Chapter 5: please stay in this happy moment
A/N: Yeah, I'm really sorry. I have zero excuse. I just couldn't bring myself to do anything these past months, there's so much stuff going on and I can't function right now. I'm so sorry. I know that this is short and rushed like the other chapters, and I really wanted to fix that, but I want to get this out before quickly. There are a lot of complications right now, and they're not anything I really want to share here, but just know that I will finish everything up to the best of my ability.
Also, I drew up a new cover image!
Description: "There are more ways to break a person than killing them, Clouse. I didn't make you my second-in-command for nothing!"
Once they'd reached Kai's room by hanging underneath the bed and flipping it over- which was not a good idea, and catapulted them all to various places in the Fire Suite- they heard a faint knock on a door.
"Master Chen orders all competitors to come to the arena." A kabuki servent spoke into the room next to Kai's, startling them all. "He will announce a change to the schedule."
In moments, the ninja had hidden all around Kai's room. Cole shoved himself underneath the bed. Jay was stuffed into a closet by Lloyd, who flung himself inside as well. Kai threw a blanket over Orianna, who was still sprawled on the floor, and sat down on the mysterious lump of comforter.
The woman walked to Kai's room and poked her painted face in. Trying to be inconspicuous, Kai kept switching around the pose he was in, trying to cover more and more of the Nindroid with every reconsidering of his pose.
"Master Chen…" The kabuki looked puzzled for only a moment, before letting out a little sigh. To her credit, she completed her job without even another moment's hesitation. "...orders all competitors to come to the arena. He will announce a change to the schedule." Then she walked out of the room.
Cole reappeared from underneath the bed, popping his head out. "Whatever they're paying her, it's not enough."
Jay and Lloyd stumbled out of the closet, faces shocked and angry. "Kai, you already burnt down part of your room?!" Jay cried out in disbelief. He put his hands on his friends' shoulders. "Stop it!"
Cole let out a sound of someone who was completely done with the fire ninja. "Let me see!" Kai shook out of Jay's grip and made a pitiful attempt to hold the earth ninja back.
"Dooonnnnn'tttttt…" he whined as he, only a less than average human, tried
to hold back a bulldozer. Cole broke free easily and strode into the closet, pushing the still-astonished Jay and Lloyd aside.
"KAI!" Narrowed, dark brown eyes popped out of the wardrobe. "Did you blow something up in here?"
"No!"
"Yes you did!"
"So why ask?"
"Because you're a liar!"
"I wasn't trying to be!"
Their argument rose, getting louder and louder, until-
Crack. Crack.
Their mouths froze shut, and they turned to gape at Orianna, who was still underneath the blankets. A few metal joints and a palm poked out of the pile. Even from where they stood and where Orianna was buried, they could tell the Nindroid was done with their arguments already.
"Ori!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Hey!" For a moment, it seemed like Lloyd was about to reprimand the Nindroid, but he just sighed. "C'mon…"
He walked over to the pile and took the blanket off with a flourish. The Nindroid was face-down on the floor, hand still raised. A few paces away, Kai burnt his own mouth trying to get the ice off. Cole was ready to punch it off his own face.
Orianna stood up and after brushing off the dirty purple dress, turned to face the other ninja. Ice-blue eyes had appeared, and although they were still blinking a little too fast, Zane was obviously back and ready to go.
"My apologies," Zane said blankly, but he made no move to help remove the ice from his friends' obviously freezing mouths. "but I do believe we are ninja." There was a familiar sharpness in his words. It was somewhat comforting.
"Sure." Jay breezily agreed, smirking at Cole's frustrated attempts to remove the seal of ice from his face. The Black Ninja paused for a moment when he saw Jay's cockiness to scream from behind the gag at him. "Mmm… refrigerator-mouth says wha?" It only made Cole scream more.
Zane gave his friends a sheepish look. "Ah, that was Pixal…" He made an icicle and proceeded to use it as a lever, albeit fairly wet and slippery one. But it did the job, and soon the gag was off both of the others' faces. They started to frantically try to warm up their mouths.
Lloyd gave them exactly forty seconds, then shoved them both to the doors. Forceful push by forceful push, he moved almost every member of his rather confused ninja squad. Even though none of them really bothered to help him by moving by themselves.
"Where are we going?" Zane politely inquired while his metal heels dug into the floor, which was rather unhelpful of him, seeing as how Lloyd was trying to move him and Zane was completely capable of free movement. "Will it be exciting?"
Lloyd paused to think, then spoke with a little bit of cheer. "Actually, Zane and Pixal, you two are going to stay here. We can't have Chen seeing his escapee android." He promptly let go of his hold, and Zane fell backwards into the carpet. His expression didn't change.
"Oh, okay." Zane was content with Lloyd's decision, even though green eyes flashed and fixed the face into a pout.
