6

The next day came up and packing our clothes and kits from their friend's house of the two deceased parents, was going to be hard to escape without waking them up from their knocked out state. They had to be quiet and so they wouldn't attract much attention from anyone especially with the mens' immobilized state. So they tiptoed out the door, to walk as far away as possible, or as far their legs could carry them in such a desperate time, to find for themselves transportation by bus stops or just call for any help. Kai then rushingly asked Zane of which transportation was the closest to them. Zane then searched through his phone and told them that it was just three blocks away. They had to take the bus, leaving everyone relieved.

"At least it's easier sitting than standing, huh?" Lloyd stated while walking towards their destination ahead of them. Let's just say on the way there was quite the walk.

"Yeah, I mean I can't stay under the sun forever or my hair will melt." Kai responded clearly off topic, earning glares from his comrades.

"Wow...so comforting." Lloyd spazed with a signature eye roll crossing his arms.

"BRUH." Nya sighed with annoyance.

"Who took my pudding cup! I clearly had written my name there, in bold. I was gonna eat that afterwards." Jay shouted to anyone who stole his good.

"Well, it didn't say motormouth on it did it?" Kai slyly smiled with his signature smirk.

"Oh you are so-"

"Here Jay take mine. I brought with me a mini freezer along with us." Zane said as he offered Jay his pudding cup.

"Oh, thanks Zane!" Jay thanked, "At least someone has manners." He stated.

"Mhm. Pretty rare" Nya said in confirmation.

"Wait, did you just say mini freezer?" Jay asked in realization.

"Yes," Zane said in an awkward feeling being the center of the talk, earning stares from his companions.

"Woah, you are way prepared. Better off than us."

"Actually, Jade is way prepared than me..." Zane stated, "She brought the whole kitchen." Zane said, as a matter of fact, tone.

"KIDDO!" Everyone screamed, but silently.

"Yeah...by the way the bus is here now," Zane said as he stopped at mid-point of his talk, to point out a bus waiting to be hired for use. The bus was blue with red streaks having a random ad at the back promoting a new movie called Bluemoon.

"Wow! we should watch it later on! Should we?" Zane called out as they hopped onto the bus as its doors flew open when it sensed their presence. They all nodded while they looked back to see if there was no one else following them.

"Whew! Good, we are not followed." Lloyd sighed in relief, then turned to the driver, "Please take us to Emerald city. I'll pay the sum when we get there." The driver nodded understanding, seeing a logo of the badge that Lloyd wore, showing the symbol of the top notch police or detective agency, from Black Hallow City. So, he put the pedal to the metal and drove off into the horizon. Meanwhile, the detectives on the bus had the worst ride of being stuck in there for two hours because it takes that long for them to reach their destination.

"Yes! Time to see my gal again." Kai said as he laid kick back onto his seat, arms and hands behind his head., smiling seeming relaxed as he closed his eyes for proper sleep. Nya saw her brother's slothfulness and shoved her brother off his seat and replaced herself onto his previous seat.

"Wha-Hey!" Kai grunted.

"Patience," Nya smirked teasingly at her sibling, still scrolling on her phone for the Hallow Times newspaper.

"Oh, don't you start that off again sister," Kai said playfully glaring at his sister.

"Haha! Whatever, Kia," Nya responded dryly without looking up from her phone but had an underlying hint of a loving smile towards her bro.

"H-Hey! Don't call me Kia ever again...PLEASE!" Kai kneeled onto his knees making a dramatic scene. Luckily, no one was there to witness such a, once-in-a-life-time scene.

"Haha, hi Kia." Jay then started it off saying it in a girly voice playing with his ginger brown hair sweeping it to the back of his head, while pretending to be one of the girls that they'd meet, earning a snorting Nya. Jay's brown eyes then sparkled with enjoyment.

"Hmm, Kia does sound good on you my friend," Zane said to a blushing mess, Kai, plain and pure with a childish yet playful smile. Kai then turned bright red at his 'new' nickname.

"Aww, he's blushing!" Lloyd said, trying to contain his laughter that was wanting to explode, scrunching up his blonde hair as his hand turned to a fist on top of his head as his brown eyes filled with enlightenment. Kai saw this and a hint of happiness sparked in his hazelnut brown eyes, for his friend. So he mustered up a smile towards his friend even though they were starting to make fun of his name, but it was worth it.

"Yeah! Now, there's my happy man!" Lloyd blushed with embarrassment. "Ok, no one's helping me up ay? Aight...nevermind then".

"Haha, here I'll help you up..." Lloyd told as he acted upon it to help his fallen spikey-haired, friend, "Porcupine!"

"Wha-Hey! Come here you-" Kai started out but was cut off by a fit of giggles below him, being Lloyd tickled by a red-suited boy on top of him, torturing the cornered green bean, "Ah! Stop! It tickles!"

Everyone laughed including Nya.

"Only when you stop making fun of my name. This is seriously old school bro." Kai playfully yet seriously demanded of Lloyd, still tickling him.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop! Ah!" Lloyd chuckled and giggled, as he gave in.

"Good." Kai then replied, getting off of Lloyd, as Lloyd then dusted himself as he stood up.

"Oof, what a scene." Zane piped up.

"HAHAHAHA!" Nya was now on the floor laughing hard out hearing a snort sounding out from Jay.

"S-Shhh...haha, Nya s-stop laugh-" But couldn't keep it in any longer and laughed along shedding tears of joy and fun.

"Ok, let's get back to business..." Lloyd ordered chuckling to himself, trying to keep his professional side in order and composed.

"Hey, I think I have a lead." Nya piped up, "It says that Harumi and her goons are going to...Emerald city to pick up a special delivery from there." Nya said in all seriousness look of worry in her eyes.

"W-What special delivery did she mean?" Lloyd asked feeling more query by the minute.

"I don't know, no picture is shown." Nya shook her head, as she tried to search through her phone looking for pictures but resulted to none, as she sighed in desperation.

"Hey, don't be too desperate, as long as Cole and Jade are okay then that's still a good sign." Lloyd sympathized with her.

"And what if it turned to the worst...because I have a feeling that, 'that' special delivery' is something more than just a parcel." Jay added twisting knots within each individual in the vehicle.

"Why, Jay are you in the dark side now?"

"Yeah that took quite the twist."

"I don't really know, just a hunch." Jay shrugged his shoulders as he took a seat to his left holding the yellow bar, "I may be wrong...actually I am always wrong with my presumptions or was it deductions?"

"It's deductions, Jay." Zane rephrased it with a sigh.

"Oh, ok." Jay said deadpanned. Just as Jay was about to sit down and rest, their transportation started to go haywire. A shrill scream filled the air within the bus.

"AAAAGH!" The girlish scream of each individual erected in the air as each person extended their limbs to latch on to someone or something tightly while the bus cartwheeled down, of what seemed like, a hill or cliff. Kai debunked his head onto the glass while holding on to Lloyd dragging the green been with him banging Lloyd's head onto it, as well. Nya was still strapped to her seat, Jay latched on to the seat belt to hold on to but the strap was unstable. Nya saw this and called out to Jay until his eyes focused on her, to which he did. Nya beckoned him to reach for her hand, while sitting herself up to not hit her head unwilling to share the same fate as the other two. Jay caught on to Nya and stretched out his hand but they barely touched, until Jay mustered up all his strength to jump and hooked his hand to Nya's. Nya pulled on him, holding him tighter to not let him go except for a few scratches on him. Zane however, was winded to the back of the bus and latched on to the handle while using the window breaker used for emergencies but couldn't break it, so it was hopeless. Until what it seemed to be forever, the bus reached its dead end and the twist stopped.

"Is it ok to let go, now?" Jay asked, since they were not moving anymore, "Yup, it's over, guys." Jay confirmed.

"Great. How are we ever going to emerald city?" Nya grunted with disappointment, throwing a random rock at one of the trees.

"And who bumped us off course?" Kai asked demanding to know as he looked around at his group, catching a moving rubble at the corner of his eye, "Guys, look." Kai asked pointing at it shakily, as all heads turned towards the debris.

"Woah, what a ride." A stranger with a mask over his face, who looked like the man who drove them which clicked within their minds. A spy. Red flags came over.

"Uh, who are you?" Nya asked suspiciously.

"I, my friends, am Ronin. Remember me?" That all-familiar voice boomed with delight at such a situation.

"WHAT!" Everyone screamed in unison, standing there with their mouths agape, "You can't be serious."

Ronin then just stood there grinning madly at them, scratching the back of his nape.

"Then what was that bump?" Kai asked inserting his dominance as a big bro, setting his hand on Nya's shoulder. Not wanting to let go of his sibling, for he would not know what he would do then without her, especially since Nya and Jade were best of friends, so wouldn't want her to be depressed.

"It was the pursuers. They tried to get in the bus while you guys had fun in the back. They won't get us down here for now." Ronin replied looking up to see if they were all clear, "They know that you all, are trying to catch a vehicle to ride to Emerald City. I suppose you all now know?" He asked this turning around to face the crew in recognition.

"Yes. Thanks Ronin." Lloyd smiled slightly.

"It's fine. Besides..." He then lowered his voice to a whisper sounding raspy, "This is the closest route to my friend's house."

"Um, and who would that be?" Jay suddenly asked still with a disbelief.

"You'll see." Ronin winked teasingly, as Nya made a gesture of disgust.