#anyway I read through the quest for galar stuff and decided to write another update to get back into character and I hope this worked

[aresite]

II

The Lantern Man raised his sword in a striking motion, “Well, you know what they say- there’s no honor among thieves.”

The sword flickered in the lamplight as it was raised above their heads. Olli continued to struggle against the guards but his struggles seemed all in vain. Ares tried to pull himself free too, but the man behind them had the two boys firmly on his grasp. And, as the sword started to arch downwards, all Ares could do was tense up and stare in horror at the oncoming blade.

Before the blade could make contact though - the silent and familiar 'twang' of a bowstring letting loose reverberated from the forest and before Ares could register what was happening an Arrow whizzed past them and collided with the blade with enough force to shatter the arrow and wrench the blade from the unsuspecting Guard's hand. It flew aside and splashed uselessly into the mud nearby.

"What the-?" Another Guard gasped as he reached to draw his own sword - but the moment the sword left the scabbard it was also struck by another arrow and flew harmlessly aside.

There was then a sudden flurry of motion as the rest of the guards scrambled for their weapon. Another arrow let loose from the darkness and soared straight through the hood of a third Guard before embedding itself in the tree behind him - pinning the Guard to the same tree in the process.

The Guard that was still clenching onto Ares and Olli then let out a shout as something struck him from behind, causing the man to crumble like a sack of potatoes. Both boys were pulled to the ground by the impact but then managed to roll away as the man released his grip.

Ares was quickly back on his feet and leapt backwards away from the man before he could regain himself, but as Ares settled into a crouch nearby he realized that was unnecessary as a large Theivul stood on the man's chest. The Dark Type Pokemon had its head bowed and was snarling down close to the man's face. From where Ares crouched he could see the fear and disbelief plastered across the man's expression.

"Theivul!" Olli cheered out. Without thinking, he got up and started running towards the Pokemon, but Theivul was quick to knock the man out with a Sucker Punch, and jump down to stand next to Olli before Olli could reach them. Olli enthusiastically pet the soft fur on either side of the Pokemon's face.

"Man, are we glad to see you!" Ares laughed as he walked up towards Theivul as well. "Wait... but if yer here..." Oli started...

Both boys turned around and looked around them only to notice that the Guards were regrouping and surrounding them. Theivul arched down and let out a low warning growl - but before anyone could do anything two more arrows whizzed out of the darkness and struck the two Guards behind the boys. The men's shouts barely drowned out the sound of a whistle, and as if he was responding to the whistle, Thievul released a Night Slash out at the remaining Guards that blocked that escape route, and all three of them broke for the trees.

Ares felt his heart pound heavily in his chest as he saw a familiar form in the darkness behind the guards and picked up the pace. His vision disappeared in a flurry of forest green fabric as Jack pushed the two boys behind him as the Guard's regrouped.

"Jack!" Olli cried.

Jack didn't respond - his gaze was locked on the Guards. He cast his bow aside and drew his sword as he put himself directly between the enemy and the kids.

"Go." Jack growled, "But-" Olli started to argue, "Just go! Run! We'll talk about this later." Jack retorted.

Olli flinched, and for a second... he hesitated... but then he looked up at the oncoming Guards with their fancy armor and their drawn weapons and panic overtook the boy. With tears in his eyes he turned and bolted for the trees.

Ares however, hesitated longer, "What about you-" "I won't tell you again, Ares." There was a dead seriousness in Jack's tone that hit Ares at his core.

He took a step back... but suddenly a terrible feeling washed over him. It felt sort of like deja vue, and everything seemed to slow down. Suddenly he felt like this would be the last time he would ever see Jack again... and that thought terrified him.

Defiantly, he reached of Jack's discarded bow, "I'm going to fight too!"

Before Jack could argue though, they heard Olli shout from behind them. Jack whirled around with a look of panic, but then Ares saw what little colour that remained on Jack's face disappear. He whirled around as well just in time to see a flurry of Rapidash erupt through the trees. With the sky just starting to lighten behind them they almost looked mystical as they appeared through the mist.

The Rapidash surrounded both the Rovers and the Guards in a wide circle. Olli scampered to his feet and ran back to Jack and wrapped his arms around the older Rover with a look of pure terror. Jack put one hand on Olli's shoulder, and dropped his sword to put his other hand on Ares as they were completely surrounded.

Then, just as the sun began to peak over the horizon in the distance a figure appeared before them. She was small, only a child compared to the Soldiers around her - but she sat tall and straight on her steed. She wore a white, downy cloak that filtered the rising sun around her to the point that she almost looked like she was 'glowing', and for a second Ares thought that maybe he was looking at an Angel or something. All he could do was stand there in utter shock and stare as the Guards who had just been attacking them stopped and dropped down onto one knee before her, and he was surprised when even Jack bowed his head to her.

The forest around them grew deadly quiet, save for the sounds of hooves in the mud... and Ares was suddenly deadly aware that he had no idea if they were now safe, or if they were now introduced to something even worse.

[hinge]

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