"Well cubed." Jin grinned in the doorway. "Finally found dear old dad, have you? And just before we were going to leave. Bad timing, honestly."

Dad pushed Macey and I behind him. "Don't you dare touch them."

"Oh, that's cute. Not ten minutes have gone by, and you're already back to being a stupid hero. What, you think you can take me out with no weapon?" 

"From what I remember, Ty has before. Twice." Dad said, glaring at Jin.

I sucked in a breath as Jin's eyes flashed red. 

"Yes, but someone's always died or came close to it, haven't they?" He said. "Let's see, he nearly killed you the first time, and the second time, well, I believe my Crystal proves that didn't go well."

I stepped out from behind my dad. "Shane destroyed your stupid Crystal. You lost that to us, we can take away more." 

My dad gave me a look that practically screamed what are you doing, get behind me, but Jin only shrugged. 

"I'll admit it, you took out the Crystal. Awesome. Wow. But here's the thing, that crystal may be powerful, but he had a pretty big weakness. You see any weaknesses on me, kid?"

"You can't take enchantment." I said, daring to stare him in the eye.

He laughed. "Do you see any enchanted items around here? I'm not stupid, kid, there's a barrier that destroys all enchanted items around this base." 

I hesitated. If that were true, then how come I still had the amulet? 

"Now, if you don't mind, the grownups are talking." Jin said, and waved his hand, throwing me backwards into a wall, keeping me there.

I was really starting to hate getting thrown into walls. 

"Hey! Put him down, or I'll-" Dad started.

"You'll what?" Jin smirked at him. "Punch me? Because that's about as much as you can do right now, and that's not going to do much."

"I mean it. Put him down, or you'll wish you killed me." 

"You know, I'm really getting tired of your heroics." Jin sighed. "Guess I'll have to put you out of commission for a while."

Before he could even take a step towards Dad, Macey's voice rang out.

"Dad! Catch!"

I hadn't even noticed her, and apparently, neither had Dad or Jin, because Macey was standing in the corner of the room, her dagger in hand. 

She threw it towards Dad, and it nearly hit his arm, but he managed to catch it and swing back around to face Jin.

"Alright, so you're armed. So? That dagger may be pretty powerful, but it's not enough to kill me. All you're going to do is hurt Jin." 

"Macey, hide behind something." Dad said, and swung towards Jin, aiming for his arm. 

Time almost seemed to slow down as Jin grabbed Dad's arm before the dagger could hit him, stopping it in midair. 

"You're fast." He remarked. 

Before Dad could move, Jin knocked the dagger out of Dad's hand, and kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the floor. 

Jin leaned down, picking the dagger up off the ground. "But, you see, I'm faster."

He took a step towards Dad, but suddenly froze. He lifted his hand, staring at his wrist, and I could see places where his skin almost seemed to be peeling.

Dad got back to his feet, watching as Jin inspected his own hand.

"Well, looks like Jin's timer has run out." Jin said, and pointed the dagger at Dad. "You got lucky this time. Next time I won't be so hesitant to knock you out."

He glanced over at me, and I immediately fell from the wall, hitting the ground feet first. I ran back to Dad's side, confused as to what he meant by Jin's timer "running out". 

"And just so I know you won't win this one back," Jin said, and stabbed the dagger into his stomach.

"No!" Dad yelled, and I heard Macey scream behind me. 

"No use crying. He's just a dead meat suit now. And no use to me." Jin dropped the dagger. "I'll be back for you. But now, I think it's time to go see if an old shirt still fits." 

And with that, Jin falls to the ground, and Dad immediately runs to him.

I stood there, frozen, and watched. I didn't notice anything different at first, but then, a strange shadowy figure with two glowing red eyes appeared for a split second, and then was gone. 

Macey came up behind me and hugged my arm as Dad stood up, stepping backwards from Jin. 

I finally found my voice. "Is he..."

Dad nodded, not saying anything. 

Macey buried her face into my arm and screamed louder than I'd ever heard her scream, and then started crying, her tears making the sleeve of my hoodie damp.

I stood there, too stunned to cry. Jin, my dad's best friend, practically my uncle...

He couldn't be dead. 

I closed my eyes and imagined that everything was alright, and when I opened my eyes, Jin would get up, laugh, and ask how we were going to take down that bleep of a demon. 

But when I opened my eyes, he was still there on the ground, eyes unblinking, a crimson stain on his shirt. 

My dad had covered his face with his hands, and I saw a single tear on his cheek before I remembered. 

Time to see if an old shirt still fits. 

Skylar's dad was next. 

*****

The three of us were running through the halls, looking for any doors that could mean Ty.

"Are you positive he's here?" Dad asked, looking at me with a worried expression. 

"Not positive, but it's pretty likely!" I said. 

At that moment, something turned the corner to the left of us, and I hit it straight on, sending both of us to the ground. 

I looked up to see Skylar beside me, a cut on her cheek. 

"Tyler?"

I grinned. "Good to see you, too." 

We both got up, and she did a double take when she saw my dad. "You found him?"

"Yeah. Skylar, Dad, Dad, Skylar." 

"Nice to meet you." Dad said, giving a tight smile. 

"You too." Skylar said. "Heard a lot."

"We'll have time for introductions later." I said. "Right now, we have to get to your dad." 

"Yeah, I know, I've been looking for him-"

"No, Skylar, I mean, now."

She stopped. "What do you mean?"

"Darklox...left his vessel." I said, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.

Her eyes went wide, and then immediately narrowed. "Follow me, I know where he is." 

She started down the hallway we were headed down, and we followed her.

"You do?" I asked, managing to catch up with her. 

"See this?" She asked, pointing to the cut on her cheek. "I found some Shadows. They didn't see me until the end, when I got this, but I heard what I needed to know and managed to escape."

"What'd they say?" I asked.

"They were talking about where my dad was, because apparently, Darklox's vessel was getting weak, and he was going to need a new one. They also said something about moving the base, and that all the Shadows were going to the new one."

"Must be why Macey and I didn't see any." 

"Yeah. Well, if they were right, Dad should be right around...here!" She said, as we turned the corner to see a door with a padlock on it. 

"Macey, give Skylar the dagger." I said. 

She looked at me, confused. "What's a dagger going to do?"

"Well, turns out this dagger is super powerful, or something. Don't know how, but it broke Dad's padlock after a few hits."

Skylar looked impressed. "Nice. Let's get my dad out of here."

Macey handed her the dagger, and she smashed the padlock open, throwing open the door and running inside, us following her. 

We froze at the sight. 

The same shadowy figure I had seen stood in front of who I assumed to be Skylar's dad, who was hanging from the ceiling in the same way my dad had been. The figure turned as we burst in, and it's glowing eyes narrowed. 

It didn't have a mouth, but it's voice gave me chills when it spoke.

"Looks like the little pests are back. Oh, and look, they've added to their numbers!"

"Let him go!" Skylar yelled, and her dad lifted his head, with a fearful expression on his face. 

"Skylar, get out of here! It isn't safe!"

"It isn't safe for you, either!" She exclaimed. 

"Oh, cute. A daddy-daughter moment." Darklox said, and suddenly, I was thrown against a wall again and held there. 

"Just once, I would like it if you changed your tactics." I grumbled to Darklox, then looked beside me to see Macey, Skylar, and Dad all held against the wall with me. 

"I'll deal with you in a bit." Darklox said, turning back to Skylar's dad. "As for right now, someone has one end of a deal to uphold."

"No!" Skylar yelled, struggling against the force that was holding us against the wall. I had never seen her so determined or so scared. 

"What makes you think you can stop me, girl?" Darklox asked. 

"Don't, Skylar!" Her dad yelled, apparently having known what she would do before the words came out of her mouth, but she spoke them anyway. 

"Take me instead!" She exclaimed, and I had never felt more scared then in that moment. I couldn't lose her to him, not after Jeremy and Jin. 

The demon froze, and turned around. "Take you instead?"

"Skylar, no-" Her dad started, but Darklox waved his hand, and no more words came out of his mouth, even though he looked to be screaming. 

"He's not fully willing. Even if he did give permission, it'd be harder to control him now, especially since he's had plenty of practice resisting you." 

"Skylar, don't do this." I said, looking at her. 

"Hey. Keep your mouth shut, brat." Darklox said.

She looked at me, and I saw a tear rolling down her cheek. "I have to. I can't let him go through that again." 

She looked back to Darklox, not saying anything. 

"You may have a point, kid." Darklox said. "You're a stronger vessel, too. I can tell."

"So I'm clearly the better option." She said, staring him dead in the eye. 

"Skylar-"

"Shut up, Tyler!" She yelled. 

"You know what? Fine." 

Skylar suddenly fell from the wall, landing on her feet. She stood up straight, staring Darklox in the eye.

He outstretched his hand to her. "What do you say? Dream team?"

She looked back at me, and I shook my head no. 

She turned back to him, and took his hand.

"Excellent." He grinned, and disappeared. 

Dad, Macey and I all fell from the wall, and Skylar collapsed. 

I didn't think about it, I just went to her side, shaking her. "Skylar?"

"Tyler, no!" Dad yelled, just as Skylar opened her eyes.

They weren't green anymore.

Glowing red eyes stared back at me, and a grin was on her face. 

"You should really learn to listen to your dad." 

She lifted her hand, and I was thrown against the opposite wall, and Dad and Macey were held against the wall again. 

"Seriously?" I muttered. 

She didn't pay attention to me. Instead, she walked over to her dad, who was still silent. 

"Let's give Ariel her voice back, shall we?" She grinned. 

"Let. Her. Go." Ty's voice suddenly spoke, and I had never heard anyone that angry.

"Ooh, no can do." She said. "You see, she made the deal, and there is nothing you can do to force her to change her mind. Besides," She said, looking at her hands. "I like this one. She's the strongest one I've had in a while."

"You'll wish you killed me if you don't let her go, now."

"See, you heroes really need to work on your lines. Sky already used that one not twenty minutes ago." 

"Skylar?" I asked. "Are you in there?" 

She sighed, walking over to me. "Kid, she can't-"

Suddenly, her eyes flashed back to green. "...Tyler?" She asked, and it sounded like her again. 

"Skylar?"

"What's...what's going on?" She asked. "I thought-"

Her eyes flashed red again, and she looked confused. "Hmm. That's new."

Her eyes flashed back to green. "What's happening?" She asked, staring at her hands. 

I felt a bit of hope. "Skylar, you have to fight him." 

"I can't!" She exclaimed, and her eyes changed back to red. 

She turned, glaring at her dad. 

"What did you do?" She asked.

"She locked you in." Ty said, a worried look on his face. "She decides when you leave."

"That's impossible." She said, pulling a sword out of nowhere and aiming it at him. 

"Oh really? Because I did the same to you with my headphones. She's got a necklace. Same deal. I just never realized until later." 

"I kept you under control." She said, pointing the tip of the sword at his throat. 

"You said it yourself." Ty said, giving a weak smile. "She's stronger. She can fight you more."

He stared directly at her. "Kick him out, Skylar."

Her eyes flickered between green and red, before finally settling on green, and she took the sword from his throat. "I can't." She said. "He'll take you." 

She eyes flickered back to red, and she took a step back. "You're worried about your precious little girl, aren't you?" She asked, staring at Ty.

He didn't meet her eyes, and she laughed. 

"Well then, who gives a damn if she's stronger. If she locked me in. Because if she doesn't want me to leave, I can overpower her."

"Skylar, kick him out, now!" Ty yelled, louder this time. 

Her eyes flickered again, but this time, stayed on red. "Not so fast to come back now, huh?" 

She stood in the center of the room. "Well, I'd love to stay and kill you all, but I need some time with this new vessel to really get my powers working again, and now I have a perfect new piece of bait for you." She grinned. "I think it's time I move my base."

She turned her gaze to me. "You want your girlfriend back? Come get her." 

And with that, she disappeared. 

END OF PART 1

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Okay, I have a lot to cover here, so let's do this!

1. No, this is not the end of the book, the book will continue, the rest will just be considered Part 2. It will be in the same book!

2. I'm taking a bit of a break to figure things out between now and Part 2. Part 2 will start up sometime in June, I'm just going to be taking this month to figure out what's going to happen in Part 2 and to also focus more on schoolwork. 

3. During the break, I will be "cleaning up" my account. I'm going to be deleting some stories and putting others on hold for revision, because I don't like any of my old stories, but there are a few that I want to finish eventually, so those will be revised so that they're better. A full list of what's staying and what's going will be out soon. 

4. The reason I haven't updated any of my others stories is because I want to put all focus on this story, because it's my favorite. Once this story is fully completed, I will start finishing some of the other stories that are staying (yes, Not Who I Knew is staying and being finished, you can stop asking if it's going to be updated now XD). 

5. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through Part 1 of this story, it's been so much fun to write and I really think I've grown as a writer most this year. I'm excited for Part 2 and I hope you guys are too! I love you all so much, and all the support you've given me, this series, my other books, and my YouTube stuff is incredible and I couldn't ask for better people to be supporting me. I love you guys! :D

(BTW I'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR SKYLAR TO BE THE NEXT VESSEL FOR DARKLOX FOR LIKE 10 MONTHS, I'VE BEEN WAITING TO WRITE THIS SCENE FOR AGES AND IT'S BEEN KILLING ME KEEPING IT A SECRET FROM YOU GUYS XD) 

See you all in Part 2! (If you think the kids had it bad this part, just you wait. True hell is approaching.)