Doubt tried to worm its way into Cole's thoughts as he drove. He'd meant every word he'd said before, about them not giving up and bringing Jay back, but he hadn't been so sure it was possible. His teammate's smiles at his words, though, that had been reassuring.
They need a rock right now. He thought with a fond sigh. And who's better qualified to be that rock than the master of earth?
It was treading dangerously close to taking on a leadership role, something he had sworn off of after… after he'd lost two of his friends, one due to death and the other over such a petty squabble. And even though the second one was, maybe, not his fault (magic influencing both of them, turning them against each other), it didn't excuse that he'd allowed one of this friend's to die.
Lloyd was doing an alright job, anyway. He was the green ninja, this was his role from the start, right?
Pathetic… Cole bites the inside of his cheek. He was tired of this. He was tired of the-, if he were totally honest, the self-pity. His relationship with Jay would likely take time to recover (and they would have that time), and Zane was alive and… well, not well, but he was alive. I could lose my two friends all over again…
Grief tightens in his chest, his hands itch to grab a snack or something, but he grits his teeth. He'd failed them the first time around, this, selfish as the thought is, but this is his chance to make things right.
I can stand tall for the others. He tells himself as he pulls up to his dad's house. I can be the friend, and I can be the leader that I should have been back then.
He keeps his friends' smiles in his mind's eye. Whether they knew it or not, they were what kept him grounded, kept his purpose clear. Back when he joined the ninja he'd only thought altruistically, that someone had to step in and help, but there was no drive behind it. It was a job to him, nothing more.
Sure, the people he'd ended up teaming up with were never the kinds of people he'd have befriended on his own (the thought that he could end up best friends with such a quirky person like Jay was laughable), they had all taken their place in his life to the point that going back to his life before was… well, Cole before and Cole now would likely both view the other's life as something impossible.
Thinking back on how lost he had been after Zane's death… it was painful. He was so lost, and even after they'd gotten the white ninja back, even after he'd patched things up with Jay, he hadn't really recovered. He hadn't allowed himself to forget his wrongdoings.
His rap on the door was clear, as was his father's insistence through the door that he use the doorbell.
Cole had wallowed in his guilt, ignored that his friends were finally back at his side until there was the threat of losing them both once again. It was a wakeup call.
The doorbell chimes with an overdone melody, different than the one he'd had last time, and Cole finds he can't place the song even though he knows it must be one of the 'classics' (which was either an actual classic, or one of his dad's songs).
"Cole, Son?" His father's happily surprised voice brings a small smile to Cole's face. "I wasn't aware you were going to visit today!"
"It was kind of a last minute thing." Cole assures his father as he ushers him in, and the master of earth notices that the rest of the quartet were there, all of them dressed up in what appeared to be bowling outfits. "I'm sorry to interrupt your plans."
"It's no trouble." His dad assures him, the quartet all nodding their agreement. "I see your friends aren't with you today."
"Yeah, about that…" Cole's face darkens. "A lot has happened since the last time we talked. I'd love to explain it to you, but right now it'd be better if we moved to a safer place." Cole paused, before looking over to the quartet. "Actually, you guys should probably come, too."
Who knew who could end up a target, after all? The whole quartet was around during enough of his childhood that Cole could kind of call them family (most birthdays he got to hear their newest rendition of 'happy birthday'), so there was a good chance that they'd end up in the cult's crosshairs too.
"This sounds serious." His dad frowns.
"Yeah, it is." Cole doesn't even bother pretending that this isn't a big deal, his dad would understand the scope of what was going on as soon as he finished explaining, anyway. "I'll explain on the way."
Lloyd pulls up to the mansion with only a little trepidation. Hopefully Cliff Gordon would be willing to talk to him, even after their tense parting last time. Worse come to worse, he'd have to break in again in order to talk to the other, because there was no way that Lloyd was going to let Jay's biological dad be murdered by some cult that was obsessed with become gods or whatever.
"Hey, it's Lloyd." The green ninja says as soon as he hits the buzzer. He pauses, trying to think of what else he could say that would convince the other to let him in. "Something's come up…"
Time drags on as Lloyd debates how much he should divulge over the buzzer. If Cliff wasn't alone, then there was a chance that they would overhear whatever it is that Lloyd said to the man. And there was a chance that the cult had slowly inserted people into the lives of the people who Alphonse cared for (or had some connection to) in order to kill them the second he disobeyed, and Lloyd could be signing the man's death warrant by giving away why he was here.
"Come in." Cliff's curt voice sounds over the buzzer, and the gate rolls open mechanically.
The master of energy hurries up the driveway and to the front door where the actor is already waiting tensely. He doesn't say anything, doesn't even motion him in, he just heads inside and Lloyd follows, awkwardly closing the man's front door for him as he goes.
"What happened?" Cliff asks as soon as they're in the living room, and Lloyd realizes that the tenseness and curt words were the man's anxiety coming through. He was really worried about Jay… The green ninja wishes he could say that Jay was alright, but he didn't know if that was true.
Ninja never quit. He silently repeats Cole's words from earlier. No matter the setback, we won't stop.
"There's someone who needs our help," He starts out slowly. How much should he say? "they're involved with a cult. And, uh, well, helping them means putting a lot more people in danger… one of who just so happens to be you."
"Me?" The actor raises an eyebrow at that. "How am I related to this?"
"The person is Alphonse Walker," Realization flashes over the other's face, but Lloyd keeps going anyway. "and they've been threatening his family in order to keep him in line."
"I see." The other says tersely. "Give me a moment to make a few calls and then we can leave."
"Right." Lloyd nods and the other walks into a different room, leaving the green ninja to either look around or sit down and wait.
Echo takes a moment to glance around at the large piles of scrap metal in the junk yard. He remembered how hard it was to get any sort of scrap metal outside of what was delivered to them at the lighthouse along with the supplies, and even then it was always meant to be used for something they wanted his father to make.
There's a familiar sound of welding somewhere from within the scrap yard, and for a moment Echo thinks that, should he follow it, he'll find his father. But, he reminds himself, his father had left the lighthouse without him and died not long after. He would never get to see his father again...
TAI-D beeps out some comforting words, and Echo gives the little bot a small smile. The cleaning bot had always been there for him, even when his father would struggle to remember where he was or what was going on (or forget that he was Echo Zane, and not just Zane).
Curiosity gets the better of him and he follows the sound until he sees a man wearing overalls and a welding mask working on something.
Echo stands there for a moment, unsure of how to approach the other while he was welding, as he did not want to startle the man and cause him undue injury. TAI-D, on the other hand, noticed the tools strewn about the tool box and had decided they needed to be put away.
"TAI-D." Echo whispers. His father had gotten used to the little bot moving about while he was working, but Jay's father was not. He follows TAI-D closer, intending to stop the bot before he can get started, but the other had already packed away two items before the bronze nindroid is close enough to reach him.
The blow torch is turned off and set aside for a moment while Jay's father reaches out for a tool that was no longer there, before moving the face guard up and looking over to see TAI-D working diligently, surprise clear on his face.
"Hello, Mr. Walker!" Echo hurries to say, stepping forward and holding his hand out. "I am Echo Zane, but everyone calls me Echo because it is less confusing."
"Your Zane's brother, right?" The man chuckles, giving Echo's hand a shake. "Edna and I saw you on TV before."
"Yes, Zane is my brother." Echo says a little proudly.
"Well it's nice to meet you." Mr. Walker removes the face guard and sets it aside. "What brings you to our scrap yard today?"
"It is nice to meet you as well." Echo smiles at the other before his face turns serious. "And I am here to bring you and Mrs. Walker somewhere safe."
Mr. Walker's eyes widen a bit and he removes his protective gloves and sets them aside too.
"That doesn't sound too good."
"It is not." Echo pauses, then reconsiders his words. "Or, it does, because then I can take you two somewhere safe."
"Sure thing, just let me go get Edna, and we can be on our way." Mr. Walker begins to walk away, but pauses and turns back to the nindroid. "I'm sure Edna is going to want to know why, I mean, we've never really had to leave before."
"Of course, I will answer any questions you may have." Echo promises.
"Good," Mr. Walker says with a smile. "Jay never really tells us what's going on, so we usually have to rely on the news for any info on what trouble our boy has gotten into."
They are not aware of what has happened. Echo realizes. They do not know that Jay has been possessed, nor that he is missing.
Echo was likely not the best person to explain all of this to them, his grasp on other's emotions was still a bit tenuous, but he had already promised, and he would not go back on that promise.
TAI-D beeps at him, having finished putting the tools away, and he gives the little bot a helpless look.
"Perhaps it would have been better for one of the other's to get Jay's parents."
"Just tell him I'm here!" Ronin snaps at the receptionist.
"I will make sure Mr. Brown knows that you are waiting as soon as he is done with his meeting." She replies coldly, barely glancing away from her computer screen in order to glare at him.
Ronin couldn't deny that Dareth would be just as likely to be killed by the cult if they find out the ninja's involvement in this mess, as he was their manager, but did they really think it'd be so easy for a criminal to just waltz into whatever office the honorary ninja may or may not have had and just demand he come with him?
Ronin plops down into one of the chairs and stretches his legs out as far as they'll go while crossing his arms. If he had to sit here and wait, he'd not only be a minor inconvenience to anyone who had to walk by him, but make it clear he was not happy with the receptionist's less than helpful attitude.
It's only a few minutes later that Dareth walks in and announces.
"I'm back from lunch, did I get any calls while I was- oh, Ronin, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here on important business involving the ninja," Ronin growls out the very words he'd said to the receptionist, throwing her a pointed glare. "and I was told you were in a meeting."
"It was a lunch meeting." Dareth says, before turning to the receptionist and saying. "I thought I said to let me know as soon as possible if anything involving the ninja came up, Florence."
Ronin almost snorts at the name. No wonder the woman was so unpersonable, with a name like that she must have been mocked relentlessly as a kid.
"You did, Mr. Brown, but the number of people who come in on a daily basis claiming to have some business or other with the ninja would mean you'd constantly be interrupted." She eyes the criminal, who raises an eyebrow in challenge, before turning back to Dareth. "And most of them are just trying to meet the ninja."
"Well, Ronin isn't one of those people." The honorary ninja says. "So next time he comes in with important news, tell me right away."
"Of course, Mr. Brown." There was barely hidden sarcasm in her voice, but Dareth either didn't notice or didn't care, as he motioned for Ronin to follow him.
He's lead into what is actually a decently sized office, before the manager turns to him with a serious look and asks.
"Do the ninja need my help?"
"Not exactly." And here the criminal doesn't hold back his snort. "There's just a cult on the loose that they plan on messing with that could potentially decide to murder you."
"A… a cult?!" Dareth, naturally, is shocked. "I thought that the ninja were dealing with whatever had possessed Jay, now there's a cult?!"
"Yeah, well, apparently blue boy's uncle made the mistake of getting involved with said cult, and, as he's got knowledge that would be useful, the ninja want to get him out." Ronin shrugs. "Which meant putting anyone with a connection to them all at risk."
Dareth eyes the criminal for a moment, and Ronin very nearly snaps at the other for it, because seriously was this joke of a ninja questioning him? But instead the other just says.
"Give me a minute to clear my schedule and then we can go."
"Make it snappy." Ronin grumbles.
Zane checks up on Cyrus one more time before he starts driving. The man appeared to be peacefully sleeping, if it weren't for the soul stone glowing softly, connected to his chest by a thin string, then he might have thought that was all this was.
The hospital had allowed him to take the man once he'd explained the situation to them (vaguely, and framed as more of a worry about Viperae returning to finish the job rather than a cult, in order to not draw suspicion), with only some instructions on how to care for the comatose man.
"So… you're pretty good at driving a carriage." The thief says casually, shifting in his seat beside him.
"I used to drive our carriage into town in order to sell the meats and furs we'd gathered. And firewood, if the season wasn't particularly fruitful." He explains, taking a moment to glance at the other. It was hard to see his face, as not only was it dark due to the late hour, but his hood was covering most of his face. "I would also bring back whatever supplies we needed."
"I thought your father was a scholar?" The thief queries. "That's why you can read and write."
"He used to be, yes." The hunter nodded. "If it were not for his learning, he might not have survived the transition that was forced upon him."
His father had been a lousy hunter. If he hadn't been able to lay traps and didn't know what types of plants were safe to eat, they would not have survived the years. The hunter, having grown up in the forest, had learned the art with a skill that his father did not, allowing him to take over providing for them when his father became too ill to.
"…What happened?" He smiles at the carefully hidden curiosity. It wasn't often that the thief was willing to delve into conversations of the past, likely out of fear that the questions would be turned back on him.
"He fell in love with a woman above his station." The hunter leans forward a bit, hoping to catch the other's eye without being obvious. "She was betrothed to another, though. I was a result of their secret union, which her family hid, and they gave her an ultimatum. Join my father in disgrace, or give up both of us and go on with the marriage as if nothing had ever happened."
"I take it she didn't go with the first option." The thief says with a dark chuckle.
"No… she did not."
"Sorry." The thief's apology is surprising. "I, uh, my situation was… similar. My mother was a servant to a lord who was very… promiscuous. He promised her marriage and then sent her away in disgrace when I came into the picture."
"Oh." The hunter breathes out softly. "I am sorry to hear that."
Finally, the thief turns to him, mismatched eyes burning bright with anger.
"They're all scum." He grits out. "All hiding away their horrible, rotten selves behind glittering stones and bright fabrics…"
The hunter glances back at the carriage, but if the others were awake he'd have heard a shift in their breathing.
"You don't like nobles?" The thief's eyes darken just a bit as his frown deepens. "What about our comrades?"
He knew the guard came from a high ranking family, and then there was the fact that they were working with the very Lord of these lands.
"I'm not here because I feel any kinship towards these people." The thief's gaze softens a touch, and he hesitantly reaches out a hand and lays it on the hunter's shoulder. "Listen, we are not their friends. We are merely tools, just as any below their station is. They may show you kindness now, but once your usefulness to them is gone they will show you their fangs."
He lets the thief's words hang in the silence between them (and not because he thought any response might make the thief take his hand back), and just as he's about to respond the thief's eyes focus on something behind him and he shouts.
"Look out!"
A loud blaring horn causes Zane to swerve, his mind taking a terrifying minute to realize where he is and what happened, and once he's aware he quickly pulls onto the side of the road. He'd been lost in one of his visions while driving, and had very nearly caused an accident.
Zane tries not to sigh in aggravation. The others had just recently admonished him about this happening at a horrible time, and he hadn't even thought about it affecting him while driving! Frost had lined the windows and Zane quickly cranks up the heat before turning to check on Cyrus.
The man didn't look any worse for wear, but that could be because his soul stone wasn't currently in his body. The stone itself had fallen from its place atop Cyrus' chest and onto the floor, and Zane can't help but feel a touch guilty about that. If something happened to the stone, the inventor would suffer just as he was, probably, and the master of ice didn't want to be the cause of that.
He sets the stone in a more secure location, tucked away by Cyrus' side and the seat's back, and then carefully steps out of the car. Cyrus was secure, he'd made sure of that, and driving was too dangerous, but flying (hopefully) would be safer.
Zane summons his dragon, climbs aboard, and instructs Shard to carefully pick up the car before they begin flying towards their destination.
Hopefully, if he were to have another vision, then Shard could just keeping flying. No one would be in danger this way.
Unless Shard disappears when it happens. Because then they'd both end up falling to the ground… and that would not be a very pretty end.
"Okay, a little to the left." Dan instructs, and the vines move the huge log accordingly. "That's it, now lower it slowly."
Rebuilding had gone smoothly, much more smoothly than building had gone initially, as Hiroshi had almost no clue what they were doing back then. Of course, Dan had decided on making a few improvements, with Hiroshi's permission, so it wasn't going to be an exact replica, but Hiroshi understood what they were doing well enough.
"Dan." The forest Spirit says suddenly, face pensive. "There is a huge group gathering at the edge of my reach."
"What?" Dan's brows furrowed at the thought. Most people outright avoided this place because of the rumors. And even researchers who were curious came in small groups… the only thing he could think of was foresters, and that didn't bode well. Dan would do everything he could to dissuade them, but if he couldn't make them leave Hiroshi's labyrinth alone, he couldn't stop the forest from defending itself. "Where?"
The forest spirit starts walking and Dan follows along. He was used to Hiroshi's quirks, as a forest spirit he didn't truly understand most human interactions.
He's surprised when Hiroshi lets out a little gasp and starts running.
"Hiroshi?" He questions, hurrying after the other, only to trip on a root and find a branch catching his fall. "Geeze what's gotten into you?"
Once he's reached the edge of the forest, he's surprised to see the ninja who had visited them last.
"They came back!" Hiroshi calls back happily, before turning to look at the group once more. "Some of them, at least, and they brought friends!"
With how eager the red ninja (whose name escapes him at the moment) was to leave, he hadn't expected to see any of the ninja again for a while.
"Did you run out of lotus breaker already?" He can't help but ask as he comes to stand next to a happily bouncing Hiroshi. If Hiroshi was more of a hugger and less of a 'I'm going to imitate a vine and wrap around you so you can never leave' type, he'd likely have hugged one of them right now.
"No, that's not why we're here." The ghost (he had a 'c' name, right?) steps forward, looking serious. "We were hoping that you could keep some people safe for us for a while."
"So… I get to keep them?"
"Hiroshi." Dan immediately says warningly. He didn't want the forest spirit to get any ideas.
"Not for forever." Lloyd (ha, he remembered that one!) says cautiously. "Just until the threat has been dealt with."
"Threat?" The forest spirit tilts his head, curious but also cautious. "I can keep any intruders out, but if you mean the one who brought the lotus breaker here, then I can't help you."
"That isn't who we're worried about." The robot (ugh, why was he so bad with names?!) says. "There is a group-"
"A cult." One of the new people interrupts.
"-who is likely to try and kill these people because of our actions." The robot ninja goes on as if the other hadn't said anything. "We cannot protect them twenty four seven, as there are other things we need to do, but as you essentially are this forest, nothing within its borders can slip past you, correct?"
"Everything here is mine." Hiroshi nods. "And I can keep people out as well as keep them in."
"So you'll help us?" Lloyd asks hopefully.
Hiroshi looks at him, and Dan isn't sure if he's asking for permission or debating on whether or not he'd be too tempted to keep them here, and so Dan just pats him on the head and says.
"I guess it'll be nice having some company… although we haven't finished rebuilding yet."
The ninja all look relieved, and Hiroshi looks happy. Dan just hopes things will go as well when it's time for them to leave…
End chapter thirty four.
AN:A big thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and favorited this story so far! I'm happy to see that so many people like this story. ^u^
Unfortunately, I've realized that I won't be able to complete the story before it catches up to the current chapter I'm writing if I keep updating twice a week, so I'm pulling it back to once a week. I've set up a poll you can find on my profile page to vote on which of my usual update days are kept. I'll post two more chapters on my usual schedule to give people time to vote before it takes effect.
Once I've finished writing the story, I will go back to updating twice a week, though!
-Kit