Elizabeth, Nick, and Tiffy entered the palace courts in pursuit of the relics.
"Did you study the puzzle book?! Any clues, perhaps?!" Tiffy asked anxiously as they marched inside. All the guards had gone outside to confront them but were quickly neutralized. Perhaps only the guards protecting the director remained nearby.
"It's in the director's room!" Nick quickly replied.
"The director's room? You mean he usually keeps the relics there?" Tiffy asked in surprise.
"That's according to the magical updated puzzle book," Nick confirmed.
"Okay, we need to find the director's room as fast as possible. We just overheard that navy soldiers are coming!" Elizabeth urged.
The allies searched the vast mansion—up and down—until they finally found a hidden door.
"I think this must be it!" Tiffy whispered as they stood silently outside.
"I say we burst in violently—no time to waste!" Elizabeth hissed back.
"No! That's a terrible idea! We need to tiptoe while everyone is still asleep. The director is probably surrounded by guards inside," Nick reasoned.
"Okay, but who goes in first?" Tiffy whispered.
"You two go in; I'll watch your backs from behind," Elizabeth ordered.
Tiffy and Nick crept inside. Their instincts were right. The director's room was huge enough to hold several guards.
"This looks so polygamous! All these guards guarding one man!" Tiffy joked quietly.
"We need to check the shelves for clues before anyone wakes up," Nick whispered.
They approached the shelves and began searching for relics silently.
"I think there's a safe here! But it's password protected. How do we get in?" Tiffy asked.
Suddenly, the director snorted in his sleep and turned.
"We should hypnotize him to get the password out—use spells!" Tiffy suggested.
"You sound like a witch! I thought you were faith-oriented?" Nick whispered back.
"Not me! Elizabeth can do the hypnosis; she's skilled from our desert encounter," Tiffy whispered.
Tiffy tiptoed back to Elizabeth and asked quietly, "Elizabeth, can you hypnotize the director? Get him to give us the password?"
"I sure can! I saved the spells on my phone. Just give me a sec," Elizabeth replied.
She joined them near the sleeping director and performed the spells that made him unconsciously reveal the password.
"What?! The password is 4067!" the director snorted lazily.
Nick quickly pressed 4067 on the safe. It opened immediately. They grabbed the green gem and a complete puzzle book before slipping out silently.
As they reached the exit, the director woke and noticed the open safe.
"Guards! Intruders have stolen the relics! Find them!" he yelled.
The guards rushed outside, but the navy soldiers and palace guards were already closing in from all sides.
"Hurry! Fetch the others! We'll maneuver through the opponents!" Elizabeth commanded.
What followed was a wild chase in the air—navy choppers and hybrids swarmed the allied group as they rode their dragons.
"We're family. Family sticks together. We fight side by side," Elizabeth called out.
"We'll take your advice to the bank, Elizabeth!" Mikal replied.
The group used their acrobatic skills, training dragons to do somersaults in evasive maneuvers, before counterattacking. They crippled military planes and helped neutralize flying hybrids.
"Wow, girls! How did you train your dragons like that? Impressive!" Nick complimented.
"We just gave them the instructions, and they obeyed perfectly," Tiffy answered.
"To be honest, we didn't see that coming. Good tactical move!" Mikal added.
"We need to regroup at the den and figure out how to get the blue gem," Elizabeth suggested.
The group traveled through the night and finally arrived at their den, where they collapsed into sleep.
---
The next day, refreshed from a nearby river bath—thanks to Luca's directions—they gathered for a snack.
"Okay, guys, the next mission is our last one. Tiffy, would you lead us?" Elizabeth asked.
"I wouldn't mind at all," Tiffy replied.
"The stage is yours!" Elizabeth encouraged.
"We're headed to the ocean for the blue gem," Tiffy began. "Before even opening the puzzle book, what challenges do you expect on this sea voyage?" she asked.
"Seasickness, storms, hidden treasures?" William guessed.
"You're right! Sea voyages take months—hopefully not to give birth mid-journey! Also, we're running low on supplies. Dragons can't come with us out here—they face extinction risk. And now the government is hot on our heels after realizing we stole the third relic," Tiffy explained.
"We'll need ships and disguises," Nick added, flipping through the puzzle book. "It says the blue gem is in the Hina deep sea—about seven months by sea."
"Underwater, then?" Elizabeth asked.
"Most likely. One of us will have to dive for the gem and the lost pages," Nick said.
"Ugh, that sounds depressing!" Jasmine complained.
"We can't give up, Jasmine!" John encouraged.
"How do we mask ourselves? The government's hostility is worse than ever!" Lama worried.
"We will succeed. Grace and faith," Tiffy said confidently.
"We must save those held captive!" Nick added.
"I'll call my dad for support and funds," Tiffy said, standing up to make the call.
The rest discussed their disguises while she was on the phone.
"Guys, while Tiffy arranges support, how will we mask ourselves now that the government's on our tail?" Nick asked.
"They check documents at the port! We need better ideas," Jasmine noted.
"What if Tiffy's dad forges documents and posts them nearby?" Lama suggested.
"Good idea. Nick will edit the docs, send them to Tiffy's dad, who prints and posts them. We'll also need new hairstyles to avoid recognition," Nick planned.
"What about facial changes?" Nick asked Mikal.
Mikal hesitated. "Plastic surgery's painful—lifts for lips, nose, eyes. But I'll try. We can also braid or dreadlock our hair to look unrecognizable."
"Ladies, you handle dreadlocks. Mikal's team does surgeries. I'll handle the documents," Nick assigned.
---
They coordinated all week.
The following week, ready for sea voyage at Mansoon port, Tiffy said,
"My dad posted the forged documents here. We're camouflaged in dreadlocks, have the fares and extra cash for first-class seats. The voyage is about seven months. He assured me of safety and special permissions."
"But it's risky," Tiffy added.
"Could Elizabeth hypnotize the inspectors so they skip phone verification, to avoid arrests?" Nick suggested.
"I can! I'm getting good at defensive spells. I even do them before sleep to block monitoring spirits!" Elizabeth said.
"Thanks, Elizabeth!" Nick smiled.
"Dragons can take us to Mansoon forests near the navy town; then we cycle to the port," Tiffy proposed.
They rode dragons, then said goodbye to Luca and his team, who stayed behind.
At Mansoon, Tiffy picked up the forged documents from the post office.
"Wow, I look so much better with dreadlocks!" she joked.
The others marveled at their new IDs.
Tiffy scrutinized the special pass.
"My dad really supports us. Elizabeth, we'll need your hypnosis at the ship port inspectors. No refusals. We must finish this mission!"
"Okay! Let's shop for diving gears," Tiffy said.
The team bought diving equipments and queued at the harbor, ready to board at night.