Kai is baffled, but Skylor does not seem to notice. Instead, she tries to move her right hand, straining. Before long, she realises that her wrist is tied too tightly for her to move her hand, and the pain from her cuts shoots through her arm as if it were a rocket and sends ripples of it along her body, causing her to shudder hard from head to toe. She gasps at the increase of pain, and her heartbeat quickens in pace, shown by the heart monitor off to her right hand side. Kai looks up at he machine before fixing his gaze back down onto the girl in front of him. Incredulous, he raises his eyebrows.

"What do you mean, it wasn't you?" he asks. The girl turns her head back to face him, and stares into his eyes. Kai can feel his cheeks burning red, like they did every time she did so. She blinks before breaking their mental connection, turning her head over to her right hand side once more. Sighing, she replies,

"I didn't do it. I didn't cut my wrists." Kai is really confused now, but before he can inquire any deeper into the matter, Nya and the other ninja knock on the door to Skylor's room. She allows them to enter, and they do, Nya leading the others in. They all take seats beside Skylor's bed except Cole, who leans against the wall, and Lloyd, who just stands with his arms crossed.

"How are you feeling?" Nya is the first to break the silence, and Skylor replies,

"I've felt a whole lot better, but I'm improving a bit. I think." Her response is vague but hopeful, and Kai realises that his girlfriend is a fighter in many different ways. She truly is a warrior. The ninja and Skylor exchange few words, and no one seems entirely comfortable in the room, so they sit in silence for most of the time. It's only an hour or so before the other ninja leave, asking if Kai will join them. Declining, Kai remains seated next to Skylor, his hand still gripping hers. The others exit, and Kai is once again left how he wants to be - alone with Skylor, albeit in a terrible location and situation. Leaning in closer to her so that he can better hear her weak and tired voice, Kai resumes their previous conversation.

"How did this happen then?" He inquires, attempting to tie up any loose ends he can find.

"I can't remember entirely," Skylor replies truthfully, straining her memory for anything of importance from the previous week, before the incident, "but I got ambushed in that alleyway." After Kai asks for a more detailed explanation, Skylor sighs and racks her memory harder. Before long, she shrugs and shakes her head. "That's all I can remember. I was ambushed near the mouth of that alley, and when I woke up, there was someone in a mask standing over me with some kind of knife. I don't know if it was a man or a woman, but I think it was a girl." Kai remembers the last time he faced a masked enemy, and memories of Harumi are still a tender subject within the ninja team. After her reveal as the Quiet One and subsequent death, she has hardly been spoken about, and for good reason. Skylor has also faced Harumi, and she knows how difficult it can be to defeat an opponent who you know nothing about. Trying to push the painful moments from their minds, Kai and Skylor attempt to move on with their conversation, and Skylor explains how she had just left her job after her shift and had been walking through New Ninjago City when she had been kidnapped and taken into the alley. There, she was tortured for information about the ninjas' hideout, and while she had tried her best to hide any and all information she had knowledge of, Skylor may had given a bit or two of what her attacker had wanted. By the end of the couple's exchange, Skylor is evidently ashamed, but she tries to hide her emotions, which she has just been getting good at again. Kai rests his hand on her left shoulder, trying to comfort Skylor, and she tilts her head to lay it across his hand. Smiling at each other, they remain in their positions for a few minutes. Once the moment ends, however, Skylor lifts her head and tries to pull herself upright in the hospital bed. Her hands slip across the mattress, and pain once again traverses down her limbs, increasing her heart rate for a second time. Tears form in her eyes, and Kai brushes them away with the back of his hand, then helps her to sit up in a rather comfortable position. Without the use of her hands and wrists, Skylor feels like an even greater burden to the ninja than before. She feels that she is now nothing more than a useless wanna-be, and while Kai contradicts her opinions with his own, she is unconvinced. Before long, the conversation returns to its previous premise - Skylor's "suicide attempt". She continuously denies that she voluntarily slit her wrists and claims she is desperately trying to cling onto life simply to prove to her attacker that she is stronger than she seems, and Kai believes every word she says.

Chapter 3

After the longest two weeks of their lives, Skylor is finally released from hospital, and the ninja, with the assistance of PIXAL, Dareth and a few other close friends, throw a "welcome back" party for her. The party is a blast, until Kai and Skylor spread the fact that Skylor did not attempt suicide. The ninja have gathered this, as Skylor was so glad to have survived her attack when they saw her in the hospital, but are still shocked when Skylor relays her story to them.

"So who do you have suspicions about?" Nya asks when the story has been explained, gaining stares and questioning looks from her peers. "Oh, come on guys, every time there's a murder or even an attempted murder, the victim and their friends always have suspicions! So who do we have on the radar for this one?"

"No one." is Skylor's simple reply, which gets even more questioning looks from the others. Skylor sighs deeply before describing her situation in more detail. "I didn't see who was wearing the mask, and it wasn't a mask I recognise, so it couldn't have been a copy of one of the Oni masks. Besides, all three of those were destroyed. I think they had a bit more of a feminine build, but I can't remember exactly. The mask also distorted their original voice when they spoke, so I can't say if their voice was familiar to me." Skylor holds her head in her hands for a brief moment before her head raises again. "So we don't have any leads of any kind. In other words, whoever did this is under the radar." Every head in the vicinity bows slightly, their owners either thinking deeply about the issue presented to them, wondering who would act in such a manner or thinking of their own suspects and leads. The room is silent for five full awkward minutes until Kai clears his throat, drawing all eyes to him. Thrown off guard by the sudden attention and focus directed at him, Kai shrugs and mumbles something about who Skylor had been with that day, to which she replies,

"No one. I was alone after leaving the noodle house. I didn't know or recognise anyone in the street from anywhere, so again, we have no leads." Cole groans and throws his hands in the air, tired.

"Why are we chasing this up?" he complains. "We aren't the cops or detectives! We're ninja! We fight, not suspect people of attempted murder!" Nya and Jay sigh in unison.

"In case you're not aware or you simply weren't paying attention," Lloyd starts his explanation, but is interrupted by Nya, who mumbles under her breath so that only a couple of the people in the room could hear, "It wouldn't be the first time." The whole room erupts in laughter, and Cole blushes deep red. After a half minute, Lloyd continues,

"Yes, she has a point. Anyway, whether you were or not, the cops and detectives all think that Skylor really did try to commit suicide, so they don't have a reason to chase this up, meaning that the job falls to us to make sure that justice is handed to those who deserve it to be!" Led by Skylor, the company in the room nod, save for Lloyd, Cole, PIXAL and Dareth. The rest of the evening is spent in quiet conversation between the ninja and friends, until some members like Dareth have to leave for their own homes again. Skylor and PIXAL both decide to stay for the night, and they each set up mattresses in their boyfriends' rooms, PIXAL in with Zane and Skylor in with Kai. At first, Kai protests to Skylor sleeping on the floor and insists she take the bed while he sleeps on the floor, but she emerges victorious, and stays with her current sleeping place on the spare mattress on the floor next to Kai's bed.

It's a rough night for Skylor, her wrists preventing her from getting into a comfortable position. Her bandages are tight and pressing, and her hands are starting to turn blue. She yelps before waking. Kai has leapt from his bed and now has his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Skylor breathes heavily, Kai trying his best to calm her down. After twenty minutes, Kai wins his argument and the two swap beds. It is easier for Skylor to settle again, but her wrists are still sore. Her hands, however, are their usual tone. Sighing, she curls up under the covers and sleeps soundlessly till dawn.

The next morning, Skylor wakes late. Even Kai has woken and left the room before she can even get her eyes open. When she does, she notices for the first time what Kai's room actually looks like. It's not too different from her own in her house, and Skylor wonders if they're more connected than they seem. Brushing hair from her face, Skylor yawns and gets out of bed. The curtains are slightly open, and light pierces the gap, streaming into the room and bouncing off her skin, which glows in response. Hazel eyes half closed, Skylor walks around the room, attempting to shake the drowsiness from her body. Within two minutes, she's awake properly, dressed, and strolling over to the window to pull the curtains back. She gazes into the outside area and smiles. The sheer mountain face drops at a near vertical angle only a few hundred feet away from her window, blocking almost all of the forest, which appears as a small, dark green smudge in the distance. Kai soon creeps back to the room, wanting to see if Skylor is awake, and she jumps as the door opens. He stands there, noticing the empty bed and raises his eyebrows. Before he can turn his head, she walks up to him and takes his hand. Kai smiles as he looks at her, glad to see her up and moving again. The two share a quick kiss, and fire burns through Kai's body, leaving his fingers tingling before she pulls away. He smiles again, and they leave the room.

"How are you feeling?" Kai asks, still grinning like a fool.

"Better, I guess." Skylor replies, gazing up at him as she walks down the hall. He nods, finally letting his smile fade. The kitchen is empty when they enter, and Skylor guesses that the other Ninja must be training outside. Skylor and Kai soon join them, and everyone stops training when they walk out. Skylor sits by the open gate, gesturing to Kai for him to train while she watches. Knowing she can't train with the ninja, Skylor analyses their techniques, searching for anything she can practise or use when her wrists have healed. Nya and Jay battle next to her, and his laugh is clearly audible as Nya takes him down and pins him onto the floor. Jay then gets up and sits next to Skylor, while Nya walks over to join them. Kai beats Cole, and Lloyd beats Zane. Lloyd then proposes a tournament, and Skylor flinches at the word. Kai is the only one to notice, and he knows exactly why. He remembers how she was treated by her father during his own tournament, used as a weapon against the ninja, and how she had been told to take everyone's elemental powers. Chen had also forced her to risk her life just so that he could become an Anacondrai warrior, which in turn changed his entire army, including Skylor. Kai takes her hand, trying to mentally tell her that she'll be safe here. The ninja have agreed to make the monastery the most welcoming place for Skylor, and they are not about to break their promise.

After two more days, Skylor takes the bandages off her wrists. Her arms are pale, and the cuts are scabbed and bright pink. Knowing they'll leave scars, Skylor frowns. Now she'll forever have false proof of what had happened. Great. Now I'm an even bigger freak. Kai holds her shoulder, and bites his lip when he sees the scabs. The couple look at each other, their eyes mirroring the same emotion - concern. Concern and fear. Fear for what had happened, fear for what is happening, fear for what will happen. Skylor seems to live in the stuff these days. But surely things can get better. Or can they?