Kai didn't expect the blow from Chase's spear to be trained at him. He had a fleeting moment of panicky thoughts that told him that Chase was attacking The Dark Lord, not him. That Chase was angry at Brethren and was about to go show him that Chase couldn't be so easily killed. That Chase was going to throw the spear and impale The Dark Lord or Moon. That Chase wasn't going to hurt Kai.

But with another cry of rage, Chase shoved the sharp tip of the Dark spear into the muscle right above Kai's left hip, forcing a scream of agony of the teenager. White hot pain traveled up his torso and momentarily blinded him. His stomach clenched in pain as he stumbled back a few steps. 

"Kai!" Falte's voice cried from behind him, full of terror and confusion and shock. Kai heard Falte yell again, but didn't make out the words. Someone shouted Falte's name, and though Kai expected to see his father rush to him, Falte didn't appear. 

Chase wrenched the spear sideways, dragging the tip deeper into Kai's flesh. Kai shrieked again, fighting for air afterwards. He nearly collapsed backward, but Chase yanked the spear out of him harshly, sending him doubling forward onto his hands and knees, only to collapse onto his side with another yell of pain. 

Then Amy was there, grabbing Chase's wrists and pushing him down onto his back. She plunked down on top of his stomach, gasping and staring at him in shock and confusion and betrayal. The spear vanished underneath Chase's fingertips, turning into a small dagger that he promptly drove into Amy's thigh. 

Kai's vision blurred as Amy let out a howl of pain, her left hand leaving his wrist and flying toward her injured leg. Kai took a long, shuddering breath and shoved his arms under him, forcing himself to sit up. He held back another shriek and stood sharply, trying to ignore the flaring pain that shot straight up his leg and torso. 

"What's wrong with him?!" Gabriel yelled, limp-running toward Chase, who was surging to his feet and holding Amy by the forearm, dragging her roughly across the grass. She was struggling to cover the bleeding wound in her thigh, to stanch the bleeding, but she could hardly reach it through her pain. 

Kai struggled to move forward, to protect Amy from Chase, though his mind was telling him that he didn't need to, Chase was his friend. But the sensible side of his brain won, and he forced himself to take a step forward - a step that sent him to his knees again.

"Stay down, you dolt!" Linda's voice shouted at him, and he looked up to see her rushing toward Chase but throwing a warning look at Kai. "You're too hurt to do anything right now!" She stopped in front of Chase, and suddenly his hand flew open, dropping Amy onto the grass beside him. 

"Gabriel, hold him," Linda instructed her friend firmly, gesturing to Chase's arms. "I'm going to try to fix him." She reached for Chase's head as Gabriel grabbed Chase's right arm, limped around him, and grabbed the other, pinning his hands behind his back. 

"'Fix him'?" Gabriel cried in confusion as Chase struggled madly. "What the heck do you mean?" 

Linda frowned and locked Chase's head in her hands. "There's something wrong with his brain. It's not working right. It's..." Her eyes widened as she stared into his eyes, then she stumbled back with a cry of pain, her hands leaving Chase's head. 

Gabriel was there immediately, catching her swiftly before she fell. "Linda?" he said nervously as he eased her to the ground, letting her sit down. She touched the bridge of her nose with a wince. 

Kai struggled to his feet again, taking two agonizing steps this time before collapsing forward again. He gasped in pain and felt his leg beginning to go numb, but he ignored it and shoved himself up again. His shirt was heavy with blood and his mind foggy with pain, but he would get to his friends. He would help them. 

Suddenly, Falte was there by his side, wrapping his arm around Kai's torso to steady him. Kai had expected his father to force him to stay down like Linda had, but Falte merely aided him in walking toward Linda. 

"Linda, what happened?" Gabriel asked anxiously, shaking her shoulders gently. 

Linda groaned and dropped her hand away from her head, opening her eyes with a grimace. "He's... His mind... It's not even... right anymore. He's... He's gone mad."

Almost as if this was his cue, Chase bellowed another yell of outrage and lunged straight for Gabriel's back, another Dark dagger in hand. Linda shot to her feet, shoving Gabriel aside with all her force. As Gabriel fell, she threw her hand out in front of her, and Chase stopped in his tracks, frozen in the middle of a yell. 

"Telekinesis works on human beings?" Falte asked curiously, easing the tension just a small bit as he forced Kai to walk backward, away from Chase and Linda. 

"Only for a little bit," Linda said in a strained voice. "Get further back before I lose my hold on him." 

Falte skittered backward, towing Kai with him as gently as he could. 

Kai heard a grunt to his right and turned to search for who had made the sound. He found that The Dark Lord had forced Shintaro off and gotten to his feet, smiling deviously at the scene before him. Moon was standing next to him, her hip cocked, her arms crossed, and her teeth showing in her smile. 

Shintaro leaped to his feet and charged toward his father, wrapping his arms around The Dark Lord's throat dangerously. "How. Dare. You," he seethed in his father's ear. 

"Hey, I didn't know that would happen," Brethren said, a bit hoarsely, as he shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't think to search the boy for any curses that Thorn put on him. Though I'm not in charge of his actions, I wouldn't have told Thorn to do such a thing. But it turned out so dramatic; therefore, I will let it slide." 

"You're dead," Shintaro hissed dangerously, tightening his arms around Brethren's neck angrily. 

The Dark Lord made a cheerful "tch" sound. "You've already tried that, Shintaro. You failed, remember? What makes you think you'll succeed this time?" 

"Because this time," Shintaro said lowly, "I won't hesitate." 

Kai cringed in pain as Falte slowly let him sit down on the grass, the only thing he had the strength left to do. He watched as Shintaro braced himself to attack his father with all his force, but Brethren grabbed his son's arms and leaned forward abruptly, throwing Shintaro onto his back in front of him.

Kai's eyes caught on Abby, who was hanging back toward the house with Zeke standing slightly in front of her. He looked ready enough to protect her from anything that came their way, but Kai wasn't assured. With a panicked gasp, he scrambled onto his feet again. 

Falte stood up too, but once he saw where Kai was heading, he hurried around his son to help him again. "Please don't go doing anything stupid," he said softly to Kai. "You're already hurt, and I don't want to lose you... again." 

Kai didn't reply. After all, he couldn't promise that. He would do anything to save his friends, even if it meant laying down his life. 

If Linda heard his thought, she didn't say anything. She was probably too busy keeping Chase from mindlessly attacking all of them. 

Kai stumbled forward into Abby's arms, and Falte untangled himself from in between them. Abby wrapped her arms around him tightly, making Kai wince. 

"Sorry!" she said quickly, leaning back but keeping her arms on his shoulders. She looked down at his wound, gritted her teeth, and looked away again. "That looks awful..." 

"It feels awful," Kai said with a small attempt at a laugh. It came out choked and breathless, sending pain through his hip. Grimacing, he decided he didn't want to do that again. He turned slightly to watch the scene helplessly.

Linda was still standing in front of Chase, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Chase's mouth was still open in a silent cry of insanity, his arm raised to throw the dagger where Gabriel had previously been. Gabriel was kneeling beside Amy, tying a strip of his shirt around her leg as she clenched her hands in pain. Shintaro was struggling to his feet, but he wasn't trying to fight Brethren anymore. He was fixated on his son, worry in his yellow eyes. Brethren and Moon were hanging back, as if enjoying the moment.

Which they probably were, Kai decided. 

Suddenly, Linda stumbled with a cry of desperation, and Chase, released from his bondage, tripped and crumbled forward, looking startled. The dagger disappeared from his hand as he caught himself on his hands and knees. 

Kai blinked, and then suddenly Shintaro was in front of him, pressing his hands onto his wound painfully. Kai bit back a cry of pain and fright, almost stumbling back if Abby hadn't had a hold on his arm. 

"We're going to need you," Shintaro said softly to Kai. He lowered his gaze to Kai's hip, and Kai felt a surge of Light Magic sail through his body, sending odd tingles through his limbs. Since he was a Dark, it wasn't the greatest feeling, but when Shintaro pulled away, Kai felt renewed. 

He looked down at his hip, peering through the tripped hole in his shirt, and found only a scar in place of the wound. He looked back up and nodded gratefully at Shintaro, who nodded back and gestured with his head to follow him. 

But before either of them could start forward, Chase was right in front of them, seizing Abby by the throat and slamming her to the ground. She shrieked in fright and pain, then her voice died out as Chase squeezed her neck dangerously.

"Chase, NO!" Shintaro and Kai screamed at the same time, panic rising in both of them. 

Kai couldn't lose Abby.

Shintaro couldn't lose his daughter. 

They wouldn't. 

Kai couldn't move, his body frozen solid as he watched Abby's face flush as she struggled for air. She was hoarsely whispering Chase's name, scrabbling at his forearms in attempt to loosen his grip. 

Chase raised his left hand, shadows enveloping it and turning his fingers into deadly claws that curled dangerously. He sucked in a long breath and brought his hand down swiftly.

Kai heard Abby scream, he heard himself scream, and he heard Shintaro yell "NO!" with anguish and torment and rage in his voice. Kai was frozen solid, unable to move as time seemed to slow down. Chase's hand was merely inches from Abby's chest and -

A blinding light flashed brightly directly in front of Kai, making him shut his eyes tightly with another yell. He stumbled backward with his hands over his eyes, feeling a pounding headache force its way into his temples. 

When he regained his bearings, he heard two sets of cackling laughter to his right, Moon's and Brethren's. 

When he opened his eyes, Shintaro was on his knees in front of Abby, his hands clutching his shirt and tears streaming down his face. 

When he looked at Abby, he found that she was sitting up and staring with wide, tearful eyes, her hands limp at her sides. 

When he spotted Chase, he inhaled sharply and clamped his hand over his mouth. 

His friend was lying on his back, his limbs sprawled around him. His head was tipped back, his mouth hanging open slightly, his blood-soaked chest unmoving. His red eyes stared up into the sky, looking endlessly up into the blue. 

Chase was dead.

~

I tricked you with Falte.

I tricked you again with the chapter before. 

And now this is the truth.

Chase is dead.

He is the character that was going to die in this book. (At least one character is always going to die in my books. *sobs silently*)

Our beloved, mischievous, amazing Chase. 

Is dead. 

He was such an amazing character. 

I found out throughout this book how much I loved his character and writing about him.

I'm going to miss him so much.

But I made my choice.

This is the character that is lost. 

And he had to lose to his own father.

I'm sorry, Chase and Shintaro. 

May my baby Chase Michael Carter rest in peace, along with Luke. 

*rests hands over heart and proceeds to die*

Well, I hope you all... 

No, I can't really say that. 

You probably didn't enjoy this chapter so much. 

Thanks for reading. 

#weloveyouchase

P3ac3!~~~