Turquoise and the girls were now discussing their options for the next dungeon to take on.

“Ok ladies, we have three options,” Turquoise said before pulling out a map of the floor. “One: The Fang Catacombs in Fenrir’s Rest, Two: The Howling Caverns to the east, Three: Black fang’s Stronghold on Malamute Island. The girls weighed their options.

“Are there any more stairs involved in any of them?” Lemon asked, clearly expressing her stair induced trauma.

“The catacombs will involve going underground so there will be stairs there,” Turquoise said.

“Then scratch that off the list because I have had enough stairs for a while,” Lemon said.

“Wait underground? I thought we were on the second floor. “Haruka asked.

“We are but think of the floors as different worlds,” Turquoise said.

“What do you mean?” Lemon asked.

“I mean the structure of each floor is its own space with an underground and everything,” Turquoise said.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Lemon said.

“Anyway, since the catacombs are a no go for now, that leaves the cavern or the stronghold, “Turquoise said.

“I say we go for the cavern,” Lemon said.

“Me too,” Haruka said.

“Then the Howling Caverns it is then,” Turquoise said.

“This one does not involve stairs, right?” Lemon asked.

“Relax, it's just an elevator ride down, “Turquoise said. The girl went east of the village and fought many mid-level monsters. Lemon looked quite jealous of Turquoise and Haruka since they had animal companions, and she did not.

“Hey Turquoise? How does the spirit pet system work or more specifically how do you acquire them?” Lemon asked.

“The way it works is with some monsters, when you defeat them, they will want to form a contract with you,” Turquoise explained.

“But you did not acquire Bridgid that way, “Lemon said.

“She was a special case since I programmed Sora to give the Glacis Vulpis to any female Fennec knight that beats her dungeon, “Turquoise said.

“So, in other words, Bridgid is a special item acquired through meeting certain conditions,” Lemon said.

“Exactly,” Turquoise said.

“What about Taka? “Haruka asked.

“The Ignis Avian is a creature that has a 50% chance of bonding when defeated,” Turquoise explained.

“Where are you getting these names from?” Haruka asked.

“Mostly from combining names of elements with scientific names of species,” Turquoise said.

“And what are the odds of finding one of these creatures where we are going?” Lemon asked.

“Pretty good, why? Do you want your own pet?” Turquoise asked.

“You have your fox, Haruka has her hawk, and I have nothing, so yes, " Lemon said.

“Then if we ever find a boss monster that can bond then we leave the finishing blow to you,” Turquoise said. Soon the sound of whistling was heard.

“What’s that whistling sound? “Lemon asked.

“That lemon would be our destination, The howling caverns, “Turquoise said as they reached a giant cave that looked like three wolves' heads facing three directions. “The reason for the name is because of the sound the caves make when the wind blows through the holes in the rock.

“Anything special about this dungeon?” Haruka asked.

“One thing, a special melody is needed to complete this dungeon,” Turquoise said.

“Oh, a music challenge, now that sounds like my area of expertise,” Lemon said.

“Glad you're excited,” Turquoise said as they entered the cave. The first thing the girls noticed was a music score etched into the wall of the cave.

“Is this the song?” Lemon asked.

“You're the music expert you tell me,” Turquoise said, testing Lemon’s knowledge of music. Lemon sounded the notes out and when she reached the end, she caught on to what Turquoise intended for this dungeon.

“This is only part of a song,” Lemon said.

“Where is the rest of it?” Haruka asked.

“That is the objective for this dungeon, to find the four parts of the song and play it through the whole cave,” Turquoise said.

“And how do we do that? “Lemon asked.

“You will see once we get to that part,” Turquoise said before using a device that looked like a camera of some kind to take a picture of the score.

“What is that device?” Haruka asked.

“It’s called a holo-cap. It's a camera that can display the pictures it takes in 3D holograms which allows you to see the image from all angles,” Turquoise explained.

“Looks kind of sci-fi for a fantasy game,” Haruka pointed out.

“The next floor will have more stuff like this, I got this one from the merchant back in the village,” Turquoise said.

“In any case, let’s get this dungeon started, “Lemon said, full of excitement.

Back in the real world, Lemon and Haruka's parents arrived just in time to see the girls enter the next dungeon.

“How are the girls doing?” Lemon's mom asked.

“They just started the second dungeon on the second floor.,” Bullet said.

“What kind of horrors did your daughter fill this one with?” Micheal asked.

“She called this one the Howling Caverns and mentioned how it’s like a natural instrument played by the wind blowing through the holes in it,” Ruby said.

“Do you think she drew inspiration from that cavern tour we went on a few years ago?” Bullet asked.

“Howl’s caverns? I think so,” Ruby said remembering the rock formation known as the pipe organ.

“Well let’s hope she did not program anything too dangerous in there,” Lemon's mom said.

“It’s a video game, of course there will be monsters to fight,” Haruka's dad said.

“How can you not be worried about your own daughter?” Micheal asked.

“Because Haruka is not someone to take so lightly,” Haruka's mom said.

“She has always had this habit of starting fights and flying off the handle when someone insults someone she cares about and when she gets violent, let’s just say the other guy better have damn good insurance or a good Cemetary plot,” Haruka’s dad said.

“Your daughter actually kills people?” Lemon's mom said in surprise.

“Not on purpose, sometimes the beatings get so rough the other guy is lucky to even make it to the hospital before dying,” Haruka’s mom said.

“How is she not in prison yet?” Ruby asked.

“Because our attorney was able to turn the tables by convincing the jury those people, she beat up deserved it and nine times out of ten it lands Haruka off the hook,” Haruka's dad said.

“Ok let's focus on the girls,” Bullet said as everyone went back to watching the screen which had the girls fighting a bunch of lizard-like creatures with armor and clubs.

Back in the game Turquoise and her two companions just finished off the hoard of Reptilnoids as Turquoise called them. As soon as they did, they noticed another music score etched into the wall of their current position. Lemon sounded the notes and made a mental note of them for later. After taking a picture of the score the girls proceeded to the next room. Once they entered the doors suddenly slammed shut which meant it was mini boss time. For this one the boss was a giant wolf with pitch black fur and glowing purple eyes. The wolf unleashed a powerful howl that echoed through the medium-sized tunnels. Suddenly the wolf faded into the ground like a shadow before going inside one of the tunnels.

“What’s going on with this mutt?” Haruka shouted due to the loud howling filling the room.

“It’s trying to use the sound to confuse us, it’s planning to strike at us from one of the tunnels,” Turquoise shouted. Lemon was not moving during all of this and had her eyes closed as if she was trying to use her other senses.

“Lemon? What are you doing?” Haruka asked.

“Using my ears instead of my eyes,” Lemon said. “I am a musical prodigy so when it comes to sound, I am queen. The wolf was ready to attack and as soon as it did Lemon fired a fireball at the tunnel the wolf was coming from before it could succeed. The wolf took damage and Turquoise and Haruka tried to attack but the wolf was too quick for them and fled back into the tunnels to strike again. The way it stood this was a battle only lemon could win. Lemon delivered successful fireball after fireball and when the wolf was out in the open, she unleashed one last spell which resulted in the final blow which knocked the wolf out. Soon the wolf shrunk and was now the size of a normal wolf with cute purple eyes. The wolf looked calmer and even sat in front of Lemon. “Is this what I think it is?

“Sure is, go for it,” Turquoise said. Lemon put her hand on the wolf’s head and soon a name menu popped up in front of her. She entered the name Mozart and now Lemon had a spirit pet of her own.

“What do you call this one?” Haruka asked.

“It’s called an Umbral Fenrir. They are not just known for their speed and strength, but also have a unique ability called Shadow Dive which as we all saw allows them to dive into their shadows and move along walls and floors and also faze through solid objects, “Turquoise explained.

“Those sound cool, but do they have any offensive power?” Lemon asked.

“Actually, there are multiple types of Fenrir species, and each one has an affinity for a single type of elemental magic, “Turquoise explained.

“Oh cool, what kind can Mozart use? “Lemon asked.

“He can use dark elemental magic which has a lot of different effects depending on how it's used,” Turquoise said.

“Awesome, “Lemon said before the girls decided to keep going. They continued onward and soon found the third score. After getting the picture and having Lemon sound it out they resumed and soon found themselves in a big room that looked like someone carved away at the inside and even set up some kind of apparatus that was connected to what looked like a pipe organ.

“Where are we now?” Haruka asked.

“We are in the center of the cavern, where the song of the Lycan hero must be played in order to unlock the way to the boss door,” Turquoise said.

“Hold on, you said there were four parts to this song, but we only found three so far, " Lemon said.

“True but take a look at the music sheet on the organ,” Turquoise said. Lemon took a seat at the organ and soon noticed the torn sheet which had a huge chunk torn off. “That is the fourth piece of the song.

“Ok we got the parts, now what? “Haruka asked.

“We need to play them in the correct order,” Turquoise said.

“Leave that to me, " Lemon said. She started by humming the notes in the order they found them which to lemon sounded very off. She rearranged them a few times before she suddenly got it. As she played the metal plates that were above moved around and blocked the holes which blocked the flow of wind from entering. Soon the caves began playing the song that Lemon learned. As soon Lemon got up a chest appeared, and she opened it pulling out the boss key. The girls proceeded to the next room and were now in front of the boss door.

“So, what will we be facing this time?” Haruka asked.

“Not another wolf or dragon,” Turquoise said as she opened the door. As soon as they went inside the doors slammed shut which caused a bunch of rocks to fall and a huge bat-like creature to fly down and unleash a powerful screech.

“Oh, a big bat, now it makes sense,” Lemon said. The bat had the advantage in this case since the room was barely lit which meant the girls could not see it. The bat swapped down and attacked them causing significant damage.

“How do we even beat the damn thing if we can’t see it?” Haruka shouted. Suddenly the bat swooped down at her like she was a beacon.

“For one I suggest not shouting, bats pick up on sound waves which is how they see everything around them,” Turquoise said.

“Wait, that’s it, " Lemon said as she called out Mozart.

“What are you doing?” Haruka asked.

“Luring the bat, Mozart Howl, " Lemon said as Mozart unleashed a loud howl that drew the bat’s attention. As soon as Lemon gave the signal the girls all attacked at once which resulted in the bat taking their attacks and inflicting a metric ton of damage which resulted in the bat exploding and the light returning to the room. Soon an orb of light containing the Celestial key of Darkness appeared. The girls claimed it and proceeded back to the entrance. Once they left the caverns, they noticed the sound they made was a lot different from when they entered.

“This that the song we played to get to the boss?” Haruka asked.

“You know it, that’s Fenrir’s Requiem,” Turquoise said.

“Well, I'm pumped now, so where shall we go next?” Lemon asked.

“Let’s put it up to a coin toss, heads we go to the catacombs, tails we go to the stronghold,” Turquoise said before pulling out a single coin from her money pouch. She flipped it into the air and as soon as it came down it was on the side with a Fox head on it which was heads. “Looks like we are going underground.

“Is that ok Lemon?” Haruka asked.

“You know what, I'm too excited to care about the number of stairs this time, " Lemon said, giving them the green light to do it.

“Then let’s go, “Turquoise said as the girls set out for the village.

Author's Note

Like I promised I expanded on the whole fenos arc.