#(nya will die before bringing it up to anyone else) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

grimbeak · 4 years ago

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,,,,I was thinking ab @elementalmasteroffandom ‘s villain Jay theory again ((also im so sorry queen i keep bothering you and tagging you hhhh)) and like. I was thinking about how mb Jay would die at the end of the season, probably killed by mostly accident by Kai, the one who tends to insult him most, or by all the ninja combined, confirming the fact that he thinks they all hate him.

So, the ninja go back to their island home probably all depressed and more than a bit traumatized (although that isn’t new), while Jay is dead.

But...

We don’t know much about the tribe, so I was thinking ((this is mostly to vent my own ideas, I find this incredibly unlikely to actually happen.)), what if they have a way to bring back the dead?

But there’s a price.

So Jay gets brought back as a ghost... with no memories of fighting the other ninja, going evil, or how he died. This would defin be very interesting to see, as all the ninja would kind of have to skirt around him and avoid telling him what actually happened on the island- he’d probably find out anyway, from his memory returning or a tribe member telling him towards the end of the season.

Anyway here’s some long drabbles for it

Just after Jay gets brought back:

Jay blinks awake, squinting at the sun in his eyes. “What...” He pushes himself up, not exactly...

Not exactly sure how he got here.

Glancing around, he can see... the ocean. And sand. He’s probably on a beach, then, or Zane had gone haywire again and filled the training room with sand and water. That had been a weird Tuesday.

He looks around. There isn’t anyone else there, which was weird, considering he has absolutely no memory of how he got here. There’s a sort of... numb feeling, to his entire body, and it’s starting to make Jay very uncomfortable. Plus, there’s the fact that he can’t exactly feel the sand underneath him, despite his entire back probably being covered in it. Oh, gosh, he hopes he doesn’t have sand in his hair. That takes forever to get out.

He swipes at his head, and-

Nothing.

He can... Jay can feel his hand on his hair, feel the pressure of it, but not the texture. It’s like he’s-

His arm is green and see-through.

Jay looks down. He can see the sand through his gi, slightly darker tinted.

He pats the sand. Nothing. He can see the imprint that his fingers left on it, but he can’t feel it.

...OK. This is fine. This is perfectly fine.

“Alright. OK. We can... we can figure this out.” Why is he saying we, there’s no one else here.

There’s no one else here.

He’s alone.

Alone and a ghost, and how is he a ghost, and hey at least he’s far enough away from the water, and also why doesn’t he remember dying? Do you remember dying? Did he even die? Cole... Cole didn’t die, not really, he just became a ghost for a while.

...Jay doesn’t even remember how he got here, and if that’s not concerning enough, the last thing he remembers is arriving on the island. Then it’s just a blank. He vaguely remembers something about lightning, a bunch of people, and a blonde woman that looked strangely familiar, but nothing really else.

“OK. I’m talking to myself. Like Cole does. Is it just a ghost thing to talk to yourself? Must get lonely.” He pauses, for a moment. The others. He needs to find the others, somehow.

Can he make his dragon as a ghost? Did Cole’s powers work when he was a ghost? Jay can’t really remember, but... hey, he’ll figure it out.

Now he just needs to get off this island.

When Jay eventually finds the other ninja:

Kai brandishing a sword at him was definitely not what Jay expected to see after he popped through the temple wall.

Terrified screaming, sure, maybe even a tearful reunion, but definitely not a sword pointed at his neck.

Jay’s hands are up, his back is pressed against the wall (on his journey back to the temple, he’s begun to figure out exactly how being a ghost works, and how much strength it takes him to allow others to touch him. He nearly got evaporated a few times in sudden rainstorms, but it’s a good thing umbrellas exist. Also overhangs.), and his eyes are wide. “Ok, Ok! Calm down, it’s just me! Don’t stab me!” He pauses. “Wait, can you stab me? I mean, I’m a ghost, can you even- was Cole able to get stabbed when he was a ghost? ...I think he got shot and the bullet went though him, once, but you guys probably don’t remember that.”

Kai narrows his eyes. “What are you doing here, how are you here, you’re de-” he pauses, eyes widening. “You’re a ghost.”

Jay attempts to push Kai’s sword down, but the tip of it is shoved forward until it’s barely a breath away from impaling him (or... going through him, he supposes). “Yeah, I am. Don’t know how. Do you know how? Took a while to get here, y’know, nearly fell into the ocean a few times...” Jay pauses, as Kai’s face grows more and more bewildered. “Do you... weren’t you guys there? We were on an island, and-”

There’s a sudden noise from the other room, as Cole and Nya rush in, holding their appropriate weapons. “We heard you yell, Kai, what’s going-” Nya stops as her eyes land on Jay, her face changing from shocked to pained to utter hatred in the span of a few seconds. “You.”

“Nya, wait, I-” Jay barely has time to speak before she’s rushing towards him, and just before he can get A: stabbed or B: splashed with water (hopefully not B), Nya stops suddenly.

“You’re... you’re a ghost.”

“Yeah.” Jay decides this would be a good time to drop the other bombshell. “And I have no idea why or how.”

***

“So,” Kai says, in a strained voice, “you don’t remember anything.”

“No.” Jay glances around the room. “Last thing I remember is getting to the island with you guys, and then... nothing, really. Just a blank.”

It’s been about an hour since Jay’s first confrontation with Kai, and in that time he’s almost gotten killed four separate times. Or, well, whatever you can do to a ghost in the lines of killing. First by Kai, then by Nya, then by Lloyd and Zane, in that order. Master Wu had been more shocked rather than anything else, but at least he hadn’t tried to commit murder. Jay’s explained everything to the other ninja- what happened after he woke up on the beach, how he got back to the city (stowing away on ships is surprisingly easy), and how he has, in fact, zero memories of dying.

“So,” Jay says after a moment of very awkward silence, “how did I die, anyway? You guys were on the island too, so...”

The others freeze, and Jay has the distinct feeling that something happened that was very bad and very wrong. Kai, apparently deciding to take one for the team, speaks up. “You... you fell off a cliff.”

Jay considers this. “I know you’re lying,” he says eventually, “but it’s- it’s a very good lie. That definitely seems like something I would do.” He stands up, pretending not to notice the way Zane’s hand tightens on his bow, and how Lloyd’s fingers start to spark. “On that note, I’m tired, you guys probably want to talk in private, I want sleep. G’night.” He walks off to his room, secretly hoping that there aren’t any pictures of him with darts thrown at it.

Kai and the other’s reactions to ghost Jay:

“So Jay,” Nya eventually says, after the ghost version of her ex(?)-boyfriend makes his way towards his former room, “is dead. And a ghost. With no memories of him dying.”

Master Wu, who has gone to make tea to deal with his shock, makes an exceptionally loud clanging sound, probably as a precaution so Jay doesn’t hear any of the conversation. Pixal is absent, having gone on a two-week long mission barely a few days before Jay showed up.

“Yes,” Kai confirms. “This is bad.”

Cole nods, biting his lip. “He doesn’t... do you think he’ll find out? That he went bad, I mean.”

“I hope not,” Lloyd mutters, speaking for the first time since he yelled at Jay around an hour ago. “Honestly, it’s better if he just doesn’t figure it out. We can just... make up a believable lie for him, and hopefully, if he doesn’t get turned back into a human, he won’t remember. I don’t want him to know that we were the reason he’s dead. Even though it was technically his fault.”

“Yes,” Zane adds. “The fact that Jay’s dead is, in fact, his own fault. We were merely trying to stop him from causing any more harm to us, himself, or the people of Ninjago.” The nindroid pauses, for a moment, likely remembering how they all combined their elemental powers (well... most of them) to take the lightning master down. “So, I suppose we’ll just have to keep him under close watch. Don’t let him go out alone, and I can see if I can attach a tracker to him- one that works on ghosts. Perhaps one with deepstone embedded in it, so we can detain him if necessary.”

“Yeah,” Kai says. “We can do this. We’ll handle Jay, protect Ninjago, and hope that he doesn’t remember anytime soon.”

#long post #Ghost Jay #Villain Jay #this idea popped in my head last night and i just couldn't stop thinkin ab it #100% won't happen but i think it's cool #mostly rantin ab ghost jay because i won't be able to use it for my au where morro possesses jay instead of lloyd #let me know if you have any ideas for scenes that you want me to write #i would be happy to #skylor walks in 1 day after hearing ab how jay went evil (doesn't know about ghost jay)#sees ghost jay and cole on the couch talkin about video games #goes like 'okay this is weird' and just leaves #Ninjago jay #ninjago cole #ninjago kai #ninjago zane #ninjago nya #ninjago lloyd #ninjago wu #ninjago s14 #ninjago s15 #tommy andersons vague tweets #jay angst #memory loss #ghosts #Evil Jay #sorry for the length i got really excited #also just. Kai n the others being overly nice to jay bcuz they were the reason he went evil in the first place #jays so confused but goes along with it because hey at least they're being nice to him now

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shinobis-of-ninjago-au · 4 years ago

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Shinobis of Ninjago

Pilot 2: Ruler of Shadows

Prologue Pilot 1 (Pilot 2-Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Episode 1

Later in the week, the ninja had neared the final weapon: the Sai of Absorption. The temple they were sealed in was carved out of a dormant volcano deep inside a forest. Mystake had decided to stop about half an hour or so from the temple, wanting her team to be at their best when they retrieved the weapon.

That night, when they made camp, they relaxed. Seliel had brought a set of travel drums and was singing. Nya, Pixal, and Skylor were dancing around the fire, occasionally singing if they knew the words. Mystake had tucked herself away in the corner against a tree and was meditating.

Skylor bent down next to Seliel and whispered something to her. Seliel smiled and nodded. She began to play a different beat, one that was bouncy and folk-like. Skylor began to dance, twisting and turning. She pulled in Nya and Pixal and spun them around a few times. When she finished, the others applauded and began asking her questions.

"That was an Ignacian dance." Skylor explained. "Kids are taught that dance and we perform it at parties and the Harvest Festival. But that was nothing, you should see Jay and I dance together."

Everyone grew quiet, looking to one another. "Umm, who's Jay?" Nya asked.

"Jay, mi hermano. Have I never said his name before?" Her teammates shook their heads and she looked down, ashamed for overlooking such a simple detail.

"It's fine." Seliel shrugged. "As soon as we get the sai, we're going to save your brother. Obećanje." ('Promise.')

Skylor smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

They continued to dance the night away. Sooner or later they fell asleep, letting the fire die out as it was a warm night. They had taken hour shifts and it was Skylor's turn, perhaps around three o'clock in the morning. She sat up against a tree with a little bit of rope, tying it into knots and untying it.

She thought about what she would do when they rescued Jay. She would hug him tightly and probably not let go for the longest time. Skylor sighed, undoing the figure-eight knot she had just done.

"Skylor."

At the sound of her name she looked up. Spotting a shadow in the bushes she stood up. "Who's there?"

"Relájate, soy solo yo." ('Relax, it's only me.')

The konran's face drained of colour as Jay stepped out of the bushes. His clothes were clean, as well as his face and hair. His skin was pale and his eyes were grey, devoid of any colour. Skylor blamed it on the moonlight and stepped forward, too shocked to say anything.

"Tengo que ir." ('I have to go.') Jay whispered. He turned around and disappeared into the bushes. Without thinking, Skylor scrambled after him.

They chased each other through the forest, Jay's giggles echoing through the trees, but they were dull, unlike his usual ones that were filled with life and could get anyone laughing.

Skylor stopped, looking around, for she had lost track of Jay. She groaned, turning around and punching a tree in frustration. How could she have lost him! He was right there.

"¿Jay? ¿Jay, dónde estás?" ('Where are you?') She called, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Hearing a twig snap behind her, she turned seeing Jay with one arm extended. His face was relaxed, no worry visible in colourless eyes. A loose smile formed hollow words, echoey almost.

"¿Vienes, Skylor?" ('Are you coming Skylor?')

Skylor smiled, taking his hand. He led her through the trees, both laughing as they danced under the stars. She wasn't sure how long they were gone from the camp, but at this point, Skylor didn't care. Jay was back.

They stopped dancing, giggles dying down. "Sígueme." ('Follow me.') Jay said before taking off again. She followed him until they reached the dormant volcano where the sai were supposedly located. Skylor stopped, letting Jay enter the volcano as she stared at the temple.

It had been carved into the rock, golden pillars framing the entrance made of red doors. As she walked across the stone bridge, she peered over the side into the water. It was dark, black in the nighttime light.

One of the doors had been cracked open, most likely Jay's doing. Pushing open the door further, Skylor gasped in amazement.

The walls were stone and carved with golden drawings, only reflecting the light from the golden pair of sai that lay on a miniature version of the temple located in the centre.

"Jay?" Skylor's voice echoed through the empty temple. Turning back towards the sai, she found Jay standing in front of them. "Ahí tienes. Vamos vamos a casa." ('There you are. Come on, let's go home.')

Jay tilted his head. "¿Por qué? Me gusta aquí. La maestra ha sido tan agradable". ('Why? I like it here. Master has been so nice.')

"Maestra?" ('Master?') Skylor murmured. "¿Qué estás diciendo? ¿Qué has hecho con mi hermano?" ('What are you saying? What have you done with my brother?')

"No sé de qué estás hablando, hermana, estoy aquí..." ('I don't know what you're talking about, sister, I'm right here.') His voice morphed from hollow to that of a woman's, cold and calm, sending a shiver down Skylor's spine. His body faded, a shadow taking his place on the wall, red eyes shining off the stone.

"Misako." Skylor growled. She reached for her sai, only to realize that her scabbards were empty.

"Forgot something?" Misako asked, a smirk audible in her voice.

"You can't hurt me, you're banished, trapped in the Underworld." Skylor said, trying to hide her shaking hands.

"That is why you are going to remove the Sai of Absorption for me." Misako's shadow shrunk and moved to the side, gesturing to the sai.

Skylor scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Yeah, I don't think so. There's no way you can make me do anything."

"Are you sure?"

At the sounds of chains rattling, Skylor looked to the back of the temple. A figure dropped from the ceiling, hanging limply. Skylor's eyes widened in realization and horror before narrowing in anger.

Jay hung there, clothes torn, skin caked in dirt and mud, and hair matted. Cuts were visible on his arms and legs, clothes brown with dried blood in places and a deep gash on his face, running through his right eyebrow and down his cheek. When Skylor called out his name and he didn't respond, she knew he was unconscious, or worse.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Skylor shrieked, turning on the shadow.

"If you don't remove the sai, how else shall you save your precious little brother?" Misako teased, ignoring the screaming girl in front of her.

They chains dropped, bringing Jay closer to the back of the temple, where it dropped off into the old dormant magma chamber.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock." Misako's voice echoed through the large room, only adding to Skylor's anxiety.

Skylor closed her eyes, forcing back tears. She wasn't going to lose Jay, not again. Taking a deep breath, she mentally went through her plans. She should've woken the others, not run into this without thinking.

Knowing she would regret it, Skylor took off running. Grabbing the sai, she ran up the wall, getting momentum and using it to push off. Grabbing the chain, she stuck one of the sai through a link and broke it. Using one hand to hold onto Jay and the other to the rest of the chain, she started swinging. She knew she probably shouldn't be moving her brother, but having no other option, she let go of him, watching as he landed safely on the other side of the temple.

She swung off after him. Picking him up and tossing him over her shoulder, Skylor started for the doors. Misako's shadow appeared in front of her and she got into a fighting stance.

"You can't hurt me, you're only a maldita shadow." Skylor proclaimed.

Misako hummed and clicked her tongue. "Little girl, you must learn that everything has its uses. Though I must thank you, your brother was very helpful."

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Him."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I would be more concerned for your own well-being."

Skylor's shadow began to peel off the wall, becoming three-dimensional. Laying Jay on the ground, Skylor pulled out the golden sai. Twirling them in her hands, she lunged forward, only to go right through the shadow. Turning around, she roundhouse kicked it, the move unsuccessful.

Her shadow reached out, grabbing her shoulder. Bringing Skylor close, the shadow brought up its knee into her chest repeatedly. The shadow dropped Skylor to the ground where she doubled over, coughing.

"Am I being too hard?" Misako questioned.

"Not at all." Skylor replied, getting to her feet. She swayed side to side, her vision being filled with spots, but she stayed standing.

Skylor continued to throw punches and kicks at the shadow, including swings with the sai. The shadow in return, threw its own, landing multiple hits. The shadow threw one final punch, sending Skylor spinning back to where Jay was laying.

A bright light appeared on the wall next to the shadow. The konran looked over, seeing a figure standing next to a flashlight. They moved their hands in front of the beam of light, fingers appearing on the wall.

Forming a finger person, the shadow puppet kicked the shadow, sending it skidding back a few feet. The shadow shook its head and ran forward, prepared to attack. The shadow puppet sent another kick, Skylor's shadow flying across the temple before shattering into dust against the wall.

The figure turned off the flashlight, shoving it into a satchel strung over her shoulder, and running over to where Skylor was. She helped the girl to her feet, making sure she could stand before picking up Jay over her shoulder.

"Mystake?" Skylor croaked.

"Yes." She answered. "Come, let's get you and your brother out of here."

"Sister." Misako greeted, voice as calm as ever. "I see you protect one, but what of the other three?"

"They are safe." Mystake replied. "Far from your grasp, Misako."

"I would not be so confident..."

Ignoring her older sister, Mystake turned to Skylor. "My sister must not unite the four weapons. We must keep them apart." She led them past the miniature temple and towards the doors.

"Awaken guardian of the deep!" Misako cried, putting on a facade. "They're stealing the sai! You must not let them escape!"

There was a low rumbling from the back of the temple, deep within the magma chamber. Skylor froze, looking over her shoulder. A dark figure shot out of the hole and soared over top of their heads, landing in front of them, shaking the ground.

Skylor reached over to Mystake, pulling the flashlight out of her satchel and turning it on. The beam fell upon a spiked tail, then a scaled body that moved with every breath of hot air. Wings were stretched out as Skylor moved the beam to the creature's face. Yellow eyes stared down at them, the flashlight reflecting off tips of fanged teeth.

The dragon let out a roar, so loud that Skylor surprised Jay didn't wake up.

"There's no way out. Misako's taken away all our options." Skylor said, voice shaking as the dragon's tail thumped against the ground, sending a shockwave through the temple.

"All but one."

Before Skylor could ask what Mystake meant, Jay was shoved into her arms and the sai in her hands were gone. Turning around, she spotted Mystake standing by the edge of the drop.

Skylor let out a nervous chuckle. "Mystake, what are you doing?"

"If Misako is to bring the weapons here, then I will take the Sai of Absorption to the Underworld. It is my sacrifice to make." Mystake said, pulling out a cloth from her bag and wrapping the sai.

"No, it's mine, I shouldn't have come on my own. There's got to be another way." Skylor pleaded.

Mystake replied by smiling and falling backwards, disappearing into the magma chamber.

"I will see you there, sister." Misako's shadow disappeared, glowing red eyes gone from the wall.

Skylor fell to her knees, flashlight dropping to the ground and turning off. She pulled Jay close, sobbing into his chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I messed up. I messed up bad. I shouldn't have come alone. You're hurt, Mystake's gone, I don't know where my team is. I failed." Skylor took a deep, shuddering breath, listening to Jay's faint heartbeat. "I'll be a better sister. Please, I just want you to be okay. I'm sorry."

She curled into a tighter ball, Jay still in her arms and the dragon's hot breath against her neck.

————————————————

Seliel rolled over, for something felt off, though she wasn't sure what. She opened her eyes, squinting in the light. Light? It couldn't have been dawn yet, Skylor should've woken her up a long time ago. Though Seliel knew that the redhead was eager to retrieve the sai and save her brother and would most likely have stayed awake the entire night, they all had enough honour to respect Mystake's orders. Sitting up, she realized her teammates were nowhere to be seen, as was her Sensei.

What she did see was skeletons. Maybe one and a half dozen surrounding their camp. Not taking her eyes off the one in front of her, Seliel reached for her staff, but only getting a fistful of dirt.

The one in front of her, one of the top generals if she remembered correctly, held up her staff, waving it teasingly. Seliel made a move to stand up, but before she could, two skeletons grabbed her arms and began dragging her backwards. Two more were waiting for her, Pixal and Nya in their arms.

A gag was shoved into Seliel's mouth and a cloth tied around her head, keeping it in place. The three ninja were thrown against a tree, rope being pulled tightly around their torsos, binding them to the trunk.

Her eyes drifted over to where Samukai was bent over the golden weapons, examining them. Seeing that they were the real things, she picked them up.

She turned towards the ninja, looking down at them. "I believe these belong to Lady Misako now." She turned back to her troops. "To the Amber Temple!" She ordered. The army cheered, beginning to climb aboard their vehicles. Samukai walked over to hers, but was stopped by a shadow appearing in the tire. Realizing the darker shade and red glowing eyes, Samukai bowed. "Mistress." She greeted.

"My sister has taken the sai to the Underworld. Return immediately and bring the weapons to my hand."

The shadow disappeared, leaving Samukai confused, but she followed her master's orders nonetheless. "To the Underworld!" Samukai shouted, changing plans. "The Dark Lady wants us to return home."

The army cheered once more, climbing into their vehicles: trucks and motorcycles alike. The party sped off, leaving the ninja sneezing in the dust.

Seliel exhaled, something resembling a sigh. Nya began to shift beside her and she peered around the trunk, seeing a glimpse of steel. Nya moved her leg to the side, revealing a sword hidden underneath. She used her leg to slide it up to her hand. Gripping the hilt, Nya used the sword to cut through the ropes. It was slow going, but eventually the ropes snapped.

The shinobis removed the gags from their mouths, breathing deeply.

Seliel ran over, squeezing Nya tightly. "Nya you lijepi genij! ('beautiful genius!')

Nya smiled and flipped her hair playfully. She knew that from Seliel's tone it was a compliment. "I try."

Pixal patted Nya on the back. "Well I must say that was an excellent performance, we might need to save the compliments for later. There are more pressing matters at hand."

Nya and Seliel nodded, following Pixal to where the skeletons had dumped their weapons and bags. Donning all the knives and shurikens they had taken off before going to sleep, they grabbed their main weapons from the pile. Taking to the trees, they set off after the skeletons.

"Hey," Nya said. "Did ya'll see Sensei or Skylor?" Her teammates shook their heads. "Should we go back an' look for them?"

"I think they'll be okay." Seliel assured. "The weapons are our main priority." They stayed quiet as they ran through the trees until Nya started chuckling. "What?"

"Nothing, just... they took the Golden Weapons but left our regular ones lying around. Sometimes I forget how stupid they can be."

Seliel joined in the giggling. "Well, they're skeletons. They don't really have brains."

After a few minutes they reached the main road that led through the forest. Hearing the revving of engines down the road, they followed the noise. Minutes later, the red glow of taillights filtered through the trees, and the three kunoichis picked up their pace.

When the vehicles came into full view, the ninja slowed to match the pace of the vehicles. They could hear Samukai shouting at the drivers to go faster. The motorbikes leading the party disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the bigger vehicles to race through the forest without an escort.

The kishu signaled her team to advance, and the three jumped down. They landed on the largest vehicle—something resembling a monster truck—the one that happened to be housing the Golden Weapons as well as Samukai.

Seliel and Pixal waved at Samukai teasingly, keeping the attention away from Nya. The scout scooted her way along the side of the monster truck, careful not to fall off. The Golden Weapons were stored in a locked cage at the back of the truck, two guards keeping watch.

Grabbing the sash of one of the guards, Nya threw them over the side. Side-kicking the other, she turned to the cage. Reeling her fist back, she punched the lock. "Okay, that's why they make keys." She hissed, waving her hand to ease the pain.

Knowing she would need a lock picking kit and that she left hers at camp, Nya crawled on top of the cage to get one of her teammates' attention. She was met with the end of a staff in the face.

At the sound of something hitting metal, Seliel turned around, taking note of her teammate lying on top of the cage. Taking down one more skeleton with her bo-staff, she knelt down, placing a hand on Nya's back. "Nya! Sorry I didn't see you." Nya sat up and removed the lower part of her mask, her cheek and angry red. Seliel winced. "We'll get that checked out soon."

The truck jolted forward, seemingly going at twice the speed it was before, impossible by human standards. Not used to the speed, the ninja soon lost their grip on the truck, tumbling onto the dirt road. The last of the army disappeared with a flash of light, leaving the three kunoichis coughing in the dust. Nya began to say something, but was hushed by Seliel.

"Save your breath, you don't need to say it. Znam. ('I know.') We've lost."

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lloydskywalkers · 5 years ago

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flicker

Been wanting to write something about this ever since the Ice Chapter premiered, I just couldn’t get it to come together in my head. I’m not sure if I love the result? But I do love Kai and I do love this dumb ninja family, so here it is anyways.

Spoilers for season 11 btw!! (but not until the end, it jumps all over the series)

Kai’s always liked fire. He likes the way it dances, flickering back and forth and lighting up the dark. He likes the different colors it burns, how warm it feels when you get close. Fire’s a source of destruction, of course, he knows that — but it’s never been that way for him. Heat like that can be useful, he thinks. Heat like that can be used to heal, not to burn, people just have trouble seeing it that way, sometimes.

A lot of this is just a metaphor for himself, and yeah, Kai’s aware of that.

Kai runs hot — always has, always will.

It’s not a normal kind of hot, either, the kind of hot where he’s always moving too much, like the woman down the street claims. Kai runs unusually hot, and that’s not just him being dramatic, either. Kai runs hot enough to fool thermometers and doctors and Nya’s hand when she runs it over his forehead. He runs hot enough to radiate heat, enough that Nya’s calling him a furnace as soon as she learns what that is.

It’s not something he, personally, notices much. Kai lives in the forge — if he was always overheated, he’d be dead by now. Kai just runs at a temperate different than anyone else does, that’s all. It doesn’t bother him.

He has, of course, worried about it bothering Nya, but fortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Kai?”

Kai drags sleep-heavy eyelids open, blinking in the dim light that filters from the half-patched holes in the roof of their tiny home. At first, he’s confused to why Nya’s tiny voice is waking him this early in the morning. The shop doesn’t open for another couple hours, and he’s pretty sure the forge isn’t burning down — he did remember to extinguish everything before he closed up, right?

Nya interrupts his flow of thought, tip-toeing across the creaking floor of their home. Her hair falls oddly, the fringe from the cut he’d wrangled it into sticking up all over her forehead. She stops at his bed, barely coming up to his eye-level as she stares at him with wide, dark eyes.

“Kai,” she hisses, this time more insistent.

Kai blinks again, runs a hand over his face, and sighs. “Wha’issit, Nya?”

Nya leans closer, bringing the threadbare edge of her blanket tighter across her shoulders. “I’m cold,” she whispers, sounding very much upset with the fact.

“Oh,” Kai says, awareness filtering back in as his heart sinks. Winter is coming on faster this year, and for all that Kai’s been good about saving up, they really can’t afford to have the heat on just yet. He’d been hoping that the forge alone would keep them warm until then, but apparently not.

He bites his lip, a familiar ache settling in his chest. Nya deserves better — way better, and Kai can’t give her it, and he’s trying his best but ever since their parents—

Nya seems to have finally lost patience with him, as she’s pushing at his arm.

“Move,” she grunts, shoving at his arm with tiny fingers. “C’mon, you big lug—“

“Nya, what—?” Kai moves his arm for her, confused — and she promptly crawls up into the space it was occupying, hauling herself into his bed as she clambers over his legs and—

“Oof, Nya, that’s my stomach—“

Nya ignores him, finally shoving him over enough that there’s a small space for her in his bed. She quickly burrows beneath the blankets, pressing herself up against him and shoving her freezing toes against his leg. Kai flinches back with a high-pitched yelp, fully awake now.

“Nya!” he hisses, rubbing his leg. “You’re freezing!”

“Duh,” Nya sniffs, shoving her face into his side. “Tha’s why I’m here.”

Kai frowns at her, fully prepared for a long lecture about where you stick your freezing toes, when she nuzzles her forehead into his chest, sighing contentedly as her shivers subside.

“Nice an’ toasty,” she murmurs, hugging his arm like he’s a particularly tough teddy bear.

Kai stares at her, his mouth still half-open even though the words have long left him. He finally sighs, shaking his head before laying it back onto his pillow, the hint of smile on his lips as he watches Nya’s full one.

He might not be able to afford heating right now, but at least he can do this, he thinks, wrapping his other arm around her so his little sister is pulled close.

*****************

It takes a few years, but Kai eventually learns that his proclivity to run hot is not, in fact, just a freak hiccup of his body. No, it’s due to something a whole lot cooler — or warmer, haha, since he’s the Master of Fire now, you know.

Well, he’s always been the Master of Fire, he guesses. He just didn’t know, unlike the rest of his…teammates? Partners? Kai watches the others out of the corner of his eyes, narrowing them shrewdly. Sensei Wu’s other chosen ninja are nice, of course — sure, they did a whole of of unnecessary showing off, in Kai’s opinion, but they don’t seem like they’re awful people. Just a little odd (a lot odd, in some cases), but so is Kai, as Nya’s told him.

Nya.

The reminder burns hot in his chest, and not in the nice way. Nya, his little sister, the one person on earth he cares most about, the person he’d sworn he’d die before letting anything bad happen to her—

Well. Something bad’s definitely happened to her, and Kai’s still alive.

Looks like he’ll have to make it up to her another way, he thinks hollowly, pulling his travel blanket tighter around himself as he leans back against one of the trees that line their campsite. Another way like kicking Garmadon’s charred, evil as—

“Hey, you’re the fire ninja, right?”

Kai looks up. The lightning ninja’s in front of him — Jay, right, because the earth ninja’s always calling him bluejay. He’s a good foot shorter than Kai, and a whole lot scrawnier, and Kai wouldn’t even consider him a threat if he didn’t know what he could do. Right now, though, the lightning ninja just looks tired. The fire from earlier’s long burned out, and his complexion looks paler than usual under the moonlight.

“Yeah,” Kai finally says. “That’s me.”

“Oh good,” Jay says, a grin pulling at his freckles. “I mean, I already knew that, but you know, just double-checking.”

Kai stares at him, about to ask what on earth he would need to double-check for, when Jay’s suddenly left his line of view and is sitting down next to him, leaning up against Kai’s tree with him.

“It’s pretty cold out tonight, huh?” Jay says, ignoring Kai’s stare as he pulls his travel blanket around himself, letting out a shiver. “Kinda wasn’t expecting it to get this cold, with how warm it was earlier when we had to haul Sensei around, but then I should know better. I grew up in the desert, you know? Well — kinda, I mean. I grew up outside of Ninjago City, on the edge of the desert, so it’d get super hot in the day, but then it’d get freezing when the sun went down—“

Kai continues to stare at him, momentarily lost for words. He’s on the verge of asking where Jay manages to keep all the air he has for chattering in him, because he’s a shrimp, when Jay suddenly scoots closer, his eyes lighting up.

“Hey, you’re like, really warm!” Jay informs him in delight. “Kinda like a thermos, or something.”

Kai blinks, then frowns. “I’m the Master of Fire,” he says, stiffly. “It’s a thing.”

“Well, yeah, I figured,” Jay says, seemingly unruffled by the go away vibe Kai is attempting to give off. “That’s why I came over to you in the first place, but I wasn’t sure, you know? ‘Cause Zane’s ice, and he’s always freezing, but Cole is earth and he’s definitely not made of rock, big softy.”

Jay has a fond look on his face as he talks about the others, and it leaves Kai with a weird kind of ache in his chest. Almost as if he wants to be part of that, whatever camaraderie the others have formed before he got there.

“Well,” Kai says, awkwardly. “I’m definitely warm.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jay agrees, somehow scooting closer. “It’s great.”

Kai eyes him narrowly. Jay has yet to explain why he’s decided to pile up next to Kai, by Kai’s tree, but he’s starting to get a sneaking suspicion.

“Hey,” Jay’s tone changes. His voice is suddenly serious, and Kai is almost taken about at the change in levity. “We’re gonna get your sister back, you know that, right?”

Kai blinks at him, words twisting in his chest, then looks down. “Yeah,” he whispers. “I know.”

They will, if it’s the last thing Kai ever does—

“I’m serious,” Jay says, his voice sincere. “We’re all in this together, right? And ninja look out for each other, which definitely includes their sisters.”

Kai looks back up at him, and Jay gives him a bright smile.

“Word of a ninja,” he says. “We’ll get her back.”

Kai looks at him for a moment longer, then looks back at the smoldering embers left from their fire earlier, suddenly blinking rapidly. There’s a thick kind of lump in his throat, the annoying kind that makes his eyes smart.

It’s just — it’s been a while since someone’s reassured him like that, much less cared enough to. A long time since someone’s sounded like they care about Nya — like they care about him.

Maybe this team thing really is worth a try, Kai thinks, staring up at the few stars visible in the clouded night sky.

He finally closes his eyes, exhaling. Then drags them back open, feeling more at peace. “Thanks, Jay.”

There’s no reply, just a sudden weight as Jay’s head drops onto his shoulder. Kai’s brows draw into a glare, and he’s about to pull away and chew him out before there’s a soft, quiet snore. Kai’s eyebrows shoot up instead.

He’s already asleep — are you kidding me?

Kai gapes at him, the uninvited blue barnacle that’s using his shoulder as a pillow. He should shake him off. He really should, they aren’t that close yet.

But…

Jay looks remarkably peaceful snoring into his shoulder, and he doesn’t look as pale as he did earlier either, color flooding the spaces between his freckles. He’s long stopped shivering, too, and the grip he has on his blanket isn’t so white-knuckled.

And he did go out of his way to comfort Kai.

And Kai did use the word yet.

Kai finally sighs, shaking his head in defeat. “G’nite, Jay,” he yawns.

*****************

Kai’s fire gets a whole lot brighter after that, a whole lot quicker.

He also manages to pick up family members like it’s bargain day at the adoption grocery store, but by the time they’re a team of five instead of four, and Kai’s got a brand new baby brother to smother so Nya gets a break, he can’t find it in himself to mind. His fire has purpose now, something to burn hotter for, and he learns to find pride in that.

And then he fails, like he always does, and his fire falters.

Zane’s loss leaves him cold as the ice that lined the city was, and for a while, Kai loses himself. He tears himself from the others and wanders far enough that not even Lloyd or Nya can bring him back, and he tells himself he’s fine with that.

It’s only by the time they get Zane back, that Kai’s finally able to admit that isolating himself from everyone was a bit of a terrible idea.

Like, completely without foresight, pretty stupid, bit of a terrible idea.

“Lloyd, wait—“

“Just gotta check up with my dad, I’ll be right back, keep an eye on Zane!”

Kai sighs, running a hand over his face as he watches Lloyd scurry off. He bites back a curse. Darn it. Lloyd’s grown more in his absence, enough that Kai can’t read him like he could before he left (yet, just give him a week).

This doesn’t mean Kai’s at a loss — this is Lloyd, duh. But this does mean that Kai has no idea what’s going on in his little brother’s head right now, and that’s something Kai wants to know, because as much as he’d made a mistake in isolating himself, that mistake had nothing on the one he just made down in Chen’s ceremonial chamber.

Idiot, Kai curses himself again as he kicks at the ground, slowly making his way back across the courtyard to Zane. How had he messed up that badly? Lloyd had just lost the sheltered kind of wariness toward him too, the one he’d picked up after Kai had shot him down when he’d first tried to get the team back together, and now Kai’s gone and — and what, terrified him, or something?

Or something, Kai thinks glumly as he finally catches sight of Zane. Hopefully Zane doesn’t chew him out too, because he’s gotten enough of an earful from Nya.

Zane glances up at him from the step he’s sitting on as he draws near, his new eyes glinting in the sun pouring across the courtyard in front of Chen’s palace. He looks different than he did before, all silvery and metallic, but it’s still Zane, with his kind eyes and little half-smiles and even voice, and Kai’s missed him so much his eyes almost start watering all over again.

“Hey, bud,” Kai says, trying to inject cheer into his voice. It’s less difficult than he’d thought — despite the other events of the day, the joy at regaining Zane has yet to fade. “How you holding up?”

The corner of Zane’s mouth quirks up, and he jerks his shoulder in a little shrug. “I have yet to fall to pieces, so I am holding up well, I suppose.”

Kai knows it’s a joke, he does. But the image of Zane falling apart hits a little too close to home, and he cringes. Zane’s eyes widen briefly, realization clicking, and he ducks his head.

“Ah, forgive me,” he murmurs. “I guess that’s…too soon.”

“No, no, it’s—“ Kai bites his lip. It’s not fine, because in what world is Zane having died ever going to be fine, but for right now, standing on the edge of at least one victory with the sun shining… “It’s fine,” he says. “I’m glad you’re not falling to pieces. They did an okay job of putting you back together, then.”

Zane shrugs again. “As best that I could ask for,” he says. A shadow crosses his face. “It’s not the work of my father, but it allowed me to return to you. That is what matters.”

“Oh,” Kai says, blinking. He hadn’t even thought of that. He also doesn’t know how to begin approaching that one.

“I’m not complaining, of course,” Zane continues. “But I am—“ he rubs the edge of his wrist. “Still getting used to it,” he mutters. “The metal isn’t holding up to the cold like it used to. The joints feel frozen.”

Kai makes a sympathetic noise. “It’s might just be ‘cause you went without your powers so long,” he suggests. “Mine felt a little out of control for a second when I got them back, and you went way longer without them than I did.”

Zane tilts his head, considering this. “That would make sense,” he says. He rubs at his wrist again, a brief expression of pain crossing his face. Kai moves before he’s thinking, sitting next to Zane on the steps.

“Want help defrosting?” he offers. Zane eyes him, then lets him take his wrist. A flicker of relief crosses his face as Kai feels for the frozen spots in his arm, melting what he can with his powers and leaving the rest to his own warmth.

It’s a lot, compared to Zane, who’s cold as always. Kai’s hand tightens briefly around Zane’s arm, and he takes a shuddering breath. Zane is solid and alive beneath him, and the cold shiver of the blast that destroyed the Overlord he’s feeling is only in his head—

“Kai.” Zane’s looking at him, his eyes gentle. “I am alright.”

Kai’s lips tighten. “Yeah,” he says, thickly. “But you weren’t.”

Zane looks away, his eyes flashing. “I don’t regret what I did,” he says, stiffly. Something in Kai’s chest goes tight. “I can’t,” Zane continues, looking at Kai as if imploring him. “I can’t regret it, Kai. I am the only one who could have accomplished what I did. And if any of you had been lost, there would be no coming back. I am not going to apologize for keeping my family safe.”

They’re all too similar, Kai thinks, with a hopeless sort of despair. How is he supposed to argue with that?

“I-I get that,” he finally breathes, his grip on Zane’s wrist relaxing a bit. “But that doesn’t mean you’re expendable,” he murmurs. “You don’t have to take those hits.”

“I’m machine, Kai,” Zane says. “I can take hits you cannot—“

“That doesn’t mean you should,” Kai says, fiercely. “Why does somebody have to take the hits, anyways? Why can’t we just — dodge them, or something? Why can’t we all get out fine?”

Zane’s eyes widen, and Kai ducks his head briefly to hide the emotion he knows is swimming in his. Darn it.

He feels Zane tug his wrist from his grasp, only to immediately take his hand instead, squeezing.

“Next time,” Zane says, slowly. “We’ll try. All of us getting out fine, that is.”

Kai snorts, lightly knocking his head against Zane’s shoulder as the fire drains from him. “Next time,” he groans. “You really gotta give the universe that opening, huh.”

Zane smiles, a full one. “Would you prefer our lives be boring?”

Kai looks at him, and shakes his head with a tiny laugh. “Depends on your definition of boring,” he says, but he takes Zane’s wrist again, thawing out the last of the frozen spots with a flash of warmth. Zane lifts his wrist, rotating it twice and looking pleased.

“That is better,” he exhales in relief. “Thank you, Kai.”

“Anytime,” Kai grins. “Just make it up to me by never falling apart again.”

*****************

With most of its light taken, Kai’s fire burns lesser than it usually does, and he’s never been more infuriated with the fact.

Lloyd is half-frozen by the time they pull him from the Caves of Despair, blue-lipped and shivering, and Kai is tempted to push his slowly-returning powers to the max and light him a fire on the beach here and now.

But he can see Sensei bringing the ship around even now, and he knows that as soon as he could even get a fire started, they’d have to move Lloyd again. So he pulls Lloyd closer, his arm loped around his shoulders — too bony, too thin, too cold to be his brother’s — and hopes that he’s at least running warm, today.

Lloyd shudders, but he leans closer into Kai as they limp their way to the ship, and Kai figures that’s the best he can ask for right now.

Or it was, until they hit the deck and Lloyd’s suddenly going boneless, the last strength he’d been using to walk vanishing. Kai barely manages to catch him before he hits the ground, and then things go chaotic for a moment. Misako is gasping and Jay is giving a panicked little yelping sound, Zane sounds like he’s trying run a diagnosis and Nya looks like she’s crying and Sensei is trying to grab Lloyd away from him which Kai is not having, no thank you, Lloyd is staying with him and anyone else can keep their hands off—

Kai probably overreacts, a bit.

But Lloyd’s been in Morro’s grasp for weeks.

“S’not your fault,” Lloyd manages to get out between wracking shivers, once they’ve brought him belowdeck. There’s not much on board but a pathetic excuse for a couch they’re using as an even more pathetic excuse as a sickbed, and even though they’ve smothered him in the few blankets they have, they’re still on the ocean, Lloyd is still in a soaked gi, and some boats just don’t believe in proper heating systems.

Nya hushes him gently, working at the outer layer of his gi that’s stuck to his skin. She’s trying to get to his wrist, Kai thinks, because he can see the awful purpling of skin beneath where the fabric’s torn.

Lloyd looks down, damp strands of blond — blond, not black, Kai’s never appreciated the color more — hair hanging in his face as he wrings the edge of his gi out with trembling fingers, watching as the river water puddles on the floor. Kai swallows. The water that’s dripping from his elbow has turned a rusty, reddish color, as if it’s run into half-dried wounds somewhere beneath Lloyd’s gi.

If, Kai realizes with a sick swoop, is probably an incorrect term.

Nya gives a muttered curse, fussing over a spot near his neck. “This might be infected,” she murmurs, her voice tight. “It’s hard to tell with the bruising, but this cut down here definitely is, so…”

Nya trails off. Lloyd says nothing, his eyes hollow as he stares at the floor, and Kai feels something painful close down on his chest. Weeks. There are weeks of wounds and bruises on his brother, and Kai knows too well which ones he put there himself—

Nya’s hand falters as she reaches the clasp on his gi that stretches over his chest, and her face goes white for some reason. She swallows, her jaw working before she shakes her head.

“I’m not sure how much we can do for him here,” she says, her voice tight. “But I’ll get Zane. He may be able to help.”

She squeezes Lloyd’s shoulder before she goes, her expression set and strong in comparison to Lloyd’s hazy gaze.

Kai catches her dashing at her eyes as she goes, though, and he knows he isn’t the only one blaming himself.

Brushing those thoughts off, Kai scoots his seat closer to Lloyd, taking up his hand where Nya left it. The least he can do is wrap the scrapes, he thinks, as he watches Lloyd carefully. His lips are still tinged blue, and the hand Kai is wrapping is far too pale to be his little brother’s. He’s too cold, Kai thinks again, with a fiery burst of anger. He’s too thin to hold in heat right now, gaunt and wasted away as Morro’s left him. His face is ashy white and his cheekbones too pronounced and FSM, if Morro’s gone and killed the last of Lloyd’s baby fat with this—

Lloyd shivers violently, his teeth clacking on a plaintive, pained whimper, and Kai tears himself from the hot rage building in his gut.

“You okay?” he asks quickly, before realizing that’s a stupid question. “I can go grab you another blanket, and — there might a spare hoodie somewhere, so you aren’t stuck in that—“

Kai moves to stand, figuring he’ll send Cole in to keep watch while he’s gone, because he’s not leaving Lloyd alone for another second, when Lloyd’s hand suddenly latches around his wrist, cold fingers holding tight.

“S-stay,” Lloyd manages. “Please?”

Kai blinks, his heart twisting even as he frowns. As if he’d ever be able to say no to that.

“You’re freezing,” he tries. “You gotta get warm, Lloyd, I’m just gonna grab—“

“You’re warm,” Lloyd rasps, his eyes panicked. “You’re — I haven’t — it’s just been — him and me, for so long, and—“

Lloyd stutters over the words, as if speaking itself is unfamiliar, and frustration flashes across his expression. His fingers skirt the edge of his forehead, as if reassuring himself he’s the only one in it. Then his fingernails start digging in tight, and Kai’s sliding onto the couch next to him, hastily tugging his hand away.

“Okay,” he says, quickly. “I’ll stay. I’m staying.”

Lloyd’s shoulders sag in relief, even as another shudder wracks him, and Kai moves closer on the couch, pulling Lloyd to him. Lloyd leans into him with a soft noise of relief, wincing briefly as his arm shifts before settling. Kai’s briefly debating the wisdom of starting a fire on a tiny wooden ship in the middle of open sea, when Lloyd speaks up.

“Thanks for — saving me,” he whispers, his voice cracked and ragged in the quiet of the cabin.

Kai bites his lip. “I didn’t do much,” he mutters, angry at himself. “You still got dropped in the river. You still spent weeks—“

“S’fine, Kai,” Lloyd’s quiet voice interrupts him. A ghost of a smile crosses his face. “I liked how you t-tricked him with the Realm Crystal. Was funny.”

“Oh yeah.” Kai blinks, remembering the low fire he’d been able to draw up to heat the crystal with. “Hey, you like that, just wait until I get a clear shot at his face.”

Lloyd gives a shivering snort, burying his face more firmly into Kai’s side. Kai wants to argue that he should go for the blanket — Kai took a swim in the river too, and he’s not dry himself at the moment, even if he’s not chattering his teeth apart like Lloyd is.

But Lloyd seems to disagree, clearly finding some sort of comfort from him. His shivers begin to ebb, the awful tightness in his shoulders relaxing as he slumps against Kai, his face hidden in his gi. Kai adjusts his hold, pulling Lloyd closer with both arms, as if he can will the heat from the fire in his veins to cross over to Lloyd through osmosis.

Lloyd gives a shuddery breath, his fingers wrapping tight around the edge of Kai’s gi. “I don’ wanna go to the museum alone anymore,” he whispers, his voice thick.

Kai’s arms tighten more, his eyes burning. “You’re not going anywhere alone,” he says, his voice raw. “Ever again. You got that? I’m not letting you go, ever.”

Lloyd makes a snuffled noise of what might be amusement. “Gotta lemme go eventually,” he mumbles.

Kai shakes his head, even though he knows Lloyd can’t see the gesture. As if. He presses his head against the top of Lloyd’s, damp hair tickling his face as he assures himself that he’s there.

He’s failed to protect Lloyd one too many times, now. If something like this happens again, someone’s gonna die.

“Good luck getting rid of me, runt,” he murmurs.

*****************

Kai’s fire is tested, again and again, but the biggest test doesn’t even come down to fighting — it comes down to the forge, right back where he started, and the irony isn’t lost on him.

At least the FSM had the foresight to chose one blacksmith for his ninja, he thinks sourly, after realizing how close they’d all come to dying horribly.

Some of them much closer than others.

He spends the first few hours after the battle’s won in a panic, latching onto Lloyd much like he did when he still barely came up to his knee (Lloyd will argue that him growing several feet taller didn’t change anything, but Lloyd is an ungrateful brat, so). The image of his little brother lying motionless on the monastery stone, cold and sightless and gone, is still too fresh, and with all that Lloyd’s been through recently, and all that Kai’s had to stand back and watch, he’s not planning on detaching anytime soon.

But Lloyd isn’t the only one he’d almost lost — Cole had been lost too, for a minute there, and that reminder scrapes in his throat like sandpaper. Lloyd must notice, because he gently pushes Kai away, assuring him that he’s fine, he’s good now, and Nya’s got an eye on him anyways.

“I think Cole could use you, too,” Lloyd finishes, his eyes concerned.

Kai, more worn out than he’d thought he could be after a day, simply nods, squeezing Lloyd’s arm briefly before getting to his feet. He trudges through the monastery, picking his way over fallen beams and rubble. It doesn’t take him long to find Cole — none of them are eager to wander very far, preferring to stay close to each other.

So they can remind themselves they’re all alive, Kai thinks, something tight in his chest unwinding as he spots Cole, leaning against the edge of the wall that holds their paintings, eyes fluttering as he basks in the waning sun. Kai halts just at the edge of the wall, studying Cole briefly, before Cole speaks up.

“How’s Lloyd?”

Cole’s voice is quiet, but he doesn’t sound as wrecked as Kai does. “He’s alright,” Kai says, moving forward and sitting cross-legged on the stone next to Cole. “Kinda shaken up, I think, but he’s a tough little green machine.”

“Thank FSM for that,” Cole murmurs, leaning his head back against the wall. Kai nods, then frowns.

“Where’d the others get off to?” It’s odd that they’d leave Cole alone — Jay’s been an especially clingy barnacle, his face pinched and concerned as he’d stuck to Cole after the battle. Zane hadn’t been much better, flitting between Cole and Lloyd like an anxious, manic sort of nurse.

“Jay busted his ankle during the battle,” Cole sighs. “He would’ve gotten away with it if Zane hadn’t caught him limping, so they’re patching that up in the monastery.”

“Ah,” Kai says, internally wincing. He hadn’t even noticed Jay’d been hurt. He’d been so focused on—

“I’m fine, you know,” Cole says, his eyes still closed where he leans against the wall. “In case you were thinking of going off like a mother hen, too.”

Kai narrows his eyes at him briefly. Cole has been claiming he’s fine ever since he sprung from his vehicle like a big smug hero, but it doesn’t take a genius to spot the ugly bruising that’s spanning the back of his neck and shoulders, the haunted look that still lingers on his face.

But Cole looks as exhausted as he is, so Kai swallows the sharp retort he’s forming.

“Please. Me, a mother hen?” he snorts instead. “Have you met me?”

Cole laughs at that, a real, warm laugh that sounds like Cole again, and Kai feels rather pleased with himself. Cole’s expression tightens briefly, and he shifts, a hissing escaping his teeth as he rubs his left shoulder.

“Cole,” Kai says.

“Yeah, I know,” Cole grumbles, sounding resigned. “Let me have my dignity for five more minutes, alright?”

Kai chews on the inside of his cheek, glaring at him. Cole’s eyes are still closed, but he seems to sense the stare he’s getting, because he sighs, his head dropping as he scrubs at his eyes.

“I just…there’s sun out here,” he finally murmurs. “You can’t feel it as well inside.”

Kai frowns at that, confused. “What do you need the sun for?”

Cole looks up, the reddening sunlight glinting in his dark eyes, and it suddenly hits Kai. Oh. He’s just a moron, then. Of course Cole wants to see the sun, he just fell into a death cloud of eternal darkness.

“Oh,” he says lamely, probably sounding like an idiot.

Cole shakes his head, his eyes going haunted again. “I didn’t…think I’d see it again,” he exhales on a ghost of a laugh. “It was so dark, you know? I didn’t — I wasn’t giving up, but I…it was…”

Cole trails off, his expression shadowing. “It was cold,” he murmurs, flexing his hand and watching the veins shift. “It was so cold. Like I’d never be warm again, like I was—“

Cole swallows, his jaw working, and Kai is pretty useless right now, but at least Cole’s given him something. Cole’s hand fists in on itself again, tight and rigid, and Kai grabs for it with a huff, forcing his fingers to relax.

“You’re gonna break something, stop that,” he chides.

Cole goes tense, but he doesn’t pull away, watching as Kai drags his fingers back open, until Cole looks slightly more relaxed. Kai moves to pull his hand away, but he shifts closer to Cole, so his arm is bumping his. This would work a lot better if Cole had kept up the sleeveless tradition, Kai think sourly as he brings the fire in his veins up a few degrees hotter, but something in Cole’s expression fractures and eases out all the same, and he leans heavier against Kai.

Good enough, Kai figures.

Cole’s eyes flutter, the stress lines in his forehead easing out before his eyebrows furrow briefly. “You aren’t running a fever, are you?”

“Nah,” Kai shakes his head. “That’s just me, remember? Too hot to handle."

Cole snorts. “Always a hothead,” he murmurs, but he sounds infinitely grateful for the fact, and Kai feels a flare of pride burst in his chest.

“Rock for brains,” Kai shoots back, but it comes out disgustingly fond.

*****************

Irony’s always been a big player in Kai’s life, but it doesn’t get really cruel until they’re in a realm of perpetual cold, where fire is desperately needed and would really come in handy, and his fire is gone.

It hadn’t hit him, at first. Sure, Aspheera dangling him in the middle of the tomb like a rag doll and forcibly tearing the fire out of him hadn’t been fun — had hurt like heck, actually, he thinks as he rubs a hand across his chest. But he’d been able to get up and walk it off.

It wasn’t until he tried to call up his powers to save someone from the fire snakes that he met a horrible, gaping emptiness in his chest, immediately followed by a blistering cold that cut him to the core.

That same cold cuts him even now, like it has this whole fantastic experience. It doesn’t matter how many layers he’s got on, or how high he had cranked the heat, Kai still feels cold. He feels cold even under the sweltering heat of Aspheera’s ugly fire-snake zombies — mummies — whatever they are, and he definitely feels cold now that they’re wandering though frozen wastelands.

Though this is more of a deathly freezing, Kai thinks bitterly, his arms quaking from shivers where he’s wrapped them around himself.

He hisses through his teeth, watching his breath mist up in the air in front of him. They’re lucky to have found the villagers, he knows that. They’d probably be dead if they hadn’t, and isn’t that a pleasant thought. But even walking through the small village leaves him feeling half-dead, and the look on the faces of the villagers isn’t a whole lot better. They’re freezing too, have probably been freezing for decades, and that makes Kai’s chest hurt in a way the loss of his powers doesn’t.

And they’re not the only ones, Kai thinks with a pang, as he shifts his way into their tent. The others don’t look as bad as they did earlier, shivering next to him through the forests, but it’s still bad. Jay’s constantly hopping from foot to foot, his freckles standing out with definition against the white of his face. Cole seems slightly less bothered at first glance, but it’s easy to see the constant fear he’s holding back if you know him, the way he keeps looking to the sky in search of the sun.

Nya’s stubbornly fighting back shivers, but her stubbornness is matched by her frustration at her powers, and she’s fighting a losing battle. (Kai can sympathize.) And Lloyd — Lloyd is doing his absolute best to hold them all together like he has been this whole thing, eyebrows set in the determined kind of stubbornness he gets with his leader face, but ninety percent of the sentences he gets out are punctuated by his teeth chattering, and his arms are wrapped around himself so tightly Kai wonders if he’s going to snap in half.

The absence of Zane is biting as usual, and Kai’s trying not to think about it too hard. Bad memories, and all that.

They’re gonna get him back sooner this time — they will.

And they could probably do it a lot faster if Kai’s stupid powers would work—

But they won’t, Kai thinks, blinking back frustration. He’s lost his — no, he hasn’t just lost his powers. He’s lost his fire, his heat, the one thing he’s always been able to do right even when he was messing everything else up.

Kai’s got nothing. He can’t help these people, he can’t help his family, and he can’t even help himself. He’s useless.

The wave of completely crippling despair that keeps trying to drown him is not helping, either.

Kai huddles tighter in on himself where he sits on the constructed bench, biting his lip in an attempt to get his teeth to stop chattering. Not — definitely not to hold back tears, or anything. That’s not — he’s useless, but he’s not—

Nya suddenly materializes in front of him, kicking lightly at his leg with her foot.

“Scoot over,” she orders. Kai blinks at her, then complies, shifting over and wincing as he does. Even moving hurts in this cold.

Instead of keeping her distance, like he’d expected, Nya shoves herself right into his personal space, knocking their elbows together and shoving his over until she’s tucked against him, the end of her ponytail just tickling the edge of his chin.

Kai’s about to ask her what she’s doing — not that he minds, but they’re in front of the villagers right now — but then Lloyd’s barging his way against his other side, scooting in close and muttering something about Nya being a space hog. Nya sticks her tongue out at him from where she’s taken over Kai’s right arm, and Lloyd makes a face at her from where he’s wrapped around his left.

“Guys, what—“

As if being sibling-sandwiched wasn’t enough, Cole and Jay are suddenly there, coming in for the kill as well apparently, and there really is not enough room on this bench—

“Guys, for real.” Kai’s voice comes almost muffled from where he’s smothered on all sides by his family, now unable to move for an entirely different reason. He manages to shift slightly, but Lloyd’s got a death grip on his arm — the urchin — and doesn’t let him get any further.

Kai goes limp, exhaling.

“Guys, I’m not…” he trails off, biting his lip. His jaw clenches tightly, and he blows a shuddery breath out. “I’m not gonna warm you up this time. I don’t have any heat left.”

Jay snorts. “So?”

Kai blinks at him, and Cole shakes his head from where he’s plastered at Kai’s back. “Not the point,” he sighs.

“It’s never just ‘cause the heat, you know,” Lloyd says, quietly. “We like you for you. There’s a personality in there, too.”

“S’just our turn to warm you up,” Nya says. “That’s all. Fair’s fair, right?”

Oh. Words are escaping Kai at the moment, along with any other ability to make sounds come out. He really does have to blink back emotion this time, because it’s so cold any kind of moisture that sneaks its way out is going to freeze almost immediately.

But it’s also not quite as cold, all squished up by the others like this, and the blistering cold in Kai’s chest doesn’t ache so badly.

He might not have his fire, but he doesn’t really have nothing. He’s got his family. And that’s enough warmth to keep him going for now.

#lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago spoilers #kai smith #ninjago kai #lloyd garmadon #nya smith #cole brookstone #jay walker #zane julien #they're all there more or less #i just have feeling about kai #i mean i always do but esp tonight #my fic

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fanfalc-616 · 4 years ago

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Second chapter of my Ao3 story Caught Red-Handed!

Chapter Two: New Neighbor

When he wakes up, Nya has already gone out for the day. He gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast. By the time he’s ready for the day, it’s nearly one in the afternoon. But since he was up until three AM, he figures that it’s a decent enough time to be up.

He glances at the clock again. He’s got time to hit the gym, right? It’s not like he has anything else to do.

So he puts on his shoes and heads out the door. As he’s heading out, he notices a ginger around his age carrying a heavy box. Kai hesitates a moment, but before he can stop himself, he asks, “You need some help with that?”

The ginger turns to look at him. “Thanks, but-” He cuts himself off with a stumble, dropping the box. He falls forward, and it topples over. Kai half-jogs up to him, crouching down.

“Are you hurt?” He looks the boy over for injuries, but he seems to be unharmed.

The ginger gives a small laugh. “My pride took a beating, but I’m not physically injured.” He gets to his feet, and Kai stands with him. “I’m Jay, your new neighbor. I guess this isn’t too great a first impression…”

“I’ve done dumber things, trust me.” Kai gives a smile. He looks Jay over. He’s lean, but looks strong. The kind of guy most fighters would underestimate. But even with his slim frame, there’s something about him that sends warning bells dinging in his head.

… or maybe that’s just because he’s cute.

“Ha, this is far from the worst thing I’ve done.” Jay admits with a laugh. He picks the box back up. “This isn’t even the heaviest one.” He mutters to himself.

“My offer still stands: I’m more than willing to help.” He’s not busy or anything, and it seems rude to not offer any assistance. Sure, he was going to the gym, but he can do that later.

“Are you sure? I can do it myself.”

Kai nods with a smile. “Yeah, it’s no problem. I work out; the weight won’t bother me.”

Jay smiles back. “That’s really nice of you! My car’s got all the boxes, I’ll show you it after I put this away.”

He walks up to the door next to Kai’s, trying to get his key in while he holds the box. The brunet stifles a laugh. After a few moments of this, he walks over and takes the box from him. “Here, that’ll make it easier.”

Jay flashes him a sheepish smile as he unlocks the door. “Heh, yeah. That’ll do it.” He agrees.

After he opens it, he takes the box back and brings it over to the counter, where he sets it down. “You sure you want to help?” He asks.

“Wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” Kai points out.

It takes them a good few hours to bring in all the boxes. They pass the time with idle chatter, and Kai finds that the ginger is a pretty cool guy to talk with. As they’re finishing, Jay turns to him. “You know, I don’t think I caught your name.”

Kai internally facepalms. Well duh, he has to tell the guy his name! How could he forget to introduce himself?

“It’s Kai Smith.” He smiles. “It was nice meeting you, Jay.”

The ginger stiffens at Kai’s name. He glances him over, visible surprise on his face. “Heh, uh, yeah. It was- it was nice to meet you too.” He gives a clearly nervous smile.

The brunet frowns. Hmm. From the way he reacted, you’d think he’d have heard of Kai. But he’s not exactly famous, so-

Well. He’s kinda famous underground. But unless Jay works there, he’s not going to know who he is.

Kai forces a smile, giving a wave as he goes back inside his apartment. From his first analysis of the ginger, he’s clearly more powerful than he looks. He could very well be a co-worker.

But he can’t just ask, ‘Hey, are you a criminal too?’. Kai may be impulsive, but he’s not stupid. He needs to play this smart. He can’t afford to have Nya finding out about what he’s done.

He takes off his shoes, setting them on the rack. He goes into his room, flopping down onto the bed. There’s got to be a way to hint at it so that he'd only understand if he actually is a criminal.

But how? What should he say to do that?

Communications have never been his strong suit. He leaves things like that to his superiors. All he does is hit things and look intimidating. Well, and kill people.

Kai winces. He never meant for any of them to die. He wasn’t thinking, acting on instinct. In that moment, all he knew was that they saw what was going on, and they couldn’t be allowed to tell anyone else.

And then he shot them, killed them in cold blood. Because he’s a monster, a murderer. If Nya knew what he’s done, would she still love him?

Of course not. She’d be smart enough to know to get the hell away from him.

He sighs, dragging a hand down his face. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

He hears a voice from the apartment next door, and it quickly clicks that it must belong to Jay. There was no one in the apartment, so he’s probably on a phone call.

Kai hesitates a moment. If he listens in, he might be able to determine if Jay is a criminal. But on the other hand, it’s a huge invasion of privacy.

Screw it. He gets off of the bed, walking over to the wall and pressing his ear against it.

“-know, right? Looks like we’ve got some good luck for once.”

There’s a pause, Jay most likely listening to the reply.

“When am I not? Don’t answer that. And hey, worst case scenario, I die. That’s not too bad, right? You won’t be stuck with me and my annoying jokes.”

There’s another pause.

“Yeah, yeah, not funny. It won’t come to that. Don’t worry about me, worry about your paperwork. Pythor isn’t exactly an easy guy to deal with.”

Oh? Does Jay and this mysterious other work for Pythor too? They must. Looks like he’s got his answer. Jay’s a criminal, like him. Maybe he’ll see him at work tomorrow- or more accurately, tonight.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll stay on my A-game. We’ll be done before you know it.”

Well, that’s the end of that, then. But should he mention to Jay that he knows? Probably, if only to make sure that he doesn’t tell Nya.

“Lloyd, if you tell me to be careful one more time, I swear to god-“

Kai pulls away from the wall. He’s already got the information he needs, so there’s no use in listening in further.

He grabs his phone before walking into the living room, sitting down on the couch. He opens a game and starts to play, distracting himself from his previous thoughts. He shouldn’t worry about that right now.

He kills a few hours on his phone. By the time he looks up, it’s almost seven. Woah. The day’s really been going by fast.

Kai grabs his shoes and heads out. He can hit the gym for a few hours and take a shower without being late for work.

Work. Where he’ll be seeing Pythor.

He’s got a bad feeling about this.

#caught red handed fanfic #ninjago fanfiction #fanfic #caught red handed #cross posted on ao3

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aweebwrites · 5 years ago

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Allies Ch11

“Emperor!” Nya yelled as they rushed towards Emperor Wu, just as he mounted his horse.

“Knights. Good. We must quickly head to the Golden Peaks to defend it from Garmadon and his army.” Wu told them urgently urging his white horse ahead, the Knights following after him.

“We’re sorry we failed you Emperor. Garmadon had someone else on his team-” Zane spoke up.

“A super strong, super fast Umberian!” Jay interrupted.

“And get this!” Cole took over.

“He’s the Green Knight!” They all yelled and Wu looked shocked at that.

“The Green Knight is an Umberian?” Wu whispered in shock, understanding his Knights’ defeat now.

“Yeah! He’s on Garmadon’s side! He kicked all of our asses like it was nothing!” Kai huffed angrily as he dodged a boulder in the path to the Golden Peaks.

“That is to be expected. The Green Knight is stronger than all four of you combined. And to have him on Garmadon’s side…” Wu whispered, fearful now. “No matter what, we must not allow Garmadon to forge the Megaweapon.” He told them all urgently.

“But how do we even fight them now? They have the Golden Weapons, the Green Knight and an indestructible army. We can only hold them back for so long and I’m sure this time, they won’t retreat when their organic members' numbers have lessened.” Zane pointed out.

“... We cannot lose hope nor give up. We fight until the bitter end.” He told the Knights who shared a look before nodding determinedly.

They were Knights, and Knights never quit. They had to fight with their all… Even when the situation looks hopeless.

_________

“This thing has missiles?” Lloyd asked, looking over the control panel wide eyed, already figuring out how to pilot it with a glance.

Cryptor made sure he kept up to date with modern technology after all. He could make a Nindroid from scratch right now if he wanted.

“Yes but we won’t be using that unless the situation becomes dire.” Garmadon says as he waited for them to load two missiles into the Garmatron, a spare third left in a storage compartment of the large vehicle. “There is one thing we must do before we leave however.” He says as he walked along the platform to the edge, looking over at his army of Stone Warriors and a very small fleet of Nindroids.

He wasn’t bringing all of his army. No, he wasn’t foolish enough to leave his castle and the large village worth of people living there unarmed. Wu would bring his strongest fighters to the Golden Peak, there was no doubt in that. But what of the rest of his army? Naturally, he would send them here for a counter attack. Wu had a vast army of many men. The only thing that gave Garmadon a slight advantage with his smaller army, was the fact that half his army was made of indestructible Stone Soldiers and tough titanium Nindroids that could be rebuilt and repaired if destroyed or damaged.

“Generals!” Garmadon called and all four Generals who would be joining him in war came forward, kneeling -bowing in Pythor’s case- before him and Lloyd as he walked over.

“Emperor, Prince.” They all said in unison.

“Today, we march to the Golden Peak to put an end to this era of war once and for all. Today, we fight for our home. Today, we bring about an era of long lasting, even eternal peace!” He spoke loudly and a loud cheer erupted again. “I may not have started off as an image of peace- and I wouldn’t have been if it wasn’t for my son.” He says, looking to Lloyd who gave him a small smile, a sight very rarely seen in public.

“It’s thanks to him and the efforts of my Generals, the efforts of my soldiers… And the effort of my people that we have reached this point.” He continued, looking over them all. “And as your Emperor, know that I will not let your hard work, your sacrifices go to waste. I will fulfill my crowning promise to you all and put an end to this conflict for good!” He yelled and they cheered even louder.

“We march!” Garmadon yelled over their cheers and each of his four generals took their place at the front of the army before they all began to march out through the lowered castle gate, their footsteps thunderous.

“What about the dragons?” Lloyd asked, looking towards them where they were grounded, looking around their new environment curiously.

“While they have bonded with you, in truth, they belong to the four Knights of Fulgor separated like this. They were hostile to the Knights out of duty to protect the Golden Weapons. However, if the Knights were to approach them now, they would be allowed to mount them and use their power against us. It’s best to leave them behind.” Garmadon told his son and he nods, facing forward as his father navigated the Garmatron forward, a small number of his men behind him.

Lloyd looked ahead as they left the castle, his blood rushing under his cool exterior. This was it. This was the march to peace at last. After thousands of years of fighting, the war will end today. No more lives will be lost on the battlefield after this. His father’s burden would lighten and lighten still with time. He carries the burden of thousands of lives lost, all of their names written down and kept in a slot within his throne, visible above his head. The burden of an Emperor… Lloyd glanced up at his father’s serious face then looked ahead again. And now, at last, the burden of a Prince too. He would finally fight by his father’s side, finally play his part as a Prince.

He flipped his hood back, scrubbing the paint off his face then met his father’s gaze once he felt him watching him. He looked at him with resolve, not willing to hide any more. He was the Prince of Penumbra, son to the second Emperor; Garmadon. He tossed his cloak aside, leaving only the rich green cape clasped to his armor, not caring as the wind carried it back to the castle. He was going to fight as he was. He was not ashamed of his heritage and he would not let anyone let him feel so. Garmadon looked over his son for a moment longer before he nodded his approval, looking forward as they approached Fulgor. He would have left his son behind if he could but he knew he couldn’t talk him out of not coming along. That, and he will need his power. This Morro, while his weakness is clear, he is a force Garmadon knew should not be reckoned with.

______

“No Golden Weapons?” Morro asked once the Knights arrived at the base of the boiling Golden Peak.

“No. We were bested.” Zane says as they took a defensive stance next to him.

“But boy do we have just as bad news for you.” Jay says as he activated his electroreception as far out as it could go just in case they were planning a sneak attack.

“The Green Knight was the one to take us out.” Zane told him and Morro gasped.

“What?! That doesn’t make any sense! How are you so sure whoever they are is the Green Knight? And if they were, why would they attack you?” Morro says demanding answers.

“The Golden Weapons reacted to him-”

“And he’s an Umberian, meaning he’s on Garmadon’s side.” Kai says, cutting Cole off as he spoke.

“The Green Knight? An Umberian?” Morro whispered, gripping his fists tightly.

The prophesied Green Knight, meant to deliver them into a time of peace was on Garmadon’s side? What kind of twisted destiny is this? Why let an Umberian be the Green Knight?! He was best suited for it and if not him, then any of the four Knights would be fine! He gritted his teeth as fury filled him, making the wind whip around him.

“Morr-”

“Then screw destiny!” He snapped suddenly, gaining all of the elemental masters’ attention, his father’s included. “I don’t care what it or the Weapons say! I am the Green Knight and I will defeat Garmadon!” He yelled and Wu frowned.

He knew Morro knew as well as he does that destiny doesn’t work that way. His stubbornness will not change that. Wu turned back to the horizon where he knew his brother would be coming from. He won’t deject him however. That energy is what they will need to push through this.

“Garmadon will come and he will come with his army. They will outnumber us but we must not let them overwhelm us. Break apart his numbers and strike them down.” Wu told the elemental masters as he turned to them. “The Stone Soldiers he’s bound to bring will be challenging but not impossible to defeat. While we cannot destroy them, we can hinder them. Cole, Zane, Kai and Jay, you four will focus on his Generals. Morro, you will face the Green Knight.” He instructed and Morro looked conflicted.

He wanted to be the one to defeat Garmadon but defeating the Green Knight was too tempting of an offer on its own. He gritted his teeth but nodded.

“The rest of you will be in charge of taking care of as many of them as you can. Keep them distracted even.” He says to the elemental masters and they nodded. “... I’ll take on Garmadon.” Wu says, holding his dragon bone sword tightly.

“The Golden Weapons are top priority. It’s not too late to get them back from Garmadon. Once I retrieve them, you will all be tasked with keeping them all at bay long enough for me to craft the Mega Weapon.” He told them all and they nodded, weapons grasped firmly and determination burning in their eyes.

Wu turned back to the horizon, slipping on his golden, horned helmet. The Dragon Armor would give him some resistance to Garmadon’s powers and protection from his weapons. It was his father’s first and now his. He narrowed his eyes, stealing himself. With this armor, with his father’s legacy, he will end this war as he promised and bring order to this realm. The Knights watched Wu as he stood there the gold cape attached to his armor billowing in the wind, waiting for the final battle to come. This was it. The reality of that was starting to settle in. This was the last battle of this war. This battle will determine the faith of all of Ninjago. It will either be saved from the war that plagued it for thousands of years, or… Fall to chaos and darkness. But they won’t let that happen. They won’t.

Kai glanced across at Zane standing next to him. Any of them could die during this. Could lose the other. He knew Zane wasn’t indestructible, despite his titanium build, still visible from where half his face plate was missing.. He was painfully aware of that, and was painfully aware that he wasn’t indestructible either. This could be their last moment together. Zane looked across at Kai, feeling his eyes on him- then blinked once he reached a hand out, cupping his cheek that was missing his face plate.

“I love you, you know that, right?” Kai told him and Zane’s breath caught.

“This isn’t the end Kai. We’ll make it through this.” He told Kai, placing his hand over his that was still on his cheek.

“I know, I know.” Kai huffed, giving him his Kai™ grin. “I’m just reminding you doll.” He told him, stepping forward to press their foreheads together.

Zane knew Kai wasn’t being very truthful. He didn’t think that they would die, no. But he knew there was a possibility and he wasn't willing for the worst case scenario to happen without him saying those words once more. He knew Kai well enough. Zane sighed softly, reaching across to cup his cheek in return. He could sympathise with that.

“I love you too Kai.” He told him softly, seeing him close his red-amber eyes at that, taking a slow breath before managing a more honest smile.

Jay watched them both as they basically said goodbye to each other then looked down at his nunchucks he held tightly, his knuckles white. He kept telling himself that he would wait until after the war before he told Cole about how he really felt about him… Said it to himself every day he woke up and every night that he went to sleep. It’s just… Anxious sparks of lightning arched along his fists and arms. He never considered- should have considered and expected- but never did consider that he might not live to see the end of the war, never considered that Cole might not see the end of the war. It was a realisation that shook him to the core. He should say something in this calm-before-the-storm they had. Knows he should but… But… He could barely even breath, worse open his tightly closed mouth…

Cole watched Jay as weak arcs of lightning sparked against his armor, his small but calloused hands trembling as he gripped his nunchucks painfully tight. Touching him now was asking for a painful shock. But despite that, Cole wanted to. Wanted to reassure him. Wanted to tell him that they would make it through this, maybe not in one piece but that they would. Wanted to… Wanted to pull him close and press soft kisses against the cute freckles dusting his cheeks and across his nose… Wanted to kiss the tip of his button nose… Wanted to kiss the no doubt soft lips he always worries with his teeth whenever he gets nervous… He was his best friend since they were kids… Or so he’d like to think. He hadn’t wanted to push the boundaries they had, hadn’t wanted to scare him with his feelings. Jay was the one to talk about dating cute girls while he was the one who pinned in silence over his cute best friend. He still didn’t want to push things but…

He didn’t think he could go off dying until he made his feelings known. It might cost them their friendship but at least he had the memories of their time together. He took a breath. Time was of the essence and right now, they didn’t have much of it before they would need to give their all for the sake of Ninjago. He swallowed before taking a deeper breath.

“Jay…” He began and the shorter brunette turned to look at him, large blue eyes filled with more emotions than he could count.

He almost choked. Almost.

“I’m cliche as hell to do this right now- really, the whole time we’ve been friends is a big cliche- but I have to let you know before I don’t have a chance any more.” Cole began, fumbling over his words but pressing himself to continue.

“If this is about that time my armor was mysteriously filled with slime during our time as Junior Knights, I already know it was you.” Jay huffed as he fiddled with his Nunchucks. “But I-”

“What? No. That’s not what I was trying to say- and that was Kai.” Cole clarified before Jay could say more and Kai grumbled about keeping secrets nearby. “I’m trying to say I like you, you big nerd.” He says, a sly smile tugging the corner of his lips.

“I figured you must since we’re friends. But-”

“You dense-” Cole says in frustration, getting embarrassed as the others who were not so subtly listening in began to laugh. “You’re really going to make me confess everything, aren’t you?” He groaned into his hands and Jay was confused.

What was Cole going on about? He would really appreciate it if he could shut up for a second though. He was trying to confess his feelings before he chickened out here!

Cole scrubbed his face with his palms then took a deep breath, grasping Jay by the shoulders.

“I’m in love with you, you adorable idiot! I have been since we were kids!” Cole blurts and Jay stared at him lost for a few moments- before what he was saying hit him over the head like a mallet.

Jay’s first response was choking on whatever he was about to say.

“You… Love me?!” Jay asked him once he found the ability to speak, his eyes wide as shock prevented him to fully grasp that somehow, some way, Cole loved him too.

“Yes, you. Do you see any other adorable, freckled, button nosed idiot genius here?” Cole says exasperatedly then hesitated. “So if you’re going to reject me, do it already. I couldn’t live with myself if I hadn’t told you before- mmph!” He was cut off by Jay grasping the front of his armor, yanking him down low enough so he could kiss him.

“Finally.” Nya huffed with a smirk as she crossed her arms, glancing away as they made out once Cole comprehended that he was being kissed.

They were insufferable with how oblivious they both were. Worse than Kai and Zane were. Jay pulled back and Cole blinked at him a few times.

“... So was that a ‘I like you too’ kiss or an ‘I like you as a friend’ kiss or a ‘don’t talk to me again’ kiss?” Cole asked Jay and he snorted.

“Who’s the idiot now?” Jay asked him, eyes sparkling as he grinned. “But it’s none of the above.” He added and Cole didn’t know how to feel about that.

“It’s an ‘I love you too’ kiss. Also a ‘we’re idiots to not have said something sooner since I’ve been crushing on you since we were kids too’ and an ‘I take offense to that idiot genius comment’ kiss.” Jay told him and Cole blinked at him before laughing, leaning down to bump their noses together, his heart even heavier but with love.

Jay couldn’t help but join him. Cole was right. Love confessions before a fight that could possibly kill them? Cliche. But hey! On the plus side, if they survive it, they could finally start dating. Cole leaned down to kiss Jay again- but paused half way there.

“What’s wrong?” Jay asked him, eyes half lidded, looking forward to another kiss. Cole pulled back completely, looking down at his feet, firm on the ground.

“Do you feel that?” Cole asked Jay, feeling the rhythmic rumbling beneath his feet.

“Feel what?” Jay asked, staying still so he could see if he felt whatever ‘it’ was too.

Cole was quiet for another moment, thinking this through… Before it hit him. He looked up at Wu who had turned to look at him then.

“... They’re here.” ____________

(Ngl "In the Name of Love" began playing on my YouTube playlist the second they kissed and I was immediately like 'Yep. This is faith'. But enough of the mushy stuff! War is at hand! Thanks for reading!)

_______________ Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10

#ninjago #lloyd ninjago #kai ninjago #cole ninjago #jay ninjago #zane ninjago #nya smith #Sensei Wu #Lord Garmadon #ninjago morro #aweebwrites' work

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boulderboi · 5 years ago

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Honestly I’ve been thinking of an AU for a while but I have so many that I leave to “die” that part of me didn’t want to even talk about it, but I have been thinking of it for a while so might as well just put it down, even if it is a cheesey one.

So I was thinking of a Supernatural AU, I know that’s a common one, so there probably is something similar to someone else’s. I haven’t thought too much beyond the characters, but in the AU, Wu starts up a sort of safe haven for those with supernatural abilities to avoid anyone going after them, and at first has his brother and their nephew, a werewolf named Cole who insists they aren’t one, and a robot called Zane that was donated by an anonymous person who liked what he was doing.

Nya eventually finds the place by accident with her brother Kai when they run into Zane and he notices Kai’s...”condition”, which is that he’s dead. They end up staying at the place for a while as well until a Serpentine cult come out claiming they’ll destroy anything that isn’t them. During this they meet Jay, who, on their second meeting, Nya decides to kidnap and bring over to the haven themselves. I haven’t written much beyond that though.

Characters -

Nya - One of the only characters that are actually just human, she spent a good amount of her life studying ghosts and the supernatural in general, trying to see if she could find a way to communicate with her brother who died in a freak accident. Eventually she decides to just head back to where she used to live (where she and her parents moved out following the incident) and finds Kai there, the two have a cheerful reunion and through a bit of testing, they find a way to let him leave the house and stay together. She still is the supernatural expert in the group, and she can hold her own quite well as a result.

Kai - A spirit. When he was about 6, he “accidentally” sacrificed himself for his family during a robbery (he ran in on purpose, but thought he could stop the robbers, and didn’t think he’d die from it). His soul ended up getting locked to the house and couldn’t leave, as the way a spirit works is that they get attached to something and can’t go more than 10 miles away from that spot and can change their attachment twice a day. He could’ve gotten out by repeatingly changing his link, but he wasn’t aware of that ability until he saw Nya again, so he ended up stuck there all alone, waiting for his family to come back for around 18 years. He has two forms, the look he WOULD’VE had if he didn’t die (the soul itself’s age) and the look he had when he died (which he doesn’t use often, unless he is really upset.) His main weakness is that he’s at the mercy of whoever he’s attached to.

Lloyd - An oni/dragon hybrid. He’s the youngest and is the result of his oni father and dragonoid mother. Both of them like looking like humans, so he ended up being born looking like one and was unaware of his heritage until he was about 5 to avoid having a breakdown. He took the fact surprisingly well and is quite playful about his abilities. Usually Zane has to look after him to make sure he doesn’t break anything due to underestimating his own strength, though it usually ends with him transforming into an oni or dragon out of rage and Zane having to use his “freeze procedure” on them.

Cole - A werewolf. He felt quite anxious about how others would think about him, as his father sheltered him from any activities that would happen after dark, so he would lie to get out of the house or purposely stay behind when everyone else left after dark so he’d be alone. Due to Kai being put on guard duty on the house because of their linking power, the two ended up becoming good friends, though Cole pretended to be an actual wolf when they hanged out at nighttime. Eventually he was forced to admit the truth, but not before he ended up showing Kai the reason he’s how he is, to make him feel better for how he was sheltering him, Cole’s father always bribed people to get him to have better...everything, which gives him a lot of self confidence issues.

Zane - Like usual, he’s a robot. He was built by Dr. Julien on a whim when he heard about Wu’s “safe haven for the supernatural” idea based on a beta design due to how wonderful it sounded, and he wanted to make sure it was truly a safe haven. They’re designed as both a chore robot and a battle machine, and he can shift between both at any time. Usually he just does the chores, but there are times they activate their battle mode, such as having to defend the haven, or just watch over Lloyd. Julien gave them immense ice powers, and only Julien knows how he has those powers.

Jay - A human/serpentine hybrid. About 15 years before the Serpentine Cult came out, there was a group of Fangpyries paid by some Venomari to test how their powers would work on humans, so along with a few other humans, Jay was kidnapped at a young age and transformed into a snake, though he was unaware of the fact for a long time and thought he was a serpentine all his life (he did NOT take the reveal that he was kidnapped and transformed that well when he found out). He ended up working for the Serpentine Cult, more than willing to destroy anyone in their way until they were “forcefully” brought into the safe haven, where he slowly began questioning it until finally turning against the cult. Basically insert Peridot’s arc from Steven Universe here (though I haven’t seen much of that show so idk if that’s an accurate statement).

I haven’t thought of much in terms of other characters but maybe I’ll touch upon this more, maybe I’ll not. It’s a weird situation where I have ideas for 1/2 of the main 6 but not the other 3.

#self post #long post #lego ninjago #lego ninjago au #nya smith #kai smith #lloyd garmadon #cole brookstone #zane julien #jay walker

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gwenbrightly · 6 years ago

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Ninjago Jaya ~ Blanket Forts

Cross-posted from FF.net, because why not? Just a quick little Jaya oneshot taking place right after Skybound.

She can’t breath – can’t… Something is wrong… she feels like she’s dying. Like someone has thrown acid directly onto her. Her chest burns. In the distance, she can hear someone screaming her name. Sobbing. What’s going on? She’s gone numb… Why can’t she – It’s then that Nya wakes, sitting up, breathing so sporadically that she’s on the verge of hyperventilation. Just a dream. Just a dream… But, oh. Why does this have to be so hard? She's safe. Alive. The poison can’t hurt her anymore, and neither can that djinn. She knows that. But it doesn’t stop her from reliving every last sucky detail of what she faced less than a day ago (in fact, it’s not even midnight yet, so…). She almost… No, it’s best not to think about that… Maybe if she just. Doesn’t sleep? She supposes. But that’s not really a great option, cause then, she’ll be stuck up all night with nothing but her own thoughts to distract her. And she’s not sure she can handle being alone right now. She needs Jay. It’s funny, she thinks slipping from her bed, how she’s gone from actively avoiding the master of lightning, to being desperate to have him near her as much as possible. Love is weird like that. The hallway is dark, quiet. A stark contrast to the locations she’s spent the past few weeks. First, on the run, then stuck in jail, or on an island, then on the run again… Being home is nice. Sort of. Except for the lingering trauma from the past few days. Yeah, the sooner they can recover from that, the better. And for now, the others don’t need to know about how close everything came to being… The master of water quietly slides the door to Jay’s quarters. But… He’s not there. In fact, if his bed still being tidily made means anything, he hasn’t been in the room at all since they finally returned from Styx earlier. So, then… Where is he? Not the kitchen or living room, apparently, Nya discovers upon further searching. Sighing, she makes her way out into the deck – the only other place left to check. And it’s a good thing she does, as it turns out, cause there he is, looking out over the railings, posture tense. A light summer breeze plays with his ridiculously curly hair, making it an even bigger mess that it usually is. Honestly, it’s actually a pretty beautiful night. There are no clouds in sight; she can see millions of stars scattered across the sky.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asks softly when she reaches him. Jay flinched slightly at the sound, before realizing that it’s her.

“Y-yeah… I couldn’t stop thinking about how…” He says so quietly she almost misses it.

“Me neither. I-even after I scrubbed every last inch of my body, it feels like the venom is still there. Like, I keep forgetting how to breath.. And remembering how much it hurt… And…”

“Oh, Nya…” He breathes, wrapping his arms around her. She bites back a sob as she snuggles into his embrace, reveling in the comfort it brings her. They rock back and forth for a few minutes, trying not to completely break down.

“I'm so sorry we had to go through all of… that. I-you died. It was horrible. And it was all my fault!”

“No. Don’t you dare try to take all of the blame for this. I mean, yes, you definitely made some really stupid choices, but if anyone’s gonna take the responsibility for what happened, it should be me. I started all of this a long, long time ago when I - ” Nya angles herself so that she can see his face.

“Nya, you don’t have to-” He begins to cut her off, but doesn’t get very far. She smiles softly, saying,

“Look. I chose you. I want us to work out, for us to be happy, but in order for that to happen, there are some things that need to be said. First of all, I come with baggage. A lot of it.”

“So do I.” He agrees, still not sure where the conversation is going. She bites back a chuckle.

“I’ve noticed. But… The thing is, before… During the whole fiasco with the perfect match machine? It was never about you. It was about me. For the record, I never stopped having feelings for you… I-I just…” Dragging Jay down beside her, she sinks onto the deck, leaning her back against the railing. It’s going to take awhile to really explain. To lay herself bare like she knows she needs to. Because Jay deserves the truth. They may as well get comfortable.

“I’m not the best at… Being open about my feelings. I’ve always hated feeling vulnerable, and back then? I didn’t really get why… Not until a lot later. When I was forced to become the water ninja, in fact. I was so awful at it, and it made me so uncomfortable – but it also helped me identify some of my self image issues.” She takes a deep breath, reaching for his hand as she continues, “So much of my life, I’ve felt like I had to prove something to someone. In Ignacia, Kai and I both had to prove that we could take care of ourselves. There wasn’t another option, unless we wanted to be saddled with some sketchy babysitter or sent to an orphanage. Then came Kai becoming a ninja, and, suddenly, I got it into my head that you guys wouldn’t take me seriously if you realized that I was samurai x.” She ignores the disgruntled look on the master of lightning’s face – she already knows now that it was a stupid sentiment, “So I didn’t tell you. Even though it probably just made things more dangerous. When Sensei started training me, I felt like I had to prove something there, too. That I was worthy of my mother’s element – even if I hated it and just wanted to go back to being a samurai, something that I was already good at. I got so frustrated that I tried to quite. And that’s when it first started to click. Because maybe some part of me thought that by doing all this impressive stuff, I could prove that it was a mistake for my parents to-to…”

“To leave you behind?” However Jay managed to guess her thoughts, she’s a little grateful she doesn’t have to say it herself.

“Yeah… So, anyway, back when we were still together, you were always so open and sweet about your feelings for me. And somewhere in the back of my head was that part of me that felt like I could never measure up to the person you thought I was and-”

“I'm so sorry! I didn’t realize… I-I only wanted to show you how much I cared. Because I thought that if you realized how special and loved you were… You wouldn't…" Leave me? The words aren’t spoken aloud, but the implication is there.

“I know. I just… I was feeling so overwhelmed, because I did want to be able to tell you how I felt about you – about the whole situation, but I kept talking myself out of it and thinking that if I just added a few boundaries until I reached the point where things felt safe again that… But then that stupid machine came into the picture, and I dunno? It scared me, because what if I was wrong? What if you didn’t really love me and left…”

“I would never.” He assures her, squeezing the hand clasping own. She brings her spare hand up to touch his cheek.

“You wouldn’t. And I was awful to let myself think that. Everything got so out of hand, and I had so many opportunities to fix things, but I didn’t. Even after the fighting calmed down. I didn’t wanna risk hurting you by ruining another relationship attempt. So, I stayed quiet. I came so close to confessing everything on Chen’s Island – but I didn’t have a chance to before we had to run off and save the world.”

“Will it ever not be that way?” Jay ponders. She shrugs.

“The world saving was very distracting. For a long time. Once I finally felt like I was starting to come to terms with what had been going on mentally, having the media get involved dealt me another blow. It was like the world no longer valued me as anything more than a token – an object to be won… But I didn’t want to completely give up on at least being friends with you, so I started trying to talk. But in the end, I just ended up pushing you away even more because I was so concerned about fighting my public image and not letting anyone else decide what I could be or do with my life. And to be honest? It freaked me out how sure you were that we were meant to be. I needed to regain control, and you ended up paying the price. And I can never tell you how sorry I am for being such a jerk! I died! You almost got killed several times because I refused to stop being stubborn and let someone else take the wheel, even for a moment! I-I…” A soft kiss prevents her from saying anything more. How is it that such a simple gesture has always had the power to relieve her pain?

“I forgave you a long time ago… And I never stopped caring about you, either. Even when I was fighting with Cole-which was a pretty dumb move in hindsight. We were both being idiots. And I’m sorry too...”

“I-Okay. Yeah, we kinda were… We’re a hot mess, aren’t we?” Nya exclaims, snuggling against her boyfriend. He smirks slightly.

“Well, we’re definitely hot!” She shoots him a look, which he pretends not to see, instead kissing her forehead.

“And we are a bit of a mess. But we’ve both grown so much. I really think we’ll make it this time…”

“Mm… I love you, Jay Walker.”

“And I love you, Nya Smith. Just don't ever die on me again. I don’t think I could handle that…” They both shudder, moving even closer together, as if afraid that they’ll be torn apart.

“I’m not handling it now…” Nya admits, “I’m sure sleep would help, but… That’s not happening any time soon…”

“Same here. So, what do we do, then?” Jay wonders. She doesn’t answer right away, but then, inspiration strikes her.

“When I was little, Kai used to build these super elaborate blanket forts whenever one of us was upset. Like ones that spanned entire rooms, and had lots of junk food hidden inside. And then, we’d stay up and watch as many movies as it took to calm back down. Do you think, maybe…?”

“Sure. If it’ll help. I’ll grab the cushions and blankets, you get the movies and snacks.” The master of lightning quickly agrees. It doesn’t take long for them to construct their fortress against one side of the deck, using every last spare sheet and pillow they own (and maybe snagging a few from Kai’s stash-that’s what siblings are for) . One and a half movies later, they finally give in to their exhaustion, falling asleep with their hands intertwined. Their joint presence keeps the nightmares at bay until Nya’s brother finds them the next morning. Though concerned about what exactly they’ve been doing all night, he’s honestly just relieved that they’ve finally figured things out. One less source of headaches for him, as long as they don’t go making a habit of public displays of affection like yesterday’s kiss… Which they probably will, but he can yell at them later. They do look awfully cute like that…

#myfics #ninjago #jaya #ninjago fanfiction #skybound

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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years ago

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This request is the result of a very awake mind at 2 am. How about a part crack, part tooth-rotting fluff fic about and interview with characters of your choice.

I tried my best with this... it's difficult to do crack in such a short piece (hence this one ended up being a little longer) and although I think writing crack is really fun, I have no experience in the field XD. So... hope this is what you were looking for XD.

The Case of the Forgotten Birthday Gift

Summary: When the ninja are invited to the Ivory City of Shintaro for Princess Vania’s birthday, they find themselves in the most devastating predicament of all- they forgot to bring a birthday gift for Vania. In a panic, Cole offers her a chance to interview them as compensation. Not everyone is thrilled about the idea.

“We thank you for attending Princess Vania’s birthday,” King Vangelis said, hovering before the ninja with two winged guardsmen at his sides. “We ask that you leave any gifts on this table.” He gestured towards a table that was practically groaning under the weight of all the presents atop it.

“Um.” Cole blanched. “Gift?”

“Cole!” Jay whispered harshly in his ear. “Don’t tell me. That you didn’t bring a present for the princess. On her birthday.”

“I didn’t bring one? Last time I checked, we were all invited! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well, I didn’t, so you better come up with something now or they’ll never invite us back here again!”

“Uh…” Cole’s brain felt like it was whirring a mile a minute, and he reluctantly turned back to the king. “Thank you, your majesty, but our gift to the princess is not something material.”

King Vangelis raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“No, it’s a… it’s um… we’re giving you a free interview.”

“What?!” the other ninja all yelped, at the same time that Vania beamed, clapping her hands together.

“I get to interview the ninja? The ninja? Truly, this is the best birthday present ever!”

“Cole,” Kai groaned, putting his head in his hands, “what have you done?”

---

“When I told you to come up with something to give the princess, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Jay grumbled from where he was sitting stiffly in a chair next to Cole. “Did you really have to offer the girl who’s obviously a bit bonkers about us an interview?”

“I didn’t see you coming up with anything better,” Cole snapped. “Besides, she may be a bit obsessed, but she seems nice enough. Just go along with it. She’s like any other fan.”

“Any other fan, you say? I wouldn’t be so sure!”

Cole sighed, glancing back at where Lloyd was standing atop his chair, glaring down at them. “Lloyd, sit down.”

“She’s no normal fan, I’m telling you! I don’t trust her! She was too excited about this interview! She’s out to get us, she just wants to trick us into giving away information so she can exploit our weaknesses!”

Kai glanced back and forth between Lloyd and Cole. “Seriously, does no one else see what an obvious cry for therapy this is?”

“Lloyd!” Cole hissed. “For the last time! Sit. Down.”

“Don’t worry, Lloyd,” Zane said as the teen plopped down grumpily in his seat. “The odds of our team member’s princess girlfriend turning out to be the leader of a criminal gang for the second time in our lives are practically nonexistent! Under seventy percent, at least.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Cole snapped.

Zane blinked. “Well, then whose is she?”

“Not mine,” Jay told them, grabbing Nya’s hand. “I’m already engaged!”

Kai laughed. “No thanks, she’s not my type. Plus, I already have a girlfriend who stabbed me in the back, although luckily for me, mine came around, eventually.”

“For the last time, Vania is not going to betray us!”

“It’s not our fault we have trust issues,” Lloyd sniffed. “You’d think someone would book us therapy, but apparently that’s not a priority.”

“Well, if she herself isn’t evil, maybe she’s related to someone evil!” Kai said. “Skylor’s evil, psychotic father influenced her to turn on me. Do you think Vania has an evil, psychotic father?”

“Definitely,” Lloyd agreed, at the same time Nya said “No way.”

Nya shook her head. “Do you know how ridiculous you guys sound? How many evil, psychotic fathers can there be out there?”

“Um. There’s Chen, Milton Dyer, Skales, my father- need I go on?”

“Don’t forget Nadakhan’s evil djinn father!” Jay chimed. Lloyd blinked at him. “Who?”

“See? That’s barely any!” Nya exclaimed. “Besides, like half of those people are good now, so they don’t count.”

“But they were, which means there’s a high chance of King Vangelis being evil and psychotic-”

“Who’s evil and psychotic?” A cheery voice interrupted them as Princess Vania pushed open the doors.

“Oh, uh… just an old villain we faced,” Cole covered quickly.

“Oh, you must tell me all about them!” Vania smiled, pushing the doors closed behind her and clicking the lock.

Kai blinked. “Did you just lock us in?”

“Of course! I can’t have anyone else breaking in here and trying to eavesdrop on my very special interview!”

“Do people break into your room often?” Nya laughed.

“Not at all! Only a few times a week.”

“Um… you do realize that we’re crime-fighting ninja, right?” Jay told her. “We have lots of enemies. Maybe you should have some people guarding us while we’re here.”

“Oh, don’t worry! If anyone attacks you, Chompy will scare them off!” The ninja looked to where she was pointing to see a tiny dragon snoozing on Vania’s bed.

“Oh, how reassuring,” Kai said dryly. “The overgrown gecko can keep us safe.”

Vania raised an eyebrow. “You’re lucky he’s asleep. Mr. Chompy does not play nice when he’s angry.”

“Oh yeah, I’m so scared,” Kai grinned, leaning back.

Vania narrowed her eyes at him. “He killed a dire bat once.”

“Yeah, well, we fought off an entire flock of them from our ship.”

“First of all, it’s called a colony of bats, not a flock. Second, I know that a squadron of our guards had to go save you.”

“We didn’t need saving! They interrupted us just as I was about to use my mighty fire powers to burn them to a crisp!” “Chompy would knock them out of the sky before you could do that.”

“Yeah, well, I could squish Chompy under my foot.”

“Chompy could gouge out your eyes.”

“Oookay, as fun as this is,” Cole interrupted, pushing them apart, “Let’s just get this interview over with. Vania, what questions did you want to ask us?”

“Hold on.” Vania jogged over to the wall and pulled over a small table, setting up a camera on top of it.

Jay stared at it. “What is that.”

“I need to record this, silly!”

“What’s the point of locking us in here and not letting anyone else listen in if you’re just going to broadcast this whole thing to everyone, anyway?” Nya asked.

“Because seeing it live isn’t half as fun as watching a recording!”

“Then why record it at all?”

“How else am I going to rub it in all my friends’ faces that I met the ninja?”

“This is a non-consensual violation of my privacy,” Jay grumbled.

“Oh please, your face is over half the city,” Cole sighed.

“Welcome back to Truthful Tidbits! I’m your host, Vania, and I’m here with an exclusive episode today- with me, I have the famous ninja!” “What,” Lloyd said slowly, “are you doing?”

“It’s for my TV show,” Vania whispered.

“You have a TV show?” Nya spluttered.

“Wait, no one told me this was going to be on TV!” Kai yelped. “The camera’s not getting my good side!”

“Wait, if this is a TV show, shouldn’t we have makeup artists or something?”

“Jay’s right!” Kai agreed. “I can’t go on television without a makeover!”

“My database shows no recollection of the show ‘Truthful Tidbits.’”

“It’s not on mainstream television,” Vania grumbled. “I just show them to my videography class.”

“Oh.” Jay relaxed in his chair. “That’s it?”

“What do you mean, that’s it? People are still going to see me without makeup! Just because it’s a small group doesn’t make this any less of a disaster!”

“I’m hoping to change that,” Vania beamed. “This is the big break I need! An interview with the ninja? Everyone will want to see it!”

“Andddd we’re back to privacy invasion again,” Jay groaned.

“Wanna bounce, Jay?” Lloyd asked.

“Do I ever-”

“Count me in, guys, I’m not doing this without a proper makeup job-”

“If you guys are all leaving, I’m not going to stay!” Nya insisted. “Zane?”

“It seems futile to stay if you all are leaving.” “You can’t leave!” Vania cried. “This is my present! Besides, you’re locked in here!”

Lloyd stared her dead in the eyes. “I will literally jump out the window to get out of this.”

“Are you kidding me? You’ll die!”

“Then tell Chumpy to catch me,” he told her, already climbing into the window.

“It’s Chompy!”

“Oh no, you don’t.” Kai reached out a hand, snatching the back of Lloyd’s gi before he could jump. “I don’t want to spend the rest of our stay in a hospital. What did you think was going to happen, you were going to sprout wings?”

“I’m part dragon,” Lloyd grumbled. “It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.”

“I have a much less life-threatening way. Stand back.” Kai’s fist lit up in flames.

“I swear, Kai, if you burn down anything, we are never coming back here,” Cole warned.

“A little arson never hurt anyone.” Hurtling a fireball at the door, it burst into flames. Quickly, it burned a human-sized hole in the door, and Kai, Jay, and Lloyd quickly darted through.

“What about my interview?” Vania protested. “You promised!”

“Technically, Cole was the one who promised you the interview,” Zane pointed out. “He never specified which of us you would be interviewing.”

“And since Cole’s staying, we’re technically not breaking that promise!” Nya added.

Cole blinked. “I’m what?”

“Staying. Have fun, you two!” Nya waved, and the two of them shot out the door, spraying ice and water as they passed to extinguish the flames.

“Sorry about that, princess,” Cole said, scratching the back of his neck.

Vania narrowed her eyes. “This better be the best interview ever.”

Cole grinned. “Mark my words, it will be. Fire away.”

“Speaking of fire, you’re paying for my door.”

“... Yeah, I figured.”

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fannyatrollop · 6 years ago

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Big Fat Fic Review: Galactica

Hello, my name is Nya and I have something to say. I love to talk and have been wanting to do fic reviews, like my friend and inspiration @lulufeca. Seriously, this girl is a saint among us, she reads and reviews almost everything. She’s even done some of my work!

I have a couple of things to clarify before I get to my first victim, which is Galactica by @theartificialdane and @veronicasanders. I very much have it in me to tear things apart wantonly and just be a huge bitch, I’m a very fussy reader and an even fussier writer. That being said, I won’t be indulging in that kind of behaviour here. If I truly hate something, I won’t bother writing multiple paragraphs of it. I think that anyone who can take a fic from beginning to end has, at the very least, a good first draft that can be improved with some extra love and care. And it’s so much easier to pick on others than it is to actually write. Before I started writing my own stuff, I would say that even the shittiest fanfic author is doing something my hoity-toity self can’t manage: sitting down and bringing a vision to life. It wasn’t until very recently that I could say I was doing that much.

Also I must stress that I hold my own ass to a very high standard when it comes to writing. I keep editing even after I post chapters. I recently did a pretty thorough edit of a something I posted several months ago because I lay awake at night thinking it could be better. Not everyone is like this, and we’re all here for fun, but this is the perspective I bring to my critiques.

Now, let’s talk Galactica. Specifically, the main story, I have not really read the follow ups.

(I will add a cut when I get in my laptop.)

My overall impression, and the hill I will die on if I have my way, is that this story ought to get the Fifty Shades treatment so it can become the shlocky TV drama it deserves to be. It would be perfection on the screen, right at home with the likes of Dynasty and Sex and the City. The clothes alone sell it for me. It’s long enough that you can mine a few seasons out of the main story, perfect for American television.

There are many things about the fic that didn’t work for me, but even factoring those in I remained firm in the opinion that if it was possible to make it so, adapting the story into a visual medium would really make it shine. I was very impressed by the knowledge of fashion in this story, the way it read like it was written by someone with a lot of knowledge about the world they’d set it in. Seriously, can you imagine the costumes? And being able to actually see Violet’s painstakingly hand beaded garments after watching her greet dawns working on them? I’d tune the fuck in, that I would.

For me, though, the biggest area of work would be editing. I read it on ao3 and there are parts where I would advise the authors to do a wee read through and look for chapters where they’ve accidentally repeated entire scenes while chopping it up from its original format. (I’m aware that it was longer on Tumblr chapters-wise, and have no idea how it was divided up here exactly.) The million characters and plotlines give us a lot to enjoy in this world, but it’s my personal opinion that the camera had a tendency to linger a bit too long on players that weren’t as compelling. It starts stronger than it ends in this sense; the first chapters were a bit more focused, the line between “lead” and “supporting” more clearly drawn. That being said there’s a scene where characters with bit parts talk about feeling like they’re extras in someone else’s story… clever move.

Also about the ending… I like where it ended, it shows a great narrative instinct, but I feel like it dropped off a cliff a little. It ended, but it raised enough additional drama that I didn’t feel like the story concluded. As a sequel hook, I guess that’s not a terrible way to go about it, but it makes for a weak ending.

Even so, the story had me hooked. I have a lot of respect for the amount of effort and stamina it must have taken to write it. I like the variety of characters that were included, and even though some of the ships weren’t quite to my tastes, I liked the fact that they were there because they were different. I’m always crying out for something different, and Galactica delivered. One of my favourite relationships was the friendship between Betty and Violet. I skipped through a lot of scenes, but if it involved the two of them hanging out I would always read it.

(Victor Hugo saw fit to write at length about the Parisian sewage system and I skipped the fuck outta that, double Dutch.)

Also really loved Trixie and Katya in this. They were the most natural couple for me. I especially loved it when Katya would read textbooks to help Trixie sleep.

I pretty much grew to like… love to hate Raven too. She pissed me off so much at times and could come across as borderline sociopathic but I felt like the narrative knows she cray, which made her a lot of fun. She swung from being a toddler, to a giant bitch, to a saint with such violence that I kept my eyes peeled for what she’d do next.

What kept me hooked, though, was Violet’s professional journey, and all the fashion drama involved. My favourite parts were watching Violet have client meetings for her commissions and just blow them out of the water. I loved the company drama. My favourite part of the later chapters were the little gossip rag; whoever V was gave me everything I needed.

Galactica is one of the most fanficky fanfics I’ve read in recent times. It’s a masterpiece in dedication, and honestly guys, change the names and sell it to the CW. It would be amazing television.

Don’t know where exactly to read it on here, but on ao3 it’s here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9180625/chapters/20837683

#big fat fic review #rpdr rpf #galactica

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lore-a-lie · 6 years ago

Text

Chapter 3, Act 11: Divining Revolutions

CLASS TRIAL- RESUME

As Kaede gave her silent approval Angie took the moment to meditate before responding in kind. Not that she wouldn’t be willing to lead the cross-examination thingies, even if she wasn’t as familiar with how to really do so.

And it was comforting to see Kaede’s earlier attempt to give up her position of authority was genuine. Or if not, that it was able to become genuine for this moment at the very least.

But still, it wasn’t Angie’s place to make such a call just yet. There was a reason she tried not to be so compelling during these debates. If Atua saw no need for her to act, who was she to act against Him?

Awwright Sugah, ‘Tis the Time to Start Speaking Thy Piece. Ain’t None of Thy Allies Willin’ an’ Able to Surpass the Impasse as Thy art to Bring this Shindig to its Most Unrighteous of Conclusions.

And with that command His Prophet gave the pitiful pianist the acknowledgement she sought. She gave a bright and possibly too eager (or too quick) nod in reply, as Angie tried to see what He needed of her.

The most obvious thing to do is make Kiyo stop being stupid. But Kiyo really liked being stupid, and has never not wanted to talk this much, so that will be tough. Second most obvious is to get Tenko to shed more light on how she could have possibly missed the demon’s attempt to attack him or what happened.

I don’t think my involvement there matters until we clear that up, I only saw the tail end of it. So me talking about it now might just make things even more messy, and harder for everyone else to follow.

But maybe being so obvious was the problem. Maybe Kaede was right to try and bring things back to Ryoma.

“Hey-hey, Tenko? You said Ryoma was okay with you and Sissy-Cersei’s “replace Kiyo” plan right?” Angie asked, with a vague sketch in her mind of what she needed to do.

“Y-yeah. What about it?”

“Was he really okay with you being involved with it?” Angie tilted herself at an angle, to see if it would help her catch any small details or help catch Tenko off-guard. Not that it ever really worked on Tenko (or anyone here really) before, but it was also just fun to see if anyone would react period.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Tenko tried to ask, to brush Angie’s oddities off as if it was just her being silly. But Kokichi saw through it, like the ridiculous over-thinker was prone to doing even if he was wrong.

“Well gee Tenko, I don’t know.” Kokichi drawled, and Tenko immediately started to cringe. And not in her normal “Ew-why-is-this-pest-known-as-a-male-trying-to-speak-to-me-can-I-kill-it” Tenko cringe-face. The “Oh-no-I-didn’t-think-this-through” type of cringey-face as he tauntly pulled apart her bluff. “Why on earth would the guy who offered to die immediately when put in a murder game to help buy the rest of us time have a problem with a strong, justice-loving, “innocent” girl like yourself trying to get away with “technically” murdering a man? As opposed to say… Offering to take your place in this plan?”

“Wait. What would Tenko’s place in the plan even have been?” Kaito asked.

“Well, it doesn’t make sense for Cersei to use Kiyo’s avatar, since hers and his look so similar.” Kaede started to explain in her teacher-y sorta way she’d do sometimes. “So maybe the plan was for Tenko to use the outdated Kiyo avatar? Like if they were supposed to switch so it was actually his sister who was the “Tenko” Gonta was with when looking for “Cersei”?”

“WHAT?! But that unpossible! Gonta make super sure it was Mini-Tenko that Mini-Gonta was with!”

“Try to think of it like why I was a suspect in the first trial, Gonta. Remember how I was accused because I’m good at dressing up as people? Kaede thinks that they wanted to dress up as each other to trick you.” Tsumugi simplified the situation as best she could, even hand talking to a degree in hopes of helping for once. “But they didn’t! So it IS impossible in that it didn’t happen. But Kokichi’s trying to say that maybe when you and Tenko were looking for “sister” in the woods, that was really Ryoma. Or something like that, I think?”

“So the body by the river could have been Ryoma’s? And we just didn’t see Kiyo’s sister at all before we left?”

“I mean, it’s not like we thought to check if saying anyone’s names would have logged that body out. So it could have been, since we assumed Ryoma was last seen headed to the mansion to leave the sim. Kibo could have seen him heading to the wardrobe instead or something like that.” Kaito suggested.

“Kiyo’s sister would need to be alive then right?” Kibo asked with concern, and hissed at Kokichi to shut it when he started being technical about her “living” status again to continue. But in a twist he looked to their judge. “Monokuma, would it be possible to bring up the simulation’s log? It’s not really “fair” you didn’t give me a chance to check it before the trial in hindsight. I want to see if Kiyo had to log his sister out before he could leave.”

“What, and make this mystery easier for you? Not a chance, this is waaay more interesting! I believe in you~” The bear mocked him with a laugh, and Angie amazed herself once again at her ability to refrain from flipping him off. Even if it meant no one would, with Kokichi not being the right sort of vulgar and Kaito being the wrong sort of immature to fill the void Miu would have gladly filled.

One of many voids Miu would have gladly filled come to think of it! Nya-ha-ha~ I hope she’s watching us with a smile and sassy commentary, wherever she is. And giving this bear the bird he’s asking for. No matter how much it would make Shuichi squirm or Kirumi needed to chide her for it.

I wonder if Rantaro and Himiko are getting along? They’re both laid back people. Or the way we knew them they were. I’m sure no matter what state Ryoma’s in from this that Maki’s already by his side!

I wonder if they appreciate seeing me pray for them so often, even if I was mean to them when they were still with us? Or I’m making them laugh, seeing what I do as being silly or stupid despite my intentions?

… Prophet, the Trials Ya’ll are Still Facing are a Bit Mo’ Important at Present, Are They Not?

RIGHT. Whoopsie-daisy~ Thank you, O’ great and wise Atua for Your divine inspiration!

Snapping out of her trance that was most definitely not a nap, Angie made sure she looked as attentive as she could as she checked to see where the conversation was at.

“-So you think Ryoma wanted to get Kiyo and Angie out of the church to give them an opportunity to perform a kill-and-switch?” She heard Kaito say.

“No, he didn’t want me involved at all. And Ryoma didn’t seem too keen on actually seeing if Cerci would be safe on her own. You know how he can get. The only switching he would have wanted to try was using Kiyo’s appearance to get close to either sibling to see if they could be killed, and then pretend to be the dead one to repeat the process on whoever was left.”

“So you think he was just trying to take a chance to go after either of them?” Kaede asked Tenko.

“Yeah, but it’s not like it sounds like he made contact if Cerci never died! I mean Kiyo said his sister spoke to him when she attacked him, and avatar switching wouldn’t change Ryoma’s voice, right?”

“Right. If they could, we never would have realized Kiyo’s sister was a person instead of an illness.” Kibo agreed.

“We don’t know that she isn’t-” Tsumugi tried to point out, only to be cut off by an offended Tenko trying to keep the point of discussion to the forefront.

“That doesn’t change the core point here!”

“The point that relies on Kiyo being honest? ‘Cause that’s a pretty shitty one to bet our lives on.” Kokichi prodded again, trying and failing to get Kiyo to lash out.

And that was still a problem Angie wasn’t sure how to solve yet.

She knew his sister was still in there, and she thought everyone else did too enough for him to stop being so cagey about her presence. But for once that “edgy” zipper on his face suited how tight lipped he was.

He must have noticed how she kept looking at it too, as Kiyo narrowed his eyes at her and leaned more to Tsumugi’s side. Like he half-expected Angie to try and leap over the boundary between them to yank it open. Which probably would get him to at least say something, but Angie figured getting a human reaction out of him probably wouldn’t lead to a useful one. (But it’s something I can try later I guess!)

So she was left trying to sort out how Ryoma fit in. “Tenko, how do you know Ryoma wasn’t just going to go along with your plan?” Angie slapped her hands to her cheeks in shock, “Could it be Tenko already knew it wouldn’t work because Kore is evil? How mature of you!”

“Hey!” The whine came as expected, “I’m already plenty mature! I know because Ryoma told me so. He thought it’d be safer to kill both of them, but even if he didn’t-” Tenko cut herself off as she started to rub at her arm while looking down with a look of shocked realization.

“If he didn’t?” Kaito anxiously repeated to urge her on.

“If he didn’t get them both then he said he’d still confess if there was a trial.” She numbly repeated, barely blinking despite the tears Angie could see starting to well at the corners of her eyes. But when Tenko got ahold of herself she shook them off and desperately looked to Kaito. “But he wouldn’t have actually meant that, right?! He… I thought you and Kaede were helping him through that stuff! And this couldn’t have been… THAT, right? So we wouldn’t be forced to watch him suffer for my stupid idea?”

“Of course not!” Kaede said seemingly in spite of herself. Perhaps more a reflection of her hopes than their reality. “If he did that wouldn’t explain his cause of death or being found in the pool. We already established that!” (Ah, good point. That does reflect our reality pretty well… Maybe that’s the problem!)

We’re focusing on our reality, when we should be testing Kibo’s reality! He should have some idea of what could “kill” in the sim, even if he hasn't said so yet. And he was there for the wardrobe stuff to some extent from the sounds of things. But I don’t want to spook him, so he doesn’t get stage fright.

“Wait… Kibo, how much of this did you know?” Angie asked with a cutesy and quirky tilt of her head with her hands in place as if to tighten screws to help her think straighter. “If she and Ryoma talked about this in the virtual world near your wardrobe thingy are you suuure you didn’t overhear something about it?”

“... Enough?” Kibo said, avoiding eye contact with everyone as he twiddled his fingers. “I mean I didn’t know Miss Shinguji was involved in this! And I thought Ryoma’s plan was what Tenko had intended…”

Kibo turned to bow to Kiyo in a near panic, voice shaky and air puffing as if his throat was closing up even though he didn’t breath. “I’m very sorry! I knowingly conspired to help murder your sister, and there’s no excuse for that! I completely understand if you can never forgive me for that. Or if none of you can.”

“I… I was worried she was going to kill someone. I had no idea who or how, so I didn’t know what to do! So I thought that since she was your original motive, that getting rid of her could be to your benefit.

“Seeing how you two were fighting, I wasn’t sure if she was going to kill you and use my program to hide it! I didn’t know Tenko was trying to HELP her do something like that!” He shouted, nearly hysterical. “So when I found that avatar by the river I… I panicked. I got out of the sim, to make sure everyone was okay, and while Kiyo was okay, Ryoma… Ryoma wasn’t.

“I thought he succeeded in killing Miss Shinguji and then chose to kill himself rather than risk being executed or making Kiyo worse. If there was no trial for a “murder” like this Kiyo might have done something drastic to avenge her, or hurt himself so I thought it made sense! And I did something stupid.

“I… moved Ryoma’s body, hoping it’d help make what happened clearer.” Kibo confessed at last, staring so hard at the floor it was like he was testing out a new laser vision feature. “Maybe it was also just me being selfish, trying to hide how people could physically die in my simulation despite my best efforts. I took him to his lab and tossed him into the pool from his window, since I thought paralleling the other murder would make his intentions clearer. I’m so so sorry everyone. I didn’t intend to hurt anyone…”

“And what if you were wrong, huh?!” Kaito snapped at him, making Kibo flinch. “You don’t have proof that’s what happened, and you messing with the crime scene doesn’t help anything! Do you even know how Ryoma “killed himself” in your scenario?!”

“Uhhh…”

“Back off Kaito, Kibo said he panicked so it’s plainly obvious he wasn’t thinking straight! I mean who could in a situation like that?” Tsumugi snapped back, taking some pressure off of the robotic boy.

“How exactly did he “die” in your Oh-so-safe virtual world anyway, Keeboy?” Kokichi drawled, but there was a vindictive glint to his eyes and his smug smile was all teeth. “You know something we don’t?”

“I… I mean, he could have taken one of Shuichi’s poisons-”

“BBBZT! Wrong, try again!” Kokichi interrupted with a raspberry in place of an incorrect buzzer, getting more manic in his malice. “Kaito and I were in Shuichi’s lab when the Monokuma file says he died, and I made sure all those poisons are accounted for every time I visit! If he swiped one earlier I’d know.”

The Child Panics, Guilt Turns To Fury, Fanned by Failure and Fear. The One with False Leadership Would Claim Responsibility for This Crime an’ all Crimes Previous if They Only Could. Thy Needst No Reminder of Where They Fall Short. Each Night the Denied Truths Return, The Worst Plague of All.

Ummm, I think you used “Thy” wrong there?

An uncanny echo of silence resounded in Angie’s head, the type that would normally mean Atua had fallen asleep again. But it turned out to be but a pause as she heard His wondrous words return to her.

Ah... My B. I Grant Thee My Most Sincerest of Apologies, Sunspot. Perhaps ‘tis the Sound of Sleep Beckoning Me to Her Bodacious Bosom Once More that Distractith Me So.

“Distractith”? Now you’re just teasing me, there’s no way you used that right!

“Fine! Yes, he died in the simulation but I don’t know how!” Kibo broke down. “There shouldn’t have been any way for him to prematurally sever the connection between his mind and his body. But he was brain dead so it must have happened somehow. I’m not sure if he did it on purpose, or if he had help-”

“Wait,” Kaito said to pause the panicking robot. “Let’s just narrow down what could cause that then, okay? I mean we know where his avatar was found in the simulation, so that can help. Just because he died in there doesn’t make you the killer, so no need to freak out. Just be honest with us! No more lies.”

“So you think the river might be part of it? But he didn’t drown or suffocate.” Kaede pointed out.

“Maybe it like how Mini-Gonta gets scared at the Low-ding Point? Is that what being “brain dead” like? Like sleeping without dreams?” Gonta suggested with a shutter at the thought.

“Maybe!” Tsumugi replied, and put her nerdy knowledge to good use. “Video games would often have water act as boundaries by making you die or respawn if you touch it. Were there any rules like that, Kibo?”

“I… I don’t know.” He quietly said. “I never checked, I never considered anyone going for a swim. I mean even when we have a pool no one really uses it, so I didn’t think there would be any interest.”

… Oh. I get it now. That’s what You’re sorry about.

It’s not Your fault! You were asleep at the time.

But her words sounded like they fell on deaf ears as the void Atua used to be in gave her no comfort.

Angie wasn’t sure if she should share her findings just yet though. It’d be more convincing if she could get Kiyo to lead the others to it first, since he also saw what happened, but she wasn’t sure how to get him to work with her. He seemed far too content with taking the blame for this case, and it rattled her.

They both knew if he was found guilty it would only get him and everyone else who was innocent killed.

If he still wanted to die there were easier ways to do it! Ways that wouldn’t hurt anyone else physically.

I’m not really sure how I would take it emotionally though. I mean, am I to blame for this any? I don’t think I am, I think he enjoys making me mad and how I try to get back at him. He’s annoying like that.

Still, Kaito wants us to help him and Atua agrees with that! Even if Kiyo’s such an ignorant know-it-all.

Is he trying to die like this to save the blackened? To repay them for interfering in Ryoma’s attempt to kill him? Or is this just so he makes sure that even though his “Sister” isn’t real he still makes 100 friends for her? I mean it sounds like he’s close enough that three “admirable” girls would more than met his goal.

Assuming the mastermind isn’t a girl I mean. Technically they’d survive in that case too, wouldn’t they?

If our lives are in real danger, despite what we’ve seen before, how can he accept letting THEM survive?!

Maybe I can use that to talk some sense into him!

“Kiyo, are you sure you heard your sis speak to you when you saw her on the bridge?” Angie tried as a direct question, one he might be more open to answering now. “Or any chance that was Ryoma who was trying to harass you? Or someone else? ‘Cause I know what I saw, but I didn’t hear anyone say anything.”

“... I hardly see why it would change anything,” he muttered. “Even if she didn’t say them aloud we’ve proven her intent and that of my assaulter is one and the same, yes?”

“What happened after the fight?” Kokichi prodded and Angie winced at how blunt he was being. She could tell he was trying to use his tell-y trick again, but with Kiyo like this what good would it be?

But despite her concerns he did confirm some of their friends’ assumptions. Just not in a helpful way.

“She fell in the river. Clearly that much should seem obvious at this point.”

“Did she now? Or was she pushed?” Kokichi pushed again, before Angie could butt in.

This time Kiyo acted more like she was expecting, and only gave a bitter shrug. “Who can say?”

“Come on, out with it!” Kaito snapped.

“And why should I? To what benefit is there? Is it not enough to merely narrow down suspects?”

“Have you really lost it?!” Tenko shouted. “We’ll all die if we get this wrong!”

“As will we all, in due time-”

“Well, what are you being so cagey for then?” Angie asked with a forced brightness in hopes of putting him off guard and cut to the chase. “Do you really want the mastermind to win?”

And while it didn’t work he had no answer for her, which gave her enough satisfaction.

“That’s what’ll happen, won’t it? We all die but the blackened and the mastermind? The killing game will only ever end with two survivors, right?” She continued to needle, and Monokuma began to act like he was getting hot under the collar at her questioning. Despite the whole not having a collar thing.

“No comment!”

“Huh, huh? Who asked you? I was obviously talking to Kiyo, silly!”

Tsumugi giggled a bit at that, probably a case of nerves giving her the flutterbugs, which got some others to laugh between her ensuing embarrassment and Monokuma’s indignation. Still, the levity helped raise Angie’s spirit a little, in light of what Kiyo was showing she would need to reveal.

But Tenko cut in before she had the chance.

“Stop trying to deny what you did then, you degenerate! We know you killed him, and we know that while you want to die, She doesn’t! It doesn’t matter if it was self-defense, or mistaken identity, or anything else! You’re not going to go sliding on another loophole, you murderer!” Her ranting was so non-stop that even Kaede couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

And as she watched her friend try to make her case against Kiyo, without any regard to the other voices trying to be heard in her misplaced fury, Angie felt something not unlike Atua’s artistic urges.

The Ultimate Artist could see it. A lovely set of armor that could reflect the soul of the Ultimate Aikido Master, as ill fitting and out of place such a garment was for the martial art. But for Neo-Aikido it’d work just fine, and invoking the style of the Samurai would be done in the spirit of the great Tomoe.

Such a warrioress deserved nothing less than an armor that would reflect her heart of hearts. And Tenko herself warranted feeling not like a princess as Tsumugi had tried, but a queen ever at the ready to strike.

Layers of lacquered wood and pristine porcelain, woven with leather into skirts for the light flexibility western metal armor could never match. Each strip made the shade of sweet sakura petals so light that the girlish pink would be nearly wedding white under the rising sun. An ill omen for any man who tried to wed her, but their foolish blood would turn it a lucky and evil-banishing crimson soon enough.

Not that it was like the martial artist to seek marital bliss. Her bliss came in simpler, smaller forms daily. But if Angie could make this even half as beautiful as what Atua was proposing, Tenko would adore it.

Still, she tried to will the beautiful image away, before she could get lost in details she would never be able to bring to life. If she didn’t stop now, before the issues of a masked helm could arise, she might not manage to later. It hurt to ignore such god-given artistry that could bring such joy to one close to her.

It was one of many things she’d never be able to do with Tenko again when all was said and done.

There’s only one way to stop this. This must be why Atua’s been so quiet aside from this last vision.

He must be so ashamed of me. I should have realized it sooner.

“So how can you say for sure the degenerate isn’t our real culprit Angie?!”

Four little words is all it should take.

“BECAUSE”

But it’s okay!

“I”

I can do this!

“PUSHED”

I’m sorry Tenko.

“HIM!”

Angie had to take a moment to regain control of her breathing after making that dreaded confession. But at least all of her friends should be safe now. If only from the fate she needs to face for the time being.

“I saw him try to attack Kiyo on the bridge. I didn’t know it was Ryoma, I just saw Kiyo’s Sister picking on him so I wanted to help and it looked like things were getting dangerous! So I snuck up on her, err him, and poked not-Kore’s back to pause them. But Kiyo wouldn’t move, he musta been in shock or somethin’, and I couldn’t move Kiyo off of the dumb narrow bridge to somewhere safer and keep Kore paused!”

“So you pushed her off the bridge, to keep her away from Kiyo?” Kaede pressed, but thankfully her eyes were understanding. There were no bitter feelings to be found in them, only the pain of true sympathy.

“Yeah! I thought the river’s current would make sure whatever shore she swam to would be far enough away to either get help or snap Kiyo out of it! It’s not like she hurt him yet as far as I could tell, but still...”

“You didn’t know we can’t swim in Kibo’s world.” Kaito numbly supplied as his features at last softened with this final closure. “Ryoma fell out of bounds, breaking the mental connection, and you had no idea.”

“Yes! Angie thought it was harmless! Everyone where she’s from are super good swimmers, she didn’t-” Angie caught herself and tried to slow herself so she could be as clear as possible. So there was no doubts about her words, and her reasons wouldn’t change the truth they had all suffered for. “I didn’t think there was any reason why a river that narrow would be dangerous. Kibo did such a divine job making everything there safe! Atua thought he covered everything. I forgot it could be deadly.”

And with the painful truth laid bare Angie took another look to her friends, trying to gauge their reactions. It didn’t surprise her to see Kokichi held no pity for her, only frustration. She knew his qualms with murder, and he had heard her suggest reviving the dead as sacrifices, firmly setting him against her.

It’s surprising how much more hollow this feels than what I expected getting someone killed would be back then. Maybe this is meant to be a sign Ryoma really isn’t dead! Or maybe that’s wishful thinking.

The others looked at her with different levels of somber airs and hurt understanding. Though Kiyo seemed shocked enough by her willingness to confess that even with his mask he appeared slack-jawed.

And that slack was all the give his mental parasite needed to claw the mask away, giving Angie a second witness if any wanted to argue against her unwitting guilt. Because while Kiyo may have still had a death wish, setting his objective against their own, Kore made it clear she was a very different story.

“It’s true! I’m sick of being considered “dead” or accused of things I know nothing about!” The banshee screeched. “I never saw Kiyo on any bridge, and I only spoke to him after he logged us both out!

“I wasn’t even in the mansion when he did it! It was extremely rude of him, not like my Korekiyo at all.” She snorted as she crossed her arms and gave Ryoma’s portrait a glare, trying to reclaim her usual frozen facade. “Even more so for him to try and drag us all down with him over such minor grievances.

“Honestly, you all you should be ashamed of yourselves! After all that progress, all our work to get him past these frivolous urges, what do you cretins do? You drag my brother’s spirit low enough to relapse, despite all the flimsy excuses he gives to defend you people!” The haughty haunting hussy huffed.

“Huh~ Since when did he need us for that? You seemed to be doing that fine enough on your own.” Angie called, leaning over the railing of her podium as she taunted so she could better aggravate the monster beside her. It’s not like she had anything left to lose anymore with her Lord’s silence, and if she didn’t shut this bitch up herself no one might.

“EXCUSE ME?!” (I can definitely feel Atua’s desire to make an ice sculpture of her, if only to curse her. Not that He can now. It’s probably just out of habit He let me feel this at all. Unless He feels my guilt is lacking and is trying to make me more repentant?)

“That’s why you wanted him to go after Kaede, isn’t it? Somebody was jealous~ Ya meanie.”

“Nonsense, that was his choice-”

“Liar, Liar, pants on fire~” Angie sang over the false specter. She could feel her anger seep over into her smile as she laid her rage bare. “If that were true, Kiyo would have asked me to be the medium before. And Angie probably would have said “yes” like a real dummy! Atua was too busy rage napping to give Angie his divine protection and I wanted Kiyo to mess it up! ‘Cause he acts like Atua isn’t the only true god. But Kiyo didn’t! And then mean ol’ missy sissy got all hissy over him just wanting her to make normal friends with us. Because you don’t want “friends”. You didn’t want him to have any, yes?”

At least Angie wasn’t the only one pissed off any more. Even if she had to quickly swing herself back to avoid the monster’s attempt to slap her, which nearly caused Angie to stumble back over the opposite railing. (Maybe copying Kiyo’s obnoxious way of talking was a biiit much. But that look on her face tho!)

“How dare you accuse me of something like that?!” She seethed, as if letting out steam to reveal how shallow her cold “cool” demeanor still was, no matter how fitting it was for her heartlessness.

“You’re only mad ‘cause she’s right, aren’t you?” Kaede challenged with an accusing point. “You chose the “friends” you wanted, not him. No point backtracking on that, with how you keep pointing out how much lower his “standards” are than yours. And if he got too close to others, he wouldn’t need you anymore, right? You don’t want to risk him moving on with his life, so you’d have to move on too.”

And that was all it took to make Kore really snap. Kinda sad how easy that really was, now that they could fairly safely gang up on her. (But not much more pushing than it takes to set me off either, is it?)

“I won’t let you take him away from me! He’s not allowed to abandon me now! I won’t let him throw me away again, to ignore me while I rot alone like everyone else did! I won’t forgive him. I won’t forgive anyone, no matter how many apologies I hear! Apologize all you want, but I won’t. I won’t. I won’t!”

An’ Thus His Parasyche Shows Her True Nature. The Ghost of a Broken Memory, a Revenant Remnant of a Dying Girl. Desperate to Forget She Was Not But a Child’s Guilt an’ Self Loathing Made Manifest, Grown Willful an’ Proud Feeding from Every Bit of Bitter Bile of His Soul He Thought Suppressed.

Angie was taken aback by His voice, but she knew it best not to question it. If He graced her with His assurances of conclusions she suspected, that was His choice. She had no right to address Him anymore.

She failed Him as His prophet, and everyone He wanted to help by acting through her.

As Angie shook off her brief shock she heard Kaede quelling the sins of Shinguji, with all others quiet. And with discussion settled Monokuma declared it was time for the votes to be cast one last time.

Well, last for her anyway. Though Angie felt no real need to condemn herself to her fate, she did so nonetheless. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to fear if they thought a third soul would be lost tonight. A glance to her side eased her own concerns, as Kore was quick to vote in her brother’s stead.

The last thing I want is for Kiyo to throw his life away after Ryoma died from my attempt to protect him. O’ Atua, I’m really going to die for HIS sake aren’t I? Please show mercy upon me my Lord, I messed up baaad this time. That prick isn’t worth all this harm and heartache! … I mean Kiyo, not Ryoma. Oh well.

Please watch over them all, okay Atua? Even if I wasn’t able to convince them of Your blessings. Amen.

Again, she felt only a sense of emptiness that equalled only the resounding silence where Atua once watched over her as the results were shown. No matter how much guilt Tenko may have felt for her role in setting the tragedy into motion, it was Angie’s face that was lit up in the end.

She tried to handle herself with as much dignity as she could, now that her end was before her. But she had one last thing to do before her execution began.

“Ah. Oh well. I guess I’m going to need to go on ahead. Sorry everyone, but it’s been fun!” Angie said with as much energy as she could, and twirled to give everyone one last looksie. “May Atua protect you all, and may you live long happy lives when the smoke clears,” she offered as a final prayer.

“Whatta bunch of bullshit,” She heard Kaito hiss to himself, and he looked far more conflicted now than he had in previous trials. He was a fair bit paler too, and hearing the way he coughed concerned her.

But before she could draw attention to the ill-boding red flecks she saw on his hand, Tenko drew her into one of the tightest bear hugs she’d ever been given. And considering Tenko’s previous hugs that’s saying a lot.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. It was stupid! If I hadn’t-”

“Hey, hey~ It’s okay, it’s okay! You couldn’t have known, and I don’t blame you or Ryoma! It was my mistake.” Angie rubbed at Tenko’s back, not wanting to make anyone’s stress worse just yet. She knew Kaede also saw the proof of Kaito’s injury, wherever it was. So they’ll be able to settle that later.

For now, Angie needed to try and lessen the damage she was about to do.

And a bit of tradition felt fitting in that moment, so Angie wiggled out of her raincoat and plopped it on Tenko’s shoulders, using the sleeve to uselessly wipe at Tenko’s mucky face. Tenko quickly caught onto what she was doing, as the waterproof material only moved the tears and gross boogers around rather than wipe them up, which got some very wet laughs from those around them as Tenko shooed her away.

“There! You look like you need it more than me, just look at how much rain you have on your faces already!” Angie stuck her tongue out at them in faux-mockery, hoping her own tears wouldn’t be brought up at her tease. “So take good care of it, m’kay? It’s important to keep parts of a person alive, and objects can hold memories just like brains do. So even if it stops being a raincoat, don’t get rid of it!”

With her parting piece said, there was no reason to postpone things any longer. Before Monokuma could snatch her away to meet Atua, and how he would try to break her spirit as he did, she squared her shoulders and gave everyone one last wave.

It was only then it occurred to her that blackeneds didn’t know what their executions were called.

Somehow not knowing made what was to come all the more nerve wracking than the anticipation a title left for those on the other side of the curtain. But she would never let that weakness show. If Monokuma wanted to make her frown or scream in “despair” she’d make that as difficult for him as she could.

That made the setting set before her all the more anticlimactic.

It was a snowy field, with a river nearby much like how the Virtual World’s setting was, and the sky above looked stormy. Angie wasn’t sure if lightning was possible during snow storms, but regardless of it was possible or artistic license that’s the direction it looked like things were going.

And as snake-like ropes bound her struggling form to a post like a lowercase t at the center of a pile of kindling she felt like she was ready to vomit, seeing the blasphemy he was going for.

Around her christianity based cross-of-a-lightning rod she saw ruined depictions of other faiths too. Everything from wooden sculptures like totem heads or scrolls of pagan gods were ready to burn.

Her thoughts were torn between Himiko’s lifeless corpse and the words her other self spoke before:

I’d rather avoid something witchy if I can.

So Monokuma made her take on the role of Joan of Arc (Joan d’arc? I don’t do french! Sorry Kaede) and was going to make the heavens “smite” her for her insolence. The crimes born out of best intentions and poor judgement, including those that happened long before Ryoma may have come to harm.

While there was no true being supporting Monokuma’s murder, Angie took a breath and prepared to accept it nonetheless. She felt an odd calmness within her as she saw the lightning flashes and resulting flames draw near her. As if it was Atua protecting her from the full brunt of her torture.

But when an all too human weight tackled into her, if this was His doing she wished he had forsaken her.

As kind as it is to keep her from dying alone, it was cruel to do so at the expense of one of her friends. But as her would-be savior tried to untie her, urging her to escape the stage, she couldn’t bring herself to voice those feelings. She simply tried to smother the pure gratitude that welled in her chest, and prayed for both of their souls as the thunder kept crashing down.

----

Tenko could only watch in silent horror as Kaito shoved Angie out of the way of the first strike. She watched as he struggled to untie their most innocent murderer, but as hard as she tried Tenko couldn’t hear anything over the sound of Monokuma’s thunder at this point.

But shouldn’t I be the one trying to save her? Or at least be helping him now? There’s only one Exisal left, so this would be as good a time as any to strikeback, wouldn’t it? I promised to protect Angie, didn’t I?!

Would she have ever done the same thing for you?

Tenko could only clench her eyes and teeth as shut as she was able to and looked away in frustration at that insidious thought. But only because she knew the answer.

She knew Angie wouldn’t even have considered saving her had their positions were switched. So in a way it was for the best that Tenko did the same thing, wasn’t it?

Unlike Kaito she had things she could still lose. Opening her eyes gave her a harsh reminder of that.

Gonta was beside her looking as torn and lost as she felt, standing on the sidelines as a “degenerate male” did what she couldn’t bring herself to do. And she knew that if she lept in to help Gonta would have followed her without question, because like Kaito that was the sort of man he was. A noble one.

And Kaito only had to die to prove it to you, didn’t he? Just like Ryoma did. Just like everyone kept saying. But you never wanted to listen, did you Tenko? This is all your fault. You failed Angie, and you’ll fail Kaito.

Her head felt like a mountain as she lifted it and shook her head at Gonta. The heartbreak and failure on his face would be forever ingrained in her memory. Because failing Kaito was the best they could do.

If we try to save him now we both might just end up dying out there with them, even without the Exisal. There’s nowhere for us to run to and he knew that going in. And if we all died who’d protect Kaede or Tsumugi!? Kibo? Even if he could, who’d protect him? He can’t save everyone on his own! He needs us.

Both she and Gonta could do nothing but weep as they saw Kaito try to pull Angie to a safety that didn’t exist. He couldn’t even see where the others were standing in all the chaos of the execution’s set. It was only a matter of time before the cruel god of this hell struck them down, as it gave up on avoiding him.

She almost thought Kaede and some others even began cheering him on, trying to help lead him back to them. But since even standing closer to the stage was enough to nearly drown them out, if that hadn’t been Tenko projecting her own feelings, there was no real point to it all.

So instead of joining in, or risk starting this chant of false hope if her mind was playing tricks, she just went close enough to hug Gonta as the watched. But with the way he held her she figured he was the one really doing most of the comforting. She could only hope she was helping him back in some way.

A part of her hoped the thunder would help mask her own wailing as the inevitable happened, only belatedly realizing a lot of that noise was now her other friends making similar screams. (But not Angie.)

It was only when she felt Gonta lift her that she noticed both of her knees had given out at some point. He still held her protectively, like this was still just a clingy two way hug to him, and carried her back to the group as she shoved her face into his chest to keep him from hearing her babble and whimper.

Not that any of it stopped when he cautiously put her back down, but she thought it would be better than hearing her incoherently try to blame herself for everything that happened. (Keeping him from correcting you for telling the truth was just another selfish benefit. You were just too scared to help.)

As he set her down Tsumugi was the first to cling to her as they sobbed together. A glance to Kaede quickly answered the question of why she wasn’t joining them.

The pianists eyes looked glossy with unshed tears as she blankly stared at the spot they could last make out Kaito and Angie, lost to the flames. She was on her knees, but looked broken in a way the previous trials hadn’t managed.

No one had expected Kaito to interfere, least of all her. Unlike Shuichi, his death wasn’t one Monokuma’s vile rules had forced upon them. He just threw his life away at the last minute.

But why did he do that?! He even cast a vote like the rest of us did, Angie’s guilt was unanimous. Was it just to spite Monokuma, dying in a way he didn’t want? He didn't even like Angie that much! So why-

“What the hell was that moron thinking?” She heard Kokichi cuss to himself, but he made no attempt to snap Kaede out of her traumatized trance. So Tenko decided to do what he didn’t think he could.

Tenko left Tsumugi’s embrace with a pitiful hiccup of an attempt to reassure her, and stretched Angie’s raincoat over Kaede’s far shoulder like it was a blanket for them both. (Is that how shock blankets work?)

Kaede made no indication she noticed, but with how much both girls were sobbing at this point Tenko didn’t mind. And Tenko took notice of how little the dying flames left behind of either of their friends.

It’s not fair! How can a person just… disappear, like that? Like if I didn’t have Angie’s coat it could be like she never existed at all. And everyone else who died in a trial left something behind, so why didn’t Kaito?

Maybe I should try making a momento for him? Like how Angie made her wax memorial figures.

Kaito never went without that printed jacket of his. I could try making the inside of Angie’s coat look like that. It’d be a lot of work, but I think it’d be worth it. Maybe it could help some of the others too...

Tenko distantly heard Kokichi try to stir the pot, something accusatory at either Kibo or Kiyo. She couldn’t be sure which. Whatever it was, she focused on trying to bring Kaede back to them mentally instead.

The two only moved when Gonta helped get them to their feet, so everyone could leave this cursed place in the elevator. But the ride up was deathly silent and as tense as a taught bow-string.

Kibo was the first to go and took off running, with Tsumugi’s lighter footsteps following after him. But the farthest Kaede could get was five paces before crumbling back to the ground and screaming loud enough for the stars to hear her. So Tenko did the same, rather than leave her like this alone and in so much pain.

Tenko looked up to see what Gonta intended to do, and assure him he could go if he wanted to, but the words caught in her throat. He looked to Kokichi, but the boy made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the misguided gentleman. Seeing the heartbreak on Gonta’s face as the small boy swatted a hand away and stomped off in the direction of their dorms, she chose to keep out of it. She’d probably just make more problems otherwise.

Hopefully Kokichi’s not going to hold this against him for long! Kokichi has more reason to hate me for planning a murder than Gonta. Mine got farther than his did, and Gonta deserves better than this.

She turned to see where the cause of all of their misery went off to, but as it turned out Korekiyo stood at the edge of the restored fountain as if he had barely moved since exiting the elevator. He kept… twitching, in a way that definitely wasn’t natural and his eyes were scrunched tight.

When they opened it was Shinguji who looked back at her, and when she removed the mask she was scowling at both of them. As if Kaede and Tenko had played any role in her own mistakes, much less her brother’s mental state.

She strode forward, trying to keep her distance from Gonta showing she was still wary of him, but couldn’t bring herself to leave the area. And not just in a figurative sense.

The hand that reached for the exit instead turned and pulled the mask back into place, and Korekiyo stood idle by the door as he faced them.

“My apologies if I am mistaken, but I am still not to be roaming about campus unsupervised, yes?”

Gonta startled at first, and guiltily looked at the floor before nodding his agreement. “It be better, yes. Gonta not know if Tsumugi go with Kibo or go to her room, so Kiyo could be threat to her.”

“Understood,” Korekiyo replied with a short nod of his own. “If it is not too problematic, should I help you escort our fair companions back to their dorms?”

“We can stand!” Tenko snapped at him after wiping away what tears she could, and refused to feel any guilt at seeing him flinch away. She tried to pull Kaede to her feet alongside her to prove her point, but Kaede’s legs were far less stable.

“Sorry, I-”

“It okay!” Gonta assured Kaede, flushed with humiliation as much as it was from her crying. “Kaede want piggy back? If Tenko can walk, Gonta can carry Kaede easy!”

“O-oh. Sure? I mean I don’t really remember the last time I got carried like tha-AAAAT” Kaede panicked at the end seeing as he was quick to prove true to her word. But even after she got herself situated her embarrassed blush didn’t die down. “Thank you?”

“You’re welcome!” Gonta smiled as brightly as anyone could after their hell of a night. “So we back to dorms now?”

“By all means, lead the way.” Korekiyo agreed, holding the door for the other three, as much as Tenko was loath to accept any “help” from him after all the confusion and death he’d caused.

Sniffling aside, the walk back was quiet, and there were no signs of any of their other friends. But that may have been for the best, as it encouraged going straight to bed if nothing else.

Not even she was ready to offer a “sleep over” after this. Tenko just wanted to sleep and hope this was all a stupid dream her mind cooked up out of guilt over her conspiring with Shinguji.

But it wasn’t. It never was in this horrible place that Angie had wanted them all to consider “home”.

Hell, she couldn’t even remember having a single dream in this prison. But thinking of dreams brought her mind back to her key. It felt like it was so long ago now, but it couldn’t’ve been more than three days. The thought and memories made her stomach do a flip without her in grief, but she held herself firm.

She had to try to appear strong. To help Kaede. To protect Gonta. To keep Korekiyo at bay.

Speaking of that bastard...

“Hey, Gonta, can we talk real fast? I know we all need some shut eye but I have a question first.”

Gonta gave a nervous glance to Korekiyo, who merely nodded and headed for his room for the entomologist’s peace of mind. But while her friend went off to the side so Tenko could hopefully keep Kaede from overhearing and make her worried, the murderer didn’t close his door all the way.

She tried not to think about it too much when she saw Kaede notice that too, and had a few quiet words with the unstable man which netted a nod to whatever she asked of him. Likely just to make sure he would still be breathing when the morning announcement sounded, knowing Kaede.

It would be wasteful for him to die now, wouldn’t it? I don’t know how to handle this. He doesn’t DESERVE to be forgiven! But at the same time… Maybe I should try, to make up for trying to kill him?

Is that what Angie would have wanted? Or would Ryoma rather I not leave the job unfinished?

Since when have you cared about what either of them really thought? Stupid selfish Tenko!

She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she made her offer. “Do you think it’ll be okay for me to help keep an eye on Kiyo? Since without Ryoma and Kaito, we…” The words caught for a moment in her tightened throat. “I don’t want you need to feel like you have to handle him all by yourself.”

“But it not safe! Kiyo sneaky person, could try to hurt Tenko without noticing.”

“I know. But if things with his “sister” really are different now, like if she’s all in his head, we don’t know how that could change things! He could try to hurt you too! Or maybe he won’t be killing anyone else-”

“Gonta can handle Kiyo! Tenko worry about Tenko, okay?” Gonta asked with a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and it took a lot of willpower to keep herself from trying to toss him on reflex. (Though tossing a guy THIS big could be hard even for me. He’s real good about keeping himself grounded and balanced.)

“But-!”

“Ladies shouldn’t talk about butts!” Gonta laughed at his attempt at a pun to try easing her worries. “If Gonta need help, Gonta ask for help. Gonta promise.” He swore as he crossed his heart with his hand.

“Alright. And I will be one of the people you can ask for help, whatever you need, okay?” Tenko reaffirmed, and didn’t allow him to break eye contact with her until he nodded his understanding. “Good! So, I guess that’s settled for now. We can work things out in the morning.”

“Okay. Goodnight Tenko! Don’t worry about bed bugs biting, Gonta already checked and no one has signs of those! Hope you sleep good.” (GAH, WAIT ARE BED BUGS REALLY REAL?! I DIDN’T KNOW THAT!)

“I-... Thank you? Sorry if you were hoping to find some I guess.” She nervously laughed as she headed for her door. “Goodnight!”

Tenko didn’t open her eyes once she entered that room, relying on muscle memory to reach her bed unimpeded. Anything to keep from seeing things that would make what happened that night harder.

But try as she might, the memories came to plague her all the same. And despite her best efforts, sleep refused to come easily. It was only until after her pillow was soaked from her futile fury and endless replays going over everything she could have done differently to avoid her current reality did it take her.

And it would feel like no time had passed at all when the next morning came, unrested and longing for just one night to allow her to dream and escape this hell on earth. Or wherever it was they were.

Not that the truth would help us any. Even if we were in space, Kaito wouldn’t have wanted it this way.

End of Chapter 3: We Lived and Let Them All Die Young

Surviving Members: 7

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