Chapter 18
Movie Ninjago
"Soooo, who is this girl we saved? You seem to know her," asked Nick Jay as Nya and Penny gently carried Skylor to the couch in the warehouse to rest on, having arrived there safely.
"She is Kai's 'gf'," said Penny, sharing a worried but mischievous glance with Nya.
Jay's jaw dropped, and he squawked out a, "What?"
"Or, she will be after one of them finally admits it," said Nya. "Well, that and other things."
From the pointed glance she sent his way at that, Jay got the feeling this girl was another unknowing participant of Nya's test.
As if to prove the girls' point, Kai chose that moment to burst in with a shout of "SKYLOR!" followed soon after by the rest of the Ninja Force, Cliff Cole and Lil'Loyd.
Running to her side, Kai looked down at her, but she had passed out on the ride there and gave no response. If they didn't know there was a drug in her system, they'd think she was sleeping peacefully.
Looking desperately over at Zane, he asked, "Will she be alright?"
Zane jolted at the question (he'd oddly been distracted since the beach), but then his eyes flashed white as he gazed at her. "Yes, the drug is almost out of her system, and she will likely wake up soon."
Kai let out a sigh of relief, before sitting in a nearby chair, looking ready to keep vigil until she did.
Luh-Loyd, meanwhile, had a frown on his face. "What happened to her? Who did this?"
Nya, Zane, and Nick exchanged glances and shrugged. "Some rogue Master Builder guy in a lab coat and his buddies," said Nya.
"But how did they get her out there in the first place?" asked Freckles Jay worriedly.
Penny, who had been adjusting Skylor on the couch so she was more comfortable, accidentally caused her phone to fall out of her pocket. Reaching down to retrieve it, she gasped as the screen lit up.
Holding it out for the others to see, they saw a bubble in the notifications bar saying 'Meet at this location for tests.' with a map link attached leading to the very cove they'd saved her from. But what was most alarming about the notification was the name of the sender.
Father.
Nya's expression darkened immensely. "So we were right."
"Right about what?" asked Cliff Cole, looking utterly lost, as did Lil'Loyd. Nick Jay and Penny didn't look much better despite being there for part of it. "What's going on? Who is she?"
The Ninja Force looked at their leader to break the news and Luh-Loyd sighed. "Lil'... Montgomery, Cliff, Nick, I'd like to introduce you to Skylor (though I wish it was under better circumstances), she's a friend from school. For the last few days, we've… been suspecting that she's been abused."
Penny let out a horrified gasp, Lil'Loyd looked stricken, and both Nick and Cliff's expressions turned sympathetic.
"How did you know?" asked Penny. "How long have you suspected?"
"Since her birthday party. But we didn't know for sure until now," said DJ.
"It was small things at first that just added up when we compared notes," said Nya. "Kai noticed she had a hand-shaped bruise when they were playing laser tag."
"When they mentioned it to me, I ran a health scan," said Zane, looking guilty. "From what I've seen, she has had a history of multiple injuries throughout her life. Either she has been very accident-prone or someone caused them."
"Health scan? You can do that?" asked Lil'Loyd.
"It's when his eyes went white," Nick whispered to him.
"There were also some things she said during the party," said Luh-Loyd. "Like how she'd never had a birthday party before, how cagey she was when talking about her family. And what she said when I was talking about my family adopting kids."
"'It must be nice to have a family that chooses to love you,'" Penny quoted, remembering that conversation. Those words hadn't sat well with her either.
"And when I got a smoothie spilled on my scarf, Cole and I overheard her talking on the phone while we were waiting for the bathroom," said Freckles. "She was talking to her father and she sounded super creepy. Like she was trying to be emotionless but she was still really scared."
"Putting all of that together, it didn't paint a very good picture," concluded Luh-Loyd.
"I'll say," said Cliff.
"But it was all circumstantial," said Nya. "Even if we could prove someone was hurting her, we couldn't prove who. And she always dodged the question when we hinted at it."
Penny nodded in understanding. "Legally, there was little you could do."
"That doesn't matter! We should have gotten her away from him sooner," said Kai, anger, and regret clear in his voice. "We should have helped her as soon as we suspected anything."
Luh-Loyd sent him a glance that was a mix of pity and guilt. "You're right. We should have listened to you Kai. Sorry."
Kai let out a frustrated huff. "She was living away from home, and we thought she'd be safe from him. We didn't know he'd call her out and do something like that," he said glancing at Luh-Loyd and his sister. "I follow your lead, I always will."
The way he said it made it clear he didn't blame them, and somehow that just made the guilt worse.
"So what'll you do now?" asked Cliff Cole.
Luh-Loyd glanced at the sleeping redhead. "For now, we'll report what happened to the Ninjago Police. Have them keep a lookout in case her father comes back. When Skylor wakes up she might be able to tell us more, and we'll work to keep her safe."
"Her apartment might not be safe now," said Freckles worriedly. "I bet he knows where it is and is angry at her for what happened."
"She can stay at our place," said Nya resolutely. "Our parents won't mind, and she'll have two bodyguards to keep him off her trail."
At her words, she saw Kai's shoulders lift a little as if a weight had been taken off them.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Nick. Having helped save the girl at the beach, he now felt invested in the drama.
"Not at the moment," said DJ with a knowing glance.
"It's all local stuff," agreed Freckles. "There's not much you can do."
"We'll let you know if we're gonna have a manhunt for the jerk who did this if you're interested," said Kai dangerously. "But you'll have to get in line."
Cliff grinned. "Count on it. We're always ready to rumble."
They talked a little longer after that before Nick and Cliff reluctantly realized it was time to go. Kai pulled away from Skylor's side to talk to them briefly as they prepared the Ultra Dragon for travel, before resuming his vigil on Skylor.
At the last second, before they took off, the two dimension-traveling Ninja heard a shout, "Wait!"
They looked back to see Zane hurrying towards them.
"What's up, Pep?" asked Cliff curiously. It hadn't escaped his notice that the usually perky nindroid have been very subdued since the beach incident, and not at all like his nickname would suggest.
"I would like to go with you," Zane replied, still looking troubled. "There is something I feel I require Zen's advice about. Would that be agreeable?"
There was enough space on Ultra for one more, especially with Lil'Loyd remaining behind, so Nick scooched over to make room. "Hop on," he said.
Zane flashed them a grateful smile before climbing up behind them, and the Ultra Dragon was through a portal a moment later.
Skylor squeezed her eyes shut as the numbness receded and feeling finally began returning to her body.
Well used to the hated feeling, Skylor slowly began flexing her fingers and toes, knowing she had to start small then work her way up to the rest of her mobility, otherwise moving would make her dizzy and cause her to pass out again.
However, given how her friends had taken her to the mech warehouse and had been watching her like a hawk, even that little bit of motion was noticed.
"SKYLOR!" was the very loud response from the entire Ninja Force and Penny, with her and the twins being especially loud.
Even though her tongue still felt like lead, she forced herself to say, "Gib 'e a min't. Can' oove 'ust 'et."
Hearing that, they pulled back and waited, allowing Skylor to slowly bring life back to her limbs.
When she finally stood up from the couch she'd been laying on and finished rotating her shoulders (the last exercise needed), Nya came and stood in front of her. "Are you okay now?" she asked worriedly.
Skylor managed a small smile and a nod. She'd be fine after this.
"Good," Nya replied. And then she tackled the redhead back onto the couch.
"Oof!" grunted Skylor as she found herself sprawled there once again. The tackle wasn't rough and didn't hurt, but it sure took her by surprise.
The second Nya was off her, Kai was at her side and pulling her into a gentle but firm hug.
"I was so scared when the others said you were hurt," he said into Skylor's ear, and she became aware he was trembling slightly in his seat next to her on the couch. "Are you really alright?"
Skylor was once again struck by how warm and safe his hugs felt, and had to take a moment to collect herself and answer. "Yes, I'm fine now. I know how to-" she broke herself off when she realized what she was about to say.
But Penny heard it anyway. "You know how to recover from that drug, don't you?" she asked. "You've been given it before."
There was a beat of silence before the entire Ninja Force present, including Lloyd's little brother, went into an uproar.
Realizing she'd said too much, Skylor shut her mouth with an audible click, and tried to look anywhere but at them.
She didn't have to. It was clear they all drew their own conclusions.
"That man they said attacked you… he was your father, wasn't he?" said Cole.
Skylor tensed. They thought Clouse was her father? EW! Still, it wasn't like she could tell them who her real father was.
Taking her reaction as a yes, Lloyd spoke up. "Skylor… we know," he said in a decisive tone.
Skylor whipped around to stare at him in shock. How? What did they know? Had she been found out?
"We know your father has been hurting you," Lloyd continued. "And he's been doing it for a long time."
Skylor stared at him, unsure if she should be relieved or horrified. On one hand, they hadn't found out who she really was, and she could still do her job. On the other hand, they now thought she was an abuse victim and that… that could complicate things.
Still, they had given her a ready-made excuse to hide the truth, and now all she had to do was play the part.
It's not like it would be hard.
"He-he's not…" Skylor said softly, letting the fear she'd been feeling finally show on her face. "I-It was just a test."
"You don't have to hide it," Jay, his expression empathetic. "We figured it out before, but we thought you'd be safe."
"We didn't want to put you on the spot, and have you tell us yourself," said Nya softly. "But now…"
Skylor didn't need to fake the wince that crossed her face. "I… there was nothing you could do," she said. Her expression darkened, and she said honestly, "My father always gets what he wants. It's best to just give it to him because there's no stopping him."
Kai, who was still next to her on the couch, reached over to gently grab her shoulders and make her look at him. "Not if what he wants is to hurt you!" he said firmly. "I don't care if he's the First Spinjitzu Master himself, I won't let that happen again!"
The rest of the Ninja Force voiced their agreement (though for some reason, Lloyd and his little brother traded an amused glance at the mention of the First Spinjitzu Master).
Skylor had no response, she just stared at them as her heart sank. She knew it was a long shot, but it was clear now that they weren't going to give this up. No matter what she did, one way or another they were going to try and confront her father.
… And if they did that, then they would die.
She couldn't let that happen. There had to be something she could do. Something to put them out of her father's line of fire and make it through what was coming. There was no way they could win, but she wanted them to survive.
These were her friends. She wanted them alive.
No matter how they might feel about her by the end of it.
"Please," she said, hating how pitiful she sounded, but seeing no other way to convince them. "Don't get involved. This isn't something you can ninja your way out of."
But Lloyd wasn't swayed. "We'll find a way. Ninja never quit," he said.
She was afraid he'd say that.
"He'll hurt you," she tried again.
"Not if we hurt him first," said Nya, sounding vicious.
Kai looked her in the eyes and added, "Besides, you're worth it."
Skylor was pretty sure she was as red as her hair hearing that. There was no way she was worth what Chen would put them through.
Looking away from them and trying desperately to think of something more to say to convince them, she finally noticed one ninja was missing.
"Wait, where's Zane?" she asked.
"He went to take care of something," said Jay, looking a little thrown off by this change in subject. "He'll be back soon."
The look on Clouse's face when she told him Zane was a robot flashed through her mind. "He has to come back," she said, her worry seeping into her voice. "He's in danger."
The Ninja Force exchanged a glance, but it was Lloyd's little brother that spoke up first. "Why?" asked Little Montgomery.
Skylor ducked her head guiltily. "During my father's… tests I let slip he was a robot," she admitted. "He's now going to want to take Zane apart to see what makes him tick. You can't let him get him."
Perhaps telling them that her 'father' was a threat to more than just her was a mistake as it only made their expressions darken. Still, they didn't seem too worried, even if Penny looked horrified.
"He's with our cousins, so he's not alone," said Cole calmly.
"And they went to a place that you can only reach on a dragon," added Jay. His face then fell. "Your father doesn't have a dragon, does he?" he asked worriedly.
Skylor felt relief spread through her as she shook her head. "No, no dragons," she said.
Penny let out a sigh of relief after hearing that. "Thank goodness."
Kai had a funny look on his face at Skylor's concern but didn't say why. Nya seemed to realize why, and smacked him on the back of the head and jerked her head pointedly at Penny. Whatever silent conversation they had made Kai look sheepish, but cheered up.
"We'll keep him safe," promised Lloyd, and the rest agreed again.
"What do you mean by tests?" asked Montgomery innocently.
They all turned to look at him.
Montgomery shrugged. "She said she told him Zane was a Nindroid during a test," he explained. "What test?"
They all turned to look back at Skylor.
Knowing she couldn't tell them they'd been testing her elemental power, Skylor scrambled for a response. "I- uh-" she stuttered, "He-he's a scientist. And because of that he and his, uh, lab assistants… like to test his experiments… on me."
The looks of righteous fury on all of their faces almost made Skylor feel bad for Clouse.
Almost. It wasn't like she'd lied about the experiments.
Thankfully, before any of them could say anything, flute music wafted through the room.
The Ninja all looked over at the door, expecting their master to come in that way, and Skylor and Penny followed their gaze.
So imagine Skylor's surprise when a voice came from right behind her.
"Hello, students."
Skylor shrieked and leaped away from the voice, sending her jumping on top of Kai, and he scrambled to catch her Scooby-Doo style.
Standing behind the couch stood Master Wu, and while it couldn't be seen, it was clear he was smirking beneath his beard.
"Master Wu!" said the Ninja Force, though Kai's voice was slightly strangled because of Skylor's grip on him.
"I see we have guests," said Master Wu, glancing at both Penny and Skylor. "In our secret Mech warehouse."
The Ninja all looked guilty, but Penny quickly said, "Zane asked me to close my eyes when coming or leaving here, so I am still unaware of this building's location, and Skylor was unconscious when she arrived."
"What? Unconscious?" came another voice, making all of them jump and wheel around to see another figure standing there (having apparently come in the door like a normal person while Wu spooked them).
Skylor and Penny studied this new person. He was older than all of them by a few years at least, dressed mostly in black biker clothes, and would have looked intimidating if not for his pink bandana around his neck and a pink streak in his long black hair that was held back in a low ponytail ruining the effect.
Lloyd and Montgomery lit up at the sight of him. "Morro!" they said, running over to greet him.
Oh, he must be the adopted cousin Lloyd had mentioned.
The rest of the Ninja Force seemed less thrilled he was there to varying degrees. Cole seemed indifferent, Jay gave him a nervous wave, Nya rolled her eyes but seemed resigned, and Kai let out a groan and thumped his head against the back of the couch. "Oh great, Morro's visiting again," he grumbled. "Don't you have, you know, college stuff to do?"
"Nah, it's a slow week, so I thought I'd grace you with my presence," said Morro with a slight bite to his words. He then smirked and added, "Your girlfriend is cute, but don't you two think you're moving a bit fast?"
It was then Skylor realized she was still practically in Kai's lap from after Wu had startled her, and the two of them immediately separated to the very ends of the opposite sides of the couch, both very red in the face.
"So what's this about bringing unconscious girls to our secret lair," said Morro, still smirking.
Lloyd groaned and punched him in the arm. "You do realize how wrong that sounded, right?" he said, before explaining their situation, their suspicions, and what happened at the beach.
Upon hearing that, Morro's expression turned sympathetic, and he looked at Skylor and said, "My condolences, no one should go through that," and then glanced between her and Penny to add, "Sounds like the Tinman has good taste."
Penny looked startled to hear that. "What?" she asked.
Morro rolled his eyes. "You jumped off a dragon and ran into a fight just to save your friend. That's pretty brave."
Penny turned pink, and Lloyd punched Morro again along with Montgomery kicking him in the shin for good measure.
"No stealing Zane's crush while he's not here," Lloyd hissed louder than he probably meant to since Skylor was able to hear it and Penny turned even pinker.
Morro winced at the hits. "FSM! OW!" he cursed. He then sent his cousins a wry look and added, "I'd ask how you two got so violent, but then I remember what our family is like."
"Despite his best efforts to the contrary, my father certainly would be resigned to that fact by now," agreed Wu, with a twinkle in his eye
That got chuckles out of them and succeeded in lightening the atmosphere (though some were confused what Wu meant about his father).
"So why are you guys here?" asked Cole, getting back on track. "More ninja stuff?"
The mirth fell off Master Wu's face, and his expression turned serious. "Indeed we have," he said. He glanced at their guests, before saying, "Students, Secret Ninja meeting, now."
The Ninja Force nodded and moved to exit the warehouse and meet on the Bounty.
Skylor and Penny moved to join them, but Master Wu held his flute-staff out in front of them. "Secret ninja meeting," he said, emphasizing the word 'secret'. "Please wait here and recover. We will not be long."
"But-" both girls tried to protest, but a stern glare from Wu shut them down.
"I am sorry for the exclusion, but this is something we must do for our duty to defend Ninjago from any threat," said Wu seriously.
"Montgomery went with you?" pointed out Penny.
"So did that Morro guy," added Skylor.
"Montgomery is a ninja in training, and will potentially join the Ninja Force when he is older," said Wu. "And Morro is my son, there is very little I can hide from him."
The girls exchanged annoyed glances.
Taking pity on them, Wu said, "You are welcome to play the Ninja's video games in the meantime. Or, if you too wish to become a ninja yourselves," he held out a book to them, "you can read my book on Ninjology."
With that, he tossed the book into Penny's hands and turned to follow his students out of the warehouse.
The girls stared after him in disbelief.
And then with a shrug, Penny opened the book and began to read.
A/N Just so you all know, I'm traveling again, so Tuesday's update may be late, I'm not sure yet. Well, people were asking if Morro'd be in this fic. Well, here he is, and he can't help but being kind of a jerk to tease his cousin. More with him next chapter. Unfortunately, Skylor is still too scared of Chen to tell the whole truth to the Ninja Force, and instead just confirmed what they already figured out, inaccuracies and all. She doesn't think they can beat him and thinks that if she keeps working for Chen she can have enough sway to protect them. Zane, meanwhile, is still reeling from his discovery and needed someone to talk to.
As ever, major thanks to Kay Hau for beta reading and contributing ideas to this chapter. She was a huge help, and the joke that maybe people in the movie world aren't as aware that Wu, Garmadon and Lloyd are related to the FSM came from her. Also, as I mentioned before, Nya giving people tackles like Kai gives hugs was from her too.
Next Time: Wu and Morro share the results of their investigation while Pep Zane has a heart to heart with Zen.
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