Children of Destiny
Alright! Things are really gonna go down this chapter! We'll be seeing some more sibling rivalry between Akira & Alex & as a bonus, one of the original kunoichi will make a cameo! But the Overlord's henchmen will commence their biggest scheme yet so sit back & enjoy!
Chapter 30: Human Guinea Pigs
The ninja and kunoichi huddled around the table in the center of the bridge. Smack dab in the middle was the spell Misako told them about. They still had no idea what the Overlord wanted to transform or what the spell exactly entailed but they knew this was another reason for them to beat the race against the metaphorical ticking clock.
"Great! Just when we thought we finally had him…" Forrest gritted his teeth.
"No one said being a ninja was going to be easy." Liana tried to quell her brother's temper.
"This still gives us more to worry about. If only we were able to stop them." Chris clenched his fists, fantasizing of electrocuting the Overlord with a million volts of electricity.
"But we have the spell," Leon reasoned with him, "If the Overlord doesn't have it, then he can't perform it and nothing will change."
"But he could've still memorized it." Alex retorted.
"Whether or not he did, we must hurry. We don't know where his new base is and that will give him all the time he'll need to complete the spell." Amy said.
"Too bad we know nothing about where it is." Kyle crossed his arms in frustration.
"That doesn't mean we should give up," Willow tried to rally everyone, "Some of us still have to find our true potential and we still have quite a way to go before we can fight the Overlord."
Akira and Alex still weren't too thrilled having to train together, thinking it was unnecessary. So what if they weren't spending much time together lately?
They were twins but they weren't conjoined. They had their own way of doing things and that included training. No one can be the exact same.
"I don't get what the big deal is. Why do Alex and I have to train together?" Akira complained.
"If you keep distancing yourself from your family and friends, the rift will only grow bigger until you're completely isolated. Garmadon went through the same thing, driving people away and that resulted in him succumbing to the venom."
"Are you saying I'll end up like him when he was evil?" Alex can't believe what she was hearing.
It was as if Misako thought they'll end up like the former dark lord.
"Not exactly but if you keep isolating yourself, you'll end up regretting your actions only when it's too late."
"There's no way I'll end up like that!" The fire ninja proclaimed, "There's no way I'm gonna lose that easily! I can do it by myself!"
"But what does this have to do with Akira and I being paired up together! Everyone's different, including siblings! What gives?"
"Everyone is different but sometimes, those differences can bring them together. Akira, this is something you should know better than the rest of us with the way you reach out to Liana."
The hot-blooded ninja blushed but that didn't stop him from voicing his discontent.
"What does this still have to do with finding my true potential!? Alex has her own issues while I have mine and one of MY issues is being stuck with her!"
"So far yet so close…" Misako whispered cryptically.
The Pyrrhus twins were oblivious to what was in front of them but they thought the main issue was within. They were able to see it but blind at the same time…
Clouse and Ronin returned to the abandoned cave to salvage any tools and other items they've left behind when the Overlord bailed them out. All they could find were tiny bits of scrap metal but nothing important. They remembered that they were looking for a certain scroll containing a spell the Overlord was planning to use when 'the time was right'.
"It's gotta be here somewhere!" Ronin impatiently rummaged through the junk.
"What's so important about that spell?" Clouse complained, "We have nothing to do with it!"
"But it'll make things easier for the Overlord," His raven-haired cohort argued back, "If he goes through with it that'll make one less problem for all of us to worry about."
"But why would he even agree to do something like that?" The former cop's contorted into an expression of disgust. He remembered nearly tossing his cookies when the Overlord described how the spell will work.
"Are you say you're going to side with the ninjas?" Ronin glowered at his ally.
Clouse fell silent, not wanting to give a rebellious impression. The duo continued scavenging for the scroll but the cave was practically gutted out from anything useful.
"Shit! We can't find it! Those brats must've took it right after we left!" Ronin gritted his teeth.
"Should we go after them?"
"No… not yet… We'll need to find better means to reach that ship of theirs."
"The only thing that could catch up with that ugly thing is another ship or aircraft and we have neither of those things." Clouse crossed his bony arms over his lanky chest.
"That's it!" Ronin exclaimed all of a sudden, "That's what we should do! And Karl said that you were useless!"
"Oh did he?" The skinny man let out a cross expression over what the former producer thought of him.
"Don't look at me. He was the one who said it in the first place."
"So what 'brilliant' idea have you come up with?" Clouse asked with slight annoyance, making quotation marks with his fingers on the word brilliant.
"We can't really go anywhere if we don't have a proper means of transport! We can get Ash to build a ship or something like that for us and then it's smooth sailing!" His more well-built ally boasted, much to his exasperation.
"Were you waiting a long time to use that pun or was it just a coincidence?" Clouse asked with a deadpan tone.
"Doesn't matter." Ronin dismissed him and searched for any useful parts for the vessel.
Ronin and Clouse collected whatever scrap metal could be of any use and left the cave. They'll need all the time they can get to build their latest tool for revenge. As much as they hated to be out of the action, they'll have to lay low for a while…
Darkness was all she can see save for her own body.
Aria had no idea where she was or how she got here but that was the least of her concerns. Kai and their kids will be worried sick because of her and she had to find her way back to them.
'Where am I?'
She may no longer be a kunoichi but she still kept her elemental abilities. She summoned a light breeze to get a better sense of her surroundings but she can't detect anything. Just as suddenly as she found herself here, she heard a strange rustling that somehow didn't sound natural…
"W-who's there…?"
Alas, there was nobody there to answer her until…
"Mom!"
The former kunoichi heard two familiar voices echoing in the void. She tried to figure out where the voices were coming from and wandered the expanse of dark emptiness. The voices echoed over and over until she caught sight of something just within her sight. Years have passed by but Aria still kept her curious nature and approached the silhouettes. And then she finally saw their faces and wanted to cry tears of joy. They looked the exact same way they did since she last saw them with her very own eyes.
"Akira! Alex!" Aria was overjoyed to see her son and daughter again ever since they embarked on their journey towards their destiny. She sorely missed them and wanting nothing more than to be a mother.
Behind the twins stood their father, who also looked at his wife with loving eyes. Aria walked to join the group, just wanting to be a loving family. But just as suddenly as they had shown up in the void, their expressions turned sad… as if they were sorry for her.
Aria was confused and even a little hurt by her family's expressions towards her.
Was there something wrong with her?
"My family… Why do you avoid me so…?"
Aria tried to reach out to her husband and children but what she saw next terrified her.
She opened her mouth to…
Aria awoke with a terrified gasp, drenched in cold sweat and her heart pounding on overdrive. It was still late and Kai was still fast asleep next to her. Not wishing to disturb her husband, the Mediterranean woman kept silent and thought about what she saw in her nightmare.
The disturbing images she saw were all too quickly drifting from her memory's reach, no matter how hard she tried to hold on.
'Was it a dream or a vision…?'
Everything about her nightmare quickly became a blue for the former kunoichi but she was now sure that her nightmare was just that: a nightmare. If she gets it again, maybe she'll talk to Kai in the morning. For now, she just wanted to sleep the rest of the night away. Aria settled back into the covers, subconsciously scooting closer to her sleeping husband before her allowing her mind to slip back into dreamland.
'It's only a bad dream…' Aria reassured herself before she returned to her world of dreams…
Training was finally over and the Pyrrhus twins just wanted to relax away from each other.
"How was training with Alex?" Kyle asked his cousin in the living room.
"What do you expect?" The fire wielder scowled, "Alex never listens to anything I say! She's got to be the most stubborn person I know!"
The Walker brothers snickered over their cousin's complaints. Both twins were stubborn, given their parents' antics when they were young.
"What's so funny!?" Akira growled at the ninjas, only making them laugh harder.
"Geez! You really are a hothead aren't you?" Forrest asked between laughs.
The whole room suddenly grew hotter but the other ninjas still laughed, knowing that the fiery ninja was getting riled up.
"Go ahead! Laugh it up!" He tossed up his arms and stomped out of the room to find peace in his own bedroom.
'Who do they think I am!?' He punched his mattress, letting his anger out on the furniture.
'I don't need help! I can find my own true potential by myself!'
Akira sighed in defeat and fell on his knees. He hated to admit it but he was stumped. He didn't know what to do because he can't see what his issue was. He felt alone, being unable to unlock his true potential.
"What is it that I'm missing…?"
The red ninja fell back on his bed, giving up trying to find the answer on his own. The questions repeating themselves in his head were starting to get to him and he was frustrating, knowing he can't answer any of them.
'Damn… What a day…'
Alex tried reading to get her mind off of the training session with Akira but just thinking about it was doing wonders for her mood. She was already jealous of the other kunoichi for finding their true potential even if Amy also hadn't found hers yet. One thing she hated more than anything was that feeling of being left behind and she was also a bit sour that she can only train as long as she was with Akira.
What did he have to do with her issues?
He had his own problems and she had hers. Sure, she was jealous but she felt that her emotions weren't THE main problem. She felt like there was something deep inside her but she just can't put her finger on it.
'What's wrong with me…?'
The olive-skinned girl clutched her head that ached with so many thoughts rushing through it. She knew there was something missing or wrong within her mind but she just can't find it…
It's been a few days since Akira and Alex were forced to train together but none of them made any progress but the Overlord's forces haven't been showing up. The ninjas initially thought the Overlord was running out of ideas but they knew better. The dark lord wasn't one to give up so easily and he could be taking advantage of his 'absence' and coming up with some scheme. One important lesson the ninja and kunoichi learned was that evil never sleeps. They must be kept on their toes should something happen… such as today.
The ninja and kunoichi were already hanging out in the bridge when the alarm finally went off.
"Warning: unknown vessel is approaching the Bounty." The computer AI said in its monotonous voice as the map displayed a blinking red dot representing the evil entity.
"What the- !? How is that thing following us!?" Leon was confounded by the strange follower.
"There's not time to worry about who's who! Put the ship on full throttle!" Alex commanded.
"Don't need to tell me twice!"
Chris yanked the lever and the turbines of the ship worked overtime, sending a burst of flames in their wake and the Bounty flew across the clouds at maximum speed.
"Are we losing it?" Liana asked.
"The ship is still following us and it's catching up!" Forrest pointed at the red dot inching closer to the white dot representing the Bounty.
"Then make it go faster!" Akira commanded.
"But this ship is already at full speed! It can't go any faster!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Then throw out the excess weight so it'll go faster!" Willow yelled.
"What do you think this is, a cartoon!?" Leon stared at his kid sister as if she lost her mind.
"But how is that ship able to catch up in the first place!?" Even Liana was confounded that the enemy ship was able to catch up to the Bounty at such a high speed.
"We're too late!" Amy pointed at the ship that was now right behind them.
The ninjas scrambled to the deck to see the invading vessel that looked nightmarish compared to the Bounty.
Flying next to the Destiny's Bounty was a dark aircraft that resembled a cross between a plane and a helicopter. The front of the flying vessel was designed to vaguely resemble the face of a dragon and even the rotors looked like spikes.
While Ash and Karl manned the aircraft, the revived Serpentine leaders, Cryptor and a handful of nindroids, and several underlings hopped off and landed on the deck of the Bounty.
"H-how did they…?" The nature ninja was astonished that the Overlord's minions were able to build such a monstrous contraption at such a fast rate.
This was only further proof that the ninjas had no time to waste on their quest to stop them.
Not waiting for an explanation, the team performed their signature move to begin the brawl.
"NINJA-GO!"
The ninja and kunoichi were quickly prepared for battle and swiftly dealt with the delinquents that accompanied the Serpentine and nindroids. Pythor resorted to his tribe's abilities, turning invisible, but Melody quickly conjured rain clouds and the droplets fell on his still tangible body to create a wet silhouette, giving him away. The ninja and kunoichi surrounded the Anacondrai, cornering him and forcing him to revert back to his visible form.
"Don't think we'll surrender so easily Pythor!" Akira glowered at the purple humanoid snake.
"There's no need to fight more than we already have," Pythor tried to persuade his way to the ninjas, "Do you really think I haven't learned anything ever since Lloyd did a number on me?"
"What do you want!?" Leon snarled at the invaders.
"It just so happens that you have something the Overlord desperately needs," The Anacondrai slithered up to Misako, "What do you say? Hand it over and we won't lay a finger on you."
The wise woman already knew what the Serpentine was talking about and also knew better and held her ground, staring at the tall snake with mute disdain.
"Not being cooperative… I see," The tall snake narrowed his magenta eyes, "Very well… Looks like we'll have to do it the hard way."
The enemies took on a fighting stance but the ninja and kunoichi were ready for battle too. The Serpentine lunged at the humans but they evaded their attacks, being careful not to get bit by Fangtom or stare into Skales' eyes. Even without their true potential, the ninjas who already got theirs were stronger than ever, something Alex observed and felt slight envy towards.
The orange kunoichi sent gusts of wind to repel the bad guys but she can only do so much with only her Silver Weapon. No matter what she did, her true potential just won't come.
"Kuso! Why won't I get my true potential!?" Alex was getting close to throwing a tantrum.
The enemies took advantage of the vulnerable kunoichi and tackled her. The olive-skinned girl tried to fight her way out but her jealousy clouded her mind. The Fans of Gales slipped from her hands and onto the hardwood floor but she paid no heed. She still punched and kicked but the nindroids grabbed her limbs.
"Let go of me!" The orange kunoichi still writhed in the dark androids' grips.
The fire ninja heard his sister's cries and saw the Serpentine carrying her towards the plane that was following them since it arrived. Seeing his twin sister in crisis finally awoken the brotherly instincts within Akira. He lunged at the Serpentine holding her with his burning sword but some of the thugs tackled him down and the sword slid out of his grip. He outstretched his arm in his attempt to reach the hilt but Cryptor spotted him stomped on his wrist. The heavy metallic foot nearly crushed his bones and the fire ninja couldn't help but scream in pain.
"Dammit! Let me go!" Akira struggled to get out of the dog pile.
"Not yet." The punks smirked cruelly and started dragging him to the airship following Alex.
"What do you want with us!?" The kunoichi of wind continued to struggle in vain.
"You two can be the Overlord'sssss little experiment!" Skales sneered at the twins before they were tossed inside like slabs of meat.
"Pythor! Release them or there will be consequences!" Misako was also ready to fight. She was old but not weak.
"What are you planning to do to them!?" Liana demanded.
"It'ssss a ssssecret." Fangtom answered in a hushed tone the kunoichi of ice didn't like at all.
The ninjas sans Amy unleashed their true elemental might to rescue their captured teammates but the snakes and thugs hopped onto the aircraft with their hostages.
"You'll get your preciousssss ninjasssss back once we're done with them!" Fangtom gave a cruel smile on both of his faces at the group while the twins were dragged into the plane and out of their teammates' sight.
"Step on it!" Pythor hissed at Ash to rev up the engines of the vessel.
"Water!"
Melody used her true potential mode to summon the clouds and smother the dark aircraft.
"Lightning!"
Chris summoned bolts of electricity to trap the plane in a storm but both he and the kunoichi of water were unaware of the potentially fatal flaw in their attempt to stop it.
"Don't do it! Akira and Alex are still in there!" Willow shouted.
The duo gasped in horrid realization and reluctantly halted their powers before it was too late. Liana on the other hand attempted to save the Pyrrhus twins differently. She climbed onto the rail and prepared to whistle for Shard but Karl had other ideas.
"Summon that dragon and they'll get it!" The Meerheim native shoved Akira and Alex onto the very edge of the ship as if he was going to push them out.
"Liana! You don't have to do it! We'll be fine!" Akira called out to her.
"Silence!" Skales punched the red ninja on the back of his head.
"No! Don't hurt him!" The white kunoichi cried.
"Then be a good girl and do as we say. Step down and he won't get hurt." Pythor smirked.
The kunoichi of ice bit her lip so hard her teeth broke the skin but she paid no heed. She had no idea what to do or even how to react. She wanted to save Akira and Alex but the villains are not above throwing their lives on the line if she does anything. The white kunoichi slipped from the railing and fell on her knees, ashamed of herself for being unable to save them.
"Olen pahoillani…" Forrest heard her whisper once he was at her side.
"Liana!" Akira tried to break free but the nindroids held him in a grip rivalling even Cole's.
(*) "Der'mo! I'm not gonna stand here and let you get kidnapped! I'm coming!" Leon clambered to the deck and try to leap onto the enemy vessel.
"Don't! I can't let you get in trouble because of me!" Alex pleaded for the green ninja to relent.
"But we can't just let them take you!" Melody protested.
The twins opened their mouths to protest but the Serpentine quickly taped their mouths shut.
"This is taking forever! Let's go already!" Karl commanded Ash.
Akira and Alex continued protesting but their voices were muffled by the tape so no one knew what they were trying to say. Cryptor suddenly appeared behind the humans and pinched the nerves behind the twins' necks, knocking them out in an instant.
"NO!"
The ninjas can only feel the hands of so-called victory crush them into defeat while they can do little else but watch the plane take off to wherever the Overlord was hiding, taking the Pyrrhus twins with it. Within minutes, the aircraft was lost in the clouds.
The ninja and kunoichi can't believe it.
Akira and Alex were gone and they were unable to do anything to prevent it.
Forrest roared and punched the wood underneath him, which reacted to his anger. The planks sprouted gnarled branches around the plant wielder. Chris and Kyle whispered curses towards the Overlord, and Melody was wallowing in self-blame.
Misako couldn't help but feel disappointed over the loss of the Pyrrhus twins, especially when they're still blind to their real weaknesses from within.
"Es tut mir Leid! If only I found my true potential then perhaps I could've stopped them!" Amy was ashamed of herself for being left behind.
"You can't rush your elemental powers and you are not to blame." Misako consoled her.
"But if only I- "
"The past is in the past and the future is in the future. Our main objective right now is to rescue Akira and Alex."
"But what I really don't get is why would they kidnap them?"
"During the battle, I heard Skales saying that they'll be used in this experiment by the Overlord, no doubt as test subjects." Willow spoke up.
"Do you think the experiment has to do with that transformation spell you found earlier?" Leon asked Misako.
"The Overlord probably has a lot of arcane strategies up his sleeve. He could be using them for another 'experiment' but that won't make a difference with the urgency of the situation."
"But how are we gonna tell this to Mr. and Mrs. Pyrrhus?" Kyle asked.
"The twins are strong-willed and will try to find their own way out but we still have to get them back. Kai and Aria will not take this very well but they will also do anything for their children."
"Do you think they'll still blame us?" Melody asked.
"They have matured since their adventures but only they can decide how to react…"
Aria was preparing to leave the dance studio she worked in when she felt a fell wind blow. She was never a very superstitious type but the ominous feeling plus that nightmare she had gave her a feeling that something bad had happened… or will happen…
'Why am I having these feelings?'
Lately, the Mediterranean woman kept having this bad feeling like a shadow from the past was looming over her heart. She planned to tell her husband of this sense of foreboding she's been having as of late. Back then, she thought he would merely laugh it off or even think she's weird but he was a genuinely caring man and as time passed, she trusted him. She knew it was no use hiding any secrets from him.
As for her children…
'Akira… Alexandra… where are you…?'
Aria hoped her children were okay but not even the warm breeze that always brought comfort offered any support.
Just a greater sense of foreboding or perhaps even a hint on what's to come…
(*) Der'mo = Shit (Russian)
You may be right, Aria. But I have some plans for the original team later on…
Anyway, will Akira & Alex find their true potential? Find out in the next chapter!
I also want to say a couple of things! First off… goodness Princess Bunny! I can't believe you bothered to review most of my old stories! Second, 2 more days left until I publish my Beauty and the Beast story & I must say, there's quite a coincidence in the results but I'm not telling! Wait until I get the story up!
As always, please review!