The Truth Seekers

Chapter 13

Kai was still shocked from what his parents told him.  He had been defending the emperor and empress for so long and didn't believe all the stuff the Truth Seekers said about them, but the whole time, the Truth Seekers were right.  The emperor and empress were killers.  After he left the palace, he went to Zane's house and explained everything that his parents told him.  Zane couldn't believe it either.  He was also taught to blindly trust the emperor and empress and not question what they do, but apparently, they should have.

The two went to Nom to talk to Skylor, PIXAL, and Seliel.  They went to the noodle shop that they knew the girls worked at and went inside.  Kai immediately noticed Skylor was at the counter and walked up to her.  When he got to her, he was immediately greeted by a smack across the face.

"Ow!" Kai complained as he rubbed his cheek.  "What was that for?"

"There are rumors that you turned in your sister who was working with the Truth Seekers," Skylor said.  "Try telling me it isn't true."

"I-I can't say that."

"I thought so.  I can't believe that I was actually letting myself fall for you.  You are such a jerk and I was an idiot for thinking that you could be anything else."

Kai took a glance back and saw Zane talking to PIXAL who was not happy either and Seliel was also starting to get involved in their conversation.  "Please just at least give me a chance to explain."

Skylor crossed her arms.  "Go on.  I'm listening."

"I thought that I was doing the right thing.  My parents taught me that the emperor and empress were good people.  They had taught me to just listen to them because they were our rulers.  I didn't know that there was so much my parents were hiding."

Skylor became curious with what Kai just said.  "Secrets?  What kind of secrets?"

Kai sighed.  "Everything the Truth Seekers said the emperor and empress did was true."

"Well, that's obvious but continue."

"You...believed the Truth Seekers...the whole time?"

"Of course I did, but I'm not a government pawn."

Kai felt a little offended by her comment.  "I am not a pawn!  And if you hate them so much, why did you start working for them?!"

"It was good exposure for us and a chance for us to get higher up in life," Skylor said.  "Instead of being at the bottom of the pyramid."

"I don't think you would've stayed at the bottom."

"You don't understand how things actually work for people like me."  Skylor wanted to try to get the conversation back on track.  "Anyways, you were telling me a story."

Kai took a second to remember what he was trying to tell her before.  "You heard about the resistance that rose up against Lord Garmadon?"

"Of course I have.  Who hasn't heard about that?"  Skylor picked up a rag and started to wipe down the counter since she was still supposed to be working.  "I'm still listening."

"Well, my parents were a part of that resistance with the emperor and empress and a couple of my mom's close friends.  I guess that the night that Lord Garmadon died, they had stormed the palace to dethrone him.  The emperor ran into the throne room alone while the fighting was going on and one of my mom's friends, Libber, ran after him.  Lord Garmadon was about to kill the emperor when she got there, so she killed Lord Garmadon before he could kill someone she thought was a friend.  The emperor killed her.  Her husband, Cliff who I guess was a famous actor, came in and saw what happened to his wife.  The empress came in after him and killed him.  My parents came in after and found out what happened.  The emperor and empress threatened that they would hurt me and my sister if my parents didn't keep their secrets.  My parents tried to convince the resistance that the emperor and empress should be the new rulers of Ninjago and some supported it while others didn't.  My mom's other friend, Lily, knew that something about the deaths was suspicious and started looking into it.  Cliff and Libber also had a kid before this happened who got adopted because they were worried that the kid might be in danger with them being in the resistance.  The emperor and empress wanted to locate the kid because they were worried about what would happen if the kid found out about what happened to his birth parents.  After a few years, they found the couple that adopted him and sent people to kill him.  Those people lit the trailer that the couple and the kid lived in on fire, but only the couple died and the emperor and empress have been trying to locate the kid for years.  As for Lily, she got too close to finding out the truth.  They emperor and empress used a drug on her that made it look like she had a deadly disease.  She ended up dying too."

"Wow," Skylor said shocked.  "That's...that's a lot."

Kai sighed.  "I know.  I never knew any of this and I wish I had known sooner.  I wouldn't have supported the emperor and empress if I had known.  Nya was right to not trust them and I turned her in.  Although, I also think that she might know who Cliff and Libber's kid is."

"I do have to say that I actually have a ton of respect for your sister for what she's been doing."

"You barely know her!  You only met her briefly at one of the parties you worked at!"

Skylor crossed her arms again and glared at Kai.  "Well, it's clear that she actually has beliefs while you have none."

Kai put a hand over his chest.  "That's hurtful."

"But it's the truth."

"I have beliefs.  I believe that the emperor and empress are bad people."

"You do now!"  Skylor could see the sincerity in Kai's words, but wasn't sure if he really could be trusted anymore.  She looked at PIXAL and Seliel who were still yelling at Zane.  She really hoped that she was right for doing this.  "My dad...he's Master Chen."

"Master Chen?" Kai asked.  "You mean that guy who used to own that noodle shop in Ninjago City?"

"Yeah.  For years, my dad and I have been hiding Cyrus Borg, who was the royal inventor for Lord Garmadon, and John Phantom, who was the royal advisor for Lord Garmadon, as well as their daughters."

"Daughters?"  Kai quickly turned around at PIXAL and Seliel and then looked back at Skylor.  "You mean they're the daughters."

"Yeah.  If the emperor and empress knew, we would all be killed."

"I promise.  I won't say anything."

Now, Skylor was going to make her point.  "You protect us.  What about your sister's new friends?  They're going to be executed.  What are you going to do about it?"

Kai thought about what to do and an idea popped into his head.  It was going to be dangerous, but he knew that he had to do it.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed!