Sorry for such the long wait! Seriously, I am SO sorry! My family went camping, and then I had Trek, and a whole bunch of other things came up, and I had absolutely no time to write. Thankfully, I brought a notebook to all my summer activities, so I have a few chapters that I just need to copy onto the computer and post them here. Again, super sorry for the long wait! Another thing - I will be going back and updating previous chapters (fixing grammar/punctuation/etc., adding more details, etc). You may or may not want to go back and reread things. Up to you, just thought I'd let you readers know. Anyways, thanks for the reviews and follows/favs, and hope I can get the other chapters up here soon! Stay tuned!


Dillon coughed and spluttered as water doused her face. She looked around at her surroundings as she pushed her wet bangs out of her eyes. Sensei Wu stood on her left; Nya was on her right, holding a now-empty bucket.

"Sorry," Nya said, blinking apologetically. Dillon shrugged, as if to say that it was okay.

She was on the floor, still in the bridge. Cole, Kai, and Jay were standing at her feet, looking annoyed, quizzical, and slightly worried. That was when Dillon noticed the arms that were holding her up in a sitting position. She looked over her shoulder and saw Zane smiling at her.

"Hello. I noticed your rapidly increasing heart rate, so I had started over to you and caught you when you collapsed," he explained.

"Yeah. Lucky Zane noticed that and caught you just in time. I was reacting too slow to catch you, and Sensei was just taking a sip of his tea when you fainted," Nya added.

"Uh, Zane? You can probably let go now," Kai pointed out, his expression unreadable.

Zane's arms slid out from under Dillon's, and she sat up on her own.

"So…that's the third time I've fallen unconscious in a five-day period. First time – clubbed by a Serpentine. Second time – hit with a blow dart. Third time – found out I was on a giant flying pirate ship," Dillon said with a small laugh and a smile.

"Why exactly did that cause you to pass out, anyways?" Questioned Kai, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, uh…I, um…I have a…a fear of heights," Dillon admitted, feeling her face heat up.

Jay, Kai, and Cole burst out laughing, then tried – unsuccessfully – to stifle their snickers.

"What is so funny?" Asked Zane, who was still sitting behind Dillon, a puzzled look on his face.

"My thoughts exactly, Zane," Sensei said, his brows furrowed. "Everyone has a fear of something – I do not see how or why that is amusing."

The laughter died, and the ninja straightened their faces. "Yes, Sensei. Sorry, Sensei," said the three in unison, bowing slightly.

"It is not I you should be apologizing to," Wu told them with a gesture of his hand to Dillon.

"Sorry," they all muttered, and Dillon felt embarrassed both for herself and for the trio.

"It's okay. I get that reaction a lot," Dillon said, standing up. "Really, don't sweat it."

Zane also stood back up, and a moment of tense silence follow.

"So…it's been five days, huh?" Dillon broke the awkward silence.

"Yes. I have heard the ninja's side of the story. I now wish to hear yours. We can talk in the kitchen. That way, we can all sit down, and hopefully have no more accidents," Wu said with a smile and a wink. Dillon smiled back, and the seven of them followed Wu to the dining room.

As they were all making their way through the hall, Dillon thought she saw someone move in the shadows inside one of the rooms they passed, but it disappeared before she could look closer.

Dillon shrugged, and she walked into a small room behind Jay and Wu. There was a long, rectangular table with seven chairs, and the far wall led off to presumably the kitchen. They all sat down at the table and looked over at Dillon, who took a seat between Nya and Kai.

She cleared her throat before she began. "Well, it all started when I decided to take a shortcut home…"