Thank you all for your awesome reviews!
Masters of Fire and Amber - thank you so much for your words, you're too kind! And "terrifically-ninja-some" should totally be a word!
GwenBrightly - I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter. And absolutely I appreciate you pointing out my typos (doh! Even though I proof read so many times I always seem to let some slip through...) although I am a Brit so apologies for the different spelling of "tyres".
RandomDragon2.0 - yep, Kai is back baby!
FireBoi206 - I love fire porcupine! That is so Kai!
Well as always I hope you enjoy!
Flickers
The brothers fell into step with each other again with ease, falling instinctively into the intuitive unit of the team once again like it was the most natural thing in the realm, each of them welcoming the familiar togetherness, pre-empting and understanding each other's moves before they were made.
So when they saw Skylor walk into the large factory space, her eyes low and her gait unusually graceless as she made her way around the conveyor belts of the packing stations within the old "Ninjago City Plants and Flowers" warehouse, they all looked over as one to Kai from their various lookout points. Lloyd reached out to steady and reassure his brother from where they stood in the shadows of the top of the fire escape, wincing at the tenseness he felt within the fire ninja's shoulder as he squeezed it. From the red and green ninja's high vantage, they could only just make out the slightly gravely tones of Chamille as she appeared alongside the Master of Amber, her hands holding up what looked like a glass vial as they walked together, stopping at the end of one of the conveyors. Chamille handed the vial to Skylor, who held it up into the dim light, turning it over and surveying the murky brown liquid swishing inside its confines as Chamille hoisted herself up onto the belt, knocking several dusty plant baskets onto the floor without care. The purple haired elemental swung her legs back and forth as she took the object back from the red head, twisting it and staring at it. Skylor looked terrible, her normally shining, full hair hanging limply and lifelessly around her face. Her stance, although still upright and strong, was somehow dejected, giving off an air of helplessness. Lloyd kept his steady but firm grip on the Master of Fire's red shoulder, keeping an eye on his tense friend whilst whispering into his com device.
"Zane, can you hear what they are saying?" Zane gave a subtle thumbs up from his lookout point below them, bright blue eyes blinking once as he accessed his systems and then started relaying the conversation directly to the entire team via the coms link.
"-after that we can get the power transferred-"
"You mean I can. I can get the powers transferred." Chamille looked up from where she was twisting the vial in her hands, staring into the face of the Master of Amber, her expression blank. After a few moments a small smile crossing her lips as she nodded.
"Yes. After you have transferred the power. Then they can start the assault."
"Simultaneously?"
"Yes. They will receive the signal and begin the cleansing immediately."
The ninja looked at each other, Cole's jaw set and eyes frowning as he looked up to Lloyd before turning back to looking through the window he was crouched at. Kai jumped slightly as Jay came crackling through on the coms, voicing what they were all thinking.
"Err, Lloyd. That does not sound good."
"No shi-" Kai stopped as Lloyd squeezed his shoulder harder, gesturing to the road leading up to the warehouse gates where headlights illuminated the fencing as a car swept into the parking lot, brakes squealing as it parked next to the grey SUV. Cole quietly adjusted his position, using the shadows to move away discreetly from the two newcomers as they slammed their doors shut, striding in through the main doors of the factory.
"PIXAL, can you attempt to access police files to determine identity of the newcomers?" Zane softly murmured over the com, PIXAL acknowledging receipt of the image Zane had uploaded to her. Lloyd muttering a quick thanks to them both before re-joining Kai where he was pressing his nose against the fire escape door window, straining to get a proper look at the newcomers.
"Kuro. What are you doing here?" Chamille jumped down, slamming the vial onto the conveyor and striding straight over to the first figure, his taller, more powerfully built frame looming over the smaller female elemental. But this seemingly did not deter her as she put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, purposefully moving herself into "Kuro's" personal space.
"You could jeopardise everything, just turning up like this. And with him!" Her purple hair swung as she jabbed a finger at the slightly shorter figure beside Kuro, who's dark eyes glowered back at her. Both figures, apart from their stature, were unremarkable in appearance, seemingly in their mid-twenties and dressed in unremarkable dark, casual clothing.
Kuro stepped forward, looking down menacingly at Chamille.
"We are tired of waiting. We are ready to move now." The two scowled at each other, their faces filled with hatred as they stared at each other, noses millimetres apart. Skylor pushed in-between the two, pulling Chamille away with one arm with such force the Master of Form fell to the ground whilst she pushed Kuro away with the other.
"Are you a fool? Visiting hours are over right now. We can't go back without arousing suspicion at this time of night." The red head hissed at Kuro, her stance strong and defensive. Kai felt his heart jump as the second, shorter but stockier figure moved forward, his arms quickly moving to grab and pull her into a headlock. But she quickly blocked him, twisting herself around and pulling his body over her own, throwing him unceremoniously to the floor in one fluid move before she stepped back, raising her arms slowly and purposefully. The machinery around them juddered, the screeching of metal tearing screeching through the ninjas' ears as the screws and bolts holding the conveyors and machinery popped out of place, sheets of metal ripping and rising around the group as the apparent new Master of Destruction raised her arms higher, her face rigid, eyes glowing with a purple luminosity.
"Skylor. It's ok. Leave the fool." Chamille had pulled herself up and was standing in-between the master and her target, stroking the red hair and smoothing it back down from where it was flying around her face as though filled with static charge. All of the metal, bolts and shards of machinery dropped to the floor as quickly as Skylor dropped her arms, the clanging as they bounced reverberating around the silent group and the purple in the red head's eyes dying down as she slowly blinked.
"Tomorrow." The red head uttered the one word before turning and walking away, making her way back out view of the silent surveyors, slamming the door at the end of the room shut behind her. Chamille straightened, raising her head and narrowing her eyes at the two males before her.
"You heard her. Tomorrow. In the afternoon, as we planned. You'd better leave now." She turned and followed in the footsteps of her companion, not looking back as the taller Kuro bent and assisted his shorter accomplice up, holding out a hand as the figure took it, his frame seeming to flicker into a dark, taller shadow as he pulled himself up and straightened.
Lloyd froze, his eyes unseeing as the two figures made their way back out of the warehouse doors. Not hearing the car engine restarting or the roar of the tyres as it reversed at speed and sped away, back out of the gates. Not seeing the taillights disappearing into the distance or hearing Zane insistently repeating his name.
"…Lloyd!" He finally blinked and looked up into Kai's worried brown eyes, seeing the concern written all over the fire ninja's face.
"Lloyd, what was that? Did you see it too?" Lloyd swallowed, taking in his friend's farrowed brows and the scar running up from his slightly gaunt cheekbone through to his eyebrow, meeting up with the fresher, uglier, still red wound which Skylor had ripped into not all that long ago. The blonde tried to speak but the words stuck in his throat, turning as Zane deftly hauled himself up beside the two of them on the platform of the rickety fire escape, Cole moving and waiting silently below them, watching them with concern.
"Lloyd, am I right that that was an oni?" Kai's head whipped round to stare intently at the Master of Ice, mouth dropping open as he turned back to the shrinking green ninja whose chest was starting to rise and fall rapidly, panic setting in. Kai took his younger brother's face in his hands, lifting it up gently and whispering breathe, just slowly breathe to him as his thumbs caressed the younger's cheeks. Lloyd managed a few deep breathes before turning his bright, unnatural eyes to meet those of Zane, managing to nod before the words came tumbling out in a barely coherent torrent.
"The oni are here. And they're ready to invade us. Tomorrow!"