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Andarien stared at Miyuki. "How would I know?" he asked her. "I'm just a little kid!"

"I'm sure she was just wondering out loud," Aranxia said quickly, anxious to keep another argument from starting. She had heard about what had happened in the town, and she was determined to keep the two siblings from starting something like that again.

Andarien looked down at the bones again. "Well how would you even tell if they're from way back then or not?" he mumbled.

"Sulfur?" Andarien repeated, distracted yet again.

He poked at the bones. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion, and then he picked up one of the bigger ones, though it was no longer than his hand and as thin as his fingers. "It's ... warm ..."

Aranxia caught her breath. Somehow that didn't seem to bode well ...

"Maybe we should get out of here," she suggested nervously.

"Is anything else warm?" Andarien asked, not really understanding what the big deal was about a volcano. "I mean, if the bones are warm then something else must be too or else it's not from just being warm in here ..."

It didn't feel warm in there at all, really, aside from the lack of wind.

Aranxia hesitated, then put one hand against the stone wall. "No," she murmured, "it's cold ..."

Andarien put one hand on the crystal beside him. "Huh ... kinda warm ... ish ..."

Andarien shrugged. "I dunno. I think the shiny stuff at the start of the cave was just crystals that aren't growing very well because the wind blows it around too much."

"Maybe we should have taken Shiro or Kaito with us," Aranxia murmured. "They would probably be able to tell us about all these things."

Andarien hesitated and then looked up at Aranxia.

She was looking at Miyuki. "Do you feel safe in continuing deeper?" she asked in reply.

She knew she was very nervous - it was her first time traveling or exploring anything. Miyuki was a seasoned traveler, and if Miyuki felt safe, then she would trust her friend's judgment.

Aranxia nodded, though she still felt uneasy.

Andarien knelt down and put one hand on Eon's head. "Hey, stick with Aranxia in here, okay?" he told him softly. "She doesn't have someone to protect her and I don't think Ponydash will protect her as well as he'll protect me."

Eon looked up at Andarien and yipped softly in agreement. Andarien patted him on the head once, and the Pokemon trotted over to Aranxia's side.

Aranxia smiled, feeling slightly better, and turned to Miyuki. "All right, I'm ready," she murmured.

They progressed further into the cave and suddenly the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern. As Ponydash stepped forward into it, the flames of its body reflected on a myriad of crystals that seemed to cover just about every surface - except for the floor. The reflections were bright enough that the cavern was lit up almost as if they were once again outside.

"Shiny," Andarien remarked, looking around. He put one hand on a piece of crystal that was taller than him, and bigger around than him, looking at it thoughtfully.

"It's beautiful," Aranxia breathed, looking around in awe.

"I wonder why that is," Aranxia mused, drifting further into the cavern. "It was growing all over the floor in the rest of the cave."

Andarien called Ponydash over to him. "Kick off some of this crystal, okay?" he requested. "I want to take it back and ask Shiro about it."

Ponydash reared up and struck out at the crystal with his forehooves, and shards went flying in every which direction. With a second blow, a large chunk of the crystal broke off. Andarien caught it before it hit the floor and cradled it gently in his hands.

"Hey Mi, can I put this in your bag?" he called out, looking around for his sister again.