Review Replies:

Ebony umbreon: Chen... isn't in this. What made you think Chen was in this? Did you think Soren was Chen? 'Cause I think someone else thought that. Trust me, had Soren been Chen, it would have put in his love of buttons. And yeah, poor Jay. He's going to be okay, though.

Vixenlovesninjago: Thank you.

TheAmberShadow: Eh? I'm not sure what you mean by counting three poles. And Soren's not Chen or anything, he's an OC like Seamus. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know Chen. Yeah, Jay's not going to be all that excited about the eyepatch anymore... although he'll still think it's cool. As for the skeleton shooting Echo, he believed that he'd caused the other two skeletons to fight each other and purposefully start the fire. Let's just say Samukai and him had considered Echo being built to destroy them and set Julian free. And it being the reason he acts like a child is and isn't true. He is an actual child, his age not even in the double digits (in this, at least). I won't go into how it did affect him though. Not yet.

Loki God of Evil: Heh, thanks. Jay's brothers are certainly going to be mad, to say the least.

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Treacherous

Zane screamed.

It was a disgusting sight. All five of them were screaming at the top of their lungs. The ice cream scooper dug deeper, deeper, Carrot's hand forcefully keeping Jay's head in place. Blood gushed out of the socket and down the side of his face, covering the front of his blue gi and getting all over Carrot's hands.

Then, with the most sickening plop, Zane had ever heard, Jay's eyeball sat within the ice cream scooper, leaving a terrible, black hole where it had once been. Jay's face was covered in blood and tears. His mouth was wide open in a chest rattling scream.

On the floor, Lloyd bent to the side and vomited.

With a natural look on his face, as though he hadn't just plucked out a person's eyeball, Carrot pulled out a little plastic baggie and slid the eyeball inside it, gooey blood connecting them in thin strings like a cheesy pizza.

"You monsters!" Cole screamed, as he tried desperately to phase through his chains. But Zane had already realised that they weren't just vengestone. One link would be vengestone, then the next would be deepstone, and it continued like that in a never ending pattern. Restraints made especially for them.

Jay slumped, his bloody head rolling to the side. Nya screamed his name, thinking him dead, but he'd only passed out. Zane was surprised he hadn't done so sooner.

"Well," said Soren, looking down at Carrot, "You've got what you came for."

"Except for one thing," Carrot said, turning to face the man. He held out an expectant hand. "My pay?"

Soren's lips twitched. Silently, he unclipped a bag from his belt and, with the clanking together of coins inside, dropped it in Carrot's hand.

Smiling now, Carrot slipped the bag into his pocket, alongside Jay's eyeball. He glanced at the captured Ninja, at the bloody, passed out Jay, the still yelling Nya, the vomit dripping from Lloyd's chin. Zane had, at some point, started to silently cry, and Cole continued to struggle wildly.

Lloyd raised his head, ignoring the hair that fell into his face, giving Carrot an almost blank look. As though he'd detached himself from what was happening, but only partly. His voice was hoarse, quiet, but monotone.

"Why?"

Carrot stared at him. He flexed his hand. "Because," he said, finally, "You destroyed my life."

That said, he spun around and stalked to the other end of the hall, every single eye on him, until he vanished into one of the corridors. Zane hoped one of the traps would kill him.

"Now," said Soren, turning to face the Ninja, "Why don't-"

A bang cut him off. Loud, distant. The occupants in the hall fell into a startled silence, heads turning to look down the main corridor, the only one with torches in it. The banging grew louder, as did the whir of machinery. One of the ladders slipped off the wall, and a Black Rag yelled as they fell along with it. The water of the puddles wavered and flopped.

"What in the hell?" muttered Nya. Zane silently agreed with her.

Then it turned the corner and Zane's mouth fell open.

A familiar bright red mech ran towards them, shaking the cavern with every step and causing chunks of rock to fall from the ceiling. Flame throwers, attached to the mech's arms, whirred and fizzed into life.

All at once, the Black Rags began to scream.

"Kai!" Cole gasped.

The mech raised a flame devoured arm and slammed it down into a group of Black Rags, squishing them in a spray of brain matter and guts. Another Black Rag swung towards him from a conveniently attached rope, but Kai simply swatted him away as though he were an irritating fly, sending him flying into the uneven wall with a sickening crack as his spine shattered.

The Black Rags charged, throwing spears and rocks and shooting arrows at the mech, but they did little damage. Kai raised its mechanical arm once more and sent them soaring into the tables.

With a newfound energy, Zane began to struggle against his bonds, pushing against the pole. Nya and Cole were quick to follow suit, while Lloyd looked as though he was struggling to react to what was happening. Zane made a mental note to have a little chat with him once this was all over.

Kai picked up a handful of Black Rags and launched them into another group as though they were bowling pins, sending them scattering. The few unlucky enough to be too slow abruptly found themselves being used as landing cushions.

The Black Rags mostly cleared, Kai turned, the mech bending slightly at the waist so that he was eye-level with them from his seat in the chest cavity.

He was in civilian clothes, his gi having been destroyed and all during the explosion, and his bandages poked out from beneath his sleeves. He looked quite proud of himself.

Beside him, Nya gave an astonished laugh, "I can't believe you."

"As though I'd let you guys have all the fun," said Kai. He had the mech raise a giant hand, reaching for the chains wrapped around them. "Let's get you guys out of here-"

Something leapt onto the back of the mech, the audible thud causing Kai to jump. Blinking, he twisted in his seat to look at it, "What- ?"

Soren grabbed him by the hair, smacking the end of his knife to his forehead. Kai slumped, a bruise already forming above his eye. Lloyd yelled.

Grabbing a bunch of seemingly random wires, Soren yanked them out of the mech. With one final whir, it powered down, slumped to the side and fell over onto one of the tables, snapping it in half and demolishing the legs.

Whipping his hands on his pants, Soren tossed the knife away, casually descending from his perch on the mech. He looked from his hostages to the fallen Kai, then, with an amused humph, nodded towards the few Black Rags that weren't gravely injured.

"Clean this mess up," he said, strolling towards one of the doors, "And throw them in with the others."

Zane glared at the back of his head, teeth clenching. Beneath his chains, his hands curled into fists, little bits of frost starting to creep up his fingers like a dying breath.

He'd gone too far.

When Echo opened his eyes, it was to intense pain. He lay there for a long moment, a grimace on his face, taking deep breaths as though it would make it go away.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath, held it and forced himself to sit up. It took him a few tries, his arms trembling with the effort, but eventually, he was able to sit up against a tree.

Once he'd regained his breathing, Echo took a look at his surroundings. He was in some type of clearing. The sky above him was clear and blue, and there was a chill in the air that signalled the sun had only rose recently. A pile of sticks and kindling sat a few steps away from him, and the fluffy creature he'd rode stood munching on grass on the other side of the clearing. He wondered where Kaze had gone.

Gently touching his cheek and wincing as the action caused pain to spike, he allowed his hands to drop into his lap. His gaze skimmed over the little blades of grass sticking out of the ground, and stopped as he spotted a little white flower with a yellow centre.

Giving a little hum of curiosity- for there had been very few plants at the lighthouse- Echo leant over to get a better look at it. It was quite pretty, he decided. His fogged yellow eyes wandered about the grass again, and he began to spot more of the little flowers, many of them actually, dotted about all around him. Some weren't even fully bloomed.

Kaze returned a short time later with an armful of sticks and a hand stained blue from the berries in his palm. He gave Echo a small smile, which fell into a confused blink when he realised he was covered in daisies. Deciding not to question it, he dropped the sticks into the pile and sat down, separating the berries into even groups for them to share.

"Here you go," he said, holding out some berries and dropping them into Echo's hand.

"What are these?" the droid asked.

"Breakfast."

Realising just how hungry he was, the berries vanished from Echo's hands in a matter of moments. Disappointed, he looked at Kaze hopefully, wanting more. The escapee gave a small shrug, chewing on his last berry.

"Sorry, pal," he said, swallowing, "I'll get some more in a little while, okay?"

Echo nodded sadly and returned to his daisies.

Kaze took this time to try and light a fire. He attempted to rub two sticks against each other, but he was quick to abandon this technique. He then proceeded to beat the sticks with another stick, but that didn't really work out either.

Something was placed on his head, and Kaze spun around, stick held up like a sword. Echo smiled at him, a proud glint in his eyes. Blinking slowly, Kaze raised his other hand and touched the thing on his head.

"Do you like it?" asked Echo.

Bewildered, Kaze dropped the stick and took off the object. It was... a flower crown. Daisies bond together by their stems carefully yet messily, forming a large ring that would fit perfectly on one's head.

Abruptly, he realised Echo was still waiting for an answer. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Slowly, Echo's smile fell.

"Oh..." he said, shoulders slumping, "I... I thought maybe... sorry."

"No!" said Kaze hastily, wincing when Echo jumped back in surprise, "I, uh... no. I do like it."

Echo's eyes widened hopefully, "Really?"

Kaze nodded and, after a brief moment of hesitation, sat the flower crown back on his head, "There, see? It's... I like it."

The smile that appeared on Echo's face was worth it.

"Yay!" he exclaimed, "I'm gonna make one for Fluffy now!"

Kaze blinked, as Echo stumbled back to his spot and began to pick more daisies. He glanced at the yack, who was now lying in the grass.

"Fluffy?" he repeated.

Fluffy snorted, before laying his head down for a rest.

Kaze shook his head slowly, wondering how on earth he'd gotten to where he was now. Looking down at what was supposed to be a blazing fire, he sighed. He supposed they should probably get moving anyway.

"What's that noise?" asked Echo abruptly, the beginnings of a daisy chain in his hands.

"What noise?" Kaze asked. Then he heard it. The sound of blades swishing through the air at a deadly speed.

His hair was blown out of his face by a sudden wind. Leaves were sent flying. Small branches looked in danger of following. Fluffy raised his massive head with a startled whine, his fur getting blown into his eyes. The flower crown went soaring from Kaze's head.

Then it appeared. A black smudge against the sky. It took Kaze a moment to realise it was a machine, similar to a helicopter but different in quite a few ways. Almost like a flying boat.

A net shot out of the hatch, tangling Kaze in its thick rope and causing him to fall to the ground with a yell. Echo screamed something he couldn't decipher, and through the gaps of rope he saw the flying thing- which looked more like a large helicopter rather than a boat now that he could see it properly- begin to hover just above the trees.

"Well, well, well," said a booming, terribly familiar voice, "Look's like I've found the little runaways."

"Echo, RUN!" Kaze yelled, struggling wildly in his bonds. Echo tried to scramble to his feet, but this only ended in him falling over.

"Oh, no," the voice boomed, "You're not going anyway."

Another net shot from the hatch, wrapping around Echo, who gave a terrified cry. Except, this one was still attached to the helli-ship. Kaze watched, horrified, as the rope was reeled in faster than a striking snake, and with a scream, Echo was dragged across the dirt, into the air and vanished up into the hatch.

"NO!" Kaze raised his hand, trying to summon it, trying to do what he'd done in the lake. But if he did anything, it wasn't noticed, not even by himself.

Frustrated, Kaze smacked his hand against the ground, tugging at the rope, "Give him back!"

"It doesn't work like that, pal," said Carrot, "Besides, the little fella's gotta be worth a few good coins."

"Give him back, Carrot!" screamed Kaze, spitting the name as though it were venom, "Give him back or I'll slit your bloody throat!"

"Oooh, I'm so scared," Carrot mocked, "You can barely stand, Kaze," the name was spat, much like Kaze had done with his, "Let alone fight."

"We'll see about that, jackass!"

Carrot gave a small snort, as though the very thought amused him, "I've got places to be. I don't have time to play about."

A disgruntled yell tore from Kaze's throat, his struggles renewing. He heard a scream from inside the helli-ship, one with a mechanical ring to it that could only be done by a droid. The helli-ship lifted upwards, higher and higher.

Then it was gone.

Kaze lay there for a long time. Fluffy got up at some point, the rope that had tied him to the tree having come undone at some point, and began to sniff through the abandoned daisies that Echo had been making into a flower crown.

He began to wiggle about, pulling and tugging at the ropes. He wasn't sure how long he did it for. On more than one occasion, he stopped and just lay there again in defeat, before eventually picking it back up again. Slowly, Kaze wiggled out of the net. By the time he had struggled to his feet, the sun was high in the sky.

Fluffy had wandered off, but he could see his mangy fur through the trees as he found a new patch of grass to feast on. Kaze searched through the grass, and found the flower crown partly obscured by leaves, its stem snapped.

With an odd burning behind his eyes that he hadn't felt for a very, very long time, Kaze carefully folded the chain into a ball, then tucked it into his pocket.

He glanced at the sky. Then to the sticks he'd attempted to make into a fire.

Face contorting with a look of pure rage, Kaze raised a foot and kicked the pile in a spray of snapping wood.

If you're wondering how Kai got there so fast, it's because of a certain booster speed that had recently been installed into the mech's, which will be explained in the next chapter. It's not important, but I thought you'd like to know.

More sickening gore. Sorry to anyone who had trouble handling that.

Aaaaand Echo's been captured again. Joy.

This is Kaze's last appearance until way later on, by the way. So gave a quick little wave goodbye for now. His next appearance will officially reveal who he is.