Hey guys! Coming back at you with another Zane story! Yes, this is a sequel to Dead Love. If you haven't read it, it's the most popular story I've written. As I'm writing this, I have 76 reviews on it. Wow. You guys rock. I'll give you time. It's not that long. Done? Ok. Here we go!
"Are you sure about this?" Kai, for once, was the cautious one. He could handle swimming if he really had to. But in freezing cold water?
"If it's any consolation, as long as you're out in 20 minutes, you shouldn't observe any long-term changes to your health." Zane smiled.
"Thanks." Kai rolled his eyes. Zane only blinked in response, and stepped into the icy water.
Kai gingerly placed his foot ankle deep, and a yelp escaped his lips. He foot flew back, and Zane cast a glance to the embarrassed Fire Ninja.
"Sorry." Kai mumbled, and forced himself to tread into the numbing depths. Once he reached waist deep, he could feel his teeth chattering, and he had to clamp his mouth shut to silence the reaction. Zane hadn't resurfaced since Kai had entered, and the freezing ninja had to remind himself that Zane probably couldn't walk across burning coals.
Kai was only waist deep when Zane's blond hair resurfaced, followed soon by the rest of him chest up. His gi was soaked, but he was still smiling with the innocence that he always portrayed.
"Having fun?" Kai bitterly waded his way over.
"Yes, actually. I don't usually get to swim in this cold of water anymore." Zane, with a rare sense of humor, splashed Kai over the head with a chilly blast of water.
Kai gasped, and resisted the urge to singe the edges of Zane's hair. Telling himself it wasn't worth the trouble, he forced a smile and resorted to braving the chilly waters.
"Tell me again why I'm being tortured so." Kai gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to leap out of this flowing death trap.
"It's a training exercise, Kai. Sensei wanted me to help you with your aquaphobia." Zane smiled, and beckoned Kai farther into the lake.
"Of course he told you to do it. Not Cole or Jay or Lloyd or anybody that doesn't sit in this water for hours on end." Kai shivered.
Zane only blinked in response, and Kai forced himself to move farther in, the water now creeping up to his chest.
The fire ninja felt an unnatural rush of cold down by his toes. It wasn't a current. It was like a snake, curling around his feet. He went to call for Zane's help, but a sudden wave pushed into his mouth. Kai gagged and fought the water, but felt himself slipping under. Where was Zane when you needed him?
Darkness creeped around his vision. Kai's eyes drooped shut and his limbs grew limp as he succumbed to the black blanket being thrown over him, drifting away into the deadly waters.
Kai felt himself slowly open his eyes. He wasn't dead? He forced himself to lift his upper body off the ground and look around. One quick glance told him he wasn't at the lake anymore. Grass brushed his water-soaked gi as he stood up. The same coldness wound its way through the ground. Kai could see it now. Faint purple gas twisted along at his feet, all headed the same way. Kai carefully crept over to the source, and held in a gasp.
The same Lovaquis from before sat preening her hair on a rock, crooning quietly to herself.
"I'm gonna get my guy," She smiled and twirled magic around her fingers. "He's gonna be mine." Her blonde curls bobbed up and down as she bounced her head to her little tune.
She should be in jail. Wait, how am I here? Kai realized that this was rather unnatural. Suddenly, he felt a voice rumbling through the hills. The Lovaquis didn't even bat and eyelash.
"Kai! Kai!" The landscape around the Fire Ninja grew hazy. He was catapulted into darkness for a second before his eyes shot open. A terrified Zane was no less than 12 inches away from his face. The Ice Ninja heaved a sigh and leaned back when Kai opened his eyes.
"Please, don't ever do that again." Zane sat down, head in hands.
"You think I had a choice?" Kai muttered, spitting out water.
"How do you think I would explain to everyone that you managed to drown in chest high water?" Zane ran his hand through his hair, exasperated.
"Maybe next time don't leave the ninja who can't swim by himself in a freezing pond." Kai spat. He suddenly remembered the strange vision he had, and sat up fully.
"What's wrong now?" Zane inquired.
"We need to get back to the Bounty. Stat." Kai began to stand up.
"What's the rush?" Zane stood up as well.
"She's back." Kai gulped, and Zane's eyes widened. This could not be good.