“I'm ready,” I lied, holding my arms out. “When I say go, keep pace with me.”

Piranha and Sharp gripped me with rough hands, but Willow ignored my body language. Instead, he intertwined his smooth fingers with my other hand and squeezed it hard. His face was cut with a shadow, and a solemn determination replaced the fear in his eyes, which locked on to mine. I welcomed the shadows, as they hid the burning blush in my cheeks.

“Go!” I shouted.

We ran, shrouded, at a brisk pace across the short, soft grass. The Ghost Trees had little underbrush, except for occasional clusters of mushrooms. The trees on the border didn’t look much different than the Phantom Oaks further behind us, but in the Unseen Dimension, Ghost Trees glowed white.

Sharp gave a signal, but not the signal I was expecting. Instead of stopping us, she pulled us along at a higher speed. “Hurry to the tree straight ahead and hide,” she breathed. “Don’t deactivate until we’re there.”

None of us said a word and dutifully followed her command. Once we were hidden behind the tree, we reappeared, and the color of the trees dulled.

“Did we do it? Are we across the border?” whispered Willow, a hand on the bark of the giant.

Sharp tapped a finger on her lip. In the City, most people learned to speak multiple languages, including one called Silvertongue, that ironically used hand signs instead of voice. She taught us to use it as kids, since it was often useful for our various schemes.

“We’re across,” she signed, tilting her head towards the tree. “Someone behind us. Saw their light.”

“Following?” signed Willow.

“Not sure.” She pointed at me. “Go check.”

I signed an affirmation and disappeared by myself with less strain. I was so distracted by this turn of events that I hadn’t processed crossing over to the Deep Dark. The thing is, there wasn’t much dark about it. The Ghost Trees reminded me of the images I’d seen of towers in the City; wide and dominating the landscape. The pale bark and sky-blue coloring of the dancing clusters of luminous Fruit created the illusion the trees were made of a dull and cloudy sky fading into midnight blue. They were spaced out far from one another on a soft and level ground, overgrown with dark purple grasses that had never seen sunlight.

The quiet here was different than before, but somehow familiar. It was like the quiet of being alone in a comfortable room. I walked a wide circle, not getting close to the border. I didn’t see a single human light, only the glistening of a few fluttering birds.

“I didn’t see anyone,” I informed them when I completed the scout. “Remember, a lot of people live here. It could have been anyone.”

Piranha hummed. “That’s easy to forget. It feels so remote. What’s the plan Sharp?”

Her stance was unmoving, cold like a crystal statue. Since the moment she turned three, my City friend had meticulously practiced and perfected blade arts at the School for Warriors during the education seasons. I didn’t want to run into a fight, but part of me was curious to see a different side of her.

She gestured northward. “The plan is to push forward and try to avoid being seen. Our objective is to find a tree with the symbol of the Goddess’ hands.”

“How will that help us find Pyrite?” I asked.

She checked our surroundings, as well as a little compass she wore as a ring, and began leading us northwest. “We aren’t looking for him first, we’re looking for Dr. Gold-and-Silver. Pyrite said he should be staying close to the border. We need someone that can navigate the Dark, and I bet he’ll have the resources and info we need to figure out what's happening here.”

Willow hummed and floated a few feet above us. “That’s why you’re the boss. Badger can be our scout.”

I rubbed my sweaty hands on the front of my shirt. “Are you sure? I’m nervous to get too far away from you.”

Sharp gripped my shoulder and gave a curt nod. “Your power is perfect for this. I know you can do it.”

For the first time, I led the pack. I stayed in the Unseen Dimension to spot any souls, relying on Sharp’s ears to pick up my muffled footsteps. The further we walked, the darker the hue of the Fruit became. On the bright side, this effect made it much easier for me to see the light of any hiding enemies.

On the not so bright side, I spotted one instantly.

I doubled back and returned in front of my friends. “There’s someone in the trees straight ahead.”

Sharp tensed and gestured to the west. “We’ll take it slow and go around. Do you think they noticed you?”

“I doubt it.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said a voice I’d never heard. He appeared out of nothing; a blue-skinned man with cream-white hair, wearing a collection of iridescent jewelry, including four leaf-shaped earrings. Unfortunately for him, Sharp had great reflexes. By the time the rest of us shrieked and ran full throttle the other way, she had already pinned the man to the tree, blades capturing the fabric of his sleeves.

“Who are you?” Her voice was smooth and forceful like water. “Why are you following us?”

If this predicament concerned the young man, it was not evident in his expression. The stranger was a vapid sort of handsome, reinforced by a smirk dripping with shallow bravado. Honey was the color of his eyes, and the shirt pierced to the tree was dark green leaf-leather. His deep voice would have been pleasant if his tone wasn’t so accusatory. "Who are you? You aren’t from here, that’s obvious. How did you cross the border? It’s been blocked for months.”

She pushed her blade deeper. “How about you answer all of my questions first.”

His smirk fell. “Mercury Of-the-Topaz, and I wasn’t following you. My job is to stay close to the border and look for potential enemies.” He turned his gaze toward Willow, vitriol growing in his eyes. “Enemies like him.”

The air crackled, and the swords were pinned to nothing.

“Wha–?” Sharp blinked, stunned. “He’s gone!” She removed the weapons and turned to us. “Be alert. He could be– Pir! Behind you!”

Piranha twisted around, failing to grab their bow as the teleporter seized it and made them lose their balance. The air crackled, and he was gone again.

“He took my bow!” yelled Piranha from the ground. “That doghearted–Watch out Willow!”

The stranger was too quick for us, catching Willow by surprise and tying his hands together with his own blue scarf. He wrapped it once around his face for good measure.

Before the air could crackle again, I disappeared into the Unseen. The color of this stranger’s soul was an amoebous swirl of blue and silver. One moment it was by Willow, and the next it was right in front of me.

A memory flashed in my head, of Sharp and I playing outside together at the end of an education season, four years ago, when she tried to teach me how to fight.

“The most important thing to remember is that even the most powerful humans are still fundamentally normal people. If you do it right, you can knock out anyone with one hit.”

She feigned a jab at me, stopping short, but I did not flinch.

“Think fast,” she said. “Act faster.”

The advice echoed in my head. Act faster. I couldn’t tell where he was facing, nor did I have any way to predict what he’d do next, but I moved with purpose. Invisible, I swung my arm back, and threw the punch in the real dimension. Somehow, I managed to catch him square between the eyes with my fist, sending him collapsing to the ground in anguish.

“Well done!” cheered Piranha. “Right in the face! Ouch!”

“Huh? What happened?” mumbled Willow, still trying to untangle himself. “I didn’t see!”

If Sharp was at all impressed with that move, it was hidden beneath her urgency. “We need to restrain him quickly.”

He grunted from the ground, attempting to move. My hit was not strong enough to knock him out.

“How do you suggest we restrain someone that can teleport, eh?” Willow managed to free his face, hair sticking up in staticky peaks.

“Good point.” Sharp yanked the stranger up by the hair. “You have three seconds. Either talk to us like a normal person, or I’ll knock you out for real. We didn’t come here to⁠—.”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish, screaming the word, “OLIVINE!” at the top of his lungs. The brief confusion following this bizarre exclamation allowed him enough time to crackle away before Sharp could follow through.