Nyssa had completely distanced herself from Sara as she had asked. She still hasn't forgiven herself for being the one to hurt her. She was scared, and she is never scared. It's just that when it comes to Sara, she seems to be swimming in different types of emotion that is not common to her. She brings her the greatest happiness she has ever felt, and also the greatest fear and pain. She was taught to push away and control her fears and pains, not to let any weakness in, yet she allowed it. Her pain and fears when it comes to Sara are so overwhelming that all her training doesn't matter, because there is no way she could numb them away. Another reason why she allows herself to have those fears and pain is because they also remind her of all that is beautiful and lovely about Sara. How much she had loved her. How much she still loves her. How much they have shared. How things could have been. How her life could be different.

She has distanced herself. She dropped out of chemistry class. Made sure they are never in the same place at once. She hasn't talked to her, texted her, or even left a note for her. But it doesn't mean that she has left her alone. She still watches over her. She is very capable of being there without being noticed. And she has been watching her from afar like the way it had all started.

Sara had noticed the sudden absence of Nyssa. She doesn't want to be bothered by it, but she is gravely so. She barely sees her now. Whenever she enters a room where Nyssa is, even though she doesn't look her way, it's as if she has sensed her presence, and she would see her leaving moments after. It pains her to see that somehow Nyssa is hurting more than she is. That she has hurt her even more.

Rebecca once dragged her to Nyssa's house furious with both their actions. She had scolded them for being so childish. She had said that they should be able to move past that and at least be friends.

"Friends?" Nyssa had laughed at that thought. There was a cynical yet longing tune to the way she had said it, but even then, she wouldn't look at Sara. "Having friends means having attachments, which means having weaknesses. I have allowed myself to have a weakness accepting your friendship, but I won't force it on someone who doesn't even want anything to do with me."

The words had punched Sara to the gut. She knows that it may seem like it, but deep down, more than she would care to admit, she doesn't want Nyssa to completely vanish from her life. Even though they don't get back on being friends, but when they have both gotten over it, she wants to see Nyssa smile like a reassurance that they have moved on and are okay with each other. But it wasn't just the words, it was the cold and steely expression she was wearing that pierced through her the most. It was like she had lost her Nyssa and it was all her fault.

Tears threatened to flow from her eyes, but Sara tried to hold them down. When she no longer can, she turned around and rushed off. She didn't witness how Rebecca had almost slapped Nyssa for it, but what Rebecca saw in Nyssa's eyes when she caught her hand gave her hope that all is not over yet with her two friends.

----------------------

"She looks for you, you know?" Nate had become a constant companion to Nyssa. He has been beside her more that Alec recently. "She watches you. She tries not to, but she does."

"I know." Nyssa had become accustomed to having Nate around. He was not just a companion like Alec, he is also a friend. She is pleased that even though he is training with her and Alec, since it is not official, he is still not tainted with the beliefs of the league.

"And that gives you hope."

"Yes. Though hope is a dangerous thing."

"What will you do then?"

"I don't know yet. It all depends on her."

--------------

It was a Saturday and Sara got dragged to go hang out with Max and Rebecca. She was tired of being the third wheel but she knows they just don't want her to feel left out. They always try to avoid talking about Nyssa with her although it was obvious that they want to. She's glad of their effort though.

They went to see an action movie. Maybe they thought that instead of watching the romantic one, the action would remind Sara of Nyssa less. But Nyssa has always been like the great warrior, so it reminded her of her even more. After the movie they went around looking for a place to eat.

Nyssa would like to think that she's following them to protect her, to make sure nothing bad happens, but she knows that she just wants to see her. She was by her house when they arrived to fetch her. She went to the same movie and just sat at the back, though she wasn't interested in the film and was just watching her instead. And when she spotted the same car outside the cinema that she had seen a couple blocks away from Sara's, she had a suspicion that she made the right decision of following them.

Sara, Max and Rebecca went to the pizza place they frequented. They took a seat and ordered their pizza.

There were men that went out of the car and went looking around the pizza place. Nyssa entered even before they did, thinking that if something does happen, she has a better chance protecting them if she's already inside.

Rebecca saw her and smiled at her, to which she smiled back. Max and Sara looked at who she was smiling at, but Nyssa was already walking past them.

"Sorry, but is it weird to be in the same room with her?"

"I can tell how long you've been wanting to ask that. To be honest, it's weirder that we can't even be in the same room or acknowledge that the other exists."

They fell silent for a moment, not knowing what to respond to that. They didn't notice the men that came in that were asking the other customers to leave.

"Hey miss, you got to leave, they're closing." One of the men said to Nyssa.

"I just got here." She replied, not showing any hint that she is aware of the situation.

"You gotta leave." He said more sternly.

"Alright. I just have to get my pizza."

"No more pizza. It's closing."

Nyssa decided to go along with it for now, but she won't be going without Sara. She walked up directly to her.

"We have to go. They say it's closing."

Sara was both surprised with her words and the fact that she was talking directly to her again.

"What?"

One of the men once again caught up to her and asked her to leave.

"You have to leave, miss."

"I'm not leaving without them."

"Yes, you are." He gripped Nyssa's arm tighter as if that would intimidate her.

Nyssa assessed the situation. There were five men. It would be difficult not having her weapons, but she can do it.

Scared and confused with the situation, Sara and the others started to rise but they were held down by the other men.

Nyssa quickly grabbed the closest thing she could and jabbed it to the neck of the guy holding her. He screamed out in pain and fell down on his knee. The others came rushing in to attack her.

They were no match for her. She easily knocked down two of them. She grabbed a table knife and stuck it in the thigh of one, and was about to finish him off, when she heard Sara scream. She turned her attention to her, which left her vulnerable to a blow to the back of her head. She fell to her knees.

"Try that one more time, kid, and I will blow her brains out." The guy she stabbed with the fork on the neck said referring to Sara as he held a gun to her head.

Nyssa was furious, but she wouldn't risk Sara getting hurt. She would just have to find another opportunity to save her.

"Take them to the van."

"Her too?" One asked of Nyssa.

"Yeah. Maybe we can get something with her."

They were gagged and tied up, then taken to an abandoned building. It seems like an old factory of some sort. There they were met by another man who appeared to be the leader of the group.

"Welcome. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? I need you to call your daddy, Ms. Lance."

Sara spat on the guy that removed her gag and got a backhanded slap in return. Nyssa strained herself from her bindings trying to get up.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her!"

"Ooh. Interesting. Girlfriend?"

Neither of them answered.

"None of my concern. I need you to call you daddy, now."

They dialed the number from her phone and placed it next to her ear.

"Hey, baby. What is it?" Detective Lance answered on the other end.

"Hey, dad. I..."

"Hello, Det. Lance. I have your daughter. If you don't comply with my demands, I will kill her and her friends."

"Keith Logan, you son of a bitch! Don't you dare touch her!"

"Good. You remember me."

"I will find you and lock you up like your brother!"

"Speaking of my brother. If you want your daughter back in one piece, get my brother to me by midnight."

He hung up and threw Sara's phone against the wall, crushing it.

"Now, for these three, get their information and maybe we'll get cash out of them."

They searched them one by one for identification and called their parents for ransom, except for Nyssa. She never carried any ID with her for times like this.

"Okay. What's your name, kid? We just want to call you parents and see if they want you back."

"You won't get anything from me."

"We just need your name and I'll figure out the rest."

"You wouldn't want my name."

"Why is that?"

"When I tell you my name, I guarantee you your deaths."

"Is that so? Okay. I'll play along. I'll give you time to think about your next choice of words and leave you and your friends for a while. When I get back, I want your daddy's name and number."

He was about to leave, then he turned back around to Nyssa once more.

"I heard you like stabbing my men. How about this?" He took out a knife and stabbed it to Nyssa's leg. She winced a little but kept her eye on the man.

"Wow. You're one tough cookie. Maybe that'll get you thinking."

He left with the knife still stuck in Nyssa's leg.

Sara's face was drained of color as she looked at the knife in her leg.

"You should have just left." She mumbled.

"What?" Max and Rebecca asked in unison.

"You should have just left the restaurant when they told you to."

"And leave you there on your own? Those men have been following you. They were by your house."

"How do you... Were you following me?"

"And it seems to be the right choice."

"Getting yourself taken with us is the right choice?! You're unbelievable."

"I will get us out of here."

"There's five, six of them."

"Seven."

"Seven! God, how? Tell me, Nyssa. How? Please just don't and let my dad handle things."

"It will take them a while to track us down. And they won't allow him to trade a convicted criminal away."

"Why can't you just stay away?"

Sara doesn't know what she had meant by that. If she wants Nyssa to leave because she's getting herself hurt from always trying to save her or for her to leave completely because she just doesn't want her there.

"I know you don't trust me, but I am your only way out."

They heard something crack.

"What was that?" Max asked.

"My thumb." Nyssa slid out her hand from its binding behind her back to free herself. She then replaced her thumb to its position, making the girls flinch. She took out the knife from her thigh and used it to cut the ties on her feet.

She walked to Sara and knelt down in front of her, so they were eye level with each other.

"I know I promised I would stay away, but I also made a promise to myself that I will always protect you, and that weighs more to me. I'm leaving for Nanda Parbat in three days, if you really want me gone, let me know, and you will never see me ever again. I give you my word. But you'll have to convince me."

"That I want you gone? I want you gone, Nyssa."

"No, Sara. I need you to convince me that you don't love me."