Chapter 33; 'Wake me up when September ends.'
Emma's POV *note; small edit to chapter; Emma's dad is a librarian not a chemist.*
Staring at the raging sea beyond the rails, the rain's frozen arms wrap around me. The wind slaps my face almost pushing me to my knees. The flooding downpour scurries on the deck like firecrackers. The rain strikes back and dances with quick snaps. A swift breeze chills the bones of the renewal and life is reborn. The beginning of all this! A simple and descriptive line that seems to have come from a poem! Ominously a chill slithers up my spine.
Yet I do not shiver. I do not even flinch. I pay no attention to the raging wind pulling the dark black hair off my head.
I feel my eyes droop slowly yet when I close my eyes I cannot even sleep.
The weather has been chaos ever since my uncle arrived. It is obvious that the Serpentine could not possibly attempt any attack in this weather because it is like this all around of the coasts of Ninjago. This is definitely no coincident.
It has been about two weeks and a half since my uncle arrived and the storm still refuses to die. It has been a bit a more than that since Nya and Dr. J left. It is also late august. I lean my head against the slippery rails. Why must it be so close to September? Why must summer be ending? Why must this storm be the only thing between me and…? I feel pressure on my shoulders. Zane turns me around and I look into his eyes.
"Emma, you haven't said anything in days." I only answer him by looking up into his pleading eyes. I stand there stoic and unmoving. Zane wipes some of my wet hair out of my eyes. The wind dies down slowly. "You're so cold…" He rubs his warm hands on my numb arms. "Come inside please." He tries to lead me inside yet I don't budge. I close my eyes slowly. "Please Emma; I really do not want you to get hypothermia… Emma…?" I am unresponsive drifting in and out of consciousness.
At this point I cannot respond. All I feel is the cold.
"EMMA!" He says feeling my face. He quickly picks me up and rushes me inside. I pay no attention when Zane bursts through the door of the game room. I watch Anne and Cece help take off my coat and feel Zane dry my hair. Zane and the Ninja leave when Laura runs out of the room to get dry clothing. I start hearing Anne and Cece asking me questions like;
"What happened?"
"Why were you out there for so long?"
"Can't you please answer us Emma?"
"Is she even conscious?"
Laura comes back in the room and Eventually Zane returns with more blankets. Wrapped inside the blankets and in my dry clothing, I slowly open my eyes again.
"Emma?" Laura asks hardly audible. I do not respond.
"Zane, why was she out there for so long?" Cece asks.
"I do not know…" Zane says distraught.
"Why won't she speak? Has her mouth been frozen shut?" Lloyd asks reaching to check my mouth. I slap his hand away and everyone turns to me. I close my eyes trying to avoid any of their eye contact.
'Fight it Emma, whatever it is. I will fight for you as long as you fight for me.'
I remember Zane's pleading words as he lifts up my chin to face him. My eyes open widely.
"Say something Emma! Something! Anything! Please! Just fight whatever it is! I couldn't bear loosing you! So please! Just say something!" Zane pleads.
"Maybe she's deaf now." Cole suggests. Zane catches a tear that strolls down my cold face. His warm hand lingers, cuffing my cheek.
"What if I can't fight it Zane?" I ask hoarse and hardly audible so only Zane can hear it.
"Emma… If the Original Cosmic Master chose you, she chose you for a reason." Zane replies.
"She-she is not who you think Zane… she is a cruel being… she doesn't care about good or evil… she doesn't care about me… She doesn't care if I can fight it or not… She only wants—" I grip Zane's shoulders tightly. I feel my breathing run short and my heart race. I hear everyone's reaction until… Forcibly, I close my eyes and into darkness.
You thought it would be that easy, my pet?
'Why do you do this to me?'
Why are you so accusing, it is not I that will make you meet your end?
'Yet why do you show me these things?'
There is a funny thing called destiny and it has you name written all over it, my pet!
'Yet this all is meaningless! What is the point of seeing the future if you can do nothing about it?'
That is where you are wrong, my pet. There will be a time where your abilities will be needed. And if you didn't have these powers, life's outcome for you would be so much more different, my pet!
'But… but… Zane…?'
You are destined for so much more! A woman of your stature will never need those petty emotions…
'That is where you are wrong.'
I wake up on the couch the next day swimming in blankets with Zane asleep partly on the floor. Trying to get out of the blankets, I struggle and wake up Zane.
"Good morning Emma, are you feeling better?" Zane asks. Shaking off the dream I just had I almost smile.
"Good morning Zane, yes, I feel a lot better. I apologize for my… behavior. Thank you so much, I do not know what would have happened without you." I say.
"You are most welcome. I had scanned you once you were inside and discovered that you actually had hypothermia… why did you not go inside?"
"I… I… don't know…" I lie. I know perfectly well why. But If I told Zane I wouldn't be conscious. "Wait, what day is it?" I ask Zane.
"September first, why?" the white ninja asks. I stare at him in shock. Immediately, I untangle myself out of these blankets and head towards the door. Zane blocks my path. "Emma, you need your rest." He says pushing me back on the couch.
"No…" I say.
"Emma, what is wrong with September first?" he asks.
"It's—it's my birthday…" Zane looks at me confused.
"I do not see how a date of birth could be of so much distraught Emma…" Suddenly, the alarm goes off.
Both our heads shoot up before we make our ascent up the stairs to the bridge. Emotions throng inside my chest like an evil swarm of bees; Nervousness, anger, relief, perplexity, and most of all; fear; the fear of loosing everything, the fear loosing my sanity, and the fear of loosing Zane. I would have burst through the door if it was not already busted though. Zane trails behind me when I race into the room filled with the red strobe lights. The Cosmic Legion soon enters the room with some still in their pajamas and the Ninja enter also but they all are in their uniforms.
"Man," Cece says out of breath to the ninja, "How are all you guys in your uniforms at four in the morning, did we have training today?"
"We Spinjitzu them on." The blue ninja replies.
"Wished we had Spinjitzu… wait, I never did ask; Emma, why don't we have Spinjitzu?" Laura asked with both her and Cece wearing pajamas.
"Oh yes… that… well here is the thing… they have Spinjitzu because they got their powers from the first Spinjitzu master. We are the Cosmic Legion and have actually no relation to the powers of the Spinjitzu masters…" I hold my head in my hand when I start to get a headache, probably because She is not pleased… "However…" I continue. I slam both my hands together and a large flash of light appears. Suddenly, I am in my uniform. "We can do that."
"That is so cool!" Cece says as she tries what I did. Instead of white, it is an illuminating grassy green. Not long after, a sunbeam kind of light follows. Anne was already wearing her suit somehow. However, we finally remember the blaring siren ringing through out the bounty.
"FALSE ALARM, FALSE ALARM!" we all turn our heads to see my uncle with his hands in the air.
"What did you do?" Sensei Wu asks shuffling in the room cradling his tea-pot and wearing pink bunny slippers. The nine young teens burst out in laughter seeing the not-so-morning-person with bags under his eyes that look even more prominent because of his wrinkles. Sensei Wu turns his head and on his face, we meet a scowl. Now is the time my uncle explains himself.
"Well, I needed to check my email this morning because I forgot that there was going to be an important message for me from one of my companies and… the rest is history…" Andrew says.
"So you set of the alarm?" Kai asks furious.
"Yes." My uncle says and I face-palm.
"How are so successful in business when you cannot even check your email without setting something off..." I ask myself. My uncle owns a very successful law firm. He makes a lot of profit. His sister, my mother was a hairstylist. She cut lots of celebrities' hair though and was very talented. 'At least I got something out of it…' I think twirling some of my silky smooth black hair. This reminds me…
"Hey Cole, do you happen to know the name of you father's hairstylist?" I ask and Cole turns to me.
"Why would I know that? Though …I think I remember my father saying something to me over phone that his actually got into a car crash, why do ask?" He says.
"My mom cut your father's hair." I say and Cole raises his bushy eyebrows. She waxed eyebrows too.
"Really, who was he?" My uncle asks who Cole's father was.
"He is apart of the Royal Blacksmiths." I answer.
"Wait, your mother was a hairstylist?" Cece asks with her eyes sparkling.
"A world-renown one at that, my mom was the best of the best and worked on all the stars! Well before she…" I trail of into the memories of my mother and father… I miss them so much…
"So that's why you have such pretty hair …And where you get your conditioner…" Cece says and I nod. I have a ton of fancy shampoo and conditioner made especially by my mom for my hair. My Dad was a librarian.
"So wait a second, we were woken up this early for NOTHING?" Kai asks and we all nod our heads. He turns around and walks out of the bridge. "Wake me up when September ends…" He says leaving the room to go back to sleep. I cringe when I am reminded of the date. But if just now was a false alarm then what?
"Wait a minute… Today is September 1st! Happy birthday, Emma!" my uncle informs everybody of my date of birth and I wince.
"Wait a second, today is your birthday?" Cece asks and I reluctantly nod my head.
"You're turning eighteen, right?" Anne asks
"Well yes but—"
"I know Nya isn't here but this calls for a girl's night out! Why did you not mention this earlier, Emma?' Cece suggests
"Well… I guess I just feel a little sad because this is my first birthday without my mom and dad… and… other things…" I look away. My gaze meets Zane's icy snowstorm eyes. I glance back to Cece.
"Emma... I am so sorry…" Cece says.
"It is fine… it is just a random day of the year, no need to make a fuss out of it… what difference is it from any other day…" I try to encourage Cece and stop all the pity. However I know inside that there is a difference… How can I be so cynical? Yet cynical is not the right word. Optimistic is more like it. Zane suddenly comes behind me. He tilts my head to face him. A pleasant shiver races up my spine when his inhuman coldness surrounds me. A coldness that makes me wants to come closer to huddle for warmth.
"Oh Emma; a day like this is much more than that! It is the anniversary of the start of a life! Today is the day where the world became so much brighter!" Zane says. The stars do make the night dazzling yet is today that amazing?
He removes one of his hands on my waist and takes mine in his. He brings mine up to his face and kisses it gently. I blush at his romantic gesture. He strokes my soft black hair with the same hand. Zane leans closer. I feel his hot breath when he murmurs inside my ear with a sophisticated and velvet whisper; "What do you want for your birthday, Emma?" I roll my eyes and decide to play along.
"I want" I pause to leave some suspense. "A six pack of …Snapples." Zane smiles at my addiction to tea.
"You're worse than Sensei Wu…" He replies.
"Was there any doubt?"
"Alright, alright, split it up you too! I would say get a room but" Cece smirks, "who knows what could happen there." Cece pushes Zane away from me and continues. "We have to celebrate your birthday, Emma! We will even if I have to drag you out of here myself. Come child," she says mockingly, "Let's get you dolled up!" Cece drags me out of the bridge with Cece & Co trailing behind. Right when we reach the door she turns her head at Zane and winks. "You'll thank me later!"
'Help me!' I scream inside my head, begging Zane to save me from this sarcastic monster.
False alarm, false alarm! Isn't Emma's uncle just awesome like that? Emma is not telling us the real reason she doesn't like her birthday so you have to wait and see! Or is it; wait and read? I hope no body is confused but hopefully this chapter will make sense eventually…
BTW Lya200 to answer you question (Sorry I forget to answer questions) nobody knows that question for certain. So technically it is possible for Pythor to return. Yet I doubt it because Lego already has something on and it already has been a while. Pythor is presumed dead I suppose yet there are countless fan fictions where he returns. Oh, and Happy holidays! (Zamma is Genius! I like to think of it as comet shipping!) *Zane gives you cookies for being such an awesome reviewer!*
Have some too birthdaypi and Toon Friend! *Zane holds a yummy plate of cookies*
I also do not own the song 'wake me up when September ends'.
Sorry for updating so late.
Last but not least, I admit it, I stink at writing Cole. Yet does anybody have any ideas for an emotional conflict for him and Anne? Emotional. I can think of bad stuff to happen to them but I need something for them. I have everybody else (Besides Jay and Nya), Laura and Lloyd's conflict is obvious and I build a lot off of Zamma's. So does anyone have ideas?
"HARMONY!" ~Kai, Jay, and Zane with Cole moaning in the background.
SergeantSarcasm7 at your service!