Nicki's Story
51
Kai
Oni grabbed at Kai from all sides. He lashed out with fire and they backed off enough for him to stand, but then they were there once again. He yelled in frustration as he spinjitzued and blasted fire.
"Get out of my way!"
But the Oni continued to throng him; there was no way out.
Wu
Wu caught sight of an earthy brown and green dragon carrying a limp red dragon out of the fray. He recognized them immediately…but they had no riders.
"Look!" He yelled at the Elder dragon, pointing at the two Elemental Guardians who had collapsed on a Rock formation. The Elder dragon flew over to them.
Where are the other guardians?
"Where are the ninja!?" Wu yelled, interrupting whatever replies the two dragons were giving. The talon cage compressed in as the Dragon clenched its foot.
The Elemental Masters are of less importance…we need to find the other guardians. The Dragon Master must be summoned. The Oni have the power of Pure Hatred on their side and we shall all perish without him.
Wu kicked and punched the talons, wishing he was big enough to pull off spinjitzu.
"We must find my students!"
The Master of Earth has doomed himself…and the Master of Fire is lost in the throng. We do not have time to save them…we must prepare for the summoning.
Nya
Lloyd looked at the overgrown pile of rocks and scratched his head.
"And the entrance is somewhere in all of that?" he turned to P.I.X.A.L, who was studying the rocks intensely.
"Yes." She sounded distant and more robotic than usual. Lloyd frowned. Here they were on the cusp of a dangerous mission and his team was falling apart. The situation was bad enough that he almost considered calling Ronin to ask for advice. Almost.
He turned to face his team, but there was only Nya behind him. He didn't blame Skylor for being angry; Nya had said some pretty callous things. But this was a really bad time for her to go off on her own. He sighed and addressed his remaining team.
"You guys stay here and see if you can find the entrance. Pix, I want you to run a full scan of the building if you can. I'm going to go get Skylor and we can crack down on a plan of action when we get back."
The two girls watched Lloyd disappear into the woods and awkward silence immediately followed. P.I.X.A.L walked towards the large boulder pile. The amount of foliage covering it made it seem like it hadn't been touched for a very long time, but P.I.X.A.L was definitely picking up some familiar frequencies from within it.
Nya helped her pull foliage off of the rock, looking for the entrance. The water ninja was feeling stubbornly defensive after her fight with Skylor, and now she had to deal with the feeling of guilt that was twisting inside as she stood next to P.I.X.A.L. They worked in silence for a couple minutes until Nya couldn't take it anymore.
"Pix…I know you're mad…"
"I am not mad."
"You're obviously upset at least," Nya replied, suddenly overly interested in a tangle of vines. She remembered something that Skylor had said and looked over at the droid. "I guess I know why, Pix. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you about it before now."
P.I.X.A.L continued scanning as if she hadn't heard Nya at all. Nya felt ready to scream; first Skylor and now Pix. She didn't even know what she had done wrong! The water ninja ripped ivy off of the boulders in anger. She didn't deal well with getting the silent treatment. After clearing off a good sized patch, she turned to P.I.X.A.L once again.
"Look, Pix…I need you to at least talk to me. I really am sorry that I haven't been there for you after what happened in the tower. I guess I've just been upset that once again Harumi was a step ahead of us, once again ruining any chance we had of defeating her for good. If it weren't for Borg and Ronin we probably wouldn't have made it out of there alive…"
"Not all of us made it out." P.I.X.A.L said quietly, finally talking. Nya grimaced.
"I know… I really am really sorry. None of us wanted to leave Borg…it guts me that after all of that we couldn't get him out as well…"
"It did upset me to leave Borg behind…but I am only upset at myself for that. I do not blame you Nya."
Nya blinked. "Then why are you so mad at me?"
P.I.X.A.L scanned another area of the boulders, frowning. Why was the entrance so difficult to find? She also wished that Lloyd would come back. She would rather focus on the task at hand than be forced to talk about what she was feeling. She glanced over and saw Nya's determined expression; the water ninja was not going to back down until she had some answers, it seemed. The robot sighed.
"I do not know. There is no logical reason for me to be upset with you." She paused, trying to organize her thoughts. "You have been preoccupied with getting us to the Samurai X cave and now getting us here so we can destroy the masks…but in all of that you seem to have forgotten that you are part of a team,"
That stung. "What do you mean? Of course I know that I'm part of a team; I know that I can't destroy the masks all by myself!"
P.I.X.A.L was silent. How could she explain to Nya that she had been acting obsessive, bossy and paranoid? And though she knew Nya had been worried about other things, her disregard for P.I.X.A.L's feelings had hurt; the ninja had acted like nothing had happened in the tower and hadn't seemed to even notice her friend's pain at all. Instead, she focused on pushing and urging the team forward towards each step in defeating Harumi. P.I.X.A.L had simply decided that if Nya was just going to treat her like an unfeeling informational assistant…then that's what she would become. After all, she was very good at becoming exactly what was needed. She knew that Nya wasn't meaning to be so careless with those around her, but that fact lead P.I.X.A.L to a more troubling conclusion.
"Nya…can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Nya tried to sound light as she crouched to look into a gap between the rocks.
"Why is it you want to destroy the masks?"
Nya's brow furrowed in confusion and she looked over at P.I.X.A.L.
"What kind of question is that? We have to destroy the masks, Pix! How else are we ever going to defeat Harumi?"
P.I.X.A.L was silent for a few moments, choosing her words carefully.
"Taking into consideration the time I spent in Zane's head, I have had a lot of experience on this team. We make goals and we do everything we can to accomplish them. Right now our goal is to destroy the masks…but your approach to this task goes beyond wanting to accomplish it. You have become impatient, even desperate to do so...and it has led you to being insensitive with those on your team."
Nya could feel her anger rising again, but she couldn't think of anything that she could actually say in defense of her actions. The droid continued, looking her in the eye.
"Do you see this task as something that can give you vengeance for our fallen friends? Is this a means of revenge for you against Harumi?"
Nya began ripping more ivy off of a part of the wall, becoming frustrated both with the hidden doorway and P.I.X.A.L's inquiries.
"I just want to get Ninjago back!" Nya spat. "Harumi is a madwoman who deserves…"
"I agree that Harumi needs to be defeated, Nya. But what I am afraid of is who you will become if you allow yourself to become filled with anger and the need for revenge,"
"I'm FINE Pix!" Nya snapped back. "Can we just focus on finding the entrance?"
P.I.X.A.L looked like there was more she wanted to say but she walked away instead, continuing to scan the boulders. She couldn't help but continue to worry about her friend, however. Nya's obsession with destroying the masks—and Harumi—was created a change in the her that P.I.X.A.L didn't like to see. She just had to hope that the water ninja snapped out of her desperate need for revenge before she made choices that couldn't be remedied. The droid turned to look in the direction that Skylor had gone, but there was still no sign of her or Lloyd. She had a sinking feeling that perhaps such unfixable things had already been done.
Keyda
Cole's mouth went dry as he watched her run at him in full force. There was no way he could fight her…so he sat down.
This seemed to only make her angrier.
"Get up and FIGHT!"
"NO Keyda…I'm not going to fight you. And not just because I can barely stand…" He yelled back. She was getting close now. She pulled out a sword; apparently, she had come prepared.
"Then I will destroy you!" she snarled, purple fire blasting up the sword. He continued to just sit there, staring at her. With that same infuriating look. She stopped right in front of him, sword raised and ready to strike. He looked at her sadly.
"What did the Baron do to you?"
"This isn't because of him!" she spat and swung the sword. "This is because of you!" The blade stopped inches from his neck. If she killed him it would prove she didn't care; the emotions would go away and she could sink back into blissful apathy.
Cole swallowed, trying not to think about the blade hovering by his neck.
"Because of me? What are you talking about?!"
The blade quivered. Why couldn't she do it?! "BECAUSE YOU DIED, COLE."
He blinked in surprise. Had she ever called him by his actual name before?
The Idiot shook his head at her, a small smirk forming. "Could you maybe…try talking like a sane person?"
Was he seriously making a joke? NOW? She pressed the tip of the blade against his neck, and he looked down at it.
"I see you still don't appreciate my sense of humor…"
"Stop it." she said icily. His smile faded as she glared at him and added pressure to the blade. "Your words aren't getting you out of this one…I will destroy you…"
He met her eyes. "Why?"
Her vision was marred by violet aura and tears. He just couldn't get it through his thick stupid head!
"Because I'm an Oni!" she screamed at him. "And that's what Oni do!"
"Is that you talking? Or the Baron?"
"Don't you get it?! I'm a monster!"
"NO." He pushed himself up, struggling to his feet. She kept her blade pointed at him. Why couldn't she just end this now?! He stared her down. "Keyda…you are not a monster."
She scoffed. How could he pretend to know anything about her?
"What am I then?" she whispered poisonously. The blade was pointed at his heart. If she could just…
"Confusing!"
She blinked, his answer catching her off guard. "What?"
"And genuine..." he continued. "And bitter and brave and real…" his voice got stronger as he went. "Infuriating and clever…I've known you less than a week, Keyda…but I still know enough to know you are no monster."
"You're an idiot…" she had unconsciously lowered the sword a bit.
"So you've said." he replied with a small smile. He was reaching for the hilt, slowly.
"STOP." she repositioned the sword.
"It really is up to you, Keyda. It comes down to what I said before… I could be your worst enemy…" his hand had reached the hilt. "Or I could be your closet friend. We both know you could finish me with one blow, right now. This decision is totally up to you…so choose." Explosions and yells were sounding all around them as the Oni and Dragons fought, but she couldn't look away from his tired eyes. His hand closed around hers on the hilt of the sword and she stiffened. She didn't care about him…she didn't…
She dropped her arm, and Cole sighed with relief as her eyes faded back to orange. She shook her head at him, incredulous. He laughed and she tried not to smile at the sound of it.
52
Cyrus Borg had lost track of how long he had been locked in his office. He had stabilized the cross-bow bolt wound as best as he could; he was pretty sure it wouldn't be fatal as long as he could get some medical attention. But given how everything had played out, he doubted he would get that chance.
He wondered at what point Garmadon would come to finish him off. He hadn't actually seen the 'Evil Emperor' since the take-over, but he figured that Harumi was not one to make idle threats. Though Borg didn't regret his decision to help the teens escape, he also couldn't help but feel like maybe he should have done so a little more covertly. Though, Harumi would have probably been onto him either way. Still, he hated that P.I.X.A.L had to witness it; she had obviously been very upset.
He sighed to himself, keeping one hand tight against his wound. Through the years his genius had been targeted and manipulated by several different villains. He had tried to fight back as best as he could…but looking back he realized with guilt that each villain had still gotten what they wanted out of him. If it weren't for the ninja saving the day again and again, the evil that he had helped create on numerous occasions could have still spelled doom for Ninjago. So when he realized just what was going on in that throne room he had decided that he was done resisting in the background; it was time that he got right into the action and got his hands dirty.
Well…I certainly accomplished that… he thought ruefully, looking down at where he was keeping pressure on his wound. Given how angry Harumi had been, he had to hope that they had all made it out ok. He also hoped that P.I.X.A.L wouldn't risk coming back for him; Harumi had undoubtedly thrown him in here as bait on the off chance the ninja mounted some kind of rescue. His thoughts turned to his loyal assistant. He had created her years ago as a help in his industry; he never would have imagined that she would become the amazing and strong personality that she was today. He knew it had a lot to do with the ninjas' influence—especially Zane's. After his death P.I.X.A.L had disappeared, but Borg was sure she was just off mourning her friend. When she never returned Borg had tried not to be disappointed; he had told her that she belonged to no one and could make her own decisions. Surely she had grown tired of assisting the old cripple and had gone off to start over, far from the painful memories made in Ninjago City. He had learned later that she had joined up with the Ninja at some point again…and that Zane was alive. To be honest those ninja were always up to something and it was hard to stay caught up with them. He was glad that P.I.X.A.L felt free to make her own decisions and find her own path—even if that path included becoming a vigilante Samurai. Borg smiled a little wistfully. She had become quite the hero…he had to wonder if she ever felt shame or disappointment when she thought of her brilliant yet cowardly creator.
An alarm began sounding from one of his computers and he frowned; what on earth could that be? He painfully wheeled himself over to check the monitor. It was the security from his hidden stronghold in Haroshi's Labrinth. He smiled despite the pain he was in; it seemed that Lloyd caught onto his hint. He began typing with one hand, trying to shut down the security system for the stronghold. He was able to get the computer alarm to shut off, but he grimaced as he remembered that there really was no way for him to shut off the inner security system protecting the armor. He and Wu had decided that it would be best if there was no override for this security…both of them had been direct victims of the Overlord's control and knew that villains could use people to get what they wanted.
"I hope you remember your training, Lloyd," he muttered before shutting down his computer system. No need for Garmadon to see that if and when he finally showed up…that is, if Borg even lasted that long.
Kai
Kai knocked another Oni out of his way, breathing hard. He could finally see Cole…Keyda was pointing a sword at his heart. He yelled and was about to charge through the remaining Oni when something hit him across the back of the head, knocking him out. The Baron looked down at him, one eyebrow raised. He turned to a nearby Oni.
"Watch him, would you? I have something I must attend to…"
Jay
"Wow…looks like they started the party without us!" Jay commented as they saw the battle in the distance. "How are we gonna find everyone in that?"
"I'm picking up the dragon's frequencies coming from this direction…" Zane said, steering them to a plateau a distance from the heated battle. There was a brown dragon, a red dragon, and what looked like the Elder Dragon. But where were their friends?
You have finally made it. Come quickly…we must summon the Dragon Master. The Elder Dragon sounded impatient… even borderline desperate.
"Where are Kai and Cole?" Jay asked. Like Zane he had noticed their absence.
"They are in danger! You must go to help them!" The ninja were shocked to see little Wu stuck in the Elder's grasp. "Quickly…they are lost in the battle…"
There is no time for that. The dragon snarled. We have the four Guardians and the four harnesses…we must…
"What have you done to Wu?! Let him out of there!" Jay was ready to attack, but Zane had caught onto Wu's plea.
"We have to go find them…Cole especially will not last long in that battle alone." he pulled back on his dragon, which obeyed but seemed very skittish about it.
You will not leave this rock… The Elder was getting angry.
"You are not the boss of me," Jay stuck out his tongue as he too pulled back on his dragon, which cautiously obeyed. Zane could see that the Elemental Dragons had some divided loyalties; they would never be able to save their friends without their help however. He looked down at his dragon.
"I know that you may think that I am being vulnerable to my emotions…but I have made my decision. For better or worse I am saving my friends first…can I count on you to be with me?"
At first the Ice Dragon made no reply and it watched Jay's dragon leap out of the way of the Elder Dragon's swipe. It looked over at the two other dragons; one unconscious, the other looking extremely displeased.
You can count on me, Master of Ice.
Skylor
Skylor refused to cry. The last time she could even remember crying was when her mother died…and this situation was hardly comparable. Instead she hacked through jungle undergrowth with her long knife with barely controlled rage.
How dare Nya accuse her of being untrustworthy?! And her reasoning…because she never came to visit?! She swiped through dangling vines with contempt. She had tried to offer her services when Kai had come to visit a year or so before…but Nya had shut down her attempts. So what right did she have to say that Skylor didn't care?!
She yelled in rage as she cut through more undergrowth. After the foliage was hacked to pieces, she found her anger drain away and she sat heavily on a nearby log.
Skylor was not one to give herself pity parties. She had been dealt a lot of bad hands in her life, but she had always played out her hand to the best of her ability regardless. She could survive just fine on her own…but doing so was lonely. She felt a little resentful; Nya had never been truly alone in her entire life. Meanwhile, that's how Skylor had been spending her last few years.
She heard twigs snap as someone approached; they must have been following her trail of decimated underbrush. She looked up to see Lloyd picking his way towards her. She realized distractedly that for once the ninja's brightly colored outfit actually blended in with the scene around him. He looked at her, his expression rather sheepish.
"Look, uh…I know Nya can be a handful sometimes…but she means well…" he started awkwardly. Skylor sighed.
"Should have known you would take her side,"
Lloyd was at his wit's end. This was a sticky enough situation without Skylor twisting his words around. Why did girls do that?!
He held up his hands. "I'm not taking sides, Skylor. I'm not surprised you're mad…"
"Do you trust me?" The redhead fixed Lloyd with a piercing gaze. He blinked in surprise.
"Of course I do," he said, a little uneasy at her sudden scrutiny.
"Why?"
Lloyd sat down on the log next to her.
"Because without your help, we never would have made it off your father's island all those years ago. I mean…sure, I was upset when I thought you had turned Kai against us…but in the end you proved which side was more important to you. Plus you were more than willing to help us out after our escape from the beach,"
Skylor rested her head in her hands, not looking at him.
"I never really got to know Nya back on the Island, and it's true I never visited when we were all back in Ninjago. But I never would have guessed that she's been harboring all this resentment towards me…"
"I don't think Nya's behavior is about you, Skylor…she's been pretty on edge ever since we left Borg Tower."
"I guess."
"But if it's any consolation, you are definitely a meaningful part of the team. That's why you were chosen to come along now; because we need you if we are going to be able to destroy these masks. I struggled to pass Borg's simulation security he ran for this stronghold…and that was back when I had my powers. If we are going to get to the armor, I need my team working at full capacity."
Skylor frowned and turned to him.
"Do you think…do you think there's a way to get elemental powers back? I mean…ever since my father used mine to finish that spell, I haven't been able to do anything and I was wondering…"
"I'm not sure," he said quietly. He gave her a small smile. "But I really hope so." The truth was that Lloyd was hoping that by destroying the masks and balancing out the auras that his mom had talked about he would be able to reconnect with his powers.
Skylor stood suddenly. "I guess we better head back and get to destroying those things, huh?" she gestured to Lloyd's sack.
"Yeah...maybe it's not a good idea to leave Nya and Pix alone too long, with everything going on," he said, shouldering the sack once again. He was glad that everything seemed to have calmed down now, but he knew that things could get out of hand again if they weren't careful. He just had to hope that Nya would be on her best behavior from here on out.
53
"You imbecile…how is it you aren't dead yet?"
Cole went to reply, but something caught his eye.
"Keyda, behind you!"
A sudden blast sent her flying forward into Cole, knocking them both to the ground. A second later she was being yanked away, her own sword at her throat. Cole fought to sit up as he glared at the Baron. Keyda struggled but the sword bit into her neck and she relaxed, fuming.
"You know, Cole…the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to wonder if the reason your friends keep you around is because—like me—they just can't seem to get rid of you."
Cole just glared, breathing hard.
"Get your hands off me…" Keyda struggled to summon her powers but the Baron had both her wrists behind her, locked in his vice of a grip. Any hatred she gave off was being absorbed into his bewitched glove.
"Now Keyda, it's rude to interrupt," he murmured, then turned back to face the ninja. "If nothing else, I must admire your resilience. But I do wonder if you are tired of ending up like this…defeated in the dirt."
"If this is about you and me, then let her go…"
"No…I must say it is about both of you at this point. You look pretty pathetic lying there, you know. But I suppose we all know that despite your pathetic appearance, you are capable of great things."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your friends really take you for granted, don't they? I mean…the things they had to say to you in the arena…"
"That wasn't them!" Cole spat. He had managed to sit up but wasn't sure he would make it to standing position. "That was you!"
"Me? I don't even know you outsiders…how on earth could I plant all of those delicious details? No…I'm afraid that…"
"SHUT UP."
The Baron chuckled. "You should know I plan on destroying you…but I figured that first I would give you a one-time offer. Join me and…"
"No."
"Aren't you ready to be on the winning side? Aren't you ready to be appreciated? And don't you care about her?" He shook Keyda a bit for emphasis. "Don't you want to be on the same side that she is?"
"Stop." Cole decided to try to stand after all. "She's not on your side. And neither am I."
The Baron shook his head in amazement as he watched the outsider struggle to rise.
"Well…no one can say that I didn't try to give you a fair chance." He looked at Keyda. "But you both will learn that she is very much on my side…and to prove it, she's going to kill you herself."
She struggled in his grasp once again, trying to free her hands. "No." His grip tightened.
"Come now, look at the state he's in…it won't even be difficult. All it will take is one solid shot…"
"You do not control me. You do not OWN ME. And I will NOT DO IT."
A vein pulsed in the Baron's neck. "Oh…don't I? It seems that you are forgetting how to take orders…" Still gripping her wrists, he pointed the sword at Cole. A bruise-colored stream shot forward.
"NO!" Keyda screamed as the flash hit. But instead of blasting Cole back, the Hatred merely enveloped him. His face went slack as he crumpled down to the earth, surrounded by the purple cloud.
"What are you doing to him!?"
The sword was back at her throat, and the Baron spoke softly into her ear as she trembled and fought.
"It seems you have much to learn about the beautiful power of Hatred…shall we have a little lesson now? Unlike rage-which merely leaves a soul vulnerable for control-hatred invades the soul itself and corrupts it. The longer it stays the more it warps and perverts until there isn't a spark of light or sliver of goodness left…"
"Stop it! Don't do this!" she struggled against him, but the Baron grip truly was like Iron. He chuckled at her attempts.
"Poor boy…all that he has left is his good heart… but soon I will dissect even that until he is just a husk of his former self…" Keyda was thrashing in his grasp, no longer caring about the sword at her throat. "Then…I will rebuild him. I will fill him with loathing, apathy and callousness and he will be just like me…"
"NEVER." she spat at him. "He will FIGHT IT."
"Look at him Keyda." he commanded in distain. Cole was motionless, the purple seeming to seep into him. "Look how damaged he is...he cannot fight it. He couldn't even stand…"
"NO!"
The Baron shook his head as if he was surprised at her reaction. "And here I thought this would please you; don't you know what would happen if he and his friends succeed with their plan? They would go back home….in the end he would abandon you," he shook her. "He would leave you here and go back to his own beautiful realm and friends…and he'd forget you…" she screamed and thrashed again.
"But now you can have him forever! With him and his friends remade we will be unstoppable and all the realms will grovel beneath me…" The purple cloud around Cole was getting smaller.
"Make it STOP…please…"
"I won't do that, Keyda. I promised you that I would destroy him. When the Hatred has finished, there will be nothing of him left…and you will never be able to recover him. If you want to save him from this fate then you must stop it…" He suddenly threw her forward and she fell onto her knees. Her sword landed next to her.
"…by putting him out of his misery."
She grabbed the sword and turned to attack the Baron, but he had been expecting it and blasted her back. His eyes burned as he smirked at her.
"You can waste time trying to defeat me…but it only makes it so you have less time to make your decision. I do not care what you chose to do. Either way he will be destroyed…and you will have learned your lesson. You are MINE…and you WILL OBEY ME."
She wanted to kill him...destroy him…but once again he was right. She turned and ran over to Cole, trying to tune out the Baron's laughter. She tried to push the purple aura away…blast it away…but nothing worked and the Baron continued to laugh. "You cannot defeat Hatred with more Hatred…" he mocked.
She shook as she looked down at Cole. At her friend. He was breathing evenly but his skin had this odd sheen to it. Was he dying? Or was that the effect of the aura? What could she do?
If he woke up the person the Baron described…she couldn't even imagine it. She remembered back to when he had decimated the gorge. Iron Baron wasn't bluffing; he would use him for heinous things. She couldn't let that happen.
Zane
"How are we ever going to find them?!" Jay called. Everywhere they looked, there were more dragons and Oni battling it out. Looking for two people in this mess was going to be impossible!
Zane didn't answer, scanning the crowds. His scanner finally picked out a red figure.
"There's Kai!" he pointed out. "I haven't been able to locate Cole yet…"
"I'll go get Kai! You keep scanning!" Jay yelled back, and then he and his dragon plummeted to the place Zane had pointed out.
Master of Ice...I am detecting large amounts of ancient Oni Power coming from the south…"
Zane turned his scanners in that direction, and he was able to pick out the Iron Baron, hands swirling with power. Since when could he do that?
"Get me closer."
Keyda
The violet aura continued to disappear into Cole. She needed to save him…but how could she? The Baron had left no back doors. There was no way out. She looked down at the sword in her hand.
She couldn't do it…she had already tried. She couldn't kill him. But if she didn't then he would become the Baron's next pet monster…
Zane
The area was heavily guarded by Oni with nets…it seemed that whatever the Baron was up to, he didn't want any dragon company. That was when Zane noticed the two other figures.
I can't get in there…
"Just get me close…"
54
P.I.X.A.L wasn't exactly sure what they had done to trigger the alarm, but she was picking up on Borg security codes being released somewhere nearby. No doubt security droids would be on them soon. Nya was spinning around next to her, obviously having the same thought.
"How do we get that to turn off?!" Nya asked. The alarm was annoying and grated on her already frayed nerves.
"I'm running analysis now…" P.I.X.A.L said, scanning the surrounding area. Her radar was picking up on approaching figures that had them surrounded.
"Anything?!" Nya asked, hands over her ears.
"Nothing on the alarm…but we are about to have some unexpected company…" P.I.X.A.L said as she pulled out her bow. Nya noticed the movement and grabbed her spear. The two friends were soon back to back, awaiting the approach of Borg's security nindroids.
A few laser shots came out of the forest and they flipped out of the way. P.I.X.A.L fired a few shots in the direction they had come from, but she knew that they were at a disadvantage; their enemies were shielded within the jungle while they were out in the open. She started jumping up the large boulder stack.
"We need to obtain the higher ground…"
Nya nodded in agreement and began climbing a nearby vine. They were about halfway up when the alarm suddenly stopped. Nya shook her head; the sudden silence allowed her to realize that her ears were ringing. She turned to P.I.X.A.L.
"Did you do that?" she shouted. The droid shook her head as a laser shot hit a patch of Ivy between them.
"We need to keep moving!"
They reached the top of the boulder stack and immediately crouched down. P.I.X.A.L fired down on the Nindroids that had come out into the open. She had taken out a few when the others suddenly dropped as well. She blinked in surprise and then realized that Lloyd and Skylor were moving in. It seemed the Green Ninja had talked her into coming back after all.
"Where did these guys come from?" they heard Skylor say, nudging one fallen droid with a foot to make sure it was really down.
"No idea…though, I'm remembering that these guys were in the simulator…"
The redhead rolled her eyes. "Maybe you can let us know about the other surprises that we'll face before we rush headfirst into them…"
"Lloyd!" Nya called, waving from the top of the boulders. The two friends on the ground looked up.
"What are you doing up there?" he called. Nya shrugged.
"Taking the higher ground!"
As they talked, P.I.X.A.L realized that the Borg frequencies were coming in clearer from their elevated perch. She scanned the area that they were sitting on.
"The entrance…it was up here the whole time!" she called out. Nya looked over in surprise and Skylor and Lloyd looked at each other before running over and starting their climb to join their friends. As they reached the top P.I.X.A.L had them stand on the perimeters as she cleared away the moss that blanketed the top of the pile. Soon she had discovered a circle in the rock below.
"The door…" Lloyd mused, while Nya pressed "Pix, can you open it?"
The droid frowned at the circle; it did appear to be some kind of door…but its edges were flush with the rest of the rock and there didn't seem to be any kind of panel or other opening mechanism.
"I am not sure…"
"But you're the one who turned the alarm off, right?" Skylor asked. She and Lloyd had heard it on their way back. When it had stopped they figured that their robotic friend has somehow cancelled it out.
"No." it suddenly occurred to P.I.X.A.L that she didn't know why the alarm had turned off. Could it be that Cyrus Borg was alive? Helping them from the tower? She didn't want to give in to wishful, illogical thinking…but the truth was that no one else would have had the access or the authority to shut down the code. Unless Harumi had somehow gotten access to it and was leading them into a trap…
She shook her head, clearing it. There was a task at hand that she was getting distracted from. She looked up at Lloyd.
"You are sure that no one else knows about this place?"
The Green Ninja nodded. "Positive. Borg never even told me outright this place was in Haroshi's labyrinth…"
"But you said that you knew it was here!" Nya snapped. Lloyd smiled a little guiltily.
"Well…I was the one who ran his simulation. I asked him afterwards where the stronghold was hidden but he wouldn't actually tell me. But I always figured that it was in Haroshi's Labrinth; the jungle in the simulation looked just like the jungle my father and I visited…"
"You mean you pinned this entire mission on a hunch?" Nya asked, shocked. "LLOYD, what if it hadn't been here?! You should have told us you weren't sure…."
"But it was here." Skylor snapped. "So maybe we should just figure out a way of getting inside already." Nya gave her a nasty look but stopped yelling at Lloyd, who sighed at the tension that had already managed to build itself up again.
"That would certainly be easier if you would all be quiet." P.I.X.A.L pointed out as she continued to scan the hatch. She pushed, pulled, tugged, and even jumped on the opening, but it didn't seem to budge.
They watched P.I.X.A.L work for a few minutes. Skylor walked over, scrutinizing the doorway.
"Maybe if we just…"
"Look, I'm sure Pix knows what she's doing," Nya snapped. "So it would probably just be best if we all stay out of her way!" It was infuriating that even after finding the doorway they were no closer to destroying the masks. Skylor glared at her.
"Would you just back off?! I'm trying to help!"
"Well you sure looked like you wanted to help when you ran off without us!"
Lloyd positioned himself in between the two girls once again. He had had it with this.
"LOOK…that is enough!" he was yelling and it caught them both off guard. Even P.I.X.A.L looked up from what she was doing. He continued.
"We got here…we are going to get inside this thing and destroy the masks...and we are going to do it TOGETHER as a TEAM. And that means no more fighting! Gosh, even at their worse Jay and Cole were never as bad as the lot of you!"
Nya opened her mouth to say something more but he gave her a withering look.
"I mean it…all of this arguing and back-biting stops right now, and anyone who disagrees can go sit with Ronin in his ship…are we clear?!"
The three girls looked away, each feeling both annoyed and ashamed. Lloyd sighed.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes."
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes until P.I.X.A.L turned to Skylor.
"What was it you were saying?"
Skylor blinked, as if shaken from her thoughts. She went and stood next to P.I.X.A.L on the circle.
"Oh…right. Well, I was just going to say that back on my father's Island, the fortress there was crawling with secret passage-ways and what-have-yous. There was always some inconspicuous trigger or lever that would give you access to them. Maybe there's some kind of trigger with this doorway as well…"
"Perhaps…" P.I.X.A.L said, but she looked doubtful. Nya scoffed.
"Borg doesn't really seem like the 'booby trap' type to me…more likely it's something highly technical," the water ninja said. She tried to keep her tone docile as Lloyd was watching her carefully. She turned to a nearby branch that was growing up out of a crack in the rock. "I mean…with your theory, I would just bend something-like this branch-back…" she grabbed hold and did so "…and the door would just magically open!"
Behind her the hatch suddenly disappeared, and P.I.X.A.L and Skylor suddenly found themselves falling through the open air. Nya turned as she saw them disappear down the hole, but the hatch had only remained open long enough for them to fall through. By the time she and Lloyd reached it, it had slammed shut.
"Quick! Grab the branch again!" Lloyd yelled, and Nya ran over to it. But as she reached it the whole branch was lowering itself into the rock.
"OH NO!" she yelled, grabbing hold and trying to lift it and force it over again. Despite her best efforts, the branch disappeared into the rock and she looked at Lloyd in panic. He wore a similar expression as she ran back over to him.
"What do we do now?!"
Keyda
Keyda closed her eyes and screamed as hate aura exploded off of her. Suddenly, she heard a thud and looked up to see that someone had landed between her and the Baron. There was no mistaking the metal glint; it was Zane.
"What perfect timing," The Baron seemed unfazed. "I was wondering where you and the blue man had gone off to…"
"You are close to being defeated, Iron Baron." Zane said coldly. "We have discovered the four harnesses,"
The Baron's smirk faded, but he didn't back down.
"And yet here you are, choosing to save your already doomed friend instead of summoning the Dragon Master. Now, you will never get the chance." He sent a blast towards the nindroid, but Zane nimbly dodged out of the way, sending his own blast the Baron's way.
Keyda watched in horror, and then looked down at Cole. It seemed that with the Baron's lack of concentration, the flow of evil had slowed. She grabbed her sword and went to help the metal man.
"You couldn't save your friend last time…what makes you so sure that you would be successful now?" The Baron was goading him on.
"I will never stop fighting for the right thing…regardless of previous outcomes." He watched as Keyda charged the Baron from the side, but the Oni leader caught on to the attack and sent several blasts towards her. She dodged the first two but the third caught her shoulder and sent her tumbling backwards. He turned back and kicked Zane as he almost reached him.
"You are both fools…nothing can stop the power of True Hatred…you cannot have any hope of defeating me…"
"You are on your own." Zane challenged. The Baron smiled cruelly.
"Am I? Oni…to me!" he looked towards his followers who were gathered on the sides. It was then he noticed that they were all frozen.
"Yes…. you are," Zane answered, taking advantage of his momentary distraction to freeze him as well. He turned to Keyda.
"That will not hold him long…we must get out of here and summon the Dragon Master if we are to have any hope of truly defeating him…"
She didn't respond; she looked at the Baron and tightened her grip around her sword. She could just kill him now…
Zane touched her shoulder. "I'm afraid any attack at this point would only help him become free of the ice, rather than defeat him. We need to leave." She clenched her jaw and finally turned away from the Baron.
The Ice Dragon landed with a thud, having successfully rid the situation of any net-Oni.
Master of Ice…you must not let the Oni girl escape alive. She is the source of Ancient Magic.
Zane watched as Keyda rushed over to Cole. By the time he reached her, she had one of his arms around her shoulders as she struggled to lift him towards the dragon. She looked up at the nindroid.
"Help me."
He was already moving to support Cole's other arm, and they quickly carried him to the Dragon. They draped him over its neck and then Zane boarded. He looked down at Keyda and offered a hand.
NO…She is the enemy…she cannot come with us… we must destroy her. The Ice Dragon snapped at her, and she backed away, uncertain. Zane could hear the ice cracking; the Baron would be free before too much longer, and he knew that Keyda would be doomed.
"Come on!" He called to her. She eyed the dragon, and then her expression hardened with determination and she leapt for Zane's hand. He pulled her on while his Dragon shook its head in anger.
The Elder Dragon will not allow…
"There is no time. If we are going make it back to summon the Dragon Master, then we need to leave now." The Ice Dragon gave him one last scornful look.
"You said you were with me."
The Dragon huffed a blast of cold air before turning. Ice shattered behind them as the creature took to the skies.
The Baron was able to fire one shot off at the retreating Dragon, but it didn't hit home. His eyes burned as he watched the dragon grow smaller.
"This is far from over…"
55
Jay may or may not have hit Kai with a shower of lightening as he blasted down to save him. But from what he could see, his friend was unconscious anyways…so what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? His dragon snatched Kai off the ground, where he had been left by the fleeing Oni.
"Gotcha!" Jay yelled, grateful that the rescue mission had been successful. But where was Zane? He waffled for a bit, trying to decide if he should look for the nindroid or just head back. But what if Zane had already found Cole and was headed back to the others himself? He finally decided to just head back to where they had left the dragons; if Zane wasn't already on his way he would probably figure out that Jay had gone back. He was a nindroid after all…he was capable of figuring stuff out. Kai in tow, he turned back towards where they had left Wu.
Zane
Zane was at a loss for what to do. He knew that they needed to get back to the rest of the team and summon the Dragon Master…but he also knew that Keyda's presence would cause unnecessary stress. He didn't regret saving her but he also figured he should drop her off somewhere before heading back.
"It won't be safe for you to join us with the dragons…" he started, but she turned from where she was seated in front of him to glare.
"I'm staying with him." Her tone left no room for argument. He knew she meant Cole, and he sat in silence for a minute, processing. She turned and faced forward once again. He analyzed the scenarios for bringing Keyda along or dropping her off somewhere. He sighed…at the moment, both seemed like bad options.
Keyda meanwhile was anxiously waiting for his reply. If he tried to drop her off alone, she would…well. She wasn't really sure what she would do, but after everything that had gone down she was not about to be left behind. No…she was determined to wait with the Idiot until he woke up. If he ever woke up.
"Can I trust you?" His question took her by surprise and she turned to face Zane once again.
"Isn't that what you're doing?" she asked quietly. Zane didn't seem satisfied by her answer and she sighed. "You outsiders can trust me more than I am comfortable trusting you. Does that answer your question?"
Zane sat in silence a little longer. He had come to his conclusion.
Skylor
Skylor managed to grab onto something as they fell. It felt like some kind of root…though it was hard to tell in the darkness. P.I.X.A.L grabbed onto Skylor's sash and the redhead grunted as she held on. Whatever it was that she was holding on to, she hoped that it was firmly attached to this wall.
After the panic had died down in P.I.X.A.L's processors, she quickly scanned the area they were hanging in. They seemed to be in some large, tunneled out shaft. She tried to calculate how far the drop was.
"Pix?" Skylor gasped. P.I.X.A.L's weight was causing her sash to cut into her middle painfully.
"You can let go…" the android replied. Skylor's arms shook as she clung to the branch.
"You sure?"
"Yes…the drop from here is not severe."
Skylor wanted to ask her what exactly not severe meant, but she was losing her grip and was pretty sure if they hung here another second she would be cut in half. She closed her eyes and released her grasp on the root and they tumbled into the darkness. She heard a metallic clang seconds before she hit the ground next to P.I.X.A.L. Sure the drop might not have been severe enough to be seriously injured, but Skylor still figured she'd be feeling it in the morning. It didn't help that she landed on the same arm Mr. E had knocked out of socket earlier. She rubbed it and winced as she stood up.
"You okay, Pix?"
"I think so," P.I.X.A.L looked around. At the moment they were totally in the dark and she worked on switching her flashlight function on. She picked Skylor out in the green glow; she was grimacing and rubbing her shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah… just not going to be able to put weight on that for a while, I think. Do you think Lloyd and Nya are on their way down? I suppose they figured out how to open the doorway…"
P.I.X.A.L looked up and scanned the doorway, but it seemed as sealed as ever. She frowned as they waited a few more minutes for their friends.
"Why aren't they coming?"
"Perhaps they cannot get in...it could be that the entrances are set to seal themselves off after entry"
Skylor looked confused. "Why?"
"Because someone who was meant to be here would be aware of where both the entrance and exit were and would not run into any problems. However, the lack of exit would pose quite the threat to those who were not meant to be here."
"I guess that makes sense…though it hardly makes me feel better." Skylor said, trying to get a good look down the tunnel. "So…we're in here, but the masks—as well as the only person who actually knows how to navigate this place—are outside with no way in…"
P.I.X.A.L sighed. "That is correct."
"But…you can lead us through here…right?"
P.I.X.A.L began doing a full building scan.
"I can try."
Ninja
"There he is!" Jay pointed out the Ice Dragon headed for the formation. While they had been gone, the Elder Dragon had scraped a large circle in the stone. The other three Elemental Dragons were already in position.
"Is Cole with him?" Kai asked. He had woken up feeling sore and his headache had gotten worse. No one seemed to know what had happened to him other than he had been found unconscious in the midst of the battle. Why the Oni didn't kill him was a mystery as well, but he figured he should just count his blessings and not think about it too much.
The Ice Dragon landed and everyone went quiet as they saw who was on board. Or rather…who wasn't on board.
"Where's Cole?" Jay asked, trying not to jump straight to panicking.
Zane dismounted. "Safe."
"Ok…ambiguous much? What is that supposed to mean?" Kai added. Last he had seen, Keyda was about to kill him. He had been right about her…why didn't anyone ever listen to him!?
"We don't have time for me to explain. You will just have to trust me." His dragon went and joined the circle with the other dragons.
At last. The Elder Dragon physically relaxed and released Wu from his clutches, who quickly ran over to where the ninja were.
"Are you sure you made the right choice, Zane?" Wu asked, looking up at the nindroid. He couldn't figure out why Zane would have felt the need to leave Cole behind somewhere and the situation felt ominous. Zane looked straight ahead.
"As close to it as I could get." He said vaguely. Jay opened his mouth to say something, but a flash of light caught all of their attention. The Summoning had begun.
Keyda
Keyda watched the light from a distance as she sat next to Cole. She figured it must be the summoning; she felt her skin go cold.
When they had first landed on the rock formation they were currently sitting on, she had thought that the metal man was abandoning her. But then he had dismounted as well and pulled Cole off of his Dragon.
"It really is'nt safe for you to come…but I know that if I were to try to leave you somewhere on your own you would make it a fight. The Elder Dragon made it seem like it did not matter if we Elemental Masters are present for the summoning…so it should not make a difference if I leave Cole here…" He laid his friend on the ground and then looked Keyda in the eye.
"But I am trusting you, Keyda. Do not let anything happen to him." And then he was gone.
She looked over at the Idiot and brushed some hair out of his face. He felt feverish; she felt another twist of fear. It was odd…she had spent her whole life afraid in one way or another…generally with regards to the Baron. But this fear was different.
His breathing was normal as he slept but his skin still had that strange pall over it. How far had the hatred gotten? He hadn't woken up, so she hoped that meant the Baron hadn't gotten the chance to fill him with corruption. But had he succeeded in planting the seed? Was he still the same person, or would he wake up different? Would he even wake up?
Perhaps when the Dragon Master destroyed the Baron, everything would right itself. She had always distained wishful thinking…but at the moment it was all she had.
24
