Nya's P.O.V.

            There is still hope. It took me so long to see, and finally something just-clicked.

              When I stared into Cole's eyes, looking into the blackness, I could not see the real Cole. Only the demon, the evil, the dark. I used to think that meant he was gone, but now I wonder: what if it's not him at all? What if Cole is still in there somewhere, fighting, trying to escape the thing that's taken him over, the thing that has nothing to do with him? Cole could be completely innocent. Now Skylor wants to kill him. Kai wants him dead. Even Jay thirsts for blood now. It's more than just protection. They want revenge the only way they know how.

          Is it such a hard thing to forgive? Kill the demon. Don't kill the boy. It looks like him. It isn't actually him. Things aren't black and white. They may think I'm crazy, but I'm not. I'm the only one who cares. And I will not let Skylor murder Cole like the demon murdered everyone else. If she does that, it will mean we're as bad as the demon.

        And now Jay is looking at me with repulsion. Almost as if he thinks I'm a demon too. Is that what compassion will get me? Contempt? Does finally being able to see both sides of the story mean that suddenly I am the bad guy? Am I the only one who can see clearly? Whatever it is, I can see that my defense of Cole has set me apart. I am no longer a part of the team. If there even is a team anymore.

We are broken.

I wanted to tell Skylor, "be careful."

But somehow I doubt I'll ever say another word to her.

Skylor's P.O.V.

One way or another, I will not have to deal with Cole after tonight.

           I have my weapons, my orange mission suit, my hair tied in a tight ponytail, and my body tensed to kill. Lying in wait for Cole. Everyone thought if someone were to end this, it would be Nya, but no, it's little old amber ninja Skylor. The one who was raised to never let emotions take over, unlike silly Nya. Emotions make humans weak. I will not be weak.

         I'm next. He's coming. It all comes down to this moment. Save your own neck. And never, ever listen to your heart. You will end up dead.

Don't fail.

He's here.

Kai's P.O.V.

Sleep is strange. Sometimes you can't tell you've been dreaming until you wake up.

I had a dream that I was happy again. It was a warm day, sun shining through wispy clouds, glinting off the dew on delicate blades of grass. I knew where I was immediately because I had been there before: the picnic meadow back in the small village where I grew up. I saw Zane and Pixal sitting peacefully in a beam of sunlight, metal reflecting off the brightness. Skylor giving me a half-smile, as if challenging me to try and talk to her. Lloyd, laughing, cheeks flushed with the joy  of it all, surrounded by candy. And I saw them. My parents. There was my mother, long dark hair like a curtain of water, almost identical to Nya in both her appearance and the way she moved. My father, tall and strong, just as I remember him, smelling of the forges and burning cedar. They both enveloped me in a hug, something I've missed for all these years. Since they died.

"Where's Nya?" I remember asking. "Why would she be here?" Pa said, a puzzled look on his face. But Ma seemed to get it. "Sweetie, don't you know? Your sister isn't dead." she told me.

"This is only people who are-dead? Does that mean I-you know-died?" I asked. Suddenly the comforting scene didn't seem so comforting anymore.

"Oh, heavens no." Ma said. I sighed with relief and buried my face into her hair, taking in the sweet, familiar scent of her, slightly citrusy with a hint of vanilla. "But you will be soon."

I didn't even flinch at those words. I knew she was right. And if it meant I could escape the world where nothing was right and come here where everything was, I wasn't too sad. Then I realized something.

"Wait, if everyone in this world is dead, why is Skylor here?" I said, a bit warily. I kind of already knew the answer.

"What, the orange one? That you like..." Pa asked, waggling his eyebrows in an almost teasing way. I nodded, not gonna deny it. "Kai, she is."

"But when I fell asleep, she wasn't. Does that mean-"

"Kai, you need to wake up now." The tone in Ma's voice was less warm than before.

"I don't want to go!"

"You have to."

"Please let me stay! I just want to be with you!"

"Wake up."

"No!"

"Wake up."

"N-"

And that's when I wake up and know it was all a dream.

Or maybe I'm still dreaming. Because this could only happen in a nightmare.

Blood is everywhere, staining the walls, the ceiling, the floor, blending in with my red blankets. The only place it isn't is me. Like when Lloyd died but even worse. Worse because of what's right in front of me.

A foot.

The foot is attached to a leg, and the leg is attached to a body, and the body is Skylor. And Skylor is hanging from the ceiling on a bloodstained rope. Her eyes are still open, and they are completely and utterly dead. They are staring right at me.

Cuts cover her everywhere. Deep, shallow, doesn't matter as long as they shred her orange uniform. Some of the blood is dripping down, creating a stain on my comforter.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. NO.

Lloyd is dead. Skylor is dead. I can't save Nya. I have failed. I didn't deserve to be a ninja, not ever.

Screams are coming out of me, guttural. My vision is blurry, and it's hard to breathe. Everything around me is hot, burning. The bed is on fire. I am on fire. My world is shattered.

I am broken.

No one's/Cole's? P.O.V.

Killing Skylor had been more exerting than Cole thought it would be. Especially since he couldn't just rip something out of her like the others. Keep it interesting. Skylor had put up quite a fight.

Watching Kai sleep, Cole wondered if he should dispose of the fiery one as well. But Nya needed her brother's death to be more dramatic...Cole already had a plan. Besides, he couldn't wait to see Kai's reaction when he saw the dead girl. And the note.

Skylor was determined to kill me! But this wasn't her fight.  I still wanted blood, after all red is Kai's favorite color. But she's too emotionless for me to take her heart out, so I had to be...creative. By the way, thanks for believing in me, Nya! So sweet of you to think the best. Kisses!

Love, Cole.

Almost time. It was getting closer. Kai was going be killed next. Although, Cole wondered if, on the inside, he was already dead.

Cole was always good at breaking things. He'd never tried people before.

He decided that he was a natural.