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Review replies:
Entity: #AbyssBuddies xd Sad about your fic or just in general? "Randoming the protagonists". Okay. And yeah, that's basically how I act in those fics.
Ebony: *maniacal laugh* Let's go with like... dead slave. That's pretty accurate, wouldn't you say?
Kat: *maniacal laugh*
NinjagoMLP: I know, right?
Nicktastic: Yeah, a real first for me, huh? Never before have I written anything so dark.
Draconis: Not really, I mean you can still review. Nah, she just kinda stalks everyone and makes a mental list of who should be the next leader when she gets rid of the current one.
Lloyd crouched behind a trash can in the alley next to Claire and Gray's base, waiting with Nicole for Morro and Indigo to give them the signal. This would actually be fairly simple.
The two would-be kidnappers had given away their location in the ransom note, and had been easily tracked down. Now, with two ghosts on their side, Lloyd was confident their opponents didn't have a chance. As long as they didn't hold a gun to Morro's head or something. But, if all went well, they wouldn't have a chance.
Nicole crouched beside him, watching the entrance of the alley intently. Lloyd wasn't sure why, but she had insisted on coming along, despite her lack of an element that was actually useful in battle. Indigo seemed to know something he didn't, since she vouched for the dream mistress when the blond expressed doubt in her ability to defend herself. Lloyd himself was still a bit suspicious of her, since she had confessed her ability to slyly insert her own ideas into others' heads.
Ahead, a figure appeared at the end of the alleyway – Morro 1 – and waved. That was the signal. Setting to his feet, Lloyd pulled on his ninja hood and hurried down to join Morro, Nicole at his heels. Time to get Morro 2 out of there.
TheDarknessReturn
Morro stared silently at the far wall of his prison, eyes half open as he kept himself from making a move. He didn't want to alert his captors that something was different.
It had been a few hours since his double and Indigo were here. Lloyd would be here soon, wouldn't he? How did they find him in the first place, he wondered? It didn't matter right now. All that mattered was soon enough, he would be free.
The door opened, and he raised his head a bit to see Gray entering the room. The boy looked at him, then scoffed.
"Don't look so hopeful. Your friends aren't here for you yet." He seemed pretty sure they would go through with the exchange. Morro was silent, looking back at the ground. "You have a pretty good life, you know that?" Morro looked up at him in confusion. "You were king. You ruled the universe. Then, when you got fired, you just switched sides, easy as that." Morro frowned.
"It… wasn't that simple."
"Still, you're privledged. When your side starts to lose, you just go to the winning side." Gray sat down in midair, and vines grew up as a seat underneath him. "Some of us aren't so lucky." Morro stayed silent. He wanted to correct him, but it sounded like his captor wanted to vent. "I used to be a law-abiding citizen of Ninjago. I had a job, a home, a girlfriend." A vine coiled up his arm, then stopped in his hand and a flower blossomed on it. "Then they killed her." He crushed the flower in his fist.
"She was plotting to overthrow the government, so they had her killed. Self-rightous ****s. Murder is illegal, unless they're the ones doing it." He chuckled softly. "You were a good leader, you know? You lied, you cheated, stole and murdered, but at least you were open about it. You didn't shoot through windows in the dead of night, then cover it up like nothing ever happened. Yes. I like you." He sighed, letting the flower grow again. "And here I am, working for your master. The queen of lies and manipulation. It really is too bad." He looked up at Morro. "Too bad I have to kill you."
A soft thud sounded in the other room.
Gray's head jerked up, and he thrust a hand towards Morro, a thick vine growing to cover the wind master's mouth. The boy stood as Moro jerked back in surprise, hurrying out of the room. Moments later, all the vines went slack.
"Morro!" Lloyd burst in through the door as Morro struggled to untangle himself, having trouble due to the sheer number of vines. "Are you okay?" He asked, kneeling beside the tangle of vines as Morro B and Indigo followed him in.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I have a bump on my head from being thrown against a wall, but otherwise I'm okay." The blond helped him untangle himself, then gave him a quick hug before pulling him to his feet.
"Let's get out of here." He instructed.
"Wait." Indigo spoke up, putting up a hand with a frown. "What happened to Nicole?"
TheDarknessReturn
Nicole pressed herself against a wall, waiting for the footsteps to pass by before going around the corner after them. What was she doing? Nothing smart. But she had seen Claire go this way, and she was determined to take her out. Maybe that would prove her trustworthy to the ninja. Probably not, but hey, a girl can dream.
Nicole followed Claire through the base, then finally came to… a dead end? Where did Claire go? Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and spun around in surprise.
"Hey." Claire grinned, waving. Instantly, Nicole threw a punch, but somehow she missed completely, falling off balance. "Aw, that looked like a good punch." The other girl strode right past her into the dead-end room. "Got any more?" Regaining her balance, Nicole charged at her opponent and swung again, but once again she missed completely without Claire even needing to dodge. She tried to kick her, but she messed it up too. "Honey, you can try to attack me as many times as you like." Claire said with a laugh. "You won't be able to hit me." Nicole stopped, taking a defensive stance.
"How… how are you…"
"I'm the elemental master of jinx! That's bad luck, sweetie, and it means you can't do a thing to me. One touch renders you helpless in attacking…" She drew a fist back. "…or defending." Nicole tried to block her punch, but it caught her right in the eye and she let out a gasp. That hurt. Claire swung again, and Nicole tried to dodge, but her foot slipped and she crashed to the ground. Claire kicked her in the stomach before she could get up, and she grunted in pain.
Nicole scrambled to her feet and tried to flee, but she slipped again. Stalking up to her, Claire grabbed her by the front of the shirt and slammed her against the wall. She was so… strong! "I don't know how you found us, kid, but now we have two hostages instead of just one! Isn't that great?" Claire laughed, still holding her against the wall. "Thanks! This makes my job that much easier!"
Then a metal fist cracked against the side of Claire's head.
"Ow!" Morro A yelped as Claire crumpled to the ground, grabbing his left hand with his right. "Ow, ow. I guess I need to talk to the Nyas about getting some cushioning for this thing." He muttered, still staring at Claire. Then his gaze shifted to Nicole and he gasped. "Nicole, your eye…! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, rubbing her eye which was undoubtedly bruising. Morro offered her a hand up – his right one – and she accepted it, letting him pull her to her feet. Standing here against, the wall, faces inches apart, Nicole couldn't resist. She put a hand on the back of Morro's head and pulled it down towards her, kissing him as hard as she could.
For a few seconds, Morro was still, not reacting until she pulled away and looked up at him. Then he leaned down and kissed her back.
TheDarknessReturn
Gray and Claire were chained with vengestone and dragged back to the castle, where they were thrown in the dungeon. Morro 2 and the ninja exchanged stories, the former king explaining how he was kidnapped and the ninja explaining how they found him. Morro and Nicole seemed oddly happy, Lloyd noticed, happier than one would expect after being kidnapped/given a black eye. And Indigo kept giggling about something, but she refused to tell him what it was. Whatever.
With the immediate danger out of the way, the ninja could get back to their main objective: figuring out how to kill the Preeminent.
Morro and Indigo: Heartfelt, awkward prison confession of love
Lloyd and Jessica: Drawn out, shy confession of love
Morro and Nicole: What's a confession we just smooch
Aaaaaanyway, tomorrow night I have an all-nighter at my youth group, so you might not get an update tomorrow, and you probably won't get an update the day after.
~FFF