When Shintaro came to, his whole head was throbbing so painfully that it felt like someone was rapping their knuckles harshly against his whole skull, sending thudding vibrations through his temples. He clenched his teeth against a groan that was threatening to crawl out of his throat, lifting his arm to press his fingers onto the bridge of his nose as if he could push away the pain. He gradually realized that he was lying on his back against hard ground, his other arm draped over his torso carelessly. 

"About time, Sleeping Beauty," a familiar male voice retorted flatly from somewhere to Shintaro's right.

"Shut up," another voice snapped angrily, dripping with hatred. 

It took a few moments for Shintaro to realize that the speaker had been Falte; but when it did click in, Shintaro lowered his arm back onto the ground, forced himself to sit up, and opened his eyes to gaze around him. 

Gabriel was directly to Shintaro's left, sitting awkwardly due to the sloppily wrapped wound on his thigh. The strip of grey fabric from Gabriel's shirt had a dark patch of blood in the center, which made Shintaro wonder how much blood Gabriel had lost. Gabriel himself looked shaky and pale, which meant he'd lost more than he should have. 

Linda was lying on her right side in front of Gabriel, her eyes closed and her breathing even. The slash through her left eye wasn't bleeding anymore, but Shintaro could now see that it was almost an inch deep across her face. Worry squeezed through Shintaro's heart as he noticed that her eyebrows were furrowed in pain even through her unconsciousness. 

Abby was sitting cross-legged behind Linda, her elbows propped on her knees and her chin resting on her hands. Her expression was mixed with worry and anger and confusion, but thankfully, she didn't have a bump anywhere that Shintaro could see. She still looked shaken from whatever had happened, but her frown told Shintaro that she was more angry than terrified.

By Shintaro's feet, Moon was sitting stiffly beside Ruby, occasionally throwing her sister a concerned, protective glance. Ruby was sitting crisscross and gently rubbing her throat, where a faded bruise was beginning to form. Moon's arms were crossed over her torso, an enraged frown etched on her face. Both sisters looked flustered and annoyed, more than Shintaro would have expected from Ruby.

Zeke was on Ruby's other side, sprawled on his left side with his back to everyone else. His even breathing told Shintaro that he was still unconscious, which meant he'd taken quite a hit to the head. The Darks must have realized that Zeke was able to put up a good fight and knocked him out first, making sure to hit him hard. Other than the bump on the back of his head, he thankfully looked uninjured. 

Rachel and Nanami were sitting a few feet away from Moon's right side, both looking shaken and nervous. Rachel had her legs folded neatly under her with Nanami curled on top of her lap, her back to everyone and her face buried in Rachel's chest. Rachel had her arms wrapped around the young girl, and Shintaro heard muffled sniffles coming from Nanami. The cut on Rachel's head wasn't bleeding anymore, but her furrowed eyebrows and pinched frown told Shintaro that she was still hurting. 

Ozai was perched on the floor behind them, sitting on his legs but looking like he was ready to jump to his feet as soon as he needed to. His hands were resting on his thighs, but his fingers were tapping against his pants with nervous energy. He had a large bruise on his left cheek and a few more along his forehead and shoulders, but he didn't look like he'd been knocked out. He was frowning harshly, but it didn't look angry or annoyed. It looked more frightened and nervous as he sat there tapping his legs restlessly. 

To Ozai's right, Amy was perched just as alertly - if not more so - than Ozai, one leg folded under her and the other stretched halfway in front of her in case she needed to leap up. Her hands were resting on the floor at her sides, her shoulders stiff and trembling with anger. Her face was contorted with the most rage she'd ever showed, her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed dangerously. 

When Shintaro turned his head to the right, he found Falte sitting directly beside him. Falte's arms were crossed over his chest, an angry, dangerous frown creasing his face. His back was completely straight, which meant he'd probably hurt it again during the squabble. His hair was loose against his shoulders, but he didn't bother to pull it back away from his face. Thankfully, he too looked uninjured aside from the bump on his head. 

Shintaro realized that they were still in the house, strewn randomly on the living room floor. For a moment, he had the fleeting hope that the Darks had left - but his hopes were immediately crushed when he spotted two Darks lounging against the doorway that led to the front door, their eyes trained on the group. Shintaro could hear the raised voices and mischievous laughter coming from upstairs, the dining room, the kitchen, and Ozai's bedroom. Loud clatters indicated that they were mercilessly trashing the place for fun, which was probably what Amy was so angry about, since this was her childhood home. 

"Snap to it Shintaro," the familiar, deadpan voice said shortly from Falte's other side, and Falte's frown hardened dangerously. Ignoring the fact that Falte had a loathing glint in his eyes, the man continued. "Are you going to do something or what?" 

"Would you just shut up?" Falte abruptly snapped, turning toward the speaker with an air of absolute hatred and anger. "No one hear wants to listen to you. At least, I know I don't."

Shintaro followed Falte's glare to the chairs and found one of them tipped over on its side. The other was still standing correctly, but no one was sitting in it. To Shintaro's surprise, Thorn was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of it, leaning his back against the front with his arms crossed over his chest. His featureless face was turned toward Shintaro, the deep glow of his red eyes almost frowning. Wisps of his shadowy form were spiraling lazily around his body, fading in and out of view as they shifted around Thorn's shadowy body. 

How long had he been there? Did the others know who he was? Was that why Falte was so angry? Because he realized that this was Thorn, the man who'd forced his son to grow through torture? Why was Thorn here? Was he working with the Darks that had invaded? How could he be, when he'd told Shintaro that he wasn't going to associate with them anymore? 

"I understand you're angry with me," Thorn said through the mouth that wasn't on his face - and his tone made it sound like he was talking through gritted teeth, like he was trying not to snap right back at Falte. "And I'm not saying you don't have every right to be. But holding a grudge will get you nowhere, Falte. You can hate me when this is all dealt with, but right now you cannot waste your time." 

"I really, really hate to agree with Thorn, really," Moon said gruffly from her spot, "but he's right, Falte. If we continue to hate him, we're going to be wasting our time when there's much bigger things to focus on." 

Falte took a deep breath through his nose, his eyes fixed on the downed chair. 

"What are you even doing here?" Abby asked suddenly, and though she sounded angry, she didn't sound nearly as loathing as Falte had. "I thought you vanished five years ago, never to return. I kind of hoped you did, too." 

"I did," Thorn said back without much emotion behind his words. "Well, I tried to vanish and never return. But your father found my hiding spot a little bit ago, which evidently led to the Darks finding me as well." 

Abby stared at him in disbelief for a moment, wearing the same skeptical expression that Shintaro had when Thorn had explained why he'd been there. "You... tried... to vanish?" she repeated back to Thorn with dumbfounded skepticism.  

"Why is this so shocking for everyone?" Thorn asked with a sigh, lifting his eyes to the ceiling with a small shake of his head. "Yes, I tried to wipe myself off the face of the earth. Erase any traces of myself, my presence, anything." 

"Ha!" Amy sputtered sharply, turning her cold eyes to Thorn. "I've only ever heard of you and somehow I doubt that, Shadow." Without waiting for a response, she looked away again and crossed her arms over her chest huffily. 

Thorn made no reaction to her comment, his red eyes locking back on Shintaro. "You never answered my question, Shintaro. What are you going to do now? As soon as these Darks regain their magical strength, they're going to take us straight to your father." 

Shintaro's heart jumped in his chest as he remembered that they hadn't told Ozai that The Dark Lord was Shintaro's father. His eyes darted over to Ozai to find a reaction, but Shintaro was surprised to see that Ozai's facial expression hadn't changed. 

Had he already known? 

Had Brethren told him somehow? 

How long had he known? 

Had he been trying to protect Shintaro when he'd said that he didn't want them going to fight Brethren? 

Why would he protect Shintaro at all? 

"Stop avoiding the question, Shin," Thorn said, this time his voice snappy with impatience. "What are you going to do now?" 

Shintaro turned back to Thorn and frowned harshly at him, though the movement sent throbbing pain through his temples.

What would they do now? 

Would they let the Darks take them to Brethren and figure out what to do along the way? 

Would Shintaro be able to protect his friends from his father's torturous hand while he tried to think of a way to defeat Brethren? 

If they were taken straight there without a plan, any of their lives could be at risk. Brethren wouldn't kill Shintaro - there was no way. He would let Shintaro live so he could toy with his son as long as he wanted. But the others... Shintaro wasn't so sure. If any of them got on Brethren's nerves (which Linda, Amy, and Moon were all likely to do), The Dark Lord would have them killed immediately. Just to see their friends - Shintaro - suffer. 

But if they broke away from the Darks, how long would they have to evade them and come up with a plan? They still hadn't thought of one, and it had been almost four months since Brethren's release. Even if they managed to escape, they would be found again and immediately taken hostage. 

Realization struck Shintaro like a bolt of lightning, locking him in its iron grip. 

There was another way. 

There was another way to defeat Brethren.

Shintaro had a faint idea on what it would cost him...

But if it meant that his friends - that the rest of the world - would be free from Brethren...

He was willing to do it. 

Shintaro straightened his spine, setting his jaw defiantly and meeting Thorn's eyes again. "We're going straight to him." 

~

WHAT IS IT?! 

SHINTARO KNOWS SOMETHING THAT THE OTHERS DON'T-

HOW IS HE GOING TO DEFEAT HIS FATHER??!?!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

I love doing this to y'all so much and I have absolutely no idea why. 

It's so mean-

XD

Thank you guys for reading!! I love you so much!! *huggles for everyone!!*

P3ac3!!~~~~