112
It was both infuriating and embarrassing how a walk around the evil science castle could leave him so winded. M was practically panting as he reached the doorway that the robots seemed to want him to go through, and he stiffened as he watched them unlock it. The room he entered looked like it was right out of a sci-fi movie, but the sound of a sharp gasp caught his attention. There were several other people in the room, but his gaze went straight to Amber.
"Oni-girl..."
A sob escaped, and then she was charging for him. M stiffened for impact, not sure he'd be able to maintain his footing, but she stopped right in front of him. He watched as her eyes flicked over his whole form, and then she was crying harder. He swallowed, his throat dry.
"What's with the creepy egg room?" he asked at last, his voice creaking.
"You look awful," she managed through her tears, reaching out to cradle his face.
"It's not my fault," he tried tiredly. "They won't bring me a razor."
"No, you...you've lost weight, and you just look..." Her shoulders shuddered, and suddenly she was embracing him. M. hugged her back, closing his eyes. He wished they were a million miles from here, dealing with the problems they had been a few weeks ago. Stupid things, like formal dances and garish tango outfits. Not... all of this.
"I vill allow you to proceed on Mr. Openheimer's memory erasure first...but he vill not be released until you cooperate viz ze Oni prisoner."
M's eyes opened as Zerek's voice echoed around them, and he felt his blood run cold. Amber didn't answer the mad scientist, her face still buried into M's shoulder, but the young man took a shuddering breath. "What's he talking about, Amber?"
Another sob escaped from the Oni, her grip on him tightening. Pieces began clicking into place in M's mind, and he tried to pull away. "Amber?"
"It's...it'll be fine," she assured. Or rather, tried to assure. Her voice broke, and her expression was far too miserable to make it believable.
"Memory erasure?" M demanded, but the robot holding onto him was already forcing him down to the ground. M. cursed and struggled weakly as he was put into a kneeling position, and Amber fell to her knees as well.
"M, it's not what you think..."
"He's making you erase my mind!" M shouted back with more strength than he had managed in days. Amber flinched back as if he had physically struck her, her tears streaming down her face.
"No, just...M, he won't let you go unless you don't remember this place," she stammered, her words tripping over each other. "I just have to erase Estyeer, and then—"
"No. NO!" M. tried to pull back, but the man behind him was keeping him secure. "I'm not leaving you here, Oni-girl...especially not if I'm not even going to remember where you are."
"It's better this way," she begged.
"Better for you to be trapped here, alone?" M shook his head adamantly. "No way. I won't let you."
"You have to!" She reached out, her tear-filled eyes pleading with him. "If he doesn't let you go like this, then he—"
"I don't want to wake up and spend the rest of my life wondering what the heck happened to you!"
"It won't hurt," Amber promised, her shoulders shaking as she got a grip on either side of his head. "And it won't take long. Please M..."
"Let go!" M's hands went to hers, trying to pry her off. "I can't let you do this, Amber!"
"If ze procedure is unsuccessful..."
"Leave us alone!" Amber screamed, and M found himself losing the battle of strength. At one point, he probably could have held his own, but after not eating for however many days, he was too weak. There was a sudden iciness that latched onto the sides of his head, and he could see purple aura flickering in his peripheries.
"Don't do this, Oni-girl..." he begged, closing his eyes in an attempt to block her from entering. He had never in his wildest dreams thought he would be in this situation, and he found himself wishing he had asked more questions when Amber had told him about the time she had invaded her brother's mind. Specifically, how did one block someone from doing that?
"Please just relax." Amber's voice was a whisper. "M...he'll kill you. If I don't do this..."
"He'll kill me anyway." The words slipped out, voicing the fear that had been eating him for days. He wasn't going to make it out of here. No one was coming, and if they did finally find this place, it was going to be too late. His body shuddered as he also began crying, and Amber's grip on his head tightened.
"He won't if I do this," she promised, but M had serious doubts. It wasn't that he didn't believe Amber...it was that he didn't believe Zerek. He was using them, but he didn't care whether any of them lived or died.
He could feel the iciness start to leak into him, and it was a horrible, violating feeling. M immediately stiffened, trying his best to keep it from getting any deeper. The invasion slowed, and Amber sobbed.
"Please, M!"
"No." M's voice was tired, but firm. He opened his eyes to see Amber's face scrunched with exertion. He swallowed again, reaching out to touch her face. Her eyes flew open as she felt him touch her, and he shook his head. Her expression fell, and he slightly regretted his decision to keep her out when he watched how hopeless she became. Her hands extinguished as she fell into him, and M. sagged as he wrapped his arms around her.
For a few heartbeats, they just sat like that, but then Amber was pulling back to look up at him. M wasn't really sure how to interpret the look she gave him, but he didn't have much time to think about it. Her hands slipped from the sides of his head to the back of his neck, her face coming closer.
"What are you doing?" he murmured, but she didn't answer before pressing her lips to his. Shock made him go rigid, but a few seconds in, he realized he was sitting still as a statue as Amber kissed him. Amber...was kissing him. His mind groggily tried to process, but for some reason, the only thought that repeated itself in his mind was that he wished he could have at least shaved.
M's eyes slowly closed as he kissed her back, his body relaxing as he leaned into her. His heart was pounding in his ears as he tried to catch his breath enough to continue this moment that he had dreamed of for so long. He felt her hands trailing up into his hair, but he was losing his grip on reality. There was an urgency inside, yelling at him to enjoy this while it lasted, because soon it would be over.
Amber's fingers tugged at his hair, which was far too long on the top now. He tried to block out the panic, the knowledge that the insane scientist would rip them apart soon. Tears leaked out as despair mingled with the exhilaration from the kiss—why couldn't they have been like this sooner? Why couldn't they be back at his father's school, safe and sound from all of this madness? Why couldn't he just hold her forever...
The iciness shot in like lightning—too fast for him to stop it. Almost too fast for M to even process what was happening. He tried to pull back, but the oni's grip was secure on the sides of his head, where she had been playing with his hair moments before.
"What..." he gasped, his eyes opening to see her miserable expression an inch away as his vision began to fade.
"I'm sorry," Amber breathed. For a moment, M was overcome by betrayal, but then the ice covered his consciousness completely.
Each time Amber entered a mind, it was a little different. She supposed it was because people themselves were different from each other. However, as she forced her way into M's memories, she was shocked by the chaos. Memories swirled around her like torn bits of confetti, with no obvious pattern or scheme. She trembled as she tried to make sense of the tornado of memory and emotion. Was M doing this? Or was she herself so frazzled from what she had just done to him that she couldn't focus on anything specific?
There was nothing about Estyeer swirling around her. She reached out, trying desperately to hold on to the whirling bits of life. After struggling with the storm and catching bits and pieces of the moments it displayed, it suddenly occurred to her that all the memories had one thing in common. They were all about her.
Amber stumbled back as a moment nearly hit her in the face. It was her, cha-cha-ing with M the first time they had ever met, their expressions both drawn and bitter. Then they were sitting on a bench in the rain, then laughing at a table, then hugging at a train station. In her experience with empathetic connection, memories played themselves out chronologically, but there was no order to these moments. One minute she was slamming him up against a wall, screaming at him, and the next memory to flutter by was their dancing contest on their last day before he had gone on his long trip...and then he was in her grandfather's house, begging her to come back and dance after his friends had laced her crown with vengestone. Then she was watching a stolen kiss in the hallway of a school, with him in a dark suit and a red tie, and her drenched in glitter as she slapped him. But then the memory shifted...and they were kissing again, in a pale room full of artificial light...
There! She reached out desperately, trying to grasp the memory. That was Estyeer—if she could enter that memory, then she could work her way backward from there. Her hand lashed out toward the moment, and she felt something flutter through her fingertips. She managed to latch on, using her power to force herself into the memory itself. The world around her shifted, the storm fading into a vague blur that surrounded her for a moment until the details of the memory came into focus. Amber stiffened as she realized that the room that was forming around her wasn't the horrifying chamber in Estyeer. Instead, it was M's room back at Marty Openheimer's School of Performing Arts. M came into focus, seated at the edge of his bed as he stared at Oni-snake in her huge terrarium.
"This isn't right..." Amber murmured, stepping backward. Neither M or the snake replied, as they were part of a separate memory that she was only witnessing. The Xinta swallowed, immediately focusing her attention on getting out of this incorrect moment and into M's memories of Estyeer. Her brow furrowed as she tried to focus on getting back to the storm, but nothing happened.
"I'm just stumped." It was M. speaking, and Amber huffed.
"I'm stumped too," she muttered, panic twinging inside. She closed her eyes, picturing the storm. As confusing as it was, that was the hub his memories. If she could get back to it—"
"I made a horrible mistake, and I don't know how to fix it." M's voice was miserable, and Amber tried to tune him out so she could focus. He continued, oblivious to her panic. "I ruined her whole night, Oni-snake. I was a total tool, looking back...but I just...I didn't know what else to do. I was losing her!"
Amber listened in spite of herself, though she kept her eyes shut. This memory doesn't matter...you need to escape it and get back to the ones that do. The ones that will save M if you erase them.
"What was I supposed to do? Obviously not kiss her...that was probably the worst thing I could have done...but how else was I supposed to show her? To let her know that she's not just my dance partner, or friend, or partner in crime, or any of that. What could I have actually said?"
Amber's eyes opened, and she found herself turning. M was resting his chin on his hand, staring miserably in at his snake as it coiled itself around the long stick that ran across the entirety of her tank.
"The Piano makes it sound like it should have been easy to just tell her how I feel...but I've thought of every possible way, and it all sounds so stupid, like I'm stealing lines from some cheesy romance movie." He pushed himself to his feet, and Amber studied him closely, though her mind was yelling at her.
Get out of this memory! You don't have time for this!
I can't get out, though. It's trapping me here...
Then destroy it. You don't have time.
The thought made her throat burn, and her hands began to shake. This memory wouldn't be missed, right? It was just M yelling at his snake, cursing himself for being an idiot. Maybe destroying this memory to escape it would be doing him a favor. It seemed all there really was to remember in this moment was regret...and she was past wanting him to regret that one dumb mistake.
Amber's hands flickered with aura, and she took a deep breath as she lifted them, ready to disintegrate the memory to free herself from its strangely stubborn hold.
"Dani makes it seem like I could just walk right up to her and say, 'I don't want you to choose Patrick, Amber...I don't want you to choose anyone but me..."
Amber couldn't help but glance over at M as his expression contorted.
"I can't say that—that still sounds like some kind of controlling jerk. I just don't get it! How do you tell the girl you love how you really feel?"
Amber froze, and M started pacing. He walked closer toward her, his hands in his hair as he stared at the ground.
"Maybe everything between us hasn't been all peachy and perfect, like in the books, and maybe I'm a total idiot who's going to keep on making mistakes and doing dumb things because...because I just do...and maybe you deserve better than me, even though I'm trying so hard to deserve you..." he whirled on Oni-snake, his voice breaking. "You see what I mean? I sound like an idiot! I don't know how to do it...I don't know how to tell her that she's the most important thing in the entire world to me, and that as scared as I am for the future and as much as I'm sure that I'm going to continue messing things up...I could handle whatever was coming after graduation if I knew that we were doing it together. Because she just makes things better. She makes me better."
He collapsed into a nearby chair, cradling his head. Amber's hands were still lit with aura, but she had started to cry, and she couldn't focus enough to destroy the memory. Her hands finally winked out, and Amber wiped desperately at her face.
How can I do this? She wondered hopelessly. I'll be stuck at Estyeer forever...and Zerek will take him away, the second I finish. I'll never see him again. I'll never get to tell him that...that...
"I guess there's no point in stewing about it," M finally murmured, dropping his hands away from his head. "She's never going to speak to me again, after what I did to her."
"M..." Amber managed, taking a step closer to him just to stop. He couldn't hear her...couldn't see her. She wasn't really there.
"I just wish I hadn't done it. Then maybe, she would have actually listened when I finally got up the courage to tell her the truth. To take her aside...maybe pull her close in the middle of a waltz, or something...and just say..."
He trailed off, and the memory started to change. Amber froze, not sure what was going on. Had she affected it after all? Things were getting blurry, as if the memory was fading...but M remained as crisp and focused as ever from where he was sitting. All at once, he looked up and turned...and Amber's breath caught as he stared her right in the eye.
How could he be looking at me? I'm not...here...
M gave her a ghost of a smile, his words shooting through her like ice.
"I love you."
113
"I'm really sorry to come back and bother you again," Ashley said, dry-washing her face. Agatha frowned from her place in bed.
"Do not be sorry. You are ze only von who has been honest viz me about vat is going on." The Metallonian scientist looked pale, but her expression was determined. "I am sorry I do not remember anyzing zat could help. I do not remember going to ze vilderness...I do not even remember being in ze MIRI viz Julien and Amber recently. But I do know zat I vould not have gone exploring in ze vilds. I agree viz you zat somezing is definitely amiss in all of zis."
Ashley leaned forward, feeling exhausted. She had spent the last hour talking down the hospital from pressing charges, considering that Theo's bodyguard hadn't actually done anything. Now she was trying to get her head back into the conspiracy game, but honestly, she was losing steam.
"How close vas I viz Julien?" Agatha blurted. Ashley looked up in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I remember him...I remember moments, and going to Ninjago...but my memories also feel so distant. Vas our relationship...serious?"
"Uh...I don't really know. Julien generally kept things close to the vest, and the two of you were way out here in Metallonia. We only really saw you together that one time you came to my apartment."
"I remember zat," Agatha said. "Chicken and vaffles."
"Yeah." Ashley thought about what Theo had said, about the Buyer possibly using Amber to erase memories. She studied Agatha, trying to figure out how to phrase her question. "Just out of curiosity...at what point do your memories kinda...peter out?"
"It's hard to say. I vant to say it only became patchy in the past few weeks, but zere could be more missing zat I don't even realize. Zat is ze frightening zing about all of zis...how am I supposed to remember vat I've forgotten?" She leaned back on her pillows, staring up at the ceiling.
Ashley's phone rang, and she grimaced in apology before answering it. "Hey, Mia. Did you guys let the police know?"
"They say that they can't file a report until she's been missing for a full 24 hours," the twin said flatly.
"Can you stress how important it is we find her?"
"I think at this point the only thing that would motivate them to find her faster would be—you know. Being transparent about what kind of Oni she really is."
Ashley rubbed her temple. "I'm guessing Theo isn't a fan of that option."
"You guessed right. He's being so stubborn about all of this—I just don't get why he's defending her. It's a little worrying, don't you think?"
"There's a lot about Theo that I'm worried about, if I'm being honest," Ashley admitted, thinking about the confession he had given them at the hotel room. "Just...do your best to get the police on board, I guess."
"Does Agatha remember anything that we could use?"
"I think I'll be leaving here soon," Ashley said in way of answer, not wanting to hurt the scientist by admitting that Agatha wasn't able to remember anything useful.
"All right. I'll keep you updated."
"Thanks." Ashley hung up, resisting the urge to curse. Nothing was going right. All they needed was one little clue—one thing to go in their favor, and she knew everything else would fall into place. But the harder they pushed, the more resistance they found.
"Are ze police not already searching for ze missing people?"
Ashley looked up to see Agatha staring at her intently. "What do you mean?"
"Zat phone call, about somevon being missing..."
"Oh. It's not about Julien and Amber and them...it's about an Oni Theo brought with him to this realm. She was supposed to be able to identify the person we think is behind all of this madness, but she ran off."
"Zat seems odd," Agatha pointed out. Ashley rubbed her neck.
"Well...it turns out she's technically an Oni criminal. We're pretty sure she just saw an opportunity to escape and took it. Theo's not so convinced though."
"Vere did she escape from?"
"Well, she actually ran off in all that earlier sword commotion."
"Here at the hospital?"
"Yeah."
Agatha frowned, thoughtfully before gesturing to a bag a few feet away. "Vould you hand me my laptop?"
Ashley complied. "What are you doing?"
"If it happened here at ze hospital, ve could possibly get some answers on her motive," Agatha said. Ashley wasn't sure what she meant, but she went quiet as she watched the scientist type into her computer. After a few minutes, she plugged a usb into the port in her laptop, waited a few minutes, then pulled it out and fixed Ashley with a guilty look. "I need to ask you to do somezing zat may be a little...illegal."
Ashley looked at the usb, and understanding suddenly dawned. "You want to hack into the hospital's security?"
"If you are not comfortable viz doing so..."
Ashley reached out and took the usb. "Do I have to connect it to the security room?"
"No. Any hospital computer vould vork. I don't vant to get you in trouble...but if I can get into ze system, ve might be able to ascertain ze reason ze oni left."
Ashley thought about it. Staring at the usb, she thought of the heist they had pulled all those years ago against Matilda, when Julien had done a similar thing to the systems of the NCST. However, that had been a corrupt and vicious anti-oni campaign, and this would be against a perfectly respectable Metallonian Hospital. She tried to decide if there would be a more legitimate way to get the info they needed, but with police not even taking the missing oni seriously and the way the hospital staff already felt about oni given the whole sword fiasco...
"What do I need to do?"
Agatha smiled, looking both relieved and guilty. "Plug it into a port and drag ze file onto ze desktop. It's set to camouflage. Zen you can remove ze usb, and I vill be able to use ze file to access ze security footage." She looked at her screen. "After downloading ze appropriate videos, I vill zen delete ze file from zeir system completely. Hopefully, zey vill never be any viser."
Ashley nodded, though her heart was pounding. If she got caught, this could definitely damage her career as a legitimate lawyer. Julien was willing to do it for Theo, she reminded herself, shaking off the last of her doubts. He would have been willing to do it for me, too. If this will help us find Rook, who could then help us find Julien and the others...then it's worth it. She gave Agatha a shaky smile as she headed for the door. "I'm beginning to see it was more than just robotics that you and Julien had in common," she pointed out. Agatha's smile faded.
"It vill feel good doing somezing useful to find him," she admitted softly, and Ashley slipped into the hall.
This was easily the most bizarre situation that Rook had ever found herself in. Trapped in a round room with no windows or doors, with a cracked mirror for a wall and a ghost of a man she had just seen an hour before taunting her and the other prisoners. All of that had been strange enough, but as Rook watched the other Ahsakar come in, it just got weirder.
Theodynn's sister was already not what she had been expecting—she was older, for one. But besides that, in the moments when Theo was willing to talk about his sister, he had made her seem strong and powerful. However, all the horned young woman had done since Rook had come in was fall apart. When the boy with the light-colored hair came in, it was even worse. It took the reformed assassin a little bit to figure out what the dynamic was between the two. When the kissing began, she more or less figured it out.
"So...they like each other?" she said, turning to the nearby man with the eye-coverings. He didn't reply—didn't even twitch. Rook furrowed her brow. "Are you as lost as I am right now, or you're just not allowed to talk to me?"
Still no answer, but things were progressing in the corner where Theo's sister and her (boyfriend? Lover? Husband?) were sitting. It looked like the Oni had managed to get into his mind after all, and Amber was sobbing, her expression tense with effort. The pale-haired male was breathing heavily, like he couldn't get enough air. He did not look too good—if Rook had to guess, she'd say he hadn't been eating. Or hadn't been fed.
The thought made her feel cold. Did these villains generally starve their prisoners? She found herself wishing she had demanded more fruit tarts from Theo that morning. She was already hungry again.
"I love you." The boy's words were soft, but in the otherwise silent room, they were audible. Rook blinked in surprise, glancing over at the goon again.
"I feel like we're encroaching on something private," she pointed out. Still no answer. Seems these psychopaths could care less about privacy. I guess that tracks.
Amber made a horrible noise, halfway between a gasp and a sob. Rook stiffened as the horned oni lurched backwards as if she had been burned. Rook frowned, trying to figure out what was going on. Amber buried her face in her hands as she sobbed, but she looked up in horror as one of the large goons grabbed the young man across from her, smothering his face him with a pale cloth. "NO!" the horned oni begged. "You can't—"
"I vondered how ze process vould affect you...affection makes such zings difficult, I'm sure." The ghost's voice echoed around them again as Amber's lover went lax in the goon's arms. "But you do not have time to fall apart, Amber. His safety is not guaranteed until you comply viz vat I need done to ze Oni."
Amber barely seemed to hear the Buyer's ghost, staggering toward the man holding her lover. The goon's hand immediately clamped on the front of the young man's neck. Rook swallowed at the obvious threat. Wouldn't take much to snap it, she mused darkly. His neck is as thin as the rest of him.
At seeing the goon's hostile gesture, Amber immediately froze. Rook didn't bother trying to beg or argue as Amber turned to look at her. Rook knew the haunted look of a cornered person when she saw it.
"Listen up, ghost-man," Rook finally said, looking around as the other goon clamped down on her arm again. "If I comply, you'll let me go...right? Am I reading this situation correctly?"
"I do not know," the voice offered honestly. "It may be easiest to retrieve ze knowledge I need and eradicate you completely."
"I'm willing to go into this whole...mind reading thing willingly," she tried, forcing her voice not to waver as she was dragged over to where Amber was. "But I want to know what's in it for me."
"Ah. I suppose I should have expected such an approach, considering your background."
"It doesn't hurt...right?" Rook asked, giving the other oni a pained look. "I mean that whole...thing looked a little painful." She gestured to where Amber's lover was immobilized, and the horned girl's expression hardened. Probably not the best thing to say, considering her emotional state, Rook realized.
"Start viz her memories of your brother, Amber. Anyzing zat vould be useful in bringing him into custody."
"I will not help you hurt Theo," Amber hissed through clenched teeth, tears still dripping from her face as she glared at the mirror. Why did she keep addressing the mirror? Was she even talking to the ghost? Or her own reflection? Is she arguing with herself right now?
"You vill have to choose, Amber. You cannot ensure ze velfare of your brozer and ze young Openheimer."
Rook shook her head. What the heck was an Openheimer? Focus, Rook, she shouted at herself as the tension in the room increased. If you're going to make this work, you're going to only have one shot.
Amber trembled with rage, but Rook also saw some fear. "It doesn't matter what you tell him," Rook said at last, flipping her hair as nonchalantly as she could manage. "First of all, I don't know anything that could help him. And second of all, Theodynn's no pushover." She looked around the room, wishing she at least knew where the ghost was. "So no matter what he learns, he'll never get to him!"
There was no answer, but the goon holding her forced her down to her knees. She cursed softly, throwing the man an irritated look. Amber was still hesitating, but after one last glance toward the unconscious young man nearby, she sank down in front of Rook. The assassin tried to stay calm, but inside, she was terrified. Terrified of what was coming...but also terrified her plan wouldn't work.
"Pay close attention to vat information is contained in ze oni's mind. You vill give me a detailed report aftervord, and you should know by now zat I can tell ven you are lying to me about vat you find."
The horned Oni closed her eyes, her despair obvious. Rook was antsy with anticipation. "Just get it over with," she snapped, and Amber opened her eyes with a flash of anger. Good. Anger was much more motivating than anguish.
Cold hands reached out and pressed on either side of Rook's head, and she tried to calm the panic inside. Her awful experience with Iona came to mind, the memory threatening to swallow her in dread, but she forced the feeling back. As she felt the iciness creep in, she tried to keep a grip on reality enough to organize her thoughts.
Can you hear me?
Rook's thoughts echoed in the void as it grew colder, and she tried to make them louder.
I'm thinking as loudly as I can, and you're reading my thoughts, so it should be going directly to you, right? CAN YOU HEAR ME?
Amber's hands twitched on the sides of her head. Was it a sign? A coincidence? Might as well just go for it, Rook.
We've got one shot at this, Amber...but if you're any part the Oni your brother thinks you are, we should be able to pull it off. I'll take the goon behind me, and you've got to take out the one behind you. The one holding your lover.
A definite twitch then. The iciness was hesitating. At least, Rook thought it was.
He's dead if you don't save him yourself. You realize that, right? The ghost is lying. I should know—I've been around his kind before. His promises are lies, and he's going to kill him if we don't get out of here right now. If we can synchronize our attack, we can pull it off. You're powerful, aren't you? Powerful enough to get into my head. You can incapacitate the goon and get to your friend...and once we get rid of these block-heads, you can transport us out of here. Right? You can do that transporting thing too, like Theo does? He said you're more powerful than he is, so I'm assuming you could.
There was still no response, but Rook could hear Amber's breathing becoming more labored.
We don't have time for fear right now. We don't have time for anything but escape. Rook continued. Trust me when I say that if you don't take this moment now to get out while you have the chance, you'll regret it forever. Rook's mind flashed back to a memory—Quazier smiling at her after she had completed her first solo mission. Bile crawled into her throat. If it's between working for a psycho for the rest of your life and risking everything in avoiding that fate, I promise you, the latter is preferred.
Amber's hands were trembling now, and Rook wasn't sure if the ghost was going to be suspicious at how long this was taking. Or had it even been that long? She swallowed hard, having no way of knowing what Amber was planning on doing.
I'm going to try, Rook thought at last, as firmly as she could manage with the dizzying chill from the mind-intruding power. If you don't help me, I'll fail...but I'm going to try. Are you in, or not?
For a few horrible seconds, there was no answer. Rook wasn't sure what to expect...a verbal response? A slight squeeze of her hands on her head? For a moment, her hope began to tank, but then Amber's voice came into her head, as if she were whispering right into her thoughts.
On three.
Theo headed down another street, approaching the people standing outside. "Excuse me...have you seen an Oni come this way?" he asked. Like the others he had asked, the pedestrians stared at him in shock and wariness, and he sighed. "It's a woman, with a long braid and like, reddish-orangish eyes..."
The pedestrians shook their heads nervously and backed away, and Theo glanced over at Tolan. If only his bodyguard would have left the katanas behind like he had asked him to. It was hard enough approaching people looking like they did—having such obvious weapons wasn't really helping much.
"Thanks for your time," Theo muttered, pushing past the group of Metallonians to head down another street.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Tolan finally asked from where he was trailing after him.
"We have to do something," Theo pointed out. "We have to find Rook as soon as possible. For one, she's the only one who can identify the Buyer, and for another, she almost died like five times just walking from the train station to the hospital. Who knows—"
"You're worried about her."
Theo nearly tripped, though he managed to catch himself. "I'm mad at her," he corrected. Tolan raised an eyebrow, and the young man sighed. "Look, I'm the one who made her come to Ninjago, okay? I just don't want anything to happen to her while she's here. Is that so wrong?"
"You didn't make her run off on her own."
"Can we just focus on finding her?" he snapped, not wanting to have this conversation. However, as they started searching in silence, Theo's own thoughts attacked him. He thought about what Mia had accused back at the hotel room. It's something you hope she wouldn't do. Was he being stupid, defending Rook? After all, that's what always got him into all his trouble. Believing the best of people who he shouldn't trust at all. The evidence was against her, her past was against her...so why did he feel so adamantly that this wasn't something she would have done?
She could have been playing you, Theo—pretending to be helpless and in awe at everything in this new realm so you'd lower your guard, and then she would slip away at the earliest opportunity...
Theo shook his head angrily. Then why would her last words to him have been a promise to help him find his sister? Why would she have acted angry when he left her behind at the hospital? So that after she ran off, he wouldn't be suspicious? Was she really manipulating him at that deep of a level?
Mia's right, he realized bitterly. I am hoping that Rook wouldn't have done that...that she wouldn't have lied outright and run off. Because if she did, there'd be no coming back from it. I'd know without a doubt that she could never be trusted. He huffed angrily, swiping his hair out of his face. Ancient's above, Rook...I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but if it turns out you were lying to me again—
A chime cut him off, and it took him off guard until he remembered it was the pay-per-call cellphone that Ashley had purchased for him to keep in touch. He frowned as he answered it. "Hello?"
"Meet me at my hotel room." It was Ashley, and her voice sounded grim. "There's something you need to see."
114
Given the circumstance, Amber would have thought she would have been panicking more than she was. But as she made the decision to listen to the crazy Oni sitting across from her, she felt a strange sense of calm settle over her. For the past week...or longer (honestly, how long HAD she been at Estyeer?) she had told herself to go along with what Zerek wanted. To play along, so he didn't hurt anyone. But he still hurt people, and she knew this Rook person—as crazy as she was—was hitting on the truth. Zerek could take M out of this room, murder him, and throw him out into the desert, and Amber would never be the wiser. She would continue doing his dirty work in order to save her friends, only to be betrayed again and again. Honestly, did she even have proof that Dani and Agatha were safe right now?
The thought sent a jolt of panic into her system, but she couldn't think about that right now. Her focus had to be on what would happen in the next three seconds. At long last, she was going to fight back...and she was pretty sure that the fate of her, M, and even this Rook character would be decided in the next five minutes.
One. Two...
She took a deep breath, and she could feel Rook tensing in anticipation under her hands.
Three.
The Aura around Amber's hands increased, and she whirled in a fluid motion and released the attack in one large blast. She knew she would be putting M at risk that way, but she couldn't think of any other way, considering that the robot holding him would snap his neck if she didn't act fast enough.
The robot and his captor went flying back into the wall. Amber stood and immediately began to charge, her eyes trained on the robot's gloved hand on M's neck. However, instead of acting aggressive, the robot began jolting sporadically. It wasn't until Amber reached them that she understood what was going on. The walls electrocute people who attack them...and the goon is a robot. From what I know about Zane and Pix, electrocution is the worst thing you could do to a robot!
The robot was recovering from the electric jolt, but Amber had already unleashed another attack, freeing M from his grasp. The unconscious boy fell to the ground, and Amber was barely able to catch him. The robot reached for her, but another blast sent him back to the wall for another electrifying shock. This time, the robot didn't recover as easily.
"Rook!" she called, turning to find the other Oni. She knew that Zerek would be retaliating soon, if he hadn't already. However, Amber couldn't transport until Rook caught up with her.
Amber's gaze caught sight of the other Oni, and her blood ran cold. It seemed Rook hadn't been able to defeat her goon as easily—the robot had grabbed her by her hair, and Rook was thrashing and attacking in an attempt to free herself. Amber sent a blast to assist, but the robot merely used his captive as a shield, and Rook cried out as the aura hit her. Amber winced in apology, her mind racing.
"Hold on!" she called, trying to drag M across the room. She didn't dare leave him by himself, but she realized quickly that he was heavy deadweight, even with all the weight he had lost.
There was a hissing sound, and Amber looked up to see some kind of vents opening up in the roof. Her heart pounded in panic as she realized that there was a strange smell. He's gassing us. Amber immediately held her breath, turning back to where Rook was still trying to free herself. The door to the chamber slid open, and Amber knew it wouldn't be long before they were surrounded with further guards. Her mind screamed at her to transport now and get M out of here, but in the panic of the moment, she hesitated. If she left now, she knew she'd been condemning this Rook person to a horrible fate.
Rook's motions were becoming sluggish, and time seemed to slow as she looked up and met Amber's eye. They were only twenty feet apart or so, but with M unconscious, the gas leaking in, and the other androids charging Amber with vengestone, the twenty feet was going to be too much. Amber blasted the androids back, trying to buy Rook time, but when she glanced at the other Oni again, Rook's expression was hard with resolve.
"Go!" the young woman shouted. "Transport to Theo, already!"
Amber's grip on M tightened, but her hesitation must have been obvious in her expression. For a moment, Rook's expression flickered, but then she shook her head.
"It's okay," she said, her voice starting to slur as the gas filled the room. "Just tell your brother...tell Theo he's not the only one who can keep his promises."
Amber's heart clenched, but her defensive blasts were failing as further robots entered the room. Amber's eyes were stinging with tears, and she closed her eyes as she made her decision. Aura whipped around them as an android lurched forward with a vengestone cuff, but he reached the spot too late. With a flash and a pop, Amber and M vanished from the chamber.
The footage was grainy, as security footage usually was. Everyone had gathered around Agatha's laptop in the cramped hotel room, watching as Rook moved away from the group in the video on the screen. Even with the low quality, it was easy to see her stiffen and turn. However, then the video blipped. Suddenly Rook was gone—the footage jumping forward a few minutes.
"Agatha says it's obviously been tampered with," Ashley said. "I would have had you meet us at her hospital room so she could explain more, but they would have never let us all in her room at once."
"It kinda looks like she was looking at something specific before she turned," one of the twins mused.
"But the video cuts out before we can see what...or who... it is," Ashley confirmed.
"Are there other angles that would have a better view?" May asked, leaning forward.
"All the other camera angles have been cut back even further," Ashley admitted, clicking on a different viewpoint. "This is the one that faces the door directly. It cuts out almost a full minute before the other one."
"It was a person." Theo finally spoke, feeling dizzy. "Whoever messed with the security footage didn't want to appear in these cameras."
"But why even come to the hospital just to leave?" Mia demanded. "Why would someone show up at all if they knew they were going to have to erase any evidence of them being there?"
Theo reached out, and Ashely allowed him to skip back to the other view. He studied Rook's grainy expression as she turned back to the crowd. "Because Rook recognized him," he pointed out grimly. Silence fell, and Theo leaned back to dry-wash his face.
"You're saying...the buyer dude that you guys are looking for showed up at the hospital? The very hospital that we were all at? What are the odds of that?" Mia asked skeptically.
"I doubt it was an accident," Theo realized darkly. "I think the Buyer knew full well that we were here. He just wasn't counting on us having someone who could actually recognize him."
Everyone glanced at each other, processing. "You think the Buyer came to the hospital for you?" May finally asked, glancing nervously at Theo. He shrugged miserably.
"He was willing to offer slave traders a fortune for my capture. I wouldn't put it past him to show up to apprehend me directly now that I'm so close."
"We don't know for sure it was the Buyer," Ashley pointed out carefully. "But let's say it was. What would Rook have done, do you think, if she caught sight of—"
"She's a trained assassin," Theo scoffed, glowering at the security footage. "Of course she would be stupid enough to think she could take him down by herself."
"You know...now that I'm thinking back..." Mia cleared her throat, sounding almost sheepish. "I do remember her trying to get your guard's attention. I just thought she was mad at him for the sword thing."
"She could have tried harder to get my attention," Tolan muttered.
"She could have done a lot of things," Theo agreed. "But she's Rook...so she decided to go flying into danger without thinking it through. Like she always does."
Silence fell once again, and May finally changed the subject. "How exactly did you guys get ahold of security footage, Ashley?"
The redhead flushed. "Um...well..." she shrugged sheepishly. "Let's just say that you'd be surprised at how many computers at this hospital are unattended."
Theo tuned out their conversation as he replayed the video over and over, frustrated that there wasn't so much as a glimpse of the mysterious Buyer who had his sister, all those slaves...and now, probably Rook as well.
A flash of light caught Theo off guard, and everyone's conversations died immediately as a loud pop exploded in the room. The Oni young man whirled in confusion, his first thought that his mother had transported directly here somehow to tell them something. However, as he caught sight of the two figures on the rug of the already-cramped room, he stopped dead.
"Ams." He lurched forward, nearly tripping over an astounded Mia as he tried to get to his sister. The Xinta was doubled over, sobbing loudly as she hunched over the other person, as if to protect them.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."
Theo grabbed her shoulder, and Amber screamed out and lifted a hand to attack. However, Theo managed to catch her by the wrist. "Amber!"
Her eyes flew open, and she froze as she caught sight of him. For a moment, they merely stared at each other, but then Amber fell into him. She continued to wail as she clung to his shirt, her nails digging into him almost painfully as she buried her face into his shoulder. He held her tightly, his eyes flicking down to the person on the floor. It was a young man, dressed in a grey jumpsuit. The same jumpsuit that his sister also seemed to be dressed in, he realized.
"It's...oh my gosh, it's M." May realized distantly. The other's began to swarm them as well, with Ashley dropping next to the still young man, immediately checking for a pulse. Theo blinked in surprise as he realized that Mia was right. He hadn't seen M for a while...but he definitely didn't remember him being this gaunt or unshaved.
"Tay...tay..." Amber was trying to tell him something, and Theo turned his attention back to his sister as she gasped into his shoulder. Theo forced his feelings of shock and horror away as he tried to be present for her.
"You're safe," he promised. "You and M are safe, Ams. You're okay."
Another sob wracked her body, and Theo felt tears begin to sting his own eyes as he clung to her. He suddenly felt lost, not sure whether to feel relieved that she was here, safe in his arms...or terrified at what had happened to her to shatter her like this.
"We need to call an ambulance." Ashley sounded almost robotic, as if she was struggling to process everything as well.
"I'm on it," May chirped, her voice sounding forced as she whipped out her cell-phone with trembling hands.
"What's with these weird jumpsuits?" Mia mumbled as she studied the two newcomers as her sister urgently talked with an emergency operator.
"Mia, call your parents. And Theo's parents...and everyone," Ashley ordered before turning her attention to Amber. "Amber, I need you to tell us what's going on."
"I left them!" Amber wailed. "Colby and Julien...and Rook. I just—"
"Rook?" Theo whispered. Amber curled up into herself.
"I left, and he's going to hurt them now, I know it. I panicked, and I...I just..."
"Where are they, Amber?" Ashley pressed, her voice rising as she moved closer.
"Leave her alone!" Theo snapped, looking up to glare at the redhead.
"We need to know where they are! This could be life or death, Theo. I know that—"
"They're...they're in Estyeer. Zerek's got them at Estyeer..." The words came out in a rush, and Amber sagged into her brother. "He had us all in Estyeer."
Theo had no idea what any of that meant—he had never heard of Estyeer, and the name Zerek was entirely unfamiliar. However, he knew without a doubt that it had to be the name of the Buyer—the one they had tried so desperately to find. He realized that he wanted answers desperately—he wanted to know exactly what he had done to his sister and the others. Were the slaves at this Estyeer place too? And Rook? The Buyer had Rook? However, as much as he wanted answers, Theo could tell his sister was not in a place to offer them.
"Is he dead?" Amber finally lurched back, turning to look at M with a hopeless expression. "Did I get him killed?"
Theo's blood ran cold as he glanced back at the still young man. What had Amber been forced to do?
"He's alive," Ashley assured distantly, but she was typing furiously into Agatha's laptop.
"An ambulance is on the way!" May added. "The hospital isn't far...they'll be here any minute."
"I just need to...oh." Ashley stopped dead, her eyes widening as she stared at her computer screen.
"What?" Theo demanded.
"The emergency personnel are here! I'm going downstairs to lead them up," May called from the doorway before disappearing from the room.
"Ashley, what is it?" Theo repeated, watching her expression change from horror to understanding to a grim resolve.
"I think I just found out who Zerek is."
Rook blinked awake, her head throbbing horribly. There was a terrible taste in her mouth, and she tried to move. After a few groggy moments, she realized that she had somehow fallen asleep sitting up, and also seemed to be restrained.
"What..." she mumbled, looking down. She was in some kind of bulky metal chair, and she frowned at the reinforced cuffs around her wrists and ankles.
"It seems even less intelligent creatures like Oni are still capable of surprising me."
Rook looked up, and she realized she could see the Buyer standing a few feet away. "You're still alive?" she demanded. The man studied her closely.
"I vas never a ghost," he pointed out. "Zat vas your incorrect analysis of a speaker system."
"I don't know, this seems like the kind of realm that would have ghosts," Rook huffed. "There was one on the train—telling us what all the different places were called. Not that we ever asked..."
"You are so simple-minded," the man cut in coldly. "And yet, perhaps it is more nurture's fault zan nature. Regardless, you should not be surprised to find zat your little rebellion has not landed you in a more optimal position."
Rook swallowed hard, glancing down at the restraints again. Anger and frustration flowed into her as she realized he was right. She had taken a gamble, and it definitely had not panned out. For me, at least.
She looked up to meet his eye. "But Amber escaped...didn't she?"
The Buyer didn't respond, but she didn't miss the slight increase in his frown. With nothing else to do, Rook began to laugh. The more she thought about her situation, the more she laughed, and the more confused the Buyer seemed.
"I do not understand your amusement," he finally admitted. "You must know zat your fate is sealed. You vill die here at Estyeer, as soon as I extract as much usefulness from you zat I can."
Yes, she was terrified...and maybe that's why she couldn't stop the crazed laughter that left her system. "You don't get it," she finally said when she caught her breath. "This is just how the game is played."
His brow furrowed. "Vat game?"
Rook took a deep breath, determined not to give him the satisfaction of her fear. She met his eye as she smiled coyly. "Amber got away...don't you get it? You're in trouble now." She wrenched at the restraints on her wrists, even though she knew it was no use. A heavy resignation settled over her, and she raised an eyebrow as she held his gaze. "Sometimes, you have to sacrifice the pawn to put the more powerful pieces in play."
The Buyer blinked. "Did you just make...a chess metaphor?"
"Don't worry if you don't understand," Rook said, glancing away as she fought the restraints one last time. "It's a very strategic, complicated game. I wouldn't expect you to know how to play it."
The Buyer just stared for a minute, and then a smile stretched across his face. "How intriguing."
"So you have me...but you'll find out soon enough that capturing a pawn is no big whoop," Rook kicked with her legs, but they were just as stuck. Ancients, this was not looking good...she couldn't even find the keyhole where she could pick a lock. "You're going to be exposed, and Theo's going to get his army and come take you down. Trust me...he's really good at that part. I know from experience." She settled back into her chair, shrugging. "I mean, at this point it's basically checkmate."
"Mmm." The Buyer studied her one last time before turning. At first, she thought he was going to leave, but instead, he walked over to a table with all sorts of strange devices scattered over it. "I vill admit, Amber's loss has put an urgency on my research. Zat much, I know. But I vouldn't call checkmate just yet." He reached out, and Rook frowned as she watched him fiddle with various buttons and dials.
A whirring sound caught her attention, and she looked up and saw some kind of circle-shaped something coming down toward her head. "What are you doing?" she demanded, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
"I have had to put Estyeer into battle mode, and ze water element extraction must be done immediately," the Buyer continued, typing in a few other things into the system. "I understand zat Amber's freedom vill complicate zings...but a good scientist finds opportunity in every unexpected outcome."
The device was clamping down on Rook's head, and she gasped as she tried to fight it. "Seriously, what in Ancient's name is this thing?"
"It is true zat I vill surely be shortly exposed...but I am confident Estyeer's security measures vill be able to protect my endeavors until I am able to extract ze rest of ze elements. I have cracked ze code, after all, and ze machines have all been constructed. All I need now..." He paused and turned to meet Rook's eye. "Is Oni power."
Rook clenched her jaw, glowering at him as the thing around her head tightened painfully. "I don't have any power," she finally admitted.
"No. But you do contain ze structure for it." The Buyer smiled softly. "Viz Amber, I vould have had enough power for every extraction I could need...but as it is now, I only have von expendable oni viz power, and based on my research, he vill not survive after I use him to extract ze element of Vater. In order to gain electricity, fire, and earth—all of vich are no doubt currently making plans to come right here to Estyeer—I vill need anozer powered Oni." He turned back to his buttons and dials. "It is time to crack ze most important mystery of Oni power—how do I get it to unlock?"
"You're insane," Rook pointed out, wrenching in her restraints a little more desperately as the thing around her head began a high-pitched hum. "There's no way to make it happen! Either you have power, or you don't!"
"Zat is not how Teag made it sound," the Buyer mused as he glanced over at her. "I do not expect you to survive zis process...but I have a whole village of Oni. Viz time being ze only zing against me...I am confident I vill eventually crack ze code."
"You—"
Rook's threat was cut off as needles seemed to stab into her mind. She screamed as everything went red.