{Location: Chen's island}(Skylor's POV)

My eyes open to my room's ceiling. I growl lowly under my breath as I roll out of bed. It's been a few days since my last fight. And I have no idea how Sam's doing. I shuffle my feet to Clouse's study. I sit down, leaning against the door.

Across the hall, Clover stumbles out of his room. Missing his shirt as he trips over himself. He manages to stand up and come over to me, "Sleep ok?"

"Well, I found myself in bed," I look down, getting comfortable as I can on a hard wooden floor, "Which I don't remember going to last night."

Clover's face shifts to stoic, "You have been in that spot-"

"For a very good reason."

"Besides the point," He puts his hands on his hips, "You can't spend your life waiting for Clouse to appear with a magical solution and save-"

I get on my slipperless feet, "That's not why I'm here. I am not hiding from anything. I just need to know she's ok."

"Yeah but your father-"

"Screw him," I don't care what he thinks about me now. I don't care about him or whatever he might threaten me with. "What if it was me in there? How long would you wait for an answer? Even if my condition was bad, you'd still be waiting." My eyes release these weird drops of water. Tears? I only have cried when I got hurt from father in our 'correction' time. But I can't seem to control these ones even if they are hard to see, "It's better to know anything then nothing."

Clover exhales deeply, "You're stubborn."

"And you're a worrywart." I sit back down. "You can't make me leave. I'll keep coming back until I know something about how she's doing."

"Fine. I guess that means I'm grabbing you breakfast after I head out for a search party on a recent escapee." Clover's gentle smile returns, "What do you want?"

"Pancakes, oranges and yogurt." I lean my head back against the door.

Clover heads downstairs, "You're getting oyster crackers, and milk."

I don't respond. Just wait for what seems like a while until I can feel the door trying to open behind me. Clouse sighs as he stops pulling on the door, "Skylor-"

"I'm not leaving," I fold my arms.

"I thought that your father wanted you downstairs for breakfast." Clouse moans. He's been staying up a lot longer at night the normal, "Please leave."

"No." I rub my eyes, "I got kicked out last night but I won't leave until you tell me what you're doing with my friend." I haven't gotten anything for three days, I've stayed on this floor with only Clover delivering me food and messages from my Mom and Father. "Is she still alive? I just need to know if-"

Clouse grones loudly, "I mean leave as in getting off the door so I can let you in."

"Oh," Well that was easy. I stand up as the door swings open. I bite my lower lip, "Sorry."

Clouse's normal deep purple bags under his eyes are far bigger now, his low ponytail is gone, replaced with frizzy hair, his face, on the other hand, has a lot more stress lines than the last time I saw him. Clouse covers his mouth, "Well? Are you coming?" He turns on his heel. Inside his study, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I've never liked it in here, it's just creepy in here. Where his book stand is, a yellow glow covered by a sheet in the shape of a young woman lays there instead. Clouse extends his hands over her but they shake from exertion, "Samantha is alive. Bearly."

I breathe out a tight stress ball that even I didn't know I was carrying.

"But my dark magic doesn't work too well," he makes a face like he swallowed a lemon, "with healing magic. Eather Ninjagoin or otherwise."

Otherwise? I'll have to ask about that later, "So you can keep her alive?"

"Not for long." He stops, his hands still shaking, "Truth be told, I don't think there's any magic that can bring back the dead." His lips curl up in a faint sneer, "I'm just buying her time while she's wasting mine. I can't stay awake to keep her body from natural-"

"What do you need?" I can't stop my mouth. What am I saying? I'm in enough hot water with my Father for not appearing the last few days. I don't need more eyes on me, "How can I help her?"

Clouse folds his arms as he strokes his chin, "There might be a way," He snaps his fingers and a scroll appears, flying in mid-air, "Ever hear of something called the elemental heart?"

I nod. He looks at me skeptically. I glance at Sam, "I'd rather not explain how I know."

"Fire," he opens the scroll, "Your ancestor hid the gem somewhere in Ninjago then used the power of earth to separate that part," His eyelids drop then snap open a few times, "And with me seeing your mother with my own eyes, I believe it's here."

"What's this gotta do with anything? Big woop, a magic rock that can take and give power." My tone comes across more sad and disheartening then sarcastic.

Clouse holds the scroll in his own hands, "I also have other accounts of when the first spinjutzu master gave the elemental power, he saved them from the brink of death," Oh so that's what he's going on about, "It is possible to use the last element to save your friend." The scroll disappears as he shifts his feet, "That is if you can find an artifact that had eluded your father for 39 years."

"I'll do it," I need to change first. Get good running shoes, my crossbow, "How long does she have?"

Clouse smirks while stroking his facial hair, "I estimate, 6 hours at the least. Bring the heart back before that and changes are higher that she'll-"

I don't wait for him to finish. I zip back to my room, "Sorry, gotta a near impossible task to do."

I can do this.

I got Sam into this mess and I will get her out.

Screw whatever consequences come out of it.

(Violet's POV)

I lean against a palm tree but even with the power of speed, I'm no closer to safety. Ever since Clouse let Chen know about the island's little visitor, I've been hunted like a dog. Only getting a few hours of sleep a night.

But I'm not going back. I won't go back to that cage.

I won't be- SNAP!

My skin shifts to medal as I stare straight ahead. Someone's there. I step up slowly, changing the metal skin into fire in my hands. I throw a fireball at the tree, making Clover pop out the other side. I sigh as I thirst for water, "Clover," I put out the tree fire, "Don't scare me like that."

Clover covers his chest, "Sorry," He holds a crossbow and two quivers in a near shirtless island uniform, "I just had to be quite from my search party. Chen's got dozens rooming about."

"Oh really," I crouch below a bush, trying to hide from the sun, "I haven't noticed."

"So what's the plan?" Clover crouches too as he loads up his crossbow, "You can't run and hide forever."

"I'm not planning on it," I grip my fist as I can already hear more men coming around the bend. I pound the sand below me, "I need that elemental heart." A plan pieces together in my tired mind.

"How?" Clover holds his arms in a w position, "There are more guards awake more than ever, the first massive search party, and last I saw Chen's out an about now."

"So no Clouse," I smirk as I look for a hiding spot in the trees.

"Didn't you hear? You're not gonna last long on the island, Violet. We need to-"

"Hold that thought," I use the power of shadow, disappearing high up into the tree leafs. I stay as hidden as I can as I peek out of a small triangle made by the leafs.

Clover gets up, "Violet," he hush shouts my name, "This is no time to play hide and seek."

Behind him, a search party of tow men and Chen point and softly snicker under their breath.

One man has a nasty scar over his eye, "Hey Unlucky Clover." He sticks the bottom end of his spear into the ground, "You seem far away from your party."

Clover's cheeks flash red as he fumbles with his weapons, "I..um. Hey, hi!" He turns around, covering his left shoulder with his right hand, "I was um..."

"Slacking off?" Chen sneers.

I feel my fists ball on their own. I want to bury him in the earth, crush him with vines or even shock him for a few hours. But I can't. He has the numbers, I don't.

Clover drops his crossbow and sticks his hands in his pockets. "N-No. I..um.." He points downwards, "Was gonna.."

"Oh," Chen makes a sour face, "Let's move on."

Clover waits until he and his minions are long gone. He looks up at me, "You couldn't tell me that guy, who's empire we're trying to bring down, was behind me?!"

"I could have but he would have heard of me." I tuck my hair behind my ear, "Come on, I need to get to the elemental heart."

"But how?" Clover retrieves his bow, "Literally the entire island is looking for you. So how are you going to get into the prisoner level, where there are dozens of guards down there."

I smirk as I put something together in my tired mind, "I'll need one heck of a distraction."

"Like what fireworks?"

"No." I fold my arms, smiling in thinking of such a simple plan. "What if a guy purposefully distracted and kept all the search parties at bay while I retrieved the elemental heart."

Clover rolls his eyes, "Who's gonna do that?"

3.

2.

1.

His smirky face drops, "Oh." His shoulders drop, "How long do you need?"

"Five, ten minutes. You'll know when."

I ready myself to use the power of earth despite my eyesight blurring in and out until Clover touches my shoulder. "How about we take a shortcut? Ya know, so you can save your strength."

I nod, "You know the way?"

"Yeah," Clover heads into the jungle, "Chen's obsession with trap doors has extended to secret passageways."

I stay quite, carefully watching where I step.

Until Clover starts muttering.

"Something you wanna talk about?"

"It's nothing."

Good. It's better that we stay quiet.

Clover sighs as he wipes his brown from the humid air, "No. This has been bugging me for a while." He steps back so we're side by side, "Why'd Chen put you in that cage? He could have imprisoned you anywhere."

"Not exactly." I jump onto a dead tree trunk, helping Clover up, "None of the cells on the island for the factory is made of vengstone and by the time I became a problem, it was too late to change the construction." I wish I had water. I don't mean with the water I can pull from the trees with the power of nature or water. I mean like an icy cold bottled water. Now that would be perfect on a blazing hot day like today, "So I'd still have my powers."

"So why that little baby island?" Clover jumps off, landing in mud, "Chen tends to keep only things he thinks are useful to him on hand."

I jump off as the trees and bushes start clearing out, making a path to the palace, "In a few ways I was still useful. If the elemental alliance ever rose up again, easy leverage right at the fingertips."

"Ok," Clover looks ahead for guards, "But then why not build a vengstone cage in the palace? Way easier to get to."

I want to freeze in my step. Or to not talk about this. But I honestly don't care about what he thinks of my past. I just need that elemental heart. "I think he wanted me to suffer. I was married to him only for the purpose of spying on him. But other the Garmadon switching sides, Chen has never been betrayed before."

Clover frowns, "What about another girl-"

"She kinda got me into this," I want to button my lip as the bright red walls come into view. But I kinda want this off my chest, "When she was a stupid little girl, long before I came to the island. She messed with Clouse's black magic. Cursed the next 'lover' over Chen. She chose her words poorly." Her name is Dawn. Dawn Qourzstone. "Basically making me blind if I were to ever leave the island," All those nights, being cold in that cage and not knowing what might happen to me in such a small space, still sends chills down my spine.

Clover lightly taps his forehead as we sneck into the early quite palace, "And that baby island isn't part of the chain."

"Yup," I growl. Mabey after Chen, I'll track down Dawn and give her a piece of my mind, "But he owns the sea space around here. So the Ninjago higher-ups couldn't touch it if they wanted to."

I look around the corner, gently pushing open the door when Clover wraps his arms around me. Holding me tight, "I am so sorry for that."

"Um..thanks." I push him off of me, my mind fully on my goal.

"Sorry," he whispers as we head into the cool palace, "Skylor was a hugger whenever she got really upset. Thought it was genetic."

"Thought wrong." I hide behind the pillars but it seems like no one's here.

Clover stands next to a snake statue, pulling on the lower right arm, "Here." A door slides behind the wall, showing a dark passageway, "Now, I can't help with any other entrances down there. But I can cover this one. How long do you think you're gonna be."

I pull up my mask, even though I plan on using the power of light to stay invisible, "Just in and out. No muss. No fuss." I zip in, my first few steps echoing down the halls but becoming quieter and I head into the depths of the earth.

But everything in me wants to go fast.

To get that elemental heart and worry about everything else second.