I carefully pushed a branch to the side and squinted through, then ducked back down to face everyone else again.

"So it looks like they've got Shadow Riders pretending to be guards stationed all around the walls of the city... Anyone have ideas for how to get in?"

"Let's go through the sewer system," Lloyd said matter-of-factly, "Nobody will be guarding that."

Jay gave a quick shudder, his lips twisting into a grimace. "Have we really exhausted all other options?"

"Would we not be able to enter in disguise?" Skylor asked, "Because, I mean, what if the sewer networks are guarded too? And if we're caught wandering around down there, regardless of whether or not we wear disguises, we're kinda screwed. The Shadow Riders don't seem like the type to be scared of getting their hands dirty. And it's such a cliche in stories that the heroes are able to use sewer networks to get around, and if the Shadow Knight is smart, he'll know to guard them."

"I agree," Zane said, and though it seemed like more of a long-winded excuse for not going down into the sewers, I had to admit that she had a point, "We should try and figure out ways to get inside without them getting suspicious."

"Is the Shadow Knight all that smart though?" I asked, recalling all the times we'd slipped from his grasp, "I feel like we're overestimating him."

"Better overestimate than underestimate," Jay pointed out, obviously not liking the idea of sewers.

"Okay then," I sighed, "So disguises? But what?"

"Wait, actually," Skylor interjected, "I don't think we should do that. I know I was the one who suggested it in the first place, but so much could go wrong with the plan that we should try something else."

"Do you have an idea in mind?" Zane asked.

"I think for now we should focus on getting stronger," she said, "Because you guys are definitely not in ideal physical condition for a fight. We also need food."

"We don't have any money," Lloyd mumbled, "And um..."

"Oh I know exactly how to get that," Skylor replied with a grin.

"Where?" Jay asked.

"We raid my house."

...

Since I was the least likely to be faced with repercussions of the group, everyone agreed that Skylor and I should go. The others remained in the woods guarding our stuff while I followed her through the trees, staying clear of but still trekking alongside the dirt road. She didn't attempt to make conversation and neither did I, so the only sounds accompanying our trip were the occasional rustling of branches or the snapping of a twig when someone stepped on something.

I found myself shivering the further we went and several times wanted to ask her how much longer we'd have to go but stopped myself each time, knowing that that would only make me sound like a whiny brat, and besides, we hadn't been walking for that long anyway. And I was glad I didn't, because we arrived soon enough to a spot across the road from a giant mansion.

A nod from Skylor told me that this was the right place, and she surveyed the area before telling me that the coast was clear and neither her father or Clouse were home. I wondered how she knew just by looking at the building's exterior but was too lazy to question her judgement.

To hide our identities, we smeared mud all over our faces and hair.

"Okay, so this is the plan. You go knock on the door first, and I'll stand to the side. So then when Henri opens it, could you take him and basically distract him long enough so I can get the money? I'll hopefully slip by unnoticed because if he sees me he'll get really pissed. Even though we have 'disguises,' he might see through them."

"Wait who?"

"My fiance," she muttered bitterly.

"Oh, okay," I said.

"Are you sure, though? He's pretty strong, I can say."

"I think I can handle it," I replied, knowing that it wasn't like we had another choice.

"Well, good luck," Skylor gave me a small smile as a form of encouragement that I forcibly returned, a dreaded sense of guilt piling up in my stomach again. I knew I should tell her about Kai, but I was unable to form any words.

A small part of me justified this stalling by saying we should tell her as a group. Deep down, though, I knew that there was no way any of them would ever initiate the conversation, and I didn't feel like it was in my place to.

I nodded numbly, and the two of us snuck up to the front door as quietly as possible, thankful that the curtains were closed. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and slammed the metal knocker against it.

After a few moments, the door opened, revealing a man who looked like somebody had forced him to suck on a lemon. He made a disgusted face when he took in my appearance, and before he could slam the door shut in my face, I threw a kick to his midsection, sending him falling back then sliding across the floor. I jumped forward and pinned him to the ground with as much force as I could muster, praying that the little strength I had in me would be sufficient. Though I had eaten the remainder of the food we had for the sake of this mission, there was a possibility that it wasn't enough.

I found my arms shaking as he pushed against my grasp, clearly having more strength than I did. The only thing I had to my advantage was the element of surprise, and that was soon wearing off. I considered digging my dirty nails into his flesh to create pain, but that might only aggravate him more. Keeping one leg over both of his, I pulled up the other and pressed it into his stomach.

My whole body shook.

Who would've thought I'd go as far as to attack someone for money?

The sound of footsteps behind me told me Skylor had run inside, but I didn't seem to be the only one who noticed. Henri's eyes widened and he roared her name in frustration, then threw me off with ease, sending me crashing into one of the legs of the wooden sofa. Pain shot through my abdomen from the spot where I'd banged my ribs, and I hissed through my gritted teeth, wishing I wasn't so skinny. Someone, probably Henri, shouted something, but the sounds were too distant for me to make out any words.

Some dried flecks of mud fell off my face and into my mouth, and I spit it out after tasting it on my tongue, silently apologizing to Skylor for vandalizing her house. Then again, she probably didn't care.

Clenching my teeth together and trying to ignore the lingering taste, I gingerly pushed myself into a sitting position as my side throbbed, knowing that I might have only a matter of seconds before he came running back down if he didn't catch Skylor. She seemed quick enough to have no trouble avoiding him, so I stumbled to the front door and yanked it shut behind me. However, if I tried to make a run for the woods I probably wouldn't get far enough before he caught up to me (and I didn't want to separate from Skylor), so the next best choice would be to go to the side of the building.

Heart racing, I clamped my hand over my waist and staggered as quickly as possible across the lawn, hoping that she was faring much better than I was.

When I turned the corner, I saw her running towards me, her scarlet hair a wild mess with leaves and twigs sticking up from all over it. I definitely looked worse, having a lot less hair now than I used to. If I was still alive I'd worry about growing bald in my early twenties, but I wasn't.

She pulled out a large bag behind her, grinning triumphantly.

"Nice..." I gasped, massaging my ribs and hissing.

"Oh no, are you okay?" she asked, hurrying to my side.

I nodded quickly, and though still obviously concerned, the Master of Amber didn't ask any more questions. She threw her head back, gesturing for me to follow, and began heading towards the posterior of the house. I chased after her, though I was much slower because my legs still refused to do my bidding. Henri's shouts could still be heard, and by using the sounds to figure out his location, we managed to stay on the opposite side of the building from him.

After a while, his yells died down and we heard a door slam shut.

Still, in case he wanted to trick us, Skylor and I took a long detour away from the house and it wasn't until about five minutes later that we safely reached the woods.

"Wasn't that fun?" she asked, a giant grin on her face.

"That was... crazy..." I heezed, the adrenaline rushing through my veins, "We're probably wanted now."

"Well, I mean," she shrugged and began walking back towards the place we'd agreed to meet the others, "Even though he realized it was me, I didn't commit any crimes because it's more my house than his and he's not gonna recognize you. So we're clear."

I couldn't help but grin at her confidence. Maybe having her on the team wasn't so bad, since it wasn't like anybody else knew what to do, and having a fresh perspective on things could really help.

But...

"Hey Skylor?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Yeah?"

"N-nothing," I muttered, wanting to slap myself both for bringing it up then not telling her and just not telling her in general.

"Okay?"

"Wait, actually," I said, "Um... sorry for being so rude last night. And this morning. You never did anything wrong."

"Nah, it's fine, I'm sure you were just stressed and didn't want me to be a burden on you. And besides, I bet you guys went through a lot and sharing everything would've been tiring." She looked over her shoulder and gave me a smile, except it had the opposite effect of feeling like a stab in my chest instead of what she'd probably hoped for.

Seriously, why did they all have to act like saints? It made everything so much more difficult. Skylor Chen had no idea how much I wanted to hate her at that moment.

"Aww, that's... really sweet of you," I forced out.

"Hey, you guys are saving the world; it's the least I could do," she replied cheerfully, "I'm still amazed you agreed to let me join the gang so quickly."

"Wait, gang―oh right," I laughed a little, needing reminding myself that Skylor didn't know anything about the whole Sons of Garmadon ordeal. If I tried to count how many things I was keeping from her, my fingers probably wouldn't be enough.

"But dang, I gotta say, you're the princess, and we're just commoners, and wow, that... I still can't really wrap my head around it. This is all quite a lot to take in," Skylor said with a chuckle.

"Eh, there's no need to call me by any titles, they kinda make me uncomfortable sometimes because it feels weird and stuff. I'm just Harumi, or Rumi for short." Her excitement at getting acquainted with me only made me feel worse. And the longer I stalled, the worse she'd probably take it.

"Ah, okay. Um, if you wanna call me by a nickname, feel free to call me Sky or something, though nobody actually calls me that."

"Gotcha." I tried to keep my voice lighthearted, but the aching in my chest just got more painful.

Her tone when talking to me was still pretty careful, though the caution wasn't as pronounced as it had been earlier. I could tell she wanted to ask some questions that we had left unanswered, but I wasn't going to bring it up since I would much rather avoid them, even if I knew we were going to have to address the issue sooner or later.

Preferably later, despite how cruel that was.

...

According to Zane's careful counting, the number of Shadow Riders guarding the city walls had gradually decreased over the next week.

"I told you the Shadow Knight was dumb," I said with a grin, shaking my head as I barely managed to parry Lloyd's attack, "He does stupid things a lot."

Now that we had enough food (since we were lacking any way of preserving it, someone was sent to the village to buy groceries every day) and thankfully, clothes, we spent our days and nights in the forest, sharpening our fighting skills in case we came across anyone who tried to stop us on our way to destroy the source. Even the Crystal Blade seemed to realize something was going on, as it had begun emitting this buzzing sound, which grew louder when I approached it. It also vibrated in my palm when I picked it up, so much so that it would weaken my grip, impairing both my offensive and defensive skills.

So naturally I was stuck constantly training with it, as much as I hated how it caused my entire arm to shake intensely and have this weird vibrating echo through my body for several minutes even if I wasn't holding it. Not to mention its buzzing was so loud it made my ears feel deaf sometimes. Who knew it was going to be so hard to work with?

"We should still be careful though," Skylor pointed out, clashing her katana against Zane's shurikens, "Just to make sure, we're doing this tomorrow?"

"I believe so," Zane replied, "They were spaced far enough apart for us to take out one without alerting others yesterday, but just to add an extra layer of precaution it would be best to do so tomorrow."

"Aww, I wish Kai and Cole could be here," she said, a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes.

"Yeah, me too," Nya said, now pretty much back to normal, though one could tell she still had difficulty saying anything related to them if one listened carefully, "But they said don't worry about them and just focus on our own missions for now. Then we can meet up."

We all wanted to tell her but refused to be the one to bring it up.

"I wonder―" Skylor began.

"Wait, shh," Jay hissed, and when the clamor of the weapons stopped, we could all hear the rustling in the bushes.

The Lightning and Water Ninja silently set their swords onto the ground and tiptoed forward in the direction of the sound. I figured it was just a wild animal since that had been the case the last few times we'd heard a disturbance in there. Everybody was so paranoid that we moved to a different location in the woods every night, even if that meant needing to destroy and build another shelter all over again.

They came back arguing.

"Hey, hey, we know it's not a Shadow Rider, it was brown," Jay insisted as he pushed aside the remaining branches to let Nya through.

"But you scared it away before we could see what it was! What if the Shadow Knight morphed into something or someone?" she shot back, a hand on her hip.

"Okay, I think all this hiding has made us paranoid," he argued, "Seriously, if it was really the Shadow Knight they would've long caught us by now!"

His girlfriend sighed, clearly not in the mood. "Okay, okay, let's just hope you're right."

"Is everything alright?" Skylor asked with a frown.

"Yeah, basically Jay scared the thing away before we could see what it was."

"I'm sure it's fine, we've had a lot of false alarms lately," Lloyd said.

"Let's just hope you're right," Nya yawned, then picked up the double-bladed sword.

"Wait, you know, now would be a good time to plan for what we do next," Skylor said, "Like after tomorrow. Is the plan to meet up with Kai and Cole first then rescue Morro?"

"Yeah, pretty much," I answered, knowing that nobody else wanted to respond.

"Wait, actually," she said, "I think everyone should tell their parents what we've been up to. Sorry if I sound a bit bossy, but I think it's really important."

"She has a point," Zane admitted.

"Um, what do you guys say?" I asked, dodging Lloyd's sword as he aimed another swipe at me, and the Crystal Blade shook so hard that I ended up dropping it. Groaning, I held up a hand to tell him to stop when he prepared to strike again, "Okay, yeah, I know, I can't let this happen in battle."

"Don't forget, as soon as we destroy the power source, the Shadow Knight is probably going to want to kill you immediately," Zane kindly reminded me, and I grunted in response, not wanting to pick up that sword.

"Yeah, I..." Nya said quietly, avoiding everyone's gazes, "I guess―"

Another, much more pronounced, rustle in the bushes from behind me cut her off.

I reluctantly picked up the Crystal Blade to defend myself, and everyone else readied their weapons.

Then Morro burst out into the open.

A/N: Hihi four chapters left! These last four are my favorite chapters in the entire book so yay hopefully all the time you've spent reading this will finally pay off! 

I can't believe it's late July already, why does time pass so fast? I am so not ready for next semester, I think with my schedule I'm going to die. What classes is everyone taking (if you're still in school)? 

Thoughts? 

Thanks for reading/voting/commenting as always and see y'all in the next one!