It's Wednesday. And I forgot about updating this and I ended up writing it all in a few hours. Whoops.

Chapter Four: Reunion

"And you're completely positive that she isn't dead?" questioned a black ninja, leaning back against a wooden wall. With a gloved hand, he brushed some of the hair out of his face, frowning slightly. Both bushy eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. Two of his brothers had just waltzed right into the dojo carrying someone who was dressed like one of them and acted like it was completely nothing. Of course, the girl did not look so good. She was very pale and his amber eyes still lingered over her, looking to make sure she was breathing.

Zane placed a damp cloth across the girl's forehead, watching as she winced in her restless slumber. "Once more, I assure you that she is not dead, Cole," he answered for the third time. He let her be, lying down on a small tatami mat in the corner of the main room. Cole still stood, his arms crossed, near the entrance to the back of the dojo. "She is just unconscious. You know more than any of us how terrible the grip of a Constrictai can be." The raven haired boy nodded in response, averting his gaze to the floor.

"How did you guys manage to find her in time?" a red ninja asked, steadying a suspended sand bag before punching it. The rhythm of training had been interrupted when Zane and Jay had arrived with the girl, but he needed to keep his focus. It was his turn to train Lloyd today and he did not need any distractions. Silence spread on as a reply, the only sound filling the air was the rough thudding of his wrapped fists pounding against the equipment. After a few minutes of continuous punching, Kai ceased his activity and took a seat on a nearby chair. "Well, is anyone gonna answer me?"

Stretching his legs, Jay decided to humor his friend. "I felt the tingling sensation of a damsel in distress and I leapt into action, deciding that I would need Zane to back me up. I was right, as always, and we found the poor girl being attacked by the Serpentine. I heroically swooped down and single handedly saved her, chasing the snakes away. She unfortunately fainted from my smoldering good looks." A small chuckle escaped his throat as he watched Kai roll his eyes, obviously unamused. Jay's hazel eyes softened as his laughter grew. "Oh calm down," he continued, leaning back on his hands. "Zane's falcon found the Serpentine and alerted him. I just happened to be awake so I went with him. No big whoop."

He felt his lips draw into a thin line as he listened to the blue ninja explain what had happened. Cole had a bad feeling about this. The Serpentine had not been spotted in the city for a couple of months now, ever since they had failed in kidnapping Lloyd. With their leader, Skales, behind bars it had seemed like the Serpentine had lost their way. "Something is off," the leader finally said, catching everyone's undivided attention. "The Serpentine are found in the city and then they catch someone dressed like a ninja. It's just weird. No one has ever tried to pass themselves off as one of us, as a ninja." His gaze fell upon the girl once more as she tossed and turned feverishly on the mat. "What if it's some kind of trick? What if they wanted you to save her?"

"We could not just leave her there." Zane approached his friend, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Whether it is a trick or not, it would not have been right to just ignore what was happening." Cole had not been there. He had not seen the hungry glint in Fangtom's eyes as he loomed over the girl. "If it had been you, would you have wanted someone to ignore the fact that you were in trouble?" The black ninja shifted uncomfortably in response to Zane's words, staring at the ground. "I would not have left you to fend for yourself. She needed help, we helped her. That is all."

Kai narrowed his light brown eyes. Everything did seem a little to convenient now that Cole pointed it out. "Ya know what, if Fangtom had turned her, it would have only been another enemy to fight." He leaned back in his chair, the heavily gelled spikes in his hair grazing the glass of Dareth's trophy case behind him. "We have a right to be suspicious though. This wouldn't be the first time the Serpentine tried to catch us off guard. At least this time it wouldn't involve subway cars." Jay visibly tensed up and hugged his knees to his chest, most likely remembering the utter fear and trauma that had accompanied almost being crushed to death.

"If everyone is so worried about this, why don't we just go and talk to Sensei," rebutted the blue ninja, glancing around at his friends. "There's no harm done. If he says to just send her on her way, we'll do that." Without waiting for a reply, he stood on the spot. It was always easier to have someone else make a decision. He was not a leader and he could not always make up his mind, so why not just ask Sensei? He always knew what to do! "If we go now we can decide what to do before she even wakes up. It'll make it easier on all of us. No one has to fight about it because Sensei will help us."

For once Jay was making complete sense. "Alright, then," Kai agreed, rising from his seat. His eyes met Cole's and the black ninja gave a visible nod. "Seems like the most reasonable thing to do. Let's go see Sensei, talk to him, and come right back. Hopefully we'll be able to get back before Lloyd shows up. The pipsqueak was running a little late this morning anyways." The beads that hung down from the doorway that led to the back half of the building parted, catching the red ninja's attention. A man stepped through; a gold medallion that sat upon his bare chest glinted in the natural light. "Oh, Dareth, we're gonna go see Sensei real quick. If Lloyd shows up, tell him we'll be back soon. It shouldn't take too long."

The dojo owner waved away this statement and watched as the ninja hastily made their way out of the front door, a single bell signaling their exit. He glanced down at the floor and noticed an unconscious girl sprawled across a mat. "I'm not even going to ask," he muttered to himself, quickly checking his reflection in the trophy case that sat across the room before returning to the back of the dojo.

"What do you mean by that? He has to be here! This is the stupid school my mother sent him to!" She glanced down at the crudely written note she had hastily scrawled in a burst of anger. The letters were barely discernible, but she was positive that this was the place. Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys. Now the principal was telling her that Lloyd was not even here. "He's enrolled here, I swear he is," the red head tried again, crossing her arms over her chest. "Kids don't just disappear, so where is Lloyd?"

The aging man narrowed his beady eyes and leaned back in his office chair, hands clasped firmly in his lap. "It is like I said, Lloyd Garmadon is not here. That is the end of it."

There was a mixture of devastation and rage welling up inside of her. None of this would have ever happened if her mother had just kept the family together. If this man, the head of the school, did not even know where Lloyd was, how was she ever going to find him? "So you have no clue where my brother is?" she asked tiredly, feeling the devastation start to take over. "Not even an idea of where he could have gone?"

"No, and I could not even begin to care where he went. He caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the school which took quite some time to repair." This elicited a chuckle from the girl standing opposite of him, but he ignored it and continued on. "He wasn't a very exemplary student either. Not up to the standards of Darkley's. Wherever Lloyd is, he's probably pulling a childish prank and further desecrating what it truly means to be 'bad'." His former student's sibling opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "He's not my problem anymore, so no more questions."

With a disgruntled look, Laurie turned away and walked out of the office door.

There was a slight pressure on her forehead and Laurie opened her eyes slowly. Bright light streamed into the room, the very unfamiliar room, illuminating everything nicely. A sudden realization crept over her and she sat up quickly, looking around for the two snakes that had last had her. Warm and damp, a white rag fell off of Laurie's head and landed in her lap. Would deranged serpents take the time to tend to her after kidnapping her? Grabbing the rag with her right hand, the girl tossed it down onto the floor. She immediately ran both hands across the skin of her neck, thin fingers checking for any sign of broken skin. Everything felt like it was intact. Yeah, but where am I?

A bell attached to the door jingled. Laurie felt her heart start racing and she crawled over to a pile of stacked cinderblocks. Judging by the décor of the building she was in, and the weapons that seemed to be carelessly strewn about, Laurie assumed she was in a training facility. How did she end up here though and where had those snakes gone? Every breath came in shallow as she watched someone slowly examine the room. They were clothed in a green gi, face hidden behind a mask. "Hello, is anyone here?" the person called out, voice higher than Laurie was initially expecting. Were the ninja her dad had told her about actually just a bunch of kids? This would be easier than she thought.

"They're all out right now, kid!" She narrowed her ice blue eyes as a man with an outrageous hairdo stepped out from another room. He was clothed completely in brown and had an egotistical air about him. "Kai said they'd all be back really soon; had to go talk to your Sensei about something." The man gave the ninja a quick pat on the shoulder before turning to head back to the back of the building. "Holler if you need anything, kid!"

He gave a small sigh, watching as Dareth went back to his office or whatever it was that was back there. Did the guys just decide to bail on him? He had not run into any of them on the way to the dojo. "Wonder how long ago they left," he mumbled to himself, giving a soft kick to the air as a shadow suddenly loomed over him. There was an arm around his neck, pulling him backwards. A cry stuck in his throat and he tried to pry his way free from his assailant.

"Stop squirming," a voice behind him commanded. It was a girl. Who was she and how had she managed to get into the dojo without Dareth noticing her? He sent a hard kick backwards and heard the girl inhale sharply. "Do that again and I'll make you wish you hadn't." Her voice sounded shaky and less assertive this time, but the pressure around his neck grew heavier and he choked slightly. "I have one question and one question only. If you answer it, I might let you go free." The room went silent before she spoke once more, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Where is Lloyd Garmadon?"

Wait, what?

He kicked backwards once more, feeling as his captor loosened her grip to collect herself. Slipping out of the choke-hold, the green ninja rushed forward before spinning around. The girl was on her knees, looking worse for wear. She was older than he was though, probably around the same age as the guys. There was something familiar about her though. He just could not place a finger on it. "Why do you want to know?" he challenged, clapping his hands together.

"I want him back," she spit, shakily getting to her feet. Her eyes scanned the floor before she reached behind her. Obviously frustrated now, she let a growl escape her lips. "My dad told me all about you. How you kidnapped Lloyd." She took a step closer and he drew his hands apart, concentrating on the slight energy he could feel building up. A tiny spark of green light winked at him before vanishing. He really had to get a better handle on his powers. "I just want him back. Just tell me where my brother is and I'll leave you be."

The beads in the doorway rattled once again as Dareth entered the room. "I heard some racket and I just wanted to see if everything was-" his voice trailed off as he saw the girl from the floor and the smallest ninja staring at each other. "Um…am I interrupting something?" the dojo owner questioned. In response, both kids narrowed their eyes in an eerily similar fashion. "I'll just go then. Still, call me if you need anything." He hastily left the room, leaving the tension in his wake.

Just tell me where my brother is and I'll leave you be.

He saw the resemblance now. Of course. She had been so much smaller before, but so had he. The icy glances and tear streaked face had been the last thing he remembered of her before she had left. Then he had been at boarding school ever since then. Why was she here now? It had been years since they had been together. Her freckled nose twitched impatiently as she lunged forward gripping his gi tightly and lifting him off of the floor. "I'm not kidding around," Laurie threatened. "Tell me where Lloyd is or I will hurt you."

Grabbing on to her arm with one hand, he managed to remove his mask with the other.

She immediately dropped him, watching as he managed to gracefully land in a crouch. Blonde hair clung to his forehead with sweat and his emerald green eyes held a glint of mischief. He had grown of course, but he somehow still looked the same. The same little boy that had been shipped off to boarding school. The same little boy that wanted to grow up to be just like dad. "Y-You are, but how…and…dad said that…why?"

"It's been a long time, sis. Why don't we catch up?"

Just a reminder, this story will not be updated again until next FRIDAY.
We're moving to Fridays, people. I'm going to start publishing a new story next Wednesday because it's really neat and I'm having a lot of fun writing it. So why not?

Thanks for reading. See you next Friday. :)