133

"I'm coming too."

Cole looked over at Marty who was stiffly removing his suit jacket, and it was clear the headmaster was trying not to shudder in the cold wind. The ninja glanced at his wife before looking back.

"I'm not sure…"

"He's my son."

Marty met his eye then, and after a few moments Cole nodded.

"Alright."

They had been walking along the mountain's base, trying to figure out the path that M. would have taken from the woman's house, where he was last seen, to the land formation itself. The bottom of the mountain was sloped and not too difficult to climb, but it shot up in jagged peaks not too far up. Cole had dismissed the idea of M. climbing up the sheer rock face; the kid wasn't going to have the skill. But they had stumbled across a section that seemed climbable, and at a certain outcropping, a few yards up there seemed to be an opening to a cave. It was the first place they had come across that Cole thought the kid would be able to access.

"See you up there," Keyda said, beginning to pull herself up the rock face. Marty turned to her in surprise.

"You're coming?" he demanded, and she looked over at him and frowned.

"Why wouldn't I?"

He blinked.

"It's dangerous. Don't tell me you're a world famous rock climber too…" he said patronizingly. Keyda looked up to meet her husband's eye and they both smiled, as if at some private joke.

"I may not be world famous. But growing up in a hostile environment full of big rocks, survival was a pretty good teacher."

Marty frowned in confusion, but the Oni had already started pulling herself up. He glanced over, expecting to see the ex-ninja doing so as well. However, much to his humiliation and anger, it seemed Cole was waiting for him…in case he needed help.

"I'm fine on my own," the headmaster snapped, though he faced the rock face with uncertainty. It wasn't that he wasn't going to be strong enough; a lifetime of dance had ensured he certainly wasn't weak. But this wasn't exactly a samba.

Pride got the better of him, as well as the continuous desperation to find his son. He exhaled angrily and began to pull himself up, grudgingly following the path the Oni had taken. Cole watched for a few minutes, then began to climb as well. Marty tried to ignore the fact that the other man was climbing up after him, no doubt judging…

His foot slipped and Marty cursed as he began sliding down. A strong hand reached out and steadied him almost immediately, and the headmaster burned with indignation.

"I'm fine!" he snapped. There was no reply, but Cole held on to him while he fumbled for his footing and finally found it. Then the hand disappeared from off his back and Marty cursed again before starting the climb. When he finally pulled himself over the lip of the outcropping, his arms were burning. It did nothing to help his frustration; the climb wasn't that high, or that extreme. He should have been able to do it easily, rock climbing experience or not. It seemed he was not quite as in shape as he used to be, and wondered for half a second how it was Cole seemed to keep in shape.

"It's the start of a network of caves," Keyda reported, having already scouted out the entrance by the time they had gotten there. Marty peered into darkness and scowled.

"I should have brought a flashlight…"

He began searching for his phone, but a moment later a purple glow erupted to his right. He flinched away, glancing over to see that the Oni had summoned power around one hand. He nearly told her off for it, but she didn't seem to be looking for permission as she entered the cave, letting the glow of her powers guide her. The headmaster finally just scoffed, heading after her as Cole took on the rear.

"More caves," he muttered, glancing around. First those on the ocean…and now these. Would his son never learn? Though, he supposed they didn't even know if M. was in here…

"M!"

Cole and Keyda both jumped as Marty yelled out, his voice echoing down the cave walls. He didn't apologize as he cupped his hands around his mouth. "M! Are you here?!"

The echoes died down into silence, and he turned to glare at Cole accusingly.

"You said…"

"SHHH!"

Keyda was the one who cut him off, her hand going to his mouth to cover it. He balked and spluttered, immediately turning to give the Oni a piece of his mind. However, in his silence something could be heard.

"Dad?"

Marty's words died in his throat, his heart pounding. He stared off into the darkness and then began to bolt.

"M! Is that you? Where are you!"

"Stop!"

He barely heard the others behind him as he headed down the tunnel. Towards his son. M. would be punished, of course…but it was hard to decide on a punishment with the relief pouring through him that they had finally….

Something grabbed him from behind and slammed him into a wall, and he cried out in pain.

"Stop," Keyda said again, and he nearly blew a casket as he ripped out of her grasp.

"How dare you! My son is somewhere in here and…"

"I grew up around caves like this, genius," she hissed. "There could be a drop off at any point, and if you go bolting off in the dark you won't know you've hit one until you're careening to your death."

Oni were incredibly more intimidating with their eyes and fists glowing…especially when such power was the only light source illuminating her pale face. Marty stiffened defensively, but by then Cole had caught up with them and put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Keyds…"

"We have enough problems without him going and killing himself, Cole!" she pointed out, but she released the headmaster and he dusted himself off in an effort to appear unfazed.

"Can you hear me? I…I need help…"

M's voice was slightly louder now, and Marty immediately felt a rush of fear as he heard the tone. He headed down the tunnel again, the only thing keeping him from running was the simmering Oni a few paces to his right.

"M!? Where are you? Blast it, M…what have you gotten yourself into?!"

"There's a hole…be careful there's a hole!"

Marty clenched his jaw so hard it hurt, and suddenly Cole was pushing his way in front.

"M? Keep talking….keep talking so we can find you," the ninja instructed.

"Who's that? Dad, who's with you?"

Marty's throat constricted; his son was in pain. He could tell that now, from the strained way he was speaking. He shook his head.

"They're here to help…."

He trailed off as Keyda grabbed his arm again, and he caught sight of a sudden drop off. The path had been sloping for a while, but now it fell away completely. His voice died in his throat, and he began shaking. Cole carefully approached the lip of the drop-off, but when Marty went to follow, Keyda grabbed his arm to hold him back. He turned to glare again.

"He's my son…" he hissed again, having no other reason he could think of. She shook her head as Cole spoke again, calling down into the hole.

"M? Are you down there?"

There was a slight sob that echoed up to the three adults, and Cole and Keyda made worried eye contact.

"I…I didn't see it…"

Marty cursed in horror as Cole began lowering himself to the lip.

"Keyds…I need the light," he said softly, and Keyda and Marty finally approached. The purple glow seemed to lick the cave walls as it filled the space of the drop-off, and Marty's heart caught in his throat as he caught sight of a figure pressed up against the wall. It looked like M had fallen into the hole, but somehow managed to catch himself on a small outcropping a few yards down. However, the stone above him was smooth; he was pressed against the wall, his hands gripping shallow holds while his feet remained rooted to the small ledge. He had no way up…and from the look of it, a long way down.

The boy in the stained uniform squinted in pain as the light found him; who knows how long he had sat in the dark down in this hole? It made Marty sick as he thought about it…and sicker still as he caught sight of the tear streaks on M's face.

"Hold on, M…it's going to be alright…" Cole was saying, and it occurred to Marty that the ninja seemed intent on climbing down after him. He lurched forward.

"This is a job for professionals! We need to contact the local authorities immediately…"

"There's no time," Keyda cut in softly, and he turned to see her giving him a stern look as she continued. "He needs help now…can't you see how bad he's shaking? He may not be able to hold on for much longer."

It didn't help Marty's nerves at all, and he just shook his head.

"You'll make it worse," he challenged as he turned back to Cole. "There aren't any handholds…you climb down there and you'll just end up dooming you both…"

"It's going to be ok," Cole cut in, meeting Marty's eye. The headmaster stiffened, but Cole's gaze was comforting, rather than chastising. "Just trust me."

Marty's mind immediately came up with a million different reasons he should not be trusting the man a few feet away, or his crazy demon wife. But as he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Cole seemed to take that as some kind of permission, and Marty watched dumbly as the ninja lowered himself down again.

"M…don't panic, alright? Just keep holding on. I'm going to make my way over to you."

M's eyes were tightly shut, as if Cole had a better chance of succeeding if he wasn't watching. The tears were still coursing down his face silently, but he managed to nod once, his fingers digging into the smooth stone. Marty wanted to look away as well, but he found himself transfixed with a strange mix of hope and horror as the ninja picked his way down the rocky wall. It was slow going, but somehow Cole managed to find hold after hold, inching his way down to where M. was clinging desperately to the wall.

"I'm almost there…" Cole assured, and M. swallowed hard, his eyes still firmly closed against the light and the fear. Marty let out a shaky exhale as he watched Cole lower himself so his feet were balancing on the same ledge that M. was on. Finding a firm handhold, the man in black reached over to put a hand on M's shoulder. The teen flinched a little, his eyes flying open.

"It's ok…we're going to get you out of here, I promise."

Marty could hear Cole's soft assurances as they echoed up, and he glanced over at the Oni next to him. Her expression was surprisingly tight, her mouth a stiff line as she stared down at the two figures. It occurred to the Headmaster that she was afraid as well…afraid that this rescue mission wouldn't end well. Why had she let him do it, then? Why hadn't she tried to stop him?

"I need you to move your left arm, alright? You need to get onto my back, and I'll climb out of here…"

There was a slight murmuring from the teen, and Cole's voice became concerned.

"Your wrist?"

Marty Openheimer was shivering hard now; the cave was freezing, and he had broken into a cold sweat. He watched in agonizing anticipation as Cole slowly meandered M. to try and climb onto his back. He had almost done so when M. suddenly lost his grip.

"NO!" Marty screamed, his voice mixing with the teen's terrified yell and Cole's grunt. There was a thudding sound and the moment was over as soon as it had started. Marty was shaking with dread and adrenaline, trying to figure out what had happened. He looked down to see Cole holding a hanging M. by his upper arm with one hand, the other somehow buried into the stone wall. A horrible tense silence fell, broken by the panicking headmaster.

"I told you not to do this!" he snapped angrily, his knees becoming weak, but a hand touched his arm as Keyda spoke again.

"He can do it. Just watch."

Cole managed to lift M back up onto the ledge, and this time he kept a firm grip on M. as he finally managed to maneuver onto the ninja's back. Soon, the teen was holding on firmly and the ninja could finally make the painfully slow ascent back up to the top of the drop off.

Keyda and Marty helped pull them to safety as they reached the upper lip, though the headmaster was shaking too hard to do much at all. M's eyes were finally open, and he seemed dazed by both the situation and pain. He had barely sunk to the ground in an exhausted relief when his father pulled him into a tight embrace.

"What were you thinking?!"

M didn't answer, and it was unclear whether he was in shock or just too ashamed to say anything. He didn't move to embrace his father back…he just shook in his father's arms. Marty had never been one for hugging, nor had his father been before him. And yet in that moment he clung to M, as if letting go would doom him to slip down that seemingly bottomless pit to who knows what fate.

They sat like that for a few minutes, and after the horror of the situation passed, Marty felt himself fill with anger. He pulled back, shaking his head as he glared at his son.

"You stupid, stupid boy!" he started, and M. just winced, refusing to meet his eye. A hand clamped down on Marty's shoulder, and he looked up to see Cole shaking his head.

"Let me talk to him," he offered, and Marty narrowed his eyes.

"How dare you…" he started, but Keyda jumped in.

"You need to contact a healer; your son needs help."

He froze, and Cole gestured to the arm that M seemed to be holding close to his body.

"He's hurt his wrist," he pointed out softly, and Marty looked down at his son. M. still wouldn't meet his eye, his expression miserable, and suddenly the headmaster felt the fight leave him. The adrenaline had started to fade, leaving him feeling exhausted. He sighed heavily, pressing the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going to go call an ambulance," he finally decided. "C'mon, M. Get up."

The teen did so woodenly, and Marty just sighed again as they headed out towards the entrance. He wanted to berate the boy…yell at him. Did he realize how much he had put everyone through?! Did he realize how stupid he had been, how horribly this entire inane mistake could have ended? But every time he turned to say as much, something about M's expression stopped him.

They reached the entrance to the cave and M shuddered hard as the cold wind met them. The boy hadn't said anything since the rescue, which Marty found both irking and unnerving.

"M."

The teen didn't answer, and Marty shook his head.

"M, answer me!"

"Call the ambulance," Cole ordered, and Marty looked up to give him a dirty look. The ninja seemed unfazed as he continued. "He's been through a lot; you can't expect him to be responsive right now."

"How would you know?" the headmaster asked bitterly, but Cole didn't seem intimidated.

"You need to call an ambulance, and you need to contact the Ninjago police force so they know to call off the search."

Marty scowled, looking down at the descent they still needed to maneuver. Then he glanced over at M. again, who was staring at the ground.

"Can you climb down this?" he finally asked, his voice softer. He waited, afraid he would still get no response, but M. finally grimaced and shook his head, pulling his injured wrist closer to himself. Marty clenched his jaw, and after coming to a decision he turned to Cole again grudgingly.

"I can't help him down," he admitted, and then cleared his throat. "Can…will…"

"I can help him," Cole answered with a soft smile, and Marty gave a single nod before heading to the edge of the descent. His arms were still aching from the climb up, making the climb down all the trickier. But eventually, all four of them had their feet safely on the dirt of the mountain base, and Marty sagged with relief.

"I'll call the ambulance now," he said to no one in particular as he pulled out his phone. After a few minutes, he had gotten a hold of an ambulance and the chief of police. He finally hung up the phone, staring at it for a few moments before dialing one last number. He swallowed hard as he brought the phone to his ear, and after a moment the person on the other side picked up.

"Father?" Marty IV asked, glancing over at where M. was sitting on a rock, hugging himself. The Headmaster found that his throat suddenly constricted as he forced the next words out. "Yes…we found him."

134

"I want to help Cole and Keyda and Theo…but I'm a little uncomfortable taking a political stand."

"C'mon, Uncle Lloyd!" Mia complained, frowning at the green ninja. "This is Matilda O'Keefe we're talking about. She's a monster; we can't let her have any political power…"

"Look what she's already been able to accomplish without a council seat! People look up to you, Uncle Lloyd. If you were to denounce her…" her twin added.

"I know what you mean," Lloyd cut in, giving the twins an apologetic smile. "But if I let my political views be known about this, then I'm going to be bombarded every time there's any sort of election. I'm the green ninja, realm protector. I'm supposed to be more of an enigma."

"Are you scared?" May cut in. Lloyd looked surprised, and then seemed to really be thinking about it.

"No. I'm not afraid of Matilda, and I agree that she needs to be stopped. But I also think that I am not the person that should denounce her, or suddenly we're going to have a government vs ninja situation. I have no relevance to the situation besides Cole and his family being my friends, and she would figure that out and twist that in her favor…"

"We need someone to be the voice behind her downfall!" Mia complained, blowing her hair out of her face. "It can't be us either…a group of random albeit talented kids. It needs to be someone with power, authority…"

"You aren't giving yourselves enough credit," Lloyd cut in, sitting on a chair as he faced the three teens. "If you're thinking that power and authority are the only way to make a difference, then you're buying into the same lie that Matilda is trying to sell everyone: that in order for her to protect the realm she needs to be in charge of it. If you want to remain anonymous, then fine. You have a lot of followers…#FreeTheodynn is trending. And that's without people even knowing who exactly is behind it."

The twins seemed deep in thought, and Lloyd pushed himself up from the chair.

"Besides, it makes it hard for Matilda to fight back if she doesn't even know who she's fighting."

"That's fair," May murmured. Mia sighed.

"Alright, we'll keep up our anonymity. But I feel like someone still needs to take a physical stand against her…someone that the people would actually listen to. And if you aren't relevant enough to the situation, then we need someone more relevant."

"Someone who the populace would trust to have a non-bias opinion of the proceedings," Julien pointed out, verbally joining the conversation for the first time as he typed. "That rules out any of us, really…as well as Amber and Theo's entire family."

"Ugh. This is so complicated!" Mia griped, flicking through various people online who had shown their support for Theo's plight. "I can't think of anyone."

"You will," Lloyd said with a twinkle in his eyes, and the twins gave him a skeptical look. He winked at them as he headed out the door. "You all know better than to quit."

It felt like some kind of twisted dream, really. But as M. woke up in the hospital bed, he realized it wasn't. He sat up gingerly, wincing at the pain in his hip. He had smashed it in his attempt not to fall down that pit in the cave. The memory of the cold, dark hours made him shudder. He had dropped his phone when he had fallen as well; if they hadn't found him when they had…

He let the thought peter out and a blanket of melancholy settled over him. He had tried that time, really tried. But all he had proven was that not only was he immature enough to run…he wasn't even able to take care of himself after doing so. The mountain had been a bad idea, but he had just needed somewhere to lay low until the police moved on to another area. He was so stupid, incapable…weak…

There was a knock at the door and M. looked up in nervous anticipation. No doubt it was his father; Marty IV had tried to talk with him yesterday on the ride to the hospital, but had finally given up. Part of the silent treatment was because M. felt like an idiot, being caught so soon after running off. Part of it was because everything had seemed like it was in a fog last night; the doctors had mentioned that he was in shock. He wondered if he was still in shock, and how he would even know.

The door creaked open now, and M. stiffened in anticipation of facing his father. Marty hadn't even berated him that much yesterday, which means he was probably waiting until he was fully capable of processing the chastisement. What punishment would his father come up with now? Bars on his windows, no doubt.

A man poked his head into the room with an apologetic smile, and M. was surprised to see it was Amber's father. He stared in silence, and the man finally cleared his throat.

"The nurses said you're alright to have visitors. Do you mind if I come in?"

M. opened his mouth to say something, but then a wave of humiliation washed over him. Cole must have noticed his suddenly miserable look because he frowned and entered without permission.

"You doing ok? How's your wrist?"

M. looked down at the brace wrapped around his wrist and lower arm. The doctors had concluded that it wasn't broken…but it was badly sprained and they got after him for trying to climb with it.

"It's fine," M. finally said. It was the first time he had spoken all day, and his voice felt hoarse. Cole nodded and came over, and the teen looked away. He wasn't sure what Amber's father could possibly have to say to him. It was because of M that Amber had been in the hospital…it was because of him her parents and brother even had to come visit her. It was because of M and his mother that they had been arrested and that Theo had been taken to the NCST. M. realized with a jolt that he had no idea if Theodynn was even still there, and he was too humiliated to even ask.

"You've had a rough couple of days," Cole said carefully, and M. scoffed humorlessly.

"No kidding," he muttered, and then shook his head. "I'm such an idiot."

The ninja gave him a tight smile.

"Trust me, I've been there."

M. shrank into himself.

"At least you didn't get caught," he finally murmured. Cole looked thoughtful at that.

"Mmm…No. I got found."

M glanced up to see that Amber's father was watching him closely.

"That's the thing about running away; it doesn't really get you anywhere."

"But you didn't go back to school!" M. pointed out. "You succeeded…"

"I know it may seem that way," Cole interrupted. He rubbed his head and finally sighed, as if trying to decide how to put it. "I get maybe how you were feeling. Like you're trapped…like your future is being decided for you, and you don't get a say. That's why I took off. But as easy as running seemed to make everything, I never got anywhere. Not until Wu found me. And after finding that purpose, I did come back." He paused. "Maybe not to dancing, but I came back to my father, reconciled with my family."

M was silent as he processed Cole's words, in the ninja sighed again.

"You're probably wondering why I came to visit you. I wanted to see how you were doing, to start…but I also felt like maybe you're headed down the same path I was, a couple decades ago."

M stared down at his wrist brace, frowning.

"But aren't you glad you ran? You wouldn't have found your path if you hadn't."

Cole was silent for a minute.

"The thing is…maybe I would have. Maybe if I had been honest with my parents to start with, I would have. I have to admit, I don't really remember much of that time anymore. But I know that when I finally did come forward with the truth, my father accepted it. I've always wondered if my mom would have too…if I had trusted her with it."

M still wasn't looking up, and his eyes filled with tears.

"My mother couldn't care less," he whispered bitterly. "No one's ever cared about me…"

A warm hand came down on his shoulder.

"I'm not going to sit here and say that you have the greatest role models for parents, because…"

Cole trailed off, chuckling guiltily.

"Maybe I shouldn't really say that. But from what I've experienced, it must have been a hard situation to be raised in. However, I feel like I should also point out that your father dragged us all over Ninjago looking for you…something he wouldn't have done if he didn't care."

M's face scrunched up in his effort not to cry, and he shook his head.

"It's…it's not me. It's the family legacy, the reputation. He had to get me back before it got out how much I've tarnished it."

Cole gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"I never got along with my old man either, growing up. I couldn't understand him. And to be honest, I'm not sure I ever did understand my father until I was suddenly a father myself. The thing is…sometimes, as a parent, you think you know what's best for your kids. Even if it goes against what they want."

M. scoffed.

"Like what?"

"I almost kept Amber from going to school, you know."

The teen finally glanced up. He couldn't remember Amber ever mentioning that. In fact, he had never heard Amber say anything about either of her parents that didn't make them sound like the greatest beings alive.

"Why?"

Cole looked sheepish now, and he shrugged.

"I knew what people would say. I knew what they did say. It was her dream to dance, and she's amazing at it, but I couldn't reconcile the fact that she would have to get hurt on the way to achieving her dream. I…I thought I was protecting her."

M. processed that.

"So…what changed? You let her go in the end."

"I had to change. Sometimes, parents do. I mean, my Pop had to change when I became a ninja. He realized he couldn't change my mind, so he had to choose whether he was going to support me or not, even if it wasn't the life he had planned for me."

M's heart twisted, and he looked back down as his eyes filled with tears once again.

"And what if they won't? What if parents can't change? What if…they never support me?"

The ninja was silent, and M was humiliated as the tears started to leak out. He had cried so much over the past week and it made him feel weak and fragile, but he couldn't seem to stop it. Everything felt so messed up…he had made so many mistakes. How could he ever reconcile everything now?

"Someday you're going to be old enough to decide for yourself, M. Whether other people think that you should or not. And that's the hard part; you can make your choice, but you have to let everyone else make their choices too. And for the ones who don't change…"

Something flickered over Cole's features, and he shook his head.

"You can only hope they'll eventually come around. But M…your decision needs to be a decision. A direction. There's a huge difference between running away from something and running towards something. This time around, you were just running away…and things went downhill quickly."

Literally, M thought bitterly, and he sighed heavily.

"But I don't have anything to run to; I don't know what I want. I just know what I don't want."

Cole nodded to himself.

"That's a start, at least. Things like this tend to sort themselves out in time, if you have the patience to wait."

M. wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just shrugged. A minute passed without either of them saying anything, and the teen finally looked up.

"So you don't regret running away? Or you do? And dance…do you hate dance now? Amber says you don't…but…"

"I don't regret my decision," Cole clarified. "And I don't hate dancing. But I do think I shouldn't have run away. I was too afraid to be honest with my family, and it led to a lot of lonely months. Kinda wasted time, really."

M scoffed to himself.

"Months…I barely lasted a few days…"

"Well, it's a little easier to run away when you don't have anybody looking for you."

He sounded almost sad, and M. glanced at the ninja again. His expression was distant, and M. remembered suddenly what Amber had said about him not being able to remember things as well anymore.

M. had actually been feeling a little better, but remembering his friend caused another wave of guilt to wash over him.

"I…I never asked. Is Amber still in the hospital? Is she…."

"She's alright," Cole said with a smile. "She was worried about you, though. In fact, she was going to stop by later, if you were up for it…"

M. immediately blanched and Cole's smile disappeared.

"If you aren't…"

"It's just…"

The teen looked back up at Cole, his guilt obvious on his face.

"Sir…it's my fault that she was in the hospital. I was the one who made us go in those stupid caves, I was the one who told her to transport us. I…I was just so scared, and I didn't know…"

He finally broke down then, confessing his guilt to the father of his best friend, who he had hurt. He had hurt their whole family…Cole should hate him! And here he was, talking to him like he was someone worth talking to.

Cole seemed a little uncomfortable, but he quietly moved to sit on the bed next to M. The teen was shocked when he felt the ninja pull him into an embrace. Part of him wanted to recoil in humiliation, but the majority of him longed for the acceptance, even if he didn't deserve it. So he leaned into Cole while he cried.

"Amber told us about what happened," Cole explained quietly. "M…you can't let this mistake weigh on you. You had no way of knowing that would happen; it wasn't intentional…"

"It was still my fault!" he pointed out through his sobs.

"Everything turned out alright," the ninja reminded. "Amber's fine, you all are fine. I know what it's like…knowing something's your fault, even if you never meant for it to happen. Knowing that people paid the consequences for something they shouldn't have…"

Something twisted in his expression, and M. couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. But after a moment Cole shook his head.

"But in the end, you have to be grateful for what you're able to keep. We don't blame you for what happened to us, M. Amber doesn't blame you…"

He sobbed again, and Cole trailed off. It seemed the ninja had run out of things to say, but at this point, M. didn't really need him to say anything else. After a little while, he calmed down and Cole pulled away as M wiped his face.

"I'm sorry…" he finally managed. "You probably didn't need to see that."

"Don't worry about it," Cole said with a smile. M sighed heavily, feeling both better and worse now.

"So…you came to see me, as a sort of 'don't make the mistakes I did' sort of thing?" he finally asked, and Cole chuckled softly.

"I guess so. I also just wanted to thank you."

M. looked up incredulously, wiping his face again.

"Thank me?! For what?! You're the one who pulled me out of a hole…"

He trailed off and winced.

"I never thanked you for that," he realized, and Cole waved him off.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he assured again. "Look…I know this is a total dad thing to do, but I wanted to thank you for your friendship with Amber."

M. stared at him. Was he serious? He was the whole reason Amber was in the hospital! He was a terrible friend, and her father was thanking him?

"Like I said, I wasn't really sure how it would go, her coming to school here and everything. I thought that kids would be cruel about…you know."

Cole winced, as if regretting feeling that way about his own daughter.

"She talks about you all the time, when she comes home. She never had many friends…or…any friends, really. Just her brother, and us parents…but that's no life for a kid, you know? But now she's with people her age…friends with people her age. And she wouldn't have gotten to this point without you."

The teen sat stiffly in his bed, not really sure what to say to that. He still felt guilty for everything that had happened, but he also couldn't help feeling a little touched. He wasn't really sure how much Cole knew about him and Amber's friendship—the ups and downs—but to know that Amber hadn't seemed to share the downs was a good sign, right? Hopefully it meant that she didn't hate him completely.

"So I hope it was ok that I stopped by, out of the blue," Cole was saying, wrapping up as he pushed himself to his feet. "I just haven't really had a chance to talk to you…and I've actually been wanting to for a while."

M. looked up at him, and suddenly remembered the bedroom, with the shelves full of dusty medals and trophies. He shrugged, and finally offered a hesitant smile.

"Me too."

135

Amber's head drooped again, but she started awake and shook herself. She hurried to take another bite of the food Lou had put in front of her, but not before her mother noticed how tired she was.

"Amber…"

The Xinta winced a little, stuffing her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer. Keyda came over and took a seat, studying her daughter closely.

"You have dark circles under your eyes," the woman finally pointed out softly. "Have you not been sleeping well?"

Amber wouldn't meet her eye, and Keyda sighed and reached out to brush her fingers through Amber's tangled locks. The Xinta hadn't bothered to even brush her hair after rolling out of bed that morning.

"Nightmares?" Keyda finally guessed, and Amber's eyes filled with tears before she could come up with an excuse. Realizing there wasn't any point in trying to hide it, Amber swiped at her face angrily as she spoke.

"They've been on and off for a while…but ever since the hospital…"

Her face became pinched as she tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"I'm so worried about Theo, Mom! They keep saying that they're going to help him, and I know it's only been a few days, but it feels like so much longer! And every night I just lose him over and over and over again…"

Keyda pulled her daughter into a hug as she cried, exhaling slowly.

"I want to get him out of there too, Amber," she murmured. "It's taken every bit of self-control not to go in there and blast that woman across the realm…"

"I'll join you!" Amber offered with a sullen hiccup. Keyda chuckled a little.

"I'd almost take you up on that," she admitted, her own expression sobering. Amber knew she was thinking of Theo too…and M's horrible mother, and everything else that had become tangled in this mess. Amber realized her parents didn't know all the details either. They didn't know Matilda had slapped Theodynn…and she was almost tempted to bring it up to push her mother over the edge. But she knew, deep down, she couldn't. Because as much as she hated the other teens' reasoning, part of her had to grudgingly admit they were probably right. It would be easy to get her brother back and head back to their realm, but then none of them could ever come back without this sort of thing happening every time. Which is probably what that evil woman wanted, anyways.

Keyda's hand was still unconsciously pulling through Amber's hair as the Xinta rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Where's Dad?" Amber finally asked, and Keyda looked up from her thoughts.

"The hospital. He wanted to go visit your friend…"

"M?" Amber asked, surprised. She also felt a twist of guilt; she had told her father that she would go see the youngest Openheimer, but every time she tried to convince herself to go, she felt stuck. It wasn't that she didn't want to see M…but after everything it felt like there was some kind of barrier between them. The last time she had seen him was in the cave underground, moments from death. She knew Matilda blamed her for that…and with everything going down with the NCST president she was hesitant to enter a situation where M would finally be forced to choose between the two of them. From what she had heard, she had good reason to assume he would be on her side, but he was always so wishy washy where his mother was involved. Plus, he had gone and run off completely, going who knows where and letting his mother spread further lies about her and her family. If she went to the hospital, would it make things better or worse?

"Yeah. He said there were things he wanted to talk to him about…see if he could help or something," Keyda explained. She shook her head. "You know your father. It's just like back home. He likes to jump in and try to fix things…"

Amber tried to think of what her father would have to say to M…how he would try to fix anything.

"Yeah," she finally said. She glanced down at her breakfast, now cold, and sighed. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, Mom. It feels like I can't help anyone anymore. I mean, you and Dad went and found M. The other ninja kids don't seem to be doing a lot but at least they're always busy doing something that they think will help. And through it all I just sat here, totally useless…"

"You're not useless, Amber," her mother said. Keyda had started to pull her hair back from out of her face. "If anyone is useless in this situation, it's me. Sure, I went with Cole and M's father to find him, but I didn't do much. Your father did most of the heavy lifting…" She paused with a small smile. "As usual."

Amber rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure that's not true," she countered. "Besides, Dad says you helped a lot."

"Really?" Keyda asked, gently working through a snarl. "How so?"

Here the Xinta couldn't help but smirk.

"He said you were the only one who could cow Marty IV into doing anything…"

Keyda snorted and Amber laughed out loud.

"Don't sell yourself short, Mom! I don't know M's father super well, but what I do know is he never lets anybody boss him around. If you got him to listen to you…"

"Yelling at idiots," Keyda mused, finishing off the braid. "Always was my strong suit."

They chuckled together a little longer, and Amber finally turned to her mother.

"I want to go see M," she admitted suddenly. "But…I don't know if I should."

Keyda's smile faded.

"Isn't he your friend?"

Amber sighed. It was complicated, and she hadn't told her parents everything. She had never told them about the times in the past where she and M were at odds…and she hadn't told them about the whole weirdness with him and his mom. How could she explain herself in a way that wasn't going to make her mother hate the youngest Openheimer as much as she had grown to dislike his father?

"It's just…I don't know if me going would do more help or more harm," she explained carefully. Keyda thought about it for a moment.

"Your grandfather said he came to visit you, while you were sick," she mused. "If he was comfortable visiting you, I think you should be comfortable visiting him."

Amber let that sink in. She finally sighed.

"Yeah."

Keyda studied her a little longer, and Amber could feel her concern.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. I'll head over later. I don't want to bombard him if Dad just went."

Her mother didn't answer, and Amber finally stood to throw away the rest of her breakfast.

"Are the camera feeds on a loop?"

Ashley's voice was soft as she spoke into her cellphone. Someone passed her in the hallway and she flashed a smile at them as they waved at her. She had been trying so hard to fit in as the "eager intern" that she had accidentally made herself rather well known in the company. It made her irritated, more than anything. She hadn't taken this job so that everyone in the NCST could get their coffee on time and appreciate the spunky redhead intern delivering it. She was here to help her friends, and even though they had made a lot of progress they weren't there yet. It was both irritating and terrifying.

"It is on a loop…I can keep it going for as long as you want."

Julien's voice was choppy; no doubt he was trying to do like six other things while he talked to her.

"I won't be long. Franklin's asleep again and I don't want to tempt fate by taking a while for the delivery."

"All right. Send me a text when you would like the camera loop turned off."

"Sounds good."

Ashley hung up and slid her phone into her pocket. She had started carrying a clipboard around with her; she wasn't sure what it was, but people rarely question someone carrying a clipboard. She studied it intensely as she came out of the elevator on the fourth floor, an excuse at the ready, but Franklin really was asleep at his desk. She sighed; she had assumed right, then.

Ashley quietly passed the balding man, heading down the hallway. She was prepared to knock on Theo's window again, but she was surprised to see that he was sitting on his cot attentively as if he was waiting for her. When their eyes met, he broke out into a smile.

"Hey Ash," he said, his voice still distorted from being inside the thick walls.

"Hey," she responded, but then she hesitated, not really sure what to say. Theo shifted on the bed.

"Are we…getting any closer?" he asked finally, and Ashely felt a stir of guilt. But she just smiled and nodded.

"We're getting there. But we noticed on the news feed they aren't feeding you as often…"

"Two meals a day now…at best," Theo confirmed, rubbing his hair. Ashely's smile faded.

"It's messed up. We aren't going to let her get away with that," she assured as she dug around in the bag slung over one shoulder. Theo leaned forward in interest as she began pushing various packaged snack foods through the food slot in the door. Theo beamed.

"Any chance you brought some chocolate cake?" he said, sounding like he was only partly joking. Ashley couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sorry, Theo. Look, hide this under your mattress and stuff, K? And…only eat it when your back is turned to the camera."

"This is a lot of food," Theo commented, scooping it up off the floor. His grateful tone was tinged with disappointment as he glanced up. "I take it this means I'm not getting out of here anytime soon?"

She wasn't sure what to say to that. She tossed her red ponytail over her shoulder, trying to seem casual about it.

"I mean, it's mainly just in case I can't come up to see you again. We're bringing the hammer down in the next couple days, before the primary debates. She's not going to have any choice but to…"

"Let me go. You said that before," Theo remembered. He offered a little smile, but this time it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks for the food. I know it's probably risky, coming to visit, but next time do you think you could bring something long and thin I could use to pick a lock? Like a wire, or a pin…"

Ashley frowned.

"What do you mean?"

He held up his wrists, the vengestone cuffs still securely fastened.

"I need to get these off. I think I could do it, but I don't have anything to try to pick the lock with."

The redhead blinked.

"You know how to pick locks?"

Theo's expression became partly sheepish and partly mischievous.

"Tolan taught me many things," he finally explained. "Said he wanted to prepare me for life. Turns out he was more right about the way my life would go than I thought he was…."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Ashley cut in, and she winced internally at the look on Theo's face. "I get that those are probably uncomfortable, Theo…but if you take them off it's going to make people suspicious."

The Oni didn't say anything as he stared at her, and she tried to figure out how to make him understand.

"It's Matilda; anything that she can use against you she will. You take off your cuffs and suddenly you're trying to escape and dodge legal consequences…"

"I wouldn't mind escaping and dodging consequences," he cut in, his tone becoming bitter. She sighed.

"I know. And we'll get there…but this isn't the Oni realm, Theodynn. We have to jump through the hoops to…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Theo cut in angrily, and Ashley frowned.

"I just mean that you and your mom and Amber are used to going in blasting, but if you lose control here than it's just going to play right into Matilda's hands."

Theo's expression was uncharacteristically stony as he studied her.

"Sure. Because losing control is what we Oni are known for."

"Stop it, Theo. You know that's not what I meant," she snapped. Did he think that it was easy, trying day after day to win this political battle, knowing he was spending the entire time in undeserved confinement? She didn't blame him for being frustrated…but he certainly didn't need to take it out on her. "We are doing everything we can to get you out of there. You just have to hang in there."

He shrugged, as if to say he didn't have many other options. For some reason, his apathetic response just made her more irritated.

"Pick up all that food," she snapped. "Julien can only loop the camera feed for so long; if that idiot down at the security desk wakes up and sees all these snacks…"

"Fine."

"Alright," she threw back. Things had definitely been awkward with Theo ever since that dinner conversation all those months ago, but she couldn't remember the last time they were actually at odds like this. She crossed her arms as she glanced away. "I have to go…I don't want them to get suspicious."

He didn't reply and she sighed.

"I probably won't be able to visit much more. That should be plenty of enough food to last until…"

She trailed off, and Theo still didn't say anything. There was nothing else for her to say, so she finally just huffed and left. She waited to see if he would finally say anything, but he never did.

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