Skylor stood in place with the blaster still aimed, gasping for breath. The dust was already beginning to clear. Beneath the large pile of broken bits of stone and plaster, she could make out the shape of the big cat, still and silent. The silence was broken by a new voice. “Whoa-ho-ho-ho!” Jay whipped off his mask to reveal an excited grin. “Where’d you get that thing?!” Before Skylor could respond, Nya suddenly ran forward, grabbed her and wrenched her arms behind her back, kicking her to the ground. It happened in but a moment, and Skylor was too stunned to realize what was going on. “Nya!” Lloyd exclaimed, looking shocked. “What are you—?!” “She could be a werecat!” Nya cried. She gripped Skylor’s arms tightly, while keeping one foot firmly on her back. “They could be just trying to trick us!” “Whoa, what the—?” Skylor sputtered, utterly bewildered. “Just stay still,” Nya hissed, giving her a sharp jab with her foot. She grabbed Skylor’s left arm and held it up. “Lloyd, show me her arm.” Lloyd hesitated, then bent down and drew back the sleeve of the uniform. Skylor couldn’t see what was happening behind her. She grimaced when she felt someone’s fingers probe the long scratch on the underside of her arm. It was healing, but still sore. “Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” she demanded. Nya shrieked. She barreled into Skylor and gripped her in a tight hug. “It is you! You’re back! You’re back! Skylor’s back!” Skylor, if she hadn’t already been bewildered before, was completely flummoxed now. Sure, she and the ninja were technically “friends”, but it wasn’t as if she had had any close relationship with any of them—the exception, of course, being Kai. She didn’t really know any of the other ninja on a personal level… She was further astonished and confused to see expressions of blatant relief and joy on Lloyd and Jay’s faces, and even more so when they too joined Nya in the embrace. “Skylor! You’re OK!” Jay whooped. Lloyd laughed, “Boy, are we glad to see you!” Why? she wanted to ask. Still, she felt a tentative smile growing upon her face. “You’re OK?” Lloyd repeated Jay’s question.
She raised her voice, continuing. “You have invaded this land. You have hurt my people, the ones who lived here first.” Snowflakes began to swirl around her. Softly, gently at first. The snow sparkled. “This is not your land. This is not their land. This is my land, and I have given it to my people and to the animals to live upon it. You have angered me by coming and claiming it as your own.” Tulimaq trembled visibly now. His mouth was gaping in his terror, and his breath came out in ragged gasps from fear—or perhaps because the ice was too tight around his torso. Skylor kept going. She was on a roll. “You have hurt my people. They live in fear and in grief because of you. I came down to see if you were really as cold-hearted as your actions deemed you to be. You took me as your prisoner and attempted to kill me.” Her words came out scathingly. “For your cruelty and insolence of the great spirits, you must be punished. I will blast you and all your people from the sky with the lightning of the gods.” “No!” Tulimaq looked as if he were going to be sick. “Please, no! Great spirit, have mercy!” “One reason,” she spat. “Give me one reason why I should spare you and the miserable lives of all these men who have persecuted my children.” “We— we’ll stop!” Tulimaq replied. “We’ll leave the savag— I mean, your people alone! We’ll leave this land and let them live in peace! We’ll repent! Anything! We’ll do anything!” Skylor stared coolly at him, being sure to keep her expression unreadable. “Anything?” Tulimaq nodded so quickly that his helmet bounced on his head.
“As OK as I’ll ever be.” “Where’s Kai?” Nya’s gaze swept the street. “Is he with you?” “Kai?” Skylor’s heart sank. “No. I haven’t seen him for weeks. I thought he might be here—back home.” Nya’s face fell. “We thought— we thought he was with you.” “I’m sorry.” Jay spoke up. “Gee, we barely recognized you.” He stared up and down her strange attire. “You look different.” Skylor chuckled wryly and cast a glance down at the Polarian soldier’s outfit, with the big furry white boots and broad gray breastplate over the navy blue clothing. “How did you—? Where did you come from?” Nya demanded. “We were told you had been sent to a different realm!” “I was.” Skylor regarded the ninja, and noticed strange metal claws attached to their hands. “How did you know what happened to me? What’s going on—?” “There’s no time to explain,” Lloyd said hurriedly. “Right now, this village is under attack. We’re getting to the west side to stop some fires from spreading and protecting the people from enemy warriors invading.” She felt her pulse speed up. “You’ll need my help.” Nya drew a katana from one of her back sheathes and handed it to her. “Great.” “What do these warriors look like?” Jay replied, “Like giant versions of the house cats you see in pet stores, but with bigger claws, two tails on each butt, and they can talk.” Skylor didn’t even blink. “Awesome. Let’s do this.”
Skylor, Jay, Lloyd, and Nya burst into the town square to find utter chaos. Families were running up and down the streets, panic-stricken as houses blazed with fire. Several rooftops had already caved in, sending waves of extra heat and sparks as they crumbled in ash and smoke. Pushcarts had tumbled over in the street or had been left aside. Many citizens clutched personal belongings or their children in their arms as they fled the burning neighborhood. Soot stained their fearful faces and torn clothing, and many bore burns. It looked like at least two dozen cat warriors were in this part of the village. Multi-colored pelts of nekomata darted by the houses and ran after the people, caterwauling in triumph. Villagers were thrown to the ground with open wounds as the warriors attacked them. Many Moon Tribe werecats were in their human states, and used their weapons to hunt down their human prey. Women cried out in despair when the enemy warriors blocked off escape from the sides of the neighborhood clearing. Children shrieked in terror at the sight of the gleaming fangs and the cats’ malicious snarls. Men shouted to one another and cursed with frustration as they desperately tried to get their families to safety. Skylor’s mouth fell open at the haunting sight of the assault. “Whoa.” “Heh, I guess we forgot to mention that they can shape-shift,” Jay said. “We have to drive them back,” Lloyd announced. “If these warriors get any further in the village, it’ll be impossible to save it.” “Then let’s kick some tail.” Jay pulled up his mask. “Ninjaaaa—” “—GO!” Lloyd, Nya, and Jay whipped into Spinjitzu vortexes and flew into the fray. Skylor, her Polarian blaster in one hand and Nya’s katana in the other, ran after them. The first thing she saw was two men in ragged animal skins who had cornered a small boy against one building. The child sobbed and pressed himself frantically against the wall, as if it could provide sanctuary. The men purred with glee and looked as if they were about to pounce on a mouse.
The little boy made Skylor think of Kissimi, and her anger flared. “Pick on someone your own size, cowards!” She ran and threw herself at both of them. Before either one knew what was happening, she had smashed the hilt of her sword into one man’s head, knocking him unconscious, then swung around and delivered a stunning sidekick to the other. The second warrior sprawled to the ground with a grunt, landing painfully on his side. She grabbed him by the threadbare deerskin shirt he wore, yanked him to his feet, and proceeded to knock his head on the side of the building several times. When he finally stopped struggling, she let him drop to the ground. She turned to the little boy, who was gaping up at her in awe. “Come on, let’s get you out of here—” The boy’s gaze flickered beyond her shoulder. “Look out!” Skylor whirled around in time for an enormous cat to ram into her and throw her on her back. The breath was knocked out of her. Her head swam, and she tried to breathe. Something sharp pierced her through areas of the uniform that didn’t have armor over it, and she realized she could feel claws digging into her flesh. A guttural voice hissed in her ear. “Mm, fresh meat. I am feeling hungry…” Skylor’s sword arm was pinned beneath of one the creature’s paws. Her arm holding the blaster, however, was free. Thus she squirmed to raise up the weapon and, without thinking, pulled the trigger. BEW! The impact sent both of them flying in opposite directions. She crashed into the building behind her and lay there, stunned. Her head throbbed painful with the shock of the impact. She was aware of something wet and sticky on her face. It was hard to say whether it was hers or— “Are you OK?” Dazedly she blinked and saw the kid standing in front of her. She opened her mouth and tried to breathe. No air came in. She lay still, refusing to panic. The breath had been viciously knocked out of her, now she had to wait for it to come back. At last she finally gasped and coughed. Limbs quivering, she pushed herself up.
The little boy stared at her uncertainly. “You’ve got some, um… stuff on your face.” “It’s all right,” she said blankly. She wiped the stuff off on her pants. Several loud, feline snarls made her look up. A few other Moon Tribe warriors had witnessed the destruction of their fellow werecat, and they were not happy about it. A few men and women in human forms began to advance, accompanied by more of the giant cats. Skylor stood in front of the boy. “Stay behind me. I’m going to get you and as many other people as I can out of here.” With that, she gripped the blaster and began firing. The werecats had no idea what hit them. The great explosions of red heat shattered cobblestones and buildings, causing destruction wherever she aimed. Several enemy warriors fell under her blasts. Others jumped away and fled. They all looked shocked. They had never seen a weapon like this before, aside from the weapons the Ninjago City police force carried. They found themselves helpless before Skylor and the foreign blaster. She fired shot after shot, trying to hit as many opponents as possible and not hitting the villagers at the same time. The little boy cowered behind her, watching the battle with wide, round eyes. Slowly she and the boy inched their way to the edge of the town square. At last she caught sight of a street leading out from the neighborhood; a passage of escape. She gripped the boy’s shoulder and shook him, shouting, “Run that way! Get away from the fires!” The kid nodded and fled. Skylor turned her attention back to the main street, where a cluster of villagers stood terrified, staring helplessly at the burning buildings and clashes between ninja and werecat. Gesturing with her katana, she shouted, “Over here! Villagers!” A couple of the men saw her, and spoke frantically to their wives. The group started toward her, and Skylor gestured to the open entrance. “This way! Go, go!” The families began running. One exhausted woman carrying a small toddler tripped and fell. Skylor darted over and helped her to her feet, while motioning to the others to continue onward. The villagers raced on ahead while Skylor helped the mother.
Several werecats, who had either been helping their wounded tribe-mates to safety or had been searching for the human adversary with the exploding boom-stick, caught sight of Skylor through the thin haze of smoke. Warriors in nekomata and human forms raced after the fleeing villagers as soon as they realized some of their prey was escaping them. They snarled furiously. Skylor pushed the mother toward the entrance, then turned and fired several shots. The werecats fell back with startled yowls. The survivors, dodging and getting behind cover, glared at her with unsuppressed hatred. It was clear to all in this battle that Skylor was virtually unstoppable with her blaster. Across the wide main street, Lloyd was putting his tekko-kagi claws to good use. He found himself in constant hand-to-hand combat with some Moon Tribe warrior or another. He remembered Matilda’s training and swiped to and fro, keeping his head low and his feet light, much like boxing. In this way he was able to drive off several humanoid Moon Tribe warriors. All of them seemed astonished when the green-pelted ninja summoned what looked like silver claws out of his hands. A Moon Tribe couple in their human forms charged him. The man attacked first, and Lloyd met him blow-to-blow. At one point the man was able to jab down low and scratch Lloyd’s arm, but his opponent brushed off the sting and continued defending himself. Frustrated, the man swung his clawed hand out again. Seeing the hit coming, Lloyd grabbed his wrist, pulled his opponent toward him, tripped him and thoroughly slammed him to the ground. The man lay stiff and gasping for air. A weight landed heavily on Lloyd’s back, making him grunt and stumble. The woman had come from behind and leapt onto him. Lloyd staggered beneath her weight, trying to shake her off. A burst of pain burned at his shoulder. Claws dug into his uniform and the skin beneath as the woman clung on, wrapping one arm around his neck. He felt her breath heating his face and neck area, and the pain intensified. She was biting him!
He staggered and fell over. The werecat jumped gracefully to her human feet and shifted into the shape of a bakeneko, a sand-colored female. She leapt upon Lloyd again, this time scratching his face, neck, head, and shoulders. Crying out, he covered his eyes and tried to shove or kick her away, but she kept hopping around him, like some demented hare. She was impossible to catch. His allergies were no help to the situation. “Ah-CHIEE! Ah-CHIEE!” Just as it looked as if she were about to scratch his nose off his face, there was a sound that made Lloyd think of a fire hydrant exploding. Suddenly, a stream of water came out of nowhere and hit the female cat, sending her flying away with an enraged squeal. Gasping and stinging all over, Lloyd looked up to see Nya standing nearby. Relief swept over him. “Than’bs, Nya’h.” He staggered to his feet, snuffing. “Ah-CHIEE!” “No problem.” Nya whirled around and met more opponents, using her tekko-cagi claws to scratch the big cats away. There were still many warriors in the street by the fires, but she was pleased to see Skylor, Lloyd, and Jay working together to kick all of their butts. Nya focused on making the warriors in front of her retreat. A couple came at her with snarls. She snarled back. Unnerved, the cats glanced at each other, next her, then fled. “Cowards!” Nya turned and saw that in the very middle of the street, there stood a large, dark-bearded man with a dark cape draped over his shoulders. The burning buildings behind him illuminated his face strangely, but Nya recognized him. She felt fresh anger bloom. “Rip Claw!” she cried. The man whirled around and stared at her for a moment, startled. Then an ugly sneer spread across his face, making his large beard twitch. “Daughter of Water.” “Why don’t you quit making your warriors do your dirty work for you, and come fight your enemies like a real cat?” Nya shifted her feet into an offensive stance. The werecat sorcerer laughed brashly, revealing his feline fangs. “Like you? You’re just a kit!” Nya’s eyes blazed. She flicked the plan of one hand up, and a thick stream of water shot out and hit Rip Claw in the face.
The werecat sputtered and swore. Hastily wiping the water out of his face, he glared darkly at the ninja. “Very well, Daughter of Water. Now… why don’t you have a nice little nap!” He made a gesture with his hands as if he were tossing water, but nothing visible appeared. However, Nya could feel a great pressure that flooding over her. It made her vision swim, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. A Nap Attack. She gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to panic. Remember what Matilda told you. She remembered the witch’s words of their first mind-bending lesson: Concentrate on one thought, think about it like it’s the most important thing in the world, and refuse to think about anything else. That’s usually the easiest way to keep a bad presence out of your mind. You just have to keep yourself from being distracted. Concentrate, concentrate, she repeated. Don’t let him in. Don’t you dare let him in. She resisted the urge to look up at Rip Claw across the street. Seeing the malicious look in his eyes would only distract her. Yet she thought she could hear Rip Claw’s breath in her ears, as if he were standing right beside her. Think about something, don’t let him in. Jay. She pictured his face before her: his scruffy auburn-red hair. His bright blue eyes. That eyebrow with a single thin scar running through the middle. The way he always smiled happily when he made her laugh, even at the cheesiest of jokes… Cute, Rip Claw’s voice purred faintly, as if he were speaking though an old telephone wire. Very adorable, human kitten. But you’ll have to try harder than that if you want— Rip Claw never got to finish. Nya summoned a burst of power in her thoughts surrounding Jay, and pushed hard. She shoved against Rip Claw’s presence, and continued pushing him away without relent. Once she felt the mental pressure shift and ease, as if the sorcerer were stumbling, she gained more power and pressed on. She shoved harder, grunting wryly, “I’m—not—sleepy!”
The choking presence finally disappeared from her head. Her vision focused, and she blinked and saw that Rip Claw was on his hands and knees. His face was pale with strain, and sweat lined his brow. His hairy eyebrows were furrowed in shock and outrage. “H— how…?” She grinned with fresh confidence. “It’s not my bedtime yet, Rip Claw!” To her surprise, he didn’t wait for her to oppose him. He shifted into his nekomata form and fled down the street. Later she realized that she’d mentally exhausted him, and he must have realized he was in no state of mind to fight again. Meanwhile, Jay found himself facing half a dozen nekomata. The big cats had gathered in a small half-circle, trapping him against a burning building. Jay surveyed the situation, thinking fast. One cat snarled and charged. Jay flicked one hand and shot a bolt of lightning at it. The cat fell back with a pitiful cry. Again and again Jay shot crackling streaks of lightning at his feline adversaries, forcing them back. Then, at some unspoken agreement as far as he could tell, two of the nekomata on opposite sides of the half-circle leapt for Jay. The ninja barely had time to guard his face by putting up his clawed hands. He felt himself shoved onto his back as he skidded across the road. Iron-like jaws bit down on one arm, thankfully on the gauntlet. Claws raked his torso. Before the Moon Tribe warriors could do much more damage than that, however, Jay summoned another burst of lighting, and the blue-tinged electricity jolted from his fingertips and into the cats. They fell back yowling and thrashing. Jay scrambled to his feet and backed away. He looked at them, and couldn’t resist a broad grin. The static electricity had made all of the cats’ fur fluff up, and they suddenly looked like walking puffballs; very loud, indignant puffballs. Distracted, he didn’t see the abandoned pushcart behind him. He tripped over the handles and promptly fell on his butt. “Oof!” He rubbed his backside. “Who leaves their pushcart in the middle of the street—?”
He inspected it. The cart sat in front of several tall barrels on the sidewalk, along with a few abandoned baskets of freshly cropped vegetables. A mere few yards beyond that was a wall, inherently trapping Jay between the wall and the cats, with the pushcart and barrels in between. He looked back at the cats. The wounded ones were back on their paws and already advancing. “Looks like the end of the road for you, Son of Lightning,” one cat purred. Jay glanced back at the pushcart again and got an idea. “Like a rat in a trap, right? Then why are you being so slow? Are you scared I’m gonna sting you again?” He turned and ran, hopping neatly onto the barrels that stood over the pushcart. “Ya want some of this? Come and get it!” He jumped onto the tallest barrel, turned, and proceeded to wave his rear end mockingly at the nekomata warriors. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” The Moon Tribe warriors bristled and bared their teeth. The warning growls grew. “Too scared to get me? Are you guys fur real? You’re just a bunch of ’fraidy cats!” One tomcat lashed his forked tails angrily. “Shut up! You’re not funny!” “Hey, why so serious? I’m just kitten around!” “Someone make him shut up!” A female roared as she charged at him. As Jay had hoped, all of them leapt onto the pushcart. The cart’s end was pointed upwards where Jay was, while the other end was on the ground. It looked much like a seesaw. As soon as one nekomata had run onto the cart, with another close behind and already stepping on, Jay jumped off the barrels and landed on the upper end of the pushcart. The platform fell under his weight, and two nekomata cats were immediately thrown into the air. “And that’s why they call it the catapult!” Jay cackled. They flew up, up, up, with shocked screeches and bristling fur, along with the cargo: Cucumbers. Hundreds of fat, fresh cucumbers.
The cats and cucumbers flew in the air, but what goes up must come down. Thus down they came: the dazed nekomata landed on their paws several yards beyond Jay and the pushcart, while their tribe-mates stared on in astonishment. Then, every cucumber came raining down from the sky, littering the street like fat green raindrops. As soon as the first cat saw the cucumbers, pandemonium ensued. It was as if someone had thrown a grenade of exploding fur into the neighborhood street. Every Moon Tribe warrior took one look at the cucumbers falling from the sky and lost their minds. Suddenly dozens of giant cats, warriors in human forms, and smaller bakeneko were running and yowling and screeching like a tornado of flying fur and claws. Jay, Skylor, Nya, and Lloyd could only watch in astonishment as the Moon Tribe army broke ranks and scattered in pure and blatant panic. A pale female nekomata wailed as she fled past Nya, “What are those things!?” “I don’t know,” A tomcat gasped, one of the ones who had been cornering Jay at the pushcart. “I’ve never seen anything like them before! Run!” Werecat warriors in human forms jostled past Lloyd, heading toward the back alleys that led out of the village. “Ancestors save us all!” Multi-colored bakeneko swept by Skylor’s feet. “Don’t let them get us!” “Get out of here! This way!” “Don’t let them touch me!” With that, every Moon Tribe warrior in the village square fled. Gradually, their terrified cries and wails faded into the distance. No sound was left but the distant crackle of flames from the still-burning buildings, and a stiff breeze blowing that warned of rain. Jay, Lloyd, Nya, and Skylor were left alone in the deserted square, standing among the spilled cucumbers. It looked like the aftermath of some crazy, vegetable-themed party. There was a long, shocked silence. Then the ninja and Skylor fell to their knees and rolled with loud, hysterical laughter. “I hope Master Wu and Zane are having a good time, too!” Jay gasped.
A second wave of Moon Tribe warriors had arrived at the village entrance and, needless to say, Wu and Zane were sorely outnumbered. Though they fought with all their might, it wouldn’t be long before they’d be forced to retreat. Already the stream of shape-shifters had taken the upper half of the main street from the entrance, slowly driving Master Wu and Zane back. The town dogs still fought courageously, despite the cats outnumbering them. A brown Golden Doodle snarled by Wu’s side. Two Great Danes brought down a nekomata with their great jaws. A werecat man kicked at a beagle biting at his leggings. A golden retriever managed to avoid one werecat female’s sword before lunging and knocking her to the ground. Several lapdogs, while practically useless in the battle, did their share by nipping at the cats’ heels and sounding like tiny angry smoke alarms. Zane was beating off a couple of young werecat men when he caught sight of a muscular, golden pelt slinking around the narrow battlefield. Lion Claw. He felt himself stiffen. Only a coward lets his warriors fight his battles for him, and waits in the shadows to ambush his enemy from behind. Whirling around, he shot two blasts of ice at the baskets Lion Claw was hiding behind. Startled, Lion Claw scrambled from the frozen baskets and glared at the nindroid. “You.” He shifted into his human form; a tall, blond, bearded man with one ear cut down the middle. “Metal man. Prepare to meet your ancestors.” “Technically speaking,” Zane replied nonchalantly. “I am not made of metal. I am titanium.” “Let’s see how well your clunky body does against this!” Lion Claw thrust his hands forward and shouted a unintelligible command. Zane felt invisible forces suddenly grab his body and yank him up. He gasped and struggled as he was suspended in midair. “I’m going to tear you apart,” Lion Claw sneered. “Piece, by piece.” Desperately, Zane shot a blast of ice at the werecat sorcerer. Lion Claw deflected the ice with a blast of fire from one hand. “Cute.”
Zane gasped when his arms were suddenly pinned to his sides. He stared at his hands, for ice, seemingly of their own accord, had begun to grow over his fingers and up to his wrists. He found his hands trapped in solid blocks of his own ice. “Finally, the world of Ninjago will once and for all lose its beloved hero, the Son of Ice, the Titanium Ninja!” Lion Claw cackled as his enemy struggled in vain. “Say goodbye, wretched human machine of—!” Perhaps if Lion Claw hadn’t taken gone on to monologue about his victory, he would have seen the silver shape shooting down from the sky. “My friend!” Zane gasped. Zane’s falcon screeched furiously as it flapped around Lion Claw, scratching at the man’s face with its sharp talons. The sorcerer fell back with a yowl, holding up his arms in a desperate attempt to shield his face. In doing so, he lost concentration, and his magic hold on Zane disappeared. The nindroid dropped to the ground. “Get it off! Getitoff, getitoff, getitoff, getitoff!” Lion Claw roared. He stumbled backwards, then began running around, beating at the falcon with both hands. One of the nekomata nearby looked up and grinned. “Ha, ha! Lion Claw’s getting beat up by a bird!” “And we’re getting beat up by dogs!” A peeved female struggled to drive off a snarling Saint Bernard. Wu interjected wryly. “Those who underestimate their enemy by their size or species are doomed to be defeated by them.” He used his staff to deliver an uppercut to one man. Lion Claw flailed wildly to beat off Zane’s falcon. Finally, his claws scored one metallic wing, and the falcon was sent spinning into the street. It shrieked a final cry before hitting the ground. Zane knocked the blocks of ice from his hands and leapt for Lion Claw. The sorcerer turned and once again grabbed Zane through invisible forces. This time he held his hand and extended his fingers, as if he were holding an apple—and squeezed.
Zane cried out when he felt his torso crunch inward, as if a giant hand were rolling him into a ball. He shot a bullet of ice out of one hand just before he crumpled onto his hands and knees. Lion Claw cursed when the stinging ice hit his face, but he shook it off. The inner structure within Zane groaned. The mechanisms in his limbs and head screamed in protest as the power continued to squeeze him. Red warning lights flashed on his visual screen, and a rapid beeping sound blared in his ears. He struggled to get up, tried to move. It was no use. His vision blurred. His power was going down. The screen flickered. Beyond the alarm blaring and the sound of his own body screeching in agony, he could hear Lion Claw laughing. The tall man stood over him. “I’m rerouting all existing power to your chest.” Zane felt shock as electrifying as a power socket being plugged into him and running through his system. “P— Pixal?” “In three, two, one—” An explosion of light lit up the street. A burst of power shot up from Zane’s chest through his shirt, jolting him. Lion Claw screeched with pain, finding electric shocks running up and down his body. He was thrust up and away from Zane from the sheer force of the power currents; he flew across the street and crashed into the opposite building. The werecat sorcerer crumpled into a pitiful heap, completely knocked out. Taking a shuddering breath, Zane drew himself up and back onto his feet. He blinked blearily, then found himself gazing into the eyes of Pixal on his visual screen. “You came back,” he whispered. The female android gave a small, tentative smile. “I never left.” “Zane!” Wu called out. He was still battling a steady stream of warrior cats. Despite the help of the many dogs, it was quickly becoming a losing fight. “Master Wu needs your help,” Pixal pressed, almost idly. “We should go—” “Wait,” Zane interjected quickly. “I’m sorry.” It came out fast, as if he couldn’t say it soon enough. “About what I said. And what I did. Will you forgive me?”
