A/n: Here is chapter five. Where did Cole take PIXAL and the others?
When Kai finally pried the doors to the X Cave open, he knew everything had gone horribly wrong. PIXAL was gone, most likely taken, Zane was unconscious on the floor, and Lloyd was just sitting up, like he'd recently awoken.
"What happened?" Jay asked, helping the green ninja to his feet.
"The Magician. Somehow, he knew we were using PIXAL. He knocked us out and took her." Lloyd replied.
Kai looked over at Zane, who was lying a few feet away.
"You know, Zane's going to kill you when he wakes up." Kai said, "And I still haven't forgiven you for the fact that Skylar and Nya were taken."
"I know." Lloyd said, "I really messed up this time."
"Who's next?" Jay asked. Lloyd picked it up, and read the next word.
"'Responsibility.'" He said, "Now, who could that be?"
"Your mother." Kai said, "I got a call from Cole saying she's been taken."
"So, that's it, then." Lloyd said, "The Magician's got everyone he wanted, and we still don't know who he is."
"Looks like it." Jay stated.
"Don't worry." Kai said, "We'll get them back. And they're tough, they'll be okay."
"I hope so." Lloyd told him, "But first, we need to get Zane back online."
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Hurumi woke to a cold feeling all around her. She didn't know where she was. The last thing she remembered was being taken through a portal by the Magician. Then, nothing. How long ago had that been? Hours, days, weeks?
Suddenly, she heard voices. Rumi didn't dare to open her eyes, but listened, instead. She could make out three distinct voices, somewhere nearby.
"So, you finally got the old woman?" A man's voice said.
"I did. We now have Beauty, Strength, Courage, Intelligence, and Responsibility." A younger man said, "Plus, all of their other allies."
"So, when can we begin the extraction?" A man with a very raspy voice said.
"As soon as we get Misako in her tank." The first man said. Tank? Hurumi thought, Am I in a tank, too? She opened her eyes and, sure enough, she was surrounded by glass. It didn't look easily breakable, though.
She stood up, and saw that the circular tank went from the floor to the ceiling, and was about five feet in diameter. She was wearing the same clothes as the night she was taken, and her hair was tangled mess.
"Look who's up." A happy, yet tired-sounding voice said. Rumi turned, and saw Nya standing in a tank next to her.
"Nya?" She asked.
"Hi, Rumi." Nya said.
"Are you alright?" PIXAL's voice came from the tank behind Nya.
"About the same as you, I'd say." Hurumi said.
"Is it just me," Skylar said from the tank on Hurumi's other side, "or is it really cold in here?"
"Skylar!" Rumi exclaimed, turning to her. She looked horrible. Her skin was as white as a ghost, her eyes were bloodshot, and unfocused, and she was obviously struggling to stay awake.
"Where's Misako?" Nya asked.
"She's in the tank on my right." Skylar said.
"What are you all doing here?" Rumi asked.
"We were kidnapped, same as you." Nya said.
"Do you know who The Magician is?" Rumi asked.
"Yes." PIXAL said from her tank, "It's-"
"Quiet down over there!" A man's voice interrupted. Rumi turned, and saw Chen, Skylar's father, sitting on a couch near her tank.
"Chen?!" Rumi whispered, "I thought he was dead!"
"He is!" A man with pitch black skin and purple eyes said. Hurumi quickly realized that he was The Overlord. Standing next to him was The Magician, only, he wasn't wearing his cloak. His dark eyes and black hair looked very familiar. That's when Hurumi realized it was Cole. But why had he kidnapped her?
"Alright, alright." A robotic voice said, "We're ready for the extraction." Rumi saw General Cryptor enter the room, flanked by General Kozu and Morro. But those villains were all dead, and had been for some time.
Rumi gasped as she realized where she and her friends were; The Departed Realm. When Cryptor saw Rumi looking at him, he smirked.
"Hello, Princess." Cryptor said, "Welcome to our graveyard." Sure enough, five tombstones sat on the floor, one in front of each tank.
General Kozu said something in his Stone Warrior language, and everyone looked at The Overlord.
"He wants to know if we should start the extraction." The Overlord said.
"Yes." Chen said, "I think we should." He walked over to a control panel on the far wall. Only then did Hurumi notice that the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of dirt. They were underground.
Chen pressed a button, and something whirred above Rumi's tank. Though, she couldn't tell what it was. Suddenly, she felt a pulling. Like the air was pulling on her heart. She looked down, and saw a flow of lime green light leaving her mouth. As it did, she felt as if her life force was leaving her. Maybe it was.
Hurumi looked over, and saw that a flow of maroon red was leaving Nya. PIXAL's was purple, Skylar's was orange, and Misako's was silver. Suddenly, Hurumi realized that their life forces were being drained. Once hers was gone, she felt cold, and lifeless. Though, that was probably because she was lifeless, now. Her name appeared on the tombstone in front of her.
Hurumi watched as a small, lime green crystal materialized in Morro's hand. Cryptor was holding a purple one, Chen's was orange, The Overlord's was maroon, and Kozu held a silver one. She realized they must want to use the crystals to return to living world, and there was nothing she or her friends could do about it. Not from their tanks.
Kozu said something in his stone warrior language, and the Overlord glared at him.
"Kozu, you may be evil, but that's no excuse to use words like that." He said, pointing his finger at the stone general. Kozu made eye contact with Hurumi and winked.
:::::::
"Where's PIXAL?" Zane said as soon as he was back online.
"Um…She's not here." Lloyd said slowly.
"That did not answer my question. Where is she?" Zane asked, more firm this time.
"Um, you see, that's the funny thing…" Jay said, "She was kind of taken by The Magician when we were using her as bait."
"Kind of?" Zane asked, anger in his tone.
"Yeah…" Jay answered.
"Do we know who The Magician is, or where he is located?" Zane inquired, sounding calmer now.
"Um…No." Kai told him.
"Has anyone else been taken?" Zane asked.
"Misako was kidnapped this morning." Lloyd said, "Other than that, no one else we know of."
"Good." Zane said, "Do you have any idea why Hurumi, Nya, Skylar, PIXAL, and Misako were taken?"
"No." Lloyd said, "Not yet."
Suddenly, there was screaming coming from outside the Bounty. The ninja ran onto the deck, and saw five villains walking towards them in the distance.
"The Overlord, Morro, Cryptor, Chen, and Kozu." Kai explained, "They're back from the dead."
"Nya, Hurumi, PIXAL, Skylar, and Misako are taken, and then these guys return from the dead." Lloyd said, "Do you think there's a connection?"
"I am almost certain there is a connection." Zane said, "And I believe we are about to find out what it is."
A/n: There you go. Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger. See you Thursday!