Review Replies:
TheAmberShadow: Haha, cool, your cat and brother are in my story XXD I kinda came up with the PIXAL-holding-Zanes-hand thing on the spot, it was just a little thought I had so I kinda just went yeah, okay, let's put it in, it's a cool idea. And wow! I guess his character is starting to show, haha. Nelson WAS in only one episode, so it's no surprise you forgot about him. I did as well, before I saw some fanart of him and Lloyd. It took me a while to remember his name, I had to ask my friend Gommie (GirlOfMyOwnWorld, I believe I mentioned her in the first chapter's AN). And yeah, I think the Ninja and officers would find themselves working together from time to time, be it on purpose or accident, haha. And yeah, I LOVE to read as well, which is why I'm so happy to finally have a library! And yes, Violet is the woman Carrot encountered in the second chapter (at least I think it was the second; no way was it the first). She's also the woman he talked with on the phone back in the apartment.
jessicamoncada0824: Yeah, I headcanon that Ronin and Dareth have this weird I-don't-really-like-you-all-that-much-but-I-guess-you're-okay bromance.
DragonWhisperer726: England's been great! There's a chance that I'll be able to go to the Comic Con in Oxford (my first one ever!) later this month, I'm driving with my dad to France to see a memoir of his great uncle in a few months, and I'm going on a week-long cruise throughout Spain and Portugal with my cousins (who are practically my only non-internet best friends) for our grans birthday in June! In Italy, the only time we ever went on holiday outside the country was to visit family, but now we're a lot closer to them and don't have to do that (not that I didn't enjoy our visits, it's just so exciting going to places I've never been before!). And thanks, I try to keep my stories as exciting and interesting as possible!
Isabella camovic: It's alright, you're forgiven. I'll happily be your friend, and I'm really happy that you're so enthusiastic about my story! I'm still trying to find a place to put the tickling idea and, quite sadly, it's not in this chapter (this is more of a half-action, half-feels chapter). It'll either be in a flashback, at the very end of the story after Zane and Echo are reunited or at the beginning of the sequel (surprise!). Love ya too!
Loki God of Evil: I'm really enjoying England! It's so strange being around people speaking my native language. I keep saying 'presente' when they call out my name at the beginning of class, because that's what you'd say in Italy, haha. And yeah, I think you'd be quite the interrogator ::D
GirlOfMyOwnWorld: Library computers are the best thing I've ever experience.
Ebony umbreon: Let's just say that Ronin has quite the past.
This chapter is a sort of filler, but not really at the same time. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it XXD
Chapter Twelve:
Panic
The police cruisers shot down the street like a fired bullet. The entire city was out, the normally bright buildings dark, the lights that were strung above the road practically invisible in the night. Even the traffic lights weren't working, leaving civilians stranded in their cars as the police struggled to contain the situation, the air filled with enraged honking.
The Ninja had brought no vehicles with them, which Lloyd found himself deeply regretting. Instead of hitching a ride in one of the cruisers, however, he'd decided to travel via rooftop. Cole had been able to convince Zane to stay behind and make sure nothing happened with Violet or Seamus, while he and the other Ninja raced off to help stop the kidnappings.
Ronin and Dareth were heading east, towards Jamukai Village, in the back of a police cruiser. Cole went south on a borrowed bike, to where he'd have to climb over a range of mountains to reach the towns beyond, although he would more than likely have to abandon it once reaching the mountains. Jay was going west, in the direction of his parent's junkyard and the villages further out, in one of his old, cycle-powered flight inventions. Nya went north, in the direction of Birch Wood forest. Lloyd wasn't entirely certain, but he could have sworn he saw her taking her own police cruiser.
With Zane guarding the station, that left Lloyd to Ninjago City.
His feet pounded silently against the rooftops, his hood protecting him from most of the wind assaulting his face. For the first time in years, the stars shone brightly over the city, no longer polluted by its blazing lights. He leapt over alleys, dodged rooftop greenhouses, pools and skylights, always hitting the ground running, not once allowing himself to slow down.
Sooner than Lloyd liked, the muscles in his legs began to burn from the exertion. His heart thumped loudly in his ears, like the steady beat of a drum, his eyes watering from the wind and forcing him to squint. His breaths came out in short pants.
Screaming.
Lloyd skidded to a stop at the edge of a building, having just been about to leap onto the next. His head snapped to the building opposite, panting, and then he looked down at the street bellow. His eyes narrowed.
People in rags, flimsy weapons clutched in their hands, dragging citizens out of the apartment complex and into a black van with tinted windows. Most of them were wearing black, but there was one, and only one, in blood stained white.
His stomach churned. He didn't want to know where the blood had come from.
There was another scream. Lloyd watched, eyes wide, as the men and women in black rags dragged an elderly lady in nothing but a bathrobe and slippers out of the front door. But she wasn't the one screaming. In fact, she seemed to be ranting, of all things, snapping at her them and telling them how this was the worst kidnapping she'd ever seen. One of them even flinched away from her.
Lloyd's lips curled, an amused laugh slipping past his lips, despite the situation. Then his smile fell, his heart plummeting to his stomach. Another man in rags exited the building and, screaming and kicking his legs widely in his arms, was a little boy in purple gi.
"Nelson." Lloyd's voice was a whisper, quickly carried away by the wind. Then his jaw clenched, hands curling into fists at his sides. They threw Nelson and the ranting lady into the back of the van, slamming the doors shut, the van immediately rumbling to life.
The ninja straightened. He watched, eyes hard, as the van pulled away from the apartment complex and casually made its way down the street.
It turned the corner.
Lloyd ran.
The halls were dark, only lit by torches bolted onto the walls every now and again. The floor was rocky and uneven, leaving them stumbling on already weak legs, their feet and calves soon soaked from constantly stepping in puddles. Kaze flinched almost every time he stepped in one, although it slowly decreased as time went on. Echo couldn't see the ceiling, even with his enhanced vision; it vanished into darkness.
They limped through the halls in silence, afraid even the slightest noise could alert the guards. But they came across no guards, not even a slacker on their way to the kitchens, and were instead only accompanied by the loud echoes of their own footsteps.
"Kaze?" even though Echo had whispered it, his voice was still far too loud for his liking. Kaze must have agreed, because his head snapped left and right as though to make sure no one had heard, before he turned to Echo.
"What is it?" his brow furrowed, "Is something wrong?"
Echo shook his head, glancing over his shoulder. Every shadow he saw was Soren, creeping around the corner with a drill in his mangled hands, his face obscured by a snake-like mask. He inched closer to Kaze.
"I... I don't like this." he whispered, "Shouldn't there be guards?"
"Maybe there was an emergency." Kaze suggested, although he sounded unsure even to himself, "A-A fire or something. That could be why the door was opened."
Echo looked down at his feet, trying his best to not put too much of his weight onto Kaze, although his legs just shook more. He turned the idea over in his head, wondering if there was a chance that it was true.
It must have been a minute, maybe even two, before he spoke again. "But... the doors don't have a mechanism like that. Just... just a lock."
Kaze didn't answer. Echo wondered if he'd already known that.
His left leg, the one that had been broken when he'd first arrived, began to burn with a red-hot intensity. Echo realised that it must have never been repaired properly, along with the rest of him. Slowly, his weak, stumbling and terribly slow walk turned into a trembling, painful, even more terribly slow limp.
"Wait," they came to an abrupt stop, the only thing stopping him from falling over being Kaze's arm around his shoulders. He looked left and right, a frown creasing his brow. "Have we been here before?"
Echo blinked, then took a closer look at his surroundings. Rocky walls, uneven floor, puddles, semi-darkness. It looked like all the other halls.
"I... I'm not sure."
Kaze swore under his breath. His cheeks were flushed, shoulders hunched, panting. His emerald eyes glared at the floor, and, to Echo at the very least, he looked on the verge of tears. Kaze clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth together.
For a moment, Echo stared at him, wide-eyed. Suddenly, he was a lot more frightened than he had been before. He swallowed, hesitantly reaching out and placing a metal hand on Kaze's chest, just above his heart.
Kaze's eyes snapped open, flashing with something terrible that made Echo's hand flinch away. But then they softened, regret immediately shining in his wet eyes. "I..." his voice cracked. Kaze glanced to the side. "I'm sorry."
Echo stared at him. He tried to say it was okay, but the words were caught in his throat. He didn't know what to do.
He just wanted to go home.
A long moment passed. Then, finally, Kaze sighed, his eyes sliding closed. He stumbled over to the wall, Echo limping after him and almost tripping. Kaze gently helped Echo sit down, before leaning his back against the wall and sliding to the floor next to him.
They sat there in silence, not looking at each other, lost and tired. They could have sat there for weeks and months and years for all Echo knew, and they sat in silence still even when the pain had faded to a dull ache and Kaze was no longer panting.
It was not Echo who broke the silence, but, much to his surprise, Kaze. His voice was low and monotone, and he didn't tear his eyes from the opposite wall.
"What are you, Echo?"
Echo blinked, turning to Kaze with a confused frown. "What?"
"What are you?" Kaze repeated, still not looking at him, "You're almost exactly like Zane. You look like him, you walk like him, you even talk like him at times. But you're something... someone entirely different."
Finally, Kaze tore his gaze from the wall, his eyes locking with Echo's wide ones. "Is... is that why you're called Echo? You're an echo of Zane?"
Echo stared at him, not knowing what to say. Slowly, he turned away, looking down at his lap but not seeing it. The silence returned, descending upon them with an awkwardness that hadn't been present before.
"I... I'm sorry." said Kaze, fidgeting, "I shouldn't have asked."
"I'm a clone." the words came out in a whisper, a realisation that sent Echo's heart plummeting to his stomach. Then, louder, "I'm a clone."
His voice bounced off the walls, echoing down the hall like some kind of demonic rhythm. Echo clenched his eyes shut, his clockwork heart tightening.
"That's why father abandoned me," he said, more to himself than Kaze, "He didn't want me, he wanted Zane. I knew that. I knew that from the moment I realised I wasn't the original." Echo opened his eyes, looking down into a puddle next to him. His reflection stared back at him, it's face twisted and deformed, half the faceplate stripped away. A droplet fell from above, creating ripples in the water.
"I've never been Zane," he continued, his voice cracking, "I never will be Zane. Father... he was lonely. Desperate and afraid. I... I think he might have gotten a little bit mad." Echo reached out, dipping his finger into the puddle, creating another wave of ripples, "I was supposed to be my brothers replacement. But Zane doesn't care about that. The Ninja don't care about that." he faltered, slowly turning to Kaze, who was listening with wide eyes. Echo's eyes locked with his, desperate. Begging. "... Right?"
Kaze didn't seem to have an answer. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Echo and pulled him into a hug.
Yuki clung to the shadows, her feet silent on the filth-laced ground. Her blank eyes took in her surroundings carefully, her face hidden behind her white hood. The cold pierced at her exposed skin, but she did not react to it, nor did she make any attempt to get warmer.
This was the only place in all of Ninjago City that was unaware of the blackout. She watched them, most of the younglings asleep in their beds. They didn't notice her, were unaware of what was about to happen. Yuki would feel no remorse for these creatures, nor would she enjoy what she was about to do. Business was business.
And she had a master to serve.
The village was on fire.
Men, women and children dashed to and fro, screaming and crying. They were snatched, one by one, dragged into the black vans with sacks over their heads and zip ties around their wrists.
"Take as many as you can!" shouted Doro, striding passed the Black Rags as they dragged their captured towards the vans, "Leave behind the physically disabled! They'll be of no use."
"What about the elderly?" a man questioned, face obscured by his black shawl. Doro sneered at him.
"Anyone over seventy is to be left behind as well," she said, "Throw the younglings in with the adults. They'll be put to work as soon as they're able."
The man nodded, then marched over to where a wailing babe was being cradled by an elderly woman, who was whispering soothing words. She raised her head as he approached, eyes wide with fear.
Grabbing the baby, the man pulled them away from the old woman, who screamed and begged him not to hurt the child. The baby wailed anew, the woman crying alongside it, reaching out with weak arms as the man walked away. One of the other Black Rags grabbed her, dragging her away.
Doro watched, stone-faced, as the man marched towards the vans with the crying baby.
She almost smiled.
The hospital was in a panic.
Nurses and doctors were running up and down the halls, in and out of rooms, shouting at each other and trying desperately to calm down both patients and visitors. Doctors were forced to go in blind and baffled in the middle of surgery just to keep their patient alive, nurses were on top of the comatose and pumping at their chests to keep them breathing, family and friends of those in critical condition were shouting and screaming at any member of staff they laid their eyes on.
Misako was not a nurse. But that did not mean she knew nothing of first aid.
That was how she found herself running from room to room alongside the nurses, helping out as best she could. Some of the other visitors who knew a thing or two about first aid were quick to help out as well once they realised the gravity of the situation.
In the basement, technicians were working furiously on the backup generator, but they made little to no progress. Quite quickly, Misako's world was nothing but a blur of blood and crying patients. Sweat caused her clothes to cling to her uncomfortably, her muscles aching, but she didn't stop.
Once one patient was dealt with, she immediately turned to the next. Sometimes it took moments, other times it felt like hours, but it was too hard to tell for sure. She dared not check the time.
With every second the power was out, another life slipped further away.
Nelson's heart hammered in his chest, his breaths coming out in short gasps. Tears stung his eyes, and his hands trembled from where they were zip tied in his lap.
He wasn't the only one in the back of the van. Next to him, muttering under her breath about how she was missing her shows, was a rather irritated Miss Baker. Across from him was Mx Quinn, their eye swelling from where they'd been punched by one of the kidnappers. There was also Mr and Mr Swish, their toddler Kimmy, a teenager named Hector, Mrs Christa and her twins, Queenie and Kingsley, who were only a few years older than Nelson, and Alex Flick, a college student who lived directly above him.
His mother, however, was not with them.
"Nelson," his head snapped up, tearful eyes meeting Mx Quinn's soft grey ones. They sent him a little smile. "Are you alright, bud?"
Sniffing, Nelson nodded, wiping at his nose. He watched as the Swish's cuddled up next to each other, their daughter cradled tightly in their laps. Mrs Christa wrapped her arms around Queenie and Kingsley, which was quite the struggle seeing as how her hands were just as tied up at Nelson's.
He curled in on himself, clenching his eyes shut. He wanted his mum.
Thump.
Almost in perfect unison, the occupants raised their heads, blinking at the roof of the van. Then there were more thumps, heading towards the front-
Shouting.
Then gunfire.
Aren't I just the master of all cliffhangers? I've been doing that a lot lately.
On another note, I MIGHT BE GOING TO THE OXFORD COMIC CON AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm also driving to France with my dad sometime soon to see a memoir of his great uncle, and I'm going on a week-long cruise through Spain and Portugal for my grans birthday in June (she's got no idea!). So, I'm not really sure how updates will be during that time, but that won't be for another few months anyway.
Also, can anyone have any animation softwares to suggest? I really want to get into animation, but I can't find a decent website that will work on my computer and not be overly complicated. I'd prefer it to be free, but if it's a low price (nothing over 80 pounds), I might be able to save up for it... I guess... anyway, I've tried Pencil2D, OpenToons, Synfig Studios, and quite a few others (I'm doing 2D animation, by the way), and you have to keep in mind that I'm not exactly a master at digital art, especially since I'm using a mouse (I'm saving up for a table that will let me draw digitally like I do on paper, but that's going to take a long while).
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! I have started to next Movie Mode one, by the way, I just feel like writing this more because of the new Ninjago episodes (find 'em on YouTube!)
Well, I've gotta go with my mum to pick my aunt up at the train station. Bye!