Author's Note: I really have to apologize for this one guys. Writer's block sucks all ass and I hate it! Argh! But, it's finally done and quite long too, so I hope you'll enjoy it all the way through. Little rhyme… I seem to be doing that a lot, huh?
Unexpected
By: Mad Betrayal
"Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend…"—Bill Watterson
Chapter 19 ~ Wrongfully Accused
"Umm…is there a problem, officers?"
"Yes Jay, I believe there is a massive problem at the moment," Zane whispered to the blue ninja at his shoulder. "And I also believe that another big "uh-oh" is in order…"
"What the hell is this?!" Kai erupted vehemently. "If Clouse actually even has a wife, we sure as shit didn't "steal" her! And a general?! Please! If you mean general of fucked-up spell-casters then I'd believe you! Wake up! You've all been hoodwinked!"
"Calm down, guys, and don't reach for anything. Lift your hands up," Cole ordered, raising his hands. And one-by-one his brothers followed suit, with Kai being the last and most reluctant.
The four Elemental Masters stood back-to-back in the middle of the reception area of Wolf Networks. Surrounded on all sides by the elite military forces of the New Ninjago SWAT Team, the situation looked bleak. Cole surveyed the surrounding area discreetly, looking for any possible means for his brothers and him to escape. Seeing none, he then scrutinized the soldiers themselves, searching for any weaknesses or flaws in their formation. But unfortunately, he found nothing to exploit in that aspect either, the armed men standing broad-shouldered and firm.
Dammit! Why didn't I see this coming?! The utter emptiness of this place should've alarmed me that something was up…
"Hoodwinked he says, humph! Are these the right ones, Lieutenant Steiner?"
"Yes commander! According to the data our source has provided us with, these culprits match the physical descriptions perfectly. However, we best run a biometrics scan on them just to be sure."
Cole's brow furrowed apprehensively. Source…?
"Right… DNA doesn't lie, after all… Jackson! Daniels! Step aside!"
The four Ninja turned their heads simultaneously to the duo of voices—one gruff and male, and the other stern and female—to see a couple of the SWAT members disperse neatly to allow two other soldiers within the circle. As expected, one was a tall and sturdy hulk of a man with a square jaw-line and a perfect, silvery crew-cut. His dark eyes were narrowed and sharp as he glared at the four Ninja, reminding Cole of a bird of prey on the hunt. His lieutenant on the other hand had a petite and wiry build, with naturally suspicious dark honey eyes behind sophisticated frames, and equally dark hair that fell in a loose ponytail over her right shoulder. Her full, rouge lips were pursed into a scowl, the small beauty mark along her chin looking out of place on such a stern visage. Both were decked-out in traditional black, bullet-proof tactical vests and soldiering black attire. And though both were armed with equally efficient fire-power, they lacked their comrades' riot shields and helmets.
In synchronized unison, the commander and his lieutenant shouldered their rifles with Steiner handing some sort of electronic device to her male counterpart.
"Okay…let's see…" The commander started towards the Ninja at a casual pace, as if he was coming to greet them not interrogate them. He stopped in front of Cole and lifted the device to the ninja leader's face. "Humph! You all look like you're barely out of your teen years…shame…"
Cole kept his expression nonaggressive and tried to reason with the older man. "Listen, commander, this is all a mistake—"
"Yeah, that's what they all say…" the man mumbled just as a green infrared beam scanned Cole's face. Dark brown eyes narrowed further. "…Cole Belmonte… Age: 22… Humph! You Italians. Ever since those Rocky Balboa movies came out y'all think y'all own the place…"
"What?!" Cole's mouth dropped. But before he could say anything else, the commander moved to Jay next.
Cole immediately felt Jay tense up beside him when the biometric scanner flashed its infrared light in his face. He knew that his best friend always felt exposed in front of them. He didn't even like it when Zane scanned him, despite it being for medical reasons. But this obviously isn't for medical purposes… This is for identity…and that means…
"Uhh…" Jay groaned.
A silver eyebrow cocked as the commander looked from the device to the blue ninja. "…Jay Walker…? Is that right? Jay Walker? I thought it flashed something else before that…" The soldier poked at the machine in his hand futilely and Jay's shoulders gradually loosened. Frowning, the commander eyed the shorter man pensively. "So that's it? You were born a criminal?"
"Hey!" Jay yelped with belligerence. "That's name-ism!"
Cole had a strong urge to face-palm. "Pretty sure that's not a thing, Jay…"
"Well it is now!" Jay countered, his sapphire eyes glinting with jolts at the commander. "You can't say things like that! There's no reason for you to be so disrespectful—"
"I think the last think you need to be worried about is "respect" little man. Or should I say…" he glanced up and down Jay's lithe frame mockingly, a smirk crossing his lips, "…woman…"
Time seemed to stop as Cole felt a powerful surge of electrical energy gather at his right. The air itself appeared to crackle with Jay's rampant element. Shit! In a desperate attempt to stop the situation from going any further downhill, the earth ninja opened his mouth. "Jay! Stop!"
But the lightning ninja's power only continued to mount, causing the biometric scanner in the commander's hands to spark and combust. The soldier grunted with pain, a spark crackling in his eye and dropped the device to the floor.
"Commander! Get back!" Lieutenant Steiner quickly brandished her gun and took aim at Jay. All the other firearms in the room cocked loudly at the ready as well.
"We don't have time for this, Cole," Jay snarled. "We need to warn the people of this city of the meteors' descent."
Cole held his submissive posture, hoping Kai and Zane held theirs too. "And we will," Cole reasoned, his eyes flickering from the now furious commander and his equally livid best friend. "But any transgressions towards these guys will only make us look guilty. We'll prove our innocence first, so c'mon… Please calm down."
Cole's words thankfully appeased to Jay and the Master of Lightning retained control of his element. The brunette then slowly lowered himself to the ground to retrieve the damaged biometric device. He held it out to the commander, his deep blue eyes still narrowed with anger. "We're not the enemy."
The older man said nothing for a time, and a tense stare down between soldier and ninja ensued. Before long, though, the commander "Humphed!" once more and took the device away from Jay. "So far, you're not convincing me," he growled.
The soldiers around the group were still tense, however, including Lieutenant Steiner. "Commander, your orders?"
The commander huffed and braced his hands on his hips. "Take a handful of men and escort these four down to the holding cells below that our source had us prepare. I'll contact him and rendezvous with you later." And with that, the commander turned on his heel and walked back the way he came, bypassing his lieutenant and exiting the circle of troops.
Lieutenant Steiner kept her assault rifle trained on Jay. "Yes, sir."
*~XxX~*
Cole and his team were promptly escorted down two flights of stairs below the ground level of Wolf Networks and into a large, cavernous room where a prison cell was oh so conveniently placed in the center. It was now painfully obvious that the Ninja had walked into a carefully orchestrated trap and that Clouse was the mastermind behind it. So then…could he also be the "source"? And if so, then how did he know that they were coming here to begin with? And why did he charge the Ninja with kidnapping his "wife" of all things? What game was he playing now? And did they have time to play it…?
"Get in. Nice and easy, all of you."
With their hands still up and held at gun point, the Ninja shuffled inside the cell in a single file line. And when Kai entered last, Lieutenant Steiner slammed the door shut behind him, producing a loud, resonant clang. The lone female then turned to the four soldiers under her command.
"McVries, Garraty, you two guard the front entrance. Olson, Baker, you two got the rear. Everyone is to keep a lookout for the commander and our source, is that understood?"
The four men saluted in unison. "Yes, ma'am!"
As the soldiers dispersed to carry out their orders, Lieutenant Steiner remained. Though she had lowered her gun, her grip on it was unyielding and steady, her index finger resting on the trigger. She leveled her distrusting gaze on the Ninja and watched them silently. Cole couldn't help but admire the woman's vigilance. Despite them being behind bars, she stood ready to attack them at a moment's notice. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with—a true soldier through and through.
Zane approached the woman and gripped the bars in front of him. "Excuse me," he began politely, "but might I inquire about the charge against us? While it is true my brothers and I are familiar with the name "Clouse", we are unaware that he has a wife. Would you mind clarifying for us?"
Steiner's sharp, honeyed eyes narrowed further. "Feigning ignorance is the first sign of guilt," she stated flatly, and Kai rolled his eyes.
"Tch! Then please, indulge us," he retorted sarcastically. But Steiner didn't give his insolence a second a thought and did as requested with blunt honesty.
"General Clouse has confirmed with us that he has been frantically searching for his wife for well over a month now without success. Which, as it turned out, was when his spouse was abducted. He said that they lived happily on a remote island to the far northeast of Ninjago and on the day of the abduction, his security cameras caught live footage of the criminal in the act."
"HA! You said "criminal"!" Jay exclaimed while pointing an accusatory finger at Steiner. "So what do you have to say about that?! Which is it?!"
But Steiner's stonewalled expression didn't change and she calmly replied. "Do not misunderstand. The claims against you all still have merit, since you were all deemed accomplices to the main perpetrator. The man caught on camera, a Mr. Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon."
Cole's eyes widened with disbelief. "Lloyd…?" Wait…this can't be right…then…
Jay shook his head. "No…then…the name of Clouse's wife is…"
"For privacy reasons he gave us the alias of "Brandy Tuda Bone". However, we are fully aware that General Clouse's wife is, in fact, a young man named Brad Tudabone," Steiner finished nonchalantly.
Cole's mind was reeling. There was absolutely no way that Brad lived "happily" with Clouse. The utter melancholy of Brad's tale of his abduction when he was young had seared itself in the earth ninja's mind, and the unadulterated hatred the raven held for Clouse was near palpable because of it!
Cole was knocked from his reverie, however, when Jay's fists collided forcefully with the prison bars. "No! You have it all wrong!" The blue ninja shouted. "Lloyd didn't kidnap Brad from a "loving" environment! It was a laboratory for crying out loud! Clouse was conducting inhumane experiments on him with another man named Chen! Lloyd rescued Brad from death! What's more, is that it's the other way around! Clouse was the one who kidnapped Brad from his home!"
"Where's your evidence of this?" Steiner countered stonily. "We have live video feed of Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon committing the act in General Clouse's home. There was no laboratory. Brad was sleeping peacefully in bed when the accused came in the night to abduct him. What say you to that? Are you denying that Brad Tudabone is not in your custody or in the custody of the accused?"
Flustered and upset, Jay answered immediately. "No! Brad is with Lloyd right now, but this is all wrong! Clouse or your "source" or whatever twisted the entire story! We aren't the bad guys! We—"
Cole grabbed Jay from behind and shielded the other's pained eyes with his hand. He met Steiner's detached expression with a fierce scowl. "Our evidence is Brad himself," he said with confidence. "If we called Lloyd and Brad here, and had them explain everything, would that be enough to drop the charges?"
Steiner was silent for a moment before she uttered. "It all depends… I'll run your terms over with Commander Hawkeye and our source when the time comes…"
"Lieutenant Steiner!"
The female officer answered the soldier who had burst through the door without a glance in his direction. "Yes, McVries?"
"The commander and our source are here, ma'am. And they wish to speak with you," McVries reported, and Steiner inclined her head.
"Understood."
When the lieutenant left, Cole kept his grip on Jay's trembling body and slowly lowered his hand from the other ninja's eyes.
"Jay? Are you alright, bro?" Kai asked worriedly and Zane looked at Jay with equal concern as well. The blue ninja's breathing was terribly erratic as if he was having a panic attack, and Cole hugged him close in an effort to comfort him, placing his lips next to the shell of Jay's ear.
"Hey, it's okay…" He whispered, keeping his voice gentle and soothing. "Nothing's going to happen to Lloyd or Brad, okay? We'll get this mess straightened out… Clouse won't get away with this… I promise."
Jay closed his glistening blue eyes tight, his voice barely above a whisper. "Dammit… Dammit… Brad isn't feeling well, Cole… How can he defend himself right now? And Lloyd… He's so protective of him… What if…"
Cole nuzzled Jay's chestnut locks affectionately. "It'll be fine… I promise. Don't get yourself worked up. Stay optimistic for me, okay? We still have a mission."
Appeased by Cole's words once more, Jay's body gradually relaxed as he took numerous deep breathes to calm himself. And he received even further encouragement from Kai and Zane, each wishing their emotional brother to regain his sanguinity.
Cole tried not to relish in Jay's closeness too much, but it was proving impossible since it had been quite some time since he had last held the brunette like this. The combined softness and hardness of Jay's body felt wonderful pressed up against his, and his fresh scent of apples and cinnamon was all the more enticing as it permeated his senses and brought peace to his own soul.
He missed this feeling so much, it actually hurt.
Jason…I promise everything will be okay…
"…Cole…? You can let go now… I'm okay, thanks…"
Emerald eyes snapped open, the ninja leader unaware that he had closed them in his tranquility. His startled eyes found Kai's smirking face and Zane's small grin, though, as he quite literally forced his arms to unwind themselves from around the azure ninja's comely physique.
He coughed awkwardly into a closed fist as Jay stepped completely out of his grasp, his cheeks dousing with red. "Yeah, okay—um… I'm glad—that's good… Uh…"
Jay turned and looked at him gratefully. "Sorry, it was weird of me to get so upset like that, huh?" He wiped the wetness from his eyes and plastered a smile on his face. "I don't really know what got into me. It was just instinct, I guess…"
"Maternal instinct," Zane clarified, still grinning. "Lloyd is extremely precious to you, Jay. And you've grown increasingly attached to Brad over the past eleven days as well. What you felt was a mother's divine nature to protect the lives and well-being of their offspring—regardless of blood." Zane's pure hazel optics became slightly downcast, though his grin remained. "I…I wish I had such instincts… I envy you sometimes, brother…"
"Zane…" Jay moved to comfort his nindroid brother. However, Kai beat him to it by placing the length of his finger under Zane's chin and gently coaxing his head up to meet his golden gaze.
"Don't count yourself out yet, Diamond," The fire ninja assured his opposite. "There's still plenty about yourself that you don't know about yet, remember?" He suddenly moved his face closer, smirking all the while. "Case and point…how far your infatuation goes with me…"
Zane smiled and moved Kai's hand so that it cradled his face instead. "Yes, I haven't forgotten, Kai."
The two ninja shared a smile between each other before Kai removed his hand and turned to Cole expectantly. "But right now…we're stuck. I can't believe this is happening."
"I can't believe Clouse would have the audacity to call Brad his "wife"," Zane chimed in.
"I can't believe it's not butter…" Jay included, shaking his head. And the other three masters looked at him. The blue ninja held up his hands defensively. "I know, I know, not the right time. But I felt like I had to say it."
But to everyone's surprise—including Jay's—Cole chuckled good-naturedly. "Heheheh…no… I think I finally understand now why you do that." Emeralds met sapphires adoringly. "Thanks, Jay."
Rendered speechless by Cole's gratitude, Jay could do nothing but blush and look away shyly while rubbing his arm.
Kai smirked while Zane reached over to his younger brother to pat his shoulder. "Yes, welcome back."
Cole took a breath and folded his arms. "Now back to business," he announced, eyeing his brothers seriously. "It's clear we've been framed—Lloyd especially."
"But how?" Kai wondered.
And recovering though still not able to look at Cole, Jay spoke up. "Well in this day and age it wouldn't be too difficult. Clouse knows our faces, plus I have no doubt that he acquired our DNA somehow during the Elemental Tournament at one point. He had the pieces, all he needed to do was put everything together to form his own elaborate ruse."
Cole nodded in agreement. "He didn't forget about Brad, that's for sure. This all may be a plot to get revenge upon us for defeating him and Chen, but Brad is Clouse's main objective. He wants to recapture him."
"He may have gone back to procure Brad at the lab after everything was over," Zane speculated. "And upon realizing the lab's destruction, he must've figured out that Brad escaped somehow. And he knew he couldn't have done so by himself. So then, Lloyd must've left some incriminating evidence of his involvement in Brad's rescue in the aftermath."
"He had to. But I think all of you are not seeing one fucked-up thing." Everyone turned to Kai confusedly, and the crimson ninja frowned. "How in the hell did Clouse know we we're going to show up here at this. Precise. Moment? Who the hell is this "source"? Somehow, I'm not thinkin' its Clouse himself anymore. This is henchmen work…"
At that moment, the front doors to the room slammed open and in stepped the return of Commander Hawkeye, Lieutenant Steiner, and…someone the Ninja had never seen before, but had to have been the "source". The newcomer couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old. He was adorned in a very expensive-looking blue and white suit with matching dress shoes, and just had an overall aura of arrogance and superiority. His countenance was very attractive, almost too pretty to be a male. Smirking deviously, he waltzed into the room without a care, his steps placed right in front of the other like a model on a runway. He flicked his long, perfectly cut blonde hair over his shoulder and approached the cell the Ninja were in. He stopped before it and placed a manicured finger on his bottom lip and tapped it idly.
"Yes, yes, these are them…four out of five I see. No matter, I'm sure the red-eyed devil will be along soon enough…" the mysterious young man purred, his slanted violet eyes glinting mischievously at the four Ninja.
Steiner stepped forward. "Yes, as I have said before, they wish to contact Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon and have him bring Brad Tudabone with him. Then we shall hear Brad's story from his own lips."
The mysterious young man shrugged hopelessly and shook his head. "If he is able that is. It has been over a month, after all." The look he gave the Ninja then was all too smug. "Who knows what these beasts have done to someone so frail and helpless."
Cole's face darkened considerably. "Who are you?"
The man gave Cole a coy smile and began twirling his finger around a strand of his golden hair. "My name is Alex Wilde, daring news reporter who stops at nothing to get the latest scoop…regardless of any danger."
"Tch! Must be new," Jay glowered. "Cuz I think I'd remember someone as pompous as you foggin' up my T.V. screen."
Alex barked out a laugh and eyed Jay smoothly. "You just need a better T.V." Flicking his hair out of his eyes in a showy manner, Alex glanced at the two soldiers over his shoulder. "Anyway commander, you've witnessed firsthand how unnaturally dangerous these beasts are, right? Now you understand why I advised against handing them over to the nearest precinct. For these special types of beasts need to be…properly caged."
Alex tapped the bar in front of Cole's face, but the earth ninja didn't take the bait. He had no plans to escape anyway. And whoever this "Alex Wilde" was wasn't going to get in their way of proving their innocence.
"Argh! Enough of this!" Kai snarled, taking out his cell. "I'm calling Lloyd."
"Not with your phone you're not!" Hawkeye snapped. "Lieutenant, take this ruffian to the back to let him use one of the station's phones. We have those tapped so we can listen in. I don't want any surprises."
"Fine, let me out then," Kai demanded, and Steiner moved to open the cell door. Zane quickly took hold of the fire ninja's hand as he passed him.
"Kai, please be careful," he voiced quietly, and Kai reciprocated with his usual confident smirk in place.
"Of course, I'll be right back."
Steiner cocked her gun up to Kai's face when she opened the door, of which the Master of Fire promptly rolled his eyes at. "Geez, you need to get laid…and fast," he muttered, and the two left the room in a matter of strides.
"Okay, now that we have that underway, can we finally tell you guys why we're here?" Jay asked with clear exasperation, and Alex scoffed.
"Oh? It wasn't to force yourselves on T.V. to demand a ransom for Chen's precious wife?"
Cole blinked. Though Alex's tone was clearly mocking, the utter distain on his face seemed more directed at Brad than Jay. As if…in jealousy. But nonetheless, Jay scoffed the blonde right back. "No you blonde dick! We came to warn New Ninjago City of an incoming meteor shower!"
"Yes…you mentioned something like that back in the lobby," Hawkeye said with a fair amount of chariness as he frowned at Jay.
Alex laughed outright, however. "Oh boy! People will say just about anything to get out of going to prison nowadays!"
"It's the truth, chicken-head! Look!" Jay immediately reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his flash drive. He held it up and through the bars for the two men to see. "We have proof! It's on here! So if you would just open this damn door and—Hey!"
Before Jay could even finish his sentence, Alex snatched the flash drive right out of his hand. The blond then inspected it suspiciously.
"Could it be true?" Hawkeye asked, now more alert than ever.
"Hmm…who knows," Alex replied, tossing the flash drive carelessly over his shoulder at the soldier who caught it reflexively. "Why don't you go back upstairs to check it on the nearest computer, commander? I'll remain here…"
Something was really strange about Alex's devil-may-care attitude, and Cole couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about the guy. Commander Hawkeye, however, nodded once and left the room. Cole met Alex's seemingly indifferent stare. "You're about to be outed," he said. "Shouldn't you be a little bit more worried?"
Alex folded his arms and shook his head in mock-sympathy. "You Ninja are such idiots…" he sighed, a smirk readily curving the edge of his lips. "Ah hell, who am I kidding? Even those soldiers are complete idiots. So easily manipulated… Lord Clouse was right…as he always is…"
Cole was getting an extremely bad vibe from the guy in front of him. "Who are you…really?"
Alex casually stretched his arms over his head. "Ahhh…I do suppose my little pretense is no longer needed…" The long-haired blonde winked playfully at the three before suddenly being engulfed by a purplish-black miasma.
"What the hell?!" Jay exclaimed, jumping back, but Cole stoically stood his ground. When the thick fog dissipated, Alex remained. Only now he was wearing some sort of figure-hugging, one-piece, black ensemble that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. His long, graceful fingers peeked-out from the long sleeves of his suit as well as his toes, though all his nails were painted violet. His wrists and ankles were adorned with amethyst-studded gold bangles, and his hair—which had fell behind his shoulders at first—was now held up in a high ponytail, with a silky, lengthy purple ribbon elegantly holding his golden locks in place.
Alex fluttered his long, dark lashes at the Ninja, the glittering gold eye shadow around his eyes bringing out the deep violet within them perfectly. He then bent his lithe, curvaceous body at the waist to perform an elegant bow similar to that of a ballerina after a performance, and smirked wickedly.
"I am Eros. One of Lord Clouse's Seven Deities," he said, straightening up. With a sensuous chuckle, he reached in between the bars and ghosted his fingers across Cole's chest. "I am every woman and man's erotic desire…" he purred, and Cole grimaced at the hand touching him. "…Care to find out what my element is, beefcake?"
Almost immediately a bolt of lightning surged forth at Eros, but the blonde quickly cancelled out the element with a crack of his golden-thorned whip that materialized out of nowhere into his hand.
"Back off, Tinkerbell 2.0," Jay growled heatedly. "There's no reason for you rub your pixie dust on anyone."
Eros laughed joyously. "Oh? Has heaven and earth become one? Does he tickle your fancy? Float your boat perhaps?"
The Master of Lightning gawked for a moment, his face flushing crimson before he gritted his teeth angrily and shouted. "The buoyancy of my boat is none of your damn business, you stupid succubus!" Jay raged. "Just tell us what Clouse is planning before I rip your tongue out and feed it to the nearest dog!"
Eros continued to chortle, twirling his dangerous whip with practiced ease before making it disappear. "Hahahahaha! Looks like I hit a raw nerve indeed! How I adore that outraged expression on your face, my precious blue bolt!" he cackled with utter glee, but then sobered up. His lips upturned into a coy smile. "But I have no qualms about relinquishing a few of my lord's secrets. After all, he would surely enjoy watching you all struggle."
The blonde spun in a quick circle as if rehearsing a dance move, giving the Ninja his half-hearted attention. "As dim-witted as you all are, I'm at least sure you've figured out Brad's godlike ability to manipulate Mana, as that is one of the main reasons why Clouse wants the brat back." Eros gave a small snort of derision before continuing. "But there is also another… It is the reason why he is calling the brat his wife…"
Eros showed the Ninja his back then, haughtily folding his arms across his chest. "My lord is fully aware of the meteor showers' coming, for he has been anticipating it for quite some time now. For with their descent the purpose of women all over the world will become obsolete… Men will truly become the undisputed superior gender…"
"Just what are you implying…?" Zane questioned with a perplexed frown. "Equality among genders has long-since been established in this world with maybe only a few exceptions. It's illogical to assume all that would change just because of a meteor shower."
Eros rolled his eyes and tapped two fingers to his temple dramatically. "Absolute idiots…" he sighed, and glanced at the Ninja over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Men and women were never created equal, my lovely ice prince. For there was always something women could do that men could never even dream of doing themselves… Think about it…"
Cole's eyes slowly widened with realization, his latest dream rushing to the forefront of his mind. He recalled Jay's blushing face as he shyly looked up at him:
"Oh…uh…I-I just thought of something," he said, stuttering slightly and Cole cocked a thick eyebrow, Jay's hand still pressed to his lips.
"Hmm?"
"With this—me being pregnant or rather men being able to conceive with each other—Brad's premonition has reached full circle."
Cole blinked and lowered their joined hands. "Yeah, you're right…" He remembered that day, as it was a precursor to his and Jay's struggle to try to let go of their feelings for each other. More on Jay's part than his, but it was indeed significant. Half of New Ninjago City had been destroyed by the meteors…"destruction", but the mystical spores they had brought with them gave the Ninja "new powers", as well as gave men the capability to give "new life".
Cole's heart pounded soundly in his ears as the dream left his mind's eye in a flash of white. Eros must've noticed the ninja leader's expression, for he instantly smirked. "Ah, I see not all of you flunked Sex Ed. Hmph! I'll allow the brat to remain in your custody a little while longer. But know this…as long as he does, we'll always be aware of your every move…"
"What?!" Jay yelped, but Eros carried on without a hitch in his speech.
"Now heed my parting words Ninja…" the blonde wagged his finger rhythmically from left to right. "Tick-tock, tick-tock… How long has it been since you've last seen a clock…?" And in another abrupt coming of miasma, Eros disappeared from the room altogether. With nothing but his maniacal laughter echoing off the walls as his element evaporated.
The Ninja searched the room for any other sign of him, but found nothing.
"Argh! What a freak!" Jay erupted suddenly. "All that came flyin' out of that fairy-boy's mouth was terd after terd after terd! Stupid unitard-wearin'—and there are seven of those quacks?! Well Merry-freakin Christmas to us! And you!" The blue ninja pointed accusingly at Cole, his sapphire eyes blazing with blue fire. Cole's eyebrows rose to his hairline at his best friend's infuriated but still somehow beautiful visage. "How could you just let him…touch you like that?!" he bellowed furiously. "Those bony fingers of his could've been dipped in poison! So I probably just saved your life!"
Cole could almost see the steam rising from the shorter man's head. But for the life of him couldn't fathom why the brunette was seething with so much anger. Unless… The earth ninja's heart skipped a beat. "Jay…? Were you jealous of—"
"Jealous of what?!" The azure ninja roared, making Cole wince at the volume. "Of that no-good gigglin', tip-toein', ass-kissin—!"
Jay suddenly stopped mid-rant, his deep blue eyes wide and unblinking as he stared at nothing. Worried, Cole called to him. "Jay…? What's wrong?" When he received no reply—or even motion from the other ninja, he decided to reach for him. Only to be stopped by Zane's firm grip on his wrist.
"No Cole, don't touch him or you'll be electrocuted," the ice ninja warned, his face stern but also knowing as he looked from one brother to the other. "Do you not recognize his state of mind right now?"
Cole gave pause at Zane's words, but then peered deeply into Jay's expressive sapphire eyes. Lightning coursed frenetically within the blue depths, signaling that the brunette had been spirited away by his element. But it only lasted a few seconds, for Jay suddenly inhaled a deep, startling breath, his eyes blinking rapidly as the lightning within them disappeared vein by vein.
"…Massive…" he breathed raggedly. "…So big—huge…"
"Jay? What is it?" Cole asked, alarmed.
Deeming it safe now, Zane placed his hand on Jay's shoulder. "What did you see, brother?"
Jay braced his palm against his temple, his face contorted with a mixture of pain and awe. "A storm… An incredibly huge electrical storm is brewing… It'll begin soon…" The Master of Lightning then lifted his consternated gaze to his brethren. "…Eros's parting words…"
Cole immediately blanched as horrific realization hit him full force. The real reason for Eros's involvement wasn't to procure Brad…at least not yet. It was to stall for time… It was to see the sheer pandemonium befall an ignorant city… It was to see countless lives lost…
No…
"Tick-tock, tick-tock… How long has it been since you've last seen a clock…?"
Cole turned to Zane quickly. "What time is it?!"
"It's…" Zane blinked, "…approximately twelve o'clock… It's midnight, Cole… It's December 12th…"
Author's Note: In keeping with the show's seamless tradition, I gotta give Kai and Jay all the best lines. ;) Get ready for some adrenaline pumpin', heart-stoppin' action next chapter! Please don't forget to leave your thoughts and feedback!