==Hi, everyone! SURPRISE! I'm back without warning. Honestly, I've had the flu for the past week, so I've had plenty of time to get my AP work done once I was starting to feel better and I decided to get a chapter written before Thanksgiving Break later this month. I go back to school next week and I know me being out has put me very behind in my classes. The next update will probably not happen until the break, which is okay, I guess. I just hope I can survive until then ._. ==
Skrillex - "Doompy Poomp"
Haunted: Collapse into Caliginosity
Chapter 57:
Idiot Train
A peculiar mood filled the atmosphere during dinner. Whether it was the food or the conversations happening around me, I could sense it. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was me in my state of calm happiness that was making me feel it. Or maybe it was just me being paranoid about what everyone thought about me.
Yes, I was anxious to see Macca again, but I was also anxious about how I would go about the situation I've decided to put myself in. Kai already knew my plan, but did anyone else? I haven't been vocal about anything, so nobody should have a clue. Still, though, their unknown opinions made me uncomfortable.
I need to stop thinking about others' perspective. I'm doing this for myself, I thought.
Sensei Wu sat at the end of the table. He had been unusually quiet all day. Once training was over, he slunk away to his quarters. I meant to go visit him, but decided against it. When it came to what happened yesterday and my upsetting dreams last night, I needed to find my own way of coping. If I was going to someday have a family of my own, I had to learn how to be responsible for myself. My future daughter — supposedly — was going to need me for guidance as she grew older. What kind of parent would I be if I didn't have the answers to her questions and problems? If I wanted to be ready, I had to slowly let go of my dependency on my sensei.
Then I began to wonder why I was thinking so ahead of myself. I was nowhere near becoming a father, let alone a husband. I can't be thinking of my repetitive dream with my nonexistent offspring if I haven't gotten her mother to be with me yet. It was certain to me that it would all be a reality one day, but not today.
Macca comes first. Then Cytherea will come later.
My hand supported my head as the other lightly swirled my fork throughout the remaining food on my plate. What if my dream meant nothing at all? What if I was just dreaming about Macca?
No, I had that dream long before I met Macca. The girl even referred to me as "Dad." I'm not illogical...Right?
"Zane," Cole said, pulling me out of my mental battle.
I glanced up from my plate to see my brothers gathered at the open door.
"Ready?"
"To leave?"
"Not yet. We gotta find the right clothes that'll fit you, first, my giant friend."
"But I have my own wardrobe. I don't understand."
Kai and Jay came over and tucked their arms under mine to get me out of my seat. "Yeah, but your girlfriend described you in too much detail so we gotta find you something that'll hide you in plain sight," Kai explained.
"What does that mean?"
"That means you ain't wearing anything white tonight," Jay answered.
Nya laughed, cleaning up the table around Sensei Wu, as I was escorted out.
The four of us ended up back in our room. We were all in our ninja uniforms in case a Serpentine call came in unexpectedly, but it was peaceful all day, according to Nya. If we wanted to be in public without being noticed, we had to blend in by wearing actual clothes. We each had a wardrobe that was rarely worn.
Jay opened his two drawers, pulled out a small stack of folded t-shirts, and dramatically blew off a nonexistent layer of dust off the top of it. Not allowed to open mine, I stood and watched them sift through their assortment of clothes. At the same time, I observed a potential problem.
My body proportions included long legs, long arms, and a long torso with broad shoulders. Out of the four of us, Jay was the smallest. His height and muscle mass just didn't match any of ours. The possibility of me wearing any of his clothes was minute. Kai and Cole were almost the same height, but their muscle mass was very different. Still, maybe I could fit into something of Cole's. The extra bagginess in his clothes might make up for how long my limbs are.
"It might be better if he wears a jacket so it doesn't look like he's so...ripped," Kai suggested, examining a couple of his own hanging in his cubbie.
"Sounds like you got this whole thing figured out, Hotshot," Cole pointed out, slightly stretching one of his gray shirts to test its elasticity. "Wait, does that mean he can just wear one of his own shirts?"
"Jeans, too?" Jay asked as he let the legs of a pair of blue jeans unfold to the floor. "There's no way his huge legs are gonna fit in anything of what we have."
"Hey, his legs aren't huge," Cole insisted. He spread his arms out and made them parallel to my left leg. "They're just almost as long as my wingspan," he sniggered.
"Zane, your biological parents were probably just a couple of giants that wandered Ninjago."
"Do you think that explains how I ended up on the side of a road with amnesia?" I asked.
"I was just joking! Way to make the mood depressed. But seriously, though. A softball could fit in your calf."
"Here," Kai told me with a short stack of clothes in hand. "You can wear your gray jeans, a white t-shirt, and Cole's black hoodie."
"And I'll wear Zane's jacket!" Jay played. We all glanced at him to see him wearing my white jacket with the sleeves extending past his hands. His flapped them around to be funny.
Kai laughed at the obvious size difference, but Cole turned his head in my direction. "Sometimes I just ask myself, 'Why? How did we end up with him?'"
"Those are simple answers," I replied. "Jay is the idiot, you're the leader, Kai's the tempered one, and I'm the intelligent one. Sensei chose us because we have find equilibrium among our personalities in order to work together as a team."
They all looked at me, bored. Kai even yawned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He shoved the clothes into my hold and grabbed a stack of his own. The three of them left me alone in the dark room to get changed into the outfit picked out for me.
Everyone was gathered in the bridge when I surfaced from below deck. I felt abnormal wearing my brother's clothing, but it fit good enough for a one time use. They didn't pay much attention to me as I took a seat at the table next to Nya.
"So basically we have to be dropped off far enough away from Ninjago City so that the Bounty isn't noticed, but it'll still be a quite a walk," Kai calculated on the big screen that mapped out the particular area.
"And it still stands that Zane and me come after we get the Bounty settled in Crash Course Canyon?" Nya questioned.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Zane's Golden Weapons are the easiest to conceal, so he'll be your ride to the city and back. Macca's thing is finished for the—"
The phone in the middle of the table suddenly vibrated hard enough to shift across the wood. A distinct picture of Macca illuminated the screen, and my instant reaction was to grab for it with my hand slamming down on it.
"Whoa, chill out, Frosty," Cole voiced as I answered the call. Macca's real face appeared for video chat with a lot of loud noise in the background. Her expression lit up at the sight of me and everyone else squeezing into the frame to see her.
"My friends!" she exclaimed, throwing her free arm into the air. "I wanted to check in on you guys!"
"We were about to head out, actually," Cole informed her.
"Wait, let me get somewhere quiet." The screen went dark for a moment. In the meantime, the Bounty found a stopping place, suspended in the air.
"This call better be quick," Kai warned. "We can't stay this close to the city for too long."
Everything lightened again and Macca reappeared in a small tiled room full of yellow, artificial luminescence. "You're heading out, you said?"
"Yep. We're outside of the city right now."
"Good, I was hoping you could come. That's why I wanted to call."
"We would've told you either way!" Jay claimed.
"Well, you got an hour to get here. Plenty of time. I'll be waiting for you as soon as you all get in, and I'm guessing none of you are wearing your normal colors?"
"Nope," Kai answered. "Tonight, we're ordinary people."
"Especially Zane," Jay emphasized, pulling the hood over my head to hide my hair. "We had to be sort of creative with his disguise because you put out such a detailed description of him."
"I'm sorry!" she energetically yelped, making an echo. "But I wouldn't have found him if I hadn't."
The strings to the hood grew taut, forcing it to cave in around my face. I immediately reached and slapped Jay in the face.
He laughed. "I've always wanted to do that."
"You're so mean to him," Macca giggled. "Be heading over! I gotta go!"
"Okay, bye, Macca," Kai fared, poking the screen to hang up. "Lets move, people."
I loosened the hood so it didn't appear so ridiculous. As everyone filed out of the bridge, Nya lowered the Bounty to the earth. "Oh yeah. Zane," Kai began.
I made eye contact with him.
"We made a slight change to your disguise."
I picked at my clothes for something peculiar, but failed to notice anything. "What?" I confusingly asked.
"To keep people from being suspicious of you, Nya's gonna be your girlfriend tonight."
My face grew hot. "What?"
"Have fun!" he said, leaving the room.
I got up and chased after him. He was already halfway down the stairs when I caught him. "Kai!"
"Don't stress about it. It's only for tonight. She won't bite."
"But I don't feel comfortable with this plan."
"Just think of it as practice for Macca."
"I don't want to 'practice' with your sister!"
"Kai!" Cole called from the edge of the upper deck.
The Fire Ninja hurried the rest of the way down to catch up with the others, who were being dropped off for their short trip down the road. Once they were a few steps away from the Bounty, it rose from the ground and reverted in the opposite direction for Crash Course Canyon.
The sun approached the distant horizon, making the sky a shade of red in rose petals. This evening was already transforming into a whole new situation for me; I wanted to take things further with Macca, but now I had to hide my identity and pretend I was already in a relationship with someone else. It was only inconvenient that my "partner" was going to be a my brother's younger sister, who I've known for a long time now. My relationship with her has been simply mutual and friendly. I was very uncomfortable with the idea of acting as if I had the same feelings for her as I did with Macca.
"Hey, boyfriend," Nya greeted after silently opening the door to the bridge.
I jumped from being startled. "I am not comfortable with that title coming from you," I confessed, shoving my hands into the sweatshirt's pocket.
"Sorry," she giggled. "You're way too tense right now. Come inside and relax a bit."
I slowly exhaled, turning around to follow her in. She made no haste to return to the Bounty's controls while wearing her casual jeans and blue sweater. "I know you want to kill Kai," she began, "but it was my idea to put us together."
"But I feel awkward about this."
"Hey, it was either me or you became a homosexual for a couple hours. I figured I'd do you a favor."
The thought of pretending to be in a romantic relationship with one of my brothers made me twist my face due to the disgustingly factor. "You're not telling me the truth, correct?"
"No, that's the truth, my dude. Did they also tell you what fake name you'll be going by?"
"A fake name? Please don't torture me, Nya."
"I'm not trying to!" she laughed. "They opted for Robert."
I shook my head. "Cole, Kai, Jay, and Robert? That combination of names doesn't make any sense whatsoever."
"C'mon, Zane, it's okay to be a little spontaneous every once in a while. Macca seems to be spontaneous all the time."
"Maybe, but at least she makes sense to me."
She leaned against the steering wheel for a moment. "Is that why you like her so much?"
"I assume so."
"When are you gonna make your move?"
"I hope to tonight."
"Aw, really? That's cute."
"But I don't know how to go about it. Should I just tell her how I feel?"
"That's what I would do if I were you, but try to be alone with her. I know a lot is happening tonight, but maybe you two can go off somewhere in the city together or something like that."
"What about everyone else? I'm supposed to get us back to the Bounty."
"It's not that long of a walk. We'll be fine."
I took a hesitant seat at the table. Everything was piling up too fast for me to keep up. If I didn't do it right, it could ruin everything. "Sometimes I wish I had experience so I didn't feel so lost," I shared. "I mean...should I kiss her?"
She didn't respond at first. "Uh...That depends. Don't force it if the moment isn't right."
"I don't know when any moment is right," I sighed.
The Bounty hovered over Crash Course Canyon. Nya made a direct descent into a hiding place that would conceal it by shadows but also give easy access out.
When she shut everything off, the room darkened and filled with the gleam of the red sunset. I wanted to get up so we could leave, but she stopped me. "The moment is right when you slow down," she explained, looking deep into my eyes. Once she was level with me, she opened my hand and put her own in my palm. "Hold her hand, tell her how you feel, and if she responds positively, just do it."
"But I don't know how to do it."
Her lips pursed as she contemplated something. Then, all of a sudden, she pressed them against mine.
As soon as it happened, it was finished, and I was clueless about how to react. My cheeks blushed, my eyes dilated, and I felt paralyzed.
"That's how you do it," she said, smiling.
It wasn't settling well in my abdomen. Driving on the lone road to civilization with Nya's arms around me was making me think about things that were merely fantasies.
The moment I was supposed to share with Macca was shared with Nya instead. A single kiss that I wanted to give to the woman of my dreams now belonged to someone else. Even if it wasn't destined to happen tonight, I still would've waited. I was in no hurry to get it over with, but now I couldn't help but wonder if Nya wanted it.
This couldn't become what I was dreading it would become. I've known Nya for nearly a year now; we've always been on good terms with each other. Has that been enough time to develop feelings for me?
At the same time, I knew Jay has wanted to be with Nya since the day we found out we had to rescue her, despite the presence of Kai, who wanted to protect his sister like any older brother. If things were about to wander down an unexpected route, I would have to decline. I couldn't be with Nya. Jay could have her. I wanted Macca as mine to keep for the rest of my life, and the longer I waited, my chances grew slimmer and slimmer. That was why I had to do it tonight, so I could claim my chance.
Nya wanted me to succeed. She's enjoyed Macca's company as far as I know. But was there a possibility she was putting on a façade?
"You're about to pass them!" Nya warned.
Coming off my train of thought, I gently slowed down until I was beside the group of four. "I will make two trips," I indicated.
Sensei Wu was the only one to join us for the first trip. When we were greeted by the first sight of sidewalk, I dropped them off and went back for the others.
"Just think of it, Zane," Jay commented as I came to a stop. "You're gonna have to do this again on the way back!"
"Who's Zane?" I replied, allowing them to get settled down. "I thought my name was Robert, which is a stupid choice, by the way."
Kai laughed. "Nya told you, I'm assuming?"
"Yes, and I'm going to assume Jay chose it."
"No!" Jay protested. "We just came up with it on the spot."
I shook my head. How did I end up in this nuthouse?
"Macca said the subway station was over there," Kai reminisced, looking at the unfolded piece of paper covered in notes from Macca's informational meeting yesterday.
"I see it," Cole indicated. "We gotta cross the street."
Before someone reminded me, I covered my head with the hood and concealed my shurikens. Also, as we waited for the lighted symbol to change, I went ahead and tapped Nya's shoulder.
She lifted her head and saw my extended hand. Knowing what I was nonverbally requesting, she obliged.
"Having fun yet?" Kai elbowed her.
"I can get used to this," she replied, shifting my arm over her shoulders.
I gulped. This is the closest I've ever been to Nya. If I had the choice, I wouldn't participate.
The red hand turned into a white walking figure as the vehicles stopped at the traffic light. We crossed together as a group and transitioned over to the stairwell that dropped below the surface. People were coming up and going down like a swarm.
Jay had the most experience with subways out of all of us, so we followed him down to the extensive, grungy room filled from wall to wall with bodies. The ticket kiosks lined the back wall with people using them.
"We use green tube first?" Jay questioned Kai.
"Yeah. Our last stop is the gray tube at Jacques Station," Kai read.
Jay looked at the paper for a moment and then intertwined with the crowd to get the tickets. We had to congregate tightly to keep from getting into people's way.
Observing the environment around us made me understand why Macca was desperate to have a vehicle of her own as soon as she was out on her own. This place was almost out of control, and I couldn't help but feel out of place. I towered over everybody in the vicinity. The passerbyers stared at me. I refused to make eye contact, but the fear of being recognized made me apprehensive.
To irritate Kai, Nya embraced me. He rolled his eyes and she just giggled. The knowledge that I had to act as if I was in love with her returned. I rested my hands against her cheeks because I had no idea what else I should be doing with her. She didn't pull away as I poked, prodded, and used my fingertips to make her smile and frown all for my own amusement. "What are you doing?" she playfully asked me.
"I don't what I should be doing," I answered.
"He's trying to be a good boyfriend," Cole chuckled to Kai.
"He's actually doing pretty good so far," Kai complimented. "But still, she's my sister. Tread lightly, Frosty."
"I'm back with the goods," Jay greeted when he returned with a handful of tickets. Each of us received a ticket, and directed ourselves to the entry gates. The people around us inserted their tickets into the machine. When the ticket was scanned inside, it reappeared at the top and the gates opened momentarily. We had to get through in exactly five seconds or else the gates would close on us.
Nya went before I did and waited on the other side for me with the others. I did what everyone else did, but instead of the ticket properly reemerging from the machine, it was rejected and popped out the side again.
"Oh no, you can do it, Za— Robert!" Nya corrected herself.
I quickly readjusted the ticket and tried again, feeling relief when it was accepted. I stepped through the open gate on time, but heard a peculiar noise behind me. My immediate reaction was to turn around in case of danger, but instead I was met with the sight of a little girl with her leg stuck between the gate doors. Her mother stood on the opposite side, annoyance clear on her face.
I could hear everyone laughing at the scene. "RIP!" Cole exclaimed, making Jay laugh harder.
"Robert, what did you do?!" Nya laughed.
I shrugged, turning back toward the mother, who was staring at me with curiosity. I quickly avoided her eye in case she started getting an idea about my identity. Meanwhile, I helped the girl slip her foot out from between the gate doors without getting hurt. "I-I'm sorry," I apologized to the mother.
"It was her, not you," she mumbled, inserting her ticket to open the gate back up and retrieve her mischievous child. "Thank you."
Knowing I could leave, I joined the others. Nya happily welcomed me back with open arms.
"Alright, lovebirds, let's move on," Cole summoned, leading the group farther into the station. We ventured down the only way available for us. The concrete floor and tiled walls crawled underground until it opened up to a platform overlooking train tracks. On the other side was an emptying platform while ours was filling up.
Trying to be a good partner, I let Nya have the last seat on a bench as we waited for the train to arrive.
"Are we making good time?" she asked me, reaching for my hand again.
"Yes. We'll make it on time." I squeezed her hand, trying to think of some minor sort of affection.
"What's going through your mind?"
"I don't know. What about you?"
"Well...I think you're really sweet."
I forced a smile. Hearing an attempted flirt had me torn. Was she just acting? Was she being serious? It was hard to tell.
Please don't do this to me, Nya, I mentally pleaded.
A rush of wind blew past us with the train passing by with decreasing speed. I tugged Nya to pull her from the bench and accompanied the others into the locomotive, which still had a few people on it. I directed Nya to an empty seat and let her sit down again. Above her head was a small map of the green tube's path. It was full of awkward turns and had exactly ten stations to visit during its route.
"Three stops," Kai informed under his breath, the doors beeping and shutting.
I gripped a yellow pole as the train suddenly gained speed and made everyone lean to one side. Sensei Wu was sitting on the other side with Cole, Kai, and Jay standing near him. They acted as if they were just acquaintances instead of students and master.
Sensei Wu stood out among everyone else because of his kimono, staff, and rice hat. He didn't have to look ordinary tonight because it was already usual to see elders like him around Ninjago. I wasn't sure if elders like him used the subway; however, he was the only one of his kind present at the moment.
He was still silent. In fact, he hadn't spoken a single word since this morning. The rice hat concealed his face from the rest of the crowd, making it seem he was asleep as his hand held the bamboo staff against the floor. I wondered if he didn't want to come, because I know he hasn't been too fond of Macca. I didn't know why he felt that way about her—
The train unexpectedly braked for the upcoming station. I kept a steady foundation to keep me from leaning the opposite direction like everyone else around me. Nya noticed my concentration on my stance, finding it funny.
Both sides of the train opened their doors. People filed out of one side and filed in through the other. Nya got out of her seat so a pregnant woman could sit instead. She shared the pole with me for the rest of the stops, but to pass the time, we played a game of "who can slap the others hand the quickest," which was basically us reacting with reflexes. One of us would flinch to throw the other off, and then a hand would launch in the blink of an eye to gently slap the top of the other person's hand.
With our silly game keeping us busy, we almost didn't realize our third and last stop was approaching fast. People stood when the braking seized. To keep from losing Nya in the crowd, I locked fingers with her. I led her to the platform's wall where everyone was already gathered, all while the pedestrians were heading to the escalators that would take them upstairs to the main area of the station.
"Looks like we got everybody," Jay informed when we stepped up together.
"Orange tube is next," Kai read. "We gotta go where everyone else is going."
With that in mind, we joined with the crowd up the elevator to an expansive area that interconnected passageways to many trains. Each passage was differentiated with colored tile running along the walls. At the same time, people were moving in all directions to all kinds of destinations.
We bustled and brushed past bodies to get to the passages marked with orange tiles. A map of the tube route was mounted on the wall. "This way," Kai said, infiltrating the right way that headed toward the Temple of Fortitude.
There was no hesitation among us, so we gladly followed him.
The walk down made me observe how different the environment of this station was compared the to one we started out at: it was much busier. This location itself had performers in the passageways who played instruments in exchange for tips. Although their tunes were pleasing enough to make anyone stop in their tracks, no spare change was distributed from us.
But when we were almost to the platform, we passed a man playing his violin with a hat on the ground, which seemed to be begging for a coin or two.
"That's a cool piano," Jay said as we entered the crowded platform.
Kai and Cole busted out laughing. "What are you? Retarded?" Cole asked.
"What? What did I say?"
"You called his violin a piano, idiot."
"Oh. I didn't mean to say piano."
Nya laughed behind me, but she was drowned out by the sound of a train emerging from its dark tunnel. We were in the back of an already big crowd waiting to board, so when the doors opened, it was first come first serve. The others filled the empty spaces around me as the beeps sounded as a warning for the doors closing. When they shut, a different kind of beeping commenced.
I was met with the sight of Nya trapped between the doors. Only her shoulders and head had made it onto the train. The expression on her face was unreadable, but I knew it wasn't a good situation.
"Nya, no!" we yelped at the same time.
She pulled back to be released from the hold. I pressed my hand against the glass with worry as I looked at her. We had no backup plan, she had no form of communication, and I was supposed to keep up with her throughout this little adventure.
"Zane," she mouthed, peering through the glass, too.
"Get on the next train," I tried to tell her with hand motions. "Next train. I'll meet you on the next train."
The train crept forward, and she tried to keep up with me until too many people got in the way. I sighed as we entered the dark tunnel at high speeds.
"You're a bad boyfriend, Robert," Kai chuckled.
I sighed. "What do I do if she isn't on the next train?"
"She will be. Don't worry about it. Just remember we have five stops to go to. This next one will be the first. We'll wait for you both at the fifth."
I nodded, looking back at the door. When the next stop arrived, I got off on the side people were getting on at. Jay waved goodbye when their train moved on.
I was one of only a handful on the platform who decided to wait on the next opportunity to get aboard.
Those agonizing two minutes couldn't have passed slow enough. I had no idea what I could do if she wasn't on this train. I didn't want her to be lost in Ninjago City by herself.
The impending shrill of metal against metal guided a new locomotive next to the platform. I carefully scanned the individual cars for her face as the speed decreased. When it came to a stop and the doors opened, people went off.
"Robert!" her voice called. Nya came out of a car just before I met her. I coaxed her back inside before we got left behind, and then I embraced her with relief.
"I'm sorry," I breathed, still trying to play my part.
"Don't be. So now what do we do?"
"We stay together for four more stops. The others will wait for us there."
"And hopefully I can make it onto the next train."
The train started moving, making us lean. Two seats were open next to us, so we took them. Our fingers were interlocked once again on my leg. Nobody around us seemed curious about me. As far as they knew, we were simply a couple trying to get somewhere together.
I took charge of counting the number of stops since Nya rested her head against my arm and shortly napped. The constant braking didn't seem to bother her, but my finger tapping her head did.
She lifted her head.
"Time to get up," I whispered, trying to get her to stand.
We exited casually, but were met with clapping and cheering from the others. "They're reunited!" Kai played. "Good job, Sis."
"Yeah, whatever," she replied. "What's the last train?"
"The gray tube. Our last stop is Jacques Station, and then we can get out of here."
"Let's go, then. We've lost some time," Cole urged.
We emerged from Jacques Station to find it was already dark outside. The part of the city we were in wasn't illuminated, possibly because it wasn't a popular area. Many people still walked along the sidewalk under the streetlights and vehicles passed by.
"You think those cars are parked for the arena?" Nya questioned, pointing to the cars that were parallel parked on the side of the road.
"Maybe," I answered. "Macca did say that the arena was only a couple blocks away from here."
"Then we made it in just enough time," Kai added.
Farther down the block, the remnant of distant noises could be detected. The grouping of buildings across the street found a large break because of an even larger complex with a parking lot of its own standing alone. It was obvious the noises were coming from inside, and a consistent beat told us there was also music.
My excitement surfaced. We made it.
So how was it? :) I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I can't wait for the next couple to come out. I got a lot of good content coming your way that will stretch us closer to the dramatic climax! Another 10-15 and we'll be at the peak! :D If you enjoyed, please leave a review! What was your favorite part? Let me know! I will happily acknowledge everyone who does so. Speaking of which, thank you Supercatural Ninja, Dbee717, RandomDragon, and the rest of the readers for all your support! It feels really good to have this story starting to get off the ground :)