Hey guys! I present to you all another chapter! This one's a bit longer, so hopefully it satisfies your quench to read! The plot thickens with chapter 15!

Chase found himself waking up at 11:00 in the morning, something he did not normally do, and something he didn't like to do. He always felt that sleeping in was such a waste of time. When he arose and headed down the hall for a breakfast–or more like brunch, he quickly realized that everyone was already up and about, busying themselves with their morning chores and training.

Chase shuffled into the kitchen quickly, embarrassed at his late awakening. The only person present in the indoors part of the bounty, besides Wu meditating, was Nya, who was doing the dishes.

"Morning, Chase," she greeted him, not looking up from scrubbing a pot.

"Morning," Chase replied, but more quietly, swiftly grabbing a pudding cup and spoon, and relishing it as quickly as possible.

"Have a good night's sleep?" Nya asked, still not diverting her attention from the persistent pot.

"Maybe a little too well. Why didn't you wake me?"'

"Figured you needed the rest, after last night and all."

"I wasn't the one in the ambush. If anyone, you and the others should be the one sleeping late."

"That's not true. Sure, the attack took a toll on all of us, but you were truly a life-saver back there."

"Was I though? I feel like sometimes, I just get in the way." Chase hung his head.

"Hey, if it hadn't been for you, we'd probably be dead by now. You really did save us. Don't be so hard on yourself." Finally, Nya abandoned the pot, dried her hands, and sat next to Chase, putting a comforting arm around her.

He suddenly felt better, more relieved that he wasn't really a burden on the ninja after all. He would never tell anyone, but Nya was definitely his favorite of the ninja. He couldn't imagine life without her.

Chase was taking the next few days off of school, as time to recover from the previous events. With Kai and Lloyd still in pretty bad shape, Chase's mind was not quite in the game, and found that spending time in the forest always helped.

A few days after the horrific events of the ambush, Chase decided to take a walk in the forest to try and clear his clouded mind.

As usual, it was magnificent deep in the depths of the tall trees that reside in his place of comfort. Sunlight beamed through openings in the leaves, leaving shadows scattered across the grassy floor.

He took a different path than normal, wanting to experience new scenery. As he walked alongside a mossy log, Scarlet, his cute little fox friend, jumped up onto the log a few feet from him. He stopped in his tracks, startled by her appearance but quite happy to see her.

"Hey, there, Scarlet! I've missed you." He moved closer to pet her and give her a scratch behind the ears. He found that Scarlet did trust him, and he in turn trusted her.

Chase knew that Scarlet could not speak, but it was always fun to talk to her. "So, what's new?"

Scarlet cocked her head at him and did something that looked very much like…a smile? The fox was definitely turning Chase from being worried and unfocused to happy and relaxed.

Then it hit him. Was Scarlet trying to tell him something? From the looks of it, the little fox seemed to be saying that everything would be okay. And maybe it would be. Maybe everything would be okay.

The next day, sun beamed through Chase's window. Today, he had woken up bright and early at 8:00 in the morning, wanting to get on with the day as quickly as possible.

After his morning chores and training, he decided to relax a bit by taking walks on the outskirts of the forest. He decided not to go in, at least not yet. He wanted to see Scarlet, of course, but he also didn't want to disturb her too often, so he decided to just watch the forest from the outside.

As Chase hiked up the rocks and back to the bounty after his nice morning walk, he saw Nya sitting by the edge of the pond, looking very worried and out of place. He knew exactly what this was about.

It had been days since the ninja had been attacked, and ever since, Kai and Lloyd had both not been showing very many signs of recovery, or at least improvement in health status.

Kai was injured, and Nya's brother, so her concern was not surprising. But it was saddening to see her this way.

He took a seat next to her on the bank of the pond and copied her swirling motions in the pond, not saying anything at first.

Nya was obviously aware of his presence, as she had made small eye movements towards him multiple times, but she too was silent at first.

When she finally spoke, Chase was startled by the break in silence, but he listened. "Do you think they will be okay?"

Not knowing how to answer the question, Chase answered with the most simple answer. "I'm sure they will be."

"Be honest." She wasn't buying into his simple, not-honest answer. "I mean, neither of them are showing signs of improvement, and they aren't even fully conscious. Honestly, I don't know if they will be." She sighed heavily, slapping the water with her hand and causing splashes of water to go up.

Then a light bulb went off in Chase's head. "How about you follow me?" He got up and beckoned her to follow him down into the forest. He wanted to show her Scarlet. He was sure she would feel better after even just looking at the fox.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Nya slowly, rather reluctantly followed him. She probably didn't trust an eleven-year-old to lead her away from the bounty, but she trusted Chase, so she climbed down the rocks after him.

When they reached the outskirts of the forest, Chase halted, and Nya mirrored him.

"Seriously, Chase, where are we going?" Chase pointed to the forest.

"In there?" Nya sounded confused. "What's in there for you to show me?"

"Just follow me." Chase took off again, forcing Nya to follow him. He went to the mossy log where he last saw Scarlet. He was sure she would do the trick to cheer Nya up.

Chase sat down on the log, waiting for Scarlet, knowing she would jump next to him any minute. And he was right.

Mere seconds later, a fluffy red creature bounded onto the log and sat, wagging her fluffy red tail.

Nya jumped at Scarlet's surprise entrance, having not seen her before. "Oh, who is this?"

"This is Scarlet. She's not my pet, but I'd say we're close."

"Aw, she's so cute. Is this what you wanted to show me?" Chase nodded, petting Scarlet's fur.

"But why?"

"I just thought it might relieve your worries a bit. You know, after the whole attack, I was quite stressed too. Somehow, Scarlet helped. I just thought it might help you too."

"Aw, that's sweet. And you know what? It did work. I almost completely forgot about Kai and Lloyd. I mean, not forgot, but I'm a little more relieved now. Thanks, Chase. You really knew what I needed."

"Yeah, anytime." The pair said goodbye to Scarlet and headed back out of the forest. Chase began to feel a tingly sensation, the one he got before a vision. He tried to keep the feeling at bay, but soon it grew strong, almost hard to bear.

Suddenly, just on the outskirts of the forest, Chase broke down, letting the vision engulf him in pain and darkness. And the only thing he could hear was Nya, frantically calling his name.

That was chapter 15. Not too long, but longer than my last ones. So hopefully you enjoyed it. I greatly appreciate reviews or any form of support. Feedback is encouraged, I'd love to know how I can improve my story. Anyways, thanks for reading, stay tuned for more chapters!

Ducky :)