Review Replies:
Isabella camovic: Sorry for taking so long, I've just moved to England, so I've been rather busy settling in. Also, while I appreciate the enthusiasm on how much you want to know what happens, please refrain from demanding updates. I don't have a proper writing scheduled, but I try to update as fast as I can as often as I can. And Zane and Echo will reunited, but not for quite a few more chapters.
HS1274281: Why do people keep thinking I'm discontinuing my stories? I have stated that I'm moving to England and updates might take a while, since I have been settling in and unpacking and getting into a new school and whatnot. Don't fear, NONE of my in-progress stories are being discontinued.
StoriesAreMagic: Thank you!
Ebony umbreon: DING! DING! DING! WE HAVE A WINNEEEEEEER!
TheAmberShadow: Hmm, interesting theory... but I shall say no more.
Erio99: Haha, those were pretty good, but no.
DragonWhisperer762: Fear not! For the smol bean lives on!
INFJwriter: Yup.
I apologise for the late update guys, but hopefully I'll get back into writing regularly soon, probably once I'm settle in school and whatnot. And sorry if you've forgotten your reviews and have to look to see what you typed. I hope you enjoy this long-awaited chapter!
Chapter Ten:
Open
Admittedly, it was slightly harder getting into the hospital than it had been getting out of it. While slightly better than this morning, reporters were still everywhere but were thankfully no longer crowded around the doors, and the helicopter was gone.
The back door they'd come out of, however, turned out to be locked.
But they weren't called Ninja for nothing. Misako's face was almost comically blank when she spotted two boys, a nindroid and an old man outside the fourth floor hall window.
"So," she said after she'd unlatched said window, cradling a foam cup of coffee as they clambered through one by one, "How did it go?"
Wu glanced at Zane, who's face was a mask of normality. Had it not been for the faint tracks on his cheeks and the way his hand twitched and clenched as though he were impatient, it could have possibly fooled even Wu himself.
Sighing, he turned back to Misako. "Not very well."
"We'll explain in a moment," said Cole quietly, glancing about the hall. A trio of doctors was watching them curiously from by the snack machines.
Misako's brow furrowed in concern, but she got the hint and nodded, starting to lead the way back to Kai's hospital room. Cole looked back at the doctors, who were now outright staring, and sent them a glare. They blushed bright red and quickly turned away.
Jay opened the door for them, looking up and down the hall as though to make sure no one was there to eavesdrop, before entering the room himself and closing the door behind him. He turned the handle, and it locked with a tiny click.
Lloyd and Nya sat by Kai's bed, who was still unconscious, although there was comfort in the steady rise and fall of his chest. Nya was curled up on her chair with a book, and while Lloyd had his old DS with him, he had yet to turn it on.
"Hi, guys." Nya said, giving them a smile that seemed slightly forced. Purple bags were starting to form under her eyes. "How'd it go?"
Zane shook his head, taking a seat in one of the unoccupied chairs and crossing his arms. Immediately, Nya, Lloyd and Misako straightened, looked at each other, and then turned to the others for an explanation.
Cole sighed, rubbing at his face with his palm. "They, uh, sent us a video."
"A video?" echoed Lloyd, brow furrowed, "About what?"
"A warning." said Wu. He glanced around at Misako and his pupils with tired, sunken eyes. "They tortured Echo-Zane."
The bluntness of the statement hit them right in the gut, even those who were already aware of it, leaving them winded and horrified. Zane clenched his eyes shut, turning his head away from his sensei as though attempting to shield himself from a gust of wind.
"They- They did what?" Lloyd gasped. Nya shook her head, looking from Wu to Cole to Zane and then to Jay.
"How... how long was it?" asked Misako. There was a beat of silence before Zane answered in a choked voice, not raising his head.
"Twenty minutes and forty-two seconds."
Misako's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she sat down on the edge of Kai's hospital bed. "Twenty minutes." she repeated.
Wu sighed grimly. "Twenty minutes."
There was a short moment of silence. Then Jay opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, there was a loud, persistent knock on the door.
Blinking, eyes narrowing in slight suspicion, Cole inched his way towards the door, hand hovering over the hidden knife strapped to his hip. His suspicion and unease must have been contagious, for the rest of them- well, except for a certain unconscious fire ninja- tensed as though in preparation for a fight. Zane's hand slipped into his hoodie pocket, clutching the dual shurikans inside.
There was another knock on the door, louder this time, almost impatient. Cole made eye contact with Jay, then Wu. When neither offered any advice, he turned back to the door, fingers curling around the hidden knife, and grasped the doorhandle with his free hand, flicking the lock open with his thumb.
Cole opened the door a crack, peeking through to see who was on the other side. A second later, he opened it fully, allowing entry to Seamus and Dareth. Immediately, the rooms occupants relaxed, and Zane removed his hand from his hoodie pocket.
"Dareth," said Misako, seeming slightly surprised, "What are you doing here?"
"Zane said to meet you's here." Seamus explained before Dareth could answer, offering his hand to the women in greeting, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Misako." he faltered, "Or are you still going by, ah, 'Mrs'?"
Misako's smile dropped, then returned, except this time it was a sad smile, with grief written in her eyes. Lloyd turned to watch Kai's chest rise and fall, mouth twisting downwards. "I still go by Mrs, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr Dewer."
"Please," Seamus smiled, "Call me Seamus."
Zane adverted his attention away from the two, only to realise that Dareth was staring at Kai. There was an odd expression on his face, one that he couldn't quite place. Dareth must have felt his gaze, for he turned to look at him, gave him a small smile, and then turned to Wu, although not without one last glance at the bedridden Ninja.
"So," said Dareth, placing his hands on his hips, "What we here for?"
"Seamus," Zane said, speaking up for the fist time. Some of the others jumped, as though they'd forgotten he was there. "Is there anything you can tell us about where Basilisk kept you prisoner? Anything at all?"
Seamus frowned thoughtfully, thumbing his bottom lip. "Well... the place was always... cave-like. Everything. It was hard to tell whether or not it was natural or done by human-hand. Water would drip from the walls as well. At times, drinking it was the only thing that kept us alive."
"Is it possible that the caves were underground? Beneath a large body of water, perhaps?" Misako suggested. Seamus' frown deepened.
"It's... hard to say. When Kaze, my family and I escaped into the labyrinth, it was dark. At times, it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand no matter how close it was to your eye. We eventually tried to find our way back to the factory, but we just got more lost..." Seamus shook his head, sliding into one of the unoccupied seats. His hand clenched in his lap, mind plagued with haunting memories. "But it was wet there too. We kept stepping into puddles. Some were knee deep. I had to carry my daughter at times, it was that deep."
"An entire labyrinth," muttered Nya, "It must be underground. Someone is sure to notice a hideout that big, right?"
"Maybe it's in Hiroshi's Labyrinth?" Cole suggested, "Or underneath it?" Lloyd shook his head.
"Hiroshi's Labyrinth was a confusing mass of jungle. Even if the Basilisk's hideout is underneath one of it's lakes or rivers, there's no way it would be that wet."
Jay groaned, pressing his back against the wall and sliding to the floor. "This is giving me a headache."
Nya sent him a look, but before anything could be said, music abruptly filled the room. The Ninja jumped, heads snapping to Wu, who was in the motion of pulling out an outdated cell phone.
"Hello?" the sensei said. His brow furrowed. "We'll be there immediately." Almost as soon as it had appeared, the phone was gone, returned to Sensei Wu's hidden pockets.
Lloyd blinked. "What was that?"
"I had given the Commissioner my number," said Wu simply, "So he may contact us if anything about Basilisk comes up."
Zane straightened. "And?"
"They have a women in their custody," Sensei Wu said. He was already making his way to the door. "She says she's from Basilisk."
Basilisk sending them a video was one thing, but someone from Basilisk being captured was something entirely different. Despite this, both Lloyd and Nya were hesitant to leave Kai's side, but Misako promised that she'd keep an eye on him.
It was with that the Ninja, Seamus, Sensei Wu and Dareth made their way back to the police station. There was no police car to drive them there this time, but this was not unexpected, and they made do with pulling their hoods over their hair and their caps over their eyes. They avoided main roads, darting in and out of alleys, and within a surprising amount of time, Zane was throwing open the doors and leading the way inside.
The officer sitting at the reception desk's head snapped up at their entry, and he groaned, putting his face in his hands. Zane briefly felt bad for him, but then he pushed the feeling away and marched down the hall towards where they'd met the Commissioner and the two Detectives earlier that day.
"Zane!" called Cole. A hand wrapped around the nindroid's arm, stopping him in place. He turned, electric eyes flashing in annoyance.
"What is it, Cole?"
A frown was on Cole's face. The Earth Ninja looked over his shoulder at the others, who were watching them in either confusion, startlement or concern. Cole gestured with his head to further down the hall. "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up with you."
Lloyd, Nya, Jay and Dareth shared startled looks. Wu simply raised his eyebrows, looking between the nindroid and the mountain climber. Then he nodded, motioning of the others to follow him. After a moment of hesitation, they did, although not without a few more glanced at the two.
Once they were out of sight, Zane turned to face Cole, his face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "Cole, why-"
Cole held up his hand, and Zane fell silent. It had been awhile since Cole had taken on any form of leader, which had been an unofficial thing in the first place. Over the years, the role of leader had varied, mostly depending on the situation, but if any of the Ninja were to be asked who the leader was, they'd most likely say Sensei Wu.
"This needs to stop." said Cole. Zane blinked at him slowly.
"What needs to stop?"
"You know fine well what!" Cole snapped. Eyes widening, Zane took a startled step backwards. Taking a deep breath, Cole closed his eyes, as though regaining his composure.
"This needs to stop." he repeated, calmer this time. Weakly, he gestured to the nindroid. "Running ahead of us like that. Being so, so..." he shook his head, trying to find the right word, "So stoic."
Zane frowned, not sure how to answer. Cole stared at him for a moment, then sighed, shaking his head again. He walked over to the wall, pressing his back against the cool surface and sliding to the floor. Looking up at his titanium brother, he patted the spot next to him in form of invitation.
The nindroid did so, sitting cross legged next to the mountain climber. Cole leaned his head back against the wall, staring at the door across from them. There was a long moment of silence.
"It's like..." Cole finally said, not tearing his eyes from the door, "Like how you used to be. Before you found out about your past. Before you... opened up."
Zane's eyes widened. He did not want to return to who he had been when he'd first met his newfound family. That Zane was lost, that Zane wore masks, and while he would not forget that Zane, he did not want to be him again.
The sensation of a hand curling around his own startled him, but when he looked down he found no other hand but his own. Then he realised PIXAL's face had once again appeared on his screen. He smiled and curled his hand in the illusion of holding hers.
He turned back to Cole, who he abruptly realised was watching him. Zane's smile fell, and he turned his eyes to his lap. "I... I'm sorry."
"I know things are hard." said Cole softly, "I'm worried about Echo too. But Zane..." a hand was placed on his shoulder, and Zane turned, his electric blue eyes locking with Cole's black ones, "Don't lock us out. Please."
Slowly, Zane's eyes drifted downwards. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, choked, as though holding back the urge to cry. "Okay."
The hand on his shoulder squeezed, and then two arms were wrapping around him and pulling him into a hug that Zane was quick to return. They sat there for a moment, buried in each others arms, allowing themselves for just a moment to forget everything that was happening around them.
Carrot watched them from the doorway.
He had only caught the last part of the conversation, which was now copied on his tape-recorder. He doubted that it would be of much use, but you never know.
His comm., disguised to look like a part of his ear, buzzed in a sudden burst of static. Carrot slid back into the room, the door closing behind him, his eyes gazing over the officers scattered about, landing on the Ninja talking with the Commissioner in front of the two way glass. He reached up in the motion of scratching his ear, in reality adjusting his comm. to hear the speaker on the other side more clearly.
"We're moving in."
Inside, he smiled. Outside, he glared at the women on the other side of the glass. On this rare occasion, neither were fake.
His head throbbed, as though someone had pounded on the inside of his skull with a hammer. His limbs were heavy and tingled with numbness, but the agonizing pain that he had experienced previously had been reduced greatly.
Echo opened his heavy, crusted eyes, staring up at the rocky ceiling that he had become accustomed to. He was not sure how long he lay there, simply taking in careful lungfuls of air, before he heard someone shifting somewhere off
to his right.
Slowly, Echo turned his head in the direction of the noise, his fogged yellow eyes meeting emerald green. They widened, then Kaze shot up and scrambled over to him, his mouth opening and closing in shock.
"E-Echo?"
His mouth, it turned out, was just as heavy and numb as his arms and legs. His tongue was lead in his mouth, fumbling against his teeth as he struggled to produce an understandable sentence. "Y-Ye-eh?"
Kaze's face broke out into a massive grin. "You're alive!"
Echo tried to smile back, but wasn't sure if he did it right or not. Kaze's eyes appeared oddly shiny, although it was hard to tell in the darkness of the cell.
"H-Huw did y-you g-gut in 'ere?" Echo asked. Kaze looked towards the little barred window that had separated their cells, then back to the nindroid.
"They put you in with me." he said. Echo cocked his head to the side.
"Why?"
Kaze shrugged. "Dunno." He shifted, glancing around the cell, before returning his eyes to Echo. "Think you can sit up?"
Echo's brow furrowed and, after a moment of consideration, he nodded. Kaze repeated the nod, then snaked his arms around Echo's body, clumsily helping him sit up.
The nindroid's head spun, but it quickly passed. He tightened his grip on Kaze's shoulders, forcing himself to his feet.
"Wow!" Kaze gasped, grabbing Echo by the hips to stop him from falling over, "Slow down!"
Echo swayed, using Kaze for support. Again, his head spun, and he had to wait a little longer than before for it to pass. In that time, Kaze struggled to his own feet, still helping to hold Echo up.
"I don't think you should be getting up this fast." Kaze said. Echo shook his head, bringing a hand up to rub at his dirt face. He jumped, for his face was not the same, but instead twisted in the wrong places, as though covered in ugly, jagged scars.
He looked at Kaze, heart ticking loudly in panic, who's eyes widened. "Hey, it's-it's okay! We can- We can get you fixed up proper, just... just not right now."
Shakily, Echo swallowed, slightly glad that there were no reflective surfaces in the cell. He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady his trembling legs. "C-Could you help walk?"
Kaze blinked. "Where to?"
"Just... a-around the cell."
Again, Kaze blinked, but then he nodded. Wrapping Echo's arm around his shoulder, Kaze began leading a slow, awkward limp around the cell, his own legs trembling from the weight of holding up Echo and walking semi-properly for the first time in ages.
"So," Kaze panted, as they passed the door and began the circle again, "What does Soren want with you? Why did he... you know?"
Echo shook his head, struggling to even stand upright, "I... I don't know. Maybe-" he cut himself off with a startled gasp, stumbling over a small rock as they reached the door again.
Kaze yelped as he was brought down with him, hand lashing out blindly in search of something to grab on to. It latched onto something cold and metal, which twisted downwards with their bodies as they went crashing to the floor. The wall shifted, the edge smacking into Kaze's calf.
A low hiss of pain came from Kaze's clenched teeth, Echo groaning beside him. The nindroid lay there for a moment, blinking at the ceiling, severely regretting insisting on walking around the room. "S-Sorry, Kaze."
He expected a snort or a huff, and was surprised when he received neither. Frowning, he struggled to push himself up with his arms, "Kaze?"
Kaze was staring at his hand, mouth wide open and forming a near perfect 'o.' Echo followed his gaze. His heart skipped a beat.
The door handle was twisted downwards, Kaze's hand still curled around it's cool surface. It was not the wall that had shifted.
The door stood open before them.
Dun dun duuuuuun! Clouse left the door opeeeeeeeen. But on purpose? Or on accident? And Carrot's in the office! Someone's been captured and is about to be interrogated, but Baslisk has more than one trick up their slimy sleeves. And what of Kaze and Echo? They can hardly stand, will they actually be able to escape the labyrinth?
Anyways, guys, I'm really sorry for the long wait. If you read my other story, Movie Mode, you'll be happy to know that the new chapter to that is being written. I had originally planned on updating that first, but then I found the first four Hands of Time episodes on YouTube IN ENGLISH and got into the mood of finishing this instead.
I'll try to update again soon!