"That's a bad idea."

"Well, what else are we supposed to do?"

I woke up to the voices only a few feet away from me, to see my dad standing a little bit away, next to Skylar's dad, Ty. Aside from them, the room was empty. Did everyone already wake up? What time was it?

They didn't seem to notice me awake, so I didn't move and kept my eyes half-closed.

"Not run straight into a situation when we barely know anything about it, that's what we're supposed to do." My dad says. 

"Since when have you been the one to be cautious?" Ty asked. "You weren't like this back when I was kidnapped."

"That was different."

"How?"

"Well, for one, Jason and I had you to tell us what was going on. So we weren't running blindly into everything." 

"You know I didn't know crap, right?" Ty said. "I just told you what was going on, I didn't really know the way. That was all you. Well, that, and the signs Bodil put down."

Dad shook his head. "Still don't know why he didn't just save you himself since he knew where you were." 

"He was the biggest troll in the Kingdom. Probably thought it was some practical joke." He said. "Anyways, that's not the point here."

"So what is the point?"

"The point is, we have to go back to the Kingdom. That was the first place he went, he might have left some hints as to where all his bases are."

"Why would he leave a clue like that in the Kingdom and not in the old base?" 

"Nether if I know. He's a demon, I don't like to think about how his brain works." Ty said. "Besides, we've searched the base every day for almost three weeks. We've turned the whole place upside down, killed every last Shadow left behind."

Not every last Shadow, I thought. There's still some left for me.

"There's nothing there, Sky. We have to find another way, and we have to find it fast. I want my daughter back, and that base is giving us zilch on how to find her."

"Alright." Dad aid. "You have a point. I get it. But we still don't know if the Kingdom's still safe." 

"And what better way to find out than by going?"

I took that moment to pretend to wake up. I yawned, sitting up and stretching my arm. 

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." My dad said, smiling at me. 

"Ha-ha." I replied. "What time is it?" 

"About two in the afternoon. How long were you up last night?" 

"I don't know, I had to get Alyssa around one maybe?" I said. "Y'know, Jenna."

"Right." Dad said. "Well, Mitch said he found a group of pigs a little while away. There might be bacon left over, but I wouldn't count on it." 

"You ate all of it, didn't you?" I asked. 

He put a hand on his chest, gasping over-dramatically. "To be accused of such a thing by my own son!"

"Not just your son." Ty grinned. "I'll put money on it." 

"Betrayed by my best friend...I can't believe this! I'm appalled!" Dad yelled, a smile on his face. "Mutiny!" 

He pretended to pass out, falling backwards onto a bed. 

Ty looked at me. "You're raising yourself, aren't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah." I said, smiling. 

"Hey!" Dad said, sitting back up and hitting Ty in the face with a pillow. "I'll have you know, I'm a great dad!" 

Ty laughed, and turned back to me. "I think there's at least some eggs left over from yesterday, if your man-child of a dad did eat all of the bacon."

"I am not a man-child!" Dad yelled. "I am the manliest of men!" 

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dad." I said, standing up. "So, are we searching the base again today? Can't wait to stare at blank stone walls for hours again." 

Ty and Dad gave each other a look, the smiles on their faces fading. 

"What?" I asked. 

"Well, actually, Tyler," Ty started. "We're considering going back to the Kingdom." 

I pretended to be surprised. "The Kingdom? Really? Like, the actual Kingdom?" 

"No, the Kingdom run by the zombie called Bob." Dad said. "Yes, the actual Kingdom."

"That's the place where you guys built your army, right?" I asked. 

"Well, yes." Dad said. "How'd you know that?"

I hesitated a second before saying her name. "Skylar told me about your adventures."

There was a sudden tension in the air. 

Ty cleared his throat. "Well, we think there's a chance there could be a clue as to where Darklox went there. It was the first place he attacked after he was freed." 

"But it could be dangerous." Dad cut in. "So we might not end up going." 

"But why?" I asked. "This entire situation has been dangerous! Why stop now on a chance? We have to find him!"

"I don't want to see anymore of you hurt." Dad said. "Especially not you or Macey. We'll talk about this with the group later, okay?" 

And there it was. Dad mode. 

There was no getting past Dad mode. 

"Okay." I said, not meeting his eyes.

"Tyler, look at me." He said, and I did. "I don't want you to do anything stupid, alright? Don't go running for the Kingdom by yourself on nothing but slim chance. If we end up going, we're all going as a team. Understand?" 

I nodded. 

"Okay." He said, and left the room, leaving me alone with Ty in an awkward period of silence. 

"Is there really a chance there could be a clue there?" I asked, looking at him. 

"There could be." He replied. "I don't know. But I do know if there's a chance, we should take it. You should know by now that there's nothing in that base."

I nodded. "I know."

"There's something else." He said. "I know what it's like to be possessed by Darklox."

I sucked in a breath. 

"It's probably one of the worst things someone can endure. You're stuck in the back of your mind, powerless to do anything to stop yourself from hurting people. It kills some people, and if you survive, you never forget any of it. I still have nightmares of when one time, I almost watched myself kill your father." 

I stared at him. Darklox almost had him kill my dad? "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your dad might later, and I want you to hear it from me first. It takes a miracle to break free from him. If you're lucky to survive, consider it an act of Notch to expel him from you." 

I still didn't understand why he was telling me this. 

He breathed in. "I'm telling you this because when the time comes, Skylar might not be able to expel him, and...we still have to get rid of him."

"Are you saying-" I started, bewildered. 

"That we may have to kill her?" He finished. "No. That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?" I asked. 

"I'm saying that you have the sword that's probably our best shot of destroying him. And when the time comes...don't give up on her, okay? I don't want to see my daughter with a sword in her heart."

I stood there, unsure how to respond. "But-"

"Promise me." He said. 

I stood up a little straighter. He was only asking me to do something I had been planning on doing the whole time: getting Skylar out of this mess without killing her. This promise would probably be the easiest one to keep. 

"I promise." I said. "There no way in Nether I intend to let her go."

--

We had no submissions of TC2G art this week, so instead, have this really cool Shane art that someone sent to me in an email about a month ago (unfortunately I ended up deleting the email, so I don't remember who drew it :( if you drew this, please tell me in the comments because I love it!)