𝓣𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭

Chapter 7

"What's for breakfast today Miss Ryoko?" Cody asked as he walked into the kitchen. Ryoko turned to face the ten year old boy. She smiled and placed a plate in front of him.

"Fresh pancakes and cream." She said as she swirled a bit of cream in a corner of his plate.

"Noble!" Cody said as he began to eat. One by one, The kids exited their rooms and came to eat pancakes. Alice more or less made a mess rather than ate. But she was happy. Ryoko turned the stove off and placed the rest of the pancakes in the middle of the table.

"I've made enough pancakes to-" A sharp pain then stabbed at Ryoko. It caused her to let out a cry of pain and collapse to her knees.

"Miss Ryoko!!" The kids jumped out of their seats. They surrounded their caretaker and panicked. They asked a million questions all at once. Once the pain faded enough, Ryoko raised her hand. The kids stopped talking and they watched as she stood.

"I'm fine." She breathed. "But I need you all to stay here. Stay inside, and take care of each other."

"But what was that? Are you ok Miss Ryoko?" Cody asked worriedly. Ryoko turned to him and nodded. She took her cloak off the wall and put it on.

"Take care of each other." She said before opening a portal and escaping to the outside realms.

********

Ryoko stepped into a forest. She looked around and listened to the sounds of her surroundings. She could hear crickets, rushing water, and the soft chatter of people. Carefully sticking to the shadows, Ryoko makes her way towards the voices. As the voices got louder, she saw a familiar flying ship. Ryoko pulled up her mask and made sure her hood covered her eyes. She leaned against the haul of the ship and listened.

"Don't worry Lloyd. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! If I had been faster, Brad would still be here."

"We can't change what has happened in the past. But standing here wishing is not going to help us find your friend."

"I know I know! I just, need space." Footsteps were heard and then a closing door. Ryoko walked around the ship and peeked through a window. She saw Sensei Wu sitting at a desk. He was reading a book of some sort. Ryoko became distracted as she tried to see exactly what he was reading. Suddenly, she was hit with an energy ball. She gave a cry of pain as it knocked her into a tree. Ryoko winced and held her side. Her breathing became rugged and shallow. Through her blurry vision, she could see the green gi ninja approach her. Ryoko tried to stand to escape but instead, she fumbled. Lloyd was quick to grab her.

"You're the person that took Brad! What did you do to him!?" Lloyd demanded. Ryoko elbowed Lloyd hard in the gut. Lloyd choked and let her go. Ryoko stumbled forward and ran. Though the pain began to fade, she quickly found herself surrounded by all the other ninja.

"Hold it right there!" Kai shout as they kept her surrounded. Ryoko's hands began to glow. If she needed to, she'd get out of there any way she could.

"Please, we just want to speak." Zane said as he watched her. Ryoko shook her head.

"There is nothing to speak of. Allow me to leave."

"Not till you tell us what you did with the kid." Jay said. Ryoko sighed and relaxed her body.

"He's in a better place now." She could feel the tension and horror in the air intensify.

"Ok, maybe that was a poor choice of words." She said before dropping down into a portal as all the ninja attacked her with their powers at once. Ryoko began running again. She didn't have enough energy to open a portal to the in between. She could only hop short distances within the universe.