Shadow Of The Benders, Sequel to The Last Ninja.

Just Like It Was Before

"Wait wait!" Kai flailed his arms in a flurry of realisation, "Go back! Can you get me a clear shot on that lady's face?" P.I.X.A.L immediately re-opened the footage and this time, it played in slow motion. "Okay pause." Kai instructed.

There she was.

A lady in smart black pants and a white buttoned shirt. Cream yellow hair and skin tanned and smooth. "Lucy..." Misako whispered. "That's Lucy!"

Kai nodded trying to keep his beating heart under control, "P.I.X.A.L," he addressed the droid, "Can you make a clear zoom into her eyes?" "Her eyes??" Jay repeated out of nowhere, raising one eyebrow in confusion. Lloyd shot him a glance to hush him and beckoned to just watch.

Kai stepped closer to the screen, narrowing his eyes. This could be it. This could actually be just it! There it was, a clear image of Lucy's right side and an obvious glint of red in her eye pupils. "She was...already taken over by the mastermind at this point." Kai stated in realisation. He jolted backwards and shook his head, "This is crazy."

"Heck yeah it is," Jay added, turning to the others at the same time. "This is obvious proof that some kinda controlling act is going on and that it didn't happen at the exact same times."

"Jay's right," Cole sighed, "Whoever's behind this planned this excellently, controlling an employee to lead another person into..." Cole paused, frowning.

"Wait hold on," he tilted his head.

"Yes...?" Kai beckoned.

They were all already on the edge of their seats, their bodies were stiff from the tension.

"Let's say Lucy was the first one to come under the control of whoever this...mastermind is." He starts, "She's gotta have entered some place or got into some kind of accident to get into this state right?"

"Good point," Garamadon spoke up. "She couldn't have been come under someone's control just like that. Mind tricks don't happen unless something unusual takes place." Everyone nodded and began murmuring agreements.

"The weapon's manufacture room!" Kai gasped.

Everyone whipped their heads around to him, "What?" They chorused, "The weapons manufacture room." Kai repeated.

"Ashley went in there and never came out. The next time she was ever seen, was by us; clad out in black and running around with 3 other people trying to kill us. Something must have happened in there that put her under the control of someone."

"You're right!" Misako agreed in realisation, "And then again, all these benders had something to do with weapons here in Borg Tower. This incident with Ashley is golden proof something's seriously wrong in the weapons department."

Borg rested his hand on his chin and began to stroke it. "I can have that department checked, meanwhile you guys will need to do some fieldwork of your own." Kai nodded, "Not a problem."

"Err...correction. It is a problem." Lloyd cut in, his eyes glistening with worry. "None of us are combat fit."

Kai fell silent and simply blinked. He completely forgot the fact that they, unlike him, were chained, starved and broken inside those horrible cages for goodness knows how long. Once again, he saw it in their eyes. It reflecting the horrors and pain of living in those cold metal cages with almost no light and food and water. Kai felt a pang of guilt and anger hit him once again, no. This was absolutely not going to happen to the Benders. They are, or were- normal humans like him and the others. They don't deserve this control over them against their own will. They didn't ask for this, their humane side could be crying out in agony, begging to be freed. And the more Kai thought about it, the angrier and more determined he became. The room was filled with silence, half of their thoughts the recollections of their encounter with the Benders and that crazy journey. The other realising and understanding the reality of this situation. For since none of them were combat fit, Kai would be on his own. Again.

Zane shook his head, "No," he stated firmly as he stood up. They all glanced at him, their eyes dull with uncertainty racing through them. "We may not all be combat fit, but Kai's not alone again." Zane said as he gave Kai a reassuring nod. "We're all here and that's all that matters. We don't have to help him physically but we can help him with whatever he may uncover and most of all-" Zane paused, shifting his eyes to rest on his best friend, his brother, "We're all here to support him now." Kai gave a small smile, a genuine one since his visit to the prison. "Thanks..." He murmured. "Yeah, Zane's right." Jay repeated, "This time it's different. At least now, we're all together."