~The first shadow rounded the corner, and looked around in the darkness. It took it about a moment to find Yukie standing with blades drawn, and it began its rush again, claw raised high. Then the rest of the shadows discovered the deku, flying around the corner, and following the first. Soon a wall of claws was rushing towards Yukie. Fast.

Flit was left standing alone in the room with the strange prisoner. He strained his hearing for any sign of Yukie, but all he could hear was the hideous laughter of shadows. He hoped that his newfound friend would be okay, but he quickly turned his attention back to the captive. Who knew when the shadows would be back.

"There gone..."

The words met with nothing, and Flit started to wonder if the man was even there when his reply came.

"Where is the other of you?"

"He... got chased away by the shadows. I don't know if he's okay or not."

The man once again didn't reply. He was deep in thought, and time didn't mean much to him now. Can he make it alone? Maybe that would be best for him to decided.

"Would you like to go ahead, or wait for the other?"

That was an easy choice for the deku. He would wait for Yukie. He go and try to help him, but he had already shown that there wasn't much he could do to help. Better to leave Yukie to do what he did best.~

He'd never quite gotten a handle on how powerful the ability to feel the slightest of breezes could be before now. But as the creatures all charge forward, practically invisible to both eyesight and Nature Sense, Yukie comes to the startling realization that the wind is more useful than ever. Even without being able to see or feel the enemies, the slight wind caused by the displacement of the air as the dark monsters charge forward is enough to tip off the Deku that they're charging.

A grin forms on his wooden mouth as the slight change in air currents is altered time and time again; it seems that more of the creatures had followed him than he'd originally anticipated. Maybe even all of them had pursued him; that would be an incredibly lucky break. Not only would his plan have better results than anticipated, it would allow Flit a chance to rest. He'd been hurt enough in the fight with that Goronic shadow thingy, and could probably use a break.

"Y'all're gonna regret that mistake," he says with a superior tone. No more need to fool around; he's already got the enemy right where he wants them, despite the fact that they're most likely thinking the exact same thing about him. But they probably have not realized the weakness of their tactics, and the strength of the plan Yukie has created.

It's an interesting lesson that he had learned as a young Deku. Deku are naturally lightweight and have difficulty battling against strong opponents, whose attacks are often be enough to send one of the wooden species flying with ease. Therefore, Yukie's teacher, the same as Ukedra's, had opted to teach him to utilize that lightness to his advantage: their speed, matched only by the Sheikah. And Yukie's plan would have made his master proud.

Yukie has used that speed to get ahead of the creatures and set up for his own attack. What's more, whereas before the things had been surrounding the two Deku, now Yukie knows exactly what direction they're all coming from. So he doesn't have to watch his back anymore - his defense can be dropped, and his attack pushed forward with full concentration.

Letting loose a bellow that gives hint to how serious he suddenly is, Yukie's blades fly forward as he leaps into the fray. Dropping his faked nonchalance like he had with that one Sheikah assassin in the woods earlier, the Deku's eyes suddenly burn with a fiery rage. Almost as if he actually can see each creature, his blades dart forward, slicing into the darkness. He really can't see them; rather, he knows the width and height of the tunnel from the seconds of flashes from his Deku Nuts, and is simply having his swords slash through every square inch of space in the region. And yet every few slices, it seems that the very friction of the metal against the air produces a brief flash that gives him a better idea of what's happening.

He lands five seconds later, on the other side of the group. Unlike with the Sheikah, he doesn't know how many times his blades have been used - he'd lost count at around five hundred, and that was during the second second.

~Flit stood listening intently, when suddenly the sounds coming from the hallway changed. After a huge bellow, all he could here was scraping. The shadows weren't laughing anymore.

In fact, they had been torn through by a steel whirlwind, flung aside while Yukie stood unscathed behind them. As each one was sliced, they 'bled'. Blood did not rush from their form, but their own shadow essence poured out. Slowly each one lost its shape, and a pool of shadow covered the floor. Who knew what that stuff could do to a deku, and it seemed wise not to leave the dungeon that way.

Flit and the prisoner were both slightly confused. The man trapped in the shadows had longed learned that his ears were the only sense he could trust, and had developed quite a keen sense of hearing. All he could tell was that suddenly there was only one person left. For the deku, all was silent. He wanted to call out, but it might call other shadows to their location. Instead he stood still in the darkness, waiting.~

Yukie slowly recollects himself as the panting following such a massive attack ensues. Certainly he has moved quite quickly in the recent years . . . but such a ferocious technique has not been practiced by the Deku in a long, long time. 'I must of gotten at least a good thousand swings in there . . .' he concludes as he drops to his knees to rest for a few moments. That one move had pushed him to a limit he had not bypassed in years, and so he decides to take a moment's rest before returning back down the path to where Flit should still be.

His mind starts spinning, trying to recall every detail about those creatures that he had managed to collect - mainly because he was trying to figure out how many of those creatures had ended up following him. He doesn't have the strength needed for another onslaught like that . . . or at least, he won't until he gets some rest. After a few minutes his breathing level drops down to a calmer rate, and he calls upon his Vassal skills once again. "Royal Spirit," he calmly mutters, letting the healing energies flow through him and grant him the rejuvenation he'll so desperately need to continue in this underground dungeon he and Flit have found themselves in.

Finally rising up again, he wipes off his blades before sheathing them once more, and slowly begins meandering back down the tunnel, feeling his way along the wall until his Nature Sense once again picks up Flit's presence in near proximity. "Hey y'all, I'm back!" he says cheerily, as if nothing had ever happened.

~*OVERTURE OF DEATH*~
(thats right its time...AND COLOR CODED!)

Part 1

~~~Flit looked over at Yukie's approach, and let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like he had gotten back okay. Unscathed even.... He had to supress the impulse to ask exactly what the older deku had done, and turn back in the darkness towards approximately where he thought the prisoner was.

"So, it seems like we've disposed of them. How are we supposed to get you free?"

At the time, he wanted to ask the more pressing questions about why the strange man was trapped down here, and how they could find and exit, but he decided that those could wait. The deku had no qualms about returning to the surface, in fact, this place creeped him out, but he didn't just want to leave the man here. Flit knew that if it were him, he would hate being couped up down here, have hoped dangled in front of him, and then be left to rot.

So instead of getting out as soon as possible, he stood and waited for the prisoner's responce. Maybe setting him free would be linked to leaving. Little did the deku know, but those shadows had been just the beginning. Actually, setting the chained man free would be the last priority on his mind in a couple seconds.~~~

~~~The man looked down towards the voice through the darkness. He heard the words, but it didn't quite register. Freedom. The very thought rocked his conciousness. There was a chance that he might get free. The prisoner was no fool. He had long before used scrying to find out how to get free, the only problem was he could move. Since then, he had run out of spells, except one. That one was for emergencies only.

So instead of chanting a series of magic words to unleash destruction, he answered the question. There's a lantern somewhere down here. Leave the chamber through the second entrance and turn left. The lantern should be in the hallway to your left from there. On the opposite side of here is another room with a small pedestal. If you place the lantern in the indent in the pedestal, it should set me free. I can help you leave fro-..."

The man strained all the magic and hearing that he had left, and he didn't like what he felt. "Run away.... RUN NOW!"~~~

~~~The scream echoed into silence; no one moved. Flit stared wide eyed into the darkness for a moment, and was about to start running when he heard it. Usually the deku liked sounds. The sounds of the creatures of the forest. The sound of the wind rushing through the air. The sound of the Deku Philharmonic Orchestra. This sound was not a nice sound though. It sent a shiver of apprehension down Flit's spine, even though it oh too familiar.

A single sound of laughter in the darkness, followed by another and another and another. What started as a single cackle had escalated into an entire synphony of hatred and bloodlust. The deku found he couldn't move. His legs felt like lead as the chaotic laughter bounced around the cramped darkness. But the laughter was only the beginning; the overture to the death and hell that was to come. The shadows had returned.~~~

~~~The imprisoned man pressed against his bonds. The temptation to discharge the last of his magic and destroy the shadows was nearly overwhelming, but he supressed it. He would need it later, he told himself, just wait and see what would happen.

So instead, he shouted out advice. "Be careful! There claws are very poisonous. If they cut you, you might as well already be dead!"

If only we had some light, then this would be so much easier. He waited in anticipation. His freedom hanged in the balance of the fight to come, and he had to admit, although the two deku were skilled, the odds just weren't in their favor...~~~

~~~When the voice of the prisoner shot through the laughter, Flit jolted back to reality, the fear that had incapitated him back under control. He drew out his daggers in desperation. It didn't seem like there was anything he could do to fight off the host of shadows. Besides who knew if they would just come back to fight again. Eventually the deku would tire and then be ripped apart, lost in the inky blackness forever....

The deku's grip on the daggers tightened. They had to be smart. Had to think of a better way to fight them. What was a shadows weakness...... He racked his brain for anything, but reliezed the answer was right in front of him.

"The lantern!" he shouted over the hideous cacophony of laughter. Without even waiting for a responce, he turned and ran into the darkness, towards where he thought the other entrance was. As it turned out, he was just a little bit off. His right arm cleared the opening, but his left slammed into the corner, sending him spinning around, and flying to the ground.

He got up as fast as he could, when he found something amiss. The laughter had stopped. The he heard the collosal rush of claws through the air behind him, and started sprinting, hand on the wall to his left.

Farore, Din, Nayru, Deku Tree, ANYTHING that can help me, please let me get out of this alive, he prayed fervently. It was a race, and the slow gaining of the sounds of rushing shadows behind him was not a pleasant thing to be up against.

The deku slipped his hand into a pouch at his waist, grabbing a throwing dagger. His last one. He threw it behind his back, hoping that it slow the cloud of blackness behind him. He didn't even spare a thought on Yukie. If he had been engulfed in the tide of shadows, there wasn't anything Flit could do to help him anyways.

Soon, he felt an opening to his left. He turned his head and started running in that direction. He could even see a faint glow at the end. The latern was close. So close.

And yet at the same time it was so far away. Flit spun his head around for a quick glance behind him, and saw a wall of red eyes and claws rushing foward, illuminated by the faint light. The deku screamed in desperation. His lungs felt like they were going to explode; his legs felt like they would fall off at anytime, but he couldn't stop running.

When he reached the corner, and looked to the side, he could see the lantern, hanging from the ceiling. "YES!" He kept running, and was about halfway to the lantern when he noticed that all sound from behind him had stopped. The deku turned in suprise, but saw only the old stone of the hallway. The only thing he could hear was his breath and the beating of his heart. He still had no clue if Yukie was right next to him, and was about to check when the hated, hated, HATED noise began anew.

The damn laughter.~~~

~~~The evil cackles sounded from around the corner, but no shadows flooded into view. Instead, everything faded back into darkness. The deku spun around, only to see that he couldn't see the lantern through the darkness. That meant either two things. Either the light had gone out, or something was blocking.

The question was answered when the insane laughter began to flood in on all sides. There was no escape. No light. Only horrible laughter. Yes, an overture to death and hell indeed. END~~~

Key:

Green: Flit
Purple: Prisoner
Red: Evil/Shadows

OOC: The terror of color-coding has emerged once more to smite me . . . DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNNN!!!

IC:
Yukie nods his head in the darkness as Flit comments to the prisoner asking how they can free the man and help him escape. Who knows how long this man has been down here, imprisoned by these strange unnatural creatures of the shadows for some unknown reasons? And now that they finally have a few moments of peace . . .

And then the prisoner begins screaming for them to run - only to be cut off as the maniacal chuckling resounds through his ears once more. Only now it seems more focused, as if attempting to have some special effect on him . . . and after a few moments Yukie realizes that his limbs suddenly feel much more sluggish - almost as if frozen. In response to this realization, the Deku focuses his thoughts and determination, and soon manages to break the spell of fear cast upon him. In the few moments before the creatures start attacking again, one thought resides in his head: 'Dang, I didn't know that thoughts could jinx ya! That'll sure be a useful bit o' info ta keep in mind from now on.'

The prisoner's advice comes none too soon, and instant recalls to mind the struggle Flit had undergone after being struck by the first shadowy creature they had encountered on their trip into these goddess-forsaken tunnels. Poison, eh? That explained a question or two he'd been curious about. But now was not the time to be thinking about that. With one crisp movement his twin Deku Swords reappear in his hands, held at the ready for yet another battle. He thanks his cautious side for having already used the Royal Spirit before, for otherwise he wouldn't exactly be in the best of shape for this.

Suddenly his Nature Sense picks up Flit rushing away from himself and the prisoner, with the cry of 'The lantern!' being the only clue as to his intended destination. And then the laughter comes to a halt, just in time for the elder Deku to hear his partner in this adventure tumbling to the ground . . . and then they all fall upon him, chasing after Flit without giving Yukie much thought at all.

Big mistake.

Flit's got the right idea, and Yukie knows it. That lantern will almost certainly help their cause, but if he's to have any chance of getting to it, Yukie has to take out a fair share of the younger Deku's pursuers, and quick. Fortunately, the renewed memory of their first encounter with a shadow creature has triggered another idea in the Deku's mind. Just like before, it'll be dangerous, possibly even more so than the first time, but it might just be a super-effective idea.

"Be right back," he calls to the prisoner, not bothering to add the 'I hope' that he thinks to his words nor to his tone. Then he takes off in a burst of speed, trailing Flit with his Nature Sense and keeping his ears tuned to the positions of the laughing beasts, striking at any with his swords when in range without a second thought. And suddenly he notices that his eyes are also starting to make out shapes - light is coming from somewhere nearby, though it is very faint for him since it has to pass through all those shadows.

The moment he feels Flit come to a stop, he comes to a halt and readies his spell. Clapping both hands together as quickly as he can, he dashes forward directly into the fray of the shadows, barely dodging past any claws that might come in his direction as he actually attempts to get as close as possible to the beasts. And then he unleashes the magic, shooting the spell out in all directions - hence the reason it was now more dangerous than before. "FIRE!"

~Flit stood quivering in fear as total darkness surrounded him. The laughter was overwhelming. Not one muscle in his body could move as fear completely stopped his thoughts. Then the light came.

It wasn't a yellow candle flame or the orange of a latern, but was the bright red of a burst of flame. The fire spell tore the line of shadows apart, leaving only a few left, burning and fleeing. The deku barely had time to duck as a tendril of the fire shot his way. He did not like the feel of so much heat.

As soon as Flit rose the burning shadows started to get smart. In their last moments of life, they launched a lethal attack. That is, lethal for a deku. All of the burning shadow turned and rushed towards their tormentor, Yukie who had started all this fire in the first place. Flit wanted to help, but he knew there were other pressing problems. The other wave of shadows was already attacking.

The deku turned in the direction of the latern, and took a deep breath. He could feel the build up of wind in his mouth, and prepared to launch the wind attack. Flit knew that if he simple shot it, the shadows would just move around it. No, timing was everything.

Flit didn't have to wait long. Soon he could feel the rush of the shadows coming towards him, and he chose that time to attack. He spit out the wind with all the strength his deku lungs provided, and the large sphere of wind shot down the hallway, pushing the shadows back and breaking their tight formation. The light from the latern filtered through, illuminating the shadows in that direction.

Now that there attack had been neutralized, it was up to Yukie to escape a flaming death.~

As the flames streak out from his hands, the Deku feels the fatal heat threatening to come right back at him and engulf him in the grip of the deadly flames. Fire is a most dangerous element to try and control - wild, raging, and unpredictable are all apt descriptions of an inferno - and for a plant-based life form the threat is multiplied tenfold. For all of the five seconds his spell is in affect, his full conscious is entirely focused on ensuring that his magic doesn't come back around to kill him, but rather the equally dangerous beings of the mysterious shadow element.

And as he lands several seconds later, he finds that his efforts have indeed been successful - well, he's still alive at least. Furthermore, with the lantern's light having mysteriously vanished, his attack has once again provided him with a bit of light by which his eyes can once again become useful. The burning corpses of the fallen shadows retain the fiery essence of his attack, allowing the embers to remain lit as they strive to finish consuming their targets.

And suddenly the prey is trying to use the last few seconds of life to become the predators once more, Yukie realizes with a gulp. Their faltering forms rush at him with what he can only hope is the last of their energy, trying to undo all the effort put into making sure that neither Deku got burned with one last charge. 'Well, this ain't lookin' too good fer me . . .' he decides rather swiftly as he takes a step backwards. And then a step to the side. Then forward. Then to the his other side.

Drat. They're coming at him from all sides. Just his luck. Roughly ten seconds before he gets burned alive.

There's obviously no room for escape from these creatures, and no way on earth that he can afford to let himself be hit. As his eyes dart back and forth in an effort to distract his brain from the beads of sweat slowly forming on his forehead - formed by both fear and the oncoming heat - a quick note his master had once told him makes its way to the forefront of his mind: 'The only way to defeat an attack that you cannot dodge or avoid . . . is to strike before it does.' The Deku shrugs. "Eh, sounds good ta me," he mutters as he surveys his options. Roughly five seconds before he gets burned alive.

Bringing his swords to bear again, he swiftly swings his arms around so that his right is stretched as far as it can in front of him, and his left arm is stretched around his backside. Roughly three seconds before he gets burned alive, the Deku lets out another of his ferocious yells as his blades spin around like lightning. An enormous wave of orangish energy erupts from his blades, shooting outward in all directions in multiple waves, bashing into the shadows and smashing them into the walls like the relative weaklings they are.

Who says that the Heroes are the only ones able to learn the Great Spin?

(((OOC: orangish energy XD)))

~The dying shadow's were flung in all directions, including the one Flit was standing in. The deku heard the roar and outburst of energy from behind him and did the one thing any person would do in that situation. Duck. He could feel two of the shadows being flung over his head, and was glad that he had ducked when he did. Burning shadows were quite dangerous to a young deku's health.

Like before, the vanquished shadows became pools of shadowy essence which now surrounded the two deku, after the brutal attack. It seems as if manuevering would be harder than before. If getting hit by one of the shadows could poison one, who knew what coming into contact with their pure essense would do.

The other creatures which Flit had dispersed earlier were already reforming their formation. But it was strange. They seemed much more compact than before, and only filled half the hallway, letting light through around them. They definitly seem more...... real.

Flit had no way of knowing that the shadowy essence around him was the last of his worries, but he would find out soon enough. By now, he was sure. The shadows were getting much closer, and even starting to form a shape. A humanoid shape. Unfortunately, this humanoid, like many hostile men, was carrying a very large blade. If the deku had been more knowledgeable about different minions of evil throughout hyrule, he would have reckonized the shape for what it was. The shadows had merged to form a darknut.

Soon the shadow darknut began to approach them. The thing that clicked in Flit's mind was the clancking. It seemed as if the creature was wearing armor, and that fact warned the deku that the following encounter was not going to be simple. He started to back up, and ended up at Yukie's side. If they were going to face this shadowy knight, it would have to be as a team.~

Yukie slowly allows himself to relax as the flaming shadows all around him spread outward, and then even more so as he notes that none of them are coming back in his direction. They must be dead or at least so far gone that they have ceased to be a threat - either way works for the elder Deku. He lets his blades touch the ground as he takes a few more precious seconds to rest up after unleashing an attack of that level, but does not sheathe them because he doubts that that will be the end of their troubles - it's quite likely that more shadows lurk in these tunnels, and they could pop up at any time.

As if that very thought has jinxed him, it is at that moment that Yukie's eyes, still fortunately able to see by the dim light from the lantern as well as the light from the still smoldering shadowy corpses, fall upon Flit backing slowly away from the direction of the aforementioned lantern's light. 'Aw great . . . what've we got this time 'round?' he thinks with a roll of his eyes as he turns to face whatever it is . . . at which point his blades immediately rise again to take on a defensive posture.

"Farore's Wind . . . well, this one sure ain't gonna be pretty," he mutters to his companion as he manages to make out their newest opponent to be a Darknut . . . or an Iron Knuckle. Whatever. The two aren't exactly easy to distinguish from one another, and it really makes no difference in the long run - either way, this fight isn't going to be as easy as the previous ones. Plus, with no real time to regain any energy after that Great Spin . . .

Well, hopefully it had the normal weaknesses that a real Darknut would. "If ya kin, try ta git around behind it and see if there's any way to git rid a that there armor. Otherwise, just start a-slashin' away and hope its armor falls off on its own accord."

~Flit nodded slightly at Yukie's advice. A small plan was already forming in his head. Plenty of things could go wrong, but he didn't what to think about that. Only success. Only survival. He nodded once again, this time more to himself, and then started to move forward very very slowly. Suddenly, he broke forward into a sprint down the right side of the hall with speed that only a deku could muster. Flit didn't like to race often, so he didn't know how his agility would line up with, say, a sheikah, but he didn't care, he could out manuever this armored thing.

His plan, although it would take place in a split second was rather quite complicated. The deku wanted to get behind the darknut because than either him or Yukie could strike at its rear, while the other one took hits. To make it past the huge warrior would take quite a bit of cunning however, and the deku didn't have any 'clever' in his inventory to use at the moment, so instead he took a more direct approach.

Flit suddenly broke towards the left, using his momentum to run along the wall. He hoped that the sudden change would confuse the darknut and let him run past. Halfway through his run, he made another desicion. It would be better to move again, and not just continue on his chosen course. There was one trail that led to his destination, but still allowed him to move, and that was to change walls. Unfortunately, there was a huge shadow monster standing in the way.

Once again exercising his racial agility, he sprung from the wall and vaulted between the tiny space between the darknut and the ceiling. He landed on the other side, and moved to finish his flanking plan. Unfortunately, things started to go wrong. Very wrong. While the deku had made his leap, the darknut had steadily moved backwards, ruining Flit's entire plan, and putting him in a rather unsafe position. That fact was puncuated by the sudden swishing sound that usually accompanied something large a sword-like through the air. Acting on pure instinct and reflex, Flit was down on the ground before he even relized what was happening. As soon as he heard the crash and grating of metal on stone above his head, he rolled forward, retreating to where he stood just moments ago, next to Yukie. There was only one word to describe the situation.

"Damn."~

(((OOC: A beautiful ending if I do say so myself )))

'An apt way ta describe that there attempt,' Yukie thinks to himself as the lone word leaves Flit's mouth and enters the elder Deku's ears. It had been a valiant attempt the Deku had made to get around behind the Darknut, and one that could have worked had Yukie himself not been so tired. He could have distracted the shadow creature, allowing Flit a much better opportunity to get around and strike from behind, which was the desired tactic to be sure. But unleashing the Great Spin was something that the Deku had not done for some time, and he unfortunately needed even more time than he'd been alloted to recover completely.

Taking in a deep breath, the elder preps an attack that the younger ought to be recognizing by now. If he doesn't, well then, his eyes are about to burn. With a rush of air a Deku Seed launches from his mouth like a rocket, rushing straight for the Darknut's armored head. The moment it explodes, the Deku is sprinting with all the speed he can muster.

Of course, he's sprinting away from the Darknut, using the flash of light to make it appear as though he'd simply vanished. Plopping himself down at the wall right next to the entrance to the tunnel where Flit and the shadow creature still stand, he allows his eyes to close as he begins taking in several deep breaths, hoping to regain his strength quickly - though that sprinting action has done nothing but hurt his chance of getting a super speedy recovery.

(((OOC: What? Running away from the mini-boss. I think not! Now, how to force you to come back )))

~Once again, Flit was completely concentrated on the Darknut. He knew that one sword blow would reduce him to timber, and now that he had seen that contray to its size the monstrous knight could move quite fast, he would have to be more focused than ever.

Then he heard a wizzing sound to his right, and felt something move past him, fast. His first thought was that more shadows, but then his vision was assaulted by a blast of light that left him staggering backwayrds temporarily blind. When he had recovered his vision, he could hear that the darknut wasn't moving either. It seemed that it too had been stunned by the sudden burst.

Then the deku relized something was different. It wasn't anything new in the area, but rather, the absence of something that had been by his side the whole time. The sounds of breathing next to him, the occasional rustle of clothes. It seemed like Yukie had dissapeared.

Alarmed, Flit gripped his dagger more tightly than ever, and strained his ears for any sign of his companion, but the only thing he could hear was the clunking steps of the darknut; it was approaching.

He now had a choice; Fight or Flight. Maybe it was something about getting chased by deadly assasins, nasty vines and an army of shadows, but his answer was different than what it would have been before. With a desicive movement, he took a step forward and began his attack. It would be much less effective than anything Yukie could preform, but he wasn't going to back down. He pulled back his arm, and let a dagger fly. As the darknut blocked out all the light from the lantern, he couldn't see if he was going to hit it or not, but it was worth a try, and it might slow the shadow creature down.

Then something happned. A huge gaping hole formed in the wall of darkness, and suddenly Flit could see. What he saw didn't encourage him. His dagger hadn't hit its mark yet and thus wasn't the cause of the change. Instead, it seemed to be flying right towards the hole. Soon, it had passed through, and he could hear it clank to the ground on the other side. Then the shadows reformed, blotting out the light once more. It seems like he wouldn't be able to fight it after all.

Now, his choices were limited to one option. Get out. He sprinted backwords as fast as he could rounding the corner, and beginning to run down the hallway. Throwing caution to the winds, he bellowed out into the thick blackness: "YUKIE!!!!"~

"YUKIE!!!!" The yell bombards the Deku's already throbbing eardrums - already hurting because his entire body is exhausted rather than because of being hit there or something - causing him to lift his shaking hands up to cover his ears. 'Gee whiz, kids these days . . . jest can't seem ta take care o' anythin on their own. I leave him alone fer five seconds and he's pitchin a fit!' He slowly lets his hands fall and grasp at his Deku Blades, wrapping his fingers around the hilts slowly as he struggles to rise back to his feet. And he was just getting comfortable, too . . .

A sword penetrates into the dirt floor, helping him to force his way back to his feet. His state of mind is such that he cannot cast his Royal Spirit to revitalize himself, but at least it is starting to clear as the exhaustion from the Great Spin begins to dissipate. Unfortunately, it seems that he lacks the time to actually recover completely. He finds himself standing once again, blades in hand, and turning back to face the Darknut.

"Well then," he mutters, "here goes somethin'."

The elder Deku walks back into the tunnel, meandering at a slow pace, lest he use up any of the energy he'll be needing. "Whaddya need, Flit? I was having such a nice nap, ya know . . ."

~When Flit heard the familiar voice, quite closer than he expected, he tripped and went skidding across the stone floor, and bouncing up and down before coming to a complete stop. He got up to his feet moaning, before he remembered what was going on.

With a yelp he drew another two daggers out of the pouch at his waist, as the ones he had been holding when he tripped as flew out of his hands. Only then did he relize what Yukie just said. He had to admit to himself, it didn't make much sense. Why would one be taking a nap when confronted with an armored shadow behemoth that was slowly making its way towards you. Shrugging this information aside, he answered the other deku's question.

"You can't hit that thing. It just... misses. That shadow still isn't completely solid. Be careful."

With that, he moved back into position next to Yukie, and ready to once again confront their opponent that was blocking out the light. He knew that his explanation of what just happened was vague and unhelpful, but he couldn't think of another way to explain what the darknut had done.

At this point though he was taken by surprise. He hadn't noticed how close the darknut had come, or how it had started moving quietly. By the time he relized something was wrong, an armored fist slammed into his face with a sickening crunching noise. Instintively, despite the rolling waves of pain that were threatening to overcome him, he rolled to the side as soon as he hit the ground, and the next attack that was probably aimed for his heart only hit his shoulder. The darknut's huge sword nearly completely removed his arm, and when the monster whipped it out of his body, he could feel the huge gaping hole of non-sensation where his flesh was missing. Then as the darknut turned towards Yukie, still not making a sound, Flit felt himself slip into a blessed blackness, quiet different from the heavy one that hung on the body back in the underground corridors.~