I probably should have told y'all I was going camping, huh? Well. I went camping for a week with mis primos, which was a fun adventure. But now I'm back on the grid, back in the system, ready to tackle the final stretch of this insane story I got us all into.

This chapter wasn't planned or organized like most of my chapters. I was camping and wanted to enjoy myself, had some serious matters that demanded my attention, and was working on a different story. You might be able to tell when reading it, but either way please keep in mind that I wrote this on a whim so it's not really on par with my best work. And I'm too lazy to do anything about it.

Comment Reviews:
TheAmberShadow - Don't worry, I'm not that evil. I actually got my inspiration for the alchemist stuff from an anime called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. You're not the first person to mention the similarities to Harry Potter. I know jack squat about Harry Potter myself . Is it good? It IS a popular treehouse, isn't it?

Ninalb - Aw, thanks :) I'm sure there are worse things than being a zombie like...all of your friends being turned into zombies and having to kill them? I dunno. Haha, well here it is!

CHEESEPUFF - Thanks, your whoop-whoops are appreciated. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. And to make it fair, I'll do some sharing too: my real name is Mailei. Haha, really?! XD Now that would be a funny confrontation. Whether or not you meant to be, thanks and congrats!

Ebony umbreon - Sure you're close...but HOW close? You still don't know all the details, my dude. Nice, you figured out who Zane's new Chosen One is (I'll let you have that, because that's not really as big a secret as some of the others).

Anonymous7 - You'll find out :) I dunno, really. The body-snatching just sort of came to me, I guess. But it also isn't all there is to Lloyd's new predicament. The team is back in Jamanakai, heading back to the treehouse home. I probably should have been more explicit about that, which will only make this next chapter more confusing. So sorry.

And...enjoy!


"Kai."
"Skylor."
"It's been a while."
"Indeed."
Kai shifted his weight on the crutches Julien had forced upon him.

"I've been saving something for you," he said.

She smirked, a look of pleasant surprise slipping through her usual poker face. "After all these years?"
He nodded, and walked - as best as his broken legs, many injuries, and makeshift crutches would allow - towards his old friend.

Well, he could hardly call her his 'friend' now. Sure, they had something back then. But it had been too long, too soon to resume that sort of intimacy between themselves. Now, they hardly even knew each other.

Of course, there are some things not even time can change.

Skylor stiffened when she realized just what kind of 'something' Kai referred to.

PAK!

His misshapen fist made contact with her face. It nested in her eye socket for a fleeting moment, long enough to force her back a few notches.

Staggering, she held her face. It throbbed with a sort of pain she wouldn't let show too easily. The Witch let out a moan, but not a pitiful one.

Everyone watched on in shock. A cacophony of disapproval met Kai's cut-up Fairy ears. He ignored their criticism and focused on Skylor. The way she breathed, the way she moved, the way her face was so close yet so distant in his mind. Did she always look like this - the muscle tone, the brooding eyes, the unreadable lips, the loose hair?

Nya's voice was hard to ignore, unlike the others. She burst in between them, an accusing look targeted at her brother.

"WHAT is WRONG with you?! Did you just PUNCH her?!"
Before Kai could respond, Skylor's words rose up in a chillingly deadpan tone. "It's fine. I deserved that."
The throbbing would soon be replaced by swelling, which would later grace her skin with a faint black eye.

Everyone hushed seconds after Skylor spoke, just in time for her to speak again. "I've been saving something for you, too."
Kai gave a hurt grin. "Aw, you shouldn't have."
Skylor made no hesitation in winding back her arm. She infused it with everything she wanted to tell him - the good, the bad, the in-between, the indescribable - into that arm. She ignored the knowing looks that surrounded.

PAK!

The impact sent Kai stumbling back. His leg injuries rendered him unable to keep from collapsing. His back slammed against the floor, his face stung, and all his wounds threatened to open back up and say hello.

Skylor let her hand fall at her side, loosening her fist as she did.

Nya turned to the Witch, no less mortified than when it was Kai's turn. "What is wrong with you?! BOTH of you!"
The Water Fairy would have helped her brother onto his feet and into his crutches, but Cole beat her to it. While he did it, though, he sent a cynical glare in Kai's direction. Kai would have to ask Cole about that later. It was probably nothing, but the fact that Lloyd and Ronin gave him that same treatment told him something was up. He could only hope it didn't have anything to do with his...ordeal...on the island. Cole DID do a lot of reading - was it possible that he had read up on alchemists?

But supposing so, alchemists were capable of a lot of things. Even if they were on the right track, it would take a lot of pushing and shoving for them to figure out all the juicy details without Kai's help.

Kai held the bridge of his nose, and his voice turned nasally. "That's fair." He settled into his crutches again, now halfway leaned against the wall of the treehouse.

Garmadon butted in. "May I ask what just happened?"
Wu nodded in silent agreement.

"We're old acquaintances," said Kai.

"From a past life," Skylor finished.

"What are you doing here?" Kai asked, having briefly forgotten about all other matters on his mind and people in the room.

"Breathing, I think," Skylor joked. "And living, too, and digesting my breakfast, and waiting for my noodles to be -"
"In my HOUSE," Kai corrected.

No one dared interfere with the tense and mysterious dialogue occurring. Best to let these two sort out their baggage before bombarding the curious redhead with questions.

"Ah, I think I remember hearing that you guys lived here," Skylor said with a hum. "That's partly why I decided to tag along with that Lightning Fairy."
Nya's heart jolted, having been revived by memories of the boyfriend that seemed to have slipped her mind. How could she have been so cold, forgetting him like that?! After what she had heard and felt from the last she knew of him, those painful screams of his...her chest ached with swirls of regret and confusion over how quick her nightmares of him were replaced with dreams of Operation: Coral Dagger and the likes of such.

She really was one-track-minded, wasn't she?

Nya pushed her way into Skylor's face. "D-do you mean JAY?! Where is he? Is he here?!"
Skylor gestured to Nya to back up and turn down the volume. She did so, and Skylor explained. "More or less. It's sort of complicated like that."
Now was Cole's turn to get mad and burst into the conversation. "Then make us understand." He sounded volatile and gritty, on the verge of screaming with fearful rage. His friend. The friend he was missing. The friend who was gone and. The friend who he had, for many days, thought was dead.

It was comforting to know Jay was alive, but it also made him uneasy about the bad news.

"There's a story you need to hear," Skylor said. "Some of it is MY story, some of it isn't. I can't tell it all. I have a…" She paused to find the word. "...a friend...that can fill in the gaps and tell what I can't. I'll call her down here and the two of us will explain everything. From A to Z."

Skylor's audience had mixed feelings about that. Explanations were good, but not always from someone you neither knew nor trusted. Besides, there was some dark secret she kept under lock and key. Wu didn't like that. Something had to be terribly wrong with Jay for someone as seemingly formidable as Skylor here to shy away from the truth.

And oh boy was the truth terrible.


I feel I could have done better on this chapter, and the previous one too for that matter. So I'll explain some details I left out:

They're heading back to Jamanakai, back to their little forest treehouse. And Sakura tagged along. (Should I have included a chapter where I more explicitly establish these things? Sure. But did I? Nope!) The last chapter took place in the forest. This chapter takes place in the treehouse. I REALLY SHOULD work on my settings. One of my writing weaknesses is establishing setting. i'll work on it.

Until next time, seeya around!

~Erio