Well, it seems I have reached a milestone--this is the tenth chapter of "Blade of Light"! Ten chapters--WHOO-HOO! Better get comfortable--this is definitely a long one.
Look for references to S1, S3, and S11!
Shoutout to all Wingfeather fans! Look for a reference to Season One of The Wingfeather Saga (TV series)!
Possible TW: mention of chokehold
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Chapter 10
Thunk! Pixie groaned as she let her head fall onto the desk in front of her in frustration. By now, she’d been spending the better part of a half hour trying to figure out how to access the Ninja’s comm frequency so she could contact Zane. And her rate of progress? Zilch. “This is ridiculous!” she muttered to herself. “I know computer code like the back of my hand, and yet, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to tap into a simple radio frequency!” Raising her head, she glared in frustration at the many crumpled-up balls of paper she’d used in her attempts to work the system.
She was just about to try one last time to tap into the stupid comm system when something…unexpected happened. Her ice-blue eyes suddenly glowed with a golden light as a slight tingling sensation washed over her, and she began to feel strangely lightheaded, like her head was underwater. There was then a glimmer of recognition in the back of her mind as an odd chill suddenly coursed through her veins, and her right arm drew back involuntarily, as if some strange force was tugging at it. Her eyes widened at the weirdness of it all, and she wondered if she had banged her head a little too hard just a few seconds ago. But one thing was very, very clear to her.
Something was terribly wrong.
But what? What was going on that could cause her to feel this way? It was then that one single, solitary name suddenly flew into her mind. And she let out a faint gasp as she realized what it was.
“Lloyd?” she asked in a half-whisper. Her legs, which had been dangling from the chair as she worked, slowly drifted over to the right as she turned sideways before standing up and creeping over to the doorway of the bridge, moving as if she were swimming through silk. Peeking around the doorway, she saw no one in the hallway adjacent to the bridge. Yet the pull on her mind did not cease—instead, it grew slightly stronger.
It was like some strange power was calling to her. Should she trust it, she wondered. But she had to trust it. She had no choice but to trust that the call wouldn’t steer her wrong. So she followed it. She tiptoed her way down the hall, her gaze slowly darting from left to right as she searched for the Green Ninja. As she went, the hall, nay, the ship was just so…quiet.
Too quiet.
As she neared the stairs to the main deck, the call grew increasingly stronger until it was so overwhelming her head nearly spun with the intensity. “Lloyd?” she asked again, her voice slightly louder this time, her tone laced with anxiety and dread. The suspense was almost too much for her to take. She slowly scaled the stairs, her heart seeming to pound in her ears, peeking fearfully around the corner of the landing before painstakingly creeping on tiptoe into the room. Fearful of what she might find—or what might find her—she slid the bamboo screen door open so slowly that nought but a slight swish was heard. She peeked around its edge, seeing no one before she cautiously ventured out onto the deck, her nerves tensing with every step, the sound of her footsteps no louder than the paddings of a shy mouse as she creeped over to a distant wall. Her voice was small and tight with terror as she asked a third time, “Lloyd?”—before peeking around yet another corner, fearful of what she would see.
Her hands suddenly flew up to her mouth as she stumbled backwards with a sharp, horrified gasp. There, not more than six feet from where she stood, slithered a beautiful and terrible Serpentine warrior, with the unconscious Green Ninja hanging limply like a sack of potatoes over her right shoulder. “Eassssiessst catch ever.” the Serpentine hissed to herself, not noticing the small child standing behind her. Pixie gulped in fright. Clearly, this Serpentine warrioress could hold her own in a struggle—there was no hope that Pixie could even scratch her, much less take her down in a fight. But she couldn’t just stand there and let Lloyd be kidnapped and taken to who knew where to have who knew what done to him!
I’ve got to do something! she thought. With the others gone, I’m Lloyd’s only hope now! I’m the only thing standing between him and being kidnapped! With that thought, her hands balled into fists as her fright was replaced by sheer anger, and before she could stop herself, she screamed at the top of her lungs, “PUT HIM DOWN, YOU SLITHERING BULLY!”
The Serpentine whirled around to find a very indignant silver-haired girl suddenly charge her. She barely had time to throw Lloyd to the ground, not even bothering to be gentle with him, before Pixie took a flying leap and aimed a well-directed kick at her dead center in the harness. With a painful grunt, Pixie succeeded in pinning down the Serpentine.
Her victory, however, was short-lived, and before she could blink, the Serpentine had gripped her painfully by the shoulder and slammed her up against the wall, holding her four feet off the ground. Pixie struggled and writhed in the snake’s grasp, but the hybrid warrioress was simply too strong for an eight-year-old child to wriggle out of her hold.
“You fool! You insssssufferable little fool!” the Serpentine screamed at Pixie. “How dare you challenge me, Nenssssua, daughter of Pythor, the greatessssst Anachondrai general thissssss world hassss ever ssssseen!”
Pythor? Pixie thought to herself. As in the Pythor who Zane said attempted to unleash the Great Devourer? That Pythor? Her eyes widened with fear, and her breathing grew heavy as she struggled even more to free herself from Nensua’s grasp. This was not good—not good at all. But her fright about what would happen to her was quickly drowned out by her fright over Lloyd. “What did you do to Lloyd?!” she shrieked. “If you’ve hurt a single hair on his head, I can promise you that you’ll be so-“
“On the contrary, child, I would never dream of harming my massssster’s prizzzze.” Nensua taunted.
“M-master?!” Pixie squeaked in fright. “What master?!”
Nensua did not answer but instead let out a sinister cackle. Her grip on Pixie’s shoulder tightened, and the young girl cried out in pain. As her struggles became more and more feeble, Pixie’s rapidly blurring vision caught a glimpse of Lloyd, laying motionless on the ground, clearly trapped in some sort of deep sleep. His face looked even more fever-flushed than before, and beads of sweat were breaking out on his forehead.
He looked so weak, so helpless, so vulnerable, so defenseless. He had absolutely no way to defend himself.
But what could she do? How could she save him?
And then, the same call which had drawn her to him came back. But it wasn’t so much a pull as it was a command.
Protect him.
With newfound strength and vigor, Pixie wrenched her aching shoulder out of Nensua’s grasp before belting her in the jaw. Everything around Pixie became a blur as Nensua found herself driven further and further back by the young girl kicking and punching her with all her might, the call continuing to beat within the girl’s heart—Protect! Protect! Protect! Protect!
“You-will-not-have-him!” Pixie shrieked, enunciating each and every word. “I will never-let-you-take-Lloyd!”
The Serpentine’s eyes were wide with fright as Pixie continued to deliver blow after blow, driving her closer and closer to the side of the ship. Never had Nensua imagined that a child—a mere child—would ever possess the strength to face off against her. Desperately, she swung her staff to and fro, trying to knock the young girl to the ground. But Pixie’s swings and kicks were coming too thick and fast for the staff to hit its mark.
And then, without warning—WHAM! Pixie had no time to blink before she went flying smack into a wall. The blow dazed her, and for several seconds, she just lay there, softly moaning in pain and blinking her eyes rapidly to ward off the overwhelming dizziness that greeted her vision.
Her murky hearing then caught the words, “You are feisssssty. I alwaysssss did like the feisssssty onesss.” Then Pixie saw Nensua slither ever so slightly closer to where she lay in a heap on the deck. The Serpentine then continued, “Perhapssss we can come to a…mutual arrangement.”
With a start, Pixie realized that Nensua was attempting to sway her to join her and her master in whatever plan they had hatched. But Pixie would not have any part in it—not on her life. “Yeah, how do I answer this?” she replied. “No! N-O!”
It was then that Nensua completely lost her patience. “You missssunderssstand!” she hissed. “That wasss not a requesssstt!” Her tail began rattling, and white rings of power suddenly drifted towards young Pixie lying weakly against the wall. A sudden wave of dizziness came over the young girl, ten times worse than any she’d ever felt before, and she could sense the tendrils of some foreign power trying to slither their way into her mind. An uncontrollable drowsiness threatened to overwhelm her, and she feared she would suddenly pass out.
And if she passed out, she would lose.
The hypnosis was taking its toll, its power pushing on poor little Pixie, trying to get her to give in, to give up her mind to the Serpentine’s will. But then, all of a sudden, something within her awakened, and the same force that had called her to protect Lloyd with all that she had pushed back. Her mind and vision instantly cleared, and instead of receiving a blank stare and ringed red eyes, Nensua was greeted by a steady, determined glare.
“You’re…you’re immune!” the Serpentine shrieked, her eyes once again widening with fear. “But how can you be immune? No one issss immune!” But Pixie did not bother to hear the rest. A warrior’s cry tore from her, as she leaped on the Serpentine warrioress like a predator attacking its prey. The tables had turned, and the hunter had suddenly become the hunted.
Protect! Protect! Protect!
The small became mighty—the weak was now made strong.
Protect! Protect! Protect!
For now there was only one thing that mattered to Pixie. No matter what might happen to her, she would protect Lloyd. She would protect her brother, no matter the cost.
For the purest love can never be quenched.
Protect! Protect! Protect!
Nensua’s eyes grew wider than saucers as her fear spiked more and more every second. Never before had she seen such selfless love in action. And its power frightened her to no end. But Pixie was utterly unaware of this. Only one thought was on her mind now.
Protect the one who cannot protect himself.
And it was that thought—that call—that cry that sprang from selfless love—that began to break through the serpent’s control. The grip of the crushing darkness that held Lloyd in its cold embrace slowly began to slip, and the Green Ninja pried open his sleep-glazed eyes drowsily as pure jade-green began pushing up through the red.
As Nensua’s eyes grew so big that they seemed to bulge out of their sockets, in a desperate attempt to stop this child who was mightier than she looked, the Serpentine swung her staff at Pixie once again—with the full intent to strike her down.
But then in a heartbeat, in a flash of speed, Pixie grasped the end of the staff and forced it upward so quickly the vial of venom held within it suddenly shattered. A blue mist suddenly streamed out of the staff, swirling all around the three—Nensua, Pixie, and Lloyd—as the venom swiftly escaped. And when the mist touched Pixie, something happened.
A surge of lightning-blue energy suddenly coursed through her veins, and she was thrown backwards before she collapsed to the deck in weakness from its sheer power.
Then the mist enveloped Lloyd. The ringed red suddenly vanished completely, and instantly, Lloyd fully woke from his hypnosis-induced slumber.
But the mist had quite a different effect on Nensua. She shrieked as the venom engulfed her, and streams of white power suddenly flowed out from her form before vanishing without a trace. Her power of hypnosis had been stripped from her entirely, and she was now rendered powerless.
Almost powerless. For while her hypnosis power was gone, her invisibility still remained. And as the mist escaped into the atmosphere, she suddenly employed her one remaining power.
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A few moments later, Pixie slowly sat up, rubbing her aching head and gazing all around her in slight confusion as to what exactly had happened. She remembered forcing the staff upwards and the mist coming out, but everything after that was more or less a blur. Then she spotted Lloyd laying on his side just a few feet from her, his eyes slightly milky from being ill, but back to their normal jade-green, nonetheless.
“Lloyd!” Pixie exclaimed before leaping to her feet. But before she could rush over to him, he suddenly made a hoarse choking noise, and then an invisible force lifted him off the ground as he feebly struggled to break free of its grip. A second later, Nensua materialized, cackling sinisterly as she held Lloyd fast in a chokehold. The Green Ninja’s eyes went milky on and off as the choking noises increased in intensity. He wiggled and twisted this way and that, struggling to break free, as Pixie stood there, her own eyes wide with horror.
“You will live to rue the day you dared fight me, child!” Nensua spat at Pixie. “For hisssss death will be on your handsssss. The Hacker will have hisssss prizzzze!”
All seemed lost, but then something happened. The icy blue of Pixie’s eyes glowed even brighter than they ever had before, and a crackle of ice-blue energy illuminated her entire frame as she cried out, “NO!” Her hands flew involuntarily in front of her, and twin bolts of blue lightning with flecks of gold suddenly burst from them. The bolts spiraled through the air, zipping over Nensua’s head before disappearing behind her.
“Ha!” Nensua taunted. “You missed.”
“I wasn’t aiming for you!” Pixie replied. An instant later, there was a loud whizzing, whirring, crackling noise as the sparring bot just behind Nensua roared to life. The Serpentine twisted her head around and gasped in horror at the sight of the bot coming straight for her, its appendages whirling around and around at an incredible speed. Dropping Lloyd like a hot coal, Nensua made a break for it, screaming as the bot pursued her. She then dove over the edge of the ship, where a snake-sized dirigible was waiting for her. As the dirigible rose, the glow of Pixie’s power faded, and she collapsed once again to the deck---this time from the sheer amount of power she had used.
Lloyd remained in a heap on the deck for a few moments, gulping in great breaths of air, before weakly crawling over to the unconscious Pixie. As the young girl slowly opened her eyes, giving Lloyd a weak smile, the two suddenly heard Nensua crying out, “You may have won the battle, but the war has just begun! The Hacker’s plan will not fail!” Then the dirigible flew away, with a very angry and downtrodden Serpentine riding in it.
Putting two and two together, Lloyd exclaimed in a strangled, hoarse voice, “If…if this Hacker…had his hench-snake waiting for us, then I think the others could be…walking right into a trap!”
“We…we gotta…we gotta warn them!” Pixie cried in a weak voice.
“I’m not sure we…we can.” Lloyd replied. “Nensua probably jammed all our communications already.” (So that’s why I couldn’t work the comms, Pixie thought to herself.)
“Then I guess we’ll have to tell them ourselves.” a voice spoke as a teenage redhead in a bright amber-colored suit suddenly revealed herself.
“Skylor?” Lloyd asked in wonder.
“Long time, no see, Green Ninja.” Skylor replied with a cheeky grin.
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Aboard the dirigible, a rather tense conversation was taking place between the defeated Nensua and a very indignant Hacker—who was definitely not happy about the turn of events. “Your plan was foolproof, Nensua! FOOLPROOF! Find the boy—corner him—hypnotize him—take him captive—done! And yet, you’re telling me a mere girl was able to throw a wrench into the works?! WHAT DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT NOT SCREWING THIS UP?!”
“I tried!” Nensua screamed back, biting back frightened sobs. Why was it that even over the comm the Hacker was just so intimidating? “I really did! But I never exssspected that he would have backup, much lessssss that it would come in the form of a child!”
The Serpentine could practically see the Hacker gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists as he took a few deep breaths before saying, “All right. I will grant you the benefit of the doubt—for now. Now, Nensua, let’s break this down, shall we? Do you still have a lock on the master?”
Nensua silently gulped. She recognized that his tone, though smooth like silk, had an edge to it that meant business. And considering what had happened to his last lackey, she didn’t dare risk provoking his anger any more than she already had. “Yessss,” she answered hesitantly. “But it will be ussselessssss without my hypnosisssss power.”
“One obstacle at a time, Nensua. And I assume he will have no knowledge or memory of the Ninja when he wakes?”
“R-right again, Massssster.” Nensua stammered, resisting the urge to bite her tongue in nervousness (she would definitely like to keep it, thank you very much). “But I’m not sssssure whether it will apply to hissss memory of thisssss girl. Memory manipulation can only do ssssso much.”
“On the contrary, Nensua,” the Hacker exclaimed, “I think that this recent development could, in fact, be…profitable to our commander’s wishes. And in any case, he will be a valuable asset to our cause.”
“But—” Nensua stammered, “but what about the Ninja? Won’t they realizsssse ssssssomething issss wrong?”
“Leave the Ninja to me.” the Hacker replied. “Now, Nensua, I want you to return to our commander right away. I’m sure HE will want a full report on our lack of progress.”
A choking noise suddenly tore out of Nensua’s throat as she realized exactly what the Hacker was thinking. “Me?!” she squawked in utter disbelief. “You wouldn’t! You can’t!”
“But I already have, Nensua.” the voice on the other end of the line exclaimed. The comm clicked off without warning before Nensua could even say a word. The Serpentine gulped once again before turning back to the wheel.
“And thisssss is why you never trusssssst a human.” she muttered to herself, trembling with sheer fright at the prospect of having to tell HIM what had happened.
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“And this is why you never trust a snake.” the Hacker mumbled under his breath as he finished hanging up on Nensua. He had never really liked the Serpentine hybrid. She was too…slick for his taste. But HE had absolutely insisted that the two work together, as a team. The Hacker would eat his hat if he ever thought he needed a team. But on the other hand, he definitely enjoyed having lackeys. Clueless, yet utterly expendable—win, win, win!
Relishing this final thought, the Hacker turned and called out, “Commander!” A Nindroid with uniquely short legs came running towards him as fast as those short little legs could carry him.
“What is your bidding, my master?” the Nindroid asked. The Hacker barely managed to hold back a laugh. This one’s voice was just so…adorable to hear. “Change of target.” he finally spoke when he was sure he wouldn’t crack up with giggles. “Leave the Titanium Ninja to me. There’s someone else I desire that you attack.”
“Who is this you speak of, my master?” Once again, the Hacker had to hold back his laughter. Regaining his composure immediately, he exclaimed, “I need you to find a certain silver-haired girl, about your, ahem, height. I believe she will prove valuable to our cause. Find her, Commander Mindroid—and bring her to me.”
“As you wish, Master Hacker.” Mindroid answered before turning to leave. As soon as he was out of sight, he let out a low growl, bristling at the Hacker’s not-so-subtle crack about his height. It wasn’t his fault he’d gotten the short end of the line, quite literally.
“I’ll show him!” he muttered to himself. “I’ll show them all! No matter what it takes, I’ll prove that the smallest can be the strongest. I’ll prove that I belong! And when I do, they’ll all be sorry they ever crossed me!” A sinister cackle escaped him, as he raised his arms in fiendish delight. When he was through with those pesky Ninja and their puny companion, they would all live to dread the name of Mindroid!