Hey everyone, happy Friday and time for an update. I don't have anything much to say for this because I think it's a filler chapter, but anyway I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 8: Missing Research
The sound of birds chirping across the morning sky on a dense jungle brought life. The sound of rushing water cascaded down a fall and tumbled onto the rocks below. Light poured through the leafy canopies to bring humidity from a recent rainfall during the night to the jungle. Not only brought humidity, the light shined onto a raven-haired teen as he laid on a flat wet rock near the waterfall with the minuscule droplets wetting his back and hair. The boy then shifted and groaned to pry his eyes open.
The boy finally managed to pry his eyes open to groan as he prompt himself up with his elbows to have his bare chest off the wet ground. He felt his amber eyes adjusting to the light and looked around to find himself alone in the middle of the jungle. He then looked down at himself to see that he was almost naked if the stretched sweatpants weren't there. But they looked like they were extra-large five times that his normal waist to have him grab a length like he was making a ponytail to have it fit around him as he stood up. He looked at the legs of his pants to be ripped and torn. He kept looking around at himself and his surroundings to draw up one question. "What happened?" he asked himself.
…
For sometime, Cole has been trekking through the humid jungle to find a way out. He had to use one hand to keep a grip on his sweatpants to keep them from falling and the other to move thick vegetation aside. He didn't even care what kept impaling his bare feet to have bits of blood well out. He'll have to ask Lucas to heal those up once he finds an exit or if they find him at all. But how did he even wind up here in the first place? He remembered being in his room and passed out to find himself here. Nothing else.
The earth ninja kept venturing into the forest, finding his exit, but heard a familiar squawk from the other native birds and looked up to see a dark blue feathered falcon perched on a branch. He smiled. I recognized that bird from anywhere. he said to himself and waved his hands in front of him. The bird squawked and flapped his wings to take flight and flew away. Cole had the wild hunch and followed after the bird until he walked to an open grassland near a small lake. He heard something whine and looked up as his hair was being ruffled by wind and a shadow casted over him. It was the Bounty.
The Ninja of Earth watched the flying vessel land on shore of the lake and the ramp was slowly lowered in front of him. Cole had no second thought and climbed up to reach the deck with a small trail of blood behind from his punctured feet. He looked around as everyone was gathering around him and all had worried and confused looks on their faces. He was more confused now. "Uh…Can anyone explain to me what happened here?" he asked.
Everyone looked at him confused. Does he remember what happened last night? They remember on what they saw in the alley, but he doesn't? Odd. Sighing, Zane walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's a lot to explain, brother." he stated. Cole furrowed his bushy brows in confusion.
…
"Oh where is it? My research has to be here." a girl panicked softly.
Betty has been searching high and low in her lab to find her research papers on the Nanomeds. She heard that her supervisor and Cole checked out of the hospital the other day and it has given her the chance to continue her work. Although the university decommissioned her research and scarped the machine, the youngest scientist kept begging the university board to let her continue since the Nanomeds kept Cole alive, but the board had to deny the request for they don't want another meltdown on their grounds. Sighing, Betty accepted the defeat, but went behind their backs to find her work. She just had to find it first.
"For crying out loud." she barked at herself. "Where did I or Blolasky put those files? I know they're here somewhere." and opened a filing cabinet to furrow her brows as it was empty. Odd. Yesterday she saw the cabinet was full, but now empty. She couldn't fathom it. Not only what happened to her research, but what happened to her project? That cabinet was full of cellular work and now the next gone. she thought. "What happened to my lab?" she asked herself.
"Betty," a familiar voice said. "Are you in here?"
Betty looked up from her rant on the voice and directed his head to the door. She knew that voice from anyone. She smiled to see her supervisor walk through the door; all healthy from the hospital. But what was he doing here though? "Blolasky, what are you doing here?" she asked with a small smile. "The university will know you're here when you're supposed to be home and recovering." She chuckled on him slipping out of his vacation days, but stopped as he looked different. His looks weren't different, but the way he was dress. She would normally see him dressed in a polo and khaki pants, but was dressed in dark green camouflage colors with combat boots with an insignia of a lieutenant on his chest and shoulder. "Blolasky?" she asked.
"Hello Betty." another voice said.
Betty directed her head to the other voice to see a man with snowy white hair and white mustache dressed in a navy blue suit with badges on his chest with the symbol of general. The youngest scientist recognized who he was. She known him for a long time. "Father." she said while crossing her arms to give him an annoyed look.
General Theodore Ross of the Special Forces of Ninjago. A man that has been serving his roles to become the general of the forces. But also father of Betty while his wife and her mother passed away when she was little and been there for her since then. But have been distant ever since he became the general and been nosy in her research or other university discoveries. Seeing a purpose to help him in the Forces. "Hello Sweetie," he said. "It's been awhile hasn't it?"
Betty hasn't created a smile and kept her arms crossed. She wasn't thrilled to see her father since he kept nosing into her research. Their relationship hasn't been mending since then and been distant to see each other. "What do you want?" she asked coldly. "I thought we don't see each other till Thanksgiving or do you have to work that holiday and this is the only time you can see me until next year. Again."
The general chuckled lightly and walked up to his only daughter and placed both hands on her shoulders. Betty sighed and shrugged them off and walked away to continue searching for her work. Ross felt a bit upset that she was shunning him, but he understood a reason why, but it wasn't because of seeing each other. It was something else. "It's not that." he replied, but was still ignored. "My lieutenant and I know what you're looking for."
This time, Betty stopped. Lieutenant? She looked at Blolasky to see him nod and turned to her father. "What did you say?" she asked. "You know him and where my research is?"
Before Blolasky could reply, Ross stepped forward and seated his daughter in one of the chairs. "You see Betty," he began. "Blolasky here is my bird's eye view when I heard about your project on the Nanomeds. Blolasky is a man of cellular biology as you are, but also part of the Forces. So he's been filling me on the details of your work. As for your work, it's safe in our archives. We know about your discovery and success."
Betrayed. That's what Betty felt. Her father was behind her missing work and had a…spy from her father. Why does he care for the Nanomeds? Angrily, the youngest scientist stood up to walk away, but Blolasky stood in front of her exit. She now felt betrayed from him too. They both worked together and now was on the general's side. "I can't believe you!" she exclaimed, close to screaming. "Why can't you leave me alone and my work, General? I am seventeen and don't need you hovering and fathering me. Why do you care for the Nanomeds after that close meltdown last week?"
"Because Betty, we know that your work succeeded." Ross stated. "We know what the highest energy wave can do to a person. But after seeing a ninja surviving it, we know they work."
What was he talking about? How does he know all of this if Blolasky was recovering too? But she knew he was talking about Cole. The ninja that survived. But why does he care? She began to think it over deeply and silently gasped. "You're planning on using my research as a way to help you, aren't you?" she asked.
Rossed stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder and gestured towards Blolasky. "Blolasky here too has been effected by the Nanomeds." he said. "When that bolt struck him." Blolasky quickly got into a boxing position and began to throw punches in the air like he was actually fighting. He looked like one of those boxing type of kangaroos. But Betty could see how fast those punches were. "After a few tests, he's faster, stronger, and agile. He's a super soldier." and Blolasky smiled and returned to standing. The general smiled and turned to face his daughter. "But I'm curious though on the one who survived and witnessed something special of him that's classified from you knowing."
Classified? What was so special for her father to keep secret or have Cole classified? She knew that he survived the radiation, but still. If Blolasky has the Nanomeds in him too like Cole, does he have the same physical condition? Betty thought it over to realize the truth and turned to her father. "I know what you're doing now." she barked. "Not only you stole my research to use it as an advantage, but use it as a weapon too. Like Cole."
Stole? That word didn't seem to describe what the general was thinking of. Sure he stole his daughters research with Blolsky's help, but he sees it a way to help. The general simply chuckled. "It's a little of both." he gently rebutted. "But the ninja that survived has something extraordinary in him and we need to…conduct a few tests on him."
Betty gasped. She knew what he was going to do to Cole. "Leave him alone, General." she said. "He has nothing to do with you. And he won't join your ranks. He is not a weapon."
Ross stepped up and pulled her to a hug while she protested it. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. Betty tried to keep pulling away from his embrace, but he had a grip on her. "But it'll happen. He's a rare person. He's got something in there that can aid us." and lets go of her. He turned on his heels and left the lab with Blolasky behind him.
Betty felt herself burning inside. Her father was all behind this. Using her research as a weapon and been using her. That would also explain the large funding to build the machine. But then felt her blood turn to ice when she thought of Cole. Her father was gonna conduct experiments on him because he said he was different. And Blolasky. Her supervisor and friend was on the general's side. She felt betrayed. Even more.
Then something came to her. She reached into her pockets to pull out a key and walked up to her terminal and opened a drawer. She inserted the key into a hidden slot and turned it to hear a clasp open and a small flap of thin wood opened up. The raven-haired teen reached in to pull out a small flash-drive attached to a lanyard. Inside, Betty knew it held all of her research than the files she had and that Blolasky never knew of and it held something to it. Sure she may have been searching for her work, but it was the files first then the flash-drive. But also to keep it hidden from her father. "I've got to find Cole." she said to herself, slipped the portable drive in her small purse and left.
So what did you think? I think that this chapter was a filler and a bit crappy but still it gives off some important parts for the story. Anyway, hoped you liked it and have a wonderful weekend and see you all next week. :)
