{Location: Crystal Pass}(Seliel's POV)

"MOVE YOUR BUTT!" Marci echoes in front of me. There's a small line as we travel through the vents. Victor in front so we can keep an eye on him, Marci is in the middle, so she can pummel him when necessary and me last, covering the rear.

Victor growls, "Well, if you had given me a light, I wouldn't have to move so slow." Yeah, slow. Well hurry up buddy, I'm getting rocks in my gloves.

I roll my eyes as we pass two more targets, "Pipe down. Kid, why aren't we taking down any more snakes?"

Victor pushes an air vent, "I have my reasons for heading down this way."

Marci mutters something along the lines of useless, dummy and can't be trusted. "Like?"

"T." Victor gets out first, then Marci and last but not least me. The room is dark with my helmet's night vision slowly coming online, "R." Then the lights blare on. Making my field of vision all out of whack, "A.P."

When will I learn to not trust this guy?

Marci pulls out her siah as I try and fix my helmet, "It's a trap."

"Well, duh." Victor leans on his bat as I pull out my kama.

Wow, I knew I was starting to draw a crowd but this is crazy. Even Mr. Nom is here. In a black on black suit with gold lacing. He's got a black cane with a gold handle. "After all, after we take care of the Phantom Ninja, we can take on the rest of Chen's army."

"Wait," Marci points with her right siah to the other caves, "I thought they were snakes."

"I'm not sure what they are or who you are." Mr. Nom points the cane at me, "I only know that we are Chen's reckoning."

My hands twitch as I feel closed in, "What did Chen do to you? Why do you hate him?"

"It's called war on species." Mr. Nom smirks, "Chen had Dawn make the frightstone, I think that illegal weapons are a tad evil." He snickers, "Appearances aren't everything."

"And if she was forced to, does that make her bad?" I grow at his implication. Mom may have had secrets but she wasn't evil.

"The very definition of evil is intentionally harming to another," Mr. Nom smirks like he's some kind of dictionary, "Even if Dawn was forced to, she's by definition, evil."

I bite the inside of my lip until I taste blood, the world's not that black and white. People do wrong things for the right reasons all the time. Which begs the morality....no time for philosophy, he calling my mother a villain. "And? What do you think you're going to do? Rid the world of all it's evil."

He makes a ticking sound, "Not all evil. That's well out of my power. No, my dear, my only interest is curing the world of inaccurate hate."

"So how am I in the way?" Oh-ou. My voice changer is going out. I can't talk much longer and Marci's fake voice isn't that good.

"You're a stray, the thing we stand against." Mr. Nom smirks, "Once you're done with, then we move onto bigger and far more important things."

My ears burn and something thick and heavy wiggles around in my stomach. What a little hypocrite. He has no reason to hate me as a person. Just what he thinks I represent. Which isn't even true. The Phantom Ninja is meant to be a symbol of hope, honor, and respect. He's got it all wrong. My eyes flicker across the people, not a lot but I have a feeling they are very capable. I finger my kama and plan some attacks.

Mr. Nom holds his cane up and pulls then twists then handle, a long silvery sword comes out and points as they form a circle around Marci and me, "Perhaps you need proof."

Over the speakers I hear Mom talking, click, "I am not sure if that's what you were think of. But please understand, if Garmadon hadn't gotten in the way the first time, well. There may not have been a second time."

{Location: East town}(Dawn's POV)[Time: Many years ago]

I sit in the lobby. All my stuff here, next to me like a small leathery moat. I'm either waiting for a mailman to say that I won't go back to the island or my escort back there.

"So," James leans on a long stone bench that I'm on, "You outta here?"

"I'm actually hoping no." My cheeks warm like I'm sick, "I like it here."

"If you think here is perfect, you should see this place called Crystal Pass."

"Crystal Pass?" I picture one of Clouse's spells going haywire and changing everything and everyone into crystal beings.

"Well, it's not a lot right now but I went there a lot as a kid. Even then I had a few ideas how to improve it." James keeps the conversation afloat. Mostly his dreams of town leadership. It's refreshing to hear someone so..well, honest. With Chen, I had to guess what motivations are there. "Enough about me....what are your plans?"

Then I see him again. Wu walks in and waits in a line. So easy. I have a second shot. I could go back. I could go back to the island, practically get worshiped and keep following Chen's blind orders. Not honest but familiar.

And yet, there's also James. Unfamiliar, new and unexplored. But he's so honest about his intent. Where he wants to go, how he wants to get there and enjoying life along the way. Which do I pick?

Familiarity or Honesty.

I get to my feet and pull out a small knife. I step past the crowd towards Wu. James grabs my hand despite the crowd. I wait until he faces me, "If you think I don't know what you're going to do, you're very wrong."

"What?"

"Him." James points to Wu, who's enjoying a cold cup of tea with his brother, "I may have done some off the book checkings of your room. Where there were certain plans involving a gun."

I look down. What is that? Guilt? I thought all the guilt got trained out of me.

James curls his fingers under my chin, "You don't have to do it."

"Why?" My voice cracks as my eyes water. This is my purpose. My reason. Once it is done I can relax and live. "Why do you even hang around me if you knew?"

His violet eyes sparkle, "There's more to just an appearance. I like it though. Your boldness. I mean you left the plan in the middle of the room, no blinds or attempt to cover it." His cheeks color changes slowly to red, "When I looked closer, I didn't think of you as the cloak and dagger type."

I can't help but look at him, "Maybe you know my surface. But under it so much scarier."

He holds both hands now, letting the tiny knife cut into his palm, "I know your name. But I'd like to know your story."

Familiarity or Honesty. What do I want? WHat do I need?

"So what should I do?" I watch Wu as he scolds Garmadon, "How do I get out of something so deep?"

"Come with me," James says what? Run away, is it that easy? "Dawn, I have train tickets to Crystal Pass, it super remote. No one can find you there. No one knows you here." His thumbs rub small circles on my hands, "You could have a life."

Familiarity or Honesty.

I look back and forth. Wu and James. One is who I was made to be and one is who I could be. Chen is powerful but James is fulfilling.

"Give me a quick second." I take my hands back and keep on my path. I walk around a bit, pretend to go to the bathroom, talk a bit. Then I stand a few feet from Wu. Something Garmadon is saying is captivating him. I could do it. I could go back to the island, see Clover, win fights, learn and prosper.

Garmadon gets up to check on something, leaving Wu to look down at something. I step closer. Familiarity or Honesty. I pull my knife out a little more, so easy. So quick. Heck, if I hit him right, the police might blame the tea. I'm inches from him.

What is for me? Destiny's path or Chen's.

What is missing from my life?

What do I need?

Then it hits me like a brick.

Familiarity can carry me so far. It's what I want? To know when the next thing comes, how to do it and when.

What I need is honesty. I need something new. I need something a tad unpredictable.

I let the knife drop. I walk past him, him not even batting an eyelash of me. I leave the knife there, hopefully, he and his brother can trace it back to Chen and freeze his criminal empire more. I walk back to James, who only has a luggage cart with my stuff and a letter on it. I lick my lips and pick up the gun, "I do like rocks."

His smiles stretched ear to ear. He whoops and hollers as people give us looks.

Maybe I can have a good life? Maybe I can help instead of hurt? What could I do? Be a doctor? Mabey, mabey I can even have a little girl to keep the darkness at bay.

What my future could be is limitless.

{Location: Crystal Pass' mine.} (Seliel's POV)[Present day]

It's kinda hard to hear mom as Marci and I bash heads together. Mr. Nom stands high and mighty as I try and keep some guys pinned down. Victor stands over head and looks hesitant. I manage to push about three of them into a mine elevator and close them in then hold it close with a small rock. I look at Victor, Marci's got herself covered, she's quick and knows what she's doing. I think the snakes are cut off from here or have left. But need answers from the blonde menace. "So little spy, where's my information?"

Victor bites his lips and looks at Mr. Nom, "Can't say or he might get it."

I charge him with my kama, he blocks it all as I growl, "Why wouldn't he get it?"

Victor pulls back into a smaller more run down mine, "Because S.Q., he's not one for a misstep. He knew."

I aim for his ribs but his bat catches my blades, "So you did tell him."

"No," Victor looks a little sad as he guards drops, "I was a distraction."

He's not wrong. Now that I think about it, Victor never seemed to be mad when I was on his trail. Mr. Nom was the town grocer, he already knew my mom and me. Victor was a wild card. I stomp the ground and cross my kama over his neck, "Not cool. So everything you did was a waste? Doesn't that make you feel special."

"It doesn't." He gives me the smolder as loud cracks echo from the other fight, "I shouldn't have even thought about barging in back to your life."

"So why'd you come back?" I huff in my hot helmet. Why does this jerk do anything to me?

"I missed you."

Like that my rage melts like butter. He missed me? Why can't he just say that? Why do boys have to hide things like that? Or is he playing me for the long game? Or is this his real colors? I don't know. "It doesn't explain the stalking, the spying and the-"

"I KNOW!" His bottom lip quivers, "I went about it wrong. I'm sorry for that but once I get a taste of you, I'm addicted."

I lighten my grip. I don't forgive him. Victor can't make sense to me on any quantum level but somehow I get that. Just like how I used to not get enough of the Ninja. I hated it what I felt cut off from them. Maybe now's my chance to do what they couldn't...Stay.

I open my mouth to respond when a scream cuts through the cave. Marci. I guess she wasn't fast enough. I drop Victor and run. The other boys as knocked out but Mr. Nom is holding Marci's neck with one hand and reading his sword in the other. Mr. Nom is pushing Marci against the grey rocky wall, no room to move, nowhere to run.

I run forward, pulling out throwing stars and zeroing in on the target.

His sword then pushes through her right leg. It widens and tears the skin. That a lot of red.

"NOO!" I scream.

This can't happen again, can it?

No. I won't let Marci die from something like that. I won't let her die like Mom. I throw the stars at Mr. Nom, both hitting him on the face and in his hand holding the sword. He lets the sword and Marci go and hold his hand, "This is what you get for-"

I introduce his new cut to my brass knuckle, "Shut up." I twist around and pick up Marci. Who's a lot heavier than she looks.

Victor comes back as the boys in blue rush in. Some tackle Mr. Nom, Victor points me to an exit and I carry Marci's slowly limp body out. The clinic. It perfect. Untouched, and a gold mine of medicine.

Marci moans as the pace of my run jiggle the sword around, "Oh geez. Good gosh."

"Hold on." I make my way out of the mine and run across town, "Stick with me."