The sun was setting on the merged lands. In front of Arin was a stream where the sunset was clearest. The water was blinding. Arin was hoping the view would distract him from today.

Egalt was injured because of him. Anyone can clearly say that this was one of the worst screw ups of all time. But everyone refused to admit it. Nobody would just admit Arin messed up and tried to downplay it.

"You're an important part of the team" or "You can do object spinjitzu" felt so vexing to hear.

Why did positive words hurt him so much?

He could tell the others were trying to cheer him up but it made him feel so much worse. Did he ever really want to be a ninja or did he really want to admire them from afar? No, he wouldn't have tried to learn Spinjitzu if he was just a fan.

Was he meant to be a ninja or just a fanboy? It's hard to stay positive, and just having a dream of becoming a ninja was one way to stay positive. The ninja were always a source of positivity and joy. Is that dream turning into something different? Something toxic.

I guess becoming a ninja was one way to show his parents how much he's grown. His parents were always supportive but he still wanted them to be extra proud that their son is an accomplished hero.

Stuck. In Limbo. That's an accurate way of describing Arin's feelings. Not being able to move or not being able to make a choice. But here it was 10 times worse. Arin noticed some rustling leaves and realized someone was coming, and that person was Sora. The last person he wanted to see

Arin wanted to be alone, and tell anyone who would disturb him to back off but he couldn't do that to Sora. Jealousy wormed through him after seeing Sora' excel with her powers and even having the opportunity to pursue spinjitzu but he loved her too much. All the years they spend together shouldn't bend and break easily. She's done too much for him to ever warrant that. Even if she could become an even better ninja than he could.

"Arin, you good?" Sora next to him on the ledge. Arin looked off into the horizon quietly. "Arin?" He finally turned to face Sora who gave him a welcoming grin.

That's when he embraced her tightly, head resting close to her. "Can we just stay like this? In silence." Arin said, muffled. "Whatever you need, bud." Sora rubbed his hair gently.

"But next time we have a free day. I'm taking you out for a fun day in town. Promise?" Sora

"Can't wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the Shadow Dojo, time was of the essence since the blood moon was drawing near and Jordana was put to work in finding the spell.

It was her biggest task yet and her magic needed to be better.

Surprisingly Jordana was good at magic. Jordana always leaned into science and technology because she wanted to beat Sora at her own game. Here magic was all her own, and the complete opposite of her nemesis.

Yet Ana, Sora, whatever her name was now couldn't remember her own damn name. Jordana felt stuck, barely keeping up with her work at the science labs. Back in Imperium no one paid attention to her. Not even her own parents. They would always compliment some other kid in the neighborhood, and it enraged Jordana. The worst day was when they complimented Ana for her amazing photac and her entry into the science lab.

She wanted that attention and respect for herself. Jordana never got that in Imperium.

It wasn't until Lord Ras showed up amd her true potential began to show but everyday still worried her. Was she gonna lose all that she had in Imperium, and live life on the run? Working under Ras, and her revenge against Sora was the only purpose driving her and yet she was thriving.

Aside from the utter distaste for Cinder, it was surprisingly refreshing being with the wolf warriors. Sure the job came with Ras' continuous growling and heckling, but it had a couple of perks. Jordana felt useful and important plus she even got free minions to do her dirty work. Jordana wondered why she focused on Sora so much when she could just give up and focus on world domination with Lord Ras and have her own place.

Oh yeah but all those years of hate don't go away so easily. It swelled up again when Sora didn't bother to remember her name at Cloud Kingdom. She'll regret it.

"Hey kid, the boss wants us." Cinder walked up to her. "What for?" "Don't know. Ras will tell us when we get there."

"Fine." Jordana groaned and folded up her scrolls which got Cinder's attention. "Take your time, your useless magic isn't needed much anyway." Cinder walked off.

"Much more useful than you," Jordana mumbled. She then picked up a scroll and cast a spell on Cinder. "Gnnk!"

"Careful clutz, wouldn't want to break a leg, like the ninja," Jordana smirked knowingly Cinder wanted to retaliate but backed off. Lord Ras would be on their tails if they were late.

She will find the spell, and she will help Lord Ras complete the ritual. No matter what. I guess now she has one other motivation in life. One-upping Cinder and serving Lord Ras as second in command, and that is all her own.

~The End~

I wanted to show two things in this chapter. How Arin was struggling, Jordana was thriving (kinda), and how Sora unintentionally drove them both to "villainy". Ironically this was made a month before the part 2 leak and I just gave up. After the leak I was sure this was dead but yay it's not.