Not three hours after the party had gotten moving again, following a very stiff and annoyed Amy, disaster decided to have a strike at them. The forest grew immensely thick, forcing Amy to to break through the dense foliage while the others followed her, which only made the leader more angry. She grumbled and cursed under her breath with each swipe at the branches and thorns, picking through the forest without much care. 

Not long after the forest cleared up again, Linda accidentally stepped into a small ditch in the ground. If she hadn't been wearing the heavy backpack, she probably would have regained her balance quickly without doing too much damage to her foot. But since the backpack was probably half as heavy as she was, she was thrown sideways. She landed harshly on her right side with a grunt of pain, her backpack slamming her into her ground with more force than a normal fall. 

Amy heard and abruptly stopped, turning around toward the noise to see what had happened. When her eyes caught on Linda, they softened from their annoyed hardness into pitying concern for her friend. 

Shintaro, Rachel, and Gabriel were immediately there beside Linda, kneeling down to check on her. She was still lying on her side, her eyes closed and her face scrunched up in pain. Shintaro reached forward and touched her shoulder gently, making her open her eyes and look at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly at the same time as Gabriel, who said it a bit more frantically. 

"I'll be fine," Linda said through her teeth, shoving her arms under her and sitting up. She leaned back and stretched her right leg out in front of her, rolling her foot back and forth with a hiss through her teeth. 

Shintaro began to reach for it to heal it, but Linda tucked her leg close to herself again. 

"It's not that bad, Shintaro," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I can still walk on it. You don't have to waste your magic on it." She made a move to stand, but Gabriel caught her arm and pulled her back down.

"Just sit for a minute," he instructed her gently, and she glanced at him skeptically before giving in with a sigh. 

"First off," Shintaro said with a scowl, "I would not be wasting my magic on you. Second, you shouldn't walk with a twisted ankle. It will only make it worse." He reached for her ankle again, but Linda hoisted herself halfway up, folded her leg under her, and sat down again with a small wince. 

"Why are you sitting on it?" Amy asked sharply from her spot ahead of all of them. "Dimwit. Let him heal it so we can get moving again. Because I'm not going anywhere until you can walk properly." She put her hands on her hips and leaned against the trunk of the nearest tree.

"I don't need healing," Linda said right back. "I can walk just fine even with an injured foot. Besides, it's not that bad. I just rolled it. The pain's already going away." She shifted her position to a squat, putting her weight on both feet to prove it. 

After she'd done this, she hoisted the backpack farther up onto her shoulders and stood up without so much as a wince. If she was still in pain, she was hiding it wonderfully. "Come on," she said impatiently. "We can get moving again. I'm fine." 

Amy squinted skeptically at her friend, pursing her lips; but after a few moments, turned around and began walking again. Gabriel, Rachel, and Shintaro got to their feet and followed the others as they started walking behind Amy again. 

Forty-five minutes later, things abruptly switched from okay to absolutely horrible when six Darks burst out of the woods, bearing down on the group with maniacal laughter. 

Amy and Shintaro both flew into action, dropping the extra weight of their backpacks onto the forest floor behind them. 

Amy's hands skipped to her belt, where her knives and other tools were waiting to be used. 

Shintaro sparked up Light Magic in his palms, summoning a sword made from magic. 

Amy chucked four of her knives in a flash to the three nearest Darks; but she only caught one in the shoulder, sending him sprawling backward with a cry of pain. 

Shintaro spotted Nanami being shielded by Abby and Rachel, and although Abby could fight back if she needed to, their protection wouldn't keep Nanami safe enough. Shintaro lunged toward a Dark who was circling in on the three girls, slamming the flat of his sword into the man's legs and knocking him down. 

Amy let out a yell of anger as two Darks narrowed in on Linda, who was cornered by a tree. Shintaro hesitated between Linda and Nanami for a moment, panic sailing through his mind.

Zeke was fighting back bravely, standing protectively in front of Ruby, throwing commands at her over his shoulder. Moon, for once, looked paralyzed, like she wasn't sure which group she was to fight for. 

Shintaro faced the three girls he'd been running for, and with a swipe of his hand, a Light shield formed around them, encasing them in its safety. Grateful that they were safe, Shintaro whipped around toward the Dark who was still lurking near Linda. 

With a yell, he charged forward, raising his sword above his head. He willed the sword to slice through the man but only cause magical damage, sending pain throughout the Dark's body. Thankfully, through his panic, it worked; and the man toppled sideways with a prolonged yell of agony. 

Amy was sitting on the shoulders of the only female Dark, her legs wrapped around the woman's neck dangerously. As the woman tumbled about, trying to throw Amy off, the nimbler, younger woman grabbed a branch that was over her head, slid sideways on the woman's shoulders, locked her ankles together, and put all her force into her legs. She knocked the woman down, choking her with her legs before letting go and swinging down from the tree. 

Suddenly, Moon charged straight for Shintaro, her mouth open and her eyes determined. 

Shintaro had a fleeting moment of panic that she was trying to attack him.

But she abruptly shouted "DUCK!" and, as Shintaro dropped to the ground, she sailed over his head and kicked a male Dark in the nose harshly. The man fell backward, screaming in agony and clutching his face. 

Shintaro leaped to his feet again, swinging his sword in a circle and facing the last two Darks. One was suspended off the ground, held by his neck in the hands of Zeke. The other was standing nervously over by a tree, eyeing Linda with confusion and wariness. 

"Anyone else?" Shintaro shouted roughly to the Darks. "Does anyone else want to know why you never mess with my family?" He kept his gaze fixated on them, staring daggers into their foreheads. 

Suddenly, Shintaro heard Nanami's muffled shouts from the Light shield. He wasn't sure who she was yelling at or what she was shouting; but he didn't want to take his eyes off of the two remaining Darks. 

"Why were you sent here?" Shintaro spat gruffly at the Darks, and Zeke slowly released the Dark with caution. If the Dark tried anything, Shintaro knew Zeke's hands would fly back to the man's throat. 

"ANSWER ME!" Shintaro shouted loudly, making Ruby flinch a little. Moon, seeing this, hurried back over to her sister to check on her. 

Nanami's muffled screams got louder; and, exasperated, Shintaro whipped toward her. She was inside the shield, pounding on its walls and pointing behind Shintaro with a frantic look. 

Shintaro spun on his heel just in time to witness Falte get slammed in the back by a Dark.

~

AH!

FALTE!!

WHAT?!!

NO!!!! 

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN???

He's an older guy!!! IS HE GONNA BE OKAY?!?!?!?!? AHHHHHHHHH

CLIFFHANGERSSSSSSSS-

Well, thank you for reading!!! 

I hope you enjoyed this!! 

P3ac3!!!~~~~