It would have killed anyone else. Any normal person wouldn't have been able to deal with a sharp piece of metal getting jammed into their neck and scraping their spine; nearly going through their windpipe.

But somehow, Sparrow managed to yank the arrow out of her neck without collapsing. She managed to wipe the blood off of her head without revealing a wound.

"What the hell?" Marley whispered, walking behind Sparrow and peering at her neck. "WHERE'S THE GAPING HOLE IN YOUR WINDPIPE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL YOU!?"

"Screw that, I'm sick of dying." Sparrow muttered, pulling a string that was tied around a piece of paper, which was wrapped around the shaft of the arrow. "And I love you too. I'll be sure to bring up a gaping hole at your funeral."

Marley raised her eyebrows. "I don't understand." She muttered, staring at the back of Sparrow's head.

Sparrow ignored the two colored gaze and unraveled the piece of paper.

We have your father.
Come get him or we'll kill him.
You have thirty minutes.

Sparrow's heart stopped. Slowly, she turned around, staring into the trees for any signs of movement. She caught sight of the silhouette of a man, holding a small tube. Shivers went up her spine as she realized he was watching her.

The man stayed still for a moment, then turned and ran into the woods.

"What is it Sparrow?" Dot asked. Sparrow tore her gaze away from the trees and handed Dot the note. Dot's yellow-green eyes flew across the sentence. She lowered her hands, which were shaking, and stared at Sparrow.

"You're going to try and save him." She guessed. Sparrow took a deep breath and nodded.

"Then we're coming with you." Miki said, grabbing Sparrow's hand and pulling her to her feet. "I don't want to get you guys killed." Sparrow whispered.

Marley laughed. "It's a bit late for precautions. We've been telling you from the beginning, Sparrow. We'll follow you wherever you go." She said.

Sparrow smiled. She pulled her dagger out of her belt and spun it between her fingers. "We need to be quick." She said. "We don't have time for plans."

"Do you even know where this place is?" Tiquail asked sharply. "You're going to need some guidance."

"You mean you know where it is?" Sparrow questioned. Tiquail seemed to smirk-though it was always hard to tell with a snow leopard-she raised a paw and licked between her claws. "I've been fighting these people for years Sparrow...much longer than you would expect. I know exactly where their location is...my only problem is getting in. If they have your father as heavily guarded as he was last time..."

Her voice trailed off. Sparrow raised her eyebrows. "We have me this time." She said determinedly. "What difference does that make?" Chase spoke for the first time, his voice cold.

Sparrow turned her stubborn eyes to him. "It means that I'm capable of much more than you think. None of you know what happened on that hill except me and Alex."

She paused, smiling slyly. "And that could play to our advantage."

"I'm coming." Tony said. "No, you're not." Sparrow and Tiquail said in unison. Tony looked taken aback.

Sparrow softened her voice. "I know you want to keep me safe, Tony, but it's time for me to prove myself..."

She smirked. "And I didn't just have a sword run through my gut."

***

Tony watched Tiquail, Sparrow, Dot, Miki, and Marley disappear into the trees. "We need to go after them." He said. Theo tilted his head. "And why would you assume that? Those girls are pretty strong, Tony. I think they can take care of themselves."

"I have a bad feeling in my gut." Tony responded, getting shakily to his feet. He tried to take a step forward but ended up collapsing. Vinny threw his hands on Tony's shoulders and tugged him back to his feet. Chase smirked. "I think that might be a side effect to having a sword slice open your inside and then getting yourself magically healed by a freakish ancient." He said.

Tony looked at him over Vinny's hand. "No. I can distinguish the difference between the two. Trust me."

"You can barely walk." Theo pointed out. Tony shook off Vinny's hands. "I can walk fine." He said stiffly, pulling a switchblade out of his belt. "Let's go after them."

***

Ainnya took a deep breath, opening her mouth slightly. She couldn't catch Sparrow's scent, but she smelled something stronger...more animal.

"Come out Shikira." She growled, unsheathing her claws. "Now, there's no need for that." The lion growled, stalking out of the bushes.

"Oh really?" Ainnya hissed, watching the huge wild cat as he circled her. "And do I really have a reason to trust you?"

Shikira paused and chuckled. "Do you have a reason to mistrust me?" He countered.

Ainnya shrugged. "I think my own gut instinct is enough." She replied.

Shikira bared his teeth. "What are you looking for, all alone?"

Ainnya lashed her tail, irritated. "I'm looking for Sparrow."
"Now, there's no need for that."
"She's hurt."
"The others found her, you insolent cheetah!"
"Others?"
"Tiquail and the other Ancients."
"They're not real Ancients."
"No matter. It is beside the point. Sparrow was found...unfortunately I do not believe she is okay."
"Why?"
"She's going to the Trackers compound."

Ainnya stared at him. "I have to stop her." She whispered, trying to slip past Shikira in the direction of the forest. Shikira stopped her with a paw, his green eyes glittering. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." He growled.

"And why is that?" Ainnya snapped, lashing her tail angrily.

Shikira grinned. "Because this is all part of the plan."

He raised his paw and brought it down, his claws glittering in the sun.

Pain exploded in Ainnya's head. She collapsed and darkness fell over her vision like a curtain, blocking out the world around her.

***

"Why the hell isn't he guarded?" Marley whispered, staring at Sparrow's father's crumpled form on the cold stone floor. Sparrow shrugged. "It just makes things easier for us."

She took a step forward. Dot grabbed her shoulder. "Is that really a good idea Sparrow?" She asked. Sparrow looked over her shoulder. "Why shouldn't it be?"

"Well, what if it's a trap?" Miki pointed out. Sparrow paused, closing her eyes. "It's not." She said after a moment.

"How do you know, child?" Tiquail asked, her whiskers twitching nervously.

Sparrow shook her head. "It's just a feeling. And I'm going to trust it." She added, setting her jaw and marching up to her father.

"Dad?" She asked quietly, getting on her knees and leaning over her father. She slapped his face gently. Sparks of golden light flew from her hand.

Paul opened his eyes slowly. He focused on Sparrow. "Trap!" He gasped, sitting upright so fast he knocked Sparrow on her back. "Dad, it's fine!" Sparrow yelped, hopping to her feet and grabbing her father's arm.

"Bait! I'm bait!" Paul said, his voice panicked.

"Dad it's fine." Sparrow whispered, pulling him to his feet and hugging him. "It's fine."

Paul calmed down slightly. "we need to get you out of here." He hissed in her ear, pulling away and running toward Tiquail. Sparrow ran after him.

"Go!" Paul shouted, waving his hand at Tiquail. The snow leopard flicked her tail once, turned, and led the way out of the Trackers compound, her white fur the only thing showing the other where to go.

After a few minutes that felt like hours of running, Tiquail burst outside, her chest heaving. Miki, Marley, Dot, Sparrow, and Paul followed her out, stopping themselves behind Tiquail.

"Let's go." The snow leopard growled after a deep breath.

"I wouldn't do that just yet." A voice shouted behind them. Everyone jumped and spun around in midair. Sparrow's heart threw itself against her ribs.

A women, hair hair flowing behind her, a mask covering her mouth and sunglasses over her eyes, held out a silver tube in front of her.

Sparrow's legs seemed to move on their own accord. She walked over to the women, her hand held out.

"Mom?" She asked.