Avatar opens the enchanted lock."

“Let me guess, your dad came up with the idea?” Chi said, placing one hand in her hip.

“No. Actually, it was Lin Beifong.” Iris said, earning a few disturbed looks from the others. "She had a lot of free time after her retirement."

“Suddenly, the evil spirit is the least terrifying thing I can think of.” Chi said.

"But what are we gonna do if Koh sees you?" Mai asked Iris.

"We could just beat him up." Hiro suggested, "I bend a few exploding rocks at em and be all; Bam! Pow! Wham! And we smooth our way right through." the young man did sound effects from his mouth, striking a few poses while doing so. Mai pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Either way, we don't have a choice." Akari said, standing next to Iris. "Getting through Koh is the only way to reach the others. Let's all just stick together and if things get hairy, be ready to fight."

The team nodded in agreement, despite the shiver going up their spines when they entered the cave. The atmosphere turned even more menacing than the outside world. The darkness took hold the further they traveled down. Iris, Akari and Mai lit the cave with fire, only for Nori to almost scream when she saw what appeared to be a hideous rock, the casting shadows giving the illusion of a distorted face.

Akari quickly covered her mouth, stopping the merpony from shrieking. No doubt she would have cause a cave-in with her ear piercing shriek.

The inside of the cave had multiple other openings, where the children heard the sound of malevolent screeching, hissing, growling and jaws snapping. The further they went, they noticed the darkness diminishing. Faint light illuminated their pathway, thanks to several of the neon crystals on the walls. Crystal went over to one of them, only to be picked up by Mist and placed on Winter.

Nori briefly stopped, entranced by the stunning stones. "Wow. These are lovely." without much control over her actions, her hand rose up to touch the rock, only to have it slapped away by Iris. "Ouch! Hey!"

"Those spirits rocks are radioactive." Iris stated. "Unless you want to get a massive burn reaching from your pinkie finger to your shoulder and then have it crumble into tiny pieces, you stay as far, far away from those things as possible."

Nori blinked twice before stepping away from the stones. "This place just keeps getting more and more charming by the minute."

"Why would a cave prison that holds the realm's most notorious evil spirit criminals have radioactive gemstones?" Gallant Steed asked, making sure to keep as far enough distance from the rocks as possible.

"They're what keep these spirits in their place." Iris said. "Ordinary prison spells weren't enough to hold these guys in, but they have a terrible fear of these rocks that are indigenous only to this part of the Spirit World. My mom enchanted the caves to keep them locked in, while the rocks make sure they don't try any funny business if they manage to break through."

"So, even if Koh does see us, he won't be able to follow us." Mai concluded. "Smart thinking there, Iris."

"So, these things can burn a spirit?" Gallant asked, feeling somewhat sympathetic at the idea of anyone getting burned and their arm literally fall right off.

"Kind of." Iris explained. "While they're not as lethal to spirits as they are to humans, but the pain is so unbearable they'd rather not take that chance. My mom might be firm, but she's not sadistic. Why else do you think she made sure these rocks to remained in this place?"

"Good thing too. Wouldn't want someone like Koh rampaging through the streets and stealing people's faces again." Akari said as they made a left turn, walking by several rocks and the radioactive stones minimized in numbers.

"Why exactly did he do that?" Hiro asked. "I thought Koh was like a hermit who didn't really bother anyone unless someone ticked him off. Or at least that's what Bumi used to say from the stories his dad told him."

"Well, someone definitely tick him off." Chi said. "His mother."

Everyone froze in place, minus Iris and Akari. "Say what now?" Hiro asked.

"Nova and I heard of that story from some grumpy old baboon once." Chi explained as they walked further along, her eyes rolling at the memory of the unlikable old timer. "It's true, Koh was more of an amoral spirit, but one day he stole the face of a friend of his mother's due to a misunderstanding. Koh, being too proud to admit his slip up, was revoked of his immortal."

"Immortal?" Hiro asked.

Gallant sighed in exasperation. "You didn't pay attention is history class, did you?"

"What? No, no, of course I did." Hiro insisted, chuckling with every other word, folding his arms, trying to act casual and confident. "Heh, yeah. Good times, good times. But, um, maybe refresh my memory a bit?"

Gallant sighed, but complied none the less. "There are three types of spirits. Immortals, like Raava, Wan-Shi Tong, Hei-Bai, Princess Yue, among others, they will continue to exist until the end of time. Out of the other spirits, they have the most important jobs that help keep our world in balance. There are Millennial spirits, who live for an unknown number of centuries, but do ultimately face death at some point. Then, there are the Mortal spirits, who's life spans are a bit shorter than Millennials, but still very much longer in comparison to that of a human. Give or take a century or two."

"Nova used to be a Millennial spirit before being healed by the Elements of Harmony." Chi said, "That's why he managed to stay alive for this long."

"And Ali, Mika and San are mortal spirits." Iris explained. "There are many creatures in Equestria that have similar life spans. Like dragons, which can live for a hundred years once they reach adulthood. Or alicorns like Leilani, Luna and Celestia who have similar life spans."

"Or like wisps--like me--who live as long as Millennial spirits do." Chi said. "But yeah, needless to say, Koh was not too happy about being demoted to Millennial, so he kind of went, um…" Chi cringed and scratched the back of her head before saying, "Completely bonkers and took out his anger on the humans, stealing their faces."

"That's when our parents swooped in and totally whooped his sorry butt!" Akari said, smiling cockily while simultaneously slicing a tall stalagmite, that was blocking their way, in half with her sword. "Korra removed his powers, and he's been locked up ever since."

"Dang. Powerful Magic Mamas don't mess around." Hiro said, absorbing all of this information, referring to not only Koh's mother, but also Iris and Akari's mothers as well.

Nori then turned her attention to Chi, "So, if you live are long as Millennial spirits do, does this mean you'll outlive most of us?"

The entire group stopped, all turning their attention to the wisp. It was a topic they were already aware of, but never dove much into it on account of they didn't want to think of such a thought. Chi knew that their saddened reactions would be inevitable, but she smiled affectionately none the less.

"Yeah." she said, despite her saddened tone, Chi still ruffled Nori's hair affectionately. "But, I've been around for seventeen hundred years. I've seen folks come and go, but I've also seen a lot of their defendants carry on. Nova might not be able to live as long as he used to anymore, but I'm happy he'll be able to grow old with Sunset Shimmer. To me, death is like the end of once chapter, before another begins. My brother Shade might be gone, but if not for him, I wouldn't even be here."

Chi said, placing her hand over her chest, manifesting her Sol, which emitted a bright, heavenly blue glow.

"His legacy will always live on, even if his body did not. To me, that's so much better than wandering the earth forever. Besides, it doesn't mean I'll never die. One day I will, I'll just get to see all of your kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great-great-great grandkids before I do. It'll be as if you guys never left. Sure, seeing loved ones come and go sounds like a bummer, but after living with Nova for all that time, I would much rather look on the bright side of it. Besides, any life where I get to stick by you guys, even long after your gone, then that's a life worth living."

As expected, tears began to form in the eyes of her friends. Iris was the first to embrace the wisp, crying into her shoulder. "We love you, Chi."

"I love you guys, too." Chi cried as well as she was welcomed in a tight embrace by all of her friends.

"Well then, we'll make every moment count." Nori said, wiping away her tears with her wrist.

"Thanks, Nori. But, how's about we make this moment count and go get the old timers back before the city goes into all out chaos." Chi suggested, making everyone disperse.

"You're one to talk." Akari said teasingly. "You're older than most of them combined."

"All the more reason for you to listen to me." Chi said, making everyone laugh, only to stop when Iris extended her arm ordering them to stop and hide behind a rock.

The group peeked over and saw a massive cave, decorated with what appeared to be a vast treasure of trinkets, old and worn objects that appeared to be wooden cabinets, stuffed dolls with various limbs and button eyes ripped off. Broken lanterns with bits and pieces of the bulbs still remaining, creating a jingling sound when they crashed onto the rocky floor. The cave itself had a row of various other objects, random and completely worthless, yet were placed in such a way it gave the impression they were more valuable than they appeared to be.

The kids quickly reeled back in when they heard what sounded like giant centipede legs crawling on the opposite side of the cave. A large shadow loomed over the entire cave, blocking out what little light came peering through the holes above.Winter bared her teeth, snarling and the other dragons did the same.

The kids remained crunched down as their eyes traveled upwards, catching a glimpse of the back of the infamous face stealer himself. Or rather, the former face stealer. His body resembled that of a giant centipede, his legs massive and long they created small punctures in the ground wherever he roamed. The surface of his shell were a dark, red color. Some areas of his shell looked chipped, and even a few of his legs looked as if they were missing. They couldn't see his face, and weren't sure if he even still had a face, but never the less, his presence in of itself was the physical embodiment of nightmare fuel. Especially for anyone who had a phobia of insects.

Added with the sound of his moving legs, they heard him humming a wordless tune to himself. His voice as low and sophisticated, merging with the tapping of his legs. He sounded content while rearranging the numerous old materials on his rocky shelves. The cave looked more like a treasure cove than anything, with a number of the radioactive rocks forming an archway over the opening.

"I don't see any openings." Akari said, her eyes scouting the cave. "There's too much junk in the way."

"Why would a former face stealer have all that stuff?" Mai questioned.

"Guess he had to try and steal something." Iris theorized, still studying Koh's movements, who continued to hum to himself while organizing his things. This didn't resemble the horrifying monster Iris had heard before in the past.

The sound of a loud yawn filled the cave, nearly shaking it. The kids huddled together, shielding one another from a few tiny pebbles that fell from above, hoping pebbles would be the only things that fell on them.

Koh began to move around, encircling his entire body and sinking his head into the center, sighing contently, followed by light breathing. Soft snoring was heard and the kids peeked over the opening, seeing that Koh had fallen asleep.

"Well, that was convenient." Hiro whispered.

"Can we leave? Can we leave? Can we leave?" Crystal whispering quickly and desperately, wanting to get out of here with her heart racing. Iris took in a deep breath and slowly walked out from behind the rock, with the rest of her friends following close behind. "Okay, now's our chance. Mai, Hiro, you guys search the left side for the opening. Gallant, Nori, you search the right, Akari, Chi and I will look on the shelves."

The team nodded in agreement before dispersing, careful not to step on anything that could awaken Koh. The gigantic spirit slept soundly as Nori and Gallant tiptoed pass him. Nori, momentarily, was distracted by how shinny the surface of his shell was that she could see her own reflection. After one quick hair flip Nori proceeded to help Gallant search for an opening somewhere.

Hiro and Mai searched the other side of the cave, carefully walking over the broken objects, tapping the cave walls with their hands. Akai, Chi and Iris flew up to the shelves, looking behind various objects but found no opening whatsoever.

After a good ten minutes, Nori, Gallant, Hiro and Mai gathered together beside some old fountain statue of what appeared to be the Painted Lady. Akair, Iris and Chi landed shortly after.

"Okay, how is anyone supposed to find anything in this dump?" Mai questioned, already growing more and more frustrated due to their lack of progress.

"Maybe Koh covered it up?" Nori asked.

"That would make no sense." Gallant said. "If nobody else would enter the cave, why would he seal up the opening?"

"Are we even sure we saw an opening?" Hiro questioned. "From what I remember, we saw Koh's cave and then some random green glowing tunnel."

Iris pondered for a moment, until her eyes widened in realization. "What if there is no opening?"

"So we came here for nothing?" Nori asked, already feeling frustrated.

"No. What if our vision wasn't telling us that there was an opening, but that we had to make our own?"

"How are we supposed to do that without Koh waking up?" Mai asked. "And how will we even know which area in the cave to start off on?"

The cave started to rumble and the sound of tapping centipede legs began to rise up from the ground.

"Uh, I think we've got bigger problems right now. Way bigger." Gallant said, his eyes widening.

Iris motioned for everyone to hide. The group managed to find a small mountain of trash to hide in. The ponies changed into their anthro forms to pick up less space. Crystal and Winter were the last to hide when Winter fell and rolled down the mountain of garbage, only to have Crystal's shirt caught in one of Koh's many large legs. "Winter!" Crystal screamed. The Light Fury heard her owners' cry just in time to see

The giant spirit circled around her, grabbing Crystal with his many legs before rocketing up into the ceiling, creating a hole on the wall. Winter flew in after him to get her little sister back. Akari flew towards the hole too, wielding her sword, only to have the opening closed shut in front of her.

"What just happened?!" Hiro exclaimed, his eyes practically bulging right out of his head.

Akari began hitting the cave with her sword, over and over again, but no trace of the spirit or Crystal and Winter remained.

"No! Crystal!"

---

Crystal's eyes snapped open and she catapulted upright, panting anxiously, her eyes wide and sweat dripping down her neck. Her surroundings had changed drastically. No longer was Iris surrounded by the piles and piles of old, worthless objects, but in what appeared to be some kind of enclosed cave, with old and twisted tree trunks seamlessly merging with the rocks, and little to no light, save for a few of the radioactive rocks above her, creating rays of light that cascaded down upon her.

Winter wabled and rushed over to her. "Winter." she whimpering in relief. The Light Fury cuddled against her and she hugged her dragon sister. Crystal turned back and mustered up a confident voice, despite her growing fear.

"Koh, I know you're here! Show yourself!" Crystal felt her heart leap at the sound of cackling echos.

"I must say, when I heard there was a new girl, I assumed everyone in that ignominious city had finally lost their minds. But, here you are. My dear old friend. It's been a long time."

Crystal spun around to see Koh emerging from the shadows. Winter roared at Koh, baring her teeth and her wings outstretched in a hostile manner.

Koh's face fell as he crawled around Crystal and Winter careful as to not touch the stones above him. "Oh, what a tragedy it is. Centuries ago, people cowered in my name. Now, my legacy has been scorned. Tarnished." his frown morphed into a grin as he chuckled. "But, I must give credit where credit is due." Crystal did not take her eyes of Koh as he contiuned to talk, "And I must say not everyone has a power like you do." That part shocked Crystal, "What power?"

Koh chuckled, "I'm not revealing everything to you, Crystal. But I will tell you this... The power will only be unlocked by the power of your friends."

"Power of my friends?" Crystal repeated. "So... what are you gonna do with me?"

Koh chuckled again, "... Don't worry, I won't harm you, dear." he hissed as he got closer to the girl and the Light Fury.

---

Mai continued to throw random objects onto the side of the cave with her supper strength, while Hiro used his powers to create an opening with his explosions.

Mai groaned in frustration. "This is impossible! How are we supposed to find Iris now?"

"They couldn't have gotten far." Chi said, floating beside her. "Koh can't escape the cave cause of those rocks." Suddenly the opening in the ceiling opened back up again and everyone saw Winter descending down with Crystal on her back. "Winter, Crystal!" Akari cried in relief. Everyone went over to the two. "Are you alright?" Iris asked. "Koh didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No." Crystal stated. Shimmer, Skyspike, Mist and Spark nudged Crystal. "I'm alright you guys." she reassured.

"We should get moving." Iris said, turning around and marching onwards. "We're almost there."

Next Chapter: Chapter 10: Dragon Guidence Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 56 Minutes