Tw// Nothing really too bad, but there is a description of throwing up in the last few paragraphs
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"So you're saying you believe this?" Kai raised, suspicious. "A gong that can shatter goodness? That's a bit ridiculous, even Garmadon still was good when he came back as 'pure evil'." He grumbled, using finger quotes as he spoke.
Squeezing his hand, you looked at Lloyd, seeing if he wanted to respond himself.
Lloyd sighed. "It matches my visions exactly. It's not like I can really deny it anymore."
You opened your mouth to speak when the large wooden doors to the Monastery shook with a knock. That was.. strange. Not many people came here.
Rushing forwards, you opened the door, head ducked slightly. Glancing up, you met eyes with.. the kid from Imperium..? Percival? "What are you doing he-.. here..?" Looking beside him, a barely conscious Euphrasia leaned on him, her eyes shut tight. An arm was wrapped around her stomach. She hissed in pain as he stepped forwards. That was a strange pairing.
Opening the door wider, you motioned them in. "What happened?"
Arin rushed up, helping him hold Euphrasia up.
Percival took a deep breath, clearly having walked up all the stairs with added weight. Damn this kid had backbone. "She.. she crashed right outside Imperium.. She's hurt.. but we had to get here as soon as we could." He glanced down at her, frowning. "Something happened at the Cloud Kingdom."
You half expected the Voice to speak up when the place was mentioned, before remembering it was gone once more. "Right, let's get her to the medical room, she can rest there.. Nya can check her over for injuries." You stated moving to the Monastery.
Suddenly, Euphrasia leapt towards you, grabbing your bicep. "No! My home- it's- its ins danger-" she exclaimed through labored breaths. "We need to go back."
Glancing around at the team, you had too many thoughts conflicting. You hated when you stepped up to be a leader. You should've just let Lloyd do it more. "Right. Nya, can you do a check on Euphrasia in the sleeping quarters of the Plume? If someone else needs to be in there, you can use my room. Everyone else, grab what you need and go down to the garage."
Lloyd nodded, looking around. "You heard her, get moving!"
You took a deep breath. "Right, okay. Kai, you take Zanth to bring Percival back to Imperium.. or wherever he needs to go. You can meet up with us after."
"Seriously? I don't get to beat up people?" He grumbled, throwing his hands in the air.
Nya flicked his forehead. "Oh nooo, you can't have a rematch with Ash, whatever will you do?"
With a cough, you shook your head. "I actually don't think it's Ash, unless he got younger by like 20 years and stopped balding. It's a new Master of Smoke. I think Kai can manage."
He nodded, walking up to Percival. At least that wasn't a big deal.
Taking Euphrasia from the boy, you gave him the best reassuring smile you could. "She'll be fine." You promised. "Come on, let's get her down there."
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Watching the Elemental Master of Wind sit down, you watched the bandages shift under the cinch of her thin head scarf. The wind blew into your back, your hair fluttering around your face.
Arin frowned. "Okay, so Ras, the Elemental Master of Smoke, some random redhead, and people in blue Wolf Masks randomly showed up to what- do some light reading?"
"That's it," Euphrasia started, "I don't know. They wanted to get into the library, but wouldn't tell us what for. When Master 抖阴社区r Suetonius didn't let them through, they attacked us. I- I couldn't hold them on my own."
You took a breath, looking up at her. "It's not your fault. I don't think any of us could've taken them on alone, we couldn't even take the Master of Smoke on when we had 4 of us. It's really him who's making this difficult."
Watching as the redish rocks of the Cloud Kingdom flew past the Plume, you sighed. "Right, you get to do this now, you're better at pep talks." You sighed, nudging Lloyd to his feet.
He nodded. "Okay, so we know what we're getting into now. Sora, Arin, WyldFyre and Euphrasia, you guys worry more about the Wolf Mask guys, they seem more like goons than important, more powerful people. Zane, Nya, Y/n and I will focus on Ras, the Master of Smoke, and whoever the person with red hair is, I can only guess they are some sort of Elemental Master too." He walked through everyone, either patting them on the back or giving them a confident smile. "If there is any citizens left, make sure they get to safety before all else. We got this, and we'll figure out everything right here, right now."
Everyone looked at him, nodding. Even though the pep talk was uplifting, it felt like it made the whole situation even more real.
Arin started clapping. "Yeah! We got this!"
Elbowing him, Sora rolled her eyes. Though you could tell she didn't mean it.
The Plume came to a slow, Nya walking down from the bridge. She was wrapping tape around her wrist. "Right. I don't think they've seen us, but we need to be careful."
Lloyd looked to Arin, nodding. "This grappling hook is becoming more and more useful. I should get one."
".. I'd give it up for Elemental Powers though." He muttered, shooting it up to an island.
A silence filled the air. Why did he have to make it so tense? It wasn't the time to be complaining about stuff beyond people's control.
Leaping up onto the wire, you let it bounce you onto the railing of a floating island, soon everyone came after you. Than Riyu —why did you bring the dragon on a stealth mission?— hopped up, causing the Plume to shake, and then Arin followed.
Crouching down against the banister, you hummed. "Looks like the writers are still writing. This is going to be a stealth mission until we get them to safety."
"Thank goodness they're okay." Euphrasia mumbled, squeezing your shoulder.
Looking back at her, you handed her an earpiece. "This connects to all of our comms. If you need to tap out during this fight, don't hesitate, just tell us, K'?"
She nodded, sliding the small disk behind the film of fabric.
Looking back at the writers, it looked like they were.. being forced to write..?
Lloyd hummed. "Maybe not so okay." He winced as one of the people wearing a Wolf Mask swung a sword a bit too close to someone for comfort.
You could hear the sharp buzz of Zane scanning something. "They are translating some kind of ancient language.. but not one even I can recognize. It looks.. evil."
Everyone scrunched their faces in confusion.
"Maybe I'm just being stupid, but how does a language look evil..?" Sora questioned.
Zane shrugged. "Trust me, it does." Sure. Okay. You were too tired to argue.
You heard.. grunting. Someone struggling. Tapping Lloyd's arm, you made a shushing motion, nodding towards the sound.
He paused his breathing, listening, and nodding. "Stay here." He said, walking towards creeping towards the sound. Disappearing behind a building, you heard a small struggle, someone gagging, and then Lloyd popped his head back out.
Running over to him, you stepped over the unconscious body, looking at the.. silk caccoon..? You grabbed a shuriken from your belt, using it to slice open the bag quickly and quietly. A head popped out, and then someone fell out. It was from those worms from the library again.
You glanced down at the body, groaning. Suetphonyus. Your bestie for the resties. Okay geez, you were being way too sarcastic for a short stealth mission. "What happened?" You asked him, watching as Lloyd brought him to his feet.
He wobbled for a moment, taking hungry gasps for air. "Thank you Ninja. And welcome home, Y/n. Is- is Euphrasia okay?"
You nodded, though this wasn't your home. You just didn't see any use on arguing. "She's safe, she's back there, but I don't think she's in the best fighting shape yet." You pictured the crutch she was holding right now. "What happened?"
"Ras came looking for scrolls.. so we went down to get them out.. they are the ones who cursed the Scroll Worms." He explained. "How was this unforseen?.."
Rolling your eyes, you turned around, motioning for everyone to follow.
Lloyd but the inside of his cheek. "This.. these scrolls wouldn't have anything to do with the Blood Moon.. would they..?"
Suetonius widened his eyes, shaking his head. "Ras- he wouldn't.. he couldn't.." he slightly gasped, a hand over his mouth.
This wasn't looking good.
"The Blood Moon rises once every few millennia in the Wyldness. And on this rarest of events, there is an arcane ritual that can be performed to resurrect.. the.." he gasped slightly, in shock. "The Forbidden Five."
Sora scoffed. "Wow, that's not dramatic at all."
Suetonius continued, "The Forbidden Five were once Elemental Masters Thousands of years ago, they discovered evil powers that no other Elemental Masters could stop. They conquered their realm, destroying all who stood in their way. It seemed impossible to stop them, but then, a mystical force arrived from the East."
This was sounding more like a fairytale than critical information now. "What? Glinda the Good Witch?"
Lloyd shook his head. "No, she's from the North, the Wicked Witch's sister was the Wicked Witch of the East."
"Shut up movie nerds." Nya hushed you, turning to Phony boy Suetus. "Please, continue."
He nodded, thankful. "The Mystical Force from the East banished them beyond all the realms forever. The Five's discoveries, teachings, even their language have been banned for centuries. If Ras can enact their secrets, and then enact the Ritual of the Blood Moon-"
"..He could bring them back.." Lloyd finished, a hand on his temple.
WyldFyre grumbled, stepping forward. "Why is everyone so serious? This is simple. We just stop Ras before he even knows we're here."
You felt a prickle at the back of your head. Fuck. Turning around, you brandished your weapon. "Too late for that, Lavagirl."
5 Wolf Mask Warriors stared you down. . . Fun.
Launching yourself at the closest one, you parried, swinging around to kick it in the face.
Behind you, you could feel Lloyd's breath speed up. "Lloyd!" You shouted after elbowing a warrior in the neck. Running to him, you grasped my his shoulders. "Get a grip! I know the visions are tough to deal with, believe me, but you can't keep freezing every time you fight!"
His glazed over eyes snapped back to you, and he swallowed, before running back into the fight.
With so many people, the fight barely lasted a minute. But so much for a stealth mission.
Turning back, you took a breather. "Euphrasia, go with Suetonius, you'll be safer with him.. you won't be safe in an open fight."
She opened her mouth to argue, before shutting it, nodding. "I'll see you soon, Ninja."
Following Lloyd's lead, you continued down the wide pathways between each island, making it to the central building. There were the writers out front, surrounded by Wolf Mask Warriors. On a balcony above, you could make out Ras, and the red-haired person beside him. He held a bronze gong out in front of him. The Gong of Shattering.
"The Ninja have arrived!" The Tiger growled, laughing. Did he really think he was going to win? "Destroy them!"
The warriors with Wolf Masks immediately turned towards you, and ran.
Taking your sword off of your back once more, you launched a few back, but they just got right back up again. Grabbing a throwing dagger from your belt, you reeled your arm back, chucking it at one of the warriors. It dug into the skin of the warrior, but they just continued running towards you as of it felt nothing. They were like mindless animals.
"Ras! You got a conflicting brand!" You could vaguely hear Nya shouting. "Pick either purple tigers or blue wolves, it's unfair you get two fursonas- well.. wait would you have a skinsona then? Ew."
You laughed, using Spinjitzu to kick a warrior back. Glancing around, you looked at the scattered bodies of either unconscious or.. permanently unconscious bodies. His army was thinning out.
A puff of smoke formed beside you, the smell making you scrunch your nose. "Cinder! Finish them off!" Ah. Here was the Master of Smoke.
You backed up, swinging your sword as the guy formed from the dust. "Cinder? Huh, what's with you guys all getting themed names? I want a themed name! Like Nova, or Andromeda.. or I dunno, Nucleic-Acid." You commented using your sword to block a kick from him.
"I call Floppy-Disk!" Sora shouted, flipping over your head, kicking his head with her boot.
You thought him getting kicked by her would give you a chance to breathe. Nope.
Cinder immediately lunged at you again, throwing your body to the ground.
When you went to get back to your feet, he appeard out of nowhere, kicking your side, and launching you a few feet away. Everyone else seemed to be getting swarmed by the Wolf Warriors.
Landing harshly on the ground, you picked your head off of the rough stones, only to be met with a boot pressing into your temple.
You attempted to pull back, but your muscles fought against you, burning with each movement.
Cinder pressed harder into your head. "Awe. Looks like someone is all tuckered out. Is it nap time already?"
Snarling at him, you tried to stand up, pull back, but every time you did he'd pin your limb down with the tip of his jagged blade. A sharp sting of blood being drawn stopped you each time. Glancing at him, you laughed. "Really? You fight in heels? You that short?"
He stepped down harder into your head, sneering.
"Okay! Okay! Geez! You're not short at all and the heels are just a fashion statement not to make yourself seem more intimidating than you are!" You winced. "I'm already down!" Your head began to ring in pain, a faint growling growing.
Oh. No, the growling wasn't in your head. That much was clear when Zanth rose above the island.
Kai leapt off of the dragon's back, aiming towards Cinder. He poofed away, beginning to target Kai.
Giving you an opportunity to collect yourself, you clumsily got to your feet, limping out of the center of the fight. Scooping your blade off the ground, you took deep breaths. How did you let yourself get beat so easily? You weren't weak- what happened- you felt so.. exhausted.
Were these like weird ass withdrawal symptoms from not using the Energitea anymore..? That was stupid if so.
Shaking off the thought, you started rubbing at the spots of red on your wrists. You didn't think the ones at your legs penetrated skin. So that was a plus. At least your pants weren't ripped.
Looking back over to Kai, it seemed like he was whooping Cinder's ass. How could you not do that too?
A Wolf Warrior spotted you alone, leaning against the railing, and started running towards you.
Staring at them coming, you glanced over the side, making a decision. As they sprinted, you merely stepped to the side, pushing them off the side of the island. Brutal way to die, but you were done with bullshit right now.
And it seemed like the fight was over.
Lloyd sprinted over to you, holding you tight, though it felt like you were 50 miles away. Everything hurt.
But it was over.
Then you heard the gong.
Freezing, Lloyd's breath quickened. "That sound- it's- it's just from my vision- I- we going to die- the Blood Moon-"
"Hey. Stop that." You commanded, staring at him. "You're better than this. You're better than the visions. I know it's a new thing for you, but focus on the present. We need you."
His eyes flickered down to you, taking a deep breath, and nodding. "Right. I-"
From the corner of your eye, you saw a red tornado. And it wasn't Kai's Spinjitzu tornado.
"ShatterSpin!" Ras laughed from the balcony. "You are no match for it."
Kai was thrown to the ground as cinder phased in and out of smoke, too fast for you to comprehend in your delirious state.
Then WyldFyre ran at him. He grabbed her foot as she tried to kick, bending it at an unnatural angle, causing a loud crunch of bone to be heard. She screamed as he threw her back.
Various other things happened to everyone else who tried to attack him, ending in Lloyd almost being thrown off of the island. He barely caught the edge, being hoisted up by Zane.
You swallowed, bile rising in your throat. You needed to leave. You were going to be killed if you didn't.
Jogging towards everyone, you watched as Nya got thrown around now. "We need to leave."
"But-" Lloyd groaned. "Ninja don-"
"Shut up." You growled, helping WyldFyre stand. "We're quitting now, unless you want us all to fucking die."
He began to argue, but you went around to the other people in pain, who had tried and failed. You helped them stand, sending them towards the Plume.
Sending WyldFyre with a stable, but twitching Zane, you stared at Kai as he helped Nya up, Cinder circling you three.
"We're leaving!" You shouted at them, "Hurry up!"
Cinder laughed from the thick smog, red eyes darting around. "Leaving already, Doll?"
He was having fun with this. You felt like you were going to throw up.
"Come on!" Nya shouted behind you, pulling on Lloyd's arm.
You started running towards them, the thick cloud of smoke following you. You almost tripped, but caught yourself. You couldn't stop. You couldn't mess up.
Lloyd finally snapped out of whatever daze he was in, beginning to run as you caught up.
The Plume was getting closer. Making a final sprint for it, you felt Cinder's fingers ghost over your ankle, as you leapt onto the deck of the ship. "GO!"
The ship took off, getting quickly away before Cinder could phase to it.
You got up on your arms, laying on your stomach. Staring at the ground, you let the burning, an pain wash over you.
Dots of water sank into the deck of the ship.
Stumbling to your feet, you limped over to the railing of the bounty, your stomach emptying itself. Acid burned your throat, a cough quickly rising.
You couldn't remember the last time you were so terrified to the point your stomach couldn't physically handle it. You were scared that you had to run.
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Oof big chapter hi guys
Oh my God I love writing Cinder so much, especially when he gets to talk more later in the season (he reminds me of Bucky Barnes in a way lol, think that's why I included him calling people Doll)
Also I realized when writing this chapter, the Ninjago fandom (the chill side) would totally ship Y/n and Cinder as a toxic pairing lmao