Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

Chapter 8

"That I am yet to figure out," Zane answered, "My sensors are picking up a weird disturbance from Lloyd but I can't seem to identify what it could be."

~~~~~

Kai and his sister, Nya, headed for the gym. They had changed out of their ninja gis and were heading to regroup with the rest of the people in charge of the hunt. They would have gone to class but it was a free period for the two siblings.

"So no one was able to find him?" Kai asked.

"Not a soul," Morro answered in a monotonous voice. "Cole and Jay disappeared to who-knows-where. Chen and the cheerleaders said they couldn't find him either. Ronin got caught up with his con-artistry. Dareth was with me and we searched the entire building. The new girl spotted him along with your sister and Skylor but someone smoke-bombed the place and he escaped."

"Basically, no one found him."

"Don't be like that, Kai," Morro told him, "Where were you this whole time? At least we searched."

"I searched too, it's just-" Kai sighed, "I had no luck either. I know he's in this school somewhere but we just couldn't find him."

"Hold your horses!" Jay screamed just as he ran through the gym doors.

"Jay! Stop! Don't do it!" Zane shouted at Jay, running after him.

"Go for it, Jay!" Cole shouted as he ran after the two. Jay held the door closed, trying to stop Zane from getting through.

"Lloyd's been using some sort of weird magic to make himself invisible!" Jay said trying to keep Zane from getting through. "Zane showed us when he used his inbuilt 3d-printer to create contact lenses that allow us to see through magic! He also uses the vents to get around the school. I, Cole, and Zane saw him!"

The door burst open and Zane and Cole entered the room. Zane folded his arms at Cole and Jay but the two were too busy catching their breaths to notice.

"What's going on?" Nya asked.

"Do not listen to Cole and Jay," Zane said, "They are just delusional."

"We are not!" Jay defended. "Zane's just trying to keep info on Lloyd's whereabouts hidden."

"You know where Lloyd is?" Morro asked. Murmurs echoed in the gym.

"I do not know his exact location only that he has been using some sort of magic to make himself seem invisible," Zane replied. "But that doesn't matter, what do you all want with Lloyd anyway?"

"We all have our own reasons for wanting Lloyd, robot," Morro told Zane, "Mind your business and tell us how you can find him."

"I am not a robot, Morro," Zane corrected, "I am an Android."

"And probably worth a lot too, eh?" Ronin spoke.

"Keep your greedy hands out of this, Ronin," Morro warned. "Now Zane, tell us how we can find Lloyd Garmadon, or else."

~~~~~

Lloyd walked out of school through the back door with his backpack and a few of his books in his hand. He'd managed to get through school without any serious problems and now all that was left for him was riding the bus home. He walked over to the school parking lot making sure to stay hidden. There were no secret passageways in the parking lot unfortunately meaning Lloyd had to walk to the bus.

Lloyd felt a hand grab his shoulder but muscle memory kicked in and Lloyd accidentally threw the owner of the hand over his shoulder.

"Whyyyyyyyy... ?" Lloyd looked at Jay who laid sprawled on the floor groaning. Lloyd's ability to camouflage himself went off the minute Jay touched him and his cover was blown. He was lucky enough that he wasn't in an open area of the parking lot.

"Hey, that's my buddy!" Lloyd turned to the person who spoke, instantly realizing it was Cole. Kai appeared too, followed by his sister, Nya, Morro, and Skylor. Chen's cheerleading squad was spread out against the parking lot as a backup. A few others like Ronin, Dareth, Stacy, and some others, stood closer to where Lloyd was trapped but not as close Jay, Cole, Kai, Nya, Morro, and Skylor.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Kai asked rhetorically. Lloyd was scared to the bone, his body paralyzed with fear. Even though he had martial arts skills taught by both his Sensei and his father, he was dealing with average people and was tied by his own code to not harm anyone of them.

"How?" Lloyd whispered in fear but it was loud enough to be heard. He suspected Skylor but she wouldn't betray him for them, not unless her father told her to. But even that wasn't on the table because her father wouldn't dare try anything to hurt him, not while Garmadon still breaths.

"Pretty easy actually," Morro replied, "All we needed was a highly advanced AI with some leverage we could use on him."

Zane? But why? This makes no sense. How would Zane even know I was here? Lloyd thought to himself.

"The hunt may be over," Nya said, "But we still found you in the end."

"And here's what," Cole said, "After your father came and tore down one of the buildings, the principal's called an emergency meeting set for tomorrow with all the staff members. Can you guess what the students will be doing tomorrow or rather watching?"

"L-look, um, uh, w-we could work it o-out or s-something," Lloyd told them as he moved back from them. He hadn't realized he was letting himself get cornered. His instincts were failing him more and more as fear consumed him.

"Nuh-uh, Lloyd," Morro said, "If your father won't pay for his crimes, then his son will be just enough to suffice."