Ninjago: Negative

17 - Betrayal

The lilac ninja struggled at the metal fence she was ruthlessly chained to. 

No wonder he knew that the main exits were rigged! He was working with them all along! How she didn't notice from the start was far beyond her knowledge; fury bubbled in her chest. What was important now was getting the cuffs off her and warning the rest of her friends. The ones that won't betray her. 

Jupiter looked down at her outfit that was now tattered and not-so-presentable. Surely there had to be some other helpful spy equipment that was built into the clothing. The night was getting cold; the people who were laughing on their balconies upon the homes down the street had gone inside, leaving the district in eery silence. 

She heaved up her leg so her shoe was perched around shoulder height against the fence. On the heel of her dark grey footwear, there was a tiny hole that was barely visible. Instantly, a sharp red laser burst out, promptly burning a jagged line through part of the fence. 

"Ah! Finally!" Jupiter exclaimed to herself. In just a few seconds, she freed herself from the fence and the vengestone handcuffs. 

"I have to warn the others!" She affirmed to herself, then took off running back to the city centre. 

* * *

The Ninjago Police Force had finished clearing out the City Hall that night, and setting up bright yellow police tape all around the premises. All the guests and hosts had left the scene after Cyrus Borg sadly called off the rest of the event. Outside by the entrance's red carpet, the Commisioner wiped a droplet of sweat from his forehead before going over to speak to the ninja, who had just got rid of the last of the thugs. 

"These incidents are starting to get out of hand," his gruff voice told them. "And you guys said you're doing your own investigation?" 

"Yep, that's right." Kai spoke for the team. "Although, now this takes things to another level." His arm gestured to the closed-off City Hall. 

The moustached-man sighed and nodded his head. "Well, I wish you good luck, ninja. I trust you'll find an answer sooner than we can." He walked down the steps and into the crowd of police officers. 

Kai turned back to the team.

"Any word where Jupiter's gone to?" Jay asked them all. 

"No, not since she and Hector left the building. I can't reach her on the communicators," Nya responded, removing all her unnecessary jewellery. "But at least she has the Orb of Distrust."

Lloyd started to rush down the building's steps. "We can find her in the Land Bounty. Come on!" 

The ninja all nodded and followed the green ninja. Lloyd had alerted his mother to pick up the six teenagers. Misako was patiently waiting down the block by the Land Bounty. Master Wu was also waiting on the pavement with her. As the ninja approached the parked vehicle, Misako's eyes widened in concern. 

"Have you got the Orb?" She asked hastily. 

"We believe Jupiter's got a hold of it," Zane answered quickly. "Although we need to find her - we had lost contact during the attack." 

"Alright. Quick! Get inside!" Master Wu ordered, impatiently tapping the vehicle's metal surface with his staff. 

"And can we take off these ridiculous outfits? I can barely breathe in this bow-tie!" Cole complained, tugging at his shirt collar as they all got inside the large vehicle. 

"Yes, yes - we've brought along some new ninjawear once we heard what happened." Master Wu rushed them all in and shut the huge metal door. "Let's get a move on, then!" 

Nya took control of the Land Bounty and hit the accelerator. In just a few moments, the team were speeding down the main streets under Ninjago City's bright illuminous lights. As the drove past the buildings, they all scanned the streets outside, looking for lilac.

Minutes passed until the red ninja suddenly blurted, "Stop! There she is!" ,pointing outside the window to the side of the road. The water ninja sighed in relief and pulled the car over. Outside, Jupiter's face lit up once she saw her friends but soon frowned. 

"Jupiter! There you are!" Lloyd yelped, hopping out of the vehicle first and enclosing her in a hug. He paused awkwardly and quickly let go of her, then cleared his throat. 

"Erm..where's Hector?" The green ninja asked. Jupiter turned her head away in guilt and rubbed her arm sheepishly. The other ninja, all now wearing their new attire, jumped out of the vehicle too, Misako and Master Wu following close behind. 

"He...He tricked me. It's my fault." She blurted with remorse in her voice. "This whole time, he was lying to us and I didn't realise! I let the sentiment of our friendship cloud my judgement, and now he's run off with the criminals and with the Orb and--" 

She buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. 

"Argh, I knew there was something off about that guy..." Lloyd grumbled under his breath. Jupiter lifted her face in confusion. 

"B-but don't worry - we can fix this. All of us." He consoled the girl with a hand on her shoulder. 

Cole then stepped forward. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Since they've got all four Orbs of Negativity, there's only one place where it'd make sense to unite them!" The earth ninja exclaimed. And with that being said, they set off in the Land Bounty once more, as a team, to put a stop to the terror in their city.