Happy Friday! Last night was another late night, but only because I was struck by terrible writer's block on the last few hundred words. It was absolute torture. XD

Chapter Nineteen: Disclosure

"Tonight was supposed to be all about having a good time," Nya sighed, rubbing her bare arms. Jay noticed this and shrugged out of his jacket, placing the black garment over Nya's shoulders. She smiled and gave the Ninja of Lightning a quick peck on the cheek before continuing. "Now it sounds like you didn't have a good time and it's obvious that Laurie didn't either." The samurai could see Kai narrowing his eyes as she spoke. "Don't look at me like that," she chided, pulling the jacket tighter around herself. "You were the one that made her leave."

Kai sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't make her leave. She did that all on her own." The streets were slightly crowded as the other guests from the ball headed back home as well. A car drove past, its blinding headlights illuminating the asphalt before it turned a corner. "Besides, I didn't want her to go anyways. Everything that happened was just a big misunderstanding." His light brown eyes searched his sister's face who seemed unimpressed with his explanation. "I mean it," the red ninja asserted. "She didn't hear everything I had to say and she wouldn't stay to let me explain myself." His face fell as he replayed the moment in his head. Laurie had looked so hurt and that was the last thing he had wanted to do to her.

"It's my fault," Cole piped in, fiddling with the bow tie around his neck. As it loosened he took in a deep breath. "I saw Kai by himself and he looked, I don't know, sad." His gaze lingered on his brother for a little while. Kai frowned and averted his eyes to the ground. "Well, sadder than usual. I asked him what was wrong and that was what started everything."

The nindroid contemplated this as the group took a right at the nearest intersection. They were almost home now. "That does not matter, Cole. You simply engaged Kai in a conversation. He was the one who upset Laurie, not you." Zane glanced back and noticed Kai trailing farther behind the group, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dress slacks. "I did not mean to offend you, Kai," he apologized. "I was simply informing Cole that it was not his fault."

Kai nodded his head. Zane was right; it was no one's fault but his own. It had been nice of Cole to try and alleviate the heavy guilt that sat upon his shoulders. He wished that Laurie would have stayed and been willing to listen to him, but Kai understood how upset she must have been. There was a hand on the red ninja's shoulder and he looked up to see Jay. Jay slung his arm over his friend's shoulders now and smiled. "Don't worry about it. You've both had a chance to cool off and I'm sure Laurie will be willing to listen to you when we get back."

Everyone walked in silence as they traversed the streets, making their way back home. "It may have to wait until tomorrow though, Kai," Nya said softly, her gaze directed on her brother. "Laurie might not be willing to listen just yet. Plus, they might all be asleep when we get back." She noticed the red ninja nod softly and she drew in a deep breath. "Seriously, Kai, don't beat yourself up over this. Everyone makes mistakes and if Laurie still cares about you then she'll come around."

They stopped in front of the apartment and Cole turned the doorknob and leaned into the door, opening it slowly. "If Laurie still cares about me?" Kai scoffed, addressing his sister. "Yeah, that's what I was trying to figure out tonight in the first place." He ran into both Zane and Cole who had stopped in front of him. Wondering what the holdup was, Kai looked into the apartment through the space between his two brothers. His eyes widened as he was met with what almost appeared to be an empty apartment. The only thing that felt normal about it was Sensei Wu, standing over by the single window, gazing out of it.

"Sensei, where is everyone else?" Zane asked, finally stepping inside of the home. The others followed him closely, each surveying the areas they walked past. Kai did not see anything too out of the ordinary. A bag of chips was lying on the countertop, underneath an opened cupboard. He could see the light in the room reflecting off of several areas on the ground near the window. Walking towards the spot, Kai crouched down on the ground and picked up a shard of glass before tossing it back on the wooden panels. Yeah, where was everyone else?

The elderly man sighed and turned to face his students. "I-I'm not sure where they are," he confessed, his tone both soft and sad. Absentmindedly, Sensei Wu adjusted the straw hat upon his head before continuing on. "I arrived shortly before you, no more than a half hour ago. I should have been back much earlier, but I was at the hospital for visiting hours and then went to the dojo to meditate for a while." Sensei Wu bowed his head slightly, the edge of his hat shrouding his features in shadow. "If I had been back earlier, my nephew would still be here and safe."

Wait, what? "So Lloyd was taken?" Kai asked, getting to his feet and fiddling with the knot that kept his tie securely around his neck. How did anyone enjoy dressing up like this? Ties probably felt like the equivalent to a dog collar. "I bet it was that girl!" he growled, throwing the tie on to his bed and kicking his shoes off. "It was a stupid idea to leave him here with her. Lloyd shouldn't have had a choice in going to the ball or not. We should have made him come so we could keep an eye on him!"

"What's done is done, Kai," Cole said sharply, shrugging off his jacket and throwing it over a chair near the dining room table. "There's no use going back and thinking about what could have been done. That's not going to get Lloyd back." The black ninja turned to Sensei Wu, his amber eyes full of worry. "Do you think Rhea did this?"

Stroking his beard thoughtfully, Sensei Wu shook his head. "I don't believe that she was involved with this," he answered, lifting his head. He noticed Kai rolling his eyes and promptly hit the red ninja on his left arm with his walking stick. "Look for yourself, Kai. The glass is inside the room, which means it was broken from the outside. If you really do believe that Rhea was responsible for this, why would she go outside just to come around and break back in?"

Kai thought about this, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning. It would have taken a lot more time to set up an elaborate ploy than to just kidnap Lloyd. He sighed, raising his arms up in defeat before collapsing backwards on to his bed. So maybe he was wrong about this whole thing. "Fine, if you don't think it was Rhea than who was it? The Serpentine?" Silence fell upon the entire room and Kai sat up suddenly. Of course! Why had they not thought of this before? "I-it had to have been the Serpentine," the red ninja continued, his eyes wide. "This would have been the perfect opportunity for them to get him!" How could they have been so blind?

"I think Kai's right," Jay swallowed, pushing up the long sleeves of his blue dress shirt. "Those snakes have been trying so hard to get their scaly hands on Lloyd." He felt Nya slip her hand into his own and the Ninja of Lightning squeezed it reassuringly. "We have to go out and look for him. If we go now we might be able to surprise them. They probably won't expect us to come looking so late at night."

Jay's argument was making complete sense. Cole felt anxious and wanted to hit the streets immediately to look for their youngest team member. He was reminded of when this had almost happened a few months earlier; the fight in the subway with the Generals while Skales snuck into their overly expensive apartment and attempted to kidnap Lloyd. Now they had actually managed to succeed. "Sensei," the leader started, giving a deep bow, "we'll leave immediately to look for Lloyd. I don't think any of us are going to be able to rest until we know he's safe."

Sensei Wu nodded and smiled. "Thank you, my students. I will stay here while you're out just in case my niece or Rhea happens to return."

Everyone was changing now, spinning into their armored uniforms. Kai was not necessarily focused as he performed his Spinjitzu. Laurie had not been back to the apartment? He could not think of a reason that she would have wandered around the city rather than just coming home after she left the party. It seemed odd and really unlike her. Laurie was terrified of the dark, so why would she be out right now?

"Kai, are you coming?" Nya asked, gesturing towards the open door.

He blinked quickly, pulling his mask down and noticing that the others were already on their way out of the apartment. "Of course I'm coming," he said, grabbing his sword and sheathing it in the holster on his back. When they found those snakes, Kai hoped that they would beat them to a pulp.

A low groan escaped Laurie's lips as she suddenly felt her consciousness come flooding back. With great difficulty, she managed to open her eyes. Sparse, dim lights greeted her, barely illuminating her surroundings. From what the orange ninja could tell, she was in a vast area, seemingly empty with nothing but the support beams for the roof taking up some space. The teenager blinked several times, testing to see if the Venomari venom was still taking its toll on her. As her vision appeared normal and stable, Laurie gave a sigh of relief.

She leaned forward, trying to stand up, but noticed that she could not move. Her wrists were tied behind her, secured around one of the roof supports. Laurie leaned her head back against the concrete beam and saw it disappear into the darkness above. Where was she and how did she get here? It had to have been Skales and the other Serpentine. Inhaling deeply, Laurie pulled against the rope binding her hands. "Hello?" she called out, gritting her teeth against the pain in her wrists.

"Laurie, is that you?" came a small voice from somewhere in the darkness.

Every muscle in her body tensed up as her heart beat faster. "Lloyd!" the orange ninja yelled, pulling harder against her restraints. This must have been the warehouse she was supposed to meet the snakes at. "Where are you? I can't see you."

A shuffling sound came from across the empty space, echoing off of the bare walls. Laurie's eyes widened as one of the odd stone men from the city appeared underneath a hanging light a few feet in front of her. One of its hands was wrapped around Lloyd's left arm. The young boy's hands were tied in front of him and he continuously kicked his captor in the leg. Laurie saw the creature's other hand gripped Rhea's right shoulder. She seemed a little nervous, her dark eyes darting back and forth nervously. "Laurie!" the green ninja breathed, attempting to rush forward, away from the stone man. "How'd you find us?"

Wait a second, where were the Serpentine? "I got a note from Skales," Laurie answered, giving up on trying to break free from her bonds. Lloyd and Rhea were so close to her, yet she could not get to them. "The note said that if I didn't come here than you were going to die, Lloyd." Her own words hung in the tense air and Laurie suddenly realized something she had not previously. Killing Lloyd? Why would the Serpentine go to such great lengths to get a hold of him if they were just going to kill him? She felt her breath catch in her dry throat as she saw the confused look on her brother's face. "It wasn't the Serpentine that took you," Laurie sighed.

"No, it was not the snakes," someone chuckled. The eerie, raspy sound reverberated off of the surrounding walls, sending a chill up Laurie's spine. Out of the corner of her eye, the orange ninja could see a dark form dart underneath one of the flickering lights that hung from the ceiling. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. The laughter started up once more, deep and condescending. Laurie pulled against the ropes again, feeling an ominous presence fill the room. The shadowy figure appeared once again, this time standing behind Rhea. "It was me."

Underneath the light, Laurie could see the stranger better. It was definitely male, the rasping voice deep and throaty, but also definitely a shadow. There was no doubt in her mind now that this threat was more powerful than the Serpentine had ever been. The edges of this shadowy man wisped outwards and dissipated into the air entirely. Laurie narrowed her ice blue eyes, feeling her legs trembling slightly under the weight of her own body. "Well then, 'me', I'm here so let them go now."

"I never promised to release them upon your arrival," the shadow stated. Despite lacking defining facial features, the red head could have sworn he was smirking. "No, I recall dictating to my trusted General that the boy would not be killed. So, as it has been promised, I will not kill him." The tall, stone man glared his fluorescent green eyes underneath of his helmet and pushed Lloyd to the ground. Releasing a small grunt of pain, the green ninja was roughly pulled up by the hood of his sweatshirt by his captor, who looked at the shadow once more. "Of course, that does not mean that he will walk away unscathed."

Every nerve in her body was on edge. This guy was not playing around and it was scary. At least the Serpentine had kind of had their best interests in mind, despite the fact that they would have been used as hostages. She closed her eyes, hoping to try again to conjure a blast of wind that could possibly help Rhea get away. The girl was the only one without bonds, though the shadow continued to lurk behind her. Sweat began beading on her forehead as she concentrated, but nothing happened as the minutes passed by. "Why can't I do this?" she growled underneath of her breath.

"That's a fine trinket you have around your neck, girl," the shadow laughed, coming closer. The air around Laurie grew colder, but her eyes had adjusted to the patches of darkness well enough now that she could discern the kidnapper's silhouette. His hand reached out to grab her necklace, but passed right through it, leaving the skin just underneath Laurie's neck feeling like ice. "This gem in the middle is especially eye-catching. Where did you acquire such a piece of jewelry?" The shadow-man disappeared, choosing to stand behind Rhea once more.

"My boyfri-," Laurie started, but quickly swallowed the words. "I got it from a friend. Why, what do you care?"

The shadow wrapped what appeared to be its arms around Rhea and the young girl visibly tensed her muscles to his touch. "I care because it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do." Laurie's bewildered expression caused the man to laugh. "Do you think it's a coincidence that your abilities don't work while it hangs around your neck? That large gemstone on your trinket is made from a special dark matter only found where I dwell. I know about you, about what you are capable of. I was not going to take any chances."

What was he talking about? The more Laurie thought about it, the more his words made sense. It had only been since she put it on that she had been unable to control her elemental abilities. Since she had not changed out of her dress, she had not thought about taking Kai's gift off either. Wait…if it was Kai's gift to her, then he must have known about all of this. Why would he put Lloyd in danger if this was a plan to get back at her? "No, the person who gave me this was a friend and they would never try to hurt me. Who are you, liar?"

Rhea stumbled forward slightly as the stone man shoved her right shoulder. Her dark brown eyes gazed into Laurie's and she decided to look at the ground instead. "Oh, Rhea is no friend of yours, girl. She must have had you completely fooled," the shadow laughed. The young girl raised her head slowly only to see Laurie's hurt face. "As for me, I am known as the Overlord and I can assure you that I'm no liar."

Alright, thank you for reading! I'm so looking forward to developing this further next week, plus it will be my last week of math class for the summer. Two victories! See you next Friday! :D