Shut up.
"No."
Shut up.
"No."
Shut up.
"No."
Shut up!
Silence.
~
The voice in my head has been quite for a while. It must sense what I'm doing. It only ever goes quite when I do something immoral. If only it new my intentions. It probably wouldn't be so quiet then. I just have to go through the motions and stay out of jail. Then, I can catch this Jinn and make my wishes.
"Tasha. Can you hear me?"
I press my finger to my ear and the soft buzz ceases. "Loud and clear, Ronin."
"Alright. I'm hacking into Zane's system now. Be ready."
"Roger."
I pull the pin from my hair and jam it into the golden lock on the library door. A few jiggles later, there's a click and it opens. I step inside, closing the door as quietly as I can behind me. I can see Lloyd on the other side of this row of bookshelves. He's standing infront of Zane, tapping on his tin head.
"Are you there?" he asks.
"I took the liberty to close off the wing, Lloyd." Ronin's voice echoes throughout the library from the intercoms. "Been meaning to say, love the t.v. spot. What was it you guys said? 'Reading is the first step to every adventure?'"
"Sorry, Zane, but I've gotta get out of here," Lloyd mumbles before darting to the nearest window.
Ronin's one step ahead of him. With a buzz and a loud, grating sound, large metal bars slide up to block the windows, caging Lloyd in.
"Yeah, they installed those to keep the bad guys out. Or was it the good guys in? I don't remember for the life of me. Which are you, Lloyd? Good guy or bad guy?"
"We were framed. You know us, Ronin. We would neve do any of that stuff."
"You also know me, and I'm getting paid an awful lot to bring you guys in." Ronin appears from behind the bookshelf across from me and Lloyd stumbles back. "How's Nya? Boy, I missed her."
Lloyd throws a ball of energy at Ronin, who jumps out of the way, causing a bookshelf to topple over.
"Lets make this easy. I'll take you back to the station, you can answer their questions and clear your name."
"Not until we stop the threat. And you're gonna pay for what you did to Zane. But not today." With that, Lloyd sprints towards the door, only to falter when he comes across me. "Tasha?"
"Stand down, Lloyd," I say, voice loud and clear. I summon a ball of dark energy to each of my hands. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You're helping him!?"
I heave a sigh, lowering my hands slightly. "No, I'm here to check out a book."
"Why!?"
"I've made a deal with him. I help him catch you, I stay out of jail."
"And you trust him?"
"Nope! But what's life without a little risk, huh?"
"I-I don't understand!?
"There's nothing really to understand. Just trust me Lloyd. It'll all work out in the end."
Lloyd stares at me for a moment, green eyes sparkling with fear and confusion. Then, to my surprise and horror, they darken to a look that holds anger and frustration. "I knew something was up. I didn't want to believe it, but it's true."
"Lloyd, what?"
He doesn't answer. He charges at me, at the door. I have no choice. I allow the balls of energy to disappear from my hands before splaying my right hand, palm out, at him. Lloyd's eyes widen and then he is frozen, the energy he was once using to charge at me floating a few feet above his body in a mass of purple and black.
"Nice work," says Ronin, strutting over with a pair of handcuffs in his hands. He hooks them on Lloyd's wrist and smiles. "Two down, four to go."
~
"Alright, Tash, you know the plan."
"Yep," I mumble, not bothering to look up from my book.
Ronin glances behind him, momentarily taking his eyes from the sky. "Whatcha readin'?"
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; my favorite Harry Potter book because of how domestic it is. "None of your business. Pay attention and drive."
"R.E.X. can easily be put on autopilot."
"And I can just as easily crush your lungs," I snap, glaring at him over the top of my book.
"Still feisty as always I see. Ah, looks like they're coming up. I'm going down."
"Kay."
And then Ronin presses a button for R.E.X. to hover, tosses a rope over the side, and slides down. I return my attention to the book. Harry is currently in detention with Umbridge, writing the words "I must not tell lies" on his parchment, consequently carving them into his skin. A few moments later, Ronin says the four words that are my signal.
"Go get them, R.E.X."
With a sigh, I shut my book and set it on the ground, pressing the red "hover" button to turn it off, and direct the ship in chase of Kai and Nya. They drive through the maze that is the Corridor of Elders, occasionally throwing fireballs at me.
"What're ya doin? Shoot back!" Ronin shouts through my earpiece.
With a roll of my eyes, I summon a ball of energy and toss it at them. The explosion causes a few rocks off the side to crumble and fall, conveniently blocking one of their possible escape paths. Their only choice is to go exactly where we want them.
"Get lower, Tasha!"
I do as I'm told and R.E.X. is nearly scraping the ground as we fly down a narrow passage. Then, Kai and Nya come to a screeching halt as they come across a dead end.
"Off the bikes and hands up. And don't try any of that Elemental stuff, or else R.E.X won't play nice," says Ronin, appearing from behind the airship. He's been tailing us on a motorcycle this whole time, which dropped down from the back or R.E.X. the moment I gave chase.
"We were framed," Kai exclaims. "And then--"
"Save it. Already heard it," Ronin says, placing handcuffs on both Kai and Nya. "All right, R.E.X., show's over."
I press a blue button on the control panel and the giant rock blocking their path disappears.
"You tricked us!" Nya exclaims.
"Technically, this was Tasha's idea, so she's the one who tricked you, not me."
Kai's eyes widen. "Wait, what?"
"Come on out, sweet heart."
I put R.E.X. into hover mode again and hop off the airship. Both Nya and Kai stare incredulously as I approach. Then Nya's eyes narrow.
"You're working with him!?"
"Please don't yell so loud. I've already got a migraine from his constant pestering," I reply, squeezing my eyes shut to feign a wince.
"Why?"
I open my eyes and look at Kai. "I'm not going to go to jail. Let's go, Ronin."
Ronin chuckles, grabbing them by their chains and leading them towards the ship. "Four down, two to go."
~
"Alright, Ronin. I'm in," I say as I duck under the crime scene tape and into Mega Monster Amusement Park.
"Great. The security camera's show them over by the roller coaster. Let me know when you're there."
"Roger."
I remove my finger from the tiny communicator in my ear and walk further into the park. Past the haunted house, past the balloon-dart game, past the cotton candy stand, and then Jay and Cole are in sight. I give him the signal and the games begin.
"What did you do now," Cole exclaims, glancing around suspiciously at the now-moving roller coaster cars and the music they project.
"I didn't touch anything," Jay retorts.
"Guess we can add trespassing to your charges." Ronin's voice echoes through the empty park from the speakers. "Don't bother calling your friends, I already caught them."
At that, Cole turns invisible.
"Really? You're disappearing? You're leaving me alone!" Jay shouts.
"If he already has the others, we both can't get caught. I'm sorry, but you're on your own. Good luck."
His footsteps get quieter and quieter as her retreats, leaving Jay all by himself. Now that they're separated, they'll be easier to catch.
"You find Cole. I'll handle Jay," Ronin's voice whispers into my ear.
I don't bother to respond. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, focusing on the energy flowing around me, searching for any disturbances. There's a shift by the trash can--no, that's just a cat. There's one in the tree, but that's just a bird.
I open my eyes and smirk; He's at the snack booth.
I slink back the way I came: past the cotton candy stand, past the balloon-dart game, past the haunted house, past he entrance, and over to the concessions stand. Cole's footprints are imprinted in the ground here, thanks to the mud from yesterdays rain, and there are scraps of food lying behind the counter. It's obvious that Cole is here.
As if to confirm my suspicions, he gives himself away.
"Tasha? Is that you?"
"Yes, Cole. It's me."
"But how do I know you're not the Jinn?"
"Can a Jinn do this?" I ask, raising a hand engulfed in violet energy.
"Considering the Jinn managed to shapeshift into all of us and mimic our powers to frame us, I'd say yes, yes he can."
I heave a sigh, lowering my hand. "You saved my life, Cole. Would the Jinn know that?"
Silence follows my question. But I know he's still there. I can feel his presence.
Finally, Cole shows himself. "I guess he wouldn't."
I smile and offer him a hand. "It's good to see you, Cole."
"Yeah," he replies, grasping it. I pull him into a hug and the voice in my head roars. I ignore it, though, because merely being in Cole's embrace makes me feel warm and safe. These are the arms that saved my life, after all.
"I thought Ronin said he captured everybody already," Cole says as he pulls away.
"Clearly Ronin was lying." My voice is level and controlled. Guess some things never change. "I don't know about the others, but I haven't been caught yet."
"How did you find me?"
"I felt for your energy," I state matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, but how did you know I'd be here? Where have you been? Why didn't you meet up with the rest of us when Lloyd sent out that coded message?"
"I never got a coded message." Lie. "I've mostly been on the run, searching for clues about Wu." Half lie. "And I followed Ronin to find you." Truth.
Cole crosses his arms and taps his chin with his finger, as if thinking. "Hmm. How did you find Ronin?"
"I always know where Ronin is."
Suddenly, Cole takes a step back from me, balling his hands into fists at his sides. "Liar!"
My smile falters and my eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"
"The others have already been captured and you know it! You're working with Ronin, aren't you!?"
"I--" I close my mouth to recompose myself. "So what if I am?"
"Dammit!" Cole yells, and then he disappears again.
I sigh and snap my fingers. A few feet away from me, there's a floating ball of purple and black matter. I walk over to it, holding my hands out until I can feel Cole. I find his neck. "I'm sorry," I whisper, and the I smack the side of my hand against his carotid artery, knocking him out cold. He slumps to the ground and reappears.
"Well done, Tasha," says Ronin, applauding sarcastically.
I suppress an eyeroll. "Where's Jay?"
"Tied up beneath the roller coaster."
"So we did it then?"
"Yep. All six ninja, captured to be turned in. You're free to go, Tasha."
I cock my head to the side. "Huh."
"Huh? Huh, what?"
"I honestly thought you'd betray me."
"And why would I do that when you've got such extensive blackmail on me."
I open my mouth to tell him that most of my blackmail is useless against the blackmail he has on me, but decide against it. This is Ronin, after all. Instead I say, "Smart man. See ya around."
"Take care, Tasha."
With a final wave, we go our separate ways.
~
Imma be honest with y'all, I completely forgot that I had prom. But y'know, better late than never, right? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was loads of fun to write, until I got to the end because I couldn't decide how I wanted to end it and lead into next chapter, but I think I'm happy with it. I'll straight up say that next chapter probably won't be for two weeks. I've got too many AP tests to think about writing. Until then, Wacky AWAY!
Word Count: 2170
PS. Thank you so so so so so much for 50k reads!!! You have no idea how much it means to me <3