"The Bounty is coming in quick. You ready Destiny?" Cole's voice asks through the earpiece he had just given to Destiny. The yellow clad girl looked through the gaps in the bush she was hiding in again, and stuck her hand out briefly giving the Earth ninja a thumbs up.
"I'm in position, just give me the word when the anchor drops." The brunette responds, smiling to herself. She was still nervous about whether or not any of the others had noticed her disappearance, but the fact that she was almost on a mini mission with the Master of Earth now gave her an underlying feeling of excitement. Destiny was pulled away from her thoughts when the loud thud of something hitting the ground echoed throughout the air.
"Anchor's down, time to make your move." Cole signals through the earpiece.
Hastily, Destiny sneaks out of the shrubbery and makes her way to the bottom of the Bounty's anchor. As she got a foothold onto the throat of the anchor she used one of her hands to grab onto the thick metal chain. It was only now that Destiny noticed just how far up she had to climb. She had passed PE class back in high school, including the rope climbing exercise, but the Bounty was floating at least 4 stories above her. While Destiny knew she was capable of a handful of things she could feel her confidence waver at the tall order ahead of her.
"Cole? What's the hold up?!" Jay's voice could be heard shouting down from the deck of the Bounty. Destiny looks over to the black ninja who was shrugging his shoulders to her with a worried expression on his face, obviously unsure of how to respond to the blue ninja above. The short girl then waves one of her hands in front of her throat horizontally hoping he would understand the signal and remain quiet about her position. It seemed to click in the raven hair boys' mind and he grabs onto the bottom of the rope ladder that had been thrown down to him.
"Uh, nothing Jay! It's just, are you sure this ladder is safe?" The Master of Earth shouts up to his friend. Not wanting to waste anymore time Destiny uses her free hand to grab onto the stock of the anchor before pulling herself up to be level with the bottom of the chain. After rubbing her hands on her jeans to remove any possible sweat she grabs onto the chain with both hands and begins to climb upwards.
"Safe? Of course it's safe! Lloyd, Zane, and I all used it! Even Kai and Nya a little while ago!" Jay answers the black ninja.
"Mmm, I don't know. I'm not feeling too good about climbing the ladder though Jay. It looks like the rope could be getting frayed." Cole continues, attempting to buy time for his hidden friend as long as possible.
Destiny was about two thirds of the way up the chain now, but she could feel her arms quickly becoming fatigued. She was now having to take frequent breaks, wrapping her legs around the chain tightly as she shook the tiredness away for a brief moment.
"C'mon Cole, you're being ridiculous! Get up here and if the rope bothers you that much then we can replace it!" Jay shouts again, this time the annoyance in his voice making it apparent he was getting fed up with Cole's stalling. Looking up at the stealthy girl above him and seeing that she was now near the top, the Earth ninja decided to finally drop his false complaints.
"Okay, if you say so Jay." Cole answers as he slowly begins to climb up the rope ladder.
However, as Destiny finally reached the top of the chain and moved one of her arms to grab onto the bottom of the nearby windowsill her grip on the chain loosened, causing her to let go prematurely and slip. Before the yellow clad girl could fall too far though the hood of her jacket caught onto a piece of metal jutting out from the hull above her.
Ugh! Come on Destiny! All you need to do is pull yourself up through the window and you'll be home free!
Destiny carefully lifted her arms up to the windowsill again, but as she attempted to pull herself up her muscles protested in response. The black ninja had witnessed the scene play out, and seeing that the short girl needed his help he quickly came up with a new excuse to delay his boarding of the Bounty. Pretending to lose his grip as well, Cole falls backwards, catching himself with one of his legs by getting it loosely caught in between the steps of the ladder.
"Whoa!" Cole shouts, feigning surprise as he dangles upside down.
"Cole! Are you okay!?" Jay's voice asked from above, obviously concerned for his fellow ninja.
"Y-yeah! I'm okay!" Cole shouts back. Following his response a small metallic clink could be heard. "Aww man, I dropped my earpiece! Just another minute Jay!" The Earth ninja yells up to his friend before swinging to get some momentum and doing a backflip, landing on his feet onto the concrete below, completely unscathed. Cole then quickly runs over the anchor before climbing it up to the same level as Destiny.
"You okay Destiny?" The black ninja asks softly, a comforting tone to his voice.
"Y-yeah, I'll be fine." The yellow clad girl answers meekly. She could feel her cheeks beginning to heat up a bit due to how close the muscular boys' face was to her own. "Sorry for messing up the mission." Destiny quickly apologizes, attempting to distract the raven from her reddening face.
"Hey, don't apologize. It's my fault for forgetting not everyone has the same level of endurance as myself and the others." Cole reassures her. "Okay, grab onto the window frame again and once I unhook you I'll give you a boost." The black ninja plans, adjusting himself a bit so he was in a better position.
"Okay." Destiny acknowledges him simply.
"Ready? 1, 2, 3!" Cole counts down before unhooking the caught yellow hood. Just as planned Destiny uses what strength she has left to pull herself up as much as possible. Then, as Cole said he would, he moves one of his thighs under her feet. Giving her a stable enough platform to catapult herself from as she finally falls through the open window and onto the wooden planks of the Bounty's hull with a rather loud thud. After laying on the floor for a second to catch her breath Destiny sits back up, looking back through the circular window and at the black ninja who was now beneath her.
"Thanks Cole." Destiny says genuinely, giving him a soft smile.
"Anytime." The raven haired boy whispers back, giving the short girl a wink before sliding down the chain and picking up his fallen earpiece off of the concrete.
"Cole?" Jay shouts, wondering what was taking his friend so long.
"Coming Jay!" The black ninja shouts in response before making his way back over to the rope ladder.
Did Cole just… wink?
Destiny found herself stunned in place at the unexpected action from the Master of Earth. That hadn't been on purpose, had it? Surely not. The Earth ninja must've had something in his eye or something. Right? There was no way that Destiny was overthinking this whole thing either. No way at all. She was sure she was just reading too much into something that didn't even matter!
"Destiny, there you are!" A voice from behind the short girl says from out of nowhere, causing her to jump a bit in surprise. Destiny turns around to see the Smith siblings, Kai and Nya.
"Oh, hey guys." Destiny greets them, moving past several boxes in order to be closer to where they were standing.
"Master Wu and Misako sent us looking for you. They got worried because they said they hadn't seen you since everyone went out on their missions." Kai explains, shuffling to the side to give Destiny a bit more room to stand next to himself and his sister.
"Oh, sorry. I was, uh, exploring the ship and got kinda lost." Destiny comes up with the excuse on the spot, hoping the two ninja wouldn't be able to see through her lie.
"Ah, that's understandable. The Bounty has quite a few corridors. The bridge is this way though." Nya says with a smile, pointing to the door close by before walking through it and up the steps past it. The three of them made their way through the inner levels of the Bounty and eventually to outside. Everyone else was already on the deck, but in the distance, near the rope ladder the conversation of two ninja in particular caught Destiny's attention.
"Well Cole, I've looked over every inch of this ladder 3 times now and I don't see any sort of fraying. You shouldn't need to worry about it breaking any time soon." Jay informs the taller ninja that was standing beside him patiently.
"Phew, thanks Jay. That's good to hear." Cole says with a smile as he pats Jay on the back. The Earth ninja then glances at Destiny, giving her a smile, and the short girl couldn't help but giggle a bit at the scene.
A minute later everyone was present in the bridge again, this time to go over all the information the ninja had gathered from their missions.
"Okay ninja's, let's go over any clues we got. Zane, Jay, and I will start." Lloyd says as he begins the meeting.
"While we were at the racetrack we were able to find out that the group that attacked Destiny belong to a new organization who only appeared recently. Due to their limited time of prevalence hardly any of the racer gangs have heard of them or know of their existence." Zane informs.
"We also found out that whoever their leader is has a confirmed link to the Elemental Master of Species." Lloyd adds.
"That matches up with what Kai and I learned at the lounge." Nya chimes in.
"What about you Cole? Did Dr. Saunders know anything about the Master of Species?" Lloyd asks, causing everyone to look over to the black ninja.
"Not really. There was only a single painting of the Master of Species hanging in the museum. I was able to get a picture of it though." Cole explains, bringing up the photo he had taken on his phone. Zane takes Cole's phone from him, plugging it in and causing the image to appear on the larger television screen.
"Great, it kinda sounds like the investigation has hit a brick wall. Again!" Jay states with an annoyed tone.
"Maybe that's true, but ninja never quit. Zane, Nya, do you guys think you could upload the photo onto a facial recognition program? Maybe if we can find out the Master of Species name we can find out more about his personal life. Then we could talk to people he knows and find out if they know anything that could help us out." Lloyd brainstorms, his eyes not hardly leaving the picture on the screen.
"It'll take a while, but it's possible." Nya informs, pressing several buttons on the control panel below the television screen.
"Then let's get started." Lloyd says with a smile. Suddenly someone's stomach growls.
"Hehehe, any chance we could grab some food while we wait? I'm starving!" Jay speaks up with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Sure thing. It's my turn to cook dinner so I'll go and get started." Kai states, turning to leave.
With the meeting over, all the ninja dispersed. Unsure just what to do, Destiny found herself leaning her arms up against the railing of the Bounty in the same place the Master of Earth had the night prior.
"I know it's none of my business, but I'm usually pretty good at being able to tell when there's something on somebody's mind." Destiny turned her head to see Misako standing behind her.
"Oh yeah?" Destiny asks with a rhetorical tone, after a brief silence blows between the two Destiny let out a sigh. "Well, I guess you'd be right. I don't really know if I want to talk about it though." The yellow clad teen admits as a frown draws itself across her face, and she shrinks into herself a bit.
"I see. I won't force you to tell me what's on your mind, but if you so decide you want someone to talk to about it I know everyone here would be more than willing to listen." Misako says smoothly, resting her own arms against the railing of the Bounty as she looked up at the sky. The sun was only just setting, allowing the stars to begin shining but not yet enveloping the world above in darkness.
Destiny wished she could enjoy the relaxing quiet between the pair of them, and allow the gentle whispers of the cold breeze to carry her worries away with it. No matter how hard she wished for this though the weight on her shoulders remained heavy. Destiny had been alone in that penthouse for months. She had had no one to talk to, and even though she would have pushed away anyone who tried to get close she secretly wanted nothing more than for someone to have been there with her.
The passing of her father had changed her life more than she ever imagined it could have. The fact that her mother practically lived at her job now too left the teen feeling incredibly lonely. Destiny felt abandoned, and where a year ago she had felt the unconditional love of both of her parents was now replaced with emptiness. Destiny had spent all those months mourning, crying to herself in the otherwise silent apartment more times than anyone could've kept track.
Even now Destiny was still grieving her father. Everyday she had to remind herself that he was no longer around. Sometimes she convinced herself that this cruel reality was nothing more than a sick and twisted dream, but she could never wake up from it. Since she found herself in the company of ninja she felt a small semblance of comfort. The yellow clad teen wasn't sure how long she would feel the heavy shadow of her father's spirit following her everywhere she went, or if it would be this way for the rest of her life. Taking in a deep breath Destiny could feel her body shudder as she let it go.
"Destiny?" Misako speaks up quietly, a soft look of concern painting her face.
"The night Zane and Kai found me I had been taking a walk through the streets. Recently my mother brought us to a new penthouse in the city… but I- I couldn't stand being there any longer. She's never home. She's always at work, and m-my dad…" Destiny struggled to continue as she felt her throat become raw, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall.
"I just feel so alone. Even though I'm surrounded by you all I can't help but feel alone most of the time." The short girl begins to sob as her voice finally breaks, and Misako wraps her arms around the young girl in an attempt to comfort her as she continued to cry. After some time passes Destiny finally pulls away, quickly raising her sleeves up to her face to wipe away any evidence of her crying.
"I'm sorry that you've had to go through all of that. Especially alone. You shouldn't feel embarrassed or ashamed to cry either. Everyone here has lost someone they love, including myself. I promise it is okay to feel how you feel." Misako whispers gently as she uses her thumbs to help wipe away some of the stray tears still streaming down Destiny's face. Destiny gives the older woman an emotional smile before nodding her head.
"Thank you Misako. Lloyd is very lucky to have you as his mom." The young girl says before pulling away. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up before dinner." Misako nods in acknowledgement, and watches silently as the young teen goes through the door to the inside of the Bounty.
