I hope the flashbacks and time line haven't been too confusing and that all the readers have been enjoying the story. I've tried to stay in character, but also showing new and more emotional sides to the characters. This is one of my favorite chapters, so I hope you like it!

Present Day: Chloe's Old Roof

And lifeless was what I felt when she left five years ago. Like the anchor that had been holding me from being carried away had been raised and now I've been drowning among the waves.

Chloe had slept through that night peacefully, though we never told a sole about her episode of nightmares while waking up. Within weeks everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as life is for a Mai, especially when one of those Mai is the Uniter. The Order had been scattered so thinly that it was a good year or so before they attempted to take another one of Chloe's lives, but we were always ready. So Chloe had an ordinary high school experience with a side job of fighting bad guys. I graduated and took a gap year, hanging around the city for the sake of keeping an eye on Chloe. A year later Paul, Amy, Jasmin, and Chloe all graduated with honors and went their separate ways to college. Well, somewhat separate.

Jasmin stay in San Francisco to run the pride and I (naturally) followed Chloe to Berkeley to be her loving and ever-present protector. Well, that's what she always called me anyway. Amy and Paul both went to the University of San Francisco, but we always stayed in touch. Life seemed pretty perfect and we could always handle whatever was thrown at us, as a team Chloe would said. Until Chloe's 21st birthday. And then everything went to hell and I've been drifting lifelessly since.

That's it! I had to get away from this house and all the depressing memories it was stirring inside of me. Effortlessly, I jumped from the Chloe's roof to the neighbors, retracing the path I would always take to return to the old apartment. The neighbor's roof offered the perfect view Chloe's old bedroom window to watch for intruders. Through it I had gotten a glimpse of the secret life of teenage girls, doing HW, talking endlessly on the phone and the hours of prep time for any occasion. But now the window was just dark.

I turned once more to start the jog home when a movement caught my eye. Chloe's window was being eased open, from the inside. A figure in completely black seamlessly ducked through the opening and shut it, all without even making a sound that even my Mai senses could detect. That's when I saw it. The figure had opened their jacket to check on their find, a red leather journal. The one that belonged to Chloe. I had always assumed she had taken that journal, the one she wrote everything in, with her when she fled. But apparently it had been stashed somewhere in the house, and now that trespasser had it!

Instant adrenaline surged through my veins, fueled by furry for that figure who dared to steal that journal that could possibly be my last connection to Chloe. Many a times I had tried to sneak a look inside before being foiled by Chloe, but it was safer in my hands than their thieving ones. By the time I had made up my mind to recover the journal the person in black had made their way onto the roof and was fleeing in the opposite direction. I was going to have to run fast if I wanted to catch them, so run I did.

The wind rushed by my ears as I leaped from rooftop to rooftop, following the distinct scent of the intruder. Well, actually it was the traces of the remaining scent of Chloe on the journal. There was no way I could ever forget her smell. The figure had disappeared around the corner of air ducts on top of an apartment building. I slowed my pace and prepared to sneak around as to surprise the thief.

In stealth mode, I rounded the corner, instantly locking onto the black-cladded figure. They were standing on the edge of the building, facing away from me so I couldn't see their face. A hood was pulled over their head, hiding any traces of hair but there was a slightly feminine curve to the body that indicated the burglar was female. Not that that made a difference, they had stolen Chloe's journal and I would fight to the death for anything regarding her.

However, what threw me momentarily off guard was the way the thief was standing, poised perfectly on the edge. She looked like she could fall and I had the instinct to reach out and pull her back to safety, just like I had ten years ago when I purposely led Chloe out of her house for training. She had stood in that exact same spot and my presence behind her startled her into losing her balance. I had grabbed her arm and pulled her into my embrace. That had been the first time I had actually held her, fully soaking up her existence. I wasn't aware that I was in love with her then, but it was definitely a pivotal moment in me caring for her. Now it was déjà vu all over.

I had stepped out into view, readying myself to call out and entice the intruder into a fight when they suddenly propelled themselves into a back-flip and landed feet away from me, poised for combat. Now their face was in view, but still unrecognizable since it was completely covered in a mask. Even the eyes were covered with mesh.

"You took something that doesn't belong to you, so give it to me now and you can walk away unharmed." I called in a steady voice.

The figured did not respond, they only tilted their head and then used their fingers to give the universal "come at me signal". I felt my lips curve into a slight smirk. It had been months since I got to engage in a fight for such a noble cause. Normally it was just demonstrations back at camp, so this would be something to enjoy. I lifted my arms and took my ready position.

"Last chance, are you sure?" I had just finished the question when my opponent made their first move. Their speedy attack surprised me, but was dodged by my lightning reflexes. It appeared that they actually had some game. I barely had time to recover when they threw some more punches. I blocked them and returned with a few jabs of my own, but rapidly the brawl escalated in danger and skill. I was blocking hooks left and right and kicks while returning with my own force. The pace did not stop and after minutes of several advanced moves I was thoroughly impressed with the skill level of my opponent. We were surprisingly equally matched, indicating that they had to be Mai or some other species that wasn't human.

I landed a kick to their stomach, causing them to stumble backwards but they were able to evade my next blow. I hadn't fought someone like this since the last major attack by the Order and it felt good. Whoever I was fighting was extremely well trained, turning our fight more into an intricate dance. I remember the first time fighting had been this fluid to me. It was on the docks when Chloe and I were saving her friend and other girls from human traffickers. Chloe and I fought together like two sides of a coin, perfectly in balance and able to anticipate the other's move. That's how it felt with this opponent. They seemed to know what punch I would throw a split second before I did.

Then they were able to do something people had not managed in years. They landed a strong kick to my chest, propelling me backwards into a metal box. I was completely stunned.

"Who are you?" I ask as they stood over me still dressed head to toe in black. Once again they tilted their head in response, almost like they were returning the question. But that moment of indecision was all I needed to make my move. So fast that if you blinked you'd miss it, I leaped to my feet and twirled to be behind them, yanking the hood to reveal my opponent's hair. I heard their mask fall away from their face and they let out a small yelp.

"Show me who you are." I hissed, staring at the back of their head which was covered in a braid with several strands loose from the fight that had just ensued. "TURN AROUND!" I yelled at their hesitance.

The girl slowly raised her arms in an act of surrender and shuffled her feet to face me. Eyes widened in a sort of fear.

"Alek, I can explain."

I almost did not hear those words for the loud ringing that had started in my ears. It was my own heart beating at an unnatural pace. All my senses were bombarded with the unmasked figure in front of me. And all I could manage was to choke out one word.

"Chloe?"

There it is! Chloe has returned from being MIA for five years! What were her reasons for coming back, or for even leaving in the first place? Please review if you like it, or even if you didn't. Feedback is critical to the process and I would like one review before I post the next chapter. Thanks for reading!