The darkness surrounding me was thick and heavy. Reaching my hand out, I felt something hard, cold, and slightly damp. I groped at the rock wall, feeling my way forward. Scuttling feet rushed past me and I froze, my heart in my mouth. I dared not move. I sensed more than saw the presence of another being with me in the cave.

"You can't hide from me."

My skin crawled as the voice echoed around me. Whatever or whoever was close to me moved quickly past me, close enough to brush past me. Something cold and sharp pressed against my throat. I couldn't move. The blade pressed harder against my skin until I felt something warm and wet trickling down my neck.

"What do you want?" I croaked.

"Reparation for what you took from me," a feminine voice responded. The cave was suddenly washed in a strange, green glow and I instantly recognized who was in front of me. The gold hair. The ghostly white skin. A scream died in my throat as more pressure was applied to my neck and the world turned black again.

I gasped for breath as I regained consciousness. I sat upright in bed for a moment, recovering my composure. Anxiously, I ran my hands up and down my neck, checking for any injury. But none could be found. Relaxing slightly, I flopped back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. My tank top was drenched in sweat, whether from my nightmare or the sweltering heat of the monastery, I wasn't sure. Nights had been quite hot lately, and the lack of air conditioning in the monastery was a bit of an annoyance. I slid out of bed, and after rummaging through my dresser, peeled off my sweaty tank top and changed into a sports bra.

I closed my eyes again, yearning for sleep. But the second my lids dropped, all I could see was her. That evil, malicious look in her eye. The devious grin on her face. She wanted to kill me: plain and clear. My throat tightened and my hand flew to it again, as if feeling the ghost of a blade trailing along my neckline. I tossed and turned for another twenty minutes before I realized any further attempts at sleep, at least for the moment, were futile. Sighing, I slowly climbed out of bed and padded down the hallway. I just needed some fresh air.

The cool night breeze welcomed me as I stepped out into the monastery courtyard. I took a deep breath, feeling myself relax already. I gazed up at the night sky, thousands of tiny stars winked down at me. I smiled to myself as I was struck with an idea.

I clambered nimbly up on of the support poles on the portico. Once on the roof, I carefully made my way to the center, only to find it was already occupied.

I began to slowly back away, not wanting to intrude, but the roof creaked under me, and he jerked towards me. Clearly he wasn't expecting anyone to be up here, either.

Cole just kinda stared at me for a minute. I assumed he was only caught off guard, but I quickly remembered what I was wearing. How inconvenient.

Instinctively my arms wrapped around my waist in an attempt to hide my body and I nervously cleared my throat, "You couldn't sleep either?"

He shook off his trance before answering, "Uh, yeah. It can get a little stuffy in there."

I nodded silently in response, "I-I'll go. I don't want to disturb you..."

"No, no. You're fine," Cole patted a spot on the roof next to him, "Join me?"

Shrugging, I made my way over next to the Earth Ninja and sat down.

"Betcha never got a view like this in the city," Cole remarked, a hint of smugness in his tone.

I smiled in spite of myself, "Nah. Not by a long shot."

Silence enveloped us. It was almost comfortable, strangely.

Cole broke it first, "So, insomnia?"

I hesitated before answering, "No... It's been a long time since I've suffered from that. Just a bad dream is all."

It was quiet again for a long time. I listened to the night sounds around me: the clouds moving overhead, an owl perched not far away, the breeze rustling through the few sturdy trees that grew just outside the monastery walls. Cole was so silent next to me that for a moment, I was afraid he had fallen asleep and would tumble off the roof. But the thought was dismissed as Cole spoke again.

"Celine... back on the Island... I- I didn't mean to make you so uncomfortable. I wasn't thinking, and I'm sorry for crossing your boundaries."

"It's fine, really," I replied bluntly.

"No, it's not. Every time I try to apologize for something, you brush it off like it's no big deal, but I know it is. Why do you do that?" he pressed.

I stared off into the night before speaking. "Words mean nothing to me. The way I grew up, the way I was raised; I've had too many people tell me things and then turn around and do or say the exact opposite. Actions speak louder than words, and I've learned that words are just that: words. Noise. Sound. I do believe that you're sorry because of how you've acted towards me, so you don't have to verbalize it."

"Oh. Okay."

Another few moments of silence past, but this time I was the one to speak. "I- I'm sorry for reacting the way I did, on the island."

Cole cocked his head. "What do you mean? You don't have to apologize."

"No, I do. It wasn't fair to you. And- it wasn't a true reflection of how I feel," I murmured.

"How so?" he pressed.

"Well... I don't find you disgusting or repulsive, which you might have thought from how I reacted."

Cole laughed lightly, "That's good to know." He leaned over and bumped his shoulder into mine. "And I don't hate you, you know?"

"I knew that," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Just wanted to be sure. I'm sorry if I've come across as rude or cold in the past."

I sighed, "Me too."

We sat in comfortable silence, enjoying one another's company. A strangely feather-light touch on my hand cause me to glance down. Cole's hand rested on mine, and I snuck a glimpse at his face, but he continued to focus on the sky beyond us.

Butterflies erupted in my chest, and for once, I let them. I didn't try to quell the emotions raging inside me. I was quite honestly simply content to sit in the moment. I knew it wouldn't last, but maybe, just maybe, I would let myself have the little spark of hope, that perhaps someday, things might work out okay for me.

Neither of us said a word about what happened when morning came. Part of me wondered, once again, if that tiny moment had even happened. But I decided to listen to Misako's advice. This time would be different.

Master Wu had suggested that I spend more time training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as the techniques in that particular style of martial arts relied more on using leverage and weight distribution to take down an opponent rather than being stronger than them. Master Wu made a point of letting me know that I was the smallest member of the team, but that shouldn't mean I couldn't take on the largest member, and win.

The one hiccup in that idea was that I needed to train with someone. And right now, the other two ninja were way too intent on beating their own high scores on Prime Empire.

I poked my head into the monastery lounge. Kai, Cole, and Ray were sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the screen in front of them.

I cleared my throat, "I hate to be a bother, but it would be great if someone would be my sparring partner. We are still supposed to be on call if another energy surge hits the city."

"I'm just about to beat my high score and kick my Dad's behind. Maybe later, Celine," Kai dismissed.

I glanced tentatively at Cole. He caught my eye and set his controller down.

"I'll help."

In the courtyard, we ran through a few basic wrist grabs. It still surprised me how easily I could free myself when I found the right angle, even with Cole's iron grip.

"Have you learned the guillotine choke yet?" Cole asked as we took a quick water break.

"Cole, I've been in Anacondrai cults and biker gangs. I know how to choke somebody out," I stated matter-of-factly. "But yes, Nya and I were working on the rear naked chokes a week or so ago."

"Good," Cole nodded. "Did you guys work on if the attacker is charging you?"

"I think once or twice," I hesitated, recalling the previous exercises. "Wouldn't hurt to keep working on it, though."

"Alright then," Cole walked a few paces off and faced me. "We'll start slow, but I'll come at you and I want you to brace my shoulders with your arms, then duck my head down with one hand and quickly wrap your other arm around in a choke hold."

Cole started towards me and I braced myself, establishing my base. As I reached me, I stretched my arms out and held his shoulders, keeping him at arm's length. Moving as quickly and carefully as possible, I removed one and placed it at the nape of his neck, ducking his head down towards the side of my body. In the same instant, I used my other hand to loop around his neck. I grabbed that wrist with my first hand and brought my legs under me, pulling upwards slightly from my hips and dragging Cole's neck up with it.

He let a moment pass before tapping out and I released my grip.

"Very good," he commented. "Let's go again."

We had run the drill a few more times when Cole suggested adding a bit of a modification.

"If I keep my momentum going, you're best option is to take things to the floor. It starts out the same, but once you're in the original position, you're going to take two steps in, then squat down and shoot back on the ground. Then you're going to wrap your legs around my waist. Once you've done that, pull up with your hips and push down with your legs, then pull up with your choke."

As I set up my base again, I nodded, "Ready."

Cole came at me again, and I ran through the moves once more. Bracing my arms against his shoulders to keep him at a comfortable distance, bowing his head down and wrapping my arm around his neck, and grabbing my wrist to keep the choke in place.

"Alright, go for the modification," Cole rasped.

I took a deep breath and went for it. I squatted down and shot myself backwards across the ground. Wrapping my legs around Cole's waist, I lifted my hips up and pushed out with my legs while pulling my choke upwards. My heart raced at the closeness of our bodies, my pulse seemed to beat at such a rapid rate I wondered if Cole could hear it. Cole tapped out and I quickly released my hold on his neck and he staggered to his feet.

He coughed and rubbed his neck. "And I thought I had an iron grip," he teased.

I rolled my eyes, "Don't flatter me."

"I'm being absolutely serious, you've got some serious grip strength. Anyone dumb enough to try and take you on has definitely got it coming. Shall we run it again?"

We ran through the drill a few more times before I heard Kai's footsteps echoed through the ground of the monastery courtyard. I ignored them, but as I took Cole to the ground again, his interruption was absolutely uncalled for.

"Woah. I think I missed something."

My face burned in embarrassment and I glared daggers at Kai, "It's Brazilian Jujitsu, get your mind out of the freakin' gutter."

"So long as your being safe about it," he muttered.

"That's it, you're getting cracked." I released my grip and wriggled out from under Cole. Leaping onto Kai's back, my arms circled his neck in a guillotine choke. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my heels dug into the inside of his thigh, hooking in so I wasn't going anywhere.

"What the?" he clawed at my arms, but I held fast, gradually increasing pressure.

"Tap out!" Cole called from across the courtyard.

"Never!" Came the croak from the fire ninja. He went down on his back and I grunted at the weight suddenly bearing down on me, but I refused to give. Kai continued to writhe for a moment before his body suddenly went limp. Quickly, I released my grip, trying to squirm from beneath Kai's unconscious body. Cole hurried over and rolled him off of me.

I knelt beside Kai, lightly slapping his face, "Kai! You idiot! You shoulda tapped out when you had the chance."

"He'll be fine," Cole dismissed. "Excellent application of a rear naked choke, though," he grinned.

Kai's eyes flew open and he gasped for air. He coughed, sucking in a ragged breath before turning to me, "I'll have to admit, that was one heck of a take down."

I grinned in spite of myself. "Why thank you. I'd be glad to do it again if you make another comment like that."

"I think I'll pass," Kai replied sheepishly. "Anyway, Dad and I kinda need the training space. Master Wu wanted us to spar as current and former Masters of Fire for his little research project."

"Suit yourself. I think we've done enough training for now, anyways." I stood and strode back into the monastery, Cole trailed behind me, shooting a scathing expression at Kai as he did so.

As I walked into the monastery, I froze, turning to Cole, "The radio in the Hangar Bay is going off."

We hurried down the elevator and rushed for the radio where I could just make out Pixal's voice.

"Anyone? Come in!"

"Pixal!" we chorused as we reached the radio and dispatched our response.

"Finally. Thank the Master," Pixal replied crackled.

Nya's voice broke in, "Cole, Celine, there's no time. You have to listen. We're at the Island of the Keepers, looking for the Storm Amulet. It's not here. It's been stolen!"

"...That's bad," Cole muttered.

"It gets worse," Nya continued. "The amulet is in Ninjago City. At the Explorer's Club."

"How did it get to the- Oh. Are you serious!?" I groaned.

"Don't worry, we'll get it," Cole spoke. "We're on our way."