Warning, T rating for a reason. Nothing bad, just a passing comment that may or may not go over the younger audiences heads. Enjoy and leave a comment!
"What?" Lloyd asked, not believing he had heard Zane right. "I'm sorry, did you just say I have to serve the food in this?" He gestured to the pink apron with a look of disgust.
Zane nodded. "Yes, Lloyd. My kitchen, my rules. I say you have to wear the apron until we start eating."
Lloyd saw the not-so-subtle hint of humor switch coming through in his tone and scowled. "Fine." He spat. He snatched a bowl of pasta from the counter and went for the door. "You're gonna pay for this."
Zane pretended he didn't hear that last part as he grabbed the salad with one hand and a loaf of bread with the other. Balancing them carefully, he followed Lloyd, who's face was as pink as the apron itself.
Zane put on a winning smile as he set the large bowl and plate on the table before his friends. "Dinner is served." He beamed, using his stereotypical entrance.
Lloyd gave a sarcastic smile as he set down the spaghetti. He lifted his arms to show off his new outfit. "What do you think, boys?" He asked with false enthusiasm, posing a ridiculously provocative pose.
Jay snickered. "Looks like Zane finally has his revenge for the Pink Ninja incident." He poked Kai's arm, and in turn the fire ninja frowned and scooted further down the long bench away from Jay.
"Thank you for reminding me." Lloyd deadpanned. "because I wanted to remember all the laundry I did after that."
Cole smiled cheekily at Zane and reached for the bread knife. "Smells good, Zane." He said as he sliced the loaf for everyone. "A perfect birthday dinner." He looked at Zane quizzically. "I can't believe this hasn't come up before, but how old are you, anyways?"
Zane grabbed the butter dish. "Seventy-four," he said nonchalantly.
Cole looked surprised. "That can't be right," he scratched his chin. "You don't look like you could possibly be older than thirty."
"But it does make sense, Cole." Julien reasoned. "I made him when I was..." He thought for a moment. "I was twenty-nine when I began the project. I finished it when I was perhaps thirty-one?"
Zane nodded. "I believe that is correct, father. And according to my memory, you passed at the age of eighty-six. And then I spent many years after that in the Northern Villages." His face darkened considerably, contorting his handsome, almost elven features with anxiety. "But the past is in the past. And I'd rather not dwell on those years."
Kai nodded. "Zane's right. It doesn't matter. Besides, If his cooking has improved with his age, that would explain the deliciousness of every meal he serves."
"Yeah," Cole said. "He's getting close to beating me in the field of culinary work."
Jay laughed and grabbed the serving spoon.
"Yes, Cole. He is giving you a run for your money, to say the least." Kai chose his words carefully.
Cole beamed at what he thought was a compliment.
Nya opened the sliding door and walked into the room and sat down between Jay and Kai. "Hey, guys." She said pleasantly.
"Greetings, Nya." Julien said with a smile as he loaded up his plate with noodles. "Have you seen Pixal?"
Nya nodded. "Yeah, she was in the bridge with me. She should be right..." She looked over her shoulder. "She didn't follow me inside?"
"Apparently not." Jay said. He set down his fork and stood up. "I'll go get her."
"No you won't." Nya said firmly. She stood up and smiled quickly, ruffling his hair. "I'll get her. You stay here." She turned on her heel and left the room, not
bothering to slide the door shut behind her.
Everyone stared at Jay questioningly.
Jay shrugged and scratched the back of his head nervously. "I think she is jealous of Pixal or something." He explained as he tried to pat his hair back down. "She thinks I like the robot more than her. No offense Zane!" He said as he looked at the Nindriod, who was buttering a slice of bread. "It's just that she isn't my type. She doesn't seem to have what I want, you know? She sort of lacks the human qualities needed for me to be a dad one-" He slapped a hand over his mouth. His face flushed a deep crimson.
Everyone looked at him, bewildered. Cole started choking and hacking loudly.
"What did you say?" Kai turned his head and gave Jay a look that said there were going to be more bruises to tend to that night. Broken bones were more likely.
Jay screamed, much like a twelve year old girl might, as Kai jumped from his seat and began to chase Jay with his elemental blade drawn, a fire flying out of it.
He chased Jay around the table, a fire brighter than his sword shining in his brown eyes.
Nya had the good fortune to walk in right then with Pixal. She stopped short at the scene in front of her.
"Kai!" She exclaimed. She jumped out of the way just in time to let Jay plough past her, through the door. Pixal wasn't as fast and got knocked to the floor. Kai jumped over the android and continued after the screaming blue ninja without missing a step.
"Jay you bastard!" He shouted, temper hotter than Nya had heard in a long time. That concerned her deeply.
"Get back here so I can teach you a lesson!" She heard his voice in the floorboards beneath their feet a moment later. She looked up at the remaining ninja in shock. "What just happened?" She said as she helped Pixal to her feet.
Lloyd looked sort of sick, while Cole wheezed into his napkin. Sensei poured himself a cup of tea, pretending he had no clue what was going on, while Julien looked rather thoughtful.
Zane looked pale. He stared off at a fixed point in the distance, a look of displeasure on his face. She walked over to where he stood, the small tray of butter still clutched in his hand.
"Hey, you okay, Zane?" She asked in a concerned tone.
The butter dish shattered on the floor, making Nya jump back in surprise. She looked up at his face in shock. "Zane, what's wrong?" She asked.
"Excuse me, please." Zane said as he bolted for the door without making eye contact with anyone. He was gone in an instant.
Nya threw her hands into the air. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" She shouted at no one in particular.
Cole finally got himself breathing normally again. "I think you'd better talk with your brother about this. Not us." He looked flustered.
What in all of Ninjago is this about? She ran to find her brother, praying a silent prayer that Jay was still alive, and that Kai would not start the ship on fire.
Pythor took a deep breath as he slithered onto the podium. He blinked rapidly as he tried to get a dark spot out of his eyes from the sun that beat down heavily on Ouroboros. The audience of Serpentine soldiers sat around the stadium, waiting impatiently for the speech. There was a low hissing noise that floated through the air as the snakes conversed in whispers. The four generals stood around the purple Anacondrai.
"Fellow Serpentine!" Pythor's voice carried over the dunes. There was instant silence. "I have gathered you all here today for a proposition." He smiled a large, toothy smile. "Now that we have been united, we are stronger than ever before."
"Before when, Pythor?" Skales hissed. "We've lost almost half our numbers in the cavern. We had to eat sssomething, you know."
Pythor knew Skales was right. The numbers of the four tribes had dwindled considerably, due to lack of other foods to eat in that cave. Even one of the generals had become lunch. He looked at Fangdam, the new Fangpyre general. Apparently the second in command had challenged Fangtom to a duel. The two-legged, mute snake had won, becoming the new general and giving his tribe a decent meal that night.
Pythor continued speaking. "Yes, we have lost a great many of our numbers. But they were the weak snakes. We are the survivors, the ones who beat the odds and proved to this cursed world how strong we really are!" He shook his golden staff above his head. "I say, let me lead you again, and we will drive these surface dwellers back where they belong, so we can rule Ninjago!"
He heard an immense amount of cheering from the audience. He smiled as his staff landed on the hard rocky surface he shared with the other generals with a thud.
Acidicus laughed heartily. Skales and Skalidor joined in a moment later. Fangdam just shook his two heads in pity.
Pythor was confused. This wasn't like before, when he had tried to win over the tribes with humor. This was different. They were laughing at him; mocking him.
"What are you laughing at?" He asked uncomfortably.
Skales stopped laughing first. "Pythor," he said. "You have no idea how ridiculous you sssound right now." He pointed to his head. To the coveted crown that Pythor wanted so badly.
"You see this, Pythor?" He asked. "This means I am in command. Do you realize how badly you have messed thingsss up?"
Acidicus nodded. "Yes, like releasssing the Devourer."
"Like sending us on that wild goose chase in the first placcce." Skalidor hissed in a deep voice.
"And just standing there, fffrozen with fear as the great snake ate you and the old man that you couldn't defffeat." The green snake added.
"You are a coward, Pythor." Skales stated. "Just face it. Oh, no. Wait." They all started laughing again. "That'sss right. You can't." Skales slithered up to face the Anacondrai general. "Because you are a coward."
He turned and faced the audience. "You don't want this fool to lead us, do you?" He shouted. "You want someone strong. Someone who's plans actually work! After all, what did this missserable excuse for a snake do, anyway?" Skales raised his staff and brought it back down onto the stone platform hard. "Every idea has ever Pythor had comes back to bite usss hard."
The snakes cheered in the stands.
Pythor's jaw dropped in shock. They didn't want him here. "But-"
"No butsss." Skales said. "Leave. There's no placcce for you here."
Pythor snarled, his long forked tongue flicking out of his open jaw. "fine!" He shouted as he ran out of the arena under the eyes of hundreds of snakes. He mumbled to himself angrily as he exited the rundown city and was met with an unobstructed view of sand for miles around.
"Well, that did not go well." Pythor hissed. "Exactly who's idea was this?"
"That is of no concern of yours!" The Overlord shouted back, knowing full well it was his. "But we don't need them. I have a new plan. Let's move."
Pythor rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his scaly chest. "You know I can't see you right? Where are we going?"
"Ninjago City, you worm!" The Overlord shot back with fury.
Pythor shook his head and sighed. "If I don't get rid of this Overlord soon," He hissed under his breath, "I'm going to lose my mind."
"What?" Nya asked her two best friends incredulously.
Jay blushed deeply. For once he had nothing to say.
Kai was pacing the floor, fingers clenching and unclenching as he tried really hard not to take out his blade again. "Can you believe this, Nya?" He asked.
Nya covered her mouth with her hands, a look of shock in her eyes. Jay's heart sunk into his stomach as he looked at the floor.
Nya cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest, somewhat regaining her composure. "Kai?" She said shakily. "A word outside, please."
Kai nodded and held the door open for her. They both walked through, leaving Jay alone in the room.
Kai shut the door behind them and turned to his sister.
Nya covered her face with her hands as she sunk to the floor, on the verge of tears. "Oh, Kai." She sniffed. "What am I going to do?" She hugged her knees to her chin. Kai sat down next to her and put his arms around her.
"Yeah, it's not like we can kick him out of the club or anything." He said.
Nya looked at him, horrified. "No! That's not what I meant!" She exclaimed.
Cole came bounding around the corner. " Zane!" He shouted, a look of worry on his face. "Zane, where'd you go?" He stopped when he saw the two siblings on the floor. "Oh, hey." He greeted them as he looked Nya over. "Are you okay, Nya? You look like you've been crying." His face was full of concern.
Nya Looked up in alarm. "Cole!" She exclaimed, extricating herself from Kai's arms and jumping to her feet. She ran her fingers through her hair and blushed. "N-no, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, though." She didn't dare look up at his shining black eyes, out of fear that she might turn purple with embarrassment.
Cole smiled slightly, obviously preoccupied with something else. "Great." He said. "Hey, have either of you seen Zane?" He asked.
Kai shook his head as he got to his feet. "No, sorry. We've been in there, talking with Jay. He might have passed through without us noticing."
Cole moaned. "Oh, okay. Thanks, anyway. I've gotta find him. See you later." He ran off down the hall.
As soon as he was gone, Kai turned to his little sister. "Really, Nya?" He put his hands on his hips and looked at the crimson colored girl in annoyance.
She laughed despite herself. "I know!" She sunk to her knees again. "What am I going to do?" she repeated, her voice muffled in her hands.
Kai frowned. "I have no clue. Does Cole know?"
Nya shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I haven't told him, at least."
Kai turned toward the door where Jay was waiting for them.
Nya accepted her brother's hand and he pulled her to her feet. "What will I tell Jay?" She moaned.
"About which part?" Kai asked. "His apology or your change of heart?"
Nya gave him a warning glance. "The apology, Kai." She said curtly.
"Oh. Okay, easy." He said. "Tell him you forgive him and walk out without another word. That's what I would do."
Nya rolled her eyes and poked Kai's shoulder. "Of course. But I've got a feeling that your tactics won't work in my case," she said as she turned to face the door. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You should go back and find the others, Kai. I can handle this." She opened the door and walked through, shutting it gently behind her.
Kai stared at the closed door with some level of annoyance towards his sister. He walked up the stairs, deciding he needed to talk with a neutral party about this. His first thought was Sensei, but decided he needed someone who didn't talk in as many riddles. He figured that Lloyd would not be old enough to understand. That left one person.
He ran to the kitchen and slid the dining room door open, and could tell immediately something was off. "Lloyd?" Kai asked, "what are you doing in here?"
Lloyd looked up from the pile of dirty dishes he was washing. "I'm eating candy and watching my favorite movie, Kai. What are you doing." He deadpanned. He looked at the fire ninja with alarm. "You didn't kill Jay, did you?" He asked.
Kai laughed and ran his fingers through his ruddy brown hair. "No, not yet."
Lloyd smiled. "Yet," he repeated, rinsing a dish and setting it aside to dry.
Kai looked at the pile of dishes left to testify for a day of eating almost nonstop. Ice cream bowls, plates with cake crumbs and soiled dishes from dinner that he didn't eat. "Where's Zane?" He asked.
Lloyd shrugged. "He left after Jay's little...you know. Anyways, Cole went to go find him. I think Jay shook Zane up pretty badly with that comment. Sorta rubbed the fact that he wasn't human in his face."
Kai winced. He hadn't thought of how the androids would take that scene. "Where's Pixal, then? Is she with him?"
Lloyd shook his head. "Naw, she's with Julien. I think the whole thing went over her head. Remember, she wasn't even in the room when it happened."
Kai nodded, feeling slightly relieved. "That's good." He looked at Lloyd's pile of work again and felt a bit of pity for the boy. "Want some help?" He asked.
"Thought you'd never ask." Lloyd said. He handed Kai a rag. "Here." He went back to scrubbing.
Kai noticed the pink apron Lloyd was still wearing. "Are there any more aprons?" Kai asked. "I don't feel like getting this gunk all over my kimono. I just washed it yesterday."
Lloyd set down his rag again and walked over to the closet. "I'm not sure. Let me check." He opened the door and peeked in. "Oh, I'm going to kill you, Zane." He said as he reached in and pulled out a green apron. "Really?" The young ninja laughed. "This was here the whole time?" He rolled his eyes and reluctantly handed the apron to Kai. "What I won't do for a friend." He said with a smile. "Take it before I change my mind."
Kai laughed and tied it around his red suit. "I look like Christmas came early." He said.
"I look like a strawberry." Lloyd countered as he once again picked up the rag and began scrubbing. Kai grabbed a plate out of the warm, sudsy water and assisted him.
"So what did you need Zane for?" Lloyd asked.
Kai shrugged. "Just some advice." He said after a moment. He rinsed the plate and carefully put it on the drying rack.
"On the best way to kill Jay?" Lloyd said good-humoredly.
Kai laughed. "Actually, just the opposite," he grabbed a sticky bowl and scrubbed clean.
"Really?" Lloyd said, obviously surprised. "You're going to do it?" Lloyd asked. "You're going to let Jay..."
Kai sighed loudly. "I was. Until just a few minutes ago."
"Because of what he said?" Lloyd asked, recognizing the tone in his friend's voice as one of confusion and frustration.
Kai thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to put it into words. "Apparently, Cole has entered the picture."
Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. I could guess that." He said nonchalantly.
Kai was surprised. "You did? Was Nya really that obvious?"
Lloyd shook his head. "No. I just have a keen eye for that kind of stuff, I guess. I see her running her fingers through her hair and smiling a little more whenever Cole or Jay entered the room." Lloyd rinsed the plate and put it on the rack. "I don't think either Cole or Jay suspect that there's a triangle forming."
"Which is good, I suppose." Kai said. "I'm just hoping that this whole thing blows over by itself without any more drama. But..." He sighed and looked at his friend. "If it came down to it, who should let her go with?"
Lloyd stopped his work and looked at Kai thoughtfully. "First of all, Kai," he said, holding up a finger, "You need to think of what's best for her. Who do you think she would be happiest with in the long run?" he held up another finger. "And secondly, you don't know if Cole has mutual feelings for her."
Kai nodded his head slowly. He smiled and got back to work. "Lloyd," he said, "you truly have wisdom beyond your years. Thank you."
Lloyd grabbed the last dish off the counter and scrubbed it clean. "Anytime, brother." He let Kai give him a hug. "Let's go help Cole find Zane." They took off the aprons and tossed them on the floor, not even bothering to look where they landed, and ran out the door.
I know some of you may not like the Cole/Nya ship, but I think it's cute.
Jay: I don't like you, Astrid.
I know. I don't like you either.
Please leave a comment, I really appreciate the feedback. :)
And if you want, go to my profile for a poll and the update schedule.
