Net

"Uh… I need to go… somewhere else…" Ali said as several pairs of eyes – eyes from her clan, adorned in the familiar ninja uniform she had entered town covering with a cloak – dart over to her, forgetting any interrogations and general mayhem they were causing "New" Ninjago's citizens. She stood before their stares, eyes wide, visibly shaking, on the verge of panic.

Her team filled the space between her and the clan members. "Ali," Wu said, readying to fight, "do not forget that as a part of this team, we will defend you as we expect you to defend us."

"I...I can't...they're going to kill me…"

"Maintain your balance!" Wu continued, "Running away on your own will only make the situation more complicated!"

"…"

Ali ran off on her own, making the situation more complicated.

One of the ninja, who had been watching from a nearby rooftop, immediately went after her. Wu noted he'd need to talk to Ali about following orders under pressure as Cole's palm smacked against his face. "Seriously? Zane, follow her. We'll send these ones on their way."


Ali ran frantically, too nervous to move in the stealthy way she had spent years being trained in. Her footsteps echoed on manholes and splashed through puddles of recent rain until she ran into an alley and sat on the ground behind a trash can, trying to make herself as small as possible. She hugged herself and rocked back and forth, trying to regain control of her racing heart and the fear only making it race faster. She didn't mind the chill that seeped into her basic gi as she sat on the damp ground.

They'd found her. She'd just been starting to think they wouldn't, but her clan had found her, and no doubt they'd make short work of anyone in the way of dealing her the punishment they felt she deserved for going a-wall.

She stood up, still trembling. Should she go back and turn herself in? Would that save them? She needed some sort of plan, but…

"There you are!"

Ali jumped back a good five feet, slamming into the alley's dead end. Dangling upside down from a rope in front of her was one of the clan members – one she could recognize from only the voice and the dark brown eyes peeking through the hood. One that she couldn't bring herself to just run away from even if she wasn't currently jumping to the ground and blocking the only exit.

The old friend waved at Ali with a genuine smile in her eyes. "I was worried about you, running off like that!"

"Yeah, well," that said, Ali knew she hadn't been sent to have a friendly chat, "I have my reasons."

"For running off like an idiot with next to no money and nowhere to go?"

"And no set destination."

"Exactly! What the heck bro?"

"I didn't want any part in assassin training!"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to kill anyone!"

"…Why not?" She asked like it was the most natural question in the world. "Ali, you know this world is messed up, and outsiders are just messing it up even worse." Her smile faded. "What do you think is going to happen to this world if we don't clean up their mess?"

"Look, I've been spending time with outsiders and I travelled a long way...I've seen some pretty great things...ever stop to think we might be wrong?"

She shrugged. "Not really, no. Yeah, there are some "nice things" or whatever, but let me remind you of all the bad things." She pulled one hand out from behind her back and began counting on her fingers. Ali wondered what the other hand was hiding from her. "War, famine, disease, selfish people, people in general... Well, present company not counted on the last one."

"There are good people... I've seen it, and a lot of people work to make the world a better place... the people of this city are rebuilding and making it better than it was… it's amazing out here."

The girl facepalmed with more flair than necessary. "You either don't get what I'm saying or are ignoring it… Look dude, I don't want to fight you…"

She revealed her other hand from behind her back, spinning the bo staff it was holding a few times before entering a battle stance. Ali wasn't the least bit surprised by her "surprise" weaponry.

"…But either I fight you, or someone else finds you and kills you, and I'm not gonna let that happen."