The Everfree forest was not known for its kindness. The wind bit at her bones through her threadbare cloak. The icy grass nipped her ankles. The trees themselves proved her presence unwanted.

They walked side by side in uttermost silence. Sombra had his hands in his pockets, his hair obscuring his expression. It was too quiet.

Snap! Chrissy stepped on a twig and it snapped like a bone under her foot. She gasped and hopped back, earning silent snickers from the woods. Even the leaves seemed to be laughing at her, rustling with glee.

Everything started growing thicker. The ridged trunks and spindly branches reaching out to trap them in a wooden cage.

"Ok, the easy part's done," Sombra uttered.

"The easy part? How much harder can it get?" Chrissy worried.

Sombra shrugged. "Only a lot harder."

This sucks. The forest is scary and my companion is miserable and I'm hungry. But surely she could do something to make it more pleasurable!

Obviously she couldn't dance, but she could sure sing. It always cheered her up. "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends! Make it last forever, friendship never ENDS-"

"Can you shut up?" Sombra grumbled.

She did, but the birds sure didn't. They carried her lilting melody through their chirps for a good 10 minutes before finally settling down.

Chrissy just about managed to suppress a laugh. There. Nothing wrong with having a little fun!

They took a quick break, collapsing on tree stumps. Chrissy's throat was suddenly very parched. Water had never tasted so good. Now resting her head on her bag, she realized she was tired. So tired....

"BOO!!!" A voice called, causing Chrissy to jump a foot in the air. They were both up and scrambling away, screaming as they did so. They didn't stop running for a solid minute.

Hushed laughter echoed through the woods. But when they turned back, the woods were just as dark and just as quiet.

"What was that?" Sombra exclaimed, wiping his brow.

"I don't know. I guess I'm not the only one having a little fun," Chrissy whispered. Both laughed at that.

"You're right. Currently, we're screwed anyways. We can do what we want," Sombra added.

Snap! Chrissy stepped on a twig and it snapped like a bone under her foot. Except this time, it really was a bone. And that was when they noticed all the bones, scattered around their feet.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, then quickly regained his composure. "Um.....maybe we should keep going!"

Your wish. She wanted this. She wasn't gonna let a few bones stop her! She needed to be brave and do her best.

They ignored the branches that lashed their faces, the roots that barred their path. Then her cheek was lashed by fire and a spear landed beside her.

Five shadowy figures appeared before them. Dark masses broke off all of them, which shifted into spears. One, clearly the leader, wore a wreath of twigs and lime green flowers.

"The Night Tribe of the Everfree forest," Sombra murmured, hands shaking.

The Spectacalites had done a dance inspired by it a few weeks ago. "And they use dark magic," Chrissy concluded.

Fighting didn't seem like the best option. Her magic wasn't super strong. Sombra had no magic at all. And they were outnumbered. Then we settle this with diplomacy, Chrissy remembered Luna saying.

"Um, hello? Night Tribe? We don't mean any harm, we just want to pass so-"

Bang! Stars exploded before her eyes and she fell to her knees.She heard Sombra groan in pain beside her.

Nausea flooded her system. A kaleidoscope of colors burst into grapes as big as apples and strange, coiling vines.Powerful illusionists. Bright patterns and fireworks and-

My knife, she thought, grabbing blindly at its cool hilt.

She had about three seconds to celebrate before a spear caught her arm and pinned it to the ground.

More fire.

But then a peculiar thing happened. The illusions were flickering in and out, as if confused. And then the ground was too close to her and her arm twisted-

Blurriness. The illusions had disappeared, and one of the smaller shadows collapsed.

Come on.....use your brain. She couldn't go down like this! Use your surroundings. There were trees, more trees and..vines!

Chrissy remembered Sombra telling her something about how the vines could be controlled by magicians. She might as well try her hand at it.

But first, she bit her lip, giving a strangled cry as she drew the spear out of her arm.

One of the shadows was running at her. She clenched the vine, which shot out and stopped in front of the shadow's chest.

It tripped and Chrissy prepared to re-aim the vine, but the stubborn thing fell and slumped against the shadow.

It gave a little laugh and Chrissy recovered her knife from the ground, pointing it at the shadow. It was back on its feet, alert and ready for whatever she would throw at it.

We need to time this carefully.

The vine lashed out again, this time straight at the shadow's face. And while it was temporarily distracted, Chrissy plunged her knife through its shoulder.

It's just a mass of darkness. An emotionless thing. Chrissy told herself. She had to cope with the horrors of battle later.

And then there was the beautiful satisfaction. The remaining shadows turned to her. They had underestimated her. And they had paid the price.

All the shadows winced at the same time. Though unwounded, they grasped their shoulders in pain. Right where she had stabbed the first shadow.

"They're all connected! They all grow weaker as we kill them!" Sombra told her before narrowly avoiding a spear.

"Chrissy, cover for me!" Sombra yelled.

She didn't understand what he meant. His hand brushed one of his bag's pockets. It was a move so subtle, so small that it nearly went unnoticed. The pocket with the matchsticks!

She had tripped over a tree root. And then a shadow far away was controlling the vines, which curled around her wrists and pulled tight.

She cursed and it was her will against its. They were locked in a mental battle.

"Fire is light!" Sombra hinted quickly while dueling the other two.

Matches....fire...light....cover....that was it! She would need to create a giant light spell.

She grunted as the vines pulled tighter.

"Chrissy NOW!" Sombra ordered. The shadow was now standing right over her.

"No!" Chrissy gritted her teeth and cast the spell.

The light was bright, so bright, she couldn't believe it was coming from her hand.The shadows collectively hissed in pain, and the vines went limp.

Chrissy stumbled to her feet. Lashing out wildly with a large clump of vines. She managed to snare one of the shadows.

She bolted. Something grazed her calf. She slammed into something-

"Chrissy, it's me," Sombra's voice snapped her out of it. Two shadows were coming up behind them. "Follow my lead."

A spear punctured his arm. They kept running. A vine snagged on Chrissy's boot. They kept running.

The remaining two waved their hands like conductors, snake-like vines twisting around the pair and savagely dragging them back.

Sombra was butchering the vines, but with two shadows exerting their full power in such close proximity, they were losing.

No. Chrissy's strength was dwindling. The vines were starting to go limp, but so was she.

"Come on, Chrissy!"Sombra was practically dragging her away-towards what? The shadows were practically on their heels

"Jump," he whispered, and they sailed over something .The two Nights weren't so lucky. The ground beneath them crumbled, and the last thing Chrissy heard was a shrill scream and sickening squelching noises.

The last shadow was the one with the wreath. It had recovered, and brandished a wicked-looking spear. "Chrissy, look out!" Sombra warned her, leaping at the Night.

The spear was swung at her, but Sombra grabbed it. Both pushed. Back forth, back forth. Sombra tackled the shadow to the ground, losing his grip on the spear.

It was at such an angle that he could not stab the shadow without losing his mount on it.

"Sombra, take this!" Chrissy handed him a knife.

He drew a red smile across the shadow's throat.

"That was the last of them," Chrissy rasped.

They hugged, almost afraid to let go of each other. She had done it! The impossible. And she was proud of herself. She had fought well. They had won this one with strategy.

"What happened to the third shadow? The one that fell into that hole or something," Chrissy asked.

"When I was fighting one of them, I ended up falling and noticing the half-covered hole. It was a trap. The sticks at the bottom are really sharp. When you created the light spell and weakened the shadows, I straightened up the trap with a few twigs and leaves to cover it. Other than that, it was pure luck."

"Wow! Maybe we do have some good fortune," Chrissy joked.

"No. You saved me, Chrissy. I couldn't have done it without you," Sombra admitted.

They kept walking for a while. The sun had just began showing its warm face. The forest didn't look so scary now. It was almost beautiful.

Everything was peaceful. Everything was peaceful....

Until a snarling wolf leapt onto her.  

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 

1. Credit to @Puppers_Claws, she owns the Night Tribe characters.  

What did you guys think of the fight? Do you think they'll make it?