So before I start this chapter, I want to point somethings out.
•First, I cannot belive I'm on chapter ten already. It seems like forever ago when I started this, not expecting anyone to read this. I just wanna thank everyone who supported this story like Candaru, QueenoftheJordan, Spottedfrost7, YellowstoneWolf, Stories are Magic, Fangirlofitall, and many more. Sorry I couldn't list all of you, but know I still remember all of you guys!
•Second, all of this happens within the same, say two or three hours. I got a bit lazy, I admit, so it will only say "Current time" because it all happens at about the same time. I made these changes to avoid confusion, because this happens minutes after the last chapter. Before, each segment took place a few hours following the previous. So yeah, this might happen once or twice after this. With that out of the way, prepare for more drama. And (maybe) crying.
•Third, in case you haven't noticed, I've had to change the description from hurt/comfort and adventure to angst and adventure due to previous and current, incidents. I'm pretty sure that none of you guys are really going to be bothered by this, but to anybody who is, best you stop reading this from now on.
•Also there's more pain, so beware. I'm now gonna put the big WARNING sign this time, so just keep your eyes open if you're sensitive to that stuff.
Zane P.O.V., current time: 7:48 P.M.
"Look, he's awake!" A familiar voice exclaimed. I opened my eyes to see who was there.
I opened my eyes, expecting to see Cryptor, but hoping to see Pixal. Ah, Pixal. How I longed to see her beautiful face. Such a shame she did not reciprocate the same feelings as I.
However, I was greeted with the slightly unpleasant sight of Jay, who strangely was missing his left hand. Surely a prank, simply to scare us.
"Why is your hand not present, Jay?" I asked, now curious.
His face contorted to one of anger, then fear, and finally, confusion.
"Y-you mean, you don't remember?" He asked.
"Remember what?" I asked, my face blank. "I only remember being captured by General Cryptor and then being powered off so that the Nindroids could 'cleanse' me."
Cole growled. He was clearly unhappy. "How could you feign ignorance?! You took his hand! You, you monster!
"I-I don't understand. What do you mean? I have been inactive since Cryptor shut me down," I protested.
"You traitor. Get out. Just, leave. Go be with your real brothers, or whatever."
So I did what was requested of me. I left. Without a clue of where I was, or what had happened.
Cryptor P.O.V., current time: 7:55 P.M.
NEW DIRECTIVE: REPORT TO OVERLORD
DIRECTIVE ACKNOWLEDGED
So, I was now tasked with meeting our master. No doubt to report how the operation was going. Upon entering the large room where the Overlord resided, a juggernaut stopped me and asked for my serial number. Odd, perhaps they finally decided to upgrade their security.
"Serial identification must be proven to further proceed," the hulking soldier stated.
"Acknowledged. Serial number 001-100-015."
"Serial identification confirmed. Access granted."
I walked into the grand throne room, to see the red ninja chained to the ground, helpless as a pup. It was quite amusing, but a small nagging feeling at the back of my CPU told me it was wrong. It just didn't seem honorable to so mercilessly berate someone who already at perhaps the lowest point of their life. Or perhaps these thoughts are only coming to me because of previous trauma. But what trauma?
*Flashback (No P.O.V.)*
"So, what is this project again?"
"This, is my newest project! I call it, Project Steel Vengeance! C'mon Cryptor, you gotta endorse this project! This will make your PMC so much stronger! It'll make you the leading defense company in all of Ninjago!" Dr. Anker exclaimed.
Justin Cryptor grumbled. "Fine. But only because I've known you for five years now."
Anker cracked the slightest hint of a smile. "Thank you, Justin. You will handsomely rewarded for this."
"Humph, don't get me started."
"Do you want to help me with the first part?" Dr. Anker asked.
"Sure, why not?" Cryptor replied.
"Alright, I'll do the first part." Anker lunged for a shock baton, set it to the highest setting, and struck Justin Cryptor.
*End of flashback*
PERSONAL OPINION IS IRRELEVANT
My core processor was correct. Personal opinion did not matter. The only thing that did was serving the soon Golden Master. Or was it?
TREACHEROUS OPINION IS PROHIBITED
Of course, of course. Now, to proceed with the weekly report. I bowed quickly, a customary sign of respect.
"Good morning, sire, shall we begin immediately?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course, you imbecile! Tell me, how is Operation Black Ice? Last you reported, the white ninja was performing perfectly, exactly how I had expected." My master was currently on a pleasant mood, I had deduced. Normally he would yell much more.
"Operation Black Ice is running smoo–" A guard bursted in, cutting me off.
"Sir!Theblackninjabrokeoutandthenbrokeouttheblueninjathenthewhiteninjagotcapturedandreprogrammedandnowtheyarecomintogettheredninja!" The sentinel yelled.
"Calm down, corporal. Tell us again, but slower. I do not think anybody understood a word you said." I soothed the soldier down, something I never thought I would do.
THOUGHT IS NOT RELEVANT
"The black ninja broke out and then broke out the blue ninja and then they fixed the white ninja and now they are looking for the red ninja." He looked around nervously, as if they would come at any moment.
The red ninja perked up upon hearing the news. However, my leader had other plans. He grabbed him by the collar, shoved him onto a table, and snapped both his legs, immobilizing him. He cried out in pain. I felt bad for him, for a part of me knew it wasn't his fault. But another part of my processor also knew it was not my place to feel remorse towards anybody, especially the enemy. The Overlord tossed him to the ground, as if he were a broken toy, crushing his already destroyed legs further. My medical database scanned him, and confirmed my suspicions.
"Cryptor! Get rid of this pathetic boy! He is not worthy of residing within this court. Hell, throw to his friends. The white ninja is no longer with us anyways. Give them some time to recover. I want to play with my prey."
I bowed. "Yes, master."
Jay P.O.V., current time: 7:49 P.M.
"Why did you do that?!"
"I don't know! I just got mad and wanted to defend you!"
"From what?! Getting attacked with words from an amnesiac Nindroid?!" I argued.
"Yes! I mean, no! Ah, forget it, let's just go find him." Cole surrendered.
"Yeah, and you better apologize for that," I muttered.
Poor guy got chased away minutes after he woke up. Probably ran away thinking he was a monster. Cole shouldn't have been so harsh on Zane, and now he was probably filling in the gaps on his own with just the things he was told.
We ran outside, through the halls, pretty much in circles, until we saw a shadowy figure run out a door. Naturally, we followed. The figure eventually realized that they were being followed, and stopped.
"Who are you?" Cole asked.
The mystery man turned around, and was none other than Zane. Honestly, I wasn't that surprised. I could kinda just tell it was him— but something was off about him this time. Then it clicked: His posture was different. Zane's posture was always proud, straight backed stance, ready to look you in the eye, but this time, his shoulders were slumped, he was slouching, and he avoided eye contact.
"Why are you here?" He asked. "You said that I belonged with the other Nindroids, did you not? You called me a monster, a traitor. Why would you come back to find me?"
I looked over to Cole, and saw three things flash in his eyes. Hurt, regret, and shame.
"Look, I didn't mean those things. I was angry, and hurt. C'mon Zane, you know I would never say those things to you!" Cole pleaded, eyes begging for mercy.
"Now, I do not know anymore," Zane stated, cold as ice. He ran off without a word, towards a big door, which I assumed led to either outside, or to a very big room on the other side. We followed him through, and as it turns out, I was right the second time. We had walked into a huge palace room. I saw Zane crouched over a prone body, which I thought was dead at first. As I walked over, I realized it was Kai. Both his legs were shattered, just completely demolished. Thank god he's out, he'd be screaming his head off.
"Oh god, what happened to him?" I asked, completely shocked.
"My medical analysis has revealed both left and right legs have been crushed, likely from blunt force trauma. It appears to be they were shattered under the pressure of his own body weight. There also seems to cerebral hemorrhaging."
"I-is there anything else you spotted?" Cole asked, worry heavily laden in his voice.
"Sadly, yes," Zane nodded gravely. "He is also suffering from stage three hypothermia. Along with that, he has extreme scarring across his back. Most likely inflicted from a barbed whip."
"So, about those shattered legs, will Kai actually be able to walk on his own again?" I questioned.
The solemn look on Zane's face told all. Kai would never walk again.
"Depending on the severity of the worst injuries, we may even need to amputate his legs. If we don't, we risk factors I wish not to take."
"So we better hurry back to the Bounty then, right?" Cole replied.
"Yes. And Cole, please explain to the others of my…irrational behavior."
And with that, Zane left, carrying Kai in his arms, bridal style. We ran after him, back home, back where it all started.
Soooooo, this is out later than I had hoped…I'm pretty sure it might not be as good, but hey, it still made a thousand and change words, so I'm pretty happy. I assure you, I will get into more detail on how mister Justin Cryptor came to be. If you didn't understand anything in this chapter, I'll give you a simple explanation. Hopefully this will help those that have learnt English as their second language. I did not write these to make anybody feel dumb, just to help anyone who didn't understand anything, like PMC, not everyone knows what that means
•Blunt force trauma: Basically when someone gets hit with something blunt, like a club, a baseball bat, wooden planks, or anything that isn't bladed. I'm pretty sure it can also be defined as being crushed on impact, but I'm not sure. Correct me if I'm wrong.
•Cerebal hemorrhaging: Bleeding in or around the brain. You can learn more if you look it up on the Cleveland Clinic, I'll leave a link below.
•PMC: Short for private military company, just a fancy word for the companies mercenaries work in. Mercenaries are often called contractors, and in the real world are often hired by agencies like the CIA, or by other countries, to serve as a small military if they cannot support or don't have their own armies.
As I promised, here's the link to the Cleveland Clinic's page on hemmorhaging. health/diseases/14480-intracranial-hemorrhage-cerebral-hemorrhage-and-hemorrhagic-stroke