Subterfuge
Zane couldn't help but be amused by Kai's stunned reaction to one of his many abilities. He turned to face the ruddy haired man, unable to hide the grin. "Stand over there," he pointed to the topside of the toppled tree, ten or twelve yards away. "You will lead them to this side of the tree and give them a good chase. I will do the rest."
Kai stared at him, caught between shock and rebellion. "Why?" Was all he could make his tongue say.
Zane gave him an impatient look and let the smile drop. "Have a better plan?" His left fist was still clenched tightly, and he could feel the buzz of the laser, just itching to be freed and do some damage to the trees.
Kai shook his head and took off toward the other end of the tree without another word.
Zane stood on the balls of his feet, poised to run. He stood at the charred stump of the tree and watched as Kai ran out about twenty feet in the stone army's direction, then tossed a large pebble at one of the warriors closest to him, still a good thirty or so paces off. My goodness, Zane thought. Kai is strong. The fact that Kai had actually hit the soldier from that far off suggested superior motor coordination and strength.
The samurai that got hit with the rock shouted out in anger, even though anyone with half a brain, let alone a sophisticated computer brain like Zane, could tell that it didn't hurt the brute. It was the obvious challenge of authority that infuriated the black warrior.
Zane watched as Kai took off running away from the angry stone samurais. No, Kai! He shouted in his mind. You're going the wrong way, you fool!
Kai was running back the way he came, to the far end of the tree. All of the warriors, at least forty in total, took up the chase and ran at full speed after the man. Thankfully, even at their highest speed they were slower than Kai, who must have had a massive adrenaline rush at the terror of having an angry invincible army on his tail.
Zane pursed his lips and growled, his feet shuffling as his mind scrambled for a new plan. Kai was supposed to come to him, to the cut end of the tree, not the far end. Had he not been clear on that point? Perhaps not...
He shot for the other end of the fallen tree, gravel flying behind him as he ran. He looked through the thick branches at Kai's position every few seconds.
At his current speed, he would barely get there in time. "Faster, Kai!" He shouted as he reached the other end of the tree. His eyes fell upon another tree that was practically in the river. He stood next to it with his buzzing fist and waited another second for Kai, who was breathing heavily when he skidded to a stop a couple feet from Zane.
He threw the Nindroid a look full of frustration and rage as he spoke. "H-honestly, Zane," he panted. "What was the point of that?"
Zane resisted the urge to reach out and slap the man. "You went the wrong way, Kai!" He said quickly, more frustrated and annoyed than angry. "Now hurry up and run to the other end of the tree, where I was standing a moment ago." He pointed with his right hand. "Now this is important, Kai." He said in a stern voice, pointing his finger at the man's chest. "Stop running about five feet from the base of the tree and wait for me. No matter what happens, wait." His eyes bore into Kai's head. "Can you do that?"
Kai nodded. "I think so," he panted.
Zane wanted to give him a lecture on the difference between 'I think so' and 'I know so,' but he did not have time. He looked to his right, at the raging warriors that were gaining ground swiftly, and shoved Kai in the direction he wanted him to go. "Go now!" He shouted. He darted around the trunk of the huge tree and crouched down, grateful that the warriors were too focussed on the hotheaded man to even consider him.
He watched Kai run for a few seconds before he was forced to duck and hide his face in the thick branches, because the stone army was beating past him with their heavy boots that made horrible grating noises against the gravel, and they might see him.
Zane closed his eyes and cooly counted to eight before reopening them and looking around again. The last few samurais were passing between the standing tree and the end of his fallen one. He took a deep breath and got to his feet, then looked at the base of the tree and opened his palm.
The blue beam of light made no sound as it leapt from his hand, as if glad to finally be freed after several minutes of dormancy. He cut the tree in one swift motion, then watched it begin to fall just as the very last warrior crossed his invisible line. He pushed the huge tree with all his might, and it fell with a great cracking and snapping of branches, creating a barrier between his first fallen tree and the river. Somehow, the warriors failed to notice the activity behind them.
He chuckled in satisfaction and clenched his fist again, then pressed the button in his panel and killed the beam in his hand. He sloshed through a shallow section of the water, then back onto the gravel on the other side of the fallen tree. He peered though the branches and saw that Kai was still running.
He wrapped his fingers around a few huge branches at the base of the tree and lifted it carefully, then pushed the end with all his might into the river a good six or so feet, to where the rocky bottom substrate of the river suddenly plummeted several feet and became too deep and swift for anyone to get around the tree safely without extreme caution.
His foot caught on a rock suddenly, and fire seemed to run up his leg as he fell to the ground with a terrible cry of pain.
He grunted as he slowly got back onto his feet, and he bit his lip to keep from screaming again as his vision doubled. I must have twisted my knee, he thought angrily as he examined the tree. Good enough, I guess...
Zane didn't have much of a choice now, anyway. He was injured, and Kai was about to be slaughtered at the other end of the tree. He forced himself to ignore the pain and ran as fast as he could to the other end of the tree. I'm coming, Kai.
Nya stared at Pixal's horse in disbelief as it carried its master off, half dragging the stunned Jay with it in the sudden canter.
"What just happened?" Driniah asked in a hushed tone as she remounted her horse.
Kaytake shrugged. "It looks like she got a call from Lloyd, and I need to leave soon." He said it more as a question than as a statement.
His wife shook her head. "You should leave now," she said. "It will take several hours to make it to King Garmadon's castle."
Nya nodded and nudged he horse forward so she could move over to where her mother's beast stood. "I agree, father," she said. "If Pixal says it's urgent, you don't want to keep them waiting."
Kaytake gave her a worried look. "But you are hurt, Nya." He said in a worried tone. "I'd hate to run off on you two at a time like this."
Driniah scoffed, a light smile on her face as she spoke. "Please, just go. We will be fine, I assure you." She pointed in the direction Pixal had gone a moment before. "Your duty is to the king. I can handle Nya."
Kaytake's eyes traveled between his wife's firm blue eyes and his daughter's soft brown ones. He looked behind him, in the direction Driniah pointed, and sighed heavily. "Okay," he said reluctantly. He dipped his head slightly, then raised it and went to the older woman's horse. He took her hand and kissed it lightly, a fire-like twinkle in his brown eyes. "I'll go, love." A grin twisted his lips. "I see that I'm not wanted here."
Nya allowed herself a giggle. The first since last night, with her brother. The sudden thought almost pulled her head back into the dark hole she had been in earlier that day. But she stopped the momentum and spoke in a lighthearted tone. "We would love nothing better than to have you here, father." She furrowed her brows in pain when the light laugh sent needles through her abdomen.
Driniah caught her daughter's drift and finished the statement with a firm tone. "But we would also like Garmadon's guidance on how to get our son back." She squeezed her husband's hand. "Surely you have the same sentiments, Kay?"
Kaytake allowed the little flame to die down in his eyes. He nodded resolutely and spoke in a soft tone. "Did you ever doubt it, love?" He let go of her hand and went over to Nya's horse.
He patted her leg gently and smiled. "I'll see you in a day or two, if all goes well."
Nya caught his hand and held it tightly. She feared it might have been too tight, but she didn't really care. "Good luck, father." She smiled as best she could, curving the corners of her mouth upward slightly. "I will await your safe return."
Kaytake grinned. "There's the positive attitude, daughter." He turned to his horse and leapt into the saddle with ease. "Malian," he addressed the man standing in the trees.
The general kicked his horse forward and bowed his head in respect as he approached. "Yes, my Lord?"
Kaytake gestured to the women and spoke. "Two of your men will come with me. You and the others will go with my family back to the estate."
The Malian raised his head and waved out a set of commands to his men without turning his head. Two men came and stood on either side of their Southern lord at attention, their red cloaks tickling the flanks of white horses.
Kaytake nodded in approval and leaned in close to Malian's ear. "I want guards on my wife and child at all times, general." He whispered. "Sir Cole may try to take them."
Malian's face darkened. "With all due respect, sir," he whispered back, understanding that his lord did not want the ladies to hear this conversation. He held up his hand and waved it dismissively. His men immediately turned and guided the women away, toward the manor, without a word.
He continued speaking in a normal tone when they were out of hearing range. "You know we would fight to our deaths for you and our good king Garmadon. But the sharpest blade in the kingdom would not scratch one of the Dark Knight's stone warriors."
The Southern realm's lord nodded and spoke patiently. "Do not think the fact escapes me, Malian." He said slowly. "But I do not ask you to fight. You are to guard. At the first sign of danger, you are to take them to a safe place, and send men to contact me." He turned his horse slowly as he finished his words. "I am going to find the weapons that can help us defeat those vile creatures, and send them back to the Dark Island."
Malian's face registered confusion. "There are weapons that can destroy the Overlord's men?"
"Indeed," Kaytake said. "Yes, my dear friend, there are four of them. They are swords, actually. And I am off to assist Garmadon in collecting their owners." He gestured toward the mansion. "Go now, and do not disappoint me." He smiled.
Malian smiled back. "Have I ever done so before?" He spurred his horse forward, leaving his lord alone with the two men.
Kaytake immediately kicked his own horse's flank. "Come," he said in an authoritative voice. "We need to catch up to Lady Pixal, and that vagrant she picked up somewhere along the way." He continued along for several minutes before catching sight of them a good distance ahead.
He examined the man Pixal had bound and running next to her horse with curiosity. There's something about that man, He thought to himself. He has an aura about him like my son and Zane...
He decided to address the suspicion when he reached the castle.
Kai ran for all he was worth in the direction Zane had shoved him, and did not dare to look back for fear that it might slow him down.
He heard the sound of many trampling feet chasing him, and wondered how they were going to run past Zane without seeing him. That man has the strangest abilities, he told himself. I have to admit, he is no fool. He has a plan, and I think I trust him enough to know he doesn't plan on getting us both caught.
He reached the end of the tree before remembering where Zane had told him specifically to stand. Get it right, you dunce. He ran about five feet back into the gap between the tree and the raging water, then pulled up short. The warriors were advancing slowly again, snarling and cackling evilly, speaking to each other in their throaty, guttural tongue.
Kai let out a short gasp when he looked beyond the warriors, to the newly chopped tree that lay partially in the water, perpendicular to the last one, making a sort of cage. However, he noted, my side of the trap is open. What good will this plan of his do us when I am stuck here, inside of his cage, with a good sized army of invincible warriors bent on killing me?
His eyes traveled back to the black stone men before him, and he bit the inside of his cheek. A sharp, metallic taste filled his mouth, and he knew he had drawn blood. Where are you, Zane? He asked impatiently. If this is some kind of crazy trust building exercise, I don't think it's funny.
"Kai!" He heard Zane's voice, and he turned his head quickly to see where the Nindroid was. His pulse spiked. You're injured, Zane! He took off running for the limping man, who was still a ways off.
Kai ran to Zane's side and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "Where to?" He asked. "I am going to assume this wasn't part of the plan?"
Zane glared at him, his face a deep red from exertion. "Don't even go there," he growled. He took a deep breath and glanced between the forest and his failed trap. "I don't think we can do anything," he said. "My injury is too serious for me to run without hurting myself further. You just run."
Kai looked at him with wide eyes. "You want me to leave you here?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, my friend. That isn't going to happen."
"Either we both get caught," Zane reasoned. "Or you run, and I get caught. Pick your poison."
Kai considered this a moment. 'I wasn't planning on escape, my friend,' Zane's voice came to him in a memory of earlier that morning. 'My plan was companionship, not escape. My goal was to protect you, and see if I could eventually find a route of escape after we were already on the island.'
Kai sucked on the bite mark in his cheek for a moment before giving his answer. "I am staying with you, Zane." He hated himself for saying it, but at the same time, it made him feel better. "Come what may, I'm not leaving your side." He scooped Zane unceremoniously into his arms and began to run.
"Kai!" Zane struggled to wrest himself free of the Southern nobleman's grasp. "Please, I'll only slow you down."
"Not a chance," Kai shot back. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not abandoning you here."
"How heroic," a voice spoke up with mild humor to Kai's left.
Kai pulled up short and whirled his head toward the speaker. The hairs rose on the back of his neck. "What are you doing here, Dark Knight?" He said harshly.
Sir Cole stepped out of the trees, a small smile on his face. "Come with me, quickly." He ran into the trees, the way he had first come from.
Kai filled his mouth with saliva and spat on the ground. "Not on your life." He growled, though he knew Cole could not hear it.
"Follow him, Kai." Zane said firmly. "Do you have a better plan?"
Kai glanced behind him, and heard the sound of angry stone warriors in pursuit. "I don't trust him."
"Do you trust me?" Zane asked, a stone expression on his face.
Kai hesitated. "Yes," he said slowly. "I think so."
"Then follow him, now." Zane said harshly. "If you trust me, you will do as I say."
"Fine," Kai spat. He took off after Cole, once again feeling an intense hatred toward Cole, Zane, and himself. He wished that he could be assertive for once, but also knew it just wasn't in his blood. He could never be like his father, or his sister. He was his mother through and through.
He followed the black cloak in front of him for several minutes before the man turned to face him, and they both can to a stop next to an outcropping of large boulders on the side of a hill.
Cole gestured to the rocks, then walked into the boulders and disappeared. "Come on, Red Knight." His voice traveled back to Kai's ears, sounding muffled and distant. He did as he was told, and stepped up to the boulders. To his mild surprise, he saw that, if approached at the right angle, the dark mouth of a small cave became visible.
He stepped over a few small boulders, being extra careful not to hit Zane's head on any rocks. The cave was damp, and smelled a little musty. He squinted in the dim light and ducked low, because the ceiling was no higher than four feet in most places.
"Stop," Cole whispered, making Kai realize that he was about to run into the man. They must be at the back of the small cave. "You can rest now, but do it quietly. We don't want to be seen or heard."
Kai gently set Zane on the earthy ground, then went back to the mouth of the cave. He felt himself holding his breath when he saw a few stone warriors running past the mouth of the cave, bewildered by the fact that their prey had disappeared so suddenly.
He let out his breath and chuckled to himself in mock pity of the shortsighted samurais. He turned to face the others, the went to his knees next to Zane. "Cole," he whispered. "Why do they have such strange pursuit techniques?"
Cole let out a chuckle. "I know, it's strange." He whispered back. "But it's a good strategy, when you think about it. They run when you run, and they walk when you walk, or stand still. I've learned to just roll with it."
Kai shook his head and sighed. "It's just so...confusing." He looked at Zane's silhouette on the floor next to him. "Can you give us some light?" He whispered.
In response, Zane's head began to glow faintly. His face was contorted in pain and annoyance as he looked between Cole and Kai. "I think I can tell you with complete honesty," he said in a strained voice. "I have absolutely no clue what's going on."
Cole cleared his throat and sat down on the wall opposite of Kai and Zane. He seemed a little wary of the Nindroid's glowing head. "What happened, my dear prisoner," he began in a husky voice. "Is that Kai took you out of my protection, and the stone warriors found you." He threw a dark look in the red-shirted man's direction.
Kai stared back with the same dour expression. "You knocked him unconscious with a punch in the face," he said sourly. "I felt threatened, and you didn't exactly treat us like you wanted us around."
Cole's hand brushed against the hilt of his blade, the returned to his lap. "If I didn't want you around," each word was forced and full of hatred. "I would have left you with the stone warriors, and stayed in this cave all by myself."
Kai pointed a finger at Cole's face accusingly. "Or you could have left us alone on purpose, in a mad attempt to prove that we need you."
Zane watched at the argument in a half amused, half annoyed state of mind. "Can't trust anyone, can you, Kai?" He asked with a smile.
Kai whirled his head around and gave Zane the same stare he had drilled Cole with moments before. "Apparently not, Zane." He spat. "You-"
"I told you to follow our only hope out of the dilemma out there." Zane pointed to the mouth of the cave. "Can you look me in the eyes and tell me with complete honesty that you'd rather be with those monsters?" His voice was rivaling Kai's in anger intensity.
Kai blinked at the man, shocked by the change. This man was the calm, controlled one who never lost his head. But right now, the robot's glowing yellow face had a scowl that made him look possessed.
It was a fact not lost on Cole's part, either. The Dark Knight found his fingers trembling again at the sight of Zane's face. The bright, angry blue eyes were placed in sharp contrast with the orange yellow skin, and he found himself wondering if that was what the Overlord might look like, if he were to have a body.
Zane held the unwavering stare to Kai's face until the brown eyes drifted to the dimly illuminated earthy walls in defeat.
"Good," Zane said. He softened his face. "Now, to make things easier, I think we can all agree that we need to get along. If we can pretend to not hate each other for the next twenty four hours, we'll be heading down the right path."
Cole let a small smile cross his face. "Agreed."
Kai looked at Zane's face long and hard before giving a heavy sigh and nodding reluctantly. "Fine."
Pixal rode her horse in silence at a fast pace, not even acknowledging Kaytake's presence when he finally did catch up. Together, the two of them rode through the forest for miles upon miles.
After a while, Pixal could tell that they were getting close to the banks of the Dicara river. They would need to go upstream a good ways until they found the bridge in the narrowest part of the gushing, violent waters.
"So," Jay decided to break the silence. It made Pixal cringe, but she decided to let him speak, at least for a few minutes. Let him enjoy the freedom while he still had a head on his shoulders.
"I am going to assume you are the Lord Kaytake." Jay continued. He looked up at the middle aged man with a smile that seemed friendly and respectful.
"I am," Kaytake replied. "And you are..."
"Jay Walker." The young man replied, his deep blue eyes shining, as if there was something funny in what he had just said. "I met your daughter, Nya." He said after a moment. "She is a lovely girl."
Kaytake raised an eyebrow. "When did you meet her?"
"Last night." Jay realized that he probably wasn't helping himself by being so vague, so he quickly told his story, starting at the time that he first saw Sir Cole's ship the night before. Pixal interjected at random times with her own bits of information. Jay was more than a little bit enigmatic with the details of his capture, which humored Pixal greatly. Not that she could blame him, she honestly felt that she would feel the same way if she were in his stolen boots.
After he told his story, Kaytake was silent for a minute. "Thank you," he said eventually. "I do believe you saved my daughter's life."
Jay shrugged his shoulders, which were sore from being behind his back so long, and spoke nonchalantly. "No problem, sir. I mean, anyone else would do the same. I'm no killer, and I couldn't just leave her there, y'know?"
Kaytake's eyes lit up a little. This man was a ball of bubbling energy. In a way, it reminded him of his daughter. "Yes, I do know." He said with a nod. "You're a good man, Walker. It's a pity. If you were in my jurisdiction, I would have issued an official pardon for you."
Jay's eyes widened in surprise, but only for a moment. He blinked and leveled his gaze with his superior, nodding once. "It is kind of you to say so," he said with a slight smile. His scarred eyebrow raised slightly with the grin.
Pixal stopped her horse abruptly, and took in the surroundings. "Stop," she hissed. "My eagle senses something." She took in the rocky hill to their right, and listened closely to the river on their left.
Jay watched curiously as a bird landed on one of the large boulders. It let out a loud cry, then flew to Pixal's arm.
The blond woman held out her arm for the huge bird, and it landed tentatively, settling its taloned feet on her shirt. Jay was surprised that she didn't flinch. The talons looked sharp enough to puncture the skin in a blink, if it wasn't careful.
Pixal stared at it in the eyes for a long moment, as if making a telepathic bond with each other. Jay decided that it wouldn't surprise him. He traded a look with Kaytake and they both grinned, shrugging their shoulders.
Pixal's eyes widened, and she let out a gasp. The bird flew back to the boulder and let out a high pitched cry.
She leapt from her horse and over to the bird's side. "Zane?" She shouted loudly. "Where are you?"
Jay turned to Kaytake again and mouthed the words 'she's crazy' to the man. The Southern lord chortled and rolled his eyes, not bothering with an answer. Jay decided then that he really liked the man.
"Zane?" Pixal called out again. "The eagle says he could hear your voice. Please stop hiding." She scrambled around the rocks, looking under each one with mad fervor.
"Pixal?" Zane's voice carried through the rocks, and Pixal stopped short.
A frown crossed her face. "If this is a game, it's not funny!" She snapped back.
A man with reddish brown hair crawled out from the rocks, from a cave Pixal had not seen until now. She stared at the man for a long moment, trying to place him in her mind. "Kai?" She finally found his name. "Where is Zane?"
Kai got to his feet and wiped the dust from his knees. It was a futile attempt, of course. His clothes, Pixal decided, just needed a good wash. No one, let alone a nobleman, should be in such soiled clothing.
The man pointed to the hole he had just come through. "Zane's in there, with an injured knee. Can you-"
Pixal shot past him and crawled into the hole carefully, being especially cautious of her clothing. She had a white shirt, for goodness sakes. She had to stay clean. "Brother?" She spotted him immediately, because of his head, which was alight with a soft yellow glow. She got to her feet and crouched low, as to not bump her head on the low ceiling.
Zane frowned slightly at the sight of her. "How did you find me?" He said slowly. "I turned off my location for a reason, you know. I did not want to be found."
Pixal dropped to her knees next to him, finally giving up on cleanliness. The cave was too dirty for such luxuries. She wrapped her arms round him and pulled him into an embrace. "You're such a boar," she whispered. "Oh, I am so glad you're safe."
Zane returned the embrace and kissed her cheek. "It's only been a day, sister." He said. "But Kai is safe, and I suppose I can come home now."
A dark figure shifted suddenly in the shadows, and took a step toward the siblings. His green eyes seemed to glow in the dim light with his hatred. "No one is going home," Sir Cole spoke up. "You're all coming with me."