{Location: Seliel's ninja course}(Seliel's POV)
"7," I'm shaking as I try to not fall off while doing my chin-ups, "8.....9." I want a break. But I'm so close. Just one more. "10. And because that's the 5th 10, that makes 50." I let go of the bar and shake out my hands. Finally, the warm-up is done. I stretch out a little for the cardio half or my work out.
AJ jumps over the fences, finds a chair and kicks her feet up. "Up for a little sparring?"
I shrug my shoulders as I walk over to the climbing net, "Not really. Maybe tomorrow?" Today has been pretty busy already.
AJ licks her lips as her eyes dart around, "All right. Yeah, you want me to time you?"
I frown as I place my hands and feet carefully, "That was last week. Sunday is timed course day."
AJ hits her head lightly, "Oh right."
"Are you ok?" I start climbing up to a small wooden ledge, "You didn't get the hot seat during that questioning, right?"
AJ looks like she either running a fever with how much her cheeks blush or she's a caffeinated squirrel watching a teleporting acron. She takes her hair out of the ponytail then starts playing with her hair, "Well."
I reach the top, twist over and sit in the league, "AJ." I give a teasing glare.
"Well," She rubs the back of her neck.
I can do this later. I turn around and climb back down. Then walk slowly over to her, "Spill. You're a horrible liar."
AJ sighs, "Fine. When I was talking with Nero, he may have, possibly, sorta said that he knew your secret identity."
My mouth drops to the ground. He knows? No way. My identity is a secret to protect my Dad, the last thing he needs is someone targeting him because of me. I close and open my mouth like a fish. Then I head inside the house.
"Seliel, where are you going?" AJ jumps off the chair and follows me.
I open the screen door then the glass one. "Apparently some people don't know when to quit while they're ahead." I step up on my tip toes to grab my Mom's acupuncture kit. I carefully bring down a small white basket.
AJ closes both doors behind me, "Seliel, you can't do that." She tries to take away the basket.
I harden my grip, "What? I'm just going to give our new 'guests' a relaxing acupuncture message."
AJ glares as she pulls the basket to her, "No. If you think I'm a bad liar then you better look in a mirror."
I yank the basket back to me, "AJ, we can't take a risk like this. Eleamentals are unpredictable."
AJ tries to take the basket away once more, "Seliel, they're in a cell. They'll fess up to their crimes. Pay the fine and they'll be gone."
"That's long-term," I am this close to making this situation far more aggressive, "What if Nero tells? If you hadn't noticed, I have a few enemies."
"Like Victor?" AJ puts both hands on the basket, "He's gone Seliel. Probably under arrest like Jordan and Nom were."
"I can't take that kind of change," I took a change when I let Mom go on her own, I took a change telling Marci about me, I will not risk a third change, "Besides, something tells me you haven't gotten any other peep out of them. I can."
"And just how are you planning to do that?" AJ's voice rises, "I can't let you question them unless you have a badge or orders from the government." I raise an eyebrow as I try pulling the basket back to me, "And don't even think about asking your Dad."
"Ok. I won't," I manage to pull the basket an inch to me, "But you're not the only friendly cop on the force."
"No." AJ pulls the basket as ripping sound rings, "I know you, Seliel. You're not planning on using the easy questions."
"Who cares about easy?" I put both hands on the basket, "I can't take that change."
We keep pulling until the handle snaps between us, the handle breaks off the basket and a pial of long sharp needles clatter to the ground. AJ drops her half of the basket, "Since when were you so selfish? This situation isn't about you."
"I'm not selfish!" I scream as I throw down my half, "I'm being cautious. We have no idea what happened if Nero tells."
"See," AJ glares, "You're basing all of this on an if."
I try and glare harder then she doses, "Yes. And if that is most likely true." Yelling is getting me nowhere. I need to try a different angle, "Look. I took the change of safety when my Mom died. Yeah, she told me to stay but I should have gone with her. I took a change on fighting an easier bad guy when Marci died. I take the easy way a lot. I'm not gonna be easy now."
AJ hits her forehead as she sighs, "That's your argument? Oh, bad things happened to me, meaning I must always be right." I get the one face I never thought I'd get from AJ, a sneer, "Well guess what, I lost my Mom too. My Dad became an angry, loner and I grew up knowing things no kid should know. You don't see me bending the world around to my problems." She turns around as I'm this close to snapping again, "So I don't know why you are now." AJ folds her arms as she heads out the front door.
"I'm not bending the world to my problems!" I follow her but grip the door to lean out and yell, "There is a real problem. And I'm gonna solve it."
AJ turns around her hands out wide, "Well, I hope you can solve it on your own then. I'm going to do my job and keep our new guests safe!"
"Fine!" I close the door.
"FINE!" AJ shouts back then storms off.
I fall back on the white door and slide down. I'm not being selfish. I'm not. I taking precautions. I'm right. She's wrong. I can't prove I'm right in this instances sadly. I look up and stare at a staircase. I stand up, walk over to my Mom's needles and start sweeping them into the basket. I'm going to ask the hard questions. I know I'm right.
Elementals can't be trusted.
[2 hours later]{Location: Crystal Pass Police station}
"Hey," Chief Bob waves at me, "Seliel. Back for more volunteering?"
"Not exactly," I walk inside as he holds the door open for me. I gotta act normal. Like I'm not carrying a dozen and a half needles and a donut box, "But I was hoping I might be able to help with asking a few questions," I open the lid as his eyes grow and his mouth waters, "But mabey it could be off the books."
Chief Bob grabs the box as I fold my arms, "You got 5 minutes." He lets me walk to the interagation room. I have one hand on the handle and the other covering my purse when Bob talks to me with his mouth full, "You want one?"
I shrug, "I prefer cake." I open the door. I've actually never been in here. But AJ's description is right, small brown room, small brown table with handcuffs with three chairs. The only thing she didn't mention was a long dark piece of glass. I sit down across from Nero and Camille, both have their arms folded. I wait until the door swings itself closed then switch from a warm, welcoming smile to a hard as a rock frown, "So. Rember me?"
Chamille rolls her eyes as I hold my purse on my lap, "Yes, Seliel Amara Quartzstone." She bites her lips and readjusts herself in the chair, "We know who you are."
Nero tries to keep a still face as I wait for the right moment, "I may have told my partner. Oops."
I shrug my shoulders as I open my purse and take a handful of needles out, "Don't be," I stand up, leave my purse on the chair as I walk behind them, "It gives me a chance to do what has to be done faster," Faster then a snake, I poke both of them on the lower part of their necks, insert two more in both their backs just over their shoulder blades, "What's the matter? You two just need to relax."
Nero grunts but is still as a statue, "Why can't I move?"
Chamille's eyes dart around as I walk back to my chair, "What'd you do to us?"
I fold my arms without poking myself, "What's the matter? Feeling a little stiff?"
Nero can still blink apparently. He closes his eyes then snaps them open, "Acupuncture. She knows the tricks on how to freeze the human body." He'd smirk at me if he wasn't so mad at being a human statue, "Clever."
I get a low growl at the back of my throat, "How come your powers still work?"
Chamille flashes purple, she looks just like me, "Donno," She even copies my voice, "All I know, is that we still have our powers and you don't. Oh wait, you never had powers." SHe snickers as she flashes purple again.
I squeeze my eyes shut as my hands dig around my purse. There has to be something I can do. Some trick I haven't thought of yet. I snap my eyes open as my fingers curl around a warm sliver of metal, "I don't need powers to stop your's." I get back behind them, push them forward so their faces are on the table, then I poke and poke and poke again looking at every combination and pressure point I know. Eventually, they both look like silver porkaip-pines as I growl, "I don't get it. You're both human, how is this not working?"
Nero sighs, "Fine." His grey eyes flicker around as Camille glares at me, "We weren't sent but the ninja."
Chamille folds as well, "Yeah, there's a new round of serpaintent attacking Ninjago, but they're cluster in New Ninjago city."
"We just wanted a nice, quiet getaway."
I fold my arms. No way this is that simple....right? "Then why Crystal Pass. There are plenty of other places in Ninjago."
Chamille sniffles, "Exactly. Let's just say a certain incident had us explore a lot more of Ninjago then we wanted to. I need someplace new, Nero needed someplace new, we thought, why not go together."
I shake my head, "No. You lied?" There a change, of a fraction of a possibility that I was wrong, "Then why'd Ethen scream and shout at you." I stare at the last needle I place in Nero's Back. Just off to the left side of his neck.
Nero, despite the amount of needle in his back, turns around and locks eyes with me. My senses get overwhelmed as I slip and fall into a corner of the room. I don't understand what's going on. My mind is reeling from something not my own, I'm back at the parade. Only, I don't think this is my memory. It might be Nero's or Camille's.
I look around and see a young boy pulling something out of his pocket. Chamille flashes purple and looks like a tall white police officer, reaches out to ask the boy a question when he drops a firecracker then launched into a wall. He looks panicked as he screams for help and mercy. Chamille flashes purple again as Eathen points and stares.
The memory slowly to a stop as I figure out the rest of the story from there. I stand up slowly while holding my head, "What was that?"
Nero looks just as freaked out as I do, "I don't know. I'm having trouble controlling my powers." He starts sending me random people's thoughts telepathically as I walk over and pull out the last needle I put in.
I feel my cheeks heat up from embarrassment as I quickly pull out my needles. What was I thinking? It was a series of misunderstandings. And me on my high horse acted like a bully. I just throw the needles in, apologizing with every one I take out.
Camille moves on her own again as I pull out the last needle on Nero, "When you jumped down, I thought we could just mess around. I didn't realize you were actually fighting. I'm sorry."
Nero doesn't look much happier, "And I shouldn't have used the Ninja as an excuse. I'm sorry too."
I loop back around, toss my purse on the table witch spills out needles as I sit down, "No. It was my fault. I don't know what I was thinking. I just had a really, really, really stupid moment." I was so wrong. As hard as that is, I was most definitely wrong, "I'm sorry."
Nero holds us his handcuffs, "As long as we get out off these. I am sorry for threatening your secret. I won't say a word about it, I swear."
"Yeah," Camille looks down, "Ditio."
I rub my forehead, "I'll get my Dad to not press charges." I think back to my fight with AJ. Boy have I screwed up today, "I'll even give you an escort out of town. I'm friends with some of the quarry transporters." I reach my right hand out, "Are we good?"
Nero concedes first and shakes my hand, "Just as soon as we get out of here." He lets go as I shake Camille's hand.
Then the door opens. A very familiar female officer looks at us. First at me, then Nero and Chamille, then at my needles scattered on the table. AJ's face tintes red before she turns around and walks away.
Oh, crap...this looks like I'm still in the middle of it all. "Wait, AJ!" I jump to my feet and burst out the door. I blow past a few other officers in trying to catch my friend, "I can explain. Mabey not that well but still!" I push through doors as she sits down in a black and white car. She turns the key and the engine roars to life. I plaster myself on her window, "I was wrong. Just listen." AJ pulls back with me still trying to apologise to her, "AJ. Please." She pulls into traffic as I'm forced to let her go. She somehow catches all the green lights, which are like two, and she turns towards her apartment. "AJ!" I run back to the station to grab my purse and more importantly my phone. I grab my phone and scramble to unlock it. I manage to call my Dad as I race to AJ's apartment, "Dad. I really messed up. I know this is a huge favor, but I could really use my jetpack about now."
Dad closes a door as I turn left, "Ok, hold on. Is it with your armor?"
"No," I push my way through a group of six friends as I lose sight of AJ, "It should be outside, next to the finish line on the course."
Dad heads outside as I'm forced to wait on a crosswalk, "I'm sorry honey. I'm not seeing it here. Are you sure it isn't anywhere else?"
"It might be in the garage." I definitely remember putting it by the course. Where could it have gone to?
Dad's on the move again, "Looking. No jetpack but there is a letter here."
"Who's it from?"
"AJ."
I almost freeze where I am as of course there's a traffic accident just after AJ turns right, "I'll read it when I get back." I'm forced to stop again as officers tell us to turn around. I get on my tiptoes as the taillight from AJ's car disappears.
What. Did. I. Get. Myself. Into?