Pheo hammered down a nail to attach a plank to the stairs, working with a bunch of others to help the stairs.
"When do you think we'll be done?" Jen asked Pheo, they both looked up to see the countless steps they have yet to repair.
"When the sun fails to shine" He said as he kept working.
Mark went up to the two, "How long does this staircase even go for?"
Neither of them replied, sighing on how they probably aren't even halfway done.
"Let's just think happy thoughts instead, huh?" Jim joined in, patting Mark's back.
"It was all worth it" Tom said as he joined in, "Seeing the bastard's face as we ruined his fun"
The group laughed as they remembered his angered face. Pheo recalled when he was told to fix the stairs.
Parquatz approached him about the sorry state the stairs were in, forcing Pheo to fix the entire staircase by himself.
Seeing this, Jim and the others decided to voluntarily join Pheo in fixing the stairs, ruining his mood.
Pheo smirked when he remembered how Parquatz stormed off angrily after they helped him.
He was glad that there he joined a group that could back him up when things get rough.
"This isn't a complete waste of time though" Pheo told the others, "When we're finally getting out of here, it'll be easier to escape"
They all had their hopes up, today would be the day they would initiate the plan.
"You're all ready right?" Jim asked them, "We all know exactly what we're doing?"
They all had a look of determination on their faces, for each one a different reason.
"We're all getting out of this alive" Jim held both Pheo and Jen closer.
"Of course we are" Jen smiled, "And were going to make sure they'll pay for what they did to us"
Although Pheo didn't have the same sediment as the others, he had the same desire to escape.
"Let's make sure to get out with Ryu"
Tom jumped and hugged the three of them from behind, "As long as I get to sock Parquatz' face, I'll be the happiest kid alive"
They all laughed at the joke. Mark went up and clapped his hands, causing everyone to stop.
"Hey Jug, got anything for us to do?" Mark asked as Jug walked up to the rest of them.
"Nothing really" He responded, "I've been learning a lot about how the system works here by being near Parquatz"
He patted Mark, making him lift him up to the height of the others.
"I think that in a few months, we'll be able to get out of this place for good" He told everyone enthusiastically.
"Sounds great" Tim smiled, "We can finally get out of this hell-hole"
"Better finish whatever needs to be done before then, wouldn't want to have any lingering regrets" Jen clarified to everyone.
Tom clicked his tongue, "What do we even need to finish here?"
"If anything, I just want these few months to pass as fast as possible"
Jug then looked at Pheo, "You know, even though we may not be so similar, that offer still stands"
He extended his hand to Pheo once again. Pheo shook his head however, "You know that I can't leave"
Jug sighed, he pulled his hand back and patted Mark to put him down.
"Well I just wanted to let you guys know about the good news, I can only stay here for a short while"
He waved his hand goodbye before going away.
They all waited before he went out of view, then burst out laughing.
"Did he really say we were going to wait for months?" Tim asked sarcastically.
"Yeah" Tom said, "Then when the day finally comes something goes wrong and he cancels the entire thing!" He joked to the group.
"Wait till he realizes that today's the day we're breaking out of this hole" Jen thought of his look when he sees them all escape.
"Too bad we'll be out before then" Mark said, "This is something we have to do fast after all"
Pheo knew that as soon as the plan started, they would need to make close to no mistakes.
Especially if he wanted to get out with Ryu.
"Alright" Pheo clapped his hands to snap him out of thinking, "Let's finish as much as we can on this"
They began to get back to work on filling in the holes with wooden planks. They repaired a decent portion of the staircase before they saw Warhound walk up to them.
"Are you guys working hard or are you hardly working?" He asked the group with a smile on his face, but everyone went silent.
"Working hard?" Pheo said as a question more than an answer.
"C'mon guys, at least fake a laugh" Warhound felt awkward from how they responded.
"That was a joke?" Tim said, exhausted from the work.
Warhound took a closer look to see that they all were exhausted, way more than the kids working at the mines.