Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

S:2; Ch:10

"Pfft... yes..."

Cole sighed with a look of disbelief while Zane burst out in a fit of laughter.

"At least it's not Jay laughing..." Cole muttered.

~X~x~X~x~X~

9 PM Ninjago City. The night lights have most of the city illuminated. In the corner of the city lies an old abandoned warehouse, or so it appears.

A hideout for Ninjago's Secret Ninja Force is what it is. The place where Ninjago's defenders train secretly under two of Ninjago City's greatest Senseis. Where hi-tech machinery used on covert missions is kept hidden from the eyes of the citizens. Where the plans to stop Ninjago's foes are created.

"I'm hungry."

Red received a slap on the back of his head from his sister Water.

"E- excuse me?! Sis, why'd you do that?!"

"You should know better than to make noise when Garmadon calls for a meeting," White stated, "Are you trying to get us in trouble?"

"White's right," Orange agreed, "Be like Blue. He's awfully quiet tonight."

"Just hush, everyone!" Water said, a finger to her lips. "I think I hear Sensei's footsteps."

The meeting room of the hideout grew quiet immediately. Footsteps echoed from the hallway, the sound moving closer and closer.

"Evening, Sensei Wu. Sensei Garmadon."

"Greetings, students," Wu greeted as he and Garmadon walked in. "Good to see you all here. Especially Black."

"Yes, sensei," Black responded.

"Getting to the point," Garmadon said suddenly, "The police investigations on the fire from before turned up nothing. Aside from the Smoke Elemental discovered, there were no leads on the other person's identity. Also, nothing turned up on how or why the person triggered the elemental's dormant power. Does anyone have anything to report?"

The ninjas looked at each other for a moment.

"No one?" Wu asked.

A hand was raised. Everyone turned to its owner.

"Yes, Blue?"

"If it's okay, I'd like to discuss it privately. It relates to my secret identity."

It was quiet. White and Black exchanged confused glances.

"Very well," Wu agreed, "After the meeting."

"What's he talking about?" Black whispered to White. White shrugged, concern written all over his face.

"Diving into today's topic," Wu continued, "My brother and I are starting a secret investigation. As top members of the academy and the Secret Ninja Force, you will all be part of the investigation."

The room turned dark, and a slideshow came on right after.

"We will be investigating the case of a missing teen. He's been missing for two years, so we don't have many clues. However, there have been signs of him popping up."

"Two years! That's a long time..." Red thought.

"He's just a boy. How has he been missing all this while?" Orange thought.

"I'm getting a sense of familiarity..." Wind thought.

"What's so special about this kid anyway?" Water wondered, "Is he like the president's son or something? Why do we have to look for him?"

A blonde 15-year-old teenage boy was shown on screen. The teen's face showed a bored expression. His face seemed generic in the ninjas' minds as they wondered how they would start the search.

*drip drop*

"Blue!" Water exclaimed. At her words, everyone turned to the Master of Lightning, whose mask seemed stained with a dripping liquid.

It seemed Blue himself hadn't noticed the blood leaking from his nose. His eyes were stuck on the picture on the screen, and he hadn't heard a word Water said.

"Ah," Blue said, his hand unconsciously feeling his mask. "That's strange."

"Blue! Are you okay?!" Black rushed over to him, worried. "Your nose is bleeding!"

"Huh?" Blue squinted his eyes, looking up at Black. "Oh, don't worry, Black. I'm fine."

Wu and Garmadon exchanged glances. They noticed something was off about the way Blue suddenly had a nosebleed.

"Blue," Garmadon said. "Look up at the slide."

"Sensei-"

Garmadon raised his hand. Everyone kept silent.

"Blue, what do you think about this picture?" The slide changed. The same teen was seen standing on the roof of an apartment building, leaning casually on a pole at the edge. His expression didn't seem any different from the previous picture.

"He seems f-" Blue paused mid-sentence and scrunched his face.

The picture zoomed in a bit on the boy's face.

"Maybe you didn't see his face well," Garmadon said, "Now?"

"That's L-"

It was clear how uncomfortable Blue was looking. His hand was gripping his chest almost violently. However, he tried his best to stand composed. If not for the ninjas having been trained to detect and pay attention to the things in their surroundings, Blue would seem like he was just hungry.

"Finish what you were saying," Garmadon said, almost as if he were at a movie theater, gripping the edge of his seat. Blue's answer was so important right then that even Wu was eager to hear him finish his statement.

"Sensei," Black demanded as he held onto Blue, "I'm not sure why, but the person in that picture makes Blue extremely uncomfortable. Please, turn it off?"

Garmadon snapped out of it. In the heat of the moment, he saw the chances that he'd have if Blue could answer. Having recalled his senses, Blue's condition was an answer in itself.

The slide turned off, and the lights came on.

Blue calmed down almost immediately.

"Uh, Black, you can let go now. I told you I was fine just now."

"But you weren't!" The concern on Black's face was obvious, even with only his eyes visible, "Come, Blue. Excuse us, Senseis."

"Excused," Wu stated.

"Ah, Black, hold on!"

Black pulled Blue out of the room and rushed to the bathroom.

"You're not going to follow?" Wind asked White.

I'm sure they're doing just fine without me, White thought. Even without Black's memories, I'm sure they'll be fine without me.

"They'll be fine," White said finally, "Perhaps we should continue with the meeting. I'll relay any information they miss."

Water glanced curiously at White. Since he usually didn't take too long to answer questions, she felt something was off.

"Yes, White," Wu replied, "Sorry about before, students. My brother and I needed to confirm something. Once they finish, have Blue meet us at the training ground, White."

"On with the meeting," Wu continued.