Nya walked at a brisk pace away from the city.

'Stop, ninja... Stop. Where are you going?

'What do you care snake?'

'I was sent to find you and find you I have. I must take you back'

'I can guarantee that I won't be welcome' she shouted back and then mumbled 'not after Jay tells them what happened' She stopped, just saying Jay's name made her feel sick. How long had they been together? Years... 7 years. All those years, growing up together, being friends and then more. All wasted. His face was etched on her mind. His look of pain and scorn was all because of her actions.

The serpent had caught her up 'I cannot leave you Ninja, you are my responsibility'

'If only you'd been around yesterday, you may have kept me on the right road to begin with, then all this wouldn't have happened'

'...ummm, I am not sure I can even keep you on the right road now ninja, because you are not doing as I ask'

'Phttt. Excuses!' Nya swiped her hand in the air and carried on. She felt like crap to her core. If the snake kept following her, he would keep getting abused, so if he knew what was good for him he'd get lost 'Still following me are you?'

'I am... For my sinsss'

'Huh... Well you can join me in hell then!'

Nya continued her walk out of the city and into the barren landscape to the South. The Serpent followed, a begrudged silence between them, until after hours of silence Nya cracked first 'what's your name snake?'

'Crick'

'Crick. You're Constrictai, right?' The serpent nodded 'If I annoy you enough, will you kill me? Squeeze me to death in my sleep?'

Crick rolled his eyes 'So, what you do, makes you talk like this? Why you want to die? Why you going to hell?'

'Don't be shy Crick, ask away...'

'...I just did!'

'Good lord! You Constrictai are pretty straight' Crick looked blank. Nya sighed and begrudgingly began her explanation 'I messed up. And so did the High Council actually'

'Well I don't believe this. You, yes. High Council, no'

'You better believe it buddy. They took Pythor at his word and told me to... do something I didn't want to'

Crick looked taken aback 'What was the thing?'

'... uh. Well it was... a kiss'

'A kiss? That's it? You didn't want to kiss a person. It was a person, yes?'

'Well it wasn't a frog! Yes, it was a person and I didn't... and did want to kiss them'

'Well if you did want to kiss them, then it is not our fault'

'God you're unbearable. Are all Constrictai like you?'

'No, not all like me. I am very special'

'You can say that again' Nya said sarcastically. She continued walking, they were deep into the desert now and by her reckoning they would soon be at the cave. As they rounded the butte she turned to Crick 'Would you mind waiting here?'

He gave her a sly look 'Can I trust you ninja?'

'Of course you can trust me Crick. I seem to be hotwired to do what you snakes tell me'

'Ok. Ten minutes. I come find you'

'Fine' Nya huffed and set off. The entrance to the cave was ahead. It had been a long time since she had been here. There had been no need. Now it was the only place she could go. Having left Crick settling down in a warm spot on a rock, she walked around the side of the butte and disappeared from sight.

Nya stood in the entrance of the long abandoned cave, partial fragments of raided out equipment were softly lit in the gloom, a fine layer of sand covering them. The memory of her once secret project was vivid in her mind again 'Why did I keep it secret?' she asked herself and walked forward into the space 'If I'd had more confidence then, would I have turned away from it? If I had more confidence, would I have needed it?'

The central floor was partly open to the sub levels and she went to the control panel to press the button to close it, but it had frozen up over time and the gears whirred and juddered, but could not shut the opening. She continued to the scaffold where her Samurai X mech once stood. The crane arms and lifting equipment hovered silently above. She remembered clambering around the structure, building a make believe version of herself. The thought of it coming to life under her command sent a wave of excitement through her. What she was then was impressive, but what she could be now? That vision sat clearly in front of her. Tempting her. It didn't need to try very hard and asked herself Was it my choice to walk this path? Past elementals were not always Ninja. I never thought to question this fact, which seems absurd now.

She looked up at the scaffold and imagined the Mech stood strong and gleaming and found she wanted to talk 'What was Sensei Wu's agenda? I asked him years before... before he passed. 'Togetherness' is all he said. He wanted me within the support structure of the Ninja clan, but he could still see you in me when he left us' Nya grew quiet and her mouth grew dry 'He... he pulled me to him and whispered in my ear 'To fight alone is to die alone" he said... 'I cried... I knew the truth in what he said and I cried because I still wanted it... Wanted you. Did he know?' She asked looking up at the empty scaffold 'Did he know my mind? The team thought I was crying for Wu. But I was crying for myself. And now I am alone. I bet he didn't see this...'

A hand touched her shoulder, Crick? But she knew in an instant it wasn't and her reaction was immediate. She grabbed the intruders wrist and slipped around it to pull the intruders chin onto her fist. Turning her body into the intruder she sent them over her hip, slamming them into the ground. Bracing their arm, she locked her leg over their body 'Get out of that Ronin!' Nya said with no small amount of glee and then released him.

'Hello to you too, sweetheart!' he wiped some blood from his split lip.

'You know Ronin, you could just announce yourself. Like knock or something!'

'It's the only way I can get you to touch me sweatheart!'

'Oh please... Ronin, you are such a...' Nya shook her head and tried not to smile, he really didn't need the encouragement.

Ronin stood up and followed Nya over to a bank of control panels. She began to open hatches, looking at the state of the wiring, pulling out bits of trash where desert rodents had long since evacuated their nests.

Ronin leant his hand on the panels next to where she worked 'Here alone I see?'

'The city has been levelled and that's all you can think to say to me?' Nya eyeballed him hoping to guilt him into some form of normal conversation and continued what she was doing.

'You know, if you're thinking about going solo, you might consider a new partner instead?' He moved his body behind her and leant on the panelling, trapping her between his arms.

Nya pursed her lips, muscling himself into her space seemed to be his primary concern at the moment so she turned around in his enforced trap, faced him and sighed 'Oh Ronin, you're so smooth, how can I resist you? It's all I've ever wanted; to sit next to you in Rex, take orders from you, say 'yes sir, Ronin sir''

'Somehow I don't think it would go down like that sweetheart'

Nya grinned 'You know it' and a spearhead rose up under Ronins chin. Nya ducked out from under Ronins' outstretched arms 'hi Crick, meet Ronin. Ronin, meet the end of Cricks spear!' Crick pushed the spear up and forced Ronin to move back.

'Ssstay away from the ninja, she is under my protection'

'Woah, don't get yer rattle in a twist man... snake...whatever'

'I am Constrictai, I have no rattle. You on the other hand, rattle when you walk. You have the sound of a thief'

'Sharp, this one' Ronin said to Nya, jerking his thumb at the serpent.

'It's ok Crick, I know Ronin. He is a thief and a letch, but he wouldn't dare ever try anything, would you?' Nya folded her arms and waited for his reply.

Ronin gave a small shrug 'Well, to be honest, I try everything, but not with you sweetheart' and gave her a wink.

'Ok, I think that's the best we're going to get' Nya lowered the spear from Ronins' face.

She headed out of the cave for some fresh air. Ronin followed with Crick close behind who watched him intently 'Jeez Crick, give a fella some space...'

'Don't worry Crick. Ronin plays a long game, if he's planning something, you'll never see it coming' Crick backed off and went back into the cave to look around.

'Thanks for the compliment Nya'

'That wasn't a compliment' they stopped outside the mouth of the cave, the sun was low on the horizon. In the glow of the last rays, spots of light travelled across the sky 'lanterns for the dead' Nya whispered.

'Yep, it is the day of the departed'

'It is?' Nya replied with quiet regret 'This day will forever hold a double meaning'

'Hmm. I'm sure the city was evacuated long before the explosion' He put his arm around her shoulder seeing her eye's welling with tears 'So what exactly happened?'

Nya had told Ronin the whole story as they sat around a campfire and the chain of events that led up to Lloyds' implosion. Crick had sat aside, but listened to every word.

'So you've lost Wu and Lloyd? That's bad luck'

'And Jay, in a way' Nya added sadly.

'But that was inevitable I suppose' Ronin said sympathetically.

'I don't know Ronin. I can't believe Lloyd is gone. Why would he have powers that would manipulate and... kill him? It just doesn't seem right and it's certainly not fair...'

Ronin stood. He took a kit bag from Rex and pulled out a sleeping bag. He unrolled it and lay it by the fire 'here ya go Nya. You have this'

'That's very... uh, chivalrous of you Ronin' Nya looked confused at his gesture.

'What?'

'It's very out of character'

'Hey sweetheart, I may not be the worlds' biggest softy, but I know when to be nice. You need a break... and I do care about you'

'You do?'

'Yes, so there you go... You just keep warm and I'll get some chow on the go'

Nya pulled the sleeping bag around her and over her head. She looked over to Crick, who was making some sort of burrow under the side of a large boulder. Hugging her knees, she felt grateful for her one old friend and one new friend. Where her family was and their fate was another thing, one that she did not want to know. If she didn't go looking, she could always think of them, as they should be, a team, brothers. They are strong together and had been from the start. They didn't need her, it was better she stayed away, the team would rebuild as if new.