Written by: miamidnightt

A gust of wind blew past the Bounty, allowing the redhead to feel the breeze whip against her freckled face. Her thoughts were scattered, like the leaves in the middle of autumn, but that was the least of her worries.

Both of our siblings our safe, but... why? Why did they let us escape so easily?

"Hey," A pat on the shoulder shook her out of her thoughts, turning her head and meeting eyes with her sister, who gave her a warm smile and hugged her, "I didn't get to properly reunite with you, Amelia! I-I missed you so much! Everyday, I wondered if I was ever gonna see you again and to know that you're here—!"

Mia chuckled, sheepishly smiling and rubbing the back of her neck, "I missed you too, sis. They separated us, and I—!"

"It's not your fault." Ellie told her, shaking her head, "None of it is."

The redhead felt her bottom lip quiver and without a second thought, she threw herself on the brunette and they both toppled down on the wooden floor of the deck. Both girls laughed, acting like children on a playground, and the redhead smiled a look of relief.

"I'm glad to have you back, Ellie," She hummed, resting her head on her sister's chest.

"That's good," Ellie replied, resting her hand on Mia's head, "Because I would have been a bit worried if you hadn't missed me at all."

Mia rolled her eyes, "Oh, stop it. I'd always go looking for my sister."

"You better not have gotten into much trouble while I was away, Mi-Mi." The brunette laughed, sitting up with her sister, allowing them to get back on their own feet, "Because you seem to already be in so much trouble."

"It's... a long story."

Ellie leaned against the rails of the Bounty, crossing her arms, "Hmm, I have a lot of time to spare. Go on, tell me..."

* * *

After hearing her story, Ellie blinked in surprise and wasn't exactly sure what to say to it all. Her sister had gone through so much pain in such a short time in her life—which left to the brunette wrapping her arms around her younger sister comfortingly, not daring to let go.

"I'm here now and I promise, you'll never go through something as awful like that again." Ellie rocked her body back-and-forth, both of the girls not saying anything more.

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last long—The alarm on the Bounty ringing an ear-splinting ring and making them both jump up in alarm. Shadows appeared around both girls, letting the redhead get into a fighting stance with her hands on the daggers at her waist. She growled in annoyance, like she was expecting this to happen.

"You gotta be kidding me..." She mumbled, taking out her daggers and allowing her light to seep into the blade, "You dumbasses just never seem to quit, do you?"

The shadows laughed at her, inching closer but it was at that moment, the Ninja emerged from below deck and Nya didn't hesitate to through her s-shaped boomerang at the shadow, watching it disappear into nothing. Although, it wasn't enough to stop another one from taking its place and growling at the Sister of Fire.

Nya cursed under her breath, "Oh, shit... This ain't good."

"No kidding!" Scarlett mumbled, her eyes wide as she stepped next to her brother.

Kai's sister was ready to throw her weapon, gritting her teeth hard, but a shadow appeared behind her, taking her by surprise and making her trip over her own feet. Groaning, she rubbed her head but before she had time to get back on her feet, the same shadow approached her again, placing a hand to her chest and allowing a dark power to completely consume her.

"N-Nya!" Jay cried out, shooting lighting at the cackling enemy and making him disintegrate, rushing over to his girlfriend, "Nya, talk to me! Please! You gotta be alright!"

The girl in his arms screamed, managing to get a few words out, "J-Jay... Please, it hurts!"

"S-Sis...!" Kai called out to her, kneeling at her side.

Mia took notice of this, lighting up her hands and shooting down any shadow that crossed her path. She was beyond furious, all the dark creatures in front of her laughing, even if they disappeared after she shot her powers at them. She shouted curses at them, draining her powers drastically after she finished them off. She panted hard, clutching a hand to her chest and Lloyd quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, don't go over-exerting yourself like that again," The Green Ninja easily lifted her off her feet, kissing her on the forehead, "You'll have me worried sick if you do!"

The redhead frowned up at him, "I'm sorry, it was just... emotions."

Scarlett rushed her feet over to Nya, seeing Jay trying to use his powers to save her, but she pulled his hands away from the girl wearing a pained expression, moving her own hand onto her chest and drawing in a breath. It took a few seconds, but a scarlet-colored flame enveloped her hand, seeping its way into Nya's body and overtaking the dark power until it vanished.

Sighing, Scarlett drawed her hand away, "Thank god..." she then looked down at the Sister of Fire, smiling warmly, "Hey, are you alright now? Can you stand?"

"I think so..." Nya mumbled, still a bit stunned from the stunt that the Scarlet Ninja had just pulled, "How did you—?"

"Nya...!" Jay called out for his girlfriend, wrapping her into a hug and having small tears running down his face. He had been so worried, he thought he had lost her, but to know that she was alright—it lit up his spirits. "Oh my god, I thought I lost you back there!"

The Flamey Sister shook her head, rubbing him on the head gently, "Oh, you big crybaby. You know I would never leave you behind like that—you don't ever have to worry. I wouldn't leave you even for a second."

"That's good to hear!" Jay kept his arms around her, not daring to let her go, "I can't bare to almost lose you like that again."

"You won't," She mumbled, burying her face into his chest, "I swear that you won't."

Red, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold, decided to take the chance to speak up. He stepped forward, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder and helping her up. She gazed up at him, confused but knowing he had something to say.

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing, "This all seems to be too much. If you all continue to stay in the same place, the shadows are only more likely to keep attacking." He tapped his chin lightly, "I have a proposition... perhaps it would be best if someone took my sister and hid out in the city, while another took Mia in the city? It would allow the shadows to be unable to attack them at once... They would be spread out in the city and hard to find."

"Huh, that's actually... not a bad idea." Kai replied, beaming with a confident look shining through his eyes.

"But who's gonna take who?" Jay asked, sitting next to Nya.

Lloyd stepped forward, not even needing to be told twice about who he planned on taking, "I can go ahead and take Mia down into the city with me. We can find a way to hideout down there."

"Then I'll take Scarlett with me." Kai joined in, wrapping his around the dark-haired teen and grinning like the idiot he was.

Red nodded his head to them, "That is good to hear—Unfortunately, I can not stay any longer. My presence is required down in the city as well, but I'm sure we shall meet again." He turned his back to them, "I do wish you the best in taking down the shadows."

"W-Wait, brother...!" Scarlett rushed over to his side, embracing him from behind and smiling lightly, "Be careful out there, alright? Can you at least promise me that?"

"I can," Red turned around and patted her on the head, "Good luck out there, Scar. I wish you to be safe yourself." And with those parting words, he climbed down the anchor of the ship and slipped into the safety of the city below.

Cole rubbed his brow, turning to the four who were next to leave, "You guys should be heading out too. Those shadows could be lurking around anywhere, be on your guard down there, yeah?

"We will," Lloyd grinned, taking Mia by the hand and tugging him towards him. He easily lifted her off her feet, heading over to the anchor, "Keep us updated if you find anything else about the shadows. We'll be on the lookout down there, too." He allowed the redhead to climb onto his back, hanging onto him tightly, "You ready, Red?"

Mia chuckled, "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." She then turned her gaze on the Earth Ninja, who had been standing quietly next to her sister, "Cole, be sure to look after my sister for me and make sure she doesn't get hurt while I'm gone."

"You bet...!" Cole gave her a thumbs up in return.

But Ellie, on the other hand, was not having it and seemed to be annoyed by her younger sister's words, "Mia, I am not a baby, you know! And just to be clear, I'm older than you and can protect myself. I don't need any help with—!"

"She meant to say thank you." Cole pointed out, laughing and patting the brunette lightly on the head, messing up her hair a bit.

And with that out of the way, Lloyd sprung to his feet, easily climbing down the anchor with the redhead on his back and out of sight. Kai pinched the bridge of his nose, turning to Scarlett, "Guess it's our turn to take off, huh?"

The dark-haired girl shrugged, "Guess it is. Come on, let's get going."

"Yes, ma'am!" The Fire Ninja saluted her, taking her up by the waist and waving to the others, sliding his way down the anchor and out of sight.

The remaining Ninja were left to themselves, turning to each other and deciding to head back inside, considering that the others had left them. It was significantly quiet without the others, allowing everyone to think over everything that has happened to them. They just hoped that those four would be okay out there and stay away from any danger.