"Are you sure you wouldn't have liked to tell the others? I'm sure they would of understood why you left." Leafe walked with Kara, looking to her with worry.
"For the past months, when I was with Draxum, I've hurt so many yokai and people..and I hurt them too. Even though they're trying their best to help me I still feel like I don't deserve it. When I'm with them I feel more alone because I don't understand how they can act so..carefree and happy. I want to share that with them..but I can't do that with how I am now." Kara stared down at her hands gripping the cloak Leafe gave her then looked over at Leafe and flinched to see her watery-eyed with a line of snot running down her nose, "Oh, Kara, I'm so sorry all that happened to you." Kara sighed silently but comforted her by gently rubbing her back while she wiped her eyes and nose.
"Thank you." Leafe smiled to Kara and tilted her head confused to see her staring ahead in awe. Following what she was looking at she smiled again and placed her hand on her arm, "My home is on the other side. Now, as a warning...I do have a roommate who..is...u-nique." Her eyes trailed to the side trying to find the right word.
"More unique than a mutant and yokai?" Kara asked with a raised brow while they walked through the waterfall but when her eyes landed on the view in front of her she did a double take, her attention not on the beautiful scene before her that resembled those scenery paintings that turn into puzzles. No, no, no, freezing in place her eyes were solely on the tall, slender, light blue dragon that had white mist swirling around its body sitting with its eyes closed in a garden. "A-A-A-it-it's a dragon...DRAGONS ARE REAL!?"

This got the dragon's attention, its head snapping in their direction and stood to their feet walking over to them. When it was in front of them its attention focused on Kara and her alone, its icy eyes seeming to be boring into her for she was unable to look away. It's eyelids lower slightly as it brought its snout to the top of her head, "You've been through much, child." Kara heard a woman's voice with a Russian accent say yet the dragon's mouth did not move. "Sorrow. Rage. Doubt. Betrayal. Loneliness.."
Kara dropped her head feeling a lump in her throat and gripped the bottom of her shirt. "Great, first time seeing a dragon and am IMMEDIATELY judged, Go figure." She bit the bottom of her lip feeling like a child being scolded.
"Fear not, child, I am not judging you; only telling you what I see in your soul."
"AHHH! She can read my mind!" She lifted her head eyes widening slightly watching the dragon step back and glow til a woman with long, black hair, pale with a light tint of ice blue scaled skin stood in place of the dragon. She wore a simple white dress and no shoes and yet she made it work. Kara released the breath she was holding when the woman looked at her, despite her image changing, her eyes stayed the same. "My name is Brilliance. I was already told you would be staying with us but due to not having a specific arrival time we are somewhat unprepared. Wait out here while Leafe and I accommodate for your needs. Stay put and feel free to look around, this will be your home for the time being." Brilliance tilted her head back slightly with a smirk before turning around and nodding to Leafe for her to follow, she coming along.

Kara watched them enter the small cabin and began to walk around taking in the beautiful nature. She rounded a corner and froze to see a familiar sword stabbed in a slab of stone. Instantly, she felt a sense of comfort and warmth just from being in proximity of the blade. Images of the girl she remembered came to mind with each step she took towards the sword; her height, the armor she wore, the way her fiery hair seemed to dance in the wind, the intense yet warm soft gaze in her different colored eyes. She felt this spirit would make a trusting friend- She felt a zapping sensation when she grasped the sword so strong that it sent her flying backwards with a yell and landed hard on her back, the wind being knocked out of her.
Hearing the commotion, the two ran out the cabin to see Kara on the ground and the sword had a flaming glow to it. While Leafe bend down to see if Kara was ok, Brilliance glared at the sword when the spirit phased out of the sword and glared down at Kara, "You. How dare ye show yourself after what ye hae done?! Not only did ye betray those ye call friends but sided wi evil! Ye are not worthy o' wieldin' ma sword!" The spirit's hair flared; eyes glowing bright.
Kara slowly picked herself up, bent over on her knees and arms while trying to catch her breath again before lifting her head and glaring back at the sword, "I. Know. My. Mistakes. That's why I came here! I was told you could help me!" She stood to her feet and gritted her teeth before charging at the sword and gripped the handle with both hands, the zapping sensation returning but she held on, gripping tighter as she saw flashes of the spirit's past life. The pain soon became unbearable and was thrown back again but this time Brilliance caught her in her dragon form, she making contact with her chest.
"B-But you told me to bring her here. Why would you reject her?" Leafe asked in confusion and worry only to let out a noise when Kara stood up and began to walk away, "It's clear no one can help me..thanks for trying though."
Leafe went to go after her but froze when Brilliance let out a roar, baring her fangs, and stepped to the sword, "You of ALL people have no right to judge that girl on her actions when your hands are FAR from clean. Look me in the eye and tell me you have not betrayed a bond, MURDERED a friend in cold blood." Brilliance and the spirit had a stare off til it was the spirit who lowered her eyes realizing what she had done. "Ye are right...ye are right." She said with a sigh, eyes filling with sadness. "We are going to find that girl and you are going to help her..it's clear you two are more similar than you'd like to admit." Brilliance turned away, changing back to her human form, to look at Kara only to stop when she was nowhere in sight, "She couldn't have gotten far."
"She's quicker than she seems.." Leafe muttered under her breath before she and Brilliance went to go search for her.

Finding one of the many entrances to and from the Hidden City Kara steps out into an alleyway and lifted her head up at the surprisingly bright light before turning to walk out the alley except she felt something hit the front of her ankle and fall face first to the ground. A loud groan was the only sound she made while she wondered when, despite the training and skills she acquired these past months, she would finally catch herself. She sat up while rubbing her face and looked to see what she tripped on to find, "Sheldon? What are you doing here?" She blinked when he wasn't paying attention to her, not cause he didn't hear her, but he was too busy struggling to lift the ball and chain over the edge. "Oh my gosh, what is that?" Kara immediately went to his side and lifted the heavy device, letting it drop to the ground with a thud, "Who did this?"
"My so-called FATHER! He won't let me do anything fun and decided to ground me! He doesn't get me! He doesn't even try to!"
She stared down at him with sadness knowing that he was feeling hurt so she reached over and put him in her lap beginning to rub his head. "Oh, sweetie, I don't know why he does the things he does but..I know that he cares about you."
"Yeah, right, all he does is badger me on the things I do when he does the same thing or worse! He doesn't listen.."
"Being a parent isn't an easy feat. It's not something you learn just like that, it takes time. He's learning to care for you just as you are learning about new things. If you both try to understand each other I'm sure you'll see that caring side that he has in him." She looked off to the side with a distant look in her eyes as an image of her own mother crosses her mind causing her to squint her eyes slightly before shaking her head, "You know, between you and me it's one of the reasons why I like him. Yes, he's awkward and has trouble showing his emotions but that doesn't stop him from conveying his feelings behind his actions."
"Wow...you really like him, huh? Then why did you leave?" Sheldon asked, his voice becoming sad.
Her cheeks flared up but she didn't hide her face, staring at the ground with a thoughtful look, "Because I can't tell him how I feel..because I don't even know how I feel...I'm lost, Sheldon.." She gave him a sad smile but blinked when he nuzzled his head into her hand, "We can be lost together."
She cupped his head, giving it a scratch, "I'd like that. Now, let's find someone to get this off you. He's lucky he isn't here or he'd be getting an earful." She chuckled while using her lower arms to hold the ball, walking beside him out of the alley and into the city, pulling the hood over her head.

They wandered the city idly talking to another when they came to the park. They looked up hearing something zoom above them and looked up to see a drone, "Looks techy. The owner must be able to get this off you." She smiled to Sheldon who nodded his head excitedly and when she went to follow after him she froze, feeling a chill run down her spine, and turned to look where there were a group of trees to see Brilliance standing with her eyes on her gesturing to come to her. "S-Sheldon, I'll be back. Stay here. Don't go anywhere without me." She stared at him before walking towards the woods. "What are you doing here?" She asked Brilliance when she stopped in front of her.
"You need to come back with us."
"Why? So I can get rejected again? No. Thanks." Kara crossed both sets of arms narrowing her eyes at her.
Brilliance returned the stare. "This isn't up for discussion. You can't keep running away from your problems."
"My problems? I AM my own problem! I can't live with the humans anymore because of THIS situation," She gestured to all of her, "I left behind the only mutants who care about me and the one who I was told could help me tased me for touching it! I'm tired of getting hurt. I'm tired of getting rejected. I'm tired of it all..now if you excuse me I have to help my friend's...kid...get a shackle off his arm."

"It's never going to stop, kid." Brilliance called out as she walked away, "You're never going to stop getting hurt, rejected, or be tired and it's going to get worse the more you're alone. But that doesn't mean you have to give up. Even if you're knocked down day after day you can't give up." She closed her eyes recalling a memory of a certain knight who sat at the entrance to their home battered, bruised, and dirtied but stayed in position with a grin on their face. She opened her eyes to see Kara had stopped, "Follow me and you'll become the person you hide inside yourself." When Kara said nor did anything she gritted her teeth and turned thinking she was wasting her time but stopped when she heard her voice.
"If you can help me with this one thing and make sure he gets home safe...I'll join you." She tilted her head slightly to give her a side eye before walking back where she left Sheldon only for her to get sprayed with smoke and a van racing off with Sheldon nowhere to be found. She stood still, eyes and mouth closed, til the smoke dissipated and let out a dry cough. "Teenagers.." She sighed and turned to go back to Brilliance only to bump into her chest. "I'm ready." She muttered making Brilliance chuckle, both of them leaving back to her home.

The two stopped in front of the waterfall Brilliance placing her hands on her shoulders, "I must leave you for the time being since Leafe is still searching for you. We'll try to be back as soon as we can." Brilliance changed to her Drago form and flew away leaving Kara alone to look at the wall of water, "These are my only clothes.." She muttered not wanting to get wet but felt she had no choice.
Walking up to the garden while squeezing out the water from her cloak she spotted the spirit of the knight sitting on the stone, the rays of the moonlight illuminating her figure, and stopped. Wanting nothing more to do than turn back around and leave it all behind but Brilliance's words kept her feet in place. Sighing heavily she walked closer to the stone til she was face to face with the spirit but with enough distance to not get tased again. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity til the spirit hung her head low. "I'm sorry."
This surprised Kara.
"I'm sorry for acting so rash towards you..I was always taught that betrayin' comrades, friends, or family is the lowest sin possible an it didn't help that I was on both ends o' that deceit." She gestured for Kara to come closer but when she didn't budge, she didn't blame her, "I promise not tae hurt ya." She said in the calmest voice possible and waited patiently for Kara to move. It took a moment but when she finally did, she reached her hand out and tapped her index finger on the top of the hilt before wrapping her fingers around the hilt when she didn't get tased.
She felt a pulling sensation and she found her conscious in tall room that resembled a Throne Room. On either side were rows of knights in full armor wielding spear like weapons or swords and at the end were two thrones leveled above them where a King was knighting someone. She walked up to them to get a closer look to see it was the spirit being knighted and she looked so young!
"Stand, Knight Macintosh, an serve me well." The King lifted the sword from her shoulder and set the sword, blade down, in front of him staring down at his newest knight with pride and joy, his Queen behind him with the brightest smile on her face. The woman stood to her feet, head still bowed, before lifting it up and smiled to the both of them, "Wi heart an spirit, ma King, I will not fail."
The room suddenly erupted in a cheer to welcome their newest knight with the King and Queen clapping, the young knight's heart racing with emotion but never letting her tears show, shouting along with her fellow knights.
She was transported to another memory with the spirit once again kneeled in front of the King and Queen but something felt off; the King looked sickly and distorted the look in his eyes giving Kara the feeling of corruption. He tapped his finger against the arm rest of his throne while leaning against his other arm, staring down at the spirit, who was the age she is now, with disappointment, "Your dragon friends are not cooperatin' wi me, young knight. Thay continue tae disobey ma direct commands an ignore me; that does not bode well wi me." His voice lowered as his eyes darkened.
"Ma apologies, ma King, I will speak wi their leader an try tae get them tae understand."
"No. I am past that. Dragons are stubborn creatures an will not yield tae ma commands nor yours." He stood and walked to where he was behind her, she staying in the kneeling position with her head bowed, "I want ye tae kill their leader."
This got the spirit to freeze in place, eyes widening in shock. "M-Ma King..."
"Ye hae done not just ma kingdom but your lineage proud. It was your skill an talents alone that raised your ranks tae where thay are now, despite your age." He glanced back at her to see she was still place and moved to be in front of her, his voice softening, "My knight.." He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Look at me. I'm aware o' your friendship wi them but if thay will not listen tae you nor I then thay are bound tae wreak havoc an destroy our peaceful world. I know what I am asking will be difficult but..this is where your test o' loyalty really comes tae light." Now gripping her face forcing her to stare directly into his eyes, "My closest an most trusted knight will not fail me, now will she?" He whispered yet the threat behind his words clear as day.
"No, sire, ma loyalty is tae you an you alone." She said with a clear tone. This pleasing him he gently released his grip and turned to walk back to his throne, "After aw, knights are born tae kill dragons; it is your nature. Ye are dismissed." He waved her away without looking back, she bowing her head and left.
"Knight Macintosh has returned!" The Herald announced, his voice echoing through the Throne Room. The doors burst open revealing the spirit walking calmly towards the throne with her head lowered while dragging behind her the head of the leader of dragons by the horn on it's nose. "Hazah!" The King shouted while jumping to his feet, arms thrown outwards in joy, "Ma dearest knight, ye are victorious!"
She let go of the horn and bowed right in front of him not speaking a word.

Having enough Kara forced her body to let go of the sword and took a step back, glaring at the spirit, "You hypocrite! You had the gall to bash me for my betrayal when you did worse than me! YOU KILLED YOUR FRIEND!"
"I KNOW THAT. THARE'S NOT A MOMENT IN THIS FORSAKEN VOID WHERE I FORGET WHAT I HAE DONE BUT I DON'T LET IT HOLD ME BACK. It was ma choice tae put ma spirit in this sword tae help guide those ahead o' me tae not make the same mistakes I had an in doing so repent for ma wrongdoings.." She closed her eyes to calm herself, dropping her gaze in sadness, "She was right. We are alike more than I realize.." She whispers painfully, her brows knitting in sorrow, looking right into Kara's eyes. "I saw what made ye what you are now."
Kara flinched before looking away, "My mutation.." She muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.
"I also saw the death o' your aunt."
Kara's eyes widened, snapping her head in her direction.
"Why do ye blame yourself? You were naught but a child."
"Because I should of known better! I should have stopped them! I was warned enough to know the dangers of that beast, but I still let him pressure me! I still wanted them to be my friends!" Kara screamed, glaring at the ground with her hands clenched tight into fists feeling the tears burning her eyes as she tried to keep them in before dropping to the ground while gripping the sides of her head as the memories of the judgmental gazes circled her, the harsh whispers of the responsibility being too much for a kid, her mother's disgusted, frightened look right at her, her arm lifted up when she tried to reach for her. "I didn't know any better...I was just a kid." She whimpered, curled into herself, her body trembling.
Dragan stared in sorrow at the poor soul in front of her and held her arms out, "Reach for me an share your burdens." She lulled watching Kara crawl towards the stone and reach both upper arms out, it looking as though they were making contact, Dragan now inside Kara's mind.

Kara, at the young age of six, was running up to her farm home after getting off the school bus with a small group of three kids running with her. "You guys are gonna like it here. Not only does my aunt run the farm but she also fosters farm animals that were abused or sick. She's really good at it!" Kara said in excitement turning around, her log pigtails bouncing and swinging with her movements, clutching the straps of her backpack.
"So she's a therapist for animals. Psh. Big deal." One of the boys rolled his eyes not impressed in the least til he heard some commotion and turned to see a group of adults trying to wrangle out a bull from the trailer but was having much difficulty, the animal stronger than them alone so a tall, muscled woman with short, black hair tied up in a bun wearing a red bandana, dirtied overall jeans, grey t-shirt underneath, and steel-toed construction boots dropped the clipboard she was holding and put some gloves on, helping them eventually bring out the creature and force it into an isolated area, locking the steel gates behind them.
Kara and the kids ran up to the adults as they were walking away, one of them explaining to the aunt the animal's situation. "Hey auntie!" Kara called out, running into her leg and hugging it tight.
"Hey, Karebear! How was school?" She lifted her leg up while plucking her little niece off her leg and into her arms, they sharing a happy grin.
"It was fun! These are my friends, Kelly, Johnny, and Lincoln." Kara pointed to them each giving a shy hello while Johnny just stood there staring at her. Emma raised a brow at the kid having a feeling he was going to be trouble but kept her mouth shut, "Nice to meet you, kids. I have snacks in the kitchen ready for y'all. I'll follow you in just a moment." Shet set Kara down, ushering her to the house, she and the others running off, "Go on now, Johnny." Kara heard and turned around to see Johnny hadn't moved and waited watching as he slowly followed behind them, his head in the direction of the bull still before he turned around to look at them. Kara pressed her lips together suddenly feeling nervous but ignored it when he walked up to her and gestured for her to lead the way.
Kara and the kids were eating triangle sandwiches, chips, and juice in the dining room while the kids were talking to each other except Johnny who looked like he didn't want to be there. The door opening got the kid's attention when Emma walked in sliding the bandana off with a heavy sigh but smiled at them, "How are ya liking the snacks? Feel free to make yourselves at home but you must not go near that bull that was just brought in. It is wild and hasn't been tamed yet. It is very dangerous." She warned before walking away hearing her cellphone ringing upstairs but stopped and gave them a quick glance, "The chickens are also a little...pecky today." She chuckled before walking up the stairs and closing the door to her room.
"We have a swing in the backyard." Kara explained, pointing, this exciting Kelly.
"I wanna see the bull." Johnny said, standing up and walking towards the door.
"Woah, didn't you hear what my aunt said? Wild animals are really dangerous!" Kara rushed out of her seat and blocked his path.
"Yeah, you saw how many adults it took to just take it out of a trailer." Lincoln added only to immediately shut up when Johnny looked at him.
"This is Kara's home and she says no." Kelly said, grabbing Kara's arm and giving Johnny a stern look.
"Come on, Kara, I just want one little peek. We are friends after all and your aunt did say to make ourselves comfortable." He got in between her and Kelly, placing his arm around her shoulder.
"Just one look?..." Kara nervously repeated.
"Yeah, if you do this for me, you'll be my best friend." Johnny smiled at her this making her blush and look down. "O..k...just one little peek and then we come right back. Promise?"
"Pinky promise." Johnny nodded, his smile changing to a grin and was the first to walk out.
The scene suddenly changed to the kids screaming in terror as the bull was trying to pull Johnny inside, his shirt having gotten snagged on its horn from him provoking it with a stick. Kara was trying to help him but ended up getting pulled inside from under the fence. The ripping sound of Johnny's shirt echoed in her ears as the bull turned its attention to Kara, staring her down and charged. She screamed while dodging its charge and tried to climb over the fence but froze when she saw Kelly already gone with the other two boys running away screaming. Hearing the bull she dropped to the ground and rolled away as it stomped its hooves where she was. She backed away, frozen in fear as the bull lowered itself for one last charge. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a scream hearing its heavy hooves getting closer to her til she heard a yell and looked up to see her aunt jumping the fence and landing between her and the bull, grabbing its horns and trying to stop it. "Run, Kara!" Emma yelled but Kara was too scared to move, "Au-n-"
"MOVE NOW!" She glanced back at her for a second but that's all it took for the bull to rip one horn from her grasp and impale her in her side. Emma let out a yell but turned back around, grabbing the horn stuck in her and planted her feet so it couldn't lift her up, "Stay. Away. From. My child!" She roared, forcing it back, gritting her teeth through the pain. It jerked its head side to side, digging its horn deeper in her side til it managed to slice outwards, this causing her to stumble backwards. It readied for another attack til a loud whinny distracted it, one of their horses jumping the fence and raising its front legs and slamming them down, getting between it and Emma, snorting and shaking its head, keeping it at bay while Emma and Kara could escape. Kara suddenly felt herself getting lifted from behind to see Jacob, their employee, picking her up but his attention was on Emma alone, shock etched on his face as he raced to get the gate open, she holding her side to hide the wound but her hand was already covered in blood.
"Auntie.."

Back in real time Kara was laying against the stone, her face buried in it, crying her heart out, "I KNEW BETTER. SHE TRUSTED ME TO KEEP THEM SAFE AND I KILLED HER ALL BECAUSE I WANTED FRIENDS. IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Dragan stared down at her in shock. She lived with this guilt for so long at such a young age. "Kara, listen tae me.." She bit her lip to keep her voice steady and calm, "Ye can't let this control your life. The things that hae happened tae ya, the heartbreak an pain, you can't let it define who you are. If you do the emptiness you feel will swallow you whole." Kara still had a hold of the sword so Dragan could see Kara distancing herself from everyone, not making any friends and giving up on her family. "I've seen it maself; ye are a strong, kind, caring person who wants what anyone wants an that is ok. You can change. You can get better. You are not a mistake and your story isn't over."
Kara lifted her head, her conscious being back at the scene when they first made contact, Dragan holding her hand out to her, "Now get up. It's time to become who you truly are."
Kara took her hand and was lifted off her feet and into Dragan's arms, both squeezing each other, Kara letting out a laugh feeling the chains of her past snap; becoming free.

Since the chapter was mainly focused I decided to add the ( ). Call back to Meet Mondo Gecko (NOT)! Reviews are nice but so are hugs and I will take both! Til next time! (Don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter.