Disclaimer: I do not own harvest moon or any of the characters related to the series. If I did, I would be rich. All characters are copyright to their respective companies. I DID, however, create the character of Mathew Cane. If you try to steal him, I will send a legion of spork-wielding chipmunks after you. All characters here are fictional, and are by no way substitute for real life. This fanfic contains no carbohydrates. And for the love of god, it's just MAKE BELIEVE!

Chapter 3: Ambush

The wind blew through Matt's hair as he sized up his unsuspecting foe. Tightening his grip on his tool of destruction, he prepared to unleash his fury...

"Matt!" shouted Takakaru, causing him to fall flat on the tree stump in front of him. "Quit screwin' around! That stump will just as soon chop itself up for us before you finally start working on it!"

Sara couldn't help but laugh as Matt stood up muttering.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting to it!" retorted Matt, as he brought the axe down in a wide arc, cutting a deep gash into the base of the trunk. Pulling back, Matt was surprised to find that the axe had gotten stuck.

"Son of a..." he grunted, as he tried to pull out the axe. Giving it a good yank, he fell flat on his back as the axe came free. Sara burst into laughter, as Takakaru shook his head.

"You're still doing it wrong, you fool." muttered Takakaru, picking Matt up off the ground. "You can't do it all at once. You have to chop through little by little, otherwise you'll get the axe stuck or break it."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever old man." grumbled Matt, as he turned back to the stump. As he began chopping, Sara looked back at him from where she was tilling the soil. Looking back at the fields, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

It's been only a week, and we've already made quite a bit of progress. She thought, glancing at the three plots of crops. Another day or two and are first harvest will be ready... I can't believe we've done so much already!

Glancing back at Matt, she couldn't help but smile as she watched him argue with Takakaru. He act's a little childish at times, but he's been working himself really hard. I wonder if that's how he's been his whole life?

"What? Something wrong?" asked Matt, giving her a strange look. Snapping back to reality, Sara turned bright red as she turned back to her work.

"No! I was just wondering when you were going to stop fooling around and get back to work!" she blurted, trying to cover her slip up.

"Yeesh, not you too." groaned Matt, as he took one final swing at the trunk. Sara stared in shock as the whole thing split into 6 perfectly shaped logs.

"How did you do that?" muttered Sara, as Matt picked up the logs.

"Hey, it's my mad chopping skills!" replied Matt, grinning.

"The hell it is." grumbled Takakaru. "You just got lucky, that's all."

Sara smiled to herself as the two of them started arguing again.

"Man, I'm beat." muttered Matt, as he took a swig of water. Takakaru grunted in reply as Sara went inside to change out of her work clothes. "How much more of this do we need to do for now, Tak?"

"Well," mumbled Takakaru, as he wiped his forehead with his towel. "I think we'll be fine with what we have for the fields after tomorrow. Next, we'll start clearing the pasture so we can start planting grass. We'll need it before we can get any animals."

"Animals?" Matt stated, stretching his arms. "Why do we need animals?"

"Well for one, Sara wants to get some." grumbled Takakaru. "She used to play with them as a kid... I'm guessing that she just wants some to call her own. Also, it's not a bad source of income."

"What, are we going to sell them to a meat factory or something?" questioned Matt, raising his eyebrow. It didn't sound like something Sara would do.

"No you idiot!" barked Takakaru, smacking Matt across the head. "And don't you ever say that to Sara, you fool! She'd kill you for simply thinking it. I meant that we could sell eggs, milk, and wool if we got some animals. If we had a horse, we could also race in the horse races. They offer a damn good amount of money to whoever wins the race."

"Sounds fine, I guess." muttered Matt as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I'm going to go cool off in town for a bit. Tell Sara I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

Takakaru muttered in reply as Matt walked out the gate.

Mayor Thomas stared nervously at the man in front of him.

I don't think I'll ever get used to how closely everyone from Mineral Village resembles us here. He thought, as Officer Harris cleared his throat.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" asked the mayor, as he put on his game face. Part of being a good mayor was being able to look cheerful when you were downright nervous.

"I wouldn't really call it a pleasure." said the officer, nervously scratching his head. "I actually came here to give you a heads-up. There's been some disturbances on the island lately."

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas, as he felt dread growing inside of him. Officer Harris never came to visit unless there was something seriously wrong.

"Two days ago, a gang of bandits came to Mineral Village. They went to the inn there and caused a huge commotion, which resulted in Jack, the owner of the farm, getting injured. Additionally, the same group was spotted around Forget-Me-Not Valley a few days prior, causing harm to the farmer there."

"It sounds like they're targeting the farms." said Thomas, feeling concerned.

"Exactly. There's no doubt about it. We think they might have been hired by the farmer from Port City at the mainland, but we can't do anything about it without some hard evidence."

"What about the Forest Village? Have they gotten any reports about them?"

"Not yet." said Harris, scratching the back of his head. "I don't think they've made it that far yet. That's not the concern right now, though. A few hours ago, they were spotted near the mountain trail! We have to warn the owners of the farm here!"

"Indeed." mumbled Thomas.

I need to warn Takakaru right away. thought Thomas, feeling sick to his stomach. There's no telling what might happen.

Sara couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when Takakaru told her that Matt had gone into the village while she was changing.

Darn. I wanted to see if he would go hiking with me today.

Sighing, she grabbed her rucksack and told Takakaru she was going for a hike . After leaving through the front gate, she took the path leading down the mountain trail. After half an hour, she paused, letting out another sigh as a slight breeze blew through her hair.

"Hi Sara!"

Whipping her head around, Sara noticed Popuri waving at her, along with a red- haired girl. Smiling, she waved at them, as she headed in their direction.

"Hi!" said the red-haired girl, sticking her hand out. "You must be the new farmer everyone's talking about! My name's Ann, I live over at Green Ranch down the road!"

"I'm Sara." she said, shaking Ann's hand. "What are you two doing out here?"

"Picking flowers for my mom's shop." replied Popuri, in a cheerful voice. Ann rolled her eyes, bringing Sara close.

"She kinda dragged me into this." whispered Ann. "I would never be caught dead doing this on my own."

"I know what you mean." laughed Sara, as she watched Popuri hum a tune while picking flowers. "That kind of stuff doesn't appeal to me that much either."

"Why don't you help us out then so I can end this humiliation?" whispered Ann. "After we're done, I'll show you around the ranch!"

"Sure!" said Sara, as she smiled. "I've always wanted to see what Green Ranch looks like!"

Neither of them noticed the shadows looming over them from the cliff above as they went to work.

"She went for a hike?!" shouted Thomas and Harris in unison.

"Yes." grumbled Takakaru, slightly annoyed at being cut off. "Why? Something happen?"

"She could be in danger at this very moment!" hissed Harris, as he stared down at Thomas.

"Who's in danger?" said Matt, as he walked through the gates.

"Matt? Have you seen Sara lately?" asked Thomas, hopefull.

"No, I didn't see her. Why, what's up?"

Thomas and Harris related the whole story to Takakaru and Matt.

"Shit!" yelled Matt, panic clear on his face.

"No kidding!" yelled Takakaru, clenching his teeth. "This is a big problem, Matt! If we don't find her before they do, she could be seriously hurt, or worse!"

Turning around, Takakaru realized Matt had already run off towards the mountain trail.

"Huh?! Shit, get back here Matt!" Muttering a string of profanity, Takakaru shook his head. Matt was going to get in too deep if he charged in like that. Turning to Officer Harris, he grunted before the three of them set off for the trail.

Don't do anything stupid, Matt. thought Takakaru as he hurried down the path.
Matt had to duck as a low tree branch came into view, nearly tripping in the process.

Shit! Of all the times for her to take a walk, why'd it have to be now?! thought Matt as he jumped over a boulder that was in the way. If something happens to her, there'll be hell to pay to whoever hurts her!!

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the sky, causing Matt to stop dead in his tracks.

Shit. They must have found her!

Running towards the scream, Matt felt a sense of dread wash over him.

Stay safe, Sara. I'm on my way.

"They're so cute!!!!!!!!!" shouted Popuri, while Sara and Ann looked at her, startled.

"Geez... think you could scream any louder?" commented Ann, wincing. Sara shook her head, turning towards the direction Popuri was staring in. Ann did the same, gasping at the sight.

Her jaw nearly hit the ground when she saw what Popuri was looking at. Before her stood seven tiny... people. Each one of them had different color shirts on. They were staring curiously at the three of them.

Suddenly, the one in red spoke up.

"Buddum. Three girls picking flowers? At a time they should be fleeing?"

"Buddum. Flee they should. Trouble comes forth." said the blue one. Sara felt a sudden anxiety.

"What?" said Ann, slightly alarmed. "What's coming our way?"

"Buddum. Wickedness comes your way. Flee you must." chanted the purple one.

"What are you?" asked Sara, fear growing stronger.

"Buddum. Sprites of Harvest we are." chanted the blue sprite.

Harvest Sprites? Thought Sara. What is going on here?

Suddenly, a chilling wind blew through the trail, causing a chill to run through Sara's spine.

"Buddum. Flee! Evil comes now! Flee, or the Silence of Death you shall feel!"

Suddenly, the sprites were gone. Popuri shifted uneasily, while Ann and Sara stared numbly at each other.

"Wh-What do y-you t-think we should d-do?" stuttered Ann.

"W-what do you t-think?" replied Sara, with a shaky voice. They both stared at each other, before seizing Popuri and running like mad.

"Damn, they must have noticed us." replied the thug as he watched the girls run off. "They were acting kind of weird down there. What the hell do you think they saw, big bro?"

"The hell if I know." muttered the large man. "But they're gonna get away if we don't stop them. Everyone, fan out! We'll catch them at the river ahead!"

The men shouted in unison, raising weapons above their heads.

Sara fell to the ground, breathing hard. Someone was definitely chasing them, of that she was certain. Ann and Popuri collapsed next to her, gasping for air. They were exhausted. They soothing sound of the river bank did little to calm the, though.

A sudden shout came from they left, as a large man with an iron pipe came charging from out of the bushes. Sara stared in shock, as Popuri screamed in terror.

Ann, however, jumped up to her feet, grabbing a broken tree branch. charging forward, she barely avoided a blow from the pipe, and slammed the branch straight into the man's face. screaming, he fell to the ground as his eyes rolled back into his head, slipping into unconsciousness.

"Damn it, now's not the time to sit down trembling in fear!" growled Ann, helping Sara and Popuri up. Sara suddenly noticed someone charging from behind Ann. Grabbing her hammer out of her rucksack, Sara leapt forward, slamming it full force into the attacker. He went flying off into the distance, disappearing into the horizon.

"Nice one, Sara!" shouted Ann, smirking her way. Sara flashed a quick victory sign, before staring back towards the bushes.

"Hmph. Not bad." stated a large man, as he stepped out into the clearing. "I like it when they put up a fight." he sneered.

"Shut up. Why did you attack us?" yelled Ann, clearly angered.

"Ain't it obvious?" grinned the man. "You're friend there is the owner of the farm. We've been "commissioned" by farmer Gregory of Port City to take you out. You see, he doesn't appreciate the fact that your snotty little island is making more of a profit than his farm."

"What?!" shouted Sara, enraged. "He's doing this because we make more money than him?!"

"You catch on fast, pretty girl." sneered the man. "To bad you don't catch on fast enough. Surround them!"

Men jumped out in to the clearing, forming a circle around the three girls. Popuri whimpered, while the other two stared in fear.

"Too bad, looks like your luck has run out!" shouted a man, as he charged towards Sara with a knife, knocking Ann over in the process.

So this is the end? thought Sara, as she cringed.

Matt came just in time to see the man charge towards Sara. Kicking into action, he ran past a couple of surprised thugs, slamming his fist straight into the attackers face, knocking him straight down to the ground.

Growls of anger came from all around, as the gang glared at Matt. He ignored their stares, looking straight at Sara, who was looking at him startled.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. Sara half nodded, tears in her eyes. Looking down at the other two, he received two more startled nods before glaring towards the leader.

"Get the hell out of here." he muttered, icily.

"Nice joke, kid." muttered the man. Suddenly, his eyes showed a hint of recognition. A low chuckle escaped his lips, turning into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"What the hell is this guy's problem?" muttered Ann, as she stared in confusion.

"Matt? Matthew Cane?" he howled, slapping his leg. "You're the washed-up boxer who lost that match last week against Mr. Dream! YOU'RE the cavalry?"

Matt let a growl escape from his lips as the men around him burst into laughter. Sara stared at him, realization hitting her.

So that's why Takakaru brought him here. thought Sara, feeling sadness build up inside her.

"So what if I am." stated Matt, voice cold as ice. He had a dangerous look in his eyes. "That was boxing. This is a good old fashion brawl. There's a nice big difference between the two of them."

"And that would be?" taunted the man.

"Well for starters..." said Matt, as he charged towardsthe nearest opponent. "In a street fight, I can do THIS!"

Dodging an attack from a man holding a bat with nails, Matt spun around, planting a solid kick to the man's face. A resounding crack was heard as the man fell back. Snatching the bat out of the man's hands, Matt flung it straight into the face of the man next to him, causing him to scream in pain. Dropping under another swing, Matt swung his foot out to the attackers knee cap, causing the guy to cry out as he fell in pain.

"Watch out, Matt!" screamed Sara, slamming her hammer down hard on the skull of a man right behind him. Matt looked back startled, as the man whimpered in pain before collapsing.

"Yeesh... remind me never to piss you off." muttered Matt, as he stared at Sara. She grinned before turning around to see Ann kicking the crap out of another man.

Suddenly, a loud shot rang out in the air. A sharp pain shot through Matt's left shoulder, causing him to yell as he fell down to the ground. Sara screamed, as she stared at Matt's limp body. Popuri turned her head in fear, while Ann whirled around, glaring at the leader. He was holding a smoking gun.

"That's far enough." he said, clearly enraged.

End of chapter!

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!! TASTE THE EVIL KNOW AS THE CLIFF-HANGER!!!!!!! Lol, anyways, hope you liked that chapter! Next chapter, find out what happens to Matt and the others. Also, I felt like tinkering around with the harvest sprites a bit (They're too damn cheery in the game... I always imagined them to be a little more freaky, heheh :P ) Hope you guys liked that! Anyways, read and review! And thanks to those who have done so!