Late that evening, we were all gathered in my Father's training room to watch his evening lesson. The boys gasp as his shadow casts four arms against the closed door, but then Rico opens the door to reveal my father as his normal self.
"Ah, my children," he says, smiling down at Lloyd and I. "So glad you two could join us."
"It's been while, Father!" Lloyd replies, waving enthusiastically. They've developed a playful sort of bond recently and it always brings a smile to my face.
"Check out the new Sensei! Looking sharp," Jay whispers to us.
Dad smacks him hard on the head, shouting, "Silence! Close your mouth and open your ears."
"That's going to be difficult for him," I say, smirking.
Dad glares at me before he begins to walk around the room, hands behind his back. "Tonight's lesson is the Art of the Silent Fist. To fight without fighting."
I grin, having always loved this lesson. This was one of the first things my father taught me when I first went to the Underworld after mastering the Arts of Fluid Motion and Balance. "Since you are young, you are not yet strong," he had said, "therefore, you are better off ducking out of the way of your opponents, allowing them to tire out. Only then, will you gain the advantage and win."
"May I have a volunteer?"
"How about me?" Lloyd says cockily.
"The Ultimate Battle: Round Two!" Nya shouts as Lloyd marches over to Dad.
"Attack me," Dad instructs. "But please, no powers. I happen to like my monastery."
The kids and I laugh at his comment, but Lloyd doesn't seem to find it very funny. He charges at our father, who swiftly steps out of the way, causing Lloyd to crash into the table.
"You see, the key is balance," Dad says, gazing around the room. "Let your opponent fight himself."
With a shout of fury, Lloyd charges at Dad again, but Dad steps out of the way. Lloyd twirls around and aims a kick at Dad's face, but Dad leans back ever so slightly to avoid it. Lloyd uses a pillar to launch himself at Dad, but Dad side steps out of his way again. Lloyd tries to punch him from behind, but Dad easily dodges left and right to avoid them. Lloyd tries to tackle Dad, but Dad bends down, lifting Lloyd up onto his back and throwing him to the ground.
"Let the enemy tire himself," Dad says, smirking.
Lloyd runs and jumps into a kick. Dad yawns, then rolls out of the way, sending Lloyd flying into a pillar. They boys cringe while I burst out laughing.
"Pupils, I give you one of the most powerful Ninja in the land, the Golden Ninja," Dad announces tauntingly.
Kai, Jay and Cole facepalm while I laugh my ass off. Lloyd, angry and embarrassed, jumps to his feet and summons a ball of green energy to his hands. I immediately jump up and block him from throwing the ball at our dad.
"Easy, brother," I say urgently. "It was only a lesson."
Lloyd lets the ball of energy fade and sighs. "Sorry, I don't know what got into me."
"You let the anger take over," Dad says. "I know that feeling well. Now, lets divide into groups."
I thought I'd pair up with Kai, but Kai pairs with Jay. I would pair with Lloyd, but that would leave Nya with Cole, and I know for fact that that would make her uncomfortable, so I pair with her instead.
"Samurai vs the girl Ninja," Nya says, grinning, "this should be an interesting fight."
I get into a fighting stance and smirk. "Never call me girl Ninja again."
With a yell, Nya lunges towards me, but I skillfully flip out of the way. She tries again and again, but I dodge her masterfully each time.
Panting, she says, "How are you so good at this?"
"It was one of the first lessons I was taught when I was in the Underworld," I reply simply.
Nya lunges again and I duck out of the way.
"I see you're still good at the Art of the Silent Fist," Dad says as he watches Nya and I.
"I never forget a lesson and I always maintain my skills," I reply, ducking under one of Nya's punches before kicking her to the ground.
"Maybe you should give Nya a chance to learn," Dad suggests.
I smile and nod, turning toward my friend, but before we can continue, a loud scream rings in the air.
"The Techno Blades!" Kai yells.
The six of us dash outside, Dad following behind more slowly. Outside, Zane is pushing a silver robot lady tied in rope. Her eyes grow red -- she's been corrupted.
"It's Pixal," Cole says. "But how did she find us?"
"How about we take her apart to find out," Kai growls, moving towards her.
Zane steps infront of him. "Please, she was only doing what she was programmed to do. She may hold many answers, but perhaps there is an easier way."
Zane picks up his Techno Blade and activates it. Dad cringes away. "No, I--"
"Relax. Ain't a weapon," Jay says, "only hacks into things."
Zane sticks the Techno Blade in Pixal's forehead. For a moment, she's frozen in ice, then the ice disappears and her eyes turn green again.
She gasps. "Where am I? Why am I tied up?"
"You were under the control of the Overlord," Zane says, undoing her ropes. "How did you find us?"
"They've mined Sensei Wu's memory," Pixal replies, softly. "The Overlord knows all your hiding places."
"My brother. Is he... is he okay?" Dad asks.
"Yes, but the Overlord wants your children," Pixal replies. "Their power is the only way he can escape the digital realm and become real."
"Why did Borg give us the Techno Blades to protect?" Kai asks. "Why are they so important?"
"Because together, they can reboot the system, wipe the master computer clean, and destroy the Overlord virus for good," Pixal explains.
Jay says "Wow" at the same time Cole says "Cool."
Suddenly, Pixal gasps.
"What is it?" Nya says.
"I didn't come alone."
Jay cocks his head. "Who else is with you?"
"Nindroids."
Jay begins to panic. "Where are they? I don't see any of them!"
And then, as if by magic, the Nindroids appear out of nowhere, forming a tight circle around us.
"Six versus eighteen. Probability of survival too low to qualify!" Pixal exclaims.
The boys jump into battle, but to our surprise, the fight is a struggle. Dad and I fight without fighting, him because he swore and oath and me because it's the only way I can see us surviving. Nindroids charge, we glance at each other before flipping out of the way in opposite directions. More Nindroids appear at the top of the waterfall, jetpacking down to us. We have no choice but to retreat inside.
We charge down the hall and out of a side door.
"Anybody wanna clear a path?" Jay asks.
"Yeah, I've got an idea," Cole says.
All ten of us climb into the waterwheel and break it away from the building. It rolls down the hill and into the forest, the Nindroids following close behind. Discretely, the four ninja set their vehicles on autopilot and they take off, the Nindroids don't hesitate to follow. When they're out of sight, we climb from our hiding spot.
"It wont be long until they figure out we used autopilot," Cole says. "We should get a move on."
"I'm coming with you," Dad decides. "If the Overlord wants my children, I'm not letting them out of my sight."
"I'll stay and look after the monastery," Mom says. She disappears over the hill while the rest of us leave in the other direction.
"Wait!" Lloyd exclaims, grabbing our attention. "If he wants Tasha and me, and the Techno Blades are the only thing that can stop him, shouldn't we split up?"
Kai glances sharply at me and I wince.
"Good thinking," Nya says. "Tasha and Zane's Falcon know the secret location of my Samurai X Cave. You two and your father go and take what you need to get as far away from us as possible."
"Secret cave? I thought we knew everything about each other," Jay complains.
"A girl's gotta have her secrets," I say, winking at Nya who winks back at me.
"What are you guys gonna do?" Lloyd asks. "Those Nindroids aren't gonna let you step one foot into the city."
"Yeah, Nya," Jay says, almost mockingly. "What are we gonna do?"
"We're gonna shut down the power," Nya replies.
"Great, so it's settled then," I say. "We'll see you guys in a few days?"
"That's the plan," Nya says. "But if it doesn't work, don't come looking for us."
Kai is staring at me, but I don't dare to meet his gaze. I know he's upset that we're splitting up, I am too, but he has to understand that not everything is going to go our way.
"Let's go," says Dad as he and Lloyd start to walk away from our friends.
I look up at Kai, his eyes plead for me not to leave. I glance back at Lloyd and Dad, who are patiently waiting a few meters away. Then I glance at Nya and she nods before pulling the other three boys out of sight.
Kai takes a cautious step towards me. "You're leaving again."
"That's not what this is," I argue.
"It's what it feels like," he says bitterly.
I narrow my eyes at him. "Stop being so selfish. You know this is bigger than the both of us."
He turns his eyes to the ground, glaring daggers at his own feet. I step forward and grab his shoulder, making him look back into my eyes.
"Be safe, Kai," I say softly, hoping that he'll say the same back.
He lets out a defeated sigh before saying. "I promise."
I smile sadly and press a quick kiss to his nose before turning and leaving.
~
We've been walking through the desert for a short while, following Zane's falcon which flies high in the air. I know where Nya's cave is, but it's nice to have someone to keep you on the quickest rout. We approach a pile of Great Devourer bones and I press the button with the Samurai X symbol, the mouth of the Devourer opens allowing us into her cave.
"Woah!" Lloyd exclaims once we're inside. "How did Nya have time to build all this?"
"You'd be surprised," I reply, grinning slightly.
"Maybe I should've been a samurai instead."
Dad pulls the red cover off a vehicle Nya has been working on; it has two very large cannons on the back and a few blasters sticking out from the sides. I chuckle, knowing what Dad's going to say next.
"Why must everything have so many weapons!"
"Says the man who had four arms to possess the Golden weapons," I retort placing my hands on my hips.
"Haha, I deserved that," Dad says, unamused.
Lloyd grins and makes for the drivers seat. Dad reaches a hand out to stop him, now smiling.
"I swore off fighting, not driving."
I grin and climb into the passengers seat next to Lloyd and we take off out of the cave.
"Where to now?" Lloyd asks.
"As far away as possible!"
~
Many hours later, well into the night, we arrive in Ignacia. We're far from the village, on the path near a river. Lloyd is bent down taking a drink while dad rests his eyes. I'm sitting in my seat, cleaning my daggers when I spot a robotic dragon flying towards us in the reflection of my blade.
"We need to go," I yell. "Now!"
Lloyd hurries into the vehicle while dad struggles to start the engine. I give Lloyd a look and he uses his power to jumpstart the engine. We take off, but the MechDragon is hot on our tails.
"He's gaining on us!" Lloyd yells.
"Well maybe this thing has an afterburner," Dad says, pressing buttons randomly. One of the buttons fired a rocket at the dragon.
"Curse these weapons," Dad grumbles.
We drive for a few miles, dodging the lasers and rockets the dragon is firing at us.
"Look out!" I shout as the dragon dives down, slicing off our flag with it's blade.
"This is why I took an oath of piece!" Dad exclaims.
A few moments later, the MechDragon falls out of the sky, crash landing infront of us. We come to a screeching halt. Lloyd and Dad cheer while I let out a sigh of relief.
"Do you think it's safe to go back?" Lloyd asks as he climbs out of the vehicle.
"They may have turned off the power," Dad says, "but they still need to reboot the system. Until the Overlord is gone for good, we need to keep moving."
~
Guys! We hit 10 thousand reads last night! *does happy dance* You guys have no idea how thankful I am, and I just couldn't wait until Tuesday to say it. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all so, so much! Chapters will resume their normal schedule next week. Until then, Wacky AWAY!
Word Count: 2228