Authors Notes: I love the ending to this sooooo much. Next chapter you'll get a bit more Pixal/Zane interaction now that she has a physical body out in the open.

Frozen Timepiece

Chapter 29

Cove

Echo hit the water hard, and the water washed over him rough. Turning and turning him over. He hit a few rocks that just seemed to throw him into more. He didn't technically need to breath, but he wasn't supposed to intake water either. Specially salt water. Bronze and salt water didn't mix to well. The worst part was his hold of Kate was gone. He couldn't feel her or see her. His head once again resurfaced and he looked around. He couldn't see her through the frothy liquid spewing all around him. The ocean threw him again. This way and that he was tossed like a rag doll. In the end he found himself thrown into a tide hole He lay looking at the top of the cave for a few moments wondering just what had happened. He sat up and looked around. Their was a large hole in the side of the cliff wall.

Echos eyes looked frantically for his love. He wasn't to sure if she had survived. If he was tossed around like a rag doll he was sure she did too. Finally he spotted a bright yellow. It was the blanket that they had tied around her to keep her warm. She was holding onto a rock not to far from where he was. He ran along the shore hugging the walls. Jumping from a rock and onto the one where she was perched. He reached down and touched her shoulder. She was shivering again. Coughing up any water she got in her lungs.

"Kate!" He called out trying to get her to look up. But she didn't move. Her hands were slipping. He grabbed hold of one just as soon as she slipped completely. He pulled her up onto the rock. "Kate look at me!" He called trying to get some sort of any reaction out of her. There was no reaction at all. He put his audio to her chest and gasped. The heart beat was slow, but she wasn't breathing. "No Kate...no…" He jumped from the rock to the shore. He ran into the little cave and lay her down on the rocky floor. He was pretty sure that wasn't to comfortable, but it would have to do for the time being as he turned his fans on to full blast. He needed the air. He breathed into her mouth twice and then listened again to see if that helped. He began to push down on her chest. His shoulder sparked and sputtered.

"No not right now please." The gunshot wound protested greatly. He leaned over and blew into Kates mouth again and again.

A huge jerk and she was coughing up water onto the stone floor. She rolled onto her side with Echos help. She kept coughing up liquid for a good ten minutes until finally she just lay there. Echo just sat there rubbing her back trying to coax anymore water from her lungs. Echo winched feeling his shoulder pop and completely give out. His arm fell lifeless to his side. He sighed and shook his head. Kate sat up and looked puzzled for a moment having heard the pop from the joint as if grinded down.

"Echo?" She asked and coughed. He shook his head and pointed to his shoulder.

"I was shot." He told her. Her eyes grew wider then he had ever seen them go. She crawled forward looking into his shoulder. Lifting the arm and looked through the pit area at the joints within.

"Thats…" She lowered his arm and shook her head. "Well I'm afraid you're going to need a replacement. That isn't going to be repairable. She cleared her throat. She made a weird face before putting her fingers over her mouth. Echo could see that she went pale for a moment. She turned away from Echo.

"Kate are you alright?" He asked just in time for him to witness her expelling the contents of her stomach on the cave floor. "Kate…" He rubbed her back with his good arm.

"I'm alright it was just…" She swallowed hard and tried not to throw up again mid sentence. "It was the flem." She told him and slowly stood up.

"We should get back up to the Bounty." She said walking toward the other end of the cave. It was a wide open area and you could see clear across to the other side. Echo watched Kate as she walked curiously. She wasn't stepping fully on one foot. It must have been that wound produced by those large needles. Also the fact that she was only wearing one boot. He smiled as he suddenly thought of something.

"I know what to give you for a wedding present." He said and practically ran forward.

"Oh?" She asked looking up at him. Her being a head shorter then him.

"A new set of boots." He said. Kate looked down and then back up at him and giggled.

"Yeah they're kind of...messed up now aren't they? I don't even know where the other one is now. Burning I hope." She said pointing to the black smoke. They couldn't really see what was burning, but Echo hoped it wasn't the Bounty.

Kai was being supported mostly by Lloyd. His leg had a bullet in the lower calf. He looked around at the smoke. Lloyd had set fire to the Convoys main vehicle with a flash bomb to the gas tank. Its explosion to Kai was magical.

"I think you got the car behind it too." Kai said laughing slightly more evil then he should have. He hopped along beside Lloyd who honestly wanted to smile too, but he wasn't sure if he had hurt anyone. It was always his main goal not to harm. He wasn't his father. However these people hurt Zane and his family. He honestly wanted to make them feel pain.

Once again ducking down in the brush as another car drove by with its search lights on. The night was shielding them from view. It was really hard to be a ninja when you were dragging hop along giggles.

"We need to find a place to stop for the night. Its getting to late and honestly Kai your heavy."

"Blame Zane its like his cooking has gotten soooo much better." He said and looked around the underbrush. Kai stopped and squinted into the trees and pointed.

"Whats that?" He asked and Lloyd set him down.

"I think its a plane…" He said and looked around at it. It was getting darker and darker. "I think it crashed. Its an old...old model for a shipping company." He motioned for Kai to grab onto him again. Kai and Lloyd pulled the door open and looked inside the old broken down plane. It looked like it crashed, but the foliage snagged it so it never hit the ground and catch fire. The pilots looked like they got out just fine they weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Hello?" Lloyd called out. "Anyone in here?"

"No one here but us ninja." came from some boxes in the back. Kai shook his head.

"Jay? You are the worst at keeping secrets." Nya's voice echoed in the hull.

"Is Cole with you?"

"No he ran the same way that Ronin did." Jay said and held something out to them. It was a magazine. Lloyd looked at the cover.

"Looks like this planes been here for a good twenty years." He told them and closed off their little camp with another set of boxes. It would look like a row of boxes to outsiders.

"I'll take first watch." Lloyd said seeing Nya look over her brothers let.

"Looks like the bullet went clean through. We'll just have to codderize it...somehow." She told him and sighed.

"Oh...Oh no you don't. I had to do that to Jay."

"Looks like I get to return the favor." He held out a leather strap from his belt. "Bite down." Jay said looking pretty apologetic. Kai swallowed hard and bit down on the leather. Lloyd grabbed Kai up in his arms so he wouldn't try and push Jay away during the burning. Because he had to do it twice. On the opening and exit.

Ronin, Zane, and Cole slowly jumped from tree to tree. The ground was wet from a fresh rain. Cole was sporting a bullet graze on his upper shoulder. He had closed it off with a bit of his pant leg. He looked around at Ronin as they ducked again.

"Did you see Kate?"

"Echo has her." Zane told him.

"Well thats obvious." Cole said with a chuckle. "Those two are pretty inseparable."

"Except when he's throwing her in a ditch." He grumbled.

"My brother has never threw anyone in a ditch." Zane was rather appalled that someone would lie about such a thing.

"Its a figure of speech tincan." Cole told Zane. Zane looked a little baffled.

"It means he abandoned her in the rain." Ronin told him. Zane looked a little surprised for a moment and then his shoulders slumped realizing what was being implied.

"Yes...he did do that." Zane lay lower down as someone with a flashlight went by. He had been using Coles Gi to hide. His white Gi wasn't to good with hiding in the underbrush there. Specially at night.

"Come on he apologized." Cole said and ran forward again finding an access road. Just as soon as they reached said access road bright lights flashed and the vehicle ran forward. Cole and Ronin panicked and ran back into the woods. Zane however waved his arms and smiled. Samurai X opened the top of the tank and looked at them.

"Need a ride handsome?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Zane smiled climbing up onto the tank and collapsed into Pixals arms. She took her helmet off and kissed his forehead.

"I see that." She said fondly.