85
Hershel and Myrah arrived at the Central Fortress in the late afternoon. Myrah tried to still the anxiety inside as they approached the front doors. The guards recognized them immediately and allowed them to enter, though the one on the left cleared his throat.
"If you are here to see the Rulers, they are currently in the middle of holding trial for a group of slave traders brought into custody yesterday. I can escort you to the waiting area and let them know you've arrived.
Myrah nodded her acceptance, and the guard gestured for them to follow him, though both she and Hershel were perfectly capable of going to the waiting area themselves. She had wondered if Cole and Keyda would still be tied down in today's trials. The Western Leader and her husband had waited as long as they could possibly stand it before coming, but after a certain point, they couldn't pace the halls of the Western Fortress any longer. It felt like Raiyn was slipping further away with each passing hour that they did nothing.
"Excuse me." It was Hershel who had spoken, and Myrah turned to study her husband. The more time passed, the more withdrawn he had become. Knowing that he was most likely plagued by past demons, Myrah had done her best to keep him from stumbling into the darkest trains of thought, but it was difficult, given how her own mind kept trying to betray her in a similar way. The guard Hershel was addressing turned, and Hershel cleared his throat. "Do you know if Tolan is here? He was supposed to return with me last night but he disappeared, and he never came back. His wife is worried..."
"Tolan was assisting in interrogation this morning, and he's currently part of a search party that left earlier today," the guard offered.
"Are there more leads to the location of the missing slaves?" Myrah demanded, not even sure whether to hope. She must have allowed herself to hope somewhat, because as the man shook his head no, her heart fell.
"Though I cannot tell you all the details, his group is hunting traders specifically."
"He couldn't have left that for the rest of the guard force?" Hershel asked tiredly. The guard shrugged his apology, but Myrah knew her husband had been talking to himself, not to the guard.
"I'm sure Tolan wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't important," Myrah offered as they reached the waiting room at last. Hershel didn't answer, dry-washing his face with one hand.
"I will let the Rulers know to come find you as soon as the trials are complete," the guard promised before disappearing. The Western Leader and her husband sat on the comfortable chairs, both lost to their own thoughts as they waited. Myrah reached out to take Hershel's hand, and he glanced at her as she gave it a squeeze.
Myrah wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed before the door opened again, but as Cole and Keyda entered the room, she sighed in relief. Waiting was the most agonizing part of all of this. The sooner they could get to the other realm and start scouring for the buyer, the sooner they could find Raiyn.
"I'm sorry," Cole offered. They looked tired, and Myrah had no doubt it had been a long morning.
"Don't be," she assured. "We just wanted to be on hand."
"We haven't heard back from Tobias yet," Keyda admitted, holding up a strange metal device. "He was supposed to call on the council's communicator as soon as he gets permission for us to leave."
"Someone in that realm stole Oni...our very children," Hershel pointed out softly as he fixed the Ruler with a long look. "Why are we waiting for their permission to go looking for them?"
Keyda broke eye contact, and Myrah pushed herself to her feet. "I understand political complications," the Western Leader offered. "But I am at the point where I believe entry and apology will be a better use of our time than wasting precious moments. Surely, they will understand that time is of the essence in our search and that we cannot wait around to go through protocol."
"Is slavery legal in Ninjago?" Hershel added, his expression stony. "Is that why they think they can get away with this?"
"It's not legal," Cole assured, though he was looking uncomfortable. "Whoever is targeting Oni, they are doing it in secret."
Silence fell, and Myrah tried to think of something to say. "Will Theodynn be coming with us to Ninjago?" she finally asked. Hershel had relayed the fact that the Oni Heir truly had managed to take down the slave trade on his own. Myrah was impressed, though it pained her to think about how many risks he had taken on his own before accomplishing it. Once again, she wondered if she could have been of use to him and his project, if he had just trusted her to be part of it.
She had expected a simple yes or no answer, but as the Rulers' faces fell and they exchanged a strange look, Myrah frowned in concern. "Is Theodynn all right?" she asked.
"He..." Cole trailed off, as if not sure what to say. Hershel stood as well.
"Do you need me to treat him for something? Was he hurt yesterday? No one mentioned—"
"Physically, he's fine," Keyda assured quickly. "He managed to take down the trade without injuring himself...but ever since we got back, he's closed himself off."
"He disappeared last night," Cole admitted softly. "We don't even know where he went, but he showed back up in his room early this morning."
"We have a few suspicions," Keyda added, her expression darkening.
"We don't know that Theo had anything to do with that," Cole pointed out softly.
"To do with what?" Myrah asked. Theodynn had seemed off the last time she had spoken with him—closed off and suspicious. Had he gotten even worse since then?
Keyda and Cole didn't answer right away, but then Cole finally sighed. "We were able to do all the trials this morning except one," he admitted. "When the guards went to collect the prisoners, one of them was missing."
"The door was still locked, Cole...and no one was missing a key. So unless Jaqah randomly decided to release her and no one else..."
"How would Theo have gotten her out without a key?" Cole asked.
"He can transport..."
"Why would Theodynn have helped this prisoner?" Myrah cut in, feeling lost.
"She's the one he's been dating these last few weeks," Keyda offered crossly. "But she was only using him. She tried to turn him over to the other traders, but he managed to call in enough support to take them down instead." Her eyes flashed with anger. "Of all the criminals who deserved to be put on trial today..."
"Tolan is spearheading the search for her," Cole added.
"Did you ask Theo if he released her?" Hershel asked.
"He won't talk to us." Keyda rubbed her arms as she looked away, her expression pained.
"Do you want me to talk with him?" the healer offered. Myrah turned to Hershel in surprise, but he seemed lost in thought.
"I don't know," Cole admitted. "Tolan tried to, before he left...and Jaqah, and me. He's at the point where he won't even answer our questions. He just acts like we aren't there and doesn't say anything." He sighed heavily. "We're not sure how much to push it, either. After my argument with him last night, he vanished for hours. If we go at it too hard now..."
"You're afraid of driving him away," Myrah interpreted. The Ruler's didn't say anything, but the looks on their faces were answer enough.
"You probably aren't eager to leave the realm right now, if he's so out of sorts," Hershel realized.
"If you could get us to Ninjago, we could handle the rest," Myrah added, though the thought filled her with anxiety. It was one thing, barging into politically charged situations as a recognized leader. She had never been to Ninjago—the only time she had ever been invited was for Theodynn's celebration of his birth date, and considering that she had been heavily pregnant at the time, she hadn't attended. Would she and Hershel really be able to handle themselves in an unfamiliar realm enough to find their son?
"We won't send you there alone," Keyda said, her expression hardening with resolve. The assurance helped relieve some of Myrah's misgivings, and Cole nodded his agreement.
"Ninjago is a hard place to figure out, if you've never been. Besides, the council knows Keyda and I and somewhat respects our titles. Between the four of us, we should be able to get an inquisition started."
"Then can you take us now?" Hershel asked again. He met the Ruler's gaze pleadingly. "Whoever has the slaves has Raiyn and Teag. If they've figured out they're powered..."
"Raiyn's powered?" Cole asked in surprise. Hershel's expression crumpled, and Myrah was the one who answered.
"We aren't sure. There've been some signs...but regardless, we do not know how he and the other prisoners are being treated. It...leaves a lot of room for imagination."
Keyda and Cole shared another look, and the Ruler finally nodded. "I know what it's like...not knowing." Her expression hardened with decision. "Tobias has had enough time to warn the council by this point. Are you ready for travel?"
Myrah nodded, gesturing to the satchels she and Hershel were wearing. "We are ready to go as soon as it is convenient for you."
Kedya glanced at her husband, and Cole nodded his agreement. "Let us leave some instructions for Jaqah, and get a few things packed, and then we can go."
Dani turned the handles with shaking hands, but nothing came out. She bit back a sob as she tried again and again in vain, but the sink was dry. An overwhelming sense of hopelessness settled over her, and she sank to the floor of the bathroom as she cried.
She had no idea how long she had been here, having lost all track of time. The only things that even helped her try to figure out what point of day it was were meals and the dreaded tea they brought at night...but it had been so long since they had brought either. She hated the tea, but without its arrival, she didn't even know when it was morning or evening.
Dani punched at the tiled floors with bruised hands as she sobbed. She was starving, her stomach churning from a desire for food, even if it was the bland, tasteless stuff they had been bringing her so far. Now, they had cut her off from water. They've forgotten me...she thought, the feeling filling her with dread. Was it they weren't aware she was still imprisoned here? Or...worse yet...were they wanting her to starve to death?
Fear and hunger made her nauseous as she curled up on the cold floor, ready to give up. So many hours with only her thoughts and fears to guide her had left her feeling sucked dry. She didn't know what to believe...she didn't know what to even hope for anymore. If Amber had gotten her message, she hadn't done anything about it. Everyone's forgotten you a treasonous voice hissed. Nobody cares...they were never even your friends.
Dani clutched her head, willing the voice to go away. She hadn't given into the dark doubts and fears that had once plagued her before moving to Marty Openheimer's School for Performing Arts...back before she had recreated herself. She had determined in the move that she would no longer be the sullen and anxious girl she had been at her old school—hounded by bullies and kept up at night by the thoughts of June's sickness. She truly had made a change for the better, focusing on optimism, and finding real joy and true friendship in the halls of her new school.
However, that trained optimism was all but gone now, and she trembled on the ground as she wished that they wouldn't make her sit here day after day. If they wanted her dead...why couldn't they just kill her and get it over with?
No one came to bring her food...no one even cared that she cried herself to sleep on the cold bathroom floor.
Julien took a deep breath as he slid the final circuit into place and closed the outer shell of the mechanism. The chronosteel wiring that they had brought him that morning was difficult to use, as it didn't solder, but he had finally managed to get it to stay in place in the circuitry. He had no experience with chronosteel and didn't even know much about it, except that in all his studies of robotics it was considered useless due to the fact that it absorbed energy. It had a ridiculously hot melting point, to the point that you needed a special furnace or a master of fire to manipulate it. Legend had it that the only weapons ever forged from this metal were made by elemental masters and used to strip powers from villains who abused their own powers. However, those blades had been powered by sons of the first spinjitzu master. As Julien studied his small machine critically, he couldn't help but feel that it was a waste of time, thinking he could create or power something similar to what such legends of old had done.
There were no electrical outlets within Julien's laboratory, which he thought was strange. Instead, everything ran on battery, and Zerek had provided several large volt batteries for Julien to use for his project. He picked up one such battery now, looking down at it with mixed feelings. It was the first time he was going to run the machine with its insides made nearly entirely of chronosteel. If it worked, Zerek would use it to harm others. If it didn't, Zerek might harm them anyway as punishment. Julien swallowed hard, wishing once again that he hadn't found himself in such an impossible situation, where every choice was merely a different way of losing.
Forcing his melancholic thoughts aside, the young scientist turned his machine around to the battery port he had included onto the side. "Here goes nothing," he muttered glumly, snapping the battery into the port. A small light above the port blinked on, letting him know the machine was drawing power from its source. Julien studied the machine critically as it started to hum. So far, it was working just as his previous experiments had. Only time would tell if its circuits could last longer than the others.
The humming grew louder in pitch, and Julien tensed. Was it working? Had he finally solved the problem? However, just as it was starting to grow louder, the humming faded, and the light above the battery port flicked off. Julien sighed, looking over at the timer he had going. "Less than a minute," he realized. "So, it lasted less time than with the normal circuits." Torn between frustration and relief, Julien pulled the top of the mechanism so he could pull out the burned-out circuits. He expected the acrid smell that generally came with the circuit blow out, but to his surprise, there was nothing out of the ordinary inside. He pulled out each of the circuits one by one, looking them over for any problems, but there was nothing. At the center of the mechanism was a large chunk of chronosteel, and he frowned as he studied it as well. Everything seemed to be fine—what had caused the machine to stop?
A thought came to mind, and Julien turned his attention to the battery port. His mouth felt dry as he pulled the battery from the port, looking it over. He pulled out a multimeter to check the voltage. After a moment, the screen flickered to life, and he shook his head in confusion.
"Dead? How is it already dead?" he muttered, glancing at the pile Zerek had left. These weren't average household batteries. Each was specifically made to power robotics projects—often for months. Had the scientist given him a faulty battery in the set?
Julien clicked the pieces of his project back into place, pulling another battery toward himself from the pile. This time, he used the multimeter to check the battery in advance. After he was convinced that the battery was full, he snapped it into the port on his mechanism. Once again, the light lit up to let him know the circuit had been completed, and the machine began to hum. Julien began the timer, but once again, less than a minute had passed before the machine's light clicked back off.
This time, Julien didn't bother opening his machine. He ripped the battery out of the port to test it, and he shook his head in denial. Dead again...drained dry.
A chiming came from his machine, and Julien looked at it in shock. On one side, he had included a meter that would light up so that one could see how much power the machine contained at a glance. He stared at the bottom bar of the meter, now glowing orange.
The scientist sank back into his chair, trying to process. The machine worked, he realized...but not the way it was intended to. It was supposed to take in less energy and use it to generate a bigger amount. Instead, it seemed to be leeching every last bit of power from a power source and then compressing it. He stared at the machine with a sense of dread. If two large-volted batteries only filled it to an approximate 5% capacity...how much power could the machine hold when filled to its max? Where would one even get that much energy to supply it with?
"It's like...a super battery," he mumbled to himself. His mind pulled apart its uses. A battery like this could charge the whole Estyeer laboratory...perhaps even a small town. Julien shook his head, trying to force himself to focus. The world didn't need a super battery—it didn't fix the crux of the problem that he had originally set out to solve. There would still need to be some kind of power source to charge the battery in the first place...and that was the missing piece that the machine had failed in. It didn't matter how much power it could drain or hold, if it couldn't create any power itself.
He reached for the machine, determined to take it apart and once again start over, but a voice cut into his thoughts.
"J.C."
He whirled, wondering if he had imagined it. To his surprise, Agatha was standing in the doorway. He hadn't even heard the door swing open, and the scientist was to his feet in moments. "Agatha?"
The woman was forced into the room by Zerek's robotic henchmen, and Julien felt a flash of anger.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. The robots remained silent, but Zerek's voice drifted in as he entered as well.
"I am giving you the chance to say goodbye."
Agatha's expression twisted, and she turned to glare hatefully at the man. She looked pale, her hair unkempt with dark circles under her eyes. Julien reached her quickly. "What are you talking about, Zerek?" he demanded, grabbing Agatha's hand.
"Tomorrow, Ms. Axel vill be leaving Estyeer to return home."
Julien blinked. "You're letting her go?" he interpreted. "Why? That doesn't make any sense."
"You mean to kill me," Agatha hissed, her eyes narrowed into slits as she addressed the apathetic android. "You are going to dump my body somevere to pull avay ze attention of ze authorities!"
Julien's blood ran cold. "You cannot hurt her!" he yelled, his heart hammering in his chest. "You promised that if I worked on the project, you would not hurt her!"
"I am avare of vat I promised, Julien." Zerek responded calmly. "You have vorked hard, and zat is vie I am releasing Agatha tomorrow. Ze authorities vill find her alive, and she vill be able to return to ze M.I.R.I."
"I vould never return to your company!" Agatha snapped. "I vould razer die zan go back to vorking for somevon like you!"
"Perhaps..." Zerek agreed, studying her closely. "Or perhaps you vill change your mind, following ze events tomorrow."
"What events?" Julien demanded. Zerek walked past him, and Julien realized with a start that some of the staff members had gone over to pick up his machine. He moved toward them. "Don't! It is not ready yet!"
"It looks as if it is vorking," Zerek challenged, staring intently at it.
"I have to start over," Julien insisted. He moved closer, but one of the labcoat-wearing robots grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip. "Zerek, it is not ready!"
The head scientist ignored him as he picked up a charged battery from the pile and inserted it into the port. For a minute, there was silence as everyone stared at the humming machine, and then it once again clicked off as the battery powering it was drained dry. Zerek's gaze never left the machine, and Julien knew the android was probably scanning the internal workings through the whole of it.
"You see?" Julien said at last. "It does not generate power, it merely drains it from other sources!"
"Yes..." the android agreed, his eyes glittering as he studied it. "It is exactly vat I vanted."
Julien froze, and Zerek motioned for the men holding the machine to take it away. The young scientist flew into action, trying desperately to wrench his arm out of the thug's hold.
"You cannot use it! It is nothing more than a parasitic battery..."
"A battery zat can pull in power and fill itself to capacity, even from unusual power sources," Zerek cut in, looking up to meet Julien's eye at last as he smiled. "I do not need a generator, Julien. I have several natural generators at Estyeer already...and if I can crack ze code of how zeir power source is unlocked, I can create many more. It is how to draw ze energy out of zem and turn it into useable power zat has been my main focus lately..."
"What?" Julien breathed, his heart racing. Natural Generators? Is that how Zerek viewed Oni?
"Zis machine vill do nicely for zat. I am certain it vill vork on Oni power, zo my experiments tonight vill prove zat zeorie. I suppose only time vill tell if it vill be able to successfully drain ze power from an elemental master, as vell."
"You can't use that on Colby!" Julien raved, fighting hard once again. "I will not let you!"
"You do not have a say in ze matter, I'm afraid," the robot offered quietly as the machine was taken from the laboratory completely. Zerek was smiling calmly as he followed his men out, though his gaze was still fixed on Julien. "Enjoy your time vith Ms. Axel, Julien. It may very vell be ze last time you ever see her. I feel no remorse in releasing her and ze ozer expendables to return to zeir previous lives...but I believe you and I vill vork closely here at Estyeer for many years to come."
Julien felt like someone was squeezing the air from his lungs as he watched the door seal shut.
86
Zane removed the backpack, resting it on the counter as he scanned the contents. Everything seemed accounted for, and he debated whether to put everything away now or leave it inside the sack for the next time they were summoned by Lloyd, the commissioner, or Garmadon to face various threats across the realm.
"Barring any immediate realm need, we may actually get a few days to ourselves this week," he pointed out to his wife in the other room. "I could use your input on the latest model of Neuro-circuitry."
"Do not hold your breath," P.I.X.A.L replied from the other room. Zane allowed himself a little smile.
"As a Nindroid, I do not need to breathe," he reminded as he left the kitchen area to walk into the hallway where P.I.X. was standing next to the screen where they took incoming messages left by phone and email services. "But If I understand your figure of speech, you either are not willing to provide input on my project, or you have found something that would suggest we will not get a few days to ourselves after all."
"Missed calls from the Commissioner," P.I.X.A.L affirmed. Zane frowned thoughtfully.
"Any messages?"
"Only asking us to call her back." P.I.X.A.L did not hesitate before pushing the button to do so, and the nindroids waited quietly as the phone rang. Eventually, the commissioner's voice came in over the phone.
"Are you in Metallonia?" the gruff woman demanded. After the retirement of the old commissioner, the city had hired a gruffer, even more irritable person to take his place. Zane frowned.
"We are at our home in Ninjago City," he offered.
"Do you need us to be in Metallonia?" P.I.X.A.L added.
"So, you haven't seen the news?"
The nindroids shared a baffled look before Zane answered. "Apologies, but we have been out of the area, following up on a lead for an undercover thieving ring hiding out in the jungles of—"
"When did you get back?"
"Ten minutes ago," P.I.X.A.L provided. "As of yet, we have not updated our servers on the goings-on of the realm. Is there a case in Metallonia that you would like us to follow up on?"
The commissioner let out a long, deep sigh, and P.I.X.A.L began typing into the interactive screen, searching for news related to Metallonia. "No one told you about the missing tourists?" the commissioner continued. Her voice was uncharacteristically gentle, and Zane shook his head, even though the commissioner couldn't see it.
"Like I said, we have been out of the area with little contact with anyone. But we can surely assist in searching for the tourists, if that is why you called."
"This is more than just another rescue mission, Zane," the commissioner replied. "It's a little more personal than that."
"Personal how?" The gears in Zane's core began whirring, the way they did when they registered his desire to be ready for anything.
"Well...you see...there's no real easy way to say this." The commissioner cleared her throat. "One of the missing hikers is—"
"Julien Cyrus." P.I.X.A.L's voice sounded hollow, and Zane turned to look at the screen his wife had been typing into. He stared at the headline of the news article, taking longer to process than normal.
Ninjagoan Teens Presumed Missing in Metallonian Wild. Under the headline, a row of pictures were displayed, and though Zane recognized each of the faces shown, his blue eyes lingered on the picture of his son.
"Do you have any information for us that isn't contained in local news articles?" P.I.X.A.L demanded as they quickly downloaded all the information they could find on the subject.
"I'm afraid there isn't much. I've been connected with the Metallonian Police Force in the area, as they have been conducting much of the search. They have hounds, helicopters...heck, they've even got drones that were donated from a nearby robotics institution. Today, they managed to find a shoe and a piece of jewelry, so they know that they're at least close."
"The articles say that they have been missing since Friday night," Zane cut in. "Is that information accurate?"
"That's the last anybody saw of them," the commissioner agreed. "I'm...I'm really sorry that you're finding out this way. I called when they were first reported missing, but..."
"We appreciate you getting to us and letting us know," P.I.X.A.L cut in, her tone no-nonsense. "However, we must prepare to get to Metallonia now to assist with the search."
"Of course. And...I know I don't say it enough...but you two Nindroids have offered a lot of help to my force in the past. The Metallonian Police didn't sound exactly welcoming toward having authority teams from other countries coming into theirs, even just to help, but you say the word and I'll send my people there in civilian clothing. You understand?"
"Yes," Zane said, feeling strange.
"Best of luck. Keep me in the loop." The commissioner hung up before they had to, and Zane and P.I.X.A.L stared at each other.
"It is unlike Julien to get lost," P.I.X.A.L finally said.
"And even more unlike him to go willingly do an outdoor activity," Zane agreed. He could tell P.I.X.A.L was as worried as he was, but he reached out to take her hand. "But he is resourceful, as are the others." He paused. "I wonder if anyone has contacted Keyda and Cole about Amber's disappearance."
"I am sure the council has taken care of it," P.I.X.A.L said. "The best course of action for us would be to gather supplies quickly and fly out to Metallonia to assist in finding them."
Zane nodded, pulling up a map of Metallonia. "There is a lot of wilderness in this country," he realized as he studied it.
P.I.X.A.L's expression was tight, and Zane turned to see her gazing at Julien's picture on the news article. "Which is why the sooner we can leave, the better," she murmured.
Children really were the best sources of information, Rook had found. It was something she hadn't ever told Theodynn while they were out scrounging for tips together—mainly because her whole purpose was to make sure they didn't actually find any. But she made use of the trick now as she stared down at the young girl, who in turn was studying the coppers in her hand.
"Lots of jewelry? That sounds like the Bossy Man," the young girl mused.
Rook felt a small flare of hope. "Really? Who's the Bossy Man?"
"He comes here sometimes and he's really bossy," the child offered with a shrug. The girl then bit on one of the coppers and then looked up at her. "Is this real money and everything?"
"Sure is. I'm really trying to find my Uncle," Rook assured, trying not to sound impatient. "What does the bossy man look like?"
"He's loud and he's got a short beard," the girl offered. "Dad said you can tell he's from the south cuz of the smell, but I never smell anything." The girl frowned. "Maybe I'm not supposed to tell people Dad thinks he smells, though."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"He's kinda weird," the girl offered. "His tent is way out in the middle of nowhere, by those trees next to those rocks." The girl went to point, but then she hesitated, her expression twisting. "Actually, my dad says we aren't supposed to talk about him. I just remembered. Dad says that we don't want to make him angry."
Rook had little doubt that she had finally found her charge. "Is he living in that tent way out there right now?"
The girl became uncomfortable, and Rook tilted her head.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Tiff," the girl replied cautiously.
"Tiff, I promise that I will never let the Bossy Man know that you told me...but really, I'm the closest thing to family the old hoofer has, so it's fine if I know his location." Rook's eyes glinted as she straightened. "In fact, when I'm done with our visit...no one is going to have to be afraid of what the Bossy Man does and doesn't do again."
"How many times are you going to count that money?" Imgloss asked irritably from the corner of the tent. Quazier paused in his counting, glancing up in annoyance.
"It's good to know how much we have. We may be here for a while."
"It's all you ever do—I'd have thought you'd know how much was in there by now."
"Maybe I'm just hoping you'll have made us some more, with those Ancient powers of yours."
The healer's expression was unamused. "Ancient Power doesn't work like that."
"And even if it did, I suppose you don't have that kind of power any longer, do you?" Quazier sneered before turning back to his count. "You could do something useful, like start dinner, if you're tired of staring at me."
"I'm not some lacky you can order around," Imgloss countered from his seat on a dusty pillow. "You're going to have to learn how to do things for yourself."
Quazier sneered, not answering as he continued to count the money on a simple wooden table. He never felt comfortable leaving too many comforts in his safe-houses, considering that he didn't use them often and knew that thieves could make their way through them in his absence. However, he was beginning to wish he had transferred more comforts to this Eastern hiding hole. The thought of all of his wealth and gold...all the things he had accumulated over the years...being taken by the Rulers made him sick. The fact that he had barely escaped with his life, and didn't have more than the jewelry and coin purse that had been on him, made his fingers tremble with rage as he picked up the next gold piece to plunk it into the bag with a growl.
"If I ever get my hands on that Rook, I'll..."
"You'll what?"
The men in the tent both turned in shock, and Quazier couldn't help but stare as he caught sight of the figure in the doorway. It took him a moment to even recognize her—her hair was down for once, and she was dressed in some ugly blue robe. However, there was no mistaking the glint in her rust-colored eyes as she idly fiddled with an ebony blade in her hand. When he met her eye, Rook tilted her head.
"Surprised to see me, Quazie?"
"In the name of All First Ones, what are you doing here, Rook?" Quazier demanded as he stood. He wasn't sure whether to be impressed or suspicious, and the grin that spread across her face didn't really help his unease.
"You spent so many years popping in on me...I thought it was time to return the favor." Her eyes flicked across them, and she shook her head patronizingly. "Look how far the great Quazier has fallen. Counting his final coins on a dusty floor."
"And who's fault is that?" Quazier asked, his expression hardening with anger. Rook's smile faded as well.
"You're the one who targeted the Prince, Quazie."
"And you're the one who betrayed us to him!" he spat back. "I can only assume that's why you aren't rotting in a cell, with the rest of your brothers."
"Brothers?" Rook snorted. "You always tried to make it seem like a family, didn't you? Like we weren't all just slaves with better names. And for the record, I didn't sell you out...though I really, really wish I had." She glanced away, looking at her reflection in her dark blade.
"You expect me to believe you?" Quazier scoffed, his own hand drifting to the hilt on his waist. "What price did he buy you for, Rookie? What promises did he flatter you with? Because I can tell you right now, he won't follow through with them. You're as doomed as the rest of us, when—"
"You're such an idiot, Quazie." Rook was still looking at her reflection, but her expression twisted into a bitter sneer. "If only you knew how empty your promises sound, when compared to his."
"So, he did buy your allegiance," Quazier said darkly.
"No." Rook's expression flickered and she met his eye again at last. "The irony is that he did more to earn my trust in a few weeks than you've done in my entire lifetime...and I still sided with you. And then...he has the gall to keep his promises...even after everything." Her grip tightened on the blade in her hand. "I betrayed him...but he was two steps ahead. He took us both down, and your whole precious trade. Just like he always said he would. You were a fool to target him in the first place—he was more capable than anyone realized, and you brought the doom upon yourself, oh wise and powerful leader."
"What are you doing here?" Quazier demanded, ready to draw his weapon at any time.
Rook smiled. "Did you know that this morning, everyone went on trial? Everyone except the leader who deserves to be put behind bars more than anyone...because somehow or another, the gutless slug slunk away. I decided that wasn't very fair, considering that you're the one who got us all into this mess in the first place."
"Oh, sweetheart. I hope you're not implying what I think you are," Quazier said as he drew his sword at last. "Don't forgot who taught you everything you know."
Rook's expression was as hard as stone. "Not everything," she assured quietly.
"All right, before this gets blown out of proportion, I would like to point out that you'd get farther joining us rather than attacking," Imgloss cut in. Rook and Quazier both glanced over to see the Ancient looking uncomfortable, but clearly trying to hide that he was.
"Look, Immy...can I call you Immy?" Rook said patronizingly. Imgloss's expression clouded, and she didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "You've got your own head-hunters out there, Mr. Ancient, and frankly, as good as it would feel to drive a sword through your arrogant body again and again, there really isn't any point." She took a step into the room, unblocking the exit. "You're free to go."
"How dare you disrespect me," Imgloss hissed. "You know what I am."
"Yes. You're an old, smelly liar. You've got ten seconds to get out of here, or I'll be fighting both of you." Rook's eyes glittered. "Are you really that good of friends with old Quazier here to make it worth the pain?"
"Don't you move, Imgloss," Quazier growled, pointing his own blade at him. "We can end this hussy once and for all. She was defeated by the soft-headed prince on multiple occasions—she's just talk."
"That's rich coming from you," Rook pointed out dryly before turning back to Imgloss. "So, what's it going to be, Immy? Take me up on my offer...or take your chances with Quazier?"
"You're an Ancient!" Quazier pointed out. "She can't kill you!"
"But I'm pretty sure this blade will still hurt, going in and out," Rook added grimly. Imgloss was looking between them. At last, the Ancient drew his sword.
Quazier sagged in relief. "You see, Rook? You can't—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the Ancient had turned and slashed a gash through the tent wall. Quazier stiffened, and Imgloss didn't even look at either of them before slipping through and disappearing.
"Oh...looks like your good friend didn't want to stick around after all," Rook pointed out. Quazier turned to meet her eye, furious at how smug she looked. Quazier weighed his options, wondering if he would be able to pull a similar move. Rook laughed as if she could read his thoughts. "Don't try it, Quazie. I could kill you the second you turned your back."
"So...after all I've done for you, this is how you repay me?" Quazier growled, refusing to let his hands shake. "Track me down...attack me? Attempt to kill me?"
"All you've done? You mean, kidnapping me and forcing me to be your pawn all these years? Keeping me in line with threats and promises that you never follow through with? Tell me, if I was to stab you, will blood even come out? Or just hot air?"
"You little..."
"I probably would have killed you years ago, if you didn't surround yourself with other traders to protect you. But now it's just you and me, Quazier...and I guess we'll really see who's the better swordsman."
"So...that's your whole plan?" Quazier demanded. "Slink in here and kill me? What's the point? What would you even accomplish?"
"Oh, I think you misunderstand," Rook said as she withdrew her short sword with the hand that wasn't holding a dagger. "As much as I've always wanted to kill you, and as fun as it would most likely be, and though it would be so easy...I didn't come here to gut you, Quazie. I'm going to drag you back to the Central Fortress...and for the first time, you're going to face the consequences of your actions."
He laughed outright. "You sound like a child, Rook."
"And you sound afraid. You probably should be...after all, if I really can't get you there alive, then I'll bring you back dead."
"So they've hired you as a bounty hunter, have they?" Quazier asked, though he took a step back. "They're just using you, Rookie. They act like your friend now, but you're just their trained sniffer, tracking down their prey. As soon as they have me, they'll get rid of you."
"I'm not your 'rookie' anymore," she countered. "I'm not as stupid as I once was...but I'm wishing I would have smartened up faster. And for the record...no one's making me do this." She smiled wickedly. "Call it a personal pleasure."
The problem with fear was that one could only ignore it for so long. Julien had gone days now, pushing aside feelings for logic and trying to do what would make the most sense in his situation. However, now that he and Agatha were together, and the future was as perilous as ever, he couldn't contain the feelings any longer.
Julien had always been applauded for his ability to think ahead. However, the moment he watched Zerek leave the room with his machine, Julien's foresight made him drop to his knees as nausea overwhelmed him. Agatha dropped too, but she seemed to do it out of concern than out of her own fear.
"Julien?" her voice was breathy, and he could feel her hands trembling as she tried to steady him.
"He will hurt people," Julien managed numbly, staring down at the unforgiving tile. "And I have helped him."
Agatha's grip tightened on his lab coat. "Anyzing you have done vas done under duress, J.C. He is a madman...vith no feelings, and no sense of—"
"He's an android." Julien looked up to meet his girlfriend's eye. Up close, he could tell that Agatha looked unwell. Whether from the lack of meals, the days of isolation, or a lack of sleep, Julien didn't know. At his confession, her large eyes widened in shock. Julien looked away, staring at the other staff members who were still stationed in the room. "They all are—his whole staff."
"Zerek has artificial intelligence?" Agatha breathed. "Zat is...zat is impossible! My fazer has known him for years. He ages—his hair has gone grey, he looks older zan ven I first knew him..."
"It is all a farce," Julien said wearily. "He is a robotics project as much as a robotics master. But he lacks the last element of true artificial intelligence. He will not be swayed by emotion, or morality, or empathy..." Julien cradled his head, hunching in on himself. "I thought I could keep him from going too far, but all I have done is given him the tools he needs to accomplish something dreadful."
"Vat exactly did you make?" Agatha asked softly. "It looked like your school project—a generator. How vould zat hurt anyvon?"
"It is not what it was supposed to be," Julien countered miserably. "It draws power out of sources, rather than generating more power from limited sources. The chronosteel has made it a technological vampire...if he manages to connect it to Colby in some way..."
"How vould he connect it to Colby?" Agatha cut in. "It is not like a machine can actually draw life out of people ze same vay it draws energy from a battery, Julien."
"He means to use it to take the element. I do not know how he thinks he can connect to it, but I fear for the negative consequences that would attend failed experiments." The young scientist shook his head as tears filled his eyes. "To him, each of us are no more important than lab rats on the journey to discovery. He is not going to care if we get hurt along the way, or worse." The bland lunch that Zerek had sent in was now threatening to escape, and Julien closed his eyes to try to get the nausea to pass.
"Vat vould an android have to gain from doing all of zis?" Agatha asked wearily. She was sitting on the cold floor, and as Julien opened his eyes, he realized that she looked ready to pass out herself. "It just does not make sense...and vat natural generators does he claim to have? Vind turbines? Solar panels?"
"Oni." Julien dry-washed his face, and Agatha stared.
"Oni? Vat do you mean?"
"Amber was able to power my machine back at the laboratory. Oni power can manipulate and be manipulated through machinery, and Zerek knows it." He shook his head, his face pale as he turned his eyes to the floor. "He means to use them as generators, and he'll use my designs to make batteries that can drain the power from them. These batteries could power whole cities...huge projects. What Zerek needs that much power for, I do not know."
"He could sell it," Agatha pointed out softly. "But he does not strike me as ze kind to be motivated by money...especially if he really is an android." She looked around the room with a distant expression. "So many questions...and I fear ve vill die before ve know ze answers." Julien looked up at her, and Agatha met his eye with a grim look before continuing. "He means to kill me at least, I know. He has given me no food or vater for over a day...he no longer cares vether or not I am sleeping. His interest in me has vaned, Julien." Tears filled her eyes and she hugged herself around the middle. "I vas only important ven he could use me to motivate you, but now he has vat he vants out of you as vell. It is all I could zink about ze last forty-eight hours...I am going to die."
Julien didn't even know how to answer. Denial and fear crashed around inside, and he clung to glimmers of hope. "He has not often lied since revealing his true hand...nor would he need to be dishonest, as we are at his mercy regardless. Why would he say he is not planning on killing you, if he is?"
"Vie does he do anyzing?" Agatha demanded, a flash of anger crossing her features before weariness took over again. "I have only to fear my fate or embrace it...and I am struggling to do ze second, zo it is ze logical zing to do."
Julien's hand lashed out, gripping hers tightly. He wanted to assure her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her...that he would stop Zerek from hurting her in any way. But the assurances stuck in his throat. Agatha looked up and met his eye again, and a breath of a smile appeared as she squeezed his hand back.
"Lies vill do little good for us now," she agreed sadly, as if she could read his thoughts. Her smile faded as she studied his face. "But I fear for you more zan I fear for myself, Julien. He made it sound like he means to keep you here forever, vether as pet or prisoner..." Her voice choked off, and she shook her head in horror. "Your fate is vorse zan mine...oh, zat I could save you from it."
Julien found it difficult to breathe, and suddenly Agatha was embracing him tightly. He clung to her in turn, closing his eyes as he tried to keep calm. He had many years of practice, schooling his emotions. The tears were there, in his eyes and in his throat, but for some reason they would not fall. As much as he wanted to merely give into despair, his mind continued to work, trying to find a way out. Trying to figure out what Zerek was after. Trying to guess what would happen next.
The problem was, for one of the first times in his life, Julien was sure this was the kind of equation he wouldn't be able to solve.
86
"I'm more suspicious than I ever was," Mia growled. They were at a café across the street from the Rushford Art Museum, having already been turned away from the doors by large security guards.
Ashley sipped at a warm cup of tea, her eyes still trained on the manor across the street. "It is strange that a museum wouldn't be open on a weekday," she mused.
"It does say that all tours are private and must be scheduled in advance," May offered, frowning as she scrolled on her tablet. "It seems like all these Rushford places are a big deal—the university is just as nose-in-the-air as this museum, by the looks of it.
Mia resisted the urge to point out that was the reason she knew Colby's situation with the place was fishy at best. Her brother wasn't nearly sophisticated enough to be accepted by such a pretentious community of artists.
"If we had a warrant, we could force them to let us in," Ashley mused. "But as it is, we don't have much room to throw our weight around."
Mia sagged in the café's uncomfortable wooden chair. "I'm sorry if we dragged you all the way to Metallonia for no reason. I didn't realize we wouldn't even be able to get through the door."
"It wasn't for no reason," Ashley argued, pushing her red hair behind one shoulder. "Our friends are missing. The second I saw that on the news, I wanted to help, so I'm glad you called."
"Mom and Dad and the others are scouring the wilderness," May pointed out. "They found a few shoes and things...do you think we might use our time more wisely if we go help search on the other side of Metallonia?"
"We will if we can't get anywhere here," Ashley offered, her gaze still steeled on the fancy manor. "But something about this whole situation just feels...off."
"Off how?" Mia asked. She agreed one hundred percent, but she wanted the redhead to say it out loud.
"I don't know," Ashley admitted. "Something about it just feels calculated, I guess. But maybe that's just the lawyer in me, looking at everything from a negative angle." She finished off the last of her tea before standing abruptly. "All right, go time."
Mia blinked, but as she turned, she realized that two figures had left the manor and were now headed down the lane. One was a man in a suit, and the other seemed to be a short woman, her arms full of various folders and materials as she trailed along behind him.
The twins both stood, but they had to rush to keep up with Ashley. The redhead could move quickly when she wanted to, but she managed to do it without even looking like she was rushing. Mia had always been jealous at the confident way that the older girl carried herself, but she supposed it must come in handy in a courtroom.
Ashley managed to catch the duo before they entered the taxi that the man had hailed. Mia rushed to catch up, catching pieces of conversation.
"...not much I can do to help you."
"It won't take much of your time," Ashley assured. "Just a few questions—we tried to reach you by phone, but we were unable to."
The man's expression crinkled. "I had no calls forwarded to my office," he muttered, but then he shook his head. "But, I'm afraid zat ze crux of ze matter is zat I've already given a lengthy statement to ze police force. If you are looking for ze poor Mr. Valker and his associates, your best bet vould be to beg information from zem. No one associated vith ze RIFA has seen Colby or any of his party since the ball on Thursday night."
The girl standing behind the man lost her grip on her large stack of folders, and she cursed softly as they hit the ground. The ever-helpful May made her way over to help the girl pick up her scattered papers. Mia stayed put, staring the man down as she tried to pressure him with her expression. He seemed oblivious to it as he turned to frown at his assistant.
"Careful vith zose, Misha," he reprimanded.
"I know, I'm sorry," the girl offered breathlessly as she scrambled to sort the papers back into their folders.
"Mr. Rushford, we are not merely spectators interested in the mystery," Ashley pointed out before gesturing to the twins. "These are Colby's sisters. We just want to know that we have the most accurate information, directly from the sources."
He sighed heavily, glancing at the taxi that seemed eager to leave. "I really am sorry," he said, glancing at May and Mia before tugging at his tie. "You have to understand that this whole situation is a heavy von for us as vell. Ve know zat Colby vas only in Metallonia to learn more about ze opportunites zat ve vere offering here, even zo ve had absolutely nozing to do vith ze adventure zat has led to him and his friends to go missing. Ve are eager for him to be found, as ve vere looking forward to him vorking here in ze summer and starting his schooling vith us come fall. But I do not have any information to share in regards to vere he is now—he left Turpine sometime on Friday, zo no von from ze RIFA has seen him since ze ball on Thursday. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He went to get into the taxi, but Mia stepped in front of him and cut him off.
"Why did Colby get a scholarship?"
Everyone turned to look at her, but she forced herself not to feel self-conscious as they stared. She could almost feel May telling her not to say anything more about it, but Mia just couldn't help herself.
"Vat do you mean?" Mr. Rushford asked, though she could tell he was running out of patience.
"Quite frankly, my brother isn't good enough to get into your school," she said, keeping eye contact with the Metallonian curator. "Which part of his portfolio astounded you the most? What about his style do you like? Or, do you even know his style?"
The man seemed confused by her questions, and the girl named Misha seemed to be staring at Mia now especially hard. At last, the curator shook his head. "Mr. Valker did not have to submit a portfolio, as he received ze scholarship from an anonymous donor."
"Who?" Mia demanded, taking a step closer. "Which anonymous donor would spend so much to make sure some nobody from Ninjago City got this chance? What did my brother do to earn this place in your prestigious school? Have you even seen anything he's painted? Do you even actually believe in his ability?"
"Young lady, I'm afraid I just do not have time for all zese questions," the man said, not even bothering to hide how exasperated he was as he tried to push past her to get into the taxi.
"Then make time!" Mia's voice rose suddenly as she stood her ground. "My baby brother got told he'd somehow earned the opportunity of a lifetime after doing absolutely nothing to warrant it, but then he went missing the second he stepped foot in Metallonia. The fact that you won't even bother talking to us directly, won't answer phone calls, or let people in your stupid museum is making it feel like you had far more to do with his disappearance than you're trying to let on!"
The man's jaw clenched, and Misha looked away. She seemed pale, but Mia didn't really pay much attention to her as she studied the man in front of her.
"I vill not ask you again to step avay," Mr. Rushford finally said. "Zis is harassment, and I can have ze police called to remove you, if you insist on persisting."
"Mr. Rushford, we did not mean to come to harass you," Ashley offered, giving Mia a look that told her she needed to step away from the car. The twin did so grudgingly, and the redhead continued. "You have to understand that our friends are missing, and—"
"I do understand zat. It does not give you ze excuse to try to pin ze blame on everyone you see. Vat happened to Mr. Valker is an unfortunate accident from all evidence collected. Zey vent missing on ze ozer side of Metallonia, on a camping trip gone wrong. Zat is ze verdict from ze police zemselves." The curator sniffed and opened the taxi door.
"If you could tell us the name of the benefactor, then we can go talk to them," Ashley pointed out as he got into the car.
"Ze benefactor has asked to remain anonymous, and I am under no obligation—"
"Our brother is missing, you jerk! Surely that trumps some rich bloke who wants to remain anonymous!" Mia cut in.
Mr. Rushford's eyes flashed. "Ze benefactor explicitly asked to remain anonymous, and I vill not be releasing her information to anyvone."
"You would be required to give it to authorities, as this is a missing person case."
"I have given information to authorities, but you are not ze police. I know for fact zat Mr. Valker's benefactor had as little to do vith Colby's disappearance as anyone at ze RIFA, and I am surely not going to give you any info that vould lead you to show up on her porch, throwing your half-baked accusations around." He gestured for his assistant to come forward. "Bring zose art files, Misha."
The assistant stepped forward woodenly, passing in the folders. She didn't get into the taxi, and Mr. Rushford went to close the door. Ashley grabbed it at the last second, keeping it open a minute longer.
"I understand we have overstayed our welcome...but I would like to leave you on a word of warning." Ashley's voice had lost its politeness, and her gaze had lost all its warmth as she stared in at Mr. Rushford. "If it ever came out that Colby's disappearance had any links to your program, and that you had information that could have led to him, you must realize that the legal repercussions would be brutal. I would ask one last time for the name of the benefactor. We found a schedule among Colby and Dani's things at the hotel, and it looked like Colby had a luncheon with his benefactor on Friday morning. If he attended, then this mystery person would have been the last person who would have seen him before he disappeared."
Mr. Rushford stared at Ashley with a strange expression, and Mia thought he was finally going to spill the beans. However, then his expression hardened, and he leaned forward to grasp the door with his other hand as well. "You children need to leave legalities to ze authorities, or you're going to find yourself in trouble vith ze law." He pulled the door shut and Mia watched as the car drove away. She felt a rancid feeling inside, and suddenly was overcome with the desire to throw something at the taxi as it headed down the lane.
"Now what?" Mia finally managed, her fists trembling.
"Do you really not zink your brozer deserved ze scholarship?"
Everyone turned to look at the assistant, who Mia had honestly forgotten about completely. She looked pale and uncomfortable, her eyes glancing around as if she wasn't sure if she was even allowed to be talking to them.
Mia scowled. "Look...I love my brother, but I doubt he has the finesse for a place like this."
"Zat is vat I zot as vell." Misha's confession was soft, and she pushed her hair behind her ear with a shaking hand.
Ashley moved forward, her tone becoming softer as well. "What's your name?"
"I'm Misha. I attend ze RIFA and I am an intern at ze museum. Boz positions I had to earn by fighting tooz and nail." Her expression darkened. "And zen came some artist from Ninjago, who vas given a free pass for no reason. It...it honestly bozered me immensely."
"Did you talk with Colby, then?" Ashley asked.
"Zroughout ze veek he vas here ve talked a little, but I did not attend ze ball, so I honestly haven't talked vith him since last Vensday." For a moment, it seemed that was all Misha was going to say, but then she cleared her throat. "Ze girl, zo...her I saw on Friday."
"The girl?"
"His girlfriend—ze loud, talkative von."
"Dani?" Mia realized, her heart leaping with hope. Maybe this trip wouldn't be a total waste, after all.
"Yes." Misha looked incredibly uncomfortable as she stared at the ground. "She came to ze museum to vait for Colby until his luncheon viz his benefactor vas over."
The twins made eye contact, and Ashley spoke up. "Misha...do you happen to know who the benefactor is? Please, it's urgent. We just want to talk to everyone who could have seen Colby before he vanished."
Misha began shaking, and Mia frowned. It was clear that the girl knew more than she was saying, and finally she glanced up again. "Did you mean vat you said? About...about how zis whole zing could be disastrous for our program if zere are any links found between Colby's disappearance and ze RIFA?"
Ashley seemed surprised, but she nodded. "I'm a lawyer," she offered. "If Mr. Rushford was being dishonest about any part of this, then he could deal with very serious repercussions. He could lose his position, and if the case was connected directly to his program..."
"You can't blame Mr. Rushford!" Misha blurted, and then her eyes filed vith tears. Mia wasn't sure what to take from the girl's sudden shift in emotions, so they were all quiet as they waited for her to continue. When she did, her voice sounded tight. "I zot it strange, how fast ze girl left ze museum, but I didn't dvell on it. Even ven I heard zat she and Colby vere missing, I didn't zink it had any ties to us and ze program. But, now..." She stifled a sob.
"Do you have information that could help us find Colby?" Ashley asked again in her best lawyer voice.
"I do not know if it vill help or not," Misha admitted miserably. "But please know zat Mr. Rushford does not know zat I talked vith Dani at ze museum Friday morning. I did not share ze information vith him, because I vasn't sure he vould have vanted me to have told ze girl about Colby's benefactor. So, you can't blame Mr. Rushford for withholding information, because as far as he knows, neizer Colby nor his girlfriend vere at ze museum since Thursday night."
"Did you tell the police that Dani was there Friday morning?" Ashley demanded.
"Ze police never asked to talk to me! Zey got a statement from Mr. Rushford and a few ozers, but never called me in."
"You could have gone to them with information," Mia accused.
"Like I said, I did not even zink zat ze disappearances could possibly have anyzing to do vith us!" Misha insisted. "I did not zink I had any useful information to give!"
"So, you know who the benefactor is, if you told Dani," May realized.
"I did not mean to tell her, honestly—it vas a slip of ze tongue." Misha wiped at her face as she finally looked up wearily. "Look...if I tell you ze same information, you have to promise zis isn't all going to come back to hurt Mr. Rushford, or ze program. I've spent my whole life working to get into zis school, and I cannot have it all fall apart now."
"It is not our intent to take down Mr. Rushford or his program," Ashley promised. "We really are just desperate to find our family and friends."
Misha nodded, though she glanced down the street again as if to make sure Mr. Rushford's taxi wasn't coming barreling back down toward them. The street remained clear, and the assistant sighed. "Could you also promise zat if ze benefactor or Mr. Rushford or anyvon else asks, zat you got zis information from ze police and not from me?"
"We won't tell," Ashley promised. It was probably good the redhead was doing the talking—she sounded as levelheaded as ever. Mia was ready to shake the truth out of the metallonian young woman. She needed to know the next clue so they could find the next person that would bring them closer to her brother. She was picturing herself barging up to pound on the door of some rich Metallonian miser when Misha spoke up.
"Colby's benefactor is a voman named Matilda O'Keefe. She paid ze RIFA a very healzy sum, as long as Mr. Rushford agreed to give him an internship and a scholarship for zis fall."
At first, the words didn't even register to Mia, but then Ashley's sharp tone forced her back to the present. "Matilda O'Keefe?" the redhead demanded. "Are you positive?"
"Yes, I'm positive," Misha said, glancing at each of the Ninjagoan's as she seemed to be trying to understand their reaction. "Vat is it about her zat sets you all on edge? Ven Colby's girlfriend heard, she vent flying out ze doors..."
"Wait...Matilda as in Matilda?" Mia asked numbly. "As in, the woman who's career we ruined a few years ago?"
"You vat?" Misha asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
"That can't be right." May sounded just as flabbergasted, though her hair had already started to lift from static shock. "What on earth would Matilda do all of this for? It doesn't make any sense..."
Ashley was silent, her expression stormy as she seemed to be thinking deeply. Misha spoke again, her voice tight. "Vat is it you Ninjagoans have against her? She has done an awful lot for scientific and artistic communities in zis country. I vould give anything to be noticed as an artist by such a benefactor—"
"Look, considering that the only link Colby has to Matilda is that he has a record for vandalizing her old business property, I really doubt she would have paid five bucks for his future, let alone a small fortune!" Mia snapped, turning to glare at the assistant. The young Metallonian woman seemed shocked, but Ashley spoke up.
"May, check and see if Matilda also has ties to the Metallonian Inquiry and Robotics Institution." The redhead gave Misha a tight smile. "Thank you for the information, Misha. I think a lot of things are coming into focus now."
The assistant nodded, though she didn't seem very sure of herself. "Just remember...you promised not to indite ze museum or Mr. Rushford," she reminded, sounding a little dazed before she hurried off. For a moment, Mia, May, and Ashley just stood rooted on the sidewalk, their minds traveling a mile a minute.
"I cannot find any direct links...but that girl just said that she's invested in art and science, and the MIRI is a science institution..."
"Her son is one of the ones missing," Mia realized, her head feeling swimmy. "Of everyone, he played the biggest role in taking her down...but so did Julien and Amber. This whole thing...did she set it all up for revenge?"
"But you and I did most of the heavy lifting in really tarnishing her reputation," May pointed out. Her fingers sparked, and she cursed as her tablet went dead from the electrical surge. "Colby had very little to do with anything! Of all of us, he played the smallest role..."
A horrible thought crossed Mia's mind, and she voiced it before she could stop herself. "What if she's targeted Colby as a way to punish us?" The air felt colder than ever, and Mia rubbed her arms as she felt herself slipping into a dark sort of numbness. Ashley seemed to realize that the two sisters were falling into despair because she grabbed their arms.
"Look, we've got a lead to follow. Regardless of where Colby and the others are, we've got a trail, and we're going to find them. Matilda's involvement does seem to spell out foul play, but they could just be in the wilderness, like everyone has been saying. If that's the case..."
"They're not in the wilderness!" Mia snapped, ripping out of Ashley's hold. "If Colby went to a luncheon, and Matilda O'Keefe was sitting there, there's no way he would have left that meeting and decided to go off on a lovely backpacking trip in the middle of nowhere! He's got crippling anxiety for crying out loud! If he found out that she was the one who funded him...that it was all a lie, or a trap, or a joke, or whatever it was, he would have marched out of that meeting, took the first train home, and spent a month locked in his bedroom!"
"It's true," May whispered, flashes of electricity dancing between her fingers and her hair as she stared at the sidewalk.
"What I just can't understand is why Matilda would orchestrate all of this," Ashley pointed out softly. "What does she possibly have to gain?"
"Revenge." Mia clenched her fists. "When I get my hands on that witch..."
"But not against the three of us? Like you said, we were the bigger players," Ashley pointed out. "And she's got to know people would look into this, and that they would connect her to the lives of Colby, Dani, Amber, and Julien...not to mention her own son. This just seems so sloppy...what pushed her toward such a rushed, untidy revenge all these years later, when she hasn't tried anything like this before now?"
"Could you stop treating this like one of your cases?" Mia shouted, whirling on the redhead as tears continued to leak out. "This is our brother we're talking about! Who cares why Matilda did it—she's a psychotic, selfish witch, and this time she's gone too far..."
"We have to think about the motive if we're going to find them!" Ashley snapped back, but then her expression softened. "Look, I get you're worried, and I am too, but we can't—"
"Of course I'm worried! I just found out that a crazy person may have a tie to my brother being missing!" An overwhelming fear washed over Mia, and she hugged herself as she tried to keep herself from breaking down all the way. "What if...what if he's actually hurt, or something?"
Up until this point, she realized that she hadn't really considered her brother missing. She knew he wasn't out wandering the wilderness, like everyone said. But all at once reality was forcing her to realize that whether foul play or accident, Colby was gone. This wasn't one of her mystery novels she read on the weekends...this wasn't an interesting challenge to take on. This was her brother...and for the first time, it was registering to her that he might not actually come home at the end of it all.
"Let's head to the nearest police station," Ashely offered grimly. "We may need more support for this next step."
"Which step is that, exactly?" May asked, looking sick and lost beside her twin.
"We've got to find Matilda O'Keefe and figure out what's going on."