Just an Illusion (A Ninjago Reader Insert)

Spelled Out

****

Y/n came to a stop amongst the thick green plants that encased the island. She heard voices nearby, speaking in hushed tones. Quickly raising her fists, she jumped out from the bushes, only to find Lloyd and Garmadon on the other side."Y/n?"
"Oh, sorry, thought you were someone else."
"Quite alright, we have to be cautious here, especially now with Nya in danger," Garmadon replied. "Plus, three heads are better than two."
She nodded, before glancing at their surroundings. "How are we going to find Nya in this mess? I mean, I highly doubt there's a map to her."
"Wait, look!"
He pointed to a trail of footprints conveniently left in the mud. "Too convenient," she thought. Garmadon noticed this too, and after looking some more found the real clue.
"Why would Nya leave a skull-looking thing and an X mark on a tree?" Y/n asked."It's the Samurai X symbol. It's kind of her thing," Lloyd explained, setting off through the jungle.
As the trio walked, Garmadon began to explain his past with Chen. He explained how the evil within him spurred him on to follow Chen's morals, even to the point of sabotaging his brother.
"You made Mom think the love letter was from you? But Wu's your brother, you-"
"I'm not proud of what I did, but I have no regrets. You wouldn't be here otherwise. I feared losing Misako..."
"Misako?" Y/n mumbled. Where have I heard that name before?
"Y/n? You, okay?" Lloyd asked. She was completely zoned out, lost in thought.
"Y/N!" he yelled, snapping her back to reality.
"Hm? Oh sorry, I just...knew a Misako once, I think. It doesn't matter, go on Garmadon."
He continued describing the events of the past, but Y/n was no longer listening. Something about that name was bugging her. Even when Garmadon described his love for Misako, Y/n couldn't imagine her as a lovable person.

***

"Wu please, I can't be around her anymore!""She's just a child! The poor girl has already seen so much she can't understand, she needs support Misako!"
"And how do you expect me to give her that when I'm the reason she's-"
The woman choked back a sob, wrapping her arms around herself. Wu stepped closer to comfort her, but she pushed him off.
"I must live with this for the rest of my life, and I don't want her around to make it harder!"
"You ask me to throw her out?"
"I'm asking you to choose. Her or me."

***

As you'd expect, Y/n couldn't understand the memory just resurfaced. A part of her wanted to believe it as an old dream, but that it was not. Surely just a coincidence that she had memories of a Misako and a Wu. Surely...
After walking for some time, the trio heard voices from nearby. Garmadon ushered them into the bushes, just in time to see Neuro and Paleman running past. They were closely followed by Clouse and his guards.
"What's he doing here?" whispered Lloyd.Y/n shushed him and held her breath. She watched as Clouse blasted dark magic towards them. Neuro was too slow and fell to the ground, unconscious. Paleman vanished into the jungle.
"We have to help him." Y/n muttered.
"I know, but should we really risk it?"
"If they're taking us down, we need as many people as possible, right?"
"Fair point."
But before they could do anything, Clouse and his minions started talking again.
"Sir, should we take this one back to the base?"
"Yes, you fool! Chen wants them all! Take them all!"
Take them all...
Take them all...Take them.

***

"Mommy, what's happening?" screamed the tearful Y/n. The mother defensively held her and Violet behind her.
"Don't you dare touch my children! Don't you hurt them you animals! I'M WARNING YOU!"
A gunshot was heard in the distance, followed by the audible cries of the father. The mother gasped, horrified, while the sisters clung to each other in fear.
"What did they do to Dad?!" yelled Violet.
The masked man in centre chuckled, stepped forward. The mask slipped from his face, revealing a sneer and a pair of evil eyes.
"Take them all!" cried Clouse.
Clouse.

****

Y/n choked on air, the colour draining from her face. The sheer horror consumed her, her hands shaking.
"Y/n?" Lloyd echoed. Their voices were distant, like she was underwater. She felt like she was drowning. As she heard Clouse spoke again, it became too much to bear. She clawed her way out of the bush and took off running through the jungle.
He was there! He was there! It was all Clouse!
Running through the jungle brought her right back to that moment, running through a fog from the very same man. The twigs snapping beneath her, the shadows, the blood...
There was so much blood.Gasping for air, she fell to her knees, sweat trickling down her back. The shock of what she had discovered was driving her insane. She ran it through her head over and over. How had she missed this? How did she not remember him?
Then the horror hit that she had spent the last month in the same area as that man. She had spent all this time on the island with the man that killed her family. She felt like a traitor. She'd let him live for so long. How could she?
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, before seeing Kai crouched in front of here, concern in his face."Y/n. Breathe for me, ok? You have to breathe"
She choked back air, the lump in her throat restricting her. Her eyes were waterfalls by this point, buckets of tears trickling down her cheeks. Kai kept soothing her as best he could, utterly confused, but knowing better than to ask just yet.
Eventually Y/n stood up, no less traumatised, but the shock subsiding.
"Clouse."
"Sorry what?"
"Clouse did this," she whispered. "Clouse killed my family."

**

About an hour or so later, Y/n had poured out her heart right there to Kai and Skylor (who she didn't notice till about halfway through). A small weight was lifted, at least now she had put her trust in someone for once. They both stood there in shock, but none the less sympathetic.
"I'm so sorry Y/n. I should've known one of them did something," gushed Kai.
"It's fine. You didn't know..." she replied quietly.
Skylor was silent, lost in thought. Y/n gave her a small smile, before turning back to Kai.
"Any sign of Nya?"
"No luck yet..."
As he continued, Y/n felt a rush of energy through her skin. Through fogged vision, she could see something materialising by Skylor. She breathed for a moment, before focusing his energy on the figure. Her vision cleared up, revealing-
"Chen!" she yelled, pointing at the spot.
"What?"
"Right there, by Skylor, he's here!"
But Kai saw nothing.
"Don't you see him?" she asked frantically. "You do see him, right?"Kai turned her to face him. "I don't mean to be rude, but you've had a rough day, maybe you imagined it?"
"Why don't you believe me?"
Kai stopped himself. When he said that, he saw a lost girl behind her eyes, full of fear and anger. He felt bad immediately, but she brushed him off and walked towards the lake. But before he could apologise, an explosion went off nearby.
Y/n jumped at the explosion. She covered her ears in pain, groaning at the noise. She already felt dizzy from what she just saw, but this was getting too much. Skylor and Kai rushed forward.
"That could be Nya. Come on!" He started jumping across the rocks in the lake, but Skylor stopped him.
"I have a faster way," she said, freezing the lake.
Kai and Y/n shared glances. If she had ice...
"You're the spy! You're working for Chen!"
"I had to do what my father told me."
"WHAT?!"
Chen revealed himself, having been using shadow to hide from them.
"I knew I saw you!" yelled Y/n. She turned to Skylor in fury. "How could you? Ater everything I just told you!"
"That wasn't my doing-"
"No? But you knew about it, didn't you? You knew what happened all along!"
"I didn't, I swear-"
"I bet you broke into my apartment, didn't you? It all makes sense. You sent me that note, saying you had answers, but this was it all along. You just lied to get me here! Well, I don't need answers anymore now that I know you're my enemy!"
Before she could go any further, Chen trapped them in vines, cackling maniacally. Skylor looked at her, ashamed, before joining him.
As they were thrown into the base's cell, Y/n knew what she had to do. She wanted to kill them all, one by one.
They were going to pay.