"It means, Ashley, that you're dying." Max says.

I stare at him for a few seconds, then stare some more. Max shifts uncomfortably under the force of my stare, but I can't do anything else. It feels as if I'm frozen, and my mind is totally blank.

What is the correct way to act if someone tells you you're dying?

Should I cry, yell in anger, faint in disbelief, or maybe just faint cause I'm tired?

"Oh for crying out loud!" Becky exclaims, stomping over to Max's side. She comes to a stop right next to him, jutting her hip out, and is it me or did Max just straighten up?

"Say something!" Becky demands, looking me straight in the eye with a scowl, but I can also see a hint of concern. Is Becky worried for me? That's almost too good to be true.

I think about her demand, looking down at the ground and clearing my throat, finally I look up and open my mouth.

"Your shoe's untied."

Becky's expression goes blank.

"My what?"

"Your shoe." I say, pointing at her tennis shoe. "It's untied."

Becky is suddenly overcome with a look of murder, staring down at me with vicious intent. She takes a step forward, probably to strangle me.

Max puts an arm out, stopping Becky.

"Go easy on her. She's most likely in shock."

Becky pauses but eventually backs off, looking only slightly irritated. Hmm, what we're we talking about again? Oh yeah, dying.

"How long does she have to live?" Becky asks quietly, seeming to read my mind and ask the question before I could open my mouth.

"I don't know." Max admits sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Humans are more complex, they're body systems a little different. It was hard enough attempting to heal her. I definitely can't get a read on her."

"Then what the heck are you good for?" Becky mutters, and the look of hurt that flashes across Max's face makes me cringe. I look sympathetically at him.

"Don't let it get to you. She's only yelling because she's concerned. Becky has a knack for showing the opposite of what she's feeling "

Max flushes while Becky scowls.

"Do not!" She yells, giving me an icy cold glare.

I'm about to retort when suddenly the hammer in my head makes a sudden appearance, and I let out a gasp of pain, hands going to my head.

"Now what's happening?" Becky asks, more of the worry and panic showing in her voice.

"I could only heal her for so long. The longer time passes, the more painful and frequent these migraines will get." Max says somberly.

"Can't you do anything?" Becky asks, looking down at my pain stricken face.

Max thinks for a moment, before his eyes light up. He pulls a small bottle out of his pocket, what it was doing there, I have no idea.

"Drink this." He says, holding it up to my lips. "It'll make the pain go away." I start taking small sips, desperate for the pain to end.

"What is that?" Becky asks, curious. "Some kind of medicine?"

"Nope," Max says cheerfully, watching as I finish off the entire bottle. "I stole it from my father. It's Lecic."

"Lecic! You idiot!" Becky exclaims, snatching the bottle away from me, but I've already finished it. "Why would you give her Lecic? Just one sip is enough to get a full grown man intoxicated."

I'm not laying attention, instead looking up at the trees. They seem to be blurring. Am I crossing my eyes without realizing it?

"It'll help for a while." Max mutters, staring at the ground. "At least until we can get her to a fully trained Lightling healer."

"Hey guys!" I suddenly exclaim, attempting to push myself up on shaking arms. "I'm feelin slot butter now! Onwards, we must contin-con-coninue our journey to stop the evil scieniss!"

"What on Dalton is she saying?" Max asks, looking down at me with confusion.

That's when Becky smacks him upside the head, clearly upset. Why is she upset? Did Max not give her some Lecic? I would be to if he kept that stuff from me. It's great! I feel fully rejuvenated.

"This is all you fault!" Becky says, her scowl on full power mode. "Now we're stuck with a drunk human."

Drunk? No way. I've never had alcohol in my life. Hmm, is this what being drunk feels like?

I try to stand on wobbly legs, Max being there to steady me as I stand up. A sudden wave of dizziness hits me and I almost fall down again, but Max grunts, holding me up.

A sudden anger overtakes me, and I start punching and kicking Max, trying to inflict as much pain as possible.

"Ow! Ouch! Stop that! What are you doing?" Max says, trying to defend himself with one arm.

"That's for grunting!" I exclaim, continuing to throw punches. This is odd. I'm usually not that violent. Would it be bad if part of me says I like it?

"I'm not that heavy! You could have at least held it in! Who do you think you are anyway? I would much rather have Zero catch me. Say, where is Zero anyway?" I ask, trying to look around. All I see are pink leaves and blue bushes, swaying in ways that should be impossible for plants to sway.

"We went over this, Ashley, we don't know." Max says, an annoyed tone in his voice.

Suddenly, tears are running down my face and I'm sniffling like crazy. Why am I crying? Oh yeah.......

"I don't want to die!" I wail, shoulders heaving as I'm racked with sobs.

"Why me? Why couldn't it have been Sylvia? Or Mrs. Clark, or that mean kid in kindergarten who stole my fire truck?"

Max shifts uncomfortably, red in the face as he awkwardly past my back.

"There, there. You're not going to die. We'll find a cure. Just you wait."

I look up at Max with big watery eyes.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Of course I do. Friends don't let other friends die." I'm suddenly overcome with a rush of elation.

"Yay! Max said he's my friend!" I yell, wanting everyone to know, even that dark figure leaning against a tree. Wait, do dark figures live in jungles? I'll have to think about that for a moment.

"I've had enough of this." Becky says, storming over. "We need to go. We're vulnerable out here in the open."

Becky! Becky! Becky!" I say in a sing-song voice. "Where do dark figures live?"

"Dark......figures?" She's asks, looking at me confused.

"Yeah!" I say excitedly. "Do they live in jungles?"

"No?" Becky says, almost unsure. I look back at the dark figure who seems to be the form of a man but with no color, just pitch black, like a shadow.

"Do shadows live in the jungle?" I ask, not looking away from this oddity that has caught my drunk attention.

"That's it! Enough games. The moment the Lecic wears off I'm going to kill you!" Becky threatens.

I frown looking between her and the shadow, before smiling.

"At least I have a witness." I say happily, pointing at the dark figure. Max grabs my arm and redirects it to where it's pointing at him.

"You mean me?" He asks with a small smirk on his face, finding this amusing.

"No." I growl, grabbing my arm back and pointing again. "I mean him!"

Becky and Max turn to see the dark figure and immediately tense. I wonder why they're hostile. Maybe because they don't want a witness to my murder. Oh no! I can't have them get rid of him! He's my new friend/witness.

Max gently pushes me behind him, directing my hands so they grab onto a purple tree trunk.

"Stay here." He says lowly, before standing beside Becky as they face the Shadow man.

"Who are you?" Becky questions, not removing her stare from my friend. I wonder what would happen if I waved a hand in front of her face. Would she blink?

The shadow man doesn't answer, just standing there leaning against a tree, his barely viewable shadow arms crossed over his chest.

"He must be an illusion." Becky growls, forming a ball of light in her hands. This orb seems to have a dangerous aura to it, glowing more brightly than the others, till it's almost white.

What is she gonna do with that? Send it up to the sky and make a new star?

Suddenly there's the sound of running footsteps, heavy, like their wearing boots. Why are they running? Is there ice cream? I would race all of them for some ice cream right now.

"Damn it." Becky mutters, her scowl growing dark. "Darklings. They must have been nearby."

The look of rage that crosses Becky's face is so great, I fear for my own life even if the look is not directed at me. She lifts her hand slowly aiming it directly at the Shadow.

No! She can't do that! He's my only witness!

I push off the tree, nearly tripping over my own feet. The world shifts, and I stand still for a second, knees shaking. The orb grows brighter in Becky's hand, reminding me of the emergency.

I stumble my way in front of her, Max calling out my name.

"Get out of the way!" Becky growls.

"No!" I yell, continuing to lurch my way towards my new friend.

I'm a step away from him, when the ground underneath me caves and I go tumbling, only for something to knock the air out of me. I look down at it, pressed against my stomach, keeping me from falling. An arm made of shadow.

"He moved!" I say excitedly, looking up at the featureless face of my witness. "He actually moved."

I spoke too soon, because the next second He dissapeares, leaving me leaning on the same tree he was on just a moment before.

I blink, looking around. Was he really an illusion? Or was he conjured from my head? But Becky saw him too, so he must be real! I pout, because now my friends gone, but I shouldn't worry, because just then more people appear in the clearing, wearing head to toe black uniforms, lined up in some kind of army formation.

"More friends!" I exclaim, smiling. These aren't shadows, and they don't seem as kind as my Shadow man either.

I stare at them in confusion, when it clicks. Becky said the Darklings were coming. These must be them. But what do they want with us?

I look over to my right, only to see another strange man standing there, arms folded across his chest as he surveys everything. I intake a breath, because his eyes are the color of gold coins, his hair a blue so dark, it almost looks black. He has a kind of foreboding aura about him, intense and alluring, yet also a little deceptive. He also strikes me as playful. Like a mischievous puppy. I giggle.

The man, sensing my gaze and hearing my giggle, turns to me and winks, smirking mischeviously, which only makes me giggle more.

Becky and Max don't seem to see the man standing beside me, too focused on the Darkling troops.

I wish I could say a fierce and violent battle broke out, because that would have been more interesting, but instead, another person joins our party.

He comes crashing through the bushes, skidding to a stop beside Becky, his silver eyes scanning the area before zeroing in on me. He goes to take a step forward, but stops, his eyes landing on the man right beside me.

Is that fear? It can't be. I've never ever seen Zero afraid. He's always been afraid for my safety, but the look in his eyes currently is the fear of a cornered animal.

"Hello, "Zero", Becky." The man says in a voice made of velvet, seeming to mock Zero's name.

At the sound of the voice, Becky's entire body jolts as if she was struck by lightning. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turns to face the man, something unanswerable in her eyes.

Who is this man who has my friends so worried? He looks like just an ordinary Darkling to me. Well, except for the black cloak, but that's just an accessory. So who is he?

Becky, shocking me to the core of my being, suddenly lowers her head in submission, gritting her teeth as she greets him.

"Hello to you too, Darkling High Commander."

Dear Readers, hello and here's another update. I'm case any of you are confused, Becky indeed is Mexican and not Asian, although there are a few similarities. I am in no way saying this to be racist, it's just a fact. Also check out the picture up above! It's my first fan art and it looks fantastic! It's made by SullenPlatypus, so shout out to them. They're really awesome. What's your first impression of this sparkling High Commander? Hope you enjoyed. Vote, comment, and draw me some fan art.

Lots of love,

Dangeroustoken.