#oh...it's the ninja

[ask-the-bizarros]

It was near impossible to focus on anything but the situation at hand, or more accurately, the anxieties it brought about.

Daemon stared at the cobblestone floor below him, tugging slightly at the cold vengestone cuffs that were locked tightly on his wrists. He and the others had been thrown into a holding cell soon after arriving at the police station with the ninja.

To their credit, the ninja had tried to tell the commissioner and his officers that the bizarros had come peacefully and weren’t to be arrested. And were currently trying to negotiate the ‘compromises’ he’d heard so much about.

……..

The cold of the cuffs bit into his skin, spreading through his arms and to his chest. He dug his nails into the palm of his hands as memories flashed past his eyes.

Placed into a cell much too small, forced to wear vengestone for long periods of time. All the questions they asked, questions he didn’t have answers to.

The pacing, the sleepless nights.

Believing it was better that he was cooped up instead of walking free. Believing the people he cared for were better off…

……

He shook his head, trying to clear his stirring mind.

..He really hated prisons…

……….

Something metal nudged him in the arm. He glanced up, meeting a pair of worried mechanical eyes.

He couldn’t give Cryptor even the slightest smile.

The nindroid’s frown deepened, and he leaned on Daemon’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “Dae…one way or another, it’ll be fine. You know that right?”

“You aren’t alone.”

……..

“I know”

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Meanwhile, the ninja stood in the commissioner’s office, trying to explain the situation.

“Sir, you need to understand-“

The police commissioner raised a hand to his mustache, cutting them off “I heard it all from Cole, when we arrested the first two- which ones were they, the Jay and Zane look alikes??”

“Speaking of-“His eyes fell on Cole, who glanced at the wall instead, “You shouldn’t even be standing here, free, Mr. Brookstone.”

……

“We’ll get to that later. We’re not asking you to let them go free, just to give them a chance.” Kai stepped forward, placing a hand on Cole’s shoulder.

“We all know you have the resources and technology to keep track of them.” Lloyd added, “It shouldn’t be hard to give them a few months to prove themselves, at least.”

…….

……..

A beat of silence, and the commissioner sat down with a sigh.

“Why are you giving them a chance, ninja? Last I checked, most of you were pretty firm in your standing that the Bizarros weren’t to be trusted.”

……..

………

“It’s…a bit of a story…sir.”

“Just a chance, that’s all we ask. All they’ve been asking for.”

[ask-the-bizarros]

Make sure Daemon gets some rest!

"I'm fine" The bizarro in question grumbled, keeping a tight grip on Cryptor's shoulders. 

Cryptor grimaced again, before shifting his weight as to help Daemon stay on his feet. "Stop lying.." 

He looked over to Zane, frowning. "There somewhere Dae-..mon," .....There was a pause after the...admittedly awkward self-correction, "Is there somewhere he can lay down?" 

"Of course..I suggest taking him to the med bay. We can take him there-" 

....The ice ninja was cut off by a quick "No", from both Cryptor and Daemon before the two started down the direction Zane had gestured to, Safa in tow. 

Meanwhile, Lloyd was..admittedly somewhat awkwardly explaining to the others that they planned on setting up a sleeping area in the conference room. 

[ask-the-bizarros]

"Kai..stop pacing. You're literally burning holes into the floor"

......

Kai paused, looking down at the hospital tiles where his feet had left burn marks, before looking back up at his sister, mumbling an apology.

"I just...I don't get it, Nya. Why save Lloyd? There had to have been an ulterior motive, right?"

[ask-the-bizarros]

Blizzard leaned against an outside wall, staring at the vast desert before him. The sand was seemingly endless, barely muffling the sound of approaching footsteps as they turned a corner. 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, the bizarro sighed, watching as the cool air dissolved in the desert heat. It was only a matter of time.

.......

 A small dagger formed in his hand, made of pure ice. 

......

The footsteps stopped. Blizzard didn't react, speaking cooly to the ninja that had approached him.

"I won't let you inside without a fight, fire ninja."

[ask-the-bizarros]

Daemon grunted as he caught Lloyd's leg mid kick, using the ninja's momentum against him and flipping him onto his back. 

Behind the two, the rest of the ninja had partnered off against Blizzard and Azul.  The bizarros were holding their own well enough, considering they'd just begun recovering from days of wearing vengestone. 

But it wasn't enough to win a fight, especially not against their originals, whom they had to dodge, or otherwise risk severe injury. 

and with Cryptor separated from them...and Cole having ducked out as the fight began..

.....

Things weren't going well, to say the least. 

[ask-the-bizarros]

Hope this goes well....

Things were tense, quiet, as Kai lead the group to the Bounty. The fire ninja had tried to start conversation a few times, but even Safa and Azul had remained unresponsive.

Cole simply felt to awkward to speak to his friend at the time. 

..........

"It...will probably be a couple days before we make it back to the city." Kai looked over his shoulder, trying for a smile. 

He was met with a mix of disinterest and distrust. 

..... "Yeah..probably shoulda expected that by now..." He sighed. 

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The group was greeted by Zane and Lloyd, upon reaching the Bounty. And despite both Kai and Cole continuing up the boarding plank, the Bizarros and Cryptor came to a complete stop. 

........

Things were silent for a moment, before Blizzard took the first step forward, followed by Safa and Cryptor and Daemon, and finally Ayden and Azul. 

No turning back now.

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Not quite as long as I planned but eh 🤷

- Aries

[ask-the-bizarros]

A silence had long since settled in the Bounty meeting room, as the ninja mulled over the weekend's events. 

Unlike the last few times they'd been in the room, Kai didn't attack the training dummy with fire fueled by frustrations, instead continuing his pacing from the hospital. 

The others were scattered about, munching on snacks or looking at the ground with folded arms, not wanting to address the topic on hand. 

......

"Alright, that's it." Kai snapped, his steps finally coming an end, "Let's all just admit it, Cole was right." 

.....

The fire ninja ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he was met by ashamed silence. "The bizarros...they just wanna be left alone." 

......

......

"So, what'd'we do now..?" Lloyd kicked at the floorboards, wincing slightly at the ache in his leg, "We can't just...up and leave like Cole did. That'd leave Ninjago defenseless"

"Do we even know this is permanent?" The others turned to look at Jay, who raised his hands in surrender, "Look...I'm grateful they saved Lloyd, and I can't deny the obvious desperation to just...be free." 

"But...I mean, we can't deny that they were created with evil intentions, right? What if..this is temporary?"

"Not to mention... Cryptor straight up...y'know, murdered Ronin. And he's one of their allies, what if this is all some...elaborate act!"

.....

The room went silent once more, as the ninja continued to ponder. Jay shot an apologetic look to Nya after mentioning Ronin, noting the boiling anger in the water ninja's eyes. 

[ask-the-bizarros]

A loud, crumbling crack echoed through the halls, as Azul's lightning arched wildly and hit an already damaged pillar. 

The marble structure slowly began to tilt, until gravity took hold and began dragging it down to the ground. Falling heavily towards an unsuspecting green ninja. 

Despite the speed the pillar was falling in, the world seemed to move in slow motion for Daemon, as what exactly was about to happen hit him. 

....

His feet moved for him, carrying him towards the younger blond. Tackling Lloyd to the ground, he shielded the wide eyed boy from the falling marble.

A loud crash was followed by a cry of pain from the bizarro, as the debri crashed and cracked on top of him. 

He waited a moment, two, before attempting to push himself up. Pain shot through his head, worsening the nausea and ringing. Something wet trickled down the back of his head. 

His leg... his leg hurt, burned with pain. 

People were shouting... but he couldn't comprehend their words, make sense of the mush that was their voices. 

He glanced to Lloyd, who was pushing himself to his feet. His eyes were wider than before, face slightly scratched. But he otherwise looked unharmed. Or at least, Daemon thought he was. It was hard to tell with the urge to black out clouding his mind. 

He...really... didn't... want to...pass...out...

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A strong, metal pair of hands caught Daemon before he could hit the ground, holding him up. 

Cryptor had managed to open the security door, right on time to see the pillar fall. 

Alongside Azul and Blizzard, he'd rushed to Daemon's side, all the while warily watching the ninja as they checked on Lloyd.

Kai stepped towards the group, drawing his sword once more. 

It wasn't an attack, yet. The nindroid could tell by the look on the firey brunet's face, that he didn't want to fight them when Lloyd might need medical help.

Rather, it was quite clearly a warning. The one chance they would be given to run. 

Carefully picking Daemon up, Cryptor glanced to Blizzard and Azul, nodding before turning down one of the long halls.

....

Once out of earshot, Azul stepped between Blizzard and Cryptor, looking to the nindroid and false nindroid. "I-Is...Daemon going to be alright?"

....

"There is no telling" Blizzard finally broke the silence, glancing at his unconscious friend. "We will have to wait until his injuries can be examined"