This chapter contains VIRTUALLY NO ROMANCE to my great relief. Because it's so ridiculously hard to write. I've discovered that if I walk in circles for an hour arguing with my brain it helps a little, though.
Me: My chapter is fine. I did a good job.
Brain: Yeah, right. That was way too cheesy. No one will like it.
Me: Oh yeah? I've seen things way worse that people liked!
Brain: Just because yours is better doesn't mean people will like it.
Me: That makes no sense!
Brain: I win.
Fortunately, thanks to positive reviews, I successfully defeated my brain in our latest argument.
Brain: That chapter was stupid, no one will like it.
Me: Oh yeah?! *shows brain reviews*
Brain ...I give up.
And that's why I love reviews. Speaking of which...
LE REVIEW REPLIES:
TheFlamingShogun: Whoops. Gosh, I hope you're alright. COOKIEZ No worries, the review was a fine length. ;)
AngelStarNinja: Better keep that chainsaw handy, you never know when she might try to stab someone. ;D
Breana: Glad you liked it! :D I was going to have that scene be after they got out of jail, but then I was like "what the ghost let's get this over with", and just wrote it.
Windy: Yay, you're back! :D My older sister kinda got addicted to candy a little and was stealing it from the cabinet, so... yeah. Only my parents know the code. Our house is full of locks, rubber bands, and complicated latches. And yet we still haven't figured out a way to keep my youngest sister from pulling the heating vents out of the floor and throwing random things into them. -.- Oh well. Anyway. I'll have to convince my mom to let me buy some fabric paint... What's a social studies class? Whenever something reminds me of Ninjago I do a mental fangirly scream. ^ ^ I think it's "Morsha"... Yeah, Tara has a bit of a habit of lying. She's very manipulative. I do think she has a bit of a crush on Alex. MORDIGO FOREVAH *cheers* I almost screamed when I saw that people liked that scene. ^ ^ I love writing them but it's so hard. ;_; Poor Lloyd is giving up. Don't worry, you'll be okay. ^ ^ I really need to end this 'cause it's really long... bye!
Dragonborn: Oh good, I'm not the only one with that problem. xD Your review made me laugh.
KRR: O.O Jay? You okay? Thanks for the chocolate cookiiiiiies! :D
In other news... I CAN DRAW LEGOS! *screams and cheers* Yesterday I was playing around with paint and started doodling Morro and then I realized it was actually pretty good and then I drew a bunch more lego people on a piece of paper and now I'm drawing them on everything including my math mwahahahahhaa... cough. Well, that was random.
Super long A/N :P TIME FOR ZE CHAPTER
Chapter 36
Jay lay on the floor of his cell, boredly staring up at the ceiling. He and Jessica shared a cell, and though he was grateful for the company, Jessica had mentioned that she would much rather be in a cell with Lloyd and spent most of her time staring out the door's window towards the green ninja's cell. So she wasn't a very intresting cellmate. Jay's stomach growled loudly, echoing through the cell. Jessica looked down at him from the door for a moment before turning back to the hallway and yelling,
"Hey! Guard people!" she banged her fist on the bars, making a loud, annoying clanging noise that echoed through the halls. As Jay hopped to his feet and stared past Jessica into the hall, an angrily-muttering ghost with a spear walked over and stopped in front of their cell.
"Yeh?" he growled. "Whaddaya want?" Jay saw Lloyd and Cole looking out from their cells across the hall from them.
"We're hungry." Jessica stared the ghost in the eye. "Unless you want us all to starve to death, you better get us some food." The guard glared at her for a few moments menacingly, but she stared back at him, unfazed.
"Roight." the guard muttered. "Weel, I'll see wot I can do." he walked off slowly, still muttering. As soon as he was out of earshot, Cole spoke up.
"That took guts."
"Yeah. That was brave, speaking up for us like that." Lloyd agreed with a smile.
"I'm a daredevil." she winked at him, but Jay thought he saw the girl blush when she looked at Lloyd. Huh. A few minutes later, the guard returned with two others, all bearing some kind of grey-brown bread. They unlocked the doors, one at a time, and tossed a chunk of the bread into each. They didn't appear to care how many people were in each cell, since Jay saw Cole get a large chunk and he and Jessica got a smaller one. Nevertheless, they split the bread in half and ate it quickly. The crumbling bread was weird and bland, but it tasted like the best thing he'd ever eaten due to his hunger. He sure hoped they could get out of there soon, if this stuff tasted delicious. Barely five minutes after eating, he suddenly felt exhausted. Seeing Jessica similarly affected, he wondered if the food was drugged. He didn't have time to think about it, though, as he soon fell into a deep sleep.
ReturnToTheCursedRealm
Ming crouched outside a barred window, watching as Jay and Jessica fell fast asleep inside. Moving to the next window, she saw Morro and Indigo asleep as well, and Alex asleep in the cell after that. Well, Tara would be glad that he was alright. After checking one last cell, what had Nya (asleep) in it, Ming straightened up and ran out of the village, back to where the others were waiting at camp.
"Ming! You're back!" Kai called once he spotted her approaching from where he had been keeping watch. "So, what news?" he asked as she sat down by the fire next to Tara and Kayson.
"Everyone is fine, for starters. Uninjured, I mean. Even Indigo looks mostly healed up. Also, I think the food the ghosts are giving them is drugged. They all fell asleep after eating it. Oh, and the guards have to open the cell doors to feed them." Ming reported. Tara nodded.
"Good. Anything else?"
"Uh... Morro and Indigo were kissing, but that's not really important..." Ming trailed off and the other three exchanged glances.
"...yeah. Okay, so, now that we know this stuff, what do we do?" Kai asked.
"Make a plan." Kayson replied.
"Great. How?"
"You've never made a plan before?" Kayson tilted his head at the fire ninja.
"Lloyd and Cole usually make the plans." Kai shrugged. "I don't really have to."
"Yeah, but you're a ninja. Aren't you supposed to be good at this stuff?"
"What, stealth? Yeah. How is that relevant?"
"If you're the best at stealth, you should have some idea of how to sneak in."
"Well yeah, but I'm still not-"
"Boys, boys, calm down." Tara placed a hand on each of their heads, silencing them. "Now, if you're finished bickering, I have an idea."
ReturnToTheCursedRealm
Lloyd woke up from an intense dream with a start, briefly forgetting where he was. When he felt the cold stone on his back, though, and the heavy chains on his wrists, it all came back to him. Why had he fallen asleep so quickly after eating? Maybe he'd been too hungry to realize that he'd been tired as well. He shivered in the cold room, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging them to himself in an attempt to conserve warmth. He hated being here. He felt helpless and weak, like when Morro possessed him. Trapped in a cold, dark place with no hope of escape. Lloyd shoved those thoughts out of his head. Morro was his friend now, and thinking about such things wasn't going to help anything. All the same, this place brought back memories that he'd rather not think about. Lloyd closed his eyes, visualizing good memories to distract him. Eating cotton candy with the other ninja, meeting his father after he was cured, Kai fanboying over Skylor... Lloyd grinned at that one. It had been a while since they'd seen the red-haired girl. He wondered if Kai would ever get into a more serious relationship with her. Lloyd's smile faded slightly as he thought about the ninja of fire. Where was he now? Was he trying to get them out? Knowing Kai, he wouldn't just sit around and mope. Whatever he was doing, Lloyd sure hoped it worked.
ReturnToTheCursedRealm
It was quiet on the streets of Minyeng, as two guards stood in front of the large jail. They talked with each other from time to time dully in an attempt to keep each other awake. Kai hid in an alleyway, just out of their range of sight. At a wave from Kayson, he jumped out into the open, yelling,
"Hey stinkbrains! Can't catch me!" he then took off running as the guards picked up their weapons and chased him. He led them on a crazy chase through the village before they were knocked out by Tara and Ming, who were hiding in the shadows, with large metal objects.
"Well, that went well." Tara said, stepping out and tossing her frying pan in the air casually. "Get their clothes." she instructed Ming and Kayson, who were standing behind her. As the two started taking the guards' robes and armor, Tara took one of their hoods. "Hissssss, I'm a ghost." she mimicked in a rsapy voice, putting it on her head. "Feeeaaar meeeee." Ming giggled.
"You think it'll work?" Kai asked, walking over to them.
"Sure." Tara began putting the rest of the ghost's outfit over her normal clothes. "After all, when do my plans ever not work?"
ReturnToTheCursedRealm
Indigo lay against the wall of her cell, her eyes closed. Morro had woken up earlier so she could eat, and she had promptly fallen back asleep afterwards. Now that she'd woken back up she was both tired and hungry, and she couldn't get back to sleep because of her hunger. So she was glad when she heard a ghost yell that it was "feeding time". She opened her eyes to see Morro, who had been talking with Lloyd through the window in the door, turned to make sure she'd heard before backing away from the door so the ghosts could get in. As one of the guards approached, Indigo tilted her head and frowned. There was something off about this ghost. He looked... solid. As he opened the door and tossed a chunk of the weird bread in, he whispered.
"Don't eat the food. And get ready to run." Her eyes widened at the familiar voice.
"Kayson?" she whispered. The "ghost" nodded, and closed the door without locking it. Indigo got to her feet, straining against her chains so she could see out the door. There were two other ghosts, one was real and the other was solid like Kayson. Kai? The other "ghost" was unlocking Lloyd's door. As soon as it was open, the ghost yelled,
"NOW!" in the seconds that followed, the other prisoners burst out of their cells, taking down the real guard in an instant.
"Tara?!" Indigo heard Cole say in shock. She heard the rattle of keys as another door was unlocked, and Morro pushed their door open and ran out. Indigo frowned. Had he forgotten about her? She was about to call after him when he came back with a ring of keys, trying each one on her chains. He soon found the correct one and the chains fell off. Morro grabbed her hand and they ran out into the hall, joining the others as they fled into the night.
Yay! They're free! :D Finally. Good thing there weren't many guards around. Soul Archer's going to have a fit when he hears about it. ^ ^
FFF: Question time! We have looooots of questions today. ~FFF
Kai: Alright, yeah!
FFF: Let's go ahead and start with you, Kai. You have two questions. The first is from TheFlamingShogun, and it's "How strong can your fire powers be? Forest fires and flaming tornadoes(forgot what their called), or just small fires and fireballs?" He also called you the greatest ninja.
Kai: Well I am the best. So, my elmental powers are pretty strong. I could definately START a forest fire. You mean Spinjitzu? Or like, fire whirls or fire twisters? Well, I can definately do Spinjitzu, but I can't make a tornado. Maybe if Morro helped me I could, because his powers are wind.
FFF: Mm k. The second is from Breana, it's "What would you do if I dare you to dye your hair pink with lots and lots of glitter?"
Kai: Seriously?! I wouldn't do it. I would never live that down.
Cole: You got that right.
FFF: I want to see you with pink hair now... Anyway. We'll do Jay next, since he has two questions as well. The first is, "What is your favorite thing to do, besides being a ninja, being with Nya, and inventing?" It's from TheFlamingShogun.
Jay: Playing video games! I'm an expert.
FFF: I bet you can't beat me.
Jay: Please. I'm a professional.
FFF: And even if you beat me, I bet you can't beat my brother.
Jay: Why not?
FFF: ...you should see him. It's epic. Anyway, "Don't freak out buuuuuuuuuuuuuut there's a big scary werewolf behind you"
Jay: AGH! WHAT?! WHERE?!
FFF: Whoops. He ran off. That was Breana's "question" for him, by the way. Haha. Okay, next up is Lloyd. He also has two questions.
Lloyd: Sweet!
FFF: This first one's from TheFlamingShogun, and it's "What's your favorite thing you've accomplished?"
Lloyd: Well, I'd have to say it's sa-
FFF: SPOILERS!
Lloyd: Oh yeah, right. The story's not over yet. Well, then beating the Overlord for the first time and curing my father of the Great Devourer's venom.
FFF: Aww, how sweet. Anyway. Your second question is, "Try to say this tounge twister. Peter Piper Picked A Peck Of Pickled Peppers"
Lloyd: Peter Piper Pick a Plot of Plockled... What was that again?
FFF: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.
Lloyd: Peter Plipper Plonked a Plop of Plottled... uh... Peter Piper Picked a Wreck of Pippled plots... I give up.
FFF: Do some practice. I'm sure you'll get it eventually. Here, Windy can help you.
Windy: I can say it! Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.
Lloyd: How are you two so good at that?!
Windy: Magic.
FFF: Anyway, while you two are doing that, I'll give Zane his question. The rest are from TheFlamingShogun. Zane's is, "Which came first, the chicken or the chicken egg?"
Zane: Why, the chicken of course. It was created along with all the other land animals on the sixth day of creation.
FFF: I knew it! Okay, next question. Cole, "Especially when do you have the most difficulty being a ghost?"
Cole: The hardest thing to do is remembering I can't touch water, so I can't wash my hands, or brush my teeth, or take a shower, or I'll explode.
FFF: I can see why that'd be annoying. Morro, the next question's for you. "What was the lowest point in your life? Do you think that you can compensate for your sins?"
Morro: ...do I have to answer this?
FFF: Yes.
Morro: I've done a lot of really bad things. Probably the worst thing was possessing Lloyd, and everything I did between then and the Preeminent's death. I will never be able to make up for what I've done, but God has forgiven me and... so have most of my friends.
FFF: I've forgiven you.
Kai: I think we all have.
FFF: Yeah! Finally, the last thingy is for Indigo. It's not really a question, just an observation. "You have some pretty cool powers. Just saying."
Indigo: Thanks! I really do like them myself.
FFF: Well that it for today! Also my Mom's birthday is today so Happy Birthday to her.
Lloyd: Happy Birthday! Peter Piper Pecked a Pick of... whoops.
FFF: Bye everyone!