Review Replies:

AB: Aw, thank you! Yeah, you've got a right to be mistrustful. Of everyone and everything they say.

Isabella camovic: Hm, I have actually considered Echo having a birthday party. Why not? Maybe they can take him to Build-A-Bear.

Guest: Thanks! The only reason Echo wasn't in this chapter was because I wanted to add a lot more in but it was getting really long. Same with this chapter, really. Things will probably start to pick up again in the next chapter or so.

TheAmberShadow: Yup, totally agree with you, Titanium Zane is Original Zane *hugs him too*. Thanks, about the blushing feature. I headcanon that Zane, especially Titanium Zane, has a blue substance in him that is not unlike blood. This was shown earlier in the story, during the first Basilisk attack at the picnic. Hence why he blushes blue instead of red. And I have, in previous AN's, mentioned considering a sequel. It's now official. Yay!

Ariza Luca: ::D You too!

Chapter Sixteen:

Watchful

Zane followed his sensei down the hall, head bowed in shame. He'd immediately regretted snapping at his sister, but had been too surprised at his own words to apologise. He'd most certainly be doing it the next time he saw her.

Wu turned the handle of a door, holding it open for him. Zane didn't look at him as he obediently entered, keeping his eyes to the floor as Wu closed the door behind them. They were in an empty room, most probably an unused patient room, or one that had only recently been holding a patient. There was a bed, some equipment, but they were alone.

"I'm sorry," he said, before Wu could say anything, "I-I shouldn't have snapped at her. Them. It's my fault."

Wu didn't say anything, but Zane didn't raise his head. His hand twitched at his side, and he curled it into an agitated fist. Had he been human, he would have broken into a light sweat.

Finally, he heard footsteps, making their way towards him. He clenched his eyes shut, shoulders tensing, almost expecting to be whacked over the head with a staff.

Instead, a wrinkled hand firmly took his chin, forcing him to look into their owner's eyes. Zane expected them to be stern and scolding, but to his surprise, they were shining with concern.

"You're hurt," Wu said.

Zane blinked, mentally scanning himself. He was completely unharmed. He hadn't even gone out to help stop the kidnappings, nor had he recently been in any sort of battle. He gave his sensei a confused frown.

"Master, I am unharmed," he said, "I am in fully working order."

Wu shook his head, "No, Zane. Mentally. Spiritually." he raised his other hand, placing it over his pupil's power source, "You're hurt inside."

"I'm fine," the answer was almost terrifyingly automatic.

"Talk to your brothers," said Wu. It was more of an order than a suggestion. "Or your sister. Misako or I, if you prefer. Don't keep it inside, Zane," his hands moved away to clutch firmly at his shoulder, "Otherwise you'll freeze."

Zane's throat became tight, as though a lump had formed in it. Silently, he nodded.

Wu gave a single nod, pulling away, "Good. None of this is your fault, Zane."

"Yes, it is," muttered Zane, bowing his head, "Everything is. I have a six sense; I should have sensed it."

"But you didn't, and you cannot help that," Wu replied, taking a small step closer, "You can't blame yourself for the things you can't control. After Garmadon was bitten, I blamed myself for a long time," he sighed, shaking his head slowly, "I still do, at times. But blaming yourself will not bring Echo home. It will not erase everything that has happened."

When Zane didn't answer, Wu gently took his chin in hand again, tilting his head up so that he was forced to look at him, "Do you understand?"

For a moment, Zane stared at him. Then, slowly, his eyes fluttered shut and he sighed, "Yes, sensei."

Wu smiled a sad smile, then pulled his pupil into a hug.

The doctor- who introduced himself as Dr. Roberts- took their vitals, doing an almost routine check-up. Lloyd was mostly silent, watching as the doctor attended to his fiery brother, giving him a dose of pain killers when it became clear he was in a lot more pain than he was letting on.

Jay and Cole had left to go in search of Zane and Wu, but were yet to return. They could be anywhere in the building, after all, and it was unlikely that they would be found unless they wanted to be.

Lloyd's head was a steady pound against his skull. He didn't dare sit up, knowing that it would probably only make things worse. He was registering things a lot slower than he liked, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Maybe he should get some coffee.

"You're recovering surprisingly fast, Mr. Smith," said Dr. Roberts, writing something down on his clipboard, "At this rate, you'll be your old self by next year. A remarkable feat."

"Next year?" gasped Nya. Dr. Roberts gave her a reassuring smile.

"Injuries like this usually take at least three years of physical therapy," he shrugged, "His quick recovery most probably has something to do with him being so healthy."

"Does that mean he can come home soon?" asked Misako. Dr. Roberts hesitated, then nodded.

"Yes, but he won't be allowed to do any extreme physical activity."

Kai's mouth twisted downwards in displeasure. Lloyd almost smiled.

"Now," said Dr. Roberts, tucking his clipboard under his arm and turning to Lloyd, "I'm just going to-"

Before he could finish, the door opened, a woman sticking her head through. Her eyes lingered on Kai and Lloyd, but were quick to snap to the doctor.

"Sir, we've got a problem," she said, "In Ward six."

Dr. Roberts frowned, placing his clipboard on one of the counters, "Ward six? What's happened?"

"One of the patients need to go into emergency surgery," said the woman, "Now."

The doctor looked from the woman to the Ninja, before muttering a quick apology and rushing out of the room, after the woman. They watched him go with surprised eyes, Misako and Nya sharing a concerned look.

"How are you feeling, Lloyd?" Kai asked, shattering the silence. Lloyd blinked, taking a moment to register the question.

"Oh, uh..." he rubbed at his head in an attempt to dull the fuzziness currently clouding his brain, "I'm okay. Just sore."

"Would you like some painkillers?" asked Nya, repeating the question earlier directed to Kai. Lloyd shook his head, but quickly stopped when that made his brain hurt even more.

"No, thanks," he sent her a reassuring smile, "It's only a few bruises."

"You got shot," Kai deadpanned. Lloyd blinked slowly, eyes trailing down to his heavily bandaged hands.

"It's not that bad."

Kai's eyes narrowed, he opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened before he could. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

"We've found them," declared Cole, Zane and Wu looking in over his shoulder, "We better get going."

Nya rose to her feet. Lloyd braced himself, then pushed himself up into a sitting position and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring how his vision swam. A hand was placed firmly on his shoulder, and he looked up to meet the stern face of his mother.

"Lloyd, you're staying here."

"Mum, I'm fine," Lloyd insisted, "You've seen what these guys can do, and Kai's already out. We've gotta go in with as many as possible."

"I do not like to admit it, Misako," said Wu, slipping past his students to stand next to a rather annoyed looking Kai, "But Lloyd is right."

"Wu, you can't be serious," Misako said, looking just as surprised as Lloyd was.

"If Lloyd says he is fine," Wu sighed, "He is fine."

Lloyd turned to look at his mother. After a moment, she sighed, rubbing at her eyes beneath her glasses. "Yeah," she muttered, "Okay."

A smile spread on Lloyd's lips, and he forced himself to his feet, "I'll be fine, mom."

Misako sent him another stern glare, "You better be."

Cole hesitated, but then he sighed, gesturing for Lloyd to hurry, "Alright, alright, let's go. You can get changed in the bathroom."

"Wow, wait," said Kai, attempting to sit up but quickly flopping back down with a grunt. Wu sent him a concerned look. "What about me?"

"You're staying here," Misako said, crossing her arms, "You can hardly stand."

"But-"

"Don't fight her, Kai," said Wu, "Lloyd is one thing, but you are another."

"We'll bring you back a souvenir," Nya promised, moving to hug her brother, mindful of his injuries, "Get better soon."

Kai sighed, returning the hug weakly. He looked like he was about to fall asleep then and there. "Alright. Alright, fine."

"C'mon, Lloyd," said Jay, guiding him towards the door, "The doctors cleaned up your gi while you were out."

The liquid coating his front was ruby red. It smelled and tasted of copper, laced in his gears and cogs like stained water. Echo wasn't sure what it was. It had come bubbling out of the pirate's throat, who now lay at his feet. Unmoving. Drowning in ruby red.

It was going to be hard, most likely, to repair him when he's producing liquid.

"How many did you get?"

Two heads snapped towards the end of the corridor. They couldn't see anything, for this particular hall had no torches. Then the light of a lantern light up the walls at the very end.

"'Bout fifty," said a second voice. The two guards came into view, covered in black rags everywhere apart from their faces, their hoods dangling across their chests. Purple tattoos covered their faces, much like the two that had brought Echo in. His heart clenched.

Beside to him, Kaze muttered a swear word, hurriedly dragging him around the corner. They pressed their backs against the rough, damp walls. The footsteps came closer.

"I got sixty."

"You did not!"

"Sure did. Little beasties were too stupid, anyhow."

"Well, that's different then. I was kidnapping people, you were capturing animals. Completely different."

"I still got more."

They turned the corner, and Kaze and Echo shrank into the shadows. They would not be able to run, they wouldn't have been able to even if Echo didn't have to lean on Kaze to stand upright. Their only chance was to hide.

The guards passed them. One slowly came to a stop, only a few steps away from where he and Kaze crouched in the shadows, legs shaking. The other walked on for a moment, before becoming aware that his friend had stopped and coming to a halt himself.

"What is it?" he asked.

Slowly, his friend shook his head, his brow furrowed in apparent confusion, "I... I'm not sure."

Now the other man was frowning, moving to stand in front of his friend, "Is this because I got more than you?" his eyes became suspicious, "I swear, Gavin, if you jump at me again-"

"That's not it," Gavin cut him off, "Vic, I think we're being watched."

A silence came across them. Echo's heart began to tick, louder and louder in his ears. Breath hitching, he covered it with his twisted hand, Kaze's covering it as well in a desperate attempt to keep it silent.

Gavin and Vic stood there for a long moment, eyes darting about the shadows. Gavin's slowly turned to the abyss that was the ceiling, before he slowly shook his head.

"Never mind. I think it was just me."

Vic seemed to relax, if only a little. He gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. At this rate, you'll be as paranoid as Soren."

Echo's breath hitched in his throat, terror gripping at his chest. Kaze's grip on him tightened to the point where it was almost painful.

A shiver wracked Gavin's spine, "Ugh. That guy gives me the creeps."

"I feel you, pal."

They began to walk away, taking the light with them and once again leaving the two prisoners in complete darkness. It was only once they were out of sight that Echo let out a long breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding.

"We must be getting somewhere," muttered Kaze, "Anywhere will be better than these blasted corridors."

Silently, Echo agreed.

They struggled to their feet again, knees shaking and calfs aching. Arm once again wrapped around Kaze's shoulders, Echo stumbled along beside him, keeping his head bowed to watch his steps so he wouldn't trip. But, unlike the last few times, there was an alertness in their bodies, in their tensed shoulders and darting eyes.

Echo could almost feel it radiating off of Kaze. He could almost sense it radiating off himself as well. Gavin's words echoed throughout his skull, bouncing off the insides of his artificial mind. He knew that the most logical explanation had been he'd felt his and Kaze's stares.

But now that it had been said aloud, Echo began to realise that he felt it too. Had always felt it. It was a sensation that tingled along his skin, wracking up his spine like a cold shiver, boring into his skull like invisible spikes. Much like Gavin had not moments before, Echo raised his head and looked into the abyss of a ceiling.

I think we're being watched.

That's all for now, guys. The suspense should start picking up next chapter, and Echo and Kaze will finally be getting somewhere. Meanwhile, the Ninja and Seamus are on their way to Stiix, but is it the right place? Or are they heading straight into a trap? Echo's starting to get a little paranoid. Or is he?

Wait, why am I asking you this? I'm the one writing it.

Anyhow, hope you liked the chapter and reviews make me happy and inspire me to want to write more often than normal. Most of the time, anyway. Well, getting no reviews can denter someone's writing squedual (as though I actually have one, haha).

Hope you enjoyed!