Chapter 7: Tagged and Bagged
That day and the next night were silent. Chen, Clouse, and Skylor waited for the ninja to make their move, but nothing happened.
"Have they run away?" asked Chen, disappointed. He had really wanted to keep Zane.
"No," sneered Skylor. "They are still here. I can feel it."
"And what if you are wrong?" demanded Clouse. "If the ninja have left, then we need to regroup and wage war on them."
"You and what army?!" laughed Skylor. "You two have no more friends left."
"And you do?" asked Chen, curious.
Skylor just smiled.
"Skylor," said Chen. "What friends do you have?"
"I have some in Ninjago city," she said. "They have been very…helpful friends."
"I've never met them," said Clouse, glaring. He'd never liked Skylor - she was always convincing Chen to bring in younger fighters, and he personally hated the way she surpassed him in almost every way.
"You never go anywhere fun," she snorted back.
"I'm bored!" complained Chen. "Clousey-Clouse, get my staff! We will get out of her way." He poked her arm. "I want those ninja! Leave the white one intact!"
She rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever."
()
The ninja had been hiding, waiting for night to fall again. The delivery trucks would be arriving today, and the ninja needed to make their move. Dessie had told them to wait as long as possible - Chen would lose patience, and hastiness on his part would work in their favor.
Now the sun was setting, and they were all taking their places. Nya and Jay snuck off to the warehouse full of trophies that Chen had hidden away. Nya's mech was there, and it could be used to call Lloyd for help. They would need a ride off of this island!
Cole, Zane, Kai, and Dessie would take down Chen. Dessie brought out some nets that she had stowed away, and handed them to the guys. Zane and Kai gasped and dropped them right away.
"What is this!?" demanded Kai.
"My powers," murmured Zane. "They…they were canceled out by the net!"
"What?" asked Cole. "They feel fine to me."
"But you don't have your power's right now," explained Dessie. "These are Deepstone Nets. They are made with a super powerful mineral that cancels out elemental powers. They are our only weapon against Skylor. If she touches the net, then we can touch her without a problem. But if you tried to fight her with all her powers - the amber power she has and the others that she stole - then she'd just steal yours and…uh, no offense, but she would probably win."
"None taken," said Zane. "This is a brilliant plan."
"Yeah, I feel really confident about it," said Dessie. "I couldn't have ever done it myself though. I'm glad you all are here to help."
Cole grinned. "Let's get going," he said, and they stepped into the open.
After scouting, they found that Chen's fortress was almost completely abandoned. As they slipped in and out of rooms, they began to wonder if maybe Chen, Clouse, and Skylor had escaped.
"Skylor's chambers are at the top of these stairs," said Dessie. "And Clouse's are at the other end of the fortress. We should split up - this place is huge, and if they are trying to escape - "
"Then we need to hurry," finished Zane. "Kai, capture Skylor. Cole, Dessie and I will find Chen and Clouse."
"Aw, I have to go alone?" protested Kai.
"Well, I want Dessie with me," said Cole, "and I need one more ninja with me too. I am powerless, after all. You still have your fire."
"Oh fine," said Kai. "I just don't think it's a good idea."
"Sorry," said Dessie, and the three of them ran down the hallway, away from the stairs and Kai.
Kai crept up the stairs, net in his hands, listening. The only sound was the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, and his soft foot falls on the stairs. He made his way quietly to the room with a pink door - surely this was Skylor's. As he reached out a hand to open the door, a sudden noise stopped him.
Thud. Thud thud.
He turned. It was…coming from above him. He stared - it was coming from the vents above him. He backed away as the little vent door opened, and someone slid clumsily out.
Kai started. "Y…you!" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"
()
"Ahhhhh!' screamed Clouse as Zane rolled into the room. "Master, run! It's the ninja!"
Chen had been sitting on the sofa, enjoying a cold lemonade and soft opera music when his enemies arrived. The Master of Ice had just frozen the door and broken it down.
"Take that, Chilly-Willy!" he barked, pointing the staff at Zane. It began to hum loudly, and Chen grinned maliciously when Zane looked up, surprised. "You are alone, Whitey-Tighty!" he laughed.
"Master, look out!" cried Clouse. Chen whirled, but that was the worst thing he could have done. He realized later that the Ghost must have been standing there, because he whirled around and was instantly and permanently blinded by a bright, hot light that seemed to come out of no where.
He couldn't see. He was screaming for Clouse to help him when suddenly he felt the staff wrenched from his hands, and heard it snap as it was broken.
"You…you broke it!" he screamed, feeling the color drain from his face.
"And we won," snarled a voice by his ear. Chen shrieked in terror as he was suddenly unable to move - something had strapped his arms to his sides!
"I don't think he has any powers," said a girl's voice. Chen realized that it was the Ghost.
"But it's way easier to carry him if he can't claw my eyes out," said the Master of Earth.
"Skylor!" cried Chen. "Skylor, help me!"
"Hey," said Cole. "Where is Skylor? Tell us, or else I will - "
Chen promptly fainted.
"Wow," said Cole, looking at the two unconscious masterminds. "They both fainted?"
"I barely touched Clouse," said Zane. "I suppose that our enemies were just cowards with too much power."
"How philosophical," said Cole dryly. "But where is Skylor?"
"I don't know," said Zane. "But I am worried about why Kai hasn't shown up with her yet. Shouldn't he have been finished with her capture?"
"Oh dear," said Dessie, and ran from the room.
"Dessie!" cried Cole. "Be careful!"
"I will!" her voice echoed down to him.
"Hurry," said Cole to Zane as they lifted the two unconscious men. "I wouldn't want to miss Kai getting saved by my little sister."
()
Kai stared. How was Dessie here? Hadn't she just run off with Cole and Zane?
But here she was, looking at him with a funny look. "Aren't we going to go get Skylor?"
"Well…yeah," said Kai slowly. "But…but you were supposed to go with Cole."
"I changed my mind and snuck away. I bet he didn't notice," said Dessie with a shrug, turning to the pink door. "I think Skylor is in here."
"I bet he did notice," protested Kai. "He's your brother, after all."
She paused, then opened the door and went inside the room. Kai followed her, wondering why he felt so…suspicious.
The room was full of crimson drapes and furniture. Kai had thought his prison had been extravagant; now it looked cheap in comparison.
Dessie snooped around the room, and Kai watched her, feeling a shiver down his spine. Something was wrong here. Very wrong. But he couldn't place it; there was something about this that seemed…off, some how.
Dessie sighed and walked up to him. "There's nothing. She's not here. What should we do?"
He saw it. As she looked at him, he saw what was wrong with this. His breath caught in his lungs in surprise as he stared at her masked, brown eyes. Where did the forests and mountains go…? And her cheek - no scratch lay there. Surely it hadn't already healed!
She lifted an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"
He backed away. That tone - it was so hard.
She stepped closer. "Kai, are you feeling ok?"
She didn't say it like before. She always says my name so softly.
"I…I don't know how," he said, holding the net in front of him like a shield, "but you aren't Dessie!"
"Ok, the Master of Ice needs to look at you," she said with a short laugh. "You are spouting nonsense. Why am I not Dessie?"
That proved it.
"You say your name like you just heard it for the first time," he said. "And we never call ourselves by our titles - and Dessie told us she likes our names the best."
"I am Dessie!" yelled the girl.
"No you aren't!" shouted Kai, convinced. "And you can't ever be! You're a fake - a knock off! Dessie doesn't have brown eyes - she has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen! And she has a scratch on her cheek!"
The girl's eyes were wide, and Kai advanced slowly, working her into a corner. He was getting heated, and the sparks in his eyes must have silenced her as he continued. His growing adoration of Dessie was fueling his rant.
"You can't replicate perfection!" he yelled. "Her hair isn't straight - it's wavy and wild, like long grass in the breeze! It's perfect in every way, and - " he stopped abruptly. The girl was glaring fiercely at him.
"You thought you could just shout me to death?" she snarled in a low voice. Dessie melted away, and Skylor stood in her place. "Listen to me, ninja," she purred. "I know that you were meant for more than this - " she gestured to everything. "Let me tell you about something," she murmured, reaching out to him, "something better."
He dodged and slid away from her. "No," he said. "I don't wanna hear it."
"You thought Dessie was perfect," she said, walking towards him. "Just wait until you get to know me! I'll give you everything you want. We can leave everything here, and make a new life for ourselves. I have powerful friends," she added. He slid out of her reach again, and she kept circling him. "We could have everything we every wanted. Together."
He was just out of her reach; and he kept it that way. "Why won't you listen?" she cried, stopping to let her fake tears well up. "I just want to give you a nice life! I want to save you from all this heartbreak!"
"What heartbreak?" he demanded. "And I want nothing to do with you!"
She stared, as if heartbroken herself. "You…you don't mean that," she whimpered, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "You…you don't!"
"Take it how you want," he said. "Dessie is the only girl in this world I could ever hope to love."
Skylor began her act. She knew she had to snag him somehow. Maybe acting would be the only way to get him.
Her shoulders shook as she slowly sat down, and began her sobbing. Head in her hands, she began to wail, looking very lost and broken. "Why?!" she wailed. "Why must you love the destruction in your life? Why her?! She will destroy you!"
He sighed. "What on earth do you mean by that?"
He wasn't buying it. Add some truth.
"She's so powerful," she hiccuped. "She…she was always more powerful than me. She hasn't even unlocked her power's true potential. But she's never been able to control it. Light can be lovely," she added darkly, "but deadly."
"Cry all you want," said Kai. "But I made my decision when you threw Cole down a chute and took away his powers. And when I was hurt in my room I needed help, you weren't the one who helped me. Someone with a lovely heart came and tended my wounds that your team gave me. Admit it, Skylor - you've lost."
She'd lost him.
Jumping to her feet, she roared and lunged at him, rage boiling in her veins. She'd never lost before. She'd take him down with her if this was how it was going to go.
But the net was over her head. She gasped in horror - her powers! What had just happened?!
Kai tied the net over her, face grim. She began to scream, trying to flail and scream her way out. She whipped her body and tried to hit him. He dodged, and then sighed. "Guess you aren't going quietly, huh?"
Suddenly they heard footsteps on the stairs. "Kai!" came a voice. "Kai are you okay?!"
Kai grinned. "See?" he said to Skylor. "Even when she shouts my name, it sounds nice. I'm in here!" he called.
Dessie ran in, breathless. "You caught her!" she said, smiling. "We were worried."
Insert blush.
"Um, yeah," said Kai. "It took a little bit; she showed up looking like you, and so it threw me a little."
"Can't wait to hear about it," she said, "but we'll have to talk later. Your friend is coming with the…uh…Bounty? Yeah! The Bounty! So we need to go."
"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" screamed Skylor. Dessie jumped a little, and scooted closer to Kai. "I WILL COME AFTER YOU AND - "
"Or we could just leave you here," said Kai. "We don't owe you anything."
"N…no, we should make her suffer by putting her in the dungeons of the Bounty," said Dessie.
"It's called the brig," he said. "And yeah, we could." Skylor stared in surprise, then glared darkly. "I think that prison would be a good idea too," Kai added.
"I WILL BE AVENGED!" Skylor screamed again. Kai sighed and took a piece of the net, dragging her out of the room. "Sure, whatever."
