Chapter 33: DEMON LEPRECHAUN!!!

"While we are on the subject of our own impending demise, there is no guarantee that we will devise a suitable use for the Time Stream.  Nor is it very likely that we will be able to lure Krux and his forces to it, if indeed any acceptable method of disposal presents itself at the time when it will be required."

"Would it kill you to think positively for once, Zane?"  Kai grumbles.

"Yes, I believe it would.  These are impossible odds."

"We're ninja.  We deal with impossible odds every day."  Ava says smugly, high-fiving her teammates.  "We can handle anything life throws at us."  She casts a sly sideways glance at Rhea and continues.  "..Except for our most elusive and deadly of foes.  The rock voles of death."

Emily titters, and Lloyd chortles so much that he falls over, wheezing.

Rhea glares sullenly at them and stomps her foot fussily.

"Alright, ninja.  Let's focus now."  Acronix reminds them gently.

Morro nudges you and tips his head towards Ava.  "Do you think that she likes him?"

You observe her slightly impressed look, and notice that the corner of her mouth twitches upward ever-so-subtly.  You wink at your boyfriend.  "Oh, absolutely.  She just doesn't know it yet."

He smiles.  "That's cute.  I'm happy for them."

"They're not together yet."

"They will be soon enough.  It's as it should be."  He goes silent, thinking.

"What's up?  You're not normally this sentimental in front of the others."

"Perhaps I'm just finally maturing enough to do so.  We're adults now, after all.  We've got a whole lifetime of emotions to journey through together, and I don't want to miss a single one.  And with you by my side, I know that I can accomplish anything."  

He grasps your hands in his and looks into your eyes earnestly.  "The ninja may have taught me about the importance of family bonds, but you taught me about love.  It's eternal.  It may change its form from time to time, growing stronger, gentler, but it's always there.  It pushes and pulls our very souls, guiding us.  It can even help mend a heart as broken and bitter as mine used to be.  I used to think that hatred would make me strong.  That I could block out my hurt with it.  I hungered, lusted, for it, and the imagined comfort that I thought I would receive from it nearly destroyed me, and the person and places that I had once loved."

He lowers his head, clearly ashamed of his past self.  "..But I was wrong.  That hatred that I so believed to be my strength turned out to be my greatest weakness.  I grew selfish, arrogant, deceitful.  I became...  A horrible person."  He sighs and closes his eyes, shaking himself in order to rid his mind of his awful memories.

"..Even after the first Preeminent incident and my willingly handing Master Wu the Realm Crystal, I must admit: Learning to love again was difficult.  Though I had a brush with it on the Day of the Departed when I visited Master Wu that night at the monastery, being forcibly barred from the Departed Realm meant that I was stuck in this world."

He chuckles wryly.  "Perhaps if I could've seen my mother way back when, I wouldn't have felt the need to kidnap you.  Then again, fate tends to work in mysterious ways...  Whatever the case may be, I had heard about the newest member of the ninja team from a couple of kids that were chatting together in a schoolyard once.  When one of them mentioned that you could manipulate matter, the idea to use that ability to duplicate the Realm Crystal suddenly came to me.  I started planning on a safe way to, uh..  Fetch you.  The ninja would have to be far enough away so that they wouldn't interfere, otherwise they most definitely would have.  They do tend to hinder people's plans, don't they?"

You glance over at the other ninja.  Rhea and Lloyd are sniping at each other again, while Ava and Acronix attempt to separate them.  Emily, Kai, and Jay appear to be egging on the warring duo, while Cole, Nya, and Zane seem to be undecided on whether they should help out or not.  

"Yeah.  They're loyal, but sometimes it feels like we're trying to keep them from annihilating each other, instead of dealing with the threats that the villains themselves pose."

Lloyd's eyes glow a violent shade of purple, and Rhea screeches.  "DEMON LEPRECHAUN!!!"

The Green Ninja's oni side flares up, and he emits a guttural roar, about to unleash the darker side of his powers.

Rhea gives an alarmed shout and dives for cover, while the other ninja assume defensive positions.

Acronix looks to Ava for permission, and she nods.  He quickly snatches his Time Blade from off of Lloyd's belt and aims it at him, triggering it.  Lloyd's movements immediately become sluggish as a time bubble envelopes him, and he grunts in surprise.  Acronix grins at him and clouts him in the back of the head with his Blade, instantly returning Lloyd to his normal self. 

Ava smiles.  "Nicely done, 'Nix."

He smirks triumphantly at her.

"What?"

"You called me 'Nix."

She looks away.  "I did no such thing, Acronix.  Now, help us to find that elusive Time Stream, won't you?  We don't have all century, you know."

"Sure thing, beautiful."

She gives a short bark of laughter and points at her face, indicating her scar.  "I wouldn't go that far.  I am many things, but I am far from what most people's definition of 'beautiful' is."

"You are to me."

Her face turns beet-red.

"Subject's heart rate is accelerated by 37 percent."  Zane intones, then becomes silent when Nya cuffs him none-too-gently.

Lloyd awkwardly interrupts.  "I think Emily's figured out how to find the Time Stream."



OHOHO!  We're getting some fluff now, as well!  


956 words.

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