"AND YOU'RE CERTAIN NO ONE SPOTTED YOU?" THE VOICE SPOKE THROUGH THE PHONE

I tossed the diamond up and down in the air, my carelessness always being the root of me. "Of course not. Do you even have to ask, Ressy?"

A heavy sigh. "Carlos…"

"What? What'd I do this time?" I joked, tossing the diamond again. It wasn't any diamond, but a diamond with the ability to traverse the different realms. A remarkable jewel, really-

"Oh, shi—" I quickly caught the crystal before it could hit the ground and shatter into a million little pieces, therefore rendering it useless.

"Carlos, what did you do this time?" his frantic voice said over the phone.

"Chill, it's fine. All I did was almost destroy the Realm Crystal."

"You what?!"

"Like I said, it's fine."

He sighed even heavier. "Carlos, that crystal is vital to this mission. How did you almost destroy it?"

"I was tossing it up and down, obviously."

"Carlos!"

"Oh my God, chill out. It's still in one piece. Besides, you're the one who asked me to steal it in the first place." I grinned across the phone, tossing the diamond yet again. I never learn my lessons. "You clearly trusted me enough to steal it for you, so of course I'm going to fuck around."

"Don't speak to me like that, Carlos. Don't forget that I control you-"

"Yeah, but that's only because I blew myself up. Not because I wanted your damn element to bring me back to life." I caught the diamond, setting it on the desk beside me as I turned in my chair, leaning back. A cat would really settle the mood. "Did you ever think that maybe I didn't want you to work your magic?"

"I didn't ask for your cooperation. I brought you back to work for me-"

"And isn't that just going splendid for you? I got the Realm Crystal for you and now you can do your resurrection shit anywhere you want. Ain't that great?"

He sighed yet again. "Carlos, don't make me use my element on you. You may be miles away from me, but my element will still work on you. No matter how hard you try and escape it."

"Ooh~ I'm so scared~"

"I'm serious, Carlos."

"Yeah, so am I."

"Carlos-"

"Ressy."

A moment of silence. "Don't break or lose that crystal. Got that?"

"No promises, but okay."

Yet another sigh. "Why do I put up with you…"

"Because you're gay and looking for a boyfriend—"

A few beeps. I looked at my phone and saw that he had hung up. Of course he did. Old man never could stand me.

Wait, is he even that old?

I looked up at the ceiling. "Yo, Zay. How old is Ressy?"

I don't know and I don't give a shit.

I sighed. "You're no fun, Zay."

I know, and stop with the fourth wall breaks.

I grinned before turning my chair back towards the Realm Crystal. It shined at me, calling me towards it. I grabbed the crystal and held it up, tilting my head at its beauty. How it worked, I had no clue. Just that Ressy really wanted it for his amazing powers.

Yeah, like I gave a shit.

I held the jewel in my lap, rubbing at the surface to try and see into the sixteen realms. Well, actually it's fourteen now since two got destroyed. The fandom always forgets that for some reason.

Finally, I rubbed it enough to see into the Realm of the Chima. I don't get how Ninjago is connected to Chima, but maybe that's where furries come from…

Just then, the door was kicked down, sending a streaming light into my lair.

Okay, it was a shed. Not a lair.

I narrowed my eyes to see who it was, then smirked at the green, red, blue, gray, black, and white gis. The green gi was in the front. "Cous'! How's it goin'?"

He ignored my comment and held his hand out. "The Realm Crystal, Carlos."

I hummed, tapping on it for a moment before smiling again. "No."

"Carlos, this isn't an argument!" the gray gi chimed in, pissed off. "That crystal-"

"Is extremely dangerous and shouldn't be in my hands?"

The gray gi blinked.

"Is extremely dangerous and shouldn't-"

"I swear on the Overlord—hand it over!" the red gi shouted, lighting his hands on fire in a threatening manner.

"No."

I leapt out of the chair as the red gi shot a flaming ball at me. I held the crystal close to my body, kicking the red gi back into a wall with a strength enhancement from my element. The green gi looked at him for less than a second before coming at me, throwing a punch of green energy. I dodged his attack as well as a stab from the gray gi's spear.

"Jesus—do you want to destroy the crystal?" I yelped as I dodged an ice blast from the white gi. "Watch it—ai!" The spear from the gray gi pinned me against the wall, so I teleported out of its hold and dropped the smile from my face. I snapped my fingers and teleported the crystal away before grabbing the daggers from my belt. "Bring it."

"In what world did you think you would win a 1v6?" Lloyd asked me.

I shrugged because I was tied to the chair with duct tape on my mouth. Thanks a lot, Zay.

Nya sighed. "Enough of this. Where's the crystal, Carlos?"

I cleared my throat through the tape and Kai ripped it off. I coughed in pain and looked up at him. "Ow. That hurt."

"Good. Now spill."

I sighed, thinking about where the crystal was before frowning, thinking harder about it.

"Carlos…" Lloyd asked cautiously.

I smirked. "Yup. That's where I thought it was. Up your—" The tape was slapped back on my mouth before I could finish. I huffed through my nose, rolling my eyes. "Bastard…" I muttered through the tape.

Nya sighed heavily, turning towards the computer system. She gestured for Zane to follow her over, but I knew that Zay was on my side and wouldn't let them break into—

She let them break into the computer.

"Lloyd, I've got something. A recent call from just a little while ago," Nya explained. Lloyd perked up and walked over to the screen as I struggled in the chair with a frantic expression. Nya caught on and crossed her arms, smirking. "Oh? Is this an interesting call?"

I gave a muffled scream as they clicked play on the call. "This is Buddy's Pizza, how can we assist you today?" the first voice said.

"Oh, I don't actually need to buy anything. This is just a prank for my besties when they check my computer. But thank you for letting me call."

I leaned back in the chair as all the ninja turned to me with a less-than-amused expression on their faces. I shrugged sweetly as the tape got ripped off again by Jay. "Where's the crystal?" he snapped.

"I already answered that. It's up Lloyd's ass."

"Carlos—" Lloyd started when the TV flickered off. A purple grin appeared on the screen before switching to a bomb with a five-second timer. The ninja freaked out and got behind a rock dome created by Cole.

Not bothering to save me…

Whatever, it wasn't real. I knew that much.

"Iliana!" I cheered as she glitched into reality and cut the binds around my wrists.

"Stop calling me that…" Glitch muttered, cutting the final band. The second I was cut free, I jumped up and teleported the crystal into my hand as Cole took away the rock barrier. "That was a lot of digging, Lloyd, but look what I have again!"

Glitch grabbed my arm and glitched me out of the shed before Lloyd could grab hold of me. I hunched over at the sudden teleport/glitch and barely managed to contain myself before standing and holding the crystal up. It slipped, but I caught it again. "Totally not a reference to Guardians of the Galaxy."

Glitch raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "I don't understand you."

"Of course you don't—Ressy!" I smiled at The Resurrector, holding the crystal up. "I got the crystal~" I sang.

The Resurrector sighed, snatching it from my hand with his massive one. And no, the Low Taper Fade is not still massive. "Yes, I can see that. I can also see that Glitch had to come and save you from the ninja."

"No, I had to come and save her from the ninja—ai!" I rubbed my head where Glitch had slapped it.

"Shut up, Carlos!"

"You shut up, Iliana!"

"Both of you shut up…" The Resurrector muttered, now sitting on the stairs that led up to his office. He held the crystal in his hand still, admiring it. "Carlos, have you figured out how it works?"

"Nope."

"Of course you haven't," Glitch commented.

"Oh, please, like you've solved it."

"Actually, I have." Glitch smirked smugly as she stepped forward to The Resurrector, her hands behind her back. "The crystal responds to certain methods of 'communication.' Sometimes rubbing it like a genie lamp will work, other times it's a matter of drawing the power from it."

I blinked at her and was about to say something when The Resurrector interrupted me. "I see… and how would one harness this power? Have you any ideas?"

Glitch stood straighter. "A few. Perhaps if I can modify vengestone, it could gain the properties to harness the powers of the Realm Crystal. I don't know where I would get the vengestone, however. It's not like you can just buy some."

"Actually, you can!" I interjected, stepping forward. "There's this place called the Dark Web and you can actually buy it. I'm, like, besties with the guy who runs the whole process. I can get us some lovely vengestone."

The Resurrector turned his gaze towards me. "Is that so? What's this guy's name?"

"OJay. I think he's from another universe or something, I don't really know…"

"You don't really know…?"

"Uh, no. Why would I?"

"You just said you two were besties," Glitch chimed in.

"I said we were like besties. I didn't say we were besties."

"Stop arguing you two." Glitch and I glanced back up at The Resurrector as he spoke again. "I've had enough of your arguing. We need more information on the Realm Crystal, so the both of you are going to break into Borg Tower and steal the information needed. Got that?" Glitch and I opened our mouths to protests but The Resurrector held his hand up, getting ready to put it into a fist. "Got that?" he asked more sternly.

Glitch and I bowed in unison. "Yes, sir."

"Good. And Carlos?" I looked up, straightening my posture. "Do not disappoint me."

I tilted my head. "How could I disappoint you? I got you the crystal, I can get some information on the bad boy."

The Resurrector sighed, bringing his hand to his face. "Please… just go."

I rolled my eyes but listened anyway. After all, I didn't have much of a choice.

"Can't believe you argued with him," Glitch commented as we passed security thanks to her faked IDs.

"Please. He's my bestie. We argue all the time," I explained, pushing the basement button and scanning the card Glitch had made.

"You call everyone your bestie. You even called the ninja your besties!"

"That's because my cousin is the leader of the ninja! They're automatically my besties!"

"And this 'OJay' guy?"

"We met a while back and dated. He has to be my bestie by default."

"The Resurrector?"

"He ressed me. He deserves to be my bestie."

"Me?"

"I never said you were my bestie."

"Good. I don't want to be your bestie."

"Well, now you've gotta be my bestie—ai!" I rubbed my arm where Glitch had punched it. "Why do you love beating me up?"

"Because you're annoying, obviously," she replied as the elevator dinged. We got back into character and walked down the hallway. Okay, the top of my security uniform was open and I wasn't wearing a hat over my messy crimson locks, but it was close enough to the uniform. Glitch looked like she does this all the time, with her long, brown hair tied into a neat bun, the hat fitting perfectly on her head.

"Show off."

"Shut up."

We turned a corner and Glitch used her security card to open the computer room and walked straight to one of the computers. She passed one guy and nodded at him. He nodded back and also at me. I nodded and we passed.

"Oi."

Glitch and I froze and I turned to look at the guy. He gestured to his neck collar. "Your uniform's undone."

I looked down and smirked. "Ah, yes, my bad." I quickly fixed it and started to salute him when Glitch grabbed my hand and moved it away, pulling me back around to a computer in the back.

"What the hell was that?" she hissed, smacking my hand as it tried to move the neck collar again.

"I can't help myself, Iliana," I hissed back.

"Stop. Calling. Me that."

"It's your name. Why can't I?"

Glitch rolled her eyes and sat down, turning on the computer and sticking a flash drive into one of the sockets. "Because that name is dead to me. And you don't get to use it."

"You literally put it down on your fake ID-"

"Because I'm not going to put my villain name. Dipshit."

I scoffed and looked up from the computer, finding a very cute boy walking into the room, dismissing the other guy who had been here. I undid my collar and strolled away from Glitch. She looked up for a second before sighing. "Here we go again…"

I walked over to the boy—he looked maybe nineteen or twenty—and leaned against the wall. "Don't think I've seen you around before."

He turned around, and I noticed how brown his eyes were, barely darker than his hair and much darker than his skin. He didn't look Ninjagoan, but then again, no one here was purely Ninjagoan these days.

"Neither have I, but you do seem familiar," he commented, and God, that accent. It was so damn—mmm! "Say, who scheduled you down here? I thought I was supposed to be down here alone."

"Oh, well, y'know," I stalled, catching the look Glitch shot at me. "I was just checking out the place. I'm new, so, y'know. Getting a feel for the place."

"But you just said you've never seen me around before."

Oh~ God~ He's smart~ "I meant in general, not the job. Obvi."

He nodded, crossing his arms. "Ah, of course. My mistake. I recently moved here from a place in North America called Mexico. Have you heard of it?"

"Of course," I calmly answered, but inside my mind was running circles. My first Mexican. Never done one before. Do I get to do him? Would he let me do him? I have so many questions, but where would I start? What's Mexico like, where you staying, can I have your number—

"What'd you say your name was?" he asked me.

"O-oh! Right, sorry." I stuck my hand out. "Carlos."

He shook it, smiling softly. All I wanted to see was that smile, and I wanted to be the one giving it to him.

Clink.

I looked down at my wrist to see a handcuff around my wrist and his. I looked back up at him as he kicked me in the face. Despite being as short as he was, he had a pretty damn high kick.

I groaned as my head hit the ground. I heard the handcuffs unclick and reclick. I looked up and tried to move, but my hand was stuck to the table. The guy looked at me, rubbing his wrist. "Sorry, amigo. You're not the only one after that information."

"Iliana, get out of here, dammit!" I shouted, pulling against the handcuffs, but they were tainted with vengestone.

"Give me a minute!" Iliana shouted. I heard a key press as the guy went out of my line of sight. I continued pulling at the handcuffs as I heard them fighting in the background, Iliana throwing a few Greek swear words around.

That was sexy–

No. No. Absolutely not! He just kicked you in the side of the face!

But I couldn't stop myself from thinking the dirty thoughts. Nah, they kept coming to me.

I heard a cry of pain from Iliana as the guy walked over to the door, pushing it open as he pocketed the flashdrive. "Wait!" I shouted, stopping him. "Can I at least have your name?"

He smirked, turning towards me. "Why? Wanna know if I'm a villain as well?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes. "I wanna take you out."

"With a sniper rifle?"

"Sure, if that works for you."

He laughed. God, that laugh. "No thanks. I prefer thievery when I'm awake." He turned back to the door, but he shot me one final look. "Name's Kailor."

The door fell shut behind him, and I cursed myself for not asking for his number. How crazy would that be; you get your ass handed to you by a Mexican named Kailor and then you get his number.

Guess we'll be stalking him.

"Carlos," Iliana groaned, standing up from out of my line of sight. "He got the flashdrive."

"I know."

"And? Why didn't you teleport it back?"

"Vengestone. What's your excuse?"

Iliana huffed, coming over and crouching down to undo the cuffs. "I just got kneed in the tits. Have some respect, will ya?"

I rolled my eyes as the cuff came off. I ran to the door and shoved it open, hoping to catch Kailor before he got away, but the hallway was empty. He was already gone.

"You what?!" The Resurrector shouted as soon as we told him.

"We lost the information to a cute boy named Kailor," I repeated. "I thought you understood that."

"Oh-ho, believe me, I did." The Resurrector turned from his desk, glaring at me and Glitch. "How the actual fuck did you lose the information that you stole from Borg Tower's systems?!"

"The man was powerful—" Glitch started, but she was interrupted by The Resurrector.

"And so are the two of you. Combined." The Resurrector took a breath, clenching his fist. "How did he get you?"

Both of us stayed silent. I knew it was my fault for being distracted, but even if Glitch didn't like me, she and I knew the punishment that The Resurrector gave us.

"Well?! Answer me!" he boomed, his fist slamming down on the table, causing the lamp to fall down and shatter. That caused both of us to flinch backward.

I was about to just admit what I did, trying to flirt with a boy I'd just met, when Glitch stepped forward. "It was my fault, sir. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, and Kailor was able to get the jump on us."

The Resurrector turned on Glitch. He stepped over to Glitch, taking her chin in his massive hand. She had those fierce eyes in her expression, and they were going to get her in trouble. "Is that so?" he finally murmured.

"Yes—" Glitch barely managed to get out before The Resurrector clenched his fist. She choked on something, collapsing to the ground as she coughed viciously. Blood stained the tile, but The Resurrector showed no remorse. His fist stayed clenched, and Glitch continued to cough up blood, her face going pale.

I stayed to the side, watching in horror. Even if I've seen and felt it many times, it still pained me to see her suffering like this. To see anyone suffering like this.

Make it end, Zay. Please.

She didn't hear me.

"It's completely and utterly stupid!" I complained, taking a long drink of Coca Cola. I was leaned against the bars of the dungeon, talking to one of my true friends. One I actually deemed worthy of calling my bestie.

"Oh?" they asked, gesturing for a drink of the Coke. "You're the one who blew yourself up and got resurrected in the first place."

"Uh, I didn't ask to be resurrected," I fought, handing her the Coke through the bars. "I blew myself up because I felt like dying, not being bound to the bastard."

"Ha! I hear ya'," they laughed, taking a sip from the Coke. "Say, did The Resurrector ever say what he was gonna do with me? Or am I just stuck in this hellhole for life?"

My smile faded. "Nah, not really. He's just gonna be using you for his own personal gain." They slid the Coke back through the bars, and I took it back, downing the last of it. I threw the bottle at the wall, watching it bounce off and hit the ground a couple of times. I leaned my head back against theirs in the cell. "Sorry I got you in this mess, Lor."

"You got nothin' to be sorry for, Carlos," Lor replied. "I was the one who fell for your damn trick.

"Heh. I remember that—ai!" I rubbed the back of my head where Lor's had hit me. "Watch it!"

"That was not funny!"

"It was in the moment! I didn't realize that Ressy would hold you hostage!"

"Yeah, well, you should have been using that thick head of yours to think instead of causing problems!"

"My head is not thick!"

The door to the dungeon opened and I immediately saluted in case it was The Resurrector. It wasn't. It was my current boyfriend, Xavier. He jumped down the stairs, wrapping his arms around me before kissing me right next to my eye. "What are you doing down here, love?" he asked with his British accent. Honestly, that was the only reason we were dating. He was the first Brit I'd done.

"Talking with my bestie Lor." I gestured to them. "Lor, this is my boyfriend, Xavier."

Lor waved. "Yo."

Xavier waved back. "Heya, mate. Why are you behind the bars?"

"Carlos set up a trap for me and didn't realize I would be held hostage."

"Don't blame this on me!" I snapped, slinging my arm around Xavier's waist.

"Yeah, don't blame this on him!" Xavier agreed, his arm mimicking mine.

Lor threw their hands up. "Whatever. It was absolutely Carlos' fault and you can't convince me otherwise."

Both Xavier and I flipped them off immediately.

They returned.

"And why are we up here?" Xavier asked, putting his hands in front of him so he could see where he was going. My hands covered his eyes as I led him to the edge of the building.

"Just relax!" I laughed, stopping him. "Okay, you're good."

I removed my hands from his eyes and watched as he looked on in awe. The vibrant shades of orange and pink filled the night sky, sending ripples of both hot and cold into the atmosphere. I sat myself down on the ledge of the roof, next to a bottle of vodka for Xavier and Coke for me. "My liege," I said with a bow as I sat down on the ledge.

Xavier joined me with an expression of appreciation on his face. "This place is beautiful, love."

"I know, right?" I opened my Coke, holding it away as it exploded on me. I brought my mouth to the fizz a moment later, sucking the bubbles away.

Xavier laughed, opening his bottle of vodka before downing a fourth of it. He sighed, leaning against me. "How'd you find this place?"

"My first boyfriend took me here," I explained. "It's also where I learned that I quite literally cannot have a single drop of alcohol or I get drunk."

Xavier gave a slight nod. "So that's why you're always drinking Coke?"

"You can't drink, you can always pretend."

Xavier laughed for a moment before taking another drink, an expression of solemnity taking over. "So…how many boyfriends have you brought up here? Since the first?"

I thought for a moment before counting on my fingers. I stopped after I got past seven. "Too many to count."

Xavier paled. "So…I'm not special?"

"Of course you're special!" I exclaimed, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

He didn't smile back. He simply stared in the vodka bottle like it held all the answers. "How?"

I had to think about it again. "I…I don't know. You just are. Isn't that enough?"

"No, Carlos, it's not." He stood up, glaring at me. "Why are you dating me when you don't even have a good enough reason?"

I stood up. "Because I love you, obviously."

"No you don't! You told me yourself that you were aromantic and I expected you to live up to that!" Xavier's wings flared outward, expressing his anger. "So I'm going to ask you with every cell in my experimented body: How the fuck am I special?"

I stood on the ledge, sighing heavily as I rubbed the back of my neck. "I really don't know, Xavier. You're the first guy I've dated who's British, so I just got excited, I guess…"

Xavier scoffed, shaking his head at me. "Unbelievable." He spread his wings out and leapt off the ledge, flying through the almost midnight sky. I watched as his form disappeared before plopping back down on the ledge, taking the bottle of vodka from the ledge, taking a long sip from the bottle.

"Fuck you, Xavier," I muttered, taking another drink. "Fuck you, and fuck life, and fuck me for not being a good enough boyfriend…to anyone."

I looked down into the vodka bottle, knowing that maybe the answers lie inside. I downed the last of it, throwing it off the ledge of the building. Someone shouted at me when it hit them. I stood up, flipped them off. "Go fuck yourself! I'm not in the mood!"

My foot slipped from the ledge and I fell down the three stories, hitting my head on the concrete. My vision wasted no time in fading to black.