Chapter 6: Confrontation

Zane P.O.V.,15 minutes prior to "The Siege"

"Convey the plan again," I whispered to a nearby radio operator.

"Yes sir! Initiate a mock fight with us whilst making a large racket, baiting the ninja to investigate. When they see you, they will rush to help. Then we will feign defeat, and retreat, while the Ninja take you in once again, assuming they have you in their care once again. Once you are in the Ninja's home, pretend that you miraculously made it out, wait until they sleep, bind their hands, and return to the rendezvous point with the Ninja in tow," the comms handler replied quietly.

"Thank you, now please alert Cryptor that I have initiated Phase One, and that he may begin our mock duel," I commanded.

"Wilko. Raven One, this is Raven Two, Phase One is a go, I repeat, Phase one is a GO," the Nindroid reported.

"Ten-four, Raven Two. See you on the other side," Cryptor confirmed on the other end of the radio.

oOo

Nya P.O.V., 3 minutes prior to "The Siege"

"Uh, Kai! Truth or Dare!" Jay shouted out of the blue.

"Huh? Wh-what? Dare?" Kai jumped from the couch, where he had been peacefully sleeping.

"Ha! Gotcha there! Now kiss Cole!" Jay teased.

"Wait, what? Why do I have to be in the dare?" Cole asked.

"Oh, you're so getting it now, zap trap," Kai growled. "You've got 'till the count of ten, so you better start running."

"Like you could ever catch me!" Jay squealed, running away quickly.

"But I will!" Cole shouted.

I love those idiots, I thought to myself. I walked out onto the deck of the Destiny's Bounty, admiring the view of the full moon, when I heard swords clashing and a cry of pain. It was a sound I had not ever heard from a very specific person, yet I knew the voice very well. Zane.

I bolted back in, to the sight of Cole and Kai pinning Jay's arms to the ground, trying to get him to apologize.

"GUYS, STOP! Zane's outside fighting somebody, we need to go help him!" That got their attention.

"Are you sure?" Cole asked, stoic as ever.

I nodded. "I heard a cry of pain, but I know it was him," I replied.

"A cry of pain? Zane never complains or make a sound about his injuries. They must've beat him up bad!" Kai realized.

"You're right. Let's go get back our brother before it too late!" Cole rallied.

"What's going on, why are you guys shouting?" Lloyd walked in, clearly having just awoken from a nap, asked blearily.

"We found Zane. Or rather, Zane found us. But he brought some friends with him," Cole informed.

That woke Lloyd up. "Let's go then, what are we waiting for?" he shouted. "C'mon, we don't have all day, now!"

Cryptor P.O.V., Phase One of "The Siege"

There is no way that the ninja will fall for this, I'm not attacking aggressively enough, I thought, urging myself to push Zane a little more than I was supposed to. His icy blue eyes betrayed a look of surprise for a moment, but he quickly covered it up with a counter to the light push I gave him. I noticed his shoulders tense, a telltale sign that he was about to strike.

He lunged, a basic attack, easy to counter. I easily countered with a riposte, followed by a lunge of my own. He stumbled back, but simply got back up. He chuckled quietly, but loud enough for me to hear. Loud shouting caught both of our attention, but we kept fighting, for the sake of looking realistic.

"Hey! Leave our brother alone!" The black ninja yelled.

Zane's face darkened. Clearly he didn't like being associated with him. Perfect. He nodded slightly, my cue to hit him with such force he would be propelled back towards the Ninja, and more Nindroids would flood into the forest's remote clearing.

I disarmed him, and punched him in the gut with enough pressure to break three bricks, stacked. However, Zane, and all other Nindroids, had frames made of titanium, so the worse thing that happened to him was a small dent on his control panel.

As more Nindroids flooded into the area, a fight ensued. To my left, the black and red ninja were fighting a group of heavily armored specialists. To the right, the blue and white Ninja fought a squad of infantrymen, a meager task for Zane, as he had previously fought and two entire battalion before being overwhelmed by a third.

Now is the time, I thought. "Retreat!" I bellowed.

Multiple staff sergeants quickly repeated the order to all their troops, signaling the beginning of Phase Two.

Lloyd P.O.V., 8 minutes following initiation of "Phase Two"

"Zane!"

"You're back!"

"What did they do to you?"

"Guys! Stop! You're gonna kill Zane before he even gets to rest!" I shouted.

The room became silent. If we were on land, I would've sworn you would hear the grasshoppers chirping.

"Ah, thank you Lloyd. Please tell me brothers, what would you like for dinner?" Zane asked, already walking towards the kitchen.

"Wait, what?! You just escaped from the grasp of evil Nindroids, and you ask what we want for DINNER?! You, good sir, are crazy," Jay announced.

Zane just nodded, but for a second I thought I saw a glint of evil in his ice blue eyes. I quickly banished the thought. Zane would never turn evil, why do you think he would all of a sudden? I asked myself.

After great consideration, A.K.A. a vote, we decided on gyūdon, or beef bowl, with a side of tofu. In the grand scheme of things, it should've taken Zane no more than an hour and a half to prepare, cook, and serve, but after half an hour, I went to check on him.

"Hey Zane, how are you?" I asked.

No response.

"Zane? You ok there? Zane?" I repeated.

He started to shake, and I realized what he was looking at. A set of knives. More specifically, his set of knives. He quickly slid down to the floor, his face blank. Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed mine. He pulled me down to his level, and whispered, "I can't control it. Good luck,don't believe anything I say, and do not hesitate to strike if the time comes." He then quickly got back up, like nothing ever happened, and began cutting various sorts of meats and vegetables for tonight's dinner.

*Cue dramatic bum bum bum!* Before i forget, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! I will be on hiatus 4/26/18 - 5/5/18 because I will be on vacation, somewhere. close friends who read this will know where I'm going, but you will not. I'm hoping to get 2-4 chapters up before the vacation, and I think it will be doable, considering this was written and approved in two days(YAY!), so yeah, hiatus soon=no chapters=sadness for me (hopefully) you, the average reader. on that note, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and plot twist, and cookies for all!

-Titan's Shadow