The second the door closed, Shintaro was released and back on his feet. He lunged for the door, yelling in anger, but the door, even when he slammed into it, remained shut. He yelled again and hit his shoulder harshly onto it, but again had no prevail.

"Dad," Chase said, but Shintaro completely ignored him and tried to kick the door down. 

"Dad," Abby joined in. "Dad, it's not going to -" 

"Don't tell me what this door is not going to do!!" Shintaro shouted. "Tell me that it's going to open!!!" He smashed himself into the door again, but it didn't move and he stumbled back. He didn't try to open it again, however, just stood there with his shoulders sagging. "OPEN THIS DOOR!" he suddenly bellowed, making Kai jump so harshly that he almost fell over. "GOSH DANG IT, OPEN THIS DOOR!!!!"

Chase grunted and pushed himself to his feet. He leaned on the wall for a moment, blinking, then made his way toward his father. "Dad," he said softly, touching Shintaro's shoulder. "That's not going to help you. We just have to wait. There's nothing else we can do."

"Yes, there is!" Shintaro snapped back. "I am going to DO SOMETHING! I AM NOT GOING TO LET LUKE GO THROUGH MORE THAN HE ALREADY HAS! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE HE CAN HANDLE!!!" 

"I don't -" Chase started, but Shintaro whipped around, gently but fiercely guided him back to where Chase was once sitting, and pushed his son back down.

"You don't have a part in this," he said, his voice softer. "Luke is my friend, and I'm going to do something." He turned back to the door and began to study it, as though if he knew everything about it, it would suddenly break down.

Kai shrank into himself and shivered. Even though Shintaro was just a naturally grumpy person, Kai had never seen him this mad. He was extremely loud when he was angry, too - a headache was starting to pound in Kai's ears.

Abby shook her head with a sigh. "He'll be okay, Dad." 

"I don't know how sure I am about that," Shintaro snapped back. "Luke has never been the strongest person. I'm not insulting him, but sometimes he can't handle things on his own." He had put his hands on the door and was trying to blast it with Light magic, but Kai noticed that the Darks had put up some Dark shield. 

Quickly, Kai glanced to Chase. He was tense and staring at his father. 

"Stop," Kai murmured, but Shintaro didn't hear him. He kept trying to break the door down. "Stop!" This time Shintaro heard him, because he whipped around with an angry look.

"You too?" he shouted. "What do you all have against Luke?!"

"We have NOTHING against him, Shintaro!" Linda said, finally standing up. She strode directly in front of Shintaro, stopped, and poked his chest with her index finger. "We're just accepting the fact that we cannot do anything right now! Luke himself said that Moon was extremely dangerous; so if we were to try, one of us would probably end up hurt or killed! I'm sure Luke will be okay, and even if he isn't, I can help him! I haven't told you yet, but I'm a telepath! I can fix him if I have to! And if I have to, I will! What's the point in trying to rescue Luke if someone else gets hurt or dies? Is there someone you'd rather be out there than Luke right now?" 

"Yes," Shintaro said shortly, bluntly, too readily. "Me." (Kai noted that he looked only mildly surprised when she told him what she was, while the others gaped at her in awe.)

Linda removed her index finger from his chest, brought her hand up, and smacked him hard in the face. He hardly flinched, however, just stared down at her in confusion and anger. 

"Don't you dare go saying stuff like that, DUMMY!!" Linda yelled so loud that even Gabriel blanched. "No one else wants you out there! I'm sure Luke is glad that he's the one that got picked, instead of you or anyone else! Which is stupid, might I add! I understand that you guys are trying to be selfless, and that's not a bad thing, but seriously! If you just want to sacrifice yourself so someone else can get hurt too, you're AN IDIOT!!"

Shintaro continued to stare at her, but his expression changed to something unreadable. 

"Now, what Kai was trying to say before I interrupted to give you that lecture," Linda said just as firmly, "is that there is Dark magic on that door. Yes, I know you already know that, and you're trying to break through it; but each time you do, the Darks out there have to use more of their magic, which is HURTING Chase." She pointed to her left, where Chase was waving his hands to tell them that he was alright.

Shintaro glanced over at his son and sighed, finally lowering his gaze. "Right. You're right. I'm... sorry. I just don't want Moon to do what she did to Kai." 

"Like I said," Linda said, her voice much softer now, "I can fix him if his brain is messed up." She sighed and looked back up at Shintaro. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say? None of us have anything against Luke. We're all shocked and upset that he's out there, too; but I don't think any of us should go on a suicide mission today. We already tried when Kai was out there, and we didn't get anywhere. I don't think we should try this time. If we do get out, we're either going to get hurt, or we're going to get shoved back in here immediately. I hope you understand that we're just trying to keep you safe." She smiled softly at him and turned back around to sit down again. Before she did, she paused and said over her shoulder: "And don't worry. Luke will be okay." 

~

It had been almost two hours, and Moon had not returned with Luke. Shintaro was pacing around the room, Chase had fallen asleep, Abby was watching her father with a sad look, Linda was leaning against one of the walls with her eyes closed, Gabriel was zoned out, lost in his thoughts, and Kai was still curled up in the corner. He was staring eagerly at the door along with Shintaro every time he passed it.

Finally, after another fifteen minutes of silence, the door began to open. Shintaro froze only for a moment, then lunged for the opening door. However, Moon's hand appeared first, and Shintaro froze again. Kai wanted to jump up and run for Moon, to get to Luke and then get as far away from her as he could again, but he couldn't move either. He noticed that none of his friends could either.

Moon peeked around the corner, slouching with a frown. She pushed the door open the rest of the way with her foot, and Kai was shocked to see Luke flopped over her back, unconscious. He was pale and twitching constantly, but thankfully looked unharmed. Moon walked into the room, stepped over Abby's legs, and let Luke slide off her. She caught him, not gently but not harshly, laid him down, and leaned back up.

"For such a skinny man, he's surprisingly heavy," she scoffed at Shintaro before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. 

Or maybe you're just a weak person, Kai thought snottily as everyone broke free of Moon's control and rushed over to Luke's side. Shintaro was there first, putting his hands on Luke's shoulders and shaking him. Linda was right behind him, and she got down on her knees again, touching his forehead. Abby scrambled over and peeked out from behind her father. Chase slowly made his way over and knelt by Luke's head.

Kai was the last to join. He hesitantly scooted forward, leaning over Luke's legs. A million questions ran through his head. Was Luke alright? What was something he was "traumatized" by? Was it Thorn using him to hurt and kill all those people? Kai had no doubt that it was one of the things that Luke struggled with. Now that he was thinking about it, he wanted to know what happened to Luke and his family in the woods. 

Shintaro was still shaking his friend, while Linda was trying to get him to stop. 

"Shintaro, I can't concentrate when you're doing that!" she said urgently. "Please stop, otherwise I don't know how much I can do! Please just let me help him, for heaven's sake!"

Once Linda had said "I don't know much I can do", Shintaro pulled back - but didn't take his eyes off his friend. Linda leaned forward and touched Luke's forehead again, closing her eyes in concentration. 

Please be alright, Kai thought, and he was sure that everyone else was thinking the same thing. 

~

Guys, I'm SO EXCITED. TWO OR THREE MORE CHAPTERS UNTIL THAT SPOILER COMES UP..... AJKLHAKJGAHKGJHKJJKAAHAAAH!

IM DYING OVER HERE. *chokes* I can't believe I'm doing this but I GOTTA!!

Please, tell me! What do you think is going to happen?!?!?! 

I'm leaving it at this! 

Peace, and until the next chapter! ~~~