Shintaro ripped his arm away from Kai, standing at his full height. He snapped the chains with a flash of Light Magic, which Kai suspected he couldn't have done when Moon was holding them. Shintaro moved toward Moon, who was gasping on the grass with Zeke pinning her down. Chase had just gotten to his feet, gritting his teeth and rubbing the spot on his back that Moon had crushed. 

"Are you alright?" Shintaro asked his son gently, touching his shoulder carefully. Chase nodded his head but didn't speak. "What were you thinking, Chase? You can't beat her, let alone what's coming." 

Chase looked just as shocked at his father as Kai had been. He lifted his head and their yellow eyes met, Shintaro's disapproving and worried and concerned, and Chase's confused and bewildered and moving towards angry. 

"You should- listen to him," Moon spat between harsh gasps, directing her gaze up at them, though she had to tip her head backwards against the grass to do so. "He's a smart man, boy. He knows when- to give in to a greater power." 

Their voices drained away, the roaring in Kai's ears reaching a deafening state. He sat on his knees, staring at the grass below his hands, feeling so, so alone. He choked on his breath, not knowing whether to gasp it in or exhale. 

If Shintaro wasn't going to fight with them, what were they going to do? 

Who would listen to Shintaro? 

Who would abandon their mission? 

Who would give up on the world like this? 

Who else from their group? 

Would Kai be the only one fighting? 

Why? 

Why? 

What was wrong with Shintaro? 

Why did he give into despair, just like he'd taught Kai not to do? 

Why? 

Falte rested his hands on Kai's shoulders gently, but Kai barely felt it. His whole body was numb, and his mind wouldn't move past his questions. He didn't look up at his father, Shintaro, Chase, Zeke, or Moon. He didn't look toward the house to see if his friends had destroyed the key yet. 

He didn't move. 

Stand up, his head screamed at him. Do something. Destroy the key. Disable Moon. DO SOMETHING. 

Sudden and fiery anger filling him, Kai stood sharply, throwing his father's hands off him. He didn't look behind him, only focused on the group in front of him. He marched up to them and clenched his hands, waiting until they all looked at him. 

Kai lifted his hand and pointed at Shintaro fiercely, accusingly. His anger burned in his stomach and chest, leading him on. "You, Shintaro, are in the worst wrong you can be in right now. I can't believe you of all people would give up so easily. You are so wrong to be willing to give up the whole world, the lives of our friends, your family, and even people you don't know. You're risking your family, Shintaro. FAMILY! If you give up and let Moon win, The Dark Lord goes free, and it would be party your fault. You're just sitting in your despair, wallowing in your own self-pity because you think you can't do this. You think you're going to fail, but you have to try to find out. You can't sit around and do nothing while this world crumbles. You're an idiot if you think that." 

He turned toward Chase and dropped his hand. "If you, Chase, even think about listening to your father and giving up, I swear, I will be infuriated with you for a really long time. We are going to fight back against Moon and The Dark Lord, no matter what. If you give up just because Shintaro says that it's no use, you follow people too blindly. That's like a sheep - always following one another, not knowing where you're going." 

He stepped up to Moon, narrowly avoiding (almost purposely) stepping on her hair. "Moon, you have no idea how angry I am with you right now. I bet you're about to say that you don't care, but I don't care about that either. If I wasn't against killing, you would be dead by now. If you think you can get away with ruining the lives of literally every single person on this planet just to obey your silly master, you're an imbecile and you don't know what we can do. We will find a way to stop you, Moon, whether you like it or not. You're going to regret ever trying to raise The Dark Lord from his prison." 

Chest heaving in anger, Kai shut his mouth and clenched his hands at his sides. His ears were ringing in anger, which he didn't realize was possible, and he was shaking fiercely. His teeth were gritted so hard he thought they would grind. He couldn't believe that Shintaro was giving up so easily!

Moon's silver eyes stared blankly up at him, then she let out a cackling laugh that made Kai want to kick her in the nose. She kept laughing until she nearly choked to breathe again. "Goodness, boy, you're something when you're angry. So fiery, so determined. It's adorable, really. But your attempts are going to be futile, Kai. He will rise, and there is nothing you will be able to do." 

Kai let out a frustrated groan, spinning on his heel and marching toward the house. He could feel Shintaro and Chase's eyes on the back of his head as he walked away hurriedly. His hands were still clenched at his sides, but the door flung open before he could lift his hand. 

He knew he'd done that by the tingling feeling of Dark Magic swirling in his stomach, but he didn't dwell on it. His friends weren't by the doorway anymore - they were standing in the living room, staring at him as he trudged toward them. The only one he couldn't see was Linda. 

"Where is it?" he asked sharply, assessing each of his friends. "Did you destroy it yet?" 

Abby approached him cautiously, as if she was afraid he would lash out at her. "Calm down, Kai. What happened out there? Are you okay? Is... Is Dad out there?" 

Kai took a deep breath through his nose, forcing himself not to snap at his girlfriend. Why hadn't she answered his question? Destroying that thing was the most important thing right now. Shintaro could wait, because Kai knew he was fine. If he were in a different situation, Kai would put Shintaro first. 

"Yes, Shintaro's out there," Kai answered through his teeth. "He's fine. Did you destroy it?" He met her eyes, and she drew back a little, wringing her fingers together nervously. 

"Um..." she mumbled instead of answering. 

"Oh for goodness' sake," Kai said under his breath, immediately regretting it afterwards. Abby gave him an ashamed and apologetic look, then dropped her eyes to her feet. "Gabriel. Did you destroy it yet?"

Kai realized too late that Linda was lying on her back on the couch, her eyes closed, her skin ghostly pale, sweat glistening on her forehead, and her hand clutched around the key tightly. The gem was surrounded by a cloud of Dark Magic, swirling back and forth around her hand. Her face was contorted in a pained frown. 

"NO," Gabriel snapped, seemingly just as angry as Kai was, but underneath it was panic. "She tried, but something happened and she collapsed and I don't know what to do or how long she's going to be unconscious or how to wake her up or what happened and-" 

"Both of you, calm down!" Abby cried, tossing her hands at her sides. "Being angry and freaking out isn't going to solve anything! Kai, get my father in here. He probably knows how to fix this. Gabriel, take some deep breaths." 

"No need," Linda's voice said, but Kai knew instantly something was wrong. Her voice was still her's, but it almost seemed like it was layered by another voice, a deeper voice, hidden behind her vocal chords. 

They all turned to her, eyes wide with relief and suspicion. 

She was sitting up on the couch, the key still clutched in her right hand. She was still pale and sweating, but her voice wasn't shaky or raspy at all, as if nothing had happened. She looked over all three of them and broke into a grin.

A grin that was nothing like the Linda they knew. 

"Really?" Linda asked with a dry tone, but the smile didn't leave her face. It spread too wide, bunching up her cheeks in a way that made Kai shiver. "These are the 'enemies' I'm supposed to be worrying so much about? You are all children." 

"Pardon me," Gabriel said sharply. "I'm legally an adult. You know that, Linda. What's going on with you?" 

Kai flinched at his naivety. 

Linda threw back her head and laughed, a cackling, chilling laugh that sounded nothing like Linda's. "How adorable, Gabriel. You really don't know who I am? Has no one warned you of my coming? I cannot bring myself to your realm with this girl's shell, but while I have possession of her body, I might as well have some fun." Linda stood up and looked up at them, a frown suddenly creasing her face. "Okay, I'm not used to being this short. Usually I tower over everyone." 

Abby covered her mouth with a sharp clap, her eyes widening in realization. "No. You can't be... You're him." 

"That's right, dear girl," The Dark Lord said through Linda's mouth.

~

NEXT CHAPTER!!

ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!

KINDA-

I'm so mean, I know XDXD

Thanks again for reading!! OML, I'm so freaking close to done with this book

Y'all are going to hate the ending

MWAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHHAHHAHAHA

P3ac3!!~~~