Chapter 16
More Complications Arise
"We need to get in the house, now!" Lloyd screams as a treehorn approaches them and the Golden Ninja attempts to open the door. It's locked. "Dang it," Lloyd groans and whirls round, blasting a golden ball at the creature. It screeches and topples over into another one of the treehorns. "Try the door again!" Lloyd shouts as he charges another golden ball between his gloved hands, releasing it at the approaching creature.
Pixal tugs at the door, but it won't budge, and she bangs on it, shouting. "Is anyone here? Help us please! Open the door!" Nothing.
"Duck!" Lloyd tells her as a tree-like leg swings at her and another one comes at him. Before he can shoot another ball, the birch leg slams into his side with immense impact, causing him to fly through the air about five yards, into another treehorn. He falls on his hands and knees; then collapses on the powdery snow. He weakly pushes himself back on his knees and charges his golden ball, but it does not light up, and dissipates like an ancient artifact when touched.
Pixal instantly drops to the snow as the leg smacks into the house, denting it almost in half. She leaps up and grasps the birch "tree" and pulls it with slight difficulty away from the house, and into another approaching treehorn. The door has broken off and Pixal looks back, her eyes searching among a crowd of stooping "trees", finding him lying on his back, wild fear in his eyes. "Lloyd!" Pixal screams as she darts in his direction.
Lloyd clenches his aching side, his mind racing for options, knowing his father had been right. He shouldn't have relied solely on his golden powers, but he had a last resort still, thanks to Garmadon. This is for you, Dad. Lloyd puts his hands together, concentrating with his mind, lifting the treehorns off the ground, throwing them away from him, scattering them across the forest. Pixal rushes to him, and helps him up by both arms.
"The door is open," she notifies him.
"How did you- oh," Lloyd says when he looks at the ruined tree house.
A woman in a white coat, stained with red, blue, and black, stumbles out of the mess, and falls to both knees, screaming, wailing. "No, no, no, no, no!"
Pixal and Lloyd rush up to her and Lloyd asks, "Are you injured?"
"No," she wipes tears from her eyes and face.
"Is there anyone else trapped inside?" Pixal inquires.
She points towards the house, "Zane-Julien is in…there."
Without further consideration, Pixal pushes inside calling out, "Zane? Zane? Are you in there? Zane, please respond!"
"The blood leads through Jamanaukai village," Jay simply states as he and Cole quicken their pace towards the little group of buildings. Once there, they begin inquiries with the residents, but no one has seen anything at all.
One particularly tall man walks up to Jay and asks, "Are you looking for someone?"
"Yeah, did you see anything suspicious?" Jay responds.
"As a matter of fact, I did. I saw a man carrying another man in red last night, but I wasn't certain if that's what it was since it was dark," he tells him, "It's dawn now, so I can show you where I saw it."
"Thank you very much. Cole, someone may have seen Kai!" Jay calls to his brother, who is talking to a pretty girl. He says something to her; then hurries back.
The man leads them not too far away, between two buildings in an alley. He talks to them softly, "You know, about six years ago, a young teen killed a man with a knife in this particular place. He lost his memory and did not go to juvenile hall like he was supposed to." The man stops and turns to face the two ninja, "His name was Zane."
Before the two astonished brothers can respond, both are hit in the back of the head, and pass out on the cold floor. The man chuckles, "Zane's going to wish he had never been created."
I apologize for not updating yesterday. I was…sort of punished from writing. I am really sorry about that. *chuckles sheepishly*