Welcome back to the story :)
This chapter was a little more difficult to write, mainly because I had to look back at A Burning Passion for reference, and then I kinda got sucked into my own story...
But yea, here's the next chapter. Enjoy~
Steph's P.O.V.
Tyler and I stayed up for hours talking. As it turns out, both of us can't seem to find a way to fall asleep. Throughout the night, I noticed Tyler having mood swings. He would be nice and calm one minute, and then suddenly his face would start twitching, and a cold, violent look would come into his eyes. THAT was terrifying. I could tell he was trying to control it, but it was all I could do to suppress a scream. I mean, one time he came horribly close to stabbing me in the neck with an icicle. Finding out we shared the same mental illness probably won't change the fact that he still has an urge to kill me.
At one point, we got on the topic of the new generation of ninja. "You know they all wanna protect you from me, right?" Tyler asked, a slight hatred in his voice.
I gave an exasperated sigh. "Do you really think I care? No, do you really think I EVER cared?"
"You should. That's your family."
"And yours as well."
"But not by blood."
"All I have right now are my brother and dad. The rest of them aren't related by blood."
"But you still have real family."
"Your dad is here now."
"He's a fuckin prick."
I went silent for a moment. "I thought you guys were getting along well?"
"HA! Yea right. He's all up in my personal space, always wanting to do things, asking about my feelings, or trying to get all mushy on me. That's just not my style."
"Tyler, that's how a family works."
"Not a SINGLE ONE of those old farts treats any of you the way he treats me."
"Ok, and he hasn't seen you in how long? He probably thought you were DEAD. You should be grateful that he cares about you so much. He's just afraid to lose you again." I paused for him to respond, but he just shrugged in acceptance. Then, remembering his word choice, I said, "Also, they aren't old farts. Well, except maybe Cole. He's just old and fat and lazy." Tyler let out a small laugh. Hey, laughs are progress, right? Maybe I can help gain all of his emotions back.
There was an awkward pause. "I overheard Lloyd say that he was going to send us after Derek soon," Tyler said. "Ya know, to save your mom."
"Yes, we are going to save my mom. The six ninja and the lightning samurai Jessica and me. Because THAT'S gonna happen in this lifetime."
"I take it your elemental powers haven't improved much?"
"I can't even do spinjitzu yet!" I cried.
Hehehehe...
That's sooooo lame!
Even I can do that, and I don't even have a body!
Crap. I forgot about those little fuckers. Their insults got to me, and tears sprang in to my eyes.
Awww! The big baby's cryingggg!
"Shut up..." I muttered aloud. Tyler kind of just stood there, unsure of what to do.
CRY BABY! CRYYYYY!
You'll NEVER be good enough!
Yea! Your mom should just give up hope on life now!
"Shut UP!" I screamed, turning and punching the concrete wall next to me. Even Tyler flinched in my peripheral vision. Like, a MASSIVE flinch. As if he was hurt by my attack.
After the quick adrenaline rush faded, the first thing I thought was Oh shit, my hand is probably all mangled up right now.
The first thing I noticed was the crack in the wall where my fist had hit it.
Then I noticed that my hand was only lightly sore, with a couple scratches on my knuckles.
Then I heard Tyler say, "Well, that's one way to wake up the whole house." I looked at him, and his eyes widened in realization. "Oh fuck. SHIT! They're gonna come down here and see us together! They're gonna KILL me! Oh fucking SHIT!"
I grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly. "No they won't! Just calm down, I'll figure this out."
But it was too late. Lloyd made it down the basement steps first. Next was Joey. Upon seeing my brother, Tyler stepped a huge step away from me.
Fire flared in his eyes. "You ASSHOLE!" Joey shouted at Tyler.
"Joey wait -" I began.
"Stop defending him!" Joey screamed. "I heard you scream. Obviously he hurt you!"
"He did NOTHING!" I shouted at him. "Tyler isn't the jerk everyone thinks he is, ok? He's done absolutely NOTHING to hurt me, and wouldn't do anything to hurt me." Well, I wasn't sure of that last part. "Stop being such a judgmental prick and leave him alone!" As I said this, I noticed that the rest of the house had appeared in the basement. Melissa, Cole, Kru, Jay, and Nya all looked utterly shocked. Amanda clung to Zane, who had his arm around her. Dr. Steinsberry just looked uncomfortable and confused. Lloyd looked ready to act in case a fight broke out, but besides that he was pretty calm. The kids just looked like they would burst out laughing any second. Probably because I just cursed at my brother, who was now staring at me in shock.
But the one face that confused me was Dad's face. He glanced between me and Tyler, as if he saw right through us. It was like he saw something that no one else was able to notice.
He calmly turned to everyone and said, "Guys, just go back to bed. I'll handle this."
After an awkward pause, the adults tuned to go back upstairs. Brian and Jessica followed. Toby, Ryan, and Zack went over to examine the crack in the wall that I made. Toby lightly stroked it with his hand, turned to me and said, "You did this?" I nodded slightly. "Major props, kid. I know I couldn't do that, and that's my elemental power." He and the twins nodded in appreciation, then climbed the stairs to go back to bed. Dad smiled a little.
Joey was the only one that remained. He still looked furious at Tyler, even though he had no idea what really happened. Dad turned to him calmly. Coming from my dad, this calm stuff made me nervous. He's the ex-ninja of fire. He's known for his temper. "Joey, don't make me ask you twice. Go." As Joey turned to go, he glared at Tyler one last time, who in return smiled and winked. That only make Joey more furious, but he kept going up the stairs.
Finally, Dad turned to me and Tyler. He spoke to me first. "So. I see you've figured out earth."
I shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, not exactly. It, um, kinda just happened."
"You just need to practice your powers more. Trust me, your mother had similar problems. It was her emotions that helped her first learn to use her powers."
"Really?" I asked.
Dad nodded. "You're a lot like your mother," he said, his gaze flickering towards Tyler real quick. I would've asked what he meant by that, but I could tell that thinking of Mom was hurting him.
"So, what exactly happened down here?" he asked.
"Um..." I looked at Tyler, searching for a way to explain this to my father. "Well, I punched the wall."
"I know. But why?"
"Ummmmm..."
"Was it Tyler's fault?"
"No!"
"That's what I thought. Now why did you punch the wall?" Both Tyler and I stared at my dad, more than a little confused.
Finally, Tyler spoke. "I call bullshit. Of course you thought it was my fault. Everything's my fault according to you guys."
"Tyler, you're just like I was when I was younger, around when I met Julia. I always tried to hide my emotions, and then suddenly I had no way to act on them. That caused me to do some pretty stupid things." I knew what he was talking about, because I've overheard him and Mom talking at night sometimes. He didn't find the courage to ask her out until she was with some random guy named Kevin. He almost killed himself because he got so depressed. Obviously, though, everything worked out for him. Duh, he married the love of his life!
"What does any of this have to do with me?" Tyler asked.
"Well, firstly, all of that insanity Zane and Amanda keep rambling on about? That's all in your head, because of your emotions. It just affects certain people differently than others. And secondly - well, I think you know." Well I didn't know! Tyler understood, and blushed very lightly.
"But that's also how I can tell you're more innocent than everyone makes you out to be - because I was like you once. Well, not EXACTLY like you, but you get my point. Unfortunately, my one vote doesn't seem to count against everyone else's." Tyler nodded in understanding. "So, will one of you please tell me what the heck is going on?"
Tyler seemed to comfortable with my dad, and hopefully he trusted him as well. I decided just to tell Dad everything relevant to that poor wall I cracked. I told him about this afternoon, when the ninja went out to stop the Serpentine, and I wound up running to the scene as well. I could tell he was upset that I lied, but he didn't interrupt me. I told him how Tyler and I planned to meet down here in the basement, because we both didn't sleep anymore. At this point, he made another comment about how I was just like my mom. When I asked him to elaborate, he simply said, "She didn't sleep for a while there either. Sometimes she went off on her own at night, and wound up discovering her powers. You're basically your mother, Steph."
Finally, I finished the story. Dad nodded, letting the information sink in. "Ok, here's the deal. You did lie to me, and you almost got yourself hurt. Thank you for telling the truth, but you're still grounded." He kept going before either Tyler or I could protest. "Your punishment is that for the next week, Tyler has to train with you, in addition to training with the rest of the kids. I will be checking on you guys every once in a while to see your progress. From what I can tell, Tyler's helped your powers improve already."
I kind of just stared at my dad. He calls that a punishment?
Tyler felt the same way. I could tell because he said, "You call THAT a punishment?"
Dad began walking towards the steps to go upstairs and back to bed. "I never said it was a severe punishment or anything." Then he left us.
Toby's P.O.V.
The week following that weird thing with Tyler and Steph in the basement was pretty interesting. Steph and Tyler trained a lot after everyone else had finished for the day, and she improved pretty quickly. I was still pretty stunned how hard she socked that concrete wall. Damn, I wish I could do that. That was HARDCORE.
Out of earshot of those two - and Joey, because he'd be pretty pissed if he heard us - Jess, Brian, Ryan, Zack, and I kinda shipped them. It was weird, considering Steph is all innocent (well, was innocent) and Tyler is all "ima kick yo ass bitch fuck everyone". But they worked well together. So it was cute. And weird. But I mean, I'd support it. As long as Tyler can control his temper. That's really the only problem that I have with the guy.
Before I knew it, it was my birthday. I just turned 21, so my dad decided to take me out for my first drink. Which actually sucks, considering how drunk he can get. It's hard to believe he was once the strong, muscular earth ninja. But still, he took me out to a bar that he said he used to go to while him and my mom were dating. We took the bus, because there was NO WAY I was letting him drive drunk.
I had about half a beer, while Dad had at least three. By then, he was HAMMERED. Soon, he was rambling on about some memories from years ago, but I couldn't really understand him, because he was too drunk to talk right. I stopped drinking to look out for him.
Suddenly, when I wasn't paying attention, I heard Dad shout, "Hey, 'ook who it is! It Kevin!" I looked up to see this really pale ginger guy with dead-looking blue eyes.
"Hello, Cole," Kevin said apathetically.
"Hehe! The last time I was this drunk was the last time I saw you! How've ya been, man?"
"I am... well. I see you've found a mate with which to reproduce," he said, glancing at me. Wow, this guy talks weird.
"Yeppers! Me and Melissa -" he lowered his voice, "- tied the knot, if ya know what I mean." I rolled my eyes. "Here's a random question for ya: Did ya really love Julzzz? I mean, she's SUPER hot, but you wanted to get back at Garmadon, and you proposed, and..." He kept on slurring, but I just kind of stood in shock. Is he referring to Julia? Kai's Julia? Steph & Joey's MOM Julia?! She dated this weirdo?!
"I will admit, there was a love inside of me at one point. But the thought of getting revenge on that sadistic Garmadon overpowered that love. I realized that Julia was far too obnoxious to marry. And remember, you formed a relationship with her as well."
"What?!" I blurted out.
"Yea!" Dad exclaimed. "She was a TOTAL hottie, son. SO hot. Like, DAMN SON, she was fiiiine." Then he fell off his chair, unconscious.
"DAD?!" I rushed to his side, relieved to find a pulse.
Kevin knelt down beside him to examine him real quick. "It seems he has consumed more alcohol than his body can handle." He then lifted my dad with ease. Damn, this guy must be stronger than Steph! I'm starting to feel kinda weak compared to them... "I will help you return him to his home."
"Thanks," I said, and called a taxi to come pick us up.
Oh crap, Kevin's back! For those of you who don't remember him, I suggest you check back in A Burning Passion. I'll post a quick summary of his time with the ninja at the beginning of the next chapter.
By the way... wasn't Kevin always SUPER weak? Where'd this strength come from? And what the HELL is going on with Steph and Tyler? Believe me, it just gets weirder from here...
Have a super fab day, readers. And don't forget to review! :)