"We're awesome." Rhea states.
Emily nods and marches down the trail with her.
"Uh, Ava? Why were you up a tree?" Jay asks.
"Several reasons. One: To scare people. Two: To be under cover of more darkness. Three: To recharge my power. Four: To not get attacked while doing so. And five: Because I can."
"That checks out."
"You bet it does, Thunderbolt!" She rolls her eyes. "As great as an island of darkness is, (for me, anyway) I still needed to regain some energy after using so much of it to battle those Warriors. Thus, the tree."
"I can't argue with that logic."
"I know, right?!! My vast wisdom astonishes even me, sometimes."
A Stone Warrior's head rolls slowly out from underneath the bushes, and Kai kicks it away from himself, emitting a girly scream.
"Whoops. I nearly forgot about that one." Ava comments, then mutters. "..I probably should've hid it better..."
Rhea's disappointed voice sounds from the undergrowth. "Aaw, Ava! You mangled the body too much, I can't even tell if this guy had any pockets or not!"
"Sorry!" Ava calls back. "I got carried away again. ..How much destruction did you cause back at the monastery, anyway?"
"How'd you kno- WAIT, I didn't mean to-!!!"
"AHA! I knew it!!! You can't be trusted anywhere, can you?!! This is why we can't go to the nice restaurants with you, you'd only end up embarrassing us!"
"Hey, Emily did stuff, too!"
"Don't you dare accuse my sweet little muffin of anything so heinous! Look at her, she's the very picture of innocence! A perfect cinnamon roll!!!"
Emily flutters her eyelashes at Rhea, who gapes at the youngest disbelievingly.
"I like kids, too." Acronix butts in hopefully.
Ava glares daggers at him, and he shrinks back. "You may have already forgotten, but I have not. You held a blade to this precious child's throat. I take that rather personally, seeing as how I've raised her from her toddler years and onward. Yet you claim to love children?!! Shame on you!!! We are now mortal enemies!"
Acronix jerks back and grits his teeth. "Shoot. Should've done that to the teal one."
"NANI?!!" Rhea yelps. "I'm a kid, too!!!"
"Now she says she's a kid."
"Why's Ava acting so strangely?" Morro asks.
"My scans indicate that her increased hostility stems from her fear of losing the only family she has left, minimal interactions with other humans, and uncertainty in regard to whether Acronix can truly be trusted. In short, she seems to be conducting a personal threat analysis." Zane reports.
"Analyze this!" Ava furiously swings her mace at the nindroid.
Pixal's voice suddenly speaks without warning, sounding thunderous in the tree-enclosed area.
"I would not recommend that, Miss Hakura."
Ava freezes mid-swing. "Who said that?!!"
A glowing holographic projection funnels onto the ground, and Pixal's unamused form manifests itself in it. "Do not harm my Zane."
"Oh, fine. As you wish, Robo-Lady."
"My name is Pixal! Primary Interactive eXistential Life-Form!!! I am a fundamental memeber of this team!"
"-And my Sweetheart." Zane adds.
Pixal beeps shyly. "Well, yes. That as well."
"Okay, I get it. But he doesn't need to analyze me." Ava grumbles.
"I am going to work on my mech. Do not disturb me again for no good reason, or there will be consequences." Pixal shifts her gaze to the other ninja. "That goes for all of you as well. Goodbye." She says curtly. Her shape flickers out of focus and disappears.
"Aaand.. She's gone." Kai observes.
"She's adorable, yet also very intimidating." Morro adds, glancing at you. "Kind of like someone else I know."
You laugh. "Why do you say that?"
He blushes a bit, a bead of perspiration forming on his brow. "No reason, really."
"Yo, guys. Are we looking for the other bodies or not?!!" Rhea yells.
"What part of being a ninja was she never taught?" Ava grumbles.
"Sounds like all of them." Nya growls.
"I swear I tried! It was like trying to teach a hyperactive, attention-deficient chihuahua how to salsa dance or something!"
"Poor you." Nya answers pityingly.
"She can disappoint me in so many ways."
Acronix slides in beside Ava, and she gives him a cautious look, but doesn't speak. "So, um, about my brother..."
"Did I hurt him? Is that what you want to know?" He nods slowly, and Ava looks up. "See for yourself. We're at the crime scene."
A.N: Nightwatch, Morromatters... I'm shipping random pairs now! :P
701 words.