Drew's POV

The enemy was approaching faster than we could register. Amethyst was rapidly directing everyone into defensive positions and we all obeyed without complaints. I looked at my sister in admiration. She's become an amazing leader over the time she's been away from us. There was a flare in her purple eyes as if something had suddenly sparked them. There was an intense determination in her expression as she called out to the group. I smiled at her and she grinned back at me as she gestured for Leaf to take place beside Gary.

I watched as Brendan immediately ran over to May's side who surprisingly did not complain. I felt my eyebrows twitch in irritation for some reason and tried to cool down. He raised his staff up protectively in front of May as footsteps approached us at rapid speed. May drew out her own broadsword and held it out defensively in front of her. I prepared to run over to them but heard Max yell for me. I glanced up at him reluctantly and he gestured for me to join him on the building. I sighed and looked over at May who was speaking to Brendan. I turned away and climbed the ladder of the building to where Max drew his bow, aiming towards the trees.

"I'm surprised May and Brendan are together." I stated, a slight bitterness in my tone and Max glanced over at me in curiosity.

"He's her bodyguard." Max pointed out and I stared at him in confusion.

"Bodyguard? Since when? I thought they only recently just met each other." I said and Max widened his eyes as if he'd said something he shouldn't have.

"I mean he looks like he could be her bodyguard. Yeah that's what I meant." Max mumbled and I just raised an eyebrow at him.

Before I could question him anymore, Max dropped his bow and arrow before shoving me over roughly causing me to stumble slightly. After I regained my composure, I stared at Max in shock. I was going to speak but Max pointed to something behind me. I focused my gaze on an arrow which was directly in the spot I had just been in, its steel arrowhead dug firmly into the roof of the building. My eyes widened in fear and I muttered an apology to Max who shrugged it off and picked up his weapons. He once again aimed for the trees, this time releasing his arrow which pierced the heart of an approaching enemy.

"Ready everyone?" Amethyst yelled out as more began storming through the forwards.

We all silently nodded to each other, each of us with our weapons aimed towards the enemy. The wind batted our faces as if the opposing army brought it along with them and a mysterious aura began surrounding us. The sound of a horn echoed in my ears and I took that as a signal from the enemy. The opposing army began swarming out of the forest like ants. I readied my bow and arrow and shut one eye to focus where I was aiming. More signs of movement caught my eye in the bushes near Ash and Misty who were fending off nearby soldiers and were the closest to the forest border, unaware of the ambush about to take place on them. I shot my arrow in that direction which managed to catch the attention of Misty, and out stumbled an enemy who had been poorly hiding in the bushes. Although my arrow had missed its mark. It was as though the soldier had rapidly dodged my arrow in the blink of an eye. I sighed a breath of relief as Misty attacked him and ended him with a finishing blow.

"Hey Drew, do you feel like you're being watched?" Max suddenly asked me, sweat dripping down his forehead as he continuously fired arrows towards the enemy, not a single shot missing its mark.

"Now that you mention it, I do. It feels like a someone's intensely staring at me." I stated thoughtfully, the feeling lingering on me as I aimed towards more soldiers and Max nodded in agreement, his eyes darting from one direction to another.

"There's something over there!" I heard Gary yell and I immediately drew my attention to where he was now pointing.

Four gleaming pairs of red eyes seemed to observe us in the distance. They were sitting in the trees, as if not bothered to hide. Something clicked in my mind and I realised what that mysterious aura had been from the beginning of the battle. Those figures held a chilling atmosphere between them. The intensity of their gazes sent a shiver up my spine as I stared back at that piercing blood red stare. With slight hesitation, I shot an arrow in their direction. The red eyes disappeared for a split second before reappearing. They seemed to be unaffected by my arrow and continued to stare us down.

"What just happened?" I asked Max who shrugged in response as he looked over the figures one more time before focusing on the battle in front once more.

"They don't seem to be attacking us. Maybe we should leave them alone for now." Max said and I nodded in agreement and returned my own gaze back to the battlefield where my friends were fighting urgently.

"We should focus on the other enemies first." I spoke but kept an eye on the four figures that lurked on the treetops of the forest.

"Agreed." Max replied as he aimed expertly at an enemy which was coming towards Paul and Kenny who were arguing on the battlefield.

Max released his arrow and yelled at the two for arguing in the middle of a serious fight. I saw Kenny dip his head in shame while Paul seemed to just grunt and shrug it off before turning his focus back to the fight in front of him.

"I'm going down." I informed Max when I realised that he was completely fine on his own.

He nodded and watched my back as I climbed down the ladder to the floor where I could join the others. I felt the piercing gaze of one of the figures hidden in the trees following me as I moved around. It felt as though they were burning holes into my head with their stare. I whipped out my twin daggers and tucked my bow behind my back so that it was latched against me with my quiver as I charger forward with my blades firmly placed in my hands. Before long, the battlefield grew thick with the bodies of our enemies. One thing I noticed though was that there was no sign of blood anywhere.

"Drew!" Ash called to me and I focused my attention on him.

He was counting down with his fingers and I suddenly realised what his gestures meant. I smirked and ran towards him at a sprint, slashing at any enemies which came in my way. Ash sheathed his katana before putting a stop to his counting fingers. He held out his hands as if he were carrying a tray, just nonexistent. I bolted towards him and jumped at the last second as soon as I was close enough and felt the pressure of Ash's hands underneath my boots as I felt myself being hoisted up high into the air.

I threw my daggers towards Gary who ducked down, allowing the daggers to fly right passed him, striking the hearts of the soldiers who had been behind him. Gary threw his twin swords up in the air and took my daggers, flinging them back towards me as I landed on the ground. Gary caught his own twin swords before engaging into combat with a few more enemies. I rolled underneath my own daggers as they flung passed my head and swept underneath the feet of a couple more soldiers, causing them to fall to the ground. I watched as Paul caught the daggers as they flew to his direction, before flinging them back to Ash who caught it before striking a few more enemies down. Before I knew it, the daggers flew back into my hands and I began slashing expertly at the opposing soldiers.

"What was that?" Amethyst asked me as she fought her way towards me.

"It's just this little thing we practised together in training." I explained and smiled to myself.

"Well it was pretty good." Amethyst complimented then ran off to where Dawn had been fending off enemies by herself.

I glanced over at May who was easily taking down soldiers with Brendan by her side. I stared in envy at Brendan then immediately shook off the feeling. I felt my arms getting tired and ended up accidentally bumping into Brendan who seemed equally as exhausted as I was. He looked at me sheepishly before apologising and running back over to May with his staff held tightly in his hands. I straightened up and whirled around, only to find a mass of bodies lying on the ground. No more soldiers stood. It was finally over. I sighed a breath of relief and watched as Max climbed down from the rooftop and joined me.

A whistle made us hesitate for a split second before we heard footsteps retreating into the forest. The four figures that we saw earlier had disappeared from our sight. Their piercing gazes and eerie presence finally faded as the footsteps edged further and further into the forest.

"It's over!" Amethyst cried out in relief and pumped a fist in the air.

"Finally." May added and stretched her arms.

Everyone looked breathless, some leaning on each other for support while I slumped down on the ground in exhaustion. I glanced around at everyone who was celebrating together happily of our victory. I focused my gaze on Max who stared at the ground in deep focus. His hand was on his chin as he looked deep in thought. I strolled over to him and tapped his shoulder. He didn't seem to react so I snapped my fingers in front of his face. Still no reaction. I held him by the shoulders and violently shook him, his glasses sliding down his face. He snapped his eyes towards me and gasped in surprise.

"Oh hello Drew." He greeted me but seemed confused.

"What's wrong?" I questioned as he still looked a bit out of it.

"I was just thinking." He stated.

"About?" I asked and he sighed and glanced up at the sky.

"I don't get it. If it was a serious war threat, wouldn't there be more soldiers? I mean, this was an awfully easy battle if you think about it." He explained and I realised as well.

"Now that you mention it, that is true." I said and began thinking.

"Yeah I agree as well." A third voice pitched in and I jumped in surprise.

"May?" I questioned in shock as she popped up between myself and Max.

Before she could speak, a disturbing growl echoed in our ears sending a shiver down my spine. I stared at what seemed to be the lifeless bodies of our enemies laying around us. Their corpses began to shake oddly, a strange sound erupting from their throats. A dark aura surrounded each of the soldiers as they slowly but surely emerged from where they lay.

"Um, what's happening?" Dawn asked in fright.

Everyone stopped speaking and stared at what was happening in front of them.

"They're coming back to life?" Leaf spoke uncertainly.

I knew, as much as everyone else did, that the statement she made was true. The soldiers eyes turned blood red, their gazes piercing our souls. They seemed almost like shadow warriors, something out of a myth.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking May?" Max questioned his sister.

"From that old picture book right?" May asked in return, nervousness shaking her tone.

"It's true then. They are Shadow Warriors." Amethyst announces for us.

I gulped a breath of air as each soldier stood up one by one, their metal weapons fading into what seemed like shadows. Black smoke flowed from their new weapons.

"If that's true then-"

"They are indestructible." Brendan finished for me.

We all grouped together and stared at our enemy in horror. There was no certainty that we could overcome the battle this time.

Unknown POV

My dark green hair whipped around my face as the four of us sprinted through the forest at inhuman speed. Twigs crumbled beneath us as we ran, our boots scraping the ground leaving small tracks, barely noticeable. I felt satisfaction hit me as we continued to sprint through the forest, my mind recalling my observations clearly.

"Did you get all that?" I questioned my companions who all grunted in response.

I attempted smirking as I ran and felt my mouth change. My mind seemed to run through everything I had observed. I felt odd as my body changed shape. My eyes changed colour and everything I saw looked lighter. I felt my voice shift oddly, my throat rumbling as it changed. My voice suddenly changed pitch to match the strange voice I had heard earlier. My mind flicked through various images I had seen and my smirk was no longer forced as I realised what was happening.

"We must report back to the King about our findings." An unfamiliar voice spoke up.

I glanced over to my companion and realised his appearance had changed slightly. He now looked more like that raven haired boy from earlier. His clothes were similar now too. I looked over to my other companions and noticed they had changed too.

I see. We've all adapted now. The Kingdom of the Stars has no chance of victory now.

And what was my name now? I heard it before. Something unfamiliar. What had that glasses kid said to that green haired boy? It was a strange name....it's right on the tip of my tongue. Wait that's right. I remember what he'd called him now. Drew. That's right. My name is Drew.

~~

Hi again! I actually updated surprisingly. I finally have a few ideas on how to complete this story. It's been so long since I update though I'm so sorry.

Ughhh I started school today which was a pain. I hate school so much but I have to go anyway. I couldn't even focus because I was so tired from the holidays even though I did practically nothing.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Also when did this story reach 5k reads? I do not recall seeing this number earlier....anywayyyy, I'd like to thank you all again for everything and to those who are helping me with ideas on writing my story.

Okay so that's all I will say, thank you so much for reading!

- April

9th Oct, 2018

(Holy moly the last time I updated was the 31st of July I'm so sorry)