Kai POV: I know that I keep saying that I was fine, but in reality I don't know what I feel. My head was so foggy and everything inside me was just so numb that it felt like Zane froze me again. The only other time that I felt this way was when I got back to Nya after… it happened. It was a state that I hated being in because it just makes the pit in my stomach grow bigger. But Lloyd was right about the fresh air helping. The cool breeze that was blowing gently was bringing back some sensation back and it felt good. We just leaned against the railing in silence, but unlike before it wasn't awkward. Lloyd was definitely more relaxed than before, but he still wasn't asking any questions yet. I was still thankful for that, and I was enjoying the quiet. I let out a sigh and laid my head on my arms.

"Better?" Lloyd asked, I glanced at him and saw that he copied me.

"A bit, yeah." I admitted and he smirked at me. I rolled my eyes a little, but I smiled a tiny bit.

But after that he started to get nervous again and asked, "So… can I ask you more about… you know."

I didn't answer right away, I just looked out at the city. I want to give him some answers, I really do. But I still don't feel ready for that bridge. I feel so foggy and numb right now, but I also feel that if I go too fast something is going to break inside. And that's something I definitely don't want to happen. However, when I look at Lloyd I can see that he needs to know something and I can't ignore that.

I sighed and said, "Just the easy ones, please."

He looked a little surprised, but nodded and asked, "Well… you let Zane check out your… previous injuries, right? How did that go?"

"That's your first question?" I responded, messing with a little to ease the tension I could sense.

"You said easy questions only. And that was the easiest one that I could think of." He defended, but he did relax a little.

"Okay. It actually went better than I thought. Even with… what I had to show him." I started, rubbing my arm again.

Confused, he said, "What you showed? What are you talking about?"

I looked away and said, "Lloyd… I have a lot of scars from that time. I've never shown them to anyone before. Only a few to Nya before she convinced me."

"Oh, I see." Was all he said. And again we were in an awkward silence. Why does almost every topic nowadays have to be so heavy?

I sighed and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to drag down the mood."

"Kai, stop trying to say sorry. It's not your fault when I asked. I would ask again because I want to know." He immediately said, and I looked at him. He was really determined.

"...I see your point, but-" I tried to say, but he cut me off.

"No buts, just stop saying it when you're not at fault from now. Fair?" he said, giving me an intense glare.

"In a way." I said, but he wasn't satisfied with that.

Thankfully, Zane boarded the Bounty at that moment and walked up to us. He noticed that something was going on and asked, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope, nothing at all." I said before Lloyd could, and he gave me a look.

Zane clocked this, but he ignored it and said, "Alright then, Kai. Have you made a decision yet? About further tests?"

I immediately got uncomfortable again. I was afraid that's what he was here for. I honestly was expecting this, but that didn't change anything about how I feel. But before I could say anything Lloyd put his hand on my shoulder.

"Kai, you don't have to if you don't want to. But it would be good just to make sense. I can even go with you if you want." he reassured, and that did make it a little easier.

Zane also added, "These tests are going to be different from the previous one, if that makes you feel more comfortable."

Well, at least there's that. But I still wasn't sure.

"I can come too." Someone suddenly chimed in.

We all looked and saw it was Cole, who was walking down the stairs towards us.

Once he was close I noticed that he had a weird look in his eyes. I don't know what it was, but there was something that was bothering him. That much was obvious, but I don't know what it was.

But I let it go and said, "So everyone was to get in on testing. That's a first."

Lloyd, again, gave me a look and asked, "So, are you going to do it, or not?"

I sighed and said, "I guess it couldn't hurt. If they are different."

Zane nodded and said, "Then we shouldn't waste any time. I already have everything ready."

Of course he does. But with that said we started to go back down to Borg Tower. But I know that I won't be showing the scars again. At least not right now. I'm going to make that the last bridge I cross.

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Cole POV: I was actually watching Lloyd and Kai for a bit before Zane showed up. I just had to wait until then because of how overwhelmed I felt. Sensei explained more about how many times people tried to learn about that… realm, but it always failed. The creatures there were just too hungry to care about anything else.

And Kai survived there. Alone, and he got back.

He didn't have his powers then, no training, no supplies, and no idea about that place to start with. I couldn't even imagine how he could have done that. But he did, he survived there and got back home. Only to push those memories down and hide everything that happened.

As we walked to the Tower I found myself staring at him. He looked fine, none of the trauma is obvious at the moment. But now I know that none of that is true. There's no way that he's fine.

But I didn't say anything about what I learned. I just wanted to be here and know that he's getting looked over by Zane. He wouldn't miss anything and it was going to calm my nerves.

Once we got to the room Zane turned to Lloyd and I and said, "You two wait out here for now. We shouldn't be too long."

We both nodded and they closed the door behind them. We ended up just leaning against the wall and waited in silence. All the while my mind was blank, but racing at the same time. Which doesn't make any sense to me.

"So, what were you doing after… the talk? Lloyd eventually asked.

I flinched a little and said, "What?"

"You were the first one to walk off, and you really didn't say anything about it. I was curious." He explained, but how do I respond to that? I don't even know what I think about all of it.

"Uh… Okay, I went to talk with Sensei." I said, just going with the truth. But I wasn't going to explain everything right now. It was definitely not the place.

But he immediately perked up when I said that and asked, "Do you guys find anything out?"

I should have figured he would ask, "Well, he had an idea. But we shouldn't talk about it here. It's not the time." I explained.

He clearly didn't like that, it was written all over his face. But he just nodded and didn't push it further. I was grateful for that, but a part of me did want to talk about it. It might help me make some sense of it, but it wasn't my place.

I just hope that Zane doesn't find anything to worry about.