Thresher's departure left an uncomfortable void in the air, as their minds worked to process the brief exchange. Renard's expression had grown troubled and introspective, whereas Leaf still wore a scowl, his brown eyes glaring after the Scizor, but the rest of his body was unable to follow suit, thanks to Shadow protectively curling himself around his brother.

"What was that about?" Shadow asked the Ninetales, preventing the silence from becoming excessive. Renard blinked and cocked his head inquisitively at the black Espeon. "Astrid never explained much about him, other than you used to be on the same team," he continued, frowning.

"That is correct," Renard said softly, his expression unreadable. When he gave no sign of clarifying further, Shadow scowled impatiently.

"Well? What happened between you all? Why is there so much tension between him and Astrid?"

"I don't know if now is an appropriate time to get into such matters," Renard said, still speaking in that same soft tone. "Judging by what Thresher said, the forest will soon become a battleground. It is best that we do not linger here, and press on."

"So we're just not going to do anything to stop it?" Leaf demanded, and Shadow flinched, alarmed by his brother's agitated tone.

"There is not much we can do to stop it," Renard answered plainly. "Territory hostilities are an endless and inevitable cycle, and the most positive result is most often a temporary ceasefire. Unless all the dissenters are completely eradicated, or the current leadership of the territory is toppled, it will never cease, and if the balance is upset to that degree, it only gives birth to a new power struggle."

"But we can do something, can't we?"

"Not while remaining neutral," Renard insisted solemnly. "To lend our strength to one cause will make us enemies to the opposing faction. We do not have the strength or numbers to devote to a conflict that we have no right to get involved in. I apologize, but the unfortunate reality is that you can't protect everyone. Not all conflicts can be resolved peacefully, or without casualties."

It was clear from his face that Leaf fully intended to argue against this, but Shadow leaned over and nuzzled his cheek, distracting Leaf long enough for Renard to begin walking again, leading them down the forest pathway opposite the direction Thresher had traveled in. Leaf was initially reluctant to follow, but Shadow's gentle urging won out, and the Leafeon trailed after Renard, his ears and tail drooping moodily.

The shift in Leaf's mood was a little troubling to Shadow. It thankfully wasn't as bad as when Leaf was deprived of sunlight, but it was more natural moodiness. Despite the times where he showed greater wisdom and maturity, fact was, Leaf was still young enough to be considered a kit. He didn't have the same grasp or understanding of the rest of the world and how things operated, and it was upsetting to see him when he was so disillusioned with reality, or if he felt that his feelings were being ignored. If Shadow was lucky, he would perk up again before long, but otherwise, he would stubbornly cling to his moodiness until the issue was either resolved or forgotten entirely. How uncooperative he was going to be during this time depended entirely on how much he could get away with.

To make the situation more uncomfortable for Shadow, he actually understood Leaf's viewpoint. Strange as it might sound to be siding with Leaf over a situation that could put them in harm's way, he understood why the situation bothered him. It wasn't just about Bee-Bee, but about all the other Pokemon living in the forest that may want little more than to go about their lives in peace and find happiness. The constant fighting and danger that consumed the forest put everyone at risk, even those that had nothing to do with the conflict.

At the same time, Shadow believed that Renard was making the correct decision in not getting involved. The two of them had gotten stronger over the past couple of weeks, but there was no way they were strong enough to get involved in conflicts with serious, life-or-death stakes, and mark themselves as enemies to another faction that far outnumbered them. As much as he'd like to try to explain this to Leaf, he knew that right now, Leaf did not want to hear it.

An unpleasant thought was beginning to work itself into Shadow's mind. As time went on, he was starting to notice that Leaf was developing an inclination towards protecting others. When they had first evolved, Leaf had expressed a wish to help Shadow protect him, and do similarly for his older brother, and that had been a sweet sentiment at the time, but it was becoming clearer that not only did Leaf truly mean what he said, he was becoming more adamant about pursuing this desire. When they returned to the forest last week or so, Leaf had convinced him to lend a paw to Bee-Bee's fight, and the Leafeon himself had fought extremely well.

But later on...despite being exhausted, sunlight deprived, and outmatched, the Leafeon had engaged Diablos on Shadow's behalf. He had insisted on continuing in a weakened state, despite Shadow's pleas, and even refused Frost's attempt to switch in for him. No matter what anyone said or did to discourage him, Leaf had fought on, insisting that he had to do his part to protect Shadow.

A shiver ran down the Espeon's spine as he recalled how that battle had concluded, and his stomach churned unpleasantly. He had yet to tell Leaf what had happened, partially because he didn't know how to approach the subject in the first place, since Leaf seemed to have no recollection of the event. How would one go about telling someone that one of their mental managers was able to usurp control entirely and direct them to act on vicious desires, with Leaf himself none the wiser?

Shadow made a mental note, that the next time he managed to access his mindscape again, to ask whether Devine's behavior was considered normal for a consciousness. Were there times in his own experiences that one of his own consciousnesses took over, with Shadow unaware of it happening?

Shadow was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice the others had stopped walking until he walked directly into Renard. The bulk of the fire fox's tails cushioned the impact, but he still received a brief glare from the Ninetales. The Espeon hastily backpedaled, giving Renard an apologetic look.

"What is it?" Shadow whispered, almost forgetting to speak with the reduced volume.

"I am again going to pause to inspect the energy of our present location. Stay alert and do not drop your guard," Renard explained. Without waiting for a response, the Ninetales stepped forward, and his eyes again lit up with an ethereal blue gleam. Leaf's eyes darted around at the trees around them, as Renard slowly swiveled his neck, scanning their surroundings. A moment or two later, Renard's eyes returned to their normal red coloration and he winced, but this time, did not stumble. It wasn't difficult to deduce from these past two examples that using that ability took a tremendous toll on the Ninetales' energy levels.

"Anything?" Shadow wondered, unable to keep the apprehension from his voice. He was beginning to feel uneasy in the pit of his stomach, and the absence of other Pokemon, in addition to the darkness of the forest, was not helping matters. He strained his ears, hoping to pick up some distant sounds that might indicate whether they were truly safe in their present locations, but very little stood out.

"Yes," Renard answered, his tone grim. "Many past battles have been fought in this area. Little physical evidence of those struggles remain, but there is a higher concentration of what I tentatively shall label as 'soul energy'. Fortunately, those souls do not still wander the battleground where they perished, but there remains the faint imprint of those lives."

The Ninetales inhaled abruptly, but his exhale was more drawn out and calm, veiling the momentary loss of composure. Shadow observed Renard carefully. Their previous conversations had touched upon the idea of Renard outliving his friends and loved ones, due to his species' longevity, but this moment confirmed to Shadow that he was not immune to the impact of death. No matter how numbly his eyes gazed upon the world, the sense of loss still touched Renard.

"Could...that be the source of the negative energy or whatever that you're hunting for?" Shadow wondered. Renard closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"The ongoing territory war is a symptom, not the cause," he answered, and as he reopened his eyes, Shadow noticed that the Ninetales appeared much older now. His body drooped slightly, as if burdened by many weights, and his gaze seemed worn and fatigued, as if he had been working on a demanding task for the entire day, with little pause. "However...it would not do to forget that the symptom is destructive in nature."

"That's why I'm saying we should help!" Leaf grumbled irritably.

"No. I agreed to bring you along, but on the condition that I would not put you in harm's way. Even if we wished to try to dissolve the conflict, we would be outnumbered, and Thresher's strength is far beyond either of you," Renard sighed.

"What about you?" Shadow wondered, before he could stop himself.

"I was never Thresher's equal in combat," Renard answered with a humorless chuckle. "Even when we trained together, my advantages came from age and experience, and of course, my Fire-typing. In this environment, however, an errant flame could engulf the entire forest. I would never risk using fire in here, and Thresher would know that."

"But...you used that weird blue fire earlier," Leaf protested in confusion. Renard shook his head.

"That was Will-O-Wisp," Renard explained. "It has fire-like properties, but it is in reality, ghostly flames. It does not ignite objects, but its use in combat are limited. The three of us combined are not enough to defeat Thresher, and even if we were, you must not forget that he is not alone."

"How strong is he?" Shadow wondered, frowning. He had been getting hopeful before that his and Leaf's improvements might mean that they might finally start becoming confident and capable of traveling freely without much fear and apprehension, but now he was starting to get the impression that there were always going to be opponents that were simply on a level beyond them.

Renard was silent for a few moments, his tails fluttering distractedly. "Thresher was the most dedicated battler on our former team. He constantly strived to surpass himself, and was very good at coordinating others by their strengths, or to compensate for their weaknesses. His greatest flaw is his ego, as it causes him to underestimate others, or to act rashly when agitated."

"So...pretty much exactly like Frost," Shadow deadpanned. Leaf laughed quietly, before remembering that he was supposed to be acting moody, and he hastily modified his expression to look unamused and aggravated. He wasn't fooling anyone.

"I can imagine a similarity," Renard agreed, pausing to survey their surroundings and gesturing with his tails for them to follow him as he continued down the path. "Although I can indeed be a match for him under more flexible conditions, I would confidently consider Astrid to his equal, but in practice, she has always surpassed him."

"Really?" Shadow said skeptically. He had thus far seen Astrid in battle twice, first when she handled the Sigilyph that he and Force had been struggling against, and again when she attacked Diablos, only to be beaten fairly easily. He got the impression she was a competent battler, but for Renard to speak of Thresher so highly, when Shadow had seen his battle against Frost, and then afterwards label Astrid as stronger than the Scizor...it felt like there was a severe disconnect between Renard's opinion and what Shadow had actually seen demonstrated from the Absol.

"Astrid is remarkably strong," Renard said softly. "Do not be misled by her personality or demeanor. When she needs to take a battle seriously, she is a dangerous opponent. Thresher respects her ability, and prefers to avoid a direct engagement."

Shadow glanced at Leaf, wondering if the Leafeon shared his skepticism, but Leaf was completely oblivious to the glance, instead focusing on the trees around them, a frown creasing his face.

"What's up?" Shadow whispered to Leaf.

"Isn't this close to where we got separated last time?" the Leafeon asked nervously. Shadow raised an eyebrow, and paused to take stock of his surroundings. It wasn't the exact point where the chaos had occurred, but it was definitely close to it. There was a greater abundance of broken branches and gaps in the trees, as if many different creatures had forced their way through the underbrush and hanging twigs. Another shiver of foreboding raced through Shadow's body, and he looked towards Renard anxiously, but the Ninetales didn't seem to have noticed their unease, as he was frowning and looking in a different direction.

"Something wrong?" Shadow asked, directing his words to the Ninetales.

"There is a far stronger vibe of uneasiness in this area," Renard said solemnly, and he gestured towards the surrounding plants and trees. "And greater signs of destruction, and not the typical brand I expect from battling Bug-type Pokemon. It's more...elemental in nature. Projectile attacks and blasts of energy."

"Maybe from when the Sigilyph attacked us," Shadow suggested. Renard nodded slowly, considering the idea. After a brief pause, the Ninetales' eyes lit up with the blue glow again, and he surveyed the area.

Sudden movement among the trees caught Shadow's eye and he turned towards the source, his forehead gem lighting up. A blur of gold erupted from the trees, cutting across Shadow's body and knocking the Espeon backwards. Pain exploded from his chest, and Leaf let out a startled cry.

The sound of buzzing wings filled the air, and the noise seemed suddenly deafening compared to the uneasy silence during the rest of the time spent in the forest. Shadow touched a paw to his chest, relieved to discover that he wasn't bleeding, despite the searing pain. Growling, he rose back to his feet, his silver eyes darting around the area in pursuit of whatever it was that had just ambushed him.

"What the-?" Renard blurted, the abrupt commotion undoubtedly interrupting his ethereal scan of the area, and as a side effect, appeared to leave him disoriented and fatigued. His red eyes were glazed and unfocused, and he was struggling to keep his eyelids open. Shadow's ears twitched, trying to distinguish where the buzzing sounds were coming from and locate the enemy.

His forked tail twitched, and Shadow hurled himself sideway, colliding with the trunk of the nearest tree as a consequence, but he spotted the glint of gold from the corner of his eye, as it swept through the space he had occupied a moment previously. The movement likewise caught Leaf's attention, and he growled, his eyes following the golden blur the best he could.

Unfortunately, the golden blur was moving too rapidly to identify or attempt to attack. Shadow knew it was useless from the beginning. Even with projectile attacks, the opponent was too fast to hit outside of pure chance, and in this sort of enclosed area, it was too dangerous to even consider with Renard and Leaf nearby.

Leaf evidently hadn't gotten the memo, because he immediately launched a flurry of leaves from his body towards the moving shape, each of the leaves glinting in the snatches of sunlight available. Renard cast the Leafeon a disapproving glare that went entirely unnoticed, as the leaves passed uncomfortably close to the Ninetales' body, while also coming nowhere close to the rapidly moving enemy.

"Don't shoot those so close to us," Shadow hissed in an undertone. Leaf winced, and glanced down at his paws guiltily, but Shadow had a far more pressing concern than whether Leaf thought he was being scolded. "What is that thing?" the Espeon demanded of the air.

"Ninjask," Renard answered solemnly.

"What? How can you tell?"

"Ninjask are absurdly agile Bug-type Pokemon commonly found in forests," Renard murmured. "Its familiar, darting movement pattern and golden coloration gives me enough information to identify it, even though I cannot see it clearly. However, I doubt it is attacking alone."

Shadow flinched, and his eyes darted about wildly, searching for some sign of another Pokemon preparing to ambush them. The golden blur had disappeared into the trees again, and even the sound of buzzing wings had faded away. The silence was even more unnerving than the sudden commotion of its appearance, but Shadow wasn't sure how to proceed. Moving seemed like it might prompt the ambush, but standing still was doing no good, either.

"Then...should we just leave?" Shadow asked hopefully.

"That is an option," Renard agreed, but he didn't move, his expression twisting into a solemn frown. "Yet the source of the negative energy is beyond here. Are they guarding it? Or is the ongoing battle-"

A loud crying sound echoed through the trees, and Shadow nearly jumped out of his skin, his heart rate accelerating so abruptly that he clutched his chest with one paw, convinced for a moment that his heart was about to explode. Leaf latched onto his brother so tightly that Shadow found himself contending with the possibility of breaking a rib in addition to his chest pain.

Renard jerked his head up at the sound, and swiveled around, his red eyes glaring into the shadows. Shadow followed suit, peering into the shadows around them, before finally looking over his shoulder to double check that nothing was sneaking up behind them.

"What the-?" he gasped, his mouth forming more words soundlessly as he stared at the colossal net of thick, white strands woven across the path behind them. It might have started as a simple fence near the bottom, but had grown much larger, criss-crossing through the path and even sweeping through the trees on either side of the path, forming a large barrier that prevented them from retreating. How had this appeared in such a short time without any of them noticing? When he peered more closely at the strands, he noticed that they were coated in a strange, fluid-like substance that he was immediately disinclined to touch.

"I see. Running will not be an option, after all," Renard lamented quietly. His red eyes flashed momentarily, and he faced forward again, before taking several purposeful steps. Shadow hesitated, unsure if he was supposed to follow or not, but the Ninetales gave no indication of wanting them to come after him.

He made it at least four or five paces before a shape burst out from the trees, and Renard leapt back with incredible agility, a feat that might have seemed impossible considering his age and the bulkiness of his tails. His eyes lit up with an intense, dark purple light, and the rapidly moving shape immediately veered off course, colliding with one of the forest trees with an unpleasant crunching sound. The impact was great enough to catapult the insect into the air, its golden body spinning like a discus before finally striking the ground and tumbling across the dirt path, where it stopped at Shadow's feet.

Now that it had stopped moving, Shadow could make out its features. It was definitely a Bug-type Pokemon, with a primarily black and gray body but its face and back were covered in a golden-colored armor that vaguely resembled a mask, and its exposed wings were white with red markings near the tips. Its legs twitched feebly, and one if its wings was bent at an unnatural angle, likely from its high-speed collision with the tree.

"Holy hell...what did you DO?" Shadow asked, his stomach squirming unpleasantly at the sight of the injured Bug-type. Even though it had attacked them first, the end result of the skirmish horrified him.

"Confuse Ray," Renard answered solemnly, looking over at the incapacitated insect with visible pity. "As I thought, it was a Ninjask. They are exceptional fast and capable of precise maneuvers even in such an enclosed space, but by disorienting it mid-flight, those traits cease to be an advantage."

"Is it going to be okay?" Leaf asked, tentatively peering closer at the insect.

"Doubtful," an unfamiliar, feminine voice stated.

Shadow and Leaf jerked their heads up, looking around wildly for the source, whereas Renard merely cocked his head to one side, surveying the surrounding trees with a hint of wariness. Shadow's fur bristled, and his forehead gem shimmered, readying himself for battle. The Ninjask at his feet twitched again, drawing his attention in time to see a white thread latch onto the disabled bug, identical to the ones that formed the barrier on the path. His gaze followed the thread upwards, into the treetops.

The thread grew taut, and then began reeling itself back into the trees, like a bizarre form of a fishing line, pulling the Ninjask at the end. Leaf craned his neck to follow the ascending insect, and then inhaled sharply as he spotted the source of the web line.

Shadow shifted his position to get a better vantage point of the tree branches, and after a few seconds of searching the canopy, he spotted a large arachnid perched upon an overhead branch. It was astonishingly difficult to see in the dark forest, because it had a purple-blue body, but its legs were yellow with blue stripes. It had vicious looking fangs where its mouth might be, and a venomous looking stinger above its eerie blue eyes.

The arachnid finished reeling in its line, and examined the injured Ninjask with a critical eye, like the winner of an arcade game examining its prize. Its eyes flashed, and it clicked its fangs with a distinct sound.

"You've met with a terrible fate, my darling," it crooned, as if speaking to a lover, but the tone was blatantly condescending. "I promise you, your efforts to our cause will not be forgotten, and your sacrifice will nourish me."

Shadow furrowed his brow in confusion. The confusion was instantly replaced with sheer, overwhelming horror as the arachnid sank its fangs into the unconscious Ninjask's fleshy underside, and proceeded to messily devour it. Leaf let out a wail and collapsed to the ground, burying his face in his paws in an effort to block the image from his mind, and the sound of distressed sobbing soon followed. Shadow wanted nothing more than to look away, but he stood where he was, transfixed, yet repulsed, by what he was witnessing.

Renard averted his gaze, his expression one of disgust mingling with grudging acceptance. "An Ariados," he murmured.

Shadow finally managed to break his focus away from the ravenous spider, swallowing forcefully in the hopes of keeping his last meal down. He was no stranger to the concept of hunting other Pokemon for food, but that didn't mean he found it pleasant to witness the feeding itself.

"Ahh...that's better," the Ariados crooned, and Shadow jumped as the lifeless husk of the Ninjask dropped to the ground nearby. It was now almost entirely grey, as if all its life had been drained from its body, leaving only an empty shell that had moments ago been a living creature. Before his eyes, the body seemed to be disintegrating into dust, as if it had never existed.

A surge of anger raced through Shadow's body, and he glared up at the blue arachnid, his silver eyes reduced to slits.

"Why did you do that?" he demanded, gesturing towards the disintegrating husk.

"Waste not," the Ariados replied simply, and its fangs clicked. "Even if he survived, a crippled wing is a death sentence. He cannot further my - or should I say 'our'- goals if he cannot fight or even fly, so why waste our resources to keep deadweight alive, when he can nourish me with his body, and nourish our cause with his soul?"

"His soul?" Renard repeated, bewildered. "Who exactly are you?"

"My name is Ariana," the Ariados answered pleasantly.

"Are you responsible for constructing that barrier of webbing across the forest path?" Renard pressed. His tone and stance were relaxed, but Shadow could practically feel the tension in the air. It was even stronger than previous times he had been in the forest, only trumped by the situations where he was face-to-face with Diablos.

"Of course. I apologize for any inconvenience, but it is my right to question travelers straying too closely to my nest," Ariana murmured. "Specifically, those two little ones."

"What? Why?" Shadow demanded, baring his teeth at the spider. She answered with a strange, hiss-like snicker, and dropped off of the branch she was perched upon. Rather than falling normally, she descended at a slower rate, suspended by a line of webbing produced from her back end. Once she was within range, she latched her hooked legs around the next branch and pulled herself onto this new perch, gazing intently down at the two Eeveelutions.

"You've both been flagged by my associates," Ariana answered simply, and clicked her fangs. "So I will need to determine whether or not you are enemies. And if you are..." She let the sentence trail off, and her blue eyes glowed ominously.

"I won't allow you to harm them," Renard warned, stepping forward and fixing the Ariados with an intense glare that caused an involuntary shudder to run through Shadow's body, and he wasn't even the one the glare was directed towards. Ariana, however, seemed more amused than intimidated.

"I only harm my enemies," she murmured silkily. "But unfortunately, an ally of my enemies is likewise an enemy. Are you sure you want to play that game with me?"