Nicki's Story
81
The Ultra-Dragon landed silently. Keyda looked around, realizing that this area actually did look like home; sand, rocks, scraggly plants. The familiarity of the terrain made her feel a bit more comfortable in this strange realm. She turned and watched Zane help the other metal person off the dragon. She had a flashback to when she had first talked to the Zane. This must be her—the person he had been missing so much. She remembered the others who had come running out of the fog; they were the reason that the outsiders had been so desperate to get back here. She wondered briefly if anyone would even miss her if she never went home. Truly miss her, as the outsiders' friends had.
"Ronin should be here soon." Wu's words broke into her thoughts and she realized that he had already dismounted as well. He held up a hand to help her down and she sighed as she took it.
"Then will you speak with Cole?" she asked.
"I promise I will…but once they get here all the ninja will probably be more interested in greeting their friends and family in our safehouse."
More friends? She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to find herself looking into dazzling green eyes.
"I never did introduce myself…I am P.I.X.A.L. Zane has told me about the help you offered while they were in the first realm. I would like to thank you,"
Keyda blinked. "What?"
"For your help in bringing them home." P.I.X.A.L reiterated, linking her arm in Zane's. "Zane told me that without your help it never would have been possible. It also must not have been easy..."
"I…didn't really have much to do with it…"
"That is not true." Zane cut in. "You sacrificed a lot in order to help us get home. We have you to thank more than anybody."
Keyda really didn't know how to respond, so she just shrugged. They heard rumbling above them and she recognized it to be the sound of the man named Ronin's metal flying beast. She waited for it to land, but instead it seemed to be headed towards the enormous skeleton in the distance, half buried in the sand.
"That is where the entrance to the Samauri X cave is," Wu explained, sensing her confusion. "The Ultra-Dragon would not fit in the entrance...I'm going to leave him out here to guard against S.O.G spies. The rest of us can head in." he began leading the way, but then paused and turned with a twinkle in his eye.
"I suppose it is just fair to warn you that some of our friends are a little…eccentric. Go easy on them, please…"
Keyda raised an eyebrow, but he had already started walking towards the skeleton. Keyda started following but stopped short when the skull of the skeleton suddenly seemed to swallow the metal beast whole. She turned to look at Zane in alarm but he gave her a comforting look.
"Do not worry, I know it looks strange, but that is the entrance to the hideout." And with that, the small group followed Ronin's ship into the belly of the beast.
Survivors
"Hold it, I don't remember giving this vessel permission to land…" Dareth drawled as REX entered the Samurai X cave.
"Honestly Dareth…" even Misako was at her wits end with the self-proclaimed brown ninja. As expected, he had been bossing everyone around since Lloyd and the others had left. Even well-mannered Ed had taken to hiding in the bowels of the cave, claiming to fix this or that.
"They made it! Oh…I sure hope they were able to get rid of those masks…" Edna called from the chair she was knitting in.
"This way…this way…" Dareth was now waving his arms to signal where REX should land. Misako smiled as she watched Ronin land in the exact opposite place that Dareth was signaling, undoubtedly out of spite. Edna looked up from her knitting and even Lou stood to greet the teenagers.
What happened next, however, none of them could have ever expected.
REX's side door opened, and a colorful wave seemed to spill out. The adults each froze, welcoming smiles frozen on their faces as they struggled to process what was happening.
"MOM!"
Edna dropped her knitting as she stood. Jay reached her and wrapped her in a bear hug, and it seemed to snap her back to reality.
"Its….you're… ED! ED COME QUICK! IT'S OUR SON!"
"What's that now, Edna?" Ed's voice echoed from down one of the passageways. He appeared a few moments later, wiping his hands on a rag. "It almost sounded like you said…" he froze, mouth still open.
"DAD!" Jay wrapped his father in a hug, and Mr. Walker blinked.
"Oh…gee…gosh…it's…" his voice choked up as he embraced his son. Edna joined them in a large hug; none of the Walkers had a dry eye.
As Jay had run out to his mother, Lloyd came over to stand by Misako, who was taking everything in with a surge of joy and surprise.
"They're alive." she said simply. She couldn't think of anything else to say as she looked over at her son. He looked better than he had in weeks; it was like some invisible burden had been lifted. Seeing the light back in her son's eyes was enough to make her own misty.
"I still can't believe it either," Lloyd cleared the emotion out of his throat. "Wu is back as well, but he came by dragon…"
"Wu?! Really?" Misako immediately began looking for him.
Dareth meanwhile was trying to give Kai a hug, but it was made difficult because he was trying to hide the fact that he was sobbing.
"I…can't…believe….it…." he gasped, hastily wiping his sleeve across his eyes over and over again.
Lou had remained frozen where he was standing, leaning on his cane with both hands. He stared at the ship as the rest of the ninja exited. A few minutes passed before a figure in black finally made his way out of the ship, his movements slow and deliberate. Cole caught sight of his father and gave him a little side smile. Lou was at a loss for words but his eyes misted over as his mustache twitched.
Cole approached his father, insides twisting. All around him people were shouting and hugging, but his own father just stared. He didn't even look happy…
"Hiya, Pop…" Cole started uncertainly. Lou moved suddenly and wrapped his son in a hug. Cole sighed in relief and hugged him back. They stood like that for a few minutes, neither willing to speak and have their voice betray them.
"Wu!" Misako was the first to spot the Golden Samurai as his group entered the cave. The Dragon Master waved and Lloyd's mother rushed over to give him a hug.
"You're alright!" she said, her voice betraying joy and relief. He gave her a smile…but something in his expression seemed guarded. She was about to ask him what was wrong when she caught sight of someone standing behind him with an angry expression.
"Oh…" Misako said, uncertain. "Who's this?"
Wu turned to look at the pale angry girl.
"This is Keyda. There's a lot to fill you in on…but the whole time we've been missing we've been in the first realm. Keyda is from that realm, she's an…"
"Oni." Misako finished. "Yes, of course."
"She's here to help in the fight against Garmadon."
"That is not my main purpose for being here." the Oni spoke, sounding irritated as she gave Wu and annoyed look. Wu gave the Oni an expression that seemed to be asking her not to say anything more. Misako frowned; what was he hiding from her?
"Sensei…P.I.X.A.L and I are picking up more S.O.G movement..." Zane cut in and Wu turned to the nindroid gratefully.
"Are they headed this way?"
"No…they seem to be dispatching large groups into Ninjago city. From what I can tell, they have basically shut the whole of the city down. Smaller groups seem to be searching in this relative area, but so far we have no reason to suspect that they know our location. It's more like they are searching for it…"
"We need to work fast. We do not know when they may stumble upon us…or if my brother will be capable of tracking me down again." Wu turned to the happy crowd and paused. It seemed a shame to break the reunion up so soon…but time was against them.
"Lloyd!" he called out. The Green ninja looked up from where he was talking with Kai and Dareth. Wu motioned him over.
"Yes, Uncle?"
"We need to figure out our next move…whatever Garamadon's plan, he has already set it in motion. We must act quickly if we want to be able to act at all."
82
P.I.X.A.L pulled up a map on one of the large monitors. Red dots were scattered around the map, though most of them were forming a large conglomeration in Ninjago City.
"From the scanning Zane and I have been doing, these dots signify where the S.O.G. are currently stationed. Based on their overwhelming numbers being moved to Ninjago City, we are pretty certain that whatever Garmadon's plan, the City is where it's going to occur."
"Do you think they know the ninja are back?" Skylor asked. Everyone was gathered around, trying to figure out each of their next steps would be in this war.
"My brother will know I'm in this realm…I'm not sure if he will be aware of the ninja's presence as well."
"So…explain to me again why this chick is gonna help?" Dareth asked, pointing a thumb at where Keyda was standing across the room. She was listening to the conversation and didn't look exceptionally pleased at being called "this chick."
"With my Dragon aura and Keyda's Oni aura, we should be able to pull my real brother out of limbo…returning him to his normal state…"
"But how do you even know that Good Garmadon is in this limbo place?" Ronin asked, arms folded. "And how did you figure out how to get somebody out of limbo? It kinda feels like there's a lot to this story you guys aren't telling us."
Wu sighed. "That is true…there is a lot we don't have time to tell right now. But I assure you, we do know that my brother is in limbo and that this method will be able to pull him free."
"The tricky part is how you guys are gonna get close…I mean, I don't think Garmadon is gonna sit nicely and let you free his good side." Jay pointed out.
"Plus all those S.O.G are going to make it hard to as well..." Kai said. "That's probably going to be our job, huh? Clearing a path?"
"Indeed." Wu said simply.
Zane cleared his throat and everyone looked over at him.
"If I may…P.I.X.A.L and I have a different plan that we would like to be allowed to pursue…"
"What is it, Zane?" Lloyd asked.
"We'd like to go and infiltrate Borg tower. The information that could be found there would be very helpful. And…we would like to rescue Cyrus Borg, if he is still…well…" Zane trailed off and the rest of the group got the gist of what he meant.
"It will be hard for you both to get there without help, Zane…" Lloyd pointed out.
"Well…we've got a good group here, don't we?" Ed pointed out. "There's more than enough of us to go around…we can all pitch in." he turned to Jay and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you all need a path cleared, than I've got just the tour bus to do it. What do ya say, son?"
"Uhhhh…tour bus? What tour bus?" Jay asked, trying to keep up.
"Dibs on one of the guns!" Dareth piped up.
"Ok…you guys can take the east entrance to the city and try to clear the S.O.G you find there and help Zane and Pix get to Borg Tower." Lloyd said to the Walkers. "We need someone to handle the thugs on the West side…"
"Sounds like a job that needs a little fire power…" Kai said with a smirk. "Get me a vehicle, and I can do some damage…"
"There should be one or two lying around." Ronin commented. "We fixed up a bunch of stuff for this war."
"I'll go with you, Kai," Skylor said with a smile.
"Cuz we make such a good team?" he asked. She slugged him in response.
"Because someone needs to make sure you don't get in over your head."
"Ok…Ronin, I think that if you went down the middle from the air that would complete our coverage." Lloyd said, turning to the thief.
"Sure…I had nothing else planned for the day. Why not schedule in a suicide mission?"
Lloyd ignored him. "The important thing is that no one takes any unnecessary risks… at this point I doubt Garmadon and Harumi are going to try and capture you. They'll more than likely just try to get rid of everyone they can…"
"I'll go with you and Wu." Misako said, stepping in. Lloyd sighed, smiling sadly.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Mom. I think the smaller the group the better chance we will have getting to Garmadon. Plus you don't have any way of protecting yourself against his power…"
"I do know how to defend myself," Misako pointed out.
"And at this point, you don't really have much of a power leg to stand on either Lloyd," Ronin added. The ninja looked over at him, confused.
"What do you mean? What's wrong with Lloyd's powers?" Kai asked. The room went silent for a moment before Lloyd answered him.
"Well…um…ever since my battle with my father, I haven't been able to summon any powers…"
"What?!" Jay yelled. "The green ninja doesn't have powers? But we do…how is that even possible?"
"I don't know." Lloyd said a little sharply.
"Maybe they'll come back…?" Cole added
"It doesn't matter. The point is, Wu, Keyda and I will head to Garmadon…"
"How will you know where to find him?" Dareth asked. Wu smiled grimly.
"He's not the only one who can track a brother. Not to mention, he will no doubt be looking for us as well."
"I can help Ronin take the central road." Cole offered. The ninja all made worried eye contact.
"Um…I'm not sure…" Jay started as Kai said "Maybe instead…"
Cole frowned. "Look, this is the final battle...this is where we either defeat Garmadon or we lose everything. I'm not about to stay behind…"
"Why would you need to?" Nya asked, confused.
"Shut up, Idiot." Keyda had been listening to the conversation from across the room, where she was leaning up against a wall. She hadn't understood much of anything being said for the past half hour, but this she could understand. Nya turned, mouth open, thinking Keyda had been talking to her. The Oni glared at Cole.
"You wouldn't last five minutes out there. Do everyone a favor and stay put."
"Not. Your. Decision." Cole said softly. Everyone seemed to grow uncomfortable at the growing tension.
"I could use the help…" Ronin started, but surprisingly it was Wu who cut him off.
"Cole…join me outside for a moment, would you?" Cole looked at Wu suspiciously, not sure if his sensei was on his side or not. He stood, ignoring the curious glances from everyone else. He followed the Dragon Master outside into the cool desert night. Once the entrance had closed behind them, Wu turned to him and sighed softly.
"I'm sorry…but you will be staying here, Cole, with your father."
Cole flushed. "While all my friends go risk their lives out there? No chance; I'm going."
"Keyda is right…you are not in any shape to be fighting..."
"Keyda?" Cole's eyebrows furrowed. "Did she put you up to this? I'm fine, Wu…I was a little tired from the whole Limbo thing, but I'm fine now…"
"And what of your injuries sustained at the fortress?" Wu asked flatly. Cole glanced down.
"...You know about that, huh?"
"Not everything…but enough to know that you are dealing with more than just fatigue right now."
Cole bit his lip and tried again.
"Wu, please. I've spent the last few days being utterly useless…heck!" he threw his arms up. "I've spent the last week being useless. I can't just sit by and…"
"Do you think you could defeat me?"
Cole blinked. "Wha..what?"
Wu looked at him calmly. "If we were to fight right now, do you think you could win?"
Cole sighed in irritation. "Wu…I'm not going to fight you…"
"And I'm not going to fight you. But I want you to answer my question anyways."
Cole didn't look at him, choosing instead to glare angrily at the ground. He shrugged.
"I don't know. I could…"
"No. No, you couldn't. And you wouldn't be able to win against any thugs who would attack you. I'm telling you to stay in the cave, Cole; that doesn't mean that you have to be useless. We'll need someone here watching the monitors."
"That's hardly…"
"If you really want to help, then that is what you will do." Wu had taken on a tone of finality. "The truth is that you coming could compromise the whole mission. Not only would you undoubtably get hurt, but your friends would spend so much time and energy worrying and trying to protect you that they wouldn't be able to accomplish their own tasks. Please don't fight me on this one. Besides…it would be a good time to catch up with your father."
Cole clenched his jaw, refusing to look at the Golden Samurai.
"I can't…"
"Cole. That's enough. You ARE staying, so I suggest you make peace with it." Wu turned and went back inside, ending the conversation.
It wasn't fair. Cole wished he could just stow away anyways…Ronin would probably let him if he offered the right incentive. But he also knew deep down that Wu was right. He groaned in anger and powered up his earth punch, looking for something to hit to get his frustration out. He felt justified as he watched the glow move up his arms; he wasn't as weak as they all thought. However, as he went to hit a nearby boulder his muscles pulled painfully over his shoulder blades and a spike of pain shot down his spine. His earth punch failed and black dots darted across his vision. He landed on his knees, one of his hands on the ground to steady himself and the other dry washing his face.
"Maybe yell louder. I'm sure Garmadon's thugs would love to know where you're all hiding."
He didn't even turn around as he sank into a sitting position.
"Did you put Wu up to this? Did you tell him about what happened in the Baron's fortress?"
Keyda materialized in the moonlight, a few feet away. He glanced over reproachfully as she shrugged.
"You never listen to me. But you seem to listen to him… must be because he's a good leader…or however you put it."
He didn't say anything and she took a seat next to him. They just sat there a few minutes, with him silently fuming and her seemingly lost in her own thoughts as they looked across the desert landscape.
"What would fighting prove anyways?" she finally asked softly.
"I don't want to fight to prove anything." he muttered. "My friends are putting their lives on the line…and I'm just going to cower in some cave, safe and sound…"
"Were you planning on cowering? That'd be a new look for you."
"Would you just stop?" he asked angrily.
"What?"
"Whatever it is you're doing right now! I honestly don't know if you're trying to make me feel better or worse. Why does it matter so much if I go out there, huh? Is it just easier to forget me if I'm holed up in some cave? Or do you just enjoy reminding me of how useless and pathetic I am?"
She swallowed. "You're being an Idiot."
He laughed without humor. "Oh yeah, I forgot…a pathetic Idiot. That's all you've ever seen me as."
"Why don't you stop being an Idiot and listen for a minute, ok?" She sounded angry but Cole didn't really care. He was still refusing to look at her, so she grabbed his face and forced it towards her own.
"If you go out there, you'll die. And you can't die. Because…" here she faltered as he looked at her with a confused expression. She swallowed again.
"Because you are the only thing I care about…the only thing I've ever cared about. So if you go off and do something stupid and get yourself killed I'll never forgive you." Her voice was rising and she suddenly moved. Cole was already feeling a little blindsided, so he tensed in preparation for the punch or whatever other attack was surely coming.
She hugged him. He was only the second person she had ever hugged and she couldn't help but worry that she was doing it wrong. He seemed frozen in place and she sighed.
"Just…please…for once, don't be an imbecile." She whispered. Face burning, she hurried to let go and walked quickly back to the safehouse.
83
Jay watched Cole and Wu walk out and stole a glance over at Zane and Kai. He hoped that Wu was planning on talking Cole out of going…to be honest, he hoped that Wu could talk him out of it. If he knew his best friend…and he did… the stubborn dirt-clod was going to refuse to be left behind.
There was a lot of tension in the situation as everyone looked at him, Zane, and Kai for an explanation.
"What exactly is going on?" Nya asked, the first to break the awkward silence. She was looking at Jay…of course she was looking at him. He bit his lip and tried to think of how to put it without disclosing too much. There were some things he'd rather wait to explain.
It was Zane who answered. "Given Cole's current condition…it would logically be best for him to stay here in the cave rather than…"
"Current condition? What's wrong with my son?" Lou demanded.
"Nothing serious…" Kai cut in.
"If it wasn't serious, Wu wouldn't be out there talking him out of coming," Skylor pointed out.
"It doesn't matter!" Jay finally cut in. "Stuff happened in the first realm…Cole got hurt...he can't fight. Consider yourselves caught up." He pushed himself up from the table, ignoring everyone's curious looks.
Lloyd sighed. "Why don't we all take five while we wait for them to come back. Probably be best for us all to be on the same page."
"I'll go make sure our tour bus is in tip-top shape." Ed said. He turned to Jay, "Wanna come, boyo?"
"Maybe in a minute, Dad." Jay answered, distracted. As everyone else wandered off to their various vehicles to make sure they were good to go, Jay wandered over to the entrance to the cave.
"Jay…" Nya's face was concerned and the blue ninja sighed.
"I just wanted to make sure Wu is winning the argument that I know is happening outside…" he explained. She raised an eyebrow.
"Have you ever known Wu to lose an argument?"
Jay had to chuckle at this, remembering Kai's comment about Keyda and Wu in a debate match. It suddenly occurred to him that the Oni was nowhere to be found.
"What's wrong? What are you looking for?"
"Did you see Keyda leave, or….?"
Nya's expression hardened as she too scanned the room, but there was still no sign of Keyda. She sighed.
"I thought you said we could trust her!"
"We can!" Jay said defensively. Nya shot him a look. He bit his lip.
"I mean, I'm mostly sure we can."
"Then where'd she go? How do you know she's not running off right now to give away our location?!"
Jay just shook his head. He honestly still didn't know Keyda that well…but after the time he had spent around her the last few weeks, he doubted that she would rat them out now.
"Maybe she went to talk to Cole…" he suggested, heading for the entrance again.
"Why would she?" Nya asked hotly.
Jay shrugged as they went to leave the cave. Just then the entrance opened and Wu passed by, expression hard.
"So, how'd it go?" the blue ninja prompted. Wu glanced over at the couple hovering by the entrance.
"He's staying…whether he wants to or not. We've got more pressing things to deal with Cole's bad mood, however. Lloyd! Let's get on with the plan…"
Jay sighed in relief and went to go back to the table, but Nya grabbed his arm.
"We still haven't found Keyda! We need to find out if she's a traitor now so we have time to warn the others and plan accordingly."
Jay frowned but allowed himself to be lead out of the open entrance. They could hear what sounded like hushed arguing as they came out into the desert.
"There she is…" Nya pointed out the two figures sitting side by side a ways off. "I guess you were right, then. What on earth do you think they're talking about?"
Jay shrugged. "He's probably being defensive….she's more than likely calling him names…" he trailed off as he watched Keyda throw her arms around his best friend. He blinked in surprise.
"Ok…that's actually a new one…"
Nya had an unreadable expression on. Suddenly they realized that Keyda had stood up and was no doubt on her way back. They quickly scampered back inside the Samarui X cave, neither really wanted to be caught spying. They headed over to the table where half of the crew was embroiled in more technical talk about how the next 24 hours or so would play out while the rest were tweaking things on various vehicles. Nya leaned over as they walked.
"Be straight with me, Jay…you probably know Cole better than anyone else…"
"Well…yeah," he said, almost defensively. "I'm his best friend…."
"So you would know," Nya continued, looking at him. "Does he like this Keyda girl? Like…really like her?"
Jay paused. Answering that question would mean thinking about it…and he and Kai had already decided not to think about it. He finally exhaled.
"Yeah. I think…he really does."
Nya nodded absently. Jay groaned a little.
"I know that look… please don't escalate the situation…"
"Escalate? I'm not going to escalate anything, Jay. Wait, what look?" she glared at him.
"The expression you get when you're about to chew someone out…"
"Jay Walker, you have no idea what you're talking about. And weren't you supposed to be helping your Dad with the tour bus?" she said, changing the subject. Jay held his hands up in defeat, not even bothering to point out that she was technically chewing him out right then.
"Alright, fine. But just a warning, everyone I've seen go toe-to-toe with Keyda lost…"
She gave him another look and he sighed and headed over to the purple bus while Nya turned to wait for the arrival of a certain Oni.
84
Keyda's face was still flushed when she came into the cave. She was headed back to her spot on the outer wall when someone stepped into her path.
"So…Keyda, was it?"
The Oni rolled her eyes. She knew an ambush when she heard one. She tried to step around the dark-haired girl, but she just blocked her path again.
"I was wondering if I could have a few minutes in private…"
"No." Keyda took a few more steps, but the girl seemed bent on irritating her. She huffed. "Get out of my way."
"Ok, lemme rephrase. I need to talk to you, now. Or are you afraid I'll find out you're hiding something?"
Keyda moved to go around her, and this time the girl let her by. However, she followed her over to the wall. Keyda groaned internally and turned to go down one of the tunnels. Sure enough, the girl continued following her. Once they were alone she turned on her, hands on her hips.
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked icily. The girl folded her arms. Her expression was determined, but there seemed to be an underlying uncertainty in it as well.
"What are you doing here, really?"
"Excuse me?"
"You really expect me to believe that an Oni volunteered to come into our realm and help get rid of Garmadon?"
"I don't really care what you believe." Keyda arched her eyebrows. "But for the record, I didn't volunteer. I was asked to come along, and you can either deal with it or take it out with Golden Boy."
"Golden-Boy?" The girl blinked. "You mean Wu? You're saying that Wu asked you to come along? Well if that's true, it still doesn't explain why you agreed…"
"If it's true?" Keyda scoffed. "What's the point of interrogating me if you aren't even going to believe what I tell you? And I only agreed to come because I need to make sure that 'Wu' keeps his promise."
"What promise?"
"Why don't you ask him about it?" Keyda was done getting questioned and judged by people who had no idea what they were talking about. She squinted at the girl. Yep, she was definitely picking up some sibling similarities between her and hot-headed brother.
The girl looked just about as frustrated as Keyda felt. Keyda's hard expression hadn't changed as she glared her down, arms folded. The girl finally sighed, hands up.
"Ok…let's just take a step back. I don't think I ever introduced myself. I'm Nya…I'm Kai's sister. I've known the ninja for years and for the last week, I thought they were dead. So forgive me if I'm being a little overprotective…"
"Do you feel like they need protection from me?"
"That's the thing…I don't know who you are or what your motives are…but a 'being of ultimate destruction' just showing up and saying you're here to help…it's a little suspicious, alright?!"
Keyda scoffed again and turned to go. "Like I said, either take it up with Wu or learn to live with it." She could practically feel the dark-haired girl fuming behind her.
"Are you using him?!"
Keyda stopped dead, back still turned.
"What?" her voice was dangerously low and she heard the girl swallow. Her tone, however, was still defiant.
"We trusted a girl, not long ago, who showed a lot of interest in Lloyd. But she turned out to be evil and she used him…she played with his emotions and she hurt him, in more ways than one. So if I find out that you're here for any other reason than to help, and that you're using Cole in the process, I'll…"
Keyda whirled around, her eyes flashing purple.
"Using him?! It's all your colorful little friends who have been using me! You're just like your brother, you know? Everything's black and white with you. I'm a Oni, and a stranger, so I'm the enemy, while your oh-so-perfect friends are blameless, huh?"
The girl took a few steps back as Keyda's fists started glowing as well.
"Need I remind you that those friends are just in the other room…so if you try anything…"
"Are you scared, Nya? Need someone to defend you from me? If that was the case why did you insist we meet alone? Thought you could handle me?"
Nya glowered. "Oh, I can handle you alright…but I'd love for the others to see who you really are…"
"And you of all people know who that is?! You've known me less than a few hours and you already have me all figured out? Then it sure is strange that there's a lot you don't know about your friends who you've known for years…."
"What are you even talking about?!"
"If it wasn't for me, Cole would be dead…several times over. He's got scars that are never gonna heal, but I didn't give him any of them. Your friends on the other hand…."
"LIAR!" Nya shot a blast of water, but Keyda just leaned out of the way.
"Haven't you noticed how they all skirt around the topic when you ask? Why do you think none of them want to talk about what happened to him!?" She dodged a few more water blasts and then shot a large purple orb at the infuriating girl. Nya flew backwards, hitting the wall.
"You want to know why I'm really here?! I'm here because I need to make sure he doesn't get killed because his so-called family has been doing a really lousy job of it up to this point. And I couldn't care less if you like me or if you believe me… one thing I'm not here to do is make friends. So why don't you just stay out of my way and stop trying to pass judgement on things that you could never understand!"
Nya had gotten up, breathing hard and ready for more of a fight, but Keyda was already nearly out of the tunnel. She turned back once more and Nya could see her purple eyes glowing in the dim lighting.
"Some of those scars he got protecting me...and I'll never forget it. So don't you ever suggest that I'm using him again."
Ninja
"Ok…so we're all on the same page now. What time are we leaving?" Lloyd turned to Wu, who seemed to be zoning out. Or maybe he was meditating…it was hard to tell. The Dragon Master was silent for a few moments and then opened his eyes to see that everyone was waiting for him to speak.
"My Brother is in Ninjago City…no doubt he has started tracking my location. If I stay here any longer I'm afraid I'll lead him here and we will lose our ability to go on the offensive."
"Alright. You all have your assignments. Any questions before we head out?" Lloyd asked, looking around the circle.
"Wait! Nya hasn't gotten an assignment yet…" Jay pointed out. He looked around and realized that his girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.
"Speaking of which, where is my sister?" Kai was looking around as well.
"Ahhhh mannnn…." Jay had a sneaking suspicion. As if on cue, Keyda came storming out of a tunnel, eyes flaming as she marched past the group. Everyone watched silently.
"Ah….just what we need. Another headstrong woman." Ronin commented dryly. Moments later Nya came out of the same tunnel, looking furious.
"Hey, Sis! We are heading out soon….who are you traveling with?" Kai yelled. She looked over at her brother, then back at where Keyda was fuming up against her wall. She marched over to the table and slammed her hands down.
"Ok…I need some answers. How can we trust someone like that," she gestured to Keyda. "When she says things like that you guys are the ones who hurt Cole…" she paused, hating the expressions on her friend's faces. Why did they have to look so guilty?! "So you guys need to fill me in right now"
"We don't have time!" Kai cut in angrily. "Wu just said Garmadon's on our trail…if we are going to have any kind of element of surprise we need to strike now before the S.O.G have time to get fully organized. So who are you travelling with?!"
"Why are you avoiding the question?!" She asked, pointing an accusatory finger at Kai. "You realize that you're just giving her more of a leg to stand on, right?"
"Nya….look, we told you that we would tell you all the full story later…and we will. But right now we have to get to Ninjago City. Do you want to ride with me?" Jay interjected.
Nya huffed. "You know what? If you guys aren't even going to answer the simplest questions, then I'm not traveling with any of you."
"Hey, I'm going to need some help…at the moment they have me going solo since Cole got put under house arrest…" Ronin cut in.
"It's not house arrest. We need someone to watch the monitors." Wu cut in defensively.
"Uh huh. Anyways, what do you say, Nya?" The thief continued, not missing a beat.
"You know what? Sure. Might as well." Nya said, still miffed at her friends, who she noticed were avoiding eye contact.
"Alright….maybe now we should actually go…" Skylor said, having watched the entire exchange with the same confused concern as the rest of the group.
"Skylor is right…the longer we wait here, the more advantage we give Garmadon…" Zane noted.
"And the longer Cyrus Borg goes without help." P.I.X.A.L added.
Wu nodded. "It's time."
85
What….was that?
Everyone would be leaving soon…but Cole was still frozen in place, gazing out to the horizon where the sky was slowly getting lighter. The scene played over and over in his mind…did she say that she cared about him? In what way? What was the hug about? He didn't even know she knew how to hug. He was prepared for her insults and attacks; she didn't like him…she wanted to forget him. But then she had gone and blindsided him. Was she just saying what he wanted to hear so he'd stay behind? Was what she said what he wanted to hear?
He dry washed his face again; he was exhausted. He wanted to go inside and insist on going with everyone anyways…but the fight had left him. The Baron, his friends, Keyda, Wu…he'd been fighting with everyone all week and now he was tired, hungry, confused, in pain…an hour ago he had been ready to take on Garmadon himself but now he didn't even have the energy to argue with anyone else. He pulled himself up off the ground, feeling stiff and sore. He limped back over to the entrance to the Samauri X cave, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. The peace and quiet from outside was marred by the inside ruckus of machinery and yelled orders. He sighed, leaning up against a railing as he watched everyone prepare to leave. It looked like Nya was going with Ronin…Jay was over with his parents…Wu was talking to Lloyd and Misako seemed to be headed over to REX. Everyone getting ready to go on their missions. He glanced over at the monitors. What was he supposed to be monitoring here, anyways? Any monitoring they needed could be done by Zane and P.I.X.A.L...he figured his "role" was really just an excuse to help him feel useful as he stayed behind. He sighed again. Someone touched his shoulder and he looked over at his father.
"Hey Dad." he tried to give his father a small smile, but Lou just shook his head.
"I know you don't want to be here, son. Knowing you, you want to be out in the front of the action."
Cole watched as Jay tightened something or other on the bus, saying something to his folks. Ed laughed and rubbed his son's head, obviously glad to have him back.
"I…just hate feeling useless. And sitting here, doing nothing…"
"I get how you feel son." Cole looked over at his father, eyebrow raised. Lou chuckled a bit. "I'm sure you can imagine how helpful an old performer is to a resistance…"
Cole smiled. "How many songs did you write, Pop?"
"17. But only 6 or 7 are good enough quality to warrant…" Lou trailed off and he turned back to his son. "I did want to help though…really help. I came up with a plan and everything. But it…backfired…"
Cole gave his father a comforting back pat. A few engines revved and they looked up. It seemed like everyone was ready to head out. Wu walked over and Cole looked at the ground. He was still not very happy with his now-teenage sensei.
"We're leaving one bike behind…if anything happens and you are discovered, use it to get you and your Father out of here." the Golden-Master explained.
"To…where?" Lou asked. Wu turned to him.
"Anywhere…as long as it's away from the city." He eyed Cole again. "OK?"
"Yep." he muttered. Wu sighed and nodded. That was going to have to be good enough. He turned to the rest of the group.
"Alright…keep track of one another on your communicators. If any of you happen to run into my brother, do not engage. Let us know your position and clear the way as best as you can without attacking Garmadon. He is too powerful at this point…"
"Then how are you going to take him down?" Ronin asked testily. Wu ignored the thief choosing instead to open the door to the outside.
Cole and Lou watched as everyone boarded their vehicles and headed out into the morning. Cole's friends made sure to wave as they headed out, and he gave waves in return. Keyda was the last to leave, and Cole realized that her eyes were purple. He wondered who had set her off this time…or was she mad at him? The longer he knew her…the more impossible she was to read. She looked over sternly and pointed a finger at him.
"Stay. Put."
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked, a little irritably. He frowned and rubbed a hand through his hair as she turned to go.
"Hey…Keyds…"
She paused and glanced over at him as he sighed.
"Be careful…ok? Garmadon and Harumi are dangerous…"
"Don't worry about me, Idiot. Dangerous is my way of life, remember?" She disappeared out the door. Cole and Lou stood in silence as they listened to the Samauri X entrance seal itself shut. A light flickered and Lou turned, eyebrow raised.
"Soo...I didn't really recognize that young lady…"
Cole facepalmed, groaning internally. Not only was he left behind with his father…but now he was stuck in this conversation.
"I don't really wanna talk about it, Pop…" he limped over to one of the chairs by the monitors, typing into the computer system. Sure enough…lots of little red dots, still in the same places they were in before. Go figure.
Lou followed him over.
"Well…it's just that I couldn't help noticing…"
"It's really nothing."
"What's really nothing?"
"Dad…"
"Ok. So you don't want to talk about it." Lou grunted as he lowered himself in a seat, cane still in hand. "But we do have a lot of time on our hands…"
"Like you said…don't want to talk about it."
"So there is an 'it' to talk about?"
Cole gave him a withering look. Lou sighed, frustrated. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet.
"Son, over the years we have barely seen each other...and then just like that you were gone."
Cole didn't turn to look at him, but he stopped typing. Lou continued.
"I realized that I had run out of chances to get to know my son…but then, miracle upon miracle, here you are. This is my chance Cole…maybe our last chance. I…I know I haven't really been the best father in the past. But I am trying to be better…please at least talk to me…"
Cole sat for a moment, and then looked over.
"What do you wanna know, Pop?" he asked, resigned. Lou smiled in relief and patted his knee.
"How'd you meet?"
"Umm…" Cole shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "We were in the first realm, you know, and she…got me out of a tough spot. I got her into a couple more…um…finally talked her out of killing me, and she agreed to come help us out."
"Ah." Lou blinked. "I see…uh…that bit about talking her out of killing you…that's a joke, right?"
Cole shrugged. "Yeah…well…she is an Oni, Dad. Being of destruction and all."
Lou smoothed his vest. "But you trust her?"
"Yes."
Lou looked at his son's expression out of the corner of his eye.
"Aaaaand…you like her."
Cole shrugged again as his father continued to stare at him with raised eyebrows and a wide smile.
"I don't know. She is so confusing… half the time I honestly think she hates everything; my friends, the world, me…but all her actions say different things than her words…you know? Under all the bitterness and rage I think she does care. She'll say whatever she's thinking, not caring about the consequences. Which means that even if she lacks tact…she's never afraid to tell the truth. Heck, she's one of the most honest people I've ever met, technically. At first, I just wanted to help her, you know…she was stuck in a pretty bad position. But then…I don't know, it just sorta…" he shrugged again, frustrated. "I don't know. I can't explain it. Frankly, it doesn't make any sense."
He began typing into the monitor again, searching random files as his father nodded in silence behind him.
"You know…life doesn't make sense sometimes. Take my second talent competition at Marty Openhiemer's…we Royal Blacksmiths had won the year before, and it was time to defend our title. You'd better believe I worked my quartet nearly into the ground… I do not like losing, son."
Cole smirked a little as he continued typing. Lou went on.
"When we arrived, we were ready to take home the prize. Especially since most of the other acts were sub par at best. But then there was this trio…heavens, I could never have prepared for them. Especially not a certain young lady with a dazzling smile…and the best dancing I'd ever seen. We lost that day son…but I found something greater than a mere performance title. Indeed, sometimes life doesn't make sense. But isn't that what makes it so interesting?"
"I remember that story." Cole said softly. "Mom was always rubbing that victory in your face…"
Lou laughed. "Well…what can I say? They deserved it…and I may have been a little distracted." He chuckled a little longer before falling quiet.
"She'd be proud of you, son."
Cole froze.
"I'm serious…all you and your friends have done to protect people, to help people…"
"I don't know Pop." Cole's voice was quiet. "I…I kinda get the feeling that she wouldn't have wanted this life for me. Like maybe she didn't want me to be an elemental master…"
"Son." Lou's voice became stern. "I know I haven't always been that supportive of your decisions…especially the ones that took you away from our family's traditions. But I know your mother…and all she ever wanted for you was that you'd do the right thing. That's what you've been doing…you and your friends. You're doing what makes you happy…and she's proud of you. I know it."
Cole let out a shaky breath and looked over at his father.
"Thanks, Pop."
Harumi
"We can leave immediately." Harumi informed her Emperor. He nodded absently, eyes still off in the horizon. "Are you sure you just want to wait at the temple? We could have forces hunt your brother down…"
"There is no need. He will come to me." Garmadon cut her off and she bowed in response. She turned to Mr. E, who was waiting silently nearby.
"Keep the monitors going; I want eyes on all the ninja as much as possible. And do not stop looking for their base; I want all the rebels squashed…it will help if they have nowhere left to run back to."
The red-eyed nindroid nodded his understanding and headed for the security room. Harumi smoothed her hair. Garmadon was sure that Wu would be coming to face him. No doubt he would bring his nephew with him…and this time, Lloyd would not slip away.
22
