God I wish Alice was here, Will thought as he forced Tug into a gallop. There was really nothing he could do to attempt to stop one of Alice's assassins. They were very dangerous men. He ducked as a crossbow bolt flew over his head. Since when did they have crossbows? He pulled Tug off the path and into the forest. He looked back after a moment.

"Lost 'em" He muttered. He reined in Tug, wiping his head with the back of his right hand. The assassins go haywire without Alice leading them, he thought. Tug looked back at him.

What was that about?

Will shook his head."Nothing." He replied. Time he went back to camp. He turned Tug North-East, before riding off. It didn't take him long to get to camp. Where were the others though? He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around. A fist drove up underneath his chin, knocking him out.

"Will?!" Horace called. "Will?!" "Maybe he out ran them and went back to camp?" Halt suggested plainly. Horace scratched his head as he spoke. "I knew that" He said. "No you didn't" Gilan said. Horace glared at the Ranger. When they got back to the campsite, there was Will. Knocked out and injured. The three of them all dashed to his sides, and knelt down. Halt felt for a pulse. Good, he still had one.

"God where's Alice when ya need her" Halt said.

"Right here."

The three looked up. A girl loomed above them, weight seemingly on her right side, hand on the right of her hip, dark brown hair falling past her waist, grey-green cloak and deep set eyes.

"Alice?!" They all Chorused.

"I thought you'd need me" She said, kneeling down.

"What about your kids?" Halt Asked.

"They're over there" She said, pointing to thee figures a few steps right. Alice's kids and Crowley. The walked over now.

"What happened to him Mummy?" Asked the girl, worried.

"Don't worry Amber" Alice said, grabbing her daughter's hand. "He'll be fine."

"Yeah, Amber. Don't worry" Ryan said, putting an arm around his sister's shoulders.

Good lad, Alice thought, smiling grimly. Alice looked around for some sort of tracks. She got up for a better view. She found some tracks. Tracks of a man. Fresh ones too. She looked closer at them. Definitely a man's tracks.

"I'll be back" She said, easing her bow that was slung over her shoulder.

"Can I come?" Ryan and Amber asked in unison.

"Uh..." Alice said, not sure how to reply.

"Let 'em, Alice" Crowley said.

"But, that's..." She said, drifting off, not completely sure on how to end the sentence in the presence of her children.

"Dangerous?" Crowley finished.

"Yes, that" She said. Crowley shook his head.

"These two trained like hell when you were away" Crowley said. This was the most random time to have this conversation, but Alice was a random person sometimes. She sighed, then gestured for Amber and Ryan to follow her. The two screeched in excitement. She glared at them and they were quiet. As they followed the tracks, the three were all silent.

They mustve learnt stealth of Crowley, Alice thought. She stopped, the others following suit. She listened, her eyes darting here and there. There it was. The tread of a man. She headed that way. She grabbed her bow, and knocked an arrow to it, drawing back the bowstring to half draw. For now. She saw movement and fired her arrow. A cry of pain was released and there was a thump as her target hit the ground.

"Bingo" She muttered. Her children murmured to each other in amazement. She walked forward, picked up the dead man by the collar, and laid him where she could see him.

"Caught you" She muttered. She pulled out the arrow, wiped it on the grass and replaced it in her quiver. She looked the man up and down.

"And who might you be?" She muttered. No sign of any specified force. She found a shield, and picked it up.

"God this is heavy" She muttered. Free lance. "Shoulda known" She muttered.

"Uh, Mum" Ryan said, concern showing in his tone. Alice looked over her shoulder, than looked the way Ryan was pointing.

"HOLY CRAP!" She exclaimed. About 20 men. A scout force. "Get back to camp, kids" Alice said,

"Do you want us to get the others?" Amber asked.

"Just, I don't care, go!" Alice exclaimed hurriedly as she got up. The kids left, Alice unsheathing her sword. She charged at the force. Did these guys seriously have a free lance logo as the force symbol? It was a slight bit different.

Slight.

The first stroke came and Alice used the shield she had, borrowed, from the dead man, and when the stroke hit, she had braced herself for force. But there was nothing. She smiled, took down the shield and threw a sideways stroke at her attacker. He cried out, staggering back. The action caused a domino effect, as whoever was unfortunate to be behind him fell back.

(Warning: At this point I had just watched a bunch of TheOdd1sOut and a video from SomethingElseYT. So please don't judge if this is bad cause my mind was wandering to those vids.)

Alice just tilted her head, trying not to laugh. But that lasted for only a couple seconds as the second stroke came toward her. She raised the shield. Still no force when the stroke hit. She heard heavy footfall behind her, took a second to register if she knew the sound. The weight, the sound of the shoes. Yes, she did. Horace. And, Gilan? They were fighting at her sides before she knew it. The odds weren't level but the three were able to deal with them.

Since half of them seemed to just fall and die, Alice thought. They had just kinda, disappeared, since their comrade knocked them over when he tripped. A sharp pain struck Alice's lower arm, and she cried out. She held her ground. My fault, she thought. She tossed the shield to Gilan, who scrambled to grab it.

"Alice, what are you-" Horace began, before Alice seemed to almost dissapear in the crowd. It took about 2 minutes for it to register that Alice had become reckless. The two exchanged brief, worried glances. They both were having the same thought. Here we go again.

The wounds Alice had received in, what a skandian might call, her beserker moments, were more than fairly visible and bleeding like hell. Her curse had kicked in, and she really didn't feel anything. But, now, she did, but barely. Of course, the effects on her were not prevented, but the pain was avoided. Alice swayed and stumbled with every second step. She needed medical attention. Fast.