Hamato woke up in a cold sweat. "I had it again." He shook his head, trying to shake the horrible images out of his mind. "Damn nightmares." He sat up in his bed, and looked towards his desk. The clock read "1:30". "Man, when will these nightmares just go away?." He saw the paper up against the light. On it was a map of a small island a few hundred miles from the city. Hamato got up and grabbed the paper. "Maybe today will be the day."

Hamato came out of his room dressed in khakis and a green T-shirt. As he walked into the kitchen, his father greeted him.

"Good morning." Hamato continued to walk towards the door, ignoring his father. His father called out to him a bit louder. "Did you sleep well?" Hamato did not respond. His father became angry.

"Hold it right there!!!" Hamato stopped and turned towards his father. He looked at him, remain silent.

"I saw what you did last night in the dojo."

Hamato looked at him. "Sorry" was all he said.

"WHAT?" His father jumped out of his seat. "IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!?"

Hamato looked at him. "I'll fix it later."

"You're sure as hell going to fix it! And you're going to fix it now!" Hamato's father began to walk to his son.

"No." A hand pulled on his shoulder. Hamato's father turned to see his wife. "Let him go."

"What?!? Did you see what he did??" He turned back to his son and began to walk towards him again.

His wife held him back. "Yes I did."

"And you want to let him go?" he asked angrily. Then he saw the look in her eyes. He stopped struggling, and sighed. "Fine, go." He walked back to the table. "But you better fix it soon."

Hamato nodded, grabbing his jacket out of the closet and putting it on. On the back of the jacket was the symbol of his father's dojo. "I will." He turned back towards the door. "I'm going out today. I will be back before dinner." He grabbed his training bag and opened the door.

"Are you going out to train again?" asked his father. His mother had a worried look on her face.

Hamato stopped holding the doorknob, and looked down. "Yes, training." He looked up and walked out the door. Before closing it, he said, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Hamato's father sighed, and looked towards his wife. "Why did you let him go?"

She looked away. "He was crying again last night."

He shook his head. "He needs to understand.... There was nothing he could do...."

"I know." She walked towards the sink. "I know."

*********************************

Hamato made his way to Daniel's house. It was a few blocks from his own home, so it didn't take him long. As he approached the house, he saw Daniel sitting outside the house.

"Hey! Daniel!"

Daniel turned towards him. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Hamato waved to his friend. "I need your help with something?"

"With what?" Daniel grabbed a glass of water from the table next to him and took a sip.

"I need to borrow your hover car."

Daniel spit out the water in his mouth. "WHAT?!?"

"I need to borrow your hover car."

Daniel got up out of his chair. "Why do you want to borrow my hover car? Couldn't you have just asked to borrow your parents'?"

Hamato looked up at his friend. "They don't know that I'm leaving the city."

"What!?!? Where are you going?"

"You know where I'm going, Daniel." Hamato pulled the map out of his pocket.

Daniel just shook his head. "Oh man. You're still going there? But why?"

Hamato looked straight into his friend's eyes. "You know WHY."

Daniel looked away from his friend. "Ya, I know." He opened the door and walked into the house. "Here" He tossed Hamato a set of keys. "Bring it back before 5. If my parents find out that I loaned the car out, they'd kill me." He sat back down. "It should get you to where you want to go" He grabbed his glass. "But be careful, alright?"

Hamato walked towards the car. "Don't worry I will."

As Hamato entered the car, Daniel called out to him. "Good luck."

Hamato turned to his friend, and smiled. "Thanks."