Joel huffed as he sat down. Everything hurt as his eyes touched a part of the base. The darkness had easily covered the magical cage with his teammates. His eyes flashed as he looked inside. Aria was weakly hitting the barrier as she attempted to escape. The others were still asleep against the wall. He stood up and went over. She sat down as he murmured something. The cage lessened enough for him to kneel down and whisper to her.

"Look who's awake." She gulped.

"Joel... don't do this..." He hummed.

"Why not? No one has been damaged that much. As long as no one does anything, no more damage has to be done." She huffed faintly.

"But... Why do it at all? Why don't we just go back to how it was before? Joel, you are a good man. Don't do something that's worse than the Go Rock Squad or anyone that has done bad things. Be the good guy here." Joel paused as he lightly touched the barrier.

"I've played the good guy. I'm done playing that role." With a soft flash, his hand went through and he touched her shoulder. "Just trust me. I will protect you. Just relax."

"But..." She lightly choked on her words. "This isn't you. We can work together and keep the region safe. Please..." He paused upon her words. Many of them echoed through his head.

"Aria... all you need to worry about is that you are comfortable. I will worry about the safety of you and the others. Just relax..." She gulped back tears as he pulled away and strengthened the cage. A loud sound came from the door, making him pause. His eyes flashed. "Dodrio, go investigate that."

It nodded as he sat back down. He waited until it came back. It didn't look too afraid, giving him slight relief. He went out to see Lapis and Scarlet dodging the Go Rock Quads. Typical. Scarlet and Lapis were arguing as they successfully dodged the brother's attacks. Tiffany didn't make a move, concerning Joel. Scarlet dealt with Garret and Billy while Lapis handled Clyde. Then they clashed.

"Hey! My fight!"

"Your fight? I was attacked too!" The brothers paused as they looked at each other. Tiffany huffed.

"You three go. I got this." The trio nodded as they ran off. Her violin appeared as she huffed. A weak harmony filled the air as she huffed.

https://youtu.be/pvZ3afKJlEc

The moment the music paused, the arguing duo unaware of her plan, she chanted.

"Moon and Sun,
Working side by side,
Retort and restore
The hope and the one to hide.
Assault of Ancestral Rage!"

The ground trembled lightly as she jumped over the duo and two lights grabbed them. They yelped as they were pulled apart.

"That's it for you two. Knock it off." Joel growled quietly as he hid. He watched as the duo squirmed in their traps.

"Let us go, Tiffany!" She paused as she gazed at her instrument.

"Off tune... I thought it sounded wrong..."

Lapis looked at the sky as she started murmuring something under her breath while retuning her violin. A stronger presence appeared as they turned.

"Are you three done?" Joel winced. So much for trying to get another tune out of Tiffany. The violinist smiled.

"I am Elita. These two are another story. Would you like me to release them so you can deal with them?" The Wintown base leader paused as she looked up at the duo.

"You two better go back to your base quietly or else next time I'll let her keep you. Understood?" They nodded weakly. "Good." The two lights put them down and they bolted, no doubt to get out of Elita's range. Elita sighed. "Nice job."

"Thank you."

"Do your brothers know?"

"Nope. But Garret is close."

"Ah... well... best he soon learns, right?" Tiffany nodded before she whispered something.

"Someone else is here." Joel winced. How did she know? He was hardly a sight to see. What gave him up? He ducked down as Elita turned to look around.

"Joel, you're already on thin ice."

That was scary. How'd she know it was him? He frowned as he peeked out again. Elita locked eyes with him as something touched his neck. He froze as he realized what had happened. Tiffany had used his moment of not paying attention to get close to him and corner him. He stayed where he was as Elita went over to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" He gulped.

"I... had heard a noise outside and went to investigate. Turns out to be a mess that's already being cleaned up. I'll be leaving now." He went to stand up when Tiffany's bow moved closer.

"There's more than that. You were hoping to use Tiffany's music to keep the battle going." He stayed quiet at that. What, did she study him? He growled.

"Yeah... that was before you cleaned the scene up. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do." He got away from the two girls as a soft conversation followed.

"He's hiding more than we're seeing."

"Clearly. I can name one. Where's is base mates?"

If Joel had stopped, he would've given himself up. He slipped into the base as a soft sound filled it. His eyes flashed as he gazed around. Aria was quietly humming to the others as they held each other in a group hug. His heart ached at the sight. He looked away to avoid the pain, but it had already consumed him. He sat down near the cage and listened to the soft tune.

"Turn your face towards the sun
Let the shadows fall behind you
Don't look back, just carry on
And the shadows will never find you

Turn your face towards the sun
Let the shadows fall behind you
Don't look back, just carry on
And the shadows will never find you

Lost in the rock and roll
Got lost in a promise of a love I never know
Shadows chase me far from home
I remember when my heart was filled with gold
And you know I've been burned
I've been burned I've been burned
You've seen me lose control
It's not worth it's not worth it's not worth
My soul

Turn your face towards the sun
Let the shadows fall behind you
Don't look back, just carry on
And the shadows will never find you

Lost my faith and trust
You and I know gold don't turn to rust
I still swear that we can reign
Like the kings and queens of better yesterdays
Don't you know I've been burned
I've been burned I've been burned
You've seen me lose control
It's not worth it's not worth it's not worth
My soul

Turn your face towards the sun
Let the shadows fall behind you
Don't look back, just carry on
And the shadows will never find you

Where you gonna go where you gonna go where you gonna run to
When you get to the edge of the night
It's time you face the sky

Turn your face towards the sun
Let the shadows fall behind you"

He felt tears hit his face as the group shifted into a resting position. It hurt so much, but he wasn't going to let a little pain hurt him. Even the darkness said it.

"Don't listen to them, Joel. You'll only pull yourself into their trap and lose everything you gained. Do you want that?" His eyes darkened as he faded off.

"No sir..." He faintly called out. "Don't leave me..." A calm aura circled him, almost like arms wrapping around him. The darkness calmed him down, giving him a chance to relax within.

"I won't leave you, my child. Just stay true to yourself and me and we'll rule the world."

---

It feels like we're tearing him apart... we're coming Joel.