{Location: Samurai X cave}(Willow's POV)

"We came as quick as we could." Morro charges in with his mask down and Katara holds out a fireball.

"Where's that little-?" Katara snuffs out her fire as the two race to us. Everyone other than Cole, myself and Seliel are on their phones.

I feel my ears redden as I attempt to keep my emotions in check. "Jezzie's gone."

"She also did this." Seliel holds out the glowy heart thingie. Morro looks disgusted as Katara's eyes widen in realization.

Cole huffs, he too is barely keeping his emotions in check, as he leans on the table. "Say something, I think you'll explode otherwise."

Katara then rapidly cusses Jezzie out in old Fay tongue. For a moment I go bright red from all the words.

"English please." Seliel rolls her eyes as Katara holds the heart.

"That mother flapper," Katara accidentally made her wings bigger up in rage.

"What is it?" Morro pokes the heart and Seliel twitches.

"Back when I wasn't good, Jezzie and I had several talks about possible dark magic. This is one I thought she was kidding about." Katara inspected it closely as everyone hangs up their phones and comes over to us. "I honestly never thought it's work."

"So what is it exactly?" Lloyd looks ready to explode.

"Keeping it brief, Jezzie has pulled Seliel's life force out and it magically created this. A physical representation of her as a person." Katara looks ready to make an inferno. "Because of that, Seliel can't die from anything."

Jay, looks angry as he lets little sparks fly, "What about a stab?"

"Nope." Katara rotates the heart in odd fascination.

Kai as he chews his lip in anger. "Drowning?"

"Nothing. Unless it happens to this." Katara heats her hand up slowly under it and Seliel shakes and starts sweating.

"So, Seliel basically immortal now?" Zane folds his arms.

"Not exactly. And she's more vulnerable in a way." Katara sighs, "A person is always led by their heart but if someone is commanding their heart." Katara gives the heart back to Seliel, who looks more like a robot the Zane and Pixel put together.

Seliel grabs the heart like a lifeline and holds it to her chest.

"Anything else?" I feel my hands twitch with anger.

"The victim can't feel any emotion until it's put back in."

"So," Cole's voice is boiling with rage, "This is partially your fault." His hand glows from lava and starts to melt part of the table.

Katara frowns and her wings disappear. "I thought it wasn't a possibility."

"But you also can't put it back either." Cole's face is red with anger as his hands bury deeper into the table.

Morro stands a little taller. "Leave her alone. At least we know the problem now."

"Are you saying that Seliel is a problem?" Cole's voice shakes.

"You know I'm not." Morro backs up into a fighting stance as the air swirls in the cave and the earth shakes beneath our feet.

"Stop it you two." Kai is for once rational and stands in between them. "This is what Jezzie wants. For us to fight, to become distracted and be unprepared. If we are going to win, we can't let her dived us."

"Kai is right." Skylor folds her arms. "We need to spend the next three days getting ready for the final battle."

Cole doesn't respond and just keeps melting the table.

"SO we keep Seliel's heart here and wrapped up. Bingo." Jay chuckles, trying to disrupt the sour mood.

Pixel takes that as a challenge, "We have no idea if that wrapping the heart in some kind of material could hurt Seliel or if her being too far from it could have any other damage." Pixel warns as Cole let small vibrations tremor the earth. Seliel looks at her heart, then at Cole, I think I see pain in her eyes from watching her boyfriend, thing, person, whatever they are together, getting angry. She taps Cole's shoulder and holds it up. Cole twists to face her as the lava disappears from his hands.

"Can you keep it safe for me?" Seliel doesn't show any emotion as she places it in Cole's cooling hands.

"You're giving this to me?" Cole changes from an angry face into a confused face as Seliel gently curls his hands around it.

Seliel tries to smile but still resembles a robot. "I trust you."

"I promise, this will get back in there," Cole points to her chest as he holds it softly in his other hand, "Somehow."

"You look ready to kill someone." Lloyd gently puts his hand in mine as Cole and Seliel touch foreheads.

"Yeah, Jezzie." I snarl despite the mild blush on my cheeks.

"We will defeat them. For now, we need to get ready." Nya rubs her temples then presses a few buttons, "I have a few training things we can use until Sensei and Misako pick us up." At the cave floor, a small gym is there with a punching bag and a few rope machines.

Zane also looks ready to explode. "We have little time, let's make the most of it."

This time, Jezzie had gone too far.

{Location: Samurai X cave}(Kit's POV)

I thought my father was heartless. Somehow, putting that word together with Seliel seems wrong. Seliel was smiley, relaxed and calm. Now she seems like a stone warrior.

"Focus Kit," Willy shouts as she practices her aim with Lloyd. I am so lost in thought I nearly was hit with an arrow.

"Yikes." I jump back. "Sorry."

"I've never seen you so lost in thought. What's wrong?" Kai is sparing with Skylor while Zane and Pixel give themselves upgrades. I think Jay and Nya are working on something with Seliel while Katara and Morro are flying laps outside. Cole is swinging his scythe around in the next room, letting off tons of steam.

"Why didn't I see that coming? I saw Katara die and the Phuka come. Why didn't I see this?" I want to pull my sword out, bust through every Phuka that would get in my way and fight Jezzie for what she did to my friend.

"You can't see everything Kitten. Nothing is written in stone until it happens." Willow looks compassion as she tries to heal my guilty feelings.

"And no one could have done anything." Skylor stops the match. "Jezzie's smart and knew how to get to us. It's no one's fault but hers."

"But, I could have looked into my sword or had a vision and-" I start tearing up as Lloyd squares my shoulders and has me look him in the eye.

Lloyd smiles. "We can't change the past, we can only improve for the future." He seems satisfied with this responds as it actually adds to my guilty weight.

Unless you're a master of time. I sigh as training continues.

{Location: Samurai X cave}[Midnight](Cole's POV)

So what if? My anxiety whispers as I quickly flop in my bed. It is comfy but I have Seliel's heart in a little net above my bunk. It is breathing and glows bright red, letting me know that she's alive but the darn thing is like a night light with how bright it is. SHUT UP! Forget it, I'm not going to sleep anytime soon. I quietly get out of bed and take her heart with me as I find the punching bag. I set her heart to the side on a small rack as the door slides shut behind me. I get in my stance and start punching. Left, left, right, right, left. I soon lose count of which hand goes next as I let loose. Heat seeps into my hands as I keep punching. Lava simmers down the bag as I feel like screaming of how unfair the situation is. Seliel is too wonderful for that to happen to her. It should have been me, IT'S NOT FAIR! I close my eyes as Jezzie's face bounces around in my head. I imagine hitting her face as the bag drops to the floor from the amount of lava eating away at it. But I am not done. I step over the bag and punch the metal backbone of the equipment.

I squeeze my eyes shut as Jezzie's voice taunts in my head. "You couldn't save her. Pathetic. What kind of man are you, hun? What kind of ninja are you?" I feel beads of sweat drip down my back but I am far from finished. I keep going until the structure has multiple holes and scorch marks in it. I pant as the lava fades away on my hands.

"OK, thanks, Dad." I hear Seliel's voice echo from another room. I carefully pick up her heart and walk to her. She sits in the middle of a carpet with dozens of acupuncture needles sticking in her forearms as well as around her. Around her is a small couch that looks like it's seen better days from how moth eaten the dull blue is. In front of her is a small t.v., I think she is playing, Free Willy, as I notice pictures of Crystal Pass around her.

Seliel takes deep breaths as I circle the couch to get a better view of her. "Come on," She pleads with herself and gently rockers herself. SNap! I step on a few needles and her violet eyes snap open. "Oh." That is the closest to disappointed she sounds.

"What are you doing awake?" I carefully step over more needles as she climbs up onto the sofa.

"I couldn't sleep." Seliel sighs like she was bored of everything. It hurts my heart that she can't even look at the world the same way now. "What about you?"

"Same." I sit next to her as she got that idea look in her eyes. She pushes me down and rolls her heart onto the floor carefully then kisses me. Her lips have a gentle pressure that reminds me of a butterfly flapping against me. Lips, cheeks, my neck, she keeps finding new places for her to place what should be passionate kisses. She keeps doing so despite me being covered in sweat. My body wants to hold her and make her feel something. But this is all wrong.

"Seliel," I sit up with her straddling me, "I don't think we should be doing that just yet."

"I know. It was just me trying.." Seliel looks close to tears as she can get.

I lift her chin up with my right hand, "To feel something?"

"Yes." She replies and yawns.

"Do you want to go to bed?" I carefully lean over and pick her heart of the floor as fatigue from my workout hits me.

"No. I don't think I can sleep in my bed." Seliel slips off of me as I curl in on the flatter part of the sofa.

"Me either." I position my body as I would in sleep as she crawls into the empty space next to me. "This is a comfy couch."

Seliel curls against my body as she gets small. She body is cold from being on the floor for so long. "I'm sure everyone will understand how we ended up like this." Seliel yawns once more as her head rests on my chest. I place her heart in between us as my eyes drop once, then twice to a close.

[The next day] (Willow's POV)

Badin. Badin. The world's most annoying alarm lays in the middle of the room, each girl is too tired to get it to shut up.

Katara buries her head in her pillow. "Don't want to wake up."

"Make it stop." Nya covers her ears. I slowly get up from my warm bed and slam my hand on the snooze button.

"FINALLY!" Kit rolls out and flops on the floor. Yesterday was a very nasty day and in two days Jezzie will wish she was never born.

"I'm starving." Skylor rubs her eyes as she gets up. "Who's cooking?"

I get up and stretch. "I'll see if we can get Zane to do it."

"Psst." Jay holds up a video camera outside our door, "You gotta see this." Jay snickers as he rushes down the hall.

"Knowing Jay it's probably just a Starfarer poster." I smile a bit as Jay quietly tells us to hurry up.

"Where's Seliel?" Skylor points to Seliel's empty bed. Her covers are toss up like she had a wrestling match with the sheets instead of sleeping.

"Oh," Kit yawns as we follow Jay. "So the footsteps in the middle of the night weren't a dream."

Jay quickly leads us into a rather small room, the boys are up and still in their PJs and snapping pictures of something on the couch.

"What's-" Nya starts then gets shhed by them. I peer over to see Cole and Seliel sound asleep on the more bed like part of the couch. They are cuddling as Seliel's heart pumps slowly. But they look at peace as they hold each other gently.

Katara smiles. "Oh, how adorable."

"They are cute," Kai smirks as he holds up a sharpie marker. "Let's prank 'em."

"I think these two have been through enough," Lloyd doesn't look convinced and fingers a marker of his own. "Let's try and wake them up."

Zane rubs their heads gently. "Good morning."

"Five more minutes Dad." Seliel moans and keeps resting on Cole.

Morro cracks a smile as Jay walks around, getting multiple shots in his camera. "Wake up sleepy heads."

"No. DOn't want to." Cole moans, then snaps his eyes open. "How long have you been watching?"

"And cut," Jay smirks as the red light on the camera blinks off.

Seliel sounds a bit embarrassed and tries to blushes a bit. "JAY!"

"Oh come on, it was adorable," I tease, "The way you two were all snuggled up together."

"Give me that camera." Seliel gets up as Cole leap over the couch to get to Jay.

"Nope. Finder's keeper's." Jay chuckles and tosses the camera to Nya. A game of keep away starts as Zane and Pixel start coffee and breakfast.

Alright, so I hope everyone had happy holidays. I'm sorry for not posting on my shorts book, the holidays had me running around like a headless chicken. So, why am I talking to you all lovely people today? Well, I have so big and kinda sad news. We have only 3 more chapters to go until the end. Next week, two chapters are coming out, the week after that will be the epilogue. So far this has been an amazing experience for me. I never could have asked for a better audience, I am incredibly blessed to have you all as my readers, voters, and commenters. Anway, I'll see you all next week. BYE!~W.R.