Chapter 4! This one is going to be on everyone's favorite genius ninja! And for all of you who thought I meant Donatello, you're in the wrong fanfiction category! In response to the reviews for Chapter 3:
lovesgod12- Yeah, that's his weakness. See, what I'm going to try and do is further elaborate on each ninja's weakness. Kai's is not knowing what to fight for, Jay's is missing Nya and something you'll all find out later, Cole's is fear of war and not being able to help others, and you'll read Zane's below.
MasterOfCupcakes- I wanted to give Cole a hug as well when I wrote Chapter 3, but I think you'll want to give Zane a hug after reading this.
MNC- Well, you found all of my little Easter eggs. I neglected to put one in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, so I'll try to slip one in Chapter 5. And I took the liberty of counting. I know 21 veterans and one guy who is in my state's National Guard.
Let's get rolling! Remember, constructive criticism is always allowed and encouraged.
Chapter 4: Cold as Ice
Thump! The truck hit another bump on the crowded dirt road in Ouroborus. Though it was smack dab in the middle of northern Ninjago, it felt like a foreign world. The people here dressed differently, were pro-dictatorship, and spoke a different language, known as Serpenti.
Zane sat in the shotgun seat, dressed in a normal outfit: A white collared shirt and brown cargo pants. Usually, he'd be wearing a bullet-proof vest, but his team was undercover today. He rolled his sleeves up. 'Damn, it's a hot one today.' He thought, fanning himself with his hand.
Sitting next to him was James McClyde, and in the back seats were Henry "Hank" Jones and Luicha Khatosi. Henry was from southern Ninjago near the Toxic Bogs, and Luicha emigrated from the Dark Island after the 1st War.
"Right gentlemen. HQ tasked us with an important one today." James spoke, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth. "We're supposed to snag an HVT, codenamed Crosspoint. Our spies tell us that he's being shielded by the Serpentine Mafia outside the marketplace."
Henry glanced at Luicha, before fiddling with a dollar bill. "Hey, McClyde, ain't the marketplace one of the most crowded areas in the city?" He spoke.
James nodded, with one hand still on the wheel. "We gotta watch our fire; this guy is to be brought in alive with no civilian casualties. "He's come from the Dark Island," he looked at Luicha in the rear-view mirror- "and he's brought 4 bodyguards with him."
Zane looked down at the glove box, with many thoughts running through his head. He didn't like killing, he did it for his country. Inside of that glove box was a standard issue P12S handgun, which Zane was going to use to kill citizens of Ninjago. They were part of an illegal slave trade and wanted the end of Ninjago's government, sure, but that didn't mean they weren't citizens.
"Zane, what weapons did we get for mission?" Luicha asked, his strong accent cutting through the silence.
Zane nodded. He was the weapons expert of the group. He could work his way through a weapon in 10 seconds. "There's a P12S in the glove box, and another on the dashboard. A L-19 is loaded and underneath my seat. And Hank," He stopped. "There's a dismantled M28 in the trunk, in a black suitcase. I take it you can rebuild that?"
Henry nodded. The M28 was a long-range sniper rifle, capable of hitting targets from 2 and a half miles away.
James tossed the still unlit cigarette out the window. "Right, we're approaching the marketplace. Hank, I'm going to drop you off a block across, in that tall building there. Get to room 14 on the 28th Floor; you should have a clear shot."
James parked the truck on the side of the road, allowing Henry to step out and grab the suitcase. As Hank ran into the building, Zane noticed a large mob of people walking from the marketplace towards them. An armed large mob of people.
Zane turned up the radio, which was blaring music in Serpenti. He avoided looking at the group, instead studying a car across the road. "James, Serpentine Mob, 1 o'clock." He slipped his hand into the glove box, grabbing the handle of the P12S. He saw James reach onto the dashboard and pull out his own handgun. He heard a click as Luicha pulled back the bolt on his L-19.
"If they pass by us, don't engage. There are too many." Zane advised. They were still a good 100 yards from the truck, but they seemed to be looking right at them. Zane counted quickly, finding 31 men exactly.
"Hank, you in position yet?" James asked, trying to keep a calm demeanor. Zane thought he heard Luicha praying in his native language in the back seat. Zane slipped the P12S out of the glove box, flipping off the safety.
"Give me 30 seconds, I'm still adjusting the scope." Was Henry's reply. Zane felt himself begin to sweat, but not from the hot Ouroborus sun. 'I can do this.' He thought to himself. 'You can do it, Zane Julien. The Dark Islanders killed your father, remember? Did he die in vain?' Zane looked up at the mob, now 40 yards from the vehicle.
These were not Dark Islanders. These were people of Ninjago. No matter how anti-democracy or different they were.
They were now 10 yards from the truck. 10 easy steps. They all stopped, and things grew quiet. The people at the marketplace stopped what they were doing and came to watch.
"On 3," James said, "I want you to duck your head and let me drive, alright?"
Zane nodded, and Luicha muttered a quick "Yes, alright…" Zane could hear the nervousness of his voice.
"1."
The mob stepped closer, pointing their rifles.
"2."
They were now able to see the whites of the men's eyes.
"3!"
Zane brought his head under the glove box. He heard the screeching of tires and the sound of gun fire. Then things got bumpy. Zane knew what they were rolling over.
He heard James shout, "Return fire, return fire! We're at the compound!" The truck screeched to a halt, and Zane shoved open the door.
He saw a Serpentine with a rifle on his hip. He was shooting, but it was nowhere near accurate. With two easy squeezes of the trigger, he went down. They were a good 30 yards from the compound, all huddled behind their truck.
"Zane, you break right and run for those barrels. I'll break left and try to cut around back. Luicha, you stay and provide covering support with the L-19."
All 3 nodded. "Break!"
Zane took off, firing his handgun blindly at the building. He slid behind the barrels, shoving another magazine into his pistol. A well placed bullet ricocheted off the top of a barrel. Zane ducked down.
"Sniper on top of the compound! SNIPER!" Another bullet hit the barrels. Zane was able to peak at the top of the roof. He saw the sniper just duck behind a wall on the 3rd Floor.
He heard a buzzing through his radio. "Zane, it's Hank. If you can draw his fire for 5 seconds, I can get him down."
Zane nodded, preparing himself. "Right. 5 seconds." He took off from behind cover, running right for the front door of the compound. A man stepped out, fiddling with his rifle. Zane dove, rolling on the ground, and got into a kneeling position.
BAM! The bullet was released from Zane's weapon. He heard a satisfying Thwap! as the bullet made contact with the man's neck. He was alive, but wouldn't last another 30 seconds from all the blood loss.
Another crack in the distance and a startled cry from the 3rd Floor told Zane that Henry had hit his target. Zane continued running into the compound, sliding yet another clip into his P12S. He made his way up the stairs to the second floor. A man had his back turned to Zane, firing out a window. He was dressed in all black, a Stone Soldier. Zane quietly stepped to the man. He placed the barrel against the back of the man's head and pulled the trigger.
It was gruesome. Bits of brain landed on the wall in front of him, and a pool of blood slipped out of the man's now blown apart face. (A/N Yeah, sorry about the gore. There'll be some of it, because war isn't exactly pretty, and I rated it T for a reason.) Zane looked down at him, hesitating, before moving on. Another man in Black had heard the gunshot and was rushing down the stairs.
"Yakov?" He called.
"Jah!" Zane called back. (A/N I know there's no official language for the Stone Soldiers, so I'm going to make it up as I go along, and I'm calling it Darese. Translations will be at the end of chapters.)
When he rounded the corner, the second man was met with a kiss from lead. His jaw was ripped off by Zane's well placed shot. Zane searched the man, finding a home-made stun grenade. He took it off the man's vest and tossed it up to the 3rd floor. With the sounds of confused men shouting and gunshots, Zane knew he could safely make his way up.
He entered the room, and men were sprawling around, slumping against walls and knocking over tables. Bam! Bam! The last two bodyguards fell. But still no sign of Crossroads.
He moved to the next room. He booted in the door, and low in behold… was a child.
He lowered his handgun. The room was nice-looking. It had a king-sized bed, a closet, and its own bathroom, which was quite luxurious compared to the majority of rooms in Ouroborus.
"Wey tu as maja? Wey tu ar paetens?" Zane asked in Darese, trying to beckon the child over.
The child looked shaken, and his eyes were wet. He wore a large coat, and had his hands in his pockets. He motioned towards the closet, which had a small amount of blood coming from under the door.
Zane yanked it open, and looked down. Inside was a man with a gaping hole in the side of his head. He looked to be Darese, and in his hand was a revolver. Suicide. But that wasn't what concerned Zane. What concerned Zane was the fact that tattooed on his neck, in Darese, was the word 'Stertral'.
Crossroads.
Zane grimaced, flipping on his earpiece. "Crossroads is dead. Repeat, HVT is dead. Coming back out." He turned to find the child looking back at him, with a small button in his hands. I wire went from the button into his coat.
Zane knew exactly what had happened. He felt sorry for the poor kid, who had an upset look on his face. He was trying to look tough, but came across as hurt. Because the child had a bomb in his coat.
"Murte a te rietejessnun!" He screamed in Darese.
Zane looked at the kid, his P12S still in his hands. He didn't want to do it. But if he distracted the kid, and acted fast enough…
He looked at the child. "Do you speak Ninjagan?" He asked. The child slowly nodded. "Th-that's good." Zane smiled weakly at him. "I… I know what you've got to do. And I kn-know you're scared."
Zane attempted to hold back tears, and tried to use his calm demeanor to overshadow his emotions. "How old are you, little one?"
The child shakily held up both hands. On one, he held up all five digits. On the next, which was still holding the button, he held up four, using his thumb to keep the button from falling.
"N-nine, huh?" Zane nodded, continuing to smile. "S-so, I don't usually do this… but I know I'm about to die." He choked up a bit, and hoped that the child hadn't noticed.
"S-so, I want you to count to three for me, in whatever language you want. In fact, we'll count together. A-and I want you to do it on three, so I'll be prepared." Zane said, still clutching his P12S.
The child nodded, almost smiling at Zane. "R-ready?" Zane asked. The child nodded once more.
"Unei…" They said together.
"Dosei…" Zane raised his handgun. BAM! The shot echoed through the room and out into the courtyard where James and Luicha were still huddled, waiting for their comrade to come back out.
"Tresei." said Zane.
The child looked stunned for a moment, looking down at the gaping hole in his upper-chest. He almost fell, but Zane ran forward and caught him, hugging him close.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Zane said, breathing heavily and allowing the tears to run down his face and onto the child's blood stained coat.
Zane continued the phrase, "I'm sorry," in both Darese and English, setting the child gently on the floor.
After three minutes, Luicha and James became worried for their friend. They moved swiftly through the house, finding the bodies that Zane had left. "Hank, you see what happened to Zane?" James asked into his earpiece.
"Oh yeah, I saw." Was all Henry replied, sounding a little shaken.
They moved on to the third floor. The last room had its door slightly adjacent.
Luicha went in first, L-19 at the ready. What he found, though, didn't warrant any gunfire. He saw Zane, kneeling over the body of a young child. In the closet was a man who had clearly committed suicide.
James walked in after him. All in the room were silent. James saw Zane wipe off his face before standing up.
"A-alright, let's go." Zane said, a calm look on his face. James and Luicha knew something was off. He had lost the edge in his voice.
"Yeah, sure Zane. Go meet up with Hank back at the building. We'll catch up." Was all James replied. Zane walked out slowly, heading down the stairs.
Luicha stood there, studying the scene further. "What do you think happened here, McClyde?"
James continued to stare at the boy, who had been placed with his arms folded neatly across his chest and his eyes closed. "Well, Luicha, some things are best left unanswered."
They both walked out, making a silent pact not to mention the subject any further.
Chapter 4 is rolled out and DONE! Don't forget that little competition I brought up last chapter. I'll give you until chapter 6 until I announce it, so people have more time to guess. Darese Translations:
Jah- Yes
Wey tu as maja? Wey tu ar paetens?- Where is your mother? Where are your parents?
Stertral- Crossroads
Murte a te rietejessnun!- Death to the unrighteous! [A battle cry often used by the Stone Army]
Unei- One
Dosei- Two
Tresei- Three
Constructive criticism is always allowed, so please leave what you liked or didn't like in the reviews. Thanks!
