Lloyd and Hikari glanced around Dareth's dojo, which they'd gone back just to say hi when Dareth pretty much accosted them and begged them to stay (apparently he wanted company). That wasn't any use of the moment, however, since they currently had blindfolds on. "Don't rely on your eyes," Cole instructed, "use your ears."
All of the ninja lifted their weapons (from the sound of it), and suddenly Hikari heard Dareth's voice. "Uh, guys? I'm teaching a class later, so, I'd appreciate a clean dojo-"
A step and a swish, and Lloyd and Hikari leaped up automatically. Judging by the metallic clink of the weapons, the ninja'd struck but missed. Hikari lashed out and hit something that seemed small- so, a shuriken. Lloyd grabbed something (with both hands, if Hikari had to guess, and she flatted herself to the ground and rolled right at someone, knocking them over. Lloyd then swung his feet over her as he clung to the scythe, she could feel the air swishing over her back.
Two groans from Jay and Zane (so judging by that, she'd knocked over Cole or Kai) and Cole grunted a second later. More footsteps, and Lloyd jumped into the air, dodging a sword hit (nunchucks had a good chance of backlashing and therefore had different feelings than a sword, or a scythe, for example, so that was Kai's attack) and Hikari kicked someone backwards, making a metallic clatter that blocked out sound. Judging by Dareth's shrieks and Jay's groan, she'd knocked Jay into Dareth's trophies.
Lloyd kicked someone else, and Hikari punched again, while Dareth repeatedly chanted "no no no!" as if it were some sort of bizarre mantra. The window opened, and someone went flying out, and then Dareth shut the door again.
Flames blazed to life in both their hands, both oddly tinged, and Dareth screeched again and stomped on it. Faintly, Hikari could hear Jay's voice complaining, "Hey! Open the window! Let me in!" So Hikari had knocked Jay out the window... whoops.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and Hikari yelped as she stumbled off balance. "Is this a joke? Lloyd?"
"Wasn't me," and Hikari felt his hand reach out and tug off her mask, green eyes meeting her own dark gray ones. She smiled and then looked around before switching on the TV, as Sensei Wu and Misako joined the six of them. Seven if you counted Dareth. "Gail Gossip here," said the perky reporter, "here on the scene of what appears to an earthquake rocking the city of Ninjago! And it's an earthquake like no other, as scientists have yet to pinpoint the cause, and more frightening still, the aftershocks are getting stronger!"
The building shook again, and Cole spoke, "What do you think this could be?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was Garmadon- we haven't seen him for a while," Kai commented. Hikari frowned and crossed her arms thoughtfully as Misako spoke up, "He would never. Lloyd's father is evil, but he would never do anything to put his son in harm's way."
"Yeah, mainly just tried to thwart our training, or hurt the ninja. So this has to be something else," Hikari said, thoughtfully.
She blinked the arena back into her mind as Zane summoned his falcon. "... I think I might have an idea," she said suddenly, and everyone glanced at her.
"Nariko just said-"
"Nariko?" everyone chorused, confused.
Hikari blinked. "... oh yeah, never introduced you, did I? One sec." She blinked very hard. The next minute, her eyes glowed pure red when she opened them.
"Let me take over you a bit, did you?" a harsher, echoing voice echoed out of Hikari. "Just a bit, yes," Hikari agreed. "Nariko, meet my friends, the ninja. You know them pretty well I think."
"Oh yes... Hikari's so called 'friends'," Hikari sneered. It was odd to hear a voice that was very obviously not Hikari's issuing out of her, and Kai glared at 'Nariko'. "Hey! We're her friends!"
"So you say..."
"Nariko..." Hikari's voice returned, full of warning.
"Fine, fine, just saying- those guys are on-"
"We're all on the good side, Nariko, and nothing you say can change my mind. Now shut up and go back to hiding in my skull or whatever you like to do when I ignore you."
Hikari blinked again, and her eyes were back to normal. "Nariko is this sort of shade who resides in my head. I'm not sure if she's like a split personality... although I guess it's possible, since I suffered trauma..."
"Why did she call us your 'so called' friends?" Jay asked. Hikari either didn't hear him, or she pretended not to, because the next thing that she said, "Anyway, what Nariko said was to try seeing what was underground. So..."
Hikari knelt down and placed her hands on the ground, her eyes shutting as she tried to sense things underground. Dareth remarked offhandedly, and very quietly, "She's kinda hot now that she's older..."
Lloyd shot Dareth an acidic glare that could've burned through wood, and Dareth subsided, trying to make himself seem small behind Sensei Wu. The ninja all exchanged knowing looks behind Lloyd, and Misako's eyes sparkled as if she'd suddenly realized something.
Everone tensed as Hikari suddenly shivered, her entire body shuddering before she removed her hands. "Well, what I got was that the Serpentine are digging underground... I guess they're trying to displace the whole city and bury it, like we buried them a long time ago," Hikari said, her eyes unfocused, "but... there's a small area... underground... well, not small area, large area..."
"What about it?" Lloyd asked, putting his hand on Hikari's shoulder. "Well, underground... something dark... very dark... is buried there. I can't tell what it is though, just... the feeling of darkness makes it through the walls of this large chamber thing..."
"Well, we have to go make sure that everyone's okay!" Cole exclaimed, and they all charged outside. They must have looked incredibly dramatic as they burst out the dojo door, because people stared at them.
And then the ground started splitting apart, and everyone started panicking. A section of the street a little away started to break, and a woman was running towards her poodle when the ground beneath her dropped away. They could hear her screams for help, and Lloyd yelled, charging forward, "Ninja to the rescue!"
He jumped in, and then Hikari, and then Zane, then Jay, then Kai- then Cole latched onto Kai's ankles, and they all latched onto one another in a chain. The woman was too far down, and only a foot out of reach. Hikari gritted her teeth, clinging to Lloyd tightly as he grunted, "Just a few... more inches..."
The poodle faintly barked, and Cole remarked, "Appreciate the support, doggy!"
The woman managed to latch onto Lloyd's hands, just as the ground Cole was standing on broke away. He jumped back in time, but the chain swung crazily and everyone yelled out, the dog barking loudly.
"Could've thought this plan through," Cole groaned, beginning to drag them all out of danger. Hikari felt her hand slip, and then did something that could possibly go very wrong- she let go with one hand, making Lloyd and the woman swing crazily to one side, and then threw them using the previous momentum as they swung the other way, making the ninja and the woman cry out in fear. The two of them sailed to safety, and the woman stopped screaming and called out, "Thank you!"
Hikari waved, as Cole managed to drag the whole group to safety. "No problem!"
"Speak for yourself," Cole groaned, exhausted.
Lloyd reached a hand out, and helped her up. Hikari looked up gratefully, her hand clinging to his as she managed to stand up. For a moment, it felt like the two of them were the only ones there, staring into one another's eyes...
And then Hikari blushed at the train of thought, and looked down. She vaguely realized she was still holding Lloyd's hand. Lloyd evidently noticed as well, and blushed a bit before letting her go. "Oh- um- well-"
"Thanks," Hikari said softly, and he glanced away, both of their faces pink. "Y-you're welcome," he stuttered out.
"These things keep coming with no warning!" Kai almost swore angrily, and Misako ran up to them with a scroll. "That's it- a warning. The scrolls said the earthquakes would be a warning for something far worse to come."
"Far worse?!" Jay sputtered, "what could be far worse?!"
Hikari let out a cry suddenly and almost fell again, Lloyd caught her. "Darkness- dark- it's so- dark!" Hikari screamed out, her hands clutching her hair, making her look almost deranged. "So- so dark-!" Lloyd held her tightly as her head shook furiously. She didn't look very sane right now. It didn't help that the day was sunny.
Her eyes flew open, and she was now holding her heart, eyes wide with fear. "Something dark... something really, truly dark... it's been unleashed," she whispered, shivering again. "I've only felt that once before..."
"When was that?"
"Yesterday. That stone warrior... that was the only other time something so dark has hit me... but it's... much heavier... much, much heavier... much darker..."
"You don't think there's more?!" Cole exclaimed, shock in his voice. "That's exactly.. what I think," Hikari managed. Her face was paler than before, but her hands dropped to her sides and she managed to straighten up as much as she could, her face pale with worry.
Zane let out a sudden sound of alarm. "Sensei... it's as we fear. Another stone samurai warrior is loose on the streets."
A sudden cracking sound sounded, and everyone yelped and jumped back as a stone hand erupted from the ground. And then, all along the street, arms cracked through the asphalt and reached up, and then more attacked.
Hikari hesitantly stepped forward, extending her arms to protect the others. Immediately, the ones that were out went over to her, nuzzling her as if they were baby kittens. Hikari stood there, and then glanced back at the others with this look that essentially said 'WTF'. Even though she didn't know what that meant...
"Um... nice Stone Army," she said, sounding as if they weren't really very nice at all, "good Stone Army..."
She looked back at them, confused. "Um... what do I do now?" she asked. Kai shrugged helplessly.
Hikari gently pushed them off. "Um, sorry guys, I- I gotta go..." They latched on again, and Hikari lost patience. "Oh, let go, would you?!" she exploded, and stone columns enveloped them as now-feral roars tore out of their throats. Lloyd had run off somewhere.
"Sorry!" she apologized immediately, and then they heard a scream. Zane ran over and booted one Stone Warrior away, and caught the news reporter, who was being filmed by... Dareth, for some reason.
"You seem in need of assistance," he said, and Gail was gushing gratefully, "Thanks, Mr. Ninja!"
More of the Stone Army charged, and Hikari groaned. "Oh, god, please don't let them see me..."
Suddenly, the Ultra-Sonic Raider screeched around, smashing through the army that had just appeared, and Sensei Wu jumped over it, shouting, "We must protect the people! Gather as many as you can and get them to our evacuation point!"
Nya suddenly crackled to life on the Ultra Sonic Raider, which Lloyd was commandeering. "We've got problems with that evacuation point, guys!" she shouted, "I can't find a safe place to land!"
"The roof of MGTV Studios office building has a helipad on the roof," Gail offered, "Yes! Higher ground!" Sensei Wu agreed, "Lloyd, tell Nya to get to higher ground!"
Hikari paused before running over to the Ultra-Sonic Raider and hopping into one of the seats in the front. "Okay, if these Stone Warriors like me so much, we'll give them a distraction," Hikari mumbled. Lloyd grinned a little but said nothing as Gail was informing the citizens of the city to head to the MGTV's building.
"Stay safe. Stay out of trouble," Sensei Wu said. Misako smiled... and then her gaze moved behind him. "Looks like that won't be possible."
They turned to look- more Stone Warriors were charging up the street.
"There are more of them!" Lloyd exclaimed, sharply, glancing over his shoulder as well. The Ultra Dragon soared over, and stomped them. Lloyd pumped his fist childishly. "Yeah! Haha!"
The Ultra-Dragon landed in front of them, roaring again. Hikari jumped out of the Ultra-Sonic Raider again as Sensei Wu called, "Lloyd, have you been practicing your elemental quakes?"
Hikari slammed her hands onto the pavement full out. The ground split again, and purplish, hellish light rose as several Stone Warriors plummeted in, before she drew it shut again.
Lloyd grinned after this display. "Hey, who needs to practice when you're a natural?" He flipped out, and Hikari raised her hands, and both of them slammed down as the ground in front of the Ultra-Sonic Raider rose so high that unless you were a mountain climber, there was no way to make it up.
The ninja all scrambled into the Ultra-Sonic Raider, Hikari turning to the Ultra Dragon and Lloyd jumping onto the roof of the Ultra-Sonic Raider. "Thanks boy!" Hikari said, patting it gently on the neck before joining Lloyd, automatically wrapping her arms around him. "Now see if you can find us a way out of here!" Lloyd commented.
Shard breathed out a blast of ice, freezing several of the Warriors into place, before rising into the air. The Ultra-Sonic Raider drove up the ramp it had just created. "Good!" Lloyd shouted encouragingly.
"Now go save yourself!" Hikari shouted, waving to it as it let out an affirmative roar in return.
The Ultra-Sonic Raider blazed along the road, sending asphalt flying everywhere.
They reached the MGTV building after not too long, especially at the speed they were going, and rushed into the building. "Barricade the doors!" Cole shouted, and they carried sofas, machines, potted plants, and shoved them against the glass doors.
"Now we head to the stairway!" Zane declared, as Hikari grabbed Lloyd's hand and started pulling them there.
"Stairs?" Dareth asked, swallowing nervously. "That's twenty floors, guys, let's just take the elevator." And he pressed a button. Zane looked at him. "It's unwise to take the elevator during an emergency, Dareth," he commented. Hikari giggled a bit.
"I think I'll take my chances- WAGH!" A Stone Warrior stepped out, before stepping in a bucket of water and tripping backwards. Dareth pressed the button to shut the door and said, running back over in a panic, "HO-kay, stairs it is! Let's get climbing, everybody!"
They all kept running, although at one point Dareth tore past everyone shrieking and knocked into Misako on the way. The ninja all paused at the top of the stairs, letting everyone else run past. "We have to buy time for the civilian's escape!" Zane exclaimed. As if on cue, all of them spun into their Spinjitzu tornadoes. "NINJA-GO!"
They knocked the ones immediately there down, over the sides of the stairs, sending them back to the first floor.
"LIGHT IT UP!" Lloyd yelled, jumping down and firing light, making them all cringe. Lloyd pushed them all to the railing, and she, Lloyd, and Jay all shoved them over the railing. "Not so tough!" Lloyd yelled.
They just stood back up once they landed and roared at them. Lloyd groaned. "So tough..."
Hikari giggled, before her face went serious. "Well, all we can do now is hope we've bought enough time. GO, GO, GO!"
They all charged upstairs to the top as the Bounty sailed in to a close, all of them shouting, "Hurry, they're coming!"
Misako suddenly let out a shout. "My research!" she started running, but Lloyd grabbed his mom. "No, mom, it's too dangerous to go back!" he shouted.
Misako grabbed her son's shoulders, her wide green eyes desperate. "It's too important to leave behind." She kissed him gently on the forehead, before going back. Lloyd reached out, but then stopped and drooped.
"She'll be okay," Hikari said, her face stern. "Don't worry, Lloyd, now come on!"
They all ran aboard, and the ship started taking off. "Our only remaining booster won't last much longer!" Nya shouted, "We've got to get out of here!"
"We have to wait for my mom!" Lloyd angrily demanded. Sensei Wu blinked, before running and jumping over the side, knocking the Stone Warriors away as he charged back inside. "SENSEI!" Lloyd shouted, and Hikari wrapped her arms around. "They'll be okay," Hikari said, softly.
She shut her eyes.
Well, twice in one day... that really is odd, you must be desperate...
I am... Nariko, please, please go watch Sensei and Misako for me, intervene if you absolutely HAVE to... but please, Nariko...
... if you really insist.
For once, Nariko didn't snark, and merely vanished, smoky dark strings still there, however. She probably wanted something in return. Hikari blinked as an image replaced the other side of the arena.
Misako had grabbed her scroll and was now clinging onto the side of the staircase. "Oh no..."
"What? What's going on? Hikari?" Lloyd's voice sounded distant, but Hikari focused on the image. Externally, it was a bit disconcerting. "Misako..."
"What?! What about my mom?!"
"She's... she's hanging onto the side of the staircase..."
Lloyd was shouting now, but it was still very distant... "What? How do you know?"
"I asked Nariko to go take a look... oh, there's Sensei Wu, he's running downstairs... knocked one over- ahh!" Hikari winced. "One of the Stone Warriors grabbed onto Misako's research... oh, okay, she's okay now, caught her research with her foot..."
Lloyd was staring at Hikari intently as she watched the scene intently in her mind, the ninja coming to her side. He felt his cheeks turn faintly pink, their faces were closer than they'd been ever since right after they'd had the Tomorrow's Tea...
"Oh no, I think she's slipping... Nariko can't help, and Sensei's fighting his way through the warriors," she grunted, eyes darkening, "Nariko's fighting a Stone Warrior right now... okay, she's done, she knocked him over the railing, Nariko's going to-" She let out a shriek of fear that rattled Lloyd, and he grabbed Hikari's arm so tightly he was leaving marks. "What?! What happened!?"
"She slipped-!" Hikari suddenly simultaneously let out a sigh of relief and started crying. "Oh, oh holy Spinjitzu Master, Sensei Wu caught her," she breathed in relief, and Lloyd relaxed a little, "and Nariko's helping them up... oh, and Sensei Wu's asking Nariko how she got here... she explained.. okay... oh... crap, they ran into a room on that floor to escape the Stone Army, but they're stuck... Nya, do you mind doing something?"
"Does it involve steering the Bounty?" Nya called.
"It does... here, steer down towards the middle of the building, maybe a little lower..."
"Descend!" Zane put in. She looked at them oddly.
"DO IT!"
Nya did as she asked, giving everyone an unpleasant swooping sensation in their stomachs as the Bounty soared downwards. "They're all fighting..." Hikari continued reporting, "Oh, they're using Spinjitzu... and Nariko's just throwing them out the window, make sure you're not too near, Nya..."
Nariko suddenly zipped back to her, a shadow, and Hikari shivered as she felt a sensation somewhat akin to getting a ton of water thrown on top of her. "Sheesh that's cold! Nariko-?"
"They're about to jump out the window, look up!" Nariko spoke via Hikari, Hikari's eyes flashing red, and everyone looked up to see the two of them jumping, before they landed on the Bounty. As they started flying away, however, Sensei Wu's hat fell off, and a photo of what appeared to be Misako, a pale man with dark brown hair, and Sensei Wu when he was younger- with a jolt, Hikari realized that guy in the middle was Garmadon- flew out of the hat, and then was blown away in the wind.
Lloyd ran to his mother and hugged her. He then released her, pivoted, and threw his arms around Hikari tightly. "Thank you... both of you... Thank you," he chanted, over and over, hugging Hikari tightly.
Hikari smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around him, a faint pink blushing dusting her cheeks. "It's no problem."
"The past is the past, Wu," Misako said, smiling warmly. Sensei Wu smiled slightly back. "But, there's always a future." Hikari didn't dwell on it as Lloyd hugged her. They were leaving Ninjago City. But they'd be back.
Lloyd mumbled something. Hikari let go of him a little to see him bright pink in the face. "Huh? What'd you say?"
"Nothing," he responded, and Hikari blinked before waving it off.
As she went over to the two in the older generation, Lloyd's face clouded slightly as he watched her. Hikari was a lot more to him now. His longtime best friend... his teammate...
His crush.
Lloyd's face flushed seven shades of red. Where had that come from?! No, no, no. He shook his head to clear it, shoving that particular feeling to the back of his mind.
But as he watched her smiling encouragingly at them, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to keep that particular emotion hidden for too much longer.
A/N: OMG LLOKARI CONFIRMED FOR LLOYD FINALLY. And I think it's been confirmed for Hikari for, like, ever.
So yeah. :)
This chapter's also shorter than usual. I guess since I ignored the Serpentine + Lord Garmadon parts...? I don't know.
I realized why I didn't have any reviews for Fanfiction last time. I didn't post the chapters. (slams my head on the wall) Wow. Good job, me. So, I'll be responding to the newer reviews (if any, haven't checked yet) this chapter.
Responses to commenters!
Fanfiction:
MMM: Hikari didn't exactly 'wield' it, she just held it. She didn't actually use it, so technically she didn't wield it. Yeah, since Hikari can control darkness... and the Stone Army was created from a dark force... they'll be more inclined to like her. (shrugs) They're not in a relationship, yet, so I don't know. The story doesn't deviate much... yet.
Quotev:
MikuthepinkNinja: 'Eyy, thanks! :)
PaintedWings: (sees gif) (starts cracking up)
Vi Turner: And now we see EXACTLY WHY Lloyd's jelly xD Thanks! I'm glad you like it!
Wattpad:
None. Again. :/
x.X. A.L. X.x