Brethren careened sideways with a guttural grunt of pain, lifting his foot and slamming it back down to stop his momentum from throwing him against the floor. His right arm reached outward, grasping at the air beside him as he stumbled back another step. 

Despite this, The Dark Lord's left hand shot out and wrapped tightly around Linda's ankle. Using the momentum that had sent him reeling backward, he whirled around in a spin that tugged Linda off her feet with a startled cry. For a few moments, Brethren was turning sharply with a grunt of effort, and Linda was suspended in the air with a prolonged yell. 

Then Brethren opened his hands, and Linda sailed sideways toward the wall nearest to the couch. Her shoulders and back slammed into the wall first, throwing her head back with the force of the collision. As the back of her head whipped against the wall behind her, her legs and arms crashed against the wall with loud cracks. 

Panicked worry sliced through Shintaro's heart as she fell, forcing him to inhale sharply. When she crumpled to the floor below her in an heap, Shintaro felt her telekinesis hold on him release. 

He would have darted forward without hesitation to check on Linda, but his attention was quickly yanked away from Linda and moved to the remaining Darks, who were closing in on his friends. He frantically spun around toward them, sheer determination launching him forward. 

Before Shintaro reached them, however, Thorn (surprisingly) flew into action, flaring his wings and flinging several Darks into the shelves behind them. As Shintaro grabbed the nearest Dark and punched him in the jaw to knock him out, Thorn leaned down suddenly and scooped three more Darks off their feet and away from Rachel, who was kneeling over Nanami to shield the girl. He then whirled in an arc, spreading his wings over the group around him to slam a few more Darks away with the corners of his wings. 

Shintaro skidded to a stop beside Falte, who was shakily rising to his feet under the shelter of Thorn's outstretched wings. Everyone else quickly stood up as well, probably grateful to get away from Amy's prone body.

Above them, Thorn let out a sharp growl and reeled sideways, his wings snapping back toward his body as he scrambled to regain his balance. Out of the corner of his eye, Shintaro noticed something that looked almost like a rip in fabric slicing through Thorn's side, exposing a grey substance within Thorn's body. But Thorn was quick to conceal it, baring his fangs and spinning around again to catch three Darks in the heads with his fist. 

Shintaro hurried to attack another Dark, this one muscular, grinning, and circling toward Abby. With an outraged cry, Shintaro lunged forward-

But the Dark was knocked out of the way by Thorn's right wing. "Go deal with your blasted father!" Thorn yelled loudly, raking several more Darks with his claws. 

Shintaro didn't disobey, but as he stalked slowly toward his watching father, his thoughts were on Thorn. Why was he helping Shintaro's friends? Whose side was Thorn on? He hadn't been specific when he'd told Shintaro that he wasn't going to be the bad guy anymore. He hadn't chosen a side. 

So why was he fighting for them now? 

Brethren smirked nonchalantly at Shintaro as he approached. "I hope Thorn realizes he is making a grave mistake in betraying me," he sighed in disappointment, casting a mock-sympathetic glace over at Thorn. 

"He won't be working under you again, Brethren," Shintaro said lowly, prowling closer and readying his magic. He was grateful that he'd reserved a lot of his magic for this moment, for his limbs almost buzzed with the energy of his Light Magic. 

Brethren chuckled with amusement. "Oh, I know he won't be working under me. He'll be cowering under me instead. As will you, Shintaro." 

Before Shintaro could comprehend what had happened, Brethren was there in front of him, locking his hands against the sides of Shintaro's face. Startled, Shintaro jolted backward to try to break free from his father's grip, but Brethren yanked his head downward forcefully while raising his leg toward Shintaro's face. 

Shintaro jerked his head backward, tilting his chin upward so it, instead of his nose, would take the impact of Brethren's knee. Pain sailed up Shintaro's jaw as his teeth clamped together against the force of the blow, and he staggered backward when Brethren's hands left his head. 

But he couldn't regain his composure before Brethren landed a harsh punch against Shintaro's gut, sending sharp pain searing through his ribs. He doubled forward, gritting his teeth against the fire in his jaw and stomach. 

Brethren's upper body tilted backward, and then sudden, burning agony exploded in the right side of Shintaro's skull, flashing white in the corners of his vision. He stumbled sideways, fighting back a cry of pain and shuffling his feet to remain standing. 

But a blow to his right side sent him crashing to his knees, planting his hands on the floor in front of him and gulping for air. The Light Magic he'd had ready to use against Shintaro had retreated from the throbbing pain his body was experiencing, and he didn't have the magical or physical strength to pull it back. 

Brethren's foot slammed into his temple, sending him careening sideways to slide against the floor helplessly. Terror locked up his body as he realized that he was helpless, that he was on the floor and wounded, that he couldn't fight back - that he was a child again, cowering under his father. 

No, no, not now, Shintaro ordered the memories, trying to force them back into the corners of his head. He couldn't afford to panic right now, not now. His father still had to be dealt with, to be put back, to lose, to realize that Shintaro wasn't afraid of him. 

But he was, and he couldn't convince himself that he wasn't. 

"STOP!" a young voice screamed loudly, the voice breaking with terror. For a fleeting moment, Shintaro's hazy thoughts told him that the speaker was Kai - but the voice was too high, too young to be him. 

Shintaro dizzily rolled onto his stomach, forcing his arms to fold under him so he could push at least into a sitting position. His hair fell over his shoulders and obscured his view of his surroundings, but as he shoved himself to his knees, he flung his hair back away from his eyes. 

"Stop, no! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" the voice cried again.

Shintaro spun on his knees to find Brethren looming above him, his hands raised and fizzling with Dark Magic. Gulping in a sharp breath, Shintaro found himself paralyzed. He couldn't move, he couldn't think, he couldn't breathe. Here he was again, crouching under Brethren and waiting for the blow to come with paralyzed terror. 

Brethren raised his arms, opened his mouth to yell out a cry of triumph, and then-

A wave of Light Magic crashed into him, forcing a startled cry from both Brethren and Shintaro. The wave of magic washed through Shintaro, leaving him unharmed; but it carried Brethren with it across the room. The magic suddenly shifted, wrapping around Brethren like a cocoon as he neared the nearest library wall. Brethren screamed louder than Shintaro had ever heard him, anger and agony laced within the shriek; but his yell was cut off into a grunt of pain as he slammed harshly into the wall. The Light Magic surrounding him washed out over the wall, engulfing Brethren in its light, before vanishing with a hissing sound. 

Shintaro's lungs screamed at him, and he released the gasp he'd been holding in and slumped forward in relief, folding his legs under him and gasping. For a few moments, he sat there in silence, trying to calm the terror that was still causing him to tremble. 

Then he realized - he hadn't used his magic. 

That Light Magic had not been his. 

Slowly, Shintaro raised his head to see who could have done that.

Nanami was standing a few yards to his left, her face contorted in terrified rage, her arms outstretched, and Light Magic crawling along the tips of her fingers. 

~

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

XD

Well, there you have it. 

Nanami has Light Magic!! :D

Yo, I've had this planned since the beginning of Escape. 

YOU JUST DIDN'T KNOW IT.

YOU'LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT IN THE NEXT CHAPPY!!!! 

Man, I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish this chapter today. For some reason, it was taking a really long time to write. 

Thanks for reading!!

ONLY A FEW MORE CHAPTERS YOU GUYS-

P3ac3!!!~~~~