A/N:Thanks again for the comments and messages telling me you're eagerly awaiting the next update, I'm so happy to hear you enjoy this story! There will be 14 chapters overall, and unless force majeure prevents me from doing so, I'll continue to upload a new part about once a week. Which means that you might get stuck with another little cliffhanger at some point … ;)
The next morning, Pixal and Nya were missing at the breakfast table.
"Did my sis pull an all-nighter to fix that navigation system?" Kai asked and helped himself to milk. "She doesn't usually sleep so late."
"Oh, no." Jay laughed. "It wasn't that bad. She was about to finish when I went down to the hangar last night."
"But you weren't exactly in a hurry to come back," Cole smirked, swallowing a spoonful of cereals. "When I saw you, it was at least ..."
"Too much information," Kai cut him short and rolled his eyes. "I don't want details about what happens when they're alone at the hangar."
"Wrong," Jay grinned. "I think this time, you do want to know what we did. Nya remembered that a brake of your bike was broken and suggested to have a look at it. I can't believe you drove around like that!"
"Brakes are overrated," Cole stated, looking amused. "I bet Kai didn't even know his bike had brakes."
Lloyd snorted into his orange juice, and Kai stuck his tongue out at Cole.
"At any rate," Jay continued, "we replaced it. Next time you're gonna use it, be careful, because it will actually make your bike go slower."
"Ok, thanks for that," Kai nodded. "I appreciate it. So where's Nya now? I thought we had a training session this morning."
"Yeah, I guess that's true for us," Jay agreed, "but the girls seem to have other plans. Just when we were done with your bike last night, Pixal came down and said she'd like a word with Nya. I left them, and when I met Nya early this morning, she said she was going to the hangar and Pixal was already getting the shuricopter ready for take-off. They're flying to Ninjago City again, I believe."
Zane looked up. This explained why there had been no answer when he had knocked at Pixal's door before breakfast.
"What for?" Cole frowned.
Jay shrugged. "I think Pixal needs Nya's help with something, but she isn't quite sure of the matter herself, so she prefers not to talk big ... I dunno."
"Sounds very much like Pix," Lloyd observed.
As if on cue, the door opened, and Nya poked her head in.
"Hi, guys!" She was dressed in her gi, with the hood draped around her shoulders.
Pixal appeared behind her, wearing her uniform and carrying a pilot's helmet under her arm. "Good morning, everyone."
"As I told Jay," Nya explained, "we'll be gone for a few hours to check out a thing or two in the city."
Pixal nodded. "The Sensei has been informed." She smiled in the round. "We'll see you later."
She looked cheerful and relaxed, eager to leave for an investigation that was entirely her own idea. For the first time, Zane fully understood why she liked her Samurai X part so much and had seized the opportunity to slip into that role the moment she had been able to. She was an excellent team player, but the more people were around, the less her input would be heard; only when she supported the ninja in her own, defined function, with nobody interfering, she could really play to her strengths. For the same reason, she was a great partner when they went on missions two by two, and of course Zane loved to team up with her – the previous night had been a sad exception, he thought with an internal sigh. It stung that today, she had chosen Nya; but he had to admit that it was partly his own fault.
His eyes searched hers, and she briefly waved at him and gave him a smile. "We should be back in the afternoon. Perhaps you've heard from my father by then. Bye!"
With this, the two girls left the kitchen. Shortly after, the sound of the shuricopter taking off was heard. When the boys quickly finished their breakfast and tidied the kitchen, Jay seemed to be entirely unperturbed; he had been used to Nya's solo actions for years. Zane forced himself to acknowledge that Pixal, too, could very well take care of herself, with or without her Samurai suit. It would have been ridiculous to spend the day fretting about her; the upcoming sparring session with the other ninja would take his mind off the matter for sure.
Still, the thought that crossed his mind when he pulled down his hood to face Kai was disturbing: if anything happened to Pixal, he wouldn't even have had the chance to properly say goodbye.
It was around lunch time when Jay mentioned that Nya had promised to give him a quick call as soon as she and Pixal arrived at their destination, but he had still not heard from her.
"It doesn't take four hours to fly to Ninjago City," Kai remarked. "Don't you wanna try to reach her via her communicator?"
"I have tried," Jay retorted. "I couldn't get through."
"Oh. Ok ..." Kai frowned. "That's unlike her. What about Pixal?"
"Couldn't reach her, either," Jay explained.
"Zane," Kai called out. "Any news from Pixal since they left?"
The other boys gathered around Jay and Kai, and Zane shook his head. "No. I double-checked for messages a couple of minutes ago."
Jay pressed a button on his communicator. "I'll try again." He paced up and down for almost a minute before returning to the others. "Nothing."
"Could it be that ..." Lloyd began, but he was silenced when Jay suddenly held up his hand.
"Shhh." He screwed up his face in concentration. "I think I've got a connection now. This must be Nya on the line." He adjusted the volume on his earpiece and listened intently. The other boys watched anxiously as Jay's expression changed. His face paled, which made the freckles around his nose appear even more prominent.
"You didn't?!" he exclaimed incredulously.
He listened for a few more seconds. "And they only took those two? Whoa. What are you ..."
Before he could continue, he was apparently cut short by Nya.
"Yeah," he said after a moment, "please ... please take care." He raised a hand to touch his earpiece, took it off and stared dumbfounded at the now dead communicator.
"I don't think she heard that anymore," he muttered.
"What's the matter?" asked Kai. "What the heck are the girls doing?"
"They set a trap for the Dartfrogs." Jay looked up, still aghast at the news. "I can't believe it. They baited them, fully knowing how dangerous they are."
He shook his head and exchanged a worried glance with Kai.
Cole tried to make his voice sound calm, but his eyes betrayed that he was no less concerned. "Well, Nya is Kai's sister. And Pixal is totally Zane's match in recklessness. I'm not surprised. So, what exactly did they do?"
"Pixal realized that someone was following them to the city. She must have suspected it all along, because she had not taken the direct route in the first place. And she had a set of billiard balls with her. Somewhere in the outskirts of Ninjago City, she landed the shuricopter, and the girls got out. They continued on foot, billiard set openly displayed in a mesh bag on Pixal's back, and chose small alleyways away from the people and the traffic."
"And they were attacked," Lloyd concluded, seeing immediately where this was leading.
"Exactly," Jay agreed with a sigh.
"But they're alright?" Kai asked anxiously.
"They are – for the moment. At least I think so; I believe that Nya actually got injured, even though she wasn't explicit, but she sounded ok. Pixal set up everything perfectly. The bag with the balls tore during the fight, and those thugs lunged for the balls as predicted, while Nya and Pix made a big fuss and pretended to try and snatch them up as well. Eventually, they let them get away – and surprise, surprise: both the black and the white ball are missing. The girls must be on the run now, trying to cover their traces in case the Dartfrogs realize that the whole show was a ruse. I have no idea where they are, Nya refused to tell me. She cut the connection, because she was afraid that the Dartfrogs would pick up our frequency. They're both offline again now."
"So Pixal was right," Zane said slowly. "The Dartfrogs are unaware that we already opened the black ball, and there is still a white one missing. But they will soon realize that they have been tricked – and then, they will know that the ones who tricked them are after the balls, too."
"The memory card you found in the black one is safe. Does Pixal know where the white one is?" Kai asked.
Zane shrugged glumly. "I think she had an idea where to go looking for it. But you know that we didn't really speak before she left," he admitted quietly.
Cole looked up questioningly. "That gang really seems to be pulling out all the stops. What for? What could be so important?"
"Or so dangerous." Lloyd's words fell into the silence.
The five boys looked at each other with concern on their faces.
"Oh, hello Cyrus!" Zane had been trying to distract himself with work at the hangar, but when he heard the familiar voice on the phone, he shoved his tools away. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," the director of Borg Industries replied, "as always when I get such an interesting task to work on. I won't beat around the bush; it seems like you ninja are on to some big deal again."
"Is that so?" Zane sat up straight. "You have been able to decrypt the files on the chip, then?"
"Well, yes – with the help of my specialist team. It took them a few hours and our most powerful computer to crack that algorithm. But now I've got a decoded copy of the files here with me, and as agreed with the commissioner, I would like to show them to you."
Zane had already got up. "I'll tell the others immediately." He suddenly paused. "Although … it may take us a while to get to the city. We can't fly, because the Bounty is too large to land on Borg Tower."
Cyrus laughed. "I suppose my daughter will know how to get you here as quickly as possible. As far as I know, this has become her domain, and she's never disappointed you."
There was a brief pause.
"Well …" Zane began. "Pixal isn't at the monastery right now, and neither is Nya. The two of them took the shuricopter this morning with the intention to go ahead and follow a lead in Ninjago City."
And there was nothing wrong with them investigating on their own for a day or two, he reminded himself. They had been on the core team of the resistance against the Sons of Garmadon, and they knew very well how undercover missions worked.
Cyrus' voice, at any rate, revealed no uneasiness. "I understand. You boys are left to your own devices and will have to sort out your means of transportation on your own." He chuckled. "You know what, I'll send you my helicopter. I've always wanted to test its auto-pilot function. You may expect it in about half an hour."
"Oh, wow," Zane stated, surprised. "That's great. Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it," Cyrus replied. "You're welcome."
Zane began walking towards the elevator and was about to hang up the phone, but Cyrus had not finished yet.
"Zane. You're worried, aren't you?"
"What?" He paused, his hand already on the elevator button. "Why should I be worried?"
Cyrus sighed. "I know you, Zane, and I can hear it in your voice. But if Pixal trusts her abilities enough to pursue her own plan with Nya, you should as well."
"I … I do trust her." Zane was deeply embarrassed. How could his anxiety have been so obvious?
"Good," Cyrus replied. "She is very capable of handling herself. She has never had formal ninja training, but you've taught her a lot."
"You should not have to tell me this." Zane forced a little laugh. "I should be reassuring you, I suppose."
"I'm really saying this to reassure us both," Cyrus sighed with unexpected sincerity. "Years ago, I told her that if she wanted to be with you instead of performing assistant duties at my office, she should do so. I knew what it meant. But I've never once regretted that I said that. I've feared for her more than once – I've feared for you both, actually – but it is not my place to try and hold you back from the things you must do. I'm as proud of you two as any parent could be."
Zane suddenly felt a lump in his throat. Since his own creator had passed away, he had never assumed that anyone else could have fatherly feelings for him. "Thank you, Cyrus," he mumbled.
"Sorry for getting emotional," Cyrus suddenly chuckled, obviously intent on lifting the mood. "You haven't even told me what the girls are up to and I go off on a tangent like that. I'm sure they're absolutely fine!"
'They are looking for another billiard ball,' Zane could have said, and it would have made him feel utterly stupid.
"Yes, of course," he replied instead. "There's no reason to believe otherwise."