I scanned the horizon for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Sky, he's probably fine." Jason said.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to get through all that rubble." Ty agreed. "He's just making sure he doesn't get hurt on the way back."

I sighed. "I know, I'm just worried."

"I'd be scared if you weren't, given the situation." Ssundee said.

"Yeah, we're kind of surrounded by demons and stuff. Not the best time to be watching after kids." Quentin agreed.

"Not to mention the fact that you've raised a bunch of troublesome adventurers." Mitch's kid, Shane, grins.

"Yep, we're hardcore." Jason's daughter smiled, punching her fist into her hand.

"Let's hope you don't have to be hardcore for too much longer." Jason said, smiling at her and ruffling her hair. "Don't want to scare off all the monsters before we can get them."

"If Alyssa's the scariest, then we're in trouble." Shane grinned.

"Hey!"

"Shane, you're just jealous because she can fly and you can't." Quentin's daughter said, a small smile on her face.

"No, I'm not!" Shane protested.

"Suuuuure." Alyssa smiled. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, tough guy."

Ty stood. "Sky, can I ask you something over there?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess. If you can get my mind off of my worry that'd be nice."

We walked over to one of the collapsed buildings, out of earshot from the others as their conversation continued.

"Do you know how Jerome's doing?" Ty asked, and I suddenly understood why he had brought me over.

"I don't think he's doing very well, man. He's putting on an act for his kid, trying to help her from breaking down, but I think you can see through it just as well as I can."

"Yeah. I'm worried about him. I kind of have an idea of what he's going through, but at least I have the chance to save my daughter. He's got to deal with that fact that his kid's really gone."

"I have no idea how he's keeping up the act." I said. "I'd be a mess if Tyler or Macey died."

"I hear that. He's a strong guy, that bacca." Ty said. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He came back a while ago. Went to go talk with Mitch."

I looked at Ty, and for what felt like the first time since we had escaped the base, I could tell he wasn't alright. There were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed like his mouth was struggling to smile.

It was a stupid question, but I asked it anyway. "How are you holding up?"

He sighed. "I don't know, man. I think I'm just holding on to what little hope is left, you know? Not much else left I can do at this point. I just hope we find her fast."

"We will. And we'll save her from him."

"I hope you're right. I'm just worried that she doesn't want to be saved."

"Well, we'll save her whether she likes it or not." I gave him a smile. "And hey man, I'll always be here for you. You're still my best friend."

He smiled a little, and it didn't seemed forced. "You're just grateful I've put up with you for so long."

I feigned crying. "That hurts, Ty. That hurts right here that that's all you think this relationship means to me."

"I will not hesitate to punch you." He said, his smile bigger now.

"Betrayed by my one true love!" I yelled, grabbing at my heart and pretending to faint.

"Seriously. I will punch you if you don't quit it." Ty said, even though I could hear him holding back laughter.

"Hey, Sky!"

I looked over when I heard Jason calling my name.

"I think I see Tyler! He's with someone!"

I didn't realize how tense I had been until I relaxed the second Jason finished speaking. Tyler was okay. Nothing bad had happened.

Ty smiled at me. "Told you he was fine."

I ran back towards the group just in time to see Tyler close by, walking towards us with a girl in a purple and white sweater.

"There you are!" I said once he was in earshot. "We were starting to wonder if we'd have to leave you behind!"

"Wouldn't have been much of a loss." Shane grinned.

"Haha, very funny. Sorry, got caught up in a conversation. Guys, this is-"

"Jess." The girl cut in. "My name's Jess."

"A survivor?"

I turned when I heard Jerome's voice to see him walking back to the group, Mitch at his heels.

Tyler suddenly looked at his shoes. "Well...not exactly."

"What do you mean, not exactly? You just found her wandering around the castle taking pictures for a news group?" Ty asked. "Who else would be here other than a survivor?"

"Somebody who's on your side and needs some help." The girl said.

"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Cameron asked.

"She's a Shadow." Tyler blurted, he's eyes closed shut and his hands gripping at the edge of his hoodie, expecting our reaction.

I almost fell over backwards, and all I could hear was about seven people all yelling different things, mostly along the lines of "What?"

"I told you the reaction wasn't going to be pretty." Jess, the Shadow, muttered, looking over at Tyler.

Tyler turned to me first. "Dad, please, just let me explain-"

"Stop." I said. "You and I are going to go have a talk."

"But-"

"Now, Tyler."

Tyler's mouth opened like he was going to say something, but he closed it again, and slowly walked over to where Ty and I had been standing.

"Everyone else, keep your weapons on her. I'll be back in a second." I said.

Shane didn't hesitate, and within seconds a diamond sword was pointed straight at the girl's heart, and everyone else with an enchanted weapon followed suit.

"Wow. Really feeling the love here." The Shadow said, sighing.

I walked over to where Tyler was standing. He was biting his fingernails, not looking me in the eyes.

"Dad-"

"Are you crazy?" I said, cutting him off.

"Dad, I thought she could help-"

"Help? She's a Shadow, Tyler! They want us dead, we want them dead! It's black and white!"

"Well, maybe there's a gray we haven't met yet!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Did she tell you that?" I asked. "Because if she did, she's manipulating you, Tyler, it's the way they are! I don't want to see you get tricked by them!"

"She didn't manipulate me, Dad, she saved my life!"

I stopped for a second. "What?"

"I said, she saved my life. I was going to kill her, and she said she was part of a group of Shadows that are against Darklox. I told her to prove it, and she killed a Creeper that I hadn't noticee. It was right behind me, about to do the stupid hiss thing. I would've died right there if she hadn't saved me."

"Alright, so she saved you. That doesn't means she's worth trusting-"

"I never said I trusted her." Tyler said. "I told her myself, I'll still kill her if she tries anything. But I thought she could at least be of use."

"How? By killing us in our sleep? Yeah, that's real useful."

"Dad, she knows where Darklox's new base is." He said. "We can finally save Skylar, she can lead us straight to her-"

"No, she can't, Tyler. She's just trying to get you to trust her so she can lead you straight into a trap."

"Well, what else can we do?" Tyler exclaimed. "We've got no other leads. The compass is broken, the old base had no clues in whatsoever, neither did the Kingdom! We're just flailing around acconplishing nothing while Skylar starts to die!"

I looked at him. "Tyler, I know you want to help your friend. We all do. But we can't just blindly trust someone who's an enemy."

"Fine. Then we won't trust her." Tyler said. "We can keep someone watching her at all times. If she comes through on her end of the deal with no funny business, we hold up on our end. She asked for our help killing Darklox, and the Shadows on her side going free."

"Tyler-"

"Please, Dad. This is our best ticket to finding Skylar. I promise I won't let it go bad."

I considered it. Having someone watch her at all times would keep her from trying anything, and we could still use her to get to the base.

But she was still a Shadow. We couldn't work with her.

I looked at Tyler, and he stared back. His eyes alone seemed to be pleading for me to trust him on this.

I sighed. "I know I'm going to regret this."

His face broke out in a big smile. "Does that mean she can help us?"

I looked at him. "Only if someone watches her at all times, and you have to promise me that if one thing she does seems the least bit suspicious and you're watching, you'll take care of her."

"I promise." He nodded.

"Alright then." I said, turning around to walk back to the group.

Behind me, I barely heard Tyler quietly speak, probably thinking I couldn't hear him.

"I'm coming to save you. I promise."

---------------

you see that conversation between sky and ty at the beginning there

that's the closest to legitimate skylox you guys are going to get in this book :P

(also sorry this chapter is kind of late, my parents sprung a surprise mini-vacation on me and I haven't had the chance to write until now)

Art: "Like Father Like Daughter" by xxminecraftenderxx on DeviantArt!