I decided against summoning my dragon and ran over to an abandoned motorbike, finding that it was conveniently powered on. If I had chosen my dragon, it would be been much easier to be seen by Alex. Though my most of my friends have already chosen their dragons, it's not a problem. Just as long as not all of us are seen. We are ninja after all. We're supposed to sneak and hide under the cover of night. We didn't do that too often though.
"What are you doing? You can summon your dragon, can't you?" I heard Lloyd question as I mounted the motorbike. I nodded.
"Yeah, but I can sneak up on the mechs on this. They won't see me coming," I answered, "Besides, I don't feel like riding with Patchy the Drunk Pirate."
Lloyd chuckled at my nickname for Ronin, then walked over. "Mind if I join you then? I can be a sort of lookout while you keep your eyes on the road," he asked, to which I nodded. He mounted the back of it and wrapped his arms around my midsection, causing my heartbeat to speed up. On the outside I was keeping my cool and doing the necessary measures to get the bike going, but on the inside I was squealing like a thousand tween girls at a boy band's concert. God, why is it that just touching can send my heart racing? Am I weak? Or is this normal?
"I'm sorry if the wind makes my scarf smack you or anything..." I said to Lloyd.
"It's fine. I've been hit by worse," he replied, smiling. Being hit by worse isn't really something to be happy about...
"Alright, hang on then," I told him before putting the kickstand on the bike up and speeding down the road. I weaved through the various moving and abandoned cars on the street, following the head of a mech I could see about the buildings. I could feel Lloyd's grip around me tightening, causing my cheeks to get warmer. Ugh, I'm so weak. Anything this guy does with me makes me blush. It looks like it isn't Lilly that's the tomato anymore...it's me.
"He must have ran into something. The mechs are slowing down," Lloyd observed, snapping me out of thoughts. I looked up and surely enough, they were slowing down. Either one of our teammates caught up to them, or they ran into an obstacle. Both happening could be possible.
"We're not that far. We should be able to catch up to them in no time now!" I exclaimed, hope and determination in my voice. Suddenly, though, I could hear large footsteps behind us. I felt a little frightened. Aren't all the mechs ahead of us? "Um, Lloyd, what's that noise?"
There was a short pause before I got a response. "There's one right behind us!" Lloyd shouted, sounding panicked. I immediately sped the bike up, weaving through the various vehicles. It was at it's top speed now, and a little hard to control. I tried my best though as I tried to lose the mech. I could feel anxiety rising inside me though. What if we're caught? What if we die here? I don't want to die here.
Suddenly, I was spinning. I couldn't control or turn the bike. Crap, the brief period in my thoughts had distracted me and made me lose control. We really are going to die, aren't we? The spinning then stopped and I thrown from the bike. I skidded across the road, the various scratches on my body now stinging like crazy. I got up as quickly as I could, spotting Lloyd a few feet away and running to help him up.
"That was like the time I fell off my bike...except much more painful," the green ninja recalled as I helped him up, looking at our scratches. I sighed.
"We're lucky we didn't get concussions. That's usually what results after a crash with no helmet," I informed him, looking around for the mech. It was nowhere in sight, causing me to panic. It's hiding. It's gonna kill us. We're so dead. It's waiting for the right time. We're so, so dead. I should have taken my dragon. We wouldn't be stuck here. I took the bike instead though. How stupid am I? I cursed at myself within my thoughts, mad that I got us caught in this situation. Ugh, if only I did as the others did and took my dragon. Why didn't I do what the others did!?
"Karma? We should get moving," Lloyd's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, reminding me that I could still change the outcome of this. I nodded, beginning to run in the towards the park in the City, where Zane's old statue is. I could hear Lloyd following behind me as we ran into the park, where my friends waited, as well as the mechs.
"Ah, so I see you rats followed me...I kind of expected that of you guys. You all are kind of like an embarrassing memory. You never go away!" Alex said, sounding frustrated, "Why can't you just let me do what I want for once!? Do you have to ruin everyone's fun!?"
"We know your intentions Alex, and they won't do anything good for anyone but yourself! I, myself, love having fun, but you gotta draw the line somewhere!" Kai replied, stepping forward, "What you consider fun is what the world calls murder and terrorism!"
Alex chuckled, as if Kai had just cracked a joke. "Well, I dunno, those guys who visited your parents' house years ago sure knew how to have fun."
Kai's eyes widened, and I could see him clenching his fists tightly. Alex had just kicked a hornet's nest he never should have kicked. I could already tell what was going to happen. The fact that one of his eyes was twitching made it even worse.
"What...d-did...you.." he spoke quietly at first, before bursting into flames, screaming, "...jUST FUCKING SAY!?"
Alex jumped back in shock, holding onto his colleague. "Jesus Christ! I knew he was the master of fire but god damn! He's like a freaking fireball!" he exclaimed in shock. Ha, you should be scared. After making a comment like that you really expected Kai to be unphased!?
Neither Nya nor Lilly stepped forward to calm the human fireball down. Instead, they just stepped back and revealed their weapons, as did the rest of us. What surprised me the most though, was the appearance of a curved blade next to Alex's throat, and a cloaked figure behind him, holding it.
"If you find the murder of my husband to be fun, you will find these next few moments to be quite entertaining," the figure spoke before pulling off their cloak, revealing a familiar, dark-skinned man with bright orange eyes and hair. Alex smiled upon seeing him and Marléne immediately pointed the blade of the rapier toward the psychic's throat.
"You caught on fast. Tell me, how did you figure it all out?" the master of psionics questioned him, holding a hand up to stop his colleague.
"It was simple. Who's the boy who kept threatening my life, misgendering me, and manipulating my husband to do jobs for him? You. That's who," Yami answered. Alex chuckled.
"Ha...I guess you're right. I will get a kick out of these next few moments...because it is you that's going down!" he exclaimed before revealing his blades and swinging his arms. Yami backflipped away, sheathing his kaskana
"Seliel! Now!" he shouted. Just then, a masked person in a silver and teal gi landed with mechanical, bat-like wings on their back. They threw smoke bombs, clouding our enemies' vision. Kai seized the chance, running up the arm of the mech as Seliel picked up Yami and glided to where we stood, landing smoothly. Nya followed her brother, pulling her mask over her head and using mist as jets.
"I didn't know you guys were gonna show up," I told them. Yami smiled.
"Well, there's a lot more of us, they're just waiting to strike," he revealed to me, to which I raised my eyebrows.
"Really?" I asked. He nodded, then gave a two-tone whistle. Out from the shadows of night came several other people, with and without cloaks. I recognized many amongst them, one of which being Skylor. Her orange hood may have been hiding her face, but it was easy to tell who she was, just by the symbol on her crossbow and gi. Other than her, I recognized many more: Seok, Estera, Anthony, the mailman, Lilly's mother, Jay's parents, and the most surprising guests of all...my own parents.
"Mom!? Dad!?" I exclaimed in shock. My father nodded, pumping his shotgun.
"You didn't think we fully retired from battling, did you?" my mother asked. I had to admit, I did, but now my mind has changed, especially when I looked at my mother's attire. She wore her purple robe with the hawk breastplate, her outfit during the Serpentine Wars. She meant business in this fight.
"Not really, considering what I saw Dad do not too long ago," I admitted, recalling the day my Dad kicked Alex's ass. Ah, that's a great memory. My mother smiled and looked over at my father.
"I guess you really did train over at your brother's home then," she said. My father raised an eyebrow.
"What did you think I was doing? Guzzling sake down all day like a bum?" he questioned. My mother laughed and shook her head.
"No, I just knew that Bruce liked to mess around a lot. I feared that you two would never get anything done," she admitted. Suddenly, we heard someone clearing their throat.
"Hey, guys! Reminder we have mechs to take down!" Skylor reminded us from afar. I nodded, turning back to my parents.
"What do you guys say we take this jerkhole down?" I offered. My mother nodded, a determined smile appearing on her face.
"Let's do this then!" she shouted, sprinting off towards the mech like a marathon runner. My father smiled as he watched her run.
"Now there's the woman I fell in love with," he mumbled before running off too, leaving me with myself. I immediately decided to go after Alex, observing the battle as I ran up the mech. I could hear the firing of weapons everywhere and the firing of the mechs' laser cannons. I could already see people dying, scaring me. Alex can't be this powerful. There can't be people dying already. Maybe they're faking. Who knows.
Once I reached the top, Kai and Alex were still their while Nya and Marléne were gone. Blood was pouring from Kai's nose and there various cuts all over his body while Alex sported various burns and a black eye. None of them looked tired from the battle.
"Gonna give up yet!?" Alex questioned, smiling. Kai smirked, wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve.
"Are you kidding? I'm an eternal flame. I never stop burning!" he replied pridefully as his fists ignited into flames. Alex stepped back, stretching his arms, the blades glimmering in the moonlight.
"Very well then," the master of psionics turned his head to one side, a cracking sound coming from his neck before he straightened himself up again. He blinked, his eyes now having a slight pink glow to them now. What is he doing?
"I'm sure your parents would be glad to see you..." Alex spoke quietly, stretching his arms. There was a long pause, then he yelled "IN HELL!"
Various blades suddenly levitated above Alex, their tips pointed towards the master of fire. All of the blades sped through the air towards Kai, causing him to panic. He rolled out of the way, letting the blades pierce the floor, then ran towards Alex. I wanted to step in and help, but I didn't know how. Those blades seemed to be floating everywhere and I didn't know the extent of this power of Alex's. I was afraid I'd be impaled immediately if I stepped in.
Kai ran in a circle, avoiding the blades as they continually flew at him. Alex smirked as though he were a child playing a toy. A child who knew the fate of it's toy.
"Oh, poor Kai. His parents were murdered, he wasn't the Chosen One, his first love ditched him for another girl, his girlfriend is lying to him, and he can't seem to do anything right. How sad. Boohoo," Alex taunted as the master of fire ran.
"Shut up!" Kai yelled, throwing a fireball at him. Alex dodged it immediately, smiling sinisterly.
"What a shame you can't be the Green Ninja. You probably wouldn't have been so weak if you were. Too bad it went to some snot-nosed brat, huh?" the master of psionics continued to taunt him. Kai gritted his teeth, looking much more angrier.
"I said SHUT UP!" he screamed as he threw a larger fireball. He almost hit Alex by a hair, but the slimy jerk dodged it. He chuckled.
"Aww, did that mention of the Green Ninja rile you up? Don't be so upset, you could always be a hobo!" he continued to tease. I decided I'd have to step in now before Kai ended up exhausting himself. I jumped from where I was perched, placing my hands on the ground and unleashing the ropes by using the Dark Arts. The intricate lines wrapped themselves around Alex's ankles and legs, holding him in place. He stopped and looked at me, a smile still plastered on his face.
"Oh, if it isn't Shorty. Care to join me in the domination of this City? I'll let your family go unscathed," he offered. I narrowed my eyes and jabbed my staff into his crotch, making him cry out in pain.
"My name's Karma, and no, I'm not interested in your petty blackmail," I said firmly before jabbing him in the stomach, "I know you won't spare anyone except for yourself."
The master of psionics chuckled, smiling. "Ah, you change so quickly. If only I could use that effect for myself."
Before I could do anything, a foot came flying out of nowhere, striking him across the face. I could recognize the purple robe that accompanied it from anywhere.
"My daughter will be changing for no one but herself," my mother stated firmly, placing two hands on her hips. Alex spit out what I believed to be a tooth and looked up, still smiling.
"God, you people don't know how stupid you really are!" he broke free from the ropes as Kai joined us. The blades sped towards us and my mother and Kai scattered. I formed a barrier around myself with the lines, but the blades cut through. I layered the barrier, wrapping thousands upon thousands of lines over each other, strengthening the barrier. The blades still cut through though, causing me to panic. I continued wrapping the lines around faster in hopes to stop the blades, but they only cut through. I was becoming exhausted and drained but my heart was racing. I don't want to die. I don't want to die! I tried to keep wrapping the lines, but I couldn't do it anymore. My attempts to stop the blades were only proving useless. The blades were getting closer and all I could do was close my eyes and wait for them to pierce me, so I could save everyone.
But it never came.