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Just A Needle To Your HeadThere was this sickness in Rowan's brain. And it was getting worse. An invisible disease, but far worse than some physical ailments. It made him question the reality itself and turned him weak and was barely even a person anymore. There was suffering Rowan couldn't describe. When walking outside on the streets of this wretched town, he was envious of other people. They knew nothing of the mental anguish. Or maybe some did, but had learned how to live with it, thus making Rowan jealous. To him, even the sun didn't bring warmth and brightness anymore to his miserable soul. But the question was, should he seek help? Could someone like him even be helped? He pondered this many days and nights, but eventually he came to the conclusion that he would at least try. You don't have that option anymore after you die. He visited a doctor, a person who had clearly seen many sad and broken people in his life. What would lead an individual to seek such a profession? Is it merely the noble idea of wanting to help people? Or is there something else? Rowan didn't know and it didn't really even matter. It was hard to be vulnerable in front of a complete stranger. The doctor probably wouldn't call him crazy – or maybe he would – since that would be quite unprofessional. He was a quiet and calm man, asking questions from Rowan, but mostly let Rowan tell his story and listened. Somehow this felt wrong for Rowan. He was a grown independent man, he should be able to handle life better than this, now he was way too fragile. And when life gets too hard, you turn to the bottle. Maybe Rowan should have tried that instead of sitting in the office of a stranger, complaining about his disease-ridden brain. Such a stupid brain he got. And the strange thing was, that's where Rowan's memory blacks out. For a moment he was in the doctor's office talking to him, but then something occurred that just simply erased all his memories after that. Did he ever finish the session with the doctor? Has he ever made it home? Maybe he got into a severe accident while walking back to the place he called home; his safe space, though it was infested with the darkness of his mind and felt like anything else but a sanctuary. And Rowan tried and tried, so hard to grasp the strings of his memories to recall what the hell had happened to him. It seemed they were there barely out of his reach, but anytime he managed to get close to them, they would drift away from him, taunting him in an infuriating way. Perhaps he should just give up on this task and focus on the present. Rowan couldn't help the feeling that he had ended up in a scenario straight from a horror movie. He was a prisoner, lying on a table with numerous straps wrapped around various parts of his body, preventing him from moving. Even his head was confined, so he couldn't really look around. Anxiety was no stranger to him, but the fear that now tiptoed into his heart was on a completely different level. He wiggled like a lowly worm, struggling against his bindings. It was no use. He could only stare at the ceiling and let the terror grow inside. He looked at the tiles above him. They had probably been white at some point in time, but now they were filthy and some even cracked. There was a dome-like lamp on the ceiling, but it wasn't currently lit. Some source of light was clearly giving him illumination, but being tied up like this, he couldn't tell exactly where the glow was coming from. A few times the light flickered ominously. For a moment Rowan was pondering whether the unreliable radiance was a friend to him or an enemy. It didn't take him long to come to the conclusion that it indeed was an ally, because in total absence of light he would be devoured by utter darkness. That didn't sound pleasant at all. He would probably even go insane much faster if there wasn't light; the inner demons love darkness. All Rowan could do was stare at the ceiling and think. He wondered where he was, but maybe he was in a basement of some sort; the air felt a little cold and damp. But where exactly this room was, that was the question. His memory gap didn't really help him at all, it just made it more difficult to figure out what the hell had happened and what kind of situation he was in now. Obviously this wasn't anything good, but he was afraid to let his mind wander together with his inner demons to delve into the worst-case scenarios. It was hard to not do that and Rowan tried his best to think something else, something nicer. Though that was also hard for him since his brain was rotten with disease and thinking about good things wasn't easy. But maybe it was essential now, so the fear wouldn't completely take over his mind. Though, the dread multiplied instantly as he suddenly heard something. So far he had been enclosed in silence, which Rowan had found a little comforting in a strange way, but now his ears were pierced by a sound of a metal door screeching horribly as it was forced to move and grant access to somebody. Then it was closed again. Rowan listened as someone was walking down the stairs and his heart was beating in terror in the rhythm of the descending person's steps. Whoever was coming down didn't sound like a large person, but that was rather meager solace; Rowan was still tied up and utterly vulnerable. He had never been more afraid in his entire life and he dreaded the second when the one descending would come to him – he had a hunch that they would bring nothing but unspeakable nightmares. The steps were getting closer until finally, Rowan could sense that the person had come rather close to the table where he was lying. How such light steps were able to deliver so much fright, Rowan couldn't understand. And then, suddenly a person popped into his limited view. It was a woman; that explained how light her steps had seemed. She had a very young face; in Rowan's eyes she probably wasn't even thirty years old. He noted that she was also very beautiful, but that beauty was ruined by the wickedness that stained her face. It could be seen especially in her eyes; they were abnormally light blue and gleamed with madness. Her long hair, tied to a ponytail, had such a pale hue of blonde that it looked almost white. She was wearing a doctor's white coat and this detail just made her much more terrifying; Rowan's mind was getting flooded with the horrific scenarios that he was being used in some cruel experiments. “Oh, good, you're awake”, the woman said and there was a terrifyingly deranged expression on her face. “Or maybe, not so good for you. We'll see.” Then she moved away from the table, Rowan couldn't see where she had gone or what she was doing. Of course he had to vocalize the mandatory questions one would utter in this kind of situation: “Who are you? And where am I?” “Ah, obviously you're confused by all this, that's normal”, the woman replied and she came back to the table and to Rowan's view. She had an unnerving smile on her face. “You can call me Amelia. And right now you are in my own little clinic of sorts. How did you end up here, hmm? I bet that was the next question in your head. You're not my first patient. Let's just say, there are so many broken people that other doctors can't deal with them all. We live in a defective world. That's where I come into picture; I snatch patients from others, taking a little bit of their burden away.” Rowan wasn't sure what Amelia meant by her last bit of information, but it gave him horrific visuals of corrupted doctors that would just pass their patients to lunatics like Amelia. And who knows what she was planning to do since Rowan's situation definitely didn't look good. Once more he opened his mouth: “What's going to happen to me?” “Oh, don't you worry”, Amelia responded, her smile growing even wider and she tenderly caressed Rowan's cheek, obviously in a mocking way. “I'm not going to torture you. I'm just doing a little operation. It's a swift one, I promise.” Rowan didn't like the sound of this and he started to feel even more terrified, if that was even possible. “But I don't need any operations! I'm okay!” “We both know that's not true”, Amelia almost whispered and she grinned in a way that expressed she knew more than seemed. “Your brain is a nest of disease. But I'll be honest: I haven't performed this procedure to anyone before. You're my first one. Be proud of that little fact.” Then she walked away again and Rowan had this horrifying awareness that second by second he was getting closer to something horrible. “What are you doing to me?” Rowan asked, his voice almost trembling from fear. “Ever heard of lobotomy?” Amelia turned the question. Rowan's blood ran cold and it almost felt like his spirit had just left his body. He knew nothing but horrible stories revolving around this surgery. “No, no, no, no, you can't!” “Of course I can. I've been curious about it for some time, but like I said, I haven't done this before. I'm doing this for science”, Amelia explained. “I need to see the effect myself.” Out of utter desperation, Rowan began to struggle against his bindings again. Panic had taken over his mind, demanding him to fight against the forthcoming horror. He squirmed, trying to bring forth strength fueled by terror. But no matter how much he writhed, the straps kept him in his place. All his attempts to get free were futile. “Have a little patience, please”, Amelia said. “You will get out of here. Eventually.” The doctor appeared on Rowan's view once again, and she was ready for surgery. She had put disposable gloves on her hands and she had a surgical mask covering part of her face; at least Rowan wouldn't see her horrifying smile. In one of her hands she was holding a single tool that resembled an ice pick; it was an orbitoclast. The worst part was that she probably wasn't going to use anesthesia of any kind. “Please don't do this”, Rowan whimpered pathetically, still kept his useless fight going against the straps. But Amelia didn't care about his pleas. All this was because of her morbid curiosity, Rowan was just a subject. “Now, hold still so this will be easier for both of us.” Rowan didn't follow her dark advice. He was in a state of utter panic and fear, primordial instincts had kicked in demanding him to fight and escape. He didn't stop struggling, not even when the doctor's sharp tool infiltrated the insides of his head through his eye socket. The orbitoclast went deeper and deeper and into Rowan's frontal lobe. As Amelia surmised that her tool had gone far enough, she started to wiggle it around Rowan's brain. She was humming to herself while performing the illegal surgery, clearly getting some twisted and sick satisfaction with what she was doing. And just like that, she was done. She pulled the orbitoclast out of Rowan's head and left him on the table. He wasn't moving anymore. Amelia decided to give him a couple of hours before studying the effects of the surgery. Still humming, she left the room and Rowan was all alone again. Rowan simply wasn't the same after this cruel experience. He was an empty shell of a person he used to be, almost seeming like nobody was home. When Amelia returned to him a while later, he didn't really react when the woman had freed him from the straps. The man didn't acknowledge her presence, like he was somewhere else entirely. But Amelia examined him with great curiosity, fascinated by the change. She helped Rowan to shift into a sitting position, but from there, he had no desire to move. This was a man who had desperately tried to fight for their freedom just a while ago, but now, he was quiet and didn't mind being in the room. He wasn't Rowan anymore. But now the delusions and anxieties are gone. Or at least, they didn't bother him anymore. In a sense, Amelia had just cured him. She gently stroked Rowan's cheek. “Can you feel it? The mental anguish?” “No.” His voice was monotonous; there was no will behind the single word he had just uttered. “Interesting.” This gave Amelia the crave to learn more. Human brain, what a mysterious thing it was, it would never stop being fascinating to her. And now, after she had done the little experiment with Rowan using the method of the past, she wanted to do it again, to study and observe how different people would respond to it. Rowan was merely the first subject. There were many things Amelia was interested in doing to people – and had actually done already – in the name of science, but she had just got a new fixation. And out there, the world was filled with wretches no one cared about.Sushi Pack Reimagine Chapter 2 Chapter 2High Tide, Low Tide Ben's alarm clock began its obnoxious honking as it was time for him to wake up. He grumbled while slamming his hand on the nightstand to press the "snooze" button.He then dragged himself out of bed and to the kitchen for breakfast.Quietly eating his omelette, Ben couldn't stop thinking about the bizarre stuff he saw yesterday. It all felt so much like a weird dream he couldn't believe it."Is something bothering you?" His mother asks, showing concern for her son."Mom, everything's cool," Ben replied, "there's just something to do at work later." A couple of minutes passed, Ben was dressed, teeth brushed, and lunch packed up ready for work. He followed his dad and all it took was ten minute walk to the Green Donut to get started with work. As they entered, they saw Francis and Heidi with shocked looks on their faces."Oh, hello sir! How uh... Have you been?" Francis asks, trying to compose himself."I've been well Mr. Huffman," Mr. Mizuyama answered in his usually blunt way. "Thank you."Then, business resumed like usual as Mr. Mizuyama went inside his office to do paperwork and check on the security camera footage.Meanwhile with Ben, he was standing by the counter and staring at the ceiling as today's shift is certainly not as busy as yesterday. Then, he saw someone so strange and yet so familiar, it was that fish woman and she brought company with her."Oh, it's you!" Ben exclaims, surprised to see her."We meet again I see," the fish woman remarked, smiling at Ben as she sits down with two of her companions, a blue octopus person and another fish person in an orange suit sitting with her while another companion, a pink crab was stuck at the door."Come on, stupid door!" The pink crab barked "lemme in!"The fish woman sighed. "Kani, you can walk sideways."Kani realized her mistake and moved sideways, going inside with ease.Heidi was genuinely surprised to see them in person. She too, was convinced they weren't real but today seemed to have changed her mind.The fish in orange then explained that they came to Wharf City out of fear that a (apparently) notorious crime group would cause further harm to the people of Wharf City and maybe even Cascadia as a whole.It was a lot to take in more or less. Then, Mr. Mizuyama came out of his office to go do something but the fish people have caught his attention. His eyes widened and he let out a confused "Oh" before walking into the kitchen. "Benjamin, I would like to have you come to my office," he said to Ben. "You're not in any trouble, I just need you to take a look at something."Ben gulped as he went inside his father's office, worried and unsure of what he's exactly talking about.He sat down as he watched his dad look through the security footage from yesterday and stopped at a clip from 2:30 PM, and Ben recognized what happened; it was that rabbit who stole a donut!"What is that...?" Mr. Mizuyama commented under his breath, trying to figure on Earth he's looking at. "Ben, can you ask one of those weird people to come and take a look at this?"Ben then got up and asked the fish woman, Maguro to look at something. She shrugged and followed him to his father's office where she was asked about the rabbit on the computer monitor. Maguro tensed up, like she also knew who that bunny burglar is."That's Mochi Mocchiato," she explained, "she's a part of the Legion of Low Tide, a crime group infamous for their kidnappings, scams, and petty thefts all across the galaxy. Once you face their wrath, abandon all hope."Neither Ben nor Mr. Mizuyama knew what to do with this information but their thoughts were immediately interrupted by a loud bang from outside. Maguro quickly ran out of the room, possibly to investigate the noise.Mr. Mizuyama gave his son a look, the type of that meant, "Do you seriously want to take this risk?" However, Ben decided to run after her, and what he saw sent him chills down his spine, there was this large creature standing at the entryway. Like Maguro, it resembled a tuna but its teeth were sharper, was much more muscular, and wore armor of some kind.The creature smashed its fist through the glass and then ripped the door off its hinges, making the pieces fall down onto the floor and sidewalk.Then, the large creature moved out of the way, allowing their own group of companions to go inside, with yesterday's guest Mochi being one of them!"Looks like those detective brats can't get enough of us!" A yellow eel cackles, "Still following us on our trail, huh?"The rest of the group cackled, amused by the eel's remarks.Maguro shook her head. "Just leave," Kani groaned as she didn't want to deal with them.The blue octopus vanished in thin air and climbed up to the ceiling judging by the sounds that were made.While the fish people traded their insults, Ben snuck into the closet near the restrooms and grabbed out a crowbar in a case where he would need to defend himself and/or the people dear to him. As he walked back to the main area with the crowbar in hand, Mochi managed to spot him."There he is!" she squeaked, "the man who ruined our plan!"Ben tried to run away but the large fish man managed to shove him to the ground, holding his captive down. Ben couldn't move and he never felt so scared in his entire life as he looked at that huge beast's angry eyes and drooling mouth."Get away from him, Toro!" A voice yelled out. It was that blue octopus man dangling from the ceiling! Toro was in shock, allowing Ben to give him a crowbar to the knee.The blue octopus continued to stare down at Toro, and eventually dropped a smoke bomb and fell back down to the floor.Ben navigated around the ink-like smoke, hoping to find anyone. "Ben! Ben, where are you dude?!" Heidi started yelling from the distance, hoping she could get him to follow her voice.Ben continued to explore and then heard Francis's voice, "Ben, are you still there? Lemme get my arm out and you can grab on it!"Then, Ben accidentally bumped into the counter but luckily, he reunited with his coworkers, who were happy that he was unharmed. For nearly an hour, they hid in the under the prep table in total silence.Time has passed, the smoke had faded away, though no one is sure if it's safe to leave.Maguro floated into the kitchen and was looking at them. "You're all mostly safe now," she told them. "However, the Legion of Low Tide are still an active threat but we, the M.A.K.I Group will protect you no matter what."She then gave Ben, Francis, and Heidi each a pager-like gadget in case of emergencies.Mr. Mizuyama came in to check on his son and employees. He saw Maguro too."Hello everyone, are you well?""We're alright sir," Heidi responded, still unsure of what is going on. "The Sushi Pack have definitely saved our tails back there."Although Maguro was confused about the "Sushi Pack" comment, she more or less tried to ignore it.The Green Donut ended up closing early due to everything that happened. On the walk back home, Mr. Mizuyama would occasionally freeze in his tracks every couple of steps with his face all scrunched up, trying to hold back tears.Ben would ask him if he was okay but alas, his dad refused to answer the question even after being asked about it thrice.Though, it didn't take long for Mr. Mizuyama to break down crying."I thought... I thought," Mr. Mizuyama could muster out of the blabbering, "I thought I was gonna lose you today!"He still continued to cry while Ben hugged him."Dad, I know," Ben replied, empathizing with his dad. "I really thought I was a goner too. It was so scary.""Ben.""Yes, Dad?""You know your best friend, Samir? Please, go to the al-Khalidis if this Low Tide Legion ever tries to hurt you again."Ben nodded, accepting his Dad's request. Back home, Mr. Mizuyama went straight to bed while Ben sat down to watch some TV. He would sometimes switch to the news to see if Channel 5 covered anything about the Legion of Low Tide. They did but no one talked about the Green Donut. He sighed, turned off the TV, and went into his room. He grabbed his phone, texting Heidi to see if she's okay and gave Francis a voicemail for the same reason.Although they were mostly fine, the event made Heidi think about quitting her job.Ben didn't blame her one bit, those two days of their life were some of the most eventful and terrifying they ever experienced.Now, all Ben can do is lay down on his bed and think.trophyHeart of the Storm - Chapter 5 - Ninjago Fanfic“LLOYD HAS A DATE!” Jay yelled, running into the living room, where Kai and Nya were watching TV. Neither of them paid him any attention, instead craning their necks so they could look around him. “WHY AREN’T YOU GUYS HYPED ABOUT THIS?” Nya shrugged. “Because he just turned nineteen and it’s not a big deal?” ‘It is a big deal!” Jay bent down and grabbed Nya’s shoulders. “IT MEANS HE IS IN LOOOOOOOVE!” “JAY! KNOCK IT OFF!” Lloyd yelled from down the hall. When he walked into the room, he held his arms out to show off his button up shirt and nice jeans. “How do I look?” Kai stood up and circled him with a proud look on his face. “You clean up nicely! I taught you so well.” “Um, hellOOOOooooo?” Jay said, pushing in between Lloyd and Kai. “He obviously got his style from me.” Lloyd laughed. “Okay that’s enough from you guys.” “So, where are you going on your date?” Jay asked. Lloyd slid his arms into his brown jacket. “It’s not a date! We are meeting up at an arcade to exchange our books and then maybe grab dinner or something.” “Huh uh, yeah because everyone wears nice button ups to hang out at an arcade,” Kai teased, rubbing his hand into Lloyd’s hair. “DUDE, STOP!” Lloyd yelled irritated, yet amused. “It may not be a date, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look good! I’ll see you guys later tonight, okay?” “Come on, I’ll walk you out,” Kai said, leading him towards the outer deck. “I don’t need an escort, dad,” Lloyd joked. Outside, Cole was quietly training, throwing punches at a training dummy. His fists glowed every time he swung, but the light would vanish before his punch landed. He took a few steps back and reached for his water bottle while wiping sweat from his forehead, finally noticing the two others approaching. “You look fancy!” he said, gesturing to Lloyd. “You guys are acting like I’m wearing a suit!” Lloyd laughed. “When all you wear are ripped jeans and oversized hoodies, you may as well be wearing a tux!” Cole clapped Lloyd’s shoulder. “Have a good time tonight, alright? And don’t forget to use protection.” “Oh my GOD I’m leaving now.” And without another word, Lloyd repelled down from the ship. “You getting some training in?” Kai asked Cole, the two of them now alone. “Yep. I need to stay sharp.” “Why were you pulling your punches?” Kai asked. “What are you talking about?” “When you were punching the dummy, you were using your super strength, but you’d stop using it right when you landed the punch.” “Oh, that!” Cole took a sip from his water bottle, then put it down, taking his fight stance again. “Two reasons. One, I don’t wanna break our dummy again. And two, it’s important that I always have control over when and where I use my strength. I never want to actually hurt anyone.” “But if you never use your strength, how will you know what you can do?” “I’ve got a pretty good idea of what my powers do.” Cole threw a punch, but Kai caught his fist before it landed. “Cole, I want you to hit me.” Cole took a step back, confused. “I’m assuming you mean with my full strength?” Kai nodded. “You have the potential to hit harder than the rest of us combined, but you always take a more defensive position. If you can learn to play more offensive, you’d be a force to be reckoned with.” Kai put his hands up. “Okay, punch me.” “Kai, I really don’t think-” “DO IT!” Cole wound up for a punch, but as he threw it, Kai perfectly dodged and retaliated with his own hit, landing against Cole’s chest. The heat from his knuckles felt like he was going to burn a hole right to Cole’s heart. Kai shook his head. “You are too predictable and too heavy with your stance. You gotta loosen up and be more bouncy on your feet.” “I’m not as quick as you, twinkle toes.” Kai motioned for Cole to try again. “Come on, you got this.” Cole threw another punch, but Kai easily batted his arm away. Kai groaned and stepped behind Cole, grabbing his waist, his warm, calloused hands gently pressed against Cole’s skin. “Relax your hips,” Kai said calmly, “and let yourself feel all that energy flow through you.” His hot breath against the back of Cole’s neck sent tingles down his spine. Cole tightened his jaw, doing his best to focus. “Feel the wind on your skin.” Kai’s voice was soft and light. “Flow with it.” Cole closed his eyes and felt the wind, letting his body move with it. Whenever he went too far in one direction, Kai would tighten his grip and guide Cole back the other direction. Cole was melting into putty under his touch. “Yeah, you got it!” Kai said excitedly. “This is where you want your balance to be when you’re on offense. You want to stay loose and relaxed and ready to move without moving too far in any direction. Hold that position, I’m going to do something.” Cole suddenly felt Kai run his hands down his arms, grabbing Cole’s hands. Cole’s skin burned under his touch, making Cole shudder. Kai moved his hands, one held out in front of him and one held closer to his body. You want to be ready for anything. You can’t afford to tank hits like you normally do, you have to be ready to feel the natural push and pull in a fight.” Kai finally let go of Cole and circled him. “Now, I want you to throw a hit at me at full strength this time, but make sure you stay light on your feet.” Cole nodded. He bounced from foot to foot and rolled his shoulders back. He then took up the stance Kai had taught him, earning an encouraging nod from Kai. Cole felt the wind pick up as he raised his fist to punch. To his surprise, Kai didn’t dodge. Kai grabbed Cole’s wrist and pulled him forward, making him stumble out of his stance. Kai jumped and wrapped his legs around Cole’s torso, his momentum knocking the two down. Cole landed against the deck, Kai still on his torso. Kai put his hands down on either side of Cole’s head, beads of sweat dropping off of his face as he breathed heavily. He gave Cole a cocky smile, but Cole couldn’t smile back. His chest was tight with anxiety at having Kai so close to him like this. “I gotta work on my form, I guess,” Cole mumbled. “No, no, your form was good. You just trusted me to play fair, and I didn’t. That’ll be the next lesson I teach you.” Cole looked up at Kai, wide-eyed, his heart beating out of his chest. Kai sat up slightly, cocking his head at Cole. “You good?” “Am…. I interrupting something?” Jay asked, appearing just off to the side. Kai quickly jumped up as if he didn’t just take down another man who towered over him. “DUDE! YOU MISSED IT! IT WAS EPIC!” Kai grabbed Jay by the gi. “I was teaching Cole some pointers and he left himself open for a takedown! It was so AWESOME!” Jay looked over at Cole, who was still laying on the deck, trying to catch his breath. He narrowed his eyes. “Uh huh. I see.” “Did you need something?” Kai asked. “Zane wanted me to tell you guys that he has dinner ready.” “Sweet! I can’t wait to tell everyone else about this!” Kai ran into their living quarters, the biggest smile on his face. Jay lingered for a moment, but followed Kai inside. Cole couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All he could do was lay there for a few more minutes, missing the feeling of Kai’s touch. Cole closed his eyes to take a deep breath, his lungs filling with the scent of a campfire in the middle of a cold Summer’s night. — Lloyd nervously waited outside the arcade, fidgeting with Akita’s comic book. When he and Akita agreed to meet, Lloyd had no expectations whatsoever. But since the other ninja kept calling it a date, Lloyd became stressed. Was this a date? Am I dressed up enough? Am I too dressed up? Should I have brought a gift? What if it’s not even a date anyway? What if…it is? Do I want this to be a date? I’m not sure I’m ready to- “Lloyd, right?” A sweet voice asked behind him. Lloyd turned around to find Akita wearing a cute green dress, making her brown eyes pop and perfectly pairing with her olive skin. She held up his comic book. “I believe this is yours, kind sir.” Lloyd smiled and offered her comic book in return. “And for you, m’lady.” Akita playfully cringed. “Eww no, don’t ever say that again.” Lloyd laughed. “I won’t! I regretted it as soon as it came out of my mouth.” The two exchanged books and Lloyd lit up, seeing the autograph he was given. “Thank you so much for this Akita!” “Of course! And to say thank you, you can take me to dinner!” “But I also brought your comic. Aren’t we even?” Akita’s smile faltered. She waited for a laugh or a punchline, but was surprised to see Lloyd was dead serious. “Lloyd, This is me asking you to take me on a date.” Lloyd went pale. “I am so sorry. I sometimes struggle in social situations. I had an unconventional upbringing, so I’m sorry if I ever misunderstand things.” “What? Were you raised by wolves?” Akita joked. “Honestly? I sometimes think I would’ve been better off if I was.” Lloyd pulled out his phone. “So, uh, where do you want to go for dinner?” “I’m new to the area, so I was hoping you’d maybe have a place in mind that you’d like to share with me?” Lloyd thought for a moment, then smiled. “I know a place.” — “Chen’s Noodle Shop?” Akita asked as the two walked into the restaurant together. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it!” “It’s a pretty nice place. The owner is actually a friend of mine,” Lloyd explained. And as if right on cue, a friendly face walked up and pulled Lloyd into a hug. “Lloyd! Hey! How are you doing?” “Skylor! Hey! I’ve been pretty good. How are things here?” Skylor looked around her restaurant, busy as ever. “Well, I’d say things have been pretty amazing!” She then looked at Akita and offered out a hand. “And you are?” Akita smiled and shook her hand. “Akita!” “I can’t say I’ve seen you before, Akita.” “I’m new in town.” Skylor raised her eyebrows and looked at Lloyd. “Well, you’ve got a pretty solid tour guide.” “I’m going to freshen up in the restroom,” Akita said, handing Lloyd her comic book. “Hold this for me?” Lloyd carefully took the book and watched her leave, waiting till Akita was out of earshot. “She doesn’t know,” Lloyd whispered. “Know…what?” Skylor asked. “That I’m the Green Ninja.” Skylor stared at him. “Wait, really?” Lloyd nodded. “She didn’t recognize me and I haven’t told her yet. Just please try to keep ninja stuff to a minimum tonight, okay?” “Just be careful there, Lloyd. You’re playing a dangerous game,” Skylor warned. “Don’t let this come back to haunt you, okay? I’m honestly shocked you were ready to be dating right now.” “It’s complicated, I’m not sure I’m ready either.” Skylor blinked slowly. “So you’re hiding your identity from a girl you don’t even know if you want to be on a date with right now?” “Yep.” Skylor’s demeanor changed as Akita approached. “Table for two, right this way,” she said with a smile. As they two followed her, Akita saw the conveyor belt and excitedly asked, “Is this one of those revolving sushi type places?” “Yeah, but they have so many more dishes than just sushi! You’ll love it!” Lloyd responded. Skylor sat them down at their table and left to grab them their drink order, leaving the two alone for a moment. “This place is so nice! Thank you for taking me here!” Akita said. She tapped her nails on the table as she watched a few of the dishes go by. “What do you recommend here?” Lloyd shrugged. “That’s a tough one. I’ve never had a meal here I didn’t love. Noodles of any kind are a staple of this place, but I also love their fried rice. It’s simple but still a classic.” “These choices are going to kill me!” Akita playfully complained. Lloyd smiled at her, but from where he was sitting, he could see the restaurant’s entrance. These two rougher looking guys walked in and seemed to be having some sort of argument with Skylor, but the noise from the other restaurant goers drowned them out. Lloyd couldn’t help but watch them. Akita noticed Lloyd was no longer looking at her, so Akita turned around and saw the men too. “They seem angry.” “Akita. Something’s wrong.I need you to trust me.” “Lloyd, you’re scaring me now.” “Akita, get down.” “Do you know those guys?” “Listen to me and get down.” “Lloyd, what’s going on-” A gunshot rang out. “GET DOWN, AKITA!” Lloyd screamed as he dove across the table. He didn’t know what he was doing, all he knew was he had to protect her without being the Green Ninja.Heart of the Storm - Chapter 4 - Ninjago Fanfic“FAMILY MEETING!” Following the day’s events, everyone needed to take a moment to settle down and process it. But Jay’s idea of “processing it” was forcing everyone to stay put in the living room so they could watch him pace around and complain. Cole and Lloyd sat by each other on the couch, faces still covered with their face masks. Kai sat on the other side of Lloyd, basically attached to him at the hip. Zane sat on the ground in front of them, his eyes following Jay as he paced. And Nya was on her feet, following behind Jay, trying to get him to calm down. “Calm down? Calm down?” Jay asked her. “Calm? Down? That THING made it onto the BOUNTY and ATTACKED!” “But it didn’t attack, it just kinda took up space,” Nya pointed out. “It didn’t cause harm.” Kai scoffed and mumbled, “Physical harm.” “It also left as soon as I hit it with water!” Nya grabbed Jay’s shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. She tilted his head upwards slightly so that she could meet his eyes. “We are all still okay. We’ve dealt with worse.” Jay leaned into her touch, melting in her hands. “I’m scared, Nya. What do we do if it comes back?” “I hear pans work great!” Cole teased. Nya shot him a dirty look, then turned back to her lover. “Then we will cross that bridge when we get there.” She pulled him into a hug. “We will be okay, I promise.” Cole raised his hand. “Can Lloyd and I be excused? This face mask is starting to burn a little.” Lloyd nodded in agreement. Finally noticing, Jay stopped and looked between Lloyd and Cole. “Why are you guys wearing face stuff?” Nya turned his head to face her again. “How about you come stay in my room so that you aren’t alone? Would that help put you at ease?” He sadly nodded, then laid his head on her shoulder. “I just want everyone to be okay.” “And we will be. I promise.” Nya wrapped an arm around him to guide him down the hall, offering a friendly smile to the boys as she left. “This is a truly confusing….thing we have on our hands,” Zane said quietly as he stood up. “I’m going to spend some time tonight studying the information we have and hopefully by morning I can have some sort of answer.” Lloyd stood up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t overwork yourself, okay? We’re in this together and we can figure this out together too.” Instead of any sort of comforting words, Zane responded, “You should go wash your face before your skin burns.” He then left quietly, his mind obviously already distracted. Lloyd and Cole silently separated, headed towards their own respective rooms. Lloyd opened his door and stepped into his small bathroom to wash his face. He bent down and cupped his hands to fill them with water, then dipped his face in. When he stood back up to look in the mirror, Kai was leaning against the bathroom door, his arms crossed tightly and his head hanging low. “I’m okay, Kai,” Lloyd reassured, “really. I promise.” Kai didn’t respond, he just continued looking at the floor. Lloyd continued washing his face, the two standing in silence. He finished and dried his face off, then looked back at Kai. “Dude, I promise. You should go get some rest.” “I saw things when the mist touched me,” Kai whispered. “It wasn’t like you and how you were just blinded. I saw you as a child. I saw how scared you were. I was reliving that moment at the volcano before I found my true potential.” His sniffling started again as he tried to hold back tears. “I tried to save you, but I dropped you on my way out. I begged for you to come back to me, but you were just…gone. It all felt so real.” “I get it, mine felt real too. I can’t even imagine having to see visuals of all that.” Lloyd guided Kai towards his bed and the two sat down together. “We could hear you mumbling while you were in the mist. We heard everything you said. I figured out that you were seeing a memory quite fast, but my experience didn’t include a memory at all.” “It’s good to know that we’d be able to hear each other if this were to ever happen again,” Kai responded. “Having one-way communication is better than none at all.” Lloyd looked at Kai, grabbing his hands. “These were a problem, though. When you used your fire in the mist, you used it in real life too.” “I figured when I saw the rug was charred.” “We’ve got to come up with a way to get through the mist without using our powers. Or at least, lethal powers, like fire.” Kai started counting on his fingers as he made his list. “So Cole can use his strength, Nya can create puddles, Zane is still incredibly intelligent, and you can use your shield and levitation.” His face fell. “Jay and I are screwed. Offense is kind of our whole thing.” “We’ll figure it out, okay? We don’t need all of the answers. Zane is spending some time looking into all of this and I’m sure he’ll come at us with some wisdom tomorrow.” Lloyd squeezed Kai’s shoulder. “Until then, get some sleep. And remember, we are both safe and okay.” Kai nodded, giving a forced half smile. “See you tomorrow, kid. Sleep well.” Kai left the room stoically, but Lloyd heard him begin to cry again as soon as he left the room. Lloyd didn’t go after him. Kai was always trying to be tough and unshaken, but he was hurting. And he needed space to feel that hurt without feeling the need to protect everyone else. —- “Hey I’m off to the coffee shop!” Lloyd called out, stepping out of his bedroom with his boots in hand. After last night, he just needed an excuse to get some fresh air and go on a walk. As he sat down on the couch, he caught a glimpse of Kai eating cereal straight from the box. When Kai saw him, he tossed the box onto the counter and reached for the cabinet to get a bowl. Lloyd smiled to himself and rolled his eyes. “Can I get an iced mocha with an extra shot of espresso?” Kai asked, his mouth still full of cereal. “Oh, I was going to take a quick walk-“ “You’ll be back quick? Awesome!” Kai poured his cereal into a bowl and Jay walked in, stretching and yawning. “Thanks for getting me coffee!” “Lloyd’s grabbing coffee?!” Jay asked, suddenly wide awake. “Caramel latte. Whipped cream. Sprinkles!” “Guys I’m just-“ “NYA!” Jay yelled down the hall. “LLOYD’S GETTING COFFEE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?” “ICED AMERICANO WITH VANILLA!” She yelled back. Jay turned to Lloyd. “She’ll have an iced ameri-“ “I HEARD!” Lloyd shouted. He finished lacing his boots, irritated at everyone, but not enough to correct them. He walked out onto the deck shielding his eyes from the sun, running into Cole in the process. “Oh hey, I was just looking for you!” Cole said happily. “Kai texted me saying that I needed to give you my coffee order. I’ll make it easy for you and just ask for a black coffee. No sugar. No nonsense. Just a coffee.” Lloyd glared. “How kind of you.” Cole gave him a friendly smile in response as he wandered back towards their living quarters. Behind Lloyd, Zane was writing in a notebook, leaning against the ropes they all used to repel down the ship. As Lloyd approached, Zane’s eyes darted up for a moment, then back down at his notebook. “Going somewhere?” he asked. “I just wanted to go for a walk and somehow got suckered into buying everyone coffee.” “How unfortunate it is to be misunderstood,” Zane giggled slightly. “I’m sorry your morning has been thrown off.” Lloyd shrugged. “With this group? It happens. It is what it is. I don’t remember their orders, though, so they probably won’t be too happy.” Zane ripped the paper he was writing on out of the notebook, folded it up, and handed it to Lloyd. “It’d be a shame if the orders were wrong.” Zane then marched off in the same direction as Cole. Lloyd unfolded the piece of paper and found it contained everyone’s order, finished with a “Flat White :D” at the end of the list. He couldn’t help but smile at the note before grabbing the ship’s repel gear and jumping off. Lloyd landed gracefully on a rooftop and peeked over the edge to see if he was spotted. The Destiny’s Bounty is kind of hard to miss if you’re in Ninjago, but Lloyd always tried to make sure he could make a quiet exit to avoid crowds of people swarming him. And thankfully, there was a nearby alleyway empty, allowing him to jump down and silently sneak out. Lloyd took a deep breath and put his hands in his hoodie pockets, enjoying the bustling ambiance around him, as he walked towards the nearest coffee shop. He loved the little moments like this where he could just be a normal person and not have to worry about saving the world again. And with this new mist shit, his much needed break was still way out of reach. Lloyd pushed the coffee shop door open and got in line, fiddling with the note Zane had given him. He tried to memorize the note, but he was so scatter-brained in that moment that it just wasn’t working. By the time it was his turn, he had given up. The barista offered him a smile. “Hi, there! What can I get started for you today?” Her short brown hair framed her face and her smile had a warmth Lloyd hadn’t been expecting. “Can I get a-” “WAIT!” The barista yelled. Lloyd braced himself, ready for her to publicly out him as the Green Ninja, but she instead said something he wasn’t expecting. “I HAVE YOUR COMIC BOOK!” “You what?!” Lloyd squinted his eyes at her. “You were the fox?” “A wolf, but yeah!” She became extremely giddy. “I’ve been asking around to try to find someone who got their autograph swapped by accident, but I couldn’t find you.” “Okay! Wow, I honestly have been so busy that I haven’t had the time to even try to find you.” “Oh I was so broken up about it! I wasn’t even upset that I didn’t have my own, I was just sad that I was keeping someone else from having something so special.” She tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear. “God I was just having a bad day yesterday. First you, then my brother, then the Green Ninja-” Lloyd hesitated for a moment. “What happened with the Green Ninja?” “I got him caught in that smokey stuff!” Her face grew bright red. “After you ran into me, my brother and I went to see a panel, but suddenly everyone started running and screaming. My brother and I got separated in the lobby area. I turned around and he had vanished in the cloud stuff. I tried to run to him, but the Green Ninja had his shield stuff up. I begged for him to go help my brother, but I think I threw off his focus or something because his shield fell and the smoke got him. I got away before it got me, though.” “Did he get out okay?” Lloyd asked, playing dumb. “Yeah!” The woman smiled. “His friends saved him. And my brother got out okay too, he was just confused why everyone seemed so scared. He said he was scared, but people around him were utterly terrified.” She stopped speaking and grabbed a cup. “I am so sorry! What would you like?” “Can I get a medium matcha latte, please?” The woman wrote it down. “Okay! Anything else?” Lloyd looked down at his note. “Can I just hand this to you and you tell me what I owe?” The woman laughed at the list. “You grabbing coffee for your coworkers?” Lloyd nodded. “Yeah, something like that.” The woman wrote down all of the drink orders, then slid the note back to Lloyd. “That’ll be $44.50.” Lloyd cringed and dug his wallet out of his pocket. “Damn, okay, they owe me.” The woman giggled as she ran his card. “Want a receipt?” “Please! I need to make sure they pay me back.” The woman laughed, printed his receipt, then walked away to make the drinks. As he walked away, Lloyd took one last look at Zane’s note, but felt his face getting hot when he saw what was written on the note- Call me for comic book swap! 555-6324 <3 AkitaHeart of the Storm - Chapter 3 - Ninjago Fanfic“So…” Lloyd started, “I can’t say I was expecting that.” Nya, still applying Cole’s facemask, mumbled, “Lloyd, come up with a better response.” “Sorry! I don’t have a problem with it at all. You being gay, I mean.” Lloyd hoped the correction was to Nya’s liking, and going off her silence, he figured it was good enough. “So, who is the lucky guy then?” Cole tightened his jaw. “That’s where things get tricky.” “It can’t be that bad!” “It’s Kai,” Cole whispered. Despite his face being covered in his face mask, Lloyd could still tell he was feeling bashful based on his voice. “Ew.” “Lloyd,” Nya warned. “Better response, please.” “Nono I don’t mean it in a ‘ew gay’ way, more of a ‘ew Kai’ way.” Cole laughed. “What’s wrong with Kai?” Lloyd gave him a “seriously” look. “Have you met the guy? He uses way too much hair gel, winks at himself in mirrors, and thinks ‘NOT SO FAST’ is a valid, serious catchphrase to use in battle.” Cole smiled quietly to himself. “I know.” Nya nudged her cosmetic box over towards Lloyd with her elbow, her hands covered in face mask goop. “Pick a headband. I’m doing your face next.” Lloyd reached for the box and found it filled with various cosmetics, none of which Nya used as far as Lloyd could tell. He reached in a grabbed a white headband with fluffy cat ears, putting it on without protest. “Why do you have all this stuff?” Nya stifled a laugh, positioning herself in front of Lloyd to do his mask next. “It’s all from Jay. He likes to get me gifts.” “But this doesn’t seem like the kind of gift you’d enjoy.” Nya looked over her shoulder at Cole, who was sitting contently, his confidence having returned to his body. “Well, it started with one headband and a few face products. They sat in my closet forever. When Cole first came to me about his sexuality, he seemed stressed, so I told him he was welcome to try out my stuff. Turns out, he loved it.” Nya broke out into little giggles, shaking her head playfully. “Jay noticed that the items he bought were being used, so he kept buying more because he thought I’d like it.” Nya’s voice lowered to a whisper as she said, “Don’t tell him he’s funding our self-care spa nights.” “I would never!” Lloyd jumped as Nya pressed the face mask against his face, not expecting it to be so cold. “I want to hear more about Kai, Cole.” Cole’s grip around his pillow tightened. “I don’t really know what to say! I mean, he’s cute.” “That’s it? You just like him because he’s cute?” Lloyd asked. “He’s incredibly protective and passionate about the things he loves,” Cole started, closing his eyes as he got lost in thought. “Like, when he talks to you two, his voice gets all soft and sweet because he cares so much. He’d give anything to protect you two, and I’d give anything to hear him talk to me like that.” His eyes opened with excitement as he continued. “And have you ever noticed he’s the literal embodiment of fire? When the light hits him just right, it looks like he’s a glowing ember. He gives off this constant heat that just makes you feel so comfortable in his presence. AND! He smells amazing when he doesn’t douse himself in cologne like a damn middle schooler. It’s like-” Cole took a deep breath, “-a campfire in the middle of a cold Summer night.” Nya smiled, still facing Lloyd. “He’s smitten.” Cole threw his pillow at Nya. “Oh, shut up. I don’t give you shit when you gush about Jay!” “Yes you do!” Nya laughed. Cole smirked. “Okay, yeah, I do.” Nya scooted back from Lloyd, finished with his face mask. “Alright, boys, leave them on for a bit and then I’ll have you both rinse your faces.” “You aren’t doing your face?” Lloyd asked. Nya shook her head. “Like you said, not my thing.” Lloyd looked back to Cole, warmly. “I appreciate you feeling safe enough to share this with me.” Cole smiled back. “Thanks for giving me the room to figure myself out.” He grabbed his pillow and pulled it back up against his chest. “So, you wanted to talk about the Rumi stuff?” Lloyd’s smile faltered. “I feel bad, though. I don’t want to take over boy talk.” “Oh, dude, don’t worry,” Cole assured him. “I promise it’s okay. Nya?” Nya nodded in agreement. “Go ahead, we’re listening.” Lloyd took a deep breath. “Okay, so, Rumi-” “BOO HISS!” Cole yelled. Lloyd shot him a look, making Cole laugh. “Okay, okay, sorry, go ahead.” “When I touched the fog, I heard her yelling for me. I followed her voice and then I started suffocating.” Nya nodded. “And I’m assuming you thought it was her?” Lloyd hesitated. “I don’t know.” “Do you want it to be her?” “I…don’t know.” Lloyd felt a pit begin to form in his stomach. “That’s why I wanted to talk about it. I know I don’t exactly do ‘feelings’ or anything, but this was something different. I mean, I was being choked by nothing. That’s not normal.” “Was it maybe a hallucination?” Nya asked. “It’d have to be,” Cole figured. “Maybe we can talk to some of the other people who were caught in it tomorrow?” “Zane already spoke to a few people today, though,” Nya pointed out. “Everyone saw or felt something different. One lady said she felt bugs crawling all over her, but a man he spoke to said he heard the screams of his wife in pain.” “What do those things have in common?” Cole asked. Before anyone could answer, a scream echoed down the hallway, followed by Jay pleading for anyone to come to his aid. Cole jumped to his feet, dragging Lloyd and Nya up behind him. The three followed the yelling into the living space where Kai and Jay were playing video games to find a puff of black mist swirling at Kai’s feet. Jay was a few feet away from Kai, outside of the mist, attempting to swat him with a pillow. “KAI! WAKE UP! GET OUT OF THE SCARY FOG!” Jay yelled, chucking the pillow at him. The pillow bounced off of Kai and landed in the mist, the attack doing nothing to make Kai budge. Jay threw his hands up in the air. “That’s just GREAT! I don't know WHAT TO DO HERE!” He seemed to be put at ease slightly when his eyes fell on Nya, who grabbed his hand to pull him away from the mist. “What happened?” Nya asked, pointing at her brother. Kai was standing, slightly slouched, and was mumbling to himself as his fingers twitched with little embers. “Come…on……why won’t….my….power unlock?” Zane busted into the room, panting, with an ice attack ready, but when he saw the cause of the commotion, he stopped in his tracks. “This is exactly how we found Lloyd.” Cole shook his head. “Not exactly, he seems more talkative.” “LET’S GET HIM OUT OF THERE!” Jay screamed, reaching for another pillow to throw. He threw it directly at Kai’s face, but Kai didn’t react to the hit at all. It was as if everyone was looking at something that didn't exist in the same realm of existence as themselves. “The pillows are too soft. I’ll be right back.” Jay shook off Nya's grip and walked out of the room. “What do we do?” Lloyd asked. “How did you guys help me earlier?” “Cole used his element of Earth to remove everyone from the mist while Nya and I contained it,” Zane responded. “Okay, then let's do that! COLE, GO!” Cole tilted his head. “And how do you expect me to do that on a flying ship?” “Well, we can still do the containing thing, right?” Lloyd asked. “And freeze my brother with it?” Nya shook her head. “No way.” “Come on…..let’s….get….out of….here.” Kai mumbled, small flames now circling his fingertips. Lloyd held up his hand, silently signaling everyone to stop talking. They watched as Lloyd took a step closer to the mist. His eyes narrowed as he quietly said, “But, the fangblade-” “Forget it…..this place…..is coming… apart.” Kai’s breathing staggered and stuttered as if he was doing something physically taxing. “It’s a memory,” Lloyd realized. “The day he saved me. The day I became one of you guys.” “You didn’t see a memory, though,” Nya pointed out. “Why is he?” “You think I know? I’m in the dark just as much as you guys.” “We gotta pull him out of there before something dangerous happens,” Cole said, starting to head back to his room. “I may be able to move him with my scythe. Hang on.” Zane watched Kai closely. “This is truly extraordinary.” He took a knee to watch Kai’s hands. “Is it possible that whatever this is, it’s trying to make us use our powers?” “I don’t think so,” Lloyd responded. “I didn’t use my powers to claw at my neck.” “I’M COMING KAI!” Jay screamed, running into the room, wildly swinging an iron skillet. Nya caught Jay’s arm before he could throw it at her brother. “DROP IT!” “I’M HELPING!” “You are NOT!” Nya looked over her shoulder to yell down the hall. “COLE HURRY!” Cole came running into the room, his weapon in hand. Jay broke free from Nya and threw the pan. Lloyd dove for it to try to keep it from hitting Kai, Cole diving after him to make sure Lloyd didn’t dive headfirst into the coffee table. Not watching out for his own weapon, Cole accidentally swung his scythe, hitting Zane behind his knees and taking him down. And to make matters even worse, Kai’s hands fully ignited in flames that overtook the entirety of his arms. Still entranced, he started screaming, begging for an invisible force to “Come back” to him. He fell to his knees, setting the rug in the middle of the room on fire, choking out violent sobs that were nearly incoherent. “Watch out, guys!” Nya yelled as she sprayed water across the room. She had expected the mist to spread across the room, but it instead floated out the window and dissipated into the night air. “That was….weirdly easy.” The water had put out Kai’s fire, leaving him on all fours in a puddle. He breathed heavily, sniffling while he tried to regain his composure. Lloyd pushed Cole off of himself and crawled over to Kai. “H-hey, man. You okay?” Lloyd’s heart shattered when he saw the look on Kai’s face. He was broken, his lower lip quivering as he tried to regain his composure. Kai had lost every ounce of color from his face, leaving him as pale as a corpse. His hands trembled as he wiped his face of tears and Nya’s water. Kai opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t form anything. All he could do was tightly wrap his arms around Lloyd, his nails digging into Lloyd’s tee shirt. Lloyd reached his arms up to hug him back and, as his fingertips brushed his shirt, Kai broke out into sobs. He buried his face into Lloyd’s shoulder, not to try to hide his emotions, but to feel closer to him in any way he could. Lloyd didn’t fight him. Kai needed this. Nya caught Lloyd’s eye, looking just as concerned as Lloyd felt inside. It wasn’t every day you watch someone like Kai fully breakdown. Lloyd started to move his hands back down, but Kai whispered, “Please don’t let me go. I need to know this is real.” “It’s real, Kai,” Lloyd assured. “I am real.” “I saw you die.” The air in the room felt heavy as everyone processed what Kai had just said. “We were at the volcano and I lost my grip and you-” “I’m right here, Kai.” Lloyd tightened his hug. “I’m okay.”Heart of the Storm - Chapter 2 - Ninjago Fanfic“This would go by quicker if you held still,” Zane said simply, holding a clean rag and a bottle of antiseptic. Lloyd was laid on his bed, his head positioned in a way to give Zane easy access to his neck. The bleeding had stopped, but cleaning it burned more than Kai’s own fire. “I’d stop moving if you stopped hurting me.” Zane poured some of the antiseptic onto the rag. “I’ll stop hurting you if you stop moving. Hold still.” Zane gently pressed the rag to Lloyd’s neck, causing him to yelp and instinctively move away from Zane. “Lloyd, this is basic procedure. Please hold still.” “C-can I help at all?” Kai rambled, looking over Zane’s shoulder. “I can get you more rags or I can hold a flashlight so that you can see better or I can-” Zane lets out a breath. “Kai, you’re pacing again.” Kai stopped moving, realizing he had been in motion for a few minutes. “You couldn’t even see me.” Zane looked over his shoulder. “Your pacing makes Lloyd anxious, which causes his heartrate to elevate. His heart rate was elevating, therefore you were pacing.” Kai rolled his eyes and pouted. “I don’t cause anxiety.” Zane smirked slightly. “It also sounded like a hippo was stampeding through the room. You’re heavy footed.” “AM NOT!” Jay walked into the room holding a blanket, Nya following close behind him. “Hey, I grabbed you a blanket because I-” Jay stopped talking when he spotted a bloodied rag on the ground beside Zane. “Yep. That’s blood. Neck blood. Wow. I don’t like that.” He placed the blanket at the foot of the bed and quickly rushed out, shouting, “Good luck with the neck blood!” as he left. Nya shrugged. “He’s had a weird thing about blood lately. Don’t mind him.” “Can I please have quiet?” Zane asked, patiently. “Lloyd needs to be cleaned and the distractions aren’t helping.” “A distraction is exactly what he needs,” Cole responded, walking into the room with a warm teapot and a teacup. He placed them on Lloyd’s bedside table and took a knee, getting on his level. “You know we’re supposed to fight the bad guys, not ourselves, right Greenie?” “It’s a long story. I didn’t do it on purpose.” Seeing his opportunity, Zane pressed the antiseptic against his neck again, but Cole grabbed his head before he could move away. “Hey, just look at me, tough guy. Don’t be a baby.” Lloyd closed his eyes to try to keep tears from falling down his face. “Easy for you to say,” he whined. “You can’t feel it.” “If these scar over, what story are you gonna tell people?” Lloyd opened his eyes, confused. “Story?” “Well, you can’t just tell people you lost a fight with the air,” Cole joked. “You gotta give them something like, ‘Oh these scars? It was a big ass cat. If you think this looks bad, you should see the cat!’ I like that idea.” “I’m not going to tell people a cat attacked me.” Cole nodded. “Fair…we’ll say it was an armadillo.” Lloyd choked out a pained laugh, wincing as Zane touched his neck with the rag again. “What the hell are you talking about?” “Um, I very clearly said armadillo, did I not?” “He did!” Kai chimed in. Cole smiled at him. “Thank you, Kai. Lloyd, giant armadillos have shockingly sharp claws.” Lloyd rolled his eyes. “You’re not helping.” “All cleaned,” Zane said. “The worst is over.” Cole winked at Lloyd. “I kept you still, didn’t I? Sounds like I helped plenty.” “You better be nice Lloyd,” Kai laughed, “Or else Cole will have to use his big muscles to hold you down next time.” Cole took a step back, his confident shoulders sinking slightly. He looked away from the group as he said, “Oh, yeah. I’ll uh…do that…next time.” He took a breath before turning to leave. “Just holler if you need me.” Nya’s eyes followed Cole as he left the room. “I’m going to head out too. I gotta make sure Jay didn’t faint in the hallway or anything.” Zane offered a hand to Lloyd to help him sit up. He reached into a first aid kit he had with him and pulled out a tube of ointment. “Keep the area clean and uncovered and apply this twice a day - once in the morning and once at night.” “Thank you Zane.” Zane smiled warmly. “Don’t move next time and I will be done sooner.” Lloyd laughed. “Yes, doc, I’ll do better next time.” Zane patted Lloyd’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He then stood up, grabbed his medical supplies, and left the room. Lloyd grabbed the blanket and wrapped himself up, doing his best to get comfortable. Kai sat down silently next to him. The two existed in each other’s peaceful quiet, until Kai got up and poured the tea into the teacup and handed it to Lloyd. “So, are we going to talk about it?” Lloyd took a sip from his tea. “Talk about what?” Kai gave him a doubtful look. “Lloyd. You call us for backup and we arrive to you attacking yourself.” He took a deep breath. “I was scared, Lloyd. I’ve been fighting by your side for years, but I’ve never seen you like that before.” Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. “There was something wrong with the black fog.” Kai nodded. “Yeah, that mist looked nasty. I would’ve gotten stuck in it too if Nya hadn’t stopped me.” “Why’s that?” “I saw you in trouble,” Kai admitted. “Nothing else mattered. Nothing was going to keep me from saving you. Nothing.” Lloyd laughed. “Nothing, except Nya.” Kai playfully punched Lloyd’s arm. “You get what I mean.” The two sat for a few more moments in silence, before Kai started speaking again. “Can we talk about what happened to you in there?” Lloyd nodded, placing his teacup down. “Well, I was entirely blind. The second it touched me, it was like it swallowed me in darkness. I then heard a voice, calling out for me, so I tried following it. Right when I thought I found it, it felt like something wrapped around my neck. I felt like I was suffocating-” “Which is why you clawed at your neck,” Kai finished. “That makes sense.” “The weirdest part about the whole thing was the voice,” Lloyd admitted. “Why’s that?" Lloyd hesitated for a second. “I could’ve sworn it was Rumi calling out for me.” Kai’s expression soured. “Of fucking course.” “I’m serious, Kai!” “I know, and I’m not doubting you, but god this chick just doesn’t know when to quit it.” “Do you really think she’s behind the attack?” Kai shrugged. “I can’t say for sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she survived that building collapse.” As his anger built, Lloyd could feel Kai’s natural heat he gave off burn hotter. Lloyd pulled his legs up to his chest. “Can we not talk about this?” Kai snapped out of his anger, his temperature returning to normal. “Oh, yeah, of course. So besides the attack, how was the con?” Lloyd groaned. “It was great until my autographed comic got swapped with someone else’s.” Kai’s expression dropped. “NUH UH!” Lloyd nodded, pointing to his backpack. “I got stuck with someone else’s damn comic book.” “That sucks!” Kai thought for a moment. “Any chance we could find this person and get the book swapped?” Lloyd shrugged. “She was in full cosplay. I have no clue what she actually looks like.” “I wish you the best, brother,” Kai said, standing up. “Jay and I have our gaming marathon tonight, so I should get going so I can beat his ass. But you come get me if you need anything, okay?” Lloyd nodded. “Thank you.” As Kai stepped out of the room, he yelled over his shoulder, “AND MAKE SURE YOUR DISHES MAKE IT TO THE SINK!” “WHATEVER, MOM!” “WhAtEvEr, MoM!” Kai mocked, his giggling vanishing as he made his way down the hall. Lloyd finished the rest of his tea, breathing slowly in the silence as the Bounty swayed beneath him, her floorboards creaking ever so slightly. He tried to let his mind rest, but he couldn’t shake everything going through his head. Lloyd drifted between sadness, guilt, and fear, while reliving today’s events. He wasn’t sure if he believed it was Rumi. Part of him wanted it to be, but he didn’t know why. Everything felt like it was weighing him down, making his head feel heavy. Not knowing what else to do or where else to go, Lloyd slid out of bed and wandered out of his room, his blanket still wrapped around him. Lloyd went down the hall a few doors, stopping at the room at the end of the hall. He knocked on the door and crossed his fingers, smiling when Nya opened the door. “Oh! Uh, hey, Lloyd.” Nya seemed nervous to have him at her door, but Lloyd didn’t notice. “Hi! I’m glad Jay is busy tonight. May I come in?” Before Nya could respond, Lloyd walked into her room. “You said previously that if I needed girl help that I could come to you.” Nya smiled awkwardly. “I did.” “And tonight, Jay and Kai are pulling their video game all nighter.” “They are.” “So that means you’re available to chat for a bit!” Nya shook her head. “Sorry Lloyd, but I have plans.” Lloyd gave her a confused look. “This late at night? And in your pajamas?” “Oh, am I interrupting?” Cole asked behind Lloyd. Lloyd turned around to find Cole shirtless in his pj pants, holding a pillow tightly against his chest. “I can come back later.” “No!” Nya shouted. “Lloyd was just leaving.” “I was?” Lloyd asked. Nya grabbed Lloyd’s arm, dragging him towards the door. “Yes. I’m doing-” Lloyd grabbed the door frame, stopping Nya dead in her tracks. “Cole? You’re doing Cole?” “NO!” Nya yelled, trying to hold back laughter. Cole giggled, still standing in the hallway. “Kai and Jay have their thing, so Nya and I have ours.” “Oh! Perfect! The more the merrier!” Lloyd turned and walked back into the room, pulling Nya along with him. Nya released his arm. “Lloyd, really, can we please do this another night?” Cole shook his head. “Nya, it’s okay.” Nya gave him a worried look. “Are you sure?” Cole hesitated, studying Lloyd’s face, then nodded slowly. “I think I’m okay with this.” He then took a seat in the middle of the room while Nya pulled out a box from her closet filled with various skincare products. “Awesome, thank you!” Lloyd said, taking a seat on the ground beside him. “It’s about Rumi.” Both Cole and Nya froze. “Wait, seriously?” Nya asked. Lloyd nodded. “Yeah. That fog stuff earlier made me think I heard her.. “Do you think she did this?” Nya questioned, rummaging through her box. “I’m not sure. I was telling Kai about it and I don’t think he quite knew how to take it.” Nya tossed a spa headband with brown bear ears to Cole, who slid it onto his head. He then used a hair tie he had around his wrist to pull his remaining hair into a bun. Lloyd stared at him for a moment, giving him a weird look, before continuing. “I could’ve sworn I heard her yelling for me, but when I tried to follow her voice, an invisible force started choking me. It’s why I scratched up my neck - I was trying to breathe and remove whatever was choking me.” Nya grabbed a small pink container and sat in front of Cole. She popped it open, dipped her fingers in, then started coating Cole’s face with it. “I’m not normally one to judge, but what is this?” Nya looked over her shoulder. “Cole’s needed some destressing time, so this is our routine. We have a spa night where we pamper ourselves and talk.” “Talk about what?” Lloyd asked. Nya looked at Cole, silently letting him guide the conversation. “Well,” Cole started, “I’ve got a lot of personal feelings I’ve been working through, too. Feelings that I’m not comfortable sharing with any of the guys.” “Dude, you know we’re all always here for you, right?” Lloyd reminded him. “Oh, of course! I’ve just got some more personal things going on.” Lloyd watched as Cole, a tall muscular man, sunk into himself, looking small and unconfident. “Nya’s been helping me work through my feelings.” “What kind of feelings?” Lloyd asked. “Like, relationship feelings?” “You…could say that, I guess.” “OOOOooooOOOO,” Lloyd teased. “Who is the lucky girl, huh?” Cole tensed up, almost like he was preparing himself to be punched. He swallowed hard, gathering every ounce of courage he could find, before saying three words Lloyd would’ve never expected. “Lloyd….I’m gay.”Heart of the Storm - Chapter 1 - Ninjago Fanfic“NINJAAAAAGOOOOO!” A little kid dressed as Lloyd went running down the Ninjago Convention Center hallway, swinging his plastic sword over his head. “Watch this, mom!” The kid threw down his sword and attempted to do a flip, but tumbled into the oncoming traffic of people walking around him. Before he could be trampled, a hand grabbed him off of the carpet. The kid got into a fighting stance, preparing to take on the stranger that grabbed him, but stopped when he met the eyes of his savior. Standing before him was the real Lloyd, dressed in casual clothing with a backpack slung over his shoulder. Lloyd offered the kid a friendly smile, then turned and continued down the convention hall, hoping he didn’t call too much attention to himself just then. The ninja had promised Lloyd he could have the day off, with it being his birthday and all, and he decided to spend it at the Ninjago Comic Con. He’d purchased some art pieces inspired by some games he played and ate a little too much junk food, but he didn’t care. To him, this was the life. And now here he was, on his way to meet his favorite actor, Cliff Gordon, star of the Starfarer series. He happened to be signing autographs and Lloyd just got the latest issue of the Starfarer comic, so it couldn’t have been more perfect. Navigating the convention center was a bit harder than Lloyd had anticipated. If it hadn’t been for the “Ninja Cosplay Contest”, there wouldn’t have been an issue. But he was utterly surrounded by people dressed up as himself and his teammates. If even one person recognized him, he’d be swarmed immediately. Any other day, he wouldn’t have minded, but not today. So Lloyd wore a basic hoodie, sweatpants, and a hat to try to blend in as much as possible. Shockingly, he’d be blended in just as much if he truly showed up in his armor. Somehow, he was able to make it all the way to Cliff Gordon’s line without being recognized or stopped. He excitedly took his backpack off his shoulder to retrieve his comic book. Once the zipper was opened, he cringed seeing his suit in the bag as well. Kai insisted Lloyd take it “just in case”, but it annoyed him to no end. Just give me one damn day. He rolled his eyes and slid his comic book out, zipping his bag up before anyone saw his gi. He slid the comic out of its plastic sleeve and excitedly shifted, unable to hold still. As Lloyd got closer and closer to the front of the line, he could hear Cliff’s laugh as he interacted with everyone. Lloyd had no idea how he so effortlessly spoke with his fans. Whenever Lloyd got recognized in public, it’d be followed by an awkward exchange or pure panic. But Cliff seemed so genuinely happy to interact with those around him. Once it was Lloyd’s turn, he stepped forward, comic book in hand and smile on his face. He gentle placed it on the table as Cliff greeted him. “Hey there, son! Having a good con day?” Despite hearing him interact with every single person in front of him, Lloyd was still caught off guard by Cliff speaking to him. “O-oh! Uh, yeah I guess so.” “Are you here for the Ninja cosplay contest? That seems to be a highlight for a bunch of people I’ve met so far.” “No. Uh, no sir.” Cliff looked up at Lloyd. “Are you okay?” Lloyd nodded. “Yeah, just not mentally prepared for the chat, I guess. Sorry.” Cliff gave a knowing look. “Don’t worry, I understand. So just an autograph today?” Lloyd nodded. “Okay! Who am I making this out to?” Lloyd thought for a second. “Just a fan.” Cliff gave a weird look. “Just a fan?” “Yeah. You’re my hero, but I don’t feel comfortable having my name on it.” Cliff looked at Lloyd then, as if noticing him for the first time, slowly nodded. “I see. Okay! But no peeking!” He slid Lloyd’s comic book closer to him and covered it with his hand as he wrote. When he finished, he handed it back to Lloyd with a smile. “You have no idea what an honor this is.” Lloyd gave him a puzzled look, then looked at what Cliff wrote: You’re my hero! Keep fighting and remember that fear isn’t a word where we come from! ~Cliff Gordon Lloyd marveled at the comic. “Wow, thank you Mr. Gordon!” Cliff shook his head. “Please, just Gordon is fine.” “Well, thank you, Gordon.” “This world needs more heroes like you.” And with a wink, he welcomed the next person in line up to his table. Lloyd held it close to his chest and smiled. This was one of the few times he didn’t mind being recognized. But before he could fully process the autograph, he ran straight into someone and tripped. He tried to stabilize himself as he went down, but it ended with him pulling the person he tripped over down with him. He spun them to make sure he fell first and that they landed on him, knocking the wind right out of him. Lloyd groaned as the person he tripped over yelled. “Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?!” He looked at the person on top of him and found it was a young woman in full cosplay. She looked like some kind of fox with a bunch of tails and red accents. She panicked for a second. “Where’s my comic?!” In the ruckus, Lloyd hadn’t even noticed he’d dropped his comic. Just to his left were two identical comics. The woman followed his eyes and scoffed, grabbing one of the comics. “Watch where you’re going next time,” she complained. “I’m truly sorry. I just got an autograph and-” “So did I, but you don't see me bumping into people.” She stood up and brushed off her outfit. “Just…watch where you’re going next time.” And with that, she stormed off. Lloyd grabbed the other comic and scrambled back to his feet. He looked at it and smiled, wanting to read it one last time before putting it away, but his heart sank and he read the autograph: For justice! For freedom! FOR THE STARS! ~Cliff Gordon The girl had grabbed the wrong comic book and wandered off into the sea of people in the convention hall. Lloyd began weaving in and out of the crowd to try to find the girl, but was having no luck at all. If only he had Zane here to help him scan the crowd for her. As Lloyd continued his search, he stepped into one of the exhibit halls to scan the crowd sitting at a panel that just started. Lloyd almost kept walking, but stopped when he noticed the odd amount of discolored fog floating around the stage. Lloyd's initial thought was that it was smoke from a fire, but this was different. It was almost purely black and almost looked…wet? And then, the screaming started. Lloyd flinched when the first blood-curdling scream happened, but as the fog cloud began to touch more people, more began to scream. It wasn’t your usual screams, though. These were screams of pure terror - the kind of screams that haunt your nightmares after you hear them. The screams rippled through the crowd, affecting everyone the cloud touched. Lloyd groaned and ran out of the hall and towards the nearest bathroom. Lloyd pushed past the line that had formed and stopped a man from going into the only available stall. He grabbed the man by his shirt collar and yanked him back. “Sorry, official ninja business!” Lloyd yelled as he locked the stall behind him. The man began hollering obscenities, but Lloyd paid him no attention, his mind focused on changing his clothes faster than he ever had before. Lloyd ripped his armored gi out of his backpack, the metal clinking against the ground and stall walls, making a sharp, piercing, metallic sound. He cringed at the noise, but continued on, sliding his arms into the robe and adjusting his shoulder armor to sit perfectly in its place. He tightened his belt and shoved his pant legs into his boots before lacing them up. Lloyd felt that though he was ready in record time, it wasn’t fast enough. He stuffed his street clothes into his bag, slung it back over his shoulder, then kicked the stall door open, nailing the still yelling man in the face. The man opened his mouth to continue yelling, but stopped and stared in awe when he saw the Green Ninja standing before him. In fact, everyone in the bathroom froze and parted themselves, giving Lloyd a clear path out. With a thankful nod, Lloyd made his way out of the bathroom, green specs of energy flickering around his fingertips. When he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed that the fog was now spilling into the main hall. Most people were running from it, but the few that were touching the fog were frozen in place with blank expressions. Whenever the fog touched a new person, they’d scream, then freeze. Lloyd pressed his fingers to his ear, activating the earpiece Zane made all the ninja wear 24/7. For the first time in a while, he was thankful to have a direct communication line to his team. “Hey, anyone listening?” Lloyd asked, raising his voice to make sure he was heard over the chaos. “Hey, Greenie!” Kai’s voice boomed. “Enjoying the con?” Cole asked. Lloyd took a few steps back, the fog starting to get too close for comfort. “We’ve got a situation here-” “Too many people line up for your autograph?” Jay teased. “YOU’RE GIVING AUTOGRAPHS?!” Kai shouted. “I KNEW I should’ve come too!” “I don’t see how your assistance would modify anything,” Zane chimed in. “Um, people LOVE ME? If I was there, everyone would be lined up!” Kai argued. “GUYS!” Lloyd shouted. “How fast can you guys get here? I need your assistance. There’s a weird fog thing that’s making people scream and then freeze in place.” Kai groaned. “Dude, if you just wanted a ride, you could’ve asked.” “Kai! I’m being serious!” Lloyd groaned. “So am I!” Kai responded. “You don’t need to-” Kai was cut off, followed by a pained yelp. "Why'd you punch me?" “Ignore him, Lloyd,” Nya assured. “We will get there ASAP! Just hang tight!” Lloyd looked around and tried to identify where he could help. He had no clue how to stop the fog, but he knew he could help save anyone who hadn't been inflicted with fear yet. The first thing he noticed was that people were struggling to funnel out of the few exit doors there were. If Lloyd didn’t act fast, it was only a matter of time that someone would get crushed to death against the lock glass doors. Lloyd took a deep breath, surrounding himself in a green aura, lifting him up into the air. He glided towards the exit and yelled for everyone to stand back and brace themselves. He pointed his hands towards the row of closed glass doors and focused his energy, firing off a blast that shattered the glass, giving more people a way out. Everyone in the main hall began flooding out even quicker than before. Lloyd then changed his focus towards the black fog. He landed behind the crowd of people exiting and held his arms up, forming a thin shield, blocking the fog from spreading. Looking at the fog against his shield, Lloyd noticed it was leaving little black streaks as it moved. And could he hear … a heartbeat … coming from it? “BROTHER!” A woman yelled from behind Lloyd. He turned around and found it was the fox woman from earlier, violently crying, pointing beyond Lloyd’s shield. “MY BROTHER IS OUT THERE! PLEASE SAVE HIM!” “I promise you, I will do my best, but I need to make sure everyone else makes it out first!” The woman shook her head. “HE’S STUCK OUT THERE!” “I know, ma’am, but I need to help the others first!” The woman pulled at Lloyd’s right arm. “PLEASE HELP HIM!” “STOP! I need you to-” “DO SOMETHING!” Lloyd could feel his focus begin to wane, his shield flickering, as the woman continued pulling at him. “MA’AM I NEED YOU TO STOP!” And with one final tug, Lloyd was completely thrown off, knocking his shield down. The fog swarmed around his feet. He tried to run away, but it swarmed up his body, blocking him from being able to see. He tried blinking quickly, but there was nothing but darkness. “Lloyd?” A voice whispered in his ear. Lloyd turned his head to the voice, but still, saw nothing. “HELLO?” he yelled out. “ANYONE THERE?!” “You know you can’t save them,” the voice whispered. “Just like you couldn’t save me.” “What? I- Who are you?” He felt a chill run down his spine. “It’s me Lloyd.” “I-I can’t see you! Where are you?” “I’m right here!” The voice called back, full of desperation. Lloyd turned around, walking in the direction the voice was leading him. “I can’t see anything!” Lloyd yelled out, holding his arms out in front of him so he wouldn’t run into anything or anyone. “Just tell me where you are and I can help you!” “I’m right here, Lloyd!” Lloyd felt something tight wrap around his throat as the voice hissed, “RIGHT. HERE.” The sudden pressure sent him into a panic. Lloyd fell to his knees and clawed at his neck, trying to get whatever was around him off, but there was nothing there. Instead, his nails dug into his own neck. Lloyd tried to breathe, but couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. He fell to the floor, growing weaker and weaker as seconds passed. Lloyd wanted to scream out for help, but only strained, quiet cries came from his mouth. Then, the ground beneath Lloyd began to shake, filling him with a sense of peace. A large pillar of stone grew from under him, raising Lloyd above the fog. Once he was out, he could see the world around him. More importantly, he could finally breathe. He pushed himself up as he coughed hard, trying to refill his lungs with air. Without even having to look up, Lloyd shouted, “Thanks, Cole!” He looked around and saw that every single person who had been caught in the fog had been lifted to safety by their own pillar. And, in the middle of them was the Master of Earth, standing on the tallest pillar of all. Upon healing his name, Cole turned around, spotting Lloyd. He waved and pointed to the end of the expo hall where Nya was using water to flood the hall, Zane following close behind her, freezing it as she went. The water mixed with the fog and the ice held it all in place, stopping the spread. And in the areas where the fog hadn’t been contained yet, Kai and Jay were holding the line, using their respective powers to keep the fog back. By the time Lloyd caught his breath, the team had finished the job, leaving the hall covered in a thick sheet of ice. Cole jumped from pillar to pillar until he made it to Lloyd, offering out a hand to help his friend up. “Hey! Are you okay? Sorry we didn’t get here sooner.” Lloyd offered a friendly smile. “You got here just in time. Thanks for saving me back there.” “Don’t mention it, Short Stack!” Cole started to leave, but he stopped when he noticed Lloyd’s clawed neck. He craned his head down to take a better look. “Shit, the fog do this to you?” “I’m not quite sure what happened, actually,” Lloyd admitted. He reached up and held his neck, feeling small trickles of blood falling from his self-inflicted wounds. Cole wrapped an arm around him as he terraformed the side of Lloyd’s pillar into a staircase. “Don’t worry, we can talk about it more on the Bounty, okay?” Lloyd nodded as he allowed Cole to safely guide him down to the ground.StarsThe forest was still and quiet as pale, full moon lit up the night. A short, brown bat was sitting on a large tree's branch as she looked up at the stars, trying to find the few constellations she recognized. Vivie's ears were laid flat against her head, and her wings were tucked in close to her body. She had her tail in her paws, brushing the fluffy fur on her tail tip as she thought. Would she ever be able to fly high like those she looks up to? Could she ever be the one to inspire others? Or would she fall, fall like so many before her? Vivie hopped off the branch, extending her wings to fly up above the forest, and stood at the very top. She glanced down to see how high up she was and shivered. Would it be worth it to rise up and do the things she'd really like to try? Even if it meant she might plummet all the way to the ground? Or was it better to stay where she was? Safe and comfortable? The brown bat let out a sigh, thinking about how she'd much rather stay where she'd always been. She was safe, and nothing scary happened to her, but... It was also boring at the same time. She hasn't experienced things like her friends or family have. She longed to be able to do the things her friends can do, to go out in the world, and not be chained to her family. The little bat shivered again, thinking about what it must be like going out on one's own like that. How could anyone do something like that? Was that really something she'd ever be able to do? Maybe... Maybe one day she could. Maybe one day she'd gather the courage. She'd like that.Chapter 1: The CullNimble phalanges skillfully weave several threads thinner than silk into a series of complex yet delicate-looking patterns and images. A lovely teal trench coat with a realistic silver, gold, and black apple tree adorned on its back is slowly being woven into existence as the threads dance. The trench coat is a superbly made piece that reaches just below the knees, with sleeves embroidered with silver ivy, and a small crest of a black apple with a silver moon circlet embellishing the left lapel quite beautifully. The one creating such an exquisite piece of garment had a soft yet focused look in his gaze as he worked. Soon, the trench coat was finished with a barely noticeable gleam of magic. A soft hum could be heard from the one inspecting their work with a satisfied sparkle in their eyelights before they carefully wrapped the article of clothing in black muslin and stored it away in their inventory. Threads were then summoned once again as he went about using them to clean up his little space and store away his collection of books and grimoires that he had collected over the eons back into his inventory, along with a variety of collections and miscellaneous items. Cleaning relaxes him, keeps him calm, and grounded as it preoccupies his broken mind away from his worries, his anxiety, his responsibilities, the voices, and... the pain. "Meow~" A small white ball of fluff bounded towards him, purring and rubbing against his dusty pants, covering its lovely, pristine white fur with a hint of gray. "Tsk tsk, Nieve, look at what you've done! You got yourself dirty again. I know you want cuddles, but this isn't the time for that, you silly gatita," Error said with a sigh passing through his teeth as he picked up the kitten into his arms and proceeded to clean her up with pet wipes. "I wish we were at Nightmare's castle. I would have been able to give you a proper bath there," he said, feeling disappointed in himself for not being able to provide better for his little companion, who had brought him comfort when he was at his lowest in recent months. "Don't try to rub against me yet, I'm just going to get cleaned up and change into something cleaner, okay?" He says as he finishes cleaning up the monster dust off the kitten's fur. He then removed the rags that were once his clothes from his body before using some wet wipes to clean his bones. It was the best he had to clean himself with when he wasn't at either Nightmare's castle or Swap's home. The antivoid is nothing but an empty white space with no resources after all. He could only make do with whatever he collected over the years from the AUs he destroyed in the past. Soon, he put on a fresh pair of clothes that he had made the other day. Truthfully, it was only recently that Error even bothered to create new clothes for himself. He usually only repaired and wore the same pair of clothes for eons. It was only after he found Nieve when she was only a day old beside her dead mother that he tried to improve his own living conditions. After all, one can only take care of another life when one can take care of oneself first. Life from Reapertale helped him in that regard. The only thing that bothered him was Reaper's intense stare full of longing. Reaper had been trying to get close to Error for a past that he could never remember. A past before he became the God of Destruction. "Meow," Nieve pawed at Error's toes, bringing Error out of his thoughts as he gave the kitten some attention. "Okay, okay, let's give you those cuddles you want. Geez, you're one greedy little gatita, you know that right?" Laughing wholeheartedly, Error picked up the kitten into his arms before kissing her forehead softly. The kitten purred loudly at the affection while curling up comfortably in his arms. Kitten and skeleton bonded with each other in a comfortable silence for a bit. It wasn't long before Error felt a stabbing pain in his soul as his vision spun, his mind unfocused, and his hold on the kitten became more protective. "Sh-shit! AGH! That darn squid really doesn't know how to stop. FUCK! This pain... The AU he's making, it's fucking huge! It's tipping the balance way too much. I need to destroy it before he finishes it! Nieve... I'm sorry, girl, I can't leave you with Life this time; there's not much time." Error says through gritted teeth as he puts his little kitten inside one of his inner coat pockets. The kitten purred against her owner as she curled inside his pocket while kneading biscuits against his ribs. This brought a small smile to the destroyer's face despite the pain he was going through. Error then brought up the codes and searched for the new AU. Ones and zeros danced in front of him in a way only he could decipher as his eyelights scanned the codes at a rapid pace before landing on a set of particularly unfamiliar growing string of codes, a tattle-tale sign of a new AU being created and had not yet synced with the very fabric of the multiverse. It was large, far too large for the multiverse to handle. "DAMN IT!" Error cursed as he tore through the codes of reality, creating a rift through time and space before summoning his threads to create a tether to the new AU, which would facilitate portal creation. Nieve softly pawed at Error's ribs to calm his simmering anger. She meowed softly with concern as she peeked out of Error's pocket to look at him. Error controlled his breathing, trying to calm his raging emotions while gritting through the pain that attacked his soul in waves. Error began to focus; he needed to, or else the multiverse would collapse as the AUs would collide. "Thanks... Nieve." Error says as he steps through the newly created portal. The moment Error's sandal-clad feet stepped into the AU, something felt off to Error's senses; something was wrong with this AU; it looked normal on the surface, but his instincts were screaming out in alarm that danger was coming and that it was coming in hot and fast. Error quickly hid among the foliage, using his strings to blend with the surroundings by altering the color to match that of the flora in his vicinity. He slowed down his breathing, his soul beats became falteringly slow as he extended his senses to determine what was heading in his direction. He could sense several thousand hostiles inching closer to his location, which led him to check the codes again to assess and analyze his overall situation. He doesn't like what he sees. Both the originals and the copies alike, all of whom were a part of the council that sided with the star Sanses, were closing in from the north. This made Error realize that things were becoming quite dicey, as his analysis indicated that the situation was escalating in both difficulty and level of danger. Things were definitely not looking good. The opposition was looking around for the glitchy skeleton, but Error doesn't plan on making it easy for them. 'Those fools should have done their research on me, not like it matters since they've lost the element of surprise.' Error thought as he used his camouflaged state to his advantage by summoning more strings and letting them burrow into the earth. His mind focused on their coordinates through the codes as he controlled his strings to slowly tunnel through the dirt, to make their way to the originals' locations before using his strings as a medium to remotely open portals to send the originals back to their respective AUs inconspicuously without the copies or the star Sanses noticing. He did it quickly while also deleting the originals' communication devices as he did so. "That'll thin out the numbers a bit but not by much... I need to do something else to make the playing field go in my favor." Error whispered to himself as he stared at the codes. His eyes lit up as he recalled something from a medical book he collected in the past. He grinned unperceptively as he summoned his strings once more. "Meow." Nieve poked her head out of Error's pocket, tentatively pawing at his chest. Error looked down at the kitten with a soft gaze. "Nieve, I'll be careful. Go back to hiding in my pocket, my sweet little gatita." He said reassuringly to the little feline while using one of his strings to lightly caress her head. Nieve did as told, while purring softly, her tail flicked lightly to show her compliance. He pulled away the string he used to pet her, though it lingered on the tuft of fur in her ear for a second. Error's sockets slowly narrowed as he looked away from his little furry companion. 'Hopefully this'll put the odds in my favor.' He thought to himself as he slowly made the color of his strings disappear, turning them transparent as he maneuvered them towards the copies' souls, tying their souls up without anyone noticing. With apprehension in his own soul, he then sent the ends of his strings to painlessly penetrate the core complex of their souls, paralyzing them. "Looks like it worked. Now it's time to cull this herd of stubborn sheep."Rumors of a Satellite Place #1 The twenty mile stretch felt more like 5 miles due to Ime having the tendency to be an easily frustrated driver. As I arrived to my destination I can feel the heaviness that Ime was giving. I gathered my things, my laptop, my cleaning supplies, and gloves. As soon as I jumped out of the truck, she was already backing out and leaving me alone at the strange house. "You bitch! " I muttered, knowing if this goes south it would be Ime's fault in a heart beat. I heard the door open from behind me and it caught me off-guard. The person I seen was much less of the person I expected to see living here. This human was so ambitious with how they look they could pass off as any gender they wanted. Hair that resembled the cool autumnal days of October. Dressed in the most basic grocery store clothes with a Woo-tang Clan shirt from decades ago. The only thing that gave him away, granted I shouldn't have been staring was the way his jeans where against his body. "Are you here to help me? I posted something on the internet about needing help with de-cluttering my grandma's whole horde." The blonde questioned holding a small mug of hot cinnamon tea taking occasional sips out of it. "I'm here to help you out wit the horde. It was a last minute decision to help you out since my co-worker slash roommate got incredibly agitated with me." "I feel like I have seen you before but I can't put my finger on it." He tilts his head to his left pointing a finger at his cheek "I work at I.W.B. I was on television last night and it was the most out of character thing I have done to this date." "You don't look like you should be working there, just saying. Anyway, what I mean is that I feel like I have some kind of connection to you that I can't seem to put my finger on." His negative comment didn't hurt me like other peoples have in the past. It was like he knew how to not offend me. I started to realize that he was right about our connection because he was making gestures that only one person I know has done in the past. Standing outside was giving poor blondie the chills. They where gesturing me to come into this garage type building. I followed their footsteps and my eyes where in total shock from the intricately designed time capsule. The floor was obviously cleaned up before I shown up as blondie had enough pride in this room to show it off like a magazine show piece. Curtains that where quilted in oranges and scarlets with hints of a tobacco stained color. Bed was dark wooden framed with a Headboard with built in shelving. that housed an alarm clock and a few prescription bottles. The room was gently caressed by two light sources and a old-school grey cathode ray tube television with a set top box on the top of the television displaying the current time. Blondie sat down on the bed and then began to introduce themself to me. "I'm Ashton Caeden, I work for multiple high end clients as a cyber security expert for some and as a software engineer, for others I work at Le Fleur as their main barkeep in my spare time." "Jonah Ryder, Like I said and I won't repeat my self, but I'm the voice of the Satellite Radio Service, and I have provided my voice for broadcast alerts when severe weather hits. In my spare time I do crafts but mainly I draw. " "That's impressive, with your work for being weather boy for the day really painted a bad picture for you, especially since that meteorologist Ime got shot." "We had no other choice, our newly hired meteorologist is incapacitated, Ime got shot and almost died, and our former chief meteorologist well he's dead now. For all I care Ime got a promotion." Ashton looked at me and checked his personal digital assistant, before long I could hear the noise of the large dumpster being dropped off outside . He gathered a few things to uplift the mood like air fresheners, laundry detergent, and a small AM/FM weather radio. I opened the door since he was carrying a lot of thing in his hands. As we entered what seemed to be a micro mansion, you could tell it was horded to a certain extent but It wasn't something that I haven't dealt with before. "Welcome to now my brand new house, please ignore the weird rotted onion smell, the former owner passed just this week and thankfully she was dealt with and shipped back to Canada where she belongs." Ashton said with a gleefully sarcastic tone that was both funny and confusing. "I don't know whether to start laughing or asking questions." I hesitated questioning aloud my weird thinking process. "Diabetes, type two, and its okay to laugh. I hated the bitch's guts." "That's all I need to know for now. Thanks." I would have laughed even without clarification but out of respect I kept my peace. Ashton then begins to discuss the plan of action for the house. He is going to work on getting all the unnecessary crap and broken garbage into the dumpster as well as figuring out the areas that may need attention. All he asked of me is to clean the kitchen and any room he is finished with so we can start moving him into the house. He places the weather radio on top of a wood-grain television beside an old black GameCube and plugs it into a dated surge protector. It was obviously set on the rock station, I could tell due to "In the End" by Linkin Park was being played. As I walked into the kitchen, There it was a puddle of onions, the smell was so bad but I couldn't help but laugh at it because onions are the weirdest vegetables ever. Ashton looked at me like I was some sort of nut job but I was laughing so hard I actually aggravated my tics and started coughing. "You good Jonah? " Ashton showed a lot of concern. "Yeah… I'm fine. Just a tic disorder. " I said in between coughs . "I know a few people from the special needs class I was in had a few people with severe forms of Tourette syndrome. Makes sense now why some of them cough so much." The kitchen Island was the first thing I started with when cleaning. As I slapped a sponge into water the cleaning came natural to me. Scrubbing the Granite chopping block and polishing the Wooden cabinets with a wood polish gave it shine like no other. Wiping out the crumb collection units and generously putting in some dividers that I have seen on the counter brand new and never used. I started humming one of the songs that was being played, but I did hear Ashton come into the kitchen and start singing the song, then the connection clicked for me. He stopped singing and noticed the work on the kitchen island. His eyes where drawn to the luster of the wood finish that had been renewed. Never have I heard a man so giddy over shiny wood you would have to have the most dirtiest mind to be excited over wood but here he was , staring at a partial reflection of himself in the sheen. "Did you… Looks like you've already taken care of those drawer dividers I bought. I'll label them real quick." While he was clicking away at the label maker, I thought to myself his hands are so delicate looking. Would be a shame if he accidentally cuts one of them off. I knew I shouldn't have thought that because the next thing he did was pull his sleeve up, and confirm he had the same idea in the past. "Onions" I murmured then I twitched my head. "Yes, what about my onions?" Ashton turned to me, a bit confused. Checked his left leg to see if his pants where actually at his waist. "I'm sorry what? " I wasn't sure if he meant the onion stench that still lingered, or something completely different. "You said onions, I didn't know if you read my tattoo or not. Sometimes I forget about wearing pants. " "Why would you… Nevermind, it's not like anyone is going to see you in your boxers checking the mail anyway out here in Tumbuktu." There is a soft and gentle finger that gently glides across my face. Ash just looks at me with soft eyes. "You're crying Jonah, should we take a break?" I didn't realize I was crying, I'm not sure if it was from the chemicals we where using or the onions. "If you want to as well I guess…" Ashton leads me back to the guest house. I couldn't control the floodgates, it was only a matter of time before he handed me a crystal clear glass of water that had been filtered. "No crying on my watch, if you cry I cry." Ashton pointed at me and had a sad look on his face, the blunted affect gave away the memories and the bond I had with him before. It wasn't a new person I was hanging out with. It was an old friend that I have not seen in years at this point.

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