Seabound

The Call of the Deep

Lying in bed the night of Maya and Ray's arrival, it was hard not to overhear the scalding argument between the Smith siblings.

I groaned and rolled over, clamping a pillow against my head in effort to drown out the voices coming from across the hall, but to no avail. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, I finally shoved my headphones on, blasting music. The arguing voices faded, and eventually, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

The following day most of us did our best to avoid Nya, busying ourselves with repairing the water damage in the hangar bay. I did feel a little guilty, leaving Nya to the mercy of her over-helpful mother, but I did my best to ignore the feeling.

Sitting cross legged and nursing a second cup of coffee, I watched from a dark corner as Pixal, Zane, Cole, and Lloyd worked on fixing the main computer. An alarm blinked on a small monitor that had been set up as a replacement while the main computer was out of commission.

Pixal glanced at the screen, "It's a distress call from off the coast," she reported, "It doesn't appear to be anything major."

"Than the two of us can probably handle it if Lloyd and Cole want to continue repairing the computer," Zane responded, setting down the tool he was using.

"What about Nya?" Pixal asked.

"Given her current state, I don't think it would be wise to recruit her," Zane answered nonchalantly.

"She's not going to like that," I spoke up from my corner.

Everyone jumped as I made myself known, "How long have you been sitting there?" Lloyd questioned.

"Long enough," I swirled the coffee in my mug before taking a swig, "I agree that it might not be a good idea to take her, but she's having a rough day. She should at least be kept in the dark about the situation."

The other ninja nodded in silent agreement before Zane and Pixal hurried off for the mission.

Just as Cole and Lloyd were finishing up repairs on the computer, Nya walked out of the elevator, "Can I help?"

Lloyd turned at the sound of her voice, "Oh, thanks, Nya, but we're basically done."

"Where are Pixal and Zane?" she began, noting the absence of the two nindroids.

Cole hopped out from behind the computer, "Uh, they, um, kind of... went on a mission," he stuttered.

So much for keeping Nya in the dark.

"Mission?" Nya echoed, "Why didn't they tell me?"

"They thought it might be better to... handle it on their own," Lloyd explained nervously.

"Why?"

"It... was a water rescue," Cole admitted.

Nya's face fell as she sighed and walked back towards the elevator.

"Way to go guys. Awesome encouragement," I called sarcastically from my corner.

"Well I felt bad just lying to her face," Cole defended.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my coffee, frowning as I realized I had finished it. I stood, stretched, and turned to the boys, "You guys want coffee refills? I'm gonna go make another pot."

After setting the coffee to brew, I perched on the counter and picked up my phone, deciding to scroll through Chirp while I waited. I glanced up as Nya sulked past the doorway, feeling a pang of guilt for avoiding her most of the day. She looked miserable.

I slid off the counter and poked my head into the hall, "Hey, do you want some coffee?"

Nya glanced back at me, her expressing perking up just a tad, "Yeah, that would be great, actually."

When the pot was finished, I poured us both cups and sat down at the island, "You wanna talk about what's going on?" I asked.

Nya sighed, "It's just... Mom is such a control freak! I swear she's making matters sooo much worse. She fed me bacon made from seaweed this morning!"

I shuddered at that thought before offering her a sympathetic smile, "I know it's probably really hard for you to have gone most of your life without your mom around and then suddenly have her hanging over your shoulder, watching everything you do. But in all honesty, I think she's just trying to do what's best for you. You know, make up for lost time."

"But you don't understand! She's driving me crazy!" Nya protested.

"You're right, I don't. And I never will. Not to preach at you or anything, but really, don't take her for granted. Some of us won't get that opportunity."

Nya sighed again, staring into her coffee mug, "I know... It's just hard."

"Nothing that's worthwhile is easy," I spoke, trying my best to encourage Nya.

"When did you become so philosophical?" she joked, the shadow of a smile on her face.

I shrugged, "Since I apprenticed under a crazy old Oni."

Now that made her grin. I smiled as well, happy that Nya at least seemed a little better than earlier.

Nya let out a heavy sigh again as she drained her coffee, "I think I'm gonna go for a soak in the hot tub. Wanna join me?"

I sat my own glass down, "Sure," I beamed.

After we had changed into bathing suits, we carefully lowered ourselves into the hot tub- er, Sacred Bell of Divinity, actually. The water was the perfect temperature and just what we needed to relax. But something suddenly seemed off... I hauled myself up to the edge of the bell and skimmed the horizon. Something faint and glowing was heading towards us. I squinted harder against the bright sun, but no sooner had I glimpsed the strange light, than it was gone. But with it the water from the hot tub! It suddenly splashed out and Nya and I were left sprawled across the dry bottom of the bell.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nya groaned.

After dragging ourselves out of the hot tub and trekking back up to the monastery, we found the rest of the ninja and Master Wu mopping up what must have been at least an inch of collected water from the floor. I glanced around sadly, the walls were saturated in some parts, and there was sufficient water damage to a lot of the furniture.

Next to me, Nya exhaled dejectedly, "I'm... I'm sorry for all the trouble," her voice cracked. I could tell she was on the brink of tears. "I don't know what's going on with me, but all of this is my fault," she spoke sadly.

Offering her a consoling glance, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, hoping the gesture would make her feel a little better.

"I do not believe that is true."

My head snapped up to the elevator entrance to the hangar bay were Zane and Pixal stood, having returned from their mission.

"What do you mean?" Master Wu inquired.

"Zane and I believe that an unexplained energy signal from the deep ocean is responsible for the fluctuations in your powers," Pixal explained.

"What energy signal?" Lloyd asked.

"A pulse, of unknown origins," Zane spoke emphatically.

"I thought I saw something earlier before the last water incident," I murmured, "maybe it was the same thing."

Pixal projected an oceanic map from her green eyes, "It appears to originate here, in the Tartarus Trench."

"It is the deepest known point in the ocean," Zane continued.

Master Wu turned to Pixal, "Didn't you build a submersible capable of deep sea exploration a number of years ago?" he questioned.

"I did," Pixal nodded, "the Hydro Bounty. But it was never fully tested.

"It's about to be," Master Wu stated, "You're going diving."