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CHAPTER 20

Grip of Dark Desires

With the events of the temple now through, the deku scrubs had been teleported outside the temple, Ilye having been teleported last. They were not surprised to see Silver Keaton outside the temple waiting on them. The cunning fox sat in front of them swishing his tails patiently. He was not surprised to see the group all tired and tattered. Even with the scars they gained during the dark-half battles having been healed, Jace and Iris still looked like a beaten mess from prior run-ins with danger. Poor Jace especially looked like a rag-doll. He had tired eyes and was beaten a lot. He was tired and ready for a good sleep and a good meal. Iris was also tired and lacked nourishment. Ilye, though physically well, was a mental wreck. This seemed to worry Keaton a bit... The adventure was becoming straining on them, but they still needed to get off the island soon. Would they even be able to make the journey back? And Ilye's inner depression was not very good on Keaton, either.

"As much as I hate to say it young ones, we have no time to sit and rest. We must go, and soon." Keaton warned.
Jace sighed before setting his sword to where it was comfortable. He'd just finished setting his daggers up to where they were sheathed at his belt. "Alright..."
Skits was sitting on Iris' head, worried for the well being of his comrades. Being an animal, he could even since llye's inner bother. Keaton soon added on. "Actually... I'm not letting you guys row back to Great Bay, that'd just be foolish." the keaton could only ponder before quickly coming up with an idea. "We'll have Valous help out. I'm sure he wont mind. Besides, we can't risk much else at this point... Come now, let us all head back to the Dovah village..."

Keaton was now leading the group, everyone else following behind. Ilye was right behind Keaton, but Jace and Iris- with Skits on her head, were practically dragging their rears while following. Jace looked to Iris and smiled softly, though he was quiet and lacked words. Regardless of how they felt, Jace could definitely say they had a productive fight in the temple.
"Leavance and soon-to-be Leavance, keep up if you can please..." Keaton called out. This caused Jace to groan and he pressed on to keep up with Keaton. It was this that caused Silver Keaton to stop.
"Hold on..."

He walked back to Jace and Iris and looked them over. He read them then sighed softly. "Okay... You two, hop on my back. We need to speed things up."
"Sorry, Silver..." Iris said rubbing her forehead. "Thank you, though."
The fox nodded, lowering himself to the ground. Jace and Iris climbed up on the fox's back, Skits sitting on Keaton's rump. After making sure they were situated, Keaton trotted ahead again. Ilye kept a good pace up next to Silver Keaton as she looked up at the deku couple sitting tiredly on his back.
"You guys okay?"
Iris looked to Ilye upon her question. "Yeah, we're just tired. We traveled all night, got into fights, and haven't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday morning, if memory serves."
Ilye gave a softened smile to Iris. "Maybe we all can stop as soon as we're off this island? I think we're making good time. And from here on out, I'm gonna be more watchful so you guys don't lose companions." she finished, referring to when she got shot with the arrow. "Heaven knows you guys need all the help you can get."
He had been listening, but finally decided to poke at Ilye. "You better not be insinuating that we're helpless on our own?" Jace said as he quirked a brow at Ilye. Ilye smirked at him, giving a smirk much like Jace's own. Luckily for her, they weren't exactly noticing of the similar smirk.
"You guys are very lost without me- trust me."
With a raise of an arm- and a wince, Jace responded, "Hey now! We made it across the island and went the right way! We got to the Dovah settlement, met the vessel keeper, and made progress. We're not completely helpless."
They were all cut off by Silver Keaton's snicker. "And you managed get yourselves in trouble several times."
"You're not helping, Keaton." Jace answered solemnly, though he knew he was teasing. He gave a low joking scoff after.
The fox offered a hearty laugh. "Keep in mind who's carrying you right now."

Iris nudged Jace and chuckled. "He can throw you off if he wants. Also keep that in mind!"
Ilye began laughing, hiding her face a slight as she did so. Ilye turned back toward Keaton with a smile before sighing. "It's a good thing we showed up when we did at the time. If we hadn't, there's no telling how things would have ended."
"Horribly, for sure." Keaton finished.

Jace felt awful for the things that happened back around then. He took a breath and spoke up. "When we head back, first thing we're doing is heading to the inn in Clock Town and recuperating."
"Clock Town? Yes! I finally get to see Clock Town!" Ilye exclaimed. This made Jace and Iris glance at her. However, then they kept in mind that she was from the Wildlands. To them it kind of made sense. Ilye quickly drew back her excitement when Keaton made a small, stern glance at her, going "Eh-hm..."
She shrugged sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. This action caused Keaton to roll his eyes and look forward again. The rubbing of the head was a habit of Jace's.

Time was spent talking as they made their way back down to the Dovah settlement. When they finally did make it however, they found the village strangely quiet. Ilye walked ahead of Keaton, raising a brow and looking around. She gazed around and looked for Dovah. They never got to meet her, but she had seen a couple when they were looking for Jace and Iris just before saving their butts last night. Not a Dovah was in sight and this bothered her greatly. Keaton's fur stood on end and he gave a soft growl.
"Everyone stay on your toes... I'm sensing a lot of fear..." he growled.
"Can you read anyone's minds?" Ilye asked.
The fox shook his head. "No, there's too much going on."
Jace hopped off Keaton's back, though sloppily landed and grunted in pain. "This place is dead..." he muttered.

The group walked on through the village, making it by houses with closed windows. They would occasionally see a Dovah look out at them before going back inside. Jace became increasingly worried and he walked ahead of everyone. While Keaton, Ilye, Iris, and Skits split up, Jace was quickly making way toward the elder's hut. Iris and Skits was with Keaton, and Ilye was elsewhere. He stood up straight and marched over, currently ignoring his achy joints and back. The blond tunnel scrub came within view of the old house and he peaked in.

"Elder?" Jace called. He walked in slowly and glanced around. He scanned the darkness as the sun barely shone in through the door and windows. It was so quiet, one could probably hear a mouse breathing if they listened hard enough. The young man saw movement in the corner of his sharp eyes and he zipped his head in said direction. The elder's shadow could be seen at the back wall on a mat. He was leaned over in the dark, and this made Jace increasingly uncomfortable... He stepped over toward the elder before feeling a presence near his feet. Upon looking down and allowing his eyes to light up the dark, they widened in shock when he saw a dovah warrior laying right by his foot and facing up toward him- dead and resting in a small puddle of it's own blood. It was this instant Jace shot his head up toward the elder and ran to him. Upon getting closer, he saw that the elder was fine... But he was unconscious and tied up.

Jace grabbed the ropes and tried untying them. "Elder, wake up-! I gotta get you out of here!"
Before he could get out a dagger to cut the ropes, a hand grabbed Jace's wounded shoulder roughly and tightened. This caused him to grunt and glare upon being forcefully yanked to his feet by a shadowed out figure.
The offender flung Jace outside quite easily, tossing him to land on his side. He was far too weak to fight with his sword, and was too slow to respond quick enough. He was yanked up again and held in place.
"I seem to have caught a rat." a pirate gritted.
Jace snorted with natural deku anger- something quite rare for him. He fixed his tone to sound grittily sarcastic. "What did I do to earn the touch of a beautiful woman such as yourself?"
The woman grunted at Jace. She grabbed his arms and held them behind his back, rendering him unable to use his hands and fight. Jace's leaves flattened against his head and he growled under his breath.

Soon, another few pirates approached them. One, Jace recognized. Her side was bandaged up with an obvious recent wound from a few days ago. She gave an acidic glare to the blond lad and Jace gave one equal. It was the same rogue who tried to cut off his arm days prior. His shoulder ached at the thought, if not just for the reason that his arm was being held far back in a painful pull on his wound.
"Witch..." he shot quite clearly with no intent on being quiet. The top of his snout was wrinkled with his snarl.
The one rogue hissed, "I should've killed you right away..."
"Don't bother, he's mine." the one holding Jace replied. She then added, "But... The others are free game. Take care of them..."

The ladies all nodded. The one gave a grin, seeing as she planned to go for Ilye. The pirates did as ordered and split up to look for the other deku and the fox. Jace and his captor began interacting again after this.
"Now tell me boy, where is the vessel?" the pirate ordered.
Jace growled again, fighting her grip. "I refuse to answer your question."

He screamed in pain when the pirate yanked his arm back forcefully. She angrily demanded once more as he grunted in pain- "Where is it!? Answer the question, boy!"
"No!" he squeaked. He turned his head toward her and popped a deku nut right square between her eyes! The loud pop and flash startled her into letting him go. Her face and eyes burned from the hit and she exclaimed out in pain. Jace was quick to take this chance to run off and find one or both of his companions, unsheathing his daggers while he was at it. By the time her vision came back, he was out of sight.
"Aghhhhhh!" she shouted, unsheathing her blade and preparing to chase and find him.

Jace ran on, looking left and right for his comrades. It wasn't too long before he bumped into Ilye at the back of the village. It was obvious none of the pirates had found her yet.
"Ilye, where's Iris and Keaton!?" Jace panted.
"I don't know... Why?" she questioned nervously at Jace's tone and worried expression.
The blond boy glanced around before pulling Ilye behind a home to hide. "There's rogue pirates here! They've tied up and knocked the elder out, and they're now looking for all of us... I managed to escape them, but we need to find Keaton and Iris..."
Ilye expressed concern and looked down with a sigh. "Mezra couldn't hold them off..." she grumbled.
"What...?" Jace pondered to Ilye's quiet comment. Ilye looked back up at Jace, adding on.
"Mezra promised to hold off the pirates back at the stronghold... I guess she wasn't able or else the pirates wouldn't be here... Come on, we need to find m..." she froze while staring Jace in the eyes. He crunched up his face and raised a brow... She soon continued as if she hadn't paused. "We need to find Iris and Keaton immediately."
He twitched a leaf with mental query to her odd actions. But he soon dipped his head in agreement. The two traveled along the walls of the village, keeping their eyes peeled for the two they searched for.

Across the village from them, Keaton and Iris scanned the village square for people. Iris was unnerved by the lack of residance within the area, and not a soul was answering their doors when Iris knocked. What's worse, the Dovah guards were nowhere to be seen. Keaton himself could sense only fear, but the amount of things he was feeling was starting to give the fox a headache. He gave a gutteral growl, trying hard to sort through it all. And his sense of smell was very mislead, for he smelled many, many individuals. Only thing he could count on was his hearing...

"Iris, my dear... I think we best find Jace and Ilye, something simply is not right here." the silver fox grunted.
The bewildered deku scanned the ground before picking up what appeared to be a piece of fur from Valous. There were blood stains along the ground and claw marks paving the area, signs that a battle took place while her and Jace had been away. Hints of blood splotched many places and she followed it. It lead her to an unsettling find: A chunk of scaled skin. She reeled back in horror before realizing just whose it was. An image of the dragalfos from before was painted within her mind and she snarled.

"The dragalfos fought Valous here alongside pirates..." Keaton spoke, startling Iris. "The deku was here with him, as expected..." he finished upon seeing a snapped arrow along the ground. The silver keaton sniffed the chunk of flesh. "The battle was not long ago, but I assume Drigos has fled with major injuries. Most of this blood is his."
It didn't take Iris long to realize that Drigos was the name of the dragalfos.
"Do you think that deku went with him?" Iris questioned.
"Surely, he has no other way off this island." the fox replied lowly. Keaton slowly rose his head. His long ears stood up straight and he quit talking.
"I hope Valous is-"
"Shush." the canine yipped. Iris went quiet moments after to listen, holding Skits to herself tightly. The bird seemed uneasy and yearned to fly away.
Keaton flicked his ears and looked around. His eyes opened just enough for Iris to see his red orbs. A crate nearby levitated off the ground ever so slowly. It was so faint a movement that Iris did not notice. She backed against Keaton's curled tails. They waved and flicked softly as he crouched and growled slightly. The anticipation of knowing what he was hearing was startling her. She knew that if a fight broke out, she would not be prepared and ready. She wasn't in fighting shape.
A shadow appeared from behind a hut, and Keaton reacted like a gunslinger! He whipped his sights toward the shadow and flung the levitated crate toward it.
Crack! The crate snapped against a metallic surface and the shadow split into two beings. One was sent flying back a few feet and onto their back. The other was thrown into the open on their stomach. The one in the open had a gaudy blond head which was quickly recognized.
"Keaton, stop!" Iris yelped. Keaton's head flew up and his eyes opened wide.
"Oh my..." he muttered with a small whine. "My oh my, Jace my apologies."
The blond boy got up off his stomach and chest with an incredibly pained groan. "Ughhhh, Keaton..." Iris gently lifted him off the ground.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
Her fiance wobbled to his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine... You should be checking on Ilye, she's the one who shoved me out of the way and intercepted the freaking crate..."
Upon hearing this, Iris looked upon the partialy broken crate. It had an obvious nick in it in the shape of a blade slit. A few feet behind it, Ilye laid on the ground on her back with her head turned to the side. Her sword was sitting next to her. She groaned painfully and rolled her head to the other side while placing her right hand to her forehead. After wallowing in her aches for a moment, she sat up and glared at Keaton.
"Get your eyes checked, ya old fox..."

The fox trotted over with an obvious glare toward the comment. "To be fair, I couldn't tell who was sneaking up on us with all these different thoughts and smells. So you put yourself in that position by sneaking around."
He allowed her to grab a tail and he lifted her. She got to her feet and picked up her sword.
"You're lucky that crate didn't directly hit us." Ilye growled.
Keaton chuckled sheepishly. "Well, I am sorry."
Ilye rolled her eyes before making her way toward Jace and Iris with Keaton right behind her. The group gathered together, seeing that Jace was preparing to speak.
"We need to stick together, the pirates are here." Jace began.
The silver keaton replied and cut Jace off. "As we've concluded before."
"They're looking for us and know we're here..." Jace finished. Iris added on upon Jace finishing.
"What of the elder and them?"
Keaton had read Jace's mind and his recent run in with the pirates, as well as finding the elder. "I'm afraid the elder has been captured and is being held captive at his hut. Jace is right, the pirates are searching for us now. I can only assume they knew we'd be coming back here."
Iris groaned, "But how did they even know where we were?"
"I did mention that they fought alongside your two pursuers while we were away, they probably spilled that information. They have a job to kill you kids, but I'm sure they were not instructed on how. So long as your blood is spilled, the job is done."
Iris rubbed her neck and sighed. "... The Dovah though..."
"We need to help them!" Jace voiced out. Keaton glanced at him for his heroic comment.
"This is the trap though, they want us to help them."

Ilye seemed bothered by that fact, but it was most likely true. "But still..."
Before much more conversation could be made, Keaton flung a nearby barrel ahead of the group where Jace, Iris, and Ilye's backs were turned. The group was startled by a pained shriek and all turned. Keaton had beat a nearby pirate with the barrel and knocked them either unconscious or dead- whichever. They'd know if she got up.
"Too late, we've been found..." the fox sighed. "Jace, Iris, run and find Valous! You have no place in this battle!"
"Excuse me, I think we're plenty capable of fighting off some dirty pi-ugh-!" Jace went about to protest, but was stopped by a sharp ache in his arm.
"Your body speaks for itself. What you need is a visit to the Fairy Fountain. Till then, back down." Keaton snorted.
Iris stood firm and balled up her fists and Jace's sword was pulled with an audible shing. This caused the fox to growl in frustration.
"You stupid scrubs, have you no sense?"

"Nope!" Jace replied quickly, "We're not leaving you guys here."
Ilye unsheathed her sword, keeping in mind not to use her one arrow. Though she really wanted to use her bow...
Pirates had surrounded the square by then with scimitars directed at the group. Skits waddled away, forced to stay out of this due to his inability to fly.
"Stand down scrubs, all we want is for you to tell us where the temple is!" The lead pirates spoke. She was adorned in gold jewelry and wore a rather regal red, gold, and white attire for a pirate. Surely one of the highest ranks.
The fox snarled. "And what reason have we to do that? Besides, that is a lie. You'll kill us regardless."
"Shut it, you walking coat..." the woman snapped. "Tell us where it is, you are outnumbered!"

Ilye barked angrily, "You have no place stepping foot onto those grounds! Valous would never allow it!"
The lead pirate gave a hearty laugh. "Valous? Please, he wouldn't care... Not when he's more concerned about the rampaging garugor flattening his precious village. He's having his own battle right now."
"Why you-! You planned this, that garugor going on a rage!" Jace exclaimed.
The woman placed a finger toward her face in thought. "Actually... We just wanted its hide to sell it, but hey! It worked out for us in the end. Y'know, causing it to lose control. It was the only way we could get near this village was to lure the beast to the residential area. Valous has a duty. And while he's distracted, we were instructed to wait for you to return, get the vessel, and kill you. So, your fox friend wasn't wrong."

"Ugh, enough with the monologuing..." Jace groaned. "It doesn't matter, you're not getting what you want and that's final!"
Keaton picked up a nearby crate and held it at ready. And with the group holding their weapons at the ready, this was a sign that they refused to back down.
"Fine then, we'll do this the hard way. Ladies, kill them! Except the girl with the braid, we need her to lead us to the temple. Capture her as you will."
The leader could hear an audible groan from the side-wounded pirate who wanted Ilye dead... "Fine! But I get to kill her after we're through!"
"Oh shut your pie-hole, Gilda..." the leader ordered.

The group was soon met by many spears and scimitars. Jace and Iris truly were outnumbered right now, hardly able to fend off more than two alone. This made Keaton groan over their stubbornness. He lunged at one going for Iris, biting the woman's neck with an incredible force. He forced her to the ground and held her in place. Upon having a spear jabbed into his flank by another, he yelped and moved. He painfully kept his hold though and smacked the other attacker with a nearby rock via his psychic power.
"Keaton, hold on!" Iris called out. She hopped up on his back and shot a deku nut at another oncoming attacker. It flashed in the woman's eyes, giving Iris the chance to take a slash at the woman's leg. She cried out and moved back, tripping over one of Keaton's many tails.

Jace and Ilye were standing back-to-back preparing for the barrage of attacks.
"It's funny how much you wont change, truly. You guys should have run." Ilye commented. The comment left Jace chuckling.
"To be fair Ilye, you haven't known me for very long. How on earth would I have changed much?"
Ilye was locked in a sword fight now which halted her reply. "W-well... You got a point. Besides, you and Iris have a determination that could break time itself, lemme tell ya."
"So you noticed?" He answered, holding off a spear weakly. He resulted to a few deku nuts in fusion with his sword to aid his lack of physical strength. Ilye however, was doing a better job at holding off a pirate. She became uncertain however when another decided to join her end of the battle, leaving her to block many attacks. She'd grunt and groan in effort. A slice here, a dice there. She was not without gaining scrapes and cuts on her arms and occasionally her face if they aimed right. She was just far too small to hold off this kind of barrage. Her sword was finally knocked roughly, leaving her open for a stab. A pirate jabbed her enough to make her drop her guard, but certainly not enough to kill her.

Jace remembered that they were trying to capture Ilye, forcing him to twist around and face her battle. He knocked his sword against a pirate's forceful reaching hand. He sliced into it, forcing the woman to recoil her hand in agony.
"Ilye, can you fight with two swords? I've seen you use your sword with both hands, so surely?" Jace asked.
"What!? Two swords?"
Jace didn't give her a chance to answer and he shoved his sword's hilt into her grasp. "I'm moving to daggers, you use that as you will."
"Jace, I-... Alright." Ilye wasn't sure about this, this wasn't really something she was taught. But she figured now was a good time...? She sliced and slashed at her attackers to avoid being captured. Jace stayed facing her battle, knowing well she was overwhelmed.

Keaton dashed for the lead pirate with fangs bared. This high-ranked woman grunted as she attempted to dodge a loud snap from Keaton. She swung a diagonal slash toward Keaton, cleaving a small slit across his neck. He viciously snarled, jumping and twisting sideways. All of his tails created a small confusing veil that threw the pirate's aim off.
"Kershia, I don't know what you are, but I sense something strange in you." the creature growled.
He stopped to land by a slide. His tails all flew up and curled. They were positioned behind him much like the tail of a peacock. This made the beast look frightening and large. Though for a Keaton, he was rather large regardless. His reason for doing this was to blind Kershia. His gleaming silver furred tails all formed together. He pointed them at the sun, creating a blinding streak through his tails. Kershia thrusted her blade forward to slice at his tails, but he flipped out of the way elegantly. He quickly retaliated! He flashed a beam in her eyes before leaping to fly over her. A tail extended to wrap around her neck just as he flew over her. Upon landing, he pulled her down viciously to the ground!

"Agh-!" the woman exclaimed. A fire burned within the pirate that was her rage and she gripped the silver keaton's neck. He made an audible gack, pulling and twisting to get out of her grip. He swiped his claws down her neck, painfully scraping and tearing to get free. His eyes flashed open and they stared Kershia directly into her own. She assumed it the face of struggle for air. It wasn't till his eyes started glowing that she became confused. She didn't have a chance to react and she was stabbed with her own scimitar by Keaton's psychic power! The woman gasped desperately for air with her blade jabbed through her. The fox moved back and panted, relieved that it was over. She was good as dead and he refused to stall while his comrades fought a horde too big for them. He turned to trot away with sights to help Iris.

"Keaton, behind you!" Iris called out. The silver fox turned his sights toward the fallen pirate and was dumbstruck when he saw her rip the sword out as if it were a splinter. She stood up, a dark aura slowly enveloping her, which he could see through his senses. He soon realized that this pirate in particular was no longer within her own control. That which he saw in her was not a will of her own. He growled, "What are you!?"
"The light! We seek it!" Kershia shouted in response. "Give it to us!"
"Rrrrr, you are one of the Twilight creatures, but how?" Keaton grumbled.

"'Ey Donut-Nose, save a rogue for me!"
Jace turned to the voice seeing as he knew it. Running into view on horseback was Mezra! Another horse was leading ahead of her. This other was none other than the pirate king, Xakin! He rode in on a large black horse decorated in gold and silver. On the back of the horse with Xakin was the Dovah elder.
"The elder, you saved him?" Jace exclaimed happily.
"Mezra and I trailed the rogues! You kids are going to need help. Kershia here can't be killed, we've tried. Mezra, help the boy! I will retrieve Valous, we need to get you scrubs off this island!." Xakin spoke out. "Elder, I may need your help."
The old Dovah dipped his head to agree. "Yes, I doubt Valous will listen to you without question... Let us be off. Jace, Iris; battle with caution!"
Before anyone could protest or respond, Xakin pulled the reins of his horse sideways and he kicked its sides twice. With a small jolt, the gentle beast kicked off into a run out of the village.

"Don't fret, Xakin knows what he's doing." Mezra commented. "Just keep your eyes on the fight lad!"
Jace pulled his attention back to the woman he once never trusted. For now, he had no choice but to trust her. He nodded then went about fighting.
Mezra looked down to Ilye, "Go, help your fox friend! Jace and I have these guys!"
"Are you sure?" Ilye replied.
"Sure enough, Kershia wont go down easy! They need your help. If you can get rid of her, the rest of these rogues will have no leader."
"She's- Ugh!" Jace got sliced at in the arm. He tossed a dagger at his attacker, jabbing the serrated blade into the pirate's chest. "She's right Ilye, go!"

Ilye questioned no longer. She jabbed Jace's blade in the ground next to him as a way of giving it back and ran to help Keaton and Iris, whom were now in a heated battle with the revived Kershia.
"So Short-stack, you seem to be fighting a little worse than I thought you would." Mezra teased. She was beautifully clashing blades with a rogue. With each swing of the rogue's blade, Mezra countered it.
Jace grunted, "I've had a crap few days, Mezra."
"I can tell!" the lady laughed, throwing in a nasty swipe at the rogue before her.

"Keaton, Iris, I'm coming!" Ilye called out. Iris had been thrown a few feet during the battle. She collided into Ilye and the two toppled onto the ground with a pained grunt. Keaton was soon battling on his own again, trying desperately not to get kabobbed. He could regenerate fast, but he couldn't bring himself back from the dead. He lunged for Kershia's arm, viciously twisting and biting. With a horrible yelp, he'd been whacked on the head by the hilt of Kershia's scimitar. The fox reeled back and whined and rubbed his head.
By now, Ilye had helped Iris onto her feet and they were getting back into the fray. Ilye dashed onward with blade out.
"Keaton!"
The beast stopped, already knowing what the time-traveling lass was doing. He stood firm and let her hop onto his back. Ilye leapt off his back and she went airborne. With a twist, she swung her blade diagonally. She left a cut on Kershia's arm when Kershia reached up to block. Ilye then pushed off Kershia's chest to flip back to the ground.
"You brats, I'll destroy you and your precious realm of light!"
Iris dashed around Kershia's side and pelted her with deku nuts by rapid fire, enraging her even further. Kershia reached for Iris, but the girl was wanting her to. She ran up Kershia's arm and slugged her directly in the face! Kershia reeled back and held her face with a horrid screech.
"Ilye, this woman is a Shadow Beast of some kind!" Keaton informed.
Ilye's eyes went wide, terror taking her expression. "How!?"
"I don't know, but I've tried killing her. She just comes back. We can only enrage her more, that is all we are doing..."
"What about light? Don't they vanish by light...?" Ilye questioned.
Keaton purred, "Hmm... Perhaps, but Valous is the only one who could do that. We need to wait on Valous..."
"No, my light arrow!" Ilye responded with a smirk.
"You should save that for a better time..." Keaton growled.
Ilye pulled out her bow. "And if we wait on Valous, we'll only wear ourselves out. And I don't want Iris wasting her one light slash. Iris, move!"
"No you don't!" Kershia screamed. She swung her scimitar at Ilye, knocking the bow from her grasp and making her fly sideways. She rolled along the ground. Iris displayed concern, but was quickly grabbed by Kershia and thrown at the ground. Iris gave a pained squeak, trying hard to keep fighting...
"I'm not taking your crap anymore, Twilight!" Ilye exclaimed. She grabbed her bow and reached for the arrow at her side. She got to her feet, loaded the arrow, and shot it at Kershia's chest. Time seemingly froze when the rogue gave a raspy wheeze and jolted in pain. The arrow dissipated into light fragments and pulsed through Kershia. As the woman fell limp to the ground, disgust fell over Ilye's expression. A black square substance leaked from Kershia's open mouth... It looked like Twilight particles, but they weren't rising. They were falling onto the ground. Ilye, Iris, and Keaton stepped back a ways, all three of them watching these odd events. By now, the rogues had stopped fighting Mezra and Jace, watching in horror as their commander fell in battle. Jace and Mezra turned to see the scene play.

"What's going on?" Iris muttered.
Ilye spoke up, "It's... Twilight... It was inside her?" she'd never seen such a thing before... The particles began forming into something when the leak stopped. It formed into a little parasite-like creature. This bug of Twilight screeched furiously at Ilye, then at the sunlight itself. Ilye didn't hesitate to try and jab her sword through the creature, but it just multiplied into a temporary mass of particles then formed again elsewhere far from the girls and near Mezra and Jace.
"So you were inside the leader all this time, you little parasite!" Jace growled while chasing it down. He didn't have to chase far before a portal opened up. He came to a skid and stopped when this portal appeared. It appeared right before him, staring the boy in the face. The bug stopped right before the portal, turned to Jace and scanned him up and down, then vanished into the portal through particles.

"Jace, you let it get away!" Iris exclaimed.
Jace continued staring as if in a trance. As soon as the portal vanished, he took a deep breath and placed his hand on his head... He shook with unease before turning to the girls slowly. He wasn't sure why the portal gripped him like that, but it did.
Rogue pirates began to run now. Not in fear of the group they fought, but upon seeing this bug of Twilight leave Kershia's corpse.
"We must retreat, the tales of the Twilight were true!" a rogue screamed. They scrambled away from the fight in horror now that they were convinced that the Twilight was to devour the island. Of course, unbeknownst to them this calamity has been long stopped as far as the west goes. Mezra growled at this.
"Ya pansies, get back here and fight!" she screamed.
"Let them go... Kershia's out of the picture, next we need to find Valous and make sure he's okay." Keaton ordered. "We've no time to lose. Besides, the longer we remain on this island, the more Twili and Shadow Creatures we'll attract."
Mezra paused. She looked to Kershia then back to Keaton. "Alright... You go on ahead. I'll take care of Kershia and check on the villagers..."
"Alright... Jace, Iris, get on my back!" Keaton growled. Iris ran over and scooped Skits up into her arms and hopped on Keaton's back with Jace. Ilye was already running off, following the hoof prints of Xakin's horse.

Time passed on their hurried journey to find Xakin. And while the hoof prints weren't always there due to the type of ground, Keaton was able to pick up their scent. And over time, eminent sounds of battle could be heard. And this wasn't some small time warrior battle, it was the sound of ancient beasts colliding in war. It waged on for quite a time, but this soon changed when they were growing near to the battlefield.
"Does it... Does it sound like the battle's getting faint?" Ilye asked, huffing and puffing exhaustedly.
Keaton listened in, and Ilye was right. The battle was either getting far away or was starting to calm down.
"Oh no, Valous..." Iris mumbled worriedly. Keaton picked up his pace, leaving Ilye behind a little. He wanted to make sure no one was harmed. Upon hearing the sound of rapid hoof beats, Keaton came to a sliding halt. Xakin was running toward them down the trail. The pirate king brought his steed to a stop when he saw the tiny heroes.

The Dovah elder seemed surprised to see everyone here and spoke up. "Jace? Iris?"
"What are you guys doing here!?" Xakin questioned. "The village-"
Jace cut him off. "We fought them off... Kershia was being controlled by a Shadow Creature of some kind. Ilye took care of her. Her cronies fled when she was defeated."
Xakin was largely impressed... Part of him didn't believe it if he were honest. "Where is Mezra?"
Jace added, "She is back at the Dovah Settlement taking care of villagers and making sure everything's okay. What of Valous?"
Xakin pointed up, and Valous' shadow filled the sky soon after. The ancient Kirion spotted Xakin's stopped horse and flew in close. He was soon to see the deku and their fox friend.

"My little friends, thou hath finished thee final task?"
Iris replied, unsure in tone. "If you mean saving the village? Then yes...?"
"Good... Nishi is at full power and the island is safe for the most part. Thou must leave this island immediately and head east."
After a moment, Keaton spoke up. "Valous, may we ask of your assistance off the island?"
Valous reeled his head back a slight. "I's assistance...?"
"These dorks came here on a row boat... And after the last few days on this island, I'm not sure they can make it back, let alone in time. It is all that I request old friend."
The kirion gazed to them all, then to Keaton. He appeared to be slightly at war with himself. He looked back to where he battled the garugor, as if he had unfinished business. But the kirion quickly saw this new task as an advantage. He brought himself to the ground and grunted.
"Climb on my back, with haste young ones."
Keaton ran over and offered himself as a boost. Jace and Iris climbed up, then Ilye shimmied up onto the long creature's back. Keaton backed up and sat next to Xakin's horse.

Ilye leaned out with concern covering her expression. "Keaton, what about you!?"
"Now how do you expect me to sit up there? Don't worry about me child, I'll be fine."
Valous began to hover, but Ilye refused to accept that Keaton would stay behind. "Keaton, hurry!"
"I'll see you kids sometime soon, do not worry!" The fox called out. Silver Keaton watched as they moved away from the ground. Then soon, Valous had flown off. Keaton watched the sky then turned his attention to Xakin.
"... What strange, strange heroes the gods chose..." Dovah elder finally commented.
Xakin added directly after. "When they first showed up at my base the other day, I thought they were all loony."
"Ah, you think they're odd now, you should've met Jace and Iris three years ago. Woo boy, lovestruck arguing teens as Termina's saviors? I thought the goddesses had lost their minds. But that's what makes them interesting, friend." Keaton answered. "Come, let us go help Mezra. They got this."

Valous rose upon the winds low to the earth moving at a swift pace. The kirion moved with a mission in mind and a growl in his gut.
With curiosity, Iris made a question. "Valous, why are we flying so close to the ground?"
"I plan to lure the garugor away from this part of the island. I have her trapped, but I can't hold it for much longer... Look yonder."
The group did as told and were surprised to find the colorful island beast, sure enough, trapped under a blanket of light down onto the earth. It pressed and beat against the magical field but to no avail. Before long, it would break free however if nothing was done.
"Brace thyselves, I will break the barrier once we fly over."
"What! W-wait, but-" Iris was preparing to protest, with Jace also being unsure. They flew over and just as he said, the barrier exploded and allowed the angry injured beast free. This now proclaimed she had her sights set on Valous and gave chase. Valous flew dangerously low to the island to bait her. However, this horrifying joyride left our deku heroes clinging to Valous for dear life.

"Valous, what're you thinking!?" Iris screamed. "It's going to eat us!"
Ilye clung to a chunk of Valous' soft fur and shouted in response to Iris, "D-don't worry, I think he knows what he's d-doing!"
The monster snapped at Valous' tail as she pursued him. While she missed, it didn't stop her from trying again. It roared in fury much like a fit-throwing child at not being able to catch Valous.
"Hold on tight, I'm luring her to the water offshore."
Valous made a sharp turn, thus the garugor also made as sharp a turn as it could make. She tumbled and rolled in the process, but continued following.
"Can't you speak to her Valous?" Jace asked as he clutched Valous.
"She wont listen to me, she's hurt and in a blind rage. If she calms down, then maybe. The pirates have been hunting her for days. This prolonged her rage."
Iris turned to watch the garugor chase ceaselessly. The beast was scarred and beaten. Probably not only from the fight with Valous, but from pirate harpoons and the like.

"The rogues only had one mission when they arrived; Steal the island's ores and take the prize that was the garugor's skin and horns. The poor thing doesn't know what to do now that she is scared."
Jace growled to himself. "I guess that Twilight Parasite got ahold of the rogue commander while they were on the island... Perhaps... That dragalfos and deku had something to do with it, possibly?"
Valous looked back. It was sad seeing the island get plowed over like this. The garugor left a wake of fallen and broken trees, a trail of destruction. Even more of a reason to get the gerugor off the island. He sped up, flying just fast enough to stay ahead. Before long, he lead the garugor to the water. The creature came to a halt on the beach and screeched furiously at Valous. Valous did not flinch even a slight and hovered out over the water.

Valous soon craned his head back and roared at the garugor. This caused her to pace at the water's edge. She craned her heavy horn-adorned head out for Valous, but she could not reach. This only stoked at her fury. With angry grunts, growls, and roars, she finally dove into the ocean toward Valous. He continued baiting her out there, knowing she was much faster in the water. She moved and weaved till she was deep enough to swim and that was that. Valous flew out whilst keeping his eyes on the water. He could see her beneath the waves creating a large wake.
"I see it below the water. She's fast!" Ilye commented worriedly.
Valous was too focused and did not reply. When he saw the garugor sink down, his eyes widened in shock.
"HOLD ON!" Valous roared out. He moved up, only to have the garugor come shooting out of the water from deep below. It opened it's powerful jaws and snapped at Valous' back leg, missing by an inch before it crashed to the embrace of the ocean once more. She soon continued pursuing Valous, once again leaving a large wake.

"That was way too close..." Iris uttered.
Her fiance gripped a chunk of Valous' fur and nodded. "She's determined. I wonder how far she'll chase...?"
"Far enough, I hope." Valous replied.

With the speed Valous was moving at, the island was far behind. The garugor still followed even as the island grew to be a speck. It wouldn't be till nearly an hour's flight that the beast would start slowing down. Valous came to a stop high above the ocean to see that the garugor had completely stopped. It floated in the water and roared out at Valous. The kirion responded with a decile yet stern roar, as if saying words of kindness. The garugor still seemed angry, but its rage was cooled by quite a lot. Possibly from having been worn out. Valous continued to roar back till the garugor had calmed it's yelling and went back under the deep.
"Did... Did it leave?" Iris mused while hugging Skits in one arm. Valous gave a soft nod.
"She wont move very far from the island. Perhaps she'll stay in the water till she feels safe now? I can only hope. That is one mission down. I must achieve my next goal; Getting thee to Great Bay and back on the mainlands of Termina..."

The day had pressed on and hours had gone by since leaving the island. Iris had fallen asleep leaning on Jace. And even though he as well wanted to sleep, someone had to hold Iris up... He figured he'd rest when night fell. He held Iris and ran a hand through her leaves. He looked upon her face seeing many wounds and scrapes. He's pretty sure he looked the same way. In the quiet, Ilye sat behind them delving into lost thoughts and memories. Everytime she had times to herself, the moments devoured her. She hated it. She gazed off at the vast ocean, trying to pry her thoughts away. A part of her wondered just what worlds were beyond Termina? What other worlds would she be saving if she managed to completely get rid of Twilight? Just how much does the world depend on her? And there she goes back to her depressing thoughts. She looked at her hands in thought. The Leavance name ran through her, but why was that name such a pride yet burden? Fate itself wanted the name wiped off the face of the earth, that much was true.

She looked upon her self-unbeknownst parents. Funny they were around the same age as her here. They looked the same, but still different. Younger, spryer, and far more determined and bold. So alive and undefeated. They would take on the world even now as she's seen. It was no wonder they survived the apocalypse of her time. But then, the only thing that kept them smiling was Ilye. She preferred how they were here. Loving and close, faithful. The thought of romance soon brought her to think of someone else and she fell sad... Whom else did she leave behind? She thought about her timeline and the future she'd never have... She'd only share Iris and Jace's fate, thus why she needed to fix it- even if it meant erasing everything she ever had.

"Olivier..." she uttered with glassy eyes.

"Hark, heroes. Great Bay draws near. Wake and prepare." Valous broke the silence. "It has been many years since I've seen these shores..."

Jace rubbed his eyes then gently shook Iris. "Babe, wake up, we're here."
"Already...?" she uttered tiredly. She sat up and gazed ahead. Sure enough, there was Great Bay a little less than a mile away. It felt like it had been ages since they themselves had seen it. Jace felt a large wave of relief rush over him upon seeing the mainlands of Termina. He turned to see if Ilye was awake, but she was very much wide awake.
"Ilye? Have you been crying? Your eyes are all glossy." He asked in concern.
Ilye's soul-lit orbs widened and shook her head. "Nah. I'm pretty tired though... I've been yawning a bit." she lied. Jace could hear in her tone that she made up her reply on the fly.
"Are you sure...?" he questioned. Ilye assured him that she was fine. He wasn't convinced, but he left her be regardless.

"Hey guys, why doesn't Great Bay have a lighthouse?" Ilye asked.
Iris flicked a leaf and deemed that a good question. "Yeah, why not...?"
Jace rose a hand in a matter-of-factly way. "Actually, they planned on building one soon! It's been a plan in motion for quite some time."
Upon Jace's response, Ilye wowed. "Where would they get a lightbulb that big?"
"They'd have to make one, of course." Jace replied right after. Iris was currently looking at Jace. And thanks to his blond hair in the sun, she was squinting from the gleam.
"They'd probably use you... That gaudy head of yours could light up the foggiest of nights."
The young man cut his eyes out yonder. "Hah-hah."
Ilye giggled before adding, "She's got a point! And you could reflect that light onto your daggers. You'd be a triple lightbulb!"

Conversation played out till Valous reached land. He brought himself down for the land. After getting situated, he lowered his body down to the ground a little. "We have arrived."
Jace climbed down, then proceeded to help Iris down. Ilye slid down only to fall on her rump. Moments of laughter were had before Valous called for their attention. They listened to the beast with the final words he had to say.
"All of Termina is in thou hands. Take this day to rest and be on thy way once ready." he stopped to look up shore. "Thee know where the Great Fairy lives. Visit her and replenish. There are many more tasks that await thee, for the journey is not over yet. But do carry on with caution. I have seen now that the Twilight and its master want nothing but bloodshed of the Goddesses Heroes."
Ilye stood up straight with honor. She walked before Valous and looked him in the eyes. "As one of Her Grace's warriors, I will ensure that we stop the Twilight. We all are her warriors..."
Valous gave her a nod of honor, "Very well. I must return to bring peace back to the island's people and give help where it is due. I can promise that if thou are to ever visit again, thee will be welcomed with open arms. And... If my might is ever needed here ashore..." Valous reached down and pressed his nose to Ilye's bag. She reeled back a slight in surprise, before looking up to him in question.

"Call unto me through thou precious belonging... I will be by thy side swift as the winds."
The girl took a deep breath then placed her hand on the side of Valous' face and pet down it. "I shall."
A heavy wind spread around Valous and he took to the air. The group waved him by as he flew into the clouds above back home. Iris and Ilye watched him vanish in awe of the creature. Of course till a solid thud hit the sand next to them. Iris jolted and looked over to find her fiance laying belly-down in the sand.
"Ughh..." he moaned. Iris and Ilye were soon right next to him sitting on the sand in relief.

"I'm so happy we're off that island!" Iris exclaimed.
Jace flopped over on his back like a well-cooked pancake. "I know... I was starting to hate that place... I never thought I'd love this continent more than anything."
Though she was joking, Iris decided to poke at Jace. She leaned over and looked at him with cut eyes and a raised brow. "Anything...?"
His eyebrows lowered a slight in a sheepish way and his eyes gave the appearance that he was grinning weakly. He gave a nervous chuckle, "Ehh, not as much as I love you...?"
"Good save." Iris chirped.
Ilye giggled at them before stretching her arms. "... Well, we should probably go visit the fairy, huh?"
"Ugh, if I can pick myself up." Jace complained.
Ilye hopped up off her rump and fist pumped the sky. "C'mon guys, we can laze around afterward. We got a fairy to see!"
Ilye ran around and picked Jace up off the ground. He responded in a pained groan. Iris didn't want to suffer the same fate and got up on her own.

"Fine, we're going..." Jace grumbled. He looked to Iris, seeing Skits lay pathetically in her arms. "Hey Skits, maybe she can fix up your wing, too."
The bird gave a happy caw. He certainly hoped so! He was getting tired of being carried. Ilye went about leading the pack before she realized she had no idea where she was going... Jace took it upon himself to start leading them to the fairy fountain. It helped the Great Fairy was familiar with him and Iris. He knew exactly where to go. He just hoped he could make it there with how achy he was.

"Hey Jace..." Iris began. He looked to her with a silent hum. She soon shot her question. "Back on the island... When we saw that bug... Why did you stop? You could have killed it."
"Huh?" Jace widened his eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's just been bothering me..."
Jace froze before looking forward and thinking on her question. "I don't know. The portal thing that appeared, it just... Gripped me."
"For what reason?" Iris asked. Ilye wasn't even listening, she was holding Skits and checking out the bay in awe.
The boy felt strange saying this, but he responded in a disturbed manner. "I don't know, I felt like... I felt like I'd stared that portal in the face before. Almost like it had been a nightmare I had one time. I was me, but I wasn't me. I-I don't know, I just remember something bad happening when I stared at it for too long but I couldn't look away." he paused to think it over. Iris looked almost scared or worried. What could it mean? He then added on with a happier tone upon noticing her expression. "Don't worry about it. I probably had a nightmare about the Twilight a while back and I just can't remember when. These times have been messing with me a lot lately. I'm fine though!"

Iris smiled weakly at him. "Okay then..."
He leaned over and kissed her. "Maybe once we are refreshed, we'll feel much better!"

Meanwhile... In the caves on the shores of the Western Island...

Hidden in the safety of the caves near the shoreline, Drigos tended to the chunk missing from his tail. He'd slept for a while and recently woke up. His deku partner stood at the front of the cave and growled lowly. "You ready to go yet? We're burning daylight.
Drigos snarled at Skreemin's impatience. "Cut me some slack, I can't fly with these wounds..."
Skreemin grunted lowly. Though, he had hopes that the pirates took care of Jace and Iris, which left him feeling... Relieved? At the same time, sour. It wasn't like him to miss shots at foes like that. He kept thinking back on Jace. Either the kid was very determined to live or a stronger force was on their side keeping them alive. Putting it nicely, this ticked Skreemin off. Why, he himself had a powerhouse at his command, a creature that can produce fire and rip the limbs clean off people without much effort. What's more, Skreemin was a deadly and fearsome archer. Back in Hyrule, his victims didn't live to tell. Yet, how was it that neither of them could kill off these pests?

"Why was it you went all soft back at that village?" Skreemin questioned. Drigos looked over to the bald deku now that he was put on the spot. "The pirates were attacking those villagers and you stopped them, even helped the Dovah guards at some point. What do you care about those people when our only goal is to get rid of Jace and Iris?"
The dragon gave a guttural growl then snorted. "... Those people. They're a clan close to ours." Drigos looked back...

The pirates had been searching for Jace and Iris. As a final attempt to kill them, Drigos found and told the Twilit infected commander about where Jace and Iris would be next. He ordered them not to harm the villagers, but they did just that. Drigos had many cleaved wounds on his body, and Skreemin of course did not get out of that battle well either. The deku had taken many hits and slashes. Drigos felt no shame for trying to help those villagers, either. He felt more ashamed when he saw the elder's face upon noticing that Drigos had lead the pirates to the village before the raid began. In the process, Valous attacked Drigos- assuming him to be harming the villagers and still siding with the pirates. Drigos and Skreemin had been forced to flee due to Drigos turning "traiter" on both sides.

"You should've just left them alone... It's because of you that the pirates attacked us." Skreemin spat.
"You have no honor, you petulant whelp." Drigos glared, surprisingly using big words. "I consider them my people and I care for my own much as they care for me. But then again, what would you know? Your people hate you and always have, so I guess it is a given that you would not care about your own kind or a kind of the like and understand."
This jabbed at a sore spot for Skreemin. Regardless of Drigos being his partner, he quickly drew an arrow and shot it at Drigos' right arm. The dragalfos grunted in pain, though the tiny arrow didn't do much other than sting.
"They hated me cause I was different; They had no good reason! I hate them because they wronged me! Those insufferable weeds are the ones with no honor! And to be honest, I don't give a fly about what I'm like now. I'm long passed caring. You dare bring that up again and I'll aim for your eye next."
The dragalfos snarled his face tighter and ripped the arrow out. He tossed it across the cave to land by Skreemin. "I can still maul you with one eye, keep that in mind."

Drigos finally stood up and flapped his wings to test them. He wouldn't be able to fly as far, so flying simply would not be a good idea. He walked up to Skreemin and towered next to him. "Let's go, we need to find a way off this island."
He never got to take one step before a whoosh sound caught his attention. Forming behind Drigos was a black sphere. The dragon sighed and turned around to face it just as Skreemin had. Drigos especially recognized it as the leader of this Twilight.

"You fools are useless! I gave you one job, and you can't even do that!"
"Sir, we've faced a bit more than we expected here." Drigos replied. He pulled back upon being scolded more.
"Don't you even try, Drigos. You tried stopping my pawn from taking those villagers. I had to send that bug as a last resort since you and Skreemin couldn't do the job. For a while, I thought maybe you guys would redeem yourselves and prove useful. The capture of the villagers was part of the trap! Safe to say, because of you killing off some of those pirates before, they were short a count and lost to not only the weeds, but to their fox and another goody-goody pirate. You screwed it up!"
"I'm sorry master. I wont let you down next time..." the dragalfos bowed his head in slight shame. Drigos didn't know what he was doing anymore, all he knew is that he had one goal.
"And what're you still doing here!? They're already off the island, and here you are sleeping away."

Skreemin crossed his arms. "Wonderful."
The orb began shouting at Skreemin next. "You are no better! You are a cheap shot. Can't even hit what's two feet in front of you."
"What did you say!?" Skreemin growled. He was getting close to throwing a few unfriendly words but Drigos cut him off.
"We've tried many times to kill them, but they wont die. I don't know, it seems almost... Non-coincidental. Snipe isn't a bad shot, but something just isn't right. I feel something is keeping them just inches out of our reach."
"... Wait... Something... Keeping them alive...? Surely not..." the orb mused.

"Hm?" Drigos growled.
"... It is true I guess. Fate of another seems to be keeping them alive. Specifically, the boy. It's that bloodline of his."
Drigos was utterly confused now, and deemed the orb's words suspicious... "What do you mean? Tell us..."
The orb almost seemed afraid now upon realizing this. "Fate and Destiny have always wanted the Leavances dead. But... Some other Fate not known to Termina has been protecting that line for years, but I thought I was wrong... It is this Fate that allowed them to continue even through the curse, I realize now. Perhaps it is the Fate of another that needs the Leavances. But why..."
"How do you know all this...?" Drigos questioned. It all sounded like nonsense to Drigos.

"Let's just say I have a history... I was dreading this, but I should've known." a sigh sounded from the orb.
"I don't know about all this Fate and Destiny junk. It sounds like a load of crap to me..." Skreemin grumbled. "So what you're saying is some magic divine voodoo is keeping them going? So how on this gods forsaken earth do you expect us to kill them if you know this for a fact, huh?"
"..." the orb remained silent... But then a wicked, horrible, nasty plan formed in this unseen foe's mind. A small insane cackle began resounding from the orb and it grew. The evil echoed throughout the cave then stopped to a slow.
"... Skreemin, my dear archer..." it began. "Have you experience with elemental arrows?"
"Elemental arrows...?" he repeated. Drigos could hear a dark tone of desire for such a power in Skreemin's voice. He didn't know what they did exactly, but Skreemin could tell they weren't exactly handed out like candy. "I don't believe I am... Care to enlighten me?"
"Heheh... Gladly."

Appearing from the darkness, an arrow formed through the dark Twilight substance. When it finished forming, it was decorated with curled silver, while the main color of the arrow was a blackish-purple. Skreemin slowly reached for it. And upon grasping the arrow, an aura of power blasted around him and a dark shroud surrounded him for only a moment.
"The arrow has chosen you as it's master. This is a Shadow Arrow. You only get one, but one is all you need. It's true dark power will only take effect if you shoot it and if you shoot it at the boy, for it will lessen this "other" Fate's hold on him... And even if you don't fatally hit him, you'll still kill him and his friends. Just don't miss, for this is all you get. Remember, he is the reason they're being protected... But only use it as a last resort. If all else fails..."

Skreemin grinned at the arrow in his hand. The power from the arrow filled him with a deep, dark confidence. The aura was so unsettling, that even Drigos felt a chill. Something seemed... Very evil about this aura emanating from the arrow, but Skreemin did not fear it. Yet, it felt familiar to Drigos for some reason. He wasn't sure what to think, but he'd follow through with the plan. All they need is to find the group once more. And this time, no tip-toeing, no hiding, no ambushing. Just frontal confrontation.

To Be Continued...

At this point, I'm pretty sure you all know who belongs to who XD gosh this island was filled with so many cameos.

I WILL say the mentioned "Olivier" belongs to HolIiewood on DeviantART, since he is a newly mentioned character.