Pat's POV

After Matt and Amy left, Jen and I decided to check up on the Ewoks again. I held her hand gently as we walked through the village. I whispered to her, "We should stall for Matt and Amy if we see Dark." She nodded to me and looked around as we wandered through the village together. After a short while, we heard faint yelling coming from the forest. I couldn't make out what it was saying, but Jen and I changed course to investigate. I figured we would be stronger together from now on. Besides, I never wanted to let her go again, especially not with Dark roaming around.

We snuck through the forest, splitting so we were on either side of the makeshift path. Keeping one another in sight, we walked silently toward the yelling. "I only want her back! You took her from me!" I stopped, making Jen stop. We looked at each other, then pressed on. It sounded like Mark's voice, which we knew was Dark.

When we got closer, Dark was silent. We could see him now, but only from the back. I looked to Jen, who was climbing a tree to get a better view, both of us wondering who Dark had been talking to. I decided to stay on the ground, watching from behind. Nobody was there, as far as I could tell. "You'll regret it when she's dead!" Dark suddenly shouted, turning in my direction and beginning to storm toward me. I quickly shifted behind a tree, Dark storming past. "The time has come! She will join me or die!" I heard him say. I inferred he was talking about Amy. Jen gasped form the tree, making Dark stop in his tracks. He turned back, growling. "Where are you?" He shouted. I'd never heard anyone so angry.

Jen looked to me, silent. I could see fear behind her eyes, and I shared the same feeling. Dark began to walk in her direction. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" He called. I watched Dark approach a large tree and put a hand on the trunk, which made the entire tree shrivel and die. I was shocked, thankful it wasn't the tree Jen was in. She would've surely fallen out of it due to the dead branches. I knew what Dark was doing, and I had to stop him. He killed another tree, getting closer to Jen, who was dead silent and frozen. It was as if she was a statue. I could barely see her breathing, which struck fear into my own heart.

"Dark!" I shouted, acting on impulse. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I had to do something. I wouldn't go down without a fight.

Dark turned to me with an eerie smile. He put his hands behind his back, then leaned slightly forward. "Ah, so you've finally figured it out."

"That's right." I said, not sure what else to say. His stance was very professional and calm, which sickened me. He knew something I didn't.

"Too bad your wife won't live to see how this encounter ends." He laughed, putting his hand to the tree next to the one Jen was in, making it shrivel and die. The dead leaves fell around him in some beautiful, yet terrifying way. It was like a piece of deranged art. I shook it off and focused on the task at hand, refusing to look at Jen and give away her position.

"How do you know?" I asked. "She could be long gone, back to the village to get help." I tried to stay calm, but the smirk on his face made me realize my voice was shaking. My energy was starting to drain. That's when I remembered Dark feeds off fear. I growled with determination and pushed my fear aside.

"Then why are you so scared?" His tone sent shivers down my spine.

I took a step toward him. "I'm not scared of you." I told him.

He laughed. "You're amusing, yet ignorant. I know exactly where your wife is. I just wanted to inform you of something." I took a deep breath, my eyes never leaving Dark's. "You won't share what you've found out about me, or you lovely wife will suffer for it." He pointed at Jen, looking up at her.

I took my chance and tackled him, knocking him to the ground. Jen quickly escaped through the trees. Dark and I wrestled, flipping us over so he was on top. He began punching my face with Mark's body. I blocked him as best as I could, but he still got a few hits off on me. I became slightly dazed. Suddenly, Dark stopped. I looked up at him, and he seemed to be in extreme pain. He screamed, which left me shocked. "R-Run!" He shouted. It was Mark, I knew it was. I got out from under him, in which he began writhing on the ground.

I stood up, still a bit dazed. "Mark!" I shouted over his yelling. He was in excruciating pain, one way or another.

"I said run!" He screamed at me. I gave him one last look, then took off in a sprint. It wasn't exactly straight, but I ran as fast as I could.

I ran so fast I had caught up to Jen, who called my name from above. "Pat, we're almost back to the village!" I nodded to acknowledge her, then ran faster, and didn't stop until we were safely inside the village borders. I caught my breath, ewoks crowding Jen and me. I wrapped her in my arms, hugging her tightly. My head was spinning as I mumbled out a lockdown order in Ewokese. The ewoks scrambled to initiate the procedure.

Jen wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug as well, then pulled back to check me. Putting a hand to my face, she sighed gently. "You're already starting to get a black eye." She told me.

I put my hand on top of hers and pulled it away from my face. "As long as you're okay." I told her. "Now, come on. We have to warn Amy and Matt."

"The struggle doesn't end, even for a moment, huh?" She said as we moved quickly toward the hut. I sighed and shook my head, taking her hand in mine as we walked.