==Sorry for the delay! It was a holiday weekend and I had a friend over for a whole three days, plus we were out where there was absolutely no signal. So I wasn't able to write. But then I got a small case of writer's block and had to think things through, but I'm okay now :P To add to this, I now got a part-time job and start working next week, so I don't know how my writing will be affected. I do know, however, I will not be able to write at all for almost a month due to soccer camps and me working until closing time, but it's okay. I'll try my best to get things moving more frequently in this story :)==
Yellow Claw - "Sin City"
Haunted: Collapse into Caliginosity
Chapter 29:
Natural Habitat
Getting the Destiny's Bounty ready for action has been a major pain in the butt. All of us have been working together in the cleaning and repairs. Jay even got electricity running through the place now.
This new station in the bridge will be how we keep an eye out for any Serpentine troubles. The biggest issue so far has been this huge screen that'll keep radar for us and do other things, like surf the internet. Jay and I can't get things operating properly yet, but we're close to something. I really wanted to use this thing to cheer up Zane.
When the Serpentine destroyed the Monastery of Spinjitzu, Zane lost things that were precious to him. We all did. But Zane lost pictures of Macca Soxx and also her dog tags. He was happy to have found the Bounty, but day by day, everyone can tell he's regressing back to the way he was: distant and quiet.
At least he's out in the open more. Like right now, he's just sitting on the floor near us, sketching another detailed portrait of Macca.
"I want my memories of her to remain pure, especially her looks," he told me yesterday.
Well, I wanted to show him that there's no need to draw her dozens of times. She's the most famous woman in Ninjago. She's all over the internet. He has the ability to see her whenever he wants to.
Jay messed with stuff behind the screen to get it hooked up or something like that. "Anything yet, Jay?" I asked from the bottom of the ladder.
"Chill out, fire boy. I'm trying my best here."
"Could you do it any faster?"
"No. Please stop bugging me now."
At that very moment, the screen powered on.
"Ha! Great job!" I praised Jay.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he annoyingly replied as he came down the ladder. "I still need to get the GPS up and running."
I grabbed his arm and pulled him close so I could whisper, "Never mind that now. Can you get the internet connected first? Please."
"Why?"
I nodded towards Zane as he sat and drew.
He gave me a look of distrust. "You better not show him something that'll screw him up," he warned.
"No, of course not...Just something that'll cheer him up."
He sighed and stepped away from me to connect the internet. Soon it all came together and the screen came to life. "Watch this," he said. "Bridge, look up 'grass.'"
The screen suddenly showed the definition of grass and pulled up many pictures of it.
"Voice control?" I asked.
"Pretty sweet, huh?"
"Yeah, thanks. Hey, Zane. Come here."
Zane glanced up from his drawing as Jay left the room. "Why?"
"I wanna show you something. I promise you'll like it."
He hesitated but came to me with slow steps. "Bridge," I said, "look up 'Macca Soxx.'"
The screen responded and changed the entire layout of the first search. It took me directly to Macca's official website, where you could explore her very existence. The front page immediately greeted you with a picture of her doing her magic behind the turntables during a show.
Zane's expression showed many emotions I couldn't exactly tell apart from each other. The only thing he could say was, "H-How?"
"She's the most famous person in the world, Zane. She's everywhere. This is the website she runs all by herself. You can look through pictures, watch videos, listen to her music, and even catch her in the middle of a livestream if you're lucky enough."
He turned to me with nothing to say.
"…I-I thought this could help you cope with things. I don't know if you'll ever meet her in person again, but this is a way you can…stay…connected with her, I guess."
"Bridge, go to Macca Soxx's videos," he suddenly said.
It went to a different page on the website and showed a line of videos that were old. The most recent one was posted two months ago. When it began playing, it showed wild parties and lots of flashing lights with a newish song playing the whole time. People were dancing and jumping all while Macca played for them. Suddenly it intensified with a lot of twerking and girls kissing each other. The abrupt ending gave an announcement to an album that's been released for a while now.
I laughed when I saw Zane covering his eyes from the images. "That's basically her life, Zane. Partying every day and night."
"With homosexual actions taking place around her?"
"Probably," I laughed, the next video loading.
He uncovered his eyes. "I don't want to see such things ever again."
"Okay, then what else are you interested in seeing?"
"Does she ever announce current events?"
"Um…I'm sure she keeps people updated."
"Bridge, show me any recent announcements from Macca Soxx."
The screen went to another page on the website to show something she posted just this morning: "Catch me in a livestream tonight at 9 for a special showing on Rick Bernstein's radio podcast on station 7.2 along with artists Ciara, Nicki Minaj, and Kelly Clarkson. Tom, here's to wasting my time!"
"Who's Tom?" Zane asked me.
"Last I heard, they were a thing, but I guess not– Wait! This is a revenge scheme! Aw man, this is something we have to see!"
"What's so important about it?"
"Well, Macca doesn't have much luck with men. They always break her heart, but she comes up with awesome ways of getting revenge. You don't get out of the relationship without being completely humiliated."
"So she's joining a 'radio podcast' to embarrass this 'Tom'?"
"Yep, and this is something I can't miss. The last guy who left her got a male prostitute sent to his apartment as the revenge."
"Oh…"
"Yeah, so she's got to top it. I want to know what she has up her sleeve. And who knows, maybe future guys will finally learn to treat her right."
He gazed at the screen with a blank stare, thinking about something. I patted his arm and left so he could be alone. For the first time ever, I was sure I knew what he was thinking in that mysterious conscience of his: "I would treat her right."
Shoutout to The Mayor of Ninjago City, Kai4Ever, and KRR for reviewing the previous chapter!
Kairocksrainbow - Thanks for favoriting me as a writer :D