Liana's fingers trailed over the smooth woodwork. From the weapons hanging up on the walls and the chests along the sides, she knew she was standing in the armory of the Destiny's Bounty. She had wandered in the room idly, lost in thought. The blind teenager could feel, if not hear, the slight, constant vibration of the rocket boosters running, keeping the ship hovering in the sky. Aside from the ever-so-soft humming in the background, all was quiet in the room.
Liana was glad to have a minute of peace to herself, for she wasn't quite used to being around so many people for so long. That wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy their company, even if things were a bit tense because of the constant attacks.
She liked Nya in particular. There was some sort of fierce, fiery spirit in the girl ninja that she admired and could relate to, and if she wasn't mistaken, Nya liked her back. This was a surprise for Liana, because not only did few people actually like her, she rarely liked them back. Despite being away from her uncle and cousins, Liana found that she didn't mind working with the ninja too much. After hearing so much about these famed heroes of Ninjago, how cool was it that she was hanging with them...! Even if nearly half the team members were down.
She was glad that familiar voices like Matilda and Cole were there. If only Philip were here to see this...
Liana's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from the hall. She recognized the heavy, steady footfalls, and her theory was confirmed when she heard Cole's voice. "Liana?"
"Here." She tilted her head in the direction of the doorway as his footsteps grew more audible before coming in and stopping. She heard the sound of the door slightly squeaking on the hinges and the audio from outside the armory fade out when it closed. There was a small click of the latch, signaling that she was now alone with Cole in the room. Her heart jumped nervously.
"I think we need to talk." There was something disconcerting about his tone of voice. He sounded tense.
She let herself frown. "OK..."
He ran a hand through his hair; she could hear the soft rustle. There was a long pause. Then: "Jay and I have been talking about you."
She wondered if he could see how confused she felt. "OK...?"
She heard him swallow before saying quietly, "We noticed how... coincidental it was that you've shown up after several years out of nowhere, just as this stuff with the werecats began to happen."
Liana stood very, very still.
She heard him take a step closer. "Ever since we picked you up, those things were somehow able to track down our every move. And whenever they attacked us, while a lot of us got hurt, you were completely unscathed."
Is he serious? her mind roared.
"How do you know that's not just a coincidence?" She forced herself to speak. "I was always with you guys, and you're so well-trained and experienced in fighting that I usually found myself just shoved aside from the brawl."
"Maybe." Cole responded softly. "Or..." He took a step closer.
She took a step back.
"Or maybe you're not here by accident. Maybe you didn't find me to tell me about Philip."
Liana felt her heart begin to race when he took another step closer.
How did he know? She thought she had hidden it so well!
"Maybe..." There was a hint of menace in his voice. "Maybe there's more to you than meets the eye."
She took another step back, only to bump into the wall. Her hand trailed over the wood and ran over a sai standing up on a prop.
Her eyes narrowed to slits as she finally realized what Cole was insinuating. "You think I'm a traitor."
"Or a werecat," was his cold response.
Liana glared unseeingly in his direction, sudden anger roaring in her ears. She clenched her jaw, and she could feel her heart racing faster in her chest.
Slowly, softly, she felt for the sai positioned behind her.
Cole took another step. He was so close she could hear him breathing. Liana heard the sound of a knife slowly, nearly soundlessly, being pulled out from its sheathe.
She wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sai.
* * *
"Nya?" Jay knocked gently on the door of her bedroom. "It's me—"
To his surprise, the door swung open under his hand, and when he looked in he saw that it was empty.
He frowned and stepped back, then ventured down the hallway. "Nya?"
He stopped in front of the doorway leading to Kai's bedroom. Finding that it hung half-way open, he peered in. To his surprise, Nya was kneeling at the side of the bed, arms over her head as pressed her face into the covers. She was quite still and silent, and didn't seem to hear Jay.
He paused before quietly stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He walked up to Nya and hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder.
She jerked up with a gasp and stared at him. "Oh. Sorry..." She stood up, looking embarrassed. "I— I didn't hear you coming."
"It's OK." Jay glanced at the bed. The covers were slightly wrinkled where Nya had laid her head down. Gently he asked, "Are— are you all right?"
"Yes. No— I mean..." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Kind of."
Jay's gaze softened when she murmured, "I— I miss him. I mean, I miss all of them, and I'm really worried about them, but..." She bit her lip. "He's my brother. You know what I mean?"
Wordless, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. With a small, shuddering sigh she buried her head into his chest and hugged him tight.
"Was there something about Kai in that vision when Rip Claw attacked you?" he murmured quietly.
Nya shut her eyes tight. After a long silence she said, with her voice slightly muffled through his shirt, "I saw him lying on the ground. There was an arrow in him... he trying to breathe, and it looked so bad..."
"Hey." He turned so that her back was pressed against the wall. He cupped her chin and one hand and said soothingly, "We'll find him, OK? We'll find all of them." He gazed into her eyes. "It's going to be all right."
Nya let his presence soothe her as she buried herself in his arms. Jay rested his cheek on her head and stroked her hair gently. She closed her eyes and pressed herself against him, breathing in slowly.
Finally Nya looked up at him. "Jay, I—"
He pressed a finger to her lips. "You don't need to say anything. It's all right."
With a faint smile, Nya cupped his cheek with one hand and gazed up into his bright green eyes. Lips parted, she began to lean forward—
—then stopped. She blinked and looked again.
Green eyes?
Jay's eyes were blue.
* * *
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Liana hissed angrily.
"Oh, I think I do," Cole replied darkly. "And I think you do, too."
Liana slipped the sai into her hand.
* * *
Matilda's voice reverberated in Nya's mind. There are little signs you can watch out for in the chance that you might suspect your friend of being a bakeneko or a nekomata... Another, more subtle way to tell, though, is the person's shadow. If you look at the shadow of a bakeneko or a nekomata in their human forms, their shadow will appear to be feline rather than humanoid.'
Heart hammering, she stared at Jay.
"What?" Jay quirked an eyebrow at her. "What is it?"
Slowly, ever so slowly, Nya turned to where the afternoon sunlight was hitting the wall by the door. She could see her own shadow there: a dark humanoid head with a short haircut. She then looked at the shadow beside her own.
The shape of a cat's head shifted where Jay's shadow was supposed to be.
***
With a furious shout, Cole unsheathed his short sword and met Liana's blow. "I knew it! You are a— one of those things!"
Liana kicked his stomach. He staggered back, clutching his belly.
"That's what you think!" She brandished the sai in one hand and snatched a long katana from its place on the wall. "You're an idiot if you think I'm one of those cat-creatures!"
"Prove it!" he spat.
Liana drew back the sleeve of the old white gi she wore, exposing her bare arm. With a quick swipe she ran the sai over the flesh. Beads of blood appeared. "Satisfied?"
Cole got to his feet and glared at her. She stood in front of him as human as ever, wearing a fierce expression of anger and hurt.
He wanted to believe her. He had thought she was his friend. He liked her. They had shared some insane adventures together in the past. Yet—his friends had been kidnapped, possibly killed. He couldn't take any chances.
Yet even when Liana didn't turn into a cat-creature when she wounded herself, that left just one option in his mind.
"If you're not a bakeneko or a nekomata..." Cole stood up shakily. "Then you're a traitor. You've been working with those things." He rasped, feeling hurt, "Why, Liana?"
Liana's eyes widened in fury. "'A traitor'—?! You are such a—! Do you really think I'm capable of betraying you?! For what?! You're one of the best friends I've ever had!"
"Don't try to pretend, Liana," Cole spat bitterly. "It's not going to work."
"You're an idiot," she snapped.
"And you're caught like a rat in a trap." He took a warning step closer. "Don't try to run."
"Oh, I'm not running," she said. "Not at all. Ninjaaaa-go!" With a furious cry she flew into a silver-blue Spinjitzu vortex and whirled in his direction.
Cole shouted angrily as he created his own vortex, an earthy orange color. The two vortexes cast wildly flashing colors throughout the room with whirring hums as the two teens leapt for each other.
Cole managed to knock Liana to the side off the room, and the impact of her fall sent several shurikens and pieces of amour spilling across the floor. She snarled and started to get up, but Cole's vortex evaporated as he flung himself at her and grabbed her wrists. She tried to yank herself free, but he held fast. His arms began to glow orange as they struggled.
"There's—no escape, Liana!" he grunted. "Just give up, and—!"
With a vicious cry, Liana pulled back both feet and kicked him once more in the stomach. Cole gasped and fell back, the breath knocked out of him.
The girl swiped her katana over his head, missing him by a hair. She jumped to her feet and said coldly, "You've taught me too well, Cole." She dropped the katana and the sai, then pulled her nunchucks out from her belt. "I never thought I'd have to use your teachings against you."
Cole moved to get to his feet, but she swiftly kicked him down. With a groan he tumbled, and before he could retaliate she slammed her knee onto his chest, shoved his back against the floor, and pressed the chain of her nunchucks against his neck.
He choked and gasped as she growled, "You should have paid more attention to your own lessons. You two serious mistakes: you jumped to conclusions, and you underestimated me."
Cole struggled vainly under her grip, choking and rasping for air to fill his lungs. She pressed down all the harder. What made this all the more painful was that Cole knew she was right. He had underestimated Liana, and now he was going to pay a terrible price for it.
* * *
Jay's odd light, cat-like tread... Jay correcting Cole on how many claws cats had... Not knowing how to use the medicine... Giving the witch in her cat form strange looks... Seeming to distrust Matilda... Having trouble with flying his dragon... Muttering into the alleyway at Ronin's place... It all made sense now. Horrible, bone-chilling sense.
Nya stared back at Jay. The wall was behind her, pressing against her shoulders while Jay stood in front of her, his face ever-so-close to hers. One of his arms reached out and leaned against the wall, penning her in. She suddenly had the impression of being cornered... like how a cat might corner its prey.
"Are you OK, Nya?" Jay was staring intently into her eyes with his own green ones.
Nya stared back at him. Then she said, in a soft, halting whisper, "What was the name of Nadakhan's first mate?"
He blinked. "Who?"
Nya promptly kicked Jay in the crotch.
* * *
"May I ask how exactly you met my pupil?" Sensei Wu poured himself a cup of steaming tea. "I am interested to hear the story of how two such polar opposites came to know each other."
"I too would like to know how you and Cole met, Miss Ravencroft," added Zane, who stood nearby.
Wu, Zane, and Matilda were in the control room of the Destiny's Bounty, resting from their most recent mission. Wu was sitting at a little table, serving himself and Matilda some tea while Zane stood by at the window, one hand on the control wheel. Red afternoon light filtered in from behind the nindroid, making his figure a dark silhouette against the glare of the setting sun.
The witch eyed her tea with suspicion, but proceeded to take a sip. She twisted her mouth oddly—whether in disgust or approval, it was hard for one to tell. "Humph. Now that's a fun tale."
She motioned the cup in her hand so that the liquid therein swirled around in little circles. "Picture this: I'm a scrawny old alley cat in Yōkaiville, just come from the local library to pick up a few books. I'm going down the alleyways of the city, dodging shady characters and such. Not to keep myself safe from those criminal souls, of course, but to keep them safe from me. It's a dark night, and I'm nearly out of the city when I hear—"
Matilda was interrupted by the sound of banging from somewhere below their feet. She blinked in surprise. "Oi."
"What was that?" Zane wondered out loud.
"Corpus bones, what are those kids doing down there?" Matilda cursed. When the sound of more banging and something clattering followed, she snapped, "This is a flying ship, not a bouncy castle! What are your boys doing, Mister Wu?!"
"Perhaps it would be best if we checked." Wu responded patiently. "Maybe they are only training." He stood up from the table and headed toward the door.
"Tell them to train quietly, then. Otherwise I'll turn one of those cheeky monkeys into a spider and step on them," the witch grumbled.
* * *
"Aarrrghh... why would you do that?!" Jay staggered the floor, clutching his crotch in agony.
"You aren't Jay!" Nya gasped. "You're— you're a bakeneko-nekomata!"
He stared at her incredulously. "Wha— are you serious?"
"Jay's eyes are blue, not green! And what about that shadow there, huh?" Shakily she gestured to the wall; the shadow of a large cat crouched beside her own.
Jay stared at the wall, then back at her. "Nya—" He sputtered, "That— that's—!"
Before she could react, he crouched on all fours and leapt up at Nya, smashing her to the floor and knocking the breath out of her.
With a shriek she tried to push him back, but he pinned her down heavily. Leaning forward, Jay finished with a mocking hiss, "That's quite clever of you, Daughter of Water. What a smart, clever little trick."
His green eyes flashed menacingly, and he spoke not in Jay's voice, but one that was slightly deeper and raspier. "Too bad you won't live long enough to tell the tale." With one hand, he discreetly turned the key in the knob and locked the door.
Nya glared furiously into the eyes of her assailant. "What did you do with Jay?"
"The Son of Lightning will get what's coming to him, as will you." Jay's hands broke free of his gloves as they morphed into big furry paws. The creature, still looking disturbingly like Jay, unsheathed his claws and pressed down on Nya's neck, cutting off air supply.
Nya choked. Almost frantically she swung at Jay's jaw, knocking the bone around under the force.
The Jay-creature bared his teeth, exposing feline fangs, and growled in pain. He reeled back, allowing Nya to shove Jay off of her and to give a side-kick to his chest.
The creature grabbed her leg, though, and pulled her to him. She wrenched herself free and jumped back, preparing to fight.
She stared at him. The creature was still in the form of Jay—this all felt so weird and unnerving. How can I fight someone that looks like him...?! she wondered in dismay.
As if sensing her distress, the Jay-creature lunged forward with a snarl. Claws dug into her shoulders as she was shoved down to Kai's vacant bed. Once again he pressed down on her neck, but not before Nya gave an ear-piercing scream.
* * *
"What was that?" Liana paused in choking Cole. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," Cole rasped. "That's the sound of me kicking your butt!" With that he shoved her off his chest. He sat up with heaving gasps as she rolled away with a grunt.
"I'm serious!" She rubbed her jaw as she backed up a few steps, clutching her nunchucks in one hand. "That sounded like Nya!"
"Don't you try that with me!" Cole coughed for air. "I'm not stupid!"
"Yes, you are!" Liana swung, and Cole ducked her weapon by mere inches. He stumbled to his feet, then, brandishing his short sword, blocked another blow from her nunchucks.
She struck again; he blocked again; she struck; he blocked; she struck; he blocked; again and again Liana swung furiously at Cole, barely giving him a chance to catch his breath while he desperately defended himself. She forced him to take several steps backward, and before he knew it, Cole had backed into the wall.
Sensing him trapped, she made her nunchucks fly faster than ever. She finally knocked the blade from his hands and proceeded to bruise his knuckles and arms.
Clenching his jaw, Cole took a risky chance and reached out to grab one of her arms. He was smacked in the face by the nunchucks and his head spun painfully.
Before Liana could wrench herself from his grip, his arms suddenly glowed a fiery orange, and his grip, already iron-like before, was now rock-solid. Liana gasped in pain and struggled to free herself, but with a triumphant snarl Cole lifted her above the floor and held her up.
Before he could smash her body down to the ground, however, his writhing victim kicked him in the stomach—for the third time—and Cole doubled over. She tumbled away from him.
Gasping, Cole leapt across the room with can angry shout. Liana met him swinging her nunchucks, but Cole he dodged them and chucked her to the floor with a loud bang!
His arms were still glowing, and he felt a surge of hot, fiery power race down the flesh of his forearms and hands. He snatched Liana's nunchucks and wrenched them from her grip, throwing them across the room with a clatter.
Liana refused to be defeated. Though Cole had her back to the floor and was crouching over her, she quickly felt for his neck and tried to choke him. With a growl he reeled, then cuffed her around the ear. Dazed, she fell back, and Cole grabbed her wrists with his own glowing ones and pinned her down.
"Oi!"
A burst of ice hit Cole's face, stinging him. With a shocked cry he reeled back from Liana. He sat up and, his arms returning to normal, saw Zane, Wu, and Matilda standing in the doorway with astonished expressions. Matilda in particular looked furious.
"What's going on here?!" The witch she brandished her wand threateningly. "You two had better explain yourselves before I—!"
A faint scream from the other side of the Bounty interrupted her. Everyone stared at each other, each thinking the same thing.
"That was Nya!" Cole exclaimed.
"Told you," Liana groaned.
Cole jumped to his feet, brushed past the others and raced down the hall. "Nya?!"
He stopped at the door leading to Kai's room when he heard something bang from inside. He tried the door, but it was locked. He knocked rapidly. "Nya? What's going on in there?!"
"Cole!" He heard her gasp. Something tumbled, and another voice muttered something inaudible. There was another bang, then Nya cried out, "Help! It's Jay! He's the—!"
Her voice was cut off by a rasping choke, as if someone had grabbed her neck.
Cole didn't know what was going on, but it was clear that something was seriously wrong behind that door. As the others caught up to him, he flexed his arms, watched them glow brightly once more, then proceeded to punch the door down.
A tremendous crash echoed throughout the entire ship, fairly shattering the ears of everyone around it. With a shower of flying splinters, the door was thrown off the hinges and crumbled to the floor with a defeated clatter. Cole burst in and froze in his tracks. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Jay stood over Nya on the floor beside Kai's bed, pinning her down. One hand was pressing mercilessly upon her neck, choking the life out of her, and another hand was raised in the air—except it wasn't a hand. It was a big, furry cat's paw. Jay's eyes met Cole's, and the former bared feline fangs and hissed menacingly.
It was at that moment Cole finally realized that he had been wrong about Liana being the werecat.
"Ninjaaaa—go!" Cole spun himself into a Spinjitzu vortex and whirled to the bakeneko—or nekomata. Whatever it was.
The Jay-creature yowled eerily and met Cole's attack with frenzied blows. With a furious cry Cole chucked Jay through the air and against the opposite wall. Jay hissed and dropped to all fours, glaring at his assailant balefully through cat-like eyes.
With a fierce caterwaul he charged the ninja and swung at his head, but Cole parried the blow with a glowing, clenched fist, then kicked the Jay-figure at the stomach. The latter reeled back.
It was at this moment Liana, Wu, Matilda and Zane burst into the room and stared at the brawl with disbelief. While Nya staggered weakly to her feet, Cole and Jay wrestled viciously, Cole shooting chunks of earth and rocks of out his palms while the werecat in Jay's figure raked its claws at him.
Cole cried out when he felt the claws run down one of his arms and rip the sleeve, and the strange power glowed again in his arms. With a stone-solid grip, he grabbed Jay's shoulders, smashed him against the side of the wall, and pinned him there. The Jay-figure writhed and hissed under his grip, but Cole held fast, though the creature's claws continually raked his face and forearms painfully.
When the Jay-figure finally eased his frantic struggles, Nya approached with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She pulled out a small blade from the floor—which had fallen there during the skirmish—and raised it to Jay's cheek. The Jay-creature bared its teeth in a small hiss when she sliced his cheek. She stepped back, wearing an expression of barely-suppressed rage.
Everyone watched with mingled awe and horror as Jay's figure began to morph eerily. His auburn-colored hair grew shaggier and turned from a dark brown to coal-black, framing his face. The body turned to that of a wider, more muscular build. The skin was slightly more tanned than Jay's, and the eyebrows grew thicker and darker.
Before they knew it, standing before them was a young man in Jay's torn gi who looked to be around the same age as the ninja, if not a couple years older. He glared balefully at the humans surrounding him.
Cole returned the stranger's glare. Still pressing his victim against the wall, he growled, "Who are you?"
The young man sneered, "I don't have to answer to you, human."
"Let me rephrase that." Cole raised a clenched, glowing fist and smashed it against the side of the werecat's face. "Who—are—you."
The man grimaced and ran a tongue over his teeth. "I am Eagle Talon, son of Silver Mist, warrior of the Tribe of the Moon. Satisfied?"
"No." This time it was Nya who punched him in the face. "What have you done with Jay?!"
Eagle Talon replied with a low groan, "I didn't do anything." He eyed them snidely. "Sure, I attacked him back at the human-warriors-gathering-place—the police station, as you call it—and took his form, but it was probably Raven Frost who did away with him."
"What are they doing to do with him?!" Nya brandished her blade threateningly.
Though he looked battered and blood was seeping out a corner of his mouth, Eagle Talon seemed to shrug casually under Cole's grip. "I think they were planning to drown him somewhere in our territory, at one of the lakes."
Nya's face blanched. "Drown him...!?"
Zane and Wu looked horrified. "How did you capture Jay?" Zane demanded stiffly.
"It was when we were fighting in the hall." At this he nodded to Cole. "Your weapon was stuck in the wood. While you were trying to get it out, I got what I needed to complete the transformation."
Nya shuddered. Matilda stepped forward, wearing a cold expression. "I believe we should securely bind this guy before we officially interrogate him."
Eagle Talon bared his teeth and hissed softly.