Salt: A Ninjago story

32: Who needs friends, when you have so many enemies?

Kai lay on the floor. His head swirling, his stomach churning and stared blurrily into the middle distance. Skylor's words receded into the background, he'd heard enough, from her and the voice. He felt like dying and it felt like he actually might. His head was screaming with pain and his strength had gone, leached from him with his loves last kiss, absorbing his power and leeching his strength; a side to her mastery she had hidden from him along with her true identity. She really was a leach and had taken everything from him; his power, his strength, his pride; all for her own gain. He wanted to rip his life back from her and kiss her with his fist! But he couldn't move. Just thinking was exertion itself and he let the dark roll into his mind momentarily... NO! He stopped the wave, as welcome as it felt. He could not black out, he had to stay present.

He blinked, trying to focus on something, something beyond the pain, something that would keep him present. He looked into the shadows through half open eyes and saw movement at the edge of the ring. Red eyes glowed and a slight, pale figure moved in the dark 'Hitch' he whispered and felt the soft drape of her power, over his pain. He exhaled and let her take hold of him. He still could not move but he had a friend amongst enemies and it felt good.

Kai could see that she was staying back but her eyes felt as close as if they were talking intimately. He stared out at those unusual eyes, mesmerising, hypnotic; he had loved Skylor's eyes, they had had a similar effect on him. Could Hitches eyes hold deceit too? He swept that thought from his mind. She was here helping him when she could have fled; at least he hoped that was what was happening. He had never felt as unsure of anything in his life, but her eyes quelled those bad thoughts as the pain levelled and a numb calm rolled through him.

All the while he focussed on her eyes, he noticed them move, flicking to the side, pointing towards something, telling him to look. Kai groggily directed his the same way and saw Nat, Hitches sister standing at the top of the steps. Returning slowly back to his two red beacons, he watched as they immediately flicked upwards. He rolled onto his back and looked up into the domed ceiling. What was he looking for? Two pinpricks of light flashed subtly and a shimmer haloed around a familiar form that leant over the glass in the ceiling and then disappeared into the black of the sky beyond. 'Zane' his heart leapt. He wasn't alone. Hitch really was his friend and had brought his family to help him.

Zane and Cole watched from their perch in the gods. They scoped out the scene, saw Hitch and Nat position themselves and watched Skylor's rant turn to a subservient explanation before transforming effortlessly to a self-righteous, tyrannical confirmation of who she really was 'I'm speechless' Cole whispered to Zane.

'She had us all fooled' Zane replied.

'Why didn't we ever consider this? That Skylor was actually still bad?  I mean nobody goes from being Daddies number one bad girl, to all round good egg noodle. Why didn't we question it?' Cole was indignant, furious and frustrated! That someone could have pulled the wool over their eyes so completely made him want to roar and smash his hammer at the nearest wall, but he could not even raise his voice and kept his seething views at a low whisper.

'I think this is a lesson for us all' Zane pondered 'we can't trust as we thought we could. The world has many facets and we have now discovered the breadth of the one before us, its secrets having been held by silent tongues for years. Ninjago is not the place we thought it was'

'Yeah. Suddenly I'm not so worried about overlords and beings from other realms' Cole replied 'this is a scale of deceit I've never encountered before. It's a world within a world and the damage it could do to society if left to grow is unthinkable'

Zane nodded 'But we know now and I for one will not rest until it is eradicated'

'That's a tall order Zane. Right now I'm just concerned about getting out and getting out with the whole team. Though if I could smash a few things while doing so, that would be great'

Zane looked at his friend and smiled at the thought before looking beyond him, at something distracting him in the distance 'Look' Zane pointed to the high walled alleyways skirting around the larger buildings 'Nya and Jay are there' Cole turned to look but could not see them, just a few dark shapes of figures, servants moving from building to building, their day having started at this early hour 'they are there Cole, believe me'

'It's pretty dark down there, I can't tell who's who. But aren't they being a bit bold, to walk so openly in the midst of our enemy. Are they disguised?'

'... No. No disguise' Zane slowly answered, wondering himself quite what they were playing at 'but, there is a substantial amount of movement behind them'

Cole strained to see, but without Zane's enhanced viewing sensors he could hardly see anything; then in the distance, a boiling black shape shifted and expanded as if the dark were playing tricks on Coles eye's '...what is that?'

'People, Cole. Many, many people'