***(Kai's POV)***

I finger my glass of champagne between my fingers, crossing my arms before my chest. "Some party." More like boring celebrity-wannabe shindig.

My agent nods eagerly. "It's a charity bash held by the mayor, but the travel company sending you as a representative is a great publicity move for us."

"Yeah." I clear my throat, handing over my champagne glass. "Listen, I'm going to go check out the buffet." The only thing entertaining about this gathering is watching the mayor's staff get sloshed over there anyway.

My agent tries to get a word in before I leave, but I push my way over to the buffet, snatching a grape off its bunch. I think grapes are the only snack I can even recognize at this table. Eesh, when did cheese and crackers go out of style as party food?

"Well, hey, stranger," says a smooth voice from behind me.

I pop another grape in my mouth as a shudder runs down my spine. That couldn't be...

I turn to the side. "Can I help you?"

Haughty brown eyes and smooth platinum-blonde hair meet my sight. "Why, Kai, darling, it's me, Mia!"

I turn back toward the grapes. "I know. I just don't know why you'd have anything to say to me unless you needed help." I pop a squishy grape off its stem, then hold out my hand to offer it to her.

She gives the fruit a slightly disgusted look, then stares up at me through long lashes. "Oh, given our history, I think I at least deserve some civility, don't you?"

"We don't have a history." Eager to avoid a conversation, I grab the nearest hors d'oeuvre and stuff it in my mouth. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good look at it first, and it tastes like...some combination of a Ritz cracker and shrimp dip?

I do my best not to spew it all over Mia's glamorous blue gown – no need to entangle myself with her any more than she already has planned.

Blowing chunks on her dress wasn't a bad idea in itself, though.

She laughs as though I'm hilarious. "Oh, Kai, mind your manners, would you? We're in public." She leans up close to my ear and whispers, her breath hot against my cheek, "You can save the private lines for later, though."

I struggle to swallow my cracker. "Mmhmm." I jerk away from her and turn toward the buffet table, snatching the nearest item that resembles a drink. I end up grabbing a clear bubbly liquid and attempting to down the whole goblet in one gulp.

It makes my face scrunch up. What is this stuff?

Oh heck no. It's soda water.

I try to swallow, but it burns the back of my throat. Add to that the disgusting flavor of that unidentified food item in my mouth, and I'm already set up for disaster.

~Music Cue~

My eyes dart desperately around the room, searching somewhere for a bathroom or a water fountain or anything to go spew this mess in. As I frantically search for some escape, I catch the train of a black A-line gown silhouetting the figure of a lady.

Of course, I have more important things to do than check out some fancy benefactress attending the mayor's party, but a flash of perfectly arranged red curls catch my eye.

All the contents I was struggling to swallow burst out at once. I vaguely hear a pitiful squeal in front of me, but it means nothing as I stare dazed at my ex-fiancée gliding across the ballroom like royalty.

"Skylor!" I blurt, astonished.

"Kai, you got seltzer water all over me!" Mia whines. "And – eww! What even is this stuff?!"

I absently grab the edge of the tablecloth and shove it in her direction. "Sorry...sorry about that." My feet take small steps forward of their own volition, and I stumble as I stare after Skylor.

She's the most gorgeous girl in the room.

She always was, though, so I don't know why that surprises me. There's just something in the way she carries herself, the way she tilts her chin and deems whether a guy is worthy of acknowledgment – that's always set her apart.

I try to pick my jaw back up off the floor and follow her so I can get a better look.

It's been two years, but somehow she looks even more beautifully elegant than before. She's filled out a bit in all the right places, her minimalist makeup emphasizes her natural beauty, and her stride is somehow deliberate yet smooth.

I've always known she was too good for me even though we looked like the perfect couple.

And I've never found anyone who's ever struck me quite the way she has.

"What's got your eye?" my agent asks, appearing at my side. "You look like you've seen a – "

"Ghost," I swallow, suddenly parched for thirst. "A ghost from my past." Holy heck, if that really is a ghost, I wouldn't mind dying myself.

I snap out of my trance and immediately stride across the floor in her direction. What is she doing here? Does this have something to do with her father's company? Maybe she donates to various organizations to reroute her tax money?

A thousand lines of conversation run through my head. Sorry, but you owe me a drink – when I looked at you, I dropped mine. If I followed you home, would you keep me? If you were a booger, I'd pick you first.

Yet right as I approach, my conscience finally manages to scream through my stupid thick head that she still hates me.

Oh, right.

I realize that just a moment too late.

Her disinterested face swivels toward me in slow motion, her eyes lighting in astonishment, then interest, then burning anger as she catches sight of me.

Busted.

I can't help the next words that come out of my mouth. "There must be something wrong with my eyes. I can't take them off you."

No, no, no! Stupid pickup line, stupid pickup line, stupid –

Her lips turn down in a decided frown, and she marches toward me, one slender finger jabbing into my chest.

I've somehow missed the feeling of her chewing me out.

"Kai Smith, what the crick are you doing here?" she hisses, face alight with fire.

"Crick?" I ask, completely confused by both her presence here and choice of language.

She waves me off. "Just answer the question, you sniveling dingbat. There are far more suitable places for sleaze-rats like you than a charity ball."

"I..." Forgot I turned to mush when all your attention was directed at me like this.

"Well?" she demands, replacing her pointed finger with a fist around my tie. She tugs my head down so we're at eye-level. Lip level.

I slowly place one of my own hands around hers, gently extracting her fingers from around my tie. I don't miss the way her hand jumps at my touch.

Guess I've still got it in me.

Or she just hates me. You know, she probably just hates me.

"A little feisty for our first time seeing each other in two years," I grin, flashing my pearly white teeth at her in the way she always liked back when we were together.

She doesn't react. "Kai Smith, get your fancy little suit-jacketed-self out of here before I – "

I clear my throat, placing a finger to her lips smoothly. "You're making a scene, if you haven't realized yet."

Guilty eyes suddenly leave my face to peer around the room, and her cheeks dust with a blush pink. "I – er –,"

I send a charming smile at the couple beside us. "She's still holding me to that dance she never got with me at our last party, sorry." And with that, I take Skylor's hand in mine and slide my other arm around her defined waist. I use the motion to pull her closer to my chest.

It makes me catch a whiff of jasmine-scented shampoo. She always used to wear a strawberry scent, but I have to admit that I enjoy the change.

"What are you doing?" she snaps, beginning to shove me away.

"Saving face, Skye," I whisper, placing my chin right above her head. "You're making a bit of a bad impression, don't you think?"

She tenses and mumbles something that sounds decidedly rude under her breath, but instead of wriggling away, she places her free hand on my shoulder.

I smile. Right where I want you.

"Two years have treated you well," I murmur, lowering my voice's timbre to one she always used to like. "You look sexy."

"And if you haven't forgotten, I don't need flattery to help me make a decision when it comes to my opinion of you," she snaps. "Why the heck are you here?"

Ow.

"New job," I say nonchalantly. "Ever heard of the travel company Voyager?"

"Yes," she says plainly. "I don't live under a rock, Kai Smith."

I chuckle and pull her the tiniest bit closer. "I'm their lead model now." I let that hang for a moment and soak in.

Instead of the impressed reaction I was expecting, however, she sputters. "By gosh, I forgot how selfish you were."

My eyes widen. "Um...excuse me?"

"You're an egocentric, self-obsessed, dirty, low-down – "

"Hey!" I complain. "I'm not dirty. But now...self-obsessed?" I smirk. "Who wouldn't be with looks like –,"

"Whatever," she huffs, halting right there in the middle of the dance floor and extracting herself from my arms. "I wish you hadn't come, Kai Smith."

"Hurts to remember what you used to have?" I smile enticingly.

Hardened eyes stare back at me. "Actually, it hurts to remember how stupid I was as a teenager." She shakes her head. "Have fun with your modeling gig, Kai. I'm glad you found a superficial job to suit your superficial life." And with that, she pivots and begins marching toward the exit.

I panic, images of her leaving last time resurfacing in my mind. "Wait – Skylor!" I stumble over my own feet, but I manage to catch my balance and chase after her.

"Don't even try it, Kai!" she snaps. "You're nothing to me – in fact, you're worse than nothing." She continues her march away.

Nothing? I can't help that. Worse than nothing, though – at least that means I still mean something to her, even if it's something bad. I can work with that.

I shove open the exit door right on her tail. "Skye, just give me a chance here to – "

Yet the ground beneath me begins to tremble violently right as a giant hunk of metal comes into view.

***(Skylor's POV)***

A metal fist collides with the street in front of me, and I stumble backwards as the ground shakes. A pair of warm arms wrap around me and tug me back toward the doors.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Kai demands, his voice a roar beside my ear.

I shake my head in disbelief as a metal foot rises into the air, then comes down onto the pavement with fury. The ground shakes again, this time harder, and Kai topples backward. I land on top of him in a heap.

I snap out of my daze and use my elemental power of smoke to teleport and untangle myself from my ex. I need a better vantage point of the target so we can figure out how to –

Holy smokes.

As I reappear in the street, I see an enormous metal android step toward me on wobbly feet. It slowly and clumsily pulls one hand in toward its shiny chest.

Well, I suppose this isn't the strangest thing I've ever seen. Given that I was kidnapped as a senior in high school and nearly sold into marriage to a forty-year-old villain, nothing shakes me much anymore.

"Must...destroy," the creature says in a low tone, swiveling its head toward me in a punctuated manner.

"Destroy what?" I ask, trying to take control of the situation. "What do you want to destroy?"

"Enemies...of...Unagami," it replies. "Where...are...they?"

"I...don't know," I frown. "Where did you come from?"

"P-Prime – "

"What are you doing?" Kai yells from the creature's other side, shooting a ball of fire at it. "Get away from that thing, Skylor!"

The fire collides with the android's side, and it slowly turns toward the source of heat that collides with its back. Kai launches another blast of fire at it, but the android dodges it with a stinted step forward.

"E-enemy...detected," it declares. "Stand...down."

"You're not making any progress, Kai!" I snap, opting for an ice attack instead. I run toward the creature from behind and extend my arms toward it, watching as moisture forms in my palms, then ice crystals, then a full-on stream of ice. I direct it at the android's feet before it can take another step and –

Bam!

The robot slams its fists into the ground, causing the entire road to shake from the force. I go flying backward. Scrambling to practice a power long out of use, I propel myself upward with gravity and manage to avoid flying into a parked vehicle.

Too close for comfort.

Right as I rescue myself from certain death, I hear a deafening creak from the building beside us.

Oh, no.

The mayor's charity party!

I drop to the ground, then use the power of speed to race toward the structure. "Kai, we have to get everyone out of there! It's going to fall!"

"I would if I could," he grunts, making a leap for the iron android. "I'll cover you, Skye!"

I reach the edifice right as one of the supportive pillars out front begins to crumble. Out of instinct, I take on the power of metal and leap forward, catching the edge of the building and managing to uphold it.

Barely.

My arms tremble under the weight of the building, and I grunt. "Kai, leave it alone! We have to get these people out of here – I don't know how long I can hold this up!"

"I'm trying to disarm it, Skylor!" he shouts back. Simultaneously, the ground rocks with the force of another blast. An ugly rumbling noise sounds all around us.

My grip on the crumbling structure falters, and I cry out in more anguish than anything. There are innocent people – good people who give all they have to help others – stuck in there.

Only the good die young.

Kai yelps, and I clench my eyes shut at the pain I'm sure he's experiencing. It's been a long time since I've seen him fight, but it always ignites something in me to see him laying down his life for the good of others.

My knees buckle, and I feel my hold on the building give out. I scream and wait for the pain to set in...

But it never does.

My eyes snap open.

Cole Brookstone stands before me, using his element of earth to support the collapsing building. I blink in surprise and relief, then immediately look toward the doors.

The party.

I stumble toward the doors right as I see a familiar yet long-unseen form yank open one glass exit.

"Everyone out!" Nya commands.